1 Soul Bound
1.2 Taking Control
1.2.2 An Awakening Epiphany
1.2.2.6 How to tame a dragon
They spoke to Faispeu who was refreshingly practical and offered to show them the petting area created to educate children and give them an introductory lesson. Back outside they saw Bungo being greeted by Lady Di and waved him over. They met up by the third hex of the Zer path and, after some hugs, entered together. This version of Torello had the Isle of Libri lightly covered in trees that were arranged into shady avenues. A kiosk nearby offered maps and pamphlets. Attached to trees were plenty of signs pointing towards various attractions, with coloured icons indicating specific named routes aimed at different age groups and interests.
Bungo looked about with interest: “What’s in the other hexes? Did I miss much?”
Alderney: “Not much. Just the secrets to life, the universe and everything.”
Faispeu laughed: “Is he still peddling that junk? What’s the point of an answer nobody can use?” A beat later she switched to a more serious tone of voice. “Still, no matter how he arrives at them, some of the results he produces are amazing.”
Kafana: “He trained and raised Verdre?”
Faispeu: “Oh heavens no. Johannes ‘designed’ him. I was the one who had to do all the feeding, praising and raising.”
Kafana: “You did an amazing job. I should confess, I accidently gave Verdre a buff that temporarily enhanced his reasoning and learning abilities. I hope that didn’t mess everything up?”
Faispeu: “You did? That’s wonderful, thank you! I was heartily sick of that obstacle course. The poor dear kept bruising his nose trying to press the damn button.”
Alderney: “So, in easy to understand words, how exactly does one go about taming a creature, if you have one standing in front of you?”
Faispeu: “Ideally you start long before that point. You learn everything you can about the species. You observe the individual from a distance. You pick your time and location of approach carefully, and set things up in advance so you have a way to retreat without killing the creature (or dying yourself, for that matter) if your first attempt doesn’t work.”
Kafana: “Does failure often happen?”
Faispeu: “Oh yes. Taming uses the elements of Krev and Zer. Krev’s one of the weakest attunements in Covob, so most mages can’t do taming at all, and those who can tend to use all the bonuses from region, geography, items and month they can get. Even then, the creature may turn out to be higher level than you thought. There are old tamers, and bold tamers, but there are very few tamers who are both old and bold. The best region for taming is the Iberian Palatinate, especially the dry parts away from the coast. The best month is KrevinZerember which finished 4 weeks ago.”
Bungo: “That reminds me. I brought over the items everyone marked down for their personal use. Captain Lelio sent a squad to escort me here. Here are yours, Alderney.”
He handed her Wibano’s massive hammer, Kullervo’s torn robes, a large woollen scarf and an egg. Alderney put the hammer and robes away, then wrapped the egg in the scarf and held it out to Faispeu. The egg appeared to be made of a dark gemstone-like material flecked with colour, that reminded Kafana of black opal. It was three times the size of a large chicken egg. She held it out to Faispeu to inspect.
Alderney: “What do you make of this?”
Faispeu: “It appears to be named Kalos' Egg. I’d suggest you do some research to find out who or what Kalos was, and what the ideal incubation conditions are. There should be some relevant books over at the Mage Tower.”
Alderney: “Will do! So supposing it hatches, and I’ve done my research and preparation, and a newborn whatsit is standing in front of me. What do I do?” She turned the scarf into a sling, used strong pins to trap the egg inside, and slung it over her neck.
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Kafana: {Is that all you wanted?}
Alderney: {None of the weapons or armour were my size. At least I can drop this hammer on someone, and maybe Wellington will work out a way to turn it into an awesome hammer of forging. It has variable weight.}
Faispeu: “There are three stages: Preparing a link, Enacting a link and Using a link.”
The tamer spoke slowly, with a halting precision that made Kafana suspect the stages had first been written down in a different language, perhaps by the mages who’d created the Zoo. She’d seen other examples of decade-long debates caused by scholars publishing competing translations, long after a language ceased to have any native speakers. Among ruined towers of reputation, academic assassins hunted for bodies of work left isolated, leaving a trail of ink splatters to mark their passing until only a single phrase survived to be acclaimed. Its every word battle-hardened and blood-soaked, the phrase passed unchallenged down to the next generation along with a warning against meddling that tended to grow until altering the words or even questioning them became unthinkable. Tradition! Even academics weren’t immune to it.
Faispeu: “To prepare a link you must set up a permanent resonance between the two of you. The easiest way to do this is generally to take blood from both parties, mix it together, then each take it back into yourselves.”
Kafana: “You drink their blood?”
Faispeu: “You can do. Or rub it on an open wound. Or exchange lockets of hair. Or sing together. There are many ways, depending on your skills and those of the creature.”
Faispeu: “Next, you need to draw up a contract, detailing what they’ll do for you and what you’ll do for them. The fairer the contract, and the better it is tailored to their needs, skills and personality, the greater your chances. The ideal method is to communicate with them mind to mind, if you have that ability.”
Faispeu: “And, finally to prepare the link, you need to win their agreement to abide by the contract. This might involve a trial of wits, a trial of combat, doing good deeds for them, or anything really. In one case it is recorded that someone managed to impress a faun by drinking him under the table. In general, the higher your willpower, the easier it is.”
Alderney: “Heart. Mind. Will.”
Faispeu: “Just so. Now to enact the link requires the taming skill. The higher level the creature, the greater the skill level required. Both you and the creature visualise the relationship and pour want into it. If your skill is high enough, and your visualisations align, you’ll end up with a summoning crystal and be able to finish the ritual by granting the creature a summoning name.”
Faispeu: “The resulting link allows you to share experience gains and possibly more, depending upon the contract and your skill. Linked creatures can be summoned and dismissed using spatial reality magic, which I understand that all adventurers can use to a limited extent. Creatures don’t continue to take a share of experience gains while dismissed, but they still count towards the maximum you can control, which is a function of your charisma and taming skill compared to the charisma and level of your creatures.”
Faispeu: “But there’s more to using the link than that. The link can be broken by either party, if they break the terms of the contract. Which for benedic tamers means you have to retain the creature’s respect. Respect them. Don’t mistake helpfulness and friendship for subservience. Don’t sacrifice them to save yourself. Go the extra mile, and deepen the relationship. In return, if you raise your reputation with tamed creatures as a group, you’ll raise your taming ability and find it easier to tame creatures.”
Kafana: “Nothing’s simple in this world, is it?”
Alderney: “If it were, everybody would be a master at everything, and how boring would that be?”
Bungo: “Is there any way to raise your reputation with summoned creatures as a group before you’ve tamed one yourself?”
Faispeu tipped her hat to Bungo: “As it happens, yes there is. Spend time with them. Feed them, groom them, help them. Learn about them and read their minds if you can. When you’ve mastered simple creatures, move onto more challenging ones. Do it right, and you can have creatures practically queueing up begging to be tamed by you, leaving you just to pick and choose which you want in your life.”
Alderney’s eyes lit up: “I get to pet the cute creatures, and I can count it as practice?”
Faispeu nodded, grinning: “You get to pet the cute creatures. Why do you think I became a tamer in the first place? The funny thing is, after you learn enough about them, practically all creatures start seeming cute.” she gave a wry smile, obviously remembering something, and shooed them away. “Go! Have fun! And don’t forget to read the books too.”
Alderney shot off, determined to pet as many creatures as possible before they had to leave.