Aster did not know what to think. Anna had assured her several times that Kav-deb would not harm her and had even called him a gentleman. But facing this creature was something else entirely.
To put it simply, Aster is afraid. Really scared. But she also knows that so far Anna has never put her in danger and has been more than protective of her. So if this creature was dangerous Anna would not have brought her here. But Aster hasn't known Anna long enough to really trust her completely. So, her perfectly logical reaction to Kav-deb's friendly introductions was to hide behind Anna and observe the strange, disturbing thing standing before her for some time. Then after gathering her courage and shyly poking her head out from behind Anna's long blue dress she sayed, "Hello Mr. Kav-deb, m m m, my na ... My name is Aster."
Kav-deb tilted his head slightly to the side, questioning, and turned to Anna. Anna stroked Aster's head to reassure her before addressing Him"
"Don't worry, I think you're just scaring her. You shouldn't be surprised considering your looks."
Kav-deb turned back to Aster and leaned slightly towards her. "Little one. I'm sorry if i scared you. It has been a very long time since I have spoken to a child." after a nod from Aster, He straightened up and began to walk towards a large door of a strange grey wood at the back of the room. "Let's go to the living room, it's not polite to keep guests on my doorstep for this long. Would you like some tea? I have finally received my order of tea leaves from Kudra Leng-Sui."
Anna smiled. "It's a pleasure, Kav-deb. It's been a long time since you've had some." With that the creature, 'the man?' walked towards the door, beckoning them to follow him.
Anna took Aster's hand in hers and followed Kav-deb's lead. After a flight of stone steps they arrived at the ground floor, in a wide corridor lit by small orbs of light floating and drifting gently under the stone vaults. After a few meters Kav-deb opened a large wooden double door and entered the room. Behind him Anna and Aster followed. As she entered, Aster stood gaping, wide-eyed as the room unfolded before her eyes.
As Aster moved into the room Kav-deb and Anna stayed behind her, leaving her to explore the new environment without pressure.
Aster couldn't believe her eyes, the room was about twice the size of Anna's living room and was lit with golden light from high gothic windows adorned with whimsical arabesques. But what really impressed her was the fact that the walls, covered with books and bookcases, reached up to far higher than she thought possible. Aster was forced to cran her neck to try to catch a glimpse of the ceiling, but when she did nothing could prepare her for what she saw. The walls did not end but seemed to grow infinitely, splitting and fracturing into iridescent fractals. The further she looked the more chaotic the vision became, the disjointed walls separating and bending into impossible angles as the supposed infinity of books neatly arranged on the lower floors became a chaos of pages and books, dancing and twirling in clouds of blue mists creeping far, far above her. After several minutes of contemplation below this bewildering sight, Aster chose to look away and inspect the rest of the room. At first glance what was on the floor was surprisingly normal. In the center of the room stood a large oak table, with stands adorned by a floral design in an old-fashioned look, and on it a set of porcelain cups and teapots filled with steaming tea and a tray filled with small, strangely coloured cakes. At last Aster, curious to know where on earth this impossible place could be, walked towards one of the high gothic windows.
Once again it took Aster more than a few seconds to understand what was in front of her. On the other side of the glass was a sea of clouds with green and pink reflections, and above, in the middle of a deep blue sky, three small suns were drifting peacefully around each other in a slow erratic dance. In front of this astonishing vision, only one thought crossed Aster's mind in addition to the beauty of the spectacle. Kav-deb does indeed live far, far away, from Anna's house..., a small amused smile spread across her face as she gradually realised that Anna had told her the understatement of the century before they left.
Aster turned her eye to where the ground should be. Were they on top of a mountain to be treated to such a spectacle? A shiver of fear ran down her spine. There was no ground under the window, just more clouds, and in the gaps between them she could see a sea, far, far below them, many miles away. A green and agitated sea with violent winds but whose biggest waves, surely immense seen from the surface, seemed to be tiny insignificant eddies seen from such a height. Suddenly dizzy, Aster took a few steps back. It was then that she became aware of the presence of Kav-deb and Anna who had approached her while she was not paying attention to them.
Turning to Kav-deb Aster said, "Sir, we're flying!
Kav-deb turned toward her, the red orb in his skull glowing with small orange flashes that Aster could not interpret. After a moment spent studying her he said. "Indeed, I assume this is the first time you have seen this kind of thing. Yes, my home is flying, we are at this moment far above the Manea sea.
Aster swallowed. "Aren't we in danger of falling?"
A sardonic laugh shook Kav-deb for a moment. "Oh no, you don't have to worry about that. My home will be one of the last things in existence to fall, and I have good reason to believe it never will.
Anna sighed, "Kav, enough of your bragging. Aster had been exploring enough and we have things to do."
