Franz Lohner’s Chronicle - Shadow Magic

An absent-minded man of mysteries, Franz Lohner relies on his bulging journal to keep track of occurrences, intrigues and arguments around Taal's Horn Keep. Sometimes his notes are even useful, believe it or not. The Franz Lohner Chronicles are extracts from that journal.

Olesya’s been playing silly buggers around the keep again. I wouldn’t mind - anything that keeps the Ubersreik Five on their toes is generally a good thing - but she is so very good at it, and delights at being insufferable into the bargain. That’s the problem with having a shadow wizard lurking about the place - when they take it upon themselves to start being annoying, suddenly nothing’s as it seems. Vanishing stairs, doors that go nowhere, strange figures quarrelling at the top of the stairs. Illusion on top of illusion, and not an apology in sight.

Personally, I think she’s a bit bored. Needs a challenge, sort of thing. Playing spectral horse and cart for our resident heroes ain’t exactly a taxing commitment. I mean, back in the day she lived a whole double life, pretending to be wotsisname … No, don’t tell me, I’ll get it. Cragtoff? Crisscross? Aha! Christoph Engel. Had even yours truly fooled for a while, but I’ll thank you not to tell her that, gentle reader of other peoples’ journals. Don’t think I don’t know your game.

Anyhow, playing at court wizard really kept Olesya out of mischief, but those days are long gone. So now she spends her spare times tormenting those around her. 

I mean, there’s a common misapprehension that Grey Wizards stand for justice. And maybe they do, when it suits them, but I don’t think there are hard and fast rules. More likely, their reputation as protectors of the people came about because when it comes down to it tweaking the noses of the nobility’s more fun than chasing peasants round with an illusory bullock. Not so much the Sword of Justice as the cattle prod of boredom.

Case in point, if shadow wizards are so big on law and order, why’s the renowned Master of Shadows a bloody great daemon set upon world domination? Because this Be’lakor I’m hearing more and more about’s definitely not looking to enforce a mandatory burden of proof on those accused of fiddling the books or poisoning intolerable relatives. 

Granted, there’s a certain sort of order comes with daemonic tyranny, but it’s a good deal more fatalistic than benevolent. I mean, when anyone can die at any time because a bat-winged bloody daemon takes a dislike to you, that’s a kind of fairness, ain’t it? I’ve known more than a few witch hunters operate an eerily similar system, but I’m careful not to say as much to Saltzpyre. For all his distance from the Order of the Silver Hammer these days, he’d probably not take it well.

So yes, shadow wizards are trouble, and resident shadow wizards doubly so. I just hope Olesya finds something to challenge her before too much longer, otherwise her and me are gonna have a little falling out.