Tangled Blessings
Introduction
My name is Mara (she/her). I used to be a pickpocket. If I wanted to sound noble, I’d say I only stole from the privileged —but let’s be real, how the hell would I know who I was stealing from?
A few days ago, I had a dream. I was at some fancy high school party, and I stole a ring off the finger of this rich, stuck-up girl I used to know. Nothing new. But then the gem on the ring started talking to me—whispering about a school of magic. Even in my dream, I rolled my eyes. Sounded like some Harry Potter bullshit.
Then, the next morning, I found a letter stuck to my front door. For a second, I thought it was from the cops. But no—this one had my name on it, written in looping ink. A letter from the Headmaster of Blackroot.
They gave me a month to tie up loose ends. So, I visited my uncle. He’s been in an asylum ever since he started raving about magic—said he was called by the Speaking Gem, just like me. No one believed him. Then they pumped him full of sedatives, and something went wrong. A hypoxic brain injury, they said. Now he barely moves, barely blinks. I leaned in close and whispered, I believe you.
But I wasn’t scared like he must have been. I was excited. Magic meant opportunity. Meant power. Meant I could finally do what I’d always dreamed of—walk straight into a bank vault and take whatever I wanted. Or maybe I’d become a world-famous fortune teller, make people pay through the nose for a glimpse of their futures. Hell, if I played my cards right, I could rig the lottery itself.
The day I left for Blackroot, I took the train. Sat back. Watched. Sized up my future classmates.
I’ve always been good at reading people—their tells, their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities. I can spot the ones I can use and the ones I should avoid. I can feel desperation, arrogance, people who are too happy, too comfortable. Looking back, I guess that was my first real magic.
Then I saw her. A blonde girl with glasses sitting alone, staring out the window. Her aura was a mess —this tangled knot of empathy and isolation. She looked nice. Not kind, though. There’s a difference. And I was intrigued. I like a challenge.
When we arrived, the Speaking Gem sorted us into houses. House of Spires for me. Fitting. Blades, isolation, judgment—I carry all of that.
And then—there she was again. The girl from the train. Same house. I worked my way around, making my introductions, charming my classmates. Then I walked up to her and said hello. She barely acknowledged me before slipping away.
Bitch, who does she think she is?
And yet… I couldn’t shake the feeling. I wanted to know her. Wanted to be friends with her.
Her name, I later learned, was Agnes. A small-town girl who was supposed to go to university to study literature, but her family pressured her to stay. She has this way of drawing people in, even when she’s alone. Her invitation came in a dream, too—she opened a gift box at a birthday party and found the Speaking Gem inside. The next day, she was at the library, pulled a random book off the shelf, and found a letter waiting for her.
She had people to leave behind. People who loved her. Can’t relate but whatever. And still, she was excited about Blackroot, excited to learn magic. A typical small-town girl ready for something bigger.
Year 1
Mara: 7 of Wands
I led a workshop on time manipulation because, frankly, the way they teach chronomancy here is painfully inefficient. Why waste time carving sigils when you can just repeat the same strokes to extend the effect?
Turns out, there’s a reason no one does that.
One of my test subjects—some poor fool who was 25—ended up 80, hunched over and wheezing. The Headmaster was furious. Something about “reckless magic” and “sticking to the script.” But come on—magic is experimentation. You think the people who wrote those grimoires got it right on the first try? Please.
Anyway, because I’m so magnificent, I fixed it.
Now he’s 10. His parents are picking him up tomorrow.
Agnes: 6 of Wands
Agnes found some runes under the bridge and, obviously, called me for help.
For once, I had no clue what I was looking at.
We cracked open the Book of Runes, translated the markings, and dispelled the magic. The runes fused, the ground shook, and some tiny creature giggled and ran off. It left behind two fruits.
I took a bite. Big mistake.
