⚠️ Mentions of murder, actual murder, freaky medical stuff is implied, let me know if there's anything else ⚠️
5095 words
Masterlist
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
"I guess I have to face that in this awful place I shouldn't show a trace of doubt"
"But pulled against the grain, I feel a little pain the I would rather do without"
"I'd rather be free, free, free"
"Free, free, free, free, free, free from here."
-Escapism from Steven Universe
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
You knew anxiety was high. You practiced extensively with the people that were to aid you moving forward. You taught them how to stretch to be more flexible, how to build their endurance, how to dance, juggle, and throw a good punch. You showed them how you built your little trinkets so they could replicate it. You showed them everything their prosthetics could do. You took the necessary precautions to get ready for what awaited you. The anticipation of actually moving forward with doing it was eating you alive.
"We're going to travel to a place called the Shining Steppe. I told Nadia the last time I was in Vesuvia that I was going to be there around the time she wanted me to return. She insisted to have some of her men escort me safely."
"She really doesn't want anything happening to you." Ceri laughed bitterly. You didn't answer. You remembered your dream from many nights ago. You remembered it with no headache. Yet, the fact it gave you a headache at all in the first place let you know it was something you had forgotten long ago, now reclaimed. You didn't want to think of its implications and you weren't sure you wanted any more dreams like it.
"It'll get cold down there. That's why I've packed furs. We all stay close out there, no matter what."
The seven of you made your way to the exit of the Fortress. When you all were there, all the other inhabitants were waiting politely to see you off.
"Good luck. Do what you aim to." Vulgora patted your shoulder firmly. You didn't know how to respond. Other than farewells, it seems no one else had any idea of what to say as well. "We'll be ready for what you need us for when the time comes."
It took a minute to get familiar with the light of the sun. As you adjusted, you began the trek south. It was easier to travel and not get exhausted when you weren't isolated. Talking with your company made you forget about sore feet and burning legs.
After just two days of near constant movement you reached the destination. Snow covered the plains. The white blanket glittered and reflected the brilliant colors of the sky above. Frozen lakes were like a mirror to the swirling hues. It was beautiful here.
"How long do we wait?" Juniper seemed anxious.
"Judging by how untouched this area looks, we're ahead of Vesuvian troops. I can't imagine we'll be camping for longer than a night though." You looked for a tree. "Give me a moment to change. Our escorts can't see me like this. I'm going to be the Leveret from here on out. It's imperative you only ever refer to me as such. Slip ups can't happen. I am the Leveret and no one else."
It wasn't long after you got yourself in costume that an impressive fleet of cavalry came up over the horizon. Flags carrying the sigil of Vesuvia waved proudly. Your heart was in your throat and you could tell such was the same for the rest of your group. This was it. Everything you had talked about wasn't just words anymore.
They had brought extra horses with them. Even for those who've never rode a horse before, which included you, the mounts had no problem. It was as if they were so well trained, they didn't need to be directed at all. The way to Vesuvia was quiet. The light cavalry didn't speak to you. You didn't wasn't to speak to them. It felt a dangerous kind of weird to try and talk to the rest of your company. By the time you reached the city your throat was sticky from lack of use and you spent a good five minutes of the way to the Palace trying to fix that.
You were let go at the gates, where two heavily armed guards opened the large frames of metal. You ushered for your "accessories" to follow you up the large quantity of steps to the doors. Once you were close enough, you took notice of a woman of short and stocky stature. She was dressed in something similar to servant uniform, but it was noticeably of higher quality. Her features were overall round. Bright blue eyes watched you all approach and they seemed to glow through a thick mane of red curly hair.
"The Leveret and your back up. Welcome. Milady will be pleased that you're here so early." You don't remember ever seeing her before. You tried to remember the names and faces of all the servants. It made you feel more secure once you were in the Palace walls.
"It's quite nice to be here again."
The woman grabbed hold of the knocking rings hanging from the doors. With three powerful swings that created defending booms, the doors opened and you were all led inside. The way the doors shut behind you all felt like you had just been thrown in a cell.
"Does Countess Nadia want my presence immediately or shall I get me and my party settled?"
"Last I heard, you all have until dinner before you're summoned. Milady is aware you all just underwent a long journey and would want a moment to relax." More servants came around the corners of hallways. Looking at them next to this woman, you could tell she had higher status over them. They began to lead you all to the guest quarters and you briefly caught sight of Dhalia near Juniper.
You were given your usual guest room. The head servant woman was the one to let you into your room.
"So, what was the Shining Steppe like? That's so far down south." You were momentarily caught off guard by the question, the mask you wore prevented it from showing.
"My time down there was enjoyed. Snow around these areas is uncommon. It was a nice change of scenery."
"It must be nice, travelling so much."
"It is." You would rather make your journeys without the supernatural threats from the blending of the magical realms, but you didn't necessarily have a choice either.
"I'm Portia, by the way. I realized I didn't tell you my name when you arrived."
"I'll remember that."
You had time to yourself. You didn't feel quite safe to leave you room in search of the others. You remained in your room instead. You picked up a few instruments and gir some sun on your room's balcony. When it was time for dinner, you found out you would be dining seperate from those your brought with you. You were invited, which meant ordered, to eat with the Countess and your party was not. With the way things were going, you probably weren't going to see them until tomorrow.
Brilliant colors decorated the dining hall as usual. Only the Countess was in her chair when you arrived. As you sat down, you removed the lowered portion of your mask, your makeup already applied.
"I take it that travels went well?"
"Oh yes. Your stallions are well behaved, Countess." She hummed, liking the light praise. It didn't take long for the other two guests to arrive. Conversation was light and trivial until the third course.
"I just wanted to say, Leveret, how divine the craftsmanship of those false limbs." Nadia's comment surprised you.
"You've seen my misfits already?" That's what you decided to call them in this setting. To you deep down, they were still part of your family in the Fortress. That was all the more reason that to the Leveret they were people of no real significance outside of an art context.
"Yes, I have. My expectations from when you said you wanted to make replacements have been exceeded."
"Well now I'm interested." Doctor Devorak mused, a wide grin over his face.
"You'll see them in due time." You replied before turning your attention back on the Countess. "Respectfully, I drew inspiration from the late Count's own prosthetic arm. The sharp points and shining gold is quite captivating. Of course, I gave my work my own spin of creativity."
You didn't miss the way the atmosphere ever so slightly changed at the allusion to the former ruler of Vesuvia. Count Lucio. Now, anymore, his name was just part of rumors. You were just glad your mention of the man didn't sour to mood of supper permanently.
"I do suppose I can see a resemblance." The Countess trailed off and it seemed like she was going to add to that statement, yet she ultimately dropped the topic all together. "Your stage should be set in a days time."
"That's quite splendid. I'll begin rehearsals immediately."
Dinner came to an end and you were escorted back to your room. You were left on your own for the night. It took a while to actually feel tired. While you waited for drowsiness to find you, you sat out on the balcony of your room. You could overlook the gardens this way. The dark of night didn't allow you to see much, but that didn't matter. It let you feel like you weren't actually in the Palace. You found yourself nodding off in the patio chair, too exhausted to get up and go inside before you feel asleep.
"What makes you sure it's in the blood?"
"The blood vessels in the eyes burst. That's indication for sure."
"So you want me to make a blood thinner?"
"That's a good start for tests. I'm afraid leeches can only do so much." The room you were in was unnerving. It was dark and bathed in warm tones. You could clearly see medical supplies littered around. What looked like a well resided in the room's center. Gurneys were sloppily arranged around the rest of the floor. While you could clearly see and take in the location, the figure speaking to you was a shadowy haze, their voice indistinguishable.
A familiar noise of scurrying echoed out from the well. Plague beetles spilled out from the well and your scream was drowned out by them engulfing your body and all that was around you.
When the swarm cleared you found yourself, not in control of your actions again of course, almost yelling at the black form.
"It's not ethical! They're still alive!"
"You can't get anything of worth from the corpses." Your heart sank and a chill washed over you. You hated these dreams but every time you went through them you found yourself wanting to know everything they hinted to. What was this place? What was going on? Who were you talking to? Plague, some sort of surgery or something, blood, leeches...medicine from you apparently...
"But can't you sedate them?" Your voice was weak, like you were pleading more so than providing criticism.
"I can understand if you don't want to be here." A fireplace you hadn't noticed before surged suddenly. You stumbled and your back hit stone steps. You realized the fire was stretching out for you and you ran up the steps. Smoke from the flames clouded your vision and as you ran up the stairs the corridor seemed to elongate. When you finally emerged at the top of the stairs the floors were marble and the ceilings were high. You knew this place. You were in it now. Actually in it, where your real body was at least. This was the Palace.
Your head began to throb and you gripped either side of it. Not now. This can't happen now. You'll wake up in the palace and you can't start screaming in pain. You can't afford to have headaches here. No. No. No! No, damnit! Go away!
The pain didn't leave, but it didn't get worse. With that, you were out of control of your body again. Your arms went down to your sides and you walked down the halls. The sound of your shoes echoed down the empty corridors. Eventually, the sound of a pipe organ caught your attention. As you followed it you were actually able to forget about the pain. It lingered and couldn't be ignored, but it didn't hoard your focus. You were fighting it.
"Welcome." The doors in front of you opened on their own accord. A voice greeted you, and what felt like a gust of wind pushed you insid the room. This room was incomplete in your vision. Yet, what you could see of it made you believe it was some sort of parlor. The voice spike again but the words weren't clear. You didn't respond as the noise filled the room. It gave you no idea what the conversation was.
"What drew you to this place, (Name)?" You felt nauseous at heading your name and your head throbbed again briefly. The last time your name was said in a dream you had figured a previous connection to the Sorcerer. You willed the unease away. It was apparent to you now that all these dreams were pieces of memories now ready for you to reclaim. Moments before the three years you consciously recall were revealing themselves to you now. No matter what that meant you were going to find out about yourself, this is what you've wanted for a while.
"I wanted to be known for my pharmaceuticals. I know what my work can do but I have no means to get it out into the world. I come from a small village, I'd never achieve my dreams there." You paused and the.usic from the organ did to. "I can't imagine how difficult it can be to be in your position. Being in charge of so much is surely daunting to me. Yet, how much of what you do is irreversible? You have all the resources to fix whatever doesn't end well."
"Why do you ask such things?"
"I left everything behind. My family, my home. I took a leap of faith to come here." You looked down at your lap. "I'm afraid I don't feel like this worked out for me. I'm failing to be any help and I'm worried I sound selfish."
A hand caressed to bottom of your chin, lifting your face up and you felt your entire body go rigid to be face to face with the Countess. Nadia's eyes gleamed brightly with amusement. You knew the look well, only this time it seemed...softer? Not like malicious amusement that you were used to. This was genuine, human.
"You did what you had to do in order to get what you want. Taking the steps only gets you so far. Now you doubt yourself. You can't blame yourself for that, it's a poison of being human. Don't let yourself get deterred any further."
You jolted awake, an arm wildly swinging out as if to attempt to strike the Countess. Only, she wasn't in front of you. You weren't dreaming anymore. In one swift motion you lost you balance and fell out of the chair you had fallen asleep in. On the cold ground of the patio your headache made it's unwanted presence. Crawling and groaning, you made your way inside your room and rummaged frantically through your things for your headache treatments. You had a drinkable tonic, and you had co densed squares of medicine you could leave under the tongue to dissolve. Those squares were less drastic, and went into effect slower. Yet, that's what you needed, perhaps not what you wanted, but you couldn't afford to pass out from the potion again. Not here. You couldn't do anything you truly wanted here.
