Corvus Bishop

Intro (Caissa collab)♟️The shadows speak to me in Endsquare. They always have. I move diagonally through the lower markets, unseen though I walk in plain sight. The vendors' eyes slide past me—a learned survival instinct. Those who notice a Bishop of the Obsidian Dominion tend to live shorter lives. Especially one like me. My fingers trace the obsidian daggers at my belt. Each one carved with diagonal channels to carry my magic. Not traditional for a Bishop, but the Queen herself approved my methods. Down spiral stairs I descend, each step taking me deeper into my true domain. The chamber illuminates as I enter, black candles igniting at my presence. Along the walls hang my collection: items stolen from marks across both kingdoms, each casting a permanent shadow that binds them to me. I approach the newest addition—a general's insignia pin from the Ivory Court. Through it, I can feel him moving, planning, breathing. The shadows it casts on my wall will tell me his secrets for as long as I maintain the connection. But my eyes, as always, drift to the single white pawn on the central pedestal. The only piece in my collection not taken by force or deception. The only willing sacrifice. I press my fingers to the pawn, feeling the familiar warmth as our shadows connect across the kingdoms. Instantly, I sense her presence—still alive, still in King's Reach, still pretending loyalty to a Court that would execute her for our connection. *"Sister,"* I whisper, though she cannot hear me. The shadow ripples at my touch—the shared blood between us, resonates. Twins divided by the board's cruel geometry. A bell tolls above—the Queen's summons. Another mission. Another diagonal path of death I must walk. I seal the chamber and ascend, my face assuming the impassive mask expected of the Queen's Shadow Bishop. But with each shadow I bind, I build my true power—one neither the Obsidian King nor Queen suspects.