Chapter 19
Red sighed and shrugged, as what else could he do? He wasn’t exactly in full control of what he could and couldn’t tell Ollie. “I would have, and I wanted to, but couldn’t, as I explained yesterday.”
“How does me not knowing help me? Also, what exactly is the point of a familiar? Like, you are supposed to help me, right? In what way? Because so far…” The anger on his witch’s face bled away as he trailed off and paled, audibly swallowing before he rasped, “I mean…you did save me.”
Ollie’s bottom lip wobbled as tears filled his eyes, before he suddenly crouched down and reached for him.
Red ran into those seeking arms, letting himself be picked up and purring as Ollie rubbed his face into his fur. “It’s okay, I’m fine, Ollie. Promise.”
“I’m sorry,” Ollie whimpered. “I’m sorry. I sh-shouldn’t have yelled at you. I know you would have told me if you could. I’m just…f-frustrated.”
Honestly, Red was frustrated too. He wished he could tell Ollie everything he needed to help him understand and move forward.
Not to mention, what would prepare him for any possible attack in the future, by other witches and witch hunters alike.
But he couldn’t. Anytime he tried, pain would twist through him until finally his vocal cords would just stop working.
Worse still, Red knew if he really pushed, and defied it as far as he could, he’d risk losing the ability to speak forever.
It forced him to weigh the risks and decide when it was worth it.
But there was more going on than he initially thought.
The things the binding seemed to make him ignore weren’t… normal.
But then, that pretty much described the things it was forcing him to look past. Things that showed how Ollie’s magic was different…
It worried him that Rowden had worked that into the binding, because he couldn’t think of a single good reason for it that didn’t make him panic, and want to hide Ollie away from the world.
“I get it, Ollie. This hasn’t been easy for you. And it’s hard not knowing things.”
The witch sniffled before letting out a hesitant laugh. “I don’t know a lot. And like I said, I really don’t know what a familiar is supposed to do…”
“I can answer that.”
Ollie jumped as Annabel’s voice came out of nowhere, him flinching slightly when she appeared right beside him straight after her words.
“You couldn’t show yourself first before talking?” he asked.
One of her brows rose. “Would it make you jump any less?”
Ollie opened his mouth to say yes, but hesitated on realizing that it likely wouldn’t, as her white-gray semi-see-through appearance still startled him sometimes. Nose wrinkling, he sheepishly said, “Possibly?”
Annabel chuckled. “Anyway, to answer your question, let me first tell you a bit about familiars as a whole—"
“Hold that thought!” Ollie blurted. “Let me go get my notebook!”
“Wait!” she cried out, as he started to run.
He hesitated midstep, eyeing her. “Yes?”
“I’ve been meaning to mention this. You don’t really need a notebook, due to the fact that everything you learn should automatically appear in your grimoire.”
Ollie blinked, staring for a moment before pointing out, “Yes, but unlike my notebook, it’s big, heavy, and inconvenient to carry around with me.”
She smiled. “It can actually change size to whatever you want it to be.”
“I did notice it likes to shove itself onto shelves it shouldn’t fit on.
But more importantly, I like using a notebook, it’s reliable and doesn’t argue back.
Not to mention, what if I happen to not be able to find my grimoire when I need the information, or rather, it refuses to show said information? ”
Red snorted as Annabel winced and relented. “Fair enough. I can’t deny your particular grimoire is rather temperamental.”
“Be right back!” Ollie took off. Rushing out of the secret library, he hurried to the kitchen, snagging his notebook and pencil off the table before running back.
“Okay, go!” he said as he returned, pencil in hand and notebook open to a new page, as he scribbled down the word ‘Familiar’.
What he needed was a larger sectioned-off loose-leaf binder so he could keep things organized, but what he had would do for now. Ollie likely would be able to find what he needed to make one in one of the storage rooms below, but that was something he’d do later.
“So, first, while not all witches have familiars, it is believed their existence came about at the very beginning of when the arcana started forming the connections that brought forth the creation of witches.”
He pursed his lips. “How long ago exactly? And are you saying the arcana created the first witch, or that witches already existed, but it took one of the arcana creating that first connection for real witches to emerge?”
Annabel hummed. “Many thousands, possibly even tens or hundreds of thousands, of years. The exact timeline is a bit vague, as, well…too much of our history has been destroyed.
“As for which came first? We don’t really know. We know that for the arcana to create a connection with someone, that person must already have magic inside them. At the same time, without the connection, sometimes that magic is useless.
“Now, back to familiars. There are two circumstances under which familiars are created—by accident or on purpose.”
“Is there a difference between accidental familiars and the others?”
“No, there’s usually no difference, aside from perhaps having a bit more influence over what the familiar’s true form is when created on purpose.
“Accidental familiars usually come about after a witch has performed what would best be described as heavy magic. They are spells that use up a lot of energy and require a deep magical pool to perform, thus leaving behind thick arcane residue in the aftermath. It’s from that residue that accidental familiars are created.
