Sunday October 14th, 2018

The exercise:

Write about: the enclave.

2 comments:

Greg said...

Decoding your prompts is definitely getting harder, but I suspect you're trying to send us secret messages to let us know that you've been chased off the farm by Satanic deer and are now hiding out in an Enclave near Vancouver Island. Right?

The Enclave
Elizabeth felt the familiar touch of the power as Lord Vileburn opened the door to the West balcony and so was unsurprised when she stepped across the threshold and found herself standing on a stony yellow plain beneath a vast black sky. The stars above her blazed whitely and perfectly, and she knew without having to check that there was no atmosphere here to make them twinkle. Her breath misted in front of her, drifting around her until it reached an invisible boundary, whence it whisked away faster than she follow. She wasn't cold, but there was a sensation of distant chill, as though the cold was only a handsbreadth away.
"Do you like the view?" asked Lord Vileburn.
"It's magnificent," said Elizabeth. "Though I enjoy the London skyline as well."
"This is Moritzia," said Lord Vileburn. "It's a waypoint. Two of the Enclaves use it as a stepping stone."
"It died a long time ago." Elizabeth was aware of the five Enclaves that covered the major schools of magic, and a sixth that encompassed all of the minor ones. Each Enclave was a space outside of the real world and part of gaining admission was the actual travel to the Enclave, as it forced the petitioner to actually be able to use the Power.
"Many things died a long time ago," said Lord Vileburn. "The problem arises when they refuse to stay dead. Or when they are not truly dead and people try to revitalize them."
Elizabeth thought about that for a while. Lord Vileburn didn't hurry her; he looked at the stars and appeared to be enjoying the view, though she knew he might as easily be engrossed in calculating how far away each one was.
"That's a hint," she said. "Carcosa is something that's not dead and not alive, and should probably stay that way."
"Carcosa is actually alive," said Lord Vileburn. "Though you'd have to travel there to realise that, and we try to keep it out of the written records."
Elizabeth inclined her head, careful to keep her annoyance out of her expression.
"What is at the heart of Carcosa though, is very much not alive and won't die, and it would behoove all of us if it stayed that way."
"A certain gentleman with a preference for clothing of a specific colour?"
"I'm not sure you could call... it a gentleman."
This time the silence lasted until Elizabeth could hear her own heart beating in her chest.
"Is Lord Derby coming back?"
Lord Vileburn shifted, stretching slightly as though cold had chilled his muscles.
"I hope so," he said, but his voice was quiet and monotone and didn't seem to carry any hope at all.

Marc said...

Greg - or... I just learned what the word 'enclave' meant, geographically, and I decided to make use of it as a prompt :)

Oh dear. Things are... not looking great for dear old Derby.

Really enjoyed your descriptions of this scene, by the way. And I'm glad you were able to work this prompt into this tale :)