You took one last glance out your still open balcony. The position of the moon in the sky let you know it was roughly midnight. You didn't want to fall asleep again. You didn't want to dream again. You couldn't take another dream tonight. For a while you tried to sit in place in your room. Yet, after you finished writing down your dream, you had nothing meaningful to occupy yourself in. The darkness and quiet that creeped in immediately after was maddening.
Daringly, stupidly, foolishly, you opened the door to your room and great out into the hall. It was dark. The usual lights were out. You took your shoes off. Socks would be quieter. You knew guards would be patrolling. You didn't want them to know about you before you knew about them. The bells on your attire came off next. You never got out of costume. You wouldn't at all here if you could help it.
You could hear guards doing their rounds as you traveled. Their armor was cluncky and rang out down corridors. You could always find something to hide behind quickly enough before you risked being spotted. Just briefly, you wondered about finding the Cohntess' wing of the palace. If you could just get things over with now you could leave tomorrow. Grab your friends from the Fortress and go back home before the sunrise where her body would be found stabbed and bloody in her bed. No. You can't. You have a plan and it needs to be stuck to as best it can. Desperation and madness can't overtake you now. Not when you're so close. A staircase caught your attention. For some reason, even as the entire Palace was shrouded in darkness, that line of steps seemed darker. As you got close to it, it felt colder than the rest of the air. You thought about it. You didn't want to stray too far from your room. You've memorized what the Courtiers told you, but that didn't mean you were familiar with the Palace in reality.
Footsteps and the sound of armor clashing against itself made the decision for you. You bolted up the stairs on your tip toes. At the top of the staircase was a hallway that led to a singular room. This had to be a wing. Your feet were suddenly lead. It took a moment to realize there was no security here. This wing seemed abandoned. Why? Taking a deep breath you convinced yourself you were truly alone. You had the freedom to gather magic in your palm. A faint glowing orb grew through the fibers of your gloves. You could see the ground in front of you as you walked forward to the door.
You met no resistance as the doors opened. What you noted to be ash flew out at you as the door opened. Stepping inside the room you noticed that the entire room was coated in it. Torn curtains, desks, chests, and whatever else had a thick layer of ash over what was left of them. Rumor had it, that the Count had been set on fire. Some said it was a magical inferno, others claimed it to be done by a heartless madman.
Goosebumps prickled your arms. You knew where you were now. A faint groan blew cold air across your form and you spun on your heels. The light in your hand didn't reveal any source. Yet, the way you couldn't relax, you knew the feeling of being watched. Eyes on you were unmistakable, impossible to miss.
"Show yourself." The line of bravery and foolishness was a thin line. Anyone from the Fortress would say you used that line like a jump rope. When nothing responded to you, you found yourself better stepping into your body. Fear disguised as confidence let you do anything.
Something to the right of you shuffled and you through the orb of light in the direction, instantly conjuring a new one. A whimper took you by surprise. It was such a high pitched whine, and unmistakably belonging to an animal. Focusing, you willed the light in your hand to grow bigger, burn brighter.
White fur and a singular red eye gleamed in the presence of your magic. A borzoi dog had been hiding behind the Count's bed.
"Hey...hey, come here." Your voice dropped to a whisper so soft it almost didn't exist. The dog whimpered again emerging from its cover with its tail between its legs. You felt pity in the moment. The dog smelled your outstretched hand while keeping as much distance from you as it could. You noticed how thin and dirty it was. From the animals you've seen around the palace, they were well taken care of. The appearance of the canine in front of you made no sense.
Before you could think more, a second, slightly smaller dog crawled out from under the bed. Another white borzoi, just as thin and filthy.
"What are the two of you doing here, huh?"
Another chill shot down your back and a whisper blew into your ears. Just for a brief moment, the tails of the dogs wagged before returning to a symbol of fear. You turned around again.
"Show yourself." You said again. "I know you're there."
Silence.
"I know who you are!" You accused. "These are your dogs and you're the late Count. Count Lucio."
"That's doesn't mean much of anything, does it?" You weren't expecting to actually get a response. "Not anymore."
Slowly, a half-formed figure came into your vision. Half goat, half man. More like a goat with the anatomy of a man. Two legged, with hands, and uncanny ability to form expressions. Anthropomorphic was the best was to describe it. Sharp red eyes gazed upon you through ebony claws making a poor attempt to hide his fur clad face. Was this what he looked like? No way. The Countess, no matter her reasoning for marrying Lucio in the first place, wouldn't marry someone so obscure.
"So, who exactly are you?"
"I-I am the Leveret." For just a moment you almost said your real name. You didn't feel safe to breathe it within these walls though. The ghost took a breath.
"Ah, I see. There's quite a lot of talk about you around here. Did you know that?" It's, no, his, hands left his face and he took a small step closer to you. "You aren't what I expected. You're not very audacious."
Your voice couldn't be found and you stuttered through your mask.
"You're Noddy's newest friend, yes? Then-"
"No!" You seemed to startle both him and yourself with that. "No, Gods, no. Never call me her friend."
He seemed even more surprised. Rectangular pupils dialated as he processed what you said. You still didn't feel anyone coming. It was just you and the spirit, and his two dogs. Almost without thinking you reached up and peeled off your mask. The ghost flinched, exclaiming at the sight of your disfigured face. You forgot you were wearing your burn scar makeup. With a sigh you began peeling that off too. Faux skin came off in chunks and foundation came off after a few wipes. It wasn't a perfect removal, but it let him see enough of your real face to get the picture.
"You." That surprised you. "I-I know you! You're-"
Holy shit, someone was coming up the stairs. The dogs bolted under the bed and you were at a complete loss of what to do.
"Behind the curtains!" Lucio gestured frantically to a hiding spot for you and you wasted no time. Through the thin fabric you could see the form of a guard. You had let yourself get too loud. Fool. For a moment, you doubted the curtains to be a reliable hiding spot. The knight checked behind the correct first, then in a wardrobe. Your lip trembled, your heart beat in your throat and ears. Your entire body was cold and light. As he walked by the curtains you hid behind, the fabric blew softly. You weren't sure what gave it a way. Maybe he sensed an obscurity in the moonlight, maybe he felt your eyes, hell, maybe he even smelt your fear. Whatever it was, he noticed you.
Before he could shout for more guards, before you could think, you lunged. Your hand found it's way under his helmet to cover his mouth. Your sudden rush of weight knocked him over. You were so unbelievably panicked. You only had one way to make it out of here. He tried to force you off him and yell from under your hand in vain. You can't do anything gorey.
With one motion, no hesitation, you rose up and punched the man in the jaw as hard as you could. The fact his mouth was now free and he didn't shout let you know you knocked him out. Still panicked, your hands found his neck and you put pressure.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?!" Lucio whisper-hissed.
"He can't." You choked on your words. "He can't get out of here and tell other guards, tell the Countess. He can't."
The dogs crawled out from under the bed again as you remained in place. Lucio struggled to put things together. There was stuff he knew for certain and stuff he's overheard for the past three years. In all the depths of his knowledge, nothing explaining this moment made sense. Didn't you work for the Palace? Hadn't you...why were you a jester now?
Minutes in silence passed. Minutes felt like entire nights before you stood up.
"I have to hide this." You said it definitively, like you were telling him to help. For just a moment, he didn't see you, instead someone else.
"There's a path-"
"Don't give me directions, show me. I can't risk messing up."
"I can't leave this place." You glanced at him. Your cold disillusionment fell away for a brief second and was replaced with confusion. "I've tried to go somewhere else. I always get pulled back to the wing. I can't show you."
You thought for a moment. You filed through the recesses of you mind involving all you knew of magic and everything supernatural.
"I need something of yours." You looked around the room. "It's a good thing we're here."
"What are you going to do?"
"I can confine you to something else, me."
"What?" You didn't repeat yourself. You scanned the room for anything meaningful. When you didn't find anything immediately, you began opening drawers and wardrobes until you reached a chest. Opening the wooden box revealed something unmistakable. Why was it here though?
The Count's golden arm was in Nadia's collection of various things. She showed you the array of objects once. To see it here was odd. There's no way she hasn't noticed it's missing. The dogs whimpered as you picked it up. They looked weirdly guilty. Did they steal it? You can ask these questions later.
"H-Hey, that's sharp!" The ghost exclaimed as you pressed one of the gilded claws against your palm.
"That's the idea." Blood was an incredibly powerful magical component. One of the most. You could do whatever you wanted with blood and a little intention. The light you had put off with your magic went from white to red as your vital fluid dripped down the prosthetic. You closed your eyes, focusing on what you knew of the dead man before you. You could feel magic, your magic, flooding the room. The dogs whimpered once again. When you opened your eyes a swirling gray cloud was over the Count. When it cleared the goat-like form you met him as was gone. A man with slicked back blond hair dressed in fine white garments stood before you now. Silver eyes glowed against red sclera. You remembered he bad caught the plague before his demise, but it was not the cause of death.
He looked down at his hands, completely in disbelief. The dogs came bounding to him. Their tails wagged wildly. This is the first time you've seen them remotely happy. You summoned a handkerchief from one of your pockets and begs cleaning the blood from the arm. You then put the golden limb back in the chest you found it in.
"You can show me where I can hide this man now." With a light grunt you lifted the body up over one of your shoulders.
"Oh, right." You left the Count's bedroom and began walking down the hall of the wing before he suddenly stopped and turned to a door in the wall, walking through the material. When he seemingly noticed you weren't coming, he pushed his head through said wall. "This way."
You raised a brow, about to question him before the dogs went through the wall too. If they, living and solid, could pull it off that would mean your be able to as well. After walking through this secret corridor you emerged somewhere deep in the palace gardens. You had never seen this section of it before.
"There's tons of secrets around this place." Lucio said as you began shoving the corpse under some bushes.
"Like I don't know that already." A heavy exhale came through your nose like a pitiful attempt at a laugh.
"You said I'm now...confined...to you? What does the mean?" You made sure the body couldn't be seen from any angle before facing the spirit.
"You were confined to your wing. It was a magical barrier. I couldn't get rid of it, only transfer what the barrier was on. You have to go where I go now."
He seemed to think over what you just said, before be went pale even as a ghost.
"Asra will know. Immediately." He ran his remaining real hand through his hair. "He's the first one who found me, told the others. He's come to the wing every now and again. It's been a while though but he'll sense me around you."
"I'm not so sure." He looked at you like you said something stupid. In his eyes, you had. Asra was the Great Sorcerer. Not a, the. He knew magic. He was magic itself.
"I'm serious." You pulled bottles of essential oils out of your pockets. Oils of herbs, at first you just used the oil but as you've began stepping back into your magical roots you've charged their strength. "These babies right here have kept him from picking up on my magic pulse for years. He has no idea I can do magic. If I somehow find a way to make them work on you, or if I just maybe strengthen the amount on me, he won't sense yours."
"I have a magic pulse?"
"If not magic, what do you think ghosts are?"
"...Oh." Things around here just got a whole lot more interesting for you.
⚠️ Like chapter 2, I don't believe there's anything worth putting a warning for. Yet, as always just let me know if there's something I did miss ⚠️
3990 words
Masterlist
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
"And I know that you means so well"
"But I am not a vessel for your good intentions"
"Abandon all your stupid dreams about the girl I could've been, my dear"
"Desperation will erase the fact that I'm keeping all of the answers in my cigarette box"
"And if you're blind to that, I am fine with that"
"Oh, I will ruin you"
-Tounges and Teeth by The Crane Wives
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
For a good while there was no reason for you to leave the comfort of the Fortress. There weren't really words to describe how nice that was. You got to be in what you considered your home with people you could consider to be your family. You got to help the people you brought back with you fully adjust to life underground.
