Tales of the Ice Harpy from Glacia

Karla checked her itinerary another time, waiting for the portal that would take her home. Seven layovers, including a long one in...Revolutionary France? Huh. That sounded interesting. Maybe she'd pick up some tips for her eventual bid to regain Glacia from her uncle--wait. No reason to think of that now. Nope, no thinking, time to look over the itinerary again, it didn't matter that she'd practically memorized it. It was a nice distraction from--Oh, look! Another one in Pompeii, and the itinerary was stressing the fact that it was for November 22, 79AD. And, hey! Her last stop would be four hour layover during "The Blitz" in London! That sounded like...some kind of fair, or something! A bit of fun and excitement before...

Before...

Dinah. Momoko. Tahiri. Hayley. Leda. Priestly. Countless others that she hadn't known, but had reached out across the multiverses to let them know that something was wrong, that worlds were disappearing into the ever-night.

Before she ended up in Kaeleer. Before she stood with her people as Kaeleer finished its descent into the Darkness and faded away to a memory in the minds of the very few who remained on Fandom island.

But she didn't want to think about that. About nothingness and darkness--a darkness she could only hope was the same as the loving embrace of the Darkness and not a complete obliteration of everything she'd ever known. Of course, what else was there to think of? How she'd taken the coward's way out and left handwavy messages for the friends she couldn't bear to say goodbye to in person? How she'd kissed Warren's sleeping face one last time and crept away while she still had the nerve to leave and do what was right?

Hopefully, Fandom would do what they did best and figure out some way to fix whatever was going wrong before the island itself was swallowed up. Maybe they'd even find some way to reverse it, though she doubted that. It didn't matter. Her place wasn't here. It was with her people, watching over them until the stars blinked out and there was nothing left.

And then there was no more time for thoughts; the portal was opening in front of her. Taking one last breath of Fandom air, Karla prepared to step through. *Goodbye,* she sent on a psychic thread to anyone who would hear. *I will love you for as long as I can.*
( Goodbye, Fandom )

[Preplayed with the amazing not_a_parakeet who likes to make me cry because she is mean!]

What was that rap, rap, rapping¹ on Raven's chamber door?

One impatient little witch, that was who.

"Raven, open up," she called, knocking again. "C'mon, we don't have much time!"

Someone was being sneaky, shhh!

---

¹With apologies to Poe

Karla was heading to the courtyard of the Keep, where a portal had been ordered for her return to Fandom. It still felt wrong, oh so wrong, to be heading back to safety and comfort while Jaenelle and Lucivar were out in the wilds of Askavi, circling each other in a dark and dangerous dance. She was supposed to just go home and focus on class while she was wondering if Lucivar still walked the living Realms? If Jaenelle was still suffering from the effects of the safframate? Or--worse yet--wandering the Twisted Kingdom? Even if they needed her and had to summon her back home, it would be days and days until she could return--Kaeleer's time flowed at double the rate of Fandom. Should they discover they needed her skills tomorrow, the earliest Karla could expect to return was next week.

This was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. Maybe if she talked to Saetan once more, this time he would see reason. Or at least get so tired of arguing about it, he'd just let her stay.

She veered off, down the hallway that led to Saetan's suite, marshaling all of her arguments. Presented logically and impartially, she would get through to him. That had been the problem before. She'd let herself get worked up, too emotional. Saetan had seen her as a child, not a witch fully in control of her Craft. Change that and maybe--

"I am so pleased to see the Dark Council has sent a representative to talk about the grievous injuries inflicted in Little Terrielle during Lady Angelline's visit." Saetan's voice floated out of his door, sharp and smooth, like a knife wrapped in silk. Karla stopped--Hell's fire, he wasn't alone. She wouldn't be able to plead her case with him if he was already speaking to someone; especially not a Dark Council representative. But she didn't have time to delay. Her portal was scheduled to arrive in minutes!

( Still, she crept closer to the doorway, no compunctions against eavesdropping. Perhaps she would hear something useful to her cause. )

[NFI, NFB, OOC=love. Text adapted from Chapter Thirteen of Heir to the Shadows. Warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence. Sometimes c/p'ing sections of Anne Bishop's dialogue and text makes me want to cry. Part 3 of plot. Parts one and two found here.]