Maruka was in shock of what Adrianna had told him. 

Breaking the curse of the Antler was possible, but he would have to leave the house to do it, and once he did, he would be at Lollia’s mercy.

Adrianna knew some things about Antlers, but even to her, they were still mysterious.

“Antlers are the oldest things on Yharos. They are mysterious as the gods, and they met and knew them all. I knew an Antler, personally.” Adrianna said with a smile. 

Maruka was astounded. “Really…?”

“Really.”

“Yes. They run away from mortals and immortals alike, but this one had been curious about me. He approached me from the shadows, and I looked him right in his eyes. I simply said to him, 'I’m not afraid of you.’” Adrianna explained. 

Maruka sat on the bed, listening intently. 

“And he replied, ‘I know you’re not.’ and so I told him, ‘you can’t manipulate me the way you do others. I can feel the shape of your magic, and it’s based on fear and desire.’” Adrianna smiled, looking up at the ceiling wistfully. “He knew I was telling him the truth. Silkies are born without those sorts of intense emotions, and are content to simply make the lives of others better. Because the Antler couldn’t affect me, he asked me what it was like to be a creature of light. I had no idea what he meant by that. But then he explained that he couldn’t exist in someone’s life unless their mind was enshrouded in shadows. I wondered how he was existing in mine, if that were true. He told me that I existed in the shadows, which was why I could perceive him. I didn’t know what he meant at the time… but I do now. The shadows he was referring to… I think it is dark magic, floating through the air, clinging to people who are susceptible to it, and Silkies are made from that sort of Errant Magic. I asked him why Antlers do what they do–why they manipulate the lives of others…” she took a deep breath.

Maruka continued listening, on the edge of his seat. “And…?”

Adrianna gave him a tiny smile. “And he told me it was a game of fate that we couldn’t possibly understand. Then, I asked him how it was that Antlers decided to manipulate fate, and why Antlers chose the people they did. He told me that Antlers gave gifts to those they perceived as deserving to be ‘lodestars’ in the form of visions and recipes for magic potions. But sometimes, they give visions to those who they perceive as standing in the way of their ultimate destiny, and they taunt them, try to mislead them. But they also guide those they believe in toward their destinies–these are people they have great affection for.

"There was a man I cared about when I was much younger… this man had been bonded to a woman. He lived an absolutely miserable life, because this woman was chosen by the Antlers to become a lodestar. She ruled what used to be Alanheim with an iron fist--she was the queen. The man was her husband, and he was a very sweet man. I had known him since he was a child… since I was a child. I had served as a Silky for his house for as long as I could remember. I suppose, if Silkies are capable of love, then I must have loved him…” Adrianna blushed, her face becoming wistful and bashful. 

Maruka smiled, remembering what it was like to be in love, himself.

“But an Antler gave the man's future wife the recipe to a potion that made his body belong to her. No, not just his body, but his soul, too. He couldn’t disobey an order, he couldn’t make love to anyone else, and he couldn’t even have children with her. It was a miserable thing, to watch a man so full of life, laughter, and love, become a slave, a husk. In exchange for his humanity, he was given invincibility. And he conquered cities for his wife. So I asked this Antler if there was anyway to break an Antler’s magic. The Antler told me that there were two ways: Killing the person who had bound him in the first place, and the second was finding an opposing creature… a creature called a pixie. Killing his wife wasn’t an option, as the potion linked his life to her and it would cause his death. So the only other way would be to find a pixie. I searched Yharos thoroughly, chasing every rumor, reading every obscure book, but couldn’t find a single pixie. I wondered if the Antler had lied to me, but I don’t think he did…” Adrianna sighed.

“Why do you say that?” Maruka replied. 

Adrianna shook her head, smiling bitterly. “The Antler told me something bizarre. He told me he loved me and had been watching me for a long time. He knew that, since I am a Silky, I was one of the only creatures who could see him. He told me that he didn’t know whether he actually loved me or not, or whether he just liked me because the possibility for a relationship was there. I don’t think he would have lied to me, when he admitted he loved me.”

Maruka’s heart nearly hammered out of his chest at this information. There’s a way I could be free… 

Adrianna patted his shoulder. “I will continue searching for a pixie, if it will help free you.” 

Maruka nodded slowly. “W-what do you k-know of pixies?”

Adrianna sighed heavily. “Not much. I don’t even know if what I do know is true. They are very small creatures, about the size of my thumb. They are made of Errant Light Magic, and supposedly only come out when the sun is at its highest. They may buzz around these nearly extinct mushrooms called junizons–they’re shaped like stars, and supposedly pixies like to harvest them to heal mortals they like, or make them fall in love.”

Maruka made a face. “Make them fall in love…? T-that’s an evil thing, to force two people together.” 

Adrianna looked at him curiously. “If I could have used pixie magic to make that man I mentioned–Verus–fall in love with me, rather than be beaten down and made into a puppet by his wife, I would have.” 

Maruka gazed at her silently. She could have saved his life, I suppose… but she will never understand being forced into a relationship with an evil person.