Luella watched Dandelion’s little face grow animated with excitement as they approached the fair. She smiled to herself. Took a lot of convincing to persuade Simeon to let them come to the magic realm on Spooky Day this year, but it clearly paid off – her cousin was just as giddy about their visit as she was, albeit for a different reason.
“Lulu, look! The pumpkins!” The boy bounced next to her.
“Pretty spooktacular, huh?” She nodded absent-mindedly, scanning the fair grounds.
It didn’t take her long to spot Morgyn, even though the young spellcaster didn’t look quite like she remembered.
“Can I go look at them?” Dandelion was pointing towards the pumpkins.
“Of course,” she nodded. He didn’t wait long to run off.
Luella pondered what to do. She couldn’t run to Morgyn the second she arrived, that would be far too obvious… Besides, Morgyn was with Aine, and Aine was still scary to her, even though Luella was no longer a little girl.
She decided to find Simeon. He was watching Dandelion from the distance. “Looks like the little one is having a good time,” he said stiffly.
She found it funny how awkward Simeon was around children, even after all this time. He’d grown fonder of her as time went on, but Dandelion was still too little for Simeon to really know how to talk to him.
“It’s his dream came true,” she replied brightly. “Thanks again for having us along.”
She noticed Morgyn was gone, as was Aine. Where did they disappear to?
“Aine’s apprentice has settled in well.” Simeon noted, as if he’d read her thoughts. “Although I trust you won’t be showing the portal to anyone else? We do protect the realm for a reason.”
“Do you think I shouldn’t have?” She turned to Simeon.
He sighed. “I think Morgyn clearly was in desperate need of proper training. The amount of raw magic he possesses is… unusual. Even Aine has not taught anyone with quite as much of it, apparently.”
Luella was confused. Shouldn’t that be a good thing? Then again, this was Simeon she was talking to. Always serious, always solemn. But he knew a lot, so she might as well try to find out more.
“How would that happen, Simeon? The raw magic, I mean. Morgyn didn’t even know anything about spellcasters when we met.”
“Magical ability can skip a generation, sometimes more, even in powerful spellcaster families.” He said.
“Like with yours, right?” Luella remembered. “You said your father didn’t have any magical powers, even though your grandmother was a sage. And you’re a sage, so…”
“They say the longer the magic stays away, the more concentrated it can get when it eventually returns to the bloodline… but those are rumours.” Simeon seemed ready to move on from the subject. Luella was not.
“But if they’re rumours, then how come Morgyn-“
“I think you should not be focusing on Morgyn so much.” Simeon interrupted her. “You’ve done the right thing by helping him, but perhaps it would be best to leave it at that.”
His words irritated her. “Why? Can’t I have friends?”
Simeon was surprised by her outburst. He took a moment to respond.
“Luella… I’ve known Aine for thirty odd years now. She does not take on full-time apprentices. The only reason she would keep someone this close is because she considers them a threat.”
That was dumb. A threat? Morgyn was completely lost and alone when their paths crossed. It was so like Simeon to be so paranoid.
“I’m going to go find Dandelion.” She snapped, leaving before Simeon could continue his stupid lecture.
She found the boy with Haruka. The mischief sage was casting spells in the air, making him giggle.
Seeing him so happy improved Luella’s mood slightly, though she wasn’t sure what she thought of Dandelion being on his own with the sage.
“Well if it isn’t the princess,” Haruka greeted her. “What a rare occasion.”
“I’m not a princess anymore.” Luella corrected her mechanically. Best not to think of that old life. “Hey Dandy, I saw a bowl candies back there, why don’t we sample some?”
“Yeah!” He squealed, dashing in the direction se gestured towards.
“Luella, a moment.” The mischief sage stopped her before she could follow him. “I have a proposition for you, and who knows when you’ll come by next…”
“A proposition? What are you talking about?”
“Did you know elves have quite the disposition for mischief magic?” The sage grinned.
“Simeon’s grandmother was an elf, and she was the sage of practical magic,” Luella pointed out.
“Very well, let me put it differently. Elves are said to be talented at most kinds of magic, so they can excel at whatever they put their mind to… although mischief might be the most closely aligned.”
Luella wasn’t sure where Haruka was going. “Why are you saying all this?”
“Simeon says you are quite bright. It would be a shame to waste your talents on whatever he can teach you when he has spare time to visit you… I on the other hand, am looking for an apprentice to study here with me. Can’t let Aine have all the fun.”
