Cordelia did not particularly want to visit the magic realm. But it was time to stop putting her head in the sand. She took a deep breath as she climbed the steps to the HQ main entrance.
As luck would have it, of course it was L Faba she ran into as soon as she walked through the door. The mischief sage’s reaction at seeing her seemed to match Cordelia’s own.
“You. How desperate, crawling to Morgyn yet again. You’re like a cockroach.” L Faba spouted.
Cordelia wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She didn’t really have the energy to bicker with the sage, nor was she keen on lingering in HQ, lest Simeon appear and add something else about how unwelcome she was.
“I… I’m pregnant.”
For a moment, L Faba just stared at her. Cordelia couldn’t recall ever seeing the mischief sage shocked, even at the news of Morgyn’s death.
“What? That’s impossible.” The elf stuttered.
“It’s… complicated.” Cordelia really didn’t feel like getting into this, with L Faba of all people. After all, she barely even explained the situation to Dandy. “Is Morgyn here? Or Micah?”
Faba raised an eyebrow, but surprisingly, she ended up volunteering the information without question. “Second study room on the left.”
Cordelia could feel L Faba’s eyes on her as she made her way to the archway.
She found the untamed magic spell flicking through some old tome. They put the book down as soon as they noticed her.
“Cordelia, what a pleasant surprise.” Morgyn smiled.
She suddenly wasn’t sure what to say. Best get to the point. “I.. you got what you wanted. It… worked.”
“Truly?” Morgyn looked up at her. They seemed… Happy? Eager? Anxious? Cordelia couldn’t quite decipher their expression. “Have a seat.”
“So… what happens now?” Cordelia’s throat felt dry. A million questions were running through her head. But Morgyn answered none of them.
“What would you like to happen?” The sage deflected.
“I don’t know.” She had plenty of concerns weighing on her mind, one more prevalent then others. “Will you… take the baby? To the magic realm?”
Cordelia felt so stupid. Yet another question she should have asked before ever saying yes. She never really thought about having children. But at the same time, now that there was a child growing inside her, the thought of the baby being taken away made her sick, and not the morning sickness or blood craving kind.
“No.” Morgyn told her. “Simeon is already on my back for not taking my position seriously, I can’t imagine he would be impressed with a crying infant in HQ.”
The sage sounded incredibly casual about the whole thing. Still, a sense of relief washed over Cordelia.
“So… I get to keep the baby.” She re-iterated, just to be sure.
“Obviously. You are the mother.” Morgyn said with a hint of impatience in their voice.
“What about you?” She asked uncertainly. What part did Morgyn envisage playing in the baby’s life, she wondered?
“Every child deserves a fairy godmother of sorts, don’t you think?” The sage grinned.
Cordelia blinked. Fairy godmother. Her entire life was turning upside down, and Morgyn was acting as if it was all a practical joke of some kind.
“Morgyn… I think the child might be a vampire.” She tried to get them to focus. “I’ve been craving blood. Can’t really stomach normal food anymore.”
The sage’s expression finally turned more serious. “What have you been eating? You do need to take care of yourself.”
“I’m… fine. I have this… fruit.” She wasn’t sure of how much to elaborate.
“I see.” Morgyn didn’t seem particularly surprised or require more of an explanation. Did everyone but her know about Dandelion’s invention?
“The baby, though…” Cordelia reminded them of the matter at hand.
“The baby can’t be a vampire. At least not in the same sense Micah is.” Morgyn said. “Think about it, vampires don’t age. If the fetus was undead, it wouldn’t start growing at all.”
Cordelia tried to wrap her head around it. “So you think he child will not want blood?” She asked.
“I did not say that. There ought to be a reason why you’re craving it, after all.” Morgyn mused. “The most likely outcome is the child being a hybrid of some kind. What that will look like in practice remains to be seen, I suppose. They’ll be completely unique.”
The sage looked excited by the prospect. Cordelia did not share the sentiment.
“Is Micah here?” She asked. At least she could discuss the blood craving issue with him, she told herself, trying to ignore the butterflies the thought of seeing him gave her. It wasn’t real, Cordelia reminded herself.
“No. He’s been avoiding me.” Morgyn admitted. Even Cordelia could tell their attempt at a jovial smile was fake this time around.
