Part 4: Cracks

Three days had passed, and she was still no closer to any answers.  Fallsenia was frustrated, an unfamiliar emotion to the normally carefree fairy.  She could tell that the prophecy her mother had penned was unfinished, making it even more dangerous.  But prophecies also tended to have a way of coming true, completed or not.  Arvin had kept her company, made sure that she ate when she needed to, and slept when the sky was darkest.  He was away at the library right now, consulting with Verseau to find the best tomes to try and decode at least some parts of the scribbles.

And she had become so absorbed in the riddle of her mother’s journal that she had completely forgotten the choice she was expected to make between the guilds.  That was at least until Fallsenia received a letter of Summons from her uncle.  It wasn’t until that evening and she had just finished a late breakfast of moonberry tea and pancakes.  There was still a lot she had to consider about each of the three guilds… but she hadn't had the chance to tour all of them yet.  There was still the Healers’ guild, an Alchemy guild affiliated with the Court of the Uncanny, the Forgers who worked with the Tinkerers’ Court, a Botany guild, and the Elementalists’ guild.  But something must have happened for Oberon to ask her choice before she had finished seeing what she could.  

Smoothing out a page in her own journal, she glanced once more at her mother’s journal before adding pages to her own.

The Creation Guild offers me tools that could be invaluable.  I’ve seen them make tools to scry the stars and potions to heal wounds.  I’ve heard quite a few stories of the mythic weapons and armor they’ve made to preserve life and limb.  It would give me the ability to make some valuable currency to barter with, and I would be able to seek out a great number of secrets.  That certainly has its appeal.  But there are at least two downsides that I can think of.  One, there is a great danger to life and limb if anything is out of alignment or goes wrong.  We saw that at the guild.  But that doesn’t concern me too much.  What does is that I could be tied down to one place for days, weeks, even months.  Some of the magics require constant observation and adjustment, especially the more powerful incantations.  But the trade-off may just be worth it…

Then there is the Evocation Guild.  Uncle Oberon taught me a little bit of it before I even went, and it certainly has quite a bit of appeal.  Learning the more powerful offensive and defensive magics would allow me to go out on my own, and I could more easily pursue rumors and stories.  And I’d certainly be able to get myself out of trouble more easily.  I could also find my way onto one of the aetherships, since those hire Evocation mages to shield the ships against the void of space.  But Uncle also warned me that there’s a danger the guild doesn’t speak very much about.  It’s why he doesn’t go into battle often unless there’s a dire need.  Directing flows of magic that powerful can be addicting, and some practitioners don’t know when to stop.  He told me a story of someone who went rogue, seeking out stronger and more powerful foes.  Until he ultimately channeled too much magic through himself and… well, essentially dissolved into it.  You become lost to the magic.  

And finally, the Auspice Guild.  Being able to divine the future could be very useful, though sometimes the readings can be murky.  There’s quite a number of examples of people not understanding their prophecies until after they happened.  But I could learn to focus on certain things, certain people.  I might be able to find my mother.  Auspice mages also learn how to plot courses by the stars, and even to shorten travel routes by those courses.  It would take me some time to learn, but being able to star-jump from place to place, that opens up all kinds of possibilities.  The aetherships hire Auspice mages too, so I’d have a lot of freedom to travel around.  But there are dangers too, as with the other guilds.  There are tales of Auspice mages becoming so enamored with the futures that they divine, they forget to take care of themselves in the here and now.  I’ve also heard tales of diviners gone mad, either from a glimpse of possible futures, or just knowing too much.  There are also a few like… like my mother, who simply up and disappear.  

Ach!  I can’t pick…  I’ll have to think about it on the way to Uncle’s court summons. If I leave now, I’ll have some time to wander and think about what I want to do.

Closing the journal, she felt a little better after writing out some of her wayward thoughts.  Fallsenia shoved her journal, her mother’s, and her uncle’s invitation into a messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder.  She still had some spare time before she had to attend court, and Fallsenia could think of several quiet little nooks she could sit and think in before giving her uncle an answer.

But even if she had found an answer, the acorn fairy would have gotten it the moment she stepped outside.  The whole sky just looked… wrong.  The stars and moons were still there, but the positions were all wrong.  By this time of day, the sun should have been overhead, but Fallsenia could see it barely peeking over the horizon.  And why was there a green comet crossing the sky?  She blinked, and it cleared.  Everything was normal again. The fairy looked around, utterly confused.  Arvin came running up then, finally.  “Oh don’t worry, the sky’s been… blinking?  Changing?  No one really knows what to call it.  Just started this morning.  Your uncle’s called all the Guild heads, and you I think,” he said quickly and in one breath.  All Fallsenia could do was nod.  She was baffled, nothing in her memory matched what had just happened.  Then she remembered the cosmic imbalance that her uncle had tasked her in learning about.  Was this a part of it?

The pair were silent as they made their way towards Oberon’s court, and Fallsenia noted that the stream of people was growing into a river the closer they got.  It seemed like all the courts had been summoned.  If the sky was blinking over Capella, then what was happening to the other realms?  One of the guards noticed her, and made a path for Fallsenia and Arvin to head into the Inner Court.  Serkan’s voice could be heard over the murmur of the crowd, and she caught enough of his words to become concerned.  “I saw the sky here, and sometimes it’s doin’ the same in the Fellwood.  Other times, the rivers will start running the wrong way.  And we’ve started finding strange animals, similar to what’s normally found but just different enough that we know they’re not native.  Toads with fangs, deer with an ability for mimicry, things like that.  We’re keeping things contained as best we can… but the people know something’s wrong.  And none of us have got any answers,” the Redcap concluded, stepping back from the dias. 

Her uncle actually looked worried.  She had seen puzzled, concerned and baffled, but worried was a new one.  Oberon’s brows were furrowed nearly together, and Fallenia could tell that he was trying to make a pattern of the information.  For an hour more, the other courts presented information, and while nothing was alike, everything followed a similar theme.  Familiar things in unfamiliar patterns.  Suddenly Fallsenia had the realization that her choice of the Court of Stars had been a lucky one, given that many of its members looked for patterns among the chaos.  Waiting until most had left to wait outside, she approached her uncle.  Oberon’s eyes softened and he gave her a tired smile.  “I am sorry to interrupt your tour of Capella… but as you see, things have changed.  From what you’ve seen, can you give one of the guilds your answer by morning?” he asked, and Fallsenia nodded.  At least that much, she was certain she could decide.