[Leela] Chapter 6: Capital of the Xalaster Orthodoxy, Olodeen, City of Saints

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Wow. From the way he acted, Leela was surprised to learn the Ghorat was probably the most powerful demon lord in the new world and definitely was in their old one. She had suspected him to be a bit more powerful than he seemed, considering he did have a large castle and it sounded like he had several generals... And now that she thought about it, he had summoned her and Zavan. She imagined that took a lot of mana, considering the circles could only be used once per a hundred years. Leela could not help but wonder how big of a mana pool Ghorat had.

"So you can live up to a thousand years? How quickly do Ifrits grow up? At what age are you considered an adult? For comparison, humans can live to about a hundred years, sometimes more, usually less. Our bodies are usually fully developed by sixteen, but we are not considered adults until eighteen. I am twenty-one, by the way. Do you keep track of birthdays? How old are Ghorat and Ashaki?" She wondered if two-hundred and fifty for Ifrits was like twenty-five for humans. She also wondered how long other demons could live. Perhaps, when they got back to Roshandan, she would go around collecting information on everyone.

"I don't think we will have a problem with you being accepted back. Unless you prove untrustworthy before then." She shot him a look as if to say 'You could still be a spy for the enemy.' Even if Ghorat refused to take Efrit back, Leela was pretty sure she had decided what she would ask for when they got back, and that would give her the power to override such a rejection. If he refused to give her what she wanted, though... there would be problems. Worst case scenario, she would leave Roshandan forever and adventure around the world with Zephyrus. She doubted the demons would try to force her to stay and work for them, considering she had been summoned just to bring Ashaki back. Though it would be annoying to have her slowly forming plans ruined.

~~~~~~~~~~

'You're also adorable and I want to hug you, but I can't because you're like a hologram.' She could not help thinking.

"Did you decide whose room you are going to stay in?" She paused for a moment, trying to remember if she had seen him sleep before. Then again, if he did sleep, maybe he did it when he was invisble? Or was it more like... dispersed mode? Come to think of it, there was a lot about Zephyrus that she was unsure of and was curious to know the answers to.

"Do you sleep?" She blurted out her question after a moment of silence, unable to keep the question at bay like she did with so many of her other questions. It was an important thing to know! If he did not sleep, then what did he do to rest? Did he rest? If he stayed in her room for the night and did not need to sleep, would he watch her sleep? Leela was not sure she wanted him just watching her sleep. Though at least he would probably be a lot more quiet about it than some imps she could name. She remembered the group that had snuck in and watched her sleep her first night there. Who knew how long they had been in the room before she had begun to gain consciousness.

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

"We're considered adults... Perhaps around 150. I don't keep track of ages... Lord Ghorat is likely thousands of years old. As for Ashaki, she is perhaps 150 or 200." Efrit replied. "And you wound me, I would never betray a beautiful master like yourself. Much less the Great Princess of America." His eyes had a mischievous glow to them, and it was hard to tell if he was being serious or not.


Location: Golden Wing Inn
Date: Day 4 - Time: 9:00 PM

Zephyrusblinked his eyes in surprise. "A room? I get to choose one?" Zephyrus asked. "In that case... I would like to choose the same room you have picked out." He shook his head a moment later. "I don't sleep, but I wish I could experience it. Sometimes they make these loud noises when they sleep..."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Ah, so if she wanted to, she could just divide all of the demon's ages by a hundred and that would give her a rough estimate of how old they would appear... So Ashaki would probably look anywhere from fifteen to twenty years old... Hmm~ Easy math was nice.

And now she had a dilemma. She could make a joke about his 'old age' and it affecting his memory on how they met, which was only two days previous. Or she could pick at him and bring up how loyalty to beauty is only skin deep and she was not sure she could trust such a shallow declaration. Though she could also make mention of his wording, calling her a beautiful master. Yes, that sounded like fun.

Leela grinned back at Efrit. "Oh? You are calling me master now? Did you change your mind on that binding contract?" She wondered briefly if Efrit did not believe her claims of being a princess, as he seemed to emphasize 'great princess' a lot, but she shoved the thought away. No one here could know if she was lying or not. Even if she ever met up with other heroes, she could pass it off as her having come from an alternate world from theirs.

