Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce as you can clearly tell from my
writings. The plot is mine but I suspect that some things that will be
written here may appear in some of TP's future books, but not the same as I
write them. Alexander Debegri is my character, as well as Dedicate Helford
and The Healer Afya!! :D
FireStarter10388- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it.
Vreader- Sandry meant that it felt like when someone touched the unmagic.
But it isn't the same. I'm going to explain that actually since none of the
other 3 have felt unmagic! Thanks a bunch for all the
tips/help/ideas/discussion/stuff!
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The Count looked around nervously. Afraid to say a word in case it would be overheard by the conspirator. (A/N: Oh no I forgot what I was going to write!! Hope this doesn't suck) He didn't know how to begin.
They were in a small conference room. Sandry sat gracefully in a chair across from Alex. She was wearing a light blue/grey dress that almost matched her eyes in colour. Briar sat next to her. He was wearing his own clothing. Sandry had made them, and they fit him perfectly. When he walked they made no sound. They were as attuned to him as he was to his Shakkan. He stared at her worriedly. Although she looked the same as always to the Count and his son, Briar knew her better. She had covered her face in face pain, trying to hide the large bags that were under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her complexion was pale under the makeup and her eyes were troubled. It was really beginning to bother him.
Daja stood up from her chair and walked over to the large window, carrying her trader staff with it's polished brass cap and monkey (A/N: was it monkeys?) engraving. She set it down lightly but in the silence of the room it sounded like a clap of thunder. She winced. Her head pounded. The previous evening she had let her trader mask cover her face and she didn't show her emotions but the magic in the air had put her off balance. She had mixed a glass of water with some of the herbs Briar had given her for her mages' kit but they didn't seem to be helping at all. She would have gladly returned to bed after breakfast but she knew this meeting was important. She wished the Count would hurry up and explain so that she could go lie down, or meditate, of work something metal.
Tris was in a far worse condition than anyone thought. As soon as she had left the tree room she knew that something was amiss. When she got to their rooms she almost fell asleep right at the door. Somehow she managed to make it to her bed but she hadn't changed out of her dress and it was in a terrible mess. She felt better today, but still a little groggy.
Briar looked at the Count. He still hadn't begun. Briar's patience was wearing thin. He feared for his siblings. He knew that he should be happy that he might be risking his life to save a lot of people's but he couldn't. Finally he clapped his hands together once. "If you aren't going to tell us something, then we will be needing four fresh horses, a servant to pack our bags, and a pack mule. I expect it in an hour, we will leave and be as far away as possible before that thing comes back." Briar stood, pulling Sandry with him, and was halfway out the door when Alex spoke.
"Stop. It's just hard to talk about. I'm sorry. Let me try to explain. My father is not well, he is getting old, and this business wears him out." Brair almost flipped out at him for saying that 'this business wears him out.' It wears us out too, he thought, but they act as if they really don't care.
~Briar they are confused, and worried about their people. You can't blame them can you?~ Sandry's mind voice chided him. Briar looked at her. Inside he knew she was right, but he didn't want to expose them to such weird circumstances. I've become a softy he told himself as he went back to sit down.
"I'm listening." He said when he had made himself comfortable again.
"It's hard to say when it started. But people here just started to feel it. Always at the same time of night. We aren't sure what it is. Many people think it's an angry God, or Goddess. Others think its dark sorcery. The people are scared, but they daren't mention anything for fear of upsetting the one who sent it. It isn't just the presence. There have been disappearances, kidnappings, and murders. People's goods vanish, children never come home, and people are found appearing unharmed, other than the fact that they are dead. We are out of options. The provost's few mages are looking day and night for the cause but they never come across anything of interest." He paused for a minute and fidgeted in his chair.
"You mentioned something about a certain time that everything happens?" Tris inquired, quill and parchment ready in front of her.
"Yes. It seems to occur between the eighth hour and the third hour. The presence is usually felt every day." The Count added quietly.
"Oh I've just remembered something!" Sandry exclaimed. "What was it Niko saw? The night we were made leave?" The count looked thoughtful.
"When was this?"
"It would be two weeks today." Alex answered.
"I've no idea." The Count looked through a date book. "Last Starsday... That was a really calm night. No problems. It was eerie after a weeks worth of killings."
"The man that died was foreseeing something." Tris put in. "It hasn't happened yet."
"We should contact Niko and find out." Brair said remembering that he could contact Rosethorn through the plants.
"No." Sandry said. Everyone looked at her.
