《Soulbound Contractor》 Chapter One ¡°Hurry up!¡± A frustrated voice grumbled and Dryth felt a hand land on his back and push. He stumbled forward and knocked into the girl standing in front of him even as he tried his best to keep his balance without touching her. She turned around to glare and saw Dryth keeping himself from tipping over. Her glare shifted over his shoulder to the boy behind him and her nose crinkled up in a sneer. ¡°Don¡¯t push people you idiot. And what do you mean, ¡®hurry up¡¯? We¡¯re all in the same line.¡± She turned back around with a huff, completely ignoring Dryth after seeing he hadn¡¯t run into her purposefully. The boy who¡¯d pushed Dryth silently snarled at him, like it was somehow Dryth¡¯s fault that he¡¯d been scolded. Dryth kept his face blank as he turned back to face the front and did his best to ignore the angry murmuring from behind him. The guy was an impatient idiot, Dryth had known that for years at this point, and trying to argue with him would be pointless for a number of reasons, but mostly because it would just egg him on to be even more of a bully. Life in general was more pleasant if Dryth just didn¡¯t react to the people trying to get a rise out of him and today it was even more important that he not draw attention to himself. Today was the day his entire class became legal adults, the day of their Reveal, and Dryth was not getting in any trouble today. As if to reinforce Dryth¡¯s resolve, one of their teachers walked by right at that moment and stopped next to him, staring behind him with an unhappy expression. Dryth didn¡¯t now if the boy behind him was pulling back to give him another shove or the teacher had seen the first one and was coming to dispense punishment, but Dryth wasn¡¯t getting involved. The rumors that basically amounted to ghost stories of kids getting dragged off during their Reveal day to be punished and forever losing the chance to become adults, remaining legally children forever and being trapped to always take classes were obviously fake. The much more realistic rumors of kids getting punished and having their Reveal delayed by a day or two sounded much more likely, and Dryth wasn¡¯t going to be one of those unfortunates, even if it would only be a day or two delay. The teacher didn¡¯t do anything other than stare disapprovingly, so they must not have seen him get pushed, but they continued to hang out in the area as they walked up and down the line to make sure everyone was behaving. There were only a little less than forty students in Dryth¡¯s class from the local school that served the area his home village was part of, but there were five other classes in line and even more scheduled to come throughout the day according to the teachers and the sheer number of impatient students wanting to get past the waiting and the sitting and the listening parts to get to their Reveals meant there was a lot of tension around. Dryth was clutched by the same tension, and he was too wrapped up in himself to even attempt to make small talk with anyone around him or to gaze out at the beautiful campus they were on like some of his peers. There wasn¡¯t really a point in trying to talk to anyone, he wasn¡¯t around any of the handful of people he would call friends and he was a social outcast to the rest of the class, so that was out whether or not he was wound up with staring toward the front of the line, mentally begging everyone ahead of him to go faster. Some tiny piece of him was a little sad that he wasn¡¯t looking at the gorgeous, and in many cases literally magical sights, but he reassured himself that he could do that later. And he could, honestly. Once he got through his Reveal and became an official mage walking around the Association campus to see all the sights was an easy ask. Whatever the hold-up at the front was it finally cleared up and people started moving faster. Dryth followed the girl in front of him through the door into the building they¡¯d all been queued up to enter and continued following as they headed up some stairs and then deeper into the building. They filed into a large auditorium filled with seats that all looked down at a wide, semi-circular stage. Following the directions of the multiple teachers around, there both from his class and others from other regions, all of the students took the next seat in line and quietly waited for the event to start, whatever it was. The only thing Dryth knew was that today was the day of everyone¡¯s Reveals, and he knew they weren¡¯t public spectacles for everyone to watch. Whatever the point of the auditorium was he didn¡¯t care at that moment. Dryth needed to get this over with. He desperately hoped, no he believed that finally being an adult meant he could get out of the shitty situation he was stuck in. It wasn¡¯t that bad, he wasn¡¯t being tortured or denied his basic rights or anything, but he was fed up with being an outcast and whipping boy for everyones bad feelings, shitty days, and random aggressions. He was the weird kid, he got that even though he didn¡¯t remember most of the ¡®strange events¡¯ people told him he went through, although between the ones he did remember and those that were described to him he honestly couldn¡¯t understand why people thought he had to be avoided. Who cared if he knew answers to questions before the teacher ever broached a subject? It wasn¡¯t that weird, he¡¯d been focused on his studies since the day he¡¯d known he was going to be a mage. And just because people hadn¡¯t heard of concepts he¡¯d mentioned or events he knew about didn¡¯t mean that he was ¡®possessed¡¯ or anything like some of the people in his home village had tried to accuse. The mage that had ended up being called in to prove that he wasn¡¯t had been pretty annoyed. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.He¡¯d thought that joining the boarding school that was required for future mages would give him a break from all of the looks and stilted social interactions he¡¯d gotten back home, but he¡¯d had the bad luck of having another kid from his village having the potential to be a mage too and he¡¯d spared no time spreading around about how terrible Dryth was. Or something like that he¡¯d quickly learned to stop paying attention to exactly what people were saying about him, just to spare his own sanity. He had made some friends though, which was nice. No one that he¡¯d call a best friend or who¡¯d pick him over one of their other friend¡¯s if something horrible happened, but having people who were happy to talk to and spend time with him was nice. This time though, he¡¯d get away from all of it. Away from his ¡®peers¡¯ that mostly ignored or bullied him, away from teachers that didn¡¯t like him knowing things they hadn¡¯t brought up yet, away from a home that didn¡¯t want him around because he made the other villagers uncomfortable. He would become a mage, finish his training, get licensed by the Association, and go live on his own after finding a job to pay his expenses. There wouldn¡¯t be thirteen other siblings around to worry about and he could find a place that had never heard of him where he could reinvent himself. Maybe he could even find a girlfriend at some point. The light that suddenly flashed from behind him, illuminating the stage below, snapped him out of his planning for the future. A tall, portly man with a sharply pointed beard stepped into the light, the gold trim over his robes flashing as he moved to the center of the stage. He held out his hands to either side and the sleeves of his robe drooped down, creating little dark pockets. He stared expectantly up into the crowd of seated students, who stared back at him with confusion. ¡°Welcome, students, to the first day of your glorious membership in our Association!