Chapter Text
10 years ago
Bang bang bang. Bang bang bang.
“Come on Maera, open up,” called out a voice in frustration from the other side of the door. Maera groaned, pulling the covers over her head.
“No, go away Olly,” she called out, hoping that would finally get the witch to leave her be. Well meaning as he may be, she was a fucking lost cause.
Silence. For a minute she thought she could breath a sigh of relief.
Bang bang bang.
“Open up already, we’re not leaving until you do.”
Maera ignored him. They had just passed their tests. She was sure Qifrey was with him. The three of them had been nearly inseparable during their studies, but right now, the only thing she wished for is some distance. They should just leave her be and get out of the Great Hall like they had been talking about all these years. She would have been right there with them, looking out at the world with hopeful eyes if it hadn’t been for her accident. Her fingers brushed over the back of her neck, right over the seal that took her vision from her. She could feel the memories of it come back like it had just happened yesterday. What was a witch without their eye sight? She had her entire life ahead of her. An offer to become a librarian, fresh out of her forth test. Success by any witch’s standards. Maera’s stomach lurched and she realized she had no idea the last time she had eaten.
“Please just leave,” she said weakly.
Her door jiggles in the familiar way she knew that bypassed the lock on the door. The way her and Qifrey and Olly had gotten back into her room a million times after curfew growing up after being outside the Great Hall. Maera groaned as she rolled around, hearing her friends step into her room.
“Honestly this is getting ridiculous Maera,” Olly said, walking up to her bed. “I love sleeping just as much as the next person, but you can’t just spend your life rotting away in here. Not for a bright witch like you.”
She could hear a torch get lit and a grunt. “You live like this?” Olruggio exclaimed about the state of her room. She knew it was bad, yes, but to be fair, when you couldn’t see anything, did you need to be worried where you left things anymore? Maera tried to burry herself deeper into her covers, further from the prying, intrusive eyes of her friends bothering her solitude.
“Fuck off Olly.”
“Oi, is that any way to greet a friend?” He fumed.
“Olly,” she could hear Qifrey warn. Maera felt hands grip her sheets before feeling them being ripped away from her. She frantically reaches for them to no avail, feeling heat rise in her face.
“You bastard! You think you can just barge into my room, insult me and the state of it, and rip my covers away?” she says, pointing a finger. What was his deal? He didn’t have to be here. She would actually greatly prefer it if he wasn’t at the moment. She wasn’t very good company.
“Did you think you can just entomb yourself in your room forever?” Olly ranted.
They argue back and forth for a while before Maera slumps forward in her bed.
“You are actually the most infuriating witch I know Olruggio.”
“Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you,” he snapped, shoving shoes into her hands.
“What are these for?”
“We’re going out.”
“Why?”
“Because you need it. And because I have something to show you,” Olly says. Maera feels someone reach for her hand and squeeze it.
“Hello Qifrey.”
“Hi Maera.” She can’t see it, but she can feel that smile of his behind those words. She squeezes his hand back. Maera huffs, standing up to put her shoes on, seeing she had lost this argument, Qifrey still holding her hand. Insurance, she was sure, that she would actually follow through on getting out of bed.
“You know I can’t see?”
“No shit, that’s what it’s for,” Olruggio says putting something in her hand. She looks down, puzzled.
“It’s a cane,” he says more gently, “I made it myself, try it out.”
Maera puts the cane on the ground and her eyes widen, the world around her appearing in outlines.
“Olly… how is this possible?” She taps it on the ground again, and shapes appear again. It’s not the details that come with having regular vision. But she can see the silhouettes of the things in her room, where Olly threw her bedsheets, where her friends were standing.
“Ah you like it?” Olly says sounding pleased. Maera hugs him. She can feel that this caught him off guard, but he catches her weight and hugs her back.
“Thank you,” she says softly, her voice wavering with emotion. Maera pulls back and grips the cane tightly. “You really are brilliant Olly.”
“Right,” Olly says, straightening out his robe. “If you’re done being stubborn, let’s get some fresh air and test it out.”
