Flameruner

Memoirs Interlude - Fates

The streets were quieter than they should have been.

Footsteps echoed softly against the cobbled road as a hooded figure moved through the ruin-laden district, the hem of her cloak brushing against scattered debris. The wind curled through the empty avenues, carrying the scent of smoke and frost-bitten stone — remnants of the chaos that ...

Memoirs 335 - Curious counts

“—the city guards are currently focused on securing the Commons and Guild Row before moving on to the outlying districts. We’ve established contact with the other cities and the imperial forces, and it has been confirmed that the Imperial General is dispatching half of the Fifth Division from Elystead to reinforce Freybrook and the surroun...

Memoirs 334 - The situation

Fynn stepped out from among the trees as Scarlett approached the estate walls, his sharp gaze sweeping over her as if checking for injuries.

Scarlett returned the [Essence of Zenthas] to her [Pouch of Holding], grimacing as she conjured a floating orb of water. She heated it with pyrokinesis and used it to cleanse her hand. What that psych...

Memoirs 333 - Angling around

Scarlett and Fynn moved through the thinning veil of trees. The air was noticeably warmer than the night before, and patches of snow had melted, revealing damp earth beneath. Still, it was no true thaw — just a brief reprieve before winter tightened its grip again.

Soon, they emerged into the familiar glade where their battle had taken p...

Memoirs 332 - Scrupulous Samaritans

Guifford watched as Scarlett came to a halt before the sea of monster corpses, her gaze sweeping over the carnage with a slight frown. Then, lifting her head, she looked at him and his knights. A heartbeat later, her form dissolved into mist and reformed directly in front of him.

“Count Knottley,” she greeted, reaching up to remove a p...

Memoirs 331 - Siege defence

Scarlett stepped out of the interstitial space with Rosa and Fynn, returning to the Loci’s quiet garden. The spirit greeted her with a faint, half-formed mental response. Behind them, the gateway Rosa had created dissipated, and with it, the tension in the bard’s shoulders eased. Her aura settled, the darkness in her eyes fading and giving w...

Memoirs 330 - Blazing creations

Scarlett watched as Rosa prepared to channel her Heartstone’s power, the bard glancing at her.

“So, how exactly do you want me to handle this?” Rosa asked. Her voice echoed with a strange resonance, like a whisper drifting through an empty hall.

Scarlett gestured to a section of the garden where the intricate arrays and runes c...

Memoirs 329 - Official prospects

“My apologies for not receiving you at our originally agreed-upon time,” Scarlett said, lifting a delicate porcelain cup of winter mint tea to her lips, the blend expertly prepared by Garside. “It is unfortunate that you were preoccupied both yesterday and the day before, but I trust we can finally reach an agreement today.”

“Tha...

Memoirs 328 - Gilded chambers

The carriage trundled its way through Freybrook, the cobbled streets gradually giving way to the wider, more spacious roads of the northern district. Scarlett and Evelyne sat in silence, each gazing out their respective window. Outside, the view shifted between patches of dark, snow-covered forest and the vague silhouettes of affluent estates, t...

Memoirs 327 - Pasts forgotten

Evelyne watched her sister, studying Scarlett’s expression as countless thoughts spun through her own mind. She felt as if she’d stepped into some strange, surreal world where common sense no longer applied. What unnerved her most was that she seemed to be the only one rattled by what had just happened.

Here she sat, utterly lost, her ...

Memoirs 326 - Awkward sisters

Scarlett stared at her doppelganger, seated across from her in the carriage. Evelyne, sitting beside the other Scarlett, looked between the two of them, her expression frozen in shock.

“What are you doing here?” Scarlett demanded, voice clipped.

The other Scarlett offered a faint smile, a carefully measured expression that didn�...

Chapter out tomorrow

Short notice that tonight's chapter will be delayed by one day. Got back yesterday but did not make it without contracting a bit of an illness, so I was unable to finish the today's chapter. Sorry for that (and for leaving things on a cliffhanger), but hopefully the chapter itself is something you will all enjoy.

Memoirs 325 - Plays

Evelyne was waiting for them when Scarlett and Rosa returned to the carriage. The younger woman glanced at the books in Rosa’s hands, then looked to Scarlett.

“…You didn’t buy anything?” she asked.

“I did,” Scarlett replied, settling into her seat. With a casual thought, her fur cloak vanished, and she motioned at the [...

Memoirs 324 - First stops

The carriage rocked gently as it rolled down the snow-covered cobble streets of Freybrook, passing rows of homes, frost-covered streetlamps, and the occasional shopfront displaying its wares. Inside the cabin, a cozy warmth lingered—a welcome contrast to the chill outside—courtesy of the enchantments woven into the vehicle’s frame. Meanwhi...

Memoirs 323 - Old chidings

The occasional rustle of paper and the soft clink of metal on porcelain echoed through the otherwise silent dining hall of Freybrook mansion, the faint aroma of ink mingling with the lingering scent of freshly baked bread and tea.

