Fate's Loyal Passenger

The office bumbled with people speaking into their telestones and conjuring scrolls to scribble report upon report of the happenings around the continent, whether they be studies being conducted in Pluviot, the City of Tears, or in the far off port city of Ochole and the shipments they were receiving.

Most were determined, faces set grimly as most of the information and news flowing through the Archives Chamber were typically quite bad: natural tragedies, murders, disappearances, and of course, reports on the Affliction spreading, especially in the countryside.

Anything that has happened will inevitably pass through these halls to be recorded and protected from the annals of time.

A terafey, with long ears decorated in exquisite jewelry and a stone of green teragris pressed into her forehead, sat at a desk atop a deck overlooking the workers. Behind her, wide windows let her gaze upon Administrative Avenue to see clergymen rush from building to building under the pouring rain. Most had enchantments up, shielding themselves and the important papers they held from becoming soaked through.

She watched them briefly, amused by the ants marching to the beat of fate, when her thoughts were interrupted by a squeaky voice.

“Madam Diviner, if you wish, you can go home for the day. We have everything just about covered and shouldn’t need your assistance.”

She tilted her head lazily to the side, and smiled pleasantly at the halfling girl who stood before her. Her second in command at the Archives Chamber, and one of the most serious workers here.

“I’ve told you before, Rosemary, you may call me Theolene,” she said, voice gentle and Rosemary nodded her head.

“As you wish…Theolene,” Rosemary said, and she looked back up. “Like I said, though, if you wish to go home you can. I have a handle on the happenings here.”

Theolene smiled, and she stood. 

If the fates wished to relieve her of her boredom, then she wasn’t one to ignore this call.

“Alright Rosemary, I leave you in charge. If you need anything, do not hesitate to reach out,” she said, and scooped up her grimoire, a beautiful deep blue with stars and constellations dotting its surface in silver ink, as well as her coin purse.

Rosemary straightened and nodded her head excitedly.

“Yes ma’am! Please have a good rest!” Rosemary chirped, and followed Theolene out of the office. With one final smile, Theolene left, and began to join the stream of the crowd.

As she weaved through the crowd, swaying in and out of people’s ways with a lackadaisical care, she was suddenly aggressively bumped into. She almost fell backwards, but she was able to catch her footing as she looked down upon a red skinned daeling apologizing profusely.

Before she was able to say a word, the daeling rushed off, her hair a deep black and the only thing able to distinguish her in the crowd before she disappeared around a corner.

Theolene cocked her head, before she continued on her way, whistling happily as she wondered why the fates would take her coin purse.

~~~

Theolene stopped at a cart with apples, admiring each of them, when another terafey approached her confidently.

She turned and smiled, though she would admit to a bit of annoyance upon seeing who it was.

The other terafey stood only a couple inches taller than her, and his dull brown hair was slicked back to allow for the large golden teragris upon his forehead to shine brightly. Expensive bits of jewels decorated his body, belying his job as a jeweler quite obnoxiously.

“Hendrick,” she said with a pleasant wave. “How are you?” 

Hendrick smiled and leaned in closer, taking the casual conversation as permission to invade her space.

“Wonderful now that I’ve gotten to see you, Theolene. I hope you feel the same,” he said.

“Why of course!” Theolene lied pleasantly, and Hendrick’s smile widened, believing the honey sweet words. “It is just a bit better than having my coin purse stolen.”

“Stolen? By who?” Hendrick asked, brow furrowed.

“Oh, a daeling that I had bumped into in the crowd. It’s okay, though, these things happen and if the fates design it, who am I to deny it?” Theolene said, and Hendrick frowned.

“That is still not right, this should be reported to the authorities, even if the Gods planned it. Hells, if I had been there I would have taught them a lesson, you know there’s that new law being passed in self defen-” Hendrick pushed, getting heated, and Theolene shook her head.

“It’s quite alright, no need for violence. But, if you have nothing else to add, I really must be going,” Theolene said, and Hendrick fumbled.

“Wait, before you go, I know you have rejected my proposal before-”

“And will continue to do so.”

“But, please, accept this necklace. The emerald in the center piece reminded me of you and I couldn’t not purchase it for you,” he said, and he took out a box and popped it open. Inside, laid upon a white cushion, was a silver chain necklace with a green teardrop pendant laid at the end.

“Oh, it is beautiful, I can’t accept this, it must be exp-”

“I insist,” Hendrick said, and Theolene begrudgingly tucked the box into one of her pockets.

“Then, thank you, Hendrick. I will cherish it,” Theolene said.

Hendrick smiled once more, and dipped into a bow, taking Theolene’s hand gently, “I await the next time your godly presence will grace my dreary days.”

Theolene nodded, kindly took her hand back, and continued on, mood only slightly soured by an annoying inconvenience the fates had decided she must encounter on a near daily occurrence.

~~~

The Cat’s Cradle was a quiet, tucked away cafe just off of Apprentice Lane, without many patrons. It was a place that Theolene found great comfort in during her time at the University, and one she found herself visiting once upon a spell if time permitted her.

