So here’s a story idea: How did you come to find you Guild’s hall? For instance the Gosspound or the airship Ascension (Weatherwatch). Tell us below!!!
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When I discovered the Forges I had been down on my luck, I couldn’t make anything, whenever I tried it was never perfect, I wandered everyday, trying to get something to spark my imagination, when one day off in the distance I heard the pounding of hammers and the soft clicking noises of clockwork. Where is that coming from? I asked myself, there wasn’t a workshop around for miles, at least that’s what I thought. So I followed the sounds, it was like music to my ears, I heard the whirring of lathes and mills, the pounding of hammers hitting metal, the hum of machines filled my head as I searched for its origin. Desperately now I checked everything, I pressed my ear to the worn, cracked surface of the wall in the alley I was in. I listened at doors and even tried to open the sewer grate, to no avail. No matter what I did I couldn’t find the entrance to the workshop that made these beautiful sounds, and must be creating wondrous things. So I waited, I sat in the alley all day as the sun set lower and lower, listening to the symphony of metal being shaped, fabric being woven, and clockwork ticking away through it all. When the sun was set and night had come, I thought all was lost, when at the end of the alley, I saw something that I swear to this day wasn’t there before, a beautiful wooden and metal door, with a massive conglomeration of gears and pistons all expertly placed to be the perfect lock. When I approached the door, one thing was immediately clear, there was no key hole or any other way to open the door. So I knocked, and knocked, and knocked for what seemed like hours. Until out of the bottom of the door slide a little chest. It was also beautiful, it was simpler than the door, made of silver and gleamed in the light of the moon, and it had a little golden latch. I opened the chest and inside were raw materials, there was wood, glass, copper, and twine. On top of it all was a little note, a small piece of white paper that said: Make Something. I was stunned, what was I to make, so I shook myself out of my stupor and set to work, it was like being in a trance. I sat there and watched as I carved the wood with the knife I kept in my jeans shaping it in to the smallest stakes I could, then molding the glass with my bare hands, watching as it turned into putty in my palms. Stretching it into two thin and extraordinarily light sheets. then melting and cooling the copper into two tiny hooks and fusing it all together. After that I took the twine and hooked it around the hooks and started to twist, not even noticing how my breath seemed to enter my creation. I then released it into the air, and watched as my beautiful creation with it’s glass wings took flight in silence fluttering about in the shape of a bird, before flying right through the door, like it was nonexistent. I stared in stunned silence as it creaked open, inside was a beautiful workshop, where there were tools of all kinds and it seemed to go on forever. It was beautiful and perfect, I watched as the tools seemed to move themselves, with no caretakers until an old man, older than I’ve ever seen, appeared beside me. “Welcome to the Forges,” he said. “Welcome to me.”
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I closed my book with a loud thump. It had given me no new information and there was still so much more I didn’t know. For the first time in my life, (but certainly not the last) I had exhausted all the resources my local library system had, and was left feeling unsatisfied.
I left my house to return it to the library, and the walk was uneventful. It felt wrong, much like how I’d felt finishing the book and realising there was nothing left to know. I returned it, sullen, and checked the section on Aincient Egypt out of habit. Nothing new. I left quickly, ducking out of a conversation with the cheerful librarian who was bound to ask me what I was researching. Nothing. I was researching nothing.
I wandered aimlessly for a while, noticing at length that the sun was going down and I should head back towards home. I turned, ready to return to my couch and bury myself in a fantasy novel, when I realized I had no idea where I was. My town is very small, and I know it like the back of my hand, but I was utterly lost.
There was what appeared to be the shore of some body of water behind me, which confused me further. I should be landlocked. There was something dizzying and dreamlike about it, and I stepped towards it like I was in a trance. The water smelled briny, something I had never experienced before. There is no ocean near where I am, and at this point, I didn’t even stop to question it. As I put my foot in the water, I saw a glimmer of moonlight on the water far off, a glimmer that seemed to be moving towards me. I stood for a long time, soft waves soaking my shoes with cold water, and soon the glimmer resolved itself into a small boat, with a bluish lantern affixed to the front. I waded in, catching hold of it and stepping into the boat easily.
There were no oars, and no motor either, but the boat moved back out into the ocean steadily, almost as if being pulled by the lantern on the front. I sat there silently for what could have been minutes or years, staring up at the night sky. The stars were unfamiliar, in constellations I didn’t know, but it felt right somehow. At some point, the water grew rough and I began to fear for my life. I had never been on the ocean before, let alone in a boat I had no control over. I woke somewhat out of the dreamlike state I had been in, and prayed with everything I had for someone, anyone to find me and bring me home. The answer came, but it was not the home I expected.
There was a light on the horizon, one I was heading steadily towards despite the wind and waves. I kept watching it, refusing to look away or even blink for fear it would dissappear. It grew brighter and brighter, and my tiny boat seemed to be pulled faster and faster towards it, until at last it loomed above me on a cliff, a proud lighthouse overlooking the nameless sea.
I had no time to admire it though, as the waves brought me towards the sharp rocks of the cliff, and I braced myself, closing my eyes against the inevitable. The boat dropped out from under me and I fell into the freezing water, gasping. The boat’s lantern was nowhere to be seen but now I was pulled as if by the same force that called it to the lighthouse on the cliff. I swam towards the base of the cliff, spitting saltwater, but unable to stop until at last, I caught hold of a rock and pulled myself out of the water. Shivering, I looked up at the looming stone above me and knew that If I was to survive, I must climb.
