[Mkguild] Hawk's Jealous Prize (1/1)

[C. Matthias]

Finally!  I managed to sit down and get myself to 
write another Metamor Keep story.  This one I've 
had in my head a while and I finally found the 
time to just work on it.  Very short for me so 
please do read and let me know what you think.

I am borrowing a character of Kamau's and I hope that he doesn't mind.

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Metamor Keep: Hawk's Jealous Prize
by Charles Matthias

April 14, 708 CR


“Where would you like the perches?” Weyden asked 
his new wife as they sorted through their 
possessions in their new home at Twin Hearths. 
Their quarters were more spacious than he could 
have afforded on his soldier's pay, but Jessica 
was a master mage at Metamor and in much demand 
for services. Already the 
still-under-reconstructed mage's guild of Metamor 
had asked her if she would be willing to take on 
apprentices, but she declined for the time being. 
For a time she just wanted to be a wife, and 
Weyden was grateful to be her husband.

Jessica turned her black-feathered head back and 
forth, golden eyes scanning the wide room with 
hearth at one end; the second hearth was in the 
small bedroom on the other side. A study and 
workroom for her magic adjoined the bedroom 
facing the outer wall. A small balcony overlooked 
the street and from which they could launch 
themselves into the air whenever they desired to 
stretch their wings. They also had a wash basin 
and limited facilities for preparing food, but 
they were more likely to find something already 
prepared in the market than make anything for 
themselves – at least until they had a clutch of their own!

Jessica pointed with a wing claw at the study 
doorway and cracked her beak in a grin. Her voice 
was melodious as she cawed, “In there I think. Near the books and scrolls.”

Weyden carefully hoisted the small wooden perches 
first with his talons, and then slid them up onto 
his shoulder enough that he could carry them 
himself. His new wife could have simply levitated 
them to where she wanted them, but he insisted 
that they should prepare their new home together; Jessica heartily agreed.

He hopped to the study and bent over to place the 
perches down one by one. They were very simple, 
with a wide flat bottom of carved wood, rising up 
to a crossbeam that their talons could easily 
anchor on. When standing still for long periods 
of time, the perches were far more comfortable 
than anything else he could think of. He wasn't 
surprised Jessica would want them in her study. 
His golden eyes glanced across the various titles 
of treatises and tomes arrayed in stacks against 
the stone wall and his mind began to swim 
dizzily. He could read some, but the particular 
combinations of letters adorning those spines 
were all unfamiliar to him. His heart beat faster 
as he thought on how blessed he was to have such a wife as Jessica!

“Thank you, Dokorath,” he murmured beneath his 
breath, casting his eyes heavenward to where the 
gods must be watching them. As a soldier, his 
devotion to the god of battle and war was not 
surprising, and it deepened with the passage of 
time, especially the more time he spent with his 
wife, and his duties to Metamor. The virtue of 
honor and courage, as well as a strong sense of 
justice called to his soul in a way he could 
neither describe nor ignore. But just that 
moment, he had to also offer thanksgiving to 
Velena too for bringing Jessica to him.

Their wedding seemed to him the most inevitable 
thing in the world. Even so far back as his 
second week in Metamor two summers past after 
he'd been told that he was becoming a hawk when 
he'd first met Jessica a part of him knew this 
day would come. And what a day it had been! All 
of his friend's from Yonson's guard, Maud, 
Larssen, and Van, as well as Captain Dallar the 
ram who'd been their gaoler for a time had been 
there in their best attire. And all of Jessica's 
many more numerous friends had put in appearance, 
with Kayla serving as her maid of honor. Larssen 
had served for him, while Lothanasa Raven had 
performed the ceremony. Weyden remembered the 
curious questions Sir Charles Matthias's children 
had asked at odd intervals through the service – 
they had never been in a Lothanasi temple before 
– as well as the adorable costumes that Lady Kimberly had made them wear.

The ceremony itself seemed a dance through a 
beautiful haze of light, color, incense, and 
song. He could remember few details in 
particular, but the vows he'd made before his 
friends and before the Aedra themselves he could 
well recall; he vowed that he would love and 
protect his wife through all joys and all 
despairs, be they of mind, body, or soul. And to that he would hold.

