Making Deals [Unedited] (Patreon)

I am old... older than you can possibly imagine. Older than the Kingdoms of Theria. Older than the Raven Knights and their Order. Older than the elderian creatures trapped beyond the forbidding. Older than even the Stone King Dumat himself. I am Scylla, first of my kind and eldest of the nine.

Long ago I was born to two eternians whose names have been forgotten to time. Creatures with a power to change their physical form so completely, that they made themselves over into true monsters. Their union created me, the first Tamanuus. One of the nine original lilin species. I was born with an unbelievable ability to manipulate the flow of mana and sustain levels of quintessence not even my progenitors could hope to match.

I raised myself, and through my time wandering the world of old I learned that I had several abilities unique to my progenity. I could compress the flow of mana in two points, unsealing the shackles of our reality and travel between them. I can read the essence of a person and know not his thoughts, but the intent he feels. I command the powers of magic and mana of the like many Archmages would covet; casting most spells without need for incantation or word invocation. They are more like a reflex for me, the simple spells. Though I’ll admit to still needing to invoke the more powerful ones.

The most interesting of my abilities lies in my tail. Most say it looks like a long scroll of parchment with a lantern attached. I cannot deny that, but that globe and it’s eerie light is no lantern. It is the secret to my incredible power. For you see, inside I can indefinitely house the quintessence of beings both great and mundane. A reserve of power that has so far proved limitless in its depth. As long as I can keep consuming the quintessence of others, I grow ever more powerful.

That’s not to say I’m a common lilin. Heavens no. I do not prey upon mundanes and suck their life force out like some proto-demon, always a step away from subversion. Nay, I am a cultured and refined creature. Both as elegant in my dealings as I am in my appearance. You see I also have the ability to grant some of the power I have amassed to others, and so instead of just taking what I want, I acquire it for a bargain.

Those who sign themselves away to me, etching their very essence onto my tail, can gain my favor, my help and my power. Like the Djinn of legend, I’ve spent the last few millenia granting ‘wishes’ to the mundane.

Now I can’t manifest miracles or anything. I’m certainly not that powerful, but you would be surprised at what I can do. I’ve won wars for generals. Granted Kingdom and crowns to the ambitious. A weapon out there even bears my name and a portion of my great power. A talisman against ‘evil’ granted to a great warrior who once wished to save lives. I’ve even granted a child to an enamored mundane who wanted nothing more than love. Sadly that one had more mundanity in her and was born without my abilities or likeness. Though she lived an amazing life and made me very proud. The point I’m trying to make is; that in order for me to gain a person's quintessence, they must willingly sign it over to me.

I know what your thinking and you’re right to be concerned. But trust me, I don’t take what is mine up front. Those who enter in to a covenant with me never have to worry about it. Their life force only comes to me when they die. Instead of returning to the flow of mana, it returns to me. Their name etched into my tail and their essence brightening the glow of the orb that lays on the end. With it I gain their memories, power and control over their echo. That’s right, I’m able to reconstitute their likeness as revenants to do my bidding. Now do you understand the depths of what I am? The scope of the power of a Tanamuus? Good, I’m glad someone does.

That’s as good as any preamble for my little tale. I’m certain you want to hear it. It is about another Tanamuus, my daughter, Parathena.

Parathena is the last and youngest of my children, born oh... three hundred years ago. Her father was an amazing individual. A man whom I met as a boy. He was given to me by his mother, an Archmage with far more power than any mundane ought to have. Though her spiritwell was deep, the boys was vast. She signed a covenant with me to watch over him and help him as he fulfilled his ‘destiny’. She didn’t know what that might be, but knew he’d be important. She was right and through the years I ended up being by his side during a number of foolish heroic events. Eventually I grew weak and attached to him.

I won’t get into any of the embarrassing details, but I ended up bearing the fool a child. One almost as foolish as he. Both nearly lost their lives playing savior to the furkin races during the Baptism of Fire. Sad too. When people sing songs of the heroes of that terrible cataclysm, they speak of Canton and Queen Alanzia de Lioncourt. You see statues of Ithica Aeon and Buck Valenrow, but history seems to have forgotten him. All that strife, all that sacrifice for what? You’d think it would be an abject lesson to my naive little girl... but it wasn’t.