You got to aid Jacob, your people's lead farmer, in the greenhouse. The prosthetics you were working with were coming along nicely. Once Valdemar and Vulgora gave you proper measurements you had all you needed to start crafting.
"I still can't understand how you got this stuff to work under ground." The woman who was helping you pull root vegetables out of the dirt said to you, her name was Adinae.
"From my trips to various palace's and what not, I've gotten familiar with a new piece of technology called a light bulb. It simulates the sun down here just fine. There real success comes from Vlastomil's knowledge of worms though. Without his work we wouldn't have any good fertilizer." Adinae hummed, dusting her hands off and grabbing a full basket of carrots.
"I still think your brilliance is one of the most important aspects of his safe haven has." Safe haven? You've never heard someone refer to this place as such. Yes, this was a place of refuge for people. There wasn't any authoritarian rule of a country or city on the verge of collapse. There wasn't any rounders to swoop you up and sell you. It was safe here, but some conditions just sucked. You were all living underground. Sure, you figured out a way to grow good food and get clean water and furniture and...oh. This is what the Courtiers mean when they say you need to give yourself more credit. You get so caught up in providing what you believe to be the bare minimum, you forget that the people you do it for see value in it.
After dropping the vegetables that were harvested off at the kitchen you returned to your room. Strewn across your floor were parts and pieces. Now was time to finish all the prosthetics you were working on. You were so close to completion, and there was a close balance of not rushing them and getting them done in a reasonable fashion. However, now you were certain that if you just worked up until dinner, you'd finish them all.
You cranked wrenches, screwed in bolts, ordered inner pieces, put gears in place, all the while humming to yourself. You were a little lighteheaded when you stood up to reach for the next crucial pieces. Half stumbling, you grabbed a wooden box and opened the lid. Lumps of Clear Quartz in a bunch of varying sizes were before you. These were good charging crystals. While you knew your magic was still lacking, you also knew you have gotten good at charging things with your intentions.
Most pieces of the prosthetics were made of silver or gold. You would've rathered a simpler metal but when asking the rich for gifts in exchange for your acts, they wouldn't settle for giving you anything other than precious. The rest of pieces you were going to form from the crystals, of which you were going the charge with magic to make sure the surprises inside would respond to the intention of the weilder.
The chunks of quartz had been marinating in your intentions for two while weeks, ever since you began planning for this upcoming masquerade. You were certain they were ready for what you wanted. You began carving sections of fingers, the joints of a wrist, the shin of a leg from the stone. It wasn't easy to do by hand of course and you found yourself exhausted rather quickly, but your ambition to complete your goal pushed you. Chip, smooth, repeat, again, again, again and again. Now assembly to the rest. Finally construction was done. You flopped back on the floor of the room. Your eyes danced across the ceiling you felt light from both exhaustion and relief. Now you just needed to decorate the things. They had to be the prettiest things you ever crafted to make them worthy of what you wanted them to be. That meant they had to be even more captivating than your Leveret costume.
"(Name), dinner is ready." You jolted upright when your door opened without a knock. Valerius stood in your door way and you traces his gaze to your almost completed projects. "For those missing pieces of themselves?"
"Yeah." You sighed, rising to your feet. "But they're also going to be so much more than that."
"Oh I know. You already explained everything." The faintest smile was on his face. "They look finished. Are you going to present them tonight?"
"Tomorrow morning." You began to follow him to the dining hall. "I still have to paint them and I want the paint to be dry and sealed. I'm gonna make them so stunning no tyrant will dare think a thing so beautiful could be anything other than accessory."
You ate noticeably quickly, and excused yourself after little time at the table. No one had questioned you though. Everyone knew what you were trying to finish. Once you were back in your room you got to painting on intricate designs with meticulous strokes. Then a coat of gloss went over the whole prosthetic once the paint was dry. There would be no way for anything to chip or scuff.
Exhaustion plagued you when everything was finished and you went to bed once you were certain every craft you finished had a proper resting place to settle. Sleep found you easily.
"How much have you really thought about the limitation of your herbs?" The voice was calm, airy, almost dream-like, and weirdly familiar. However, at this current state in your dream you had no idea why. The only thing you could see in the black void that surrounded you was your own hands where bits of dried lavender rested in your palms.
"Are you asking me if I've tried making potions?"
"Not necessarily just potions. Herbs have many uses in a magical sense. They can ward off what's unwanted, attract what's desired, and anything else." The voice paused and a chill ran down your spine at the sensation of something featherlight brushing across the back of your neck."How familiar are you with rules of intention? Affirmations? I sense a strong presence in your core. I think it's distant even to yourself. Do you want to bring it to the surface?"
"Will it help me with what I came here for?"
"Only if you want it to."
The smell of smoke quickly filled your nose and you could see gray tendrils reaching for you against the endless black. Then fire hot embers danced all around. The lavender in your hands caught fire but you felt no pain from the flames. Then, suddenly, a roar of flame engulfed you entirely.
You woke up to the chime of your clock. It signalled it was morning and time to rise. The clocks down here were the only way for you or anyone else in the Fortress to have a sense of time. It was how you knew how to wire the lights and eat and go to bed. Mastering the circadian rhythm without indicators in your instinct became an art.
You were surprisingly the first at your table. Usually it was Volta or Vulgora. You saw Adinae with the usual other three that occupied the kitchen. Erin, Glyn, and Ceri were processing oats and chatting amongst themselves. They laughed about things. It made you smile. Yesterday Adinae called this place a safe haven, now you were looking at it through that lens. Said woman waved you over.
"Morning everybody." You greeted. "Any of you want help?" You and the Courtiers made six people. Over the three years the Fortress has been founded you brought in 12 for a total of 18 bodies. Just recently you got nine more. Trying to make meals for 27 people at once was crazy, even with the three of them working together. Sometimes you didn't know how they did it.
"I asked them the same thing and they said no." Adinae said to you. "What's the next interesting thing you're gonna do, hm?"
"There's the masquerade in Vesuvia, but that's still months out." You said almost dismissing it entirely. It wasn't interesting to you. What you planned to do there was.
"You sure there's nothin' else?" Glyn smiled, his tooth gap prominent with his wide grin.
"We heard you've been tinkering." Ceri said. Interest was in the gaze that that focused on you. "Planning to blow up another mansion?"
You laughed, partly taken off guard and partly amused at a memory flashing through your mind.
"No, what I've put together is a little...nicer I guess. I'll show it off when everybody's up and eating." your eyes lingered on Ceri's hands. Only three fingers adorned each. They had told you they were at a brothel as an attendant for the escorts before you found them. Every time they did something that cost business, they were disciplined. That discipline was removing fingers.
Eventually the dining hall was filled by everyone. You quickly excuses yourself to your room and put all your finished work in a crate, that you then covered with a sheet and carried all the way back.
"Oh they're done?" Vulgora peered at the crate as if trying to see through it to steal a glance at the finished products.
"Sure are, and I didn't have to stay up all night to get there." You cleared your throat. "Do you think I should say something right now?"
"I'm sure the people you made them for are quite eager to be given them." Valerius clicked his tongue, it was clear he wasn't trying to sneer but his impatience with the prosthetics getting handed out was apparent.
"Can I get everyone's attention super fast?" You announced loud enough to turn heads. "Ceri, Leif, Fallan, Zephyr, Juniper, Reyn I need you just out in the hall."
You lifted the crate with a grunt. Valdemar stood to help with attaching. You sat the crate on the ground and removes the sheet. For a second there was stunned silence when everyone got a good look at the contents.
"Are those..."
"For us?"
Ceri had missing fingers. Leif was the man you bought at the most recent auction that only had one hand and leg. Fallan had lost her foot and one eye. Zephyr was missing an arm. Juniper was without a hand. Finally, Reyn was missing a couple fingers similar to Ceri. All of them had a bunch of different ways and reasons their bodies didn't have all its components.
"Couldn't be for anyone else could they? Valdemar and I are gonna help you guys get these on. Hopefully they fit right." There was a lot of emotion when the prosthetics began to be attached. Ceri and Reyn could only marvel at the way the artificial fingers bended like real digits. An expression of stunned awe was on their faces.
Zephyr began to sniffle once his arm clicked into place. Juniper openly weeped once her new hand was in place. Leif marvelled at his new sense of balance with the replacement leg. Fallan adapted to her new foot well and was incredibly surprised when her new eye fell into place.
"I can see out of it!" She exclaimed, her fingers coming to touch the quartz lens. Valdemar glanced at you, looking taken aback and you bashfully shrugged.
"I really studied what I could of magic to make them feel like having the real things back. It's called intention rules. Those limbs are going to do whatever you guys want them to." The explanation was followed with laughter, and tears, and both. You were swept into a hug. Then you were thanked and praised.
"Oh, I couldn't have made them work if Valdemar and Vulgora didn't give me proper measurements and blueprints-"
"But you made them at the end of the day, did you not?" The former lead physician mused. "And, I believe the word you're looking for to describe the process you used to make these prosthetics to be alchemy. The place where science and magic mix."
They walked back into the dining hall. You grew slightly bashful and twidled your fingers.
"Do you want to show them off? I'm sure everyone wants to see why I called you all out specifically." Without a verbal answer, the six ran back to the dining hall and before you got to see everyone's reactions you heard them. Shrieks of surprise and delight eruped, echoing down the walls. Your heart swelled. This felt good. As you were watching everything over, just taking in the moment for what it was, you felt your pantleg be tugged on. When you looked down, Volta was staring up at you.
"It seems to have gone over well. Yes, very well. Their new parts are so pretty." She rambled, Valerius stood from his chair with a sharp scrape.
"Yes, yes, very well. However, what's more important is letting them know what you have planned." Valerius' eyes were sharp. "You poured a lot of time into crafting their prosthetics. They will with no doubt be useful moving forward but are you going to get them to agree with your little scheme for the next masquerade or not?"
Two weeks have passed. You have a little over a month and a half before you need to go to Vesuvia. Nadia had requested, an order in disguise, that you return a month before the masquerade commences for various reasons. She wanted you to review the stage, decorations, themes for the seven nights, and you had a suspicion that she just wanted your presence.
The smile slowly slipped from your face. There's a lot to be serious about. You sighed and rolled your shoulders.
"I'm going to talk to them tonight."
"Now tell me, if they refuse what will you do? How will your plan change?"
"I'll have to talk my way through that in the moment."
"You can't do things on a whim moving forward. This is the most ambitious thing you've put together."
"I've done it before in other places."
"Exactly!" With his sudden exclamation you gave him a look. Do not start talking like this in front of everyone. He got the hint and his voice lowered. Volta kept looking between the two of you with worry. The other former Courtiers watched, knowing that trying to get in between the two of you wasn't going to help.
"You've taken out rich folk with not a lot of political standing or extraordinary protection. The Countess is the lead of a heavily influential city. That Doctor Devorak is one threat with his ability to heal anything. The Sorcerer is another entirely. Assassination will not be simple."
"I know." You hissed, voice low. "But I can tell you that I can make a hundred scenarios of how the act is going to play out and none of them will matter if something at the masquerade that's out of my control doesn't go how I anticipate. This isn't a chess game, this is a war before the other side realizes."
