A Grievous Wound
Vicky ran down the hallway, the invaders close behind. It happened with near lightning speed, though apparently there were signs if one was paying attention. The Silverquill Resident Attendant (and graduate) was in the atrium of the Biblioplex when a massive steel branch broke through the dome of the Strixhaven university library. Pods of a sort were dropping from the spiked limbs of the branch onto the grounds below. And then the chaos began.
Vicky witnessed strange beings emerge from some of the pods while other units had mechanical limbs stretch outward, grasping at whatever poor soul was near. It wasn't just an invasion, it was assimilation. Vicky stared in shock as staff and student alike were transformed into the enemy. A small group approached her with offers of perfection and unity and that's when the young woman began to run for her life.
A student of Shadow, Vicky threw out a shroud of darkness throughout the length of the hallway in which she ran. Vicky could see perfectly in the inky veil and, for a short while, the invaders, former friends and instructors, were lost within it. It didn't take long for those cybernetic organisms to adapt. Vicky was almost to the entrance doors of the Biblioplex.
She turned around to gauge the distance of the intruders and when she turned back around, the central door looked different but familiar. What stood before her was a beautifully carved wooden door, similar appearance to the doors of the Biblioplex but with carvings of the Silverquill insignia amidst a multitude of moths. There were more monstrous invaders coming from her two sides. The door opened, standing firm within its frame. Vicky held her breath, increased her stride, and leapt into the open doorway. She didn't notice it close behind her. She didn't have the time.
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Vicky bolted upright, sweat glistening across her forehead and drenching her undershirt. She quickly examined her surroundings and was relieved. A nightmare for sure, but that's all it was. No nightmares made real for now. The young woman stood and walked over to the vanity desk across from the bed. An actual bed for a change, she thought. I wonder how long I can stay here. She sat down at the vanity and removed the towel that hung over the mirror. She's learned that spirits can enter the House through reflective surfaces and knows not to have them open for long.
The young woman gives her long, wavy ebon hair a quick brush with her fingers, moving it out of her face as best she could. She studied her face for a moment. She had strong, round features with a pale complexion. She was far from overweight but she wasn't slender, either. Vicky wasn't able to keep up with time here as there was no true sunrise or sunset. The sky, or whatever passed for such, was a shifting twilight never fully dark nor fully light.
The Silverquill RA stood, stretched, and replaced the towel over the mirror. There were two entries into the bedroom. One opened into a loft with a stairwell. The other, one would think, should open to an en suite with a lavish lavatory. But no, it actually leads into an untended garden with a path leading away from the bedroom. That was a small part of the strangeness that was Duskmourn. You could be sleeping on what appeared to be a second floor and still have a door that leads to the grounds below as if it were on the same level.
Victoria stared at the doorway that opened onto the loft. She's kept that door closed since she found this room. She doesn't like the loft out there. Her nightmares have shown her horrible things happening on the loft.
Victoria doesn't know how long she's been in Duskmourn, but she does know she's been able to remain here long enough to fall asleep three times. Maybe that's been three days. She's not sure but she knew she wasn't taking the stairs. Vicky pull on her Strixhaven jacket and slipped on her shoes and stepped into the garden.
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As Vicky strolled through the unkempt flower garden, she caught her thoughts drifting to her grandmother. A sweet and kind woman, Martina Dvorak was more of a realist than an idealist. She, too, was a Strixhaven graduate who was also a student of Shadow. She disagreed with Embrose Lu's way of teaching but her skill putting pen to paper to air was unmatched in her class.
Martina Dvorak helped raise her granddaughter when the child's mother died from an incurable ailment. Both elder and child rarely saw the girl's father as he chose to work on the outskirts of Arcavios.
Martina watched as Victoria grew up and struggled with her place in the world. Martina's eyes shone bright when Vicky told her that she was enrolling into Silverquill College at Strixhaven University. Her father was even proud of her and happy that she was doing well.
Martina would help Vicky with her spellcasting and was a shoulder to cry on when Embrose or any other professor was too stern with her. However, Martina would always press her granddaughter to stand up for herself and approach the world around her in the same way it approached her. by her fourth year, Victoria Dvorak was strong-willed and grounded enough to perform solo on the Rose Stage.
Vicky's eyes teared as she wondered if her grandmother was still alive or if the invasion was still ongoing even. She drew her jacket close and turned around, back towards the bedroom.
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She shot straight up in bed again. It wasn't a nightmare that woke Vicky but rather a hard thud against the wall behind her. It came again and Vicky jumped out of the bed and backed up against the vanity. The thud was coming from the wall 'outside' while the vanity was on the same wall as the door to the loft. She watched as reality rippled with each thud on the wall. The pounding stopped and through the shifting air stepped one elongated limb and then another until the full height of the cellarspawn stood abover her.
Vicky instinctively threw up a shadow field. The 'spawn would most certainly catch her if she ran for the garden. She shot a shadowlance into the cellarspawn's foot and turned for the loft door.
The door wasn't opening. It was jammed or stuck. Vicky slammed her shoulder against the door, kicked at the bottom of it. Nothing she did made the door move in any way. The cellarspawn ripped its foot from the shadowlance and jumped onto Vicky, sending them both crashing through the loft door. Vicky felt the gash tear through her side. She summoned a dark wind and pushed the 'spawn off of her. It stood, shaking its head to regain its senses.
Vicky turned to run down the stairs and felt talons clawing at the space between her shoulder blades. She fell against the staircase railing. She felt the burning in her side glow brighter. Pushing passed the pain, Victoria stared into the vanity mirror and wished she wasn't as weak as she was feeling. Her head felt light. She looked at the cellarspawn and struck it with two more shadowlances, pinning it to the wall. It was already shifting into the wall's surface in order to free itself.
Vicky saw a shimmer coming from the vanity mirror. A spirit had emerged and was attempting to hold the cellarspawn in place. The 'spawn lashed and struck Vicky's thigh, more pain shot through her being. She wasn't going to be weak, she and the spirit weren't going down without a fight. Summoning every ounce of strength within her, Victoria stretched out her arm and turned the mirror towards the cellarspawn.
Focusing on the spawn in the mirror, she used the reflective surface to cast a Deadly Vanity, a spell to purge all weakness. Inky shadows filled the loft, amplified through the vanity mirror, swirling around the Silverquill student and the cellarspawn. As the shadows receded into the mirror and the ink cleared, she alone remained and promptly passed out.
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Some time later, Victoria Dvorac awoke in pain. Her vision blurry, she could only lay there clutching the wound on her side. She could feel the blood running through her fingers and the burning shock across her back. She wished to stand up, follow the stairs, leave the loft behind but she couldn't
Vicky was so tired. The pain began to fade. "You were so brave," said her grandmother's voice from somewhere far away. "But it's time to rest now."
Vicky opened her eyes in the mirror, her vision clearing for a brief moment. She saw a shadow approach in the mirror and watched as it grew closer. "This house shall not have you for eternity," a voice said as she drew a harsh breath. She saw a Specter of the Fens reaching down for her, picking her up. How was this being here… in Duskmourn? "Be at peace, child. You're going home to rest… forevermore."