Agathor awoke again to find himself in the now somewhat familiar cavernous abode infested with imps. Tiredness overtook him shortly after his meal, and despite his attempts to push it back, to gain answers, his body could only succumb to it.

The imp that had just fed him had since fallen asleep on her chair, Agathor still tucked in her arms like a precious treasure. It was not lost on him that she hadn’t let him go since he came to.

She called herself Ma. He knew it wasn’t her real name, but for lack of a better alternative, Agathor adopted it too.

With Ma asleep, he now had a moment to himself, and so he began to gather himself and theorise.

Those two demons must be playing some trick on me, leaving my wounded body to be humiliated by these mischievous beasts.

Though as the words flowed through his mind, they didn’t seem right. His intuition, which had rarely been wrong in his experience, told him this was something else entirely, though he couldn’t quite place why.

Imps are mischievous beasts… this has to be some trick.

He continued to fret.

But why do I feel somewhat comfortable… why does my body feel foreign and not listen to me?

And most damningly.

Why can I feel wings on my back and a tail above my arse?

He concluded simply: I need to see my reflection.

But for that to happen, he figured, he’d have to be able to move. And so Agathor the Imp pushed his body to the limit, swinging his arms, legs, wings and tail. Though he had made some progress from before, it was far from enough.

He suddenly realised.

Magicka! Of course, I’ll channel it and strengthen my body. That should do the trick.

And so Agathor began to breathe in a pattern such that magicka entered and flowed throughout his body. This pattern was of course the Beginningless Circulation technique that Agathor was extremely familiar with.

However, to Agathor’s dismay, his breathing felt rough and laboured. The miniscule amounts of magicka that did enter his body seemed chaotic and unsure of where to travel. As if he was a novice once more.

Moreover, when he felt within himself, he realised there was no evidence of the enormous magicka pool that had served him so invaluably during the war. Instead, he had a pool that, while large for an ordinary human and even standard knight, could only be seen by him as immensely disappointing.

The thought at the back of his mind that he was no longer in his body crawled ever so slightly closer to the front.

Soon, Ma awoke and saw Agathor tossing and turning about.

“Look like a lil worrywart mah little one!”

Agathor looked up in attention at her voice. Strangely, he didn’t hate to hear it, he realised. Though he was still beyond confused as to why he could understand her.

Is she speaking Ordesque? Though not surprising, it’s dangerous for caverns of demons to exist within our lands.

The thought of escaping and exterminating this cavern though seemed to tear at Agathor in a way that surprised him.

These are demons. Remember their cruelty. Do not let it go, he reminded himself.

As he thought, another basic urge overtook him.

I must’ve jinxed it, Agathor cursed as his body began to let go of its nutrient build-up.

Ma unfortunately did not react in time, catching some on herself before placing him on the ground, though she was not bothered. “Aw, me little ones doing a turd already, so smart just like his pa,” she said with laughter as she ran her clawed fingers through the floor, collecting dirt and detritus, before using it to cover Agathor’s misdeed.

I pray Marianna never learns of this, Agathor beseeched the gods.

“Now let’s wash up that turdy bum of yers, Redstone,” Ma announced as she lifted herself and Agathor up and walked to a small running spring in the cavern.

She lowered him into the spring and then crawled in herself before washing Agathor and herself clean.

Agathor took this moment to look at his reflection in the waters illuminated by the bioluminescent moss overhead. As he looked at his reflection, he could not believe what he saw. Or perhaps, he just refused to believe it.

A small, ugly face that looked like a mask of thin stone set with two orange eyes met his sight. To the side of his head there were two oversized ears while at his crown two horns sprouted.

I’m truly… an imp?

At that moment of realisation, an unfamiliar screen appeared before him.

Titles: The Marezen Sword, The Knight-Protector of Hatalia, The Saviour of Oros

Name: Redstone

Age: 20 hours

Race: Imp (Fire Imp/Stone Imp)

Gender: Male

Skills

Martial: N/A Circulatory: Samsara Circulation [First Breath] [Partial First Movement] Eborian:

The Eyes of Aard [Active]

The Ears of Guo [Active]

Stats Health: 10/10 Strength: 1 Stamina: 1 Dexterity: 1 Intelligence: 80 Magicka: 10