APRICITY // technoblade x reader DISCONTINUED

6 - Contemplation and Chivalry

Sunlight streaming in through the canvas of the tent wakes you, and you sit up and stretch to the soft rustling and murmured conversation outside of your tent. Quickly, you dress, pulling a clean set of robes from the trunk occupying half of your tent, and step out, Technoblade's cloak wrapped around you. It's a bit long since he's quite tall, but you make it work as you stride over to where he's strapping the horses to the carriage.

"Good morning," you call as you approach, and watch him tug the last buckle on the harness into place.

"Good morning to you as well," he greets, turning to face you with one final pat to the horse's neck. "Are you ready?"

You nod, both excited and nervous. He opens the door for you with an extravagant bow, and you laugh as you swing yourself inside. Barely a few minutes later, he clambers in as well, tapping on the sliding panel to let the driver know. The carriage jerks into motion, and you fidget in your seat impatiently as the miles pass by.

The hours feel simultaneously faster than they should be and molasses-slow, but you eventually reach the outskirts of the city. The sun is slipping down behind the horizon as you reach the very outskirts of the city, and you see Technoblade's frown as he glances out the window at the quickly fading sunlight. Finally, he sighs.

"The city is large enough that it would take another couple hours to reach my estate in the city center. We'll have to spend the night on the outskirts of the town. We should be safe enough within the inn that's here since I've stayed here before, but I won't be able to ward us against mobs like I did the night before."

You blink in surprise. You hadn't noticed him set any kind of wards or cast any spells, and the thought of mobs hadn't even crossed your mind that last night. You didn't have much experience with them, since the wall surrounding the library grounds had wards cast on them when they were first constructed centuries ago.

While you're lost in your thoughts, Technoblade slides open the panel between you and the servant boy driving. "Ranboo, stop us at the next inn. We've stayed the night before, and it'll just take too long to get home now."

The boy hums his assent, his low voice almost musical, and turns back to the road.

Before long, you can feel the carriage slow to a halt, and the door is opened for you by the odd...butler? Servant? You're not quite sure, but either way, you now know his name: Ranboo. You fie the knowledge away for future use as you hop out of the carriage. You and Technoblade walk inside, and Ranboo disappears, presumably to take care of the horses and carriage.

The owner is polite, if a little crass, but Technoblade manages to claim you two rooms for the night as you carefully examine the other patrons of the tavern. There's a comfortable crowd in the warm, dim atmosphere of the tavern part of the establishment, filled with chatter, booze, and plenty of raucous laughter. You do garner quite a few stares, though the large majority are directed at the imposing figure adorned in a boar skull and thick red cape behind you.

Soon enough, though, most of the stares are diverted to other, more interesting sights, and you two make your way upstairs. You can't a glance behind you, and Technoblade seems to understand what you're looking for.

"Ranboo will be up in a bit. He'll room with me since it's only polite to let a lady have her own room. I'll summon your trunk into your room, and have Ranboo deliver you dinner from downstairs."

"Thank you," you say, trying to convey your sincerity, and quickly shut yourself in your assigned room.

Finally. You're alone. You slump against the wall, burying your face in your hands. This is all so confusing. The sorcerer is different than you expected, but that doesn't mean you can be any less wary of him. He's dangerous, that much is clear, but he's also gentle and kind and careful around you. Not to mention it's barely been two days since you truly met him.

You're jolted from your thoughts as your trunk apparates into the room, landing on the floor with a solid thunk. Now that you're truly alone, separated from the other two by more than the canvas of a tent, you feel safe enough to fling open your trunk and dig through your belongings. Your clothes pile up beside you on the floor, freeing more and more space in the trunk until your fingers finally brush two things at the bottom: soft, worn leather and cold, solid steel.

You pull out a familiar tome, its weight comforting in your hand, and have to stop yourself from hugging it to your chest. You breathe in the faint perfume of parchment and ink and the warmth of your home as you turn the book's spine to face you. Your fingers run down the spine, tracing the shallowly impressed letters that spell out The End and other Summons: A Lexicon of Sorcery, and the small II at the top. You flip the book open, and a small scrap of pale pink parchment slips out and floats onto your lap. Setting the grimoire down gently, you pick the note up.

Y/N,

I hope that the sorcerer just summons all of your

belongings to this trunk, otherwise this won't find you.

I hope this helps, if only a bit. I love you, and I'll see

you soon.

-NN

Hot tears well in your eyes as you reread the note, then carefully tuck it into one of your many belt pouches. Niki could get her apprenticeship revoked for stealing a grimoire, and she hadn't even mentioned it. You vow to yourself that you'll see her again.

The Lexicon flutters happily at you as you pick it up once more, the magical essence within it flaring as you flip through its pages. Finally, you come to the section you'd been looking for.

DEMONS: THE SORCERER'S KEY TO THE END

Demons are the way for any sorcerer to unlock their magical abilities. They bargain away life for the magic they so crave, and demons give this to them. Deals can be made with any variety of demons, the most powerful of these being Endermen. Since they are of the End, they have the strongest connection to the magic that sorcerers can tap into, and are a more effective way to access magic. Demons are summoned via their True Names, which are the Endspeak incantations that summon them. They trade life for power, consuming the life force of sorcerers in exchange for access to the well of the End's magic. However, this means that sorcerers are able to exert complete and utter control over their demons.

Often, powerful demons are passed down through family lineages, creating hereditaries of sorcerers in every generation. All sorcerers will have a mark of some sort that ties them to their demon, which cannot be removed or undone unless the demon is killed; however, since demons cannot be truly killed on this Earth, they are merely dispelled from this plane. Sorcerers typically prefer to keep demons within a close range of them, since the source of their power, while it is capable of demonstrating otherworldly levels of power, is not invulnerable to iron weapons or other demons. Demons can change their shape to their master's wishes and may use this to appear unthreatening or to gain a tactical advantage in a fight.

You shut the grimoire, whispering a quiet thanks into its pages. That was the one thing you hadn't seen yet: Technoblade's demon. Something scratches at the back of your mind as you mull it over, like a word that you can't remember on the tip of your tongue.

Where was it?

Mismatched glowing eyes, one red and one green flash into your vision, then disappear. The realization sinks in, and then-

What were you thinking about? You could swear you'd just seen something important. You'd just come to a realization, but what was it about? You shake your head. Once Ranboo came upstairs with dinner, you'd go to bed. The stress was really getting to you. You rubbed your temples, feeling a headache brewing.

A knock came at the door, and you almost jumped. Ranboo's timing was perfect. Standing up, you dust off your robes and shove the trunk and the rest of the mess behind the bed, blocking it from the door. Satisfied that it can't be seen, you crack open the door and are met with a plate of delicious-looking food in Ranboo's hands.

You move to take the plate from his grasp, then look up at him and smile.

"Thank y–"

Halfway through the sentence, you meet his eyes. His mismatched, red and green eyes. Your own eyes widen as the realization finally fully hits you.

"You," you whisper. "You're Technoblade's demon."