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The World of Aeurn: Twice-Born

Written by Daniel J. Sabin, under the pen name Red William

Copyright 2018

1.

Darkness surrounded Devon Mallory. He felt neither pain nor cold and his eyes couldn't see anything, even his own feet or hands. He tried to move but could not feel his muscles tense to turn him. He was neither falling nor was he rising; he just hovered, suspended in nothingness.

Ah, he realized, So this is what it feels to be dead...

The pastor at his family church was totally wrong about the afterlife. He had expected angels, lights and music, not utter blackness. He almost considered the joke to fire his divine travel agent for this bogus trip.

Maybe this isn't heaven...maybe I'm in the 'other' place?

If it was, then it was a bit more hospitable than he expected. No fire, no pain, no agony, just utter lonely blackness. Devon didn't mind the solitude, but he knew logically that he would eventually start craving company, and without it he might start really suffering.

How did he die, he wondered to himself as he became more aware of his predicament. His mind tried to rewind from the moment he came here. For Devon, he had a photographic memory so it did not take long for him to begin recalling his past. Memories passed through his awareness like movies on a TV screen. His life as an only child, born to his parents. He then saw clips of his life from there: his school life, social life with friends and family, his graduation from high school and college with a Masters in Physics and Design, his failed relationships with numerous girlfriends both his fault and theirs. He remembered the job as a design engineer, building electric motors for vehicles among other designs for power plants and alternate energy development. He was even a teacher at a university for a few years, though he couldn't remember the name of the school. He had attended seminars and conferences, both as a spectator and speaker on several subjects. He wrote many articles, many received accolades and awards for his insights.

He could recall in his mind the many articles and papers, but the ones he remembered the most were the ones he never published openly. He was an avid reader and was one of those rare intellects that had a near-photographic memory. Among the many books he read, the ones he loved the most were fantasy novels like Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The articles he had written were intellectual exercises on the possible existence and mechanics of magic. He theorized possible ways that magic would work and their applications. He would post them under an alias on web forums for fantasy and science-fiction readers. Many of the replies were that of people who loved his theories and others that criticized that a person of his obvious intellect shouldn't be soiling his reputation with make-believe.

It was then that he finally found the memory he was looking for. He was returning from one such seminar--why couldn't he remember the name of the place? Devon could recall many things in his past, yet he seemed to lose focus on the time and location. He returned to the memory and noticed that he was driving home after returning from the seminar. It was dark and the road cut through some mountains, meaning the roads were twisty and shadowed. As he drove, he was getting drowsy and struggled to stay awake--bad mistake, he realized now in hindsight. The memory grew sharp as something suddenly vaulted in front of the car. Was that a deer? It was a dark figure but it was big and four legged for sure. Regardless of what it was specifically it had the unwanted effect of causing the car to swerve into the other lane. Bright lights and a blaring horn shone in front of him, then the memory cut off.

"So..." He surmised, "I was knocked off the road and hit a semi-truck..." He was thankful now that he had no lingering pain or feelings. The collision was swift and probably killed him instantly leaving him currently in what he could only imagine was limbo.

With the cause of his being here solved, Devon now was free to state the next question: What do I do now? He was caught between life and death since he surmised that if he was dead, he would not be aware of his own existence. It was going to get boring here real quick if he didn't have anyone to talk to or someplace to go. He tried to reach out his hand and didn't even feel it, meaning he was no doubt disembodied--a spirit. At least he wouldn't starve or get thirsty if he didn't have a body, but dwelling in oblivion without something to do or someone to talk to was going to eventually drive him crazy.

As he was mulling it over, he could see in front of him a pinpoint of white, shining dimly even in the pitch blackness. It was the first sign that he was actually somewhere and had a point of reference. Though he felt nothing like wind or motion, the small light was becoming brighter and closer. Was he being sent somewhere, or was he going to be consumed in some sort of astral body? He calculated the speed he was going and realized that he was going faster. That light suddenly grew stronger and rays of white energy fanned out about him. The light was so bright and yet he had no hands to shield him from it nor did he have eyes to close. He tried to scream as the light overwhelmed him and soon the whiteness enveloped him.

-

White vanished into blackness and sensations of nausea and pain appeared. He was groggy and finding it hard to focus, but now could feel the remoteness of a physical form. Was he alive? Perhaps he was just unconscious from the accident and was probably in his car. He expected to be cold since he realized the accident was in the dead of winter; however, he only felt the warm sensations of spring warmth and the fragrance of flowers.

He was regaining a portion of his awareness when he began to hear voices. Someone was out there, and here he was helplessly hurt in probably a burning vehicle, no doubt broken and bleeding.

"....mas..r..." the voice was distant and garbled.

Another voice, slightly higher pitched--possibly female, "...m...str...Al...n..."

Devon took stock of what his senses were trying to process. Someone was there looking for him, the voices distant. Perhaps his car wasn't on fire? If he was thrown from the vehicle, he would be in a far worse situation. And why was he smelling flowers and feeling the sun on his face?

"...Mas...r....Mas..ter?" The voices grew closer and louder, then, "Alwyn? Master Alwyn?"

What the hell is a 'Master Alwyn', Devon wondered.

"Ketra!" The male voice boomed with a tinge of frantic discovery, "I found him! The Young Master's here!"

Suddenly he felt the presence of warmth as hands reached down to him, running his fingers over his body. They felt around and he could feel the winter gloves over his body--they were covered in some sort of light fur.

"The Young Master's injured! Fetch Calatrix, quickly!" The man's voice demanded.

More noises appeared: feet trudging quickly over grass, their cries of alarm and concern as they cried out

"Young Master...his head..."

"Is he dead? Say it's not so!"

"No, he's still breathing, see?"

"Praise the Maker!"

"Where is Calatrix?"

A new voice, more prominent than the others emerged from the cacophony, and despite being able to see, could tell the others made way for him.

"I'm here, let me see the lad." The voice was old but still held some strength. Sounded like some venerable older gentleman by the way he exuded confidence.

Devon tried to open his eyes, but as they cracked open, all he could see was smears of color. Blues and greens and a bit of white around as the colored blobs moved about. It was like looking through water.

"His eyes! He's coming back!"

"Thank the Maker!"

"Someone notify the Duke! Move!"

Duke? He lived in a region that had no royalty...

As Devon tried to speak, a pair of hands cupped his cheeks.

"Try not to speak, Master Alwyn." The Venerable voice commanded gently. Devon saw it was a bright white blur looking at him from the left that was making the voice. "You'll be well cared for." With that, Devon suddenly felt a deep thrumming beat coming from the hands on his cheeks, and a warmth that began to spread across his face. The pain in his head diminished somewhat, reduced to a dull pulsating ache instead of a sharp stabbing one

"Rest, young master." The old man said, "My spell can only do so much...the rest is up to you."

Devon felt his consciousness slip away back into a warm blanket of sleep--so deep that he didn't even bother to consider what the old voice said: My spell...

-

As Devon regained consciousness, he was acutely aware that he was no longer on the ground. He felt a soft mattress under him and a cool silken sheet atop of him. He was finally able to regain some motor controls and he stirred slightly. His body felt strange as he realized the cool sheet was weighted with thicker warmer blankets.

I must be in a hospital, Devon considered, but as his senses reactivated, he did not sense the same sensations he should have from a hospital. There was no antiseptic smell, but the scent of flowers and clean linen. He expected to hear the sounds of doctors and other people milling about the hallway outside his room, but instead could only hear the chirping of birds and the crackling of...a fireplace?

He opened his eyes but the world was still out of focus.

No doubt the head injury from the accident is affecting my ability to see, He deduced.

Devon started to sit up, but felt the throb of his head force him back down, emitting a groan that sounded strange to his ears.

At once a form suddenly appeared and started to come into focus, but was still barely registering.

"Master Alwyn?" A young female's voice asked, sounding hopeful.

"W...Who?" Devon stammered, suddenly aware that his voice sounded differently. The crash did more damage perhaps?

The girl emitted a gasp and her out-of-focus self rushed into the background.

"Get Lord Calatrix and notify the Duke! Master Alwyn's awake!" She yelled out, probably into a hallway. Her form seemed to move back towards him and he could barely make out her face.

"Are you doing alright, young master? Do you hurt anywhere?"

Why was she calling me 'young master'? I'm 55 years old!

"I...can't see." Devon spoke, and he noted the youthful voice that emitted from his throat. What the hell is going on?

New shapes and colors appeared and soon there were several people appearing in his room. One in particular was the blob of white and gray that came up closer.

"Alwyn." The old man's voice appeared, "How are you feeling?"

"W...who is Alwyn?" Devon said, shaking his head slightly and wincing at the throbbing aftermath. The sudden jostling seemed to do the trick cause his eyes started to refocus. The blobs of colors suddenly took on a new sharpness but what he soon saw made him doubt his eyes and his mind.

Standing at his left side was a tall humanoid man, his face covered in white-gray...hair? Or was it fur? The venerable old man looked more like a mishmash of human and canine. He had human blue eyes, but his nose and muzzle was that of some large dog. His hair was white and gray and trailed down his shoulders with what looked like long floppy canine ears that seemed to blend with his hair. The front of his canine muzzle had a long set of whiskers, almost like a beard and mustache that hung loosely from his nose and chin. His eyebrows were thick and bushy, like some sort of pure white St. Bernard.

Devon looked around and saw that everyone else was staring at him, and he was trying to process what he saw. The young girl was actually some sort of feline, a black and white tuxedo cat wearing what looked like a maid's outfit. She seemed to stare as if perplexed at him as well. Two other people came into view, a man and a woman he assumed by the way they were holding onto one another. The female was elegantly dressed in a formal gown of pink and gold, but her face and head was that of some gray furred rabbit, complete with long leaf like ears sprouting from shoulder length blonde hair. The man next to her wore some sort of regal looking uniform of navy blue and gold, with epaulets and buttons that glistened. He too has the head of a gray rabbit, his nose sporting a shorter blonde mustache and a small goatee under his chin. His hair was short cropped and a dusty blonde, also with long rabbit ears on his head.

It took several moments for his rebooting mind to analyze the situation, and yet he still could not fathom what he was seeing!

"Wh...what the hell are you?" Devon exclaimed! "Where am i?"

The regal looking woman put a hand to her mouth and choked a sob while the bunny-man tried to comfort her.

"You are safe at home, Master Alwyn." The old dog-man replied, "You fell from one of the trees in the garden and was injured. Don't you remember?"

Remember? I was driving down a forest road one minute, and now I'm dreaming of furries!

"What are you creatures?" Devon demanded, shuffling back away from the old canine-guy as panic overrode his thinking mind, "Stay back!" He struggled but the piercing pain in his head made he go slack in the surprisingly powerful arms of the old canine-man.

The wise looking canine tilted his head, "Creatures? Why don't you remember your tutor, young master? It's me, Calatrix."

"I don't know who or what you are!" Devon retorted and tried to climb out of the bed. He turned away from the canine only to stare into a full length mirror on the opposite end.

Reflecting back at Devon wasn't a middle aged man with a receding hairline and three days of growth on his chin. Instead he stared into the face of a young boy, probably no older that eight or nine. He was in a full length night shirt that hung loosely on a wiry frame. What really struck Devon was that his face was that of a young gray rabbit-like boy. He had large green eyes standing out from a light gray furry face, a small triangular pink nose and his mouth was slack jawed and staring wide eyed in shock and disbelief. His head was capped with a tuft of blonde bangs that hung slightly over one eye and long gray bunny ears stood erect and rigid.

Devon felt his body go slack as the deluge of stimuli was too much for his mind to process. The last thing he heard was the bunny woman screaming and the last sensation was powerful furry hands grasping him as he fell into a dead faint.

The next few days, Devon slipped in and out of consciousness, his mind trying to reboot itself and hopefully analyze the situation. One day he partially woke up to listen to the old man, Calatrix talking to the two bunny-people in regal gear.

"What do you mean, Calatrix?" The rabbit-man asked.

"What I am saying, My Lord," Calatrix replied, "is that it is not uncommon for those that suffered a head injury to suffer some memory loss."

"Memory loss? How bad are we talking about?"

Ah, Devon concluded, _They think I have amnesia._That could be easily explained considering the headache he had from the fall. Trouble is, Devon knew exactly who he was, but wasn't sure what he was now or where he was.

A pause, then, "It's hard to say. The young master's injury was severe, and the memory loss may be only temporary."

"And what if it's not?" the woman's voice cracked as if in her own wave of despair, "What happens then to my baby?"

Baby? I'm this woman's child? Devon was more and more feeling like reality was crumbling around him.

"It is possible that he might suffer partial and permanent memory loss." Calatrix explained, then quickly added, "But it is rare."

There was a long pause as Devon tried to listen in. In the brief few seconds, he started to calculate what was going on with him. It definitely was no dream he was having. Even a dream this realistic didn't have such diverse sensations. In all his personal experiences had his imagination possibly come up with what he had seen. He was in an ornate bedroom, like the ones in some Disneyland castle, but far more lavish.

And the people, or whatever they were--that was something he couldn't have concocted, no matter what kind of mind-altering experience he was having. They were some sort of human-animal hybrids, dressed up like characters in some sort of swords-and-sorcery type setting. It defied belief, but Devon was grounded enough to know that his initial reaction was out of shock. Now he was more aware and realized that he was not having some bizarre dream.

"Will there be any permanent damage to our son?" the Regal bunny-man asked.

Son? Wait a minute! I'm their son!? So the two bunny-people were the parents of this kid he had become?

"If--and I do mean if--there is any permanent memory loss, it should not have any bearing on his ability to regain it over time."

Finally, everything was starting to fall into some bizarre pattern. Devon wasn't dreaming, that part was obvious. He recalled the moment he was in some inky blackness without a physical form and suddenly pulled into this world could only be one thing.

This wasn't his earth anymore.

Somehow, he died in his world, and his soul got transported here in the body of this rabbit-human child.

It wasn't a reincarnation since he would have no doubt had some sort of memory of his new 'parents' and experiences. That and also that he was now fully aware of his past life, along with those memories that was coming back to this world.

There was no known precedent for this kind of other-worldly body snatching incident. Who would be able to come back and report it?

He had been trying to figure out what had happened to him that he did not realize that all three of them were now at his bed side. Devon looked up into the face of his 'mother' and saw her with tears in her eyes.

"Alwyn?" she said, choking slightly, "It's me, darling. You're mother's here."

Devon fought the urge to tell her that she wasn't her real mother, even though it was true.My mother left me and Dad when I was young. She abandoned me. He tried not to let the bitterness of those memories well up. They were from another life, another time, and another person.

Instead Devon looked up at her and could only say, "Mother...?"

Her face was so alien to Devon and yet seeing her sobbing as he spoke out that word made his heart pang with pain.

She doesn't know that the real Alwyn isn't here. I've been put into his body and he's...I don't know where.

He didn't want to dwell on that fact that the real Alwyn was probably dead, and he was some sort of hijacker. While she wasn't really his mother, he had never known a mother's love and didn't have the heart to break her heart by saying she wasn't. Would they even believe him if he told them the truth?

The other rabbit-person--his father?--placed a hand on his 'mother's shoulder.

"We should let him rest. He's still recovering." He said.

"Agreed." Calatrix inserted, "My healing arts will aid in his recovery, but time is the best healer in this."

Alwyn's mother leaned in and kissed Devon on the cheek, and smiled. Devon felt heat burning off of his cheeks...and his ears?

"Sleep my darling. We'll see to you this evening." She promised.

As the three of them filed out of the room, Devon leaned back and spoke a silent prayer into the air.

_Wherever you are, Alwyn, I promise you. I'll never tell them who I am. To them, I'll make the most of this second chance and be a good son to them._He owed it that much for the real Alwyn.

To Devon, this was a second chance at life--a new beginning. Whatever the reason for his being here it had to have some sort of meaning. He was going to need more information about this world to figure out what he is supposed to do here. Yet despite all that he had only one thing currently on his mind.

He was going to never break that woman's heart ever.

2.

Two days passed and Devon was feeling well enough to sit up in the luxurious bed. He was still dressed in the over sized night shirt and his head was bandaged up where he had suffered the severe injury on his head. He regained enough clarity to determine that Alwyn suffered a concussion--thus why his vision and senses were disoriented when he awoke here. He checked over his limbs and didn't feel any other pain so he was grateful for not breaking any bones other than this kid's skull.

