I glanced at the other two. Amber seemed as surprised as I was, while uncle gave me a nod, showing I should answer. I hesitated before I opened it. “Hello, anyone there?” I didn’t get a response, but I saw a hunched and cloaked silhouette as lightning flashed. The silhouette, seeing the door opening, collapsed in a pile on the ground.

I hesitated for a few more seconds before I opened the door and carried the soaked bundle inside. The hood fell off, revealing the face of a Beast-kin woman. Many cuts and bruises covered her face and arms, and several nasty wounds littered her torso. It amazed me she could stand, let alone remain conscious long enough to get help, given her current state.

I carried over to the fireplace and put her down. “Amber, she’s hurt and needs health potions.” Amber ran into our bedroom to grab her portable alchemy kit. “Uncle, can you do something?” He hurried over then, and as he looked at the unconscious beast-kin, he flinched.

“Uncle?” He knelt down beside me and examined the wounds. “Is that… who did this to her?” Uncle kept his examination brief, then stood while shaking his head in disbelief before he left to help Amber.

Amber returned with her kit and ingredients a few minutes later. “Just give me ten minutes, and I will fix her right up.” She was in her right element when it involved alchemy. “I’ll just clean the wounds while you brew.” Amber didn’t respond. Her work demanded her full attention.

As I washed her wounds, I noticed a peculiar pattern on her stomach, that one wound had destroyed. “Uncle, could you look at this?” Uncle stopped sorting the ingredients and hurried over as I gestured towards the sigil. “What in Rubolg’s name?” He touched the sigil and flinched back.

“Impossible…” He rose, earning curious glances from me and Amber. “I need to check something. You two STAY INSIDE and don’t open the door for anyone until I return, understood?” Before we could respond to his demand, he marched out the door, leaving me and Amber dumbfounded.

Amber added another ingredient into the mixture. “Considering his reaction, we should remove the sigil before patching her up completely.” Amber’s assessment was sound. Since it freaked uncle out, it had to go. However, touching the sigil when we didn’t know what it was seemed ill-advised, since it could be bad news.

Now I wished uncle hadn’t stormed off. Well, since I didn’t have an alternative, I would have to remove the sigil myself. However, I should identify it first, since going in blind was asking or trouble. “Common you strange little thing, show me your secrets, [Appraise].” A window with information about the sigil appeared.

Magical Tattoo Identification Successful.