“Simeon wouldn’t let me do that.” Luella told her. It took ages for Simeon to allow her and Dandelion to visit at Winterfest, she couldn’t imagine he’d be happy with her coming over to the realm every day…
“And what authority does Simeon have over you? If you were my apprentice, that wouldn’t really be his call to make, would it?” Haruka tilted her head. “Simeon can be such a spoilsport… He means well, but he has long forgotten what young love feels like…”
Luella felt her cheeks flushing instantly. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you haven’t taken an interest in a certain untamed magic apprentice?” The mischief sage winked at her.
“I… I’ve only met Morgyn once. We don’t really know each other.” Luella managed to say.
“Seems your meeting left quite an impression on him regardless, he has been asking about you.” Haruka told her nonchalantly.
“He has?” Luella stopped herself. “Um, I meant-“
“Clearly I was mistaken, I understand that now.” Haruka nodded with a smirk. “But even with Morgyn out of the equation, are you really telling me that you don’t find practical magic a bit… boring? A young girl full of dreams, your imagination can take you wherever you want… so why not consider your options?”
Luella didn’t know what to think. It was a lot to take in. Of course she wanted to learn about other kinds of magic. And getting to go to the magic realm every day…
But Dandelion would be all on his own. As where you, when you were his age, she reminded herself. Besides, she would still come home to Sylvan Glade every night…
Morgyn was asking about her…
She realised she’d been quiet for far too long.
“Why would you even want me to be your apprentice anyway?” She asked the sage.
“I’m not getting any younger, dearie.” Haruka replied. “I need to think about who to pass the torch to, and I quite like the idea of being succeeded by an elven princess. Makes me feel like royalty.”
Luella’s eyes widened. Being a sage was for serious people, like Simeon. Then again, perhaps that wouldn’t apply to mischief sages. So much to think about…
And Morgyn was asking about her.
“I don’t need an answer straight away, sweetheart. You know where to find me. Now, I believe your little companion has eaten the entire bowl of sweets…” Haruka gestured in Dandelion’s direction.
Luella grunted. So much for getting him to go to bed at a reasonable time tonight. “Dandy!”
“Try and catch me,” her cousin giggled, sprinting away.
Brilliant. She tried to ignore Haruka’s amusement and ran after him.
Just as she was about to reach him, she bumped into someone. To Luella’s horror, the sage of untamed magic was towering over her.
“Some may say it’s rather rude to only say hello to two of the sages when you visit their home.”
Aine’s voice made her think of fingernails scratching a chalkboard, a sound so awful she still remembered it from her childhood in Syeldell, back when her teacher used it to get her attention.
“I’m sorry.” She uttered quickly.
“I am not some.” Aine continued. “But I do not like feeling left out. I overheard your conversation with Haruka.”
Luella dreaded to think just how much the sage had caught.
“I understand she is offering you an apprenticeship, something Simeon has still not formally done for you.” Aine continued. “But I wouldn’t want you to think your options are limited.”
Luella stared at her. Was the sage really saying what she thought she was?
“Simeon said you don’t take on apprentices.” She repeated what she’d just learned earlier that night.
“That’s clearly untrue. I believe you are acquainted with my current apprentice.” Aine pointed out. “Although you are right that I would probably not be keen on having two apprentices at the same time, long-term. I’d rather spend my time on just one, the one with the most potential.”
Luella tried and failed to hide her shock. “But… is it not true that Morgyn has more raw magic than anyone you’ve taught before?”
“Sounds like one of my fellow sages has been awfully chatty.” Aine’s tone was icy. “It is true, and has its positives and downfalls. Certainly makes his elemental magic rather… potent. So yes, Morgyn is the most naturally gifted spellcaster I have taught to date. But of course, I have not yet had the pleasure of teaching a high-born elf. Perhaps you could give Morgyn a run for his money. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone.”
“I… I don’t know about that.”
“You wish to waste your time on a magical discipline dedicated to replicating menial tasks? Or one that’s nothing but glorified practical jokes? Be my guest.”
Aine paused for a moment. “But what I could teach you is the magic school that gives you almost unlimited power. Untamed magic can defy near anything in this world – and beyond. It can even bring the dead back to life. Anything you can dream of, it’s all likely to be possible with untamed magic. But of course, the choice is yours.”
And with that Aine disappeared.
Luella’s head was spinning. She felt utterly overwhelmed. She could count the number of times she’d been to the magic realm on her fingers, and out of the blue, not one but two sages were offering her full-time apprenticeship in the realm? Why did Simeon keep all of this from her?
She caught up to Dandelion, barely paying attention to his enthusiastic babbling about the roller-skating rink.
“Why don’t you give it a try?” She prompted him. She just needed a moment with her thoughts.
