The library was Talryn's refuge.
Dusky gray marble walls soared into a vast, midnight blue dome trimmed in gold leaf. At the very top a large telescope floated serenely on a wide disk. The powerful magicks placed by the tower's Master kept it in place. Bookshelves circled the entire perimeter of the atrium, broken up by the occasional open space. They reached all the way to the dome itself, with no apparent way to reach the higher volumes.
The scratching of a quill across parchment was the only sound in the vast chamber. Occasionally the scratching would stop, only to be followed by a brief rustling sound or the occasional sharp tapping of a leg on marble. A sigh, then the scratching resumed.
The Master of Twilight Tower sat at his desk, a hugely ornate piece worked in duskwood. A single glowlight lit his way as he pored over a text that had been ancient even when dragons first walked the land, taking copious notes. But even such intense study couldn't keep his mind entranced for long.
The Arachin Archmage put down his quill and sighed, rubbing at his temples. "I need to focus," he growled to himself. "But all I see is *you*, my apprentice. You. I could have you easily...I've seen how you look at me. Your admiration and desire." Sighing raggedly, he ran his hands through his thick, silvery hair. A legacy of his dark-elven mother.
"I could...but no. You are too young, too innocent, Izdreth." He smiled wryly.
Few arachins honestly cared how innocent their intended might be. If their playmate was willing or unwilling, male or female, it mattered not, as long as the victim was old enough to enjoy their attentions and attractive, it was good enough.
Talryn was a rare exception to the arachins' lustful depravities, something he sought to pass on to his student. So far, he'd taught him well. The bittersweet irony of the thought made Talryn rub at his temples once more. He'd raised Izdreth from birth, been both friend and teacher to the arachin. He'd never tried to deny that his pupil's beauty--both inner and outer--made his head spin. Not that he himself never felt desire, lust even. He had simply learned to control himself. Whether he had inherited this from his mortal mother or his arachin father--another exception to the arachin rule-- he didn't know. He only knew he was grateful for it.
He glanced down at his notes. 'Time will tell if I've kept my head on well enough that they make any sense,' he thought. He shivered, suddenly cold in spite of the heat from the fireplace. "Pull yourself together! You've fought this off for months now. What makes this so different?"
The other night, that's what.
***
"Ahh, Talryn. So nice of you to...come."
Only Talryn's upbringing stopped him from rolling his eyes at the sound of that unwelcome voice.
"Greetings, Ashryn. I came because Eshalla asked it of me. I decided I wasn't about to let you put me off."
The younger arachin mage laughed throatily. Much to Talryn's annoyance, the sound caused a brief flicker of interest in his groin. Talryn couldn't deny that Ashryn, for all his vileness, was as beautiful as most arachins, even moreso than others. This was especially true tonight.
Ashryn was always playing with his appearance, using magick to alter his hair and eyes at his whim. Tonight, his skin was creamy pale, set off by the blue-green silk tunic he wore. His long hair was chestnut brown this time, festooned with peacock feathers. His eyes were gold-flecked blue-green, same as his tunic, and the streaks on his spider's body were a pearlescent gold. The amount of jewelry on his person was just a thread short of vulgar. 'And I thought *I* overdid it at times,' Talryn thought wryly. He himself was no less magnificent in a cut-velvet tunic that matched the blue of his eyes, his hair as always woven in ornate braids, snowy white against his ebony skin. As for jewelry, he wore a subdued fortune in sapphires.
"You like?" Ashryn murmured, his slightly mocking tone telling Talryn that his old rival knew what he'd been thinking.
"You've outdone yourself, Ashryn," Talryn commented dryly. "And everyone else in the room as well." He was rewarded by a slight curling of the other arachin's full lip.
"Droll as ever. So tell me...does your lovely apprentice appreciate his Master's humour?" The barest hint of a leer crossed Ashryn's face as he said, "Mayhap he appreciates more...physical aspects of you."
Talryn bit back the sharp retort that came to his lips. "Whether he does or not is none of your business, Ashryn." The other mage had taunted him about his apprentice for months now...the barbs ranging from sly innuendo to outright obscenities...to threats of indulging his own lusts.
Ashryn smiled slyly. "Ahh. So the fruit is not yet ripe enough to suit you, I see. For Noctis' sake, Talryn. Izdreth is of age. He has been for months. "
Ashryn stepped closer, eyes dark with promise. Reaching out a slender hand, he caressed Talryn's smooth cheek. "It's been decades, Talryn. I think of you often, you know." Talryn groaned inwardly as desire flared inside him. He hated Ashryn with a passion, and though he controlled his urges, he couldn't deny his former lover's beauty...or the memories. Ashryn saw Talryn's response and pressed ahead. "What we shared. You and I...we could...teach him together."