"Yes, yes of course. What are we waiting for..." Kav-deb took a high-backed chair behind the table, and Anna took Aster with her to another seat. She sat down and carefully lifted Aster onto her lap.
"So, my dear Anna, you decided to take in a stray kitten and offer it your hospitality and more from what I can see," said kav-deb, his thin, whitish, gaunt lips stretching into a strange sneer.
"Yes, the girl was lost in the edges, fortunately on the first level. She was badly injured and at the mercy of a group of stranded. I decided to save her by making her the first in my bloodline."
Kav-deb nodded. "Hmm, I see. You've done a good job so far. To find out what I can do about her eye and the rest of her olds wounds, I'll have to do some tests on her in the ritual chamber. But before that, tell me. What are your plans for your little bird of night ?"
At this Anna flinched, but quickly regained her composure and said. "I intend to make her my daughter. Even if I can't really go out in the open where I live, I intend to take this task seriously, Kav. My decision was not taken lightly.
"Very well, Anna, I see. But you know you're dealing with a little mage? And one with a lot of potential from what I can see. Will you really be able to handle this on your own? Seeing that your not a mage, how do you want to proceed?
"That's the second reason I contacted you about her. I would like you to take charge of her magical training."
Kav-deb took a sip of tea and remained silent for a moment, then stood up, walked around the table and knelt down next to Anna's seat to observe Aster. The glowing orb in his skull seemed for a moment to diminish in intensity before its light and flames grew ever brighter. A red glow enveloped Aster's body and she flinched at first, but the light, contrary to her fears, was anything but painful. It felt like a gentle warmth, reminding her of the fireplace in Anna's house.
He stood up slowly and thought for a moment, placing his strange hand under his chin, the orb in his skull seemingly engulfed in a storm, flames of gold, white, red, blue and green swirling around the orb as if swept up in a torrent of reflection and thought running through the creature's mind.
After a while he spoke up and said. "Anna, I accept your proposal and will educate Aster in magic. However, you must agree that she will become my official apprentice and that on those terms you will not be able to prevent me from teaching her whatever I wish. You see the child has potential in black and dark magic, as well as in white magic. It would be a shame to curtail her potential. Anna opened her mouth to protest but Kav-deb interrupted her, "I know what your opinions are regarding my practices, and I know what you think but no, she will not become like me, we do not share the same situation at all and the measures I had to take for myself will not be necessary for her."
Anna looked reassured at these words and nodded. "There is one more thing though. Aster, what do you think?"
Aster had so far remained silent, listening intently to the adults' conversation, but her words immediately took her out of her comfort zone. Never before had she been asked for her opinion on something so seemingly important. Intimidated by kav-deb she snuggled deeper into Anna's arms before saying, "But I already know how to do a lot of things! I just have to ask my demon and he gives me what I ask for. Often he do as he pleases, but when I ask he always come to my help.
Kav-deb sighed. "Aster, what I am about to say is very important. You must never, ever treat your magic as a conscious being again. Many have tried to do so, lured by the power it offers, but all have failed. At best, they die. At worst... You are too young and ignorant for me to explain the details but know that once your magic becomes fully conscious of itself it begin to really acts as a being in its own right. Yes your magic is acting for your benefit at the moment because it still needs you to exist but the second it is truly free it will give birth to a new being, and in the best case, and I mean it, you will be bestowed a quick death. So please stop thinking of your magic in this way and never consciously call upon your magic in this way again. It is still early enough for the thing to stop growing and for your magic to become fully yours. But for that to happen you must listen to me."
At these words Aster began to tremble slightly. She had always thought of her magic as demonic, she had told herself that it was because the Dursleys called her powers evil, but perhaps there was a deeper reason for that.
"Aster, I want you to swear to me that you will never think of your magic in that way again, okay?"
Aster, still frightened, stammered "I i s swear".
"Good."
After giving Aster a few seconds to integrate what he had just said, Kav-deb continued. "If only for your health you must learn to understand and control your magic. It is a force, a tool as much as a part of yourself, it is neither good nor bad. It is up to you to do what you want with it. And by teaching you I can give you the tools you need to do that.
Aster nodded, then thought about what the Dursleys kept telling her, every morsel of bread, every sip of water she'd had at their house, she'd earned with her sweat and blood. From what she could make out of the situation, Kav-deb's offer to her was generous. Very generous. Just by the number of books and all the magic she had seen in him, the man must know a lot of things. And for her, nothing was free. The Dursley's had been trying to beat this idea out of her for a long time. With Anna, her mind had been overwhelmed with new things to accept to really question it and then Anna had never phrased her help and affection as an offer but rather as a fact. As if her affection for her was a matter of course. But for Kav-deb? That was different. So the question naturally came to her lips. "What do you have to gain by offering me all this?