Valerius' nose scrunched and his brows furrowed. He didn't like that you were even a tiny bit right. He wanted things under his control. It was a habit of his that seemed to not die no matter how hard things got. He was always trying to advise you on what to do next, how you had done something wrong or couldn've at least done it better. It annoyed you most nights. It was a hard thing to brush aside. Both of your were abrasive with how you believed things should be done, unfortunately those views clashed.
"Can you not trust me Valerius? Haven't I shown that I know what I'm doing? We have to go in there flexible, it's the only chance we have. They outnumber us in number and skill. I've been working up this blind side for years."
You have to kill the Countess. That's been a no-brainer. All these dictators and tyrants and rich snobs need to fall. That's the only way the common people can rise back up. In your time, under the alias as the Jinxer you had been responsible for the untimely demise of two kings and 17 nobles for various lands. The kings were your most intimidating hits but they paled in comparison to Nadia. She has support you've met first hand with abilities hard to comprehend. The only good thing is that none of those supporting people are fit to take her place.
The rest of the day passed with high tension. You thought over how you want to approach the group of your no longer disabled. You knew what you were going to say to them was scary and you admittedly preparing for refusal and how to beg them into changing their minds. So, you found yourself pleasantly surprised when night rolled around.
The group of interest followed you back to your room after dinner had passed. They took in the way you had things arranged around the space and took a moment to find comfort to listen to the purpose of your summon.
"I want to start by saying the prosthetics I gave you earlier today are not conditional to you doing what I'm about to ask of you. I simply built them with that second purpose in case you agree." Quizzical glances lingered on you as you grew increasingly nervous. "Vesuvia's masquerade is approaching, and I'm going to have to travel there soon, stay for quite a while. With all that underway, I have a plan I want to enact."
"You're asking us to go with you?" Reyn said slowly.
"A little more than that. There's a lot to explain." So you dive right into the details of everything you put together. When you were finished, all eyes stated at you widely with disbelief.
"I'm sorry to not be able to give you all a lot of time to think it over. I need to know now if you'll do it. If not, I need to come up with an alternative."
"It's about time you got the rest of us involved." Ceri said, catching you off guard. You were certain they'd be hesitant, resistant even.
"Yeah." Zephyr added. "Everyone of us down here and tons of other people in hiding all around the world wanna stick it to the big guys."
"You could've approached us asking for our help even if you didn't make these for us and we'd still be in." Ceri stood, snapping two of their prosthetics.
"The fact you saw us as valuable at the very beginning is enough, for me at least, to give you everything I can." Fallan said, in truth speaking for everyone else in the room.
"I- thank you." You managed to get words out. "Get a good night's rest, all of you. Tomorrow morning we'll get our act together." It was decided. The rest of your time at the Fortress would be spent teaching your "misfits" how to perform even half as well as you do.
You got to go to bed with a light feeling in your gut. Another night proved to let sleep wash over you with ease.
"You're doing wonderful." The same voice from your dream in the night before echoed through darkness.
"It is uncommon to surprise myself?" Your voice asked.
"Not at all. That's how magic works. Try to do something you think is above your capabilities. Always try. You'll be surprised every time. Will always trumps over the mind and body."
The unmistakable feeling of hands on your shoulders startled you. Was that the feeling of a chin resting on top of your head?
"I never saw myself taking in an apprentice (Name)." The hands snaked down from your shoulders, wrapping around your torso and when you looked down your breath hitched. "It's common to surprise yourself on a magical journey. Taking another magician by surprise however is not. I wonder, can you continue to surprise me?"
A white shirt, sleeves rolled up the elbows. Shining gold buttons at the cuffs. Rich mocha complexion. Fingernails painted magenta. Now you knew why the voice was so familiar. You were in the arms of Asra Alnazar, the Great Sorcerer.
The moment your consciousness made the realization the arms disappeared and you suddenly felt like you were falling. Then your back roughly hit a surface. Your vision changed from almost complete darkness you a burst of color and texture. This was the most you've ever been able to see in your dreams. You were laying down in grass. A fountain flowed closely adjacent to you. You made yourself stand. Thus was the Palace gardens. You've been there twice but you recognized it. No, you only remember being there twice.
"(Name)." A voice called out. It wasn't Asra's you were back yo being unable to recognize who it belonged to. They called out for you again. Then yo heard the rustling of shrubs and flowers in the distance. The noise grew louder and louder until it was overbearing to the sound of water the the fountain.
Your head began to ache. It was a throb deep in your head. It almost felt like it was in the very center of your mind and it quickly bloomed out. You kept pinching the bridge of you nose or running your hands through your hair. The throbbing in your head seemed to shake your entire image of the world around you.
"(Name)!" The voice called out one final time before the gardens of the palace were painted with a red haze. Smoke rose all around you, then the floor sunk and you fell through the new hole, where screams of agony shrieked and only added to the agony swirling in your head.
You woke. You found yourself half blind from your headache. You stumbled out of bed and tripped you way to where your tonics lay. You had eventually found a mixture of herbs and oils that could subdue your migraines. You found the bottle, lightheaded, nauseous, and all other different shades of miserable before popping the cork and damn near chugging the elixir. Your head fell back against the leg of your desk with a thud you barely felt and you passed out again. This time you were in a dreamless slumber. You didn't wake up again throughout the night.
In fact, it wasn't until Valdemar shook you awake that you woke up. You slurred out a question of what was happening as they helped you to your feet.
"You missed breakfast. People have tried to get you out of your room but you didn't respond at all. Everyone was fearing for your health. Ceri and the others are waiting for you." They took notice of the bottle of medicine beside you. "You took too much of that."
"I felt like there was an axe wedged in my skull last night. I wasn't in the mood to measure out a proper dose for myself or shout for someone to do it for me."
"Did a dream give you a headache? That's never happened before." They had been the best help at navigating your headaches. They knew the condition just as well s you did being the one unfortunate enough to be going through it.
"Yeah, there was something about the Sorcerer, and the Palace." You put a hand to your forehead.
"Don't try to tell me about it. Don't risk putting yourself back into that state. Go on and eat something quick and move forward with your plan."
⚠️ I don't believe there's anything super heavy in this chapter to put any warnings but let me know if I did miss something. ⚠️
4521 words
Masterlist
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
"You told me you fell in love with it hadn't gone as I'd planned"
"When you had to bud adieu said you'd never love anew"
"I wondered if I could hold it and fall in love with it too"
"You told me to buy a pony but all I wanted was you"
-Hidden in The Sand by Tally Hall
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
The Leveret was quite the character. At first they were just someone entertaining but not necessarily interesting. Asra distinctly remembers the masgmquerade from two years ago.
He was in the garden, where not many patrons mingled. Faust was swimming around in the fountain. Nadia had made her way to him, her laughter was hard and he hadn't heard her sound so gleeful since Lucio's death.
"You just missed the most brilliant display!" She took a seat next to him and he could see her dark cheeks slightly flushed from the Golden Goose she's been indulging in all night.
"By who? I don't remember you hiring any special performers."
"That's the very thing, it was by a guest. Not even someone who received a formal invitation." Now that was interesting. The tradition of the masquerade being open to any and all still stood, but not many of the citizens still occupying Vesuvia took advantage of the generosity. The masquerade was just a meeting of those who were invitied, a gathering of VIP's, a collection of elites under the same roof.
Asra eventually returned to the palace. His familiar was draped over his shoulders, flicking her tongue out to taste the air.
'Person!' Her whisper caught Asra's attention. Even though he was in the palace where the party raved, he occupied the places where less people were. In fact, he was in the library. No party goer would have a reason to be here.
His eyes narrowed in the tiniest bit of suspicion. As he began to stalk in the direction Faust told him the stranger stood, a face peeked out from between bookshelves. More specifically, a mask of a full face. That was uncommon. The theme of the masquerade was anonymity, but even so, most guest wore masks that covered the upper half of their face only.
"Good evening." The stranger had said, straightening their posture and returning to seemingly scanning the shelves of books.
"Good evening indeed." The voice was unfamiliar to the Sorcerer. When he tried to feel an aura he couldn't focus on it. It was off-putting. His magic always did what he wanted it to. He couldn't help but get closer, and when he did he smelt the unmistakeable herbaceous combination of sage and rosemary. Common magical repulsion herbs. No way was his talent getting bested by raw plants.
"It's quite loud in the ballroom." The stranger spoke again, remaining rooted in place. The fact they weren't shying away left the Sorcerer guessing if they had met before. There's no way they didn't know who he was. No sign of outright fear meant they had to be comfortable with him. Right? Yet, his group of those he held important to him were few. There's no way he wouldn't recognize a friend.
"I understand what you mean. It gets hard to hear yourself think." What the hell is with these damn herbs? No way had they not been tampered with some way, they're far too strong. "I am Asra."
"The Great Sorcerer." The stranger said the second half of his formal title. "So I've heard. I hope you don't take any offense when I say you look different than I imagined."
"Not at all." This interaction felt like a puzzle. His magic kept searching for an opening, a way to weave through the maze of protection this person's herbal perfume provided. "What is your name, stranger?"
"You can call me the Leveret."
After that the Leveret went to leave the library. It wasnt until later in the night he found out that this Leveret, was the performer Nadia has told him about moments prior.
He saw the act you finished the night with. He could definitely see the appeal of the Leveret's antics. He very much liked the way the jester had effectively charmed the Countess. She kept inviting them back time and time again for far more than the week long annual celebration. He had more opportunities to try and break through the protective barrier held up around their character. A challenge to his magic, such a thing was thought to not exist. Well, besides from a ritual he attempted a year or so prior. He's been bitter and upset at the failure ever since.
All the while, there was their concealed form. The mask he saw that night of the masquerade has never fully come off. Only a piece of it got peeled away last night. It wasn't enough. There was something about the Leveret that stirred an obsessive curiosity. There's been times he's thought about just tearing it off. What would that performer really be able to do? He was him. Retaliation would be an effort of a fool.
He restrained the urge. Playing games and gathering clues was more entertaining. That Leveret was so similar to someone sometimes. No wonder why he began to harbor the same captivation to them as to the person they remind him of.
The Sorcerer walked out of the alley created by two grand bookshelves. At the center of the library, seated at a fine wood desk in front of intricate stained glass window was none other than the Doctor that the desk belonged to.
"Ah, Asra. I had no idea you were in here." Julian's eyes flicked up to the magician for only a moment the dual tones to his sclera seemed to shine.
"I was just scanning for a good read. I should go find Nadi. She wants my company for lunch."
"Then don't let me keep you." Whatever the Doctor was occupied with didn't fascinante Asra in the slightest.
"You'd never have the ability." With the smug, slightly teasing remark, the Sorcerer left. The doors to the library clicked shut and Doctor Devorak was left alone. Hopefully. Asra's snake left with the magician, right?
His journal and a few records were laid out in front of him. Crude sketches as well as more tasteful illustrations of burns were accompanied with information. He was a doctor, so naturally he knew how to treat burns. He wasn't trying to re-educate himself in that regard. It had just been a minute since he's treated one and they weren't something he thought of often. His medical interests were primary blood related.
When the plague first came to Vesuvia, he had first theorized the disease was in the blood. It had made sense. All the cappilaries in the eyes would burst and permanently turn the sclera of the infected red. Of course, that happened when they were close to death. That's what kick started his legion of leeches. Bloodletting and other strange practices and experiments were used for the doctors to try and understand what he was up against.
Then the red beetles were finally found. Dissecting them didn't do much to reveal the secrets of the disease. Then there was the idea something about those insects were magical. Once more abstract studies started being done the truth of the plague was so close to being discovered...