Name: Sigil of the Mental Void

Magic Type: Sigil/Glyph

Sigil Type: Curse

Effect: Lowers maximum ŕ̸̰ę̸͓̼̦̈̊͊ş̵̌ì̵͔̜̐̕s̶̳͉͓̖̍̆t̸̠̫̟́̀́̐͜ä̶̦́͗̚n̵̲̫͌̈́͝͝c̷̡̣͕̉̐͛ẻ̸̠̈͛ to Void-based magic ȩ̸̵̸̵̵̵̶̗̂͝f̸̷̶̸̶̸͈́͝f̸̴̷̷̶̸̴̛̦̰̍e̷̶̶̶̴̸̳͌̽c̵̶̶̷̶̶͖̎́t̶̶̵̸̵̶̴̡̤̏̎s̵̶̶̴̴̬͝ over time, á̵̷̶̴̴̷͕͖ṅ̶̷̸̶̸̸̸͖̅͜d̴̴̴̴̸̷͙͖̋ ̶̵̸̷̴̸̪̿͐p̸̷̴̶̷̴͇͓̓r̷̸̵̵̸̵͔̀͘o̴̴̶̵̴̷̯̠͆l̸̸̴̴̶̶̶̳̞̆̓o̸̵̸̸̴̷̶͆̌ͅͅṇ̴̶̴̷̴̷̔̐ġ̶̷̵̸̷̴̵̭̺̈́s̷̸̸̵̸̵̓́ͅ ̶̸̶̶̷̶̛̗͛ŝ̸̵̶̷̵̶̰͎u̷̴̸̸̵̷̥̜̓ć̵̶̸̵̷̷̪͔h̸̵̷̶̴̷̘̱͝ ̸̶̵̵̴̷̙̋̑ḙ̵̴̴̶̵̿f̵̵̵̴̶̟̽f̸̷̴̴̸̵̸͇͈͑̃ë̴̴̷̶̶̶̗͜c̸̸̵̷̶̴̶̜̖̓̀t̶̶̴̴̴̸̵͍̳̽̇s̶̶̸̴̸̫͊ ̷̵̷̷̴̵̛͙͝ḟ̸̶̵̷̸̷̶̰̘́ò̴̴̷̶̶̸̳̊r̴̴̴̵̸̸͕͉̍ ̸̷̷̸̸̷̸̜̗͂̆a̷̷̵̸̷̵̵̙̰̋̕n̶̴̴̵̸̡̒ ̶̸̵̵̸̶̵̪̰̒̾ï̷̴̵̵̴̶̵̝͉̌n̶̶̸̸̶̶̠̤͌d̶̸̴̶̶̷̷͍̦̅͐ȩ̷̶̵̴̵̸̬̈f̶̵̵̶̵̸̨̎ͅi̵̷̸̸̴̶̛̲̩n̸̴̴̵̵̞͌í̶̶̷̵̶̷̹̰t̸̸̸̶̷̗͂e duration. Š̴̷̸̵̵̼ẖ̸̸̸̷̵̸̶̛̝̂o̶̵̸̷̵̴̸̩͇̕̚u̷̵̴̶̷̶̷̧̱͋͌l̵̷̸̵̷͈͗d̶̷̷̵̵͚̑ ̴̶̵̵̴̵̮̫͠ť̷̸̴̸̵͍h̴̷̷̸̷̼̊e sigil b̶̶̴̵̴̫͑è̴̸̴̶̶̶̷͓͕̕ destroyed, ̴̶̴̸̸̴̣͋͗ ̷̴̷̸̷̴̶͓̪̐̕í̶̸̵̴̷͈t̵̸̴̵̷̶͚̫̋ ̵̴̸̸̶̵͕̯̈́w̷̷̶̵̷̡̓i̸̶̸̴̷̷̖͔̎l̴̶̸̷̵̷̥̰̽l̶̵̷̴̴̵̸̘͍̇͌ ̶̴̷̴̷̵̴͈̟̑̈h̴̶̷̷̶̷͈̆ͅấ̷̸̵̶̴̴̦v̷̴̶̷̴̵̟̈́́ḙ̸̵̴̵̴̵̡̋ ̵̵̶̷̶̶̴̭̫̐̕t̷̵̴̶̸̶̶̙̣̂͘h̸̵̸̷̸̵̷̲͔̽̚ě̸̴̸̴̴̶̖̀ ̷̸̴̶̷̵̸̧̹̃͑r̷̴̸̸̷̥̂ě̷̵̷̷̸̵̺̌v̸̷̴̷̶̵̴̙̙̓͐ë̴̴̶̵̷̶͔̬r̷̵̸̷̷̸̮̔ͅş̸̶̷̸̸̷̵̲̀́e̸̸̷̴̷̴͉̹͝ ̵̵̴̵̷̜̋ȇ̵̵̸̸̸̵̼͝f̷̴̶̸̴̷̻̐̐f̶̷̸̷̴̸̹̐͊ẽ̵̵̵̴̸̪c̵̵̶̵̶̵̟̑̚t̵̶̷̸̴̷̩́̃ ̸̵̶̸̷̵͉̈ͅf̸̶̴̶̷̛̯o̸̸̸̶̸̴̩͇̎r̷̵̸̵̵̸͕̃ͅr twenty-four hours. Prolonged ê̸̴̵̷̷̠̭̝̠͊̓̈́̐͜x̷̸̸̷̸̡̤͖͖̥̃̈́̇̑̑p̴̵̵̸̵̧͔̰͍̱̈́͗̒̀̿ö̵̵̸̴̴͎̹̞̮̥́̓̐̉͑s̴̷̸̴̵͖͙̜͖̰͊̋̅̂̏u̷̵̷̶̸͍̞̳̣͔͑̾̀͗̔r̵̷̷̷̸̦̙̯̝̹̉͛͊̈̇e̶̶̵̴̴̪̙̹̺̞͛̽͆̅͌ to the sigil can lead to m̷̷̴̸̶̴̵̴̴̷̷̷̴̵̵̸̶̵̷̴̵̪̦̬͚̜̟̠̭̥̲̻͔̙̼͕̬͖̟͉̖͓̽͋̊̌́͊̉̎̎̓̏́̅͛̏͌̈́̇̏̀͠ẫ̵̶̴̸̸̷̷̵̸̷̸̵̶̶̶̸̵̵̴̷̸̡̢̡̛̲̩͖͙͍̹̖̞̪͖̖͚͇̱̯̳̞̑̿́̍͒͂̔̊̌̋̓͑̚͘͘̚͘̚͜d̸̷̷̷̸̸̸̵̵̵̶̸̷̵̴̵̷̵̷̶̴̪̼̭͎̜̖̠͎̗̱̙̯͎̫͎͈̫͖͉͇̎̓̐̀̎́͑̐͗̓̎̓̂͐̏͛̍͐̕͘̕͜n̶̸̸̵̴̸̴̶̸̷̵̴̶̵̷̷̸̶̸̶̴̢̡̨̛͙͇̳̟̖̖͙̯̺̟̘̘̭̝̮̖̥̞̈̓̄͐̐̎͐͋̊͋̒̔̎̽͊̆̍̂͘͝ë̵̴̷̷̶̷̶̵̸̷̸̵̶̵̶̸̵̵̶̸̶̛̯͔̭͉̥̰͇̥͈͓̠̭̜͔̣̹͖̲͇̙̠̈́̒͛̍̂̔̍̋̔̓͊̈̅͗͛̽̀̐̚s̸̷̸̶̵̵̸̷̸̵̵̵̵̴̷̵̴̵̵̸̶̢̡̨̖̹̭̤̯͇͉̦͓͔̮̜̠͖̠̀́͐͛̊̀̿͆́́̓͒̏͑͋̂͐̑̈́́̕͜ͅͅs̴̵̸̷̴̷̷̵̵̴̶̸̸̷̸̴̵̶̵̶̷̢̛̛̭̰͍͕͖̬̹͖͇̞̹̫̠̫͈̫̻̲͕͗́̊̽̎̆̊̈́̈́̈́̃͐̊̀̽͌̈͌̚ͅ. Do not dispel the sigil without the use of Alkahest, since dispel attempts can spread the effect to others without it.

