Edwyrd nearly jumped out of his skin, literally, when a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned his head to find Maelen having come up behind him. Cornered! He hadn’t even heard or sensed the man, he couldn’t believe his worthless human senses were that bad, but apparently they were. He’d really have to work on that somehow. The man had come all the way across the deck and up the ladder beside him and taken him completely unaware!
“Good evening, Tom.” Maelen said quietly with a smile. It took Edwyrd a second to realize what bothered him about Maelen’s greeting, and then he did a double take. “Uhm, I’m sorry, but my name is Edwyrd.” Edwyrd protested, looking the kindly smiling man in the eyes.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake. Somehow I just thought the name Tom sounded better on you. Actually Tom is a rather unusual name, I’m not sure where I came up with it.” Edwyrd wasn’t sure he believed the man. In fact he was pretty sure he didn’t.
“Uh, that’s... O.K. It happens some time.” Edwyrd didn’t really know how to recover.
“You know, I suppose,” Maelen said almost conversationally as he looked out over the dark expanse of the ocean, “that you are something of a puzzle to me.”
“Really? Me a puzzle?” Great! thought Edwyrd, what was he going to do if the man started yelling ‘Demon!’ all over the place.
“Yes, when I look at you, I see a young man who may be what he claims, a journeyman animage who manages to get by as best he can.” Maelen glanced sideways to judge Edwyrd’s reaction in the dark. Edwyrd hoped the man couldn’t see too much of his expression.
“However, when I Look at you, I see so much Animus and Mana, all tied up into one being, that there is no way I can believe you. Surely, I say to myself, he must be a relatively powerful practitioner, possibly disguising himself, or else he’s under some major enchantment.” Maelen paused at this, “but not a wizardly enchantment, I don’t detect that. So, what? I ask myself, is he hiding?”
Edwyrd was feeling rather tense at this point. He didn’t know how to respond. The guy was obviously capable of seeing through him. Just how far the man could see, was unclear. What the man would do with his knowledge was even more unclear. Maelen was staring out to sea as he continued.
“However,” and the old man paused for dramatic effect, “when I See you, I see a confused young man who is in over his head. A young man lost and far from home, trying to get by as best he can. A good young man.” At this point Maelen was once again looking over his shoulder and into Edwyrd’s eyes. Somehow finding them unerringly in the dark.
“It’s an interesting dichotomy, really.” The man remarked, as if to himself. “Which do I believe? I’ve trusted both for almost all my life.” He turned his head away again, putting his hands on the rail in front of him to lean on. “The other thing I see are demons.”
“Demons?” Edwyrd echoed weakly.
“Yes, demons.” Maelen glanced back over his shoulder again. “Several demons, some of them extremely powerful. Past or future, I don’t know for sure which, but I suspect both.
“Now, of course,” Maelen went on in a tone similar to a lecturer, “this would explain why you are in over your head. Any young man mixing with any type of demon is in over his head. Especially when mixing with ones this powerful.”
Edwyrd gave a small mental sigh, the man suspected him of something. Not the truth, however, he hadn’t gotten that far yet. Was there any way he could divert the man that wouldn’t make him more suspicious? He couldn’t think of any. What exactly was the man saying with the funny emphasis on ‘see’ and ‘look’ was he some sort of psychic? Rupert had admitted that these animages might be able to do such things.
Maelen stood up suddenly, placing both hands on Edwyrd’s shoulders. “I know you’re not ready now, but if you should need someone to talk to... I am available. At least for the duration of the journey.” Maelen paused, then tilted his head with a small quirk of his mouth, and added more hesitantly, “And maybe again in the not too distant future.”
He removed his hands from Edwyrd’s shoulders and stood up straight. “Well good night Tom. I hope you have pleasant dreams.” He nodded with a smile and then walked fairly briskly back to the ladder and then down.
Edwyrd watched him go with a strange feeling inside. He didn’t know what to think. He slowly turned back to the sea, placing his hands upon the rail. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and watched the starlight and the just emerging moonlight dance along the waves.