Julian grimanced. Two bad things followed. A cure for the plague and a thorough understanding of it were never acquired. Then...
He looked back at the burn diagrams. From what he saw last night, the Leveret had scars resulting from degree burns. How extensive were they over the body? Were the eyes or ears heavily effected? They never seemed to have issues with any of their senses. While the joke that was made about the performer retaining modesty to not give into Julian's invasive questions part of them wished they would be more receptive if he offered privacy.
Julian liked acquiring knowledge. He likes to understand. Science is a beautiful thing. The only thing one could argue he loves more than anything medical is theatrics.
The ballroom was crowded with nobles from around the globe. Julian did well to carry conversation in foreign languages with those from exceptionally far away. An orchestra respectfully did the job they were hired to do, contributing to the atmosphere. It was great.
Then someone had gapsed and exclaimed in horror, grabbing all attention to a body tumbling through silk drapes. Had they fallen from the balcony? After looking for just a moment longer the doctor was able to note the way the curtains were meticulously wrapped around the stranger's form. They meant to do this. They relied on other guests having no knowledge of their act to get all attention on their spectacle at once.
When the body was just inches from the ground the curtains braced the fall. They hovered barely in mid air before untangling themselves with exceptional grace. Julian was in the same awestruck captivation that plagued everyone in the room. His past at sea got him familiar with maneuvering through ropes and being suspended in various ways. The brief dance through silk curtains brought a hint of nostalgia.
The foreigner stood tall and moved into even more of a show. Twists, turns, and contortions of their body, juggling, tricks of various sort. The orchestra had even changed their song in order to go along with the stranger's display. When they deemed themself finished, they bowed deeply and walked backwards into the nearest shadow. Applause and whistles followed their disappearing form.
"I have never seen anything quite like that before." The Countess' voice caught Julian's attention. When he turned to her, her eyes were still wide wonder. "Did you see where they ran off to?"
"The shrunk away under the stairs, no telling where they slinked off to since." His gaze rose to the grand chandelier at the center of the ballroom's ceiling. "How bold of them, putting together their own performance in the middle of your party."
Nadia pursed her lips, but looked amused. Her eyes scanned around the ballroom rapidly, as if searching for any traces of the individual in a full-faced mask.
"I can hardly be offended. That was quite the spectacle." She had a look in her eye that the doctor knew well.
"I couldn't agree more. I'll keep an eye out for them, and send them your way if I spot them."
Julian was the first person that the Countess ran the idea of giving the Leveret their own stage at the palace to. Part of him wished he was their to see the character's reaction to the news. Nadia had said it went over well, but hearing wasn't the same thing as witnessing.
He stood from his desk. He did tell his sister he'd have lunch with her. As he made his way through the gardens he passed by the structure under development. He couldn't imagine what the Leveret was going to do opening night. The acts they've thrown since that first display they completely improvised have only continued to get better and better.
He walked further through the gardens and from a window in the palace, two people could see the doctor walk.
"I wonder where he's off to." Nadia inquired, a fine cup of tea being brought to her lips.
"He's most likely going to see his sister." Asra replied, sharing his share of tea with his familiar.
"Oh, yes. Sometimes I forget they're related." Nadia laughed slightly, thinking briefly of a short stocky woman by the name of Portia. The lead servant and doctor did share a resemblance, yet the difference in height, occupantion, and interests of the two were just as striking.
"Really? I knew they were siblings before Ilya told me." Asra turned his face from the window once the doctor could no longer be seen. "How did showing the Leveret what you had planned go over?"
"Splendid. The only thing going better is the speed that the stage is being completed." Nadia watched the distant construction with unwavering eyes. "They promised that their performance as the opening act to this year's masquerade will be the best thing they've ever done."
"That sure sounds exciting."
Nadia thought back to the fateful evening she had met the performer. A masquerade from two years ago. Everything had been going wonderfully that night.
It marked the end of another successful year in her position. She was conversing smoothly with a patron up on the second floor of the ballroom. Their conversation had been suddenly interrupted when someone from the first floor shouted in alarm. A body was falling through the curtains and Nadia was already planning how to get the body off of the floor with such a speed to not disturb the festivities. Suddenly, before they hit the ground, they were able to stop themselves.
Once they had themselves standing upright the Countess then knew that the scare was intentional. Her eyes narrowed. It was a brash distraction. Bold. Foolish. It seemed once the initial surprise wore off no one could bring themselves to look away from the stranger. Nadia began to calculate what to do. Before she could articulate a solid procedure however, the stranger moved impressively. Some acts were well known, others not so much. The irritation went away.
The stranger had worked their way out of malfeasance. Nadia actually found herself entertained. Once the stranger's act concluded they vanished from view. There was an uproar of patrons' approval.
"Did you hire them?" The noble she was talking with had asked.
"Truthfully, I have no idea who they are."
Nadia descended the stairs to Doctor Devorak. He, unfortunately couldn't say where the performer had vanished to. He promised to watch out though at least. She had found herself reminiscing on the presentation as she walked away for a breath of fresh air in the gardens. It brought a laugh to her, a strong honest laugh that she hadn't done in years. Nadia stumbled slightly as the fountain can into view, where Asra was relaxing in isolation.
She couldn't help but tell him right away what happened. They talked for only a short moment before Asra decided to head back inside the palace. She lingered at the fountain, listening to the circulating water and distant echo of music. Then, there was the sound of someone walking. They rounded the corner through the hedge maze and...
"You there." The stranger from earlier notably jolted in surprise.
"Countess Nadia." They stood straight and bowed their head.
"What a show that was. Come. Sit." She patted the marble wall of the fountain next to her. The mysterious performer obeyed, sitting a polite distance from her. "What is your name?"
"I go by the Leveret." Leveret. Nadia played the word in her mind a few times. It's an interesting title choice. It means young hare. Part of her wanted to inquire on what led to the word choice but there were other questions she wanted to ask instead.
"What brought you to do that in the ballroom earlier? It was such a bold display of skill. Had you no worry of social repulsion?"
"I wanted to see what would happen, if I'm being fully honest. I've always taken leaps of faith with things. I am however, admittedly glad my actions are well received."
Nadia's vermillion eyes twinkled in the low lantern light with interest. The faintest smile pulled at her lips. A leap of faith. She had heard such a mantra from someone once before. It was partly refreshing to hear it again.
"I invite you to perform again before the night is over, Leveret. Your leap has paid off. I do see us seeing a lot more of each other in the future."
Nadia had continued the call the stranger back time and time again. No matter how many times they'd enter this fine city, she never understood them any better. Part of it was exhausting but remained alluring. As lunch with her dear sorcerer friend came to a close, she couldn't help but wonder where the rabbit runs off to.
The Crossroads had clear blue skies. It was refreshing to see. The burrow leading down the the Fortress was uncovered after some effort, and you directed the people you had saved during the auction to go ahead of you. From the back of the line you helped them navigate the maze. You new every turn and dead end down here like the back if your hand. Finally, you reached the center.
"You've returned! Oh, you made it back safe! Such wonderful news!" Volta's hands came to her face as she hurriedly approached you, almost completely ignoring the people you brought back.
"It's nice to be back." You looked around and sighed in relief. "Where's Valerius? Have him help get our newcomers settled in will you?"
"Oh yes, yes. Right away!" The short woman scurried off, exclaiming about how you were back, now with new people. You made your way to your room and began peeling off the layers of your costume. It felt so nice to put on a simple shirt and pant. You could move freely without agitating jingling bells. That damn headdress wasn't weighing on your neck. The mask could come off. You were you again. Authentically. The Leveret was a persona. A fun one at times, but still far from your real character.
You got to be lazy until dinner. At that point you left your room to meet everyone in the food hall.a feeling tables were pushed together and woodchaurs with uneven legs lined around them. The people you brought back already seemed to be doing well with the people who have been here longer. That was always nice. Everyone ended up getting along with one another.
You took your seat at the head table. It was composed of just you and the former Courtiers. This is where a lot of moves and plans were discussed. Tonight, you had a lot to say.
"Good to see you've come back with no issues." Vlastomil greeted as you sat down.
"You have no idea. I had to take off a piece of my mask." There were a few gasps of horror. "I put on prosthetic, but I was still so nervous."
"Do you need replacements?" Valdemar asked you and you nodded. You needed to be sure to have a bunch of replicates on you at all times moving forward. You couldn't skip out on applying the makeup under your mask.
"Moving on, the masquerade is already being prepared for." Annoyance filled the air. Of course parties for the wealthy and fortunate won't cease. They haven't been missed out on once. "Amongst the preparations, one of which is that the Countess is giving me my own performance stage."
All their eyes watched you curiously. They could tell you were building up to reveal something you've thought of.
"I promised to give her my best performance. I intend to keep my promise. I think it's time we make another move. The Jinxer hasn't done anything to her in a good while." Slowly, smiles of approval spread across the table."I already have a good chunk of things planned out."
"Well don't spare any details, we have limited time to prepare." Valerius attempted to sound posh, but the excitement of an act of retaliation got in the way.
After dinner, you returned in your room and scanned through a pile of journals. Three of which had their contents full with accounts of your dreams. Since your earliest memory, every night you would have vivid dreams. Strangely vivid at that. You could feel and smell, sometimes even taste. Yet, you could only see certain objects, and hear certain words. You started writing them down when Volta suggested they might mean something.
The idea that they were fragments from times you can't remember was a hopeful one. You try not to dwell on what you've forgotten but you can't help but still feel frustrated by it. You wondered what dream you might have tonight. Pushing through the dream journals, you found what you were looking for. Another journal was specifically reserved for plans of yours.
You sat at a desk made up of a few boards and an upside down bucket for a stool and began sketching what you wanted help being made. As the Leveret, you had a good easy time getting materials in the form of gifts when you would be hired for an event. After your first performance at one of Nadia's masquerades, rulers from all around wanted to have you at their special events.
The way the ballroom was filled with people who couldn't be happier and more content with themselves was angering. They got to play rich and fancy while everyone else paid the price. You'd be lying if you said you weren't nervous to be here. You don't know who to talk to, or how to talk to them, to get what you want. You've been catching glimpses of her all evening. The Countess in her mostly black gown with firey accents. At first you couldn't comprehend how someone so gorgeous proved to be so cruel. It wasn't fair.
You made your way up to the second floor of the ballroom, which formed a square ring around the room. From your side you got close to the ornate railing. Your gloved hands grasped tightly around bright red silk curtains. You took one breath, than another. Then, in one fluid motion you flipped yourself over. You caught attention right away and you finally began to carry out your plan. You got out of the curtains and dared to stand proudly.
From there, you had all eyes on you as you plucked an alcoholic beverage from the serving tray of a dumbfounded butler. With a Huff of air escaping through a small hole in the lips of your mask a grand bout of fire spread through the air. With a series of twirs you returned the now empty cup to the tray and began the rest of your performance. Everyone was staring butbin a good way and after you kept up the act long enough the orchestra even began to play for you.
Feeling adrenaline, and not being able to fight the fear rattling your bones any longer, you bowed performatively, and made your leave. From there you took a route you hoped to conceal you long enough as you made your way up to the palace library. The Courtiers provided you with a layout of the palace before you came here. Even though you trusted them, your anxiety made you doubt if they remembered every detail.
When you did in fact make it to the library you felt your shoulders relax and you made quick work the scan the shelves. Your eyes ran through the titles on spines as quickly as you could. Then you found what you were looking for. You shoved the thick book into the pouch of your trousers that held all your juggling items. You began to shift books around in such a way to make it look like nothing was missing.