I’d thought Parathena was lost to me after Salamus trapped all creatures of ascension in the Elderlands. She had not been a part of the purge and I thought maybe she had died. Imagine my surprise when those foolish Biencien twits managed to set her free from the crystal prison she’d been locked in for the past two-hundred years. Scared and afraid, she needed her mommy. So, when she reached out to me across the forbidding, I responded.

I shared with her secrets of how to use those damn witches for a ritual that would combine our powers through the flow. A smaller creature, a vampire or succubus may be able to get across the veil by creating a fractured scar in the flow. Of course, they’d need some fool to do the same at the exact point on the other side in the mundane lands. Something as powerful as I would need a much bigger fissure. Or... I could have my daughter, powered by a mana fault and five stupid little witches massively compress the flow at one point while I did the same at another. We unsealed a bit of the mortal coil and I stepped through the anomaly back into the mundane world.

The witches of course were enamored and impressed. They all took covenant with me for more power and lost knowledge. I was more than obliged to give it to them. I had been away for so long and though I had borrowed quintessence to burn, my own could not fill half my spirit well.

Since then, I’ve been trying to erase the years of damage done to my daughter by living among the mundanes. Unlike myself, she’d grown to be emotional and moral. Quick to anger, questioning need and necessities. She even had friends among the kinlings. Kin she wanted to spare and protect.

I’ve witness her so called covenants. She limits herself with ‘rules’ and morality. She would only grant the request of those she felt had just intent or those who were dying, if their request did not conflict with her integrity. She got involved in the lives of the kinlings. Even when there was no covenant to be had or contract to fulfill. She, ugh... cared. Don’t mistake my intentions. I care about a lot of things. Just not enough to do it without benefiting myself.

Parathena had been sealed by those she once protected. Some mages had gotten together, fearing her power and potential. I’ll admit, as the closest of my offspring to looking like me, she may have been mistaken for her mother. But still, she didn’t even fight back. A couple centuries behind crystal and magic left the girl raw and frightened, so I’ve been travelling the world with my baby, teaching her the proper way to live as a tamanuus and helping her raise her powers. That’s how she met him.

I’d sent off on her own to fulfill a contract of mine. A young adept had been expelled from the Librarium, a seal placed upon him preventing him from manipulating his own quintessence. They say the boy was rotten, definitely a candidate to break taboos and practice subversive magic. I’d found him looking for away to erase the seal and get revenge on those who outed him. I’ve taken that kind of deal before and thought it simple enough.

The boy, an unpleasant little rodent name Cochran; A frizzled, jumpy, little thing with brown fur, brown eyes and brown hair. Physically he was utterly unremarkable. His spirit well wasn’t anything to write home about either. But far be it for me to tell him no. My daughter may consider me amoral, but I am fair.

So the boy was granted power and knowledge. The usual boring request. I sent Parathena to make sure he got his revenge. Whatever form that may take. I figured he’d just kill them and be done with it, but the boy wanted to make them feel as he did. So he corned each one and with Parathena’s help, sealed their quintessence. You’d think that would be that, but common sense has never been all that common with these mundanes.

My contract was fulfilled when the last of the trio had been taken care of. Anything after that simply wasn’t of my concern. I’d made sure to tell Parathena that, but of course the girls head is filled with silly thoughts. So when the boy predictably got drunk off his own power and started draining quintessence in an effort to destroy the entire olcadan, she decided she would intervene.

Now here’s a lesson in magic and mana. Having power and having might are two different things. You can have all the swords in the world, but if you don’t know how to fight... well, you know. Parathena is particularly powerful and has more combat experience than most. However, my daughters misguided sense of honor means that she’s susceptible to being taken unawares by acts of despicable deception. I tried to warn her to be careful of such things, but she let her guard down and the kid sucker punched her with a wind spell.The poor girl went down like a rock and had her quintessence taken.

Luckily for her, it is nearly impossible to take the quintessence that is gathered from covenants. You’d have break the seal on the orbs of our tails, which would kill us without doubt and grant you power unimaginable. But as you can guess, that isn’t the easiest thing to accomplish. So, fortune smiled on my foolish child and her attacker only made off with a tiny morsel of what he could have had. Parathena would survive her foley.