At the counter, Anabelle Softpaws, a catfolk with luxurious, silky white fur, greeted her warmly and began prepping the kettle as Theolene chattered about her day. She apologized for being unable to pay today, on account of being robbed, but Anabelle shook her head.

“Oh don’t worry love, it’s on the house,” Anabelle purred, rolling her R’s.

“Thank you dear, I’ll be sure to bring double tomorrow,” Theolene said, and Anabelle waved her paw.

“No it’s quite alright,” she said. “This gives me a chance to train my new employee. Anaise!”

From behind in the backroom, a voice called back, “One second!”

Stepping out was a daeling with skin like cherries and black hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, tying her apron behind her back. Her horns, curved like rams, had a few pieces of jewelry strewn along it, and from a knee length skirt there was a black tattoo of flowers and a snake just peeking out around her knee. 

From what Theolene could tell, she was a perfectly put together young woman, perhaps even a student at the University.

Anaise, the same daeling thief, looked up and met Theolene’s gaze, freezing in place like a doe caught in the lamplight.

Theolene smiled. Fate sure liked their irony.

“Hello dear, here, could you please make her chai tea latte? Do not worry about messing it up, it’s on the house on account of poor Madam Theolene’s coin purse being stolen,” Anabelle chirped, unaware of the tension growing in the room.

“Y-yeah, of course, Miss Softpaws,” Anaise stammered, and she stiffly approached the counter to make the drink.

Theolene smiled some more. Perhaps she needed the coin to help her expenses while attending school. If that’s the case…

“Take what you need, dear. I’ll be sitting over here whenever you’re ready,” Theolene said, and then went to sit upon one of the lounge chairs near the curved stained glass.

As she waited, Theolene took out her grimoire and began to read some of the predictions from it regarding fate’s fickle strings of time for the day.

She didn’t read them often, as she preferred to accept fate's decisions blindly and to be pleasantly surprised by the day to day.

But…surely, there was something special about today, for a coincidence this strange to happen.

She had just about read the beginning of a passage that started with, ‘For more blood spilled, something long desired be found from being killed…’ when someone coughed above her.

When she looked up, Anaise was standing there with a steaming cup of tea, her long, spaded tail twitching agitatedly behind her. She placed the cup on the table before her, and Theolene glanced back towards the counter to see that Anabelle was preoccupied with a book, humming a song to herself. No one else was in the cafe besides them.

“Thank you dear, I’m sure this will be delightful,” Theolene said, and accepted the cup. She took a sip and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was indeed incredibly delightful.

“M-ma’am,” Anaise mumbled, rubbing her hands nervously in front of her. She glanced back, and when she was sure Anabelle wasn’t looking, she took out a familiar coin purse from her pockets and shoved it towards Theolene. In a rushed whisper, “I-I’m sorry for stealing, ma’am, th-there’s no excuse, but I am sorry. I hope you haven’t-”

“Shh, be calm, my dear,” Theolene soothed, and then patted the cushion next to her. “I have not told anyone, nor am I really bothered. I do appreciate you returning it though. It’s a good sign of character to admit your faults.”

Anaise hesitated, but eventually slumped into the seat next to her.

“You needn’t worry my dear, as Madame Diviner, I have accepted this to be a part of fate’s path,” she said, and Anaise shot her a horrified look.

“M-madam Diviner!” Anaise stammered, and she bowed her head once again, “I am, so sorry…I know you say not to worry, but I am ashamed to have taken the coin purse from you…”

“It’s okay, I’m sure you must have needed it. Though, why you do after starting to work here is beyond me,” Theolene said, and then at her look, Anaise sighed.

“Yes, I just started here, but…I needed money now…”

Then Anaise explained that she was alone, and needed money to pay rent to the dormitories or else she would be expelled. Her friend, a purple terafey named Ludari, could only cover for her so much, and she didn’t want to keep relying on him.

Theolene listened intently, and when Anaise quieted, she gently reached out and patted Anaise’s hand.

She rustled in her things and pulled out the necklace box and offered it to Anaise.

“Quite frankly, I got this from someone I don’t quite care for. It should probably be worth quite a bit of coin if you were to sell it,” she said, and Anaise stammered, trying to refuse.

“I can’t, this is, this is…”

“No worries. Just take it, and focus on your studies, hm?” Theolene smiled, and Anaise could only smile back.

“Thank you, Theolene, for…everything,” Anaise said, and then stood, pocketing the necklace. “I should get back to training, I don’t want to rely just on this gift you’ve given me.”

Theolene nodded her head, and tipped her cup towards her. “The next time I come here, I expect to have another fantastic cup that you made.”

