June DWC 2026 - Day 1 - Gloom/Allure
The fog hung thickly across Silverpine, clinging to tree branches like tattered shreds of gauze, and caressing the cold ground as if it could tempt the still bodies buried beneath back to life. Heavy gray clouds added to the gloom, looming over the tops of black granite mountains that made the backdrop for House Dae’menel.
Inside the house’s manor, Ilvisar leaned back in his chair in a manner most casual. He knew better than to prop his feet on any table, but to Marne, he still seemed shockingly relaxed as he entered the study. The undead’s one yellow eye flicked to the two opened letters on the desk- letters from Altherei, he knew- letters that had gone unanswered.
“You seem .. at ease.” Marne offered- it wasn’t a question, but Ilvisar heard the uncertainty in his voice all the same.
“Should I not be?” Ilvisar arched a brow, and Marne’s silence only invited him to further speak.
“The Devouring Host was a most unexpected- but welcome- surprise. Yes, yes, they were beaten back.. but I know what she experienced out there,” His lips pulled into a thin grin, devoid of joy but full of the quiet, almost sadistic glee Marne had seen one too many times in Void users who dove too deeply and greedily into their chosen magics.
He’d seen it through Altherei’s own eyes- after a fashion. If she found herself in danger, he knew about it. It would’ve protected her from the Voidwalker that sought to make a meal of her when she had been trapped on the Isle. She hadn’t needed saving, not that she knew that.
“It’s just made her more afraid of the Void though, hasn’t it?”
“Probably.. but she’ll be thinking of what I told her in our last meeting.. that it’s inescapable. This house.. is inescapable. The Void came right to her doorstep- befouled their Sunwell. I know how she thinks. The doubt is there. ‘What if he’s right?’” He spoke in hypothetical, “‘What if I can’t escape the legacy after all?’” His grin widened.
“That doesn’t seem likely to push her towards it.” Marne noted with his characteristic dryness and practicality. Ilvisar rolled his eyes like a man who knew he was the most intelligent in the room.
“It doesn’t have to- fear and doubt are incredibly powerful tools, when wielded properly, and by one who knows how to.. shape them,” He waved a hand around in the air, punctuating his point with a few well-crafted tendrils of Void magic that swirled and dissipated like smoke.
“She doesn’t have to see the allure of it. I know she won’t- her fear won’t let her. No, she doesn’t need that at all,” He shook his head. Marne was not a man easily bothered, but even he felt the briefest tingle crawl up his spine at the way Ilvisar’s grin pulled almost too far to be natural. The dim candlelight of the study cast shadows onto the older elf’s face and the enchantment keeping his eyes green melted away to their Void-seeped violet.
“She just needs to have her back against the wall.. and I know just where to start.”
@daily-writing-challenge