Since she was going to live, I decided I’d best leave her to her mess. It was a valuable lesson for her to learn and if I’d stepped in, it wouldn’t mean as much. I knew where she was; and though I could no longer see from behind her eyes, I was fairly certain she’d be okay. If she didn’t return to me in a few days, then I’d worry.

See what I didn’t know, is that the Olcadan in Felden had had a visitor of some repute at that time. A Raven Knight named Adolyn Valenrow. I’d heard the name before. He was the descendent of Buck Valenrow, one of the Legendary Eleven; the heroes who are credited with ending the Baptism. I knew Buck in his time, but never met his descendant. The boy is pretty popular in the southern Kingdom though, one of their champions.

I do my best avoid people like him. Heroes and champions. People who might want to make a name for themselves by challenging me. I’m not afraid of any of them, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. Especially with those Raven Knights. Their Order may have been established after I had been sealed, but since my return to these lands I’ve studied up on them. I can tell you that taking them lightly is to court disaster.

Don’t misunderstand. Not all Raven Knights have deep impressive spirit wells or are prodigies of the martial disciplines. Most are, but that’s not what makes them dangerous. It is their arcane knowledge and unique magical talismans that allows them to rival some of the most powerful creatures of ascension that make them such a threat. No sane creature would take such a threat lightly.

Adolyn would be more dangerous still. He is rumored to be an Elioudan, a mundane descendant of the Eternians; like Parathena’s father. If the rumors were true about him, than I wanted to be cautious with him and his ilk.

Parathena tells me it his he who stopped the boy. She had awoken a day later and decided to foolishly put her life on the line to help. She felt responsible for Cochran’s actions. Weak as she was, I have no idea what she planned to do to stop him. He’d attacked the campus dorms, killing former classmates and students. Draining the helpless of their life energies. Seduced by the intoxicating high of taking the quintessence of others, the boy lost himself. He was, subverted. That would be the point where I’d have walked away, but not her.

His rampage and enthrallment of former fellows, who were taken in by promises of power, definitely got the Raven Knight’s attention. I didn’t know it at the time, but Parathena had almost exposed us all by standing up to those fools in front of the entire campus. It is sheer luck that none of those damn mages took notice of her. I imagine they were busy trying to save their own hides, rather than watch my daughter battle some demon kissed half wits. A tiny miracle to be sure.

To her credit, she had the wherewithal to guise herself in magic. So anyone observing her would see what she wanted them to see. A simple Librarium mage fighting for her school. It’s an easiest enough spell for those who know it. But my daughter was taking a huge risk by using it.

It’s always dangerous to draw only from the quintessence of our orbs, with none of our own power to guide it. We run the risk of ourselves being subverted by our ‘borrowed’ power. To focus on not only fighting, but keeping up a spell like that? It’s quite taxing; but my daughter is emotional girl. I wonder if she was more motivated by the idea of saving lives or the fury of revenge. She certainly couldn’t have been happy at being made a fool of by that dullard. Either way, she managed to get overpowered by their combined efforts. That’s when she says he appeared.

I’ll spare you the gushing she did about his strength and prowess. She fawned like a spring maiden. I don’t exaggerate either. The boy had certainly impressed her and that worried me. Not for my daughter, no. She’s a big girl and if she finds a male she wants to ‘play’ with, all the better. Bring home some for mommy I say. No. That wasn’t my worry. No you see, it takes a lot to impress ones such as us. We’ve held covenant with mages, warriors and creatures of power and ascension. It isn’t easy to impress our kind. So when daughter brought the damn boy to meet me, I was more than a bit on edge.

The girl was ambitious. I’ll give her that. She could feel his intentions and felt no danger from him. He had a vague idea of what she was. He could see through her veil of magic, focusing on her imprint in the flow. Like all those awoken to the flow, he was an esper. Quite a good one. So Parathena was bold enough to reveal herself fully to him.

She offered him a covenant. Saying she could help save those who hadn’t died and remove the seals on those the mad mage had tormented. He declined of course. The Primus Corvinus of the Raven Knights would not need her help to accomplish either of those tasks. Again to her credit, she was not discouraged. She offered her services, her power, herself to him. She gave him the pitch as sweetly as I would have. But again he declined.

