#alvez-ized

Gift Art: Liber Centaurorum

It is said that books are a uniquely portable magic. Sometimes this should be taken literally.

A birthday gift art for @EduartBoudewijn finds Cerise de Rysel, scholar and aspiring mage, discovers that some books contain powerful, easily triggered spells...

Kroashent Commission: Metal Box Wing Bird

“What is THAT?!” Sarah’s tail swished unbidden as she pointed upwards at the sky, her hooves clattering nervously on the stone path lining the city ramparts.  

Fredrick craned his neck, holding up his work-worn hands to block out the blinding light of the sun.  His eyes tracked the centauress’s outstretched finger, finally alighting on a sailing ship, great fin-like sails extending from its side.  Ribbons of coloured lights swirled around it, flaring into view as they crashed into the wooden hull.

“Oh, that’s a windship.  Big one too.  I ain’t seen that one before, but she might be from Threetower.  I hear that the Golden Tower has got herself a shiny new one.”

“That boat is in the sky!” She protested “Boats fly here?”

“Well… yeah.  It’s a windship.  You ain’t seen a windship ‘afore?”

“No!  Well, sort of!  We do have metal box wing birds!” Sarah screwed up her face, the wonder of the windship suddenly forgotten at the string of nonsense she had just spouted. “Tin can flying gull?

“You okay, Sarah?”

“No!” She responded, exasperated.  The word was on the tip of her tongue.  She had known it up until she tried to say it.  “Why can’t I say metal box wing bird?”

“Well, it seems like you’re saying ‘metal box wing bird’ just fine.” Frederick laughed “I’ve just got no idea what it means.  Maybe try to describe it.”

Sarah nodded.  That was easy.  She had seen… whatever they were called… many times. “Well, there’s a big box.  And it has wings… and…they flap?  Like a seagull… Its a big metal seagull, but it…”  

“A metal seagull.  Well, the boffins in the towers are always making weird stuff.  I heard that in Letha, someone made a mechanical wyvern out of brass!  Maybe its something like that?”

Sarah nodded, unsure.  Even as she tried to recall the object, the memory seemed to become increasingly vague, the details sounding more and more ridiculous.  She was even doubting if she hadn’t just made up the thing entirely.

Frederick shook his head, bemused at the strange horsegirl’s imagination.  Sarah had a talent for coming up with outlandish theories and ideas.  Truth be told, it made her appear even more adorable and intriguing to her.  “I’ll tell you what.  At the end of work at the end of the Nineday, I’ll take you up to the hills.  You can see all sorts of Windships passing through there.  Maybe one of them will be your metal box wing bird.  Sound good?”

Sarah nodded.  She was determined that she would figure out why she was having so much trouble remembering.  In the meantime, she was going to enjoy the sunny afternoon with the kind blacksmith, the devote her evening to the project. 

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But by the time the sun began to set over the rolling hills, she had forgotten entirely, settling down to a restful sleep.

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