Ovipositivity

(Artemis) Artemis, an up-and-coming witch on campus

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 7 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

Artemis Freyja Augustina has always wanted to be a witch. Well, ok, not always. When she was little she wanted to be a faerie princess. Then she wanted to be an astronaut. And there was about a week when she wanted to be a dinosaur. But ever since reading The Crucible in high sc...

They all go together

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 9 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

“Oooh! A nighttime adventure! How fun!” Briar-rose squeals and claps her hands with glee. She looks excitedly at Minerva. “Come on, you’re not seriously about to wimp out on us, are you?” “I don’t know,” Minerva says, batting her lashes and laying a thoughtful finger against her...

They talk her out of it (GOOD END- Bullet Dodged)

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 9 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

“Please, Artemis, think about this,” Minerva says. She reaches out and takes Artemis’s hand in hers. Her fingers are very slim, very smooth, her skin slightly cool. Artemis’s breath catches in her throat. Minerva’s eyes are so big and dark, so soulful. “Please, I don’t want to ge...

Yes, and she invites them to come along

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 8 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Minerva says. She’s not unkind, but that sort of makes it worse. She’s a tall, lovely tejana with dark hair and skin and only the faintest trace of an accent. Privately, Artemis wonders what attracted her to witchery. With Briar-rose, A...

She uses Benacia to reach out to other witches.

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 6 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

Witches do have the means to contact each other magically. Being naturally suspicious and uncooperative creatures, they rarely do so; opening a channel to another witch is often a good way to get yourself attacked. Letting other witches know that there is a rival in town—especial...

Two's Company, Three's a Coven

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 5 in () The Fall of the Noble Companions

The existence of witches is not common knowledge. Once, humanity knew about magic and the dangers it posed, but the rise of science has pushed such knowledge to the fringes. So much has been lost, even to practitioners like Vulie. She has spent decades painstakingly digging up wi...

"Tell me about yourself."

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 79 in Mutatis Mutandis

“Tell me about yourself,” Teysa said. As introductions went, it lacked a certain pizzazz, but Teysa had never been particularly good at meeting new people. She’d left that to Aliara. By the look of Rakkec’s face, she’d struck out again. He stared up at her with his brow furrowin...

"Tell me about Lord Lockh."

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 79 in Mutatis Mutandis

“Lord Lockh,” Teysa said. “You served him, didn’t you?” She did her level best not to sound accusatory, but it was impossible to keep all the bitterness out of her voice. Rakkec paled, at least insofar as the drow were capable of it. “Served him?” he echoed. “Wouldn’t say that....

A solid bout

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 80 in Mutatis Mutandis

Teysa nodded and retrieved her spear. She shook the numbness out of her fingers and took up a station across the pit from Lur’vess. <_You are not ants,_> she began. This time, she wanted to go on the offensive from the start. She came in low, mimicking Lur’vess’s opening from th...

...fight!

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 79 in Mutatis Mutandis

<_No. Let us continue._> Lur’vess adjusted her helmet, which had twisted slightly around, and gave Teysa a nod of acknowledgment. A livid bruise was beginning to flower across one temple. They circled each other, both wary now. Lur’vess still leaned forward aggressively, but she...

Going to meet Rakkec

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 78 in Mutatis Mutandis

Teysa wandered through corridors as beautiful as they were unfamiliar. The latter was far more surprising than the former. She’d emerged from her cocoon with, it seemed, an instinctive knowledge of the warren’s layout. Had the layout impressed itself on her brain? Was an unerring...

Going to talk to a soldier drider

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 78 in Mutatis Mutandis

Today, Teysa decided, she would talk to the Matron’s guards. If she was to lead the defense of the warren, she needed an idea of her troops’ capabilities. She had avoided doing so so far, at least partially because their blank countenances disturbed her. The changes overtaking th...

...and has to decide what to do.

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 77 in Mutatis Mutandis

...and has to decide what to do

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 77 in Mutatis Mutandis

Teysa awoke feeling disturbed. The dream faded only slowly. She kept twitching her head, expecting to see Lolth staring back at her from behind a stalactite or from her reflection in the pool. The room was empty. The divine presence that had filled it had gone. Somewhere, in the...

Introduction

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 1 in Along Came a Drider

_"But when they came to writing, Thoth said, “O king, here is something that, once learned, will make the people wiser and will improve their memory; I have discovered a potion for memory and for wisdom.” The king replied, “O most expert Thoth, it will introduce forgetfulness...

...she returns home to sleep.

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 75 in Mutatis Mutandis

Go talk to El'keth

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 74 in Mutatis Mutandis

El’keth was where Teysa had left her, working at her loom. She hummed under her breath as she spun, a tuneless sound that nonetheless managed to be both cheerful and infectious. At these moments, with her guard down, she seemed more like a child than ever—a precocious child perha...

...she returns home to sleep.

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 75 in Mutatis Mutandis

To talk to El'keth

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 74 in Mutatis Mutandis

El’keth was where Teysa had left her, working at her loom. She hummed under her breath as she spun, a tuneless sound that nonetheless managed to be both cheerful and infectious. At these moments, with her guard down, she seemed more like a child than ever—a precocious child perha...

To the armory

by Ovipositivity

Chapter 73 in Mutatis Mutandis

The drider armory was one of the first parts of the warren Teysa had seen. It was almost one of the most human. There was something universal about it: there were only so many ways to store and arrange weapons and armor, and the driders’ racks of spears and shelves of armor were...