"We might be able to stop it if we know what it is!" Briar shouted. Why would she say no?
"Niko would have told us if it was important. Its going to happen soon whatever it is. Otherwise Niko wouldn't have ushered us here. The only way that we can stop it is to find out who the sender is." Sandry tried to explain.
"Well Niko must have seen the sender! He should have told us what he looked like."
"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he only saw the effects. Finding the sender is our only option." Sandry looked doubtfully around. What could they do if half of their time together was cut off by the presence?
Brair saw the nervous look he gave him. He didn't want Sandry to be afraid, it made him more so. "All right then. Tomorrow we'll have to scout out the area. Meet as many people as we can."
"Tonight we have a schedule for you. You will meet separately with some of the nobles, so that you can get a feel of them." The Count remarked. "I think that is everything for today. We'll have another such meeting tomorrow after you get to meeting some of the civilians. You may go."
Sandry was about to stand up when she remembered something from the previous night. "How come when we went onto the balcony the force stopped?" Brair looked up. He had forgotten that.
"We aren't sure. It has something to do with the glass." Alex explained. "If we had stayed out there a little longer you would have been able to feel it again. When you pass through the glass it acts as a force field to repel the presence. It only lasts for 10 minutes or so, more if you have lower magical abilities." He nodded to the four who stood up and left.
Sandry contemplated what Alex had said as she walked back to her room. "You guys what does this glass thing mean?"
Tris who had worked with a glass mage for the greater part of the last year grinned. "We need to talk to Keth. Maybe get him to come down here. With the right spells maybe we can use the glass as a type of protection if we need to."
"I can help with that." Daja piped in. "Could we do something with glass to make it more like the living metal?" Tris pondered this as she sat in a chair in the common room.
"Perhaps." She muttered simply, and hid her nose in a book.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The four spent the day in their rooms thinking. Sandry lay on the couch with a cold cloth on her head. For some reason she seemed to be boiling.
"Sandry, go take a cool bath. It might cool you off." Briar suggested. He handed her a package of herbs that smelled sweetly. "Put this in the water, the aroma will calm you. If you don't cool down soon I may have to resort to old methods." Sandry looked at him with laughter in her eyes.
"Willowbark!" She muttered walking into the baths.
Brair walked back over to the couch and took a seat next to Daja. Tris placed her book on the table. "What do you think? About Sandry?" She asked him.
He gave her a worried look. "The fever isn't natural. I can tell that with the little healing skill I possess. It has to be magical."
"You suspect something?" Daja asked.
"Doesn't it seem strange that Sandry is the sick one? When was the last time any of us saw her sick? I don't think its coincidence that she's hit worse than us. She is a noble."
"Are you sure its that?"
"Not at all. But what else could it be. No one here knows her. And the Count seems to think the sender is a noble. He has to be a mage as well. What if her doesn't like the competition?" Tris looked thoughtful but said nothing. She went to the desk and took some parchment, ink and quill, bringing it back to sit down. She began to write in her precise hand writing.
"A note to Keth." She said. "I want to know what he thinks of this glass-field (force-field haha). He knows more about glass magic than any of us do."
Sandry returned soon after Tris finished the note. "Sandry what did you mean the force felt like unmagic?"
"It's hard to explain. Unmagic is the absence of magic. But that's not what I felt last night. It was more of an abundance of nothing." Everyone looked at her confused. "I can't explain it any better at the moment." She looked down putting her hands to her temples. Briar came to her and began to massage her back. She looked so tense. She sighed happily. "You're really good at that. Since when have you been a master at massage?" Brair laughed.
"It was in Yanjing. We stayed with a masseuse for a few days while we were there. She was really good at it."
Sandry, Tris and Daja giggled. It was rare of Briar to show affection for anyone besides his 'family'. Briar grumbled putting his hands down. He tapped Sandry on the head affectionately. "Mila of the Grain!!!" He shouted so loudly that everyone jumped. He ran off into His room and brought out his mage's kit. "Heat some water will you!" He shouted at Daja, who did as she was told, using the heat from her portable forge. He pulled out a package of willow bark and began to chop it up. "Lie down." He ordered.
Sandry was frightened and you could see it in her eyes. Why was he behaving so? She felt fine after her cooling bath. "Briar wha-"
"Shh." He cooed. Tris brought a blanket. Brair took it from her covering Sandry. He placed one of the couches large cushions behind her head. Taking a bottle from his kit he poured some onto each of her eyelids. It burned like hot wax, or was it cold wax? The pictures in front of her danced before her eyes. The next thing Sandry knew was that the world went black.