It was then when she spotted Morgyn leaning against a wall nearby. All of the messy thoughts evaporated right away. The untamed magic apprentice waved at her.
“Well if it isn’t L Faba.” Morgyn greeted her. “Took you a good while to finally stop by.”
Luella didn’t feel like explaining that she didn’t have Simeon’s permission to the realm come any sooner, that would make her sound like a child with a curfew. But she didn’t have to be that anymore, did she? She had options now.
“You look different.” She said instead of acknowledging his comment.
Wait, would that offend Morgyn? Luella wasn’t sure.
“I mean, you look good.” She corrected herself, instantly regretting that too. Why did she say that?
“Thanks. I know.” Morgyn gave her a half-smile.
Thankfully, that wasn’t all he had to say. “You look good too.” He told her. “And you didn’t even have to change… So what do you think of the fair? Though I guess it’s old news to you, huh?”
Well now she definitely couldn’t say the truth, that everything at the fair was overwhelming and that nothing in the magic realm was old news. She nodded.
“I’m mostly here because of Dandelion.” She gestured towards her cousin on the skating rink.
“The little elf?” Morgyn asked. “You know, I’ve heard the fair is not even that big of a deal anyway. Apparently, the real worthwhile stuff is at the magic realm graveyard tonight, it’s the only night of the year you can get powers from old spellcasters buried there. We could go have a look… if you want to.”
Of course she wanted to… but it wasn’t really possible.
“I should really stick with Dandelion.” She uttered lamely, glancing away.
“Oh.” Morgyn’s face fell. “Right.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
“I will be around a lot more from now on, though.” Luella added quickly, determined to turn the conversation back around. “I’ll be an apprentice, like you.”
Morgyn perked up. “Oh really? Are you going to be studying with Simeon? He is your uncle or something, right?”
“No, we’re not related.” She frowned, still feeling mad at the thought of her exchange with Simeon earlier. “And I’ll definitely not be studying with him. Practical magic is pretty boring… a bit like him, I guess.”
The young spellcaster chuckled. “I mean, I wasn’t going to say… but that’s a relief. Does that mean you’ll be joining Aine and me, then?”
How did Aine not scare he hell out of Morgyn, Luella wondered?
“Actually, I’ll be learning from Haruka.” She replied.
“Huh. Mischief magic?” Morgyn paused, as if he was thinking of how to formulate his thoughts. “No offense, but… I feel like you could do better. I bet you’d be amazing at untamed magic.”
Luella couldn’t decide if that was an insult or a compliment.
“Of course I would be.” She replied teasingly. “You probably couldn’t handle it. I’m doing you a favour, really.”
Morgyn let out a laugh. “Lucky me then, I guess.”
“I better get back to Dandelion.” She said to Morgyn, as much as she didn’t want to go.
“Sure. I’ll see you around.” Morgyn gave her a nod. “Hey, L Faba… It’s nice that you’ll be around more. Even if it’s to study mischief magic… I suppose it’s not that bad of a magic school.”
“Thanks. I know.” She replied, twirling around.
She headed straight for the skating rink, before her blabbermouth decided to add something else. And to tend to Dandelion, of course, she reminded herself.
“Who was that?” Her cousin asked her.
“That’s Morgyn Ember. He’s an apprentice here.” She explained. “Actually… I’m going to be spending a lot more time in the magic realm from now on. I will be an apprentice too, you see.”
Dandelion looked up at her. “Why?”
“You wouldn’t understand, Dandy.” She sighed. “At least not yet… This is a secret, ok? I… I’m in love.”
The Plumbob 
Ooooo, L Faba being in love with Morgyn definitely is an interesting twist! I wonder if we’ll see more about Morgyn discovering their non-binary identity. Everyone here refer’s to Morgyn as “he” whereas in the flashback with the fire they were dressed like a little girl so they’re alternating appearances, maybe trying things out, see how it feels? I’d love to read more about their journey.
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Good observation about the non-binary identity! Yes, everybody is referring to Morgyn as he/him in this chapter, and their body has clearly undergone some changes since the last one. There will actually be more on the subject in the next chapter, although it will not be discussed at great length, because I didn’t want it to be treated as a big deal 😊
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Definitely not a big deal! A good friend of mine recently went through this journey of figuring out her gender identity and I’m just curious as to how her process does or doesn’t differ from Morgyn’s 🙂 (and no, that “friend” is not me, haha)
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Haha yup she’s gonna get her heart broken. I can’t blame her though, like Haruka said, young love and all.
How old is L.Faba (in human years) here? She’s making important decisions pretty damn quickly. But it feels like things are falling into place and aligning with present day. Now we just gotta watch the misery unfold 😦
Still, cute Dandy, 10/10.
