Diviner Pezo of the Dunes

Prologue

This collection of scientific experiments are intended as a starting point for those as committed as I to unravel the mysteries of the phenomenon most Wizards have come to take for granted.

The Familiar Bond has been studied, at length I may add, by scholars, alchemists and thaumaturges alike, and yet the nature of this elusive sacrament remains largely a mystery even in this modern age. Ancient relics and tomes, now well protected and jealously guarded by the Blues, seem as varied as they are confounding, and should you be dedicated to study these papers in depth you certainly will gain valuable insights - though I fear, as seems with most knowledge, as the final page is turned you may find that the more you know the less you understand.

However, one thing unifies all theorizing on the nature of the Bond; once forged, only death may break it - though some conjecture wound indicate that even then the connection remains - and both Familiar and Wizard must enter the bond willingly.

I have found obscure references to a Bond being transferred, but at this point I have concluded it mere fantasy.

Foreword: The Nature of the Familiar Bond
Anonymous Scholar

Waking before dawn had its advantages, in addition to the obvious disadvantages of a heavy head, sore back and watery eyes. This early the sky, barely showing a hint of purple, had yet to banish the night and reveal the unrelenting heat form its ever-burning eye - the sands blessedly cool underfoot, the air crisp and refreshing. Trodding along toward the well, Pezo allowed himself a moment to enjoy the calm and tranquility, an illusion he knew would quickly enough be dispelled by bickering and boughts of laughter in equal measure.

It's not that he didn't love his three sisters, he dearly did. They were simply much more cunning and had the unnerving tendency to somehow always get the better of him, outmanouvering him at every turn. Then, as happened every morning when his mother's shouting began, it was squarely directed his way. But Pezo, the only man of the house, had gladly accepted the role of peacemaker and defuser, nimbly navigating the tumultuous currents of sibling rivaly and womanly guiles - weaving the unwilling threads of his volatile family into a harmonious taperstry.

Lowering the bucket into the damp darkness below, he again heard the soft sound of wings furling and feathers settling. The unusual fledgeling had suddenly appeared a fortnight ago, and had since ufailingly joined him on his morning ritual - perched quietly in the palm tree above him. Initially he had been affronted and unwilling to share these fleeting and intimate moments of calm, and had done his best to scare the intruder away. However, the large owl would simply tilt its head questioningly and stare down at him with those enormous luminescent eyes. Grudgingly he had come to accept its presence, those feelings of privacy invaded instead stirring up a deep sensation of companionship and familiarity.

Not to mention the fact that the strange raptor, very much like himself, was entirely out of its element - indeed an oddity out here in the unforgivingly dry desert. He knew that other Imps existed, of course they did, far away in the forests to the north, however Pezo had never laid eyes on anyone outside of his own family with the same verdant skin, wide mouth and horned skull. We don't really belong out here, the thought to himself as he studied his reflection in the bucket slowly being raised up to bring the ladle to his parched lips.

"Are you thirsty strange one?" he asked, once his thirst was quenched. He had taken to speaking to the owl, yet much like his initial outbursts of "Shoo!", his attempts at coaxing a reply from the thing had all gone unanswered. Which is why, as he lowered the second bucket down, he was wholly unprepared for the strong voice suddenly exploding in his head.

"Yes indeed, I am. Very much so," the voice said as he fell to his knees, hands over his ears. The splash of the bucket far below went unnoticed as Pezo looked up, his eyes locking on twin orbs of gold.

"You... You speak!" he croaked, getting to his feet.

"Of course I do. And, as I said, I am quite thirsty. Rather rude, don't you think, to drop that bucket?" came the voice again, and he realized to his wonder that the bird's beak had not moved. "But never you mind, young Pezo, for the time to leave has come."

"You're leaving now?" he asked, nonplussed.

"No. We are leaving. Now." the owl puncuated, spreading his wings slowly - Pezo had never realized just how big the thing was until now.

"I don't understand, where would we go? Besides, my mother and sisters require my presence here, the tavern opens in a few hours." Pezo had no intention of going anywhere, the sands and his family were home.

"Your mother knew the cost when the bargain was struck, we have held up our end - and I have come to claim my price. You, Pezo. I had hoped you had manifested by now, but no matter. This may hurt just a bit my child, since the Bond must be transferred," the bird continued, wings spread ever wider, eyes akin to brilliant stars - glowing brighter and brighter.

It started as a ringing in his ears, his skin tingling as it often did before the seasonal storms hit, the earth moving beneath his feet as though riddled with serpents, until his vision narrowed to those two distant singularities - bright as distant stars - until they too were gone.

Entered by: 0x5821…B774 and preserved on chain (see transaction)