Flameruner

Memoirs 254 - Elderly offers

Scarlett’s fingers sifted through the towering stack of documents cluttering her desk. The papers, a mixture of official business and reports, ranged from shipping manifests and bills of lading to imperial charters and writs issued by the relevant authorities. Invoices from entities such as Elystead Tower mingled with correspondences from the ...

Memoirs 253 - Sibling affections

The candles around the room flickered to life with a subtle flick of Scarlett’s wrist, their warm glow illuminating the prone figure on the bed.

Evelyne’s eyes widened slightly as they focused on her. “…Scarlett?” Her voice wasn’t much above a whisper.

Scarlett’s features hardened into a scowl as she regarded the injure...

Memoirs 252 - Tensions

Guifford Knottley stood at the broad window of his office, his calloused hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed the errant signs of devastation marring Freybrook. His gruff face, etched with lines of exhaustion and disquiet, reflected in the glass as he gazed upon the occasional broken rooftop, charred dwelling, and shattered street below....

Memoirs 251 - Mixed news

Scarlett sat at the table in her quarters on the Rising Isle, poring over a weathered old Zuverian tome. It was something she’d used on occasion to practice reading the ancient script, but now was the first time she could truly comprehend its contents. Mostly, though, she was reading to distract herself, an effort that was only marginally succ...

Today's chapter postponed to tomorrow

Due to some added-up work, today's chapter will be posted tomorrow instead (Sunday's chapter will still be released on schedule)

Memoirs 250 - Brewing storms

Evelyne stirred from her slumber, roused by an unsettling cacophony of distant noises and faint, haunting cries. Groggily, her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the darkness that enveloped her bedroom as consciousness slowly seeped back into her mind.

What in the world could that be?

With a soft rustle of fabric, she pushed aside her...

Memoirs 249 - Crisis

“What’s going on? What’s that on your wrist?” Allyssa’s voice snapped Scarlett back to the present.

“You can see this?” Scarlett asked, turning to face the girl with a furrowed brow.

“Um, yes…?” Allyssa replied, her eyes darting uncertainly between Scarlett and the others. “Am I not supposed to?”

Yamina ...

Memoirs 248 - Disruptions

Rosa and Fynn exchanged worried glances as Scarlett turned to face them.

After a brief hesitation, Rosa broke the silence, her voice gentle but still laced with concern. “Scarlett, mind telling us what’s going on?”

Scarlett looked at her, finding that it took a moment to articulate her thoughts. “I am…fine,” she replied m...

Memoirs 247 - Legacy

Though Scarlett couldn’t be sure, she felt like Thainnith cocked an inquisitive eyebrow in response to her question. After a brief pause, his mostly featureless visage raised a hand, and an image shimmered into existence above his palm — a vast, cloud-streaked sky. Within its expansive vista, glimpses of a tremendously long, serpentine creat...

No chapter this sunday

I'll be gone for a few days, so there unfortunately won't a chapter this weekend. Will be back again next week.

Memoirs 246 - Inheritance

Scarlett’s eyes quickly adjusted to the gentle, otherworldly light suffusing the chamber, some of it seeming to emanate from the myriad symbols adorning the walls, each pulsing in a mysterious rhythm. Tall structures resembling pods occupied the corners, their surfaces intricately etched with ancient runes.

Scattered throughout were arca...

Memoirs 245 - Odd signs

The final room in the Veiled Library wasn’t anywhere near as vast as the main chamber, but it still held an imposing presence. Its design echoed that of the main chamber with rows of stone shelves, but the aisles were wider, and the eerie librarians were conspicuously absent.

Instead, however, there was a lone, towering figure in front o...

Memoirs 244 - Cranky librarians

When Scarlett and the others reached the bottom of the stairs, they stopped for a moment to take in the sight before them. The room was vast, far larger than the chamber above, with countless rows of stone shelves laden with books and other texts. Spectral entities, clad in thick, grey robes, glided gracefully between the aisles, pausing now and...

Memoirs 243 - The Veiled Library

Scarlett and her companions found themselves in a dimly lit underground chamber, its age-old stone walls sporadically illuminated by glowing green crystals, painting everything in hues of ghostly jade.

It was eerily silent here, broken only by the soft echoes of their footsteps. Statues of ancient Zuver lined the walls, their impassive sto...

Memoirs 242 - Naturals

“I presented Grand Wizard Hartford with my response this morning,” Scarlett informed Magister Penney calmly. The man sat opposite her in a spacious armchair, watching her with keen interest. “I trust he will bring it before the council without delay. My terms are rather comprehensive, so I sincerely hope that you will give them thoughtful ...

Memoirs 241 - Nice views

Scarlett sat on a bench at the edge of a thin, lush wharf, cradled by the natural beauty of the Rising Isle. Before her, one of the Isle’s countless waterfalls cascaded gracefully into the network of waterways that weaved through this place, painting a picturesque view.

