Page 15 of Sightwitch
Without the Rook here I do not know what I would do.
He is not human, but at least he is sentient. At least he listens and communicates in his own strange bird way.
Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe I’m imagining it all.
WHY AM I HERE?
A lone sister is lost
THE UNIVERSITY OF ONTIGUA
CHAPTER 3
The Great Mystery of Eridysi’s Lament
Many conflicting tales exist surrounding the disappearance of the once famed Sightwitch Sisters, and just as many tales exist proclaiming to know where to find them. Known across the Witchlands for their abilities to both record the memories of the dead as well as foresee events of the future, their mysterious sect has not been seen since the days of Eridysi, almost a millennium past.
While some accounts declare Eridysi the most powerful Sightwitch ever to have lived1, this humble scholar asserts that she was not, in fact, powerful at all.
I will even go so far as to assert that what set Eridysi apart from other Sightwitches in the scrolls of history is that her final writings are the only ones of which we still have record.
1. See the works of Markus fon Grübe, Kristine Jialla, Raphael Hanssen, or Pitora Abedirashi.
Diary of Eridysi Gochienka
Eridysi Gochienka
Y2786 D128
MEMORIES—
The first doorway is almost complete.
I am so close. We are so close.
Lady Saria arrived last night, under a veil of moonlight. It took us hours to descend for mere moments of work, yet not once did she complain.
We did not tarry in the mountain’s depths. Once she had carved the six doorways inside the cavern, we hurried back to the surface. She had to be back in her court by dawn, or the six Paladins who now called themselves the Exalted Ones might notice something amiss.
What must it be like to control stone? The Sightwitches are gifted with the magic of Sight from Sirmaya, but it is nothing compared to what the Twelve can do. They control all six elements as easily as I summon breath.
I had not seen the Lady work her magic before—only heard tales and read records. ’Tis more incredible than I’d imagined. A single thought, and the granite rippled. I felt it move beneath me, alive. Answering her call.
Though I could not see the Threads of her magic, I could not resist asking her about them on our return to the surface. “How do you manipulate them?”
“I am bound to the earth,” she said simply, “and the earth is bound to me.”
That was the only answer she gave me—a nonanswer, really, yet I haven’t been able to shake the words from my mind. Though we both are nearing thirty years of age, she has the memory of all the Earth Paladins that have come before. Her wisdom permeates all she utters.
Binding Sirmaya’s magic to an object is the key to everything I create, yet what I lack is a bond that isstrong enough.
Not even the Vergedi Knot is enough. Though it is stronger than the Arlenni Loop I used to make my taro cards, it still cannot hold enough power to bind the doorways to an entirely different place in the Witchlands.
For these doorways to open and remain open, I will need more Threads. More of Sirmaya’s raw magic.
My head throbs from so much time close to the Goddess. She is so vast. She fills every space in my mind and soul. ’Tis all too easy to lose myself in Her.
And if I lose myself before my time for sleeping, then all my plans will fail. Allourplans will fail.
