Fallen Magic

INCIDENT BLACK ELM

CLASSIFICATION LEVEL EIGHT POINT FIVE

Interview with Henry Lord Blackthorn, aka Agent Raven

3.9.1040, midnight and thirty-three

Interviewer: Raven

Also present: Edward Blackthorn, aka POI-1678

Security precautions taken: The building is fully warded to prevent the entrance of intruders. Staff and agents are instructed to make sure the room is undisturbed, and an additional privacy ward was set up around the room itself. POI-1678 is unconscious following an initial Malaina episode, and since he is already aware of a large portion of the events concerned no further precautions were judged necessary.

INTERVIEWER: Describe the events of the evening of the second day of the Hunter’s Moon.

INTERVIEWEE: I returned home at nine and sixteen to be greeted by my housekeeper –

INTERVIEWER: To be clear, your housekeeper is one Elspeth Grey, also known as Agent Lynx?

INTERVIEWEE: Correct.

INTERVIEWER: Thank you. Continue.

INTERVIEWEE: She informed me that my son – Edward – one-six-seven-eight – had not returned from his evening walk.

INTERVIEWER: It is his habit to take these walks?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Where does he typically go?

INTERVIEWEE: I don’t know specifically, but never further than a mile from this building, and never leaving the City walls, unless he has deceived me.

INTERVIEWER: How long do these walks typically take?

INTERVIEWEE: Approximately an hour.

INTERVIEWER: And what time does he typically leave?

INTERVIEWEE: After dinner, which is served at six and thirty – so usually between seven and seven and fifteen.

INTERVIEWER: So he was approximately an hour late at that time?

INTERVIEWEE: Correct.

INTERVIEWER: Was this an unusual practice for him?

INTERVIEWEE: He had never been late before.

INTERVIEWER: What did you suspect about the cause of this?

INTERVIEWEE: There were several possible explanations. He could have encountered something he judged worth investigating or otherwise been distracted, or potentially he…

INTERVIEWER: Continue.

INTERVIEWEE: Relations between us had become… somewhat strained recently. It was possible that he just wanted to be out of the house, away from me.

INTERVIEWER: I see. Hostile action did not occur as an explanation?

INTERVIEWEE: It did, but I judged it moderately unlikely.

INTERVIEWER: How did you respond?

INTERVIEWEE: I questioned Lynx about his recent behaviour. Regrettably there are no formal notes, but at the time I believed it unlikely to be an intelligence matter.

INTERVIEWER: Understandable. Can you recall your questions and her responses?

INTERVIEWEE: I asked if one-six-seven-eight’s behaviour prior to leaving had been unusual and if he had mentioned being out for longer. She replied that she hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, and that she was worried about him.

INTERVIEWER: Were you worried yourself?

INTERVIEWEE: I was, yes.

INTERVIEWER: What did you do next?

INTERVIEWEE: One-six-seven-eight and I are linked by a pair of enchanted rings which can transmit simple signals. I –

INTERVIEWER: Are you authorised to use such an artifact?

INTERVIEWEE: This was not in an intelligence capacity. As a Royal Magician I am entitled to own and use any enchanted device which is not specifically prohibited for all use, and as a Lord of the Kingdom to bestow such devices on members of my family as I see fit.

INTERVIEWER: Who is capable of using these rings?

INTERVIEWEE: Anyone who has the physical object in their possession. As yet I have been unable to combine the enchantments to restrict their use with those necessary for their function successfully.

INTERVIEWER: You worked the enchantments yourself, then?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes. It minimises the chance of interference, and is significantly cheaper than hiring another enchanter.

INTERVIEWER: What would you say this chance of interference is?

INTERVIEWEE: Unintentional interference through category four or higher anti-magic wards is possible if one of us were in the area of such wards. Intentional interference without physical possession of one of the rings, I judge to be impossible, especially since one-six-seven-eight and I are the only persons to know of their existence.

INTERVIEWER: One-six-seven-eight could interfere with their operation himself?

INTERVIEWEE: He was not a magician until approximately ten this evening, and has not been in a fit state to work enchantment since. But he could remove his ring or refuse to acknowledge its signal.

INTERVIEWER: Or pass the ring or information on it to someone capable of interference?

INTERVIEWEE: Theoretically.

INTERVIEWER: And in practice?

INTERVIEWEE: My son would not betray me.

INTERVIEWER: You have incorrectly believed that someone would never betray you in the past, have you not?

INTERVIEWEE: That is not relevant.

INTERVIEWER: Is it not?

(There is a short period of silence.)

INTERVIEWEE: In this particular case, I judged that the risks were minimal and outweighed by the benefits, since without those rings my ability to gather information would have been greatly impaired.

