No Fault Of Mine

The attack came quickly; one second Bjorn was following Tanisha out of the room with Svan and Joha, the next Harald barreled in through the window. In barely a moment he aimed and fired directly at Bjorn. The attack was too close to dodge and too powerful to survive if he was struck with the wind magic construct. The instant before he was killed he was in Tanisha's arms, up against the wall on the far side of the room. Tanisha managed to save him with Blink and he could not be happier with his smaller size.

There was an explosion of power as half the building was blown out from the force of the arrow that had narrowly missed him. Joha ran to engage the knight commander while Tanisha tried to stand, only to throw up blood onto Bjorn before collapsing on top of him. The blood turned into maya and fizzled away, but Tanisha was delirious. Bjorn quickly positioned the girl on his back and ran towards Svan to escape the battle between the two powerhouses. 

Harald was quick to figure out that the Tyr he had been following was actually Joha. The man was furious, and by the looks of things was fighting Joha to a stalemate. The demon was a problem but not his target; he needed to find and kill the real Isi patriarch. The knight attempted to disengage as Bjorn met with Svan at the door and the two ran out of the room. Svan picked up Tanisha while they ran down stairs into what remained of a textile shop. The sound of Joha and Harald's battle echoed throughout the building as they reached the first floor. 

There was a lot of power radiating off of Tanisha. Bjorn could feel her reach out to him through their bond. Something was happening to her; he just couldn't tell what. Then again something had happened to him, too, and he needed to get a good grasp on the situation. 

He split his attention, something that had become easier with more heads.

"Failsafe, I need all of the heads back. I need you to analyze the changes to us now!" Bjorn said. 

The construct immediately relinquished control of the right head and gasped. Bjorn remembered that the construct couldn't monitor his body and control the head at the same time. So the changes to him would have been just as much a surprise to Failsafe as it was to Bjorn. 

"What in the Infernal Planes did you do?" Failsafe asked. "Aether… and the maya is gone. Like gone-gone. What happened?"

"Work fast, I'll tell you later what happened. I need to know what my body can do," Bjorn said. "Look through the bond at Tanisha as well, what's happening to her?"

"Okay-okay I'm going to be silent for a little while so bear with me," Failsafe responded.

Svan called to Bjorn, "Down here."

Bjorn returned his focus to where he had been running. He followed Svan outside and behind the building without much active thought. It seemed that the more heads he had, the more tasks he could do at once without needing to fully focus on each individual head. 

They were at a cellar door, which Svan quickly opened.

Svan looked around. "We just need Jo…"

The Tiger Demon appeared in a cloud of red maya. He was still shaped like Tyr but his antlers had become barbed horns. He was bleeding maya from multiple deep cuts all over his body. The fight against the knight commander had been far more even than he wanted. 

"We have to go now; the Knight Commander got away," Joha said with a growl.

"Right, follow me," Svan said. "We have to get back to the gate before reinforcements arrive."

"I will take Tanisha. I am faster than you," Joha said as he gently took her.

They escaped into the cellar without being seen. Things were going well for the plan. From there the trio ran into a tunnel that connected to a rather extensive network of catacombs. Some of which were used for sewage, if the smell was anything to go by. The path they were on was thankfully not one of those. 

It only took a minute of running before Tanisha stirred; she mentioned something about evolution before passing out again.

"I have it, well some of it, take a look at your menus," Failsafe said. "Whatever you did to keep us alive made us lose some levels. Might have been worth it, though, for the aether."

Bjorn couldn't help but feel some trepidation in talking to the reincarnation construct. The final warning he got from the Queen of a Thousand Heads put him on edge.

Status Menu

Name: Bjorn Isin Scalebound

Species: Lernaean Hydra

Level: 22

Vitality: 150 < 136 195< p>

Restoration: 220 < 206 / 270

Constitution: 90 < 76 / 135

Strength: 100 < 80 / 130

Dexterity: 85 < 71/ 100

Stamina: 95 < 81/ 115

Aether: 30 / 50

Aetheric Regeneration: 100 / 100 (+100 from bond)

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"It looks like you lost four levels and forty points to stats because of the aether. You lost an additional fifty because your smaller size lost muscle mass," Failsafe stated.

