Dreams of the Quill

Summary: Julien and Mana have reached Antyliken. There they hear of Verga’s destruction, board their airship, and together ponder a variety of disturbing facts.

Here we go, the fun part!

The airship remains named Vapor, from last writing.

The captain’s name has been changed from Squeak to Guhnss. I decided that Squeak wasn’t very HC-world-ish, and, furthermore, he’s not squeaky anymore. Still very much short, though.

Mana and Julien learn of Verga City’s destruction this time. I don’t recall if they were ever explicitly informed in the previous writing; it’s quite possible that Gem mentioned it bitterly at some point. The point is that this time around, they definitely are informed at a time at which it’s pertinent information.

OMG KIEKU IS A MAGE. Yeah, if you’d read the last writing, you’d know this. No change here. I hadn’t introduced it yet because… well.. I skipped the 7-chapter intro thing? Ji’Lopan and Gem’s battle with Kieku in the hospital ten years ago in Verga might be covered in a flashback or something, but for now it has not made an appearance. So, Kieku’s status as a mage may surprise some of you who hadn’t read the previous writing, but it’s nothing new. Also, it makes sense that it not be common knowledge within the Mana Palace- the people there fear, even loathe magic, and Kieku’s cool with just being known for other aspects of his awesomeness. Finally, Mana felt no need to point this out to himself (or the reader, but that’s mainly a matter of my style…) in Chapter Two because… well, he’d grown up around Kieku, and was well aware that the man had powers.

The enchantment. A sensical development. This is different from the previous writing, in a good way, in my opinion. As one of the things I’m doing this time around is making sure that actions have reasons (as the majority of my characters are intelligent to the point of not being unintentionally psychopathic) and the enchantment on the Vapor is a perfect device. As you most likely could have induced; the demons are gone from Verga. They appeared, struck, and vanished. There is no real reason for Julien and Mana to steer clear of the ruins, but, as they have been enchanted, they believe they must. This will ultimately lead them to Terra.

This means that a) they have a legitemate reason to divert their course, and b) Kieku had a reason to enchant the Vapor. It should be clear to you from one reading of this chapter that the enchantment was not done out of kindness or a protective instinct.

What could Kieku want of Mana and Julien…?

What fate will await them in Terra…?