Edmund had made haste home, his bag filled to the brim with all of his notes and data that he required. His wife's parents had caught wind of his experiments and had sent for a group to silently snare him. He couldn't be stopped now however. Not when he was so close to his goal.
He had met a being with power and wisdom that could be shared with a binding contract. Something that would make him in essence, immortal. The front door swung wide for a moment, catching it before it slammed shut and quietly latching it behind him.
"Sir?" Beuregard asked suddenly behind him. Edmund gave a startled hiss as he swung around and held back his verbal berating.
"Ah, excellent. If you would, please send my daughter to the study. I have a meeting today a ways away from here and wish to say my farewell." He lied, but the servant was none the wiser to it. Edmund had been playing this game for to long for those words to not have some merit. He had left several times for business, often at extended lengths and there was usually no one the wiser.
"As you wish sir." Beuregard replied before leaving his site. He walked briskly to his study and nearly locked it behind him, remembering he had sent for his daughter. Had sent for his one experiment he could not take with him.
He had bound too much effort into her, and her grandparents would go to the bottoms of their near endless coffers trying to get her back.
He had stuffed more of his research into his bag when the young lady arrived. She looked tired, likely from the surgery he had performed on her the week before. Drained of color and deep dark rings around her eyes, far from the lively thing she had been before. He hadn't paid attention to whether she was sleeping or not, having been embroiled with this new lead to keep an attentive eye on her.
"Come." He beckoned her, her shaking a sign of her body still adjusting to what now was a part of her. She stood by his side. His quiet, obedient, and faithful assistant.
His now failed waste of time.
"I have to be away for a time. Your grandparents will be by later to see you and your mother." He did not smile or move, staring into her eyes as she nodded. Those purple eyes and that raven black strand of hair that had slid out of place while she looked to him for guidance.
She had been a child when an idea had struck him. She was of his blood, and whatever worked on her would surely work for him. He had been an excellent medical practicioner up to this point, having had a position that granted him access to criminals and other folk of ill repute while they rotted in the cities dungeon.
All of them unwilling rats in his tests in one way or another.
She had been the culmination of all of his work to this point. All of his effort, time, and resources poured into this one vessel that he now had to abandon because he had been careless. All of his work wasted because of ethics.
"You are my greatest achievement, and my greatest failure. Be good, dear child." He whispered to her, her shocked and stunned expression a mix of horror and confusion.
"Father, I have-"
"Child."
"But I was good. I've done what you-"
"Child."
"Please father-!"
"Phillipa!" He scolded, his tone reaching towards anger and annoyance at delaying him. "Enough. I must leave."
He brushed off her hands, ignored her pleading and sobs while he left and ignored the servant that came in. He spared only a glance backwards as he left Elbion to remember how much time he had wasted while better things existed outside of this supposed pinnacle of magical knowledge.
"Let's be away then." Rigor's voice called to Edmund as he walked into his new life on the run.
Albedo screamed and fought with herself against the need to scratch out the memories that plagued her now. Edmund had perished, and with that passing all of his being transferred to Rigor. With Rigor being part of her, they also transferred to her unfortunately.
She finally left the trance like state the memories left her in, her body tired and worn even while she yet dead. She wanted to cry, scream, and tear something to let out the frustrations that rode her now.
"You could simply enter the trance state and be done with all of this at once you know." Rigor spoke in her mind. She huffed in annoyance at the 'familiar' that was now a permanent part of her. It has been their idea to meld its bones with her own. A process that had left her decrepit and frail for almost a month in her self imposed seclusion.
"And feel even more disjointed and out of touch with myself? I would rather suffer a few hours here and there than succumb to it all at once." She spat, still shaking from the onslaught of memories that she had to relive through her late makers eyes.
His education, his daily life. All of his experiments, thoughts, and ideas played out like some twisted show that had no end in sight.
She had been mistaken in believing Rigor to be a simple familiar that Edmund had conjured up. Sorely mistaken. He had been a Cat Sidhe before Edmund had tricked him into being another experiment against his will. And the thing had taken her masters soul upon his death.
Due to their physical bodies being pieced together however, Rigor had been unable to pass on, forced to share her mind and body as well. This time however, their fusing of mind and body was a touch more permanent than what Edmund had ever thought of.
"Isn't it about time then to return to the rest of the shambling horde, my dear?" Rigor asked with a touch of humor in his tone. She groaned, not wanting to move from the small cave that she had made for herself. Even though she shouldn't have felt as she did, she felt drained and exhausted from the time spent watching someone else's life.
"Ought to. Not like we can go anywhere else." She spoke softly. Pulling herself up from the stone and ice floor, her clothes tore where they were frozen and tore in places. Her once neat attire in a deplorable state with the need to hide away while memories had swamped her mind.
It had made her angry, desperate, and altogether unable to deal with others when it had initially begun. Afraid and feeling isolated, she made a safe haven for herself. As safe as one could be in the tundra anyway.
Pulling on the bond Rigor shared with her, she used his magic to melt away the ice door she had put over the mouth of the cave. Magic was still a strange concept for her, and her use of it had been severely hampered when it first manifested with Edmund's death.
An explosive fit while trapped in a memory had formed fire and sparks around her while in that cave. Destroying a good chunk of the snow inside and scarring the rocks below it. It had shown her what her new magic was capable of, and how quickly it could drain her.
She trudged out into the icy wind, drawing on memories of the path she had taken to get here. It took her nearly a full day to return to the path she had left them on and found the singular landmark that she had kept in memory.