The feline maid, who he learned later was named Lenni, had come in during his recovery time to provide soup and later to change the sheets on his bed. She was surprisingly cute for a cat-girl. She was not like the neko cat-girls he had seen in Japanese anime in his previous world, but was like a human girl with a cat-like head on it. It didn't seem to stop him from wanting to reach out and stroke her tail when it swished about through a hole in the back of her skirt--It looked so soft.

After finally being able to sit up, Calatrix came to visit him. It turned out that he was not only the house physician but a mage as well.

Holy shit, there's actual magic here! The thought excited Devon to no end. He had read all of the great fantasy novels along with textbooks and manuals in his previous life, and thankfully he retained the memory of each one with his near photographic memory. While this world didn't have elves or dwarves, the world reminded him of the novel of Redwall, though they didn't have magic in those stories. He had written many thesis and studies on the mechanics of magic, but to see it in action...

Calatrix questioned Devon as best as he could to determine the extent of his memory loss. Devon concluded that letting anyone know that he wasn't the real Alwyn would not be wise at this current time. The idea of a middle age human hijacking the mind of a ten year old bunny like child might provoke some concern, which might include pitchforks and torches. He was honest about not having any memories about this world since he wasn't really from this world; however, he did know the sky was blue, how to add one and one together, and some common knowledge questions.

The old mage declared to his new parents that he had suffered significant memory loss, but determined that his mind was still sound and there was a chance that in time his memories would return. Naturally he wouldn't be able to recall any of the past ten years, but hopefully he might pick up enough information to ad-lib it and use his past amnesia as an excuse for any gaps.

With all that settled, Devon finally was able to settle in and start assessing himself and this current environment. He would stare at his face in the full length mirror next to his bed, looking at his paw like hands, which were human-like, but with three fingers and a thumb rather than four. They were all tipped with blunt claw like tips that appeared to be manicured to keep them round and clean. He even had rough paw pads like an actual animal paw, though the hand was more humanoid in functionality.

He then stared at his face, looking at one side and the next. As humanoid rabbits go, he thought of his appearance as cute. He even went to stroke his long ears, noticing how his hearing changed when he moved. It also surprised him at how his ears instinctively swiveled when trying to focus on certain sounds. He knew some humans could wiggle their ears, but this was on a whole new level. Muscle memory must have been something he retained from Alwyn or perhaps some instinctual mechanic.

He even had a tail! He looked at it from the side and saw it was white, fluffy and twitched as if on command. For quadruped animals, tails were a common appendage that most humans thought was for communication and/or balance. He would have to practice that sometime to see if that was true in this case.

"Son?"

Devon whirled to see Duke Elrik--Alwyn's father--appear at the door.

"I see you're up and about." Elrik said warmly, "How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling much better..."Devon replied, then remembering added, "..father..."

The Duke smiled as he came up to Devon, carefully placing a hand on his head and avoiding the still tender welt.

"You gave everyone in the castle quite a scare, son. We warned you time and again to avoid climbing those trees."

Devon tried to look submissive, lowering his ears as he replied, "I think I've learned my lesson there, sir. I won't do it again."

The Duke knelt in front of Devon and lifted his chin to look into his eyes. "I think you did, my boy. Just don't try anything so reckless again. You're mother might not be able to handle any more excitement."

Even Devon could read the face of the middle age bunny. You mean don't make ME handle that much excitement. Devon gave his father a knowing smile. "Yes, sir. I'll try not to scare mother."

The duke laughed and slapped Devon on his diminutive shoulder, "Good lad! Good! In time, I hope your memories will return and we can put all of this behind us."

Devon watched as the duke stood up and moved to the ornate balcony window. Opening the glass doors the room was caught in a sweeping breeze of flowers and warm spring sun. Father and son both stepped out into the balcony.

It was the first time that Devon had a chance to see outside and the vista before him caught his breath. It wasn't the fact that the sky was the most brilliant cobalt blue he had ever seen, nor was it the distant mountains cloaked in white snow. The rolling hills in the outskirts of the castle were endless greenery, untouched by mortal hands.

What really caught Devon's eyes was the something in the sky. A curving series of lines arced across the firmament, striations of what he could only assume was rings moving in a defined orbit.

"The Maker's promise is a beautiful sight today." The Duke remarked.

"Is that..." Devon questioned, "...a ring system?"

Elrik looked at Devon questioningly, "What?"

Damn it, Devon cursed himself, I'm letting my old self be seen. Devon had been fascinated by astronomy as a kid and his father even got him a telescope to do star gazing during clear days. It was one of the reasons that Devon was such a science geek in school.

"I...mean...It's something that goes all around the world, right?" Devon tried to explain, hoping to avoid using any words a ten year old might not know.

The duke relaxed a bit, "Yes, son. The Maker placed that ring in orbit around Aeurn to remind his creation that he would never forsake us." He stared wistfully at the rings and sighed, "The Maker is always watching his creations."

So the duke was a religious man, Devon surmised. He himself wasn't much of a church goer in his old life, but he at least showed respect for those who adhered to their faith. 'Whatever keeps you going' he would always say. Of course, Devon was a man of logic and science, and though he respected others for believing in a higher power, he wasn't so quick to put his heart to such fantasies.

Of course you think such things, but you also believed in magic, you dolt.

Just then there was an unearthly series of cries--a mix of some sort of eagle and feral cat.

"Ah! Look there, son!" The duke told Devon, pointing into the sky.

There, flying through the air were a flock of creatures the likes of which Devon had never imagined seeing in the flesh. They were majestic looking feline bodies, but had wings and the head like some great bird of prey. They were flying in a V-formation like migrating birds coming back from the south.

"The Griffs are returning." The Duke chimed in, "That means spring is truly come back to Aeurn.

Aeurn...is that the name of this planet? Devon stared wide-eyed as his mind drank in the sights before him. He was on a planet with a ring system like Saturn. A world with magic and magical creatures like Gryphons. Were there dragons too?

"Father?" Devon questioned, "Will we see dragons here too?" It was a calculated risk but since he saw Gryphons, why not dragons too?

The duke's face turned to him and wore an expression of stern coldness, "Pray you never see one in your days, my son, lest the Drakkul will return to destroy our homes and families."

The way he had said it made Devon shiver and his ears lower. The old legends of his old world told of how terrible and powerful they were, but were they really so dangerous as he said?

"I'm sorry father...I thought..."

The duke lowered himself on one knee to look at his quasi-son. "I'm sorry to frighten you son." He said, resting a hand on his shoulder, "I keep forgetting that your memories are gone. You must never wish to see a dragon in your lifetime, for many are the traitors of the Maker, and the agents of chaos."

Again, Devon's new father spoke with such dread that it confirmed in his heart that he must never hope to see such a creature. He would file this 'Maker' in his mind to study up on their religion, mostly for his own well being.

-

A week passed and at long last Devon was declared fit to return to his duties as the duke's son. Calatrix of course admonished him for not climbing anymore trees and scaring his parents. Devon was not interested in doing it again, mainly cause he had no idea what would happen if he 'died' a second time. He was not about to waste a second life like this on some juvenile antics now.

Lenni helped Devon dress, which he himself tried not to get embarrassed about--obviously, this was a normal custom as a son of royalty. He put on a white dress shirt with golden embroidery on the collar and cuffs, with a powder blue doublet. He wore rough fabric pants similar to denim jeans in his old life; but they were likewise embroidered in gold around the pockets and cuffs. Apparently there was little need for footwear, cause his rabbit-like feet were left unshod. He noticed that all the servants around him were also not wearing shoes or boots. The duke Elrik however wore thigh high boots that had the toes cut out to allow freedom of movement. The Duchess, Mirelda (his new mother) didn't seem to wear shoes either, not that he could see them under her billowing dress.

Devon had to get used to his new body but it seemed that he not only inherited a youthful young rabbit-boy body, but the muscle memory as well. He realized also that he had also could understand the language of this world, and his mind translated it into English. He knew for a fact that the language wasn't English by the way the mouths moved, but somehow his mind could encapsulate and decode it for him.

Soon young Devon/Alwyn was walking down the halls of his new home, the castle of Thornbriar to which the city was also named. He wanted to see everything, from the highest towers to the kitchens and dining halls that the servants performed their duties. There was a lot of people working in the castle and from different 'races', if Devon could use such a term. There were dogs, cats, rabbits, mouse, and a few horse-men. Many of the horses were guards and soldiers along with a few light infantry among the cats and rabbits. He watched in the back by the servants quarters as a group of merchants and servants, Foxes and even a bear-man were bringing in supplies.

Finally, Devon found the library where Calatrix often was seen in. This is where he found himself wanting to stay for a while, mainly because he wanted to get as much information about this world called Aeurn as he could. He would explain his fascination with reading with the fact that the old mage still didn't want him wandering in town due to his injury (and the fact he was the royal heir) and was trying to acclimate himself due to his supposed amnesia.

One thing Devon was thankful for was that while his mind could translate the language in this world, he found he could also read it as well. The letters were runic and completely foreign to his eyes, but after a while, his mind quickly could decode them into something he could understand. Apparently he obtained Mnemonic muscle memory as well--Thanks Alwyn, wherever you are.

The world he was on was called Aeurn, which translated meant "Sacred holding". According to the beliefs of this world, the Maker came into this space which was consumed by the Chaotic Seas of Pandemonia. The Maker fought back against these living seas of Chaos and tried to destroy them, but found he couldn't. Instead he forged an entire planet around the seas to contain Pandemonia from the rest of creation. He then created the dragons to act as celestial guardians of this universe to prevent the chaos from spreading. Later, the Maker would create the Elvenar, who spread upon Aeurn and acted as the first line of defense against the chaos from seeping through the planet's crust.

He also learned that the race of creatures in this world were called the "Beast-kin", based on a legend about Aeurn.

According to the tale, The Elvenar found the beast-kin on Aeurn and taught them to read, write and use magic. Centuries later, the Elvenar mysteriously vanished and the Beast-kin were left to care for Aeurn in their place. While there was one race, there were many 'nationalities' they referred to as tribes. He was of the bun-kin tribe, which seemed ironic to Devon. There were the Catkin, Dog-kin and Horse-kin All in all there was 13 known tribes of beast-kin: Mice, Cat, dog, rabbit, deer, bear, ferret, skunk, fox, cow, horse, bird, and lizard. Naturally there were varieties even among the tribes, like not all catkin were based on domestic cats like Lenni, but even some powerful ones that resembled tigers and lions. Likewise, Dogs also had domestic breeds like the St. Bernard that Calatrix looked like to wolves and coyotes. He often wondered then why fox-kin were separate from the dog-kin but he later discovered that the Fox-kin were notorious for being thieves and con-artists, so they were kept separate from their more honorable canine cousins. This was similar for the ferret-kin and their Skunk-kin relatives, for more obvious reasons.

It was learning about the Lizard-kin that made Devon realize the fear in Duke Elrik tone when he asked about dragons. The Dragons grew envious of the Elvenar, who were the maker's second creation and gave them governance of the planet of Aeurn.

This jealousy was partial to one dragon in particular, Malegurn. This dragon was said to be the shield of the Maker, and in the celestial realm, he stood in front of the Maker as he slept and shielded all creation with his massive wings. While the Maker slept for many centuries, all the other dragons and celestial spirits came to sing praise and glory to the Maker in gratitude. Malegurn over this time span started to believe that they were in fact praising him as the creator. Malegurn began to accept their praise until the Maker awoke.

The great Arch-dragon accused the Maker of stealing his power from him, caught in the delusion that Malegurn was the maker and not this usurper. A large portion of the other dragons joined with Maelgurn in this lie and caused an uprising in heaven. The other dragons fought back in defense of the true maker and pushed the rebel dragons out of the celestial realm.

Trapped in the physical realm, Maelgurn and his renegade flight turned to Aeurn and attacked the Elvenar who was the true source of their rebellion. The Maker forbade the loyal dragons to interfere, but some of them could not stand by and watch Maelgurn destroy the Elvenar. These dragons went into the physical realm and fought alongside the Elvenar, against their rebellious kin. Maelgurn and his rebel flight could not fight back against such combined forces and fled into the core of Aeurn, where they were snatched up by the core of Pandemonia and mutated into the Drakkul, the dragons of Chaos.

The Dragons that fought beside the Elvenar remained on Aeurn and retired into the mountains where they would keep a vigil against the Drakkul, knowing they were forbidden now to return to the celestial realm. They were known as the White Flight. It was from this, that Elrik cautioned Devon. Seeing a Dragon, whether he is a righteous protector of chaotic monster was a sign of bad tidings. If the white flight appeared in Aeurn, it meant the Drakkul were also about.

The remaining dragons that remained in the celestial realm kept a holy vigil over the universe, and became the shining stars seen from the heavens.

Naturally, Devon's other-worldly skepticism saw this as a romantic fairy-tale to teach their children to be good and respectable, lets the boogeyman come and eat them. Still, he did see parallels in some of the religions of his original world, mainly in Christian and Middle-eastern religions. He didn't believe in this kind of stuff, but considering the fact that he was once a human professor and now a 10 year old half rabbit, half human child on an alien planet in a dimension of magic, he made sure not to dismiss it entirely.

Something is going on in this world, He considered after closing the book. I'm not so arrogant to think I'm anything special, but something like this can't possibly be some astronomical stroke of cosmic luck. Devon had never been hooked on the opiate of conventional religion, but he never dismissed it outright. He may have the mind of a scientist, but he was also pragmatic. It was clear he wasn't on Earth anymore. Most likely he was in some other dimension where the laws of nature didn't work the same way. He was in a world of magic, dragons and beast-men creatures. He wasn't just reading fantasy anymore, but living one.

No amount of logic could convince him that this was just random luck. Someone was rolling the dice in his life, and there was a reason he was here. He was both elated and terrified in learning what that purpose was, however.

3.

It's amazing how much the mind remembers, and this was obvious for Devon. It had been three years since he had been transplanted into the body of the young Lord Alwyn Duvane, the ducal heir to Elrik and Mirelda Duvane. His new home was the castle town of Thornbriar, a fief to the far southern end of the continent of the Free beast kingdom of Illuminaria. He was no longer Devon Mallory, middle aged human design engineer and physics teacher, but in the body of a 1367 year old alien rabbit-human hybrid.

Once his mind managed to grasp what had happened to him, He found the experiences of this world amazing. Not only was his body young, strong and vital, but he had the collective memories of his former life and training to back it up. Most kids of this age, human or otherwise, would be too distracted with fun stuff, like play and exploration. Devon planned on doing that too, but right now his priority was to acclimate himself to this bizarre world of talking animals and magic.

Calatrix was Alwyn's tutor, so naturally he was now Devon's as well--not like he was going to need one, but he knew the old dog-man was going to help guide him. He would use the excuse of having amnesia to hide his exuberant curiosity about, well everything.

One benefit of his past life was he still had a photographic memory. He was able to read the language of this world through some sort of neurological translation in his new alien brain, and he soon was drinking in books and manuscripts like an alcoholic trapped in a wine cellar. Before long, he was picking up the known history of Aeurn, the religion/mythologies of this world and their god they called 'the Maker'. At times, Devon was so enraptured by all he was learning that he would forget to eat or drink and even times was found by Calatrix or Lenni with his head plastered on a book and sleeping.

Being a designer in his old life, he also took to reading maps and diagrams of the city layout. Thornbriar was a castle city, typical of ancient Medieval castles from his old life's history. The massive structure that stood as a castle was surrounded by a massive inner curtain wall which housed the nobles and aristocratic families tied to the DuVane Duchy. Further out was a larger and wider outer curtain wall that spread out further, with the castle off center of that main wall. This was where the main city was held and the businesses and homes of the more well-off commoners were housed. Further outside the walls of the city were the fields and farms of the peasants that dealt with agriculture and growing crops. The buildings further out were well built but not as dilapidated as he would expect a peasant's home. Being from a previous world with poverty as well, he could sympathize for these beings who lived in rough houses while he lived in an elegant and rich looking castle. He knew from many of his knowledge of history from his old world that Feudalism involved commoners who paid taxes to the nobility, and in return, the nobility provided military and civic support to help the commoners. There was expected extremes where the nobility would grind the commoners down while they lived like tyrants but thankfully he never saw that in Duke Elrik's rule.