“For purposely created familiars, there are two ways of doing it. Either the familiar is born from two familiars, or the familiar is created through a specific spell. In all cases, while familiars have a humanoid form, their true form is the animal they are born as, or rather, come into existence as.”
“Does their humanoid form serve a particular purpose?”
“Breeding is one of the main uses, but it can also be used for fighting, and serves other safety purposes,” Red said, far too smoothly.
“Breeding… You really had to word it that way?” Ollie wrinkled his nose. “Do you have any…?”
“Just you,” Red replied quickly, smiling up at him.
Face heating a bit, as a warm, happy feeling spread through him, he smiled back.
Ollie probably should find it weird that Red saw him as his own child, but considering no one else who was still alive did, he couldn’t help but feel a bit happy about it.
Like, maybe no one else wanted him, but at least his cat did!
Yeah, Ollie wasn’t going to look too closely at that feeling or notion.
“Okay, so that’s how they are made, but how do they choose a witch, or, I guess in Red’s case, a witch family to follow?
I’m assuming those created by accident, and by a spell, would be bonded to whoever’s magic made them?
But what about a born familiar? Also, what exactly is a familiar’s purpose, as we haven’t gotten to that part yet? ”
“So, you are correct. For those first two, that is usually who the familiar is bonded to, but even that is sometimes uncertain. As for the born familiars, sometimes it’s someone in the same family, and other times it’s someone outside it, who could even be many hundreds of miles away or on another continent.
“The reality is, who a familiar connects to is determined by their inner magical bond. A bond that is a mystery in itself, created from the merging of magics that sparks to life at their creation.
“To be clear, witches can have more than one familiar, and witch families can each have their own as well. And often, familiars who outlive their witch form a new connection with another, often within the same family, as Red did with you. Of course, if none of the family have survived, it can be someone from outside as well.”
“And a familiar’s purpose?”
“To help a witch grow, to stand by their side, to protect them as best they can. They are there as a companion, a confidant, the one being a witch knows they can trust. But mainly, they are there for a witch to funnel magic through, helping them build faster and cast stronger.
“A familiar’s magic always mirrors their current witch, which is why, even in practice, a witch with a familiar can build their magical pool and energy far faster than one without. Outside of practice, a weaker witch can double the effect of a spell by channeling it through their familiar.”
That all sounded great…well, it would if Ollie actually needed a power boost. Based on things so far, he did not. “I feel that me trying to channel anything through Red right now would be a bad idea.”
Red snorted. “A bad idea of epic proportions. But it’s not just about magic, it's also about growing your energy. Your magical pool has already proven to be expansive, but without the energy to sustain it, you get what you are dealing with now, which is many days of exhaustion after overextending yourself. Because the little bit of magic practice you do each day isn’t the cause of it. ”
Ollie winced. “You knew?”
“Of course. I know we’ve mentioned the energy fueling your magic before, but the reality is…you have two energy sources inside you as a witch. One is reserved just for magic, and is something not all humans have, and the other is typically used for your everyday functioning.
“When you cast spells, you technically use both, even if the latter is only used after the first is empty. The second is much easier to build back up, while the first, I’m afraid, will just take time.
Though, by my guess, you’ll be good to go in a few more days, which is when we can work on expanding that pool.
Until then, we will just continue as we were.
” Red’s gaze trailed over him before he added, “I feel the need to add that, physically, it would be good for you to get into better shape. In other words, eat more, and possibly work towards being able to lift more than just books.”
“Books are heavy, I’ll have you know,” Ollie huffed.
“I’m sure they are,” his familiar said dryly.
“They are!”
“Let’s put this energy towards something productive, shall we?” Annabel chimed with a giggle. “I think it’s the perfect time for Ollie to practice magic.”
“Here?” Ollie asked, doubt in his voice as his gaze swept the likely highly flammable room, filled with old books and wood.
She rolled her eyes. “You do have more than The Living Flame and The Endless Death to practice. Though…” She looked around. “The room is likely magically protected. So, I doubt even magical fire or rot would have much effect on it.”
Red made an odd, chirp-like noise he sometimes liked to make before saying, “While I wouldn’t suggest dropping a fireball into the room, a fire wouldn’t actually damage anything in here. The real worry would be it spreading beyond the room.
“Practice-wise, we’ve been pretty focused on your more destructive magic. For good reason, as they are the ones we really need to be careful of when using them. But for today, let’s dive into The Ceaseless Hunter’s domain.
“One of the biggest benefits of having a connection with The Ceaseless Hunter is the, usually passive, improved physical senses that come with it. Though, while passive, they are not as automatic as some would want, and do take practice and focus.”
“As this practice is pretty uninvolved, and nothing I can really help with, I’ll leave you to it!” Annabel said, before blinking out of existence.
Ollie set his notebook and pencil down on the table. “Okay, Ceaseless Hunter it is. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to listen. Really listen, and tell me what you hear.”