I’ll admit to being surprised he didn’t turn his sword on her. We are lilin after all. To most we are the devil's in the night, preying on hapless mundanes who must be protected. To my daughters amusement, it wasn’t like that with him. He told her that his duty was to protect the realm from the supernatural and from magic gone amuck, not from peoples poor choices. Since we did not take what was not offered, he felt no obligation to oppose us. A nice bit of pragmatism from an otherwise irrational culture. I wonder if the others of his order would be so... logical. Still my daughter was not deterred. She had been smitten by him and seemed highly motivated to form a connection.

She asked what he knew about our species and where we came from. He knew very little and she offered to enlighten him. Even let him meet her mother. She did not mention that I was quite a great deal more powerful than she or that I was one of the illustrious children of the nine. No, she just wanted to lure him my way by any means necessary.

It was good plan. Entice him with the one thing she could offer him, the one thing he’d take; knowledge. She could certainly tax her depleted energies to try and teleport to me; but she played it very well. She would travel to me. This ploy would give her time to regain her own strength and reform her connection with me. I could see through her eyes again and instruct her on how to seduce this Adolyn and maybe get a contract out of him. He’d be a glorious taking, for sure... and if she could not have him; well then I could try my hand. I’ve got a little more experience than she. Though admittedly, I was never able to seduce a covenant out of his ancestor either.

On the way to me she got to know the man. I could see through her eyes about two days into her travels. She was taking a surreptitious route. Through our connection I could see her speak and laugh with him. He was genuinely charming and very interested in my daughters stories. She had first had knowledge of the Baptism and had fought alongside his forefather. Oddly enough, when recounting tales he’d been told of the conflict, he mentioned Parathena’s father.

Apparently my foolish love had been Dalish like Adolyn, which I had guessed a long time ago. What I had not known, was that he’d used the powers I granted him to support the Dales in their defense of the Borderlands. He was particularly well known as a folk hero to them. I’ll admit I was a bit jealous. I and Parathena had both supported the man in his fool endeavours. No mention of us at all. Still, it was nice to hear he had not lived in vein. He was remembered.

Had I not been preoccupied by sentimentality, I’d have noticed the changes in the dynamic between my daughter and he. She was now the one entranced in his stories. She was now being lead, when she was supposed to lead the way. In their time together she’d forgotten just why she had brought him and didn’t find any leverage to offer a contract. It was shameful really. When they finally arrived I could feel how giddy she was. Her intentions for him were so plain you didn’t need to be a tanamuus to feel them. Is it any wonder I stepped in to try to close the deal?

Seducing a man isn’t hard. Especially for me. You offer him something no one else can offer him and he either takes it, or regrets not taking it for the rest of his life. I am aware that I have a certain appeal. I don’t need to excrete pheromones or subtitly hypnotize anyone like some thirsty succubus. I’ve got life times of experience knowing what entices a male. If my feminine wiles and years of successful seduction failed me, I did have an ace in the hole; Parathena. What man would pass the chance to have us both?

Here’s where I break down and admit to being impressed by the boy and Parathena. Yes, I was certain that he’d resist. Those dalish believe in the ‘code of iron’, or some such nonsense. Parathena’s father did too. They get them young in that mindset and its years of work trying to beat it out of them. Parathena too suffers a bit from the principals of this code. Her father had had more time with her than I in her younger days, so I worried the two of them would make this difficult. Imagine my surprise when Parathena took the lead.

I must say I was proud of her initiative. She knew that she’d already built a rapport with the Raven. She’d been playing on that cute, innocent, look of hers. Gaining his trust by being open with him. Open about herself. Open about me; and open about her attraction to him. She was forward in telling him that she wished to lie with him and joked that she wanted her opportunity before her mother had hers. Adolyn of course tried to be polite and refused her. Not wanting to treat a lady unkind. I’m proud my baby was quick to remind him that ‘we are no ladies.’

It was refreshing to see she’d at least kept up with her seductive arts. She had him out of those trousers and on his back in less than five minutes. There was a lot more talking for my taste. As she licked and played with that thick cock of his, he asked her questions. At first, I thought he was worried. Being in such a compromising position, I know most lilin would try to strike at that point. But the boy had nothing to fear from Parathena or myself. This wasn’t about entrapping the him. For Parathena, this was about engendering herself to him. Whether he became a contract or not, he would be a dangerous enemy to have... but as an ally or friend, that would be spectacular.

