Land of Light and Shadows

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lyv sat in their usual booth at the Raven, a full tankard of Ayverian Torrent and Corliss's journal laid out in front of her. She hadn't been able to turn the front cover page with her name written on it yet to see what else was inside. With everything that had come at her over those last few hours – Elys's hinting that their world wasn't the only one, Kalla seemingly knowing this as well, the update on Escarral's destruction, and the older Elys, Dessa, and Len's appearance for those fleeting few minutes – Lyv felt like her own world had dramatically grew and yet was swallowing her beneath the waves.

At that thought, she reached for the tankard and gulped down half of its contents.

"All right," she said to herself, blocking out the raucous laughter from all those around her. "Other than what Kalla, Allel, and Mik were going to tell us...this might do us some good, even give us information they might not know."

Reaching forward, right as she touched the cover page, Lyv's magic jumped inside her...both light and dark.

Another second passed.

She took a deep breath.

And turned the page to find the first entry addressed directly to Lyv herself...though dated for over a hundred years before, just about two years prior to the beginning of the Arcane Blood Plague in Palrion, which Corliss herself had caused.

The second thing she saw? Her own name.

"Sweet Mother above," Lyv breathed, then leaned over to read.

Dearest Lyv,

It's strange to think I'm writing this to you before you're even born, though the idea of you has been on my sister's mind for as long as she's been with your father. They'd tried for you for so long and I'm so happy I at least know they'll get their wish in time.

What I don't like is that I'll never really, truly get to meet you as I am now. That is my own fault. Just as Bridget said, my mind is a curious one and it always seems to get me in trouble and bring me to places I shouldn't be. This is definitely true as of now, but I have to tell you everything, even if it is over a century early.

I am so sorry for everything I will put you through. Not me as in Corliss, but me as in the Dark Mage. I am the reason you will be taken away from your parents, why you will grow up in a land that is not from where you came, why you will lose so many of your people.

Nevertheless, I'm sorry for every loss you will endure...especially when it seems like those like us are destined to lose our mates. For the two of us, ours feel as if this darkness is a weight they can take on fully and will try their damnedest to do just that.

But I'm not writing this to you regarding that. Though we both would say otherwise, there are more important things...

More important things? Corliss had just written about one of Lyv's worst fears.

With every line of those first few pages, Lyv was so caught up in the beginnings of Corliss's life story she hardly noticed the barmaid had put down another tankard for her...or that Lyv actually managed to down the rest of her Torrent to warrant one. Even though she knew most of Corliss's early life from Bridget, Lyv still keep her eyes from following line after line.

The first dozen or so pages were Corliss telling her of her life in her younger years. Even though it was only in writing, Corliss clearly loved Bridget and their brother Gaven, not to mention her parents. There were a few stories Lyv hadn't heard before, ones that had her smiling and even laughing. It explained why Bridget had always said Lyv reminded her of not only herself but Corliss, too.