¡± He exclaimed in a booming voice. He flicked one hand to the side and a card appeared between tow of his fingers. He brought both hands in front of him, the card held so its edge was facing the crowd. The card began to glow with golden light. The man¡¯s sleeves began to billow and shake like there were small animals fighting in them, before golden liquid burst form within. There was more of it that could have physically fit inside the man¡¯s body let alone his sleeves as it rushed like a broken fire hydrant toward the students. Several of them screamed or yelped in shock as they tried to scramble out of the way. Right before any of the liquid hit anyone the stream bent on itself and redirected back toward the stage. It continued doing that, twisting and bending, moving in all kinds of directions as it spread over the stage and through the auditorium, until there was a shining golden tree shape hovering behind and above the man. ¡°My name,¡± He called out, ¡°Is Director Treegold! I have the pleasure of being the Director of Induction for the Association area centered on this lovely city of Stonebreak that we are currently located in, and it is my grand pleasure to welcome you all here!¡± He held his arms out and above him at an angle and the gold liquid started moving backwards, un-drawing the tree that it had made as it flowed back into his sleeves. When the last bit of the liquid had vanished into his clothing the card he was holding stopped glowing, then vanished. ¡°That, dear students, is a minor example of what life as a mage and a member of the Association will bring you! Magic in spades, certainly! A bevy of cards of your own, to match your newly Revealed Soul Cards, indeed! A Class, to direct the path of your magical learning, well that comes with your Soul Card as we all know! All of that and more is waiting for you as new members of the Association!¡± He grinned widely as his gaze panned over the students. ¡°Are you ready, students, for your Reveals!?¡± The students burst into cheers, some even jumping to their feet to applaud in the wake of the man¡¯s performance. Even Dryth was drawn into his showman ship and clapped and cheered with everyone else. ¡°Wonderful! Please, all of you, follow the instructions of your teachers and the fantastic mages who have volunteered their time to help with the process today, and we¡¯ll make mages and Association members of you in no time!¡± Chapter Two Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter Three Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Chapter Four Dryth stared at the card without really seeing it as he processed the revelation. He was a Contractor. That was... within expectations. He''d never expected to get one of the incredibly rare Classes that turned people into national heroes or immediately paved their way to immense magical power, and he''d avoided the Classes he really didn''t want, like Mage Vessel, a class dedicated toward storing magical power so it could be transported. The jobs they got didn''t sound very magical at all despite their blue Soul Cards, they just moved from place to place transferring energy into depleted enchantments, which required a lot of travel and not much time to make a life for yourself. Contractor was solidly on his list of acceptable options and was roughly in the middle of the same list when sorted by how much he''d like to get that Class. All in all, an average result that would definitely lead to a stable life. Actually, calling it just "average" might even be downplaying it a little. Being a Contractor was actually considered fairly prestigious, once you''d been doing it for awhile. Contractors were the kind of mages that built up power and connections as time went on, as long as they put a modicum of effort into it, and didn''t have much of a plateau when it came to growth, so it was sought after by the kind of people that thought that far ahead or thought they were particularly suited for it, not that there was any way to actually make sure you got one Soul Card or another, but people still tried. Having paid attention in all of his classes, Dryth knew what the basics of the Contractor card were and wanted to jump down to the bottom to read his silver text, the part of his card that made him unique, but he restrained himself without too much difficulty. Knowledge was power, and the society he lived in cared about controlling power. If he''d just been Dryth without David''s memories then he might have never noticed, but with another set of metaphorical eyes to process reality through, he''d seen how the teachers and other figures of authority maneuvered certain questions to avoid answers or to make things sound more or less achievable. There was a chance that they''d left out information about the Contractor card or others, or they might have entirely lied about some things. While his experiences so far didn''t point toward that level of information control, "trust but verify" was the name of the game. He started at the very top of the lines of text on the card and made sure he actually understood everything before moving on to the next line.
Contractor (Human Soul Card) A mage Class, the Contractor card gives you the basic abilities granted to all Human mages: the ability to slot blue bordered cards into your Deck, the ability to generate magical power (personal choice, changed to "Mana" or "MP" in all future references) for use in fueling blue bordered card effects, and the ability to use Shards to form new blue bordered cards.
He paused at the end of the first sentence, already a bit out of his depth, thanks to the words in parentheses. The sound of a faint thud had him looking up from the card, startled at something moving in his soul space that wasn''t him. A tall glass instrument that looked like something out of a chemistry lab was now sitting in the corner of the table. It had a brown wooden base that almost blended in with the color of the table and a cylinder of glass rose from that. Halfway up it split into four equal tubes that curved until they were perpendicular to their start and fed into a large glass sphere the size of a basketball. A small display flipped up with led lights against the wood that spelled out "0/100 MP". As Dryth watched in surprised confusion a small amount of glowing blue liquid appeared in the bottom of the device and began to slowly rise, just fast enough for Dryth to doubt whether or not it really was increasing, When it reached twice the volume it had originally he confirmed it was, and the display changing to "1/100 MP" confirmed it. "That''s..." He trailed off, the juxtaposition of elements from his two lives drawing into focus how lopsided the soul space had been, with just things from his memories as David. Pushing away the feeling he focused on the one he liked. "That looks really cool." He wasn''t sure how the card had changed or why having it displayed that was his personal choice, he didn''t remember anyone calling magical power by a shorter name or an acronym like that, although it did sound useful, so how could his personal choice be to use something brand new? Even as he started thinking about that he dismissed the thoughts and went back to reading his Soul Card. He''d already decided to deal with the strange things in his soul space later and this wasn''t later. He did, however, consider a different thought that slowly trickled its way into his brain. He hadn''t been taught anything about personal choice affecting how a card was read. It was like he had actually changed anything about the card, just how easy it was to read, which was a very simple and ultimately low impact event, why had none of his teachers ever brought this up? It was simple and effective without changing anything fundamentally and something about the newly discovered idea was putting Dryth''s teeth on edge. He''d explore that later though, for now, reading his Soul Card was still the priority. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
