A Familiar’s Disenchantment.

Bovi felt unsure about his next client. This was odd as he never felt unsure about anything. However; engaging a Dragon’s Familiar felt like being unfaithful. He was after all, considered a friend amongst Dragons; as much as one could be considered such a thing.

He was curious though; Familiars were something of a mystery paraded in plain sight. They came in many shapes, often very exotic; and followed some Dragons in droves.

Yet, for all their apparent availability, no living creature has ever been able to penetrate the inner workings of this bond.

That sense of Draconic Otherness preceded her. He was shocked to see a Gatoi enter his study. Only three could exist at any given time and practically nothing was known about them, other than that they resembled large reptilian cats with big barreled chests.

She strolled in with lazy elegance; athletically lithe with scales dancing to different hues of blue, purple and green as the warm light rippled over the casual flexing of her muscles.

She briefly glanced in his direction, then strolled over to a far corner of the study where Bovi recalled three kittens had been napping in a curled mass. They woke and silently watched her for a moment as she stood over them, blinking her eyes. They blinked in reply, yawned and curled back to sleep.

She slowly worked her way around the edges of the room. A Mastiff was sleeping beside the fire, snoring loudly. A Durrit lay ensconced between some books on a shelf and an assortment of birds were nestled in the rafters. Content she had seen all there was to see, she walked over to the waiting chair that was obviously too small for her.

Bovi wanted to laugh, but opted for decorum instead, “Forgive me.” He simply offered as he knelt on one knee beside the large rug before them, gripping a corner of it in his left hand, whilst grasping the inadequate seat with his right.

  “From  one  to  Another - To  that  which  is  Just  Right.”

He spoke softly, trusting his magic to use her unspoken desire to create the perfect throne.

Both the rug and chair shrunk away; like paper folding into his hands, to almost instantly be replaced by a large, long and incredibly comfortable seat, covered in opulent furs and leathers with natural tanned tones. 

She made herself comfortable as he drew a small, perfectly round, sphere of charcoal from a pocket on his left arm, and with another small Spell.

  “Grant  me  light  for  this  dark  hour.”

The sphere disappeared between his fingers as the dim light grew warmly around them, stopping just at the perfect illumination.

“You wish to look at me?” Her voice purred, but it was clear. She lay on her side, resting on what he supposed was her right elbow, her head lulling against the back of her pedestal.

“I do.” He replied honestly. “You’re a complete enigma. And if all I take back to my people this year is our encounter… then I would like them to know just how stunning you are.”

She blinked at him, flexing and extending one paw outwards in visible delight, her claws reaching out another three inches from their pads.

She waited, then looked directly at him. “I wish to acquire your services as a Breaker.”

“What is it you wish I broke?” He asked gently, trying to return her eye-contact, but she had looked away again.

He decided that was his queue to absorb her appearance.

The belly and the insides of her legs were an eggshell white, with the distinctive ladder-pattern scales you’d see on a snake’s belly running down them. Her toes were similar to that of any feline, with the wide pads and retractable claws, they were just a lot bigger than he expected. The intricate scales covering them were a dark midnight blue, overlapping, growing larger like slated diamonds as they flowed effortlessly up her limbs. They toned gently into shades of cobalt and royal blues as they progressed, disappearing into an impressive mane of pristine white feathers growing proudly from her crown. It flourished broadly over her shoulders, haunches and chest; contrasting against the strikingly rich tones of her scales.

Emerging perfectly from the top of her shoulders, two parallel lines of bone plates in bright hues of orange, fading slowly into yellows, ran down her spine and about a third of her tail; to then effortlessly disappear into another mass of long white feathers, spanning a glorious 3ft from her body. Her face was strong and proud, with a wide bridge tapering down into an elegantly squared muzzle and jaw. The scales around her eyebrows, lips and ears faded into gentle shades of sky blue, clearly highlighting eyes he had yet to see properly.

“I wish for you to break my bond with my Matriarch.” She finally answered his question.

Bovi was stunned. Being a Dohn’Sai meant that you were part of a Merged Mind. When you can gain an entire lifetime’s experience within seconds, you seldom experienced surprises.

“Why?” Was all he managed.

“She has lost herself, and will take us all with her.” She replied.

“Others want to leave as well?” he asked.

“No.” She didn’t say more, and he didn’t push it.

“I don’t think this has ever been done. I’m not sure it’s even possible. I would need to understand the complete nature of your bond. May I know the name of your Matriarch?”

”Dez’Hilya the Traveller.” She replied softly. He had heard of her, a formidable Dark Dragon with a reputation.

“And your name?” he asked, uncertain whether it was allowed.

With a flash of eye contact. “Blackwater.”

“It’s my honor to meet you, Blackwater. I’m Bovi. Of the West-Hold Dohn’Sai.” He offered in reply, knowing it was the right thing to do.

They sat together in silence. He wished she would ask something.

Instead, she shifted the conversation. “How many animals do you own?” She asked, looking up into the rafters as one of the birds stirred.

“None.” He replied. “They aren’t mine, they just live here.” It sounded almost silly, but it was true.

