Private Break Things Down From the Beginning

Selkiris didn’t mind Ebviony’s company every now and then. It was nice to interact with someone on a semi-regular basis, even if they were a child. “An army is certainly important to maintain power. It is a versatile tool for monarchs to use, they don’t just mean violence. To many they are a symbol of protection. However I am merely speaking from human experience, I can not say what Fae views on a military is.”

Selkiris was, as always, writing away in his book. He was of course listening to what Ebviony was saying but he wanted to try and multitask while they were talking. Then Ebviony said the cursed name, the one Selkiris wished to never hear of again, Index. Selkiris applied heavy pressure to the pencil he was using which quickly snapped by the force applied to it. Selkiris took off his hood, staring at Ebviony with a cold, stern look. “Did you just say...they called themselves....Index?”

Selkiris saw the sudden fear in Ebviony’s face and tried their best to calm down. They returned to their normal calm face and exhaled a deep breath. “I should not have been so aggressive, it was uncalled for. Just that Index suddenly being brought up....startled me.” Selkiris knew at this point not to ask for forgiveness from a Fae. “Could you please tell me what exactly you did for Index and what they are giving in return?” Selkiris was just hoping that Ebviony did not get into something over their head.

Selkiris looked up for a moment to ponder the situation. They didn’t want to just bring up him an Index’s history, as it was definitely something that shouldn’t be casually talked about. Selkiris listened to Ebviony as they described what actually happened in that encounter.

“So the snake is back in our reality? I don’t know if I can say many good things about the serpent, but one of the few I can say is that their deals are genuine. When your life is completely focused around words and information....you tend to take things very seriously. Did the Index specify what type of information they would give you?”

Selkiris had to think a moment about the choices that Ebviony posed to him. It was good Index didn’t give a restriction, as it gave plenty of choices for Ebviony and Selkiris to pick from.

“I haven’t fought a war in a....long time, however I think you should ask about your foe’s weaknesses. Pull the right nail from the foundation and it will all come tumbling down. If you don’t know which nail to pull then you likely have a long war of attrition ahead of you.”

Selkiris took a long sigh. It was best for him to explain it at this point to clear up any confusion. “Their deals are sound, they will always keep their end of the deal so there is no reason to fear them. My issue with Index is....personal.”

Selkiris slumped back in his chair to be in a more relaxed position to tell the story. “When I was still human....my wife Morgan was deathly ill with some mysterious disease. I wanted to anything I could to save her...and when nothing else worked I contacted a being etched into the backs of forgotten or forbidden tomes, that being’s name was Index. I gave them my humanity in return for the knowledge of this disease. It turned out it wasn’t a disease, but a hex put on Morgan by a witch. Morgan........died from the hex so I eventually tracked down the witch for vengeance, but what Index didn’t tell me is they were the one who gave the witch her this hexing capability. After I killed the witch I forcibly summoned Index into our reality to get vengeance on them as well. I succeeded in doing so but became an eldritch myself in the process.”