“I feel like I was born in these wastes, we’ve been here so long.” Dovhran groaned. “And I feel like I ran all day to get… here.”

Theihdow indicated to a barely visible crack in the ground. “We’re at the beetle hive, and the sun isn’t even setting yet. You’ve made good time.”

The changeling growled in response, but didn’t argue. Though Theihdow claimed the opposite, the entire group still considered him the most powerful among them. While Flip only partly overestimated the vampire’s strength, he was accurate in assuming the vampire was the most durable among them. The wizard found that to be a significant specification, as strength and survivability did merit separating. The entire group, however, was correct in assuming that the vampire was likely the most experienced and intelligent of the group.

“So...” Selian huffed, between her and Dovhran she seemed to be recovering more quickly from her somewhat faster travel. “How long will we have to wait for the hox to get here?”

“It could be hours… or days…” Theihdow hummed. “If it’s housing was damaged, it would be more likely to come this way to look for me. But I have no way of knowing how far my storm reached, or if it damaged the habitat.”

“Can I ask about that now?” Selian raised a hand to recent the vampire’s rapidly shifting attention. “How did you do that?”

“Not magic.” Flip grunted. “Not even the druidic folk can change the weather like that.”

“That is true.” Theihdow nodded. “It is not magic. It is, unfortunately, much harder to explain. But simply, I willed it to be, and it was. A more functional explanation of it might take a lifetime to grasp, so you may have to be content with something as simple as that.”

“So, you can will things into being like the gods?” Dovhran raised an eager eyebrow.

“No. The gods, in large part, use magic and primordial essence captured in our pocket of reality to shape it to their design. This is neither of those methods.”

“Faengil, maybe you can explain this better, but… what exactly… how does magic… work?” Selian was stumbling over her words, trying to ask the question she really meant, but found herself failing. “Because if magic isn’t… this? What… I’m lost.”

“Magic’s complicated.” Flip grunted as he sat down on the ground, readying his lecture. “But also quite simple. Magic is in everything. If you think of everything as one massive blanket or tapestry, magic is one of many types of thread used to weave it together. When I speak an incantation or make a gesture of arcane power or significance, I put stress on those magic threads in myself in a way which makes a chain reaction with the threads around me. Other arcanists may have slightly different methods or variations of that method, but it is as simple as playing a stringed instrument… with several added steps.”

“I’ve never heard ti explained quite like that…” Theihdow cocked his head to the side as he spoke, taking the wizard in with new eyes. “But in essence, Faengil is correct. Magic is ever-present in our reality, but it was put there by a certain power. The same power that can take a void and condense it into reality, that is an extension of the power I use.”

“The serpents tongue?” Dovhran, eager to listen up to that point, now seemed alarmed. “You can’t possibly be saying that you possess the same power as the serpent Boral? Not if you claim to be weaker than any of us…”

“It is complicated and your mind is not fully capable of receiving the information I would need to impart to you to bring you to a functional understanding of my abilities. You could learn, in time, but I do not think this power would impress you as much as you think it would.” Theihdow sighed. “It takes a considerable amount of will and intellectual fortitude to shape an entire realm, and that is what makes Boral a god and me a mere shadow of a living thing.”

“I imagine there is a large gap between sustaining the fabric of reality and forming a hailstorm.” Selian muttered, somewhat embarrassed by the mood that her questioning had led to.

“To use language you are comfortable with, dear seafaring child, immeasurable leagues of distance separate my capabilities and those of a being like Boral.” The vampire muttered. “It makes me quite embarrassed to have people think more of my abilities than they should. My only significant advantage in combat… or any situation really, is my inability to die.”

“What about your ability to bind others with agreements?” Dovhran sounded confused. “That is a formidable power.”

“It can be...” The vampire nodded in agreement. “And it is, perhaps, the most advanced level of my abilities... though it is still quite flawed, as it isn’t purely a manifestation of my abilities. It is... A mix of things.”

Theihdow, took a step back from the group and sat down as well. He took a deep breath, accepting his fated existence of explaining himself, and continued.

“It is as Faengil explained; threads of magic weave throughout all of existence, and pulling one thread may effect another. But there are other materials woven in this tapestry as well. There are chains that bind us all together, much as the priests of Ghovu preach. They are like those threads of magic, but they are not magic. They can be plucked by magic, or power such as mine... But they do not hold unilateral dominion. My agreements are two sided, they bind me just as they bind my target. And that makes them weak and easy to abuse.”

“Like being able to detect you by trying to tell lies.” Selian nodded in understanding.

“Indeed, my agreements are potentially dangerous. They can have undesired consequences for both myself and anyone else that takes part in them. And, while I can generally end them when I choose to, it takes a great deal of effort on my part to do so. Like untangling a knotted rope.”

“I never much liked the view that Ghovu’s priests teach, that we bind ourselves to the people we keep around us.” Dovhran sat down as well, making sure to keep clear of the hive opening. “I’m not responsible for the actions of those around me, and I shouldn’t feel that weight on me when they lash out or decide to leave.”

“You can’t make anyone do anything…” Selian sighed as she sat down on the hard ground. “But you do influence them. My mother used to say that my father never made her happy, but he always brought happiness to her. And she accepted.”

“I don’t think any of us are fond of the Order of Irons…” Flip growled out the name of the religion that had made him uncomfortable since his childhood. “But none of us can deny the reality that they teach something universal to our existence. That when we learn of someone, they become part of us.”

“Faengil, you are a strange man and I do not think I will ever understand you,” Selian began, and she clearly wanted to continue on about how she felt Flip confused her, but she held herself back. “But I think you’re right.”