But instead of trying to figure out what that meant about Morgyn and Micah’s current relationship, Cordelia’s mind filled with worry for the vampire.
“I thought he was with you in the magic realm… if he’s not here, then where is he?” Her mind shot back to the group of spellcasters at their doorstep back in the summer. It wasn’t safe for Micah to be wandering the Glimmerbrook woods on his own…
“I’m sure he has reasons to be wherever he is. It will be fine.” Morgyn cut her off.
“The last time you said that to me, you ended up dying!” Cordelia’s voice shot up a few octaves.
The sage ignored her tone. “And it did turn out fine, didn’t it?” Morgyn said brightly.
“Fine!? What if he dies, Morgyn? You know how the spellcasters feel about him…”
The sage looked irritated, but they seemed to be making an effort to keep the smile on their face. “I’m sure he doesn’t need to be babysat at all times. Save that enthusiasm for the child. Don’t worry about Micah. In fact, you shouldn’t worry at all. It’s not good for the baby.”
“Look, worst case scenario, if he does die, as you suggest – which I doubt – I’ll just bring him back.” Morgyn concluded. “Resurrections are much simpler with me around, after all.”
She studied Morgyn’s face. Was that what the sage thought, she wondered? That nothing had any consequence, even death?
It suddenly occurred to Cordelia how little she actually knew Morgyn.
***
Micah passed the waterfall and sped towards the cottage. Haruka’s lights were on. For once, perhaps his visit would not be entirely disruptive. He even restrained himself from opening the door using his vampiric powers, forcing himself to knock instead.
“What now?” The retired sage asked without looking up from her knitting. “Morgyn couldn’t have possibly gotten themself killed again already, that would be a bit much even for them…”
She looked up when he didn’t offer a response. “You’re on your own today.” She noted. “I take it that means you won’t be shoving voodoo dolls in my face for a change?”
“I’ve been hoping I could get some advice. On mischief magic.” Micah said.
“Surely speaking to the current mischief sage would have been a shorter trip for you.” Haruka pointed out.
“L Faba isn’t exactly my biggest fan. Or anyone’s fan.” He added with a shrug.
The old sage frowned. “Really?” She sighed. “Have a seat. Let’s hear it, then.”
Micah sat down, pondering what to say. He wasn’t sure where to start. Ultimately, he decided to get straight to the point. Clearly, playing mind games was what got him into this whole mess.
“I need to know how to break a love spell.”
Haruka’s brows furrowed briefly before her strange smile returned to her face.
“It’s impossible.” She told him matter-of-factly.
That couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t have come this way for nothing. Would Morgyn have straight up lied to him, Micah wondered?
“No. It has to be possible. It has to.” He repeated.
She shook her head. “Being stubborn won’t help you this time. There’s no way to shake a love spell. Only way you can rid yourself of it is if you die. Of course, whether you can consider that freedom is debatable.”
Micah refused to accept that. Think, he willed himself. “That can’t be right. For starters, I’m dead already. If death frees you from the spell, then why did it even work on me at all?”
Haruka’s lips formed a crooked smile. “Maybe it didn’t.”
It felt as if somebody smacked him in the face. Morgyn’s words echoed in his head.
It was the two of you that decided to cut to the chase. Would almost seem as if you’ve been dying for an excuse to do that, don’t you think?
Micah assumed Morgyn had only said that to rile him up. Did they actually have a point?
Haruka seemed to take pleasure in his discomfort, allowing herself to indulge in a long pause. She finally broke the awkward silence.
“Then again, maybe it’s more about dying on the inside. Who knows…”
“You should know!” He snapped at her. “You were the mischief sage!”
“Look at me. How old do you believe me to be? Wait, don’t answer that. It’s rude to guess a lady’s age… Suffice to say it’s been a long time since I’ve cast any love spells, that’s for sure.” She cackled.
Micah could barely stop himself from clenching his fists in anger. “So that’s it, then. You die, or you die on the inside. No solution that would involve neither of those? Or is this some kind of a dumb riddle?”
He hoped it was, for Cordelia’s sake. As he’d told Haruka, he was dead already. On the inside as well, perhaps. Or at least close to it, he corrected himself, refusing to acknowledge any possibility that the spell may not have even affected him at all.