Kav-deb, tilted his head slightly as if surprised by the question. "Anna explained several things to me in her letters, by your injuries and how she found you. It is obvious that your life has not been easy so far, but know that my offer is unconditional and I expect nothing in return.
At Aster's suspicious look, Kav-deb added. "If there is one thing I ask, it is that you be as serious as possible during my lessons, that you follow my instructions to the letter and that you do your best.
Clearly satisfied with the answer, Aster nodded.
"Before anything else, you need to be treated, it's impossible for you to do anything really physical or magical in such a state. And then we have to do something about your eye. Follow me."
Anna stood up and placed Aster on the floor, took his hand in hers, and followed Kav-deb's lead as he headed out of the room. Anna took Aster's hand in hers and said. "You can trust Kav. He knows what he's doing. You're just going to have to be brave, okay?"
Aster nodded and clung to Anna's side, still intimidated by the new environment and the strange creature supposedly looking after her.
The small group left the room and followed a corridor lined with the same gothic windows that were present in the room, before taking a long winding stone staircase upwards. They passed many doors but continued upwards for a long time. After a while Aster tired and Anna had to lift her up and take her in her arms to continue the climb.
The time spent on the stairs up to Kav-deb's solar ritual chamber was long enough to give Anna time to think about what her friend had said to her and Aster.
Not having as much knowledge of magic as Kav-deb she had not directly noted the risks of Aster's magic becoming conscious. She had simply thought that her way of representing her powers had given her easier access to them but now...
Anna could congratulate herself for making contact with Kav-deb so early. From what he'd said, Aster was well on her way to developing a form of Obscurus or worse. The sooner she began her training in magic, the sooner the danger would be over. Especially if Kav-deb was going to make her practice mainly mage-craft and introduce her to black magic, as she suspected. The least the use of her magic would be based on her intentions, her imagination or her will the less risk Aster would have of harbouring an Obscurus.
Surprisingly, Aster had taken the news rather well and was well behaved with Kav-deb. Anna had more or less expected her to have a panic attack at the sight of her friend.
When they got home she would have to remember to reward Aster for her manner and seriousness. For the moment the only concern was how Kav-deb would deal with the problem of Aster's eye.
Anna had her own ideas about this, but if Anna was right then it would be a difficult ordeal for Aster to overcome. The little one was cuddled up in her arms and Anna couldn't help but smile, Aster was slowly beginning to trust her and it was warming her chest.
Aster didn't know what to think, Was her demon a real danger to her? Should she trust Kav-deb? Anna was one thing, but this person scared her a big deal. She could feel power emanating from him, as if when she looked at him she was facing a huge mountain towering over her. For as long as she could remember she had always been able to feel things like her demon, her magic. The very old tree in the park, the owls sometimes flying over the house. Mrs Figg's funny cats, the little lights dancing on the horizon at dusk. Anna's house had been filled with them, it vibrated with power. In her eyes the stone of her arm shone with power. The edges were full of it, everything there gave off this strange feeling of power. But so far, nothing had even come close to Kav-deb, to her senses the creature was like a sun, eclipsing all other traces of magic around her as he radiated. At its side Aster felt tiny. Less than a speck of dust and yet the thing had given her attention and offered to teach her how to wield her demon, her magic. Anna seemed to trust it, perhaps she should too?
After all, what would something like him could gain from a little girl as insignificant as her? In a strange way, this thought reassured her. Perhaps she should let it go for now. After all Anna was with her... Fear made her cling to Anna but the hope of getting an eye back and learning magic gave her courage. Yes, she was going to try to believe it. She would listen to the creature. What did she really have to lose. No one loved her, she had nothing except Anna, no one counted on her. And if Anna let Kav-deb hurt her, it would mean that Anna wasn't really on her side anyway. And in that case, she really had nothing. Nothing to lose, everything to gain. Her fingers loosened their grip and her gaze hardened. She was going to try.
After a far too long ascent from Aster's point of view they arrived in front of a small metal door. Kav-deb put his hand against it and a complex network of lines and inscriptions lit up, followed by a click. He pushed the door open and their little group emerged from the tower.
Aster looked around in fascination, they were on a large round stone platform big enough to hold Anna's entire house. Beyond the edges there was nothing but the vastness of the sky, a few clouds lost at heights where they should not be, and the three suns slowly continuing their lascivious dance across the firmament. In the center of the platform was a large black stone altar and around it, carved into the ground and inlaid with metal, several dozen concentric circles, fine intersecting lines and strange inscriptions ran through the stone.
Anna gently placed her on the ground and they stopped a few meters from the first circle. Kav- deb turned to Aster and said, "Come with me, I need you to lie down on the stone altar so I can conduct your medical examination."