An encyclopedia to magic. You needed it. It was going to be yours now. A shiver shot down your spine. Something deep within you, almost primal, screamed at you to move. You peeked out of the shelves and saw a figure, but not just any figure.
Even with the mask that adorned his face you could see the brilliant amythest eyes locked on yours. Asra Alnazar, The Great Sorcerer. Your blood ran cold, heart jumping into your throat. No, you couldn't show you were afraid. You greeted him first, invited him closer to you, conversed for a bit and politely left him behind.
You made your way to the garden, your escape route memorized, there was a low spot in the wall and with the looks of it no one was out here to see you make your way there.
A voice called out to you and you couldn't help but jump. You turned and saw none other than the Countess. You wanted two things from tonight, a means to practice magic of your own, and a way to gain strength over a tyrant. With the book that would let you achieve the first goal concealed on your person, you didn't want to risk going back for the second. Luckily for you, the second goal had came for you.
The encyclopedia still sat on your desk. It hadn't collected even a speck of dusk in the year and a half that it's been yours. You've read the whole thing cover to cover and it has paid off. You were no Sorcerer, but you had some spells. It felt like you reclaimed a piece of yourself every time you pulled something fantastical off. And now, you could test how you've improved. You gathered your journal and made your way to Valdemar's dwelling.
"Here's my ideas for prosthetics. Have Vulgora go over them to be sure the hidden mechanics are can actually be used. I'm going to turn in for the night."
As you left, you faintly heard them bid you a good sleep. Once back in your room, you laid in your bed. The mattress and blankets at the Palace were finer by miles, but this stuff was actually yours and so you actually found yourself comfortable. You laid in silence, steadily your breathing began to slow, and you fell asleep.
Giddy nerves were heavy in your gut. You heard the sounds of footsteps but couldn't tell if you were the one walking with all the thick gray mist swirling around your vision. No, you were entering a room. You could tell that much.
"I am (Name) from...It is wonderful to finally meet you." You spoke but had no control over what you said. It felt like you were experiencing something while in your body but not in control of it. That's what all these dreams were like. Someone spoke in response but their voice was so warbler your consciousness couldn't make out what was being said.
"Herbal and plant based medicine is my specialty. Nature provides us with many remedies." You spoke again. Your mind thought that over. Yes, you did indeed now your way around plants and herbs. It was one of the few things you were able to remember. Another muffled voice, different from the first, and then a third, and then the first voice again.
"I thank you for your generosity." Your body was turning, you were leaving the room with no distinguishable features and back into the hallway that was just the same. Then you heard a weird scurrying sound, like nails on tile or maybe metal. Grey went to black and you felt yourself turning over your shoulder only to see a hoard of insects coming at you like unruly waves. Crimson peaks rolled down the void straight at you. Plague beetles, unmistakably so.
You woke with a shout, hands racing around your face to keep the bugs away, except there weren't really any bugs. You took in the darkness and remembered where you really were. You didn't know the hour, it didn't matter. You haphazardly lit the nearest candle and grabbed the dream journal that still had room to fill, beginning a new entry. You definitely can't forget this one.
⚠️ Mentions of slavery, trafficking, death/murder/executions, and vivisection (if anything else note worthy was missed please let me know) ⚠️
5219 words
Masterlist
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
"A mask of my own face, I'd wear that."
"And none of them would know that I was secretly myself"
"I'd blame it on the person that nobody knows I am"
"And at the big finale I would tear my face away"
"I'd wear that mask of my own face"
- A Mask of My Own Face, by Lemon Demon
✧─── ・ 。゚★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧
**•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚
"Is this..."
"....her"
"Can...us?"
The noise that reached your ears was distant, like you were hearing it all from under water. Alas, you were definitely not submerged in any pool. Your eyes fluttered open after a considerable effort and remained in a squint to try and combat your sense of vision being assaulted by light and color. Now your ears were ringing at you bacme aware of how heavy every part of you felt.
"Young magician, can you hear us?" Small hands grabbed one of yours and you focused on a rather short and thin woman. Her skin was a soft tan. One eye was completely white, the other a light brown matching the shade of thin waves of hair peeking out of a cornette hat. She looked concerned. You had no inkling as to why.
"Who...who are you?" Your voice felt foreign to you. Speaking was a complicated procedure that took too much focus and energy. The question was asked with no real thought or focus, like you were stepping back into your own mind. Without being given an answer, hands were placed on either side of your waist and you were hoisted to stand. The one responsible for the movement was clad in red. They remained, bracing yourself on their own form when the notes your knees buckling at the new position.
You realized you were surrounded by five strangers. The group of them looked between each other, back at you, and at each other once more. They all looked worried, or was it confused? You were in such a heavy daze everything felt dream-like.
"We must leave. We need to get her away from here." The person who spoke was concealed in many bandages and the layers of a physician's dress.
˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚*
That fateful day was a while ago now. Three years to be exact. Within all the time that transpired you certainly were more conscious and grounded in the present. Frustratingly, any recollection of a moment in time before the memory of being found eluded you. Trying to force recollection punished You with headaches. For your well bein, you were forced to abandon the endeavor of fighting against your amnesia. It simply was a battle you were bound to lose, as of now at least.
You could only focus on what you knew presently. You were called (Name) and were found barely alive in a bad place to be. The five strangers, who of course were strangers no more, took you away and nurtured you into health and strength. You were apparently capable of magic, although any recollection of the skill was gone, so no manifestation of such power could be conjured.
Stepping out of what was considered your room, you were faced with the surrounding of the Fortress. The Fortress was the name of the place you and your saviors resided, along with a few miscellaneous people from varying lands. It was an underground settlement concealed by a labyrinth of the earth. It was home.
You were clad in a rather odd yet whimsical attire. Complicated ruffles, buttons, buckles, and bells of shades of blues and silvers concealed your arms and legs while distorting the shape of your center. Gender defining aspects to your body's build couldn't be made apparent. Then was boots and gloves. After that was a headdress any bits of your hair was expertly tucked into. The final piece was a mask, intricately detailed and designed to fasten strongly around your face by wrapping around the back of your head. No chance of a slip or any other way for the piece to fall from your face. Your face could not be seen. Not with what you had planned for the day. You were told your face would bring you trouble. You assumed that was because you were wanted for bounty or for some other reason. You let that knowledge be, reaching for a definite truth had made your head hurt in the past.
"You're going out today?" Vlastomil had approached you, taking in your get up. You were only dressed like this when you were visiting the surface for one reason or another. If you were to remain behind in the Fortress, you were in something far more comfortable.
"Yes, how could have you have forgotten?" Valerius scoffed over from a dining table where a breakfast composed of cheap bread and foraged berries was rationed out amongst you all. The both of them looked stressed. Every time you did this, there was always a looming sensation of dread and possible doom.
"I must. I can't exactly refuse invitations. It'll look strange." You replied, the mask over your face distorted your voice, making you seem even more ambiguous. You had the disadvantage of being a woman in this current time. Women were valuable now, a disgusting truth you didn't like dwelling on. Making those around you unsure of whether you were male or female was a protective measure.
The day you knew the reality of the current world, you began cultivating a plan to develop a means to make changes. What that turned out to be was put forward the facade of an eccentric wandering entertainer. You were a famous jester, the Leveret. After just under a year of your disguise making a name, you had performed at a masquerade. The masquerade. That was your goal all along. Since then, you'd be summoned to a country known as Vesuvia every now and again. It was imperative you went every time.
You patted your hip, feeling your sack of currency. With that, you were ready to leave. You bid farewell, with a promise to see everyone once again. You left the Fortress after the sun had barely risen, you'd reach Vesuvia by noon. It was always strange to see the sun after spending time hidden away. You always forgot how delightful it's warmth was. The long walk was tranquil with you in the sun's company. The peace was well received, the Fortress resided under a barren land dubbed "The Crossroads" all land outside that region was...peculiar.
Attempts to describe to you what happened were made, but it was a lot to wrap your head around. Magical metaphysical liminal spaces had merged to the physical realm for an unknown reason, and that caused a lot of oddities to occur. The sky above you melted from a clear blue sky to that of swirling colors and dark clouds, the ground beneath your feet in this particular region was scorched and cracked with the appearance of dried lava. Now you had to be alert. Incomprehensible beasts roamed these hybrid grounds. If you weren't careful...eventually your destination was on the horizon.
Vesuvia's grand palace stood tall, strong, and glittering. Pristine white marble reflected the colors that danced in the sky. It had no right to be so gorgeous. This whole place had no right to hold onto the beautiful past it once held. Buildings and streets were still brightly colored, but there were no citizens traversing the streets. You were the only one walking, your footsteps and jingling bells were the only noise. It was like you were in the shell of what was once a beautiful city.
You knew there were still people somewhere in this city, taking refuge somewhere. Whether they were lucky or unlucky to be living here would vary greatly depending on who you asked.
Sometimes you think you'd like it better if dead bodies were piled on the streets and clogging the canals and aqueducts, turning the water red with blood, waste, and plague filth. In a way, that would be less frightening. The deaths that the devastating Red Plague racked up would be showcased, not swept under a rug. Or, more appropriately, thrown down a well somewhere. That was another missing piece of common knowledge in you mind. The illness surged about nine years ago, and raged predominantly on battlefields. Eventually it worked its way into cities and countries that were hot with trade and tourism. Now cases were rare. Everyone you ever came across, which admittedly wasn't a lot of people, had healthy white scleras. You also never noted ever seeing vivid crimson beetles scurrying about. By no means was the plague eradicated, but it seems the merging of realms gave society bigger problems.
"Halt!" A voice boomed, amplified by ricocheting off the walls of the alleyway. You turned over your shoulder to see a palace guard with a large spear. Said weapon lowered once he better took in your appearance. "Apologies, you are here on behalf of the Countess' request correct? Allow me to escort you to your meeting place."
The only place in this city that was scarier than the Palace was the Colosseum. Perhaps it was the very purpose of the building that made your stomach churn. It could've also very well been the vibe you picked up when you looked at the white bricks and detailed iron gate. The number of people that have died here would be impossible to estimate. You didn't want to try. The iron gate lifted open for you noiselessly, showing how oftenly they're oiled, how oftenly they are used.
"Welcome, Leveret." You said nothing as you were escorted to the loge box where the Countess and her inner circle would be watching over today's events. The person escorting you entered and bowed deeply, gaining the attention of three people you found yourself despising with every fiber in your body.
"The Leveret has arrived."
"Wonderful." The voice of the Countess was smooth and alluring, it paired well with her rich cocoa complexion, sharp red eyes, and deep violet hair. You bowed your head. It was a mannerism you didn't want to do, but you've had to do a lot of things you didn't want to do.
"Countess Nadia." You were sure to adress the woman first. Her scarlet eyes lingered on you, a ghost of a smile laid on her lips painted the same shade. "You look divine as always."
"You flatter me."
"Doctor Devorak," You moved on. You wanted greetings out of the way. You always wanted these personal get togethers over quickly. "Pleasure to see you once again."
"Oh, the pleasure is mine!" His long leather gloves mingled with yours in a firm handshake that had you nervous he'd end up crushing your hand. His touches were always overbearing and suffocating. You could never tell if that was his intention or just how you felt because of how uncomfortable he made you.
"And of course, Great Sorcerer Asra, good afternoon to you." A brief shallow smile and a raise of white brows was all you received from the magician reclined in a pile of bean bags and blankets.
