TIMESTAMP: 7th Solace year 120
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For pretty much the entirety of the time he’d been a Summoner, Hector utilized spirits of the Wild sphere. This was due in large part to him being a member of Zaichaer’s Kindred, but also because they were the most helpful to him in regards to his role as a fledgling apothecary. However, that didn’t mean that such spirits held all too many of his personal interests– for him, that would be spirits of the Eldritch domain. He found them fascinating; each possessing its own unfathomable motive, operating with agendas unknowable. It was their chaotic nature and the strange, esoteric beauty thereof that drew him in.
Sometimes, when he found himself bored, he would open himself up to the Aetherium and pluck one out for the fun of it. It’s not as if they’d serve no practical purpose, though– it would likely try their patience if he didn’t even have anything for them to do. During the course of establishing their concordant, he'd put notable consideration into choosing something that fit the strengths or desires of the spirit he summoned. That didn’t mean what he was doing wasn’t inherently irresponsible, though. He’d once told a mentor of his, a man named Vergil, about the fact that he made something of a hobby of doing this and the older man reacted with a combination of concern and irritation. However, that hasn't stopped him from doing this whatsoever.
In fact, it was through exactly this experimental process that Hector found the spirit who would become his aidolon. On the day he had chosen to Spherebind himself to the Eldritch domain, he decided to summon a spirit thereof immediately after in order to mark the occasion. This time, he didn't really have a purpose in mind beyond exploration.
Sitting on the floor in his bedroom, Hector engulfed himself in aether to perform the summon. While carving out a space for the spirit to manifest, the aether also allowed him to catch brief glimpses into the Aetherium itself. What he saw always fascinated him and he dearly wished to visit at some point– of course, without surrendering his material body. Maybe he could if he focused more on his magic.
Though he had no particular spirit in mind, he did ensure that only lesser spirits would be able to pass through the divide he'd created. Largely, this was for his own safety, for as foolish as Hector could be, he was fully aware that summoning anything much beyond his skill was an extremely dangerous game. Especially since he knew not what would come through– essentially leaving it up to a fun game of chance.
As his own aether collected and swelled around him, black fog, thick and viscous almost like ink or tar, began to manifest before him. The fog was formless, featureless…but it was a spirit nonetheless. Tendrils of it whipped around as it stabilized in the material plane before it began to take shape into that of a person. Even in this shape, it still remained largely featureless aside from lighter shades of fog making something that, if one reached, could be construed as perhaps a crow's skull. Seeing this, Hector smiled. He quite liked this thing…it could easily take whatever shape it pleased.
The eyeless voids in the thing's 'skull' directed themselves at the elf who sat before it. The two simply stared at one another for a few moments; at first, neither attempted to say anything or communicate at all. Hector blinked a few times abruptly, as if pulling himself free from a trance.
"Can you understand me?" The elf asked. It was the first thing he always asked of anything he summoned.
"Fₒᵣ bₑₜₜₑᵣ ₒᵣ wₒᵣₛₑ, yₑₛ." The spirit's voice, if one were to call it that, very much resembled the gentle ringing of small bells with soft, strange whispers coiling around each chime. It was eerie, hauntingly beautiful in a way. Somehow, Hector was able to understand its meaning despite no words being spoken.
Hector looked oddly chipper as he watched the fog move, tendrils and wisps thereof undulating beneath the surface of the form it had taken.
"What are you called, spirit?" Though he tried to speak with a level tone, it was hard for the elf to subdue his excitement.
"ₘy, bᵣᵢgₕₜ ₐₛ ₜₕₑ ₛᵤₙ yₒᵤ ₐᵣₑ, yₒᵤₙg ₒₙₑ. ᵢ ₐₘ cₐₗₗₑd ֆ̴̾͌҉̷̂͐ɛ̸̋̕҉̷̈́͘ռ̵͐͝҉̸͛͠ɖ̸̐̂҉̴͑̂ ̴̂̆҉̷̉̾ռ̶͗͘҉̸͗̈ʊ̶͌̍҉̷̄̈́ɖ̷̂̓҉̶̿̋ɛ̴̌̿҉̸̛͗ֆ̸͌̿҉̵̔͑" ." The bells rang as if the creature was amused, but even though he understood the thing's intent with perfect clarity, the name was incomprehensible to him and the very sound of it made him feel uneasy. Even though he'd just heard it, he couldn't recall it, either.