Anaise beamed, and then returned to the counter, a skip in her step as Theolene watched her go.

~~~

The next day she went to work, an official Archivist was waiting to speak to her.

Curious, Theolene gave them a curious smile.

“How can I help you, sir?” she asked as she approached, and the human only nodded his head.

“Hello Madam Diviner, I apologize for the rather abrupt nature of this visit, but I must ask you to accompany me and answer some questions regarding an incident this morning,” he said, and Theolene cocked her head to the side.

“Incident?” she asked, and the human gestured for her to follow. Nobody can say no to an official Archivist’s investigation, so she began to follow him into the rain and through the throngs of people.

The two arrived at a jewelry shop with multiple other Archivists speaking lowly outside it. The drapes were drawn in the windows of the shop, and outsiders gave curious looks before continuing on their way.

The human walked into the shop, holding the door open for Theolene to step inside. When she did, she was startled as Hendrick was suddenly there, a complete and utter mess.

“Th-theolene! Please! Tell them it was in self defense, you-the necklace! The necklace I had gotten you, that daeling stole it!” he howled, and another Archivist came and wrangled him back, holding the back of his robes like one would a petulant kitten.

The human Archivist that had led her here apologized for Henrick’s behavior, as she stared at him, unused to this level of pathetic from the terafey.

“A distress call was made to the Archivist’s earlier this morning, on account of screams coming from here,” the human explained, and he motioned for Theolene to follow him once more. They stepped around Henrick who was still whimpering about his innocence, and headed towards the backroom, following a trail of blood.

“I apologize once again, but we need you to confirm whether or not you recognize the body,” he said grimly, and then continued, “It’s…quite a grizzly scene, but we appreciate your cooperation in this endeavor.”

He opened the door, and when Theolene glanced in, she had to turn away immediately. A red body laid in a pool of blood, limp and covered in bruises. Though she couldn’t quite tell the extent of the injuries, she could tell that there was no discernable way to look at the face for how much it was a bruised, gnarled mess. When Theolene turned away, she saw a black tattoo of a snake wrapped around the leg, wreathed in flowers.

“Anaise,” Theolene mumbled, and the human closed the door.

“So you recognize the daeling,” the human said, and Theolene nodded.

“Now, Mister Amberson says that the reason he had…defended himself, was because that young lady in there had come in with a necklace he had given you. He claims that when he confronted her, she would not give it to him and things…turned violent,” the human said. “We wanted to confirm whether or not any of this was true.”

“Yes, he gave me a necklace. But I had given it to that young girl to help her pay for her rent,” Theolene said.

“What!?” Hendrick howled, and Theolene turned to him, shuffling closer to the human in fear of what else Hendrick might do.

“I wanted to help her after she told me of the issues she was having,” Theolene said, and she turned to the human. “I know it may be my word against his, but you can get someone with a truth spell to confirm the validity of them.”

He held up a hand. “We may do that, but you have already done enough. Please, return home and get some rest, we understand how traumatizing this may be.”

Theolene nodded, and started to shuffle out. Behind her, Henrick was screaming obscenities, and she could not help but glance back at him and smile.

The fates were tricky, but sometimes, they were too generous.

The door closed behind her and she stood under the awning, watching the people walk by. The other Archivists that were out here had dispersed, and now only one stood off to the side, keeping an eye on the crowd.

She was about to leave when a small terafey approached the Archivist, face expressionless and his long, silvery hair pulled back into twin tails. He wore robes from the University, and a glint of gold from his robes caught her attention.

They spoke briefly, and then turned to enter the jewelry store.

“Excuse me, Madam Diviner,” the Archivist said, and she scooted off to the side.

As they joined her under the awning, Theolene asked, “I apologize if I am wrong, but…are you Ludari?”

The two paused, and the terafey’s gaze turned to her, eyebrow raising just the slightest bit.

“Yes ma’am,” he said. “How can I help you?”

“I wanted to give my condolences, for Anaise,” she said. “I had just met her yesterday and she had spoken about you.”

“Ah,” he said and trailed off. He shifted feet and looked down. “She was…a good person, down on her luck though. She was very excited when we spoke last night.”

“I see…” Theolene said.

“If you’ll excuse us, Madame Diviner,” the Archivist said, and Theolene nodded. Then, Ludari and the Archivist turned to walk into the store.

Just as he reached up to grip the door, his robes shifted, and Theolene’s eyes laid upon the dark, purple leather of a grimoire, the corners gilded in gold and a peculiar symbol engraved onto the front flashed briefly before fading back to dark purple.

Her eyes widened, and she caught the door before it closed.

“Ludari, wait,” she said, feeling her heart leap into her throat and barely able to keep the grin from her face.

He turned to her and before he could speak, Theolene continued, “I hope you have great success at the University. If you ever need anything, please feel free to reach out to me, you’ll always be welcome at the Archives Chambers.”

He hesitated, before he nodded and said, “Thank you.”

Then, Theolene let go of the door and watched it closed. The smile upon her face grew, and she briskly began to walk back to her home.

Though marred in a small tragedy, it would seem that the fates truly wanted to shower her with good fortune, for the Book of Erudition has signaled its presence.