Jaycee's Blog - Tue, Sept 26 (Patreon)

You may remember that a little over three weeks ago, Priya showed up and gave me the old magic notebook that mysteriously showed up in my mailbox several years ago. I've been studying it, though earning a living (something I haven't done in a while) takes away some of my spare time. In case you're interested, my current jobs (I have two) involve waiting tables at a downtown restaurant and doing some janitorial work between midnight and 6 AM at the National Library of Quebec (also called by the acronym BAnQ). So by the time I get home a little after dawn, I tend to crash and get up mid-afternoon. After eating and showering, I've got about an hour or two of translation time at most.

The notebook isn't only about spells. There's a fair bit of faerie lore in it, though it's rudimentary. There are references to a time ("Before") when faeries were friendly to humans and an "After" when they weren't. Nothing detailed about the turning point, but it's not hard to guess we humans got power-hungry and did something terrible. Some sort of Hecatomb event. I've noticed something as I've been reading the book and getting better with the translation: it's an emotional read. What's odd is that it's not merely because it's a compelling narrative; I think the script itself contains emotion-triggering magic. Just to test it, I re-read the same paragraph three times and experienced the exact same emotions each time.

But the more interesting stuff are the various protective wards I can engrave on my skin. The first one I decided to work on was a permanent nondetection spell that would hide me from any kind of divination magic. It's taken me about two weeks to get all the necessary (and weird!) components to do it, then another week to imprint it on my skin. (Needless to say, that stuff HURTS!)

Next on my list: immunity from dark fae magic. This one has Tarantina seething with rage because even when our bond expires, it'll make her spells against me much less effective (if not downright useless). There's one problem with that: I need to use basilisk blood as ink. Where the hell do I find a basilisk? Where's Harry Potter when you need him. :(

Anyway, that's the latest. More news when I track down a basilisk.

--Jaycee