Colt didn't know what had happened... one second he was searching the realm, finding the next person who looked like they were about to touch dark magic and the next... He groaned as he got up. Slowly at first. The appearance he took, of the boy with the sky arcanum, fazed in and out as he felt the draw of power. Where was he? In all of his time recruiting new dark mages, he never knew this place even existed... he gasped, hearing the door click open, immediately turning into a mist and hiding.
@corruptxdskies
Aaravos entered the library, cloak discarded so he was only in his usual wardrobe, but looking annoyed yet resigned. He passed the mirror, glancing at his reflection and knowing that was all he would get for a while. Then headed to a bookcase to pull down one of his books he had marked heavily with notes to continue. Back to sitting in isolated silence for a while longer…it was nice talking to someone else again, at least while he had. Even if it was Viren…
“Absolutely.” Colt answered with a nod. “He once made a bouncing ball to pass the time when Harrow got grounded, only to use a featherslab spell to retrieve the ball once it launched itself off the balcony.”
A responding chuckle.
“He hasn’t changed much in his adult years…” He admitted, uncharacteristically not thinking before he spoke.
Colt froze, then looked over at Aaravos with a shocked expression. “…. How do you know him?” He asked, frozen but becoming guarded.
Aaravos, realizing his rare blunder, wanted to kick himself. He could still save this, though…not yet ready to admit the full story, since he technically wasn’t supporting Dark Magic in that partnership. Even if it seemed like it.
“My mirror was in what I assume was his study for four months before it was moved to that dungeon room. He didn’t see me in that time, but I saw him…using his magic to not only try to reveal the mirror’s secrets, but also for whatever he thought necessary to help the kingdom.” He explained, completely truthful technically. “I saw him called by name a couple times as well.”
After that, Colt notably relaxed then nodded. “Okay, makes sense. So I’m assuming you saw his brat of a daughter too?”
Brat? She was…unusual. But if not for her wariness of his vessel at the end before it cocooned itself, he thought she was amusing.
“Yes, I did actually. She too tried to cast on the mirror…did you meet her as well?”
That was the one person he hadn’t seen Colt take the form of…of the Dark Mages he knew about. She was definitely a Dark Mage as well. A powerful one…and resourceful.
“No, actually, I haven’t.” Colt gave a bitter growl, crossing his arms and even snarling. “She was never tested, not properly trained. Her father began teaching her when she was only around five, ignoring the fact that she barely out of being a toddler, and I refused to test her. He expected her to dream, but none came. And yet he still taught her. And now look, she’s making dark magic edibles! There is no respect for the art, only a blatant disregard to any and all rules pertaining to the subject.”
Aaravos blinked in surprise. Viren tried to teach her that young?
“…how has she lived to her current age? Are the spells not fatal enough to cause what happened to…well, anyone?”
He was going to say ‘Akinely’ but wanted to avoid upsetting Colt in that way right now.
“There are some high level spells that can postpone or entirely erase the effects of dark magic poisoning.” Colt huffed, still mad about Claudia. “But it can’t be cast on one’s self, requires very rare ingredients, and does a large amount of damage to the caster. Viren used it on Claudia, which is why he’s so gray even in his forties. However, Claudia will eventually feel the effects and they will come to haunt her even worse once she’s gone too far. And she will.”
The memory of seeing her attempt to revive her father entered the Startouch’s mind. He hadn’t given her any prompting or revealing his true nature, but had seen it through the caterpillar’s eyes before it was enclosed in the cocoon. Now forming into a different shape with the magic collected from the Dragon Prince.
“…do you know if there is a spell already created to bring someone back to life, then?” He made it sound purely hypothetical. Using the information about Viren himself helping Claudia to postpone the effects of her power to segway into it.
“Necromancy is a boundary even Dark Mages don’t cross.” Suddenly all the emotion was gone from Colt’s tone, replaced by an icy, scratchy voice that would send terror down any normal person’s spine. He stood there glaring, eyes going the inky black of casting as the misty shadows rose around him like swirling, curling tentacles of smoke. “Don’t ever ask again.”
Aaravos just stared back, not giving away any form of reaction. Now he was even more curious if she had succeeded, and what that did to her… If his vision was right…well, he would find out for sure eventually.
“Understood.” He replied calmly, “but back to Viren, or rather, the mage before him. Who were they?”
As suddenly as it happened, Colt was back to normal and shrugging with a little smile. “Lord Airon of Katolis. Nothing notable, though he did live a longer life than most because he rarely used dark magic even in the most dire situations. Only time he did use first reaction was when Viren fell off a balcony, and even that was a relatively weak spell.”
