Chapter Text
Ivory Tower – Blackmoore’s Night
The pale grey against more pale grey was the first thing Medivh noticed. The sky was overcast, the mountains that surrounded the cup of the valley where Karazhan lay were pale in the moonlight, bouncing from mountain to tower to river to mountain, giving the grey a white cast, like fine ivory.
He shook his head and left the surrounding forest, the mist rising from the forest floor giving way to the cold stone of the bailey, the wrought iron gates swinging open without a sound at his approach. Medivh shuddered as they closed behind him with a soft sound that was almost musical.
Apprehension gave way to fear, fear gave way to panic as he approached the tower’s doors, raised a hand, and the door opened as the gate did. The only thing that kept him from bolting was the voice that beckoned him inside. It was melodic and almost siren-like in the way it said his name.
Aegwynn smiled at her son, looking him over as he blinked in the brighter light of the foyer. Her welcome was warm, and his panic faded, his fear vanished, and the tiniest spark of hope rose in him. If his father had been as cold as moonlight, she was warm as sunlight. Though he had not seen her other than in his dreams, he knew her for what she was, for who she was.
The outside of the tower gave no indication of the life within, the warmth and color, the buzz of activity. It reminded him at once of Llane’s court, and he began to relax. Even if it was only a little.
They spoke easily. She introduced him to others. Asked him of his life thus far. Asked him why he had not come when she had first called.
And he answered. Fear. Fear of what he had done, fear for what he was, fear for what he was meant to be. And then fear of what he was capable of had driven him to finally answer, realizing he was a danger to those he cared most for.
Her harsh words were soothed a little in the face of that fear – in reality he still was little more than a boy, despite what he looked like, and she took that into account.
A fine dinner, more conversation, and she shooed him to his waiting bath and bed. Hot water eased the last of his traveling aches. The soft featherbed cradled him as easily as the one he had awakened in before he set out.
The call of a raven made him jump. He turned his head towards the window, and found the offender staring at him. He called to it, sitting up and offering it a finer place to sleep than the rain that was beginning to fall. After a moment of deliberation, the corvid hopped inside. Medivh closed the window against the rain, offered the raven a snack of grapes, which was accepted while he made a nest of a pillow and a blanket. He felt a little silly doing so, but he stayed awake a little to talk with the creature, feeling a kinship that he was surprised at.
He left the window open enough that the bird could leave if it so chose, but closed enough that the rain would not get inside. Only then did he take to his bed again, falling asleep to the sleepy chirps and clicks the raven made, seeming to lull him to sleep like a lullaby.
He stood on the observatory balcony, leaning on the parapet, his eyes focused on the north. He was being sent someone. A would-be apprentice. Delightful. Another youth who thought he knew it all, would be cocky and not actually know how to find his rear-end with both hands and a map to guide him, and would probably ruin more of the library while he was being tested. Or blow himself up like the last one.
A peal of thunder shook him from his thoughts as his conspiracy took to the skies from the nearby trees, heading for their nests in the stonework of the tower, the aviary and the chapel below. He looked up at the sky, shook his head, and made a short gesture with one hand. The clouds darkened, the wind picked up and lightning struck somewhere in the mountains to the southeast. But he managed to keep the rain from hitting the tower directly, and though the storm would probably blow back in during the night, at least he could keep the sky clear until his visitor arrived. It was only polite, after all.
Of course, his politeness melted into genuine curiosity as he beheld the boy in the observatory proper a few hours later. Sharp, witty, intelligent… And rather good-looking to drop the cherry to the top of the cream. He would see how the boy measured up with the library. Perhaps… Perhaps…
Thunder shook Medivh awake. His visitor cried out in startlement, bated, then took off out the window. He got up and watched his visitor vanish as the wind swept his hair back from his face before he closed the window again.
He had been dreaming. Or was it some kind of premonition? It felt so… so real. But why would he take an apprentice? Why would he reject … others? What was so special about the library? He shook his head, shivered, and padded back to bed, impatiently waiting for the bedding to rewarm around him.
His eyes were on the window, however. With it closed, he felt as though he wanted to follow the raven that had left his company. But when he came here he hadn’t given up his freedom. He was not a prisoner here.
Was he?