After his failed attempt to get the Kenman’s attention, Aldryn could not help but feel like a child. He stuck out his tongue at the older man, wishing for any kind of reaction. At the back of his mind, even the fox scolded the behaviour, but there was simply nothing that he could do about it.
'Ahhh... How annoying' the blonde thought as he left, 'Is that man truly alive?' he asked himself while glancing at the man in question.
"Why is it always so important for you to get his attention?" the fox sighed, being already used to his host's hobby of trying to speak with the Kenman whenever he was in the mines.
'I don't know' Aldryn admitted and clenched his fists while frowning, 'No... Rather I feel like I know but... I don't know?' he asked hesitantly.
"Doesn't make sense to me but whatever" the Thrae said calmly, despite carefully observing his host, not sure what it could do to help.
There was something about this man, something that made the blonde act like a small child standing in the presence of an adult. At first, the Thrae thought that it must have been the age, but quickly discarded the idea. Aldryn has been around adults, who often confused the apostle for a teenager and would treat him like one at first.
It must be his attitude, the fox could not help but think. The Kenam was dangerous, despite his lean form. There was no doubt in its mind that this man could greatly harm them both if he ever wished to. There were no muscles visible like on him, like in other warriors who trained every day and frankly, the Kenman looked thin, like a man plagued by a sickness. But even so, there was strength that stood there, just beneath his skin.
Aldryn then jumped off the rock and approached Klyran, noticing how fascinated his new friend was with the old warrior.
“I will go speak with Ylvis. There are a few thing I wish to discus with him”, he said, trying to appear easy-going, all the while feeling somewhat defeated at not being able to make the Kenman even give him a glance.
“You go ahead. I remember the way” Klyran nodded and then his eyes were drawn back to the other man.
Aldryn glanced at both of them and left with a shrug. Just before leaving the garden, he looked back. Just as expected, the Kenman looked calm and ignorant of everything that happened around him
"You..." the fox begun to ask finally making up its mind, "Do you have a thing for someone more powerful than you?"
"Wha...", the oracle exclaimed in shock, " Where did that came from?" he almost yelled out loud, all blood rushing to his face.
"Hm... So it's true?" the Thrae wondered surprised, "You know... If something... I don't discriminate" it tried to awkwardly say.
"No!!!" the blonde then truly yelled, his face so red that he wondered if he would faint.
"Well.... The Kenman is not bad looking" the fox then commented, trying to show his acceptance.
"The... Kenman.... What?" Aldryn then truly nearly fainted, "You think that I.... That he.... What?" he asked in a near-stupor.
"No?" it hummed again, "Oh well" it then shrugged.
The blonde was greatly disturbed by this conversation. He looked behind again and watched Klyran, too embarrassed to look at the Kenman. He then remembered his new friend’s unique skill. He wondered if he should make a gesture or approach him again.
"Don't be an idiot" the fox sighed, "Leave them alone."
"But I want to know his status" the blonde whined.
"So you can what?" the Thrae then mocked, "Droll over him some more?" it then begun to laugh, "Or could it be... Is our little Aldryn jealous?"
After those words Aldryn's already red face nearly exploded.
"I can't believe you" he shouted, startling the Monias around him, who then begun asking if he was all right.
After reassuring the small people, the blonde quickly stormed off, ignoring the fox that he shared a body with. He rushed through the whole city, trying to get to Ylvis as soon as possible, hoping that his company would make the Thrae fall silent, or at least help him ignore it.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Half-way through, once he realized that the annoying fox was silent Aldryn begun thinking again about the Kenman.
'My interest is purely scientific' he scoffed in his own mind.
"What are you thinking there?" the Thrae suddenly spoke up, starling him, "Dreaming about someone again?" it laughed then.
"No!!" the apostle shouted once more, "Stop it!" he said grabbing his head, "I'm just curious about the numbers! The Numbers" he exclaimed, accentuating the last part.
“Hmm... That skill truly is curious. That man has been rather mysterious. Can't deny that I myself would like to hear about it” the Thrae rumbled at the back of his mind.
While speaking again about the Kenman, the oracle could not help but think that he sometimes reminded him of Shyra. The way his eyes would calculate his every move, the way he remained calm even when another man would easily snap. Even his speech often reminded the blonde of the other apostle, as if he knew the answers to every problem that could come his way. But at the same time, they were so different.
"Don't be silly Aldryn" he could still clearly hear Shyra's voice, "Men are easily swayed. So it is our duty to remain partial", her sweet voice was welcoming, but at the same time, it made the blond shake in anger.
"I have seen your future" he still remembered her sly voice and smile when she told him this, "I have seen what will become of you" her voice was like poison whispering in his ears.
"The fire consumed you... and neither pain nor remorse could wake you from that slumber" her voice then became more violent, at least in his memory.
Her ominous prophecy haunted his dreams.
'Maybe this is why I am so interested in the Kenman' Aldryn then contemplated, 'His gift might help me.'
He walked with ease through the city, being able to navigate all its tunnels, to avoid most of the crowd. The few Monias he saw would hurriedly greet him and were on their way, while their children would surround the priest and ask for magic. Not being able to refuse the small eyes looking up at him, Aldryn would smile and breath into his palms, making butterflies appear between his hands and then let them fly around, being chased by said children. It was a simple trick, but it gave him enough time to get away.