Scaly leaves sprouted from my arms. I turned to Agnes for help—she just laughed. Asshole. I came because she asked, and now I looked like a damn houseplant. The school nurse? Completely useless. No cure. By morning, the leaves shed, and I was back to normal.
Agnes, though? She planted her fruit, spat on it, and now she’s got some weird little creature following her around. She’s basically a single mom now. Glad I ate mine. No way I’m dealing with that. She named it Bibi. Stupid name for a stupid creature. Looks just like her.
Mara: Knight of Wands
First potion-making assignment.
Growing up around rats and cockroaches, I had no problem catching ingredients—snake scales, snail mucus. But for a fresh drop of blood? Hell no was I cutting myself. So, I went to Agnes. Bitch, you owe me.
I wanted to take her blood plague-doctor style, but she refused and gave me a single drop. Whatever. For the last ingredient, I held my breath and counted three heartbeats.
The result? Bubbling Blinkbrew —teleports the drinker up to 5 meters for 10 minutes, as long as they don’t blink. I got a B. Professor called it impractical.
Idiots. So, I upped the ingredients tenfold, taped my eyes open, and tested it. 50 meters. 100 minutes. I’m keeping this one to myself. Might come in handy for… future endeavors.
Agnes: Queen of Wands
Agnes admitted she can pull people in. No wonder I was drawn to her.
“That must be exhausting,” I said.
She agreed. Said she craved solitude. So, she went to our Curse Professor—the one in charge of our House—and told him she didn’t want her magic anymore. He just shrugged and handed her a cursed sword, said if she fought it, it would strip her power.
She lost. Of course.
For a while, she was free. No classes, no people clinging to her. But then no one came to visit (not even me). I think it hit her—she needed attention, love, connection.
In the end, the professor helped her understand her power. When it came back, so did the crowd. But now? She feels further away than ever. I like her much more when she’s only mine.
Mara: 10 of Wands
I walked in on a housemate having lunch with their parents. Jealous. Not that I'd bring mine—I haven't talked to them in five years.
But I would bring my ex. He was in a band. Played bass. No one cares about bass, but I did. Then he left me for some model-prettier, richer. Whatever.
Now? I'm plenty powerful enough to slice that girl's face into six neat pieces. I wish he could see me now, actually doing something. Maybe I'd take him to the Whispering Lake. Romantic spot.
Perfect place to shove him in. This lake never shouts, anyway.
Agnes: 3 of Wands
I was about to sleep early for tomorrow’s exam when Agnes showed up.
“Ever dealt with the ghost in the garden?” she asked.
Apparently, she was cramming for her Curses exam—something about forging cursed swords—when a ghost appeared. It took my form, then slowly aged into an older version of me. Startled, she instinctively cursed the sword to chase it off.
“Maybe she’s my future,” I joked. “Was she pretty? Was she cool?”
A third-year passing by overheard and laughed. “That ghost shows people their true love.”
I snickered. “Ha! Get in line. Plenty of people have a crush on me.”
The End of Year 1
Agnes split her time-half at Blackroot, half back home. She texted me that she missed the academy.
I, on the other hand, had nowhere to go. Didn't even pay my last rent. Just left the flat and never looked back.
While she was around, I took more of her blood. Honestly surprised she's not anemic yet. Stocked up on potions-for the future.
When she left, though? The loneliness hit hard. So, I spent my time with Jack, the fourth-year House leader. We flirted. We fucked.
Year 2
Agnes: 6 of Cups
I saw Agnes strolling by the lake when, out of nowhere, a surge of magic launched her over the water.
I hesitated. Not sure why. Maybe I just knew she’d figure it out. And she did—walked back to shore like the water was carrying her.
I waited for her to say something about it. She didn’t. Oh well.
Mara: 5 of Cups
There was a fire at the campus greenhouse. I was smoking nearby. Called on Mother Nature’s arcane power to put it out.
Turned out it wasn’t an accident—someone wanted to destroy herbs used for healing magical sickness and injuries. Deadly ones.
