The Ancient Book of Seals
NB: This chapter will feature a switch in POV from Dana to Doya, and you'll know exactly when.
Enjoy :)
Dana's POV
It was the next day and Lysara was still in my quarters. I could barely sleep last night, and honestly, the thought of being alone was worse than the exhaustion. So we drank a little wine and talked through the night, or at least, she did.
My head kept replaying the conversation I had with Ascend Darveth the day before. He had said he would unseat Kaelric from the highest seat of the council last night. I still couldn't believe Kaelric was the traitor.
"Is something the matter?"
Lysara's voice pulled me back. We had been awake for hours already. Dawn was only just breaking, with pale light slipping through the window. My gaze shifted to hers, and only then did I realize I hadn't heard a single word she'd been saying.
"No, nothing. What were you saying?" I forced a smile.
"Well," she said, tilting her head, "some of the Novitiate have been talking about you and Doya. They think you might share a romantic rela—"
A knock sounded on the door, cutting her off.
I froze. It was very early in the morning, the sun had barely come up. Who could be knocking at this hour?
My heart hammered against my ribs as I rose slowly, my gaze fixed on the door.
The moment I opened it, a Bound stood there.
I recognized her face, faintly, but we had never spoken.
"I apologize for disturbing you," she said.
"Do you need something?" I asked, squinting slightly at her.
"Well… I have a letter for you." She extended a folded parchment.
I glanced at it but didn't take it.
"It's from Doya," she added.
At the sound of his name, my hesitation vanished. I took the parchment from her hand, but she didn't move. She just stood there, watching me.
"Anything else?" I asked.
She shifted, quite hesitant. "May I come in?"
"No." The word left my mouth before I could soften it.
She blinked, clearly not expecting that.
"You can say what you need to say from there," I added, my hand still firm on the door.
"The letter is… somewhat encrypted. I'll need to help you read it." She explained.
I gave her a questioning look.
"If you don't read that message properly, you might miss what he risked to send." she pressed.
"I think I'll manage," I said finally, motioning to close the door.
"Doya wouldn't send me if I wasn't worth trusting," she added quickly. "And if I meant you harm, I wouldn't be standing here explaining this."
I studied her for a moment. Trust was no longer something I gave freely. Not after everything. But if the letter truly came from Doya, then it mattered.
My gaze flicked to the letter in my hand… then back to her.
"You have one minute," I said at last, stepping aside.
She entered quietly.
I gestured toward the chair and took my seat on the other, the parchment still in my hand.
"You haven't told me your name," I said, breaking the silence.
"I am Bound Corvessa."
I nodded once, then unfolded the parchment.
It held a strange message in a language I had never seen before.
I looked at her waiting for her to say something, perhaps what the letter held.
"That message," she said, pointing lightly, "was meant for me. There's another layer — written in invisible ink. You'll need heat to reveal it."
"I don't understand," I said.
"The language you see there… Doya and I created it when we were younglings." A faint look crossed her face. "I hadn't seen it in years, so it took me a moment. But the real message—" she gestured to the blank space beneath the strange writing, "—is hidden there."
I glanced at Lysara. She was still in my bed, so I asked her to leave, giving me a moment alone with Corvessa.
The moment the door clicked shut behind her, I moved to a corner of the room and retrieved a lit candle. My hands trembled a little as I held the paper close, the warmth of the candle teasing out the secret message hidden in the blank space.
Slowly, letters began to appear, faint at first, then clearer as the heat coaxed them into visibility. My breath caught as I read:
"Dana, don't trust Ascend Darveth. Meet me in the Old Watchtower. — Doya"
I looked at Corvessa after reading the message, my face went blank.
Don't trust Ascend Darveth?
"What is it?" she asked, tilting her head.
"N-nothing… thank you for bringing me this letter," I stammered, folding the parchment carefully. Then, curiosity got the better of me. "H-how did you know to bring this to me?"
She gave a small shrug. "He told me to — through the strange writing there that only I could understand."
I slowly nodded. "Anything else?"
"Well… I'd like to know what's going on, so I can help," she said.
"I do not need your help. Thanks," I replied firmly.
"Doya might need my help. And I would do anything for him." She pressed on.
My gaze stayed fixed on her, unyielding.
"He might not have told you about me," she continued, her voice softer now. "But Doya and I go way back… long before you ever came into the picture."
My heart skipped a beat at her words. I wasn't sure if she meant that they had been… together. I'd never imagined Doya with someone else.
I forced a small, tight smile. "Thank you for your help, Corvessa. But you can leave now," I said, trying to sound stern.
She hesitated for a moment, then gave a small shrug and stepped out of the room.
