The connection between a bond and their familiar is a two-way street that is extremely hard to manage as their emotions bleed into each other, and sometimes it becomes difficult for the bond to differentiate between their own emotions and those of their familiar. This ‘bleed’ only gets worse or better with time, depending on how you look at it, and is usually the main cause of the insanity of familiars.
Research study on the creation and bonding of familiars within the origin planes.
Associate Professor Arnold Ershing.
Sector 5, Ragnarok.
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Aodhán turned to see Imani rushing towards him, her textbooks clutched tightly in her arms. When she reached him, she gasped. “Teach me your technique, please."
Before he could respond, Daruk did. “We’re very sorry, Imani, but we cannot help you.”
Imani was taken aback, not expecting such a direct and cold refusal from them, and she stammered. “I taught you mine; before the tournament, I showed you my technique.”
Daruk glanced at Aodhán and sighed. “We understand, and as much as we appreciate you, our decision remains the same.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Imani shook her head frantically. “I am one of the weakest students in our year, and if I don’t step up, I will wash out, and I cannot afford to fail.”
“It’s the first week of resumption, Imani; you might want to dial the desperation back a little.” Someone shouted from behind her, and Aodhán glared at the person. It wasn’t someone he recognized; still, the boy flinched back and dove to hide behind a group of students exiting the hall.
“Let’s talk in a more private space.” Aodhán led them to an empty area at the far end of the hallway, and immediately they stopped, Imani asked. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything; I’ll take an oath of silence."
“Okay, calm down.” Aodhán interrupted with wide eyes. He knew Imani was scared of failure, but he hadn’t quite realized just how desperate she was to pass. “That idiot’s right, this is just the first week; hell, it’s only the third day. You have an entire year to climb up the forge list.”
“No, I need to climb now.” Imani shook her head in frustration. “I can't afford to wait till the midterms; I need to take action. My family—"
“Are the Blackwells?” Andrew finally spoke up and turned towards Aodhán. “Imani is a distant descendant of Erina Blackwell, the abyssal terror.”
Aodhán’s eyes widened as his thoughts came to a halt. No wonder she was so desperate for strength, going so far as to suggest an oath! Aodhán sighed as he tried to imagine the amount of pressure she was under.
The descendant of an ascendant failing the academy would create such a scandal in the noble circles that her family’s reputation was sure to take a serious hit.
Aodhán exchanged a look with Daruk and sighed. It was hard for him to refuse her, especially because she was the reason he’d been able to create the imbuement technique in the first place. It was also because of her help that he’d won the tournament and gained a unique bloodline. How could he turn her away now that she needed his help?
But Daruk was right; the imbuement technique might be powerful now, but it had the potential to become astounding. By the time he reached the 50th tier, he would be able to imbue each skill with over 30 strands of energized will. How devastating would his skills be then? He couldn’t afford to simply give out the technique to anyone; in fact, now that he thought of it, he realized just how powerful and dangerous the technique was.
As much as he wanted to help Imani, he couldn’t afford to take such a risk. What if the technique ended up in the hands of someone who sought to use it for evil?
It would be foolish of him to take such a risk; besides, as Master Gyatso once said, one is a secret, and three is not. Now that three people already knew, which was already a risk, he couldn’t afford to increase that number to four, so as much as it pained him, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Imani, but I cannot help you.”
He turned away from her immediately, and Daruk squeezed his shoulders lightly. “You did the right thing.”
Aodhán nodded, and they silently made their way to the cafeteria. Before they reached the round building, though, Andrew paused and turned to Aodhán. “I’ve just realized how risky it was for you to trust me with your technique, and for that, I swear an oath on my core never to share it with anyone.”
The oath took effect before any of them could stop or reject it, and there was a moment of awkward silence as it settled into place.
Aodhán and Daruk stared wide-eyed at Andrew. To take a core oath was not a simple thing, but Aodhán felt a weight lift his shoulders. A part of him had been scared of the consequences of sharing his technique with Daruk, but now he could rest easy, certain that the technique would never get out.
“Thank you, Andrew; that couldn’t have been easy.”
“It wasn’t,” Andrew replied sourly. “But it was necessary.”
They continued their walk to the cafeteria in a lighter mood, and after filling their bellies, they began discussing their classes and whatever problems they were currently having. It was only the third day of classes, but so much had already happened.