I’m sure Parathena may have had more lofty goals. She is of course still young. Still a romantic. I can forgive that, as long as our goals are met; and with the boys dick in her grasp, I was sure he would meet them. She practically swallowed that cock his, all ten and half inches. She took him right down to the hilt and didn’t gag. It was a gratifying sight. That girl’s technique had been refined and honed. I wonder how many contracts she’d gotten just off her skill as a cock sucker.

I could see him through her eyes. He was calm and steady. Very much a man trying to stick to his agenda, but you could see it in his eyes. She was getting to him. Mommy’s a bit of a voyeur, so watching that cock go in and out of my daughters mouth from behind her eyes made me a little wet. It took several lifetimes of self control not to step in prematurely and ruin the seduction. There is a dance to this sort of game. You can’t tag in too soon. So I was content to wait for a while. Afterall, it was all rather entertaining.

With a hand on my pussy and the other on a breast, I masturbated. I rarely get the opportunity to relax and watch such a spectacle. So the chance to keep an eye on my baby and her technique was an experience I didn’t want to miss.

Parathena went on for quite a while. Adolyn had a great deal of stamina and self control. Even when she took his cock deep into her mouth, coiling her tongue about his shaft like a snake, he didn’t cum. She pressed her lips together and applied pressure to the shaft, just as I’d taught her; but he did not cum. Even when she manage to run the thick head of his penis back beyond her tongue and down her throat; Licking and tantalizing his balls, the Raven Knight refused to cum.

It wasn’t until he took control, grasping her by the head and forcefully fucking her muzzle, did I finally see it; the kid had talent. I think my daughter was a bit surprised to have the man take over. Maybe she got by through allure and moxy up until then, I don’t know; but she was certainly losing control of her mark.

I would have stepped in, helped her get back control of the situation, but watching her get that cute little muzzle of hers invaded by that man's cock was riveting viewing. I’ve played the overwhelmed maiden in the past. Let others think they were dominating me, but I’ve never not been in control. Watching it happen to Parathena I could see the appeal. She just kneeled there, hands furiously touching herself, while she let that man have his way. It was incredibly sexy.

When he bent her over and teased her pussy with his cock, I became more intrigued. He used her longing to distract her while he asked more of his questions. An interesting turn of events. I realized then what he’d been up to. His questions had seemed mundane at first, but upon further review, he was learning more about Parathena and tamanuus in general. My daughter would tell me later that she’d never wanted to do anything so much as she wanted to fuck Adolyn, he’d intrigued and enticed her. The seducer had been seduced and I decided I would step in soon enough, though not before I finished riding out the wave of my first orgasm.

I appeared before them maybe ten minutes later. Parathena was woefully worn out. I got to see first hand him paint her ass with his thick cum. The smell of their juices in the air was intoxicating. Though I could see through my daughter's eyes, I wasn’t at all prepared for what she had went through. The connection doesn’t let me feel what she feels and I wasn’t prepared for the heavy flow of the boys essence about me. Adolyn had been cheating. He’d reached out with his quintessence and had touched hers. Stimulating her in ways that you’d expect some kind of lilin to do. I could feel he was not elderian, but he certainly had a few tricks.

He wasn’t surprised to see me either. Of course he’d knew he would. Parathena had proven incapable of enticing him to take covenant with her and now it was mommy’s turn. I decided then that the boy had earned my special attention and I started by pushing him to the ground and kissing him. Remember, showmanship is everything in seduction.

Our kiss was deep and hard. I wasn’t interested in his questions or wit, but I definitely wanted to keep him from talking. He didn’t seem the type, but he had a bit of the silver tongue. You always begin a conquest by disarming your opponents.

Next I took his cock in hand and marveled at how he was still so rigid after cumming so hard. The sticky feel of my daughters love juices and his cum mixed together to form a odd combination that was pleasant to the touch. I drew myself away from him and took my fingers in my mouth, licking them clean. He may of played it cool, but I can tell by how his eyes dilated that he was aroused. His pupils were as big as dinner plates. He moved to speak, but I placed my free finger on his lips and shushed him. Mommy was gonna go to work and I didn’t need a talented amateur ruining my groove.

