Wattpeer Reviews

Review: Of Thorns and Teeth

By Ange_Ackerman

The moon gazed sombre and solitary from the deep indigo sky, its light as still and soft as breath on the gables and roofs of Brightstar Manor.

In contrast, the chamber windows below it glowed with heat and light, the hum of celebration and the golden radiance of Aethyr lamps within both lively and incandescent.

Through fine, lace-wrought window-frames, satin dresses whispered and swirled, horsehair bows skittered across cherry-wood instruments, and electricity sparked as flesh grazed welcoming flesh.

Long, linen-covered tables lined the rooms, loaded with delicacies from all corners of the known world, the scent of sweet-roasts and peppered meats mingling with the fragrance of honeysuckle blossoms and the heady musk of guests' perfumes.

Rainer tapped his fingers impatiently on the handle of his sheathed sabre, the ceremonial scabbard of red velvet and soft leather foreign against his leg. The temptations of the party were but noise, the decorated women chattering birds.

He pushed his way through the crowds towards the back of the hall, where a stout auctioneer stood on a dais, inviting bids on various objects from Lord Eldrin's esoteric and desirable collection.

This is what I'm here for. And just in time, too.

The current lot was a book, its cover intricately embossed in tones of gold and black. Rainer slipped into a chair at the back of the room. The stately yet beautiful woman next to him turned with a scowl as his movement rustled her voluminous silver taffeta skirts.

"Baroness," Rainer murmured. The woman nodded, tapping a forest-snipe feathered fan disapprovingly against her jewelled, whale-boned breast, and turned her attention back to the auctioneer.

The young woman on the other side of the Baroness leaned in and whispered in her ear, loud enough for Rainer to hear.

"Of Thorns and Teeth." Her dark curls bounced as she looked towards the auctioneer, the crystals affixed in them glinting in the Aethyr light. "A first edition, hand-signed by the author."

"Yes," Baroness Balmere replied under her breath, raising a silver card to bid. "It contains many of the greatest stories of our people, of both these times and times before, be they private or public. The secrets of the Eldan and the humans, from all the great houses."

"It is surely of significant worth for any library," the younger girl observed.

"Indeed," the baroness replied, lifting her silver card to bid again. "Knowledge is power. Especially the knowledge of one's contemporaries' misdemeanours, and that which they would rather hide."

Rainer glanced sidelong at the Baroness before lifting his own card to bid.

He disliked people, be they humans or fellow Eldans, and shunned their company. Yet, in this case, the prize was worth the discomfort. He knew The Fall universe well, but up to this day he had only read transcripts, rewrites, and the fictions of fans, and he was eager to know how close they were to the original work.

The Baroness Balmere bid again, taking the price to one-thousand imperial khas.

Rainer flicked his card.

"Two thousand." The auctioneer nodded towards him. "Will you give me three?"

The baroness turned, elegant features sharp with displeasure. Rainer raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"Well I never!" The younger girl breathed, her small white hand curling into a delicate fist. "Lord Salt intends to play the rogue."

The Baroness bid again, and Rainer raised. The bids flew back and forth between them, the numbers quickly climbing, the room charged by the bated breaths of all within.