Olly hurries on ahead, leaving Qifrey and Maera behind.
“You know he made me some glasses?” Qifrey said, standing beside her as Olruggio ran off ahead of them.
“He did?” Qifrey gently placed them in her hand for her to see. Maera wishes she could see them, really see them, but she could feel the thought and details just running a hand over the frame.
“Yes indeed. It’s how he shows he cares you know.” Maera handed Qifrey back his glasses, offering a small smile.
“I know.”
~*~
Present Day
It was raining again outside, like it often did by the ocean. Normally storms combined with the waves crashing against the Tower of Tomes would feel like an invitation to Maera to take a deep dive into something new in the archive for the day, but as she carried yet another stack of scrolls to the added to their collection, about dirt spells of all things, it felt grating. Maera dropped the scroll with an unceremonious plop onto the table in front of her as she began to sort them.
A scroll of dirt creation.
A scroll of dirt stain removal.
Dirt balls.
Dirt
Dirt
Dirt…
Maera put the scrolls down for a moment, rolling her eyes. Witches and apprentices alike regarded the Tower with awe and fear. It contained the entirety of all known and unknown magic. What was often forgotten was that magic also included uninteresting topics as well as the mystical and forbidden. She held up a scroll to read, suddenly struggling to read the label. Maera rubbed her eyes, sitting it down, thinking about how it was just another scroll about dirt. She walked over to a window and opened it, the salty air blowing into the room.
Maera looked out the window, seeing nothing but ocean until her eyes began to blur. She shut the window, wiping salt water off her face. She couldn’t recall the last time she had been outside the archive. Maera finished putting away the last of the dirt scrolls, lost in thought. It wasn’t that librarians were forbidden to leave the library, it’s just that there was so much work to be done there were rarely chances to excuse themselves from their duties she reasoned. It was busy, but she had worked really hard to be here- had almost had the opportunity to be here taken away from her. As Maera walked down the hall, the world began to blur along the edges and she stopped in her tracks, rubbing her eyes. Working hard had its merits, but maybe she was overdo for a break?
She blinked a few more times, but the blurriness only seemed to envelope more of her vision. Fear began to creep into the edges of her body as her vision momentarily went completely dark before returning to normal like nothing had happened. Maera fought to steady her breath. What had just happened? She grabbed the collar of her robe, gently feeling to see that it was still there, the spell Olruggio created for her all those years ago quietly tucked underneath, counteracting the blinding spell drawn on the back of her neck.
As calmly as she could appear, she walked quietly back to her room, trying not to let the panic she was feeling cross on her face as she passed other librarians in the hallways. As she closed her door, she reached for the cane Olly had also made for her. She hadn’t needed to use it in years, not after he had worked out a spell to nullify the one on her neck. As long as she was wearing the collar around it, it should work, so what was going on? Her vision began to blur around the edges again as she gripped her cane tightly. She needed to go see Olruggio and Qifrey. They were the only ones that understood what had happened to her. They had been the only ones who had ever been willing to help.
Maera took a pegasus carriage into Kalhn. She knew that Qifrey and Olruggio had established their atelier outside of Kalhn, but she wasn’t sure exactly where. Hopefully someone could direct here where once she was in town. Maera wondered how her two friends had been since they went their separate ways nearly a decade ago. She hadn’t imagined that she would have lost touch with the two people she had been practically inseparable from growing up, yet life had taken them different directions after their forth test.
Guilt began to stir up in her chest as she watched the scenery fly by. She owed them so much, they were the reason she had been able to continue her life, not be ostracized for the marks on her body, and she had gone and lost touch with them. Pain shot up into her head and she gripped it as her vision went dark again. She would find a way to make it up to them when she saw them, she promised herself. For now, perhaps she should focus on the fact that after a decade, her world was going dark again.
As the carriage landed, she made her way into Kalhn, using her cane to navigate. Maera silently sent up praises to her friend for his invention for her, trying not to smile imagining the look on his face if he would hear her praise.