I sighed, my mind was a haze. My lack of sleep did not even help the situation. Only one person came to mind.
I put on my robe and headed straight for Kumbuye's room.
I knocked on his door and he opened it up slightly, sleep still heavy in his eyes.
I didn't wait for an invitation, I just stepped inside.
"Hey!!!" he complained, still half-asleep. "You can't just—"
"Sorry, but it's urgent," I said, pacing the room.
"What is it now, Dana?" He groaned, sounding tired.
"I got a message from Doya," I said quickly. "He said we shouldn't trust Ascend Darveth."
Kumbuye rolled his eyes like he'd already known. "I wouldn't say I told you so."
"Now isn't the time for that, Kumbuye. Let's be serious," I whispered. "He said we should meet at the Old Watchtower but... why there? Why not his cottage?" My words tumbled out as I circled the room, questioning everything.
"And you're sure this message is from Doya?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not really sure about anything," I snapped. "I'm just… I think we should go there. Just to be certain."
He gave a deep sigh, moving across the room and sliding onto the edge of his bed. "Could you just sit and stop pacing?" He asked.
"No."
A short silence fell before I spoke again. "I say we go by nighttime." I stopped pacing, taking a steadying breath. "There'll be a meeting today, I'm sure of that, and I have to be there. So we wait until it's dark, and move unnoticed."
Kumbuye nodded slowly. "Very well."
***
Doya's POV
Someone had stepped inside.
I narrowed my eyes, straining against the dark. The torchlight flickered weakly along the stone walls, never quite reaching the doorway. For a moment, all I could see was a shadow but still watching.
Then she moved cautiously, and stepped into the light.
"Doya…" she said lightly with this shock written all over her face.
She crossed the room in careful steps, and stopped just before me. Her hands hovered over the chains, not touching at first, she hesitated, almost afraid.
Then her fingers brushed the iron.
I tensed instinctively, as the chains rattled.
"What are you doing here, Giselle…" I started, my voice was low.
She just looked at me like she didn't even know where to begin.
"How did you even find me?" I asked again.
My gaze dropped briefly to her hands on the chains, then back to her face.
"I followed you…" she said finally. "I saw—" She trailed off.
I stayed still, waiting for her to speak.
"I saw you come in here with an Ascend. What is going on, Doya?" Her voice shook.
"Can you get me out of these chains?" I said, forcing the words out. "I can't channel, the collar on my neck is restricting me." I tilted my head slightly so she could see it.
She nodded quickly and stepped back. Power flared around her, rising fast, then lashed out at the chains.
But it didn't budge.
"The chains are strong," she breathed, glancing at me.
"Try again," I said, the desperation slipping through.
She did, but longer this time, pushing harder. The air trembled with it.
Still nothing.
Her jaw tightened. "Gods… they bound it properly."
I exhaled slowly. "You shouldn't be here."
"I didn't come to be told what I shouldn't do," she whispered, stepping closer again.
Her hands hovered near the collar.
Then she touched it.
The reaction was instant.
I gasped as the iron flared, burning against my throat, tightening without warning. My body jerked violently against the chains like I'd been struck through with lightning.
She pulled back immediately. "I didn't even—!"
"Don't—" My breath came out ragged. "Don't touch it like that."
"You're burning up."
"I know." I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself.
She leaned in again, closer this time, her eyes narrowing as she studied the collar.
"There's a sequence," she murmured. "These marks… they're not decorative."
"They're layered bindings," I said.
Her gaze flicked to mine. "You understand it?"
"Enough to know brute force won't work."
"How do we get it off then?" she asked, still studying the collar.
"We need a spell," I groaned, my throat still aching.
"Well… do you know it?"
"Not off the top of my head," I said, straining slightly against the chains. "But there's a spell book in my cottage." I held her gaze. "I need you to get it for me. You'll find it under a couple of books on the table. It's called The Ancient Book of Seals."
She nodded and straightened herself, already moving.
"Giselle," I called.
She stopped and turned back.
"Also get me parchment and ink. There are two bottles on the table. Bring both. And a pen."
"Okay."
"You will see an urn, under my bed," I added flatly. "Please, help me get it too."
She frowned slightly, like she wanted to ask something.
Then she gave a single nod and left.
Alone with my thoughts again was devastating.
Still, I was relieved she had followed me. There were questions though — too many — but they could wait.
Right now, I just wanted these chains off me… and the iron collar gone.
---
Time had passed. It was almost clocking midnight and Giselle still hadn't returned. I was already getting so frustrated and impatient.
I needed my urn urgently… or my strength would collapse.