He could feel the sturdy golden ring wrapped 
about one of his left wing-claws, and tightened 
his grip for a moment, rubbing its cool, clear 
surface with the tip of another wing-claw. He'd 
eschewed all jewelry after his change, but this 
he adored and treasured. Few would see it through 
the heavy feathers of his wings, but he knew it 
was there, and so did his black-feathered wife. 
Could he ever think of anything else ever again?

As he positioned the perches close by the books, 
giving each little nudges with his talons until 
they looked right, he knew that a time would come 
soon when they would have to go out on patrol 
again. With Larssen and Maud also recently 
married, and now Weyden too, only Van remained 
unmarried and the youth promised he was keeping 
his eyes open. They had been assigned guard duty 
in Keeptowne for the next few months so that they 
could enjoy their first few months of married 
life, but Dallar promised them they'd be on 
regular patrols again by late Summer.

And this time Jessica would be with them. She had 
already spoken to George about joining Dallar's 
squad as a field mage. The jackal had been 
surprised, and then claimed he wasn't surprised 
at all. Her request was granted immediately.

Jessica could have anything she wanted as a mage 
in Metamor, from the most prestigious of 
positions in Duke Thomas's court, or even within 
the mage guild itself, for there were suites 
there of much grander scale than this humble 
lodging. She could have had as many students as 
she wished to teach and to aid her in her own 
magical research. But his beautiful hawk had 
willingly set all of that aside so she could be at Weyden's side always.

Could anything else bring more pleasure to a husband?

He was about to return to the main room to see 
what else needed to be moved around when he heard 
a hearty pounding on the door and a piping voice 
shout, “I, Master Kuna, bear a message from the Metamorian Guild of Mages!”

Knowing this was not his affair, Weyden stayed 
inside the study and gingerly pushed the door so 
that it was nearly closed. Through the crack he 
could watch and listen in case his wife would 
need some help politely dismissing their guest.

Jessica set down some of the fresh blankets 
they'd received from Emily – the komodo had said 
they were to help keep their first clutch warm – 
and turned toward the door. In a polite but 
neutral squawk she said, “The door is open, Master Kuna. You may enter.”

Stepping through the door in exaggerated blue 
robes whose sleeves hung down two hands from his 
wrists was a wiry Keeper with a broad flat head 
featuring dark rings around their eyes, dark ears 
that sat low on either side of his head, and a 
pink nose amidst otherwise gray and dusty fur. An 
array of thin black whiskers protruded from his 
jowls, but not nearly as many as Charles the rat 
sported. A very long and wide tail of the same 
dusty, almost reddish fur sprouted from the rear 
of the robe; this twitched constantly as he 
tilted back his head and wiggled his little black fingers around each other.

“Ah, Master Jessica,” Kuna said in a very 
energetic voice, lips drawing back slightly with 
each word to reveal lots of sharp little teeth. 
He raised one paw and brushed it over his head 
though there was nothing there to press down. 
“The Mage Guild wishes to send its congratulations on your recent marriage.”

“Thank you,” Jessica replied, a genuine smile 
showing on her beak, though the mammal likely 
wouldn't recognize it if he didn't spend much 
time around bird Keepers. “Was there anything else?”

Kuna bobbed his head once and blinked, his dark 
eyes seemingly bright as they flitted across the 
various belongings, furnishings, and armaments in 
need of arranging still. “There is one thing. No, 
I am not here to ask you to join the guild 
officially, come to any meetings, or take on any apprentices.”

“Good,” Jessica replied, folding her wings behind 
her as if bracing for whatever it was the meerkat 
was about to ask. “They and you know my answer to that.”

Kuna's whiskers twitched once and he bobbed his 
head again, his blue robe shaking with the quick 
motion. “That we do. Word of your ability to 
manipulate the Curses has been the talk of the 
guild these last few weeks. I have been sent to 
ask you to show me this magic that I might pass it on to the guild.”