Contractors immediately gain the "Form Magical Contract" card upon Revealing their Soul Card. This card is always part of their deck without affecting their deck limit. The Contractor Class directly changes the effects of the Form Magical Contract card, applying the following changes: Contractors cannot form contracts between two separate beings, they can only form contracts between themselves and another sapient being. Contracts created by a Contractor will automatically inform both parties of all magical effects, bindings, changes in status, or similar effects that may occur if the contract is agreed to. While under the effects of a contract made by a Contractor, both parties have a chance of manifesting cards used by the other party. To agree to a contract created by a Contractor both parties must be on the same plane of existence and while under the effects of such a contract both parties must remain on the same plane of existence or the contract will be dissolved.
Dryth glanced up from his Soul Card again as a bright light began shining in front of him. He reached out toward it and it changed into a rectangular shape that flashed and turned into a card as he grabbed it. It said "Form Magical Contract" across the top and the images on it flickered between two unidentifiable figures signing at the bottom of a beautiful scroll with the contents written in impressive calligraphy to two similarly unidentifiable figures silently discussing something before shaking appendages. When the pictures stopped moving text appeared the same as what had happened to his Soul Card. He set the card down on the table to read in a moment. He knew generally what it would say the same as he knew the generic text for most mage Soul Cards, and his silver text might change what the card said anyway so best to wait until he''d read the rest of his Soul Card. His silver text should be next anyways. He let his eyes drift town to the glittering text at the bottom of his Soul Card. Seeing it in person, he wasn''t sure why they called it "silver text", it was more than that. While silver was definitely part of it it also shimmered with motes of gold and platinum colors. Personally he thought it was much more of a "metallic prismatic text" than just mere silver. Reading, he noticed for the first time it referred to him personally instead of just Contractors in general.
Contracts you create have no end date and are not dissolved by the completion of the terms of the contract. You are Soulbound to all beings you make a contract with. All Soulbonds created by one of your contracts are permanent. Soulbonds created by one of your contracts have the following effects: You and any being Soulbound to you have increased understanding of each other''s feelings and emotions, this connection will grow to a true empathic link over time. You and any being Soulbound to you have will be able to communicated telepathically. You share your lifespan with any being Soulbound to you, should you perish they will as well and the reverse is also true. Due to contracts you make not ending, you and beings you contract with cannot move to a different plain of existence without both parties moving to the same plane of existence simultaneously.
Dryth stared at the last line after reading the bit of text that told him how he was unique, how no other Contractor was just like him. Then he read it again, and again. After the third time he took a deep breath to calm himself, his eyes still locked on the gorgeously glimmering words. "This could be a problem." He said slowly, almost sounding out the words. He felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and shake him, the sourceless sensation shocking him so much he physically jumped backward. His vision spun for a moment and he found himself slamming into the back of the chair he was sitting in with the two older mages still facing him. He grunted in pain as the back of the chair dug into him and looked up to see Mage Annyerie holding his shoulders. "Sorry about that!" She said cheerily as she let go of him sat back. "That was more than enough time for you to read your card and learn about your facet, and we do have more people waiting behind you." "Is that why some of the lines are faster than others?" Dryth asked before he could stop himself. "Yes, well..." She glanced away with an annoyed look, "Some of us who assist in this think that the Reveal has some mystical importance and that everyone that goes through it need to spend as much time as they feel like to get spend their first time in their soul space." She looked back over with a professional, and empty, smile. "While others that take up this duty know that anyone who''s been through their Reveal can go back to their soul space whenever they like when there aren''t other anxious new adults waiting behind them." "Oh, I see." "Great! Now, I''m happy to be the first person you''ll get to answer this question for, what''s your Soul Card?" Dryth carefully didn''t look at the other mage, who was sitting with his writing utensil against a piece of paper, eyes intently on Dryth. "I have the Contractor Soul Card." Mage Bolem wrote that down quickly, still staring intensely at him. "Contractor! A wonderful Class to have. And what was your facet? What makes you unique?" Annyerie asked. He wasn''t sure if it was a a product of his own nervousness after reading his prismatic text, he decided to change what he called it, at least in his own head, or if it was something else, but both of the mages looked tense, like they were waiting for bad news or something to happen that they weren''t expecting. It wasn''t obvious, but Bolen''s fingers were tight around his writing instrument and Annyerie''s shoulders were much tenser than they had been before Dryth entered his soul space. The tension didn''t help his own trepidation, but he did his best to keep that from showing. Calmly and without rushing he told them what his prismatic text said. The stiffness in their bodies leaked away as he told them, and their expressions went from deliberately blank to faintly confused. "I''m not a Contractor myself," Mage Annyerie said slowly, "And neither is Mage Bolen, but that sounds..." She trailed off. "Well, I''m sure whichever mentor you''re assigned to will be able to assist you with understanding better than I will!" She finished with forced cheer, a hint of pity leaking into her eyes. "If you step out the door behind me, there are Association workers who will make sure you have everything you need until your mentor is assigned!" Chapter Five The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter Six Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter Seven If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Chapter Eight "Demons?" Dryth asked with shock, "Why are we going to summon demons?" "Because they''re the best bet we have of finding someone to make a contract with you," Ewan answered like it was obvious. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Dryth and frowned when he saw the look on Dryth''s face. "What, did they not teach you about demons in those kiddy classes of yours?" Dryth opened his mouth to throw out a rebuttal, Ewan wasn''t wrong that the lessons Dryth had had before his reveal weren''t the best and left out quite a lot, but the teachers themselves were likely just as ensnared in the system as the students and didn''t deserve the flack, but stopped. They hadn''t actually taught him that much about demons, he knew more about them from his past life''s memories than anything he''d learned in this one, but he also didn''t know if they would be different here than the legends from Earth. "...They''re dangerous beings that come from another plane of existence." He said after a moment, "They specifically come from the demonic planes, we don''t know how many there are so they''re usually referred to all together, and they''re known for making deals with people and corrupting them." "Eh," Ewan wiggled his hand back and forth. "That''s a so-so answer. Demons do come from the demonic planes, so good job there although that is the simplest version so we''ll cover that when we get to planar studies. Demons are dangerous, yes, but that can be said about literally any sapient species. They differ between individuals just as much as humans do, and what we call ''demons'' as a catch-all are actually many, many species so if you just pick out two demons from a line up they''d probably vary more than humans do." He stood up from where he was drawing on the slate floor, leaving the piece of chalk he''d been using by where he''d stopped, and leaned against the closer desk. "As for the last bit, again, yes and no once again. Demons making deals or corrupting people in various ways, magically, physically, emotionally, morally, the list goes on, are cultural or racial things between various demons and demonic nations or cultures. We have lots of stereotypes about those kinds of demons because those are the two that have the most incentive to actually make contact with other planes or respond to summonings. The other kinds of demons you''re likely to interact with are merchants and explorers, although our plane isn''t too close to where the demonic planes sit, so no one''s too likely to run into them, at least not around here." Dryth listened closely to the impromptu lecture, mostly because he knew by now that Ewan would be testing him on it later in one form or another, he always did. He filed away the more interesting bits for consideration or study, including the first thing he''d said. They''d be doing planar studies lessons? That sounded quite interesting. "Okay, so then the demons we''re going to be summoning won''t be a threat to us, I''m assuming." Ewan gave him what Dryth had started calling the "prove your work" look, "Why do you say that?" "Because I don''t have any way to defend myself currently and from what you just said, there are a variety or cultures and societies among demons, so it makes sense that you''d summon someone that isn''t belligerent to us or humans in general, especially if they''re supposed to be helping me somehow." "Well reasoned." Ewan praised him with a confirming nod. "I''m going to be summoning my liaison from a demonic company that''s essentially a employment agency, they help people from various planes connect with summoners, contractors, or just employers that could use help from someone not on their plane." He grabbed the piece of chalk and started drawing again. "Now, why would I have such a contact? What would I get out of something that seems much more in line with what a Summoner would want?" Summoner was a Soul Card and Class that was generally considered to be similar to Contractor, mostly because both involved making agreements with other beings. While Contractors were limited to making contracts with only sapient beings, Summoners could summon animals, beasts, monsters, and even nonliving things, as long as they could dominate, own, or make a deal with what they wanted to summon. The answer to Ewan''s question was easy. "Because there''s no point in limiting yourself to just making contracts with people you happen to meet personally or even people on just this plane. If you have a liaison like you mentioned you could get their help in finding someone that matches the exact specifications of who you want to make a contract with or has the exact card you''re after and might be willing to make a deal." "Good!" Ewan finished the last bit of the circle he was drawing with a flourish. "I''m quite please my new student is intelligent and can reason well." They spent the next few minutes looking over the circle, which was one larger circle with a smaller one inside and a series of symbols drawn in the space between them, for imperfections. Ewan obviously knew that Dryth didn''t know enough to see if the circle would work or what it would summon just based on looking at it, but spotting any breaks or gaps in either of the two circles didn''t require any theoretical knowledge. Ewan explained that while his contact was a trusted acquaintance who wouldn''t try and attack or hurt them in any way it was better to practice like they were summoning something dangerous. If either of the circles were broken or weak in any areas it gave who or whatever was summoned a weakness to exploit in order to attack or escape.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Right," Ewan gestured for Dryth to step back a few paces once they''d double and triple checked the circle. "Since this will be both your first time seeing it and we should avoid even minor mistakes during lessons, I''ll be using a card for this. I''ll show you the pure casting version of this after I''ve checked you have the basics down." "What''s pure casting?" "What''s-" Ewan whirled around, a blatant expression of shock and dismay on his face. "They haven''t taught you anything about pure casting!?" He demanded to know. Dryth leaned back from his suddenly very emotional teacher. "No?" "They didn''t even teach you what it is!?" "Um, no, they didn''t. I haven''t heard of it before right now." "You haven''t even..." Ewan turned his eyes down to stare at the ground, his whole body slumping as he shook his head slowly. "I knew that they''d been curtailing what they were teaching the children, but I didn''t think they''d go that far! I''ll have to- Wait, no, no." He shook his head hard and looked back at Dryth. "We''ll go over that later during the actual lesson I had planned for it. Which will be starting at a much different point than I thought, but that can wait too. We''ve got a summoning to do and some inquiries to make." He turned and faced the summoning circle again. "Right, summoning my liaison. I''m going to do this slowly and with the ''proper form'' so you can watch me all the way through. Not that there''s anything special about it..." He trailed off into a mutter and closed his eyes, placing his right hand over his heart. With slow, deliberate movements he pinched his fingers and pulled his arm away, exactly like he was drawing a card. A glow grew from nothing into a spark of color in the space between his fingers and then that spark grew into the outline of a card, with blue edges around the border. There was a flicker and the outline was replaced with an actual card. Dryth caught the edge of the picture on it, where a shape he didn''t recognize was rising from a circle similar to the real one drawn on the floor. Ewan held out the card in front of him and proclaimed with gravity in his voice. "Summoning." The card flashed with white light and the circle on the floor began to glow with the same color. The glow got brighter and brighter then stopped just before reaching the level where Dryth felt he''d have to look away. It stayed that way for thirty seconds, then it flared even brighter for a second and faded. In the space between the flash and it fading, a person appeared inside the circle. Ewan looked over his shoulder to check on Dryth and gave him a nod. He opened his hands and the card vanished in another flash of the same white light. Ewan faced the man standing in the summoning circle. "Thank you for answering my summons." The rail-thin, red skinned man had been looking around the room since he''d appeared. He looked to Ewan as he began speaking. "Ah, Ewan! Very nice to see you. And of course, of course, you''re a VIP customer, we''re always happy to help someone of your level. He peered over Ewan''s shoulder at Dryth, "Is this a new student of yours? I assume that means we''re not looking for your normal level of contacts?" "He is indeed my new student, and you''re right, he''s not at the level where he could handle