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A/N: What do you think? I had to do an explanation of the presence so here we go. The thing with Sandry was just for fun. Hope you like it! Review! Even if its just to say that you read my story! Even if you hated it! Tell me what you think!
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The Count looked around nervously. Afraid to say a word in case it would be overheard by the conspirator. (A/N: Oh no I forgot what I was going to write!! Hope this doesn't suck) He didn't know how to begin.
They were in a small conference room. Sandry sat gracefully in a chair across from Alex. She was wearing a light blue/grey dress that almost matched her eyes in colour. Briar sat next to her. He was wearing his own clothing. Sandry had made them, and they fit him perfectly. When he walked they made no sound. They were as attuned to him as he was to his Shakkan. He stared at her worriedly. Although she looked the same as always to the Count and his son, Briar knew her better. She had covered her face in face pain, trying to hide the large bags that were under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her complexion was pale under the makeup and her eyes were troubled. It was really beginning to bother him.
Daja stood up from her chair and walked over to the large window, carrying her trader staff with it's polished brass cap and monkey (A/N: was it monkeys?) engraving. She set it down lightly but in the silence of the room it sounded like a clap of thunder. She winced. Her head pounded. The previous evening she had let her trader mask cover her face and she didn't show her emotions but the magic in the air had put her off balance. She had mixed a glass of water with some of the herbs Briar had given her for her mages' kit but they didn't seem to be helping at all. She would have gladly returned to bed after breakfast but she knew this meeting was important. She wished the Count would hurry up and explain so that she could go lie down, or meditate, of work something metal.
Tris was in a far worse condition than anyone thought. As soon as she had left the tree room she knew that something was amiss. When she got to their rooms she almost fell asleep right at the door. Somehow she managed to make it to her bed but she hadn't changed out of her dress and it was in a terrible mess. She felt better today, but still a little groggy.
Briar looked at the Count. He still hadn't begun. Briar's patience was wearing thin. He feared for his siblings. He knew that he should be happy that he might be risking his life to save a lot of people's but he couldn't. Finally he clapped his hands together once. "If you aren't going to tell us something, then we will be needing four fresh horses, a servant to pack our bags, and a pack mule. I expect it in an hour, we will leave and be as far away as possible before that thing comes back." Briar stood, pulling Sandry with him, and was halfway out the door when Alex spoke.
"Stop. It's just hard to talk about. I'm sorry. Let me try to explain. My father is not well, he is getting old, and this business wears him out." Brair almost flipped out at him for saying that 'this business wears him out.' It wears us out too, he thought, but they act as if they really don't care.
~Briar they are confused, and worried about their people. You can't blame them can you?~ Sandry's mind voice chided him. Briar looked at her. Inside he knew she was right, but he didn't want to expose them to such weird circumstances. I've become a softy he told himself as he went back to sit down.
"I'm listening." He said when he had made himself comfortable again.
"It's hard to say when it started. But people here just started to feel it. Always at the same time of night. We aren't sure what it is. Many people think it's an angry God, or Goddess. Others think its dark sorcery. The people are scared, but they daren't mention anything for fear of upsetting the one who sent it. It isn't just the presence. There have been disappearances, kidnappings, and murders. People's goods vanish, children never come home, and people are found appearing unharmed, other than the fact that they are dead. We are out of options. The provost's few mages are looking day and night for the cause but they never come across anything of interest." He paused for a minute and fidgeted in his chair.
"You mentioned something about a certain time that everything happens?" Tris inquired, quill and parchment ready in front of her.
"Yes. It seems to occur between the eighth hour and the third hour. The presence is usually felt every day." The Count added quietly.
"Oh I've just remembered something!" Sandry exclaimed. "What was it Niko saw? The night we were made leave?" The count looked thoughtful.
"When was this?"
"It would be two weeks today." Alex answered.
"I've no idea." The Count looked through a date book. "Last Starsday... That was a really calm night. No problems. It was eerie after a weeks worth of killings."
"The man that died was foreseeing something." Tris put in. "It hasn't happened yet."
"We should contact Niko and find out." Brair said remembering that he could contact Rosethorn through the plants.
"No." Sandry said. Everyone looked at her.
"We might be able to stop it if we know what it is!" Briar shouted. Why would she say no?
"Niko would have told us if it was important. Its going to happen soon whatever it is. Otherwise Niko wouldn't have ushered us here. The only way that we can stop it is to find out who the sender is." Sandry tried to explain.
