Thera

Warlock who trades various components among other spellcasters.
Largely serious, but you can sometimes catch her mumbling jokes to herself and stifling a laugh.

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“And you’re sure this is genuine eye of newt?” The hooded Coatl asked. “I’ve been scammed before, and you should know it didn’t end well for the scammer.” They traced a claw along the surface of a pendant in the shape of a Fae skull. Red lights faintly illuminated from within the sockets. Well, if that was supposed to be intimidating, this Coatl was in the wrong place. “Rest assured.” Thera replied, “I plucked it from the newt myself. If it’s magical reagents you want, there’s no one better to come to than myself.” “So you say,” the Coatl said, evidently not convinced. “Well, I don’t suppose you have any cerdae horn extract? It’s quite rare, you understand, so I wouldn’t be unduly surprised if…” “Absolutely,” Thera said. She ducked below the counter of her makeshift booth, sliding the jar of salamander eyes back into its shelf in a smooth, practiced motion. When she stood up, she was holding a thin vial of a shimmering, silvery substance that somehow seemed to be both a liquid and a very fine dust. “Well,” the Coatl said, leaning forward to get a closer look as Thera held the vial up to the light. “How about that.” “Eye of newt, cerdae horn. They’re yours… if you’re willing to trade.”

“I suppose I’m open to negotiate. I may be willing to offer any of the many powerful items you see before you.”

Thera looked closely at her potential customer. Most of their body was concealed under a black cloak, but they were decorated with various glowing baubles and accessories, most of them probably magical. She recognized a few that could be useful. The skull pendant could make for a powerful hex, while the sapphires adorning the Coatl’s wings could be used in a defensive ritual, to bolster the wards around Thera’s booth. Useful, useful…

But her eyes were drawn to the golden rings adorning the edge of their hood. They formed a gold crescent with spines facing out like the rays of the sun, and the metal pulsed faintly with magic. She wasn’t sure exactly what the magic was, but it was powerful Light magic for sure. She could work with that.

“That head crest… thing,” Thera said. “Would that be a fair trade?”

“Oh, you do have a good eye,” the Coatl replied. “These are solar rings, forged in the deepest fires of the forge of the Flamecaller herself, and imbued with the power of the sun’s brightest light! But I’m sure you knew that already.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” Thera lied.

“Well, it’s true. And I should say it’s worth a fair bit more than a few paltry spellcasting ingredients.”

“And you’re certain it isn’t just a pretty trinket?”

The Coatl bristled. “You insult me. I could take my business elsewhere, I’ll have you know.”

“All right, all right. No need for that. I will offer, in addition… this.” Thera reached under the shelf and pulled out a small glass marble. She held it out, showing the Coatl the clouds of swirling darkness within. “Distilled essence of Shadow.”

“Interesting,” the Coatl murmured. “But is it practical? Applicable in real magic?”

“Of course,” Thera assured them. “Observe.” She placed the marble in her hand and clasped her claws around it. She could feel the pulse of the marble, the shadows flowing and twisting beyond the glass, thrumming with power. With just a bit of concentration and focus, and an understanding of the nature of Shadow, she could pull a piece of that power into herself. Thera reached for the power. It flowed towards her, and then— The golden lines tracing her scales flared up brilliantly. The light that shone forth was blinding and wholly unexpected. Her wings erupted into incandescent beacons, the veinlike patterns on her body glowing like a sun had appeared inside of her. She could feel a very different power, now, clamoring to be free. The Coatl took a rapid step back. “Wh… what is this? Is this a spell?” “Ah…” Thera said, having some difficulty speaking through the blaze of light. “No. It’s. No. This wasn’t supposed to— aaah.” “I… Hm. Are you—“ “Terribly sorry,” said Thera, “We’re closed.”

Bioluminescent Tail Organics Perfect for use as a light source... If you ignore the occasional twitching. (Special thanks Aleise.) 29

She reached up, grabbed the booth’s curtain, and slammed it down. The inside was now lit only by her own uncontrollable light, casting her innumerable magical wares and illicitly obtained alchemical reagents in a dazzling shine. Now alone, Thera set down the shadow marble. Once it was out of her hand, the light dimmed and the sensation faded— but only slightly. Most of it was still streaming out from her body.

And I was so close to getting those sun rings, too.

She reached for the sigil scrawled into the back wall. It reacted upon contact with her claw and sent a ripple through the ring of black runes that encircled the booth. From outside, an observer would see the booth suddenly become enveloped by thick shadow, before seeming to collapse in on itself and melt into the ground.