Either way, it would be a small leap for him. But Cordelia was so full of raw emotions, so fragile, so beautifully human…
“I’m not sure what you were expecting.” Haruka brought him back to the present. “You did come to the old mischief sage for advice.”
“You’re right. Should really know better then ask sages for help by now.” Micah hissed in frustration. “All you’ve got is half-truths and contradictions. Morgyn claimed it’s possible to break a love spell, simply through the power of will, for instance.”
“Did they, now?” Haruka smirked. “And what exactly gave you the impression Morgyn knows a great deal about love spells, or indeed, love?”
“They know enough to cast the damn spell.” Micah retorted mindlessly.
Somehow, the remark seemed to throw her off. “Morgyn’s dabbling in mischief magic? Love spells, of all of them? That’s… unexpected.”
“Unexpected, why?” Micah asked. But it seemed Haruka was done volunteering any kind of information.
“Clearly I’ve been away from the magic realm for too long to be able to give you any insights into the sages’ motivations anymore. Now, as charming as it is to have guests, I think I have seen quite enough of you lately. You seem skilled with the door, I’m sure you know how to let yourself out?”
The Plumbob 
*Desperately tries to keep in angry rant*
Nnnnnnope. Of course you get to keep the baby! Hell, you don’t “get” to do it – it’s your baby, Cordelia! Yours and Micah’s! Don’t let Morgyn dictate that! Gah, I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her so so bad. Letting yourself be lived and controlled by others is one thing, but she’s going to be a mother now. You can’t be a passive doormat when it comes to your own child, Cordy! T.T
“Think about it, vampires don’t age. If you’re the fetus was undead, it wouldn’t start growing at all.”
I think either “you’re” or “the” shouldn’t be there. =)
Ha! I like Haruka. She’s so good at subtly leading people around by the nose, without being obnoxious like Morgyn or outright mean like L Faba. She’s got that classy old lady vibe going on. =D
Interesting little tidbits of information that she gave Micah, too. Both how the love spell may not have worked on Micah to begin with, and how it’s strange for Morgyn to dabble in mischief magic and love magic in particular. I wonder what they motivation was behind them choosing to learn that particular spell. Did they study it just for the purposes of this? Did they learn it when they were younger, to make someone fall in love with them? Hmmm. I wonder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Woop angry rant 😀 See, the problem is that there is an actual power imbalance here, not just the one that Cordelia allows through the way she acts (though that of course is a whole other issue). Cordelia is just a human, Morgyn is the sage of the untamed whose powers seem to only be increasing. If they were to decide to take the baby by force, there would probably be very little she could do to stop them.
Haha. I don’t even know where I was going with the “you’re” part. One of those times when you’re trying to say two things at once 😀
I’m sure Haruka has her own skeletons in the closet. But she’s certainly matured in a way Morgyn likely never will – since they’re not allowing themselves to get old.
Interesting tidbits for sure, though she herself has confessed to not being a reliable source of information, which complicates matters. Those are very good questions. Indeed, why did Morgyn choose to learn a mischief magic spell, a love spell no less? Most of the sages do know bits and bobs from other magic schools, but this one is no beginner spell, and oddly specific…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, definitely. Their relationship is so unbalanced on so many levels. But at least if Cordelia stood up for herself and her kid, I could go back to just ranting about Morgyn being out of line instead of being mad at both of them. xD
My mind is running circles around itself and spinning a tin foil hat theory where Morgyn fell in love with L Faba and either learned it themselves or learned the love spell from her, then cast it on her and everything blew up in their faces. Maybe they even learned mischief magic before being drawn to untamed magic and becoming present-day Morgyn? We did see them with a younger L Faba practicing magic in a flashback. Hmm hmm hmmmmm.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, a theory! I love theories. I can’t really reply, but we will definitely know more about what went down in the past before the season is over. Sorry for being cryptic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“It will be fine”
EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE. IGNORE THE CATACLYSM.
😒
I don’t think that’s the first time Morgyn cast a love spell. Or maybe they’ve had a love spell cast on them previously. Ahh… L Faba seems the likely suspect, although it probably didn’t work as Morgyn is definitely dead inside and she’s still walking around with a face like a slapped bottom.
Random thought: the grumpy treefish on the wall behind Haruka was cracking me up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Of course everything will be totally fine.
