Dom was close to succumbing to the dead wizard’s attacks whensomethingemerged from the depths of the silver. The presence banished Virico’s spirit back to the realm of the dead before turning its attention onto Dom. And as it did, Dom recognized it. It was the same strange presence that had plagued him the entire trip, the green eyes that had appeared in the faces of strangers, the same voice that had spoken to him on the stage in Laodeiros. The presence admonished him for beingthere, for not returning home as it had commanded before leaving Dom with one final order - concentrate.
In the wake of the dream walking, Olbric woke in a panic in Arlon’s bed only to find someone else in the room with them: an assassin sent to kill Arlon, one who only failed because Olbric was there to intercept him. Olbric relayed the dream walking he received from Dom, and it was decided that Olbric and Cancassi would use one of Olbric’s newly made teleportations to reach the Eastern Tower and scout out the situation.
Meanwhile, Dom did the impossible: he escaped from the silver. And he did it in front of Thaddius. The other man had come down to free him, but after his agonizing stretch in the silver, Dom was furious. Spurred by an uncharacteristic wave of rage, he attacked Thaddius, ready to fuck him, tohurt him, before he snapped back to his senses. Dom needed to getawayfrom the man or else he’d do something unforgivable, but Thaddius stopped him, revealing that he had found three uncharged focuses while scouting the Tower.
With no other options available, Dom took his anger and fear out on Thaddius, using him to create two abjurations and an illusion. They used the spells to go up to Demica’s office to search for theirnecklaces, but before they could find them, they were intercepted by Diran. Thaddius stepped out of the illusion, turning himself over to his cousin to give Dom the chance to get away.
Trapped in the ruins of Demica’s office, Dom stayed hidden until he was able to grab the attention of Reneta. The faenskamend was skeptical of Dom’s story, but after enchanting him, she learned the truth: Demica had betrayed the Crux and was working with Diran Barclay under the Tower’s nose. Only then did she agree to help Dom.
Outside, Cancassi waited in the fields around the Eastern Tower while Olbric used one of the transmutation spells that earned him his mastery to change his appearance, posing as a new recruit from Cairish named Omari. She was able to infiltrate the Tower, but not before running into Jaret, one of the men who had assaulted her on her assignment to the Black Burrows.
Unable to blow her cover yet, Olbric had to play nice with the man. And in doing so, she was able to successfully infiltrate the Tower. Yet as she started her search for the Crux wizards in earnest, she witnessed Diran publicly beating Thaddius in the atrium under the guise of ‘disciplining a magiline thief.’ Jaret dragged a bloodied Thaddius down to the Tower’s dungeon, and Olbric followed before covertly dispatching of Jaret. Yet as Olbric went to free the rest of the Crux wizards, she overheard Lucien talking to Alix in his cell. The heated conversation illuminated more about the two wizards’ prior relationship at the Crux, but as Lucien turned to leave, Olbric easily subdued him before freeing the rest of the Crux wizards.
Dom, though, wasn’t among them. He was with Reneta, who had led him to Demica’s quarters in hopes that his and the rest of the Crux wizard’s spell necklaces were inside. While Ren had to report to Diran’s morning roll call to avoid suspicion, Dom searchedDemica’s room for the spells. What he found instead was Demica herself, waiting with a spell that incapacitated Dom, blasting his last evocation out of his grip.
Yet somehow, Dom was still able to release the spell from across the room, stunning Demica just long enough for Dom to grab her necklace. It was another impossibility, something a wizardshouldn’tbe able to do, and yet Dom had pulled on some part of himself to accomplish it, just as he had when he escaped the silver.
But Dom didn’t have time to think about impossibilities then. Running on nothing but adrenaline, Dom went to find the other Crux wizards, only to be intercepted by Diran. Dom could only run for so long, and as his path took him out of the Tower, his energy flagging, he had to fight. But in his state, Dom was no match for Diran. Diran subdued him before he used the same spell that had caused Garrett to attack the city square, a puppeteer spell that allowed Diran full control over Dom.
Diran used that control to make Dom turn on Olbric as he and the other Crux wizards entered the fray. But Diran was no match for the combined power of the Crux wizards. The tide of the fight turned against him, and as Olbric subdued Dom, Allisande delivered a killing blow to Diran Barclay.
In the aftermath, Dom awoke in the Tower’s infirmary, Olbric at his side. But their reunion was tainted by Dom’s scattered memories of the last two days. He remembered attacking Olbric, remembered his violent casting with Thaddius, and was left with a profound unease that something was very, very wrong with his magic. That unease stopped Dom from telling Olbric and Arlon the full story of what had happened to him at the Tower, because if he admitted to doing such impossibilities like escaping the silver or besting Demica without a spell on him, he’d have to admit to everything else. But the one thing Dom was adamant about was telling Arlon that he would never apprentice him for the position of Grandmaster.
