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Epilogue
Blike’s eyes opened. He sat breathing momentarily, his mind blank. The room was very dark, but it seemed to comfort him. As Blike moved back into full consciousness, he took stock of himself. He remembered his name, and the fact that he was human, but his body felt different, almost like a shirt that had been put on with a small twist in it. Blike sat up, feeling starting to come back to his body. Blike put a hand to his head, and came into contact with what felt like fur. He calmly searched his head and found his ears were on top of his head and rounded.
“So the raccoon and I merged, interesting” Blike spoke softly to himself as he continued to mentally and physically explore his changed body. He found his fingers were slightly longer then they used to be, and he had small patches of fur in different places, but the most interesting thing was his tail. As Blike became fully aware, he could feel the tail as and extension of his body. It felt strangely normal to have a tail, which Blike attributed to his raccoon ‘side’. Blike reached out with a hand in the darkness and put it down on his tail. It was very soft, and stretched out to about the same length as his legs, if not a little longer. Blike found the edge of the bed and put his feet on the ground. The stone tile was cold under his bare feet, and Blike felt the tail twitch with the small shock. Blike stood up and tried to figure out where he was, even though he couldn’t see more then a few inches in front of his face. He figured that he wasn’t in his own, or else the light would have come up when he wanted to see. He guessed he was in one of the almost infinite rooms at the tower of the council. Blike waved a hand, and felt contact from his staff almost instantly. Blike began to whisper the words of magic, and small ball of light appeared in front of him. Blike looked at the light for a moment, then around the room. As he turned his head to look, the glowing orb followed his vision, emitting light so Blike could see what he wanted to. The room seemed to be a generic room in the tower of the council, and Blike relaxed a little more. They must have been successful, and been brought back after other members of the council arrived to make sure everything went the way the council wanted it to. Blike saw a mirror hanging on one of the walls, with a lantern on the wall next to it. Blike walked slowly over, his mind full of different thoughts, but his interest was mainly diverted at how odd it was to have a tail. The thing moved seemingly on its own, but never in a way that made it get in the way or threw Blike off balance. Blike stopped in front of the mirror and looked at his glowing ball of light. It slowly began to fade out of existence, until the room was renewed in darkness. Blike reached out and touched the lantern, and it flared to life, emitting a glow that filled the entire room with light. Blike looked in the mirror at himself, studying his face. He had the ‘mask’ of a raccoon, although it seemed to be skin color, not fur. Blike could see the fur on top of his head was in the same square cut that his hair used to be, but it was now a grayish color. His ears looked like those of a raccoon, rounded and were on top of his head. As Blike studied himself in the mirror, there came a soft knock at the door. Blike slowly walked over and opened it. Blike could see that it was master Gerival.
“Blike, good to see you are up and around,” Gerival smiled as he spoke
“Yes, but a little worse for ware,” Blike took a small step back from the door.
“May I come in?” Gerival spoke softer then before.
“Of course,” Blike took a larger step back to let Gerival enter the room.
“Blike, we all owe you a great dept, one which it may be hard for any of us to ever repay. You and John completed your assignment, and Gorfiend is now safely stored away where no one will ever be able to release him again. I am sorry about what has happened to you, at first we weren’t even sure if you had made it through with your mind in tact, and I must admit that some members of the council weren’t exactly giving their all to save you,” Gerival lowered his head as he spoke.
“No need to worry about it, I made it alive and mentally stable, which is a start. With time I am sure I can cure this affliction on myself,” Blike put a hand on Gerival’s shoulder, “the important thing is that Terran has been stopped, and this time for good.”
“Indeed, the council will be sure of that,” Gerival looked up at Blike and smiled. Blike let his arm drop back to his side.
“Where is John? He made it back alright I suppose,” Blike smiled.
“He made it back in much better shape then you did. Not a serious wound on the man, although he did have several small scratches and a terrible stench about him, but a long bath cured both of those ailments. I regret to inform you he is now off on another task, you have been passed out for several days now, and some of us were worried you might not wake up.”
“Again your worries were didn’t prove true, thankfully. I think I shall like to get home now,” Blike took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Before you go, I have something for you,” Gerival pulled out a small gem, long and red. It had six long faces and was pointed at the ends. It seemed to emit a glow as Gerival handed it to Blike, “This is my personal stone. It will prove to any who are familiar with the council that you stand in my favor. Good luck Blike, and thank you.”
Blike nodded and began to whisper the words of magic. As he did, a portal opened in front of him. Blike looked through it and could see the study in his tower. Blike smiled and walked through the portal, which slowly closed behind him.
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