"Well Niko must have seen the sender! He should have told us what he looked like."
"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he only saw the effects. Finding the sender is our only option." Sandry looked doubtfully around. What could they do if half of their time together was cut off by the presence?
Brair saw the nervous look he gave him. He didn't want Sandry to be afraid, it made him more so. "All right then. Tomorrow we'll have to scout out the area. Meet as many people as we can."
"Tonight we have a schedule for you. You will meet separately with some of the nobles, so that you can get a feel of them." The Count remarked. "I think that is everything for today. We'll have another such meeting tomorrow after you get to meeting some of the civilians. You may go."
Sandry was about to stand up when she remembered something from the previous night. "How come when we went onto the balcony the force stopped?" Brair looked up. He had forgotten that.
"We aren't sure. It has something to do with the glass." Alex explained. "If we had stayed out there a little longer you would have been able to feel it again. When you pass through the glass it acts as a force field to repel the presence. It only lasts for 10 minutes or so, more if you have lower magical abilities." He nodded to the four who stood up and left.
Sandry contemplated what Alex had said as she walked back to her room. "You guys what does this glass thing mean?"
Tris who had worked with a glass mage for the greater part of the last year grinned. "We need to talk to Keth. Maybe get him to come down here. With the right spells maybe we can use the glass as a type of protection if we need to."
"I can help with that." Daja piped in. "Could we do something with glass to make it more like the living metal?" Tris pondered this as she sat in a chair in the common room.
"Perhaps." She muttered simply, and hid her nose in a book.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The four spent the day in their rooms thinking. Sandry lay on the couch with a cold cloth on her head. For some reason she seemed to be boiling.
"Sandry, go take a cool bath. It might cool you off." Briar suggested. He handed her a package of herbs that smelled sweetly. "Put this in the water, the aroma will calm you. If you don't cool down soon I may have to resort to old methods." Sandry looked at him with laughter in her eyes.
"Willowbark!" She muttered walking into the baths.
Brair walked back over to the couch and took a seat next to Daja. Tris placed her book on the table. "What do you think? About Sandry?" She asked him.
He gave her a worried look. "The fever isn't natural. I can tell that with the little healing skill I possess. It has to be magical."
"You suspect something?" Daja asked.
"Doesn't it seem strange that Sandry is the sick one? When was the last time any of us saw her sick? I don't think its coincidence that she's hit worse than us. She is a noble."
"Are you sure its that?"
"Not at all. But what else could it be. No one here knows her. And the Count seems to think the sender is a noble. He has to be a mage as well. What if her doesn't like the competition?" Tris looked thoughtful but said nothing. She went to the desk and took some parchment, ink and quill, bringing it back to sit down. She began to write in her precise hand writing.
"A note to Keth." She said. "I want to know what he thinks of this glass-field (force-field haha). He knows more about glass magic than any of us do."
Sandry returned soon after Tris finished the note. "Sandry what did you mean the force felt like unmagic?"
"It's hard to explain. Unmagic is the absence of magic. But that's not what I felt last night. It was more of an abundance of nothing." Everyone looked at her confused. "I can't explain it any better at the moment." She looked down putting her hands to her temples. Briar came to her and began to massage her back. She looked so tense. She sighed happily. "You're really good at that. Since when have you been a master at massage?" Brair laughed.
"It was in Yanjing. We stayed with a masseuse for a few days while we were there. She was really good at it."
Sandry, Tris and Daja giggled. It was rare of Briar to show affection for anyone besides his 'family'. Briar grumbled putting his hands down. He tapped Sandry on the head affectionately. "Mila of the Grain!!!" He shouted so loudly that everyone jumped. He ran off into His room and brought out his mage's kit. "Heat some water will you!" He shouted at Daja, who did as she was told, using the heat from her portable forge. He pulled out a package of willow bark and began to chop it up. "Lie down." He ordered.
Sandry was frightened and you could see it in her eyes. Why was he behaving so? She felt fine after her cooling bath. "Briar wha-"
"Shh." He cooed. Tris brought a blanket. Brair took it from her covering Sandry. He placed one of the couches large cushions behind her head. Taking a bottle from his kit he poured some onto each of her eyelids. It burned like hot wax, or was it cold wax? The pictures in front of her danced before her eyes. The next thing Sandry knew was that the world went black.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
A/N: What do you think? I had to do an explanation of the presence so here we go. The thing with Sandry was just for fun. Hope you like it! Review! Even if its just to say that you read my story! Even if you hated it! Tell me what you think!