O̸̬̩̹͗͒̾r̸̦̱̳͌̔́ì̴̻̺̘̪͗͋̂g̸̨̛̟̲í̶͉̫͎͘n̸̡̨̳̿́̑̒:̴̢͉̗̱̎͛̿ Void Magic

WARNING: Void Magic has been banned since the First Void War, and the usage of such accursed magics carries a death sentence world-wide.

What in Rubolg’s… What was wrong with my appraisal? Not to mention, what kind of suicidal nut job would go around casting Void Magic? Hmm, better question, where had the nut job learned Void Magic? The void was destroyed in the 2nd Void War. It didn’t exist anymore, so how? “Madness...” I shook my head in disbelief

I turned towards Amber, now with a serious expression. “Hey Amber, we’re going to need some Alkahest for this damnable thing.” Amber almost dropped the beaker she was holding. “Alkahest, why would, no wait, I can guess, the sigil’s bad news, isn’t it?” I gave a helpless chuckle as I turned back to the task at hand.

“A severe understatement, I’m afraid. It’s Void Magic.” This time, Amber dropped the spoon she was holding as she spun around and stared for a moment, before she resumed working. “I’ll get to it as soon as I finish the potion. Mind grabbing the ingredients I need to dilute it once you’re done?” I picked up the spoon she dropped and handed it to her before I resumed cleaning the wounds.

These lacerations were bad. It was like someone had tried to torture her to death, given the sheer number of shallow slashes. It wasn’t until I reached her hands that I realized some of those wounds might be self-inflicted, as her claws were covered in dried blood. “Amber, how’s that healing potion coming along?” I cast her with an inquisitive glance.