They caught the arsonist—a demon made of leaves and bark, obsessed with precious gems. It had been demanding the Speaking Gems, wrecking things whenever it didn’t get what it wanted. The academy had been keeping it pacified with cheap crystals, but I guess it got tired of waiting.
Agnes came up with a plan —hid a walkie-talkie inside a gem to fake a Speaking Gem. So far, the thing’s buying it.
Agnes: 9 of Cups
Agnes told me about a weird encounter—a ghost followed her through the halls. When she finally confronted it, it spilled the truth: the War Magic professor was spying on her. Guess her pull works on the undead too.
A few days later, he approached her himself. Said his goals didn’t align with the academy and wanted her in on some secret mission—but only if she swore loyalty first. She dodged the offer.
I’m pissed he didn’t ask me. Waited a whole month. Nothing. Am I inferior to Agnes? Not even worthy of a shady recruitment pitch? I’d have said yes in a heartbeat.
Mara: Knight of Cups
During the summer, fewer students showed up to class. At first, I didn’t care—less competition. Then I realized they weren’t coming back. So, naturally, I went through their stuff. Found some pricey gadgets. eBay was about to be very good to me.
Then Agnes caught me. Asked why I’m like this. I told her the truth—I’m not as well off as she is. Admitted my insecurities while we walked through the woods.
That’s when we saw them. All the missing students, standing in a circle, chanting. A massive pillar rose before them. Shit. Guess I can’t sell their iPads.
Agnes whispered for me to be careful—too late. I’d already yanked one out of the circle. The rest snapped out of their trance.
Later, they told us some demon had appeared, whispering a spell that would reveal the academy’s hidden truths. Curiosity got the best of them. They chanted. Then—nothing. Blank memories.
The instructors weren’t amused. They exorcised the demon, shoving it back to hell.
But I can’t shake the question—why now? That thing was fine with fake gems for years. What changed?
Agnes: King of Cups
We finally learned shapeshifting. Agnes turned into a gorgeous peacock.When she shifted back, her hair had streaks of green, blue, and gold. I hate her.
I, on the other hand, failed spectacularly and spent the entire afternoon as a crab. I just scuttled around the dorm, snapping at Bibi.
Mara: Queen of Cups
Blackroot’s getting all soft—banning smoking, extinguishing flames with magic. My favorite spot? Gone.
While looking for a new one, I stumbled on a tomb of forgotten artifacts. Called Agnes. Look what I found.
We agreed to take just one thing. I grabbed the same bulb we saw last year when we dispelled the hidden runes. Showed it to Bibi. Hey, it’s your cousin. She freaked out. Already worth it.
I planted it and forgot about it—until later, after kissing Jack. On impulse, I spat on it like Agnes did. By morning, it had grown into… basically, Bibi’s sinister, dead-eyed twin. No blinking, no chattering. Just grinning. Sweet, I have my own creepy gremlin.
Agnes took a whispering quill. She tested it: What’s Mara’s favorite food she’d never admit to liking? It wrote porridge.
End of Year 2
In the last month of school, my dreams turned strange. Vivid. Persistent. Eventually, I realized —it’s the Speaking Gem calling me.
One night, I gave in and visited it past midnight. Agnes was already there. We stared at each other, surprised. Same dreams. Same pull.
We touched the gem at the same time. It whispered: What you seek is hidden in the Grand Rotunda.
We went, but the place was empty—until Agnes’ whispering quill started thrashing. Then, it drew what we still can’t believe.
A long time ago, a goddess fell from the sky, crying for help. A magus answered. But instead of saving her, he trapped her inside a gem and drained her power. Her magic fuels this land. That’s why it barely works in the mundane world.
Blackroot wasn’t just a school. It selected students, kept the best to maintain the secret, and sent the rest back—where no one believed them. Some became fortune tellers, their divination still intact. Some wrote books, made movies, shaped myths. Most moved on. The ones who resisted? They disappeared. Like my uncle.
