Key to the Gates
Written by J-Haskell.
Takes place in spring 506 A.E.D., set shortly after the Siege of the North event. Gloria Ex Undis, a moonviper researcher from Nuova Cadere, visits Duchess Lárensina Primrose’s laboratory late at night. There, she learns about an incredible discovery…
. . .
The day before she was due to return to Nuova Cadere, Gloria received a late-night summons.
She made her way through the darkened city, coming upon her destination at the end of a quiet street. The Duchess’ laboratory sat back from the road, tucked between the tall silhouettes of its neighbouring buildings. Gloria saw no other travellers, the world silent and absent of movement save for the flicker of candle-light in a few windows.
It was not unusual, and no doubt the reason the Duchess had chosen to house her study here, but Gloria could not help the ripple of unease that coursed down her spine, like a spray of cool water.
The last few months still weighed heavily on her. She had not fought herself—she was a scholar, not a warrior—but yet could not help the fear that something made of ice with a cold heart might find her here in the dark, with no one around to help.
Gloria shook herself. She was being completely irrational. The ice beasts had been chased off by the rising heat of spring and the arrival of reinforcements from the south… And yet she walked more swiftly to the door than she might otherwise have.
She knocked. Minutes later, the door swung inward, and Duchess Lárensína’s face smiled out at her. Gloria let out a breath. “Duchess,” Gloria bowed her head respectfully, “you called on me?”
“Yes. I hope it wasn’t too inconvenient,” she said, and stepped aside.
“Nonsense. I was still awake. Have you learned something new about the attack?”
“Not quite.” Lárensína said nothing more until they had secured the door and gone to her study. The fireplace was lit, bathing the comfortable room in warm light. “It’s something else. Something I think you’ll find very exciting.”
“Oh?”
Sat upon Lárensína’s desk, in the midst of its typical organized chaos, were two bottles that stood out among piles of papers and small sample vials. One contained a chunk of ice the length of a talon, while the other was filled with an opaque white liquid, which cast a soft glow across the table. Lárensína reached for the former, hefting it to give Gloria a better look.
No sooner had it risen from the table did the bottle begin to rattle furiously. Lárensína clapped a hand over the bottom to steady her grip. Gloria leaned closer, puzzled.
Oh.
A set of baleful eyes, no more than tiny pinpricks of light set into the ice beast’s face, glared back at her from within the jar. “I didn’t know they could be so small.”
“It’s cute, isn’t it? One of our soldiers brought it in after the siege.”
“I don’t think it likes us very much,” Gloria said dryly. It was too small to be intimidating or even dangerous, but she did not think she could find it in herself to ever call an ice monster ‘cute’. “You said you had something to show me?”
Lárensína blinked at her, face blank, before she started and said, “ah, yes! I got distracted. Come, watch this.”
With no further explanation, Lárensína turned back towards the desk. She set the jar onto the table, its occupant rattling with increasing fury as seconds passed, and then slid it towards the glowing jar. All at once, the ice beast went still.
Gloria leaned forward and tapped the glass. The creature did not even twitch. “Is it dead?”
“Oh, no, of course not,” Lárensína said, sounding almost offended at the implication she might have killed the tiny creature, and lifted the jar up again. The ice beast immediately whirled around, enraged once more. “It simply goes… dormant, I think, when near my potion. I believe that I have crafted something that can counteract the magic of the Frozen Gates.”
“Show me again,” Gloria said, and watched with wide eyes as Lárensína demonstrated her potion several times over. Each time the ice monster went completely still, and on closer inspection she noticed that even the subtle shimmer of magic that rippled across its surface—imperceptible save when she leaned her eye against the jar—vanished when exposed to the potion. “That is incredible! How have you accomplished this?”
Lárensína smiled, then said in a solemn tone, “you must swear to tell no one.” When Gloria swore upon the very moons that she would keep her method secret, Lárensína pulled her desk’s drawer open. Inside were rows of alchemical regents, carefully organized in wooden niches. From a larger one she pulled up a short cloak of glowing white feathers, a few spots missing here and there.
“These are white heron feathers,” Lárensína explained, smoothing down its surface with one hand. “They were gifted to the High Lady by a diplomat from Padwell. This winter, I had a chance to speak with some visitors from Ironbrook, and they mentioned that they have natural anti-magic properties and so”—she nodded to where her potion sat on her desk—“I thought that they might work to make a potion that would provide protection from the Frozen Gates’ effects.”
Gloria stared at her. She understood now why Lárensína had sworn her to secrecy. She knew that she should have felt horrified on behalf of the Land of Rivers’ ally that such an important gift had been used for a potion, but all that stirred in her chest was shock and… and excitement. She managed to reign it in. “You mean to say that, with this, an expedition might safely delve into the Gates? Ignoring its other hazards, at least.”
“Yes!” Lárensína grinned, then said more soberly, “I hope so, at least. We’ll have to test it first, but I stand by my work. I believe we will finally see what lies hidden in the north.”
Gloria could not hold back a smile. Even with the potion, it will be a difficult journey, the more pessimistic part of her said, but for once she was able to ignore those thoughts. Lárensína had accomplished the impossible, so she would do the same. “I am very impressed. I think, if you can be ready by then, I can have my part of an expedition ready for the summer.”
Lárensína nodded, and over the next few hours they discussed the details of their expedition. When Gloria at last stepped back out into the street, most of the night had passed, and she doubted that she would be able to fall asleep after all that excitement.
Tomorrow, she would depart for Nuova Cadere. But she would not stay for long.
Overhead, the aurora danced across the sky, colouring the icy streets of Dura in eerie shades of blue and green.