“Won’t be long now, just give me a minute. Focus on cleaning the damn wounds. This potion won’t do anything if the wounds fester after closing.” As I resumed cleaning, I couldn’t help but wonder. Had she been tortured, attempted suicide or, and I shuddered thinking about it, had someone forced her to torture herself?

I pushed the thought aside as I hurried into the bedroom and fetched what Amber needed to dilute the Alkahest. If we weren’t careful, we’d dissolve the beast-kin and the sigil. It wasn’t known as “Universal Solvent” for nothing.

With the wounds taken care of, I had nothing else to do but wait. “You think uncle left to hunt down whomever made the sigil?” Amber shrugged. By now, her kit was giving off the unmistakable acrid scent of Alkahest. It’s stinging vapors enough to make my eyes water.

Amber turned around, holding a beaker. “Just a few drops now…” she tilted the beaker with great care and dropped three drops onto the ruined sigil. A foul-smelling black smoke rose from the sigil as the drops landed and spread across it. Then, after mere seconds, the sigil and smoke faded to nothingness, leaving only irritated skin behind.

Amber returned the beaker to the portable kit, then handed me the potion. “You do it, Ashes, I’m still all nerves from the Alkahest.” I took it and gave it an experimental swirl. “Sure, mind holding her head steady as I use it?” Amber knelt and placed the woman’s head on her lap.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, then I took the offered dropper and put a few drops of healing potion into her half-closed mouth. Instantly, her pale skin looked healthier and several smaller bruises faded away. Another round and the woman stirred. She winced in pain and her eyes shot open. “Hey, are you-” I didn’t get further before she lashed out at me, missing by less than an inch.

She bolted into a sitting position, then winced in pain as her half-closed wound began bleeding again. She then seemed to take notice of her surroundings. “Where am I and who are you?” Her claws were out by this point, and her tail was bristling.

I shouldn’t antagonize her in her current state, since, If those wounds reopened, they could prove fatal. “You’re in our portable cabin. You knocked on the door, then collapsed, don’t you remember?” She shook her head, then winced again.

She seemed calmer, now, though, less agitated. “Look, your wounds aren’t closed since you lashed out as I was feeding you this healing potion. Would you mind drinking the rest of it?” I held out the potion, and the woman took it. Then mumbled something, smiled and gulped it down. “Thanks, whoever you are. Pardon my lack of manners. My mind’s been fogged for… I don’t know, days, weeks? It’s all a blur.”

Her smile faded, and her expression grew serious as she spoke. “So where am I, anyway?” Amber and I looked at one another. “We aren’t sure of our exact location. This is our first trip onto the plains, and it’s my uncle who handles navigation. However, he stormed off after seeing the sigil on your stomach.”

Her expression grew puzzled and worried gazed towards her stomach, which was still irritated from the Alkahest. “What Sigil? I see nothing there.” Amber patted her arm to reassure her. “We removed it with Alkahest before we healed you, since it seemed like bad news.” She handed the woman another healing potion, which she quaffed after another whisper. It would seem she was identifying it, a prudent choice, given the situation.

She was clueless, or a great actor. Regardless, it was better to remain honest. I hoped anyway. “You were marked with a strange Sigil. What the effects were eluded me, as I couldn’t identify it, but I could see the sigil was Void Magic.” It wasn’t surprising that the moment I mentioned the sigil’s origin, she almost choked on the potion.

After recovering from her coughing fit, she glared at both of us. The, sighed, and swallowed the remaining potion, now sporting a serious and dour expression. As she finished the potion and slammed the beaker onto the table, she seemed to flinch for a second and blushed. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Nari, of the Nighthunter Tribe. Thank you for saving me, both of you.” She gave a slight bow, as her serious expression broke into a slight smile that softened her demeanor.

Amber grinned widely as she jumped on top of a chair. “I’m Amber, nice to meet you, and this here is my best friend, Keari!” Amber was rather open around Nari, especially considering we knew next to nothing about her. Well, considering how we both had felt since finding that wrecked camp, I guess it was an improvement?