The very idea of someone as evil as Ashryn corrupting his student extinguished the small flame inside. Had they been alone, Talryn might have gleefully roasted the arrogant mage to a cinder. But this was Eshalla's retirement, and he would not ruin it for his former student. Instead, he leaned in close to whisper in his foe's ear. Talryn smiled wickedly at the shiver that passed through Ashryn. "I tell you truly, Ashryn. If I ever discover you have so much as flicked your rotten tongue in Izdreth's direction, I'll rip it out of your head. With my teeth." He punctuated his words with a sharp bite to the arachin's ear.
"I'll keep it in mind," Ashryn said, voice deceptively arch. Even so, his eyes showed his feelings--hatred, fear, and still the lust.
Talryn smiled with a sweetness he was far from feeling. "See that you do...old friend." He turned and moved gracefully away to find Izdreth.
***
Izdreth watched his Master talking with Ashryn and bit hard at his full lip. Talryn didn't seem to be enjoying the conversation one whit. Izdreth shook his head. Encountering Ashryn almost always put his teacher in a foul mood. Despite the festive occasion, the young arachin had no doubt it would be the case tonight as well.
He sipped his drink thoughtfully, watching the goings on from a distance. Izdreth was unschooled in the way of flesh, but the nature of his fellow arachins was clear enough. He had picked up enough about the relationship between his Master and Ashryn over the past two years of his life to know what was going on. They'd been close once, but when Ashryn's evil had gotten the better of him, Talryn had ended the relationship.
Izdreth's eyes widened a bit seeing his Master lean forward and bite Ahsryn's ear. He understood what had happened, however, when Talryn moved out of his field of vision. Ashryn was rubbing at his ear and glaring at the Archmage as he moved away. Izdreth was about to turn away when his eyes met Ashryn's. Before the young arachin could turn away, Ashryn favoured him with a wicked leer before prowling off.
Izdreth shuddered, but he couldn't deny that there was desire mixed with the revulsion. In spite of his noble principles, he was still an arachin, and had all the sexual urges that went with it. It was the result of a curse cast upon a mortal by an evil goddess spurned. Satira, The Spider Queen had fallen madly in lust with a beautiful mortal named Adriel. Adriel was as good and pure as he was beautiful and while the goddess too was lovely, her wickedness repulsed him, and he spurned her.
In her fury, she cursed him, allowing him to keep his beauty from the waist up, while giving him the body of a giant spider where his legs would be. To insure he would never spurn her again, she made sure his sexual desires were insatiable. And thus, when she became pregnant, were the first arachins born. All are as their progenitor had become so long ago--bizarre yet beautiful, intelligent yet impulsive, lustful, and often cruel. Every now and then...some small glimmer of what Adriel once was shines through in one exceptional specimen.
"Izdreth."
The young arachin turned gracefully, quite unaware of the admiring--and some lusting--eyes upon him. "Yes, Master?" His heart sank when he saw Talryn's expression. He was quite enjoying himself. It wasn't often he and Talryn got out into society. His eyes stole past Talryn to Eshalla. The aging Ashanti sorceress favored him with a kindly smile. "Talryn is very proud of you," Eshalla had told him earlier, her dark eyes bright with pleasure. Izdreth smiled back, seeing a glimmer of the once youthful beauty in her dusky face.
"Izdreth, if you please?" Talryn's tone was stern but not unkindly. When his pupil turned his attention back to him, he said, "Fetch our cloaks. We are leaving now."
Izdreth struggled to hide his disappointment. He'd quite enjoyed the party-- the food and drink, the beauty of the decorations and the guests, the intelligent conversations on all manner of things. He quite liked Eshalla as well. Not in a physical sense, but in the sense that since she was one of his Master's true friends, he knew she was special. Also, she was mortal, and mortals fascinated the young arachin.
Talryn saw the glimmer in his apprentice's eyes and smiled in spite of himself. Sighing inwardly, he gently touched Izdreth's silky raven hair. "There will be other times, my student. I do realise we do not go out much, but now that you are--older, I don't see why this cannot be so." Talryn had nearly strangled on his words when he realised he's nearly echoed Ashryn's earlier phrase. "Now fetch our cloaks, please."
Izdreth smiled a bit, the expression touching his beautiful iridescent black eyes. He turned and left to do his master's bidding.
"Leaving so soon?"
Talryn smiled tiredly at his former student. Eshalla looked elegant in vivd red and blue silks, her graying black hair woven much as Talryn's was into dozens of tiny braids. The gray and the crow's feet around her eyes were the only clues to her true age. Eshalla had seen one hundred-twenty summers, but through use of powerful magick appeared no older than her sixties.
"Madame." He took the still-smooth brown hand in his and kissed it. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?"
She swatted playfully at his arm. "Flatterer. You've come to tell me that you must leave, and take that charmer you're teaching with you."
He sighed. "Alas, this is so, Eshalla. I fear I am not well."
Her brown eyes travelled past him, and he knew without turning she was looking at Ashryn. "I did not wish to invite *him*, Talryn. But the Council would not hear of me snubbing such a powerful wizard."
The warmth in his blue eyes reassured her. "Understood, Madame Chancellor." She snorted. "I no longer hold that title, Talryn. It would be passed to you--you are the most deserving--but we respected your wishes in this."