Thank Goodness my new parents aren't dicks, He thought to himself gratefully.

He did, however, find out that Alwyn was a different person entirely. During one of his excursions through the castle, he had accidentally bumped into a young girl around his age. It was one of the girls from the kitchen, Rita. She was a skinny looking mouse kin, brown furred with white around her eyes and muzzle. She wore a simple gray dress which had her stringy tail poking through a hole in the back.

Rita fell on her butt as we collided and let out a nasty curse.

"Watch where you're going you son of a..." Her mouth hung open as she realized who she bumped into. I was more at fault than she was but I didn't take a tumble like she did.

Soon as she locked eyes and realized who I was she immediately got onto her knees and bowed low, "Forgive me, young master! Please have mercy on my foolishness!"

It was kind of embarrassing the way this mouse girl was prostrating herself for me so instead I knelt down in front of her.

"Think nothing of it." I told her as I gave her my hand, "I wasn't looking where I was going. Please, raise your head."

Rita didn't move, but instead shied away from my offered hand, "No! Please forgive me, master. Please don't hurt my mother for this!"

Hurt her mother? For bumping into him?

"Why would I hurt your mother?" Devon asked in a mix of shock and worry.

Rita looked up and Devon noticed tears coming from her eyes. "Y-you won't punish my m-mother?"

"Why in the world would I do that?" Devon then reached out and took Rita's hand. She squeaked as he helped her back to her feet. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The young mouse maid gave Devon a look as if she was looking at a stranger. "No...I...." she then peered at me curiously, "You really don't remember anything?"

Uh oh, Devon thought as he realized that there was something big about to happen, "I...don't...please, if you know something...?"

Just then another Mouse-kin appeared, a woman by her stature and that she was at least another foot higher than either of them. She looked at Rita then at Devon and if it wasn't for the fur on her face, Devon could probably seen the blood drain from her flesh.

"Rita!" The older Mouse-kin chided, "What have you done?" She grabbed her by the shoulder then bowed to Devon deeply. "If my child has harmed you in any way, young master, I'll take full responsibility for it!"

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" Devon finally asked in frustration. All this groveling was getting on his nerves.

"Momma!" Rita started, "He doesn't remember anything! Just like Lenni said!"

Apparently that cat-kin maid of mine isn't just a competent maid, but a gossip-hound. Devon made a mental note to use such information for later.

"Miss." Devon finally replied, "The fault was mine for not watching where I was going. Your daughter was just a victim of my own lack of awareness. For that, I apologize for any injury I put on her."

Rita's mother was now giving me a similar look of disbelief that her daughter just was showing. "Y-you apologized?"

"Please miss...?"

"Ah....Anna..." Rita's mother replied.

"Miss Anna. There seems to be something you both are not telling me about my past. Yes, I don't have any memories of my past, so if it's not too much to ask..."

Anna seemed reluctant to say anything, but Rita on the other hand didn't have such hesitation, "It's just that you were always mean to us, master Alwyn!"

"Rita!" Anna shushed.

Devon held up a hand, "No. Please, I wish to know more, Miss Anna." He turned back to Rita, "How was I mean?"

Looking at his mother, Rita saw the look of resignation on her mother's face.

"I don't wish to make this a command. I just wish to know more about who I was...before..."

Rita seemed to inhale sharply as if getting ready to resign herself to the execution block. "You were a spoiled brat, young master!"

The sudden honest outburst not only shocked Devon, but also enthralled him. Damn, this girl's has balls! Anna on the other hand, looked like she was going to faint.

"You always did what you wanted, and barged into the kitchen demanding sweets and pushing everyone around. If anyone fought back, you'd have them and their family members beaten for their insolence."

Devon wasn't sure if either of them could read his face, but Rita stopped as she seemed to understand the look of horror on the young master's face.

So, Alwyn was a royal brat, Devon stewed at the thought. One thing that Devon couldn't stand was bullies and people who thought they were better than him. He had been on more than one occasion the victim of bullies, jealous co-workers, and just general haters online in his old life to make him resent such barbarians. His opinion on the status of the real Alwyn's soul lessened considerably.

"Miss Anna." Devon politely asked, "Could you show me where the kitchen is? I'd like to address the staff there."

The older Mouse-kin looked taken aback by that request, then had a look of concern. Probably thinks I'm going to punish the lot of them for her blabbing.

"Please, Miss Anna. I only wish to talk to the staff. I promise no retaliation will be given out for what you said. You have my word as the Duke's son."

Of course, the reputation of Alwyn would make such a promise tenuous at best. Still, Anna reluctantly agreed and offered to escort him to the Kitchen, Rita in tow. As they went down the hall, Both mouse kin kept silent, though Rita kept turning to stare at Alwyn skeptically. Devon tried to maintain a poker-face while inside he rehearsed what he was going to say. He knew that he was going to be having to eat some humble pie for this, but he had to repair the reputation left behind by the brat Alwyn.

They went around a corner and came into a large windowless room. There it was a bustle of activity. All around the kitchen were cooks and laborers preparing food for the numerous members of the household: guards, servants, workers and even the nobility. His face was hit with a blast of heat and the smell of cooking meats and stews. A menagerie of fragrances from spices and herbs tingled his olfactory senses and made his mouth water.

The moment he came in, several of the cooks and workers stopped their work and seemed to cringe at the sight of the duke's son.

_Son of a bitch, Alwyn! What the hell did you do to these poor creatures?_The looks on the faces of these beast-folk made his stomach turn.

Devon cleared his throat, causing the rest of the workers not disturbed by his presence to stop. "Excuse me, everyone!" He said loudly above the din, "I wish to address everyone here if I may."

Stepping into the room, the other workers seemed partially annoyed, but the majority of them fearful.

"You may have heard the rumors about my...condition." Devon began, hinting at his recent head injury and amnesia, "I wish to tell you, those rumors are true. I did suffer memory loss and cannot recall anything of my past."

Several workers murmured while others gasped as if showing true pity for the young duke. Good, they don't all hate me at least.

"I have been trying to get re-oriented to my life here and during this it has come to my attention that I have been...less than cordial to the staff and laborers here at the castle."

Now is where I need to hit the nail on the head, Devon thought and he steeled himself mentally.

Devon fell to one knee and lowered his head to them all, eliciting gasps and louder murmurs of surprise. "I regret all that I had done in the past, though I remember nothing of it and I wish to apologize to you all for my behavior! Such actions are unbecoming a duke's son and future heir. A true leader cannot lead through fear and intimidation."

He had everyone's attention now and the room was dead silent save his own voice. Keeping his head low he continued, "I will make it my greatest effort to correct my mistakes of the past and no longer treat my father's subordinates with such scorn. This day I make a vow to you all that I shall become a duke's son you will be proud to serve, not fearful."

There was a pause as those words seemed to sink in. No doubt, there were skeptical beast-kin there who saw him only as a spoiled rich brat. He didn't know how to live as a noble, but he did silently promise to himself that he was going to be the best damn noble this world would ever see.

A thick paw suddenly came on his shoulder and a beefy voice spoke, gruff and gravely. "Oy, Brat. Wot you doing wit your 'ead bow'd to us lot?" Devon looked up and saw what looked like a massive grizzly bear, Thick black fur covering his bear like face, but oddly wearing the traditional white tunic, pants and apron of a chef. He even had one of those soufflé shaped hats that cooks stereo-typically wore.

"You must be Grelm." Devon spoke up to the bear-kin chef. He was easily a good six feet tall and could easily step on him like a bug.

"Aye, I be Grelm." He replied in a voice that sounded like he was gargling rocks, "'N you be our Duke's boy. No Duke should bow'n a knee to 'dis lot, 'n neither be 'is son." The massive bear-kin gripped Alwyn's body with both hands and lifted him easily off his feet and planted him back into a standing position.

"Did you mean all that, Master?" Anna spoke out as Devon righted himself. "No one of Gaylen's blood has bowed to commoners like this."

"Not since 'da first 'o his line did." Grelm added.

It was in one of Devon's studies about this world regarding Alwyn's heritage. King Gaylen was the first bunny-kin to unite the tribes of free beast-kin into the Kingdom of Illuminaria, and since then there had been a total of six Kings who upon being crowned took the name of Gaylen--like the popes of his old world would take a venerated name when elected. He was living under the rule of the last Gaylen, the Sixth.

"Perhaps that needs to change as well." Devon inserted, returning to the current situation. "King Gaylen humbled himself to become king, and the free beasts of this realm followed him without question. I may be of the King's bloodline so I should be more like my descendant towards you all."

It was said that during the dragon wars with the Drakkul and his lizard-kin fanatics tried to conquer the north kingdom, King Gaylen V had betrayed the kingdom out of fear of the so-called God-king Palador Goldenmane, who had been instrumental in uniting the kingdom to fight the chaos dragons. As a result, he had poisoned the God-king and thought to slay him. Instead Palador used the last of his magic along with the magic hammer, Sin-slayer to cleave the continent in half, separating the lizard-kin and the Drakkul from the northlands into their own island nation. Later Palador, who had died from that betrayal, came back from the dead during his public funeral and King Gaylen V abdicated his throne, knowing he betrayed the Maker. Rather than taking the crown for himself, he instead placed it on the head of the king's son, Prince Yohan, and naming him the last King to take the name of Gaylen. Since then, the blood line of Gaylen had a taint of betrayal in their reputation.

Naturally, Devon wasn't personally from that blood line in all but body now, but he felt like if he was going to play the part of a noble, he needed to do better.

Devon felt a small set of hands cup his and he looked to see Rita staring at him with wide-eyes and almost a look of admiration. "Master Alwyn." She said, nearly singing her words, "I believe you, sire."

Anna started to giggle and soon the atmosphere in the room loosened as if taut like a bowstring.

"I hope you'll excuse my daughter, Master. She reads a lot of stories of noble knights and of Palador and gets a bit starry-eyed at such acts of chivalry."

"Aye, young mas'r." Grelm intoned, his broad muzzle in a smile, "Da way ye talk'd jus now, I'd hav' th'ot ye be Gayl'n 'imself."

With the tension removed, The workers all showed their appreciation to the Alwyn then returned to their work. It seemed that the room was a bit brighter now as the cooks and servants milled about, and Devon couldn't help but smile.

After giving his farewells to Anna, Rita, Grelm and the other workers, Devon went back out to the courtyard, knowing it was just about time for one of his new tutors to begin lessons.

I'll need to study more about Gaylen when I can, Devon thought.He sounded like someone I might have liked.

-

For the next few weeks, Alwyn studied more and even got some free time where he would go into the kitchen with Grelm and the others. Since his unorthodox apology, the staff started to warm up to the young duke as well as young Anna. The two became fast friends and took time to play around the courtyard.

At some point, Alwyn would sneak some of his knowledge of his old world to Grelm and the others. One day, he was displaying a little piece of work he made that had many of the staff staring.

"Wot is it?" Grelm stared.

"I call it a 'sandwich." Alwyn replied.

There on a plate was a simple meal, consisting of two slices of thick cut bread, with a special spread from a home-made recipe for mayonnaise Devon remembered from his past attempts at cooking in his old life. In it was lettuce, slices from what was the equivalent of a tomato in this world, and thick slices of roasted boar.

Despite being a creature pattered after a rabbit from his old world, Bunny-kins like any other beast kin were omnivores--though some groups and individual preferred one food over another. Ever since coming to Aeurn he had been craving a good burger or sandwich for one reason or another. They didn't have cows in this world apparently--eating a member of a race of beast-kin was considered abhorrent like being a cannibal in Devon's old world.

Instead they used non-sentient beings like Boars; actual boars that were like the ones in his previous life. The less known was a species of animals that looked like a hippo and a yak known as a Malmore. Malmore were a fat shaggy looking beast with a large mouth like a hippo, but covered in thick hair like a yak. They were raised not only for their meat, but the fur could be sheared into a luxurious fabric. The milk from the females was also good--it was even made into various butters and cheeses just like cow milk on Earth.

The sandwich on his plate also had a couple slices of Malmore cheese which seemed to have a consistency slightly less firm as cheddar. With his experiment completed he sliced the sandwich into four pieces, handing a piece to Grelm, Anna and Rita. Devon took the other piece and quickly took a bite. The other three looked at it skeptically; yet, as they watched Devon chew on the morsel, the others did likewise.

"By da mak'r!" Grelm exclaimed. "Dat be a fine piece of vit'ls if'n I ever tasted!"

"I must agree, master Alwyn." Anna said after finishing her bite, "I never even considered this method of preparing meals."

"Yummy!" Rita exclaimed as she stuffed her share into her mouth.

"If you think that was good," Alwyn added, "I got an idea for something else, but could use your help."

"Yo show'n us 'ow yo made dis 'ere...sand-witch...'n will lis'n to anyt'ng you god, y'ung Mas'r."

Alwyn proceeded to show them the recipe for mayonnaise--thankfully there was equivalent ingredients here on his old world to use for eggs, vinegar and salt. The Eggs came from the large flightless Ahmul birds that were raised as both a producer of eggs as well as beasts of burdens for carriages or even riding like a horse.

After showing him the simple composition of a sandwich, Alwyn then looked to creating Aeurn's first ever Hamburger and fries. The potatoes were easy enough to find--it seemed there was a lot of common plants and ingredients from his old world here; no doubt a common biological process or evolution since the native sentient species on this planet were half human/half animals similar to his old world.

It was the meat that proved difficult, since no one had considered grounding Malmore meat. When Alwyn explained the process, Grelm had begun experimenting using a hung of well marbled meat and using a knife to slice the meat one direction, then the other, cubing them into a mesh.

Some of the bakers among the staff used a set of sweet rolls that were large enough that when sliced horizontally, would fit the burger perfectly.

With a little salt and pepper, Alwyn helped Grelm and the others into shaping handfuls of diced meat into patties, making sure to make them a bit larger for the buns since the meat would shrink while cooking. They made initially only four patties, but after seeing the looks on all the other staff, they realized that they shouldn't leave everyone out so they prepared enough for everyone.

For the fries, several potatoes were washed, cleaned and, under the young master's instruction, sliced the potatoes into strips, then placed into deep pans of heated oil. While the patties were being made, the fries crisped and browned in the oil, then pulled out once they were deemed cooked. Alwyn then helped by sprinkling them with a generous amount of salt and rosemary.

Placing the patties on a flat metal plate they were laid over the open fire where the plate could get good and hot. Soon the air wafted with the smell of cooked meat. The patties were flipped to insure both sides got seared and cooked completely. Meanwhile, Rita and Anna prepared the rolls with some of the other ladies, preparing them similarly to the way Alwyn used on the sandwich. Once completed, they finished placing the grilled meat on the rolls and topped.

"What a pleasant smell." Anna remarked.

With that, everyone had their burger and fries and ate. The effect was instantaneous.

"Amazing!" One chef said. "Such flavor!"

"And the bun makes it easier to handle." Another remarked.

"And these...what did you call them again master? Fries?"

Alwyn nodded, his cheeks bulging with a large bite of his own burger.

"I never would have expected to use a potato this way."

Grelm looked at the young master inquisitively, " 'ow'd you cum bai dis 'ere creat'n, mas'r?"

Shit, Devon cursed inwardly, Think fast, Mallory...

"I think it was one of Calatrix's books during my studies." Alwyn explained, "Told of some exotic recipes from other lands." He paused as he looked like in thought, "I wish I could remember where that book is...he has so many."

"If you can find it," Anna inquired, "Please make sure to bring it to us. Such delicacies can only help improve the quality of the Duke's table."

Devon almost wanted to laugh at the thought of a duke's dinner would involve burgers and fries. In his old world they were cheap fast food but here it was an exotic alien cuisine.

Now if I can only figure out how to make a chocolate milkshake...

-

On one end of the inner courtyard, the barracks for housing the troops and training facilities was built for the duke's militia. All about were Beast-kin of different races and sizes sparring, repairing weapons or milling about with other guards, trading stories and tips on doing their jobs.

It was here that Master Alwyn was to return to his training in combat.

