Ch. 20-496 - Epilogue VIII: Meeting for the First Time Once Again (2/2)
He nodded with her. “It’s a lot of work, and more mentally taxing than most would like to admit, or put up with.” There was a faint hint of resignation as he looked over the other students laughing there, but it went away as he smiled at his own thoughts. “My father is a Harsite, and pretty strict with the work ethic stuff.”
“The Ivory usually are. It’s what makes them so reliable, and why everyone else puts up with them,” she winked at him, and he rolled his eyes knowingly.
“So, why did you want to see me, Miss Rantha?” he asked carefully, fully aware that he was talking with the eldest daughter of the Queen of India and China, who was literally one of the most feared and dangerous women in the world, especially to spellcasters... and beloved of the non-Powered, who idolized her almost as much as her husband Emperor Briggs, and who female Nulls definitely did.
“Call me Elrii. I’m looking for a bondmage, and you were recommended to me,” she said straight-up.
He blinked in shock. “I was? Uh, by whom?”
“Queen Morningwind,” she replied honestly.
“Her Majesty?” he exclaimed softly, eyes flicking away. “She, uh, didn’t mention this to me...”
Marks glowed around her waist, nine of them. He stared at them as she raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to ask her to Message you to verify it?” She knew he hadn’t Sworn Allegiance or taken a Mark yet, but there was no doubt what he would do when his schooling was done. Allegiance Oaths weren’t something children could swear, after all, nor could they even be Bannersworn properly.
“Yes, well, compatibility is everything in a Bondmage relationship.” She grinned at him at those words, and he flushed to his pointed ears as she did so. “Her recommendation is nice, but if we don’t gel, then it doesn’t matter at all. A Bondmage,” he added, pursing his lips in thought. “That’s a very big commitment.”
“Intimate, sexual, and consensual,” she agreed without blinking an eye, and smiled wider at how flustered he got. He had to close his eyes to regain his composure and take a deep breath.
“Leaving aside that level of... compatibility,” she grinned again at his words, eyes dancing, and he just stared for a moment at the display, “I’m... just not on your level at the moment, I fear, and I never may be. You Ranthas have a certain reputation...”
She waved the protest away absently. “First of all, a Null should be stronger than their Caster. Second, Levels come fast once you get into the field, and with a Bonded Null, you’ll be able to Cast above your weight.” He considered that, all the extra Valences he would have access to, and his eyes sparkled despite themselves. “Third, practical experience is by far the best teacher, as you and everyone else knows. The Karma gained from studies and civilian work is constant, but very, very slow in comparison. I can bring you out there to do some Good Work, and really get your feet wet.” She glanced tellingly at his ebon-tipped silver hair, more magical than but almost exactly the opposite of her own. “I am totally aware of what that hair symbolizes. The Church wants to pamper you and keep you nice and safe, and that’s totally not what Sylune wants for you.
“Silver Magic is not a gentle art. It is there to be used, to stand up against Dark Magic and Evil and light up the night. Or, in my case, light up the benighted.” She grinned widely again.
“You’re as nasty about going after the Church of Night as the Morningsuns,” he nodded thoughtfully, grimly. “Something personal?”
“The Silver Queen is at the heart of all the Hagchildren and overcoming the Hag Curse,” she replied easily. “I’m named after another Sylunar champion, and taking up that Banner from the shut-down-the-dark-magic side has worked out pretty well for me.” She let her smile slip for just a moment, and her eyes were cold, hard sapphires of doom. “And I’ve seen a lot of what that Church does, Collin Taylor. I’ll not be stopping that fight, because the Church certainly won’t.”
He thought about that, clearly excited at the idea, and a little awed by her stare. “I’m only a Four, working on my Theurgy,” he admitted to her. “Can I be of much help to you?”
She chuckled, and watched him flush again. “You’re the Caster, that’s your job to know. I have to say, I’ve never seen a decent Caster who couldn’t think up some way to be useful, and I’m perfectly willing to invest the time in a Bondmage who will stay with me until he can go wiping whole hordes of stuff so I don’t have to.”
His eyes flashed. “Casters kill armies, Forsaken kill individuals,” he quoted.
“Exactly. Killing hordes is damn tedious!” she sniffed aloofly. “Always wondering where the Casters with the big AoE’s are when a zillion cultists or demonlings or mutant beasts come piling out of the woodwork. Just give me a big daemon or something and I’ll have fun with that!”
He smiled again, then glanced down, and she knew what was coming next as his eyes narrowed. “So, mind if I ask you a more personal question?”
She thorked her Nothing To See Here. “This?” He nodded, only blushing a little. “Annis Hags are man-killers, and the Ranthas are an offshoot of them. Annis Hags don’t have anything to see there, either.” She tilted her head slightly. “However...” she purred, and watched him flinch, “there’s a Mastery associated with multiple Marks that gives a Marked person the ability to morph in a... limited fashion.” His lips pursed as she stretched out her very finely toned, still-slender arms, and swept back the luxurious mane of her very black, silver-tipped, eye-catching ass-length hair that was moving on its own, and even the harsh edges of the Cursemark along her neck and shoulders couldn’t disguise the fact that she was very, very, VERY attractive when she was focused on something.
Focused on him.
“But that’s something only our lovers get to see,” she went on, leaning forwards on the backs of her palms and staring at him with wide eyes and a very, very knowing smile...
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