Aodhán pushed all thoughts of the Attilan continent and the principal out of his mind, choosing to focus on much lighter topics like how he was still keeping his identity secret from Daruk. Now that the principal knew, he saw little reason to keep it from him anymore.
If anyone should know, it should be Daruk. Besides, it would be nice to have someone to share his recent predicament with rather than go through whatever hell the principal had planned for him alone.
There was also the matter of the limit, and although he wished he could discuss it with Daruk, he was unfortunately unable to. Perhaps he could dissuade him from taking the oath when the ceremony finally came up, but Daruk was too
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
curious to keep himself from knowing. Not knowing the truth while everyone else did and couldn’t tell him would probably drive him insane.
On the other hand, not knowing was detrimental to his potential. Aodhán couldn't be by his side all the time, and without him, it was only a matter of time before Daruk absorbed a conceptual core and eventually hit a limit.
Aodhán sighed and shifted his mind to a less depressing issue that involved Varéc.
He hadn’t had the time to converse with the Fury, as he only actually let him out at night, but that wasn’t healthy and could build resentment between them. He needed to find a way to spend more time with Varéc, but he barely had enough for himself as it was.
After class each day, he spent his time either reading, meditating, or practicing runes (which was a recent addition to his already choked schedule). He also had to spend time honing his control and trying to create new skills, not to mention the fact that he had no idea what the principal had in store for him or how much of his soul her wicked plans would require.
He sighed as his shoulders suddenly grew heavy. There was so much to do, but so little time to accomplish it.
They finally left the cafeteria an hour later, and after parting ways with Daruk and Andrew, Aodhán wearily made his way to his house.
Today had been hectic and mentally draining, and right now he just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. He walked into the living room a moment later and found Meredith and Marcellus curled up on a couch, both almost entirely naked as they sucked on each other’s faces.
They looked up immediately after he walked in, and Meredith purred. “Oh, if it isn't, Mr. I created a new technique.”
Marcellus scoffed while Meredith’s gaze roved his body lustfully, but Aodhán was too weary for their shenanigans, so he turned his gaze to an empty couch at one corner of the room and sighed. “I don’t know what you both gain from this mindless game, but like I said earlier, do not involve me in it.”
The illusion shattered to reveal Marcellus and Meredith seated on the empty cushion, both completely decent and seated several feet apart. He had no idea what game Meredith was playing or what Marcellus’s motives were, and with all the problems he currently had, he couldn’t care less.
Marcellus looked completely confused, and Aodhán could practically hear the cogs in his mind turning as he tried to figure out how he’d seen through the illusion. Meredith sneered and stood up from the couch. “You’re just a commoner, yet, you seem to think you’re so much better than the rest of us; it’s no wonder Cyrus detests you.”
Aodhán ignored them, but just as he climbed the stairs, the door was pushed open, and Eren walked in, followed closely by Imani, who seemed to have been crying. After an awkward glance in his direction, she ran to her room, leaving Eren, whose expression was, as usual, a mask of neutrality and composure.
He nodded to Aodhán, though, and said. “You were impressive in class today.”
“Thank you?” Aodhán replied, more than a little surprised at the compliment. Perhaps he and Eren didn’t have to be enemies. He doubted they could be friends, though, but he wasn’t averse to being civil.
Without sparing the duo a glance, Eren walked towards Imani’s room, and because he was feeling a little petty, Aodhán said to Marcellus. “Now, look who’s cuddling up to nobles.”
Marcellus’s expression soured, but before he could come up with a suitable response, Aodhán had already made his way up the stairs.
Immediately he stepped into his room, though Varéc rushed out of his spirit and growled in annoyance.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Aodhán replied with a sigh. “I promise to do better.”
Unappeased, Varéc growled even more, and small arcs of electricity crackled around his fangs.
“Okay, calm down,” Aodhán replied with a placating gesture, but Varéc wasn’t having it, and he let out another growl that sounded almost like a whine. “I know furies are meant to soar through the skies—Varéc growled again, so he quickly corrected himself—stormclouds, I mean. You know what? I’ll ask Rahim for permission tomorrow."
Varéc reared his sinuous neck back and growled with an expression that screamed, “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
Aodhán raised his hands in frustration and grumbled. “Fine, I’ll do it now.”He moved towards the couch and sent a polite text to Rahim, asking for his permission to let Varéc soar into the skies tonight.