"You slacked off long enough, young master." The voice of a regal looking wolf-kin resounded. Alwyn's trainer was the captain of the guard, Hawkes and he was twice the size of Alwyn, bulkier with muscles showing through the simple chain-mail hauberk and wore a green cloth doublet atop of it. His fur was deep gray and one eye was concealed behind an eyepatch but a deep scar could be seen go over it. He wore simple padded armor on his pants and, like all other beast-kin, wore no boots or shoes.

It was standard training mail, and naturally, Devon had to have a similar outfit on as well. Even at his age, he was expected to learn to defend himself and become a sword master.

However, Devon had never used a weapon in his life--at least his previous one. He had only used a pocket knife during his time with the cub scouts and even then it was for brief times to avoid cutting himself. Therefore when Hawks handed him a short bun-kin-sized sword, he held it awkwardly in his hands and struggling with the weight of the metal blade.

"Is this really necessary, Hawks?" Devon asked, keeping the blade up by sheer force of will.

"That's 'sir' when you're in my world, Master Alwyn." the wolf snarled.

Great, Devon said while mentally rolling his eyes, I got a drill instructor who probably chases his own tail for fun.

"Y-yes sir." Devon replied openly.

"This is just to give you an idea of what is to come, Master Alwyn" began Hawks, "In time, you'll be whipping that sword around like it was part of you. You'll learn which end to hold, and what part of the blade you poke the bad guys with."

A few of the other guards watching chuckled as Alwyn struggled to keep the sword up.

"Not going to be doing much of that if I can't even keep it aloft." Devon commented, then quickly remembered, "..sir."

Hawks grinned a wolfish grin, showing a few of his off-white fangs, "Not to worry, young master. Firs thing we need to do is get you used to swinging one. The rest will come in time."

He reached down to pull the sword from Devon's grasp, allowing the Duke's son to sigh in relief and shake his tired muscles. He then tossed the young bun-kin a short but sturdy looking piece of wood, approximately the same size as the sword, with a carved hilt and grip wrapped in leather. Devon tested the fake blade with a few practice swings. He had no idea what he was doing at the time.

"You know, boyo" Hawks said gruffly to Devon, wielding a heavily padded stick of his own. "They said you lost all your memories. Let's see if your muscles remember me."

Before Devon could see it the old wolf lunged forward, driving the padded stick in a quick cut across his left side. Alarmed by the sudden hit, Devon's young body took the hit hard sending him off his feet and on the dirt with a loud painful yelp. He felt the pain in his side and gasped for breath as he clutched his side.

"Oy!" One of the other guards roared out, "Lil rough on the young master, aintcha boss?"

Hawks barked back, "The Duke'll punish me even more if I don't make his son into a top notch fighter. Ain't that right, boyo?"

Devon fought to breath, knowing his ribs weren't broken, but also knew he was going to feel even worse later. Instead, he drew strength from the fact that he had every intention of beating the shit out of this mangy old beast. Slowly he pulled himself up, glaring teary eyed at the grinning wolf-kin.

"You...surprised me..." Devon struggled to say as he sat up.

"Your enemy won't give you the luxury of a friendly salute, boyo." Hawks intoned, "Here there is no baron or dukes or kings, but beasts fighting tooth and claw for their lives. You best remember that."

Oh, you are so going down, furball. Devon got back up and used the side of his arm to wipe the spittle and dirt from his face.

"Ha! You got back up, didn't ya, pup?" Hawks remarked surly, "Last time you were here you cried like a newborn."

_This again?_Devon realized it wasn't going to be an easy climb to being respected by these people but right now he only wanted to give this wolf a serious lesson in respect. He got back upright and moved into position, only this time he assumed a new stance against the wolf. He tilted his body with his injured side facing away from the wolf. Drawing his wooden blade in front of him, he kept his knees loose and the wooden sword in one hand.

Hawks seemed taken aback at this, "That's no stance I taught you, boyo." He growled.

"Don't call me Boyo, ya mutt." Devon snapped back.

The other guards watching suddenly inhaled together as Hawks growled, "Sassing your betters now? Seems to me you need more lessons...boyo."

As soon as Hawks ended his word, Devon was already rushing him. Unexpectedly, Hawks was still seasoned enough to see the bun-kin's feeble thrust. What he didn't expect was Alwyn's sudden turn towards his blind spot--his bad eye, then let out a grunt as he felt the young duke's foot drive a strike at the back of his knee. There was enough force and surprise to bring the wolf down on that knee, and enough sense to dodge as another feeble sword strike aimed for his head. At least that was what he expected, but only swung at air.

Instead, Devon cocked his leg back and with a firm spring, delivered yet another kick square on the wolf's lumbar region. The old wolf let out a unexpected yelp as he fell on all fours. Shocked by the turn of events, Hawks couldn't recover fast enough to realize the unexpected. Devon now planted his feet on the ground, shifted forward, and sent a full on side kick straight into the wolf's head.

Back in Devon's old world, he had suffered a great deal of bullying from kids who disrespected him for his brains. His father at the time realized that there was only one way to answer bullying and it did not involve the usual form of passive resistance most would allow. Instead, His father got him into studying martial arts and self defense to supplement his academic side. Surprisingly, Devon enjoyed the classes and made it a regular part of his regimen. It not only was a good exercise program, but it allowed him to channel his aggression and even help him focus. It did also help to keep the bullies off him with a few roundhouse kicks. The bully's parents would protest to Devon's dad to which he would reply with "I wouldn't have my son learn to defend himself if your own brats left him alone."

Devon's dad was cool.

Now in this other world, those years of martial arts were paying off. The wolf was a seasoned warrior, but only with swords and not bare-fisted brawling. He also took lightly the young duke's son who he saw as a sniveling brat. That and also was part of Devon's study into his own new body. Bun-kins were powerful jumpers and their strength was in their lower body. His martial arts training didn't involve a lot of swords, but when he used his body's assets, he found his feet had the power of a mace.

And as Hawks' face hit the dirt from the force of Devon's roundhouse kick, it was obvious that he had calculated right.

The wolf-kin groaned as he tried to lift his head off the ground, spitting out a wad of dirt and grit, "That was unexpected, young master." He said, rubbing his sore jaw and testing for broken teeth.

"Your enemy won't give you the luxury," Devon quoted with a grin, "Isn't that right...boyo?"

The old wolf glared up at Alwyn then suddenly belted out a loud barking laugh.

"HA! You got me there, young master! You got me there!" Hawks' mood seemed to soften and even show some respect now that he wasn't calling him 'boyo'. The old wolf got up slowly and gave Devon a respectful pat on his shoulder. "You might be fighting material yet. Where did you learn to do that if I may?"

Devon had anticipated this, knowing he was going to have to make some sort of excuse for the fact that he had been a black belt in another life and world. "It seemed strangely natural. I can't explain but I guess it was from all my studies with Calatrix. That and being a bun-kin it seemed right to use my feet."

Hawks nodded, seeming to buy the fabrication Devon had. "Well, while you surprised me, a fully armored foe is not going to feel those kicks all that much." The old wolf stroked his chin as if in contemplation, "Still...the footwork might come in handy."

"I still need to learn how to use a sword, Captain Hawks." Devon said sincerely.

"Aye!" Hawks replied, "But you got potential. A bit of refinement and we'll make you into a top battle-beast out of you, young master."

From that point on, Hawks treated Devon far better. Instead of the usual beat-down lessons he had given him, the old wolf showed him techniques to using a sword: swinging, parrying, striking at key spots on the body and how to use an enemy's strength against him. Much of it mirrored his old life's martial arts training so he was able to learn it quickly. Devon was motivated to regain some of his old familiar habits from his old life to make his new life more enjoyable but he also wanted to learn more. He had a new world to explore and he needed to be the best he could possibly be.

4.

"So, Calatrix. Is it possible to teach me magic?"

Alwyn was standing up and looking expectantly at the Dog-kin mage in his study. The old canine stroked his beard as he shook his head.

"We had already tested you for magical aptitude, young master." He replied glumly, "And all our tests said you had no magical potential."

What a load of crap!_Devon pouted in his head as Alwyn's body slumped back into his chair. _All this to come to a world of magic and whatever powers that be couldn't let me have a hint of magical talent? He had read a good deal of Japanese light novels about such an event that he was experiencing now. They called it Isekai and the protagonists of each story came to another world with near God-like powers. Now he was living his own Isekai moment and he found out he wouldn't have the divine magical ability.

"How did you test for magical aptitude, Calatrix?"

The mage turned to the young master. "Often times we check the flow of mystic energies in your body."

"What kind of mystic energies?" Alwyn queried.

"Naturally, all beast-kin have some level of magical potential. The level of energy can vary from one kin to another."

"So the more power your body contains," Alwyn deduced, "naturally the more potential for learning spells."

"True." Calatrix agreed, "There is always some degree of mystical essence in a beast-kin's body; however, not all have enough of such essence to be able to learn any real skill."

"So what kind of magical energies are out there?"

Calatrix stroked his beard, "There are two major forces in the universe: Order and Chaos. Chaos energy is drawn from the realm of Pandemonia, and is where we see elemental forces and wild elements of nature."

"Isn't chaos magic dangerous?" Alwyn inquired.

"That is the reason why the Maker blessed our kind on Aeurn, young master." Calatrix explained, "We beast-kin are unique among the denizens of the world as we can use both Order and Chaos magic without it completely consuming us."

"So if Chaos is from Pandemonia, where does Order come from?"

With a grin, the old mage stepped over to a cabinet at the back of the library. Opening it, he pulled out a large cluster of blue-white crystals, each one easily a foot in length or more. They radiated out of a small wood pedestal that Calatrix lowered in front of Alwyn.

"This is Magicite. These native crystals grow all over Aeurn like grass and spread all around the known world. It is this sacred stone that we draw Order, the pure energy from the heavens."

Alwyn had heard of that name Magicite before in his studies, but never had a chance to see one up close.

"If these are so common," Alwyn asked, "Why don't I see them all over the castle?"

"Tactical reasons, young master." Calatrix replied, "Should the castle fall to siege from a rogue faction or army, keeping the crystals out of the hands of our enemies lessen their power."

"But we keep them locked up when they are needed, giving our mages an advantage?"

"Quite correct." Calatrix said with a fluffy smile.

Sitting up on the chair, Alwyn stared at the crystalline display. "So these generate Order energy?"

"In a way. Do you remember the stories about Aeurn's creation? About the rebel dragons?"

Alwyn nodded.

"When the dragons who did not fall to corruption nor the ones who did not plunge to Aeurn to fight the dragons and be denied paradise, the remaining dragons scattered across the heavens, shining their divine light down on Aeurn. That light is captured in Magicite and they produce the energy we call Order."

Devon mused about this new insight. The divine dragons became the stars and their light came down on the planet. The Magicite absorbed the light like a plant performing photosynthesis--instead, these crystals radiate some sort of magic radiation that Beast-kin could wield.

"So," Alwyn inquired further, "our bodies draw in Order and Chaos energy, but certain beast-kin's bodies hold more than others, and in variant quantities."

"You surprise me every day, young master." Calatrix retorted, "Your mind works surprisingly well for one so young."

Alwyn reached out to touch the crystals, curious as to how they seemed to glow with an inner white fire. Before Calatrix could stop him, the young bunny-kin's finger brushed along the Magicite's surface.

The crystal burst into a piercing white light that sent Calatrix reeling. Alwyn stood rigid as if he was being electrocuted, his eyes wide as they shone in an unnatural glow of equally piercing white light.

Devon on the other hand was deep within his own mind, watching as streams of energy and the familiar pattern of screens passed by him, each one seeming to hold some sort of memory--but these were memories Devon had never seen before. Information was going past him so fast that he felt his head burning from the overload.

The crystal_he realized, _The crystal is...downloading something into my mind!

Alwyn tried to pull away, but the flood of information passing through his awareness came at the speed of a hurricane. He couldn't process all that he saw but he also knew that it was lodging itself into his brain.

Powerful arms gripped Alwyn's torso and he was ripped away from the Magicite and fell atop of his rescuer. The light faded and the room regained clarity. Alwyn was dazed and confused by all that he saw, so much so that he was unable to focus on words he could hear or the images his eyes were vaguely forming in his mind. The burst of stimuli soon overcame Devon and blissful unconsciousness claimed him.

-

Once again, Devon awoke in his bed, but this time only Calatrix and Lenni were at his sides.

"Master?" Lenni asked softly, "Did you lose your memories again?"

Cute kitty, Devon thought, But I think she's not the brightest light in the universe.

Sitting up, he groaned and shook his head, "I'm still me, Lenni." The kitty maid exhaled loudly.

Calatrix looked over Devon, checking his forehead and ears for any fever. Finding none, the old mage grasped Alwyn's shoulder.

"What happened, Young master?" he questioned.

Attempting to recall what happened, Devon wasn't rightly sure what happened. "I just touched the Magicite...then I felt like...something was down...I mean...something was filling me up..."

It was the only thing he could say without confusing Calatrix. Apparently even his simple explanation perplexed the old dog-kin.

"What did you see?"

"Memories..."Devon replied, "Not my memories, but someone else's--And information..."

Devon looked up at Calatrix who was stroking his beard with concern. As they were silently ruminating, Devon's eyes focused on something floating along Calatrix.

Are those...what is that?

Hovering around Calatrix, Alwyn saw what looked like colored strands of light that seemed to emanate from his body. That wasn't there before, Devon thought. He reached up to grasp at the strange strand and only caught air.

"What are you doing, Alwyn?" Calatrix said with a start.

"What is that, Calatrix?" Devon pointed at where the fibers of energy coming from the dog's body.

"What's what?"

"It looks like...colored lights....they're coming from your body..."

Calatrix's eyes widened, "You can see lights coming from me?" Alwyn nodded.

The old mage held out his hand in front of Devon, "Watch this carefully and tell me what you see."

Devon nodded and watched. For a few seconds, nothing happened; then suddenly, strings of light began to accumulate in Calatrix' outstretched paw. The strands began to weave into a sphere the size of a golf ball, spinning about in various directions.

"You see that?" Calatrix asked.

"It's like a ball of glowing yarn." Alwyn replied.

The Dog-kin appeared to release some concentration and the strands of light suddenly dissipated, making Devon step back in surprise.

"You could see it...the flow of order and chaos energy I was drawing upon?"

Alwyn looked up at Calatrix, astonished, "That was magic?"

"Yes, and it is rare that anyone can see that magic with the naked eye."

_I can see magic?_Alwyn's jaw dropped at the revelation.

As if sensing his thought, Calatrix nodded, "It is a rare talent, but I'm more curious as to how you suddenly gained such a power from that crystal."

Devon himself was curious about that as well. He tried to sift through the experience when one of the snippets of knowledge crossed his awareness. Stretching out his hand, he tried what the information was telling him. Again, strands of mystical energy began to condense in his hand, swirling about but showing less orderly paths of the energy.

It's all about will, isn't it? Devon imagined to the mysterious knowledge swirling into his consciousness. He mentally commanded the magic to move in sync with each other. His mind's eye visualized the cohesive network of magical strands forming the same effect as Calatrix--no wait, why go just there? Instead his mind shifted from intersecting waves but instead wove the fibers of magical energy into a mesh sphere.

Calatrix started as he watched Alwyn's hand, fearful sweat trickling down his neck. He couldn't see magic, but could sense the ball of raw energy forming in the young master's paw. It was tight, precise, controlled, and denser than his. Soon a glowing silver orb appeared visibly in the young rabbit-kin's paw, shimmering like a globe of still water. The young master has mastered a simple spell just by watching me do it--Not only mastered, but perfected it!

"Wow!" Alwyn remarked as he stared at the silvery globe, "It worked just like I saw in my head!" He tossed the silvery globe of magic into the air and caught it, as if he was grasping a solid ball for play.

_This isn't right,_Calatrix calculated. When he collected the power, he was reciting a chant under his breath--the words of the maker himself--to draw the power into his hands. Alwyn, who had no previous training and only recently showed a sudden awakening of his power now conjured a ball of solidified magic without spell or practice.

"Who..." Calatrix stammered, "...who are you?"

Alwyn looked up at Calatrix and reading the look of shock and bewilderment. Realization flooded Devon's mind and he quickly lost concentration on the sphere in his hand. It unraveled like a school of silvery fish, vanishing into the ether.

