Cacoethes' Works

 Chapter Four: Breaking His Bonds THE FIRST DAY Nilhin spent fully in his cage, he tried to hold his hands out and make flames appear. It was the most basic spell that one could do, because fire was the base of pyretic energy, which was the dominant force that made mages be able to perform magic. Fire should have come easily to Nilhin, especially because he was a man, who made this energy far faster and easier than a woman might. Nilhin huffed as he failed to even make a spark. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong at all and nobody had been able to teach him either because nobody at the brothel knew magic!  “How’s it coming along?” Maer asked a few hours after Nehe left, giving them each a torn piece of bread.  “It’s not working at all,” Nilhin admitted with a groan of frustration.  “Well, maybe try something else?” Maer asked. Nilhin growled, something inhuman that he didn’t know he could make and then he quickly stopped. Maer sighed, probably used to it after the...

 Chapter Three: Too Cozy For Comfort AS NILHIN HAD described earlier, despite the distance, the best way to summarise Nehe and Tsani’s cottage was that it was cozy. There were thin walkways, shallow stairs, and rugs thrown over nearly all the hardwood floors. Their table was pushed into the corner of the kitchen, and held onto three seats. There were flowers in vases, and drying herbs over the furnace and stove. Tsani pulled a chair out for him, and he slid between the tall wooden back and the edge of the square table. Angla sat across from him, picking up a wooden spoon to scrape an empty plate.  “What do you like to eat, Nilhin? We’ve got berries, fish, and bread,” Tsani said.  “I like whatever you don’t mind sparing for this one,” Nilhin said. Tsani reached down to squeeze his cheek before she gathered him a plate of all sorts of the foods she mentioned. Angla grasped the ornate porcelain teapot -- a much higher quality than almost anything else in the kitchen -- and t...