Aster nodded, and walked over to the stone altar before lying down on it. Kav-deb, for his part, walked away from the circles before turning back to Aster. He stretched out his arms towards her, and then the orb of his skull began to glow with an intense light. Several of the arrays on the floor glowed and then faded away, some still lit and others seemingly working in concert. Aster felt things change inside her, her bones seemed to vibrate and her tissues soften, the pain in her joints greatly diminished. After more than an hour of this strange procedure Kav-deb took out of one of his pockets a fountain pen and a long roll of parchment and wrote a long list of things. Then he stepped into the circles and leaned towards Aster "Little one, come, we need to talk to Anna before we heal your eye."
Aster stood up, she felt as if she was wrapped in a cloud of cotton, as if for the first time in her life she realised what it was like not to be in pain. To have her limbs flexible and precise, that her multitude of scars studding her small body no longer itched and gave her a tense feeling.
A powerful wave of gratitude flowed through her, the feeling of fullness and well-being she had felt when she woke up the first time at Anna's was nothing compared to what she felt now. "Sir, thank you so much, really."
Kav-deb turned slightly towards her, slightly bowed his head, before continuing his walk and saying, "It's normal, no child should be subject to what you probably went through. I don't know who you were living with, but the monsters who did those things to you are far more deserving of the title than some of my acquaintances who claim it."
Anna was waiting for them, motionless with her arms crossed over her breast, just outside the circle. She crouched down to take Aster in her arms and lift her off the ground when the little one was within her reach. Frowning at Kav-deb, whose orb had taken on a greyish-green hue, she said, "So what's wrong with her and what can we do?
kav-deb sighed, "She suffers from severe chronic malnutrition, numerous badly healed fractures, nerve and muscle damage, and heavy joint damage. I was able to cure most of the problems, but she will have to stay on a severe potion regime for a long time. I've written you the details of the prescription on this, I also advise you to take her to her first blood ritual sooner than later" he said, handing the scroll of parchment to Anna.
"The most serious thing is her magic, she suffers from an Edaxis-Animae based on a protohorcrux. Someone attempted a separation ritual with her as the object of containment."
Anna gulped "A horcrux?"
"A Horcrux is a sub-category of phylactery. Where a phylactery merely maintains the bodily form of there user indefinitely, rendering themselves impervious to aging, a horcrux contains a fragment of the person's soul. The mage or wizard trying to make a horcrux uses the slight rift towards the edges and the suction generated by a death, the departure of another person's soul, to break his own soul and enclose a fragment in a phylactery. However, a soul dislocated in this way cannot cross the border and therefore remains locked on the main plane of existence. Therefore this makes the wizard literally indestructible until all his horcruxes are destroyed."
Anna nodded hesitantly, shocked to learn that someone could willingly do this to there soul. "So Aster is a horcrux?"
Kav-deb shook his head. "Worse, one normally never makes a horcrux from another living being, let alone a mage or wizard, and for good reason. The horcrux in Aster serves as an anchor of a part of his magic that is condensing into a new, fully-fledged parasitic soul. An Edaxis-Animae. I wondered how it was possible for such a thing to develop so quickly and so rapidly in such a young child, but with a horcrux as an anchor it doesn't surprise me."
Kav-deb gently placed one of his clawed hands on Aster's shoulder. "Tell me, Aster, does your magic sometimes do things on its own without you asking it to, does it seem to react strangely to what's around you?"
Aster nodded and said in a trembling voice. "Yes, it does strange things without me asking her, once I was watching a rabbit graze on grass in the park and without me knowing why, it died and hung by its neck in the air for a long time without me being able to do anything..."
"That's what I was afraid of, the Edaxis-Animae is developing a personality, and I can theorise that it's modelled on the horcrux as an example of what it might be. I'm sorry Anna, I promised I wouldn't involve Sonya in this, but if you want her to live there's no choice. She's the most qualified person in the soul magic subject I know of."
At these words Anna shuddered, but nodded reluctantly. She didn't want the abomination to put its broad and viciously clawded paws on her little Aster, but it's indisputable that no one knows more about soul magic and its manipulation than she does. "Are you sure she won't hurt her?"
He nodded. "Yes, but she might want to have a say in what happens to the girl and we can't deny her that. I know you don't trust her, but there's no one more knowledgeable about soul magic than her. You know what she is, she'll know what to do."
Anna shuddered again, Sonya was not a very well known entity but still one of the most terrifying she could think of. The fact that kav-deb had managed to befriend had her flabbergasted.
"However, I can kill three birds with one stone. I can heal Aster's eye and give her magic another anchor point to slow the birth of the Edaxis-Animae and introduce Aster to dark magic, right now."
Anna swallowed again and shivered. "You're not going to..."
A demonic grin stretched Kav-deb's lips. "Yes, let's go, trust me, you know I can handle it, she's safe with me as her guarantor and guide."