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There you guys go with the optimism 😀 Ok fine, admittedly the present day timeline does not leave a lot of wiggle room for being hopeful, haha. I guess we’ll see what happens.
L Faba is…. *consults chart* 64 years old, which would equal to 17. You’re right, she makes very quick decisions (not just here, actually) – possibly an after effect of escaping a burning village in the nick of time. I don’t really show her thought process here, which is somewhat deliberate.
Haha I’m glad Dandy delivered, even though we didn’t see that much of him 🙂
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Man, Lulu really is such a sweet innocent girl. She must have made quite a few bad experiences to become the snarky B she’s now- and I love them both 😊
Morgyn is already some mysterious being. Looks like he’s quite aware of Lulu having that crush on him, but what he wants is unclear.
Haruka proposing to teach Lulu sure is only to cause more mischief – being true to her profession, but it’s nice that Lulu will have a chance to get something else to do than look after Dandy and spy on people!
Why Aine proposed idk, she’s as mysterious as Morgyn! Is “being mysterious” a requirement for becoming an untamed sage? 😁
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I love her too, she’s one of my favourites (I’m very fickle so my favourites do change, but a lot of the time it’s her 😀 ).
I suppose Morgyn is mysterious. Would probably help to get their point of view. Maybe we will.
Haha, Haruka is most certainly true to her mischief sage status 🙂 Lol, yes, Lulu does deserve better past times than spying on people 😀
Indeed, what could Aine possibly gain from asking Lulu to be her apprentice, I wonder… I don’t know if it will be explicitly answered, but you’ll get more clues in some of the future chapters – there’s already some here, actually 🙂
Haha, maybe being mysterious is the by-product 😀
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well she said she wanted to see competition between her two apprentices, so I guess it could be to push them beyond their limits. Idk why though, I trust Simeon more on that Aine likes to keep her threats close 😂
But again, there’s way too little told so far about her, so I wouldn’t really dare to guess.
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Lulu is really dear and adorable in this chapter. Young and searching as she is, it must be very overwhelming to have two (three) Sages who want to take her as an apprentice. (Siemon has not said it out loud)
She gets a whole lot of slightly contradictory information from all three Sages but all of them have read her interest in Morgyn.
Siemon warns her, Haruka teases her fascination and Aine entices her to compete to become the best apprentice for untamed magic. All of them must see some great opportunities in her.
Lulu’s encounter with Morgyn is filled with tense unspoken expectations.
Morgyn says without reservation that he is interested in Lulu.
I can not help but think that at this point in Morgyn’s life he shows no fear of his inner “demons”.
That’s why I’m not so sure who, when it comes down to it, breaks their heart the most.
I know well that Morgyn later in the story, for most of your readers, is going to appear like a selfish superficial soul-eater.
I agree that Morgyn will later be completely obsessed with the idea of becoming invulnerable.
Right now, Lulu is in love and she reveals her youthful lack of filter as she confides it to Dandy …. even if – / or precisely because he is too young to understand what it means.
Lulu has really responsibly cared for Dandy so far. He has received so much love and protection that he carelessly consumes the entire magical Halloween party without reservation. Sweet lovable Dandy.
I wish Lulu had been better at taking care of her own beautiful young soul. ….. But maybe it’s incompatible with being a powerful Sage?
I assume I will become wiser about their motives and causes over the next interludes.
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That is such a thoughtful comment! 😊
Yes, Lulu has a lot of information to process here! And it’s true that while Simeon hasn’t officially offered her an apprenticeship, she has been training with him for several years already, so it’s not that dissimilar. Her world has definitely grown bigger now, and the other sages do appear to be rather interested in her.
“Selfish superficial soul-eater” made me laugh, Morgyn definitely does have a reputation, haha. You’re right, Morgyn does seem a bit different here from the Morgyn we know, but then so is Lulu, so who knows what went down exactly. People do change, I suppose. There’s 3 more interludes to go, so we do have more to learn about the past.
That’s a very good point about Lulu confiding in Dandy precisely because he doesn’t really understand yet, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. I think she did a good job raising him too! But yes, she’s definitely focused far more on protecting Dandelion then herself.
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Thank you 🥰
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I just want to say, I KNEW IT!!! So many hints throughout the previous chapters. They’re such adorable teens though. I wonder what happened to make Luella hate Morgyn’s guts. 🤔
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You were right 🙂 There definitely were little hints. Ah yes, whatever the hell happened? There’s still three more interludes, so maybe they’ll shed a bit of light on it!
