"An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 4" b...
An Unofficial History of the Wizard's Court, Volume 4
by A. Hawthorn (signed 716 AE)
Catching Dagda in Amnytas is like sighting a rare bird in the wild. She's the only wizard that hasn't taken over a bastion, despite the Bastions of the Natural and the Obscure being without proper leadership. I've also had less than one conversation with her from start to completion so... Yes, I'm a bit anxious. Especially after Sorrow's dismissal.
I tracked her down in the Wizard's Tower; we were all stranded inside while Isgarren shifted Amnytas toward warmer skies for winter. She was sitting on the window ledge, watching the clouds as we traveled. I assume she'd heard of my impossible task, because she scooted left just enough to make room for another.
"Sit." And I sat. Despite not leading a bastion, Dagda's always had the commanding tone of a leader. I would follow her, I think.
We sat in silence for a long while, watching the clouds. Dagda is very thoughtful, despite the rumors. Eventually, she spoke. She described to me "that day," which I quickly parsed as being the moment Mabon and Waiting Sorrow saved her form the jotun. Her expression flickered from frustration to anger as she described the events (most of which, she readily acknowledged, Dagda learned from Mabon after her ascension; she only remembers faces, some names).
She was the daughter of a female chieftain. One of the few female chieftains in jotun history. Another being born of magic, like her. The elders of the greater tribe feared Nuada's power—this was well after the age of jotun magic, after all—so they killed her. And most of Dagda's family. They probably would have killed Dagda, too, if she weren't so young (knowing what I do of the jotun, being collectors, likely wanted to keep those genetics intact; they likely viewed her and those powers as a tool).
They stifled her magic as best they could. She doesn't remember those parts; doesn't want to. Her arms twitched as she spoke, possibly a reflexive response to things endured. Mabon found her while he and Sorrow were tracing migrations south (Jormag had "birthed" another champion, further displacing life in the north). That, she said, is most of it. She couldn't recount the rest, even if she wanted to.
Before I took my leave, she touched my arm—a delicate gesture for such a warrior. She told me to be light when asking of the past. The wizards all chose to ascend and leave their past lives behind, but that doesn't mean they don't yearn for those threads. To reach out, and remember.
