Darkthorn’s Blog

Blackmain entered the house, opening his mind to feel the comforting warmth of the protection charms vesting for his identity.

~ Where are you? ~

~ Come to me. The stillroom. ~

~ Yes. ~

The stillroom had yet more charms, only those Ishton had expressly allowed inside could enter. Blackmain wondered what could have been so important for Ishton to ‘call’ him. Blackmain found it easier to converse in his mind.

~ What have you found? ~

~ Come. Listen. ~

Ishton had pulled the table out of the way, and was standing in the middle of the room, feet firmly planted on the ground. His eyes were closed, and he swayed slightly. Blackmain waited for him to notice his presence, but then realized that Ishton was too absorbed in his chant to notice. Blackmain quickly set up his own circle, stepping into his own private world before merging with Ishton. It was important he was grounded first, those thoughts of June had no place here. Slowly, the real world faded away and Blackmain stood in the middle of a city. Time was rewinding, Ishton must have been controlling the flow. Blackmain sent a wave of gratitude at his friend. Although his control was good, it wasn’t nearly as focused as Ishton’s. A lifetime of training the human mind was nothing compared to an elf’s centuries of wisdom.

Blackmain focused on the people around him. Ishton was standing a little ahead of him.

~ Where to now? Where are we? ~

~ We are far in the past. Follow me quickly, or we will have missed it again. ~

Ishton moved ahead, gliding through the transparent people. The two men appeared to be headed for the worse parts of the ethereal town. A woman leapt from a building, a man sat blindly in the gutter, begging. The sense of hopelessness was tangible, Blackmain wouldn’t have been surprised if their movements were relatively slow. The sounds of a heated argument drifted out into the air, and Ishton paused the replay.

“You come here, court me, and then leave me pregnant. You told me you were sterile, that’s why there aren’t any children to inherit you kingdom.”

A softer male voice spoke. “Quiet my love…”

“Don’t you ‘my love’ me. I’m the one who will bear this bastard child. No recognition to be hoped for. Wouldn’t want to admit your lovely wife is lacking, just for the sake of a poor washer woman. Too high and mighty her influence on you is. Anyone would think she had a charm over you.”

“No, that isn’t true. I love you. I don’t have a choice. I would be put to death if anyone knew of our affair.”

Suddenly the image began to break up, and the words became disembodied, floating on the still air. Blackmain held his breath. They were so close to the truth, what was stopping it?

“Yes, you would. And I could be grateful. But it’s too late now, I’m pregnant with your bastard son.”

“Son? It is a boy? The heir to my kingdom is born?”

“You shall never see the child. I shall name him for my father. If you had taken the time to know me, if you really loved me, you would have known him in the future. You shall die alone, and unhappy. Your kingdom will fall to your brother, the people will fall.” The woman wept quietly. “All shall be lost, until the next is born.”

The image shattered and Blackmain snapped out of his trance to see Ishton reeling. What had happened? Ishton tried to sit down, but Blackmain forced him to stay standing.

~ We must finish this. ~

~Tired. Backlash. ~

~ I know. I felt it too. ~

Blackmain reached out mentally and took Ishton’s ‘hand’. All of the strength of their long partnership rushed in, fortifying the bond. It was a good thing Blackmain had his physical strength to draw on, mental strength wouldn’t be enough. He forced more in, until Ishton was able to stand.

~ That is enough. You must stop. ~

Blackmain let the flow become a trickle. He disengaged from the sending, but continued to stay in contact with Ishton. He found himself hoping that June had produced the midday meal, food was a good option right now.

The chalk circles had been obliterated by the backlash, but the residual energy was still there. Blackmain carefully probed with his mind to find that Ishton had almost finished removing the links to the city. It looked like they had gotten all they could out of that place, now it appeared to be warded. This would take a lot more thought.