Just as I was thinking about how much time had been wasted, the door finally opened.
She moved fast down the wooden stairs.
"I got everything you asked for." She held up a bag and dropped it right in front of me.
"Also… there's a headless body in your cottage." Her face held questions she clearly wasn't interested in asking politely.
I sighed. "Yes. That… was Yurich."
"I don't care who that was," she shrugged, already opening the bag.
She pulled out the spell book first.
Then the urn.
My eyes widened the moment I saw it.
Relief hit me instantly.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
Then she brought out the parchment, the two inks, and quill pen.
"Okay… so what do we do now?" she asked.
"Open the book," I said. "Look for a chapter on concealing collars."
She nodded and stood, taking a torch from one of the wall sconces. She brought it closer to the pages and began flipping through.
"Found it," she said after a moment, her eyes fixed on the text. "There are symbols here… they resemble the ones on the collar."
She exhaled sharply through her nose, then looked back at me, then the collar again, studying it more closely.
"Primary seal… suppression weave…" she muttered under her breath. "And—"
She froze.
My stomach tightened. "And what?"
Her expression changed.
She looked back into the book… then at the collar again.
"An anchor."
My eyes met hers.
"Are you sure?" I asked, dread already pooling in my chest.
"Yes," she said. "It matches the same symbol in the book."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"It's tethered… to something else, a source. And as long as that exists—" she tapped the collar lightly, then pulled her hand back before it reacted. "—this doesn't come off."
"There has to be another way…" I muttered.
Giselle turned back to the book again, scanning faster now. Then she read aloud:
"It says here that: an anchor bound to a sealed collar cannot be undone unless the one who placed it is stripped of their power, meets their death, or relinquishes it through their own blood."
My jaw tightened.
"So we need the blood of Ascend Darveth," I said flatly.
"Yes," she confirmed.
Silence settled for a beat.
Then she asked, more carefully, "Why did he do this to you?"
"He's a traitor," I said. "He works with the Forsaken."
"Oh…" she breathed. "Wow."
I watched her for a moment, then I muttered. "You said you followed me."
"Yes," she sighed. "There was an order for my arrest. Guards came to the bathhouse, but I escaped through the back."
She paused, thinking back.
"That's when I decided to come find you. But I saw an Ascend leaving your cottage."
She scoffed softly.
"I couldn't approach you then — same people had ordered my arrest — so I followed you instead."
Her eyes flicked toward me briefly.
"By the time I reached here, I saw you go inside with the Ascend. I waited… but then he came out and you didn't. So I came in after you." She shrugged as she concluded.
My face held no hint of surprise at her arrest order. Dana had told Ascend Kaelric about her and he would have been the one to issue it if he believed she carried anything valuable.
"Pass me the parchment and the quill," I said.
She placed them on the floor close to my right hand.
"And the inks," I added. "I'm going to write a letter to Dana."
I paused slightly, lowering my voice.
"But they must never suspect it will reach her."
"How so?" she asked.
"Because we don't know how many people work for Ascend Darveth… or who they are." I began to write on the parchment as I spoke. "So I have to use someone I trust. Someone I know has my interest at heart."
Giselle nodded, watching me carefully as I wrote.
"You're going to deliver it to the Sanctum guards at the front gate."
"No," she said immediately, pulling back a little. "I can't go there. I'm wanted for arrest, remember?"
"That's why you'll go hooded. Very early in the morning before the sun rises. You'll just drop it off and leave."
"What if I get caught?" she asked, tension creeping into her voice.
"Then don't get caught," I said simply. "This has to work."
I finished writing and cleaned the black ink from the quill.
Then I reached for the invincible ink and added the real message.
When I was done, I sealed the parchment and wrote on the front:
To Bound Corvessa.
I handed it to Giselle.
"Remember," I said quietly. "All you have to do is drop it off and leave."
She hesitated at first… then nodded and took it.
"Please pass me that urn," I added as she turned to leave.
She paused and brought it closer. "And what's this for?"
"That, Giselle…" I said lowly, taking it from her, "doesn't concern you."
She sighed heavily, shaking her head slightly before exiting the vault.
The moment she was gone, the silence settled heavier.
I could feel it — my strength slipping again.
This urn had kept me stable for months. Even more so since I'd lessened my use of magic.
I opened it and drew in a small amount of residual energy.
Instantly, it was like air returned to my lungs. I felt like I could breathe better and steadier.
I leaned back against the cold stone, waiting for Giselle to return.
Waiting for whatever came next.
I had no idea if Ascend Darveth would return by daylight… or send one of his goons to finish what he started.
But whatever reason he had for keeping me alive... I would not break before I found out.