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As the being known as the Grand Sorcerer would wander the lands, there were many things that he would observe while on various missions, stabilizing altars, or simply wandering through the territories. The winds would greet him differently as he crossed borders across the continent. Common materials used for constructing buildings were suited to an area’s most abundant resources.
Most importantly, he observed how others on the Klein Continent interacted with each other. As Huey crossed through villages and town squares, he tried to listen to what others would be discussing, what their conversations would be about. He heard things about various meals they wanted to cook over a fire, what a leader or head of a group was planning to do to improve a specific territory, complaints about a spouse that didn’t seem to return home often or early enough.
He did not remember everything that he observed when going from vessel to vessel, unfortunately. However, in his newest body he encountered something he hadn’t bothered to even think about. The more and more he would walk through the populated areas of the territories, the Royal Capital of the Light Territory for instance, he seemed to be treated very highly. Many would praise him and his abilities, some gave him gifts, and a select few would do…very interesting actions to show their appreciation… Huey didn’t exactly understand why that last group would do anything like that, but it didn’t stay in his mind for long.
One day, there was something that would change his mind about that. While going through the main square of the Water Territory for business, he saw a young boy handing out rolled pieces of paper to anyone he could get to on the street. When Huey approached the boy, the latter got stiff, almost shaking at the blond being’s presence, until he nervously handed the vessel one of the papers and ran away as fast as he could.
When Huey unraveled the paper, he saw many words printed on its surface, stories of all types being told on every inch. He didn’t seem to care about the majority of the articles, but one did manage to catch his attention. It was an opinion column…claiming to be discussing the Grand Sorcerer.
As he looked through what others were saying, it sparked a small curiosity in him. There were the positive words he was used to hearing in-person from the cities, but there were also more negative statements, ones of anger or even confusion. He wasn’t offended by these statements; the quandaries instead made him start to think. If he was the focus of this publication, what else was written about him? He was interested in finding out.
And he knew exactly what could help with that.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“...and I ask that you bring this to me by the eve of the day I plan to depart.” Huey finished the request he gave to his familiars.
“But Master,” Morvay began, a bit concerned. “We can’t find everything that’s been put down in 3 days! How would we even know where to start looki-OW!”
He was cut off by Aster stomping on his toes, the vampire glaring at him. “Why would you ask such a thing like that? Do you want to be seen as a failure before you even start, you absolute dumba-”
“That’s enough, Aster,” Huey sternly said, the shorter of his creations quieting immediately and looking at him with guilty eyes. Despite the weight of his words, he calmed his tone after that. “I’m not asking you two to search under every stone in the continent. Rather, I want you to go to populated areas, places with many different people who hold different thoughts and beliefs. That is where I want you to search for these records. Whatever you may find there, that is what I desire. It is for something very important. No matter how many or how little, all will be weighted the same.”
With that clarification, both Aster and Morvay grew brighter, now realizing how they could fulfill their master’s order with a bit more ease. “Ohhhh, I know!” Aster beamed. “There’s multiple libraries in the capital-”
“-and some book shops have things like that, too!” Morvay chimed in. “Maybe I could convince some ‘friends’ to hand over any news publications…”
“HEY, I was gonna do that first!” Before anything else could be called dibs on, Aster disappeared in a small puff of magic, reappearing as his small bat form. “And I’ll beat you to it!”
It wasn’t long before Morvay did the same, a fuzzy black creature soon flying out the door behind the bat. “No fair, you shitty little…” Huey didn’t get to hear the rest before the two of them were out of earshot.
The Grand Sorcerer cracked the smallest hint of a smile, a bit amused at how his creations were so eager to please him. It was something he would never really understand, as he thought about his own relationship with that process…but it intrigued him to see it in this manner, and what fruit it would bear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It wasn’t long before those three days had passed and the sun began to set on the eve of his leave. Huey sat in a plush chair in the library, glancing over that same paper scroll that started his curiosity in the first place. It wasn’t very often he felt this kind of impending wonder about the world around him, about what was around him that he wasn’t able to experience, being who he was.
He hoped he would soon be able to find out more.
“Master Hueyyyyyy!!” His own mental thoughts were halted as he heard a pair of voices call out to him he hadn’t heard in the past 72 hours.
The doors to the library burst open, Aster joyfully running in with an armful of similar scrolls, while Morvay was pulling a cart full of bound books, sweat rolling off his body from exertion.
“Master Huey, we found so many writings about you!” Aster announced, a fang-filled smile on his face as he placed the scrolls on the table. “We were able to talk to every major library head in the continent and they gave us everything they had! Some shops even donated a copy of anything they stocked, how generous of them!”