Interesting, interesting. I’m enjoying the theories. But same goes for what I said to Yimi. Your description of L Faba’s face actually made me laugh out loud though! 🙂
Ha, loads of weird decor in Haruka’s house, I adore it.
LikeLike
Oops, I missed your last chapter, *sigh* well, I suppose life hasn’t been looking up for me lately.
I wonder if Morgyn has had some previous experience with vampires, like not Verena but earlier in their life? It might explain why they’re so hung up on this idea.
Ah, hybrid lore. Occult hybrids are one thing, but hybrids between an occult and a normal sim will be interesting! (Since other than alien-sim hybrids, the other three aren’t possible in the game.) 😀 So I’m interested to see how you do this. It’s something that I might want to implement in my own story as well! 😉
Haruka reminds of a classic witch. Like not spellcaster or Harry Potter type, but just traditional witch. 😂 I wonder if she has something to do with this somehow? Maybe she taught Morgyn the spell…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope things pick up for you soon! No rush reading, there’s more important things in life 😊
Hard to say! Though I’m not sure if Morgyn is necessarily as enthralled by the vampire aspect as the “never been done before” aspect 😉
Game-wise, I think I briefly had a vampire spellcaster hybrid in game – they were technically only one thing, though they did have a bit of both powers, but not all. Pretty glitchy, but I guess that’s what you get for mixing powerful supernaturals 😊 BC lore-wise – who knows what the hybrid will be like. Unchartered territory for everyone, so we shall learn more when they do.
Oh yes, she is kind of like that witch in the woods, isn’t she? 😊 Interesting theory! We know Haruka was the sage of mischief magic, and that she knew Morgyn during her time as a sage, so it could be possible. She definitely knows more than she’s sharing, that’s for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, haha! 🙂
Morgyn just loves to try out new things, don’t they? 😂 Even if they ruin everyone else’s lives…
I never really tried out occult hybrids before, although I have seen a ton of examples. Mermaid hybrids can be the worst off since their legs glitch out in the bathtub (and when they’re swimming), so I have seen simmers “curing” them (by making them only one occult type). It is miraculous how hybrids still manage to exist in the game, though, even if they’re still glitchy! I wonder if someone’s making a mod so they’d be less glitchy… 😀
In the BC universe, I wonder if the child has thirst like vampires or they’re just able to drink plasma/blood? And would they have hunger or vampire energy? Guess I’ll just wait ’till the baby is born (or if he becomes of age, which probably will be a long time since it might have to be a teen). I’ll be patient, though. 🙂
Haha, yeah! 😂 I do wonder what might have happened in Haruka’s past? It’s 101% unlikely she’s an innocent old lady, lol, considering she was the previous mischief sage. Maybe somehow she’s the reason for Morgyn and L. Faba’s behavior?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t say I have a lot of experience playing occults hybrids either, I actually haven’t really played occults that much up until I started with BC – I usually prefer for my sims game to be mostly “realistic” (I know, what a plot twist haha)
So many questions! 😊 Anything’s possible… “Coming of age” may or may not be a factor – after all, Verena is a permanent child who is a fullblown master vampire that drinks blood… So game mechanics are not really a limit 😊
I mean, not all sages are necessarily terrible, right? Maybe she was a lovely and sweet mischief sage 😁
LikeLike
What an interesting plot twist, indeed! 😂
Ah, I thought so! I do wonder what vampire behaviors the child might exhibit when it’s born? Will it have teeth? (If so, Cordelia might have a hard time feeding it; breastfeeding would be out of the question 😂 )
Of course, no wonder L. Faba is so sweet and kind as well! 😂😂😂 (Yes, I’m laughing hard now! 😂)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m the new president of the Haruka fan club, nice to meet you. Gah! I love it. She is such a boss and I can almost hear the “wink” in every one of her comments.
Micah is right, the sages do speak in a lot of riddles and half-truths, but he’s always so quick to take something and run with it. He’s a vampire but he is still a young vampire and he’s a bit impulsive even if he doesn’t act like it. Now, this love spell thing is a bit tricky. Is he in denial of feelings and affection he had all along? There were small hints at it before Morgyn stepped in. Still, I don’t think they would’ve jumped each other bones like that without some encouragement.