"Shame; what will happen to the memories I got because of those levels?" Bjorn asked.

"We lost those too," Failsafe said. "We never internalized them, so you'll have to level up again before we have access to all of it. Wait, you never told me what happened; how did you get us connected to aether? Does it have something to do with that Unknown Pact thing I can see for some reason?"

Bjorn was silent for a long moment; he was conflicted if he should tell Failsafe any information about his conversation with P̵̫̗͗o̸̖͛̂i̴͔͐s̷͍̈o̵̯̗̓ǹ̸̘̌. He didn't seem to know, so she must have done something to prevent Failsafe from seeing those memories. Failsafe was in Bjorn's head but couldn't really read his mind. He had to actively want to talk to the construct for his thoughts to be conveyed. He'd never been too suspicious of Failsafe, but maybe that was a mistake.

"I don't know, maybe it was just luck," Bjorn said. "I was connected to a Higher Plane. I guess it just worked out."

"Weird. Well, don't do it again," Failsafe scolded. "I am tired of almost dying! Take a look at your Skills Analysis page. I did the conversion from mana to aether for you."

Skills Analysis

Reincarnation Failsafe

An incomplete reincarnation magic and your best friend who has your back no matter what!

Error: Unknown Pact

The Queen of a Thousand Heads is watching you.

Venomous Bite

Aether Cost: 0

You have a neurotoxic venom which can be injected through a bite with your fangs. Your venom becomes infectious and will spread to nearby targets within five feet of the injected target. Allies are unaffected by your venom.

Poison Cloud

Aether Cost: 5

With your right head you can mix venom into the air using magic, creating a large area of poisonous gas. This gas will rapidly reduce the health of those inside. Allies within your Poison Cloud are unaffected. Gain control over the spread and density of the Poison Cloud.

Plague Fire Breath

Aether Cost: 8

With your left head you can breathe a plume of superheated toxin, which will ignite enemies and infect them with your neurotoxin. Flames retain toxicity until you release the spell. Plague Fire will spread like normal fire. 

Hellmouth < Aetheric Breath

Aether Cost: 15

I have know idea what this is or how it works. It replaced Maya Breath, but until you use it I don't know what it will do. I recommend trying it when no one is around.

Poison Claws

Aether Cost: 2

You can infuse your claws with neurotoxic venom, making even small scratches fatal. Venom has resistance to cleansing effects. Allies are unaffected by your venom.

Delta Familiar Contract

Aether Cost: -100

You are a bonded delta-class familiar. You gain +100 to aetheric regeneration. Your bond has grown, allowing you to convey emotions through your bond. Your bond is more resistant to outside influences and can not be forcibly severed by outside parties. 

King of the Reptiles

Passive Skill

Dragons, lizards and amphibians all show hesitation and fear around you, going so far as to run away. More study needed.

Intimidation Roar

Aether Cost: 1

Infuse aether into your roar to paralyze anyone that hears it. Your roar can paralyze humanoid magic constructs as long as they are connected to a magic caster. Paralysis duration depends on distance and level disparity between you and the target. Those bound to you are immune to this effect.

Head Regeneration and Random Growth!?!?!? < Hydra Regeneration

Aether Cost: 15

(So funny story, we grew another head, I have no idea why…)

We actually have enough aether to use this now. I still don't recommend decapitation though. We can convert experience or aether into maturation, or healing major wounds including decapitation, or growing more heads. Let's not push our luck too much, though. Everytime we do something you almost get us killed as-is.

Page 2 of 2

"Aether Breath? Hydra Regeneration? It looks like all of my skills just kept the maya aspects without the need for maya."

"Yeah, essentially it just changed the source of your power," Failsafe stated. "As for Aether Breath, as it stands I have no idea what it's going to do. Maybe it's a buff like the maya version was, or maybe it will tear a hole in space and time, or maybe it will summon a cosmic bunny. Needless to say, we should wait to use it until we are away from allies. Just in case."

"Why don't you know what it is?" Bjorn asked.

