Lila - Entry 2 - Mindless

Magic must have been created to put curses on people. I am sure of it. 

This past month has been… eventful. From learning to sail a ship to arriving in the largest city I have seen, I have learned a lot. 

I learned that blinding prisoners makes them useless, a dead man walking. I learned that not every person in a difficult situation can be helped without consequences. I learned that [REDACTED] And I learnt that my mind is a fragile thing. 

I learned all that the hard way. 

I know I’m not smart, or clever, or wise. I know I shouldn’t only rely on my instinct, but it is the only thing around here I understand. I know how to use a knife and hide and sneak up on those who try to hurt me and my friends. I know where to find good sweets and how to hide them from the others. I know how to be dangerous.

But when my mind was taken from me, I woke up scared. 

If magic can do that, what else can it do? What can’t it do? I was stuck mindless for days, and I do not know if I can stop it from happening again, or if my friends are being honest about what I missed in those days. 

I’m scared. I want my brother, and dad, and I want to be back in Fernsworth, where things made sense. 

I want to be back in my country, where I don’t find my name on the walls of a cult’s hideout.

An Introduction to Lila

Well, I never believed I would write a story about myself. 

My life had always been a steady cycle of sell-and-steal, until recently. I now have too much to say, and too much in my mind. Now that I am awake and my companion Ashildr is arguing with nature once more, I decided to write down my story, least I forget it, or I am ready for people to know some day. 

Huh, I never thought I was the ‘diary’ type. 

I guess one could say this all started when [REDACTED]. 

[REDACTED]

I did not have a reason to say no, so I accepted. 

While Taegan's father and eldest brother were discussing wonderful plans they had for the land, Tae seemed to be… removed. There was a whisper of a moment in which he seemed to be in full disagreement of the fantastic announcement made by his brother. However, I refused to dwell on it - he had had an eventful day. 

I needed to return home to make sure my family was okay. “Please come back tomorrow, I have something to show you,” he made me promise. Of course, I agreed. He is my best friend. 

The next day, when I was preparing to return to the elven city, a crier came to our village. Most of what he had to announce passed as a blur, but was stopped in my tracks when I heard “Val’Lyera was attacked this morning - the two youngest princes have gone missing”

People loved the young princes. Taegan and Ranil were now missing. They were taken that morning. 

I should have been there. I was meant to be there. I could have helped them. 

My brother and I decided to go looking for them. While my brother enjoyed the inspiration that adventure provided for his music, killing drove him mad. He walked to Val’Lyera with me, and helped me explain that we were going to go out to look for Taegan and Ranil. The elven elder was kind - he gave me a dagger carved from the bones of the Fallen Titan, blessed by Selune, our Father’s goddess, and blessed my brother’s guitar. 

On our way, we met a small group of adventurers, who claimed to be looking for Ranil. 

When we found him in that forsaken dungeon, it was too late. 

He was beautiful even in death. 

That day, I pledged to do whatever it took to find Tae. However, the next morning I woke up in a strange, different land. I decided to follow another group of adventurers. In our adventure, I could feel my dagger becoming more and more natural in my hand, and the shadows became my friends. I went from a petty thief to a dangerous person. And I would not stop until I was strong enough to find my friend. 

I kept seeing new lands, out of my control, and kept seeing friends get hurt and die. I most recently met a group of giants in the town of Aurelia. They are kind, however seem to be influenced by Shar. That night, the Goliath Mogron died, and after prayers, Shar’s influence flowed from Erim to the dead bard. A clear, comforting voice in my mind told me to ‘save them’. I know, deep down it was Selune. I was never sure she truly existed, but now I try to turn to her for comfort. 

After a battle I found myself back home. As soon as I could, I returned to Val’Lyera, where the elder welcomed me with open arms. He had found that a teleportation circle had been drawn nearby, possibly allowing Taegan to travel to another land. He sent me through the circle, and I found myself surrounded by both the living and the dead. 

I had found myself back in the land of the giants, in Aurelia. 

The man we saw that day… he had become an experiment. One that seemed to be transforming him into a dragon. He was still aware of who he was, and although I wish the others had not killed him, I know that his mind was not his own, and he would have killed us instead. 

