Scholars of the Macabre
Twentieth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC
As evening falls you make your way south and east again to Gogossos again, though this time not in the company of friends and family. Dany had stayed home to have a lazy night by the fire with Kyla and Ysilla, playing games and trading tales. Likely the sort of tales the other girls' parents would not entirely approve of, but given that most of them had expressed a desire to become inquisitors, better by far that they learn if they can deal with horrors and monsters now rather than when they meet them in the flesh.
Speaking of monsters and their making, the three accompanying you this night could not have been more different in appearance. Lady Saenena Caleris, still dressed in riding leathers elegant as as they are practical, the grandfatherly Qyburn dressed in robes that recall a maester's wear in cut if not in color, more from sheer comfort and familiarity than for any symbolic gesture. As you move swiftly down the still mostly overgrown streets of the city he speaks animatedly with the last member of your small gathering, the shadow-forged Elaheh Marita 'dressed' as much in scars and marks upon her ever shifting skin as in the fabrics stitched to her skin so deftly even you cannot easily tell where one ends and the other begins.
"I still say you are too obsessed with commonalities of form Qyburn. They make an excellent jumping off point, but..." she cuts herself off as her voice shifts in pitch and tone until it is for all intents and purposes unrecognizable. Were this anyone else you would be looking for signs of possession or coercion, but with Elaheh you suspect the distinction is much more material. Indeed a moment later you discover that she can still blush, though whether it is a true involuntary reaction or something she had built in for dealing with mortals, you cannot say.
"Pardon, something must have gone wrong when I shifted the chords this morning."
You almost ask what had made her change that aspect of herself, but think the better of it. Given her proclivities, the question could well come out akin to asking someone why they change clothes from one day to the nest. Instead, you allow the discussion to flow around you, only very occasionally offering an opinion. Necromancy has never held much allure to you and the deeper details of their project are obscure even to your dream-bought knowledge. A good sign that they are truly breaking new ground.
As you share the thought, Lady Saenena smiles in understanding. In spite of having stayed mostly aloof from the conversation, she has obviously been listening. "A sentiment that marks one of the better parts of this age. In Valyria, such an uncertainty would have been called perilous far more often than useful." Her tone turns pensive. "We were so afraid of losing what we already had that we stopped trying to grasp new opportunities."
"Thankfully, that iron grasp did come loose in the end," Qyburn says obviously paying far more attention to your looming destination than the words he had just spoken. "Not that I meant the Doom was in any way fortuitous of course..." he hastens to add.
Saenena raises a hand to stop him. "It is quite all right, Wisdom. I understand the sentiment." The look she gives you over his head shows less forgiveness, but neither does it spark with true anger, more faint exasperation.
I have worked alongside far worse, the look seems to say. "So, how close are you to perfecting these sealed unliving?" the sorceress pushes the conversation along.
"Given the lingering problems with ward decay and the need for rigorous testing before the experiment can be declared a success, I would say it will not be complete this month, though almost certainly on the next."
The Secret of Life and Death progress made 20/25
"Excellent," you nod in satisfaction as you step down the third or forth stair grown from pale roots to make up for some damage to the forge. "In the meantime I would very much appreciate your opinions on some other more ambitious projects now that this far more intact flesh forge is open for use." You go on to explain in broad strokes what you desire for everything from physical and mental augmentations to unlocking the power of the Far Realm in your subjects as Jeyne had done.
"An entirely new realm of power forged specifically by those whose flesh and minds are as mutable as quicksilver..." Elaheh looks to be almost as fascinated by the prospect as she is of the forge all around you.
"Pardon, your Grace", Qyburn interjects softly. "However bold the strides we might take here, we would be well served in knowing more of the fundamentals. Is there any way to access the animating presence without... ah...praying."
"I am afraid not, but this should serve just as well." With a thought, you draw out the book in whose pages you had
bound the mind of the more knowledgeable og the Prideful Ones, the inflections of the complex spell finally within your grasp.
"Of all the grand magics I have seen in your service, Your Grace, I must admit that is the one I most desire," the exiled maester says. "How very simple it would make things," the last is barely a whisper not meant for you to hear.
Much like with Elaheh, you count it wiser not to pry into precisely what he had meant by the last words.
What do you do next?
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OOC: I hope Elaheh works here, I'm still not 100% used to writing the character yet.
