Unedited Sample #2 – A Treasured Bind
Just in time for Christmas, I thought I would share another short sample of the story in the works that has characters created in collaboration with AuldMisdione.
In this segment, a genie named Varron Sestercius has returned home after many years imprisoned in a bottle, and the experiences he feels at being liberated.
In a puff of light purple smoke, Varron Sestercius appeared at his ancestral home. The Northern Kingdoms hadn’t really changed in the five hundred years that he had been away, but it wasn’t as if the genie had expected there to have been any dramatic changes that would have occurred. As he looked around, and saw the shining cream domes above the palace walls. In his younger years, Varron had flown around them for hours on end, much to the despair of his parents, who feared he would fall to the marketplace that had been assembled underneath them.
Although he spent the majority of his time floating in the air, Varron loved to feel the soft blades of the kingdom’s grass beneath his feet. This was of course, when he wasn’t forced to wear the slippers that came with the imprisonment he had suffered for half a millennium. After finally being liberated from the accursed bottle, Varron couldn’t wait to land on the fresh green pasture. Along with the beautiful kingdoms and the strong bonds of friendship he had forged in the palace, Varron had missed this simple pleasure most of all, and hoped to never be without it for the rest of his life.
With a majestic wave of his hand, Varron watched at the slippers vanished in a flash of golden smoke, leaving behind his naked feet in all their glory. Closing his eyes in anticipation, Varron descended towards the ground and rested upon the freshly mown lawn. For several minutes, the genie relished the ability to touch something other than cheaply made velvet, wriggling his toes with delight at the tickling sensation caused the evergreen blades.
Five hundred years had seemed like an eternity, regardless of his status as an immortal being, so he would be forever grateful to the witch who had selflessly relieved him of his burden. Many people would have been tempted to rub the bottle, which would have invoked it’s curse, and made Varron their loyal servant until he had granted them three wishes. It might not have been an original hex that he had been placed under, but as a magical spirit who thrived on giving others their personal freedoms, having his own be taken away was a fate worse than his improbable death.
With a jump of joy, Varron moved himself on the dusty road which led up to the bridge which seperated the mainland from the palace of the Northern Kingdoms. He wondered how his family would respond to his sudden return, and what had happened to Lorenzo, the man who had banished him inside a cursed vessel. Varron had nothing to antagonise the prince of the Eastern Kingdoms which would have justified such an unworthy punishment.
If a genie chose to go into a bottle or a lamp, they did so of their own free will to keep the stories of the magical creatures alive in the hearts of man, and to give purpose to the powers that had passed down to them for thousands of years. Many genies often gave thanks to the first men and women to hold the power of wishes in the palm of their hands, as without their noble actions, they would likely never have been born.
Although the general consensus of their kind would suggest otherwise, many genies considered their powers to be ascended from a higher place, and the ability to conjure the impossible or to give people their hearts desire was something to be cherished. As such, they would never cast aside their morals aside or corrupting the spirits of the people who summoned them from their temporary homes. Admittedly there were individuals who embraced the darker side of making other’s desires become reality, but for most part they were divided from those who followed the path of benevolence.
As Varron stepped up to the bridge, he smiled as he saw it’s crumbling structure before his eyes. Although it was impossible for the structure to collapse due to the magic holding it together, everyone in the kingdom preferred it to be this way, as it gave a sense of character to the otherwise perfect world that filled their surroundings. It reminded them of the vulnerability of the people who benefited from the wishes they made come true, and the honour of being the one to ensure their wounds were treated with selfless acts of caring, and unconditional love.
Hope you enjoyed this, and I’ll hopefully have more for you next year.