She hated this. For as big as the she knew the world was, not having her sight made it feel small and restricted. As she continued to walk down the streets of Kahln, Maera found herself wishing she had the opportunity to explore it more. She could make out the shapes of the buildings around her, hear people, smell food stalls, and yet, it was all so distant from her as well.
With only some difficulty, Maera was able to find a witch who could give her some general directions to their atelier. It was further than she thought it would be, she thought with a frown. If she had her vision, she could use her sylph shoes, but she couldn’t, and her cane couldn’t give her information about anything it couldn’t touch. Maera began walking, grabbing the tassel on her collar between her fingers. She wasn’t sure how long the walk was going to be, but she didn’t really have much of a choice.
A few miles into her walk, as if it wasn’t perilous enough traveling without her eyesight, it began to smell like rain. Cursing her luck, Maera attempted to walk faster, only to give up as a heavy storm rolled in. Although a small turn of fortune, she was grateful that at least her cloak was keeping her dry. Qifrey had personally seen to that at least. After it had been determined she would be able to work as a librarian, he said he didn’t want her to worry about getting wet working around all that water. Ironic given he was the one who hated getting wet.
Her misfortune this week however seemed to be greater than any luck she had, as the spell on her cane did not fair nearly as well as her cloak. Maera cursed under her breath as she felt the ink begin to stain her hand, her world truly going dark, her cane no more helpful then a walking stick. She should have asked for someone to escort her, upon reflection. She laughed bitterly to herself. What on earth had she been thinking? She was in the middle of nowhere, blind, soaking wet, and she didn’t have the first clue how far or exactly in what direction the atelier was. After standing in the rain for a few more moments, Maera decided to continue to keep walking. She had been on a path already. That path had to lead somewhere. If not to her destination then somewhere that could get her closer.
~*~
Qifrey looked out the window in the kitchen, taking another sip of tea. This storm didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon. He wondered if it would continue through tomorrow and sighed. The girls would get stir crazy if they had to do their lessons indoors all day. His mind ran through alternate lesson plans if the rain kept them indoors. It was a challenge sometimes meeting the needs of four different students with very different needs, although those gaps seemed to be closing every day. Ever since Silver’s Eve, the girls had poured themselves into their work with renewed dedication. He was lucky, he supposed, to have such motivated students. Still, he worried about how they all pushed themselves so hard. Qifrey tried to ignore the twinge of pain in the back of his eye as he took another sip of his tea. What a bane teacherly pride had been to him.
He listened upstairs and could tell the girls were starting to begin to settle in for the evening. That was good. Maybe he would turn in early for once too. A small smile curled on his lips. Set the example, as Olly had put it.
A firm thud hit the door and Qifrey sat up, setting his cup down. A few more knocks came from the other side and he hurried over, wondering who or what would be knocking on it at this hour. He opened the door, his eye widening and letting out a surprised gasp as he saw who was on the other side.
“Well this is most unexpected,” he said. He looked her over. The faint glow from his atelier cast a flicker of light on her face, barely seen through her hair, which had plastered itself over her eyes from the rain. The collar and cloak with the decorative tassels not unlike the ones that adorned his apprentices caps he would recognize anywhere. “To what do I owe the surprise Maera?”
Relief seems to flood her features as she looks up, but not particularly at him he noticed with a frown. The rain still fell on her, offering no reprieve even on his doorstep. “Qifrey. I apologize for the unannounced intrusion.”
“You could never intrude my friend. You’re always welcome in our little home. Why don’t you come in and we’ll get you dried off.”
Qifrey opens the door wider to invite her in, but hesitates when she didn’t immediately begin to follow him in. He studied her more closely, realizing that she was walking with her cane. He frowned looking up to see she was wearing the collar Olly had made her. Looking down again at her hand, he could see ink dripping down from her cane. Something was wrong. Qifrey reaches for her other hand, giving it a squeeze.
“You must be freezing from this rain,” he says, tucking her hand around his arm and leading her inside with him. “Let’s see what we can do about all this my friend.”
As he shut the door behind him, he saw Richeh come down the stairs, clearly curious about the visitor at the door.