“Truly?” Jessica cawed in amusement. “I suppose 
they would eventually be interested.” It didn't 
surprise Weyden either. In the last few weeks 
Jessica had been received more and more requests 
from Keepers interested in having one of the 
other Curses temporarily applied, and many more 
who wished they could be changed for good like 
the rooster merchant Richard and the man who had 
once been his wife Norbert. Permanent changes 
were beyond his wife still, but she assured him that would not always be so.

“But I am surprised they asked you, Master Kuna.”

Kuna stood a little taller, his tail thumping the 
floor. “I have served the guild faithfully as 
Grand Master in the year since Nasoj's winter 
assault. Why wouldn't they select me?”

“Faithfully?” Jessica asked, her voice becoming 
incredulous. “I may not be on mage's guild, but I 
am not ignorant of what happens there. I know how 
you were forced out recently, and how you ran the 
guild itself. So they have elected you a 
messenger boy? Was there no journeyman sufficient to the task?”

Kuna balled his paws into fists and tapped one 
foot hard against the stone floor, claws clicking 
out his agitation, an agitation barely 
controlled. “Aye, aye, all of that! I am, as 
Master Rugger puts it, learning a little 
humility. Aye, I am at that! Messenger boy!”

“Don't be upset at me,” Jessica reprimanded him 
as a mother might an unruly child. “You brought 
that on yourself, Master Kuna. Be grateful that 
you are still a Master of the guild.”

“Aye, well,” Kuna took a deep breath and managed 
to still his paws again. His expression turned 
official again and he lifted his gaze back to the 
black hawk. “The request remains that you show me 
how this curse altering magic works, so that I 
can pass that knowledge onto the guild.”

Jessica gazed at the meerkat for several long 
seconds, seconds in which Weyden could see her 
resolve hardening. He wondered whether he should 
step out and help scoot the little fellow out. 
But before he could move, her beak cracked a single word escaped. “No.”

“No?” Kuna exclaimed in a high-pitched whine. 
“But mastery of the Curses is what all we mages 
have been striving for since the day they were 
cast upon us! You have a power that could help 
everyone here at Metamor and it must be shared!”

“And until I understand it, I am not going to let 
anyone else use it. It is far too dangerous.”

“Far too dangerous?” Kuna nearly jumped octaves 
again but restrained himself, tightening his grip 
on one side of his robe. “It is for the guild to 
decide these things, Master Jessica. Not any one 
mage. Besides, if more of us are studying these 
arts, then together we may be able to learn how 
to control the Curse itself, even turn it backward!”

Weyden shifted his wings to push open the door; 
the meerkat was starting to obviously irritate 
his wife. But he froze in place when the look of 
irritation in her eyes turned into something he 
had never seen before in her gaze – utter disdain 
and contempt. Her voice, hard-edged and vicious, 
made his heart thump in his chest. “Little man, I 
have no intention of teaching you anything about 
my powers. And even if I did think you meant to 
pass them on to the rest of the guild instead of 
keep them for your own amusement, I would not teach you.”

Kuna spluttered in indignation, but Jessica cut 
him off. “I will not teach you nor anyone else. 
This is my power, and mine alone! If you or 
anyone else wishes to learn it, then study it for 
yourselves! I have changed several here at the 
Keep already. Surely you can study my craft on them.”

This time the meerkat, tail thumping and his 
voice rising to a screech, as his arms flailed in 
every direction, did manage to reply. “I am not 
here for myself! I am here representing the 
honorable and venerable Mage Guild of Metamor!”

“Honor?” Jessica bent toward him, making the 
meerkat stumble backward into the wall next to 
the door. The door was between him and the 
passage beyond, a passage his eyes darted toward 
but could not reach. “You would speak to me of 
honor when you used trickery to win your election as headmaster of the guild?”

“I...” Kuna whimpered, crouching lower and lower, 
his robe bunching around his legs and tail. “I 
just want to prove myself to the rest of them that I am no fool!”

