Later on, after they had eaten their fill and the fire at the end of the lodge’s great hall had burned down to embers, Falthejn cleared his throat. “I am afraid I will be leaving den Holm tomorrow. Urgent matters … Continue reading
Sif’s next week passed in a blur. Under Falthejn’s comforting guidance, she signed a contract with the guild and received her aspirant’s allowance—ten crowns, more money than all the rest she’d ever seen put together. Much of it vanished over … Continue reading
Falthejn took in the room. Dramatic, certainly; then again, his experience was mostly with the diviners’ guild, whose city headquarters comprised a few rented rooms above the least reputable High Quarter tavern. Diviners tended not to get along with one … Continue reading
Sif nodded, closed her eyes, and took a few breaths. She realized how tense she was, and relaxed. The weave revealed itself to her. She saw the magiker watching her, their power a whirlwind around them. That gave her an … Continue reading
The unassuming little poem of nine lines known as Cædmon’s Hymn, despite its pint-sized scale, is a miliarium aureum, a literary milestone arguably greater than any other in the history of the English language: it is the first hymn, the … Continue reading
They continued upward. Sif had been on her feet all day, and now she felt a burning in her legs. Rasmussen continued indomitably. Finally, they came to the end of the passageway, stepping into a large, circular room with a … Continue reading
Baltasar Rasmussen led Sif through a door to their left, then up a gently-sloping curved passageway. “Where are we going?” she asked. Rasmussen glanced at her over his shoulder, bushy eyebrow once again poking skyward. Sif got the sense he … Continue reading
They passed through the gate. The grounds were littered with obstacles: netting strung between poles to their left, large rocks to their right, and more which Sif could only glimpse. They entered the spire through massive double doors, and Sif … Continue reading
Sif followed Falthejn out of the School of Conjurers, blinking in confusion. “Didn’t you know that was going to happen?” “I thought it would go another way,” Falthejn replied. “How often does that happen?” “More than you might think.” “‘No, … Continue reading
It just figured he had managed to find a change of the watch. Now he had to wait out the men coming back in. Sure enough, after a few minutes more, they came in through the same hatches their colleagues—or … Continue reading