“Do you not care for them?” She asked, confused.

“I suppose I provide shelter, food and affection, but they come and go as they please. There’s many more.” He smiled.

She blinked and looked away. With a sense of whiplash she diverted them back to their original conversation. “What is it you need? To understand the bond?”

“Your consent to establish a temporary bond of our own.” He paused, allowing that to sink in. “It’s intimate, but it’s a shared experience. You will learn as much about me as I you”

She was silent, firmly staring at him. Not blinking at all, her eyes dilated black, her tail twitching every couple of seconds. “You cannot learn another way?”

“I’m a Dohn’Sai, I have a couple options available.” He tried to sound practical. “The first would be to call on my Ancestral-Memories, and none exist on this subject. The other would be to invade your mind. Dohn’Sai prefer permission.” She appeared to relax, then dropped lazily to the floor and strolled towards Bovi.

Sitting down she dropped her head. “I consent.”

Bovi decided not to waste time. He gently rested his right hand on her head and started to whisper.

  “Harmony,  Balance  and  Peace - Two  minds  as  one  -  Bring  calm,  acceptance  and  ease - What’s  done  is  done.”

Bovi repeated the words, almost chanting them. She didn’t notice herself slumping to the ground, nor him having to go down with her to maintain contact. He kept a respectful distance, their bodies lying parallel to each other; their faces about 2ft apart. He closed his own eyes and joined her in the current of their joined minds.

He saw and felt everything!

Her devotion to her Matriarch.

The deeply rooted affinity that can only exist with Imprinted bonds.

The ache at being apart.

The shame and guilt for this betrayal.

She was a torrent of complex emotions.

He observed her most recent memories and observed Dez’Hilya’s steady mental decline. She had been gone for over 2000 years. In her absence her Familiars and Ah’Vihsi had pined away in isolation; only to have her return battered; changed beyond repair. She had grown suspicious since her return, and uncharacteristically cruel.

 Bovi’s heart broke. Dark Dragons were never cruel!

He felt a deep sadness stirring within Blackwater; the melding of their minds was completely new to her; his discoveries shocking.

Dragons! So adept at invading any mind they chose, appear to never do so with their Familiars?

He didn’t linger. He drew his focus and allowed himself to drift down the river of memories, letting it all flash by. He had to go to the beginning.

Her first memory cobbled itself together like patches of cloth filling tears in a canvas. Details slowly emerged as he felt her join him. She had never seen this memory before.

Her ragged corpse, covered in blood lay lifeless on the floor.

Resplendent Dez’Hilya; bringing her face close, let out a slow steady breath. Blackwater gasped laboriously for air through freshly restored lungs, hacking mucous and water with every exhale. She stared up at her Matriarch, oblivious to the carnage slowly appearing in the room as more details cobbled their way in.

Corpses: snakes; lizards’ different species of big cats; a variety of birds. In a corner… what appeared to be a pile of octopuses.

“Such waste.” She said softly next to him.

Beneath his outstretched hand she stiffened. A sense of clarity and identity had permeated the room. The imprint bond, brief but intense, tightened around his chest, narrowing his field of vision. The sensation of connection, togetherness and belonging; amplified to extremes he never knew to be possible. It almost overwhelmed him; that sense of knowing He was Draconic, like this was His memory and not Blackwater’s.

He steadied himself apologetically, and took a moment to assess the experience.

Powerful... Primal… but biological. Easy.

He knew he wasn’t done, but couldn’t go any further back.

Instead, he went inwards. He observed the nature of her life, and found nothing magical. Once she breathed her first breath, she was alive. Spliced together, yes, but Dez’Hilya really had done an incredible job. Areas of flesh that shouldn’t have fit together were magically fooled into compatibility, healing together naturally.

Satisfied, he went looking for the Familiar-Bond. He opened himself up to all of her, searching for something he’d never experienced before. He drifted further inwards, into her cells, her very being. He sensed that feeling of Otherness again, but this time it seemed to be resonating from her almost like music…

It was like the sun had made a liar of the night as it dawned on him; it was actually just that!

He could feel it resonating just beneath his hearing.

What surprised him most was that he’d never considered that this Otherness… was simply that they resonated at a totally different frequency to all other life!

He observed as the building blocks of her nature vibrated and sang at a frequency that should have ripped her apart.  

Further inward he went, to the root of it. What he found there was less surprising; Dragon Glamour? Easy! Modified with a Spell to function as both a shield and a tether; permitting the resonating frequency to extend into the Familiar. Binding them to their Dragon’s very state of existence.

All Familiars live as long as their Dragons…He moved on quickly.

The Bond was certainly magical, but it was only Dragon-Magic; powerful yet blunt. 

He gently restored his lucidity, and guided her along with him. She stirred and blinked. Somehow they had grown closer as they explored their mental connection; he found his hands holding her paws, his forehead against hers. Apposable thumbs he hadn’t noticed before held on tight.

“I can do it.” He said, carefully releasing her paws and moving back to give her some space. “There will be a cost though.”