Either way, Nari might be healed, but she was still drenched. “Amber, mind cooking up some soup while I get Nari some new clothes? Nari blinked a few times and examined the state of her clothes. The torn clothes hardly protected her modesty and left nothing to one’s imagination. Her reaction to her state of undress was predictable.

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Amber hopped off the chair and scrambled to clean up her kit, only slowing when she had to dispose of the Alkahest. “Once I finish cleaning, I’ll cook up a delicious soup.” I nodded and motioned for Nari to follow me into the bedroom for a change of clothes.

About half an hour later, we were eagerly devouring Amber’s soup. It was a decent vegetable soup, piping hot and delicious. Amber and Nari were currently discussing some finer points of Alchemy, while I was just enjoying the food. Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside.

Someone tried to open the front door, but it didn’t budge. Moor had apparently sealed it shut when he left. This attempt at opening the door was followed by a loud hammering. I shot both Amber and Nari a sideways gaze. “Amber, take Nari and hide.”

I grabbed the plates and hurriedly cleaned them up and hid them away in the cupboard. Then shot Amber a glare as she sat there frozen. Finally, she nodded and pulled Nari into uncle’s room. The hammering on the door intensified to an obvious attempt at breaking it open. Once the door shut behind Amber and Nari, I grabbed the nearby bookshelf and braced myself. “Com’on Keari, you can do this…” Slowly I dragged it in front of the doorway, hiding it completely.

There was an explosion, followed by raining wood splinters. I turned towards the entryway. Outside was a pair of wolf Beast-kin, flanking a cloaked woman. The woman stepped forward, but stopped at the threshold, while smiling in my direction. “Come, girl, won’t you invite a weary traveler inside?”

My first notion was to do as she suggested, instead I settled for staring at her with an incredulous expression. “What brain-dead moron would invite someone who just blasted their front door inside?” The woman’s sickly sweet smile faded. “Another strong-willed one, just my luck. Subdue her, she might know where our runaway went.”

The two beast-kin advanced without a word. I didn’t wait, but struck first, and lead beast-kin staggered back from my brutal, preemptive right hook. Three horrible slashes marred his face from where Insult had connected. The second lunged for me, but I dodged by an inch. “Come now, don’t fight, girl, you’re just tiring yourself out and might stumble.”

I staggered as I suddenly found myself momentarily unwilling to fight and exhausted. I shook my head, and the feelings passed, but the damage was done. My attack missed, sending me off-balance, and the two Beast-kin jumped me before I could recover.

The Beast-kin dragged me outside and made me kneel in front of the woman. She reached down and cupped my cheek. “Who are you?” The question was a whisper, but drowned out everything else, everything, save the need to answer. “Keari.” The answer pleased her. I could feel it, and serene happiness filled my mind. “Keari, such a strange name, tell me-” She never finished the sentence. A distant flash of light and rolling rumble interrupted her next words.

“Mistress, that’s the direction of the rear guard.” One of the Beast-kin reported. The woman nodded. “Keari, I have questions for you, but I can’t ask them here. You will come with me, won’t you?” Her words echoed in my mind with a singular, undeniable, demand. Of course, I would. Anything else was unthinkable. The two Beast-kin released as I nodded, and I eagerly followed them into the darkening night. Everything else was so unimportant I quickly forgot about it.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I arrived back at the hut, my worst fears were realized. The door was destroyed by magic. Nothing else would have budged it after the seal I placed on it. By Rubolgs accursed axe, I shouldn’t have left them alone. I flinched as I noticed the bookshelf was moved. I pushed the thing aside with an impatient gesture and entered my bedroom. “Keari, Amber, are you in here?”

There was a shuffling noise inside the nightstand, and Amber peeked outside. “Moor, you’re here, thank Labyrinthia!” She hurried out from the nightstand and banged on the dresser. “Nari, we’re safe now.” Nari stepped outside, no longer marked by the accursed sigil. “Moor, it is you!” The moment she saw me, she embraced me, an embrace I returned. “I’m glad to see you two are alright, but, where’s Keari?”

Amber lowered her gaze. “We hid in here when they began breaking in, just like Keari said. There were sounds of something getting dragged, then a huge bang, then a quick scuffle, followed by muffled words.” Amber was crying as she spoke. However, there was good news from all this.

