Deep beneath Kaer Morhen, far below the familiar halls and training yards, there was a place most had long since forgotten.
An old alchemy chamber.
Dust clung to everything, stone tables, broken apparatus, rusted tools that hadn't been touched in decades even before the peasant mob attack on Kaer Morhen. Cracks ran along the walls, and faint roots had forced their way through the ceiling over the years, nature slowly reclaiming what had once been a place of study and experimentation.
And right in the center of it,
Stood a golem now.
Rough, towering, made of packed stone and etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly under the light of Yennefer's magic.
Yennefer stood a few steps in front of it, one hand raised slightly as she whispered in Elder Speech, her voice low, words weaving something unseen into the construct.
Sebastian stood nearby, watching closely, arms slightly tense, eyes locked onto the golem like it might come alive at any moment.
Yennefer finished the incantation with a final, quiet word.
The runes flickered.
Then stilled, she lowered her hand and glanced at Sebastian.
"Blast it with fire."
Seb didn't hesitate.
A flame had already formed in his palm, growing into a compact orb of swirling heat, the air around it distorting as it built up power. He stepped forward, fully ready to hurl it straight into the golem's chest.
"I was jesting... don't blast it!"
Seb froze mid-motion.
Yennefer pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly regretting her wording already.
"I meant charge it with your flames," she said, exhaling. "This is a fire elemental, not a target dummy."
There was a brief pause.
Then Seb let out an awkward laugh, the fire in his hand dimming slightly.
"…Right."
He walked up to the golem more carefully this time, lifting his hand and placing it against the cold stone of its chest. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the flames flowed.
A steady stream of controlled fire pouring from his palm into the runes carved into the golem's body.
The symbols began to glow brighter.
Cracks of orange light spread through the stone like veins igniting from within.
It only took a few seconds.
The golem's eyes flared to life, two burning embers igniting in the darkness.
It moved.
Slow at first. Heavy. The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed through the chamber as it straightened, its head turning with a deep, rumbling groan.
Then it let out a low, guttural roar that shook dust from the ceiling.
Seb instinctively stepped back, his other hand already resting on the hilt of his silver sword.
Yennefer didn't move.
She simply watched it, completely calm.
"Now, Seb," she said, "say the words. Bind it to your control."
Seb nodded, raising his hand toward the golem. His posture shifted slightly, more focused now, his voice steady as he spoke in Elder Speech. The words came out clean, practiced.
He was still nervous, still holding the silver sword in his other hand, just in case.
The golem took another step.
Then stopped, completely.
The fire in its eyes flickered once… then steadied.
Seb blinked.
Slowly lowered his hand.
Then looked at Yennefer.
"…It worked?"
Yennefer crossed her arms, one brow raising slightly.
"What do you think?"
There was a brief pause, then Seb's entire expression lit up.
"Alright!"
The reaction was immediate, almost boyish as he straightened, a grin breaking across his face.
Yennefer sighed, though she was amused as well.
"Calm yourself."
She gestured toward the golem.
"Now give it a proper command. Something simple. Make it… stand down."
Seb nodded quickly, turning back to the golem. He raised his hand again, speaking another short phrase in Elder Speech, this time more confident.
A command.
The golem responded immediately.
It turned, slow and obedient, walking toward the far corner of the chamber before coming to a complete stop. The fire in its eyes dimmed, fading into a dull glow until it was barely visible.
Dormant.
Like a machine waiting to be activated again.
Seb watched it for a second, then let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Yennefer studied the result, her arms still crossed.
"Well," she said after a moment, "that turned out better than I expected."
"It's been a while since I built one afterall, you can do it on your own now."
Seb smirked slightly.
"I told you you wouldn't regret it."
She glanced at him.
"…Yes. Well."
Her gaze shifted back to the golem.
"I'm fairly certain the others felt that."
Seb followed her gaze, then shrugged slightly.
"I'll explain it to Geralt."
"No," Yennefer said immediately, shaking her head. "I'll handle that."
She straightened slightly, her tone firm leaving no room for argument.
"I'll tell him it was my idea. He'll believe it."
A faint, almost playful edge slipped into her voice.
"No one forces me into anything. I did this willingly."
Then she looked at Seb more directly.
"I don't know why you wanted to learn this… but I assume it's for something beyond curiosity. Something for the future."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, perceptive.
"I may be but a humble sorceress…"
Seb blinked at that.
"…but I can read people well enough."
"You're not a bad boy."
That,
That threw him off more than the golem waking up.
Seb opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly unsure how to respond to both "humble sorceress" and "bad boy" in the same sentence.
"…Right," he settled on.
Before anything else could be said,
A voice cut in from the entrance.
"Well, well."
Both of them turned.
Ciri stood there, leaning casually against the doorway, arms crossed and a smile on her face.
"So this is where you've been sneaking off to."
Yennefer's expression shifted instantly.
"Ciri? What are you doing here?"
Ciri pushed herself off the wall and stepped inside.
"I think the better question is, what are you two doing here?"
She paused. Then grinned.
"I'm kidding. I already know."
Seb frowned slightly.
"…You do?"
Ciri nodded.
"Building that thing. Teaching Seb magic after you do with me."
She gestured toward the golem.
"I figured it out last week."
Yennefer placed both hands on her hips.
"Ciri!"
Ciri just smiled wider, completely unapologetic.
Yennefer sighed, clearly deciding not to press it further, then glanced at Seb.
He raised both hands slightly.
"What?! I made sure no one noticed!"
Then he looked at Ciri, narrowing his eyes just a bit.
"…Though I may have underestimated your ability to follow people without being seen."
Ciri straightened slightly, crossing her arms with a proud look.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't meant as one," Seb muttered.
Yennefer exhaled, already thinking ahead.
"So be it," she said. "I'll tell Geralt myself before he hears about it from someone else."
Ciri waved a hand dismissively.
"It's not a big deal. It's just an elemental."
She glanced at Seb.
"And he wanted this. They won't mind."
Seb shook his head slightly.
"It's still a dangerous construct. You know how Vesemir is."
Ciri considered that for a second.
Then her expression shifted into something more mischievous.
"How about this…"
She looked between the two of them.
"We share the blame."
A small grin.
"Say it was our idea, me and you."
Yennefer raised a brow, her lips curving ever so slightly as she looked at Ciri, clearly amused by the suggestion.
"Oh?" she said, her tone smooth, almost too innocent. "You're willing to do that?"
Ciri nodded without hesitation, arms still crossed, completely confident in her stance.
"Of course."
Yennefer tilted her head just a little, the faintest glint of mischief appearing in her violet eyes.
"You want to suffer Vesemir's wrath… on behalf of Sebastian?"
There was a pause in the way she said it, just enough emphasis to make it sound far more loaded than it needed to be.
Seb, standing off to the side, immediately caught it.
Ciri… did not.
She didn't even blink.
"Why not?"
The answer came so naturally, so genuinely.
Seb stared at her.
Yennefer blinked once.
And then, a slow smile spread across Yennefer's face.
She said nothing.
She didn't elaborate and simply turned her gaze away slightly, one hand resting lightly against her arm as if she had just been handed something unexpectedly entertaining.
/-\
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