~~~~~~~~~~

It seemed Zephyrus had not heard her mention that he could stay in her room or Efrit's earlier in the day. But he chose her room, so she decided not to bother warning him about pestering Efrit.

"They? Who is 'they'?" She asked him at the mention of 'they' making noises when they sleep. She wondered if he was talking about people snoring or something else.

"If you don't sleep, do you rest? How do you recuperate health and mana? ... What do you do while people you are traveling with are sleeping?"

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

"Nice try princess, but the last thing I want is binding."


Location: Golden Wing Inn
Date: Day 4 - Time: 9:00 PM

"They... are other people. Hmm... I've never run out of mana before, but I've never really had a reason to use it a lot." Zephyrus replied. "While people are sleeping... well, many times one of them stays up. I usually sit with them enjoying their company or watching their campfire. Sometimes I would explore around too, and come back before morning to continue my travels with them." The wind spirit explained.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela shrugged. "Oh well. I can't say I blame you after what happened with Ghorat binding himself. You have to admit, though, I'm not a bad master. Right, Abi?" She glanced at the imp.

"By the way, Zavan never really fully explained contracts like the one I made with Abi... All I know is that we shared mana and now I can summon her if she isn't already around whenever I want just by calling her name. And I think he said that goblins can't be summoned through the contracts, but you said I should form a contract with one back when you found out I had one with Abi. So I was wondering what sorts of benefits I would get from making such a contract with a goblin or even some other creature. Also, are these contracts sort of like loose binding contracts?"

~~~~~~~~~~

'Poor Zephyrus.' Leela was reminded of how lonely the wind spirit's life must have been before they had met. He followed people to enjoy their company, but could not hold conversations or interact with them, and so had to find things to do while they slept.

"When I made a contract with Abi in which we shared mana with each other, Zavan had said that when we ran out of mana, we would enter into a natural sleep. Though Zavan said that I should have more than enough for the contract, I still fell asleep. I wonder if that would make it so you can try going to sleep." Then she realized that it might sound like she was implying they should form a contract, which perhaps would not be such a bad idea, but she did not want him to feel like he should just to see if it would let him do something he had wanted to experience.

"Not that us forming a contract would be the only way. I'm just saying that perhaps if you used up a bunch of your mana, maybe you would fall asleep. Although... are wind spirits beings composed of mana? I would be worried that you using up most of your mana might cause you problems." Most worrisome was the thought that he might disappear if he used up all his mana. She really liked having Zephyrus around and would hate it if he disappeared because of something like that.

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

"Being a demon, binding and contracts read almost second-nature to us, but what Lord Ghorat did left a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Plus, as generals, it's usually us who bind others, while Lord Ghorat trusts our council." Efrit explained.

"You're a great master, Leelasama! Leelasama you're the best!" Abi chirped in happily as she poofed into existence around you a couple times through her speech. Efrit gave her a dismissing look. He then turned his attention back towards you.

"There are different forms of contracts..." Efrit explained. "What you and Abi did was a contract that creates a connection between your souls. That was done through both the written contract that was signed, along with the mana that was shared. In truth... You could have had a contract created just by the contract alone. That in itself would have enough power due to magicka that would affect both you and Abi. The step with mana wasn't all that needed, though, perhaps in Zavan's eyes were required for your contract with Abi. It is the sharing of mana that allows you to call Abi to your side in a moment's notice. But it can manifest in other ways too, depending on the race or being of who you contract with. For example, with some mana-bound contracts, you can initiate telepathy with them. Sometimes you can see through their eyes too. Sometime you can even share a limited version of their power. Now... The second part of your contract with Abi, the written part, that is more the... magicka involved to make it work. The laws, rules, and bindings written in the contract state the specific details of how it all works together. So, in the end, not only do you have a mana-bound contract with Abi, that joins your two souls more closely together, you also have one powered by magicka with further enhances that bond. Written contracts through magicka need not to be accordial as well though. It's here we move into binding magicka, sometimes called enslavement magicka, which is something similar to what Lord Ghorat did to himself. Or... what you can potentially do to any human you wish to dominate."


Location: Golden Wing Inn
Date: Day 4 - Time: 9:00 PM

"Hmmm... A contract? How does that work?" The wind spirit asked. "But going to sleep? That sounds... nice. Do you think I can experience it?"