"I have very limited knowledge of aether. It's hard to decipher; the only reason I know what the other skills do is because they didn't change the formula too much, just the power source, so the spell forms are pretty much the same. Aether Breath completely replaced Hellmouth to the point it's unrecognizable. But look on the bright side, mystery is the spice of li…"

A sudden flash of light arrested everyone's attention. The light was blinding, and had a substance to it like being thrown into a fire that doesn't burn. They all stopped as the source of the light was identified. Tanisha started floating in the air, her form shrouded in white gold with aetheric runes inking their way across her skin, tattooing her form in arcane symbols and some of the most complex magic diagrams Bjorn had ever seen.

The aether was coated in mana, which continued to weave into the air, mixing into the diagrams and further amplifying the complexity. Tanisha was speaking, but her words were immediately snatched from his memory as if it were not for the ears of mortals or True, but for the universe itself. The universe seemed to respond as everything started to vibrate. It was subtle at first, but after a minute the ground shook to the point everyone feared a cave-in. 

Maya escaped Tanisha's mouth with every word; it was blood red and sank into her skin, finishing the patterns on her glowing form. The lights dimmed and the shaking stopped. Bjorn tasted the air and found something he had never tasted before. It wasn't maya, mana or aether; at first it had trace amounts of the three, but after a moment it became a homogenous new power. As the light retreated Bjorn got a notification and had to read it twice to fully understand what was happening.

Master Evolution Prerequisite 

Tanisha Thundersky Scalebound has met the requirement to evolve her race. She has broken free of the limitations set by the Creator of the Wendigo. Her evolution, Cernunnos, requires a permanent bond which ties your souls. This is a unique evolution which will grant the familiar some of her abilities, and her some of your abilities. Your bond has become permanent and your souls inextricably tied together.

Gain the following abilities of your master: 

Mystic Wind Hands < Air Claws

Mana Armor < Aetheric Scales

Hydromancy < Hydromancy

Water Light < Water Light

Water Missile < Hydro-breath

Share the following abilities with your master:

Venomous Bite < Venomous Fangs

Poison Cloud < Poison Breath

Plague Fire Breath < Hydra Fire

Poison Claws < Poison Infusion 

King of Reptiles < Queen of Reptiles

Note: Rejection of your bond will cease this evolution and it will permanently become lost. 

Warning: This evolution is currently stabilizing the core of your master. If you reject this Evolution Prerequisite your master will devolve into a new species, Cursed Deathwalker (Lesser Wendigo).

Accept Evolution Prerequisite within 2 minutes or evolution will be lost.

Accept [Yes / No]

Bjorn was flabbergasted by the prompt. He hadn't considered permanently tying his soul to Tanisha. The familiar bond by itself wouldn't have done that, as far as he knew. It wasn't that he disliked Tanisha, but for such an extreme connection to be required for her to live was asinine. 

He wasn't sure if it was what he wanted; he would surely outlive the wendigo girl. Did that mean her spirit would never find rest? What fate would await her if he was unable to stop the Queen of a Thousand Heads from poisoning this reality? Would she want to face that existential threat?

Failsafe didn't seem to get the notification, or couldn't see it, as he didn't react at all. More and more things were being hidden from him, which only made Bjorn more suspicious of the construct. It wasn't Failsafe's choice anyway, it was his and his alone, and he now had less than a minute to decide. He took a deep breath and let it out slow and controlled.

"Yes," Bjorn thought. 

The menu snapped closed and the light around Tanisha dimmed. She was slowly lowered to her feet, her body changing as she took her first step as a new creature. Her raven black hair was now long and disheveled, her body in its prime looking to have aged into an adult. Her ears had become long and pointed, like those of an elf. Stranger still was the long black tail she sported, which dragged on the floor.

She stumbled, only to be caught by Joha and Svan who had both reached out to catch her. She opened her eyes for the first time to reveal glowing golden orbs that swirled with magic. The light in them slowly faded, leaving the golden irises to sparkle in the dim light of the catacombs. 

This was the birth of the first greater wendigo in over two millennia.

"Uh, Bjorn," Failsafe said sheepishly. "Don't be mad, but remember how I said I would warn you before the bond became permanent? Well, and it was no fault of mine! But the bond might have just made itself permanent suddenly."

"I know," Bjorn responded resolutly.

Failsafe rushed to his own defense. "It wasn't my fault, I had been monitoring, it-it just kind of changed… wait you know?