An Anti-Hero's Origin

Invitations

^^ Damocles ^^

"What is the purpose of this 'questionnaire'? What have you been up to? Why is Aster not here? Why haven't you taken her on a date yet? Is she not to your liking? How is your health? You haven't been doing anything dangerous, have you?! Why do you need other Restoration Mages?!? Why-"

"Mother: calm yourself, take a deep breath, and have a seat. I'll make some tea, and you'll use that time to relax and try not to explode." I interrupted dryly, standing and sitting her down at the tea-table next to my desk, setting some tea to brewing immediately with a precise use of portals to gather some water from the pipe in the wall and some tea-leaves from my box of tea-leaves, and then by tapping the kettle and feeding it some Mana; within seconds, it was brewing, and though I could've used Transmutation to infuse the tea immediately, I wanted to give Mother some time to collect herself.

"Tea sounds lovely, right about now." Father sighed, sitting with Kip and Ilene across from me and on either side of Mother.

After a few minutes the tea was infused fully, so I poured cups for us all, and sat back down, gazing at my Mother sternly. "Now, in answer to your questions, in order: 1; The Questionnaire is my attempt at understanding and designing the Pay-Structure of my Guild. 2: I've been growing an Orchard and fixing up my Tower. 3: Aster is a grown woman who has Work to do, and I transported her there just this morning; I have to fetch her in about three hours, to return her to Hightower. 4: Aster is my Business Partner, and I am not interested in a physical or emotional relationship just now, as I am only 27, and still going through puberty. 5: my health is fine, and I ensure my nutritional and exercise needs are met daily. 6: Many things are Dangerous, but my work is mainly Research and Study, so far. 7: Restoration Mages are quite useful, as are all the other types, and I need to know the extent of their skills if I'm to use them efficiently in my Mage's Guild. Now, did you answer the Questionnaire before storming in here for no reason and traumatizing that poor Conjuration Mage, or do you need a moment to catch up?"

She frowned at me, thinking over my answers for a moment and sipping her tea, before finally coming to a conclusion. "You skipped a Question; do you not think Aster is a beautiful woman? Is she not to your liking?"

"Yes, Aster is a Beautiful Woman, however her worth to me is decided by her skill with Runes and her willingness to assist me as a business partner, not her aesthetic. She does not exist to please me, nor would I ask her or anyone else to. Shame on you for focusing on that aspect of what is becoming a possible friendship for your son whom you never allowed to have any friends." I responded dryly, but with a small drop of venom, unable to restrain the irritation in my voice fully.

She was unaffected, reading the Scroll now and marking her answers. "Well, at least you respect her, that's a good step in the right direction... that respect will bud into a lasting and potent Fondness, eventually."

I shook my head at her stubbornness, sighing in irritation. "No, mother, I've made my decision already, and now I have informed you of it; I will be treating Aster as a Friend until such a time as she decides otherwise of her own volition, and I do not wish to have a partner at all, yet. This is my decision, and it is final."

With that I stood and collected the scrolls, placing them on my desk and going over their answers; most of them confirmed my original, but there were a few where I had been wrong, based on their answers. I made the appropriate changes, and then settled the scroll into a small glass box I'd designed and built when I couldn't sleep one night; it took an illusory copy of the scroll, then allowed me to correct any mistakes through Evander's manipulation of the illusion, then used Transmutation to correct the page itself, and finally more Transmutation to make Copies from the spare paper in the bottom of the box. Once I had corrected all the mistakes and reorganized the document to look more polished and refined, I used the box to transmute the scrolls, -keeping a copy of the originals just in case,- and set the finished scrolls in front of Kip, who was frozen stiff in her chair, uncomfortable with being here during this argument, as well as the others. "If you'd like to peruse that, it is my Casting Call, so to speak, which I'll be delivering to the Hall of Research and disseminating to every elven settlement on the Continent."