On good nights, Faz’zul relaxed in a wooden high-back chair with a hefty tome in his lap. He could lose himself in whatever world the book’s contents carried, forgetting for a moment the responsibilities of the next light or the dread that hung over him and the rest of his family. He was thinking, or rather hoping, that this might be one of those nights.
Faz’zul had gotten as far as opening the page to where the fabric bookmark had been placed and crossing his leg to form a table with his lower half when he heard something in the room stir. Peering up from his book, Faz’zul noticed that the cup he used to drink from had been nudge from its spot at the edge of the table by about a centimeter.
He sighed and shut his pale pink eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure, dear sister?” There was no response. “You know you can’t hide from me.”
When Faz’zul opened his eyes again, they shone with arcane magic. And in his own field of vision, the translucent form of a drow woman crouched by the table, hands up, came into view.
When she realized she’d been spotted, the woman removed her invisibility spell, and Faz’zul at once saw her in technicolor: her splendid purple and black acolyte’s robes, the blood red polish on her nails, and the dark red eyes she’d inherited directly from their mother. Those three things were the only features that distinguished Totella from her twin brother.
Her face soured as she came into view. “I thought I had you.”
“You will never be able to pull one over on me,” he said with a grin. “But you are welcome to keep trying.” Faz’zul shut his book and set it aside somewhere. “Now did you come here just to try that, or did you want something?”
Faz’zul knew it was the latter. As a student, Totella was not technically allowed to leave Arach-Tinilith, as he was not allowed to leave Sorcere. But the two had been inseparable since their childhood at Palace Lv’Arden, and their mother had given Faz’zul explicit instructions to always look out for his sister.
Totella sneered. “I brought you a gift,” she said, reaching at her side for a purple bag embroidered with runes in a golden thread. As she reached in, her hand seemed to disappear all the way into it. Anyone unfamiliar with the concept would have surely questioned their eyes when they saw her pull out an entire square foot of marble, the top of which was covered in a checkerboard pattern. Faz’zul watched as Totella pulled out onyx and marble statuettes: two giant lizards in each color, two towers each, a Matron Mother, and a High Priestess on each side. More and more statuettes came out until there were sixteen of each color.
A laugh escaped Faz’zul. “What have I done to deserve such a lovely gift?” he asked.
“My gift to you is my challenge, dear brother,” said Totella, crossing her legs on the cold floor of her brother’s tiny living quarters and gesturing for him to sit opposite her. “I will destroy you.”
A grin stretched across Faz’zul’s face as he went to join his sister. On good nights, Faz’zul relaxed in his chair and read his book. On great nights, he got to cut his sister down to size.
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