that kind of contract. Before we get straight to business though, do you mind telling me what you''re calling yourself nowadays? It''s been long enough you''ve probably changed it." "Oh, of course. I''m going by Helix currently." "Helix?" "Yes, I saw a very nice art piece centered on them and felt inspired." Helix turned to Dryth. "A pleasure to meet you young man, I am Helix of the, well, in your language I think we''re calling ourselves the Multi-Planar Interest Connection Company." He frowned a little, "That''s quite long isn''t it? Anyhoo, as I''m sure your teacher has explained, we''re a company that helps interested parties make contact across planar divides for the purposes of making deals, contracts, acquiring assistance, making trades, and similar business." He stopped and looked expectantly at Dryth. Dryth glanced over at Ewan questioningly, wondering whether or not it was safe to introduce himself. This wasn''t Earth and a lot of magic was different, but some things seemed constant and there being power in names was one of them. Ewan looked back at him, obviously not getting what Dryth was trying to send. "What?" He looked over at Helix then back to Ewan. "... Is it... safe, to tell him my name?" "What, why wouldn''t it be... oh!" Ewan grinned and shook his head. "Demons aren''t the sort that are able to use your name against you, some just change them a lot because they get bored or changed somehow and think they should call themselves something different. Fae are the ones to watch out with your name around them, and only the truly truly powerful ones can do anything with your name if you didn''t tell them it yourself. Good instincts though, always be cautious around beings you don''t know personally and of species you don''t know much about." "Okay." Dryth looked back to Helix, who was still waiting in the same position but now had a slightly wider smile. "Nice to meet you too, I''m Dryth." "A pleasure." Helix responded. "It''s always nice to meet new students of Ewan''s, you all tend to be good customers once you''re all trained up. Now, what kind of contacts can I help you make for the sake of making contracts?" Chapter Nine This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Chapter Ten This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Chapter Eleven "Let''s go exploring! Or adventuring! Or we could hunt something interesting, that''d be good too!" Dryth did his best not to sigh at the nattering in his head. It had only been two days since he''d made the impulsive decision to make a contract with Sindri right there and then, a decision he''d made based on Sindri''s impassioned pleadings more than anything else, not that he''d ever admit that to the hyperactive coatl, and he''d learned that they were two very different people over those days. Dryth preferred, though he wasn''t always able, to think things through, make calculated decisions, and avoid danger whenever possible. Sindri was much more likely to jump into things on a whim, undertake the first action to solve a problem that he thought of, and relished the idea of jumping into a fight for any number of reasons. Dryth didn''t dislike his new friend, he literally couldn''t thanks to the telepathic and empathetic bonds connecting them that shared their thoughts and feelings to each other, but he''d already learned that they didn''t immediately agree on much. "I have lessons, Sindri. We can''t just run off and do whatever we like. And personally, I''m not really interested in doing any of those things right now." "Why can''t we? And why do you care about these ''lessons''? What''s Ewan teaching you that''s better then going out and doing stuff?" "Because I have responsibilities and duties. I agreed to be Ewan''s student and part of what comes with agreeing to that relationship is listening to him and being his student. Not taking what I want from him and running off. It''s only thanks to him that we met at all! I''m not going to be an asshole to him after that." Sindri popped his head out from under Dryth''s sleeve to give him a sheepish look. Dryth wasn''t able to articulate exactly how he knew what emotion Sindri was trying to convey, Ewan had already quizzed him, only that he could likely thanks to the magical bonds they now shared. "I didn''t think about that. You''re right, a debt is a debt and it''s important to repay those." "It''s not exactly a debt." Dryth responded as he brought them to a stop, looking around carefully at the intersection of hallways they''d just arrived at. Sindri stretched out more of his length so that his head was a foot forward from the end of Dryth''s arm. "Where are we trying to go again?" "The laboratory." "That''s where I showed up, right?" "Yes, that''s where we''re trying to go." Sindri quested abut through the air, scenting with his tongue. "Left." "Thanks." Dryth turned that direction and started walking before resuming their previous discussion. "It''s not exactly a debt, but there is an obligation. Like listening to what your parents have to tell you about the world and what kind of behavior is good or bad, but it''s a relationship I had a choice about, which makes it even more of an onus on me because it''s one I chose to undertake. Does that make sense?" "I think I get it. The only people I had to teach me about things before this were family, so there''s that tie that you and Ewan don''t have, but I get why you choosing it is important and why you don''t want to flake on him." Sindri twisted himself to look back at Dryth, already bored by the seemingly endless hallway. "Why pick Ewan though? Why''s he better than your parents at this, or anyone else?" Dryth snorted a short laugh in response. "My parents aren''t magic. They wouldn''t be able to teach me the first thing about my Class, blue cards, or making good contracts." "Oh. How are you magic if they aren''t magic?" Dryth shrugged, throwing Sindri''s tail up a little as he did. "I don''t know. I don''t know if anyone knows. A lot of mages have children that are mages, but there are a lot that have children that aren''t, and there are just as many non-mage parents that have mage children. It''s just a thing that happens." "Humans are weird." Sindri remarked, "I have magic because my parents have magic, and I have the same type they do." "Both your parents have light magic like you?" "Yup!" Sindri proudly raised his snout up into the air and a card came into being behind his head with a shimmer. A tiny ball of light appeared on his nose, glowing like a juiced up firefly, before fading. "That''s Make Light, the card my parents gave me! I can use it because I can do light magic! That''s rare!" "I know," Dryth replied with more than a little bemusement, "You''ve told me already." "Yeah, but it''s important. There''s not a lot of coatl that have light magic." "Well, what happens if a coatl with light magic has a child with a coatl who uses different magic?" That took Sindri off guard and he had to think about it for a moment. "Well, the child can either have light magic, or the other one, or both." "Then it''s kinds similar to humans and having magic at all, except one of the options is that the child gets none of the magic." "That''s still weird." Sindri said, in a tone that meant he was done with the subject because he didn''t have anything to add. "But that wasn''t what we were talking about! Why is Ewan a better teachers than other teachers who could teach you about your Class and magic?" "Because he stepped up for one. He got called in by the Association because he handles ''problem cases'' that need mentoring, at least when it comes to new Contractors, and he offered to help me. But mostly because he''s teaching me a bunch of stuff that the Association doesn''t normally teach people, and I''m not letting that kind of information treasure trove get away." "Why are you a ''problem case''?" "Because my twist, that''s what Ewan calls the bit about my Soul Card that''s unique, is hard to deal with. Most people don''t want to get burdened with a student that can only make contracts that bind people to him forever."