Agnes beamed. We’re like the Scooby gang uncovering secrets!
I didn’t care about the mystery. I cared about power. If magic weakened outside, I needed to find a way to make it work. Maybe rigging the lottery from afar? One thing’ was certain—I’m not leaving here empty-handed.
Year 3
Mara: 8 of Disks
This academy’s biggest problem? Too many damn eyes. Ghosts, creatures, nosy students—can’t even make love in peace. So Jack and I sneaked off to the abandoned East Wing. Quiet. Empty. Perfect.
Until black tar dropped from the ceiling. Jack bolted like a coward.
I looked up. A massive humanoid bird loomed above—no eyes, no nose, just a gaping mouth. It whispered: I want hearts. I want your heart.
I stayed calm. Not mine. But I can get you someone else’s. What’s your preference?
It hissed, One who left this academy and returned.
I nodded. No promises. Just acknowledgment. I never went back to the East Wing.
Agnes: 6 of Disks
Agnes found a skeleton key that led her to a room swarming with moths. Inside, a plaque detailed The Catastrophe of 1821.
The academy’s history book claimed a student was lured into freeing imprisoned demons—executed on the spot.
But the fallen star told a different story. That student wasn’t freeing demons. He was trying to free her. And he was killed for it.
Mara: 2 of Disks
I got invited to a sex cult. Their doctrine? Ultimate enlightenment through ultimate orgasm.
In the middle of the chaos, a skeleton pointed at me. Of course, everyone wants me.
It was fun -until it wasn’t. I don’t like being tied down whether it be cult or community. Sex should be fun, not a commitment.
Agnes: 10 of Disks
Agnes said she followed her shadow’s whisper to the locked North Tower. There, she found teachers fighting a weird black mass—probably one of our missing classmates. She had no clue what was happening but didn’t meddle and just left.
If it were me? I would’ve stayed to watch the whole thing.
Something is seriously wrong with this academy.
Mara: 7 of Disks
Jack broke a full-length mirror in the common room. Seven years of no sex. I snickered. Then his skin started turning ashy. Got quarantined. Came back hairy. Yeah, definitely seven years.
But I believed him when he said he saw a creature made of smoke inside the mirror. After Agnes’s story about the North Tower, it wouldn’t surprise me if a student got trapped in there.
Not that I was scared. I had my trusty bodyguard—Bibi’s creepy cousin. Ran at the first sign of danger. And when it did? I ran too.
I asked Agnes, This place is getting crazy. I have nowhere else to go, but you? You have a home. A family. Why don’t you leave?
She just shrugged. Because it’s fun.
Weirdo.
Agnes: 9 of Disks
I heard a rumor that a staff member hit on Agnes, and she got so mad she exploded. I asked her if it was true. Like all rumors—completely off.
What actually happened? A staff member kept harassing her about Bibi, insisting she wasn’t allowed to keep it, even though she had permission. He wouldn’t let it go.
Then, out of nowhere, arcane energy erupted from her skin, shredding every leaf from the trees around her. The guy got blasted with some mind-warping magic and just… stood there, stunned.
Afterward, he whined to the other staff, claiming he didn’t want her on campus. She got punished—sentenced to garden duty.
End of Year 3
I asked Agnes to the school dance. She refused. Went with some cute Korean girl—a doctor in the mundane world, now a second-year.
A guy from the House of Elements, who I may or may not have shagged in that weird cult, asked me out. I said yes. But at the dance, I asked Agnes for a dance, half-joking. She actually agreed. “What about Zézé?” I asked. “She’s fine with it. You’re my best friend,” Agnes said.
Later, I stepped outside for a smoke. Some guy who graduated five years ago joined me with a spliff. We talked—mostly him rambling about how he lied about his House, which I couldn’t care less about.
“Wanna go somewhere quieter?” I asked.
He did. So I took him to the closed East Wing.