“Y…Yeah…” Morvay huffed, finally coming to a halt and dropping the handle of the cart on the floor. “A generosity not shared by someone who couldn’t carry anything heavier than a few pieces of paper…”
“Oh HUSH, you. Half of those books wouldn’t have been found if I didn’t pull you away from-”
“I appreciate your dedication to this endeavor,” Huey broke up the ensuing argument between them. “I’m interested in seeing what is within all of these.”
“We know you’ll like them, Master!” Morvay ran up next to Aster, both familiars practically sparkling from the praise.
“Now then, to go through their contents…” The blond, however, didn’t pick up a single book or paper. Instead, he carefully took two plush stools from corners of the library, placing them right next to the large chair he was just in. “Come on.”
Neither of the two understood what their master meant by his actions. “Do…Do you want us to place them there or…”
“No,” Huey shook his head at Aster. “You can bring the writings here, but I want you two to sit over here.”
“But Master Huey, our job is done. You never said for us to-”
“This isn’t part of my request. I’m simply offering it if you’re as interested as I.”
If the eyes of Morvay and Aster were twinkling before, the prospect of their creator wanting them to read through others’ musings with him almost made them visibly ecstatic. They all but sprinted to the other end of the library, every writing in tow, each taking a stool (and trying to get as close to Huey as possible in the process). With the spoils of the search in front of them, all that was left was to decide which to read first.
“Oooh, what about this one, Master?” Morvay asked, picking up a scroll with a pale yellow ribbon tying it together. “This one just screams good, don’t you think?”
Huey took the rolled document, admiring the charm tied together with the ribbon. Some family symbol, perhaps? He had a gentle hand in undoing the knot, pulling the ends of the paper apart to reveal an artistic handwriting, one clearly from many years' practice.
“‘As I write this log of my travels, I can’t help but see all the good that the Grand Sorcerer has done’,” he softly spoke, reading the script aloud. Both of the familiars peered over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse at what was being said.
“‘His efforts have created so much prosperity for our village to thrive off of. Even after 40 years of knowing of his existence, I still think back when I saw him for the first time. I was gathering berries as a child, and I had wandered far into the woods to find untouched bushes. It was foolish of me to wander that far from the village gates, but I do not regret it.
“When I saw him that day, I couldn’t help but watch in awe. In my eyes, he looked so cool, not knowing how powerful he truly was. The trees practically moved for him. The silver adornment on his chest sparkled in the sunlight. It was captivating to a-‘”
“HEY!” Morvay yelled, furrowing his brow at the cursive in front of his face. “All the stuff you wear is gold, Master! How could they get that wrong about you?”
Aster shrugged his shoulders. “Well you have to remember, idiot. He saw Master up close once. As a kid. It’s hard for humans to remember all that stuff when it’s been so long or they haven’t been with him as long as we have.” A bit of smugness radiated off of him, ready to show off his relative knowledge about his creator.
“Don’t put humanity in that position, Aster,” Huey told him. “Even with smaller pools of essence within most of them, they do seem to be capable of things even beyond our own comprehension.”
The vampire pouted, looking through the stacks again to try and change the subject. The cover of a leather-bound book caught his eye, the peachy-pink irises lighting up when he noticed the etching on the cover. “Master, can I read this one for you?” He snatched the book, remembering its origin well. “The one who lent us this said it was very special to him, a wonderful read of his own creation!”
Huey looked at the book for a moment, before nodding his head and allowing his familiar to pull open the pages. “He said the best part would be starting the page before this bookmark.” Aster pulled at the pale yellow tassel marking a page near the middle of the book, the pink and yellow string keeping a firm place at where the author enjoyed it the most.
“Hehe, okaaaaay~” He found the specified page and started to read, almost giddy to reveal its contents.
“‘It was then that I saw the Grand Sorcerer before me in all of his glory, a sight almost good enough to eat. His robes were strewn out beneath him, the shining material in stark contrast to the cotton material under him. His cheeks were flushed and so were his…’” Aster trailed off for a moment, trying to process what he was reading. “‘…so were his…nipples…’”
The vampire stopped reading sequentially at that point, refusing to, skimming through the next few pages and muttering lines with growing anger and flushing cheeks. “‘…I had ropes prepared for such an occasion’…What?…’All I had desired for so long was to be able to cast his clothes aside to suck his’-WHAT?!”
He slammed the book shut, throwing it square at Morvay’s forehead and knocking him to the ground. “Why is this FILTH in our gatherings, you imbecile?! I know you were the one to get it!”
Morvay groaned in pain, pushing the hardcover off his face. “It’s not my fault! The guy I knew who gave it to me said it would be an awesome read for Master!”