But the situation left in the wake of the events at the Tower was worse than Dom realized. Allisande, a member of the Strae royal family, had just killed Diran Barclay, an heir to the Immen throne. With a political firestorm building on the horizon, Arlon and Thora of the Royal Guard announced that the Eastern Tower would be disbanding. Any wizard who had no knowledge of Demica and Diran’s underhanded dealings would be allowed to come to the Crux to continue their magical study, but it was made very clear that wizards as a whole were under suspicion and would be watched closely by the Strae Crown.
Under the order of Captain Thora, Dom and the Royal Guard Nikolai were sent to search the Tower for any scattered pieces of magiline. Dom was given one of Diran’s spells to use - a divination that allowed him to see magical auras - but while witnessing the ball of magic in the core of every wizard around him, he noticed that his own magic looked very different. Dom wasfilledwith light, and the realization only further confirmed that something was very wrong with his magic. Yet as he and Nik searched the tower, Dom thought he saw a faint glow of... something in Nik’s hands.
With the Tower destroyed, its wizards were made to leave their spells behind before they departed for Straetham. Because of the time it takes to make teleportation spells (and the fear that such spells would be needed if a conflict with Immenbach arose), it was decided that the Tower wizards would have to make their journey on foot. They were given a certain time frame within which to arrive at the Crux, otherwise they would be considered traitors to the Kingdom of Straetham. With Reneta leading them, they departed.
And finally, after months away, Dom and the others were able to return to the Crux. Thaddius was put on trial by Arlon for his gross misconduct against Dom both before and during the trip out east. Thaddius was facing the threat of expulsion from the Crux, but Dom vouched for the man to be allowed to stay. More surprisingly, Galivaalso vouched for Thaddius to stay, citing that expelling multi-master wizards at such an uncertain time would be a foolish move. Arlon reluctantly agreed, and though Thaddius was allowed to remain inside of the Crux, he was stripped of his masteries and relegated to casting with only his close casting circle of Ambra and Iona. Thaddius, who had fully expected to be expelled, thanked Dom for speaking on his behalf, and the two of them settled on a truce and new understanding with one another.
Even though he was finally home, Dom continued to struggle with everything that happened at the Eastern Tower, holding his secrets close. Olbric struggled to support him in the way that he needed, but didn’t press Dom to talk about anything when he wasn’t ready.
Meanwhile, Galiva had to come to terms with her sister’s betrayal. With her family’s name destroyed, Galiva did the one thing she could think of to try and redeem it: she asked to apprentice Arlon for the position of Grandmaster. Arlon warned her that after Demica’s betrayal, getting royal approval to appoint her would be near impossible. After so many of Arlon’s replacement prospects had fallen through, he had also already asked Reneta to apprentice him, adding one more hurdle in Galiva’s way. But Galiva was not deterred, and with Arlon acting as her key holder, she started her conjuration mastery petition to bring her one step closer to her full mastery.
Two months later...
Strange Dreams
When collaring a conduit, it’s not always possible for a caster to give their undivided attention. However, saddling your conduit with a toy and a seemingly impossible challenge can keep them happily occupied. Having a conduit try to reach orgasm while locked in a chastity cage can lead to an entertaining and challenging afternoon for them, while giving the caster time to focus on other important matters.
Advanced Casting Principles: Collaring by Felix Kessler
EVER SINCE I STARTEDstudying magic, conspace has been a comfortable place for me. Put a blindfold on me, bind my hands, and I slip into the surrender of it all like a warm bath. It’s... freeing in a backwards sort of way. As if by giving up control, every responsibility, every thought that’s weighing on me goes with it.
And gods, but it’s nice not to think.
My cock is locked up so tightly that it’s been turned into little more than a nub inside of the tiny metal cage. The plug filling me is a constant, teasing pressure, and the strict control of my pleasure has shot me so deep into conspace that it’s a struggle to will myself out.
Not that I have much of an urge to. Too many troubling thoughts exist out there. Like the Royal Guard’s presence around the Crux, the hostilities in town. The dreams I’ve been having.
Arlon’s hand strokes idly through my hair, and I nuzzle a little more firmly against his thigh. I let my eyes slide closed as I adjust the pillow under my hip. It’s such a comfortable spot that I don’t realize I’m dozing until I jerk back awake.
Arlon’s hand stills, and he looks away from his parchment to peer down at me over his spectacles. “Still not sleeping well?”
I shake my head, burying my face back against his thigh. “Galiva’s tincture puts me out, but it’s made my dreams... weirder.”
“How so?”
