The Abjurer: Journals of Evander Tailor by Tobias Begley

Author:Tobias Begley [Begley, Tobias]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Transmogrification

“What?” I asked.

“How do you think the first elves or Aster happened?” Draven said, an amused but condescending look on his face. “You see, when mortals and Fae interacted, quite a few of them fell in love with each other. Some of those Fae worked very hard to shed away their limitations. They lost their power, becoming human mages. Or at least, something like a human mage. They never quite lost their expanded lifespan, and they couldn’t have children with humans, yet… they were close.”

“Right,” Osheen said. “I know that. But that’s different. They became mortals. Maybe not human, but definitely mortal. But this isn’t that case.”

“Ah, but the reverse happened, too. There were those Fae who didn’t want to lose what they were, and human mages willing to.”

“Druids who were willing to devote themselves entirely to one plane,” I guessed, recalling from my first year magic theory class. “It’s recommended to most Druids to take care to gather boons from at least two other planes, especially if all your familiars are from one.”

“Yes,” Draven said, the wicked smile returning. “And here we are now. A boon from the Silver Queen in your Aura. The influence of a Silver Fae familiar. Three powerful boons from one of the Vernal Kings. And a large chunk of Vernal Power.”

“Wait,” Osheen said. “You said that he was already undergoing the process?”

“Yes,” Draven said matter-of-factly. “A few more minor boons and another familiar, and I suspect he’d be able to ascend as a Faerie Lord within a month. Likely a Lord of Change, given his skillset.”

“And if I don’t want to lose my mortality?” I asked. “I don’t want to leave Osheen behind.”

Even as I said it, I realized that there were also far darker reasons.

Osheen reached down and gave my hand a squeeze.

“It’s better than death,” he said. “You’d live a long, long time as a Faerie Lord. And I’ve seen what you can do with Faerie magic. You’d make a great Lord.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Osheen, think about what exactly we want to do. If I became a Faerie Lord and went to spread information – powerful, secret information – to an entire country? I could claim debt over almost every living person in Paerús.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Osheen said dismissively.

“He might not have the choice,” Draven said. “You seem to be under the misconception that Faeries can be nice. While they can choose to let go of minor things – like not claiming debt over a person who thanked them – even that can only happen if it’s in the nature of improving their future relationships with that person.”

“There’s no way that a young, newly minted Faerie Lord – who is without a Court – could pass up the power granted by holding debts over tens of millions of people,” I said.

Draven nodded, and Osheen looked back and forth somberly.

“How will we know when it’s too late?” he finally asked Draven.

“When you leave the party, find some cold iron,” Draven said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.