“Richeh, can you go get Olruggio for me please.” Richeh nodded her head and walked off quickly without a word. Qifrey began unhooking Maera’s cloak gently before hanging it up by the door.
“One of my apprentices,” he said softly, not wanting to draw the attention of the other three upstairs. Maera’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
“I didn’t realize you had taken apprentices Qifrey,” she said, shivering. Qifrey looked at her apologetically.
“Yes, I have four. You’ll have to meet them, I think you’d rather like them,” he said, a smile in his voice.
Qifrey walked with her over to the fire to help warm her up and sat her down. He took the cane and looked at her ink stain hand, gently wiping the ink off with a rag. “Maera, what happened to your cane?”
Maera looked down. “I’m afraid the rain got to it on my walk here.”
“You’re saying you walked here? Im not sure I understand, you’re wearing your collar aren’t you, why didn’t you fly?”
Qifrey heard heavy footsteps coming down a hall with a grunt as Richeh walked by without a word. He was grateful at least she knew to let the adults handle this for the time being.
“Maera, it’s been a long time,” Olruggio said, walking up to the couch.
Maera smiled. “It’s nice to see you too Olly. Staying out of trouble?”
Olruggio huffs. “Mostly. Clearly you aren’t though. What are you doing all the way out here in our rural atelier of all places in this weather?”
Olruggio used his link rings to dry Maera off. Qifrey watches as Maera’s dark curls peel themselves off her face before fluffing, realizing she hadn’t changed all that much since the last time the two of them had saw her last. Qifrey handed Olly her cane and he eyes it with a frown.
“What happened to your cane Mae?” Olly asks, inspecting it.
“Right, about that. It wasn’t as waterproof as I expected it to be on the walk here.”
“Walk? Why didn’t you just fly with sylph shoes?” He asked in confusion, sitting down on the other side of her. Qifrey watched as Maera unclasped the decorative collar around her neck and he felt himself stiffen. He wasn’t sure if she had ever removed it since Olly had made it for her. It had given her her sight back, and it concealed the seal scratched onto the back of her neck, something she had only let them see. Maera grasped the collar in her hands, but Qifrey could still see them tremble slightly. He exchanged a glance with Olruggio in concern.
“A few days ago, the edges of my vision began to blur while I was working before it started coming in and out. By the time I reached Kalhn I couldn’t see at all.”
“Why didn’t you contact us in advance, we could have come and gotten you?” Qifrey asked. The flicker of the fire did little to hide the flush growing on her face.
“I… hadn’t been thinking. I just knew if anyone could help me it would be you Olly.” Olly stroked his chin, thinking.
“Can I see your collar?” he asks. Maera nods and holds it out and it takes it out of her hand, studying the sigil on the inside. After a moment he scratches his head and mumbles for himself. Olruggio clasps a hand on her shoulder. “Right, give me a little time, and we’ll get both of these fixed for you. Can’t have you walking around with nothing.”
Qifrey nods in agreement. “It’s late, I’m sure you’re quite tired from your travels from the Tower. Let me get you settled in a room for the night.”
Maera looks at him gratefully and Qifrey thinks about what bedroom would be easiest for her to sleep in for the night. “Thank you, both of you.”
As Qifrey takes her to the spare room they have just off the kitchen he tries to not be overbearing helping her find where everything is in the room. Shes done this before, more than he’s had to he reminds himself, even with just one eye and the other beginning to go. Qifrey watches her put down her satchel and hat and he sees the fatigue on her face begin to set in. He wished he could do something in that moment, reach out, embrace his friend to relieve some of that tension. All he can do is offer her is warmth, a place out of the rain, and a bed to sleep in, and he hoped that was enough. What a pitiful friend he could be sometimes.
“Qif?” Maera said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
“Yes?”
“Will you keep a light on for me?” she asked. “I know I can’t really use it right now but-”
“Of course,” Qifrey said, pulling out his palm quire. He wrote a quick pyreball spell and put it in a lamp for her. “Sleep well my friend.”
Maera visibly relaxed and Qifrey smiled to himself. Maybe physical comforts meant something too. “You too Qifrey.”