Legend of Ransera

"A philosopher might debate that we can't stay who we are if we live in Time, but I take your point," he said.

Now, he did Command. His will permeated Karmordi's symphony and drove him down, and down, deeper into his subconscious, willing his body to enter a healing coma. If the healers were nearly as skilled as the Assessors and such in Solunarium, that would leave him in the best position for them to do their job.

He smiled. Said, "Well, you know where at least three of them live. I could forward something to the Divine Twins of Solunarium. They might even respond to you. We are living in interesting times. But you are not wrong. When I faced them down in their prison in Mount Kaladon, I was not alone. I was ready to sacrifice myself for him. You would think the Goddess of Sacrifice would have been pleased, and perhaps She was, but She did not accept my death. Instead, they chose us. I don't know if Aværys put the will to power in me or if He merely awakened what was already there, disabused me of my self-deception. I always said I wanted my art to touch people, and it did. It would have done that without divine intervention. Now my words change minds more powerfully than before. My power grows, but so too does my responsibility.

"There is a woman in Solunarium I wish was here to speak to you, but alas, I think it would require Command to change her deep-seated beliefs about the Orkhan people." He sighed. Even if the Senate acquiesced to the annexation, he supposed the mountains between them would have to remain a partition for some time. He didn't know how quickly the power structure of Solunarium could change the minds of its people."

As for Zaichaer, he found the mere mention of it no longer triggered his emotions as it once had. He had made it clear to the Assessors that they were not to touch his trauma, that he wanted to learn to deal with it on his own, not merely have it wiped away. The body remembered. If the mind didn't, there would be a schism between them, and that would just make life all the more difficult. And wasn't life difficult enough already?

"You know Zaichaeri opera. I know you can't stay long in Ecith, but if there is anything I might arrange quickly for you—musically speaking—please do let me know."

Finn might not have been delving deep into her symphony, but when her eyes closed, an amused smile turned the corners of his mouth upward. He couldn't blame her for the theatrics, and there were aspects of her manner and her mien that reminded him of his grandmother—not because she was ancient, but because she was a witch, he supposed. A dose of fear around magic was healthy, she had always said, and then she had often regressed into muttering. Everyone had always said she was his favorite grandchild, but he had only spent the most time with her. He wondered if she had intended to make a witch of him if he passed some test or another; it was her bequest that had pulled Zef into his life to give him first one, and later a second Rune.

The difference between magic and witchcraft, indeed.

But he listened to her instructions for Karmordi, nodding assent and understanding. He would likely pass along the little revelation that Innogen had not, in fact, defeated a Primal as the responsibility for its domain had proven too much a burden, and understandably so.

Finn didn't know whether he had true wisdom to pass along, but he would offer his advice if Karmordi asked for it.

In the meantime, he considered their third date. He nodded. Noon was free and he could renegotiate his afternoon schedule to leave it open as she had given him an open-ended time. Whether or not she was a chronomancer like some of the senators, he didn't know. Having had his own experiences with it, he could have wished it were saved for less frivolous uses, but then, he was not the King of Ecith.

"Tomorrow at noon," he agreed. "A nostalgic song."

With a faint smile, he nodded to her. Then he set those things of Karmordi's he had been holding on the ork, and carefully lifted him up in his arms. He might have simply vaulted, but Arkænyn would have whinged about it later. Instead, a portal opened and he could sense his thrall and the other Sentinel approaching.

"Until then, O Slightly Ancient and Venerable Witch."

Innogen and Finn get 10 xp and Karmordi doesn't because he might just be a red shirt who dies from all the terrible things Innogen did to him.

To be continued...