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "But that''s the whole point!" Sindri protested. "For you, maybe it is. But most people out their think of Contractors like magical merchants that make deals to get people what they want. Nobody wants to trade a few coins for lunch and then drop dead because the person running a food stall had a heart attack." "So... other people want something from you, or the people like you, what did you call it, your Class? People want something different than what I want from other Contractors, so because you''re different and have an extra thing with it they don''t want, you get treated like a problem?" "Yeah, that''s a good summary." "That sucks." "It does, but what am I going to do about it?" "Only thing there is to do! Tough it out, get big, and show the people who talked bad about that you can fly better than they can!" "Close enough, if I''m understanding you right." "What were you talking about when you said that Ewan is teaching you stuff that somebody else won''t? Who is the Association?" "You ask a lot of questions." Sindri reared back, indignant, pulling Dryth''s arm with him. "How am I supposed to learn anything if I don''t ask about it!? You ask Ewan questions all the time! And I bet if you were the one who got suck into my home plane you''d be asking all kinds of questions!" That drew a hearty laugh out of Dryth. "That''s a great point. I totally would be bugging you about everything." "So what''d you mean?" Sindri asked, mollified. "I meant exactly what I said I did," Dryth answered him while simultaneously following his directions through a series of rooms that all led in different directions. "Ewan''s teaching me things that I don''t know anyone else would teach me." Dryth was trying to navigate based on the instructions and directions Ewan had given him on making his way through the house, that was part of today''s lesson it seemed, but he was struggling. Thankfully Sindri could smell and detect things Dryth couldn''t and was supplementing his trailblazing quite effectively. "Like what?" "Well so far he''s taught me about demons not automatically being evil and that they can be quite helpful if you have the right connections and can pay, that sapient beings can drop cards on death just like monsters but with lower chances, that people can steal out of your deck if they have the right cards for it, and he''s mentioned something he called ''pure casting'' which I''ve never heard of before." Sindri stopped smelling the air to double check if the lamp that Dryth wanted to pull to open the secret passage they needed to go in was the right one. "People can steal from my deck!?" "Apparently." Dryth shrugged, "Ewan didn''t explain what cards you need to do it, but he said it was possible and he hasn''t lied to me or been wrong yet." "That''s scary." "Isn''t it? That''s why I''m sticking around to learn from him, I''d never have known it was possible if he hadn''t mentioned it and you can''t prepare for dangers you don''t know about." "You''re good at planning. I''m going to let you take that on as your part of our partnership." "You are, are you?"Dryth asked with a grin, "And what''s going to be your part?" "Hunting! And fighting! Since you don''t want to do those." "I''m not really interested in getting in fights, although hunting does have its uses. Eating is important." Dryth stumbled to a stop as a thought hit him. "Sindri, you know you don''t have to stay with me, right? You''re a free person, you can go hunt and adventure and all of that on your own if you want. You''re not a pet that has to stay by my side all the time." The look Sindri shot him was the equivalent of someone scrunching up their nose at Dryth in disgust. "Why would I go out by myself? I came to be with you!" "I appreciate that, but this isn''t a subordinate and superior relationship, we''re going to be partners. Right now we''re only doing the things I want to." "Sure right now we are, but that''ll change. Plus, all the reasons that you''re giving me to stay and learn from Ewan are good ones. What''s your main goal in being his student?" "To learn anything and everything I can from him." Dryth answered. "Okay, but why? What''s the goal, what are you aiming for? Learning is important but why are you learning?" It took Dryth a moment to think of his answer. "... To be self sufficient, I guess. I want to be able to support myself and make my way in the world without having to burden anyone." "That''s a good reason to do things, and one I support. We''re going to be partners and we should rely on each other, but being self sufficient is good. And it''s not like there''s nothing for me to learn here, including how to act in the human world. I don''t remember all of it, but a lot of your memories pointed to scared people thinking I''m a monster and trying to kill me, and that sounds like a nightmare to deal with." "That''s smart thinking about not being treated like a monster, and I appreciate your support. Actually, that was really insightful as a whole." "Thanks!" Sindri perked up cheerfully. "I took some bits from a talk my dad had with me!" Dryth shook his head and chuckled before he brought his head down close to Sindri''s. "You do remember what we talked about regarding my memories, right?" "What, that your soul space is all weird and has things you don''t recognize in it? Yeah, I remember. I don''t really get why anyone would care but I''ll trust you about it." He paused for a second as he gave Dryth a look. "You know you can speak back into my head the same way I''m talking to you, right? You don''t have to whisper. Also, how am I supposed to tell anyone about your secret past life memories? I can only talk to you. And why did you bring your head down like that? It''s got to hurt your neck to bend it that way, I know you humans aren''t flexible like I am. You could have just brought your arm up a little bit." Giving Sindri a mild glare, Dryth brought his head back up, refusing to mention that bending it like that had been mildly uncomfortable. "Just because you can only talk to me right now doesn''t mean we''re not going to find a way for you to talk to other people too. It''d be shitty to have to use me as a translator all the time. And it''s only been two days, give me some slack! I''ve never been able to telepathically talk to someone before." "Well, you should practice, it''s more secret than whispering. You were right, it is this one." He added, pointing with his head at the wall sconce. Dryth reached up to pull it which caused a section of the wall to swing open like a door. They stepped into a dark hallway that went pitch black when the door swung shut behind them. Sindri used his card again, lighting up the passageway just enough to see the damp, cracked, and moldy flagstones that made up the ground and walls. They crept through the secret passage, both of them a bit apprehensive thanks to their surroundings, but the passage was only a hundred feet long and spilled them out in front of the door to the laboratory in short time. Dryth pulled himself to his feet and brushed off his pants while Sindri repositioned himself like a scarf around Dryth''s neck. "I''m looking forward to when Ewan''s contract that requires this ends and we can walk around normally without needing directions or to go through secret passages that sometimes aren''t there." "You do? But it''s like a small adventure every day! I''ve been having fun!" "Of course you have. Don''t squeeze my neck, please." "That was one time!" "Yeah, but it was like two hours ago so I''m still thinking about it." "I won''t do it again! You should