"W...what are you saying, Calatrix?" Alwyn remarked, "It's me, Alwyn."

The Dog-kin mage stood up, striking the floor with his staff so hard that the room almost shuddered.

"You are not master Alwyn!"

Damn it! Devon cursed to himself, Am I busted?

"What are you talking about?" Alwyn blurted out.

"Do you think me a fool, boy? Since you recovered from that fall, you've changed completely! You get up early to run around the castle for your 'exercise', then come study with me for hours, reading books that kids your age would find boring. You teach the kitchen staff new recipes from books you know are not in my library yet claim they are; and now you miraculously awaken to magical ability and talent that no beginner could possibly know!"

Calatrix leaned forward and glared at Alwyn who was already sweating bullets.

"So I will ask again. Who are you?"

Devon realized then that he had screwed up--he was enjoying himself in this new world of magic and furry creatures that he had totally forgotten to keep his past life concealed. He had craved a hamburger since he came to this world but they had none until he introduced it. He also wanted to learn about magic and was too focused on that to realize that he was sticking out too much.

Shit, shit shit! He cursed silently. I'm totally busted!

He stared up at Calatrix who was boring a hole through his head with this eyes.

_Time to face the music,_Devon sighed inwardly, then sighed outwardly.

Just as he was about to confess, Lenni who had been quietly watching the proceedings spoke first.

"His name is Devon Mallory, Calatrix. I think he might be some sort of scholar from his original world."

Both Calatrix and Alwyn stared slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the tuxedo cat-kin's statement.

"Wh...What!?" They both exclaimed, then Alwyn added, "How the hell did you know that?"

Lenni smirked demurely as she placed her hands akimbo to her hips, "I'm your servant, Master Devon--that and you talk in your sleep."

If it wasn't for the fur on his face, he might have looked like the blood drained from his flesh. Devon had tried to hide it but in the end, even his own mind betrayed him.

"What's the meaning of this?" Calatrix balked, "Are you saying he's not our Duke's son?"

Lenni shrugged, "He may not be the snotty brat that we remember, Cali, but I'll still call him master."

"Lenni! You're talking about the Duke's son!"

She bent forward glaring at Calatrix, "Alwyn is most likely dead, ya vapid mutt! Whoever this person is in his body though has proven more honorable than that little whelp could ever be!"

Devon was completely confused now and seemed to show it on his face.

"That's right, Master Devon. I've been with you for years now and every time I tuck you in and keep an eye on you, I heard you talk about things in your sleep--stuff I'm pretty sure I'll never understand; stuff like 'Torke radios' and 'metal fatigue'...never knew metal could get tired though..."

At one point, Lenni had the mind as sharp as a tack, then she says something like that and she's as sharp as a brick...

Now Calatrix turned back to Alwyn and leaned in, "Is what she says true?"

Resigned to his fate, Alwyn nodded, "My real name is Devon Mallory. I died in an accident in my world where I was a scientist and engineer. When I woke up, I was in the body of Alwyn." Butterflies churned in his stomach like maddened bees as he expected Calatrix to suddenly call for his arrest and possible inquisition. Instead, Calatrix sat upright and looked at Lenni in awe.

"It's true then." He said reverently, "He's the Twice-born!"

Twice-born?

"It fits the prophecy, don't it?" Lenni remarked, smiling back at Alwyn.

"Prophecy? Twice-born?" Alwyn said inquisitively, "What's that all about?"

As Lenni walked towards the door to the room, she peered through the opening and then closed it, locking it from within. She then walked up to Devon's bed and sat down next to him.

"Of all our books and scrolls you've read," Calatrix began, "Did you ever bother to read about the God-king?"

"Palador?" Alwyn retorted, "I read some of it, but never got too deep into it."

Calatrix stood from the chair and walked to one of the bookshelves, going through the various tomes. As he sought the one he was after, Lenni sat next to Alwyn, stroking his hair. He felt his ears burn hotly not from the strange affection the cat-kin maid was showing, but how she was not shying away from him--it was more like she was being...respectful.

"Ah, here it is." Calatrix pulled out a thick book and brought it back to the chair he was sitting on before, and opened it as he sat back down. A few flipped pages and the old mage nodded sagely.

Calatrix read, "And the God-king said unto the multitude gathered, 'Others shall come from afar, for I have summoned them. And they shall be twice-born and know not of this world but has been of this world from the beginning. Prepare them, for their destiny is before them.' And the God-king opened his wings, for they were the wings of a great bird, and flew into the heavens, returning to the Maker's side."

Lenni stroked Alwyn's head as she said, "The God-king proclaimed your coming, Master. You are fulfillment of those words spoken by the Maker's son."

Devon shook his lapine head in disbelief, "That's crazy! What does all this mean then?"

"It means," Calatrix answered, "That your coming means you have a great destiny to fulfill here on Aeurn."

"So," Devon asked timidly, "I'm not going to be burned at a stake for being some evil necromancer or something?"

Lenni and Calatrix both stared oddly at Alwyn, making him realize he said something stupid.

"Hardly, Master Devon." Calatrix intoned, "In fact, I must notify the Arch-mage himself about this turn of events!"

Devon sat upright more, "Whoa! Hold on a moment here, Calatrix! Why notify the king's chief sorcerer?"

"Didn't you know, Master?" Calatrix explained, "The Arch-mage and King Gaylen were both companions to the God-king himself!"

Alwyn's jaw dropped. The legend told of seven companions, each of them a master warrior, archer, mage, prince, bard, thief and knight that served Palador during his earthly campaign against the Drakkul and the Lizard-kin horde. So the prince was now King Gaylen the Sixth and the Mage became the Arch-mage now.

"Then...The Arch-mage won't come to have me killed?"

"Far from it, Master! He'll want to see you are given every courtesy and honor for one of your station."

Releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Alwyn relaxed, resting back on Lenni as she comforted him. All this time he thought for sure he was going to be handed over to some crazy priest to be drowned as a witch and instead, all he had to have done was read a book of their religion and realize he was some bizarre body-snatching savior. Totally worried myself for nothing.

It was in this moment of calm that he remembered something, "Calatrix, Lenni!" He pleaded, "Whatever we do, we must NEVER tell the Duke or Duchess about this!"

"Why on Aeurn for?" Lenni questioned, "I would think they'd be excited about...oohhh..."

"I see." Calatrix understood as well, "They might be more disturbed knowing their son's is dead and his body inhabited by another. That could prove difficult to accept."

Nodding, Alwyn looked to Lenni, "This has to be a secret between the three of us. Promise me you wont gossip about this all over the castle." Since the incident with Anna and Rita in the kitchen, Devon had realized what a chatterbox Lenni might have been and was worried that her knowledge about his sleep-talking might already be the talk of the kingdom.

"Oh trust me, Master." Lenni mewed, "This is one juicy morsel I intend to keep to myself."

Alwyn looked skeptical at Lenni but Calatrix chimed in, "If word came out that we had the first of the Twice-born, every noble house, renegade guild and royal family seeking out the young master."

"I am NOT about to become someone's political plaything!" Alwyn snarled.

"Thus, we must notify the arch-mage immediately." Calatrix decided, standing up resolutely. "In the meantime, young master Devon; we must continue as if none of what has spoken here; however, I will have to provide you some additional study."

Devon's head tilted to the side, "More study?"

The mage grinned, "In how to use magic, of course."

5.

Elrik and Mirelda DuVane were sharing a rare breakfast together out in the garden of the royal castle. With the Duke's busy schedule and the Lady's work with the maids and servants it was uncommon for the married couple to share a meal together. Even Calatrix, the Duke's mage and tutor to their son had joined them. He was sipping tea from a ornate ceramic teacup when the Duke asked him a question.

"I've not heard a report from you in some time, old friend. How fares my son in his lessons?"

The old dog-kin mage halted mid-sip and lowered his cup to the dish on the small table in front of them. The Duke was occupied by affairs of state nearly from dawn to dusk and beyond. He had seen his son during that time for a couple dozen meetings with the occasional day of going out together either fishing or hunting with some of his guards. He never mentioned about his sons 'other' lessons.

"My Duke," Calatrix started, dabbing his bearded chin with a cloth napkin, "Your son has been an astonishingly apt student. You can rest assured that he has excelled in his academic studies as expected."

That of course was a damn lie and Calatrix knew it. The young master had practically absorbed ever book in the castle library including some of his own that he had set aside for his own use. For the sake of the duke and duchess, however, he couldn't tell them the truth that Alwyn did this cause he was in fact a human named Devon Mallory from another world and his mind and soul was in the body of their son.

"I have even given him access to my own private stock of books and scrolls." Calatrix remarked, "The boy's mind is exceptional."

Since discovering Alwyn's true identity, Calatrix had been giving the young duke's son access to many of his books. They both shared numerous discussions on various subjects and the old dog-kin was astonished at the intelligence of Master Devon.

"Reading is one thing," Elrik commented, "But can he use that knowledge?"

The old mage stroked his beard and sorted his thoughts for a moment before replying. "Of that, I have no concerns, my lord."

It had been agreed by both him and Devon that the true nature of their son's aptitude should not be fully exposed just yet; however, the young master had produced insights into areas of research that even Calatrix had not considered. He remembered the numerous sketches and drawings Devon prepared of various devices and architecture he had retained from his original world. The application of such wonders of design such as what Devon called the "Archimedes' screw" would be amazing for this world. It was a clever concept of a spiral screw shaped device that could be cranked to draw water from low lying areas into higher elevations. When Calatrix contributed the idea of using magic to make the screw move, the two had become greatly excited.

When Devon talked about the miraculous machines called automobiles, Calatrix was intrigued.Metal carriages that didn't need teams of Ahmul birds to pull it--what a wonder!

"What do you mean?" Mirelda pressed.

Again, Calatrix paused to gather his thoughts. "Your son has learned not only the basics of mathematics, but also advanced skills in bookkeeping, computing distances, and even geometry."

"Bookkeeping?" The Duke queried.

"I took the liberty of having the young master look into the books of the finance minister 4 years ago. He not only found out how to balance the books, but discovered several places where some of the lesser nobles have been skimming off of the top of your coffers."

Duke Elrik stood up from the table quickly. "The embezzlers I had arrested four years ago? That was cause of my son?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Elrik looked shocked, "I...had assumed the finance minister had simply done a good job. I even promoted the man..."

Calatrix gave the duke a chance to compose himself, "My lord shouldn't be too upset. The Finance minister confirmed the young master's discoveries and did the proper investigations. We kept the young master out of it to avoid the evidence from being dismissed outright."

That made sense, Elrik thought. How could you accuse a noble of embezzlement on the word of an untested 11 year old boy? Still, both Calatrix and Devon agreed that there was no point hiding that much from Alwyn's parents. It would come up in the tribunal and it was best to simply dismiss it as a young prodigy's discovery.

"So...my boy is good with numbers. It'll take more than that to make a duke out of him. He'll need to know how to use a sword."

"Have you not talked to Hawks lately?" Calatrix asked.

"He says my boy's talents with the blade are progressing well."

The old dog-kin mage snorted. This was another thing that he could not hide from the duke for long, "I've seen your boy just this month best Hawks and three other of his best guardsmen in mock combat. Grown beasts with years of training, beaten by a teenage boy with a wooden practice blade."

Duke Elrik looked alarmed. Hawks was one of his best fighting beasts and to have him and three other guards of his assessment taken down by his son...?

"I know little about combat, my lord." Calatrix interrupted his thoughts, "But what I saw from your son was a boy who took down four of your finest men and did it with a skill and artistry of technique that almost looked like dancing."

"Dancing?" The duchess exclaimed.

Calatrix knew he was proud of Alwyn's progress in martial combat skills, but he then realized that he was--as Devon once quoted--"spreading it on a bit thick."

"It is hard to explain from one who is not a fighter, my lady, but Alwyn not only knew how to use the sword, but also flew about them with unarmed methods: Kicks and punches, while turning and even moving with acrobatic skill to confound his attackers."

"I must go see my son in action soon." Duke Elrik inquired. "I must see this for myself."

"I believe he is supposed to be in the training field as we speak. Shall we go and see for ourselves?"

Elrik, looking excited and energetic nodded, "If my lady feels up to it, aye."

Mirelda stood from her seat, causing Calatrix to join the duke on his feet, "I do wish to see the fruits of my son's training as well."

The three walked towards the training area, duke and duchess together while the mage held back. They made their way to a low balcony looking over the area where the guards did their sparring matches. There they saw Alwyn, wearing no shirt but a pair of leather shorts and a sash in the middle of the ring.

"It seems were right on time." Calatrix said, "It appears the young master is about to begin."

"Why is he wearing no armor?" The duchess inquired, "Surely my son needs some protection from these beasts."

"You will see why, my lady."

--

It had been three years in this world and Devon was having the time of his life. He had the mind of a middle-aged scientist but now in the body of a youthful bun-kin noble. These past years had allowed him to do all the things he couldn't get to do in his past existence. He had already known a great deal of math, reading and writing, and so mastering this worlds language and writing had been child's play. What really kept him motivated was that he could exploit this young boy into a prime athlete while retaining his intelligence.

He engaged in exercise in the morning using a routine he had remembered in his old world's youth. Push-ups, sit-ups and jogging. There was no track to run around and no place a duke's son could go out without an escort. Instead he had used the parapets of the castle walls to do his running. The guards at first were taken aback by the young duke's son but seemed to tolerate his eccentricities. When the guards realized what he was doing and saw the results of his training, many of the guards came to Alwyn to learn what he was doing. Before long, Hawks had incorporated Alwyn's training as part of their own when he saw the changes in those that learned from the duke's boy.

Now, Devon's new body was thin but wiry. He had felt the strong abdominal muscles from under his furry belly and reveled in this second chance at life. It also allowed Devon to learn the benefits of this bun-kin body, realizing his acute hearing, smell as well as his powerful legs and what they could do.

At 13, the new duke was a whipcord of a boy, light and agile. He bounced on his toes as he faced off with one of the guards, A cat-kin guard using a practice blade of his own and holding it aloft. He was thick but not muscular, his fur a burnt orange with dark stripes.

"I'll get a hit on you yet, my lord." The guard boasted.

"That's what you said yesterday, Oric." Alwyn retorted, "Let's see if you can."

Oric did, rushing forward to swing hard at the Bun-kin noble. Even with a practice blade, such a blow would have broken bone on an unprotected body like Alwyn. But Alwyn wasn't normal to Oric.

In the blurring arc of his swing, Oric caught nothing but air, stunned as he saw the duke hop back effortlessly from his attempted blow.

"Whoa!" Alwyn yelped, "You trying to take my head off, Oric?"

Ignoring the remark, the guard regained his stance and jumped after Alwyn, swinging the blade in a trained series of strokes, Each one Alwyn was able to dodge with trained precision. The final blow left Oric exposed for a moment--a moment Alwyn needed.

The guard's breath left him as he felt a hammer strike him in the gut, but it was only Alwyn's foot planted deep into his stomach. Oric staggered as he gasped for breath, only to feel a boulder slam into his jaw. It was the young duke's unarmored fist clocking him hard, sending the guard onto the ground and seeing stars.

"Come on boys!" Hawks commanded, "You going to be bested by a stripling?"

Two more guards jumped over the fence surrounding the dirt ring, a female fox-kin and a male Dog-kin, both brandishing wooden weapons. The two beast-kin split up and moved on Alwyn on either side, forcing Devon to keep his attention separated.

He swiveled his leaf like ears like radar dishes, each one turning to face one of his attackers. He focused on the movement of their feet and how they rasped at the hard dirt floor.

The Dog-kin lunged first, thrusting a wooden pole towards the duke's head. Just then the Fox kin also rushed Alwyn, swinging her wooden sword to catch the young master's midsection.

Alwyn's body moved in a fluid motion, honed by the three years of intense training and reinforcing the natural talents of his new body. He vaulted upwards, twisting his body as the dog-kin's staff passed inches from his torso. Devon curled into a somersault as both Dog-kin and Fox-kin attacker caught not only empty space, but eventually each other.

Both guards collided and fell to the ground as Alwyn landed several feet away from the heap of beast-kins now sprawled on the arena floor.