Anna sighed but nodded nevertheless. Kav-deb would have done it sooner or later anyway.
Meanwhile , Aster remained silent in Anna's arms. She hadn't really understood the ins and outs of what had been said, except that her little demon was growing and might eat her or something if left unsupervised, and that Anna and Kav-deb were thinking of a way to stop it, and that they were going to have to ask for help from someone who really, really scared Anna.
All this was really confusing for her, but the fact that for the first time in her life, adults around her seemed to be taking charge of things did something to her heart. A feeling of warmth and security that she had never known but always longed for. People were worrying about her and that was all that mattered. And if Anna was true to her word, and if she really did agree to become Aster's foster mother… Aster had noticed how Anna sometimes looked sad when Aster kept calling her by her first name even though she had told her several times that turning her into a vampire made her a blood daughter. Maybe this was all real and not just a fevered dream on her part. Since arriving at Anna's house a few days ago Aster had discovered many new feelings, joy, comfort, gratitude, now security. Kavdeb's husky voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Let's go downstairs to the office I need to explain a few things to you before I can treat your eye Aster."
At these words Kav-deb went towards the small iron door and disappeared down the stairs. Anna, still in shock, followed her friend. They went down a few steps until they arrived at a simple wooden door with an ornate bronze handle. Kav-deb opened it and entered. The room was modest in size. It was lit by a crackling fireplace and some of the same gothic windows that seemed to be a trademark of Kav-deb's home. The room was simply furnished, a small bookcase filled with books and a closet leaned against the wall opposite the windows. A blue carpet with a floral pattern covered a large part of the floor, and near the fireplace, four comfortable looking armchairs seemed to be waiting for someone to sit down. At the back of the room was a large black wooden desk covered with various papers, documents and writing materials. The atmosphere of the place was calm and welcoming and reminded Aster a little of Anna's home. Which was a rather strange fact from Aster's point of view given the appearance of their host. But then again, who was she to judge people by their appearance. The Dursley's gave the impression of an ordinary, loving family, but underneath their friendly exterior were monsters. Somehow that fact had taught her better than to blindly trust her first impression of a person.
Kav-deb strode across the room and settled into a large, high-backed chair behind the desk. "Anna, Aster, take a seat."
Aster took one of the chairs opposite the desk and Anna did the same.
"To begin with, tell me little one, what do you know about magic?"
Aster hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's a force that lives in me..." she glanced at Kav-deb before adding, "and I suppose in other people too, that allows you to do things that are normally impossible."
"So far you are right, but not quite, magic is not only in some people. It's everywhere, in every blade of grass, in every animal, in every insect, it nestles in the hollows of mountains and rivers, it's present in every living being. Just enough to allow them to live, but not enough to do anything more. Knowing that, can you tell me what really differentiates any normal plant or human animal from a creature with magic?"
Aster didn't really know, but she made a guess. "How much magic is in the creature or the plant?"
"Not quite, yes the amount of magic plays an important role but it is far from enough. It is necessary that this magic does not remain raw but is organised in a network. This leads to the second fundamental difference between a normal living being and a magical living being. Where normal living beings only have a small orb of magic that only keeps them alive, magical beings have a soul. The magic network of a magical creature is drawn from its body, this is true but if for example the brain is damaged, the soul does not change. To put it simply, mages and wizards do not go mad, at least never from non-magical causes. Whereas for a person without magic to have his brain damaged would mean at best a personality change at worst death.
Aster flinched, "Don't normal people have souls?
Kav-deb's gaunt lips stretched into a sardonic sneer, "No, they don't. Now tell me, Aster, what do you know about black magic and white magic?"
Aster shook her head, "Anna just told me you were a dark mage but didn't elaborate."
"I see… listen well little bird of the night, to do magic you need two things. Magic, and a way to give it a form, a role, a purpose. The distinction between black magic and white magic is fundamental in the sense that the difference between the two lies in the way the magic is acquired. White magic is when the magician or sorcerer is born with enough magic that it forms an array, a soul by itself and creates more magic from it. It is the fact that the sorcerer draws his magic from himself, from his own soul. Black magic is the fact that the sorcerer is not born with a soul but has acquired it, but an acquired soul cannot generate its own magic, it drains it from its environment, mainly from other living creatures or ley lines nearby. Black magic is so called because it is in its very nature to kill to gain power."
At these words Aster turned white as a sheet, a shiver of terror running down her spine.
"Oh don't look so worried, it's not that bad. Used sensibly, black magic doesn't necessarily destroy everything around it, It can, certainly do that, but you don't have to be afraid of me. Over the years I have stored up enough magic that I won't have to absorb any for at least the next three centuries.
Aster relaxed slightly, if Kav-deb was such a terrible being Anna would not have taken her to see him.
