Guardian core (Book 1 of: potentially many)

'til someone loses an eye

I groaned, covering my eyes- until Alcor moaned in pain. I looked up, startled. I quickly knelt by his side again, shaking him gently and sucking in a nervous, worried breath. He was a good friend after all, and I didn't want him gone.

"Alcor? Are you alright?" One eye opened, and... it was a demon's eye? I blinked, backing up and sucking in a breath as he chuckled, sitting up and then groaning. The necklace had stopped glowing, but... a small mark was on his skin, red like it had been burned.

"Holy artifacts... Don't kill him yet, please. I promise I can explain, and you won't disapprove. Much." His voice was deeper, and much much sexier than Alcor's, making me uncomfortable. I hated that sound coming out of his mouth... I nodded, giving him the chance, though barely. I didn't think I could make myself hurt Alcor, even if he was possessed...

"I'm not really here inside of him. Well... I kind of am. I didn't want to leave the world again, so I decided to cut a deal with this little ranger you see. I would help him, and he would help me. Of course, he was blacking out and dying at the time, so he couldn't really think well enough to say no. The point is, I'll be nothing more than a mark and an enchantment soon- one that let's him choose where his charisma points go, instead of forcing him to accept them being randomly assigned to his speech or appearance. He'll also start naturally gaining Charisma every year again- for as long as he lives.

"I'll extend his life as well, so he'll live longer than normal. And if by some miracle he actually has any children, they'll be born with this nice little tattoo and me in them too. I won't ever have to die again... and none of them will have to worry about being low on charisma. Don't you want that for this poor fellow? He's been in love with you for quite some time now after all..." He smiled.

The demon smiled in a way that would've looked sexy on anyone else, but... with Alcor, it just looked like he was in pain. Or lonely. I glanced at the eyes around his neck, and the glowing was still gone, but... I could see the heatwaves coming from it. It was a holy item, but Ashera's power wouldn't touch it right now. That meant she didn't want Alcor dead, or the demon exorcised.

"Go ahead, just make me a promise that you won't be able to control him or his children in any way once you're done." The demon blinked, then seemed to soften, his eyes slowly fading back into Alcor's and his face slowly going slack. "I promise, elf..." Alcor passed out again, and I caught him this time. Demon's couldn't break their promises, so I wasn't worried.

I touched Alcor's face, looking at the eye as it started glowing again. I hugged the sleeping man, feeling deeply worried about him. Who knew how painful these next few years would be...? His next birthday was only a few months away. What would gaining a charisma point to to him on that day...?

I sighed, shaking my head. I'd give him the chance when he woke up... unless he made me lose my decorum, and my elegance. I was, after all, an elf- I had some standards I had to uphold no matter what. We were the eldest race, so we had to set the example for all of the other ones. Especially those who were born closer to or in the human era.

Even if that meant we came off as cold and self-important to the other races...

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Valentine

Valentine examined the pedestal, reading through the various languages present and sighing as she did so. The spell-work was utterly unfamiliar, and it was so faint she could only barely glimpse it now and then. She'd never seen a spell woven so chaotically before... like it had been pushed into the right shape by sheer will alone, without proper words to help shape it. The whole thing reeked of something powerful and young, something this world hadn't seen before. that worried her.