Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 48: There were magical means of spying, however Kasca also found the names of those who spied for him.
There were magical means of spying, however Kasca also found the names of those who spied for him. It was hard seeing the lists of those who she knew well and counted as neighbors on the list of those who reported to the Overlord. None of them were friends, at last not close ones. In their community they kept the secret of those who had magic close since they were always targets for the Overlord.
He wanted no magic here but his own. So the secret was kept. Even if people knew about the hidden caches they wouldn’t be able to know who would open them until they needed to be opened. Even then it was done in secret, again to protect the identity of those with magic.
Kasca allowed herself a small, dry humorless laugh as she prepared her dinner. They were always told their secret was being kept so no one could pressure them into giving them just a little bit more from the community stock pile should they feel it was warranted. There were always those who could justify having more. Sometimes it was a legitimate request, other times not. Having those request go to the council instead of those who could actually open the hidden spaces allowed the determination to be presented and judged in a more open and fair manner.
‘Even if it wasn’t that open.’ As Kasca knew several people who could easily justify themselves getting more, despite the opinion of anyone else, she always appreciated the secrecy. She knew that there was equipment and spells designed for spying placed in the meeting hall, which is why only approved meetings took place there. She had not even contemplated any of her neighbors betraying her.
It wasn’t something she wanted to think of and after allowing herself one evening to feel the hurt an betrayal of it, Kasca tried to set it aside. It helped that there was a lot to study.
The days ticked by and Kasca spent most of her energy scrying and studying what she could in the hidden space. She rested, she ate, and she studied. When the end of the week rolled by, Kasca found herself taking a break. She told herself it was to really allow herself to rest and digest the details she was learning. But it was always on the same day and always she waited for contact from the Sanctuary.
There were no messages.
The winter storms raged and she used them to replenish her water supply making sure she had enough for scrying as well as necessary use. The cabin was stocked with enough food to see a large family through the winter and the hungry gap beyond so she was not overly worried about running low, even though she ate meagerly. Her body was not accustomed to large meals after so many years of shortages so it was not a hardship.
Her thoughts turned to the Sanctuary as the time since her last contact grew more distant. She looked at the books and knew that they came from the Sanctuary library. She thought about tearing out a small scrap of one of the back pages and using it as her entry into the Sanctuary. Something held her back.
‘Its because I haven’t finished with the laboratory,’ she told herself. While that was true, Kasca realized she was scared of what she might find if she looked.
Ten til Midnight 