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The whole time I was reading this (and this is my 4th read…) my eyes were absorbing the words and looking at the pictures, but my head was just screaming “IT’S GONNA GO BUM UP SO BADLY” over and over meaning that no comment I typed was cohesive.
But it’s 5am and I’m loaded with coffee, so fifth time’s the charm.
OK, so Morgyn is much more boyish now, that’s interesting. I wonder if this is something of Aine’s/magic world’s influence. ‘Pick one’ kind of thing. Also, way back, we discussed Morgyn’s -ahem- ‘downstairs jiggery pokery’ and I see no boobies so I’m guessing something has gone down. Or up? It’s so stark that they went from ‘it shouldn’t matter’ to ‘I’m a boy’. Hmm. I’m missing something too.
Anyway, enough about what IS in Morgyn’s pants, on to what wants to be. Listen to Simeon and don’t focus so much on Morgyn, Luella. Be more concerned about the fact that, based on Simeon’s words, Aine also sees you as a threat oh and that Dandy has eaten all the candy. Yes, why is Simeon keeping everything from you? I wonder if it’s because he’s a big, stinking meanie. Oh, or maybe he knows something you don’t. OK, it’ll be helpful if he told you directly. Geez, the men in her life were really quite aloof and evasive, weren’t they? No wonder she fell for Morgyn if she’d spent her whole life putting together sparse pieces that don’t fit; I bet Morgyn’s perceived rawness was refreshing.
“…you didn’t have to change…” aha, so Morgyn did. Well (this is point where I had to have a rage-stomp in previous reads, but I think I’m good this time). Hm, seems Morgyn was quick to go from not knowing a darn thing about magic to determining which branches of magic were not worthy of them/him. And that they completely discarded mischief magic, assuming that if Luella didn’t mean practical magic, she must have meant untamed.
“I’m in love.” … with the first fellow teen you met, the second time you’ve seen them. Excuse me while I rest my face, violently, on the desk a few times. OK, I read your previous replies and realised that Luella is about 17 here, I assume similar to Morgyn. But Morgyn will ‘age’ much faster, correct? Whereas Luella will be a ‘teenager’ for longer. Add in everything else and it’s clear she’s going to either a) be taken complete advantage of by either Aine, Haruka (I haven’t forgotten Simeon’s comment that he didn’t trust either of his fellow sages in the previous chapters) or Morgyn or b) do something stupid/immature, like cast a love spell on Morgyn. Or maybe both.
“The only night of the year you can get powers from old spellcasters buried there” nice to see that the megalomania has already rooted deep in our little blond buddy.
Also, only taking the apprenticeship because she’s ‘in love’ is… so teenaged. Bah. Luella. Usually I’m happy to kick back and watch disaster unfold but I feel like you’ve got me over your metaphorical knee here and I know I’m in for an emotional spanking and can do nothing but brace myself. Hopefully she gets something more out of this than just that huge stick up her ass that present day L Faba has, because if not, Morgyn in my game is going back in The Tower with Manchute, even if it’s not Morgyn’s fault * angry fist *.
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Lol! Oh dear… Looks like you won in the end though, the end result is very cohesive! 🙂
This is actually going to be addressed in the next interlude, so I won’t say too much, other than that I don’t think the sages vastly cared about Morgyn’s gender identity (too trivial for them!). There’s definitely quite a bit of a difference between “it shouldn’t matter” to identifying as male, but that of course depends on where the “it shouldn’t matter” line came from in the first place.
Certainly more than one warning can be taken from what Simeon said. Did Lulu pay attention? Ooh, that’s an interesting observation – and how did we end up in a world where Morgyn is somehow the least evasive and aloof of all “men” in L Faba’s life? Strange times indeed…
I see you’re committed to the “what’s in Morgyn’s pants” subject 😀 Yes, something clearly changed, haha. Re the magic schools, it’s never really outright stated (not sure why really), but Luella and Morgyn’s first meeting was late spring/early summer and now it’s “Spooky Day”, so by now Morgyn’s been in the magic realm for 4-5 months. So yes, I’d imagine they (or he, if we want to go with their gender identity at the time) would have had a chance to form an opinion about the different magic schools – something that I’m sure wasn’t aided by Aine whatsoever. Although jumping to the assumption L Faba will be studying with Aine too after eliminating the most likely case doesn’t necessarily need to be based on Morgyn’s opinions of the schools…
Haha I feel like your head is going to hurt a lot by the time we’re done with all the interludes. Morgyn is 16 here, but you’re right, Luella will stay a teenager for much longer. Elves really have it tough when it comes to relationships with non-elves, aging-wise.