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela was not sure how she felt about having her soul connected to Abi's. That made it feel like... even if she wanted to end the contract, she could not. It was too late now, but she really should have insisted on all the details from Zavan before doing it. She had so much on her mind that first day...

"The reason why I made the contract with Abi was so that I could call her to me from wherever, so from what I understand of your explanation, I did actually need the mana part of the contract to get what I wanted out of the deal. I'm still not sure I understand what exactly I would get out of just doing a written contract... Other than they are bound by contract to work for me, I guess?" Efrit seemed to have the knowledge... He just was not very good at getting it out so that she could fully understand. It was better than nothing, she supposed.

"So if I make just a written contract with one of your goblins, what exactly would I get? Or does it change, depending on the situation? And if I made a mana-bound contract with one of your goblins, what sort of racial benefit would I get?" She assumed Efrit would have at least one that he had made such a contract with, considering he was their general.

"And if I made mana-bound contracts with you, Zavan, or some other general, what sort of benefits might I get? Would whoever I make the contract with benefit from me as well?" Leela was not sure she wanted to form any soul connecting contracts with many others at this point. Perhaps one other imp, in case something happened to Abi. But otherwise, it felt way too personal. Unless the benefit outweighed her comfort levels, which she considered being able to call an imp to her side pretty beneficial. Especially with her mimicry ability.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spoiler

Pausing the conversation with Zephyrus until more of the conversation with Efrit has progressed as knowledge from that earlier conversation will affect this one.

[close]

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

"For goblins, theirs manifest differently... Forming a mana contract with one, and as long as compatibility is good, they have a chance of becoming a hobgoblin. But if it was a written contract done through magicka, the contract would only allow was was explicitly written on it. For example, if you have them just do a written a contract, they could be forced to follow your orders, or ensure their loyalty."

He eyes sparkled when you mentioned forming a contract with the other generals.

"For generals it is different as well. Like I implied, it's based off their race. For the Greater Efrits like myself, you start to have limited use of fire. As for Zavan's race, or any of the other generals, I'm not sure."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Oh, is that all?" Just a chance of a goblin becoming a hobgoblin? Other than improved strength to the goblin, she was not sure there was much benefit to herself - assuming the goblin actually turned into a hobgoblin. At least, that was going by her own knowledge  of goblins and hobgoblins from video games and anime in her own world. And written contracts just seemed much like any contract from her own world. Like... how work contracts worked. Except in this case, it seemed to include magic, thus enforcing that the contract actually being followed through with less chance of cheating. Well... she supposed that could be useful. But whether it was necessary to make a contract of any form with one of the goblins was to be determined.

Leela was not sure she liked the sparkle in Efrit's eyes when she asked about forming mana contracts with the generals.

"Oh. But I can just copy your fiery abilities, so I guess that would only really be beneficial if I didn't have this Mimicry ability." She wondered briefly if she made a mana contract with Zavan if she could get things like dark vision. That would actually be useful, since she was not sure how she could go about copying that. So far, she could only copy things she had seen done, which meant she had no way of seeing dark vision being used. She also briefly wondered if a mana contract with Ghorat would give her some of his power. But she quickly shoved that thought away, as she had no intention what-so-ever of connecting their souls like that.

"Is there a way to make a mana contract mutually beneficial, though? Like do you think Abi gets something from me? Or would it have to be specifically in the written contract to add that? I feel like a mana contract should be equal sharing if we have to share so much mana with each other to form it."

~~~~~~~~~~

Spoiler

Still waiting on some info before I continue Zephyrus' conversation.

[close]

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

Efrit shrugged. It's beneficial both ways... Though it depends on each individual person too. For humans... it's hard to figure out exactly at times how each side benefits. Goblins can turn into hobgoblins, though at times, they may become more intelligent instead."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Hmm... A goblin becoming more intelligent might not be that bad. If that was what the side effect turned out to be. Leela was not entirely sure how Abi had been before, but she felt like perhaps the imp had become a little smarter over the past few days. She certainly seemed proud when she took charge of the other imps as if it was not something she usually did.