The magic that Aldryn would use for the children looked simple, but was rather highly complicated. It was perhaps, the most complicated magic that he could do. As magic could not simply conjure things up from thin air, the priest learned long ago to simply take the light that surrounded him and mould it into the shape of small butterflies. Unfortunately, despite doing this trick for many years now, the oracle could not maintain it for long. Now, he also knew the reason why. With every flap of their wings, small fragments of the butterflies would fall, making it look like white dust fell from them, until nothing was left.
“I should find a way to increase my magic” the blonde said in his mind.
“I agree. We should look into it, maybe even visit the mages to ask them about it”, the fox then agreed.
Upon his arrival back to the home of the Oracle of Earth, Aldryn opened the door and was immediately greeted by a burst of hot air. He entered the house and went toward the forge, where he could feel Ylvis.
“I am nearly ready”, the priest of Earth called from the other room, not noticing the blonde's mood, “Have not used any of the tools in a while, so I had to remember where some of them were”, he explained while entering the living room.
Noticing his ignorance, the blonde quickly slapped a smile on his face. The two of them sat down on the wooden chairs that stood near a table and looked at each other.
“Think you can fix the sword?” the blonde asked, nodding his head toward Klyran’s sword, trying to distract his mind.
“Truthfully?” Ylvis asked, sounding somewhat annoyed, “No. I do not know what it is made out of. I tried to take a small fragment of it that was sticking into the cloth, but no matter how hot the fire was, I could not melt it. I also tried to fix it with steel and iron, even some more exquisite ingredients, but it all felt as if I was trying to fix a stone house with dirt”, the said with a sigh.
At those words, Aldryn frowned, unable to believe that he could not fix the weapon.
“Must be a material from his own world”, he said with a frown.
“Well whatever it is annoyed me”, Ylvis said and then looked at the blonde, “I will go fix the amulet of the fox” he said and crossed his arms with a frown, “Otherwise I feel as if I have simply lost my touch.”
After examining the damaged necklace under its owners watchful eyes, the priest of Earth left the main room and went into the small smithy that was located in his house. Being left free to explore while the other man worked, Aldryn started looking around, noticing all the new items that appeared in his absence. At first, he quickly noticed the small clock, if he remembered the name correctly, standing upon the mantel. He looked at it for a bit, but quickly grew bored of the arrows that slowly moved in a circle. After looking at a few more trinkets that were scattered here and there, Ylvis came out of the smithy looking smug.
“Your big brother still got it” he said, throwing an item at Aldryn.
“Not like I ever doubted you”, the blonde said with a smile.
He inspected the work and quickly noticed that it was not a necklace, but rather an earring. It was in the shape of a fox, but it was not curled around a gem like it used to. The small fox seemed to be stretching around something, which Alryn quickly guessed would be his ear if he were to wear it.
“It is just a small draft”, Ylvis quickly said, “I know that the stone is the source of the spell.”
As he said those words, the older man pointed with a finger at the lines that ran along the fox’s body.
“I am thinking of using the gem and fill those lines with it. From what you told me and I saw while you were possessed by the fox, it has red lines running around its body and face” the older man explained.
Then, Aldryn touched his ear, already imagining it curling around it.
“I love it” he said with a grin and took the ornament setting it against his ear, “How does it look?” he asked tucking his hair behind the ear to make it visible.
“Like it was always meant to be there” Ylvis said with a nod, “I thought an earring would be more safe than a necklace. I will also add two latches behind the paws to make it more secure. One in the arms and one in the legs.”
“How will the spell be supported while we move the stone though?”, the blonde then wondered, thinking about what harm it might cause to the Thrae that shared his mind.
“I have a theory” Ylvis said and gestured to the smithy, going in there afterwards being followed by Aldryn.
“When the Thrae takes over your body, I believe that its essence leaves the stone and you body becomes its sole host. But you were not made for such strength that the Fox has, so it can only possess you for a bit and then has to return back into the stone” the priest of Earth explained.
“It does makes sense”, the Thrae commented and the blonde then relied the message.
“But its only a theory and there is no guarantee that it will work, not to mention that we don’t have a backup plan”, while the words seemed true, the fact that Ylvis already begun working on the earring made him seem very confident in his idea.
“What do you say?” Aldryn asked the fox, hesitating.
“It’s risky” the Thrae sighed.
“We both think its dangerous”, the blonde then said.
“I thought about it” Ylvis then spoke nonchalantly, “Which is why we are not going to destroy the stone just to fill the earring. Rather, there is an old spell used by smiths to change the shape of any stone to fit a jewel.”
The oracle of Earth then pointed at the hollow that was inside the earring.
“I will need the fox to possess you so some of its protective magic will leave it and, at the same time, it must not resist the spell that I will try.”
Finally understanding what he was trying to say, Aldryn had a quick chat with the Thrae and they both agreed that it sounded safe enough. With a nod, the fox took over its blonde host, the hair changing to white and red markings appearing all over his body. Meanwhile, Ylvis quickly took the red stone out of the necklace and placed it on top of the earring. With a glance at the younger apostle, the priest of Earth started to chant in the old language causing the gem to glow. It seemed that the spell made it slide down inside the earring and then spread to take over any available space.
Meanwhile, the Thrae tried to resist the temptation to fight against the spell that it felt on its stone. It tried to ignore the feeling and even weakened the old protective magic for a bit, to allow the oracle to work his magic. While the time seemed to stretch for them, it took only a few minutes for the process to finish.