”He thought Master would want to read self-published erotica with the author having relations with him? Was he perhaps INSANE?!”
”Well he did say some funny things the last night I came to his house and-“
Aster grabbed Morvay by the jacket, eyes almost glowing with fury. “If your blood didn’t taste like absolute shit I swear I’d suck you COMPLETELY dry and-“
Huey once again cleared his throat, the two of them begrudgingly coming back to their stools. I seem to be doing this a lot more than usual lately, he pondered. “Perhaps something a bit different than that type of writing will do for the next read.”
“I absolutely agree!” Aster laid it on thick, still glaring at the incubus across from him. Finding another rolled scroll, he shoved it to his companion, a bit softer in comparison to the book. “Here, your turn to read. The Royal City daily publications definitely have more tasteful material.” His sarcasm was heard for miles, still thinking he needed to wash his mouth out with soap after the ordeal.
Morvay rolled his eyes as the scroll was unfurled, trying to remember what about it involved his creator. “What was this aga-OH YEAH, this was the one with the opinion column, right down…here!” He started to read the introduction, saying that it was a section entirely dedicated to the citizens’ thoughts about the Grand Sorcerer and all that surrounded him.
“‘I don’t see the hype around the Grand Sorcerer, all he does is walk around and barely interact with others. How is he so special, really?’ Don’t listen to that fool says, Master. He doesn’t see how great you are!”
”Keep reading, idiot,” Aster urged him on.
He scanned through the statements again, ready to find a different one. “‘I hope one day I can meet him in person.’ Of course! ‘One day they’ll give the keys of the kingdom to the Grand Sorcerer with what he’s done for the world.’ Absolutely! ‘That creature with the leather around the Grand Sorcerer needs to back off already!’ No dou…wait, what?”
His fellow familiar leaned forward, confusion starting to paint his features. “What did that just say?”
”Hold on…’That thing with the…horns…it’s nothing but a bad influence on him. I’ve heard some disgusting rumors about him, that’s he’s been seen at night doing unspeakable acts to unsuspecting peop…I personally think we should find him and-‘“ Morvay couldn’t read aloud any further, a strange feeling of shame taking over him. “No…that’s not true, I…”
Aster snatched the paper from the clawed hands of the incubus. “Give me that!” He found where he stopped reading and kept going. “‘It makes me ill thinking about it. And that short, pink…abomination?…He almost looks like he’s d…drooling around me. I’ve seen him target nobility. What if he’s trying to infect our society with s-some kind of disease that’ll poison our bloodstreams? Get him o-outta here!’”
Huey quietly turned to the older of his familiars. As he held the paper, Aster’s hands started to tremble at the accusations laid upon him. He wasn’t an abomination, he never drooled around others, why would he try to infect people?! But…was this what he was seen as to some people?
The platinum blond being turned to Morvay, and he was a similar way, trying to process others thinking of him as a bad influence to his creator. Huey tried to understand what they were feeling. To him, it didn’t matter what any other creature thought of him. He was who he was, and nothing could ever truly change that. However, it was possible that it wasn’t the case with every other being. And not just with humans or yokai, but with those made entirely from essence, as well…
A feeling built up inside Huey, letting it out in another stern voice. “Aster. Morvay.” Both familars turned to him, Aster with tears welling in his eyes and Morvay with sweat rolling down his face, both of them afraid of what he would say. Would he question them about these potential acts? Would he not even try to hear them and just punish them outright?
“If there is one thing I know about mortal races, it is that there tends to be exaggerations about concepts they do not understand. Whether it is how the stars formed in the sky, how a form of religion can come to be…” He paused for a moment, and as he did, cold but comforting hands were laid on an incubus and vampire hand.
”…or how a Grand Sorcerer could feel comfortable around two beings he created with his own hands.”
Aster and Morvay were silent for a moment, the words of their master sinking in. It took a moment, but both realized what he was saying at the same time.
“Oh Master!!” The two of them cried, taking the proxy god in their arms and hugging him tightly. Huey didn’t shy away from this; he actually welcomed it. A small smile showed on his face, a warmth in his chest growing like a flickering candle. As he had thought before, he didn’t fully understand affection and why so many craved it like an addictive drug. But if he was able to try, to potentially make the two closest to him reassured that these rumors were nothing but that, he was willing to see it through.
The rest of the night was spent reading the rest of the material, impressed at some, annoyed at others. But even as the sun rose and Huey saw his familiars resting in his lap, he knew one thing for certain:
The world was a vast and diverse place, full of positivity, negativity, and everything in-between. And he was curious to see where his next mission would take him, maybe even discovering a new world in the one he’s already formed.