“Give it up, human,” Nikandros says with a sneer.
“You may have been gifted enough to get this far, but there’s no way that you are strong enough to withstand the pact you are trying to make.”
You start to speak, but before you can get any words out the divine being before you both commands the attention of you both.
“You may be correct, elf. But what makes you think you are capable in their stead?”
Nikandros draws himself to his full height, seeking to pull the staff of Vaelis to himself alone, but you do not let go of it either. It remains locked between you two, neither one of you relishing the nearness of the other, but also not willing to relent. He gives you a glare, the heat of his amber eyes boring through you, but turns to face Vaelis, arm still extended.
“I am an elf prince. I may not be an elder son, but I have lived for centuries and forgotten more about power and how to wield it than this pitiful human could ever comprehend.”
Vaelis, a figure of light and beauty of none and all genders, smiles a small, knowing smile.
“So you think. But the pact that you wish to make with me is not merely one of power. It is one of duty, something I expect this human knows more of than you may ever learn.”
Vaelis turns their smile on you, a genuine one, and your chest aches with it.
“But I will give you both a chance, for my pacts are made in pairs. I will make a pact of power with you both. You will see benefits immediately and you may be able to accomplish your goals on your own, if you act quickly. For the power I give you will be renewed and redoubled through your cooperation with one another, and conversely, drained and eventually lost without it. If you separate from each other’s proximity for more than a day, you will become sluggish and any attempt to use the power I grant you will be as if moving through tar. More than three, and you will be unable to move and the magic lost forever. If, however, you manage to align your goals and work together, you will find yourself reinvigorated after every struggle and finer control of the magic granted to you. Better still, if you can somehow develop a fondness for one another, you will be released from your vow of proximity and the power you both have been given made your own.”
You and Nikandros eye each other, more than a little suspicious. You know nothing of each other’s motives. Before today, when you both solved the puzzle of the staff’s location at an annoyingly similar time, you had not even met him. Of course you’d heard stories. The elf prince who thought himself devilishly handsome and clever, worthy of any and all accolades that his birthright alone granted him through no work of his own, and who, although he can tell no lies, still managed to twist his words enough to be the downfall of many a fair young maiden or lad. And likewise, how could he understand your plight, the only child left of your parents after a monster of a warlord tore through the countryside, setting your entire village ablaze and striking down any who dared oppose him, including your entire family. Nikandros had obviously not had to fight his own battles in his entire long life. You’ll be damned if his pretty face is going to make you work with him. And yet…you need the power Vaelis offers. From the stories, the manner of the magic bestowed changes for every person who makes the pact, but it is enough to achieve the otherwise impossible. Breaking the pact has also been whispered of too, however. The consequences Vaelis described may be the least of what happens if you fail to hold up your end of the deal. Can you really do this?
“Human, elf, what say you? Do you make the pact together?”
asks Vaelis.
Nikandros does not answer. He looks at you, and turns the staff toward you.