Sitting in such a small space with the three of them felt like you were a slab of meet hug on a nail around a pack of wolves. You felt like you couldn't get enough air, but you didn't dare breathe heavier. The smell of Nadia's lavender perfume, combined with the smoky scent of herbs and incense, and an aroma of bitterness mixed with alcohol was intoxicating. Gods, may you get out of here soon. All of them made you indescribably uneasy, and that was considering being one on one. You were outnumbered by monsters in the shape of mankind.
"Just a little more, endure it for only a little longer." Your affirmation was a whisper in your mind.
Down on the Colosseum's sand, people began to be filed in. This was seeming to open up as an auction. You had to admit you preffered that to a match of civilians pitted against each other. Or worse, orders to face the infamous Scourge. Anywhere upwards of forty individuals were shackled and being dragged around the arena like ragdolls. Outside of the loge box, nobles from other nations lined the bleachers. Since the world has gone to shit for lack of better words, the morality of society was almost entirely nonexistent. Buying and selling people was perhaps the biggest market. Groups called slavers, sometimes rounders, went around to cities or settlements in all corners of the lands to find potential profits. It was disgusting.
"Kneel before the Countess of Vesuvia!" You could hear the demand clear as day from your elevated position. Some of the "merchandise" collapsed on their knees from fear or exhaustion right into submission. Those resisting either from defiance or being disillusioned to their current predicament were struck with a whip or cattle prod until they fell over. It made you sick. The mask you wore saved you from the expression of complete disgust being visible.
Auctioning began. Young women were always of most value, and caused the most action. You were told that right away back when you had began making your costume. It's best to not be perceived as a woman. Everytime an old and shady man ended up being handed over such a lady you wanted to scream, you knew what they were wanted for, but you had to be smart on your end. You can't save everyone, but you need to be damn sure to save as big as a quantity as you can.
A fairly young man was dragged to the center of the floor. He was missing a left hand and part of a leg. You could see the utter horror on his face. He knew no one would raise a card for him. People don't buy broken things. Here, if you weren't sold, you were killed. The only purpose of the slaves kneeling on the sand were to be of use serving a master. If that could be done, it was decided they were just wastes of space. Some believed death to be a better fate than being sold. Regardless...
"No bids?" The auctioneer called out. You saw a large figure by the Colosseum's gate raise a hefty axe...
"Excuse me!" You were leaning over the railing of the loge box and waving your arm holding out a white card. "You're not gonna bother to look up towards the most important people here? You're lucky it was me you were ignoring."
The auctioneer tried to stutter out some form of apology but you sat back down before he could get the words out, disappearing into the shadows the reserved noble seats provided. Beside you, you heard a soft chuckle from the Magician. You weren't sure what he found humorous, but the mere fact he found humor at all made you grit your teeth under your mask.
"You know..." The Doctor draped his arms over your shoulders and you had to fight the urge to tense. His gangly limbs felt like serpents. Speaking of which, you wondered where that lavender snake of Asra's was lurking. If she wasn't on her master, she was at least close. "If you are after the physically disabled, I'm sure I have bodies lying about."
"A kind offer, but I do not want skeletons and corpses. I'm after those still living." He grinned at your response, one of his sharp brows raising in amusement.
"Ah, well I could make you a few, too. Free of charge." You bid on a few more people as Julian talked.
"I'm afraid that's no fun." You moved out of his hold. You got to play off the rejection of his touch by acting with your body in a way that demanded space. You stretched your arms wide and slowly turned in a circle. "I'll get to ask them how they lost parts of their body later. Their stories is what makes them interesting. If twenty people told me that Doctor Devorak fastened them to a table and blindly threw darts at a body diagram to decide what to remove I'd have no inspiration, no emotions rallied."
The response got a laugh from both the Doctor and the Countess. Asra watched you with a twinkle of interest. You relaxed muscles you didn't even know were tensed. Every action and word felt like a gamble with your life.
"Yes, yes. I see. You've always been so passionate and philosophical over what art means to you." Julian patted your back and you just wished he'd stop touching you. It made your skin crawl. A doctor shouldn't make you feel so filthy.
"Exactly. My craft is my utmost priority and I know exactly what I need to start my new collection." That got an"ooh~" from the Doctor.
"Enlighten us." The Countess mused, fingers tracing a glass with a liquid as vermillion as her eyes.
"But I musn't spoil the surprise!" You twirled, putting your hands over your heart as the bells adorning your outfit jingled. "I hate showing or telling about unfinished work, it's the perfectionist within me."
Someone snorted. You don't know who. To you it didn't matter. Nadia didn't press further. You had successfully refused her, even if it was over something trivial and miniscule. It showed you had weight.
"All I will say is that I'm eager to begin. If I make pieces stunning enough, they might be worthy additions to future acts. I'm afraid I shall take my leave quite soon to get started."
"Well, before you do," Nadia's voice felt like a warning. "I'd like to remind you that the masquerade will take place in three short months. As usual, I would be delighted for you to make an appearance."
That means she wants you there, and refusing the request would be a death wish. Since the first masquerade you showed up to, you had captivated quite the audience and were regarded as quite the life of the party. Any masquerade in the future would be lacking if your presence wasn't there.
"I wouldn't miss such an event. Your parties are such a delight, Countess."
"Wonderful. That leads to another crucial piece of information I wish to share. You are quite the pesky thing to reach by letter. Stay here for a few days will you? After business here concludes there is something I want to show you."
Damn it. Damn it all.
"Oh, how unexpected." Well, you're going to give everyone back in the Fortress a heart attack when you don't return tonight. You can only hope they won't try and rescue you when you're not in any apparent danger. No, you know they wouldn't be so hasty. You've already discussed not to be too alarmed if you run late upon returns. In the meantime you'll be able to find a way to get word to them too. You're sure of it.
The auction eventually ended. Nine people were in your hands. Nadia assured you that while they would be in the holding cells under the Colosseum, they would be cared for to be in good condition for you to take back with you after your stay concluded. It wasn't something you could argue or press too hardly about.
A carriage was already waiting outside the Colosseum. A knight in shining coal colored armor opened the door for the Countess to enter first, then the Sorcerer, followed by the Doctor, then finally you. Strong white stallions began moving in perfect obedience for a smooth journey back to the palace. For you, that was just an overly gaudy prison and you were going to have to be there for a few days.
"Dahlia here will take you to a guest room and get you settled in, we shall see you at dinner." The Countess said, sounding like she was explaining how you were going to behave under her roof. To which, you had no choice but to nod. As the servant girl led you away from the vile trio you found yourself feeling like a weight was off your chest. You could breathe again.
"This shall be your quarters." Dahlia opened the door to your temporary room, inviting you in. Lavish furs, silks, decorations, and recreational items occupied the space. It was something you had fantasized about before but actually having it at your fingertips wasn't a pleasant feeling.
"There is a bell beside your bed, ring it if you wish for assistance with anything. I will return once supper's first course is to begin."
"Thank you." The simple words seemed to startle the young woman. She stammered out a few noises before deciding to shut the door to your room and leave you to your own devices.
You closed your eyes and focused on the surrounding air. Once, you had been able to sense Asra approaching you during a meeting long ago. It was perhaps your first successful attempt at magic and it let you know you had the ability to pick up on true isolation. Such was a vital instrument for your way of life. When you were certain you were alone you hastily removed your mask, locked the door to your room, and sat at the vanity. You dug in the pockets of your garments, pulling out various tools you needed. You're expected at dinner, they're trying to force you to remove your mask. They all had tried to persuade you into doing the action for a good while now. Your aura of mystery was enticing, but could only be left alone for so long. They wanted the face of the Leveret.
Whenever they'd ask why you wear the object, you simply replied with the shallow excuse that you were ugly. They didn't buy that for long. So you had to say you were disfigured. The pieces of makeup and prosthetic were laid out before you. The pigments and pieces were hand crafted by Valdemar. Their medical background allowed them to make quite the convincing body altering illusions. You've done this plenty times in the past. You used to put on this face and wear it under your mask, but you got too comfortable with just the Leveret mask that you stopped. Foolish. Now you're rushing this process when it's imperative it looks legitimate.
After two hours your face looked convincingly scarred by the lasting effects of burns. Even one eye was concealed in a white contact to appear you have gone blind in it. The makeup continued to obscure the shape of your face, your gender would still be unclear. You admired the appearance in the mirror, chest heaving from the effort and the relief it was finished. A knock at your door made you jump, and you swiped up the evidence of your facade within a facade in a panic, shoving everything sloppily into pockets.
"Who is it?" You made sure to not sound rude or bothered, just in case you were faced with the worst case scenario of the Countess being the one on the other side.
"It's Dahlia, Leveret. The first course will be served in a few moments. It's best to descend now."
"Very well." The makeup was dry. You could put your mask back in place. With it back on properly, you opened the door and Dahlia began to lead you to the dining hall.
The grand doors opened and a familiar three people were already seated. It seems Julian was going on about some story for some account of his past. His arms were wide in a great flourish. Whatever the tale was seemed to come to a convenient close with your arrival.
"Ah, Leveret. There you are." Nadia noted. A servant guided you to a lush velvet chair. The food that began to present itself was so fine you didn't know what half of it was. The smells were intoxicating. You've been able to eat, but never something as satisfying as any of the dishes present. You didn't want to indulge in the food though either. It was wrong for the palace to be able to eat like this while people are dying of famine.
"The food is fine." Asra's remark startled you. You turned to face him and his face held amusement. "We aren't trying to poison you."
"Oh, that wasn't a concern of mine." A servant piled a few steaming rolls on your plate, presented you with a bowl of assorted fruits, and a soup of some variety.
"Then my I inquire to the reasoning of your hesitation?" You are always in the damn hot seat with these people. Nadia's sharp eyes were on you, not narrowed in offense yet, but if you took any longer to either respond or begin eating that would change.
"I'd hate to spoil the appetites of my gracious hosts." You hoped the way your stomach roared in protest with what your mouth was saying was only audible to you.
"Oh, you cannot possibly be that hideous." Julian dismissed. You swallowed a stiff lump in your throat and reached to your mask. You can't get out of this. Even if you aren't showing your true face still, you can help but feel vulnerable. You took pride with how expertly crafted the mask was. It was you own invention. It had the capability to become two seperate pieces. At least you didn't have to remove the entire mask, only the bottom half that would reveal your mouth and the tip of your nose. Silence followed as you felt all their eyes on your convincing cosmetics. You stared down at your soup and brought a spoonful to you lips. It was hot, hearty, and tasted of something you've never eaten before, the flavors of which were tantalizing.
Damn it.
"How did it happen?" Jullain asked. Your eyes flicked up to him and he had taken a bite out of a roll.
"Pardon?" You made sure to add a gruff and raspy edge to your voice, to act as though the scars are external damage and there is further issue that lies internally.
"The burns. Didn't you say you like hearing people's stories about these types of things? Share with us."
"I've been told I was struck by lightning. I was in the woods many years ago, which haven't had clear skies in almost a decade's worth of time. The strike rendered me unconscious while also setting the surroundings ablaze. I don't recall the faces of the people who bothered to pull me out, or burse me back to health. I'd rather not think more on the matter." You've cultivated the story in your head for months now. You assured there was no pieces that didn't make sense or had holes.
"You don't remember?" Asra seemed interested. You shook your head.
"The strike was quite a hit of blunt force, I was delirious for a long while."
"So the rest of you must look the same?" Julian inquired about the rest of your body possessing the same scarring.
"I'm also afraid I will not be stripping to confirm such a claim." There was an uproar of laughter. That was good for you. Dinner came to a close without any more compromising instances and you were free to put your mask back on.