The elf canted his head, curious, his expression inquisitive.
"Hm…can you say that again? I'm…not sure I heard right." At first, Hector thought it may have been a mistake that the name it spoke didn't stick in his head.
"ₐₕ, ₒf cₒᵤᵣₛₑ, ᵢ ₐₘ ֆ̴̾͌҉̷̂͐ɛ̸̋̕҉̷̈́͘ռ̵͐͝҉̸͛͠ɖ̸̐̂҉̴͑̂ ̴̂̆҉̷̉̾ռ̶͗͘҉̸͗̈ʊ̶͌̍҉̷̄̈́ɖ̷̂̓҉̶̿̋ɛ̴̌̿҉̸̛͗ֆ̸͌̿҉̵̔͑" " The tone of the bells was accommodating, almost happy to speak its name again.
This only pulled another blank stare from the not so mortal man before him.
"Uh…hmm. It's lovely, but I am unable to reproduce those sounds…so I'll be calling you…" While the suede of his voice was crumpled with his confusion, he found this little conundrum fascinating. It only took him a second to think of something, though.
"I'll call you Tirspi!" With this statement, Hector seemed pleased.
What came next from the spirit was not anything for him to interpret into words. Rather, the spirit just made a discordant noise– the sound was one of distilled displeasure. Hector merely laughed.
"Great! I'm glad you like it." He was not so foolish as to believe what he was saying– but pressing anyone's, yes, even spirit's, buttons had a tendency to amuse the elf.
In response, the spirit made another crashing series of chimes, further illustrating that it was not amused by Hector's inability to comprehend its name. The bells chimed into something of a sigh swept up in the whispers.
"What are you capable of?" In order to decide the nature of what their Concordant would be, Hector wanted at least some idea of the spirit's own nature.
As if to illustrate that it was contemplating its answer, the bells chimed as if the whispers were swishing them about in a gentle breeze. Soft, melodic, yet still possessing a notably uncanny tone.
"ᵢ ₐₘ ₘₒₒₙₗₑₛₛ ₙᵢgₕₜₛ. ₜₕₑ ₛᵤffₒcₐₜᵢₙg dₐᵣₖₙₑₛₛ, ₜₕₑ ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ ᵢₙ ₜₕₑ cₗₒₛₑₜ. ₜₕₒₛₑ ₚₐᵣₐₙₒᵢd ₜₕₒᵤgₕₜₛ ₛcᵣₐₜcₕᵢₙg ₐₜ ₜₕₑ bₐcₖ ₒf yₒᵤᵣ ₕₑₐd, ₜₕₑ ₒₙₑₛ yₒᵤ cₐₙ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ bₐₙᵢₛₕ. ᵢ ₐₘ fₑₐᵣ; ₜₕₑ cₐₗₗ ₒf ₜₕₑ ᵥₒᵢd…ₐₙd fₒᵣ ₜₕₒₛₑ wₕₒₛₑ ₖₙₑₑₛ ᵢ bₑₙd, ᵢ ᵤₛₑ ₜₒ fₑₑd."
The bells chimed along with myriad voices and created a haunting chorus, a beautiful melody. This song conveyed to Hector exactly what the spirit meant.
The elf giggled, pleased.
"Really? You're a leech, too? I'm not quite mortal and I, too, sustain myself with the vitality of others. I think…in that regard we could work well together. Empower one another. Help each other feast to reach new, fantastic heights, no?" As he spoke, the clear, crystalline irises of the man lit up with bright excitement. A spirit like this could make subduing prey much easier…and if it sustains itself on vitality, he can catch victims for it or even feed it with his own.
The spirit chimed something akin to sing-song laughter and Hector immediately knew the spirit was just as enthused as he was.
"ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ ₛᵤₘₘₒₙₛ ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ? ₕₒw ᵢₙₜᵣᵢgᵤᵢₙg. Yₑₛ…dₑₛₚᵢₜₑ yₒᵤᵣ ᵢₙₛᵤₗₜ ₜₒ ₘy ₙₐₘₑ, yₒᵤ ₐₙd ᵢ cₒᵤₗd ₕₐᵥₑ ₐ ᵥₑᵣy…ₘᵤₜᵤₐₗₗy bₑₙₑfᵢcᵢₐₗ ᵣₑₗₐₜᵢₒₙₛₕᵢₚ, ₙₒ? Fₑₑd ₘₑ ₑₙₒᵤgₕ…fₑₑd yₒᵤᵣₛₑₗf ₑₙₒᵤgₕ…wₕₐₜ cₒᵤₗd ₛₜₒₚ ᵤₛ? Wₕₐₜ ₐᵣₑ…yₒᵤᵣ ₜₑᵣₘₛ, ₛᵤₘₘₒₙₑᵣ?" The bells swept across the room, fog twisting around Hector, engulfing him. The elf showed no fear or hesitation, only glee. He opened his mouth to speak only to abruptly cut himself off, think for a moment, and then try again.
