(2021-10-30) Opening

Details

Author:	Jessa
Summary:	The very first message stored.
Rating:	T for Teen

Chain: Messages from the Locket

Remilea closed the door of her tiny room behind her and sank onto the narrow bed. Now she could let her knees knock together without having to worry about anyone seeing. She would put her small bundle of things away later; now she just wanted to sit and breathe. Her interview with the archmage had gone well, and her studies in the mage tower could begin. How had her father known? How had he prepared so thoroughly?

Why hadn't he told her?

She felt the edges of the fat locket mashing into her palm and opened her hand, staring down at the heart shape. Her finger stroked it once, then depressed the clasp. Inside were no mere pictures, not with her touch on the clasp. Instead the space was filled with a faceted stone. Quartz, one might think, but in place of dark occlusions and contaminants, there were flecks of bright, brilliant color. As she watched, one would brighten, fade, and another would warm, pulsing individually to their own hidden rhythm. It was beautiful, but to her it was infinitely more precious than its complex appearance could explain.

Now her finger touched the faceted face, and the pulsing paused. "Father," she said softly.

A sunny yellow fleck sparked, fanning out a sheet of light in front of her.

Her father's face. So young, so full of life, and bright with the smile he tried to contain. "Well," the image spoke, her father's voice but thinner than it had been in life, "now we know for certain you will be a girl! We have not yet settled on a name. Your mother wants to name you after her great-grandmother, who had no magic at all but was the wisest of hill women, she claims. I myself prefer your mother's middle name, Esme, but I would not have had a child with her if she were not strong-willed, so it may be she ends up winning the argument. By the time you see this, you'll know!

"I suppose I can begin this project. My gift to you, some many years in the future. In here I will keep advice and lessons to guide you and watch over you, my beloved daughter." He laughed, and she smiled sadly in response. "I already know I love you. Oh, and you shall be such a power in the world! But here is my first piece of advice for you: Always do what you know to be right. So many voices will suggest or demand different courses of action. Some of those voices will even be your own. When you don't know what to do, sit. Breathe. Silence them all, and then ask yourself, not what it is they or you want, but what is right. No matter what enemies you make, no matter who becomes angry with you, you will have the comfort of knowing you have done what was right."

He smiled at her, and she felt that smile reach across time to fill her with warmth. "When you wish to see the various lessons encoded here, simply say 'invoke' while touching the gem. Fair warning, some things will be restricted from you until conditions have been met, but this, my first message of love to you, will always be available. I hope you have fared well, my Elodie, and I will meet you in six months' time."

Without attempting to invoke any of the lessons, she closed the clasp and hugged the locket to her heart. He had seen so many futures. It had always been his gift. Had he seen her sitting alone in a crude room on a scant mattress, clutching a locket against her as if it was all that kept her heart beating?

Remilea rose and took the single step necessary to bring her to the washstand, then used a cool cloth to wipe her tears away. She had a lesson in enchanting soon, and it wouldn't do to be late. Her first day as a mage, and so many more yet to come.