Monthly Extra: Tiane's Field Notes

Excerpts from Tiane's field book:

1st of Flame

Hello, notebook. How's it going? You ready to probably be dropped in the wilds while I run away from a fae? I told Adaan a hundred times I'm not a diary kind of girl, and he just said blah-blah-protocol-standard-practice-for-missions... and some other stuff, I don't know, I kind of zone out when he starts going on for too long.

10th of Flame

Hello, new notebook. Ready to meet your ancestor's fate? If Adaan keeps giving me these books I can keep chucking them into canyons in the wilds. And now I can say I've technically written in it.

25th of Flame

Hi, Zeni. I figure I might as well give you a name. Adaan said he'd write me up if I lost any more field books on purpose, so I guess you're stuck with me. He also keeps saying it isn't a diary, but I don't know what else you're supposed to call a book where you write down everything that happens plus your feelings about it all. He can call it "event tracking and monitoring one's emotional and mental state for signs of fae manipulation," all he wants. It's a diary.

We're out on excavation duty for the week. They always want a healer on-site for projects like this - there's a lot of digging and a lot of potential for things to collapse. Our conjurers are good at plotting out the safest approach, but the wilds are unpredictable.

Shit.

26th of Flame

Alright, I'm back. Remember what I said about collapses, Zeni? Kelovi almost lost his arm. But on the bright side it's fixed, and the earth that crumbled away had a whole cave system behind it. Maybe it's the same one [MC name] and Keo found the Echo fae in last year. I could hear something calling from inside the tunnel.

28th of Flame

You're never going to believe this. It is the same cave system. Ask me how I know. Go on, ask. Oh, you don't have a mouth and I'm insane for talking to a book? Well, that's no excuse. But fine, alright, I'll tell you:

The Echoes inside them remembered [MC name] and Keo. I'm serious! They're just like those two described. Echoes normally repeat back scenes of things that happened a long time ago, but these just gave off feelings and images. Big deal, who cares, right? But when I went deep enough I felt this sense of warmth. Like everything was alright and I was back in the city and there was tea with cinnamon in my hands and someone loved me.

Gods, that's so sappy. I hope Adaan doesn't read this. Do I have to turn this notebook in with my reports? I should've checked that. 

Anyway, when I looked around I saw one of the Echoes. Since you don't have eyes, Zeni, I'll tell you they're not easy to see. They're kind of like when a fire distorts the air above it: you can tell they're there but it's hard to get a definite shape. Anyway, remember how I said they gave off feelings and images? The image this one was carrying around was a braided copper charm in the shape of a swirl. Four strands, exactly like the charms me, Keo, [MC name], and Viara all bought when I passed my exams and we'd all officially become agents.

I have to tell them when I get back to Leas.