I drew myself upward, holding tight to the rock as the waves continued to beat against my back and threatened to pull me back into the deep. It felt like I was there for ages, clawing my way up to the lighthouse and its harsh light. My eyes stung and my hands bled but still I climbed. I was drawn inexorably up, up towards the proud lighthouse and the harsh glow coming from within. At long last, I pulled myself up onto the grass, gasping. I wanted nothing more than to sleep right there but I stood up on shakey legs and stumbled towards the open door. Inside there was a vast library and my fatigue was forgotten immediately. There was a scroll laid out on a nearby desk, in such good condition that it looked new, yet it was written in ancient hyroglyphs. There was a sort of magnifying glass holding down one corner and where it sat, the symbols transitioned to recognizable, if somewhat archaic English.
I sat down and read, unaware that there was anyone else in the lighthouse with me, until there was a noise like a great many footsteps from higher in the tower and afraid that I might be trespassing, I grabbed the scroll and hid under the stairs leading higher up to the light. A handful of people walked down the steps right over my head and started pulling volumes off shelves, making tea, and eventually gathering at a table crowded with bits of paper. Little did I know, they had all been in a Tome Kindling session near the Mindflame. There was a lot of chatter about “Fragments” and other things I didn’t understand. One of them reached for the scroll, and unable to find it, muttered something like “Steve” under thier breath and rejoined the others. While I was waiting for an opening to return the scroll and leave without being noticed, my fatigue finally caught up to me, and I fell asleep in the dusty nook under the stairs.
I was shaken awake and a kindly voice said “You must have fallen asleep studying. I hate to disturb you, but it’s closing time.”
I was back in my local library, head on an open book. Ashamed, I jumped up and hurriedly apologuised to the librarian before rushing out the door. I almost thought my visit to the lighthouse was a dream, but my shoes were wet with sea water and when I brushed my hair out of the way, a cobweb came off in my hand.
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Sel, this is a magnificent discovery!
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My story of Finding Sentinel’s Rest.
Enjoy.
-------------------------Continuing from my Discovery of Magiq-----------------------------
After my first conscious use of magiq, I was in a daze. The experience had left me with some new scars and some new abilities. I needed a little time to think. My friends and I had wanted to go camping, so we packed and just started driving. We ended up driving out to the coast, and pitched our tents around a clearing, just in between the tree line and the shoreline. We had all the gear we needed, and I had come prepared. We spent a couple hours just goofing around and sitting around a good campfire.
I stared into the fire for a bit, letting the sounds of the waves crashing, the fire crackling, and the wind rustling the leaves of the trees wash over me, when suddenly the voices of my friends disappeared. I looked up to see where they had gone, and found myself in the campsite, but not. The fire was still there, as were the logs we had piled up, but the tents were gone, as was the car and my friends. I looked around for a bit, called out to my friends, tried to find something, but came up with nothing. I figured they might have headed farther into the forest or down the coast. So I doused the fire, grabbed my backpack, and started walking the line between the forest and the coast. The sky started to change color as time moved on, and I wasn’t sure of the time. I looked skyward to try and find Polaris, but was greeted with different constellations, and a veritable sea of stars, following the path I was on. I kept walking, marveling at the sights and marking where I was with a small symbol. I lost all track of time, and soon it was dark. The sound of a howl cut through the darkness, and my pulse quickened. I had been camping here before and I had never heard of wolves being in the area. Bears? Maybe. Wolves? Never. I increased my pace, continuing down the shore line, following my instincts, and listening to my inner voice.
The howls increased in number, and grew louder with every few minutes. I weaved my way into the forest a bit to try and lose the howls, but they continued to grow louder. Eventually I found my way back to the tree line and found myself standing in front of a gate. The words above the gate were in an odd language, but in my mind, I understood them. The words translated to “May you find rest here, weary defender of the Golden Balance.” Something in me, my instincts or maybe the magiq, compelled me to touch the gate. Right before I touched it, the gate swung open, and then I heard the growls. The Wolves had arrived, and had encircled me. I turned to stand face-to-face with the biggest one, which looked like it was the size of a rather large bear, and slowly moved into a defending stance never leaving its eyes. It looked at me and then at the gate. It met my eyes for a moment that seemed like it lasted an eternity, and turned and walked away. The pack around me followed suit and I was left, ready to defend myself and whoever might be beyond that gate. I stood there for a time, not sure if they would come back, though my heart said they had gone when the leader had looked into my eyes. I then proceeded through the gate, and into the presidio campus.
I proceeded into the campus, mist rolling down the lawn. I saw some people in the distance, but my eyes and thoughts were locked on what looked like the main building. I passed a garden in the middle of the buildings, and climbed the stairs to the door of the main building. The doors were large, and carved with images of nature and battle. I pushed against the door and found it open, easier than I had thought given its size. Entering into the vast open hall, I found people around the hall, and was welcomed to the hall of Sentinel’s Rest. A young woman took me along the way and showed me the hall. As we went to leave the main building told me, “Come find us again, you will know the way. Come to us at Sentinel’s Rest,” and pressed a compass and a small bow and arrow pendant into my hand. We stepped through the door and I woke up in my hammock at the campfire. My friends told me we were heading out, time to go home. I got up from the hammock and found the two items in my pocket. The compass, what I now know to be my chronocompass, and the small pendant. I put the pendant on some leather cord, put it around my neck, and knew that I’d found a new home.
Author’s Note: next is how i met my familiars. and they have something to do with whats in this discovery as well.
I hope you enjoyed the writing!
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