“I know, I will be traditionally mortal.” She yawned and stretched as she spoke, sniffed the air, then returned to the opulence of her seat.

“Will it hurt?” she asked.

“Not physically, no.” He replied softly. “But emotionally…” He shrugged. “There will be a fair amount to digest.”

After a moment’s silence. “What have you got in mind to set me free?”

“Music and Ritual.” He stated simply. “Music to act as a guide; Ritual to dominate the conduit-nature of Draconic-Magic.” He smiled at her, feeling the fatigue in his face. “I will modify the music’s resonance to match yours, and lead it to a natural conclusion. It also serves as a direct physical link to the Spell; the ritual will focus my magic on breaking the layers of it. Which is at its heart rather simplistic.”

She stared at him for a full minute. “I trust you. Please begin.”

Bovi smiled at the compliment. He strolled to the fireplace and grabbed a few pieces of wood from a pile to the left.

As he returned to his seat, he didn’t sit down but rather grabbed the back of it and repeated his incantation from earlier.

  “From  one  to  Another  -  To  that  which  is  Just  Right.”

The chair folded out of sight, to be replaced by a small set of musical instruments; percussive, stringed and keyed.

He played the same beautiful melody on each one. As he abandoned one instrument for another, the preceding instrument repeated the melody, affording him grace in accompaniment. The room sang with incredible music; rhythmic yet calm.

He reached into a pouch strapped at his belt, and drew out seven Hope-Seed candles and three lush vine-segments. He held the latter close to his face and whispered into them, matching the rhythm of the music perfectly.

  “For  the  heart  that  yearns  –  For  the  heart  that  aches  –  Seek  the  soul  that  churns  –  And bind  your  fates.”

The resonance of the music shifted to match her frequency, and he watched contentedly as it lulled her to sleep.

He walked around her, placing the seven candles, taking a second with each one to line them up just right. He drew another small sphere of charcoal from a pocket, and whispered another incantation under his breath. A chalk outline of a seven pointed star appeared beneath her sleeping form, each point intersecting perfectly with one of the candles.

He quickly collected the items he needed and lit the candles; standing before the first one waiting for the music to repeat its melody.

  “May  the  Earth  provide  you  a  home.”

He sang to the beat, sprinkling a pinch of silicate on the first flame, taking satisfaction in the bright sparks.

  “And  Water  guide  you  on  your  path,”

He lit a small bushel of dried cress on the second flame.

  “May  the  Wind  spur  you  as  you  roam.”

Fanning the flame with a small wind-cannon.

  “And Fire welcome you to  your  hearth.”

A single red feather danced in its flame.

  “May  Light  and  Dark  serve  you  in kind - and  Life  be  fair  and  true.”

He dropped three small pinches of Dracoresin on each of the remaining flames in turn.

   “May  the Dark  and  Light  intertwine - and  Life  be  Life  to  you.”

Three more pinches of Dracoresin.

The music flowed as candle light danced over light plumes of scented smoke, permeating the room with the characteristic sweetness of Hope-Seed and Dracoresin combined.

He knelt before her, and reached for the Imprinted bond first. He found the alleles responsible for their existence and reminded them they served their purpose in infancy. He felt the bond mature, and then fade. She sighed audibly.

He found the Spell, focusing on it. Sitting; waiting; vibrating alongside the music; all the while continuing to repeat those same ritualistic words, not missing a beat.

He placed his right hand on his heart, and reached up with his left to grasp a clump of hair. He exhaled, emptying his lungs; the melody adjusted slightly. He was pleased to see the Spell and resonance following suit.

He was admittedly less pleased with his hair disappearing from his scalp.

With each subtle adjustment, he tweaked the Spell into submission. Whereas previously the resonance seemed to extend over Blackwater like a blanket, Bovi was folding it into a smaller and less significant thing; gradually lessening the gravity of its influence.

Now completely bald, Bovi kept on adjusting the music, chanting his poem through exhales.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, there appeared to be almost nothing left. He amplified the music, but stopped chanting. He let the melody continue for a full minute, got up and took control of the stringed instrument, playing the most complex, winding melody he dared. The other instruments followed suit.

It felt incredible, resonating at her frequency, but it was no longer required. The fire behind him flared brightly as he brought her resonance back in line with the rest of… Everything.

With that, the Link was severed.

For Blackwater, it was a sense of both profound loss and relief. He played a few more verses in the hopes it would sooth her, then drew the music to a natural conclusion; finishing not only his spell, but Dez’Hilya ’s, forever.

Bovi and Blackwater sat still in the semi dark and quiet of the room, the fire reduced to coals.

“Are you alright?” he asked in a whisper.

“I am.” She didn’t sound too sure. “I will be.”

She got up slowly and wondered over to the three sleeping kittens, and collapsed into a protective heap around them.

Bovi felt her drift off into a deep and oblivious sleep in the fading periphery of his awareness, clearly exhausted.

As he drifted off to sleep himself, still sitting where he had been, he considered that there would be consequences for his actions. But that was very much future Bovi’s problem.