Behind her loomed a tall structure reminiscent of a lighthouse, thou...

Memoirs 240 - Politics

Later in the evening, following their exploration of the Astral Sanctum and its hidden dungeon, Scarlett found herself in the communal space of their accommodations, joined by her party. They were seated around a secluded low table, the others engaged in heated conversation. Allyssa and Rosa, in particular, seemed keen on interrogating Fynn abou...

Memoirs 239 - The inner sanctum

Scarlett surveyed the lineup of robed wizards in front of her and Grand Wizard Hartford within the Astral Sanctum, studying their faces. They were all Senior Wizards or Principal Wizards, which meant they were skilled enough, but she had expected at least one Grand Wizard or Arch Wizard.

Her gaze lingered momentarily on the purple-haired w...

Memoirs 238 - An Accessible Sanctum

“Be careful with the etheric temporances, and don’t lose focus on your focalizations!” Grand Wizard Hartford’s sharp instructions echoed as a group of Senior Wizards cast their spells in unison. Six of them stood before a massive stone door adorned with innumerable runes and sigils, all aglow in a spectrum of colors as the wizards’ spe...

Memoirs 237 - Hearty introductions

The accommodations provided to Scarlett and her party were decent, though they weren’t really comparable to her mansion back in Freybrook. While the Rising Isle boasted plenty of impressive landmarks, it seemed their appreciation for stunning architecture didn’t quite extend to interior design.

Shortly after Bunce had introduced them t...

Memoirs 236 - Hitting the books

After Scarlett’s meeting with Grand Wizard Gaspar Hartford, she and Fynn waited for the rest of their party to return from their exploring. After they did, they also waited for Principal Wizard Bunce, who had the finalized arrangements for their stay.

“I hope that everything will be up to your standards,” the man said as the group be...

Memoirs 235 - Family reunions...?

The gondola eventually made a smooth landing near the heart of the Rising Isle, where a central island featured a magnificent waterfall cascading into the network of waterways winding through the city. The island was adorned with numerous grand structures, each unique and intriguing in its own way.

One building appeared as though carved fr...

Memoirs 234 - The Rising Isle

The carriage rolled into the expansive, circular plaza that surrounded Freybrook’s Kilnstone. Scarlett and her companions peered out the windows at the bustling lanes, watching as the coachman navigated past the queues leading towards the marble structure at the plaza’s heart, drawing curious looks from many in line.

“So, what do you...

Memoirs 233 - Diplomatic immunity...?

A few days after her conversation with Beldon, Scarlett returned to Freybrook late in the afternoon from a day-long dungeon expedition, accompanied by her party. As they arrived, the party members quickly dispersed to deal with their own business, while Scarlett was greeted by Garside in the foyer as she was heading to her office.

“My La...

Memoirs 232 - Leads and updates

A cavalcade of elemental forces unfolded before Scarlett as she channeled her mana into her magic, with fiery whirls of concentrated flames bursting into existence only to be smothered by cascading vortexes of water. These vortexes enveloped the flames, dousing them in a dramatic clash of opposing forces that resulted in towering columns of stea...

Memoirs 231 - Hearty meals

When Scarlett returned to Freybrook, the courtyard was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the faint glow from the windows overlooking it. The air here was starkly colder than on the Rising Eye, and the abrupt shift in temperature was somewhat jarring.

Using her pyrokinesis to warm herself up, Scarlett allowed herself a brief moment ...

Memoirs 230 - Draconian encounters

An oppressive silence filled the cavern after Scarlett spoke, as though she had challenged the very sky itself.

She found herself unable to suppress the surge of indignation and defiance that had risen up inside her. The stifling pressure seemed to assert its authority, feeling like a direct challenge to her very essence — an affront her...

Memoirs 229 - Playing apprehensions

Scarlett’s attention was fixed on the broken device before her, studying the damage that had been done to it. She’d had her suspicions, but seeing tangible proof was a different thing entirely.

To anyone else, this sight, by itself, might seem insignificant. Even if they recognized it as odd that the device was in the state that it was...

Memoirs 228 - Awkward company

Scarlett stared at Nol’viz. In return, Nol’viz stared back at her, the trio of eyes on her expressionless mask blinking in concert.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Scarlett’s mind raced, trying to figure out why one of the Hallowed Cabal’s more formidable agents would be here, right at this moment. As far as she w...

Memoirs 227 - Home visits

“So,” Rosa began, moments after Scarlett had vanished in a blinding flash of light, turning to face Dean Godwin. “Frequent visitor around here?”

The corners of the man’s mouth lifted in a subdued smile as the honest-to-gods archmage flipped his cape back and clasped his hands behind him. “More frequent than I had originally ant...