"Consider…make the Concordant permanent. Bind to my soul. Our…symbiosis…will extend beyond just feeding one another. Your skills become mine and mine become yours, yes? As one grows, so too does the other." Hector was reckless in making this offer without testing the waters with the spirit first, but the zeal in his voice indicated he didn't care at all– he wanted this spirit to be a part of him.
"ₒₕ…? ₘy, ₘy…ₕₒw ᵣₑfᵣₑₛₕᵢₙg. Yₒᵤ ₒf ₜₕₑ ₘₐₜₑᵣᵢₐₗ ₚₗₐₙₑ ₐᵣₑ ᵤₛᵤₐₗₗy ₛₒ ᵥₑᵣy wₐᵣy…ₒᵣ ₛₒ ᵥₑᵣy wₑₐₖ. ₙₒₜ yₒᵤ, ₜₕₒᵤgₕ. ᵤₙₚₒₗᵢₛₕₑd, bᵤₜ ᵢ ₛₑₑ ₐ wₑₗₗ ₒf ₚₒwₑᵣ ᵤₙₜₐₚₚₑd…ₜₒ dₑcₗᵢₙₑ yₒᵤ ₙₒw wₒᵤₗd bₑ fₒₗₗy." The song it played this time was rather amiable, pleased.
The spirit didn't know what would come from this either. Perhaps it would feed off the young vampyre 'til it grew fat on his vitality then free itself from the contract by absorbing his soul into itself…or maybe the two would be more powerful together, Hector staying himself. Perhaps, even, this strange spirit would discover the mortal concept of 'friendship' along the way.
With a bright smile, "so it is decided!"
The mage spoke with a voice filled with both enthusiasm and anticipation as his own aether swelled between elf and spirit. Pieces of each wound together in a storm of magic and then absorbed into the opposite soul. It was done.
Sometimes, when he found himself bored, he would open himself up to the Aetherium and pluck one out for the fun of it. It’s not as if they’d serve no practical purpose, though– it would likely try their patience if he didn’t even have anything for them to do. During the course of establishing their concordant, he'd put notable consideration into choosing something that fit the strengths or desires of the spirit he summoned. That didn’t mean what he was doing wasn’t inherently irresponsible, though. He’d once told a mentor of his, a man named Vergil, about the fact that he made something of a hobby of doing this and the older man reacted with a combination of concern and irritation. However, that hasn't stopped him from doing this whatsoever.
In fact, it was through exactly this experimental process that Hector found the spirit who would become his aidolon. On the day he had chosen to Spherebind himself to the Eldritch domain, he decided to summon a spirit thereof immediately after in order to mark the occasion. This time, he didn't really have a purpose in mind beyond exploration.
Sitting on the floor in his bedroom, Hector engulfed himself in aether to perform the summon. While carving out a space for the spirit to manifest, the aether also allowed him to catch brief glimpses into the Aetherium itself. What he saw always fascinated him and he dearly wished to visit at some point– of course, without surrendering his material body. Maybe he could if he focused more on his magic.
Though he had no particular spirit in mind, he did ensure that only lesser spirits would be able to pass through the divide he'd created. Largely, this was for his own safety, for as foolish as Hector could be, he was fully aware that summoning anything much beyond his skill was an extremely dangerous game. Especially since he knew not what would come through– essentially leaving it up to a fun game of chance.
As his own aether collected and swelled around him, black fog, thick and viscous almost like ink or tar, began to manifest before him. The fog was formless, featureless…but it was a spirit nonetheless. Tendrils of it whipped around as it stabilized in the material plane before it began to take shape into that of a person. Even in this shape, it still remained largely featureless aside from lighter shades of fog making something that, if one reached, could be construed as perhaps a crow's skull. Seeing this, Hector smiled. He quite liked this thing…it could easily take whatever shape it pleased.