“I think it is something that all the gods teach in one way or another.” Theihdow mused. “We are all part of each other, not in a cosmic way, or an arcane way necessarily, but in that we grow based on our experiences and those expediences are built on the people around us. Paleth teaches us to remember the dead and their influence, Haemer teaches us to value the home and those that share that space with us, Sobern imparts the value of age old wisdom, and even Lianna teaches us that we are all the same in our instability. But Ghovu seems to encompass it all… that we are all connected in many ways and with varying power and degrees of influence. And acknowledging those connections brings us closer to the people around us.”

“Were you a priest in your first life?” Dovhran scoffed.

“No, that would be Somicthen. He was… and still is, a priest of Sobern. I think he is the only one of the few who cares much for the influence of the gods.” The vampire didn’t seem at all bothered by the insulting tone of the question, or the hypothetical nature of it. “I’m just a cobbler.”

“So, this isn’t just about magic anymore.” Selian mused out loud. “But there are things like magic that manipulate the connections we share.”

“Yes.” Theihdow nodded. “And no.”

The vampire’s nod continued as he contradicted himself. There was a groan of frustration growing in the throats of Selian and Dovrhan. Flip would be more bothered if he cared to try and understand the power that the vampire held, but he was more than willing to accept that it was too complicated for him. It helped that Flip already felt that way about most magic.

Dovhran sighed and flung his hands up into the air in defeat. “I give up.”

“I’d be willing to try and learn… if you weren’t so cryptic.” Selian offered a similar gesture of defeat.

The sun was beginning to make it final descent into the night. The wastes were littered with mildly reflective exposed sediment that made the ground glitter as though there were countless diamonds strew across the earth. The ground hummed lightly beneath the group as beetles rustled through their burrowed out tunnels and arranged their food stores. The wind whispered a lulling indistinguishable chant that sent comfort through their lungs as they rested.

And somewhere… just out of sight, there was a small gentle noise. A pat pat pat of padded feet gently trotting along the ground. No one among the group of travelers seemed to hear it, but the noise was there, just out of earshot.

“I’m glad you’ve thought better of digging through my repertoire of abilities. It can be exhausting to explain all of what I’m capable of doing and my various incapabilities.”

“Incapabilities?” Flip raised a bushy eyebrow at the vampire.

“My nature is such that I cannot do certain things that you can.” Theihdow smiled a wistful and distant smile, sad in a way despite it being a smile. “I cannot wade through a flowing stream, for instance. It is one of the many gifts of the ever-changing one who designed our undying existence. Though I suspect that the various restrictions placed upon us are part of the reason we can enact binding agreements in the way we can.”

“So that isn’t just a power that you have?” Dovhran picked up on the information quickly, like a bloodhound on a fresh scent. “All of the bloody few can do that?”

“Yes. I suppose. Those I believe I have done it more than most of us. As you can imagine, we do not interact with mortal creatures much; not in a direct and obvious way at least.”

“What’s that?” Flip raised a finger to point at the vampire.

The wizard’s question took a moment to register. Theihdow didn’t even understand it at first.

“What’s what? Direct and obvious ways?” The vampire grew a mildly concerned confusion before he realized what the wizard was actually asking about.

All eyes were directed at the vampire’s hands and lap now. Theihdow had sat himself down and relaxed in a cross-legged fashion, and without the notice of any of the individuals present a small furry creature had sat itself upon his lap. The vampire had even been, unconsciously, stroking the fur of the creature in a comforting manner as it purred gently in it’s comfortable oasis of pets and scritches.

“I think that’s a hox.” Selian chuckled. “I’ve never heard of them being so stealthy before. But I guess you adapt when you live in a barren waste with little to hide behind.”

“Indeed. You have gotten quite stealthy, haven’t you.” Theihdow’s morose smile grew into one of genuine joy, albeit well controlled joy. “I suppose you’re here for a meal, little one. Go ahead and do take your time, we will follow when you’re done.”

The hox purred loudly at the invitation, and, as if it understood the vampire’s words, it got up and stretched out its body. It’s tortoise shell fur was short and wiry, though it looked quite soft and pleasant to touch, and it’s form seemed to stretch out an extra foot before collapsing back again as it made itself ready to hunt. It’s front paws had distinct digits, including a thumb, which is utilized quickly to begin prying away at the dry crust of the earth at the edges of the beetle hive. The digging revealed that the ground there was not solid earth, but some kind of molded substance that had been covered in a generous dusting of gray soil.

The ground gave way like a beehive, crunching away as the hox went to work breaking apart small pieces and scratching at other parts of the exposed hive structure with its small claws. Before long, several beetles emerged in a small swarm to attempt to reconstruct the damaged hive. In a matter of moments, the hox had picked out six or seven individual beetles with its little paws and set them aside one at a time to stomp on before moving on to the next target. And once its six or seven beetles had been subdued, it went about crunching away on their carapaces in an unsettling feast of insect deliciousness. The crunching sound was much like biting through crispy toasted bread, or stepping on freshly laid gravel.

Dovhran and Flip watched on in horror at the scene and reacted to the sounds with complete disgust. Selian and Thiehdow, on the other hand, seemed undisturbed at the natural display of a wild creature. If anything, Thiehdow almost displayed something of a proud expression on his face, like that of a father watching their child succeed at a task they had spent many hours teaching them.

When the feast was over, and the hox satisfied, it returned to Theihdow’s side and began to swirl around him. It brushed its side and tail against the vampire, showing a familiarity that the vampire seemed unfazed by.

“I believe he is ready to show us the way to our next destination.”

“But it’s night…” Dovhran sounded unhappy and looked sorrowfully at his own legs. “And we ran here…”

“It shouldn’t be too far.” Theihdow offered a reassuring nod as he gave the hox a scratch behind the ears.

Without further argument, the vampire stood and the hox began to trot away happily. The contented trot of the beast persisted for several hours.