An Owl's Rise

Once Melisandre had heard the entirety of Evelyn's truth, she was left there contemplating what to do.

She had honestly never imagined that the disciple she picked up for her exceptionally powerful fire magic would hold so many secrets. Some of which seemed utterly impossible.

Still, she was certain that she had enough experience under her centuries of life to know when someone so much younger, and far less crafty was lying. And she was absolutely sure that Evelyn had only been speaking the truth.

"Thank you for telling me all of that Evelyn. Now I have a question for you. Do you wish you had been reborn a human, or that you could become one again?"

Taken aback, Evelyn had not expected this out of nowhere. But the answer was obvious.

"No! I hate humans. They have taken everything from me many times over. I know they are not all evil, but I have met more of them that are vile than good. They enjoy watching others suffer. Beast may kill each other, but they never do it as cruelly or derive so much pleasure from it as humans do. I have seen what atrocities they are willing to commit just for their own enjoyment."

As she said this Evelyn began to shudder, and her breathing started to get ragged as she thought about the awful things humans had done to her in both her lives.

Eventually she did manage to get her emotions under control and continued to answer Melisandre's question.

"I like being an owl so much more. Certainly, some things are harder now, but I have enjoyed being an owl more than a human. At least now I can fly where I want, and even though the Roost bears some semblance to a human society, there are plenty of differences as well. So, no I do not want to be human again."

After Evelyn gave her answer resolutely, Melisandre sighed, before a slight smile crept onto her face.

"That is good. If you still wished to be human, then at some point it is possible you might have betrayed the Roost. But I can tell that your hate for them burns deeply, even more so than most beasts. Therefore, I have decided to ignore that you were once human and continue treating you as an owl. Since that is what you wish to be."

However, Melisandre's smile quickly faded and she gripped her fist tightly.

"Evelyn I am really glad that you told me everything about yourself, but that only makes what I have to say next that much harder. I am sure you are aware that your cores are still damaged. Your soul and a great deal of the damage was recovered by the miracle bath, which is the name of the potion I had you submerged in. However, there is still lingering damage to both your beast core and magic core. This will make your magic much weaker, and it will be nearly impossible for you to advance any further with you power centers are crippled. And I do not have the materials necessary to try and repair them any further. It took me decades to gather what I needed to already fix what damage I have. Nevertheless, I will look after you. After all you have been through, I think it would be best if you simply lived out your life in comfort and without any more strife."

Melisandre tried to give Evelyn a reassuring smile, but for her this news was devastating.

"Melisandre, you said nearly impossible. There is a way for me to continue getting stronger, right?" Evelyn asked, desperation leaking out into her tone.

It was taking all she had to keep it together now that she had found out that her journey might have come to an abrupt end.

For her part, Melisandre looked highly conflicted about telling Evelyn anything more.

Truthfully, she just wanted her disciple to live an easy life at this point and not worry about going any higher into the ranks of beasts.

Hearing about all she had already been through, and that she died a violent death in her first life, Melisandre simply wanted her to avoid continuing to fight to grow stronger.

The road to power was always filled with endless battles no matter how high one went, and Melisandre knew that fact very well.

Most would either have their bodies or hearts broken along the way, and ultimately have to bow out while only a few continued.

Yet as much as she wanted to prevent Evelyn from going on after all this, she could see the determination in her eyes.

"Yes, there are two ways that you might be able to recovery. The first is if I can get ahold of the supplies I need to make another miracle bath, or possible obtain some other item that would repair the damage. Unfortunately, it could take me longer than your current lifespan to accomplish either of these things. The second way is quicker, but far more dangerous and will likely kill you. I would not recommend you attempt it." Melisandre said with a grave expression.

Nevertheless, Evelyn stayed resolute.

"Please tell me the second method. I do not want to waste my time waiting for something that may never come. I have already decided to stake my life on gaining the power I need to accomplish my goals. If I die in the process, then I will at least know I did all I could."

Gritting her teeth, it was clear that Melisandre did not want Evelyn to give up her life. If she told her the second method to fix her damaged cores, there was a great chance that Evelyn would perish in the process.

It was clear though that Evelyn planned to continue doing whatever it took even without Melisandre, and she would rather help her out then let her do something reckless without her knowledge.

"Very well, I will tell you." Melisandre said with a resigned sigh. "The second method can only be accomplished because you are already at the peak of your rank. This is because you are ready to evolve up to an awakened beast. Even with your damaged cores you can still initiated the evolution should you have the correct catalysts. However, doing so in your current state will likely kill you. There are a number of recorded cases of those with similarly damaged cores attempting this, and from what I have heard maybe one in forty survive, and the evolution process fixes the damage."

"I see, thank you for telling me that. I will attempt the second method. One in forty odds is better than living my life out until I slowly wither away without any chance to accomplish my goals." Evelyn said with a determined smile.

This was not what Melisandre wanted to hear, but what she did expect.

"If that is your decision, I do not believe I can really stop you without chaining you up and making myself no worse than those humans you despise so much and breaking my own word. I will submit a request with the mission hall for a hell fire flower. All you need do is supply the credits to pay for the request."