Anna put her hand on hers and frowned at her friend. "Do you really have to scare her like that? Look, Aster, what Kav-deb says is true, but black mages are rare and doing things like he describes, absorbing all life around you, is rarer as black mages need to bee extremely powerful to do these sort of things. Although black mages have no control over where the magic they absorb comes from, they do have control over how much magic is drained. So with Kav-deb you're safe. Right? He would never do that. At least not here and not with us around him."
Aster was conflicted, should she feel reassured or worried, yes Anna had said her friend was not dangerous to them, but is he not dangerous to others? Aster shrugged. The man could do whatever he liked as long as he didn't do anything to Anna or her. Everyone else had abandoned her, no one had ever reached out to help her. No one had ever stood up against the Dursleys. So why should she care what happened to the others as long as Kav-deb didn't attack her.
Seeing Aster's shrug, Kav-deb's smile turned purely carnivorous and the orb of his skull took on a blood-red hue and was drenched in scarlet flames. He gave off a pure aura of satisfaction and amusement.
Aster cleared her throat. "But, sir, what does what you're telling me have to do with curing my eye?"
"I'm coming to that, little one. Now tell me. From what I've told you, what are the different kinds of mages or wizards?"
She hesitated for a moment before saying. "There are white mages and black mages?
"You are missing a category, the grey mages, those who even though they were born with a soul, choose to practice black magic rituals to become more powerful. And the method I propose to heal your eye requires you to become a grey mage."
Aster nodded and clasped Anna's hand in hers, waiting anxiously for Kav-deb to explain what she should do.
"Access to black magic can only be gained in a very special way. A human wishing to become a black mage must make one or more pacts with various entities. The human must offer the entity a sacrifice, a part of his body, blood, some souls, an oath... The cost varies greatly depending on the entity and what exactly the human asks for. In all cases the human gains the ability to drain magic from their environment, but more often than not the entity adds a gift." at this word Kav-deb pointed to his entire body, "As you can see, I have passed many pacts, and I am honored to bear all of their gifts," Aster then felt a note of fanaticism in the man's voice. "What I'm getting at is that. I'm in a very peculiar situation. One of the entities I've already interacted with owes me a debt, and can I ask them to give you a new eye in exchange for considering their debt paid.
Aster looked to Anna for an answer. Is it really safe for her to make a pact with one of these entities in exchange for an eye? Anna smiled at her not without an int of worry in her eyes and said. "Don't worry Aster, Kav- deb is the greatest black mage I know, he knows what he's doing, don't be afraid."
The man stood up from behind the desk, "Little one, I have prepared the ritual. Are you ready to regain your sight and much more? Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you. You will just have to be respectful and only speak when I or the entity asks you something. Remember to show the utmost respect in their presence."
Aster nodded shyly and stood up, followed closely by Anna. She was getting tired, it had been a long day but the hope of getting her eye back gave her the strength to carry on. A flight of stairs up and the little group found themselves back on the wide platform where Kav-deb had healed the bulk of her wounds. The three suns were now low on the horizon, the sky draped in orange and red to accompany the three stars as they descended slowly from the firmament. The thick layer of clouds beneath the flying dwelling had dissipated, leaving Aster to see the vastness of the ocean as far as the eye could see, the tumultuous waters disturbed only by a few outcropping islands in the distance.
Their host walked to one side of the platform and pressed a slab which lit up with a bluish glow. Soon the shape of the altar on which Aster had been healed seemed to sink into the ground as the arrays carved into the floor came to life and like a thousand snakes crawled in all directions to form something completely different. This time instead of a strange network of intricate geometric shapes, the inscriptions had taken the form of a multitude of strange symbols, each one evoking something different for her but she couldn't explain clearly what she felt except a terrifying unease as a palpable tension and strange magic seemed to build up in the air.
"witchcraft is not a form of magic that I practice often or even find effective enough to be taken seriously, but it has its uses. Mage-craft isn't based on symbolism or willpower, to give form to magic, but these are necessary for the invocation we are about to conduct. Anna please step back until you are next to the door. Aster, come stand next to me."
Aster stepped forward and stood hesitantly at Kav-deb's side, with a heel strike on the ground Kav-deb raised a black basin from the stone which stopped growing once it reached Aster's waist. Kav-deb pulled a silver blade from inside his tunic and Aster flinched at the sight. He put his strange clawed hand on Aster's shoulder to reassure her and said, "You must let some of your blood flow into the basin and I must add some of mine for the ritual to work. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. Now please give me your hand."
