“No, it didn’t need to be fed like a flame”, the Mortalborn replied. “It would store light during daytime and glow in the dark. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to bring all of my previous experiments with me from Andaris. It would be easy to build a new lamp with the resources that the Academy has so generously decided to provide me with though”, he spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he didn’t have anything to hide. In truth, he had just as many secrets as Jon, perhaps even more, and even darker secrets. While Jon appeared to be involved with Aberration on a very personal level, he had tried to kill a god. It hadn’t been a simple matter of him not being able to pack everything – when he had gone to Oscillus he hadn’t known if he would succeed – or survive. He had left everything and everybody that he had cared about behind.
“That”, he decided as Jon expanded on his idea further, and a smile flickered across his face, for no more than a trill. “Definitely has potential. For it to be used in such a manner, the process would have to be stream-lined though. I spoke of using an accelerant in order to speed up the reaction and fuel it. Ordinarily, I would use some type of oil, but the reaction already uses water which does not mix well with oil. When I briefly worked in Etzos, I experimented with certain mushrooms that turned out to be a near-perfect accelerant”, he revealed. Jon really was a lot like Sintih, he decided, and for a moment he wondered what would happen if he involved the mortal in his research, despite his penchant for Aberration.
The conversation shifted back to Aberrants though, and the son of Ziell found himself nodding. Jon was naïve, but not as much as he had feared at first. “Are you a master mage then?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. The tone of his voice remained cool. The fact that he might not be facing a mere novice, but a master mage didn’t worry him in the least. In Etzos, where he had briefly fled to after his attack on the Immortal of Hope, he had begun to research ways to neutralize magic and uncast spells. In fact, he had already made such an item once, for Noth, the one-winged Avriel, and he had once worked side by side with a mage of even greater skill, a Rupturer by the name of Alistair Venora.
“You seemed to be quite eager to talk about Aberrants before”, he remarked as the mortal suddenly changed his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder why he had done so. Had he felt something – something more than a touch that had been out of place? Was he aware that he had read his memories and been inside his mind? Did he practice another magic, besides Transmutation and Aberration? From his experiments with Empath blood back in Etzos he knew that Empaths had strange mind-reading abilities and could influence people’s emotions. Was he an Empath as well then?
“I would not have been averse to discussing that topic with you”, he continued, truthfully. “But if you wish, let us compare transmuted and natural reagents instead. I don’t assume that you have any with you – or would be willing to give me a demonstration of your skills?” he asked and leaned slightly back in his chair. The hand that had touched Jon’s just a moment before rested in his lap now, and he seemed to be perfectly at ease once more. Syroa, the Immortal that had marked him and made him hers, had changed him, in more than one way. She had not only made him stronger, she had also given him the ability to control his emotions, although they usually began to haunt him in his dreams. That was a price that he was willing to pay though.
“That”, he decided as Jon expanded on his idea further, and a smile flickered across his face, for no more than a trill. “Definitely has potential. For it to be used in such a manner, the process would have to be stream-lined though. I spoke of using an accelerant in order to speed up the reaction and fuel it. Ordinarily, I would use some type of oil, but the reaction already uses water which does not mix well with oil. When I briefly worked in Etzos, I experimented with certain mushrooms that turned out to be a near-perfect accelerant”, he revealed. Jon really was a lot like Sintih, he decided, and for a moment he wondered what would happen if he involved the mortal in his research, despite his penchant for Aberration.
The conversation shifted back to Aberrants though, and the son of Ziell found himself nodding. Jon was naïve, but not as much as he had feared at first. “Are you a master mage then?” he asked and raised an eyebrow. The tone of his voice remained cool. The fact that he might not be facing a mere novice, but a master mage didn’t worry him in the least. In Etzos, where he had briefly fled to after his attack on the Immortal of Hope, he had begun to research ways to neutralize magic and uncast spells. In fact, he had already made such an item once, for Noth, the one-winged Avriel, and he had once worked side by side with a mage of even greater skill, a Rupturer by the name of Alistair Venora.
“You seemed to be quite eager to talk about Aberrants before”, he remarked as the mortal suddenly changed his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder why he had done so. Had he felt something – something more than a touch that had been out of place? Was he aware that he had read his memories and been inside his mind? Did he practice another magic, besides Transmutation and Aberration? From his experiments with Empath blood back in Etzos he knew that Empaths had strange mind-reading abilities and could influence people’s emotions. Was he an Empath as well then?
“I would not have been averse to discussing that topic with you”, he continued, truthfully. “But if you wish, let us compare transmuted and natural reagents instead. I don’t assume that you have any with you – or would be willing to give me a demonstration of your skills?” he asked and leaned slightly back in his chair. The hand that had touched Jon’s just a moment before rested in his lap now, and he seemed to be perfectly at ease once more. Syroa, the Immortal that had marked him and made him hers, had changed him, in more than one way. She had not only made him stronger, she had also given him the ability to control his emotions, although they usually began to haunt him in his dreams. That was a price that he was willing to pay though.
