Luke, Karla and Emalia arrived at the house excited beyond all means. They were finally going to make the Spellforge! Tonight! There was an air of excitement around them as they hurried in, wondering what would be going on right now. As they walked inside, the scene they found was very different from the one they had imagined. Everyone was quiet and solemn, almost like someone had just died.
"Yeesh! Why so glum?" Luke asked as he started at everyone there, more than a little spooked at the feel of the room.
"We found additional bits about what it means to become a Forgemaster, bud. It's... not what any of us have been expecting," Jason told his friend with a serious look.
"What do you mean?" Luke questioned, wondering what his friend was going on about.
"I could tell you, but I think that I'd rather just show you," Jason stated.
He then brought Luke over to where the Artificier's Tome was sitting on the living desk and stared at what lay on the page. What he saw both amazed and terrified the man, as he witnessed the behemoth that was a Forgemaster. It was almost like looking at a mystical cross between Hulk and Doomsday! While the benefits were many, transforming into such a thing was... scary, to say the least!
"That's... what you'd turn into?" Emalia yipped, blinking several times to be sure that she wasn't seeing things.
"You would be... something more than human but also... less," Karla said, turning to Luke with fear in her eyes. "Please tell me that you're not considering this anymore!"
"This change... it would be permanent?" Luke asked, still processing this new information.
"It would be, yes. Not only would the change be permanent, but you would not be able to shape change to maintain your regular human form, either. You would be, for all intents and purposes, a changed man," Aaliyah informed the man.
"I need to sit and think about this," Luke breathed, his head feeling a bit like a tilt-a-whirl at the moment. While he knew that what he'd be able to do would help his friends immensely, it would require a sacrifice on his part. A great sacrifice, if all of this was true, which it likely was. He knew that change was part of this, but just didn't think it would be that immense!
Not to mention changing in such a way that would change the relationship dynamic with his ladies. He huffed for a moment, as he mulled things over, when he noticed a portion of the page that Aaliyah hadn't pointed to, that for some reason, stood out to him. The man then got up and walked back to the book, staring at it quizzically.
"What about this portion right here? What does that say?" Luke asked.
"What portion? Where?" Aaliyah asked as she looked at the pages.
"This spot right here! You read everything else, but there was this spot that you missed," Luke told the woman and she blinked, staring at him, then the page.
"Luke, there's nothing there! It's just a small bit of blank paper," Aaliyah stated.
"I'm telling you, that there is writing right there! Can't you see it?" Luke asked, thinking the whole situation was beyond weird.
"Can you... write down what it is you see?" Phalmina asked, curious if he truly was seeing something that the rest of them could not.
"Sure! Anyone got a pen and paper?" Luke asked, and he had the items in his hand moments later. Luke then peered at the page and wrote down what he saw. After a minute's worth of writing, Aaliyah blinked as she was able to make out the words.
"What the... this is referencing something called Appendix A! But... there are no appendices in this book!" Aaliyah stated, looking at the writing, then back to Luke.
"Where are you from again?" Phalmina asked, curious as to how he could be able to see this while everyone else there could not.
"My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago originally, but my whole family bloodline is just one big mishmash," Luke told the fairy princess.
"Oh? Please, elaborate!" Phalmina enthused, as excitement lit her face.
"Well, even though I am a black man, my ancestry is all over the place. On my mom's side, it's a mix of Congolese, Chinese, and English. My dad's side is a mix of Congolese, East Indian, Irish and Scottish. Like I said, it's all a big mishmash," Luke said to her.
"Could it be...?" Emalia questioned, her eyes going wide as saucers.
"If he can see things we can't, then I believe he is!" Phalmina replied, a megawatt smile gracing her beautiful face.
"Believe he is what? What are you two going on about?" Sheena questioned.
"Luke being able to see writing that the rest of us can't, along with knowing his ancestry, leads us to one simple conclusion. That he is a direct descendant of the Artificier!" Emalia replied in an awe tinged voice, as though she could scarcely believe it.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!! Are you saying that because I can see that writing, that you believe I am the Artificier's heir??" Luke asked incredulously.
"We believe so, yes! That man lived long before either of our times, and we heard many stories about him. Each story centered on how crafty and clever he was, always staying one step ahead of his enemies. No one could defeat him or catch him unaware, as he was always planning for one contingency or another. Much like that comic character you've been telling me about. Man-bat?" Emalia asked.
"Batman. So, you are saying that this guy is my ancestor? The guy who was the proverbial and literal Batman of that age??" Luke asked again, still at a loss of whether to believe the fairies or not.
"You being able to see that writing when everyone else can't would explain it! The Artificier was a far-sighted man, according to the stories and legends. It would stand to reason that he would leave secrets that only his heir would be able to see!" Phalmina finished.
"I'm... holy... that is some really cool shit!" Luke crowed, feeling like he'd just won the lottery with this news.
"It is pretty damned cool! I mean, how often is it you discover you are of the bloodline of a legendary mage?" Darnell asked, smiling at his new friend with pride.
"I'd say that's a pretty rare occurrence! And... one hell of a turn on!" Karla purred, looking like she wanted to devour Luke on the spot.
"Ok, you two! Save it for the bedroom! Aaliyah, you said that thing refers to something called Appendix A?" Amy asked, looking at the writing.
"Yeah, but I don't know where Appendix A would be," the witch replied with a shrug.
"Hold on a second. I remember there being some blank pages at the end of the book! Could that be where Appendix A is?" Xaera questioned.
"Show me these pages!" Aaliyah begged, stepping away from the book to let Xaera show her.
The troll woman stepped up to the table and, using her magic, started turning the pages. She flipped through the pages rather quickly, and Xaera only slowed down when she got near the end of the book. The last ten or so pages were completely blank and often had Xaera wondering why they were there. But to Luke, the pages were anything but blank and he smiled when Xaera stopped at the first blank page.
