He shouldn't have eaten.
Should've let himself starve.
But the food was rich with something else.
Something wrong.
Magic.
But he chewed and swallowed because he was still alive.
And he hated himself for wanting more.
It had been over two weeks since the Brotherhood stripped him of magic. And now, with even the smallest taste back in his blood, it was enough to make him sweat.
Enough to make him shake.
Euphoric. His breathing quickened, ragged from the rush.
It was almost as intoxicating as the first time the Brotherhood indoctrinated him with the Holy Light. Cuthbert's mind raced with possibilities, but it always circled back to the same thought.
'Escape.'
"No. I can't," he blurted out to himself. His guilt started to temper the intoxication of the magic down. He steadied his breathing, the cell's eternal darkness creeping back in. He remembered the situation he was in as he stared into vast nothingness around him.
Anxiety began to creep up on him as he started to analyze the circumstances.
'First and foremost, it's illegal and inhumane to sell meat from Harpies that can store magic in their being. Typically, beings with that ability are also cognitive of their own existence and capable of critical rationale. Whomever sold that meat is in direct violation of Article II of the Declaration of Existence—laws meant to protect sentient beings from being consumed like livestock. Surely, Sir Christian had no knowledge of the legality of this meal. It's always an uncertainty with him so I won't consider him innocent just yet.'
'He must be punished'
'Huh? What right do I have to pass judgment on another? This magic seems to still be superseding my rationale.'
Cuthbert fixed his posture and sat himself with legs crossed and his hands resting over them. He closed his eyes and let his fingertips touch as he focused his thoughts to the space between his palms. This was one of the first few practices that The Brotherhood trained novices to help control their thoughts from getting the better of them.
A practice he knew all too well.
'What will I do with this magic? I need to get rid of it.' Cuthbert knew this was a task easier said than done. His research had led him to case-studies on the subject, where Brothers attempted to do so on their own accord. Although few were successful at doing so, their description of the experience didn't leave many the desire to replicate the experiment. One paper described the ordeal as 'ripping off all of your skin at once' while another said he 'felt needles piercing the inside of every single orifice on his body for half an hour'. Cuthbert unfortunately was able to confirm both case-studies had validity in their assertions after his removal from The Brotherhood.
Cuthbert knew that he didn't have the mental fortitude or discipline to go through that pain again. As he sat there focusing on the space between his palms, he could feel his breathing becoming steady. His senses started to grow stronger as the magic started to manifest between his hands and dissipate slowly back into his fingers. His heartbeat grew louder as he became more aware of the blood flowing through his body. A smile escaped his concentration. Without realizing it he reached the first step to using Eagle Senses.
Eagle Senses allowed him to enhance any of his five senses to a level beyond the limits of the human body. Although the one that many Brothers focused on was Eagle Eye, Cuthbert found it more useful to train his sense of touch and smell. Training those two senses helped him acquire knowledge on a microscopic level as he spent more time examining cadavers and specimens than training to learn spells like his fellow Brothers.
He allowed the little magic to connect to the nerves at the tips of his fingers and then allowed the magic to seep out of the follicles of his fingers to form small tendrils. He inhaled slowly and placed his palms flat on the ground. The tendrils extended into the wooden floor as he exhaled the air from his chest. They slowly found small openings between the fibers of the wooden planks that made up his cell. Once on the other side he inhaled and exhaled another breath of air to help stretch the tendrils to wherever his cell was stationed. As soon as they touched the ground, he felt an immense amount of vibration coming from all directions. It felt as if he was in the middle of a market during the busiest hour of the day. All the vibrations felt like footsteps running in all directions.
'That's strange. Everyone should be settled in camp at this hour. There shouldn't be this much movement.' Cuthbert's curiosity piqued, and he quickly forgot about his desire to rid himself of the magic he accidentally consumed. 'Let's see if we can find out what all this commotion is about. It's probably just Christian up to some of his typical antics. I wouldn't be surprised if he's gotten the whole camp dancing to one of his ridiculous tavern songs.' Cuthbert couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of it.
'He can be such a pest…'
'You don't need him'
Cuthbert held the tendrils a bit over the ground and attached another string of magic from the palm of his hand to his ear. This allowed him to hear whatever was going on outside instead of just relying on his sense of touch. He didn't hear much—just distant footsteps.
They were far.
Too far.
But he could hear the faint sound of what he believed to be shouting along with the sound of metal clashing repeatedly. Cuthbert became irritated at the fact that he didn't have enough magic to increase the frequency of his hearing. With just a little bit more he could get a better grasp of what the shouting was all about.
"Curse that Lord Haart." Cuthbert exclaimed as he withdrew the magic back into his body.
Lord Haart believed that leaving evil too close to everyone would cause his men to grow an affinity to evil so they usually left Cuthbert at the furthest point away from the camp. The man was beyond ignorant and incapable of understanding how science worked let alone magic.
'Kill him.'
"If I could, I would", Cuthbert said to himself.
It took Cuthbert a second to realize that these thoughts of his were unexpected even for himself. It was the first time he ever thought about killing another person.
'Let us help'
Cuthbert quickly opened his eyes.
A silhouette stood in front of him.
It was darker than the entirety of his cell itself and it hovered closer
He couldn't move.
He couldn't even scream.
'You don't have to resist anymore.'
Sweat began to trickle down Cuthbert's forehead as the entity was suddenly sitting in front of Cuthbert awaiting a response from him. It slowly tilted its head as it examined Cuthbert. Cuthbert tried to articulate something but found it impossible to use his voice. Yet he couldn't help but feel a desire to succumb against his better judgement
Cuthbert's mind started to race once more as he tried to analyze what was happening. 'Am I going crazy? I don't know what this is. I just want to be left alone!'
'You don't need to know what I am. You will get what you want as soon as you accept us.'
The entity seemed to be in his head reading his thoughts. Cuthbert started to go through every case-study of telekinesis he's read for any hint to keep this from going further. Unfortunately, the stage of prevention is before intrusion and can't be expelled without the consent of the caster.
I just want to die already! Cuthbert tried to only concentrate on his execution to keep any more prodding into his thoughts or memories.
Christian's words echoed in his mind. 'She wasn't just important to you'
'We can rewrite the moment. Undo what you did. Return her to you. She will laugh again.'
'Elfeda? She can be brought back?' Cuthbert knew it was too late. His understanding of the situation couldn't help with what was unfolding in front of him. His mind was no longer his to control but merely something that he could only watch.
He could feel it smiling, though it had no mouth to grin with.
'Do you accept our power?'
Elfeda's laughter echoed in his mind. The way she used to smile. The warmth of her touch.
He knew it was a lie.
He knew.
And yet…
"Yes," Cuthbert's eyes glazed over as he accepted the offer. The room around him grew darker as the entity's existence engulfed the room.