Maybe it’s megalomania, maybe it’s Maybelline 😛 Maybe Morgyn’s just repeating what they’ve heard. Who knows…
So teenaged! Definitely. It may not be the only reason she took the apprenticeship, but she’d probably not share that with Dandy. “Hopefully she gets something more out of this than just that huge stick up her ass that present day L Faba has” Weeeell, evidently she ended up being the sage of mischief magic, so that’s something, right? 🙂
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Okay I know LFaba has a lot of reasons to hate Cordy (whose mom who committed genocide and all) but this chapter solidifies my ever-suspicion that LFaba didn’t like Cordy and called her and Micah ‘puppets’ and etc names because Cordy reminded LFaba of herself. I’m getting so much Cordy vibes off her. Same broken background, living alone, liking Morgyn. One thing which might’ve cemented her dislike for Cordy, or made it unforgivable is that Morgyn paid somewhat romantic attention to Cordy. It’s all speculation of course.
Bleh. Each sage’s proposition is all sides shady and are only looking out for themselves. Please.
I wish it were outlined why Faba liked Morgyn. Apart from them being the first person she had a connection with and share what she thinks a similar background. She fell hard and fast that girl.
So Morgyn’s shift has already begun
Makes me wonder if they always thought like that as a child or it was instilled by Aine. I’m going with the latter, since they pretty much echoed Aine’s words there. But whatever happened to Morgyn while they were running about homeless would’ve probably contributed to that mindset too. Aw. Makes me wish we had more interlude chapters.
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There’s definitely plenty of parallels between young L Faba and young Cordelia. Not sure if that’s something L Faba is consciously aware of. I do like to have parallels between characters, there’s loads of them among the main cast, with some variables that affected quite a bit 🙂
Whaaaaat, the sages are totally trustworthy and just want to help Luella, obviously. Why ever did Simeon try to keep Luella away from them…
Haha, I’m not sure people often know what their exact reasons for falling for someone are, especially not this early on – maybe later in a relationship when you’re reflecting on what you appreciate about the person, or when a relationship ends and you wonder what you saw in them. But certainly as a teenager with first infatuation, I think people often become infatuated with people who they have a whole lot less in common with than L Faba and Morgyn do here. At the moment, L Faba is very young and very lonely, with the only people really in her life being a child and a very reserved adult. Do you really think the two reasons you listed above would not be enough to someone in her position? I reckon she has more reasons to fall for Morgyn then Cordie did 🙂 In any case, Luella is not one to make a pros and cons list, she is very quick to make decisions (that’s actually true to this day, even though there’s not been enough focus on her to really show that).
Ah, I could easily write a full on story just about the origin times, but then the interludes would last forever, so you only get the highlights. That being said we do have more interludes, and one of them is actually from Morgyn’s perspective, so maybe that will be of some help. Although it will not really touch on the time when Morgyn was homeless – Morgyn represses that time too much, so I don’t know if we’ll ever really see much of that (or if it would make for a particularly interesting chapter).
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Hm… I think there’s a misunderstanding here. Me expressing that I’d like it if L Faba’s feelings towards Morgyn were outlined is simply me wanting more information about how she feels about them, not because I think the reasons listed above are not enough for falling in love. I personally like certainty and to dive deep into topics/characters to understand them. In that everything provided is simply a snapshot in time leaves too many questions for me that I can’t even begin to hypotesise to understand LFaba. Hence my wishful expression. The subtleties of unspoken language is pretty much a mystery to me if that isn’t obvious yet.
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“The subtleties of unspoken language is pretty much a mystery to me if that isn’t obvious yet.” I’d disagree, I think you’re pretty observant and pick up on loads of things that aren’t explicitly stated! And B2W is packed with unspoken subtleties, so give yourself more credit!
BC definitely has a big element of stuff going unsaid/being left in between the lines, so I get that can be a bit frustrating! But there’s not necessarily just one “correct” way of interpreting things 🙂 You’re right that in this chapter we don’t see a lot of Luella’s thought process, and that’s deliberate, though not entirely linked to Morgyn – it’s mainly because I want the reader to draw their own conclusions about the sages, and having too much of Luella’s interpretation could skew that.
That all being said, I think you’ll be pleased to know that the next two interludes are both first person – one from L Faba’s perspective and one from Morgyn’s. So maybe those will help!
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I kind of like the male-aligned Morgyn a lot more than their usual self. But then again, I’m pretty standard when it comes to genders.
As mentioned by several people already, Luella is so naive…
I absolutely love Aine’s hair, I don’t think I have seen this hair in my game yet, is it CC?
