The train arrived at the Aetherforge and Ainsley distributed aliases and credentials identifying us as agents of the Department of Magical Standards and Educational Compliance. The designation carried the appropriate weight without inviting curiosity.
Entry through the outer gates required negotiation. A wizard named Chadeus then challenged our presence and suggested a trial by combat. Enoch refused outright. Mazarin and I redirected the exchange toward compliance protocols and inspection authority, diffusing the challenge without escalation.
We advanced toward Professor Emeritus Alderdice’s office and encountered a corpse in one of the corridors. The body was that of a young man, obviously a student. The damage was internal: catastrophic hemorrhaging inconsistent with mundane violence. The injuries bore resemblance to prior encounters involving specter-class entities during our travels with Yedan Neric.
On entry to Alderdice’s office we were engaged by multiple revenants under the apparent control of a single individual. The creatures were neutralized after a brief but intense engagement. Charles successfully subdued the controller and took his technology.
With the immediate threat contained, we interrogated Professor Alderdice.
What followed was not aligned with the information in the mission briefing.
We move to interrogate the professor and obtain the mission objective.
There was no briefcase. No floor safe. Instead, Alderdice disclosed that the Spymaster no longer required him and was eliminating liabilities connected to the Revenant Program. He claimed the program had been quietly reinitiated decades ago by Corvis Therin.
The program subsequently changed with the involvement of Corrien Dask. Dask introduced an alchemical approach, later termed aetheromancy. His intent, according to Alderdice, was democratization: magic for all. Instead, his work enabled the Sixth House to exert unprecedented control.
Alderdice spoke at length of his loyalty to the Sacred Machine and the Founder. He described actions taken in service that could be described as nightmares. A contrast to the data we received from Ainsley.
The revenants themselves were a wartime solution originating during the FETC–Drakemire conflict. Orphans were selected. Souls were severed, preserved, and grafted into prepared vessels. These wraiths could be transferred between hosts as needed, granting deniable immortality and repeatable deployment. Training the souls thousands of times. The youngest specimen we unmasked appeared twelve.
A control glove existed to moderate revenant aggression, but it functioned only for handlers they had been conditioned to obey.
We attempted to persuade Alderdice to remain silent regarding the information he shared with us upon turnover to Ainsley.
We delivered him to Ainsley alive, as ordered. She appeared pleased and requested Helsem’s presence, stating, “We got him.” She attributed the discrepancies in the mission data to faulty intelligence, commended our performance, and remarked that while we had proven ourselves capable.
Our next assignment was issued without pause: an escort mission north of Verdania.
Current Places
- The Aetherforge
- Vaelin’s University of Arcane Enchantment
- Rail Station
Recap Video
https://youtu.be/rMeVUzbDoxA?si=qR9sJJjBUzNVeiQj
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