Becoming a Messenger is typically reserved for owls in the lineage of the first to serve in that role. But there are exceptions, as was the case for William. Even before this, he was no stranger to the supernatural, having attracted the attention of a fae with his music - and, somehow, the two had quickly become inseparable.
Of course, being friends with a fae is no easy feat. She was eager to show William all the wonder that the world had to offer, all the magic he’d never seen before - often forgetting, in the process, that he wasn’t as indestructible as her. There were more than a few run-ins with creatures who wanted to harm him, or claim his soul, or kidnap him for their own. Usually, however, he managed to emerge unscathed, with the fae swearing off whatever species they had just encountered, complaining about their rudeness and seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was the one who had led William into danger into the first place. But as exhausting - and sometimes terrifying - as this was, he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Which is how he found himself at a gathering of supernatural creatures, a relatively bland evening compared to some of their adventures… until he found himself whisked away while his fae friend was arguing with someone about the superiority of goats. By the time she tracked him down, he’d been bitten by the creatures that had taken him, and now lay unconscious - he would either die, or to turn into something no longer himself, and the fae could do nothing about it.
Fortunately, amidst the chaos that his life had become, the fae had also insisted he learn animal languages - and, after discovering he had a fondness for owls, she decided he should start there, even finding a barred owl, Obren, to be his companion to help him learn. And, as fate would have it, this owl was a Messenger. As soon as the fae told him the situation, Obren acted quickly, first appealing to the spirit of the air and things that fly - the one who directs all Messengers in where they should go - and then walking into William’s dream, explaining to him the offer: If he was willing to join the ranks of the Messengers, to deliver messages across the realms, it would save him.
William agreed immediately, trusting his feathered companion. In the real world, Obren bit him, acting on his behalf to activate a blood pact with the spirit of the air - one that’s already stamped into those born of that lineage, but which has to be offered and sealed for those who willfully make the choice. Immediately, the wind seemed to enter him, filling his bones and restoring him. When he awoke after a long, deep sleep, he breathed a sigh of relief that the danger was past, that he was still alive and himself. Which was correct, but not the whole story. For he was indeed himself, but he was also something more: A creature of the air.
