2026.02.18: Seven Gates

Summary Sacha visits Greenstone Books seeking research material for a supernatural TV series about a cult opening seven gates of the abyss and a dragon-bonded heroine destined to stop them. Thomas offers grounded guidance, directing her toward myth, folklore, and genre foundations while keeping the exchange firmly in the realm of bookseller rather than consultant. Text Morning light filters in through the front windows of Greenstone Books, catching dust motes in slow suspension as Thomas stands behind the counter with a freshly opened box of used arrivals at his feet. The scent of brewing coffee drifts from the back room, warm and familiar, mingling with paper and old bindings. He lifts each book out carefully, checking condition, flipping to the title page, sometimes scanning for marginal notes before setting it into neat stacks: fiction, history, oddities. A soft pencil rests behind his ear, ready to price and code, and the bell above the door has not yet rung. For now, it is just him, the quiet shop, and the small pleasure of giving forgotten books their next place on the shelf. Sacha makes her way throu the main entrance, announced by whatever mean the Greenstone used to lets the clerks a customer have arraived. She takes a few seonds to look around the large and impressive room. She hefts up in her way to expensive designer bag to her everyday attire she is wearing today in the hope of being less reconaisable. She strolls forward in a slow pace as she takes in th atmosphere of the shop. Upon seeing Book behinds the counter she gives him a polite nod. The soft chime of the door draws Thomas's attention up from the open box at his feet. He straightens slightly, setting aside the volume in his hands, and returns Sacha's nod with one of his own - polite, measured, and unobtrusive. His eyes take in the careful styling, the designer bag, the deliberate attempt at understatement, and he chooses not to linger on any of it. "Good morning," he says evenly, voice warm but not overly familiar. "Let me know if I can help you find something. We have most subjects tucked away somewhere in here." Sacha gives thomas a bright smile as he returns the nod and lets her know she can ask for anything. "Thank you very much. Archimedes told me you resontly had your grans opning. Unfortunately I was bussy that day so I could not make it here." a few more steps into the store. "Si I thought I would stop by, an maybe see if you had something intresting.... intresting for my little project." Thomas returns the smile with an easy warmth, setting aside the book in his hands as she steps closer to the counter. "We did, yes. It was a lively evening," he says, tone light but genuine. "I am sorry you missed it, but I am glad you came by now. The shop is quieter on mornings like this, which makes browsing easier." His eyes sharpen slightly at the mention of a project, interest piqued without becoming intrusive. "What sort of project are we talking about?" he asks, folding his hands loosely on the counter. "Research? Creative work? Something more... practical?" There is no judgment in the question, only curiosity and the quiet confidence of someone who believes he probably has something useful tucked away on a shelf somewhere. Sacha chuckles and seems alitte reluctant to say at first, but then taks a step closer to the counter "It might sound abit silly, but im writting a show... A TV show. and to help avoid it being a cringe I wanted some materials on the matter. Fiction, comics, novelty and even legdens if any excist on the topic." she walks up to the counter so to better e able to speak to him. Thomas does not laugh or dismiss it. Instead, his expression brightens slightly, as though she has said something entirely reasonable. "That does not sound silly at all," he replies evenly. "It sounds responsible. Most people write first and research later, if at all." He studies her for a brief moment, measuring tone rather than judging intent. "What is the subject matter? Supernatural? Historical? Urban legend?" He gestures lightly toward the shelves behind him. "If you are looking to avoid cringe, you will want layers. Original folklore, modern reinterpretations, and at least one source that disagrees with the rest. That is usually where authenticity lives." A faint smile touches his mouth. "Tell me what world you are building, and I will see what I can point you in the right direction." Sacha listens to him and nods a few times. "Sounds well thouht. Im only in the very beginnin. The idea spun from a convasation I had the other day in a new club I have just joined, out in prospect. The original idea was to make a series of photo shoots working with some modern day fantacy theme, but as I was going to bed that evening the ides keept spinning in my head, and all of a sudden I came up with this idea to make an eigth episode tv show insteadt. The main consept is that an evil cult is trying to take over the world by opening the seven gates of the abyss. And our main protagonist is a young female warriour who finds out she has a spirit bond with an old dragon, and together they have to go around the city to stop the cult from their evil doings." she leans alittle closer as she says this, as if she was afrid someone hears her and steals her idea. "So I would say we'r in some supernatural fiction in our very own world. I have done some consept art of the main chars, and writting the over all plot, I just want to have abit more knowledge on the matter at hand so we can catch the young audience from the start. No long build up as it all should be over in eight shows." Sacha listens and at first she makes some mental notes, but as he gives so much valuble information she finds a sketch book from her bag and a pencil. As she turns to an empty page he gets a quick glance of atleast three pages with handdrawn consept art. "Yes I was thinking of the first episode was introduceing Kaela and Ash..." she looks up "Kaela being the warriour girl, and Ash the drogon shape shifter. An the 7 episodes to stop the cult from opening the gates, with the last one being an epic battle with Dr. Malec vane.. the cult leder. " she taps the sketch book with her pencil. "Psycology and folklore would b very good." she nods a few times "I do know the Five points, but its been along time since I was there last." Thomas notices the sketchbook before he comments on it, and when he catches a glimpse of the concept art, he nods once with quiet approval. He does not overreact; he treats it as real work. "Kaela and Ash is a good pairing," he says thoughtfully. "In my experience, Cult leaders are rarely loud villains. They are persuasive. Calm. Convincing. That is where the psychology will matter most." He rests a hand lightly on the counter, thinking. "The Five Points will give