Intimidated, Aster complied and held out a trembling hand to the man. He delicately grasped her wrist and placed Aster's hand over the altar. With a sharp movement the blade opened the palm of Aster's hand and she let out a small groan of pain as the hot liquid began to drop gently in the basin. Once enough blood had been sacrified, Kav-deb placed the side of the blade against Aster's hand, the intricate network of engraving covering the silver began to glow and a gentle warmth enveloped Aster's hand. An instant later all pain was gone and the skin on her hand was soft and new, with no trace of a cut. Kav-deb brought the blade to his mouth and licked the blood from it, the orb in his skull glowing furiously as a thin scarlet line ran across his white lips. Aster shuddered but said nothing, preferring to ignore the man. He sliced open his hand to, and a thick black liquid mixed with Aster's blood. The situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable for her.
No sooner had the two liquids mingled than all the runes on the platform lit up in a deep red. An additional tension was added to the air as it became charged with electricity and heavy as before a violent summer storm. Then Kav-deb began to chant.
"Qui somniat sed non fictit, is qui videt non videt. Bestiam oculis innumeris, extra margines voco te "
The air began to vibrate, bluish crackling lights appeared in the air, a thick grey mist began to flow over the platform, small electric arcs ran through the runes whose reddish light became dazzling. An unspeakable pressure grew in Aster. Something was coming, she could feel it.
"Exaudi vocationem meam. Vocem meam audi. Vos qui claustra destruxit. Vos qui vidistis mundos nasci et mori. Tempus est ex abysso venire. Natus ex sanguine, natus de terra, natus ex igne et ferro.
The smell of ozone filled the air and Aster was beginning to find it difficult to breathe, the wind had begun to pick up and swirl around the top of the tower where they stood, the thickening fog taking on esoteric shapes as each word Kav-deb spoke seemed to hold more and more power, each syllable tearing through the air, louder than the howl of the wind swirling in a powerful vortex around the platform
"Qui mihi debes animas. Qui mihi sanguinem debes. Egredere de umbris, transi extremam mundi partem. Te praesente me, coeli defensor, terrae sacrilegium. Descensio siderum, descensus caelestis abyssi. Age solve debitum tuum. Lagaelis Magnus, Exspectamus te.
Kav-deb's last words were shouted and became one with the storm, his voice more violent than the winds, stronger than the gusts, carrying his voice far beyond what could be conceived. The power accumulating in this place was becoming unbearable and intoxicating. Aster felt terrified but at the same time exhilarated. She could never have dreamed of being part of something so great, so powerful. Her fears, her anxieties, her dreams, her hopes, were all nothing compared to the power that flowed through her body. She was now part of something bigger, something far greater than herself. At Kav-deb's last word, all the fires of pure magic that had multiplied in the course of the ritual came together as one in the center of the platform. Without stopping, the wind became silent. For a second that seemed to last a century, Aster found herself in the deepest silence she had ever experienced, an absolute calm that was impossible in the heart of the cyclone called by their host.
Suddenly the silence was broken, a gigantic flash of lightning struck the center of the platform, followed instantly by a thunderclap so powerful that the shockwave knocked Aster and Kav-deb back several metres and slammed Anna against the wall beside which she was standing. The sound tore at Aster's ears and all she could hear was a long, high-pitched whistle.
After the minute it took to regain her senses Aster looked towards the center of the platform where the lightning had struck. In the middle of the mists stood a tall humanoid figure, taller than any person Aster had ever seen in his life, The creature stepped forward and slowly moved out of the mists to stop a few feet from them in front of Aster and Kav-deb. The thing was dressed in a long brown cloak with ragged ends covering its entire body. Its head was covered by a large hood, a rough rope collar with various smooth stones attached to it was tied around its neck. The part of it's form not hidden by the cloak showed thin arms with skin blacker than the darkest of nights. Finally it held in its left hand a long grey wooden stick at the end of which was hung a raven's skull, various small bones, stones and small strange metal objects.
Kav-deb stood straight, the most serious posture Aster had seen since meeting the man. He bowed deeply with respect and without thinking Aster imitated him. Surprisingly, the entity bowed in turn.
The silence stretched for a moment before kav-deb cleared his throat and said. "Lagaelis. Welcome, thank you for answering my call."
A few seconds after kav-deb had finished speaking, a voice from beyond the grave sounded, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "Kav-deb, my sweet, to what do I owe the honour of being invited here so politely," the voice took on a mocking tone. "And I think I'm pretty sure that this call to pay my debt has to do with the adorable little creature standing beside you. So don't waste my time and tell me all about it." The entity tilted its head curiously.
Now that the entity had come closer and Aster could more or less see under it's hood, but she chose to politely look away when all she saw was darkness and an uncountable number of ever-changing eyes, some lost in contemplation beyond her grasp, a number fixed on Kav-deb, but the vast majority of them fixed on her. As if he could see through her flesh, her mind and her soul. She felt naked before him, defenseless.