"Oh, I see. More intelligent goblins would definitely be... useful." She wanted to say better, but thought that might be somewhat insulting to Efrit with his liking of them.

"As the general of the goblins, have you made contracts with any of them and what kind did you do?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, apparently there are written contracts that are made with magic. The examples I was given were that you could do a written contract to ensure someone's loyalty or force them to follow orders. And then mana contracts, in which the two people forming the contract must share mana for at least four hours, apparently connect the souls of those involved in the mana sharing. I guess the benefits for a mana contract vary, depending on the race of each party. Like for the imps, I made a contract with Abi and now I can call her to me and she can teleport to me when I call. I'm not entirely sure what she gets out of it, but I guess it is supposed to be beneficial both ways." She explained what Efrit had told her earlier in the evening to Zephyrus.

"But again, I'm pretty sure a mana contract is not the only way to find out if you could force yourself to sleep. You could do other things that require mana and just keep doing them until you run out. Does making your body have a more physical manifestation use up your mana or is it something else? If it uses mana, then you could probably just keep practicing with that until you run out and work towards more than one goal." She still worried that if he drained himself of mana that it might have other consequences other than sleep. But she knew nothing of wind spirits, so she hoped Zephyrus would be able to decided for himself if it would be too dangerous or not.

[Throndir]

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

Efrit shrugged. "Yes, I usually contract with one of the goblins until they pass and I create a new one with another from the next generation. I do written contracts primarily. Though, some of the other generals only do contracts through mana. Lastly, there are those like Zavan who prefer both."



Location: Golden Wing Inn
Date: Day 4 - Time: 9:00 PM

"Hmm... Well, remember when I tried to use mana to make myself physical? Doing that often makes me feel... strange. Like I feel more relaxed... It eventually goes away though. It's hard to explain..." Zephyrus then closed his eyes and reached for your hand.

Any resistance and he'll stop his action.

It was then that you realized that you could feel Zephyrus hand as he held yours. As you expected, they were soft, as if they'd never seen real manual labor, much less have ever held anything. HE opened his eyes a moment later. "Remember... You said I should practice."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"You don't like giving your goblins the chance to... evolve?" She had begun to imagine them as like creatures from a certain game she had played in her own world. 'Congratulations, your goblin has evolved into a hobgoblin!' "Which goblin do you currently hold a contract with?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Using your mana to give yourself a physical form makes you feel more relaxed?" Leela was not sure she quite understood what he meant. She thought that it was hard to hold a physical form. Unless he meant after he had done it.

She watched Zephyrus actions, but did not move away when he reached for her hand. She was okay with him practicing on her, as long as she was conscious of it before hand. His hand was as soft as it had been the previous night when he had touched her cheek. Leela wanted to pet it and enjoy the softness, but held herself back.

"Yes, you should. Practice makes perfect." Leela smiled at him. She was pretty sure she had said that saying to him before already, but oh well. It had a lot of truth to it, so repeating it was not a bad thing.

[Throndir]

Heroic Action Point earned

Location: Golden Wing Inn - Leela's Room
Date: Day 4 - Time: 7 PM

"They stop being as cute!" Efrit said. "Goblins are definitely better than hobgoblins. The one I'm contracted with right now is the leader of the goblin tribes that are on their way back to Roshandan.



Location: Golden Wing Inn
Date: Day 4 - Time: 9:00 PM

"Yes... relaxed... I still have to focus to b able to affect the world around me. But after I'm able to do it, and if I keep up making myself physical, I start to feel very... slow and relaxed?" Zephyrus said, trying to explain the feeling.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

With Efrit's definition of cute, Leela wondered if it was the opposite. She almost wanted to try it just to see what they looked like, but she still did not want to be soul connected to something like that unless it came with great benefits. A chance of them becoming smarter or evolving was simply not enough motivation for her.

"I would like to meet the leader when we get back, if they have arrived by then."

Spoiler

This convo can end.

[close]

~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you mean maybe more... sluggish?" Leela was still having a hard time understanding, but she wondered if because his regular form was so... free? if the feeling slow was just because physical forms can't move as quickly.

"Are you able to make more than just your hands physical or is it too tiring to do more than that for now?"