really work on building muscle though. I like riding you, and I''m not even that big yet." Dryth sat down in his chair to wait for Ewan to show up and pictured the images he remembered of depictions of Quetzalcoatl the ancient feathered serpent deity from South America, who was definitely related to the coatl in some way. "How big to coatl get, anyways?" "Once we become adults we start growing for real and we can get really big." "How big is- Wait, are you an adult?" "Yeah, I became an adult just a little while ago, like you. I already grew a few inches between then and meeting you." "How big are you going to get?" "Depends on how long we live. My grandma ate a mountain once." "Damn, Sindri, how are we going to afford to feed you?" Chapter Twelve If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chapter Thirteen Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Chapter Fourteen Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Chapter Fifteen Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Chapter Sixteen The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Chapter 17 "Well!" Ewan threw himself into a plush chair and landed bonelessly against the cushions. "That went just as poorly as I thought it would, not a bit better and not a bit worse. Which proves that my astounding predictive abilities remain intact, but sadly means that things aren''t going to be easy for the two of you." He told Dryth and Sindri. The pair had been exploring the area around where Sindri''s "good smell" had been, which ended up being a cafeteria, when Ewan had swept them up out of nowhere and hurried them to the teleportation chamber. Only after they arrived back in Ewan''s home had their teacher relaxed and guided them to a sitting room Dryth hadn''t seen yet. Dryth sat down on a loveseat while Sindri climbed down from his shoulders and went off to explore the room. "I don''t like the sound of that." "You shouldn''t! It''s nothing terrible or life-altering, but I haven''t managed to solve the issues that I thought might pop up, which means you''ll have to deal with them while I bother the Director and some other people about it." Ewan threw his legs over the arm of his chair and leaned back against the other one. "Before we get into that, let''s have the two of you tell me whatever it is that happened while you were dealing with less annoying paperwork issues. If I start we''ll end up quite sidetracked and I can sense you have a story for me." Sindri''s head popped up from behind a potted plant. "You can? Is it a card or a pure cast spell?" A mental gasp rang out in the telepathic bond between Sindri and Dryth, which was a weird sensation since it was more feeling than sound, but there was still an element of inhalation. "Wait, is that something humans can do naturally? Can humans detect stories? That''s so cool!" An amused expression cropped up on Ewan''s face accompanied by crinkled eyelids. "No Sindri, humans can''t naturally detect when someone has a story to tell, and it isn''t a card or a spell either. I just took note of Dryth''s body language and expression when I showed up. There was an obvious pause and a hitch in his step when I showed up, which I interpreted as debating on whether to stop and tell me whatever it is you have to share before we left, then he obviously decided to wait until we were in public." He he turned to Dryth and raised an eyebrow in an obvious "So?" look. "We had an... altercation? That might be too strong of a word, actually..." "I think altercation is fine!" "Alright, we had an altercation while we were moving about to take care of the badly named handling license." Dryth pulled said license from his pocket and flashed it at Ewan to show that they''d gotten it. "They sent us to some department or office to have someone identify Sindri as a magical being-" Ewan groaned loudly while rolling his eyes. "That''s ridiculous, really? "Really. Wait, you filled out the form for it, why are you surprised that they did that?" "Because there aren''t any snakes with wings that aren''t magical and I put my personal attestation on that form which normally skips that portion of the nonsense." He waved away the topic with a grumpy hand. "Whatever, I filled out the form correctly just in case, but what happened?" "The man that was there to do the identifying flipped out when he saw that the ''species of magical being'' line wasn''t filled out." Ewan''s head snapped over, his bored and annoyed immediately overwritten by a serious one. "What? That''s not required, there are species out there that don''t like being identified properly or shouldn''t be for their own protection." "Like Sindri being a rarely seen coatl?" "Exactly. What happened?" "He yelled a lot!" Sindri climbed the leg of another chair that matched Ewan''s and curled up on the cushion. "Like, a lot. He was acting like somebody had stabbed him, or killed his dog or something. He kept demanding we tell him what kind of thing I was. Which was rude! I''m not a thing!" Dryth frowned as he remembered the man''s tirade. "You''re right, I was kind of distracted by the shouting and how red he was getting, but he did call you a thing didn''t he? Asshole." "Yeah, he was an asshole!" "So what did you do?" Ewan was sitting upright in his chair when Dryth looked back over, and seemed to be taking the whole thing seriously. "I asked him if the paperwork had been filled out incorrectly," "And that made him even more angry!" "Then I asked him if there was someone else I could speak to to handle the paperwork," "And he hated that! Then this other guy showed up out of nowhere." "Just threw open the door, glaring at the angry guy. Didn''t say a word he just-" "-walked right up to him and pointed at the door!" "The angry guy took off like the new person had a knife to his throat and when he was gone the new man took his chair-" "- and apologized for the first guy. He was speaking calmly and acting like it was just some guy being unprofessional-" "- but there was this air around him the whole time. He had this ''I''m the most dangerous person you''ve ever met-''" "''-so don''t fuck with me!'' kind of energy to him that you could feel. He started talking about how people that work for the Association are all individuals-" "-and that some individuals do dumb stuff or commit crimes even if their main job is working for the government and warned us not to tell people Sindri is a coatl-" "- twice! Then he stamped the papers and dismissed us! He said-" "- ''Until the next time we meet'' or something like that, but it was really ominous because-" "- it was like he was telling us we would meet again!" This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "But the craziest part is-" "-we can''t remember what he looks like!" The pair got so caught up in telling their story that they didn''t really process Ewan''s head bouncing back and forth from one of them to the other like he was watching a tennis match, but when they zoned back in from repeating what had happened, Ewan was looking at Sindri with an interesting expression on his face. It was part amused, part bemused, and a bit put out, like someone had stolen a march on him and told his students a particularly fun thing he''d been waiting to share. "Well, I can tell you you don''t have to worry about either of those men. The man you can''t remember isn''t a threat, and he''ll take care of the shouting guy." He turned to the side, clicked his tongue, and muttered something under his breath that neither Sindri nor Dryth could hear. "Do you know who he is?" "I do, but I''m not sharing yet. It was supposed to be a surprise, and I''m not letting them ruin it for me!" Dryth and Sindri shared a look and together they chalked that up to "Ewan being eccentric" and decided not to press their luck yet. It hadn''t been that long, but they''d already learned that their teacher