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I wonder if you like this version of Morgyn more because of the gender alignment, or if it’s more to do with the fact that this younger version of Morgyn is acting like a less of a d*ck (ironically, haha) 🙂 Luella is pretty naive, she’s not had a great deal of exposure to people after all, though that doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t take any of the cues in.
Aine’s hair is from Realm of Magic – Aine herself is actually from the RoM reveal trailer, I didn’t make her. Technically, Aine being the previous sage of untamed magic is “canon” 🙂 Unlike Haruka, who I made up entirely.
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I just get terribly confused with nonbinary people. I think I’m just used to it being one or the other, even I myself probably fit the nonbinary description: I have been presenting myself as male on various online platforms and communities for years, I do not agree with a lot of female social norms, I’ve worked a traditionally male-dominated field for years (long distance truck driver), I’ve been in relationships with women and sometimes I don’t really feel like a woman, even if it’s a vague and hard to describe feeling. But I do not experience dysphoria or any of the negative ‘symptoms’ associated with gender. I am fine with my body as it is, I just dislike the social norms that seem to go with it. I’m seeing people as individuals, the gender thing is just for procreation, I think. Of course, I aim to be as tolerant as I possibly can since I believe in freedom of self-expression.
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I think I know what you mean, I personally don’t have strong feelings about my gender identity either (but then I’m wishy-washy about a lot of stuff, Cordelia and I share that), but it’s one of those things; just because I personally don’t experience something doesn’t make other people’s experiences of it invalid. Everybody has the right to feel like their body represents them and what they identify as, whatever that may be. But equally, as you say, some people may very well feel that it’s just a body and it doesn’t really matter. We all experience life differently, after all 🙂
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Ah.. i say its a mystery because it doesn’t come naturally to me. Picking up on stuff is one thing, interpreting it is pretty much rocket science.
Its not frustrating, but it does cause my information processing to overload. I.e. Before the interlude, there was the sprite mystery, morgyn’s personality mystery, micah’s/Morgyn/Cordy rshp and how exactly they intertwine or is defined, Hawthorne’s personality mystery, LFaba’s strange hate on Cordy, Morgyn’s unexplained reason for dying & ressurecting Aine, Dandy alone in slyvan glade, what is even a slyvan glade mystery and so on.
They’re not necessarily mysteries. Bt as they weren’t clearly defined, each does contribute to my cognitive load. So Im working at half my brain power. And am probably not as observant as i used to be and have reduced response capacities. (Such as being less aware of social cues anymore). So heads up my comments will probably induce more misunderstandings in the future.
Anyway, that’s just me and my overwhelmed brain and im an outlier so dont take it all too seriously. Im pretty much doing the same in b2w anyway, dishing out mysteries with no answers hehe! 😄
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Well. Obviously overwhelmed since im not even replying to your comment and made a whole new one lol.
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Hehe, you do do the same thing with B2W! I think B2W has way more mysteries than BC, but I guess I would think that 😀
Well hopefully some of those have been somewhat answered now, some will probably remain unclear into season 2. But the nice thing about the interludes is that none of the stuff you mentioned has happened yet, so you can technically happily park it and not take it into account 🙂
And I frequently get overwhelmed when I read any of the tea party stories, so you’re not an outlier at all, I’m the same! 🙂
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Interesting how they all refer to Morgyn as “he” in this chapter, and they look so clearly masculine this time around. Looks like they’re already tinkering with what they want to look like, with Aine as a teacher no doubt.
I also wonder if Simeon’s speech about magic becoming more powerful as it skips a generation applies to Hawthorne and her grandmother… Cordelia didn’t have any magic talent (although she did get those spirit orb thingeys inside her), so if it skipped her and wouldn’t skip Hawthorne, would we have an extra-powerful spellcaster on our hand? Disregarding the fact that she’s already being taught by Morgyn… oh geez.
I like Haruka. She’s got a very sharp head on her shoulders and she’s mischievous, but she doesn’t seem malicious like Aine or rigid like Simeon. She’s even helping Lulu out with her crush on Morgyn by giving her a chance to see them more often… unless she’s dangling “seeing Morgyn” over her head like a carrot on purpose, of course. In which case I have to say well played, Haruka.
“As where you, when you were his age.”
Yes, and I recall you weeping on the grass from loneliness and despair next to a sad plate on pancakes, Lulu. Gah. Teenagers. I know she’s lonely and doesn’t know many people and Morgyn is new and exciting and forbidden and all but gaaaaaaaah. This is how Dandy ends up being all alone in the Glade and I don’t like it T.T
And dayyyum, both of the other sages want her? And Simeon has been keeping her away deliberately, so he probably wants to train her too. Girl sure is popular. Aine is shrewd, too, getting competition for Morgyn so they’ll work harder. Or get distracted? It’s so hard to tell what’s going on in any of their heads, haha.