The eyeless voids in the thing's 'skull' directed themselves at the elf who sat before it. The two simply stared at one another for a few moments; at first, neither attempted to say anything or communicate at all. Hector blinked a few times abruptly, as if pulling himself free from a trance.
"Can you understand me?" The elf asked. It was the first thing he always asked of anything he summoned.
"Fₒᵣ bₑₜₜₑᵣ ₒᵣ wₒᵣₛₑ, yₑₛ." The spirit's voice, if one were to call it that, very much resembled the gentle ringing of small bells with soft, strange whispers coiling around each chime. It was eerie, hauntingly beautiful in a way. Somehow, Hector was able to understand its meaning despite no words being spoken.
Hector looked oddly chipper as he watched the fog move, tendrils and wisps thereof undulating beneath the surface of the form it had taken.
"What are you called, spirit?" Though he tried to speak with a level tone, it was hard for the elf to subdue his excitement.
"ₘy, bᵣᵢgₕₜ ₐₛ ₜₕₑ ₛᵤₙ yₒᵤ ₐᵣₑ, yₒᵤₙg ₒₙₑ. ᵢ ₐₘ cₐₗₗₑd ֆ̴̾͌҉̷̂͐ɛ̸̋̕҉̷̈́͘ռ̵͐͝҉̸͛͠ɖ̸̐̂҉̴͑̂ ̴̂̆҉̷̉̾ռ̶͗͘҉̸͗̈ʊ̶͌̍҉̷̄̈́ɖ̷̂̓҉̶̿̋ɛ̴̌̿҉̸̛͗ֆ̸͌̿҉̵̔͑" ." The bells rang as if the creature was amused, but even though he understood the thing's intent with perfect clarity, the name was incomprehensible to him and the very sound of it made him feel uneasy. Even though he'd just heard it, he couldn't recall it, either.
The elf canted his head, curious, his expression inquisitive.
"Hm…can you say that again? I'm…not sure I heard right." At first, Hector thought it may have been a mistake that the name it spoke didn't stick in his head.
"ₐₕ, ₒf cₒᵤᵣₛₑ, ᵢ ₐₘ ֆ̴̾͌҉̷̂͐ɛ̸̋̕҉̷̈́͘ռ̵͐͝҉̸͛͠ɖ̸̐̂҉̴͑̂ ̴̂̆҉̷̉̾ռ̶͗͘҉̸͗̈ʊ̶͌̍҉̷̄̈́ɖ̷̂̓҉̶̿̋ɛ̴̌̿҉̸̛͗ֆ̸͌̿҉̵̔͑" " The tone of the bells was accommodating, almost happy to speak its name again.
This only pulled another blank stare from the not so mortal man before him.
"Uh…hmm. It's lovely, but I am unable to reproduce those sounds…so I'll be calling you…" While the suede of his voice was crumpled with his confusion, he found this little conundrum fascinating. It only took him a second to think of something, though.
"I'll call you Tirspi!" With this statement, Hector seemed pleased.
What came next from the spirit was not anything for him to interpret into words. Rather, the spirit just made a discordant noise– the sound was one of distilled displeasure. Hector merely laughed.
"Great! I'm glad you like it." He was not so foolish as to believe what he was saying– but pressing anyone's, yes, even spirit's, buttons had a tendency to amuse the elf.
In response, the spirit made another crashing series of chimes, further illustrating that it was not amused by Hector's inability to comprehend its name. The bells chimed into something of a sigh swept up in the whispers.
"What are you capable of?" In order to decide the nature of what their Concordant would be, Hector wanted at least some idea of the spirit's own nature.
As if to illustrate that it was contemplating its answer, the bells chimed as if the whispers were swishing them about in a gentle breeze. Soft, melodic, yet still possessing a notably uncanny tone.
"ᵢ ₐₘ ₘₒₒₙₗₑₛₛ ₙᵢgₕₜₛ. ₜₕₑ ₛᵤffₒcₐₜᵢₙg dₐᵣₖₙₑₛₛ, ₜₕₑ ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ ᵢₙ ₜₕₑ cₗₒₛₑₜ. ₜₕₒₛₑ ₚₐᵣₐₙₒᵢd ₜₕₒᵤgₕₜₛ ₛcᵣₐₜcₕᵢₙg ₐₜ ₜₕₑ bₐcₖ ₒf yₒᵤᵣ ₕₑₐd, ₜₕₑ ₒₙₑₛ yₒᵤ cₐₙ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ bₐₙᵢₛₕ. ᵢ ₐₘ fₑₐᵣ; ₜₕₑ cₐₗₗ ₒf ₜₕₑ ᵥₒᵢd…ₐₙd fₒᵣ ₜₕₒₛₑ wₕₒₛₑ ₖₙₑₑₛ ᵢ bₑₙd, ᵢ ᵤₛₑ ₜₒ fₑₑd."