"Get off of me, you mutt!" The fox-kin guard-woman yelped. The Dog-kin couldn't speak, since apparently the Vixen's wooden sword unwittingly found itself striking between his legs. Once they realized what had happened, the other male guards watching all winced sympathetically.

Before Alwyn could laugh at the spectacle, A foot caught him on the back of his own legs and sent the young duke onto his back. Momentarily stunned, Alwyn realized he had let his guard down, and now the old wolf captain was on top of him, wooden sword pointed at his throat.

"Too busy goofing off and not remembering the basics, eh young master?" Hawks growled, "I taught you better than that."

Suddenly, Hawks let out a yelp of his own as Alwyn's legs whipped the wolf's feet from under him. The old wolf collided with the ground with a loud thump as the young duke performed a martial art kip-up from the ground, landing himself back to his feet.

He always wanted to do that move...

"Thanks for the reminder, old-timer." Alwyn remarked with a smirk.

Hawks stared at the duke's son then let out a laugh. Alwyn followed suit and reached out to grab the wolf to help him up. The other guards finally managed to untangle themselves and all three came to stand. The poor Dog-kin still was clutching his injured groin as the Vixen guard glanced with an apologetic look on her face. Oric also stood up, his face covered in dirt and looking defeated.

Alwyn rushed up and patted on the shoulder, "You almost got me that time, Oric. You guys always know how to keep me on my toes."

Oric scoffed, "I'm cat-kin, young master. It's what we do."

Everyone chuckled at the obvious joke about Cat-kin's always landing on their feet. Alwyn turned to the dog-kin.

"You going to be okay there Thrum?" He inquired. The dog-kin guard merely grunted and nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Thrum." The fox-kin, Vala mentioned, looking at him with flattened ears.

Thrum looked back at Vala and smiled weakly.

"I'm pretty sure he's still going to be able to bear children." Hawks grunted.

Vala blushed. Both Vala and Thrum were actually husband and wife. It was rare but not illegal to do with the duke's militia to have mates working together. It was merely a police force for the duke's fief after all.

"A fine job of training, Master Alwyn." Hawks complimented, slapping the youth on the back, "You're going to become one fine fighting beast if you keep this up."

Vala spoke, "Keep up? He's surpassing all of the guard here, Hawks. Won't be long before he'll be teaching us!"

As the guards and Alwyn debriefed on the training, Alwyn's ears swiveled to catch that faint sound. Calatrix is there with mom and dad, He realized. I hope I didn't overdo it in front of them.

--

Duke Elrik and Mirelda had watched everything with mouths agape. Was that really their son they just saw?

"By the Maker's hand!" Elrik gasped, "How in Aeurn did..."

"Your son has advanced quite well in his training." Calatrix said proudly, though his words sounded somewhat less exuberant, "He not only has learned to use a sword, but has a skill in unarmed combat that is quite rare."

"He's so strong!" Mirelda commented, "He moved like he had wings!"

"It was something your son once said to me when I found out what he was doing. He said 'a healthy mind needs a healthy body'."

Duke Elrik ruminated on that statement. His son was showing signs of becoming a powerful duke. He could tell by the way that the guards fought his son. They didn't hold back a bit. They were coming after him with full force and intent to kill. That level of determination and trust in Alwyn said volumes. And the way they talked to each other--as if he knew them intimately. To be that closely tied to the guards meant they would be fiercely loyal, almost to the point of sacrificing themselves for him.

"There is something more I wish you to see, my lord and lady." Calatrix asked, "If you would care to join me in the study."

-

The trio stepped into the Mage's study. It was a large room, roughly 30 feet square and over 40 feet high on two floors. On every wall was a tall mahogany shelf lined with books, tomes, scrolls and sheets of unbound papers on every subject that could be found. In the center was a large dark brown table of carved wood, stained and thickly covered in a deep veneer. Atop of that table, the Duke saw rolls of large parchment, some of them unrolled to reveal diagrams and drawings of various sorts.

What stood out the most was in the center of the table made the Duke gasp. On a wooden plank stood a full sized replica of the Thornbriar castle and even the outer curtain wall, though partially unfinished. Elrik stared at the intricate design of the castle, even to the position of every known landmark and strategic point in the castle's defenses from the well, training grounds and buildings. Around the diorama, there were charts and drawings of the castle and the walls, along with various sets of numbers and formula he couldn't recognize.

"Calatrix, this is incredible!" The Duchess exalted, "Is this your handiwork?"

"No, my lady. This is your son's."

Both Duke and Duchess stared at Calatrix as if they were waiting for an "I'm joking" remark. It never came.

"My...son...did this?" Duke Elrik balked.

"Yes, my lord." Calatrix replied. "He's been working on this for over two years now." He pointed to the various maps and charts, "Based off of these drawings he did as well a year prior."

"Impossible!" Elrik shook his head in disbelief, "Not even a skilled artisan could make something so perfect!"

"I've watched him with my own eyes, my lord. Your son fashioned them from wood and clay based much on the work he has done before. Everything, I might add is to scale."

"Scale?" Mirelda asked.

"Your son had come across the original architect plans here in the study, my lady. He used the diagrams from the creator of this castle and went out on many of his walks around the castle to confirm the measurements and rendered this work to a working scale."

The duke thought deep about the implications of this. With such a diorama and with a level of scale, he could study the layout of the city, mainly to see what areas needed better defenses during a siege, or plans of attack and defense. If the city was laid out as he was seeing it, perhaps he could even see where he could restructure blocks of buildings and layout new constructions. What are you, my son? The duke wondered inwardly.

"There's....more..." Calatrix added reluctantly.

"More?" Both duke and duchess said in unison.

"The young master had taken an interest in magic."

Magic? The Duke shook his head, "None of our family line has had any magical aptitude for generations. Was he not tested when he was weaned?"

"Yes, my lord but I had him tested recently." He told the Duke and Duchess about the incident a few months ago regarding the Magicite, but thankfully omitted the part about the effect and how Devon had picked up on casting magic effortlessly. Since then, Calatrix taught the young master the fundamentals, getting him up to speed on the basics of using his new found talent.

Elrik stood up, looking upset, "You should have told me sooner!"

Calatrix lowered his head, "Forgive me, my lord but considering that he had no aptitude for magic before, I felt it would be a futile gesture. The young master still is missing his memories of his past so he did not believe the results."

Something was wrong here, Elrik thought, he wouldn't be this agitated for something that was plainly obvious. Testing for magic involved being placed in front of a piece of Magicite. This sacred crystal grew all over Aeurn like a plant and was considered holy. The Magicite crystals reacted when someone near it touched it, determining the strength of their magical ability.

All Beast-kin had some magical talent, even Duke Elrik and his wife, though their talent was very small. At best, Elrik could conjure a small light no better than a candle. Calatrix on the other hand had an amazing talent for magic, so much as he even healed their son when he fell from that tree so many years ago.

"This doesn't make sense." Elrik muttered, running his hand through his head fur. "My son...a possible mage?"

"If what you say is true, Calatrix, " Duchess Mirelda asked calmly, "Then our son must attend the academy to harness such a gift, lest he cause harm to himself and others."

The Mage academy in the capital city of Illuminaria. There young boys and girls with the talent for magic were sent to be trained and eventually apprenticed by other mages until they could become masters themselves. Magical training was important because an untrained mage, even a wild mage, could suddenly lose control and wind up killing people or causing a wild magic storm that could affect the land. When untamed magical power mingled with the natural chaos magic of the core of Aeurn, wild magic spewed out that caused random mutations to the land and any organisms that got caught in it. It was the duty of beast-kin mages to contain such threats, just like the ancient Elvenar did in the ancient times.

"The problem is that A child attended the school at the age of 7, when their magical talents would be just emerging. Your son is 13 now and has only the basics."

Of course it wouldn't matter. Devon had gotten down a great deal of tutoring from Calatrix, who was an experienced court mage. The young master also seemed to have gleaned knowledge from the Magicite and learned a great deal about magic as well--though Devon still couldn't explain how.

"So what do we do?" Mirelda asked.

"I have taken the liberty already to notify the Arch-mage." Calatrix replied.

"Already?" Elrik remarked.

"Yes, and he will be coming to Thornbriar in two weeks."

"Two weeks!" Duke Elrik bellowed, "Calatrix, you're telling us now? There's no time to prepare for a visit by the King's head wizard!"

"I am as flummoxed as you are, my duke." Calatrix lied. "But the Arch-mage has taken a vested interest in your son as soon as I sent him my report last month. He was prepared to come in three days, but I convinced him to delay in time for us to prepare for his arrival."

"Three days?" Mirelda gasped, "He was that eager?"

"You must understand, my lady that the Arch-mage received the same report I just gave you on your son, including copies of many of his diagrams. The Arch-mage is no doubt seeing this in the same level of curiosity as you are."

"Still, two weeks..." Elrik muttered, "There's hardly time to prepare for his arrival." He looked up at Calatrix scornfully, "You should have told us about Alwyn sooner, Calatrix. This information is vital."

"I had hoped to talk to you both sooner, but you were so busy with affairs of state. I myself have been so frustrated at your son's progress that I had notified the Arch-mage for advice. I was as stunned as you were about his response."

The duke looked at his wife and she at him. Internally they each started calculating their duties: Decorations, military processions, food, invitations from other local nobles to attend, even perhaps a dance or formal meeting with the King's royal magic user.

Calatrix interrupted their internal musings as if he knew what they were doing, "The Arch-mage instructed that there is to be no formal meetings or events in his honor for this visit. He even told me that he will be concealing his visit from King Gaylen himself."

"Hiding from King Gaylen?" Duke Elrik sounded flabbergasted.

"Yes. He wishes to meet with your son in secret, to avoid any unnecessary eyes."

For reasons I can sadly not tell you, my lord and lady, Calatrix internally apologized.

Now they knew something was up. The Arch-mage was answerable only to the King on affairs of magic and he was to keep nothing secret from him. If the head mage himself had to spirit himself away on a secret visit there was something more dangerous for their son than they expected. But what could it mean?

-

"So did they buy it?"

Calatrix sat adjacent to young Master Devon/Alwyn, watching as he made another flame dance across his fingers.

"Buy? I wasn't selling them anything."

Alwyn stared back at Calatrix, the flame vanishing from his hand, "It's a figure of speech, Calatrix. It mean, did they believe what you were telling them?"

"Oh! How interesting. Yes, I do believe they 'bought it', though I think I might have said and shown too much."

"It was bound to happen now that the Arch-mage is involved." Devon explained, "My parents are going to want to know why the king's magician is here."

"And thus the display and the sparring bout?"

Alwyn nodded, "It's not enough that I got brains and skills now, the Arch-mage will want to test me himself for this magical talent. As you said before, you tested the real Alwyn and didn't find talent?"

Now Calatrix nodded, "And now to have his son show magical energy, how are we going to explain that?"

"Don't be offended by this, Calatrix." Devon began, "But this world's level of medicinal knowledge is bordering on using leeches and witch doctors."

"What's a leeches?" Calatrix asked.

Really got to work on my cultural references here, Devon reminded himself.

"It means that your world's knowledge of medicine is pretty poor compared to mine. To be honest the literacy rate here is pathetic, but what do you expect for a society that doesn't have a centralized education system."

Calatrix could catch most of what he was saying--that his world's body of knowledge was not that of Devon's world--which he could agree on considering that he couldn't fathom most of what Devon said anyway.

"So you're saying that we do not have the understanding of maladies like your world does?" Calatrix tried to explain more plainly. It was like an ant trying to understand a mountain.

"Don't get me wrong, you have knowledge in other fields my world wouldn't have at this level, like alchemy, plant lore and magic."

"Cause your world didn't have magic."

Alwyn nodded. Explaining a combustion engine to anyone like Calatrix would have steam coming out of their ears, much like trying to explain how to channel Chaos energy into a third tier glyph spell and use it fast enough to use in combat would make anyone else in his old world cause their brains to melt out of their brain cavity.

"So, we do what I would do in my world." Devon instructed, "We and the Arch-mage visit, chat, discuss what to do next, then we explain to everyone else that the Arch-mage has discovered that my sudden change in magical aptitude is from the trauma of my head injury three years ago, opening up some mental blockage in my mystic energy flow and blah-blah-blah. We explain it with so many big words that the regular folk get a headache listening and just nod rather than try to understand it all."

"That sounds evil." Calatrix said, looking utterly confused and abashed at the idea.

"That was my world, Calatrix."

6.

Two weeks passed and all of Thornbriar was abuzz. Despite the Arch-mage's request for a secret meeting, the Duke and his wife couldn't just allow them to see their fief in disarray. The duchess directed the staff to prepare the finest food they could come up with for a banquet for the arch-mage, sending all the kitchen staff in a tizzy. Entertainers, bards, and performers were commissioned from the local townsfolk to prepare for the amusement of the guests at this banquet

Meanwhile the Duke ordered Hawks to prepare the militia troops in full military regalia and their weapons clean and presentable. He also made sure the entire castle was cleaned from the top to bottom, and not a blade of grass wasn't perfect for the visit.

Alwyn as well was to be prepared, since he was apparently the center of attention. Tailors and seamstresses were measuring the young duke for his formal attire. Devon darkly considered these more like his funeral robes. He had been used to wearing less extravagant outfits mostly cause he wasn't trying to win a beauty contest. He was practical, even though he could have worn all the frills and fancy outfits he wanted, they didn't matter to Devon. Alwyn may be a duke's son and a noble-born child, but he was still Devon Mallory, a practical man with a lifetime of experience bundled in the body of a pre-teen bunny-kin body.

"Oh young master!" Lenni exclaimed as she saw Alwyn's new formal wear.

Devon was wearing the gaudiest, ugliest outfit he ever had to wear as a duke's son. It was a pastel pink dress coat and pantaloons, cuffed with lacy white frills and a ascot under his chin. If he had been trussed up with any more ruffles he might just blow off to Oz in a stiff breeze.

"I look ridiculous, Lenni!" Alwyn cried, "Can I look any more like some snooty little noble's brat?"

All this getup needs is some sequins and some heart shaped sunglasses and I could be a furry Elton John.

"Oh don't say that, master De...I mean, Master Alwyn! You look quite dashing!"

Alwyn glanced at the seamstress in the room who didn't look like she heard. He gave Lenni an evil-eye and she shrank slightly knowing her mistake.

She's too used to calling me Devon now.

After dismissing the seamstress from the room, Alwyn stepped up towards Lenni.

"You got to be more careful, Len! It's too soon to let this out in the open!"

"I'm sorry, Master Devon."

Alwyn reached up to pat Lenni on the head--something he's been dying to do since he met her.

"Good kitty."

Lenni's ears flattened and she shivered at his paw, "M-master..." Then she did something Devon didn't know she could do: she purred. As if she was an affectionate house-cat, Lenni started purring heavily while leaning into his caressing paw.

Since coming to this new world, Devon had to get used to the idea of all these half-animal hybrid creatures as the norm. Over time, he started to realize that they had a charm and-yes, even were attractive; Lenni was definitely one of them. He hadn't kept a pet in his old world, but he did enjoy cats a lot. Sure dogs were loyal, but cat's were clean, independent, and when they showed real love, they made it clear.

Now he had a cute cat-kin girl in a maid outfit purring like a motorboat from a simple patting on her head. In moments though, Lenni's eyes opened and she scooted away from Alwyn, bowing on her knees.

"I'm sorry, master!" She mrowled, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that!"

"What?" Devon asked, clearly confused, "What's wrong with a little purring?"

Lenni bit her lower lip before replying, "Purring...P-purring...is something you only d-d-do..." She struggled with the next few words, "that with your mate..."

The words she fought to say made Devon pause some. Perhaps it was some cultural thing with cat-kin in this world that purring was to be only used by a lover and not between master and servant. Despite that, she seemed quite easy to give it out to him, so there had to be something more about it.

"Is everything okay there, Lenni?" Alwyn inquired.

The Cat-kin maid flattened her ears as she stood, "Can I speak honestly, master?"

"Sure you can, Len! We've been together for a while now and you know who I really am. There's not much else I can hide from you."

Lenni walked over to the bed and sat on it, then patted next to her. Alwyn obliged her and hopped up into bed, sitting next to her.