INTERVIEWER: And how did you use them in this instance?

INTERVIEWEE: I sent a signal to one-six-seven-eight. An instruction to respond immediately if possible.

INTERVIEWER: And the response…

INTERVIEWEE: None. Yes, before you say anything, it did occur to me that he could have deliberately chosen not to respond. But he knew to take this seriously. I told him that if he didn’t respond he’d have to deal with me descending on his position with a team of Birds.

INTERVIEWER: And yet that’s not what you did.

INTERVIEWEE: No. Using appropriate enchantment equipment and a reliable mental map of the City, I used the rings to narrow down his location to a particular district – the warehouses on the east bank – and then repeated the process there to give me his location.

INTERVIEWER: Which was?

INTERVIEWEE: One of the warehouses. Storing furniture, as far as I could tell. Owned by the Two Rivers Corporation. Suggests Sirgalese links. I’ll have people digging into their records as soon as is practical.

INTERVIEWER: You went there alone?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Without telling anyone where you were going?

INTERVIEWEE: I told Lynx the approximate location. She knows the contingencies for if I hadn’t come back.

INTERVIEWER: Knowing that the most likely reason for anyone to take hostile action against one-six-seven-eight is his relationship with you?

INTERVIEWEE: When you put it like that –

INTERVIEWER: How would you put it, then?

INTERVIEWEE: It’s unlikely they were expecting me to move that fast or aware of my personal capabilities.

INTERVIEWER: Unlikely. You are a man given to planning for the most unlikely scenarios. The fact that you have those rings, that you’ve set up those contingencies. Your actions could have led to your death or worse. And you’re not in a position to be careless with your life. Would you like me to spell out the consequences?

INTERVIEWEE: I know them.

INTERVIEWER: You acted that way regardless.

(There is a short period of silence.)

INTERVIEWER: Are you aware of on how many counts you were in breach of protocol?

INTERVIEWEE: Of course I am. I wrote the protocol. Section Seven, Subsection One: agents are not to act alone on missions with a high likelihood of ending in combat. Section Seven, Subsection Three: agents are not to be assigned to cases with which they are personally involved. Shall I continue?

INTERVIEWER: Please do.

INTERVIEWEE: Section Seven, Subsection One: agents are to make sure that the person currently in charge of operations is aware of their location and intentions at all times – and I was not in charge of operations at that time, I handed over to Hobson when I left the office. Section Seven, Subsection Eight: a Birds team is to be present on any operation with the possibility of becoming a hostage situation. Am I forgetting anything?

INTERVIEWER: Section Five, Subsection One: no agent in the ranks of senior command is to directly intervene in active fieldwork unless in exceptional circumstances.

INTERVIEWEE: And I get to define exceptional circumstances, so no, that one doesn’t count.

INTERVIEWER: Were you anyone else, this would be enough to have you thrown out of the Service. If this report were ever filed where anyone else could read it, the scandal would –

INTERVIEWEE: I am taking the necessary steps to mitigate the consequences.

INTERVIEWER: And if it had been a trap? If they had been ready, and waiting, with the resources to take you down? There is no mitigation for something like that, Minister.

INTERVIEWEE: As satisfying as I’m sure this self-deprecation is for both of us, I need to finish dealing with –

INTERVIEWER: You need to understand the implications of your actions tonight. Understand why you made the choices you did. And make sure that it never happens again. Continue your report.

INTERVIEWEE: I identified the building in question without entering the potential range of wards acting on it, and was considering the best approach when it… well. Ceased to exist.

INTERVIEWER: Elaborate.

INTERVIEWEE: It wasn’t an explosion. No sound. As if the walls had been turned to dust and crumbled. No more warehouse, just like that. A few chunks of the roof survived and immediately fell, with no remaining support.

INTERVIEWER: It was a magical effect, then?

INTERVIEWEE: Clearly. No mundane means could have accomplished that. Few magical ones, too, but I take a primitive detection kit everywhere. It went off at the same time, the readings consistent with powerful spellwork cast by a Malaina.

INTERVIEWER: Was there any other explanation for those readings?

INTERVIEWEE: None that didn’t involve malfunction of the equipment. And before you ask that is highly improbable. I keep it properly maintained.

INTERVIEWER: So you knew you were dealing with a powerful Malaina that had just destroyed a building, and unknown but likely hostile forces. And you…

INTERVIEWEE: …charged straight in and investigated? Yes.

INTERVIEWER: …very well. The results of the investigation?

INTERVIEWEE: Three unconscious people. One-six-seven-eight and two others, designated POIs two-three-one-six and two-three-one-seven. Both men, dressed in nondescript dark clothing, no visible injuries. Preliminary doctors’ report suggest a magical effect which should be strictly temporary.