you atmosphere if you want local texture, but do not rely only on aesthetics. If you are writing gates and abyssal myth, you might look at Mesopotamian underworld structures, medieval grimoires, and modern urban conspiracy fiction." Sacha keeps writting down as he gives more advice and she looks to him and nods with a huge smile. "This is... this is so good thank you sir." she lets the pencil rest against her lips as she thinks. "Im sure I way in over my head, might want to hire some writters to do that actual episodes." she chuckles "See what comes from a simple idea of a picture of a girl in armor and a burning sword." Thomas allows himself a small, approving smile, but does not lean further into the role of advisor. "Most large ideas begin exactly that way," he says evenly. "One strong image. The rest is scaffolding." He does not dismiss her doubt, nor does he amplify it. "If you decide to bring in writers, having the core vision clear will help you more than having every detail mapped out." He gestures lightly toward the shelves behind him. "For folklore and myth structure, you will find useful material here in the fiction and cultural mythology sections. If you are looking for deeper occult texts or primary ritual sources, Five Points Books specializes in that side of things. They are better equipped for it than I am." A faint lift of his brow. "But for dragons, cults, and apocalyptic ambition, you are in the right neighborhood." Sacha places her bag on the counter and puts the sketch book back inside, where also a few magazins is stored. She then looks thowards the counter where he oints for the books that could be of intrest to her. "Nice. I'll go see." she looks at him "Mind if I let my bag stand here, so I can better lookat the books. And do you know of a good place to get comic books on the matter, i thought they could give some story inspiration aswell." Thomas nods once, calm and unbothered. "You can leave it there," he says, shifting the bag slightly behind the counter so it is out of the main traffic path. "It will be safe." His tone is matter-of-fact rather than overly reassuring; this is simply how his shop works. At the mention of comics, he tilts his head slightly in thought. "For mainstream and indie fantasy comics, you might try Guardian Games just down the block. They carry current runs and a decent back catalog. If you are looking for darker occult-themed graphic work, they are more likely to have it than I would." A faint smile touches his mouth. "Visual storytelling can be very efficient for pacing. Worth looking at." He gestures lightly toward the aisle. "Take your time." Sacha nods to him and makes her way around the counter and over to the shelve he pointed her thowards, where she start to browse titles at first. She picks out a book now and then to look inside it. Most she puts away again but some she keeps for a closer inspecting alittle later. She takes her time, and a few times she comes back to the counter placeing some book in a slowly growing stack, only to return to look for more. Sacha seems very intrested in his finding. "Yeah. I was not the biggest reader when I was younger im afreid to admit, to many parties and way too much work, but today as Im lucky enough not to need to work asmuch I have really found the love in reading a good book on the couch or in my reading chair by the fire mantle. Sounds of the fire crakling , the dim ligting and aand a real good book, im sold, they can keep their parties to temself." she chuckles and places her hand on the book stack. "Yeah I think i'll start with these and see how far i get" Thomas listens without interruption, a faint, knowing smile settling in as she describes the firelight and quiet evenings. "That is usually how it happens," he says mildly. "Reading finds you when you finally have room for it." He squares the stack she has chosen, aligning the edges neatly before beginning to ring them up one at a time, checking the condition once more as he goes. "Fifteen is an ambitious start," he adds, tone light but not teasing. "But it is a good kind of ambition." He glances briefly at the used paperbacks beside him and then back to her selection. "Let them take their time with you. No need to rush through them." The total comes up, and he turns the small receipt toward her with a quiet nod. Sacha looks at the total and nods to him "Do you prefere cash or creditcard...Ohh and do you have some delivery service, I don't think im able to carry all of them in one go" she chuckles. "I could send a pick up, but cant order it before I get home, as the number is on a piece of paper on my desk." Thomas gives a small, easy shrug at her first question. "Either is fine," he says. "Whatever is more convenient for you." When she mentions the delivery issue, he glances at the stack and then back to her, already thinking it through. "We can help with that," he adds. "Derek - my part time clerk - can deliver locally later this afternoon. If you give me an address, we will send them over once we close up for lunch." His tone is practical, not flashy. Just a service offered without fuss. "No extra charge. It saves you juggling paperbacks down the street." Sacha points at her bag behind the counter "I'll will be needing that one as my wallet is in there." she nods a few times when he offers the helper can delivrer them but shakes her head when she states its free of charge "No no, I insist of paying for his troubles." I live on Come st and Maple in one of the older Victorian houses" she is not trying to be flashy but the adress speaks of wealth. "I have a card in my bag he can have." Sacha takes the bag and roams around in it to find her wallet. When he states his choise about the free delivery service she sticks her tounge out at him and then chuckles "I'll make sure to compensate him. And thank you for your wonderfull service today" she opens her wallet and finds a stack of bills and hands them over to him. "Keep the change, see it an appreciation for the advice you gave, very professional" Thomas watches her tuck the wallet away and gives one last, courteous nod as she prepares to leave. "We will have the books to you before the afternoon is out," he says evenly, sliding the bundled stack a little farther back on the counter so it is clearly set aside for delivery. "If you find yourself needing more source material - or simply another quiet corner - you are welcome anytime." As the door chimes again and she steps out, he allows himself a brief glance toward the shelves she had combed through so thoroughly. Then he turns back to the half-emptied box at his feet, kneels slightly, and resumes sorting the remaining paperbacks with a practiced touch.

Information IC Date: February 18, 2026 Location: Greenstone Books Spheres: Sorcerer, Psychic People Sacha Book Gallery