Recent content by Santiago Castelle

Santiago was granted little grace to savor his victory. The magick that filled him, the spell he wrought upon the frog yet rung clear in his mind: whorls of air formed with the words for heat and cold, transcribed to that of acceleration. Settled under the frog, it considered only the...

Santiago laughed, light and boyish, and raked a hand through his hair. By a breath, he restrained himself from jumping in echo of the race. It left his heart pounding from the effort. Exhilaration flared within him, played in time with the frogs and their frenetic hops. The gossamer whorls of...

Santiago adopted a voice of command, all sharp edges and quiet dictation not unlike the tone he used in murmuring the adhesive elements of his earlier spell. "Begin," he said, cutting his palm down to signal the youths to start the race. They scrambled in obeyance, lifting a tattered flag in...

Further conversation fell deaf upon Santiago's ears, his brow scrunched in concentration. Behind his eyes laid half-formed glyphs and warding sigils in abstract mockery of the ley; he scrawled them out in turn, abandoning any patterned after violence (of which there were many, for the arcane had...

"Well," Santiago said, stretching the word in a bargain for time. Engendering hesitation, he blanched. He had spared little thought to the details of the matter, something he needed to rectify, and swiftly. A few coins made the most sense—enough to tease value out from the situation, but how...

"Had I such aptitude to replicate spells on sight alone," Santiago said, wry from the corners of that grin, "you'd be referring to me as Maester." Squatting, he stretched a hand to Mr. Sneezy, letting it hover there while he turned back to the youths and their frogs. Excitement bubbled to the...

Santiago watched with pursed lips, surveying the track and its many hopping denizens. A measure of frivolity yet stirred him, smile fond at the crook of his lips. He was beginning to get a grasp over these races; they rode on the prismatic nature of the frogs. Disorder, unpredictability...

Elbion's streets had proved a maze before Santiago's eyes. Familiarity with the garden district and college side of the canal scantly prepared him for their trek across the city proper. Less for the curtain of beads that rattled them across the threshold to the crucible of opulence. Discordant...

As Shiloh led, so was Santiago content to follow. The easy pace conferred the opportunity for him to level out his breathing and wipe the sweat that had since coalesced on his brow. It played a vivid contrast against the whirlwind of Shiloh's conversation; beat for beat the words churned past...

Santiago watched the offered hand, a furrow creeping onto his brow. He shrugged, adopted a lucid ease, and took the hand. The last gasp of hesitancy fled at the gesture. A foray into the murk had as much appeal as returning to the college, but he acquiesced to the immediacy. At least there was...

"Ah," Santiago said, a now-habitual nod crooking his neck. His mouth twitched in answering smile, finding him stiff in the grips of formality. His balance was skewed. Brushing the stains off his trousers, he worked his way to his feet. "I'm afraid I lack, uh, familiarity with such spells?" The...

Santiago found his gaze drawn to that hand. Curiosity tinged his brow. The words rushed faster than his prior breaths, yet he did find himself nodding along. Perhaps it resulted from the deviation in routine; perhaps he had struck his head in that fall. He nodded either way. It did not seem to...

"I've seldom professed myself other than a fool," Santiago said, propping himself up on his side. Finding his rhythm, he kept his breath even, easy. He sucked a last heavy gasp before the pair finally registered before his gaze. "A, familiar?" He stumbled on, letting speech tip slow from his...

The words hit Santiago with a weight that tangled his ankles. He fell flat, knees on grass and elbows braced against the onrushing ground. Ragged breaths caught in his throat, pushed the air from lungs that gulped hungrily for more. He might have nodded, might have said something, but it was...

Santiago held his peace for some time. He wore it about him for several steps, working the words around his mouth, testing them before they could fully form. The path unfurled ahead, and he diverted them right at the bend. There, with his head crooked back, he said, "The sigils along the path...