But the greatest discomfort came from the fact that unlike Kav-deb she could feel nothing coming from the entity but absolute nothingness. And yet if she felt small next to Kav-deb, next to the entity, Lagaelis, as her host and future master had named it, she felt like nothing, so insignificant as dust in the ocean. Yet her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to focus more strongly on the entity to understand how such a nothingness was possible. When she did so she gasped in horror, she was standing on the edge of an abyss and as she stared into the depths, it stared back at her.
She cowered in terror and took a step back, almost all of the thing's eyes now fixed on her. Never was she more grateful to kav-deb when he spoke and the vast majority of the entity's eyes turned in his direction again.
"It is indeed the case. This little one is named Aster and is my future apprentice. My friend found her lost in the first level of the edges badly injured and managed to save her life with a vampiric ascension ritual. However, as you can see, one of her eyes was destroyed beyond hope of recovery. I call upon you this day to honour your debt and offer your blessing to Aster here present by giving her a new eye and her first gift as a grey mage."
All the entity's eyes then focused on Aster, and a shiver ran down her spine. It knelt down in front of Aster and reached out with its free hand to grab her chin and observe her from all angles. Aster had never felt so naked, so vulnerable in her life, she felt as if she were an open book before the entity. The entity's voice rang out again, as if particularly amused by the situation. "Kav-deb, you are in luck, the adorable little creature your friend brought you is full of potential. Teach her well and she will do great things, terrible things, but great things nonetheless.
The entity brought its face within a few centimeters of Aster's. She could only watch, helpless, the infinite and scrutinizing void standing before her. "Now, my sweet, I will honour my debt to Kav-deb, prepare to receive your first gift and leave the prey to join the predators. Oh how delicious your fear is, but rest assured, I will not devour you, not here, not now. You can thank Kav-deb for taking such precautions. Now tell me, do you want to get strong, strong enough that no one can treat you the way you've been treated, strong enough to stand up to the worlds?"
Aster nodded, but when she realized that the entity was waiting for a voiced response she said. "Yes, I do."
One of the entity's hands came to rest on her head and gently stroked her hair while the other placed it's staff on the ground. It then plunged his hand into the hooded darkness up to it's elbow. A moment later his hand emerged holding between his fingers an eyeball with an unearthly green iris and an almost feline vertical pupil. It then pressed the eyeball into Aster's battered eye socket.
A violent burning sensation invaded her skull, as if her flesh was melting around the new eye and reforming itself, anew. With that, the entity stroked Aster's newly healed face with its thumb before standing up.
"Kav-deb, I have honored my debt, Aster, I look forward to seeing you again, but remember, our next meeting will come at a cost, be prepared to pay it and you will come back whole, otherwise…"
The entity's eyes crinkled as if watching something particularly enticing, its gaze remained on her for a moment before it turned around, took a few steps forward before disappearing in a gust of wind, leaving only the silence and the orange light of the dusk illuminating the platform behind it, all traces of its passage having disappeared with it.
Confused Aster turned to Kav-deb. The man was trembling slightly as he regained his composure. However one thing immediately surprised Aster, where she had only felt Kav-deb's magic before, now she could see it, the magic radiating out of her future master.
Kav-deb turned to her, "It's always something to bargain with entities, and again, I know Lagaelis well and have dealt with them many times."
Anna, who had been standing back until then, came forward, knelt down and took Aster in her arms, hugging her tightly. Aster, surprised, did not respond immediately, but quickly relented and put her arms around Anna's shoulders. "Aster, I'm proud of you, you were very brave." She stepped back a little and smiled at Aster, looking into her eyes. "Your new eye is beautiful." Aster didn't really know what to say and instead wiped a tear that had started to run down Anna's cheek with her thumb.
Anna lifted Aster off the ground, placing her in her arms once more, and turned to Kav-deb. "Kav, Thank you for your help today. I will contact you soon to start Aster's lessons when she is healthier. I'm not happy about it but I guess I have no choice but to accept that you contact Sonya to fix her Edaxis-Animae problem?"
A wide, toothy grin stretched Kav-deb's lips, "No, you don't have a choice if you want her to live. Oh don't worry, she's not that bad. I know her, she won't want to hurt her, just 'educate' her a little."
Aster's eyelids grew heavy and she leaned her head against Anna's chest.
Anna sighed. "The little one is exhausted, I'm going home. See you soon Kav, and thanks."
Kav-deb stood on the platform at the top of the highest tower in his domain watching Anna and his new apprentice disappear down the stairs. The next few years were going to be interesting, very interesting. If Lagaelis' words were right he would not regret taking the little bird of night under his wing, and given Anna's protective tendencies, having Sonya by his side to properly corrupt that little bit of innocence would not be too much. With a light step he walked towards the staircase, knowing Sonya, he would only have to wait a few months before having a new soul-eater among his close circle of acquaintances. Bless sweet Anna and her protective instincts.