Working my way down his body, I took him in my mouth. Parathena was a decent cock sucker, but I’ve had centuries of practice. I wanted to push the boy to the edge, so I sucked that dick like hard candy. I was satisfied to see him grip the ground with his nails and buck his hips. Looking up I could see him grinding his teeth trying not to submit to the pleasure. Parathena has skill, but Momma Scylla is a master.

He exploded in my mouth five minutes later. A rewarding ribbon of milky cum shot down my throat. I felt his balls as they grinded against my chin. He couldn’t help but buck forward one final time, pushing his cock as deep down my throat as it would go, as I milked his member. He cried out too, which was lovely. Hearing his heavy breathing and feeling the control of his quintessence waver even just a bit was a satisfying admission of my skills. I smiled up at him as I licked my chops, thinking; ‘It’s time to close the deal.’

At this point Parathena was back up and about and she didn’t need me to tell her what I wanted. She squatted over his face and put that dripping pussy down on his maw. I took that opportunity to climb up on his lap and get a hold of that cock of his. It was thick and decently long. Not the most impressive member ever, but he knew how to use it.

With a cunt in his face and Parathena shaking about, there were no protest when is squatted down on his dick. The thick mushroom head parted my folds and went inside me easily. When I went all the way down I clamped my muscles and gripped his member, before bouncing back up. I was going to show him my best and he was going to break. I was sure of it.

I bounced my ass up and down on his cock for a bit, before leaning down and grinding it inside me. The raven was doing his little trick of reaching out his quintessence and stimulating my body. Normally, such a thing is subversive. He’d have to dominate my will in order to influence my body with his energy of his spirit, but when he knocked on the door, I let him. You see that’s a double edged sword; that trick. Mutual stimulation. The question was which of us would give in first. The feeling was so intense I almost cried, but in the end it was a draw. He came buckets inside me and I came fiercely over his cock. It was a magical moment.

I grinded against him as I shuddered on his joystick. I could feel his concentration failing as he submitted to ecstasy. Problem was, I couldn’t capitalize. He’d worn me out as well. Still, I wasn’t ready yet to admit defeat. Though spiritually exhausted, I could still subdue him physically. I pushed and road my orgasm, as he filled my cunt with his baby batter. It felt amazing. I even gave a spare thought to whether or not I’d get pregnant. I’m certain it would probably annoy Parathena, who’d collapsed beside us after cumming over his face. That girl just didn’t seem to be able to handle herself with this one. Still it was a great thought. If I had gotten pregnant, it would have been a glorious boon. I imagine a daughter of his bloodline would be a powerful tool for me. Unfortunately that did not happen.

What did happen was quite cute. Parathena had crawled back over to the boy and began to kiss him. Not the sultry, seductive, kiss I would have given him, but a feverish kiss of longing. I could see all the need and want in her kiss, as I stared down at them. It was then when I realized what I could offer him. How I could close him. Sitting there, still flushed and cumming; I decided to make my move.

Confident, I shooed my daughter off the boy and called him by name. He looked up at me as I spasmed off the last of my climax. His eyes were steely blue and his smile was exhausted, but still as sharp as ever. He grinned and asked;

‘You got something you want to offer me?’ I returned his smile. I did. Leaning forward I layed on the boys chest and nuzzled his neck.

‘This was nice,’ I began.

‘It was,’ he replied.

‘It could happen again and again, y’know.’ I insisted.

‘I can have sex with anyone, hell... I work with a succubus.’ He laughed. That was surprising, but answered a lot of questions. Succubi didn’t have friends. They had walking, talking, dinner plates. If he had regular sexual contact with one of those bitches, he’d have to have developed techniques to keep from having his mind and spirit enthralled. It was good to know, but I wasn’t offering him just sex.

‘My daughter likes you. I’m sure she would offer you more than just sex.’ I whispered running a hand over his chest. He looked over to her and she looked away, obviously embarrassed. It wasn’t an act. She was seriously smitten.

As her mother, I thought it was cute, but also a little pathetic. She’d only known him a few days. But that was the key to my push. She was capable of genuinely caring about people. Of love and all that romantic bullshit. She’d made the right pitch earlier, herself. She’d be an amazing asset to him, but she didn’t pitch it right and I was going to sweeten the deal.