To Thera, she felt a brief sensation like rushing air, and then complete silence, even the ever-present noise of the Faire vanishing entirely. The booth was in its own world now. She’d be safe in the shadows.

Still navigating by the light of her own ongoing magic combustion, Thera grabbed a crystal ball from a shelf and dusted it off before shaking it vigorously. It flared to life, the mist inside parting to reveal a moving image of the inside of a building. It was dim, but lit by an unseen fireplace.

Thera tapped on the crystal ball a few times, waited a handful of seconds, and tapped again, louder.

Crystal Ball Trinkets You see about 35 treasure in your future. 35

“What?” an irritated voice said from the other side. A Bogsneak slithered in front of the crystal ball’s view, wearing a quite curmudgeonly scowl beneath the brim of her hat. She fanned out her head crests in a huff, orange and purple stripes almost seeming to dance in the firelight. “Oh. It’s you.”

“Hello, Trick,” said Thera. “As you can probably tell, I’m— agh. Having a bit of trouble.”

“Wonderful,” Trick said. “Goodbye.”

“Wait, wait!” Thera called out as the Bogsneak reached to turn off her crystal ball. “I need help, Trick. I don’t know what this is.”

“I fail to see why this should involve me.”

“I thought maybe I would appeal to your sense of— ngh— empathy and innate goodness?”

Trick gave her a prolonged, withering glare through the glass.

“A long shot, I know,” Thera admitted.

Trick snorted, pushing up the brim of her hat. “I’ll do it. Out of curiosity, nothing more. Tell me, how did this happen?”

Thera tried to hide her relief as she answered. “I tried to channel power… from a Shadow sphere. And then… ow. Then I guess I exploded.”

Trick leaned in close, her features warping from Thera’s perspective in a bulging fisheye effect. “It looks like you’re hatching. Are you an egg, Thera?”

“Not… to my knowledge?”

Trick muttered a noncommital response. After a moment of careful scrutiny, she leaned back. “Okay. I see what happened now.”

“Really? That was quick.”

“I’m very smart, Thera.”

Thera decided to let that one pass without comment. “So what is it?”

“You’ve got way too much magic in too small a container. That container being your body.” The witch pointed a claw at Thera, tapping it on the glass on her end. “The pressure from your own unchecked ambition is literally tearing you apart.”

“Ugh. So, what, I need to— ow— stop learning magic?”

“That would certainly be the simplest option.” Trick gave a heavy, long-suffering sigh. “But it’s you, Thera, so of course you’re not even going to consider it.”

“What other options are there?”

“You could ignore the sage wisdom of your dear witch friend and continue heedlessly on this path. The light will probably die down in a few hours.”

“And… the catch?”

“Well, in a matter of weeks, all your pent-up magic would probably detonate in a cataclysmic explosion, wiping this whole place off the map. You know. If it was on any maps in the first place.”

“I see,” Thera said. “Let’s not do that one.”

“Oh, good, for once we’re in agreement.”

Thera sighed. “Is there another option?”

Trick smirked, holding up one claw. “One,” she said. “But you aren’t going to like it.”

“It can’t be worse than the first two.”

“Well… as luck would have it, Turkey’s in town—“

“No.”

“And her, shall we say, modifications may be just what your feeble body needs to maintain that level of magic—“

“Shadowbinder, no.”

Trick scowled through the glass. “Listen. You can be as stubborn as you like, but the only other option is to seriously dial back on the warlock stuff or literally explode. What’s it going to be, Thera?”

Thera was silent for a long moment. The light, still streaming forth from her scales, twisted and bent as it circled around her.

Neither option was appealing. Turkey was difficult to deal with even in small doses and on the best of days. Having the Coatl operate on her was not something Thera ever wanted to even consider. And her patchwork was just so… tacky. All that leathery brown would ruin her entire aesthetic. But the other options were unacceptable. “Fine,” Thera reluctantly answered. “I’ll go to… Turkey.” “Great,” Trick said. “Now, if you’ll kindly leave me alone, I have a lot of not talking to people to do.” “Okay.” Trick reached out to turn off her crystal ball, but Thera cut in. “Wait. One thing?” Trick sighed, her claw hovering just over the glass surface. “Yes, Thera?” “Thank you.” The Bogsneak paused for a moment, before giving a quieter, softer sigh. “…Hurry up and fix your magic, Thera.” Thera nodded, and the crystal ball went dark. Mist flowed back in from the edges, obscuring anything within.

Left alone in the silence of her shadows, Thera resolved to wait the lightshow out. She grabbed one of her blackest cloaks, of which there were many, and pulled it on in an attempt to cover the light. It worked, sort of.

“turkey time” she said

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