Obsession is the height of passion, but what does one do when they find themselves enthralled with their enemy. Talamayas Sol loses his mother when he stumbles upon a mage in the deserts of his territory, and he is plunged into a despair he's never...
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"You doubt Talamayas?" Wren asked with a rasp of breath.
Rivin shrugged with a roll of his eyes. "That one went a little" –Rivin spun a finger next to head– "when I changed him. It happens. Humans changed into vampires can lose themselves to the powerful magic of a sire and become consumed with madness. We usually put them down because they can harm their own line if they can't control themselves."
Rivin held his hand up when Wren opened his mouth to object.
"I'm not done," Rivin said sternly, and Wren closed his mouth. "My magic bonded too powerfully to Talamayas and the flames overtook him. I'm sure you've noticed that he smokes or steams when he gets too emotional. If magic properly binds to a vampire, it should harmlessly absorb and expel itself without affecting the physical body. The same processes that allows magic to flow through a vampire put limits on their power, which is why Talamayas is so powerful. Talamayas has no limits save for his own magic devouring him."
"Is that... likely to happen?" Wren understood if Rivin wanted to explain some things about Tala that the man might not know or share about himself.
"In vampires who are consumed by magic, it's quite frequent that they die in that manner, often harming their houses. Talamayas could supernova using his own body as a conduit and wipe out half my house. That is why I watched him, at Shan's urging more than my own choice. It was true that the flames had ensnared Talamayas mind and soul with his change, but the more he grew, the more it became apparent that he had control of them.
"Most vampires who don't bond correctly are controlled by their magic's urge to grow and consume, but Talamayas was not. Had he been alone, he might have fallen to his own magic, but because of his mother, he was saved. Whenever she was with him, his gentleness toward her and love bridled the flames, dulling them so he could show her things and spend time with her. It's that same gentleness that keeps him stable even now, though the target changed to my people at the loss of his mother, and toward another when he accepted you.
"People keep Talamayas alive. My people, his loved ones, his friends, the connections that tether him to this world. Without that tether, he might cease to exist, so I am just here to ask that you be wary of his condition. Talamayas knows he can't properly be emotional with someone without overheating, so he has kept himself distant from others–consciously or not. It took at attachment so strong that he couldn't deny it to bond with you, so I bequeath to you the responsibility of caring for my son, blood related or not."
Rivin leaned his head forward to rest it on Wren's shoulder, and Wren cringed as he awaited the sharp infusion of magic. Instead, warmth flowed over him, and he wasn't sure he could put it to words. It was like Rivin had reached inside of him, wrapped his hands around his heart and caressed it–something soft and undefinably gentle that could be easily spun into his death at the flip of a coin. Wren was so stunned that he didn't notice Rivin lean off of him. All he felt was the brush of lips on his forehead and a rush of dark magic as the man disappeared into the woods.