could get childishly stubborn about the weirdest things, and this felt like one of those subjects." "So, what''s your story? What could you not deal with that means we have bad news now?" Dryth asked instead of trying to wheedle the information out of him. "The foe that I could not yet overcome, that which darkens your path and will force you into situations most dire and foul," Ewan proclaimed as he threw himself back into his lazy position on his chair, "Was the foul fiend, regulations!" Dryth stared blankly at him. "What''s with you and bureaucracy? I get that it can be annoying sometimes, but you seem to really hate it." "Eh." Ewan shrugged, "In general it''s fine. It''s the lifeblood of civilization, yada yada, we need it for cities and governments to run, blah blah blah. I''m most exaggerating for emphasis, honestly, but too much of anything beneficial can become a poison, and I personally believe the kingdom in general, but mostly the Association, has long reached that level. They''re practically drowning mages in red tape anytime anyone tries to get anything done, and they''ve become too stuck in their ways and hidebound to deal with irregularities." He turned his arm so he could point at Dryth. "Case in point. What''s the main requirement a Contractor must meet to complete their licensing tests and become a full Association mage?" Dryth had to think about it for a minute. "So, the main requirement boils down to some version of proving basic competency in your Class and that you''re able to be responsible with the power being a mage comes with, for Contractors... It''s to have a number of contracts, I believe, but I don''t remember the exact amount." "Close, but sadly, not correct, and that my dear student, is where the issue lies. Wait, no. That sounds like I''m saying your answer is the big issue we have to struggle against. To rephrase, the part you didn''t get exactly right is where the issue lies. Contractors must complete a total of three contracts as part of their basic licensing tests." "Why is that a problem? Dryth already has me, so that''s one contract. It might take a while, but we just need two more." "Sadly, my lovely scaled and feathered student, that is not the case, because your contract doesn''t count." "Why not?" Sindri asked indignantly. "Because, well, I didn''t care to memorize the exact wording but the Association''s definition of a completed contract is one that has ended satisfactorily for both parties." He looked across from himself with just his eyes. Dryth felt the blood draining from his face. "... My contracts don''t end." "Technically they can, but only in one way and at that point it doesn''t matter if you can get an Association mage license or not." Ewan sat back up, his face once again serious but with a different tone. "As I''m sure you''re already aware..." "I can''t get a job without a mage license," Dryth hissed out. "Why the..." He pressed his hands to his face. "Is that what you were talking about when you said that they''re so stuck in their ways that they can''t change for irregularities?" "You can''t get employed as a mage without an Association license in the kingdom, but that amounts to the same thing. And yes, that is what I meant. I went to the proper heads of the various Association divisions with all the correct paperwork to apply for an exemption, not even of the testing itself just of that requirement, and they shot me down while quoting their precious regulations and claiming it would set a terrible precedent." He looked like he wanted to spit. "What am I going to do!?" It took everything Dryth had to not wail that question. "I can''t get a job without a license! The Association mandates that everyone working a mage''s job has to have one, and they''re the government! And no one''s going to hire a mage for anything other than a mage job, especially not with how everyone who isn''t a mage treats mages! I''m barely and adult and I''ve already gotten hundreds of weird stares from random people just because I was going to be able to do magic someday! Where am I going to live? How am I going to buy food? Let alone for me," He swung his arm to gesture at Sindri, "How am I going to feed him? He already eats a ton, and he''s just going to get bigger and eat more!" Sindri threw himself out of the chair he''d been occupying with a beat of his wings and curled around Dryth protectively. "While I know those were likely meant to be rhetorical questions, I do have answers to two of them," Ewan said gently. "First, you can obviously live here. You''re my student, and I take such relationships seriously, as I''ve said before. I''m not going to be kicking you out into the cold, even if you can''t get licensed for some time. As for food, well that''s included with being my student as well, if you live with me I''ll feed you." He cast a speculative glance at Sindri, "Although I might ask you to help defray some food costs as time goes on, you''re not going to starve." Dryth took several deep breaths as Sindri sent waves of calming feelings and encouraging thoughts at him. All he could think about was being forced to go back to his home village in shame, but he knew that there was nothing for him there. His family tolerated him because he was blood, but they''d been fed up with Dryth''s "strangeness" since he was a small child and him now being a mage by Class didn''t help a lick. The thought of having somewhere to be was a relaxing balm against the thought of that future but... "I can''t just freeload off of you." He protested to his teacher. Ewan raised one eyebrow at him. "You did just hear me say that I''d likely ask you to help pay for food, yes? I don''t expect you to freeload, I expect you to be a good student. And if you''re really against it I''m sure I can think of some way for you to repay me, certainly by the time you get licensed I''ll be able to." "What?" Dryth scrunched his face up in confusion. "Weren''t we just talking about how I can''t get licensed?" "Can''t get licensed now. I''ve told you before, I know the Chairman and I''ll be starting my browbeating campaign to get her working on this first thing tomorrow morning. It will take some time to get her to agree, officially agree that is, and even more time beyond that to force it though all the idiot committees and meetings I''m sure will pop up, but this is fundamentally and issue caused by the Association, not by you. They will fix it and you will be licensed." He sighed. "Just not quickly." Dryth took several more deep breaths. "Okay. Okay, that''s workable." "It is!" Ewan stood up and gripped Dryth''s shoulder comfortingly. "This is a setback, not an ending by any means. You are not without resources or assistance, and even if it takes significantly longer than I expect for this issue to be resolved in your favor, I have other connections I can call upon." Dryth looked up to see Ewan grinning wickedly. "If we''re being technical, only most jobs require Association licensing for mages. There are a handful that are the purview of specific organizations that don''t want the Association butting into their territory and don''t require it." "I''ve never heard of any jobs like that." "Of course you haven''t, you grew up in the region Treegold controlled the curriculum in and he''s been pushing for a heavier focus on why all mages should join the Association while also peddling that stupidly cut down curriculum that limits future mages. He would never want you to know that there''s a future that doesn''t involve his precious control." He stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth and scrunched up his nose. "In fact, while I send out a nice complaint to the Director of the Association I think I''ll contact some of my acquaintances in those areas and see if we can''t take a look around a few places. It''ll make a good learning experience."