And what the heck is Morgyn’s end game? They are SUPER chill about this baby in a way that makes me both mad and suspicious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haruka is fabulous 🙂 She’s not giving out information for free just because someone told her to, that’s for sure!
You’re right, Micah does do that.He definitely isn’t as “cold and calculating” as he likes to claim he is. And yes, it’s tricky. The way Morgyn presented it, they seem to believe Micah did have feelings for Cordelia before and all that was holding him back were his own inhibitions. Haruka suggested a few different options. So were there feelings before? And indeed, does that really matter?
Haha. You know Morgyn, everything’s a breeze.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It speaks to the sage’s irreverence that Cordelia repeatedly draws attention to how few shakes Morgyn gives about her experience with pregnancy, frigging dosing her, and even death—despite having died at least once already. It would be one thing if Morgyn were able to dismiss fatal trauma in the abstract, but this is a whole other beast. Most people would need more time to recover from a traumatic event. Which begs the question: what the hell happened to them that they can bounce back that quickly!?
Unless they haven’t and are trying desperately to distract themselves from the pain with shiny objects, someone else’s babies for instance.
The best thing to come out of these chapters has been the discussion of vampire reproduction in the text and comments. So many questions. Like, humans and the undead, cursed version of humans are considered as separate species that can interbreed and produce hybrids? No clue. Godspeed to the little liger.
YOU SEEM SKILLED WITH THE DOOR. Haruka is low-key the best character, it’s a fact. I’m also a fan of the theory she puts forward. At this point, all I can say is: insufficient data, insufficient trust in sages of all specialties, irrelevant focus because the main takeaway is “efffff Morgyn.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does seem there is very little Morgyn is not blasé about, including returning from the dead. Some interesting observations. I tried and failed to respond to your speculation in the first two paragraphs without getting spoilerific, so yes, let’s jump to vampire procreation!
I love how curious everyone got about that 😀 I’m glad I thought it through a touch more than simply justifying it as “it’s possible in the game.” I had to reconcile the discrepancy between that and how I personally imagine vampires to reach a happy medium. Which resulted into far too much thinking about how an undead body would function, lol. Will the child be a hybrid of sorts, or just a regular human? Micah was human once, after all. I guess time will tell.
Heh Haruka is fun. She sure knows how to mix things up. And set more doubt in everyone’s heads. Quite right, so much of the information we have is unreliable, so what we can rely on is the few solid nuggets we know, i.e. Morgyn is a twat 😀
LikeLike
I see Morgyn is deflecting questions again -.- Morgyn at least take the situation a bit more seriously, Cordie is carrying the child you asked her to have! I wonder what traits would carry over and what traits wouldn’t in a half-vampire? And if any possible issues would come with it?
‘That nothing had any consequence, even death?’ Oh things have consequences alright, but they always seem to end up on other people whilst Morgyn ends up mostly getting away with it all, until Micah bites back and then Morgyn pushes the blame onto Micah…
Okay, so due to Micah being undead there’s a chance that maybe he isn’t under the love spell at all…It’s almost like a sort of placebo effect maybe. Or maybe he does actually have feelings for Cordie? Who knows at this point? It’s all wild but it’s great slowly unravelling things.
My theory is that Morgyn learned the love spell when they were younger, as a teenager, and that it didn’t go well in a terrible way. I’m not sure who it could be that they fell for, though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, Morgyn is deflecting as per usual. They do not enjoy digging deeper, as we know. Cordelia obviously couldn’t be in a more different mindset, she’s living through this difficult pregnancy, and here is Morgyn being all blasé about it…
I wonder if Morgyn’s ever had to deal with consequences of their actions. They did even come bac from the dead, as we saw (and as you pointed out, seemed rather relaxed about that ordeal too).
What is the truth here? Good question, did the spell work on Micah, was it placebo effect or did he have feelings for Cordelia already? Of course, technically all of these are actually not necessarily mutually exclusive. So which one matters? I’m here to dish out all the questions and offer no answers, lol.
Ooh, theories! There is probably a reason why Morgyn knew the love spell. Unless they of course studied it specifically with Micah and Cordelia in mind.
I’m glad you’re enjoying slowly unravelling things and hopefully you aren’t unravelling 😀 I promise some answers will come eventually! 😀
LikeLike