The bird-like entity was waiting. I bolted. When I looked back, it had wrapped him in its wings, its mouth stretching open—needle-like teeth glinting.
Three days later, they found him in the hall with his face full of tiny punctures.
Agnes: 9 of Swords
I asked Agnes for the whispering quill, but she said she buried it. To lift a curse that cracked her lips and made every movement ache, she had to sacrifice something valuable. She buried it near the rotunda and never checked if it remained. I did. It was gone.
Mara: Knight of Swords
I woke up in a coffin. What the hell. Took my upgraded Bubbling Blinkbrew —boom, teleported five meters up, out of the grave. The tombstone? A witch hunted in the trials. Guess I’m next. Tracked the magic to a House of Panthers student who made a pact to eliminate me. Asshole. Not dying today. My nails sharpened into sickles as I slapped his stunned face, carving it open.
Agnes: Queen of Swords
Three bodies impaled on the chapel statue’s sword. Agnes sensed an illusion, dispelled it—one was a board member loyal to the academy, the others were students. "I think the Speaking Gem did this," she murmured. It wants to be free. But if it can kill while crystallized, what happens when it’s unleashed? No, thanks.
Mara: 3 of Swords
All the fourth years gathered to chant a chorus spell, reciting the ancient words that shield the academy from beasts and dark magic. Mid-chant, a sharp pain stabbed my chest. I collapsed, grabbing Agnes beside me. She tried first aid magic, but it barely helped.
“Use your chronomancy to delay the wound,” she urged. So I did, and the pain dulled—but the protection was already shattered.
Scanning the room, I spotted the culprit. Bibi’s cousin. Its eerie, possessed eyes locked onto me. Without thinking, I lunged and strangled the little freak.
This is why I don’t have pets.
Agnes: 2 of Swords
I wasn’t an official member of the sex cult—I don’t believe in that stuff—but I attended as an honorary guest because I liked the ritual.
That’s where I met Clara, my new interest. I kissed her, and she immediately started puking.
What the hell.
I left. I was getting bored of these weirdos anyways.
Mara: Page of Swords
I was lounging under a tree, enjoying a rare nice day, when I spotted a group of professors raising their swords to the sky. A dark portal opened above them—they were sealing the Fallen Star for good, keeping its power while preventing it from harming students.
Then, a blinding flash. I shut my eyes, and when I opened them, they were gone. But my book had a new page. A message from the star. A plea for freedom.
The Final Exam Before Graduation
I stood before Agnes, of course. I hadn’t studied enough, and I didn’t trust her—or the professors, who clearly favored her. I wanted to win so badly.
Spells & Curses. Before I could even swing my wand, Agnes spelled it out of my hand. Worse, she mind-controlled me into kneeling before her and kissing her cheek.
Potions & Tonics. Lucky for me, I’d been collecting Agnes’ blood for my Bubbling Blinkbrew. The potion was literally made for her. She collapsed, paralyzed. I skipped over, licked her cheek, and smirked. “You wanted my kiss? You could’ve just asked.” Her skin burned where I touched her.
Rituals. As a chronomancy genius, I twisted time and turned her into a babbling infant. I smothered baby Agnes in kisses.
The Duel. This was bullshit. Agnes had mastered the cursed sword since year one. It was what awakened her, made her a true magus. Even as a toddler, she grabbed the sword and—somehow—landed a successful attack.
We tied
After Graduation
They offered us positions as instructors. Yeah, no. I’m not spending my life in this haunted madhouse, constantly watching out for that deranged asteroid. Before I left, I rigged the lottery and won enough to never work again. Four years of chaos? Worth it for early retirement.
Agnes, of course, stayed. She’s determined to free the Fallen Star—once she figures out how to preserve her magic. No clue when that’ll be, but she’s excited for whatever comes next. Girl isn’t even tired after all this.
She tried to convince me to stay, to witness the magic yet to unfold.
I kissed her goodbye. “Good luck, Agnes. I’ll be waiting in the mundane world.”