Sellen

Hm? What's this? An inclination for glintstone sorceries I see? No...doesn't seem like it. Well, if that isn't the case, this little room is rather simple. I'm sure you recall the way you came in.

she sighs Ah well. You beat that mad creature standing guard to corner me for this little chat. I'd hate for you to leave empty-handed. I am Sorceress Sellen. A master of the glintstone arts, and a student of the school of Caria, quite plainly. Before we begin, I was expelled from the Academy, for "vile apostasy" as my instructors put it.

Does that trouble you? Worry not. I've heard enough whispers with my name in them to harden my heart. Frankly, an offense spoken to my face would be a welcome respite.

Still here...she chuckles. Alright then. Let's begin. I'm not actually in the room with you right now.

I've confused you, already. This body is a projection that I've made to commune with the outside world. My actual form is, in truth, entombed beneath Caria itself. So much for eviction, right? I was imprisoned there for my experimentation with the primeval current. An untapped source of knowledge on the stars and all the magic therein. Of course, there were sacrifices. Human sacrifices. But if you're looking for figures with clean hands and a clear conscience, I suggest you read something other than the history of Caria.

[Feelings on Rennala] Ah, my jailer. What would you like me to say? She's the picture of hypocrisy. I said as much in her kangaroo court. When I was invited to enroll, she told me with her voice and that of my instructors, to learn the stars. But all things exist in a context. You cannot learn the stars without learning where they fit into their broader system. And you cannot learn where they fit into that system without learning the system itself. Put plainly, you'll know nothing of the stars without knowing what's beyond the stars. And yet, when I vied at that knowing, when I looked too deeply into the Primeval Current, I was placed in shackles and dragged from their hall.

From then on, I listened from below, to the footsteps and voices of students engaged in a rudderless study. Before it all descended into screaming as the uprising commenced. Do ask me if I enjoyed the sound. You may not like my answer.

[Feelings on Seluvis] Well, this conversation certainly took a downward turn. sigh In one way, I suppose, I ought to thank Seluvis. If what I've heard about the Preceptors is true, then however indirectly, he aided in my revenge against Caria. Unfortunately, I remember him from my school days.

I remember, when he was a teacher at the Academy, students would start disappearing around him. The young and handsome in particular. I know that when we were alone together, during a study hall, he tried to get me to drink this drought of his. It was milky, and its scent...I could hardly process it with how numbing it was. He told me, it would grant me knowledge of the stars. Of course I'd known better. Knowledge is found in texts not elixirs. So, when he pushed the vial in my face, I politely refused. And when he got insistent, I took my leave.

He approached me one last time, in my dungeon cell. He was...different from how he'd been before. Any pretense of civility had long-faded from his demeanor. He told me, though he could not unlock the door and free me, he could give me the keys and put them at my feet. The humor being, that my hands were bound to the wall. Then he taught me how to project myself somewhere close so I could continue my studies.

A nice consolation, I suppose. I was ready to thank him when he piled onto the deal. He was also going to make me a double so that when a kind soul came across my projection, I could instruct them in how to rescue me.

I asked why, wishing almost immediately that I hadn't. And he told all. He has a...fetish for dolls. He enjoys turning people into them and using them for his ends. He intended to make a doll of me but I'd fled before he got the chance. Now that I'm in shackles, he can't simply abscond with me. So, he settled for using my physical form to inspire a likeness. One that he can keep in his chambers. I took the only choice available, of course.

Much as I'd like to get out of here and transfer my heart into that likeness, I may need a soak in the river or twelve before I feel comfortable walking around in it.