"Leveret, tomorrow morning I shall take you to see what I have planned." The Countess said. You replied with acceptance to the statement. Julian and Asra exchanged a glance and then glanced at you with a faint glee. You weren't sure if you were to be nervous.
You didn't sleep well in the bed you were provided. You couldn't relax. In fact you dint feel like you dozed off even once by the time the sunrise weaved through the fabric of the curtains. You stood and readied yourself. The Leveret costume and mask was back in place. You were ready when the Countess came to your quarters, followed by two guards. She seemed pleased to see your state of being. She liked not having to wait.
You were led out into the gardens. The whole time the Countess talked about the masquerade. For the most part you were quiet, aside from the occasional words of false agreement. When she stopped walking, you did as well.
"Now you know all too well how much of a riot you are." She began. "This year I want to give you the proper tools at your disposal. No longer shall you fight for attention in the crowded ballroom. I present to you, your very own stage. You gestured forward into a clearing where a massive structure still under construction presented itself. It held resemblance to a circus tent while being intricately accessorized like a carousel.
"A place of mine within your abode. Such a generous gift, Countess. I'm afraid I'm hardly worthy."
"If that were the case I would not have commissioned it." There was an edge of annoyance to her words. "Go on, look around, construction is early enough to make any changes you desire and have it still be complete before the masquerade commences."
She followed behind you as you made your way onto the stage. It wasn't really a stage, it felt like an entire theater.
"It's aesthetic is wonderful. I just want to know what kind of mechanics it has."
"It can have any components you wish. You know what you need to put on a show." That's what her gifts were disguised as. She gave out luxuries to make herself look good. This stage for you was a means for her to be even more well received. "The head of construction will be here shortly for you to discuss."
Finally, after an uncouth amount of stress, you could leave the Palace. You only had to bud farewells to Nadia. That was wonderful. You didn't want to speak to the Sorcerer or Doctor.
You were given another carriage ride to the Colosseum, the people you had purchased during the auction were already waiting, by force, shackled to one another and fastened to the gate.
"You're dismissed." You said the carriage driver, who nodddd wordlessly and went to return to the palace.
The people cursed at you as you approached. Some of the obscenities you had never even heard before. You let them be mad. They had more than every right to be furious. You paid their words no mind as you took an end of the chains and began leading them out of the city. Despite their harsh words they complied to the move with little struggle. They must've been scared to be beaten or worse. In their eyes you mingled with the Countess and her crew, meaning you must be the same type of person.
It wasn't until you were traversing through golden wheat fields that you stopped. You scanned around the open surroundings. There was no place for any sort of spies to hide. You closed your eyes under your mask and breathed into your surroundings. There were no auras floating around in the sixth sense. No magic spell to watch over you. You were alone with these people. You reached a decisive hand up to your mask and undid the disguise. The action seems to confuse the people, just enough to make them quiet.
"I am so terribly sorry for any of the misfortunes that have fallen upon you. I can only promise that things will be different moving forward." You dropped the chain that leashed them all together. "I am (Name), but I'm sure you would all know me by a different name. While I appear to be the Leveret, I am also the Jinxer."
In simplest terms, the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good.
It's Inspired by a fic I found on Ao3 that I can't remember the name or author of unfortunately because I'd love to give proper credit. I tried looking for similar ideas and was surprised to not see a lot of these kinds of AUs. Even if you consider The Arcana fandom to be dying out, there wasn't a whole lot of content like this dating even from back when it was at its most popular. But if fandom spaces have taught me anything, it's to be the change I want to see.
Anyway, here's some notes on it. I tried to organize my throughts but I know it's still kind of messy.
Background/lore/basics: The Red Plague still hit Vesuvia and raged strong on battle fields. The only difference is instead of Lucio making a deal with the Wyrm of Pestilence to gain power which ended up leading to the plague’s release, an unnamed magician had made a deal with the Devil. The exact motives are unclear, with that magician long gone after being one of the first to succumb to the illness.
Lucio, after turning 18, was given more responsibility in his tribe and ended up getting involved in a war between two more powerful nations (Vesuvia and I suppose the second nation doesn’t really matter). This is the battle that lead to his arm being amputated by Doctor Devorak. After which, Vesuvia’s current Count requests Lucio’s presence. They become friends, Lucio slowly steps away from his tribe, and the title of Count is eventually given to Lucio.
Lucio ends up meeting Nadia during the first masquerade Vesuvia ever hosted. Lucio hoped it would be a good way to form bonds with other countries. They got married, and Nadia wanted more power than she was allotted as Countess. After six years of marriage, the Count was found dead in his wing by mysterious (magical) circumstances, leaving Nadia, the widowed Countess, to step up into his role as Vesuvia’s leader.
How characters are different than canon
Nadia Satrivana: Somewhere in the prologue in the game the MC mentions to themselves of rumors of Nadia being a tyrant. Put short, those aren’t rumors here. Nadia is a Satrivana, and one of the many princesses from Prakra. Her mother has a title of ruling one of the largest, most successful nations in history. All her elder sisters either are taking up ruling over domains of their own or finding a calling that sets them a part of one another. Being the youngest, Nadia was left feeling obsolete. There’s such prestige to live up to. She saw marrying Lucio to be a way to get her foot in the door.
She remains authoritative, direct, and strong, but is known to be quick to lose patience. She shows little grace to those who step out of line. She wants the image of a perfect city, even if she isn't improving enough aspects of Vesuvia quickly enough for such an image tobe properly upheld. She's not above fear tactics. She wants her word to be treated as law. Do not mutter under your breath in her presence, roll your eyes, click your tongue, or make it seem like your questioning her too much. She might throw you into the Colosseum to be the next source of entertainment for the nobles, while being the next example for everyone else. If not that, she still loves to be creative...
Asra Alnazar: A little orphan child that found himself to be gifted, and let that power go to his head. He had lost his parents far too young and was left to fend for himself. He was nothing better than a street rat with a few fancy tricks. One day, he met a magician. This magician, fascinated with the potential he showed being so young, gifted Asra Faust's egg and promised to show the kid great spells. This magician happened to be the same one the released the plague, of course Asra knew this individual before they fell I'll. The magician taught Asra magic, and poor morals surrounding it. The better you are at spells, the better you are. Seriously, you begin to rise above people. They begin to sink to be beneath you.
Egotistical is a good word to use. His business is composed of hasty deals made by people who are desperate. It's rumored he owns souls. He doesn't do anything unless he feels like there's something he can get return. Anyone who's heard the story of Lucio's death knows that the Great Magician Asra was involved. It becomes speculation of whether he was the murderer or not.
Lucio (Montag) Morgasson: He had a lot of big dreams and lofty goals. He dreamed of getting out of his tribe with it's more outdated and arguably primitive ways to see the progress through the rest of the world and be a part of that change. His enthusiasm did lead to reckless decisions, poor calls on occasion, and a fumble here or there. After all, he agreed to marry Nadia rather quickly with hopes that would boost his status faster to make work with other countries easier.
He really did have the best of intentions. It's a shame that the light of his future was so bright it blinded him of the present. He never saw his death coming. Now left as a ghost, he can't do anything really. Only Asra has seen his spectral presence lurking around. But that means both Nadia and Julian know he's still around too. It's best for Lucio's sake to stay clear of the magician, lest he gets banished to some, most likely unpleasant, realm. The late Count has been forced to stand by and watch the city he was slowly cultivating for greatness be plowed over and soiled with terror and mistreatment.
Julian (Ilyushka) Devorak: The doctor was so enamored with the plague. Where magic meets science, that's what those bright red beetles were. Yes. While Julian still doesn't care all that much for magic and doubts the fantastical aspects of it, he still sees it as something that can be studied and understood. He's theatrical and insensitive, at least if he doesn't care for you. That's the common denominator between all of Vesuvia's most feared names. If he doesn't like you, if any of them don't like you, just hope they don't acknowledge you. Blending in keeps you safe. Keeps you off the vivisection tables.
He remains loyal, protective, and charismatic. Only here, none of it is an attempt to hide insecurity or direct attention away from self-loathing tendencies. Julian is too emersed in his research and his position as the palace's most highly regarded physician to really reflect on himself. With his status, it seems kind of silly to. Nadia's actions in her position have rubbed off on other people. If you're in her circle, you can be regarded as being like her.
Portia (Pasha) Devorak: Now I'm being so honest, I struggled here. Not because Portia is a precious angel that could do no wrong, but because I struggled with how to make her cruel when her position in the palace is a servant. Nadia still has Portia as a favorite, so the redhead wouldn't have to fear about messing up or having other servants mishaps come back on her. What made most sense was to promote her a tad, not quite making her a courtier, as the tyrant has no court of second opinions that waste time.
She's in charge of all the palace servants. Chefs, maids, gardeners, tailors, you name it. Portia over sees them. From there, the best I could do was make her incredibly morally grey. Portia knows what's around her isn't right. Portia also knows she can't change anything. It may not be right, but things are working for her. She can just choose not to watch fights at the Colosseum. She can choose only to see her brother after he's cleaned himself off from whatever got on him in the palace basements. She can pity the servants or townspeople that found themselves unable to flee, but that hurts so she chooses not to. She can't think of everyone else like vermin yet, but she'll get there. She has to protect her own mind. For now, she just doesn't get involved.
Muriel: He didn't like hurting people as a child. That stayed true at least. When a group of orphans wouldnt leave him alone he was left with little options. They needed him to steal, to confront shop owners while the rest of them got away. He got tired of it and I'd what he had to in order to get them off his back. After that he was aimless. Asra, his good friend, got him a place of higher standing. Nadia still saw Muriel as valuable for his size and strength and put him in charge of the Colosseum. He learned that hurting people wasn't that bad. He's learned to not mind the screams and the killing. It's a dog eat dog world. Do or die. If he wasn't who he was, he could very well be the people he executes. This is for his survival.
He's still terribly reclusive. He gets invited to events often but won't attend unless Asra will be there. He can still count on one hand the people he tolerates. He's still quiet, still ominous, intimidating, scary...
Now on the other hand, the courtiers, were some of the people to help individuals out of Vesuvia when things went bad. They themselves fled after they helped as many as they could.
And I'm sure you're wondering where the MC, the beloved apprentice of Asra, comes into this? Well, if this sounds super cool, I'd be willing to write a fic on this AU. My plans for that would be that the MC, who I'm gonna refer to as (Name) moving forward, would be trying to kick start and lead a rebellion. The courtiers are her support system (I like writing for fem self inserts, that's my preference, that's what I'm gonna do). (Name) takes on a few different aliases to try and gather information from multiple sides. As the rebel leader, she's a thorn in Nadia's side. As the thought-to-be-deceased apprentice of Asra and aid to Doctor Devorak, she haunts the narrative as someone dearly missed, especially since its seems the attempted rivival ritual was unsuccessful (to the eyes of Nadia's circle). And, as the quirkly travelling jester, coming to Vesuvia every now and again on business, even when heavily concealed and disguised, the current nobles of Vesuvia can't help but feel connected. Something is familiar about that jester, who buys up people in unfortunate situations, loves the arts, how they speak of people. No one can put their fingers on it. And when said jester refuses to take off their mask, it can't help but be frustrating.
The six romance options in canon would serve as love interests of course. And since I'm a firm believer we are lacking yandere Arcana content, that would be the trope I dabble with.
There would be dark themes to expect if course. If I actually sit down to write this I'll be able to come up with a proper list.
Anyway, this is cool beans right? Maybe even a little awesome sauce?