The Grey Tower

When Casey spotted Dedicated Nathaniel Carridus through the crowds, the trees, the general chaos of life in the Grey Tower, she did a double-take.

She was trudging wearily back from another meeting with Dax, crunching through the snow still wiping the sweat off her hot forehead with her sleeve ...

Hey, can I have some Abby time? My novice Casey would probably melt on the spot if she stumbled over a shy 12-year-old. Want to meet in the library?

OOC: Sounds great! Thanks a ton for the fun thread! <3

Casey almost choked. Not just because Dax might be murdering children in Hama Valon for fun. The school part was a joke—it was hardly practical to sweep through a whole school in one go—but an intelligent predator could easily pick off the ...

Casey sputtered out grass.

In that first moment of blank shock after the impact, she was—

—seventeen again and a rival Mask had hit her in the head with a full bottle of wine; she was fifteen and a city guard had backhanded her to the cobbles with a mailed fist; she was thirteen and Rylan had put ...

Part One: Best Friends

“I’m so glad I met you,” Casey said with her biggest smile. “We’re going to be best friends, I just know it.”

“I know! Right? I feel like we’ve known each other forever already. It’s like it’s meant to be.” Her fellow novice Mavin sat cross-legged at the other end of the ...

Casey tensed when Dax put his dagger away. Nothing good ever came of people ominously stopping what they were doing. That dagger was only getting sheathed because something worse was about to happen—this isolated spot was the perfect place for it. And Casey had played her only card. She had no ...

What under the Light had just happened?

It took all Casey’s effort to keep her face blank. She had never even heard of such a pledge, let alone been on the receiving end. Back at home, a promise was easily spoken, easily broken. If you trusted another person’s word, you deserved the dagger in the ...

OOC: That's a wrap! Thanks a ton! <3

Casey truly did not understand this strange new world. Back at home, she’d barely been able to buy new shoes for her little sisters without having to pay a bribe to the cobblers’ guild. Nobody worked for free. Yet the Tower offered to house her, feed her, teach ...

Rylan cracked up laughing.

During that sudden burst of violence, Rylan hadn’t moved an inch from the far bed. Now she had to grab a pillow and put it over her own face to muffle the laughter that shook her shoulders. Tell me again about how she doesn’t seem the type to stab you unprovoked.

Blood ...

Once again, the girl reached for her dagger. Casey didn’t bother tensing this time. Having her back to the door gave her confidence. And this Sabine girl didn’t seem the type to stab her unprovoked.

“Oh, no, your fanciness. If you introduce yourself as Lady Fancypants, that’s what you get. I’ll ...