There was no corpse, so the attackers hadn’t killed her. That meant she was taken captive. Bad, but nothing I couldn’t handle given enough time. “So, they took her captive. Well, they will regret touching a single hair on her head, mark my words.” My fury was hard to ignite, but woe to those who did.

“You two, go to sleep, I’ll discover where Keari was taken soon.” The two gave tired smiles and, with grateful expressions, headed into the other bedroom. Meanwhile, I grabbed a silver tray, a mug of water, and arranged it on the kitchen table. Don’t worry, kiddo, your Uncle Mordred will find you, and kill them all.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The nice Lady was speaking, but I couldn’t make out the words. I didn’t need to. Her teachings would work better that way. I just needed to listen and obey, like all Her servants. Her hand cupped my cheek again and pulled upwards, so I looked up at Her from where I was kneeling.

“Keari, have you seen a female Tiger Beast-kin?” I nodded, eager to please Her. She smiled, and my heart soared. “Where did you see her?” I leapt at this opportunity to please Her. “She was inside when you arrived, hidden behind the bookshelf.” Her smile fell away, and I felt miserable.

I had made Her sad, this was horrible, nay a disaster, I had to make it up to her somehow! “I asked her to hide before you broke through and hid the doorway behind the bookshelf. It is all my fault, so please, punish me for disappointing you.” My confession would hopefully see me properly punished for disappointing Her.

The next moment, pain racked my body as strange tendrils of energy flew from the hand holding my cheek. My punishment, a fitting punishment for one so horrible as I, death was too good for me. I should remain in torment for eternity for my crime.

The pain stopped, and she released my cheek. “Be careful with that one, Izrah. I feel the fiery will of your newest puppet has merely been smothered, not extinguished. It is bolstered by some force I do not understand.” I ignored the speaker since their words didn’t matter to me, they were not Her words.

Izrah smiled down at me, then gave me a stinging backhand. “I have enough control to play with my new puppet as I see fit. Be grateful, Keari, for I forgive you.” Her voice was cold and uncaring. It didn’t matter to me, however, as I smiled up at her. The pain was deserved since I had disappointed Her, and meant nothing compared to having her attention and forgiveness.

Someone else arrived and said something utterly unimportant. Izrah stepped back, “No way, I claimed her, she’s mine!” She grabbed me by my hair and began dragging me out of the tent. “Your new puppet, Izrah? What of my wayward little plaything? Where is she?” Another voice cut through the tent. A melodious, beautiful voice that made me forget everything else just listening to it.

Izrah froze in place and stammered out an incoherent sentence. The woman who entered was, strange, regal, alluring, and beautiful beyond compare. She looked down at me and smiled warmly as she walked closer and shooed Izrah away from me. “Since you failed to bring my plaything back, I will be taking yours. Any objections?” Izrah clenched her fists, but then relaxed and bowed her head. “None, Mistress, I failed to return her, so this is what I deserve.”

The beautiful woman smiled down and cupped my cheek oh so gently. “You are mine now, dear. Tell me, what’s your name, little one?” Where Izrah’s voice drowned my thoughts using force, Mistress’ voice was a bog that my thoughts sank into and didn’t wish to emerge from.

So, when I told her my name, it wasn’t because I didn’t have a choice, but because her desires were mine. Since she desired to know my name, I desired to tell her. “My name is Keari, Mistress.” She nodded slowly, and a smile spread across her lovely face. “Good girl, Keari, such an obedient little thing you are.” She turned around and motioned for me to follow her. She was treating me like some kind of pet, and yet nothing could make me happier. To be Her pet, Her toy, just belonging to Her, was a privilege far beyond anything I had ever experienced.

Greater than… Than… I furrowed my brows. Something was… wrong? Mistress turned around and noticed my expression. “No, no, no Keari, you mustn’t think for yourself. You just need to obey me from now on, understood?” She caressed my cheek and my confused, willful thoughts sank back into that blissful quagmire where they belonged. “Yes, Mistress.”