That seemed a reasonable moment for it, Aaravos supposed. In a way he should thank the late mage. If Viren died from that fall…Aaravos wouldn’t be here now.
“Strange how his student was the opposite.” He mused, mostly finding it funny. Then again, he was nothing like his master either.
“Well…” Colt trailed off, then added sheepishly “Airon was well known for being overbearing and harsh to those around him. When teaching Viren how to use a sky primal stone he started by giving Viren a light zap with it so I can understand why Viren wanted to stay away from acting like Airon.”
“Ah…” That would explain a couple things.
“Anyway, Where was I on the fundamentals?” Colt asked, trying to think back to where he had left off.
Aaravos let him as they kept walking, listening but not having much to comment on as they did.
After hours of just talking, Colt finally stopped, then suddenly asked “By the way, how did you learn the moon primal?” As if it hadn’t been a random shift in subjects from what components could be used in any Xadian animal.
“It isn’t easily explained.” Aaravos admitted, ears perking a bit (though you wouldn’t see with his disguise) as he continued, “but in a way it is like the ‘channels’ you follow, though for Primal magic rather than Dark. Though that is still not exactly what it is…it is a start to visualizing it I think.”
Colt nodding, getting what Aaravos meant surprisingly. “Arcanums are hard to explain, I know.” He paused, looking confused, then added “I… don’t know how I know that, but I do. Possibly that Callum kid. He connected to the sky through one of my tests. Took the test’s criteria, and twisted it to fit a primal connection.” Again he paused, thinking further, then sighed. “He would’ve made a good student.”
“Callum…yes, that boy. What else do you know of him?” Aaravos tried not to sound too interested, but this was his chance to learn more.
“Not much,” Colt admitted, then quirked a brow. “How do you know him?” The way Aaravos said ‘that boy’ was rather suspicious.
“You took his form to attempt to deceive me back in the mirror realm.” Aaravos reminded him smoothly, “and just now you mentioned he connected to the Sky arcanum through one of your tests. That has of course drawn my attention. What happened there?”
“… How do you know what he looks like? With a name connected?” Colt turned with a quizzical look, but the suspicion was rising still,
…he was getting careless.
“I didn’t have a name until you said it…but I may have seen the boy before.” He replied carefully.
“And somehow witnessed his sky magic, which he had only gained about half a month ago?” Colt crossed his arms with a questioning quirk of his brow. How else could Aaravos had identified Callum by trait alongside sight without a name?
The memory of the boy jumping off the cliff after the Moonshadow girl, sprouting mage wings like he did so effortlessly…driven by the desire to save her… Aaravos closed his eyes a moment, thinking.
Colt was not fond of Viren, and despised his daughter. The entity wasn’t bound to Aaravos in any way either. He could leave the Archmage at any time for a new student…so Aaravos had nothing to keep their connection except this…companionship they had here.
“I had ways of seeing beyond the confines of my prison, as a being of the Stars.” He began, opening his eyes again. “By chance, I saw the boy through one of these ways as he performed Sky magic. A human using Primal magic? That face was bound to stick with me.”
Slowly, Colt relaxed as he heard the explanation. It felt like there was still something to be said… but he left it be. He could ask later.
“So he rejected your magic and learned Primal through that test. Has anyone else done this?” Aaravos pushed on past that to get more about Callum and this impossibility he accomplished. Similar to Aaravos, himself, accomplishing mastery of all six…
“No one.” Colt answered, still on guard but easing up a bit more. “He was just stubborn and refused the lull of dark magic. I’ll give him points for originality.”
“Very curious…he sounds…unique.”
“He is.” Colt agreed with a nod. “He really would have made a good dark mage. Could’ve gotten farther than the rest. But he chose the ‘morally correct’ choice.”
Aaravos smirked at the way that was said. Though he wondered if more people did the same…would they accomplish what Callum had? Had he gone about his teachings all wrong, or was the boy really that rare a soul? Maybe someday he could test it further…but for now he wasn’t in a position to.
Colt looked back at Aaravos, then gave a hum. “What’s with that look you always have anyway? I heard of a resting bitch face, but never a resting ‘fuck you but passive aggressively’ face.”
“What do you mean?” Aaravos looked at him, and it wasn’t clear if he was truly confused or simply playing dumb.
"It's just your face?" Colt said, trying to explain. "It's like you look at something and it is just the stupidest thing to you. It's hard to explain." He gave a shrug, embarrassment making him disappear for a second to hide from the initial reaction.