‘I’m offering you us. Not just our bodies, not just her love and companionship; but our years of accumulated knowledge and power. Imagine what good you could do in the land with assets like us at your beck and call.’ I said softly. Moving close and placing a small kiss on the boys muzzle, I looked him in the eyes.

‘Can you imagine that? Can you imagine all I know? What I could teach you and your Raven Knights? There is magic, creatures and talismans you wouldn’t even believe. There is a history of this world that I alone have experienced. All of it could be yours, as well as she and I... in any capacity you wish. All you’d have to do is take covenant with me. You know what we are. You won’t need your quintessence after you pass, as all things do. Just imagine what you could do in your time with us by your side.’

It was a good pitch and I could see him think it over. I could spend however many years this one lived playing the hero. You wouldn’t believe how many contracts I got while following Parathena’s father around. It would be so sweet, so simple for him to say yes. Sadly, he did not.

With an apologetic smile he reached out to caress my face.

‘My deepest apologies for leading you on,’ he began.

‘But I have no intention of holding covenant with you or your lovely daughter.’ he stated simply. Awkwardly, he scooted up and I moved off of him. Scowling incredulously, I asked plainly;

‘Then what is your game, boy?’ He looked at me and then Parathena. His smile softened and I could see the fondness there.

He then explained how he’d been impressed with Parathena’s willingness to sacrifice herself to stop the mad mage’s rampage. How he had a dual motive for escorting Parathena back to me. He wanted to keep her safe while surreptitiously assessing what kind of threat she possessed. The stories told about herself and I were a way to gauge our powers and abilities. Allowing himself to be seduced was a way of seeing how far we’d go in order to entice him. Since violent coercion and deception is beneath us, he figured we weren’t a threat worth dealing with at the time. I noticed he was very careful not to claim that we weren’t dangerous.

Parathena seemed more disappointed than I that we would not have the boy in our debt, but Adolyn calmed her with a kiss. He apologized for deceiving us, saying he wished only to know what we were about. Though he feared more incidents such as the one at the Librarium olcadan, he was certain that Parathena would exercise good judgement. She joked that if not, she’d certainly get to see him again.

‘There isn’t a doubt,’ he replied. Though his demeanor was jovial, I know a threat when I hear it. Of course, he was looking me right in the eyes when he replied. The warning was more to me than Parathena.

The day closed with Parathena saying goodbye to her new friend and seeing him off. It was a sickeningly sweet scene, but the boy had done us a boon. It seemed that fool Cochrane had not survived his run in with the Raven. I felt the whole of his quintessence drawn to my orb and it’s fire burned brighter. I smiled as his name etched itself upon my tail and my power grew. He had quite a great deal more quintessence than I’d originally thought. So it had been a good day.

As we watched Adolyn leave I turned to my daughter and placed an arm around her neck.

‘Well?’ I asked, wanting to know if she’d learned anything from the encounter. She sighed and her ears flopped back in exasperation.

‘Yes.. mother.’ she pouted.

‘What have you learned girl?’ I asked wrapping my tail about her. She turned to embrace me and snuggling into my chest.

‘Once the contract is fulfilled; our business is done.’ She sighed. She looked so pitiful. As if I were going to scold her for foley, but no; that was not the lesson of the day.

‘No girl, you should have learned that it is always better to make a friend of the powerful... rather than make an enemy of them.’ I grinned hugging her tight.

Adolyn had not been enticed to take a contract with me, but we had left it on good enough terms. Parathena had impressed him with her foolish valor and genuine innocence. I’m old, I’ve lived far longer than you can even imagine. I know how to wait. Heroes like him get in all kinds of trouble. They make all kinds of sacrifices for the greater good. Perhaps one day such a sacrifice will bring him back to us. I didn’t have to tell Parathena that she must definitely see him again. Help him out, gain his trust and when the moment comes, as it does for all heroes; be there with another option.

It’s a good lesson to pass on to my daughter. Patience and understanding your prey. I’m sure she’ll learn it. I’m sure she’ll grow beyond her naive morality and see the bigger picture. Until then, mommy is here watching over her. I will guide my daughter to fulfilling her potential. One day she will be as powerful, if not more powerful than I... and that power will be useful to me. So I will be here; loving her, teaching her and making sure she follows the correct path. Afterall, I’m nothing if not a caring mother.