"What's on your mind?" Alwyn questioned.

There was a long pause before Lenni seemed to get the courage to speak, "Ever since I met you--the real you, not the young master--I've been watching you."

Well that didn't sound creepy at all, Devon mused inwardly. "Well you are assigned to be my maid, Lenni. It's only natural that you stay close if I need anything."

"That is my duty, Master, but..." She seemed to be struggling with something that made Devon feel awkward. Was she about to drop some sort of bombshell on him?

"The truth is, master Devon...since I learned about who you are, I kept an eye and ear out for you, watching what you do. You study, you train, you even do things that I'm assigned to do like change your clothes or take a bath."

Again, Devon had developed a fascination with the beast-kin races here and actually found many attractive, especially Lenni--she was a kitty cat aside from walking on two feet and wearing clothes--But she was still charming in her unique way. That's what made it feel odd to have a female like her helping him out of his clothes or taking a bath. He was no prude, but he was in the body of a 13 year old. He just didn't want Lenni to notice that he reacted to her more as a pretty woman than as a servant.

"T-there is a reason for that, Lenni...I just..."

"I know, master Devon." Lenni interrupted, "It is because the real you is an elder compared to me. You must think of me as a child compared to you."

"Way to make me feel like I'm as old as Calatrix, Lenni..."

Lenni balked, nearly losing her seat on the bed, "No no no! It's not like that, master!"

Devon stood on the bed and eyed Lenni, "Then what is it all about? I'm not ordering you, Lenni, but I would like a straight answer."

"CAUSE I'M ATTRACTED TO YOU MASTER!" As soon as she blurted the words, her hands went to her muzzle and tears formed in her eyes.

Devon's jaw felt like it was on the floor. He had very sensitive hearing as a bunny-kin, but even he wasn't sure he heard her right.

"You're....what?"

Lenni covered her eyes and started to sob, "I'm sorry, master! It just came out..."

She started to stand to leave but Alwyn grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Now I am ordering you, Lenni." He demanded. "Explain yourself, please."

Apparently she had been conditioned at birth for this, cause the moment he made it an order, Lenni's countenance changed. She stopped crying and put her hands down, looking at him with watery eyes.

"I have seen you not as the duke's son, but as the man who is within you. I've seen the way you talk, act and even how you study with Lord Calatrix. There is a wisdom and heart inside you that I have not met in anyone I've met on Aeurn. There is a man inside you despite the boy's body you inhabit--and that man inside you...I'm in love with."

Was I really acting that cool to her? Devon tried to analyze the situation. Technically, though his body was that of a 13 year old, he was an older man inside. Because he had been so busy with training, study and exploring the castle that he never even tried to hide the fact that he was a man with needs.

He looked at Lenni who looked like she was about to cry again and felt a pang of compassion for her. If only he had been born as a teen or adult, he might reciprocate on her love. He didn't really 'love' her as she seemed to, but she was cute--for a cat-girl--but he could.

_Oh hang on here!_What was he thinking? He may be a mature man inside, but he had the body of a boy just coming into whatever form of puberty this world's inhabitants had. It wasn't unexpected that a duke's son might indulge in one of the maids in the castle in secret, but he was still a boy and she could get in trouble for deflowering a noble son.

He reached over and took Lenni's hand, watching her surprised reaction and thought she was adorable.

"Thank you, Lenni." He began, "Confessing that couldn't have been easy. I have to admit, I hadn't even thought about romance in this world, considering my body's current age."

"Oh master!" Lenni's fur bristled, "I hadn't thought about mating!"

"Sorry. It's the dirty old man in me creeping up. What I mean is...you know we couldn't have a real relationship, despite the fact that I couldn't give a crap and a half about the fact that I'm a noble child in this world. It wouldn't be fair to you hoping that we could fall in love together and all."

Lenni's eyes fell as she looked down at her lap. Alwyn hopped up on the bed, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"NYAH!" She cried, this time the shock did knock her off the bed. Alwyn immediately hopped down to check on her.

"Lenni, are you okay?"

She sat up and rubbed her cheek where he had pecked it, letting out another purr, "Oh Master...I know that we couldn't be together: you're a future duke and I'm a commoner. At best, I could only be your mistress while you might marry someone like a baron's daughter or even Princess Tresta."

"Then why would you confess you loved me?"

"Cause I wouldn't care being your mistress, master. As long as I am by your side and you felt the same way as I do to you, it is enough."

Well that came out of left field. Me and Lenni as secret lovers? I suppose in a world of royal intrigues and drama there has come situations of having a love affair with a commoner.

"Lenni...I can honestly say that I like you--I can't say I love you--at least not yet..."

Lenni brightened despite the fact that he didn't admit to loving her too. It was hope that made her smile.

"Let's just keep this between us for now and we'll--as we say in my past world--let nature take its course."

"OH MASTER!" Alwyn yelped as Lenni cried out and pounced on him, purring and mewing as she took him down like a pro wrestler.

"Lenni! Calm down will ya? What if someone..."

"What is going on in here?"

Both Lenni and Alwyn stopped their wrestling to see Calatrix standing at the door. "...Well?" he demanded.

"I...uh...um...." Lenni balked, knowing what this looked like to the mage.

"She just thought I looked too adorable in this outfit and couldn't help herself." Devon intercepted.

A single fuzzy eyebrow arched up as he looked at the Duke and the maid that was atop of him. He sighed as he turned around, "Just get him ready, Lenni. The Arch mage's carriage is coming through town now." With that Calatrix said no more and just closed the door.

As Calatrix closed the door behind him, he silently sighed, "A scholar, a fighter, a mage-in-training...and now a ladies' man...Maker help us--what kind of being have you unleashed on Aeurn?"

-

The Arch mage made his arrival by a common carriage and was being escorted by a small band of hired mercenaries. He was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, but when he came into Thornbriar and saw how the entire town was dolled up, he felt like they were expecting the God-king himself.

"Calatrix, you damned fool." Arch-mage Jotham growled, his wolf-kin features curled on his muzzle as a snarl. He stared out with half-blind gray eyes to the onlookers and the gaudy austere of the city. "I told him I didn't want anything fancy. Now I'm sticking out like they expect me to dance a jig in my knickers."

On the other side of the carriage was a young bunny-kin girl who was shrouded in a purple robe, the colors of a graduate of the academy and an apprentice to the arch-mage himself. Her fur was pure white and had eyes as blue as the sky itself peering from under her robe's hood. The doe known as Belemy looked up at her master and sighed, "What do you expect, master? You send them word that you're coming like your tail's on fire and they think you're coming to get a census of the fief."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Jotham sighed, gripping his mage staff in both of his grizzled hands. It was a simple black pole ending with a smooth and polished stone of Magicite on the tip. "This frontier fief hasn't produced a decent mage in a century."

"Considering its so close to the path of exile, perhaps?"

Ah, the Path of exile, the jagged chasm that now separated the kingdom of Illuminaria from the lizard-kin realm of Tal'mozar. It is there that the God-king Palador, using the last of his power, split the continent in twain, exiling the drakkul-worshipping scalies from the free beasts of the north. He knew that tale well, cause he was there.

King Gaylen the Sixth, who was originally known as Prince Yohan, was one of the six companions of the God-King Palador. Jotham was an apprentice mage serving with the Arch-mage at the time and was witness to the power of the Maker's son. That day was etched in Jotham's mind the way Palador raised up his silver hammer and struck the ground, the world tumbling about him as the chasm split the continent and watched both beast and lizard-kin fall into the gap. Palador himself, who suffered the poison dart of the treacherous thief Isthrum had saved the kingdom from ruin but at the cost of his life.

Now, Calatrix who he once tutored in the ways of magic now reported that the duke's son was showing signs that led the local mage to a startling diagnosis. Could this child be the one? Jotham recalled the funeral for Palador and witnessed the God-king's resurrection and ascension, naming Prince Yohan as the last king to bear the name of Gaylen. He also heard the worlds of Palador before his ascension to the side of the maker.

"Others shall come from afar, for I have summoned them. And they shall be twice-born and know not of this world but has been of this world from the beginning. Prepare them for their destiny is before them."

It was a deeply held secret that only he and King Gaylen kept counsel on. Now such a being may be showing, and Jotham didn't want to let the king know just yet lest there be an uproar and others who sought the end of Gaylen's rule to use the child for ransom. No, Jotham had to do this alone and with only his current apprentice and former apprentice who he held confidence with would determine if the stories were true.

And if they were true, what then?

"How on Aeurn did you convince the king to let you go on this errand, master?" Belemy inquired.

Always a sharp one, this young doe, Jotham mused to himself.

"I simply told him the truth. Told him that Calatrix had sent me an interesting report and wanted to see it for myself. He pried but I simply told him that there was some interesting research being done at Thornbriar and my former student wanted to ask for my wisdom."

"Cagey old wolf." Belemy smirked, "You technically lied."

Jotham stamped his staff to the bottom of the carriage, "One must never disclose a whole truth, apprentice." He gruffed in a raspy voice, "Especially by those who wouldn't understand the truth anyway."

Belemy recoiled by the implied scolding, long leafy ears folding low. "Apologies, master."

Then Jotham smiled, "Besides, how else am I going to get the chance to visit my old student? Thornbriar is such a lovely little town."

"Oh-ho!" Belemy brightened, "A secret vacation then?"

Jotham smirked, "Partially." He handed a scroll to Belemy who unrolled it and read it, "But this has me concerned as well."

The young doe read, then her ears looked to jump right off of her head if they weren't tethered to her skull.

"Master? You think this is to be believed?"

"Calatrix is not known for flippancy. If he believes this is true, then we could be looking at something...interesting."

"Interesting?" Belemy questioned, "If this is true, he could be..."

Jotham held up a finger to silence his pupil, "We...shall see what we will see. One must not judge by what is written."

7.

The carriage bringing in Arch-mage Jotham was plain and simple, Devon thought. He had overheard that he didn't want to reveal himself.

Apparently my parents didn't get the memo...

The whole castle was in attendance dressed in regal fashion. The maids, butlers, workers and kitchen staff were in crisp clean uniforms. Even Rita was decked out next to his mother since she had grown up and joined the kitchen staff. Calatrix was wearing the gray robes of his office, standing just below the steps of the Duke and Duchess. His mother was ornate in a brilliant pink and gold dress, tightly hugging her chest with gold filigree. His father was in a bright blue and gold uniform, epaulets of gold and all the glittering decorations.

Devon glanced at Rita who looked at him and tried to stifle a giggle--no doubt tickled by this garish outfit he had on. Yeah, yeah. yuck it up, cheese-eater, Devon rolled his eyes, I'd rather be wearing a smock like yours then this gaudy monkey suit. Hell, even Liberace wouldn't be wanting to be dressed like this!

One of the Duke's knights opened the door of the carriage and two people emerged. One, Devon noticed was a young bunny-girl, with white fur and blue eyes. She appeared slightly older than he did by a few years, but even Devon couldn't help but think, Damn, she's hot!

He felt someone glare at him and turned his eyes to see Lenni giving him a look that could curdle fresh milk. Apparently his maid/girlfriend saw how he looked at the doe so Devon simply diverted his eyes back to the other beast-kin.

This one was a grizzled old wolf-kin, his fur a pale gray shade wearing a very ornate robe of almost jet black and silver embroidery. He work an amulet around his neck with a Hexagonal ruby in the center on a gold chain. In one hand, he carried a rather simple looking black staff, but on top was a crystal that he could only assume was Magicite; since he could see the swirls of magic twirling about. His eyes were gray and by the way they looked clouded made Devon realize he was blind.

And yet he's not blind. Devon surmised, noticing how the woven spells around his eyes told him the old mage replaced his vision with some other magical enhancement. That's an Arch-mage for you.

The Bunny girl stood next to the old mage as they crossed the distance to the Duke and Duchess. Both they, Calatrix and Alwyn bowed to the Arch-mage who simply tilted his head.

"You honor our realm with your appearance, Great Arch-mage! All of Thornbriar welcomes you." Duke Elrik declared quite loudly. Devon simply rolled his eyes internally.

"Indeed." The Arch-mage replied, his voice sounding like he gargled with broken glass, "It's interesting to see all of your realm welcoming me when I had made it quite clear of my instructions on how I was to be greeted."

Elrik balked and Calatrix cleared his throat. _Way to fuck it up, dad._Devon mused.

"We do apologize for the pomp, Master Jotham." Calatrix interjected, "But being the King's mage, one must expect a warm welcome." Score one for Cali.

"I suppose It can't be helped. I did intend to come sooner and try to keep this meeting clandestine. There are ears perked from here to King's rest about this trip. Perhaps adding a little frivolity will cloak the true purpose for my visit."

With that, the Duke and Duchess both placed a hand on each of Alwyn's shoulders, "Then let us present to you our son, Lord Alwyn."

The old man's blind eyes looked down at Devon. The stare was creepy--like the old man was trying to bore a hole right through him. Still, Devon was ready for this visit.

"Wow," Alwyn gaped, "You're old, mister!"

"Alwyn!" Duke Elrik tried to yell out in a whisper. Duchess Mirelda looked ready to faint. Poor Calatrix was trying so hard to stifle a laugh that he looked like he was going to bleed internally.

The old Arch-mage instead gave out a hoarse guffaw, "Aye, young master, That I am."

"My apologies, My lord." Elrik grovelled, "He is still a boy and..."

The Arch-mage held up a withered paw to silence the Duke, "I am not offended, my Lord Duke. In fact, it is refreshing to hear honesty from one of the nobility. So many in court used honeyed lies and platitudes that hearing this boy's truth is a change of pace."

The Duke and Duchess both seemed to relax, as did Alwyn, but they still gave wary glances his way. _So he's pretty straightforward too,_Devon realized. He could shoot straight with the old wolf after all.

After the meal, the Arch-mage, Calatrix, his apprentice and Alwyn went into the library. Duke Elrik wanted to attend, but the Arch-mage stated that he needed to ascertain Alwyn's condition and the duke would be a hindrance. Devon realized that it was a blatant lie, but Jotham desired privacy for obvious reasons. Promised a briefing after he did his inquiry, the Duke reluctantly excused himself.

Once there, the arch-mage took a seat next to Alwyn, with Calatrix sitting next to him. Belemy sat adjacent to Jotham and fished into a pack for something.

"Before we go in depth, I wish to test something."Jotham began. Belemy pulled out a thin tablet made of wood and handed it to the Arch-mage. The old mage took the tablet and held it in front of Alwyn. It was carved with strange symbols and in the center was a stone that appeared to be two intersecting pieces of precious stones: one white and shining like a diamond, the other black as jet.

"What's this?" Alwyn asked.

"An artifact to determine the level of one's magical potential." The Arch-mage answered. "Place your hand on the center stones."

Not expecting any trap or trick, Alwyn obeyed quickly, placing his palm on the center stones.

"Now," Jotham instructed, "Speak your name."

Curious, Alwyn obeyed. "Alwyn Duvane."

Nothing seemed to happen. The Arch-mage nodded then looked at the young bunny-kin.

"Now, speak your true name."

Alwyn hesitated, turning to look at Calatrix, who simply nodded. Taking a breath, Alwyn spoke again.

"Devon Mallory."

The center stones suddenly erupted in a brilliant white light, flashing with such sudden radiance that Alwyn shut his eyes from the glare. Calatrix gasped as he watched the tablet's reaction.

"Astonishing." Arch-mage Jotham commented, "You are indeed a twice-born."

Alwyn blinked as his eyes grew adjusted to the sudden light show and looked down, noting the effect before turning to Jotham, "How did that work?"

"Our name binds us to our soul." Jotham explained, "When you spoke the name of Alwyn, the tablet did not react cause it was not the name of your true self. The tablet would only recognize your true identity."

Alwyn gaped at the revelation. He apparently had a lot to learn about the true essence of how magic worked in this world. He had originally theorized that use of magic had something to do with genetics--that the beast-kin of this planet had some genetic quirk that made the radiation they call Mana not only harmless but beneficial. It made sense now that since the original Alwyn, who had no magical talent at all, Devon would instead show some magical talent, since the only thing different was his mind and soul.

"What happens now?" Alwyn asked, "You know what I am and who I am. What do you plan on doing with this knowledge?"