"Horsefeathers." She muttered, remembering that she had a long way to get back to the boats.
He had met a being with power and wisdom that could be shared with a binding contract. Something that would make him in essence, immortal. The front door swung wide for a moment, catching it before it slammed shut and quietly latching it behind him.
"Sir?" Beuregard asked suddenly behind him. Edmund gave a startled hiss as he swung around and held back his verbal berating.
"Ah, excellent. If you would, please send my daughter to the study. I have a meeting today a ways away from here and wish to say my farewell." He lied, but the servant was none the wiser to it. Edmund had been playing this game for to long for those words to not have some merit. He had left several times for business, often at extended lengths and there was usually no one the wiser.
"As you wish sir." Beuregard replied before leaving his site. He walked briskly to his study and nearly locked it behind him, remembering he had sent for his daughter. Had sent for his one experiment he could not take with him.
He had bound too much effort into her, and her grandparents would go to the bottoms of their near endless coffers trying to get her back.
He had stuffed more of his research into his bag when the young lady arrived. She looked tired, likely from the surgery he had performed on her the week before. Drained of color and deep dark rings around her eyes, far from the lively thing she had been before. He hadn't paid attention to whether she was sleeping or not, having been embroiled with this new lead to keep an attentive eye on her.
"Come." He beckoned her, her shaking a sign of her body still adjusting to what now was a part of her. She stood by his side. His quiet, obedient, and faithful assistant.
His now failed waste of time.
"I have to be away for a time. Your grandparents will be by later to see you and your mother." He did not smile or move, staring into her eyes as she nodded. Those purple eyes and that raven black strand of hair that had slid out of place while she looked to him for guidance.
She had been a child when an idea had struck him. She was of his blood, and whatever worked on her would surely work for him. He had been an excellent medical practicioner up to this point, having had a position that granted him access to criminals and other folk of ill repute while they rotted in the cities dungeon.
All of them unwilling rats in his tests in one way or another.
She had been the culmination of all of his work to this point. All of his effort, time, and resources poured into this one vessel that he now had to abandon because he had been careless. All of his work wasted because of ethics.
"You are my greatest achievement, and my greatest failure. Be good, dear child." He whispered to her, her shocked and stunned expression a mix of horror and confusion.
"Father, I have-"
"Child."
"But I was good. I've done what you-"
"Child."
"Please father-!"
"Phillipa!" He scolded, his tone reaching towards anger and annoyance at delaying him. "Enough. I must leave."
He brushed off her hands, ignored her pleading and sobs while he left and ignored the servant that came in. He spared only a glance backwards as he left Elbion to remember how much time he had wasted while better things existed outside of this supposed pinnacle of magical knowledge.
"Let's be away then." Rigor's voice called to Edmund as he walked into his new life on the run.
Albedo screamed and fought with herself against the need to scratch out the memories that plagued her now. Edmund had perished, and with that passing all of his being transferred to Rigor. With Rigor being part of her, they also transferred to her unfortunately.
She finally left the trance like state the memories left her in, her body tired and worn even while she yet dead. She wanted to cry, scream, and tear something to let out the frustrations that rode her now.
"You could simply enter the trance state and be done with all of this at once you know." Rigor spoke in her mind. She huffed in annoyance at the 'familiar' that was now a permanent part of her. It has been their idea to meld its bones with her own. A process that had left her decrepit and frail for almost a month in her self imposed seclusion.
"And feel even more disjointed and out of touch with myself? I would rather suffer a few hours here and there than succumb to it all at once." She spat, still shaking from the onslaught of memories that she had to relive through her late makers eyes.
His education, his daily life. All of his experiments, thoughts, and ideas played out like some twisted show that had no end in sight.
She had been mistaken in believing Rigor to be a simple familiar that Edmund had conjured up. Sorely mistaken. He had been a Cat Sidhe before Edmund had tricked him into being another experiment against his will. And the thing had taken her masters soul upon his death.
Due to their physical bodies being pieced together however, Rigor had been unable to pass on, forced to share her mind and body as well. This time however, their fusing of mind and body was a touch more permanent than what Edmund had ever thought of.
"Isn't it about time then to return to the rest of the shambling horde, my dear?" Rigor asked with a touch of humor in his tone. She groaned, not wanting to move from the small cave that she had made for herself. Even though she shouldn't have felt as she did, she felt drained and exhausted from the time spent watching someone else's life.
"Ought to. Not like we can go anywhere else." She spoke softly. Pulling herself up from the stone and ice floor, her clothes tore where they were frozen and tore in places. Her once neat attire in a deplorable state with the need to hide away while memories had swamped her mind.
It had made her angry, desperate, and altogether unable to deal with others when it had initially begun. Afraid and feeling isolated, she made a safe haven for herself. As safe as one could be in the tundra anyway.
Pulling on the bond Rigor shared with her, she used his magic to melt away the ice door she had put over the mouth of the cave. Magic was still a strange concept for her, and her use of it had been severely hampered when it first manifested with Edmund's death.
An explosive fit while trapped in a memory had formed fire and sparks around her while in that cave. Destroying a good chunk of the snow inside and scarring the rocks below it. It had shown her what her new magic was capable of, and how quickly it could drain her.
She trudged out into the icy wind, drawing on memories of the path she had taken to get here. It took her nearly a full day to return to the path she had left them on and found the singular landmark that she had kept in memory.
"Horsefeathers." She muttered, remembering that she had a long way to get back to the boats.
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