When he didn’t receive a reply after a few minutes, he turned to Varéc and glared. “There I tried; no reply yet.”
Varéc growled sadly, and he sighed. “I’ll ask him tomorrow, I promise, and then you can finally let loose.”
Varéc growled in acceptance and stretched until he occupied the whole bed, still his tail and wings dangled off the edge, scraping noisily against the wooden floor. In his bid to find a comfortable position, his tail knocked off the bedside lamp, along with a pile of textbooks, and Aodhán shook his head.
“This day just keeps getting better and better.” He muttered as he scooped up the textbooks and moved them to the couch, after which he made his way to the bathroom.
The water from the shower was warm and pleasant, so he ended up spending almost thirty minutes in the bathroom. A ping resounded in his mind the moment he stepped out of the bathroom, and he opened his notifications to find a message of approval from Rahim.
“Well, Rahim said yes.”
Varéc roared and sprang up from the bed in excitement, unintentionally shredding the bedsheets with his claws, but Aodhán wasn’t too bothered. Self-repair and all.
Varéc returned to his spirit a moment later, as there were no openings large enough for him to fly out of. Varéc’s anticipation and urgency bled into his emotions, and Aodhán soon found himself filled with energy and giddy excitement.
He grabbed the first pair of trousers he saw and didn’t even bother with a shirt before jumping out of the window. Varéc rushed out of his spirit as soon as the evening breeze touched his face, and Aodhán immediately grabbed onto him. It only took a few seconds for Aodhán to create a sort of rein and saddle that kept him firmly affixed to Varéc, and an instant later he smiled. "Okay, buddy, I’m ready.”
Varéc shot towards the clouds like a bullet, his large wings spread out and crackling with arcs of electricity.
A roar of excitement ripped out of Varéc, and in his excitement, Aodhán lost control of his voice, so when he shouted alongside Varéc, the sound that emerged was like a clap of thunder that only fueled Varéc’s excitement.
“Oops.” Aodhán chuckled as he brought his voice back under control, but any embarrassment he may have felt vanished the moment Varéc broke through the false clouds of dusk, and Aodhán experienced an overwhelming feeling of freedom as he turned to stare at the city spread out below him.
Euphoria washed through him as he took in the jumble of black, blue and silver that shone to his senses even from this height. The tower of Ardelia was the largest structure in the whole sector, and it blazed to his senses, bathing the entire sector in golden light.
Their emotions bled into each other, mixing and building until he felt drunk on elation. Varéc roared once more as he tore through the clouds, spinning and twisting in excitement.
Aodhán finally realized what he’d been missing, keeping Varéc cooped up within his spirit for the past few days, and decided to do better. They soared for hours, and it was only when he remembered that he had to wake up early the next day that he forced himself and Varéc to descend.
Varéc growled in contentment as he landed on the rooftop, and Aodhán chuckled. “We’ll do this again tomorrow.”
He slid from Varéc’s back, just as contented, and turned around to find Eren and Imani staring at him, partially hidden by shadows. They were seated close to each other on a bench—too close in his opinion, and Aodhán could almost imagine what he’d interrupted.
Varéc growled threateningly, but Aodhán shushed him gently, and a moment later, he returned to his spirit.
Imani looked flush with embarrassment, and even Eren’s usual mask of composure had crumpled. Their eyes took in the glowing cracks on his exposed skin, but now that Varéc’s tattoo obscured his transmigrant one, he had nothing to worry about.
Trying to make things a little less awkward for the two, he gestured to the sky, “Beautiful sky tonight, right?”
Eren seized the opportunity. “Yes, Imani needed to clear her head, so I decided to accompany her.”
Aodhán nodded as a small pang of regret hit him, but he dismissed the emotion and nodded. “I’ll leave you guys to it then.”
It wasn’t too surprising to know that his housemates were making out with each other; really, even the academy must have expected it, but it made him envious that he was now the only member of House 14 left unattached.
Not that he wanted to be attached at the moment, what with all the problems he was currently dealing with, but perhaps he could squeeze out time for that date with Lupin after all.
When he got to his room, he simply walked towards his bed and collapsed, too relaxed and happy to do anything else, and before long, sleep claimed him.