Humans are so fragile… and the people who did this to him were bright. 

How hard could this be to reproduce on an elf? 

I only slept for a moment on my shift around the campfire, but it was enough to see visions. I saw Tae, surrounded by unconscious children, in front of a foreign throne and a woman with red hair. I saw a library, in a forest. I saw a gem in my pocket, and a man I can only describe as looking like summer. I do not know what these visions mean, but I am now certain that Taegan is in this land. And I will not stop searching for him and getting better until I see him. Dead or alive. 

I need to know what happened.

It was my fault. I will fix it.

And I refuse to let others get hurt.

Lockwren and Julian - a hypothetical situation

This is not a scenario that has happened. This is what would have happened if they were caught someday. This is in the form of a guard interview. Locke and Jules are in two different rooms, being asked the same questions.

GUARD: Lockwren / Julian LaChance, you are here because you are under arrest for thievery and forgery. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a potential court. We will be asking you questions, please answer truthfully

LOCKWREN: Go ahead, ask what you need, you already got me, you know I’m of questionable morals.

GUARD: What was your goal, when you used loaded dice to beat the governor? 

LOCKWREN: I just needed information. There’s somewhere I need to go, he had the information, he agreed to tell me if I won the game. I won, and he called for my arrest. Hardly seems fair.

GUARD: And loaded dice are ‘fair’?

LOCKWREN: Life has never been fair to me, I’m paying back. And you caught me changing appearance, are you really worried about my f*****g dice? 

GUARD: *sigh*

JULIAN: You know, there’s a certain fun that comes from stealing from rich people. They never expect it and when they’re robbed, the whole world goes bezerk. 

GUARD: So you’re admitting to stealing?

JULAIN: Look, man, I’m just saying driving rich people crazy is fun. Have you ever eaten messy food with gloves on, not caring that it gets everywhere, in front of a fancy crowd? They look at you like you’re a heathen. “Look at this guy, he has no manners, must be a street rat!” Little do they know I’ve probably been to more fancy balls than they ever will go to. 

GUARD: so you’re high-society scum? 

JULIAN: Ha, that would be something, wouldn’t it? Look at me, I can sneak into everywhere. ‘Inconspicuous’ may as well be my middle name. 

GUARD: Tell me, is Lockwren your accomplice? How did you meet? 

JULIAN: Ugh I should have known that this was gonna turn towards her. Fine. We’re... something, it’s all casual, but we have each other’s trust. That's what matters. We met when I tried to shoot her for scaring my target away.

LOCKWREN: *silent for a good 10 minutes* you son of a b***h *more silence*

LOCKWREN: Julian and I are… It’s complicated. He’s my one friend. We have each other’s back. We work together and live together and create our plots together. He is trying to get me the information I need and in exchange I distract his thieving targets. We met when we were, in fact, targeting the same man. The tax collector noticed my dice were loaded and started running after me. I ran into an alleyway and saw a man there in… well, what you are wearing. By the time I had my pistol out, he had one as well, aiming for my head. We were at a draw. He smiled and took off his costume, expressing his gratitude about finally being free. This was about a year ago. But I don’t see how this is any of your business.

GUARD: It’s all for the records. Every bit of information helps. So you work together. You distract patrons with a game of dice, or cards, or some of your appearance changing charm-

LOCKWREN: Charm? That’s my last resort. This is the look I choose. One has tried to abuse me because of my ‘charm’, so no. I stick with the dice and cards. Mention that one more time and –

GUARD: You’re chained to the table. But I’ll respect your request. You use your dice and cards to distract patrons while Julian steals. Tell me, what was your most important heist?

JULIAN: If by ‘most important’ you mean my favorite, it’s probably the king’s ball. We both dressed up real nice, she turned into a splitting image of some fancy dutchess, and boom, we were in. We stole what we needed, danced all night, and were finally respected. Its amazing how oblivious people are. 

GUARD: You mean- you mean you were the ones to-

JULIAN: That party last week gave us all the information Locke needed and enough gold for me to finally buy an apartment for us. And you already got us, but trust us. We’ll always find our way out. 

GUARD: Wait, how did you get out of your shackles?!

---TRANSMISSION ENDS HERE---