Memoirs of a Magus: The Day my Soul Sang
by Varin
--Excerpt from the journal of Varin Ke’Shan, Magus of Falconreach.
It was finally time. Months of arduous trials and countless hours wasted in study in the cave. The ordeal had begun.
Still groggy, another late night spent with nothing but books and a quiet anticipation, I had barely noticed the subtle thrum coming from that curious bauble hanging around my neck. At first I had taken the buzzing from my amulet as some sort of force yet again arrayed against the town of Falconreach. Once again I lamented the move here from Oaklore Keep but as I reached the window I realized that I had erred. Quizzically I removed the offending jewelry and closely examined it in candlelight. A deep glow came from the depths of the crimson stone. I’m still enthralled whenever I look at the masterfully carved golden miniature of a dragon holding aloft the crimson orb. The sound coming from the amulet was pulsating with a tempo that seemed to sing to my soul. Something wondrous was afoot and I could hazard a guess at what it could be.
Quickly I gathered my robe and staff and departed from Serenity’s loft-room, fancying her with a smile as I passed. That day‘s events come clear to me now if hazy they were; the breeze had promised a cold bite, ominous indeed but it barely registered. So deeply was I enmeshed in the melodic vibrations of my amulet that I was oblivious to anything but the twisting path before me as my soul was tugged, seemingly of its own accord. The path was familiar to me, my footprints nearly wearing a rut from the center of bustling Falconreach to the cave in the nearby hills.
Still looking back from today, I could not realize what impact that day had upon my life. The events of that day still cast a bright glow upon my future.
I arrived a few moments before that curious little moglin arrived to bear witness to the birth of my partner. He must have seen me leave Falconreach in urgency. His help this past year has been a welcome surprise; even if he has tried my patience at times, he'd quickly become one of my closest allies in Lore. Where I would be now without Twilly I dare not venture a guess.
Still, I can’t recall that day without a touch of awe and fear. The vibrations in my amulet were obviously echoed from those within the egg. Twilly and I said not a word to each other; we knew this was no time for words, just breaths held. Cracks formed tentatively on the shell and with each new crack I could hear Twilly’s sharp intake of breath; that or I could feel my lungs burn with the need to remind myself to breath. Quickly the shell became a spider webbed mass of cracks and fractures. So deep was my worry for this egg that I had remained vigilant over for months that my robes were saturated with the sweat of anticipation.
As suddenly as the vibrations had started in the morning, they stopped in a moment. My own heartbeat seemed to take up the lost rhythm. The cracked egg fell apart and hurriedly I rushed forward to kneel beside it. On my knees I felt a worry that a parent must feel over their children. Trembling, I watched with an even mixture of awe and terror. The most beautiful creature that I have ever had the fortune of laying my eyes on tumbled out of the split egg and landed, wet in embryonic fluids, at my legs. His wobbly neck seemed so fragile as he brought his eyes up to meet mine. Oh that gaze-- so powerful, so knowing. Deep I fell into his violet eyes and my soul seemed laid bare to this creature. He knew my greatest triumphs and my most profound sorrows in an instant. With the gentle caress of a fingernail I scratched him atop an eye ridge and a low purr issued forth from him. With an ear to ear grin I made a declaration, “Twilly, please meet Aspirion.” The little moglin smiled with confirmation at the fitting name before bounding out of the cave, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my new companion as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
Even now I weep with joy with the recollection.
