[3] Lord Father

Daylight entered through the window, waking Bjorn. He found himself still in the body of some unknown monster. He had discovered little about himself or his species over the course of the night. Freja and her friends spent most of the time watching him and ensuring he ate and drank. 

Failsafe had underestimated how long it would take him to translate the language. However, he claimed that throughout the night he would make a new magic framework that would allow Bjorn to understand it in real time. Unfortunately, Bjorn won’t be able to read until he learned the old fashion way. Speaking the language was impossible given the vocal cords he possessed.

He stood up and proceeded to stretch when he noticed Freja standing over him. She was wearing the same thing as yesterday; a black sweater vest over a white dress shirt, black and white striped tie, and a skirt. She picked him up, and he noticed the barrier that kept him from leaving the platform dissipated. He could taste the magic in the air, and given enough time he was confident he could identify what exactly was being used to make the barrier. He expected Freja to let him back down, but instead she moved to the door. 

As it turns out, he was in a dormitory of some kind. They were in a long hallway, which had intermittent doors on each side. The spicy smell of cinnamon incense assaulted his greatly enhanced senses. The dorm had an oddly sterile look; no pictures or plants, no colors beside the natural hues of the wooden floors and brick walls. Freja seemed to be nervous as she carried him hurriedly down the stairs and into the main hall.

An older woman was there waiting for them, and she looked at Bjorn in surprise. The woman was a halfling, a full head shorter than Freja, with a motherly demeanor. She and Freja talked for a few minutes; she pointed at Bjorn a few times, especially at his back. Bjorn wished he knew what they were saying, but could only shrug off the talks. 

“Hey, Failsafe, you got that translation thing done yet?” Bjorn asked mentally.

“Almost. I just need a bit longer. I’m trying to optimize it as much as possible given your low magic ability,” Failsafe responded promptly.

Bjorn sighed. “Well, can you tell me what they’re talking about?”

“Sure thing,” Failsafe said. “The halfling woman’s name is Dimii. She’s trying to figure out what you are. She thought you might be a dragon, but no wings, so that was out. She is also upset Freja took you out of the containment field. I am assuming that’s the platform in Freja’s room. Apparently you’re supposed to stay in it for a few days to ensure you don’t reject the bond and attack her.”

It suddenly made a lot more sense why Julie and Mat didn’t want to come into the room while he was free. A bonded familiar could reject the bond, and then be no different from any other wild animal. The fact no one seemed to know what he was meant Freja was taking a big risk to her life, carrying him around like she was. While he had no intention of harming her, if he was a wild animal one bite and his venom could kill her.

“So I could reject it?” Bjorn asked.

“Yes, you could cut the connection if you focused on it hard enough,” Failsafe stated. “Oh, now the woman has told Freja that her father is on the way to see her, and she should stay at the dorm today.”

As Failsafe spoke Bjorn could taste fear in the air. He looked up at Freja; she seemed neutral but her body was giving off a strong sense of dread. Something wasn’t right, why would she be afraid that her father was coming to see her? Family troubles seemed likely.

After the two talked for a few more minutes, several girls around Freja’s age slowly made their way down the stairs and into the main hall. They were wearing the same uniform as Freja, and none of them were human. He saw an elf, a fey and a cynocephali, along with another of Freja’s race. They all carried bookbags on their backs, and a staff in hand or a wand at their side. 

When they saw Freja with Bjorn he noticed they seemed to take a longer path around to avoid them. At the same time Freja noticeably avoided eye contact and shrunk in her demeanor. Bjorn could taste fear, embarrassment, and anxiety as the girl shrank. The halfling woman noticed, and said something that of course Bjorn could not understand, but it seemed to help Freja somewhat.

After speaking to Dimii, Freja returned to her room. Since Julie was already gone she allowed him to freely walk around the space. As with the day before he found the space to be rather barren; there were two desks, wardrobes and beds but nothing else. Freja sat at her desk while Bjorn jumped up onto her bed to see what she was doing. 

She was working with an alchemy set and some dried ingredients. She had a notebook and several textbooks open while, with some difficulty, she used her magic to ignite a flare jewel that was used as a bunsen burner. She worked diligently on something, occasionally looking over to Bjorn. Especially as he jumped on and off the bed to get used to his new body and find the best way to jump. 

Once she finished whatever she was working on she put out the flare jewel. Doing so took her a few attempts. She picked Bjorn up and placed him back on the containment platform. She grabbed her book and sat down next to him, where she spent the next two hours reading aloud to him. Bjorn just listened, despite not understanding a word. He had nothing better to do anyway; Failsafe was working on the new framework and he didn’t want to distract him with questions and updates. He didn’t really understand what Failsafe even was; judging by the description Failsafe wrote about himself in the Skills Analysis, he was some type of sentient spell. Bjorn felt like he should know what that meant, like it was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t quite put it together. 

“… He is accredited as the ‘Wandweaver Extraordinaire’, and it is thanks to his lifelong pursuit of magical knowledge and his refinement of magical wandmaking techniques that mages today can craft spells with the use of a wand,” Freja read, which caused Bjorn to jump up in surprise. Which in turn caused her to stop. “Are you okay Bjorn? I didn’t startle you, did I, baby?” She pet his head.

Failsafe celebrated. “Heck yeah, guess who just solved one-way interspecies communication magic? Come on guess-guess.”

“Uh, you?” Bjorn said mentally. 

“That’s right,” Failsafe said proudly. “Not only that, but it uses ambient magic, meaning you won’t even have to worry about it draining you.”

Bjorn immediately tried to talk out loud but all that came out were the usual squawks.

“You hungry, baby?” Freja asked as she stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

“I thought you figured this out?” Bjorn thought frustratedly. “Why am I still squeaking?”

“It is one way,” Failsafe stated matter of factly. “The translation is happening in your head. You can’t speak, that would be sound magic or something.”

As Freja reached for the door it suddenly swung open. The taste of anger, disappointment and disgust carried in the air caused Bjorn to immediately turn to see what was going on. He could also taste Freja’s terror, which put him on edge. On the other side of the door was a man who towered over Freja, his antlers adorned with rings and jewels. His skin was as dark as a starless midnight, only broken up by the red suit and long shoulder cape which had the crest of a dragon.

Authority and mana flowed from the man like a typhoon, although controlled and pressing down only on Freja. This was a tactic used to show dominance. It was not a physical nor a magical attack, just manipulation of the mana in the air. If one could not defend against it, then it would make the person feel vulnerable and under pressure as if they were standing before a superior. It was considered rude and even an insult, but the man at the door did not seem to care.

“Fath…” Freja started, but quickly bowed her head. “I mean Lord Salstar. It is an honor that you have come to see me.”

The man’s voice was deep and impassive. “Where is it, girl?”

Freja notably paled, her voice barely above a whisper. “Right this way, Lord.”

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