Scarlett sat at the head of the long table, a meticulously arranged plate of half-eaten poached eggs, bread, a...

Memoirs 322 - Mounting alliances

“—And there I was, cornered by a gaggle of disgruntled merchants armed with little more than vehement declarations and what I assure you were the most woeful assortment of misplaced indignations,” Raimond declared, sweeping one hand grandly through the air while the other rested upon his heart. Leaning against a marble pillar, his near-gol...

Memoirs 321 - Warded warnings

Scarlett stared at Arnaud, unsure she’d heard him correctly.

“You are asking me to…hire you?” she said finally, squaring her shoulders.

“Yes,” he replied simply.

She scrutinised him, her eyes sweeping up and down his figure. Was he serious?

“I was under the impression that you were a man burdened with respon...

Memoirs 320 - Helicopter parents

The snow crackled softly as Scarlett’s fire swept across it, steam curling upward in sinuous tendrils where flames met frost. Around her, the estate’s training grounds lay locked in winter’s grasp, yet a wide circle at the centre was stripped bare, the frost seared away to reveal the dark stone beneath. Sparse flakes drifted lazily from th...

Chapter gone poof

I may have done what those in the business call a "goof." The chapter which was supposed to be released today is...gone. I, as the fool I am, wrote the draft on my phone (since I've been on the road) without triple-checking that my phone actually managed to update to the server of the editor I use. Only when I went edit and release it on my comp...

Memoirs 319 - Divine what?

As evening settled over the estate, Scarlett entered her office alone, the unlit room welcoming her into its quiet embrace. She kindled a candle on the desk with her pyrokinesis, its warm glow casting flitting shadows across the space. For a moment, she lingered by the door, her eyes tracing the room’s familiar contours before settling on the ...

Memoirs 318 - The S is for Soft and Sappy

Allyssa and Shin’s subdued voices murmured from behind Scarlett as their group walked through the mansion’s expansive hallways.

“What is he even doing here?” Allyssa whispered sharply. “Wasn’t he supposed to be off on some important mission in the Steppes?”

“I would assume it’s because of you,” Shin ...

Memoirs 317 - The endless grind

Scarlett’s final days on the Rising Isle were anything but restful. The week following the events in the Hall of Echoes passed in a whirlwind — there was simply too much to follow up on with her game knowledge of the Isle’s secrets. While she had no desire to linger longer than necessary, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to leverage ...

Notice - no chapter this weekend

I will be away this weekend, so there will be no chapter this coming Sunday. However, I will make sure to publish an extra chapter (sometime) next week to even things out.

Memoirs 316 - Sleeping belle

Scarlett sat in her quarters, Arlene’s journal resting on her lap, slowly flipping through its pages. A knock at the door pulled her from her quiet reverie. She lifted her gaze, her hand pausing mid-turn.

She had settled most matters for the evening, so she wasn’t sure who it was.

“Enter,” she said.

The door creaked ope...

Memoirs 315 - Shiny persuades

Roughly half of the council members stared at Scarlett as though she were either delusional or utterly absurd. A quarter seemed faintly amused, their expressions betraying a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. The rest appeared—justifiably—offended, as if she had spat upon the revered name of Arch Wizard Aubrianne.

It was no surprise ...

Memoirs 314 - How many arch wizards does it take to...?

A brief silence settled in the chamber following Scarlett’s words. The assembly of powerful wizards seated before her regarded her with scrutinising gazes, their expressions wavering between confusion, curiosity, and perhaps a hint of suspicion.

“…The ‘Anomalous One’?” Arch Wizard Elaine Home finally broke the silence, her voic...

Memoirs 313 - An inquiry

Gaspar adjusted the folds of his black robes as he ascended the alabaster steps leading up to the Aetherium Conclave’s principal spire. His expression remained mostly impassive, though the faint furrow in his brow betrayed the weight of his thoughts — and his exhaustion.

The grand chamber doors loomed ahead, etched with its endless shi...

Memoirs 312 - Old journals

Scarlett woke to the weight of accumulated exhaustion from the past couple of days pressing down on her like a thick fog. The chamber was shrouded in darkness, save for a faint glimmer of light slipping in from beneath the door. Even so, she doubted she could return to sleep.

She lay still for a while, staring up at the featureless ceiling...

Memoirs 311 - Worn weary wizards

“This is truly, truly fascinating,” Magister Penney murmured. “Can you sense that subtle thaumaturgic response, like so? It’s as though we’re witnessing a cascade of etheric harmonics, yet I cannot detect their origin. Are they tied to a mnemonic lattice of some sort? It resembles what’s been observed in the Chamber of Remembrance, d...

Memoirs 310 - What's left behind

Scarlett sat in silence for a while, staring at the spot where Arlene had vanished, even as the edges of the Memory crept closer, devouring more and more of the porch. Only when the encroaching borders neared her did she finally shift her attention to the cluster of quest notifications hovering nearby, their glowing presence stark against the di...