Jessica spread her wings out, claws twitching as 
she did so. “That I believe,” she cawed, her 
black feathers shrouding the meerkat within their 
shadow. “But I will not teach you anything. 
Although... aye, would you like a demonstration?”

In a rather timorous voice, his head slowly 
bobbing up and down, Kuna squeaked, “Aye.”

“Manipulating the Curse takes a great deal of 
power and I have been trying to devise ways of 
keeping it powered without my constant attention. 
That will give the guild something worth studying I think.”

Kuna blinked, and Weyden sucked in his breath. He 
desperately wanted to step out and interrupt his 
wife, but his talons felt rooted to the stone. 
The meerkat seemed to realize just what Jessica 
was saying, and he straightened up, stuttering an 
objection that his tongue couldn't quite form.

But his wife moved, powered by an alacrity he'd 
never seen her use with any other, she crafted 
her spell within mere seconds, draping her wings 
down against the meerkat's shoulders as she 
finished. Only she kept pressing, as Kuna began 
to shrink back down into his robe, new youth 
blossoming into his beastly visage as his voice 
rose into a shrill cry as piercing as a babe's.

When Jessica stepped back, the meerkat collapsed 
into a robe more than twice his size, even the 
tunic and breeches he'd worn beneath bunching and 
tangling him in a ridiculous mess. “You,” Kuna 
screamed in exasperation as he tried to climb from that pile. “Change me back!”

“Show yourself to the guild, little boy.”

But Kuna continued to flail about and even manage 
to stomp one foot, “Nae! Change me back!”

Jessica folded her wings behind her and scowled. 
“Calm yourself and do not remember your anger any more.”

Kuna blinked and stared into her face, his 
nascent rage suddenly evaporating as if he really 
had forgotten that he'd been deliriously furious 
a moment ago. After blinking eyes that had not 
shrunk with the rest of his body, Kuna began to 
extricate himself from the pile of adult 
clothing. Weyden guessed his age at no more than 
seven, perhaps eight; not even old enough to be a 
message boy. Still, he whined and cried, “Please, 
Master Jessica. Change me back!”

“No,” Jessica reprimanded him in a stern motherly 
voice. “And if you ask again I will make you into a girl too.”

Kuna clamped his muzzle shut, eyes wide in alarm.

“Good. Now if you behave, I will remove the 
spell... eventually. For now, go back to your home. Do not bother us again.”

The meerkat child sniffled but nodded. He managed 
to climb out of the robe finally and though he 
desperately gripped his trousers, he tumbled out 
of them with his first step. His tunic came down 
to his knees, so with that scrap of dignity left 
to him, he grabbed his trousers and robe, bundled 
them in his arms, and hurried to the door. Just 
as he stood beneath the transom, he popped his 
head back up and looked at the black hawk. “You promise? To turn me back?”

Her golden eyes did not soften, nor did her voice. “If you behave.”

Swallowing heavily, the meerkat dashed back down 
the hallway without another word. Jessica shook 
her head in irritation, and swung the door shut 
with a gentle tap of her wing. She then began to 
warble a bright little tune as she resumed sorting their things.

Weyden leaned back against the wall of the study, 
being careful not to disturb her books. His heart 
continued to beat with worry, and he he shut his 
eyes, offering and repeating over and over again 
a silent prayer to Dokorath for guidance. He 
hoped desperately that it was all a mistake, that 
he just didn't understand the things she knew, 
that perhaps there was some explanation that made 
what he'd just witnessed a normal, even expected and perfectly natural thing.

Because for the first time in all the time he had 
known Jessica his new wife, for just a few 
moments, Weyden had been afraid of her.


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In case you couldn't tell, Kuna belongs to 
Kamau.  About a year and a half ago, Kamau wrote 
out the first part of a story set after the 
Quarantine was lifted which was to show the Mage 
Guild being reconstituted and the current utterly 
incompetent headmaster being voted out.  I hope 
that story is one day finished.  It should be on 
the mailing list archives: 8/28/2010 - Rebuilding the Mage's Guild.

If I have screwed anything up, please let me know so I can fix it.

May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,

Charles Matthias


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