An Owl's Rise

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After Melisandre was finished looking over the list of items that Evelyn had obtained from Mason, she looked over at her with an impressed expression, and said, "Whoever left this certainly was thorough. I doubt they ever expected a beast like you to find it, but some of these items are quite valuable. Nothing terribly rare though, and definitely more focused towards humans with all of the techniques and their silly spells that he left behind."

Melisandre then handed the list back to Evelyn and looked at her sharply, which caught her off guard.

"Now it seems that you were able to read this without a problem, otherwise you would not have given that list to me. How exactly did you learn to read? That should be beyond almost any fiend beast other than the rare few that attain greater intelligence when reaching the peak of the rank, rather than when they evolve into awakened beasts"

Feeling a cold chill come over her, Evelyn now understood that by handing Melisandre that list, she unintentionally confirmed her ability to read.

And from what she knew, most beasts did not gain an intellect high enough to really be able to read until they reached the awakened rank.

'Damn, I should have known not to hand over that list. But I needed to do something to prevent her from searching through the amulets. Aghhh, what am I supposed to do!?'

As Evelyn's mind panicked, she held a completely neutral expression, and just stared at Melisandre for nearly thirty seconds.

Then it hit her, and she said with a pained look on her face, "When the humans were keeping me captive, they performed all manner of experiments on me. I think that I got smarter from whatever they did."

Evelyn's face then twisted into one of sorrow and rage. Which was quite easy to do as she remembered what had been done to her.

This took Melisandre aback, and she said, "I see, that does explain things at least a little. For now, I will not push for details as I can tell it was a difficult experience for you. But if one day you wish to tell me, I will be happy to listen."

Hearing this Evelyn internally celebrated that she had managed to circumvent having to explain more, especially when she thought that Melisandre was going to force her to spill everything that had been done to her at the hands of the humans that had captured her.

'Is Melisandre maybe actually kind of a saint.' Evelyn thought seeing the compassionate expression she had on right now.

Of course, what Evelyn considered to be saintlike, was really more just Melisandre being a bit considerate. She was just so used to scum that, even that seemed to be beyond kind.

"Okay I at least understand a part of your unusualness now. So, I guess it is likely that human's experiment is what caused you to be able to absorb more magical energy as well?" Melisandre said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I believe it is. They implanted something into me to make me stronger, and I believe that it can absorb magical energy into itself. Honestly, I did not feel any sort of distress while absorbing all of that magical energy." Evelyn said, hoping to gloss over this issue.

At this point she had gathered that what she had done was far from the norm, and that she likely would have died if not for her unique nature.

"So, they implanted something in you. That is not good. We need to remove it immediatly. It could very well be used to kill or control you."

Panic began to set in as Melisandre said this.

Evelyn knew for a fact that the Aethersphere was certainly not under control of the humans that were experimenting with, it and that it was unlikely to actually cause her anymore harm now that it had rearranged her body.

Also, she was pretty sure that trying to remove the thing at this point would kill her, and that was the last thing she wanted,

"It cannot be removed. I saw what happens when it was removed from another beast, and they died almost instantly." Evelyn said, trying to keep Melisandre from opening her up.

"And the people that had originally been experimenting on me are dead. I do not know the exact details, but I believe some rival faction attacked and killed them all, which facilitated my escape."

Melisandre rubbed her temple with her right index finger as she thought about what Evelyn had said and could see the desperate look in her eyes as she tired to push beyond this subject.

There was a mix of fear and pain in her expression as Melisandre was certainly forcing her to relive a very traumatic time in her life.

"Very well, I will not pry further then, if you are unwilling to continue speaking about it. Anyway, I can tell that you have been telling me the truth for the most part." Melisandre said with a knowing smile.

It was clear that she was telling Evelyn that she knew she was holding some things back, but that she was going to give her some slack and trust her.

"You are too extortionary for me to alienate you now, and there is no doubt that in the future you have the potential to be a great member of the Roost. Maybe you will even be able to succeed me." Melisandre said with a soft smile.

Yet this gentle expression did not last long, as her lips curved up, and the warmth in her eyes vanished.

"Now I believe it is time that I tell you what a fool you were by using the advancement chamber unsupervised, and make sure you understand not to use the magical tools I have given you until I have taught you how."

Evelyn then received the lecture of her life, as Melisandre went off on a very long tangent about how she was reckless and could have killed herself, and that next time she did something like that she would not get off so easily.