The bells chimed along with myriad voices and created a haunting chorus, a beautiful melody. This song conveyed to Hector exactly what the spirit meant.
The elf giggled, pleased.
"Really? You're a leech, too? I'm not quite mortal and I, too, sustain myself with the vitality of others. I think…in that regard we could work well together. Empower one another. Help each other feast to reach new, fantastic heights, no?" As he spoke, the clear, crystalline irises of the man lit up with bright excitement. A spirit like this could make subduing prey much easier…and if it sustains itself on vitality, he can catch victims for it or even feed it with his own.
The spirit chimed something akin to sing-song laughter and Hector immediately knew the spirit was just as enthused as he was.
"ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ ₛᵤₘₘₒₙₛ ₘₒₙₛₜₑᵣ? ₕₒw ᵢₙₜᵣᵢgᵤᵢₙg. Yₑₛ…dₑₛₚᵢₜₑ yₒᵤᵣ ᵢₙₛᵤₗₜ ₜₒ ₘy ₙₐₘₑ, yₒᵤ ₐₙd ᵢ cₒᵤₗd ₕₐᵥₑ ₐ ᵥₑᵣy…ₘᵤₜᵤₐₗₗy bₑₙₑfᵢcᵢₐₗ ᵣₑₗₐₜᵢₒₙₛₕᵢₚ, ₙₒ? Fₑₑd ₘₑ ₑₙₒᵤgₕ…fₑₑd yₒᵤᵣₛₑₗf ₑₙₒᵤgₕ…wₕₐₜ cₒᵤₗd ₛₜₒₚ ᵤₛ? Wₕₐₜ ₐᵣₑ…yₒᵤᵣ ₜₑᵣₘₛ, ₛᵤₘₘₒₙₑᵣ?" The bells swept across the room, fog twisting around Hector, engulfing him. The elf showed no fear or hesitation, only glee. He opened his mouth to speak only to abruptly cut himself off, think for a moment, and then try again.
"Consider…make the Concordant permanent. Bind to my soul. Our…symbiosis…will extend beyond just feeding one another. Your skills become mine and mine become yours, yes? As one grows, so too does the other." Hector was reckless in making this offer without testing the waters with the spirit first, but the zeal in his voice indicated he didn't care at all– he wanted this spirit to be a part of him.
"ₒₕ…? ₘy, ₘy…ₕₒw ᵣₑfᵣₑₛₕᵢₙg. Yₒᵤ ₒf ₜₕₑ ₘₐₜₑᵣᵢₐₗ ₚₗₐₙₑ ₐᵣₑ ᵤₛᵤₐₗₗy ₛₒ ᵥₑᵣy wₐᵣy…ₒᵣ ₛₒ ᵥₑᵣy wₑₐₖ. ₙₒₜ yₒᵤ, ₜₕₒᵤgₕ. ᵤₙₚₒₗᵢₛₕₑd, bᵤₜ ᵢ ₛₑₑ ₐ wₑₗₗ ₒf ₚₒwₑᵣ ᵤₙₜₐₚₚₑd…ₜₒ dₑcₗᵢₙₑ yₒᵤ ₙₒw wₒᵤₗd bₑ fₒₗₗy." The song it played this time was rather amiable, pleased.
The spirit didn't know what would come from this either. Perhaps it would feed off the young vampyre 'til it grew fat on his vitality then free itself from the contract by absorbing his soul into itself…or maybe the two would be more powerful together, Hector staying himself. Perhaps, even, this strange spirit would discover the mortal concept of 'friendship' along the way.
With a bright smile, "so it is decided!"
The mage spoke with a voice filled with both enthusiasm and anticipation as his own aether swelled between elf and spirit. Pieces of each wound together in a storm of magic and then absorbed into the opposite soul. It was done.
____
'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
Aidolon Speech
'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Mythrasi Tongue/Speech"
"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"
Aidolon Speech
