"That's quite the story," Magnus said thoughtfully as they made their way to the college. "I've never heard of such a thing before. Extraordinary."
Killian scoffed loudly in her head, but she pushed his mental presence out. She had to focus on Damien and Belial for now and she wasn't going to be distracted by a bitter cub. Not when she had to perfectly handle the situation. Even if it ended in failure to capture, so long as no one was hurt, that was a victory.
She did, however, chuckle at Damien's request. "I didn't think blood magic was still popular. I assure you, none of the nonsense here. The Mage's College deals with elemental magics only. Though I will admit, we have very few who deal with magic of the spiritual persuasion. If they are out in the field, I know a couple arcane mages who would be happy to look you both over. No blood."
It wasn't entirely true that the Mage's College didn't deal in blood magic, but there were no records and anybody who was unfortunate wnough to learn about it wouldn't exactly leave in the same state of which they came. She really hoped it would actually have to come down to that. She had only been given on opportunity to tap the blood mages for information - for anything - and she wasn't going to use it to figure out what Belial and Damien were.
With Magnus accompanying Damien and Belial, very few people looked at them so readily. Those who stared were mostly children who though Belial was the coolest thing they had ever seen in their young lives. Not every day you saw an elemental creature attached to hair. They pointed, but they were in awe. An elf with a cool demon thing? That was totally wicked.
So the kids say these days.
The way to the Mage's College was long winded, purposefully so Killian could gather more information from the shadows. Gait, posture, stride lengths and other such measurements. Belial was harder to measure, mostly because there wasn't a clear way to tell where Damien ended and where Belial began. Or was it the other way around?
As the bridge into the college rose under their feet, Magnus had to stop Damien.
"You've never been here before, correct?" she asked. "Because there is something you should know about new visitors to the college. Everybody has to go through it, but if you've never passed through a ward before, it might be a little jarring."
Killian appeared from behind Magnus and blinked at Damien.
"The college is protected by a special kind of ward," Killian explained. "A ward that is different from the ones around the city, even if you came through teleportation, you might have felt it. Slight pressure in the head, light feeling in the body. Some experience nausea or headaches. It's a normal process of traveling to Yfrelo."
He reached out and tapped where the ward was with a smear of magic oozing from his fingertip. A section of the ward became visible. If one looked close enough, there were tiny hexagons connected to each other that spread up and around until the area that showed disappeared into nothingness.
"The college's wards are much stronger than the city's wards. It has to deal with all manner of magical creatures and humanoids all day. To a newcomer, you'll feel like you are being pushed away, or that the ward is tearing something away from you, but that is normal. Feel free to turn around and leave."
That last bit sounded like a request. Magnus hushed him with a dismissive wave of her hand and he fell silent, eyes narrowed and lips in a thin line.
"It doesn't hurt, but if you feel dizzy, that's normal. It wears off shortly after you pass through it. Easy." She smiled warmly. "We'll get you fed as soon as you pass through."
But a little more magical information wouldn't be a bad byproduct as well. Killian was already prepared to pull what he could from the ward once Damien and Belial were out of sight.
Killian scoffed loudly in her head, but she pushed his mental presence out. She had to focus on Damien and Belial for now and she wasn't going to be distracted by a bitter cub. Not when she had to perfectly handle the situation. Even if it ended in failure to capture, so long as no one was hurt, that was a victory.
She did, however, chuckle at Damien's request. "I didn't think blood magic was still popular. I assure you, none of the nonsense here. The Mage's College deals with elemental magics only. Though I will admit, we have very few who deal with magic of the spiritual persuasion. If they are out in the field, I know a couple arcane mages who would be happy to look you both over. No blood."
It wasn't entirely true that the Mage's College didn't deal in blood magic, but there were no records and anybody who was unfortunate wnough to learn about it wouldn't exactly leave in the same state of which they came. She really hoped it would actually have to come down to that. She had only been given on opportunity to tap the blood mages for information - for anything - and she wasn't going to use it to figure out what Belial and Damien were.
With Magnus accompanying Damien and Belial, very few people looked at them so readily. Those who stared were mostly children who though Belial was the coolest thing they had ever seen in their young lives. Not every day you saw an elemental creature attached to hair. They pointed, but they were in awe. An elf with a cool demon thing? That was totally wicked.
So the kids say these days.
The way to the Mage's College was long winded, purposefully so Killian could gather more information from the shadows. Gait, posture, stride lengths and other such measurements. Belial was harder to measure, mostly because there wasn't a clear way to tell where Damien ended and where Belial began. Or was it the other way around?
As the bridge into the college rose under their feet, Magnus had to stop Damien.
"You've never been here before, correct?" she asked. "Because there is something you should know about new visitors to the college. Everybody has to go through it, but if you've never passed through a ward before, it might be a little jarring."
Killian appeared from behind Magnus and blinked at Damien.
"The college is protected by a special kind of ward," Killian explained. "A ward that is different from the ones around the city, even if you came through teleportation, you might have felt it. Slight pressure in the head, light feeling in the body. Some experience nausea or headaches. It's a normal process of traveling to Yfrelo."
He reached out and tapped where the ward was with a smear of magic oozing from his fingertip. A section of the ward became visible. If one looked close enough, there were tiny hexagons connected to each other that spread up and around until the area that showed disappeared into nothingness.
"The college's wards are much stronger than the city's wards. It has to deal with all manner of magical creatures and humanoids all day. To a newcomer, you'll feel like you are being pushed away, or that the ward is tearing something away from you, but that is normal. Feel free to turn around and leave."
That last bit sounded like a request. Magnus hushed him with a dismissive wave of her hand and he fell silent, eyes narrowed and lips in a thin line.
"It doesn't hurt, but if you feel dizzy, that's normal. It wears off shortly after you pass through it. Easy." She smiled warmly. "We'll get you fed as soon as you pass through."
But a little more magical information wouldn't be a bad byproduct as well. Killian was already prepared to pull what he could from the ward once Damien and Belial were out of sight.
