[There's a lot going on this month that's uncannily familiar to Kadoc—uncanny in the sense that it's similar, but Off. The whole tattooing process had been one of those things. Kadoc may not have any tattoos per se, but he's been through his share of painful magical rituals in his youth; receiving his family's Crest had not been a pleasant experience, to say the least. It never is. But mages, where he comes from, go through it anyway, because it needs to be done. And the branding process had been similar in many ways: he'd done it because he has a high pain tolerance and because it's not the first magical tampering his body has been through for the sake of something greater.
Not always the greater good, but something greater.
And now this: he's been offered a one-day "Servant" to be bound to his command, in exchange for having gotten this magical symbol branded onto his body. That sure does ring a bell! . . . In a very real way, though, being somewhat familiar with the circumstances makes it all stranger, not easier.
If nothing else, there's a big difference between summoning a Servant to be your Servant, and having a friend assigned to be your servant. He can't just think of Rinea as someone to serve him! God. Do they get punished for failing at the service thing? Does going through with it feed the tattoo magic somehow? Kadoc doesn't know! This situation has very different connotations than what he's used to!
So here he is, gingerly settled under a tree in a plush patch of grass, wondering if he should have headed for a bed instead—but that would have felt really awkward. He just needs to rest for a while. Just a little while, and then he'll be fine to head home and sleep off the rest of the branding pain, without needing Rinea magically bound to tend to him . . . sheesh.
It takes him some working up to it to even "command" of her:]
I—sorry. Would you mind getting me some water? . . . That's not a magical order or anything. At least, I'm not trying to make it one.
5.
Not always the greater good, but something greater.
And now this: he's been offered a one-day "Servant" to be bound to his command, in exchange for having gotten this magical symbol branded onto his body. That sure does ring a bell! . . . In a very real way, though, being somewhat familiar with the circumstances makes it all stranger, not easier.
If nothing else, there's a big difference between summoning a Servant to be your Servant, and having a friend assigned to be your servant. He can't just think of Rinea as someone to serve him! God. Do they get punished for failing at the service thing? Does going through with it feed the tattoo magic somehow? Kadoc doesn't know! This situation has very different connotations than what he's used to!
So here he is, gingerly settled under a tree in a plush patch of grass, wondering if he should have headed for a bed instead—but that would have felt really awkward. He just needs to rest for a while. Just a little while, and then he'll be fine to head home and sleep off the rest of the branding pain, without needing Rinea magically bound to tend to him . . . sheesh.
It takes him some working up to it to even "command" of her:]
I—sorry. Would you mind getting me some water? . . . That's not a magical order or anything. At least, I'm not trying to make it one.
[It probably is one anyway.]