the infernal parchment.

wouldn't it be just peachy?

Finding herself separated from her husband - and court - during the drop, Iseul followed the sound of rustling about, not expecting to meet with Dawn's commander. Turning an inquisitive look around, she hummed. "I'm guessing the storage room. Though, remind me to commend their staff for the exemplary tidiness of it. You should see the storage unit back in my home. It is the stuff of nightmares." she snickered.

"A tornado would be straightforward," he said, finally picking up the thread of her humor, though his voice was quieter than usual. "A tornado I could understand. But this..." He shook his head, jaw tightening. "I've been a healer for almost five centuries, Iseul. My hands have never been ordinary. They have always been..." He paused, turning his palm upward between them as if she might see the absence there. "Warm. Alive. And now they're just hands."

He looked at her then the way he'd been forgetting to do since the weight of his secrets had made him too tired to meet her eyes. She was nursing her wine with a composure he knew was half performance. Her power was still intact, he suspected, though she hadn't said so and he hadn't asked. That was the thing about loving a witch. That was the thing about loving him, too. They both kept their dangerous parts hidden.

"You're being flippant," he said softly, although it wasn't an accusation. "Talk to me. What do you actually think of this?"

insanity wrapped in pure chaos.

She had nodded along as he spoke, understanding the toll this was taking on him - and it had only been day one. How long will her husband - who had been one of the strongest fae ( in character ) she'd know in her considerable lifetime - and the rest of Prythian be able to take it? How long before the insanity creeps to where magic once reigned? A loss of power... it was terrible, but not solely because it was their birthright - rather because it was a siphon to their sanity. Not many could endure immortality and boredom that went hand in hand with it, with a sane mind without the siphon of their natural assigned magic gift. "They are still healer's hands, Ren. What you do is not only in your magic - the healing ember of the fire is not what made you High Healer. It's the knowledge of medicine and healing. You'll find ways to adapt to this." she was sure of it.

if nothing else, he will always have her beside him.

The tone of his voice sets a tiny, amused smile at the curve of her mouth. He'd seen right through her, he always did. It always amused her more than it vexed her, but sometimes she wondered if she even had the ability to truly surprise him. "I'm thinking this is a very dangerous game started by an extremely dangerous individual. I'm thinking that this should be an individual - for a larger number of enemies sounds horrifying - but at the same time I'm hoping it's the latter. I'm thinking that, if only one individual with a type of magic that could do everything that's been done in the recent months, then they must be a god or whatever is closest to it, as there is not a single fae in existence - or history - that's been this powerful." Iseul spoke, but then sighed, and turned to face him again.

"But, if I'm honest, I'm alternating between being terrified and being amused. The loss of other faes' powers is providing me with quite the chuckle, though at the same time it mortifies me because it does not seem to work - this magic drain - on Cauldron Made. and on witches." while there as a smirk upon her lips, Iseul admitted her fear -

if others learn of her having her power, won't that put a target on her head?

The Priestess was still shaky from winnowing to the Starlight Court. Partially, it was because Arianrhod was still gobsmacked that there even was a court of starlight. She sat at the Inn without food or drink, her stomach was upset.

Arianrhod gripped onto the table wood to stable herself. There was too much anxiety in her heart, but at least her joints were not making her suffer.

Starlight enjoyed a temperate climate, which Arianrhod could manage. It also meant her water magic did not freeze immediately when she let it flow to soothe her joints.

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone sat next to her. "I'm very sorry, but I am just not in the mood to share a drink" Arianrhod muttered to the guest.

perhaps she should have asked, first.

"Apologies, Priestess. Everywhere else I full and I am not in much of a mood to stand the entire evening. If you allow me to sit with you, I promise to do so in silence. I won't impose on you."

looks like the need of it was now high.

"I won't get lost or wander aimlessly, if that is what you fear." she smirked. "I think digging deeper into their library is a necessity, at this point." Iseul sighed, though she was hardly disappointed - she was the one with the libraries and the books. "The public library never closes and it is public enough to be a good place to hide something in plain sight. Even if it is a wild goose's chase, it might still be fruitful."

"I agree, I think some people may have already snuck away for hunts of their own. I assume you have plans to go poking around as well?" She raised an eyebrow, well aware of just how chaotic this whole mess was about to get, if it wasn't there already.

the winter's court wouldn't benefit from either solution - or either answer.

"Indeed, I do." Iseul nodded. She always had plans - and quite a few of them, simultaneously. If there was one thing she hated, it was being unprepared. "Are you willing to join me?" she asked.

though she doubted.

"However, I would've liked to be alarmed by any findings. Knowing things is better than being kept in the blissful dark, as nothing is deadlier than ignorance." Iseul sighed. "I suppose if one wishes to know anything, they ought to do it themselves, huh?" she was considering going on a hunt herself.

or so she'd imagined.

"Ah, indeed. I'm quite intrigued in what the High lieges of the Eight courts have to say. I'm willing to bet that the Págos family will not be taking it lightly. After all, for such a vile thing to happen in their own court... no High liege would ever wish for this to happen on their turf." Iseul hummed in thought.

"What do you think of the voice?" she asked, head tilting to the side.

in fact, she was on her way to the library to investigate it when someone collided with her.

"It was." she agreed with a nod, but her expression softened. "I suppose it's only natural. We're all a little... airheaded lately. Can't seem to place blame on anyone for it, yet. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"