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55th of Fall, 519
The halls of the Dusk Tower were quiet that morning. Madeira’s footsteps echoed hollowly in the Tower's twisting marble staircase. The classroom that branched to either side were whisper quiet, if they were occupied at all. Attendance had been dropping since the mage symbol appeared on every magic users door in the spring, but the Crone's murder had been the final push. They no longer felt safe leaving their homes.
Madeira stopped for a moment at one of the tall crystal windows to dab at her forehead with a handkerchief. The window was cracked open to try and coax in some cooler air, but all that came was the scorched smell of the dying garden far below.
What a mess.
Madeira sighed through her nose, a sound equally frustrated and defeated. It felt like this perfect, shining city has been falling apart since the moment she arrived a year ago. The diamond surface was cracking to show something ugly and diseased beneath. First the Penrose attack, then the marks, now the murders. The city was running on paranoia and suspicion, with a neat line down the middle that separated the civilians and the elites. She didn't know the Dawn woman who had died last season. She couldn't even remember her name; she only remembered the thrill of fear hearing the news, and realizing that the killer had penetrated the impenetrable towers. The Crone, however, she had met once. Met and immediately disliked, but she knew someone who will have felt this development much more deeply. Her thoughts turned to the gentle, pure Dev'ania before she shook them off.
If the Tower's here impenetrable, then the Crone could have been on the moon for how accessible she was. That old witch knew things she most certainly shouldn't, and had insights that had rattled the Spiritist like a maraca. More than that, her very house could vanish on command. She only had to let people inside if she wanted to speak to them, and she only spoke to them after vetting them in some mysterious, magical way. Who was this murderer, who could overcome all that?
The question unsettled her more than she was willing to admit. Eleana, Dawn and The Crone were all big names in the community. Big names like she hoped to have soon. And if this killer could get into the Lonely Shack, could they get into the Infinity Manor? Was her family safe here?
Madeira's head snapped up and she slapped colour back into her cheeks. No, it was fine. Everything was going to be okay. She was one of hundreds investigating these murders. And right now she had a job to do.
Full of new fire Madeira stomped up the last few flights of stairs, to one of the last classrooms at the very top. Her classroom, where she met with her small group of six Dusk alumni.
She threw the door open with dramatic flare and breezed inside in a swirl of blue cotton and flashing jewels. Her smile was a bright, welcoming thing that always seemed to make her students nervous.
"Good morning class!"
But that smile died on her lips as soon as it was born, and her expressively extended arms fell back to her side. The classroom was empty.
WC: 547
Madeira stopped for a moment at one of the tall crystal windows to dab at her forehead with a handkerchief. The window was cracked open to try and coax in some cooler air, but all that came was the scorched smell of the dying garden far below.
What a mess.
Madeira sighed through her nose, a sound equally frustrated and defeated. It felt like this perfect, shining city has been falling apart since the moment she arrived a year ago. The diamond surface was cracking to show something ugly and diseased beneath. First the Penrose attack, then the marks, now the murders. The city was running on paranoia and suspicion, with a neat line down the middle that separated the civilians and the elites. She didn't know the Dawn woman who had died last season. She couldn't even remember her name; she only remembered the thrill of fear hearing the news, and realizing that the killer had penetrated the impenetrable towers. The Crone, however, she had met once. Met and immediately disliked, but she knew someone who will have felt this development much more deeply. Her thoughts turned to the gentle, pure Dev'ania before she shook them off.
If the Tower's here impenetrable, then the Crone could have been on the moon for how accessible she was. That old witch knew things she most certainly shouldn't, and had insights that had rattled the Spiritist like a maraca. More than that, her very house could vanish on command. She only had to let people inside if she wanted to speak to them, and she only spoke to them after vetting them in some mysterious, magical way. Who was this murderer, who could overcome all that?
The question unsettled her more than she was willing to admit. Eleana, Dawn and The Crone were all big names in the community. Big names like she hoped to have soon. And if this killer could get into the Lonely Shack, could they get into the Infinity Manor? Was her family safe here?
Madeira's head snapped up and she slapped colour back into her cheeks. No, it was fine. Everything was going to be okay. She was one of hundreds investigating these murders. And right now she had a job to do.
Full of new fire Madeira stomped up the last few flights of stairs, to one of the last classrooms at the very top. Her classroom, where she met with her small group of six Dusk alumni.
She threw the door open with dramatic flare and breezed inside in a swirl of blue cotton and flashing jewels. Her smile was a bright, welcoming thing that always seemed to make her students nervous.
"Good morning class!"
But that smile died on her lips as soon as it was born, and her expressively extended arms fell back to her side. The classroom was empty.
WC: 547
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