The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 7: Dreams

~ One month of living on the island.

"You know, there's absolutely no way for monsters or enemies to make their way into your room, right?" Romand murmured. I briefly glared in his direction, staring down the curvature of his back, but ultimately I choose to ignore him, instead of making myself comfortable in front of a lamp in the corner of his study.

"Don't you think I know that?" Of course, I knew that. Of course, I knew that this house was filled to the brim with protection magic. Of course, I knew there was no way for me to be killed in my sleep, especially if Romand was here to protect me. Of course, I knew my fears of seeing something behind my closed door were irrational. Of course, I knew all of this, but that didn't stop those irrational fears from bubbling up and taking over; driving me to seek comfort in Romand, someone I knew who held a lot of power and dominance over most enemies. But what he didn't know was that I wasn't afraid of this world's monsters, but instead, the monsters from my previous life who had come to this one, encompassing my dreams and standing at the foot of my bed at night.

So, that is why I was currently in his study, watching him work on projects and reading the books that decorate his shelves. Iban sat by my side, his body purring softly against me as he dozed. Despite being woken up most nights by my nightmares, he never once chastised me for it. He always stuck around, following me wherever I went if I decided to leave my room and not hesitating to find a place to curl up around me. I knew that he had a "trickster" type of personality, but for the most part, he always comforted me whenever I had these nightmares, making sure he was always in sight and that I could feel him as if he knew that I needed someone else. As if he knew that these fears were steamed from something that no one in this world could understand about me.

"Then, why did you come down here after screaming yourself awake if it wasn't because you had a nightmare like a little child?" I clenched my fist and jaw, stopping myself from saying anything. However, Iban sensing something inside of me, something that irritated him as well, stood up, stretching as he made his way towards Romand who was working on a project at a table near me.

I watched Iban pounce on the table, Romand looking at him in curiosity as Iban strode over and sat in front of his glass jar that contained the potion he was working off. Then, in retaliation, his white paw came up and shoved the glass jar off the edge, the entire time his eyes watching Romand's face. Romand, not anticipating this, gave a small gasp, his body jumping backward as the glass shattered to the floor. Then, he watched incredulously as Iban hopped off the table, and came back to rest in my lap, his purrs echoing even louder as he settled down to rest once more. Romand moaned, knowing that there wasn't anything he could do to my familiar, and moved to another station, leaving the purple potion to slowly spread across the floor.

"Fine, I'll stop asking questions." I could feel my heart lift ever so lightly, appreciation for Iban blooming. "If it was anyone else, they'd be dead," I heard Romand murmuring to himself, angrily stomping around as if that was going to do anything. I watched him for a while, before finally deciding to ask some questions that had been on my mind for a while.

"Romand?" I called out, Romand huffed and waved his hand, acknowledging me so I could speak. "What are familiars and how are they created?" He hummed, shaking up brown powder in a tube before sighing, flinging it across the table where it stayed against a book.

"They are born from demons. At first, humans modified them, creating familiars after capturing demons' lifeforce. But then, they realized that there wasn't any way to control a spontaneous familiar born out of the anger and despair of demons. So, after that, familiars started spawning on their own, forming their own bonds with human's sort of like a contract. All we know is that they came from our trials and errors as if sensing we need their help.

"Familiars can look into a person's future and see how they will turn out in life. However, there is a limit depending on how highly ranked a familiar is. For example," he pointed to Iban, "Iban is an incredible old familiar, one that for the most part is a myth among normal mages. Of course, we have historical records of him in the past, but that doesn't mean it is totally true because no one has seen him for hundred of years." I nodded, turning so that I could rest against a bookshelf and watch Romand as he continued talking. "But his age indicates that he has accumulated a lot of power from the mage's he has contracted with over the years. It means he can see pretty far into a mage's future and pick and choose who he decides to contract with. However, lower-ranked familiars, ones who are just newly formed or haven't contracted with anyone significantly strong, can only see a little bit into the future of a mage, and that is how they pick and choose who to stay with."

"Why do they choose to help humans?" I questioned. Romand looked over at me briefly and shrugged, brushing against a paper on his table to clear it of whatever had been on it.

"I'm not a familiar. In fact, you can't actually talk with your familiars. They're still different beings, after all, trying to learn their language is impossible, people have tried. If anything, you should ask Iban," I looked down at the sleeping cat below me, his stomach rising and falling as he dozed off. I realized that if he hadn't said anything by now, there was probably no way he would tell me about it in the near future.

"So, after a mage is killed, the familiars don't have anywhere to go until a new mage is born?" Romand nodded, "Can familiars die too?" Romand nodded once more.

"It's extremely rare, but they can also be killed. There are certain weapons and spells that can kill demons, which is what mage's study. If someone wanted to, they could kill a familiar. Typically, familiars aren't in fights, they're just there to provide the mage some extra power, which is why there also isn't a need to have them out in the open because it makes it that much easier for them to be killed. Typically, they are off on their own until they are needed by their mage's, in which they will come to provide aid in their fight."

"Do mage's get into fights often?"

"Not often, per se," he responded, sitting down to scribble something before continuing to talk. "Mage's main goal is to create spells for protection against these demons, so they don't spawn. But there are cases where demons have spawned in cities, probably with the goal of slowly taking over places so that they have fewer people altogether to fight when they wanted to finally take over this land. It's easier to slowly web off humans than to fight a large number of people." I nodded absentmindedly, taking in all the information but also thinking about more questions.

"How do demons spawn randomly?"

"Well, they have to be brought here by someone. It is true that there can be cases where demons are spawned out of thin air, but for the most part someone brings them here."

"Someone?"

Romand turned to me now, a serious look on his face. "There are demons that are intelligent enough to take on the form of humans, and who can also speak the human's language. They are the ones who bring demons to this world." I watched him turn back around to his work, a frown deepening on his face.

"So, that is why mages have to constantly be on guard?" I asked. Romand sighed and nodded, finally tired of answering my questions. While I did have a lot more to ask, I realized that I would probably be pushing my luck if I tried anything else, so I settled for just one last question.

"One more," I spoke, he sighed against, flicking his hand in response. I swallowed and spoke up with a question that I found particularly troublesome to ask, but one that had been on my mind this entire time. "Why do mage's fight against demons?" Romand looked at me then, incredulously, his head moving swiftly to stare at me as if I said the stupidest thing in the world.

"Because they're trying to kill us."

~~~

Hey guys! Saph here! I'm sorry I feel like I keep dragging out and putting in more information instead of getting to the parts I'm most excited about, but be prepared! Next week we are finally in "present" time (I think), so I'm excited!

As always, let me know how you feel about the story! I appreciate each and everyone one of you reading and I hope you have a great week!