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Morgyn’s definitely going through a bit of an evolution, And yes, untamed magic definitely plays a role here, though I don;t know if Morgyn discusses the detail with Aine, haha.
Ooh, that’s an interesting theory! Though we actually don’t have any evidence that Annaliese had any magical abilities; she was very persuasive and managed to get people to do what she wanted, but we’ve not seen her use any spells – even the fire happened in a very “manual” way. So while she came from a magical well, I’m not too sure if she herself had any magic. As for Hawthorne, the only powers we’ve seen her exhibit so far are her vampire “super powers” of feeding on jocks 😀 But Morgyn will want her to obtain magic eventually, I’m sure.
Haruka is a really fun character. What exactly her interests are remains to be seen, but she is he perfect mischief sage, if I say so myself.
Ouch. You aren’t wrong, she indeed did not have the best of times when she was alone in the glade at Dandy’s age, but I guess unlike us, it’s not as fresh in her memory. It is difficult, because she’s already been taking care of Dandy for nearly 30 years, and hasn’t been able to focus on herslef much at all up till now, but that of course doesn’t mean Dandy deserves to be alone either. Afraid we do know how this one ends.
She’s very in demand, isn’t she? I’m sure Aine has her reasons for extending the offer.
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The clothing in these scenes is just giving me so much life! I love getting to see everyone’s younger self, I feel like I’m getting a good look at how their personalities developed. When L. Faba (GAH! Love knowing how she got her name) was reminding herself not to trust anyone, my heart was breaking. No wonder she treated Dandy the way she did, she was left to be his caretaker when she was just a kid herself. She wasn’t abandoning him, she was growing up, but no adult (LOOKING AT YOU SIMEON) was actually willing to step in. In fact, the adults don’t even see them as kids or as family, they are just chess pieces to be moved around on the board. Aine is in a powerplay with the other two Sages and vice-versa and L. Faba and Morgyn are just tools for them to use.
No wonder they turned out the way they did.
I wanted to scream when she decided to go for Mischief Magic to avoid competing with Morgyn. On the one hand, I think it was the right choice. I don’t trust Aine as far as I can throw her. On the other, it was alarming to see how quickly the people who fall Morgyn believe they need to make themselves smaller to accommodate them. Morgyn would never do that in return.
And Morgyn. Oh, my heart. They were so lost and alone but clearly a survivor with no intention of going back to fending for themselves out on the streets (of Glimmerbrook lol). It’s funny, they don’t trust anyone either, not really. They’ve been hurt and lost everything and I think there is a part of Morgyn that believes the best way to avoid ever having that happen is to not be beholden to anyone.
In fact, I’m beginning to feel like they were doing all those things to Cordelia and Micah because they were testing their love and commitment.
But the thing about tests is that people can fail…
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I’m glad you like the clothes! We may be watching a disaster unfold, but everyone must look fashionable while that happens, dang it 😀 Yes, L Faba wasn’t really trying to abandon Dandy, she was just desperate to live her life. If she had stayed in Sylvan Glade with him for another… 40 years or so that it would take for him to reach adulthood, she’d definitely grow to resent him. The sages definitely have their own agendas, yes.
It’s a fun little cycle of events, a loop yet to be broken. Using the word fun very liberally, lol.
Ooh, that’s a neat little exercise; had the tables been turned and L Faba was already an existing untamed magic apprentice, and Aine gave Morgyn the same offer as she did with L Faba here, would Morgyn have chosen mischief to avoid competing? I’m going to have to agree with you, no, they would not have; they would still be determined to pursue untamed magic. But not necessarily out of the desire to outshine L Faba.
Haha, streets of Glimmerbrook 😀 Ok, more like the woods – needless to say my Morgyn has a lot more wilderness experience than your Morgyn, though it’s not something they’re particularly keen on. But more on topic, yes, you’re right of course, Morgyn is definitely a survivor who had to fend for themselves, to a more extreme degree than Dandy and L Faba; nobody was checking in on them or conjured a nice house in Sylvan Glade for them (perhaps that may shed some light on why Morgyn hated Cordelia’s original camp so much). And of course, unlike L Faba, Morgyn also had a nice little side helping of guilt over the fire they escaped. All that definitely does not make for a particularly trusting and open person, true!
Interesting theory. Was Morgyn trying to test Cordelia and Micah, and if so, what would “passing the test” look like?
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