INTERVIEWER: As a result of the Malaina spells cast?

INTERVIEWEE: Most probably. There was also a fourth body, of the same description as two-three-one-six and two-three-one-seven. Half-buried under one of the pieces of roof. When I levitated it off, it was clear he was dead. There was a head wound, most likely due to the impact of the roof tiles.

INTERVIEWER: Your analysis of the likely events?

INTERVIEWEE: Two-three-one-six, two-three-one-seven and the dead man were holding one-six-seven-eight in the building against his will, to which he responded with a severe Malaina episode causing the destruction of the building and the condition of the three men.

INTERVIEWER: One-six-seven-eight was not previously Malaina?

INTERVIEWEE: No.

INTERVIEWER: You are acquainted with the process of Falling, though, are you not?

INTERVIEWEE: I am.

INTERVIEWER: Then you will be aware that one-six-seven-eight likely experienced several incomplete episodes prior to these events?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: You were not informed of these events?

INTERVIEWEE: I was not.

INTERVIEWER: Supposing that they did occur, why do you think this is?

INTERVIEWEE: It is likely that I directly or indirectly contributed to the cause of those episodes. It was never my intention, but I know how I am often perceived.

INTERVIEWER: And your actions after that point?

INTERVIEWEE: I took the POIs to the Grey Hospital with instructions for their treatment and for two-three-one-six and two-three-one-seven to be detained in Intelligence custody. Informed the local police station of a magical event of unknown cause destroying the warehouse and the resulting fatality.

INTERVIEWER: Unknown cause?

INTERVIEWEE: You know what happens when fatalities are involved in Malaina cases.

INTERVIEWER: It was justified in this case?

INTERVIEWEE: Most likely, but I will not subject him to the legal battle that would ensue. Bad enough all the publicity he’ll have to deal with.

INTERVIEWER: So you are lying to the police, in addition to your other breaches of protocol. And none of this will be reported in the proper manner, will it?

INTERVIEWEE: There are times when following protocol isn’t the right thing to do.

INTERVIEWER: And you, and only you, have the knowledge and intelligence to identify and act on them.

INTERVIEWEE: That’s not what I meant. Protocol exists to maintain order and good operational practices –

INTERVIEWER: Don’t try to pretend that any of your actions described are examples of good operational practices.

INTERVIEWEE: I’m not pretending that.

INTERVIEWER: I want to hear you say it.

INTERVIEWEE: What?

INTERVIEWER: The reason for your actions.

INTERVIEWEE: Because it was my son. Because I love him. Because I want to protect him. Is that such a bad thing?

INTERVIEWER: It is if it puts intelligence operations at risk. If it puts you at risk. If it puts everything you’ve built at risk. If it puts your country at risk.

INTERVIEWEE: The Question. The eternal Question.

INTERVIEWER: Your duty and your loyalty to your country. Or your duty and your loyalty to your family. What is your answer?

INTERVIEWEE: I don’t have one. There is no answer.

INTERVIEWER: No. You have an answer, and you showed what it was tonight. You just don’t know whether it’s the right one.

Interview terminated at one and two.

Isabelle counted eight and then tipped her hand, letting the greenish-brown powder fall into the cauldron. She stirred it smoothly, alternating clockwise and anticlockwise, until the colour of the mostly-liquid mixture began to darken. Sixteen more stirs, and then –

The dizziness struck suddenly: one moment everything was normal, and the next she barely knew which way was up. She lost her grip on the stirring-spoon and fell forward, gripping onto the edge of the cauldron for support, hard enough her fingers ached.

She thought through the ingredients she’d handled, wondering if any of them could cause these symptoms – you never quite knew what to expect when experimenting, but there was nothing remotely toxic even in combination, no fumes that she could have inhaled.

Strange. She’d never been prone to illness. Nothing for it but to stay sprawled on the floor, clinging to her cauldron, until the world stopped spinning and she dared open her eyes.

Then the weight fell into place in the back of her mind. The slight sensation fit perfectly, as if she had been missing it all her life and only just noticed. Maybe she had.

She’d dreamed of being a magician long enough that she knew what it meant. The Awakening of Rittome. Remarkably late, but here none the less. She was a magician. The dizziness was gone, but she didn’t move, her mind darting through the implications. It would be difficult to get spellbooks or teaching here, but she was resourceful, she’d make it work –

Oh. An old idea, one she’d toyed with but never fully explored, because even if it worked she’d never be able to implement it, but now she would. Now she had a chance. This was the opportunity she’d been waiting for.

Her smile lasted precisely until she realised that for the last minute or two she hadn’t been stirring the mixture, and it had congealed. That was an hour’s good work wasted.

She didn’t care that much.