Sharing is Caring

“IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE,” I said, turning to face Amelia and Cerys as they opened the door on Xana and me. It’s the morning after, we’re in bed together, and… yeah.

“Really?” asked Amelia, raising an eyebrow. “Care to explain, then?”

She was not amused.

“Before you jump to conclusions,” I started, “we only kissed.”

Not a shred of falsehood there. Honest!

“Aha,” Amelia replied, not believing a word of it. “Then why are you both entangled by George?”

“To make sure we only kissed,” I replied. You see? It’s the work of genius.

Xana and I are wrapped in vines from head to toe, with only our heads popping out at the top. We couldn’t possibly do anything wrong like this, could we?

“After George grabbed us, we asked him to pull us close enough to make out,” Xana elaborated, a deep blush on her cheeks. “He was a dear and obliged. John was so passionate!”

“Gee, thank you for telling me,” replied Amelia, blushing as well.

“We didn’t cross any lines!” I made my case. “Please, mercy!” I begged, wiggling like a worm within the grasp of the elemental.

Cerys chuckled at the sight, lightening the mood. My gambit worked.

“This is the second night in a row George has caught you, Xana,” Amelia grumbled. “We’re fortunate Cerys imbued him with magic, or we’d be on our way to aunthood by now.”

Not gonna argue with that. George is a venerable guardian, blessed be his soul.

That said, Amelia just mentioned something interesting.

“Whoa, wait,” I asked. “What’s that about imbuing George?”

“He can use magic,” Xana explained. “Even if you blasted him with a fireball, George can counter with ice, or even heal himself. He’s stronger than Amelia and me.”

Holy shit.

I knew George was powerful, but more so than Amelia? He’s something else!

“How does that work?” I asked in wonder. “Did Cerys bestow him?”

“I did,” she confirmed. “He’s my familiar; empowering him is part of our pact. George offered his protection, and in exchange, I let him tap into my magic. He feeds on my mana, and in a pinch, he can borrow magic from me to use as his own.”

“Whoa,” I replied. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“There are limitations,” Cerys said. “Only mystic creatures can become familiars. Due to divine decree, people cannot bestow power to one another.”

Ah. That really screws Xana, because she can’t borrow power from someone else. Otherwise, she might’ve done it already.

“It sucks,” Xana lamented. “We tried to find a loophole with Silvano, but failed. We figured a spirit or other mystic creature could lend its power to me, but I don’t have the aether pathways to sign a pact.”

You need mana to form a contract, but Xana has none, so she can’t do it.

That’s a bummer, alright. That said, I’ve got this nagging feeling in my chest, like I’m overlooking something. Could it be…?

“George,” I called the elemental. “Can you let go of me? I might have an idea.”

The vines around me and Xana loosened, then unwound and retreated to the wooden beam on the roof. We’re both fully clothed. See? George did his job.

“What do you mean?” Xana asked, stretching her arms.

“Cerys,” I addressed the expert in the room. “Back in my world, Earth, we didn’t have any magic at all. Would it be safe to assume I had no aether pathways, either?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Magic is the basis of life, so by my understanding of magical theory, Earth should have at least a small amount of it. If so, one could expect your people to have aether pathways too, even if they didn’t use them.”

“I’m not sure about that,” I said. “When I first got here, I couldn’t feel any magic whatsoever. But the more I fed on the dragon, the more acute my magic sense grew, to the point I can cast innate magic now.”

“I see,” Cerys replied, pressing her fist to her chin. “Then, John… are you suggesting that aether pathways can be created from scratch?”

Xana’s eyes widened at Cerys’ words.

“Exactly,” I said. “Back in the temple, there were these magic circles that modified the dragon’s body so that its power could be bestowed. I ate the dragon, and that’s how I gained the gift of magic. Going by that logic, wouldn’t it be possible for us to create aether pathways as well?”

Cerys went quiet for a moment, thinking on my words.

“I’m not sure,” she finally answered. “The magic circles took centuries to adjust the dragon, so I doubt we can use them for Xana. She would age out and die before they had the desired effect.”

That’s true. How about another angle?

“Then, what about dragon’s blood?” I pondered. “It’s said to increase a person’s mana capacity, even unrefined.”

“It does,” Cerys agreed, “but for Xana, the effect would be minimal. She’d have a large reserve of mana in her blood, but would be unable to use it.”

“Would that bump in mana be enough to form a familiar contract?” I asked.

“… It might,” Cerys replied, after a moment’s thought. “We’d need to experiment, but it would be difficult. We don’t have dragon’s blood with us, or a familiar candidate.”

“Uh, hello?” I asked, pressing my hand to my chest. “I’m a dragon now, aren’t I?”

Cerys’ jaw dropped.

I haven’t transformed in front of them yet, so it might not be present in their minds, but I’m very much a dragon. Even Cerys said so when we first met, that I look like a dragon in disguise.

It wasn’t hyperbole from her part.

I can feel it. Eating the dragon made me lose my humanity.

In my current form, it would be more accurate to classify me as a mystic creature.

And if mystic creatures can forge familiar contracts...

“What if you girls form a contract with me?” I proposed, surveying each of them.

It’s a wild idea, but if it works, it may open the curtains for a brand new chapter in the history of the Rose’s Thorns… and perhaps of Krysterios at large.