The Arch-mage stroked his furry chin as he placed the tablet on his lap, the lines still glowing with residual power, "You are an unknown, Devon Mallory. The God-king told of your coming, but we really do not know what to do."

"Obviously, I won't be just allowed to stay here?" Alwyn inquired.

"No." the Arch-mage quickly answered. "You are too valuable an asset to leave in Thornbriar." He looked to Calatrix, "The Duke and Duchess have no other heir?"

"None, master." He replied.

"That will pose a problem. Prepare the proper enchantments and medicinal treatments once we're done here. The Duke and Duchess best not be aware of enhancing their fertility."

"You're going to encourage them to have another child?" Alwyn balked.

"Yes." Jotham retorted, "You will be sent to the capital where you will undergo further training and given more resources until we can discover what the Maker has planned for you."

It didn't make sense until Calatrix explained, "With the crown threatened by outside forces and internal politics, the discovery of the Twice-born can be seen as a sign from the Maker."

Devon understood now, "...meaning the King's enemies could use me as a pawn against the throne."

"You catch on quickly." Jotham complimented.

"I think so. With me on the side of the King, I'll be seen as a symbol that the Maker still approves of King Gaylen's rule."

"And subsequent successor..." Jotham added.

Meaning that I was just seen as a symbol of power and authority, Devon internally mused. He felt more like some Canary in a coal mine; a means of detecting possible trouble from intrigue in the royal palace and possibly as a sacrifice for that. He wasn't about ready to be come puppet for anyone, king or not.

"I guess that also means that if I'm here, the Duke and Duchess will be in danger by my presence." Alwyn openly considered.

"They will be in danger whether you are here or not." Jotham said. "As the Duke's son, they will be seen as a potential bargaining chip should your identity be discovered. The farther you are from them, however, the better."

Devon had grown fond of Duke Elrik and Mirelda, seeing them as surrogate parents--especially the Duchess. Knowing they could be in greater danger the closer he was to them made the decision easy.

"Then I don't see any other choice."

"So, with that out of the way." Jotham began, looking at the tablet on his lap "It seems your magical power is very strong on the side of Order. Most curious."

"Why do you say that?" Alwyn inquired.

"Because," Belemy finally spoke, "All beast-kin have to some degree a level of Order and Chaos energy. The fact that you have only Order magic is an anomaly."

"I assume my power comes not from my physical body, but from my soul, considering how the tablet reacted to my name. Is that right?"

Jotham nodded, "Yes."

Devon hypothesized, "Then my soul isn't that of a Beast-kin."

"That would make sense, though hard to imagine; even for me."

"Not really." Alwyn said. "I wasn't born of this world, but another. I was from a race of beings known as humans."

"Hyooman?" Calatrix spoke slowly, trying to pronounce it appropriately.

"Interesting." The Arch-mage ruminated, "That would explain your unique knowledge and skills in his report."

Just how much did Calatrix say, Devon thought.

"In my world, I was an engineer and scientist." He explained. "I guess the best way to describe it is that I'm a scholar or sage."

"Ah, a beast of learning then. That doesn't explain the other part of the report on your skill in combat."

Alwyn gave Calatrix a withering glare, causing the mage's ears to droop lower. To answer his internal question, apparently Calatrix told the Arch-mage probably everything.

For the next hour, Alwyn told those in attendance everything--his past life, the accident, the transition to this world, and what he was doing at this time. By the time he was done, The old Arch-mage was stroking his beard. Calatrix seemed confounded, and Belemy was eyeing Alwyn with a look of awe and wonder.

"This is a fascinating discovery." Jotham finally exclaimed with more excitement than the old wolf probably hadn't used in a long time. "I never imagined the twice-born would be a being from another world." He turned to his former apprentice, "Think of what we could learn from this kin, Calatrix."

It had struck Devon during his explanation that technically, he was now an extraterrestrial on this planet, though unlike the movies, there was no way to phone home. As for knowledge, a great deal of what he knew might not apply to this world. If the laws of physics reacted differently then that of his old world, there would be little use for what he knew. Thankfully, the one constant was his mathematics and reasoning skills, fine-tuned for a half-century of life in his former world. What he didn't know, he could at least learn.

-

Belemy averted her eyes as she considered what she had learned. This bunny-kin, Alwyn Duvane, wasn't really Alwyn. Instead, he had the mind and soul of a middle aged being in the young body of the duke's son. Master Jotham had wisely realized what that meant, but she felt like he had barely scraped the surface of this twice-born's potential. He was a being of superior intellect with a unique perspective on things of this world.

The other part was more frightening. This beast-kin was a fulfillment of prophecy. The religious orders who worshiped the Maker and the God-king would jump at this, either to stand beside the promised one, destroy him, or discredit him and prove the Maker false. He would become the center of both religious fervor and political schemes once he was revealed. Either way, she knew that she had to latch herself to his star, not just for the sake of her own standing in the world, but because she found herself drawn to his presence and potential. She was always so bored that seeing what Alwyn would do from here on out was going to shake the entire world up.

"Master Jotham." She finally requested, "If what you say is true, then I see no reason to not disclose myself fully to him."

Everyone turned to stare at Belemy. Jotham gave her a surprised look, while Calatrix and Alwyn looked on perplexed.

"Are you sure, my dear?" The Arch-mage asked.

"He will be under my protection anyway, won't he?" She replied.

Before Alwyn could ask, Belemy stared at him and smiled, "My name isn't really Belemy. It's just a traveling name." She held up her hand, revealing a golden ring with what looked like some coat-of-arms.

Calatrix's jaw dropped as Alwyn scrutinized the ring's emblem.

"Is that what I think it is?" He finally asked.

Belemy nodded, "I am princess Trestia, future queen-sister to my brother Edmund and daughter of King Gaylen."

Now it was Alwyn's turn to stare slack-jawed.

"I believe, Master Jotham, that we also found what I was looking for."

And Jotham now made three as he stared at the princess in shock, "This is highly irregular, milady."

"Thornbriar has always been daddy's favorite fief, and Elrik has been highly admired in court."

"But he's not really a Duke's heir!" Jotham protested.

"Who knows that but us four?" Trestia responded. "And you said it yourself that he will be seen as a figure of great power in the kingdom. What could be better than to tie him to the throne in this way?"

Alwyn looked at Trestia, then gaped again as he realized what she was planning, "Now hold on, here!" He exclaimed.

The Princess up held up a hand before Alwyn. "Once you see the benefit of what I am planning, you'll see that it will help us both."

Struggling, Devon tried to analyze what she was thinking. It took him a moment before he realized what she meant and beamed. Damn, she's a shrewd one. She might actually turn out to be the only one here who can help me.

As if she surmised his thoughts, the princess asked, "Then will you agree?"

"Lady Trestia," He spoke warm and smoothly, "I agree."

"Excellent!" She chimed, "Then let us bring in the Duke and Duchess at once."

-

Duke Elrik was taken aback as he and his wife bowed at the young bunny-girl who finally revealed her true identity. They had been so far away from court with their own little kingdom that they never had the pleasure of meeting the princess and sister to the elder brother Edmund.

"Had we known of your arrival, my lady, we..."

Trestia waved a dismissive hand, "There was a reason why I had to keep my identity secret, obviously." She explained, "And like Master Jotham mentioned, raising fanfare over us both would have drawn too many eyes."

Alwyn stood beside the princess as she directed and as she beckoned his parents to rise, she reached over and took his hand in hers.

"I have come to a decision regarding your son, Alwyn." She declared, "With your approval, We have decided to declare our plans to be married."

Elrik seemed to stagger as Mirelda almost fainted at the news.

Devon rolled his eyes mentally. Since he was never born as royalty in his past life, he didn't see this as something requiring shock. Of course he had also analyzed the situation and in his mind, found the exchange to be beneficial.

He would marry the princess, thereby tying his new parents closer to the throne. Any attempt to use them to blackmail him would be equivalent to treason against the crown. Maneuvering and political backstabbing was one thing, but outright violence against the royal family while in power was sure to get not only the perpetrator killed, but their family disgraced for generations. To a noble, that would be a punishment far worse than death.

Trestia squeezed Alwyn's hand and he felt a momentary rush of heat burning in his ears from the embarrassment. She was bold and brazen to reveal herself, but also to decide on marriage. She must have realized that since he was technically a member of the royal houses, he was a good candidate for marriage. It also meant that she could avoid being forced to marry some rich and snobby noble kid who might not treat her well.

It didn't hurt either that she was beautiful--as bunny-kin females went. Since he had lived in this world for these past few years, his mentality about a physical relationship or even romance with these creatures wasn't going to be abhorrent or immoral. These were the sentient beings of this world, and he was one of them, regardless of his soul's true origin. He had at least promised to wait until he was of age before he got into some sort of relationship with anyone, even Lenni as a compromise. Lenni was cute and loyal, and she said she loved him, which he felt flattered by. Now he was betrothed to a young woman officially. He didn't love either one yet, but he concluded in his mind that he could someday.

-

The official word about the betrothal between Princess Trestia and the Marquees Alwyn Duvane shot through the kingdom faster than lightning. Before long, the entire town of Thornbriar celebrated in the streets. The Duke's son was going to become a future prince, though he wasn't expected to assume the throne. It was still bragging rights for the town knowing that the young and wise duke's son was going up in the world. No doubt merchants and nobles would be flocking to the town in the future in hopes of currying favor with the house of Duvane.

Meanwhile, Calatrix had become occupied with his secret project--insuring a new heir to Thornbriar was born. He placed enchanted stones in the royal bedroom to entice the Duke and Duchess to copulate, while covertly feeding them an herbal brew to stimulate fertility in them both. Hopefully, the next year would see the coming of a new child to the kingdom of Thornbriar.

As for Alwyn, Arch-mage Jotham and Belemy--back in her secret guise of Princess Trestia had planned on leaving Thornbriar, where Alwyn would join his new fiancee to study magic at the royal academy in the capital city of King's rest. He was forced to say goodbye to his mother and father, who gave him a tearful sendoff while a new coach took him and his personal servant, Lenni to their new residence. He had also said a goodbye to Hawks and the guards for their service as well as the kitchen staff. Rita herself had prepared several burgers for the trip which Alwyn was grateful. He would have to show the recipes to whatever cooks he would have at the capital city too.

Alwyn hated the idea of leaving Thornbriar, but knew that while he was there, despite the fact that he was now marrying into the royal family, his surrogate family and friends were still in danger. Until the marriage was finalized, he could expect someone to try to kidnap his parents or Rita and the others to use against him if he was revealed too early. He gave orders to Hawks and the guard to be extra careful, using the excuse that someone might attack the Duchy to get at the throne. Naturally Hawks obeyed out of love for the Duke and Duchess, but also out of admiration for Alwyn.

Sitting in the royal coach with the Arch-mage and Princess, he stared out at the window and sighed.

"You okay, Alwyn?" The princess asked.

"Barely left and I'm already feeling homesick." he replied.

"You've lived in Thornbriar ever since you came to this world." The arch-mage said sagely, "This world is a foreign thing to you, and now you are leaving the one place of familiarity you have in all of Aeurn."

All he could say was, "Yeah." Devon reminisced about all that had happened in this new life; Awakening in this bizarre world of magic and furry beings, becoming a duke's son, learning about magic and making new acquaintances and having a real family. Now on top of that, he was now some mythical figure foretold by this world's god, a potential threat and target to the beings in this world and now, being betrothed to the princess of the realm. He had never felt so small and alone as he did right this very minute.

Princess Trestia sat next to Alwyn and took his hand, "I know my plan was sudden, but we're going to be able to help us both." she spoke soothingly, "And who knows? Perhaps there will be love between us."

It didn't seem that likely to Alwyn just yet since he still felt like an outsider in this world. Still, her words about love gave him something to consider. He could choose to be alone, detached from this world that wasn't his own. He could shut himself off from everyone and just be Devon Mallory. He looked back at Trestia who returned his stare with her own. She was lovely and had a look thankfully not of pity, but compassion.

He gave her hand a squeeze and forced a smile. "Would it be alright if I said I'd be willing to try?" he asked her.

The princess giggled as she leaned in and kissed his cheek, "At least you're willing to take a chance."

Take a chance--Devon found himself rolling that thought in his head, and his smile became less forced. He didn't want to be small and alone anymore. He had a brand new world to explore, a body filled with youth and vigor, magic to learn and new things to explore. Once more, he had a young woman that was willing to discover if they could love one another. He felt his heart thumping as the prospect thrilled him.

He was going to find a way to make this world work. To do that, he would need friends, allies and a family. He had a few now, but he was about to go into the literal lion's den of royal intrigues and politics. He was going to need new allies to stand with him against whatever threats and foes that might crop up. He also was going to shake up this world with radical new ideas and maybe come up with a few of his own. Whatever happened after this, he thought, it's going to be one hell or a ride.

Epilogue

A hooded figure strode quickly up the spiral staircase, their movements depicting rush and anxiety. Making their way to a door on the next floor up, he knocked rapidly on the thick wooded door.

"Enter."

The voice was stern and authoritative and the shadowy figure quickly obeyed. Inside the dimly lit room sat another shadowy figure, bathed in the moonlight that leaked from a slit window. The entering beast-kin knelt in front of the occupant and held out a scroll of parchment.

As soon as the occupant of the room took the parchment, the other figure disappeared back into the door and vanished. Naturally, he would never see that particular agent again to insure absolute security.

Unrolling and reading the missive, the figure let out a menacing chuckle.

"So the princess has found her suitor, huh?" the dark figure spoke into the night. His spies had somehow found out about the secret meeting of the Arch-mage and the Princess, despite their secrecy. It didn't take long to find out more about the covert rendezvous from the locals in Thornbriar--a clear mistake by that fool Jotham, who relied too much on magic than good old espionage.

The intelligence report told a great deal about what was known of her new fiancee, Alwyn Duvane. The house of Duvane was tied to the Royal family and was seen by the royal family positively. No doubt, the boy would be welcomed by the King and the young prince as well as the princess.

Sitting down in a lone chair in the room, the figure analyzed the situation. Though the Duchy of Duvane was well-known and liked, they thought it was curious that the Princess chose the young duke's son so quickly. None of the previous intelligence agents ever detailed her visiting or even sending correspondence to the young Duvane. There was also no indication that the young Duvane had ever left the castle, much less beyond the territory itself. For all their efforts at following the royal family's actions, this was the first time that both Princess Trestia and Marquees Alwyn have ever met.

There's something more to this than I'm aware of, the mysterious figure considered privately. What was so special about the Duvane brat that drew both the Royal mage of King Gaylen and the princess to visit. He hated not knowing something.

"Umbra." The figure ordered.

Another figure emerged from the shadows, long and slim. It was a Ferret-kin, her whiskered face twitching as she peered at the shadowy figure with cold blue eyes.

"Yes, master?" She said with a sultry lilt.

"I'm putting you in charge of the Marquees Duvane." The figure instructed. "Find out as much as you can about the boy. I don't care how insignificant it might be."

"Anything, Master?" Umbra inquired

"We know too little about the young Duvane boy. I do not like not knowing. He is heading for King's rest and will be attending the mage academy this year."

"Our spies told us the boy had no magical aptitude."

The hooded figure bristled at that. "No magical aptitude?"

The Ferret-kin recoiled as if expecting a blow. "Yes, master."

"Why was I not informed of this?"

He knew the reason before Umbra could answer. Though every beast-kin had Magical power, all but a handful could wield it to some degree. Those that lacked the talent were of no consequence and often was ignored.

"Our intelligence missed something, Umbra." The figure declared, "This is unacceptable."

Now he was even more determined to find out more about the Duvane brat. Why was he going to mage academy when he had no talent? Something didn't add up.

The figure stared down at Umbra, "Go now. Find out about this. I want this to be your top priority."

Umbra stepped away, bowing, "At once, master." Then she as well disappeared into the shadows.

Someone in his circle of spies was going to die, whoever it was that failed to find out about the Marquees and this clandestine marriage arrangement. There was no information about the boy or his relationship to the princess, and that infuriated him all the more.

"What is going on with you, Alwyn Duvane?" The shadowy figure spoke through the moonlit window. This young boy was an unknown, and he hated unknowns.

At least he won't be unknown for long...

End book one