She let go and inspected me with an intrigued expression. “Such a strong will you have, Keari. None has broken loose from my control that quickly before, even if it was only partially. I understand now, why Izrah was so keen on keeping you. If I can properly mark you, you will make an excellent and devoted enforcer of my desires, perhaps even more so than Izrah.” I didn’t understand what she meant, but deep down there was a nagging sensation. Something was wrong with all of this, terribly, terribly wrong.

I dismissed the nagging sensation and instead focused on paying full attention to Mistress, in case she had any orders for me. However, the sensation didn’t go away completely. Seeing my hesitation, Mistress paused. “Come along, pet, your lodgings await.” Mistress led me into another, far larger tent. The inside was lavish and far larger than the outside suggested.

In the center of the tent, standing on small plinths, sorted into two rows, were almost a dozen other people, their expressions vacant and glassy. They weren’t moving a muscle, not even breathing. I couldn’t tell what kind of magic they were under, but they were as motionless as stone.

Mistress stopped in front of a plinth, this one empty. She then turned to me, as if she considered something, before she smiled. “Oh, pay no attention to my collection, little puppet, it is of no concern to you.” The moment she spoke, I lost all interest in them and eagerly followed as she led me through the room and deeper into the strange tent.

This one had cages with people in it. Some were sitting there, smiling contently. Others had people in chains and who were sending Mistress hateful glares. Mistress stopped in front of an empty cage. “Get inside pet, and then go to sleep. Tomorrow, we will begin breaking you of your free will.”

Her words made the nagging sensation flare up again. However, her orders were paramount. I couldn’t question them, nor resist them. The moment I curled up on the small pile of straw inside the cage, I fell asleep, as if by magic.

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As I watched her fall asleep in the cage, I could still feel her resist my control, even while unconscious. Izrah had been constantly smothering her will, and it was easy to see why. If I took my mind off her for a moment, and she began fighting back against me subconsciously. I would have to make preparations to mark her, before my hold slipped entirely.

I left the tent and returned to my prize collection. The girl would sleep until sunrise, so I had a few hours to get everything ready, so I shod slip into something more useful for the work ahead. I stepped onto the only empty plinth and closed my eyes. “Arimia, open yourself to me.” A simple, but profound, command.

When I opened my eyes again and stepped off, I was now looking at my previous Vessel. Akali had great mana reserves and could dominate any mind in proximity to her. However, the creation of the ink I would need for the sigil required endurance and dexterity, something that she lacked. “Akali, sleep for now. I will wear you again soon.”

Akali’s eyes drifted close as I left my workbench. It would take a few hours to get everything ready, and time was of the essence. I might have lost my favorite toy, but this new capture had the potential to be more useful. So useful, I might take her as my thirteenth vessel, rather than Izrah.

Hmm, I better not get ahead of myself. This girl was far too slippery-minded for my liking. Keeping a hold on her mind was like trying to hold on to the memories of the dreams my vessels had. “Just you wait, my dear, I will make you into a fine servant indeed.” With that in mind, I began mixing the ink.

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As I sat at the kitchen table, I looked at Nari and Amber across from me. “Are you certain you cannot remember anything else?” Nari, shook her head silently. Amber had given her an alchemical concoction to allow her to remember what had transpired. The horrible truth was far worse than I had dared imagine.

Nari, along with several others, had been bewitched by this Pale Lady, and set upon their loved ones. The magic suppressing their wishes and emotions. The over the past week, Nari, the most resilient of those who had fallen for the spell, had been forced to commit one atrocity after another. “We will teach you how to be more than beasts by purging your bestial inclinations through violence and pain.” That was the excuse they were fed.

Nari was forced to maim and torture other members of her tribe and with inflict horrible pain and injuries to herself to weaken her resistance to their magic. It was during one of these torture sessions, her current minder had gotten overzealous. “Use your claws to cut away your sinful flesh.” And Nari had happily done as commanded until one slash damaged the sigil on her stomach.

“I am sorry I can’t be of more help.” Amber gave her a supportive hug. Even Amber’s potion couldn’t allow Nari to remember how she had escaped the camp afterwards, which meant that I had to resume my scrying as soon as possible. Keari was there, currently asleep, but how to get there, from here? One thing was certain, time was running out.