unknown, could be 15 Coloine still (continued) I only intended to give the mages a few more seconds by keeping the God-Empress from commanding her soldiers to attack. They’d probably act on their own initiative if she didn’t give the order. Instead, all the soldiers suddenly looked confused, as if they didn’t know what they…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 109

unknown, could be 15 Coloine still Now that I’ve recovered from the kathana, I’m going to write everything down because, as is often the case, writing helps me stay sane when everything around me is confusion and strangeness. And then I’ll figure out what to do next. As I wrote, I went to stand where…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 108

15 Coloine, twenty minutes later We won’t be destroyed. I can’t believe it was sitting in Cederic’s room this whole time. It seems obvious now, but I think—no, I should start at the beginning. Cederic came racing back in here a few minutes ago, clutching some large papers that turned out to be our maps.…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 107

15 Coloine, breakfast (not that anyone’s able to eat) Something strange happened. Cederic came to sit with me for a few minutes—I’m glad he’s realized that his going entirely without rest helps no one—and I leaned against his shoulder and pretended the world wasn’t about to end. He smells of fresh linen and, faintly, of…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 106

15 Coloine, dawn I can’t believe it. I’m starting to feel the pouvra come together! The problem is that it doesn’t seem to do anything. Sovrin told me it’s another binding th’an, but I think—this is just my instinct—that it won’t actually work unless there are specific things for it to bind. And I can’t…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 105

15 Coloine, half an hour later Had to take another turn in the kathana circle, this time manifesting the binding rune in fire. That was effective, but Cederic says there’s no way for them to know when or where in the kathana to use it. That frustrates me more than failure would. Cederic said, “It’s…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 104

15 Coloine, two hours past midnight I was encouraged too soon. It didn’t work at all. I’m trying not to feel as downhearted as Terrael was. I think he knew how I felt, because he came to sit next to me when I’d retreated to my corner, before I started writing again, and gave me…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 103

14 Coloine, an hour before midnight It hasn’t ended yet. I’m sitting in a corner of the kathana room, writing while the mages change the kathana’s configuration yet again. There’s a diagram of the original kathana, the one that caused the whole damn mess, drawn on the northern wall in thick black inky lines. The…Continue reading Sesskia’s Diary, part 102