Stare stopped, frozen and stuck half way to lifting the mug of beer towards her beak, as soon as the word slipped from between the demon's lips.

Thayne.

From what the kenku knew of the Thayne they were god-like creatures who were sometimes worshipped as deities and came from near the beginnings of time. They had a lack of omnipotence, and could come in a variety of forms, from a great sea monster known as the Leviathan, to winged serpent guardians who haunted the woods of Alerar. They were a separate group of godlike beings, who had their own pantheon residing alongside the others, but were more human-like than others, with individual personalities and they were said to champion certain attributes - encourage them, as opposed to be the embodiment of them. It was common knowledge also that they were the ones to have gifted the Tap itself which was a source of great magic and once believed to be one of the only sources of magic.

For one such as Nosdyn, who had seen the power Vitruvion possessed, it was not exactly a stretch too far to consider that he might in fact be a Thayne. Now that Stare thought about it, the noble mage did certainly fit a few of the attributes - he was a god, he had once been worshipped and he lacked omnipotence. What was vastly different, however, was the fact that he was not a god of any particular thing, but rather the clone-son of a deity of a whole planet. So therefore, more powerful.

Potentially. Yet, it was still not far off the truth, and Nosdyn had guessed it.

Her heart thumped in her chest as Vitruvion's awareness drew and he snatched into her mind with a desperation. Tell him the usual lie, he hissed. Refuse flatly that I am a Thayne, that this villainous brother of mine is a Thayne.

The kenku breathed in as she set her beer down, watching Nosdyn carefully. My lord, he came up with this theory all by himself. He is not an idiot and may not accept the half celestial as a truth. You are not exactly the angelic type. Except in looks. Certainly, in looks Vitruvion could be said to be an angel.

I did not realise you thought me so, Vitruvion dryly replied to her errant thought. Quickly, she hid it away. However, Stare, the matter of the fact it you can tell him I am not a Thayne without lying, as I am not. As for my brother ... he is closer to dung.

Rubbing her hand along her beak in exasperation Stare groaned slightly before opening her beak to properly answer.

"First, no I am not asking you to kill a Thayne. If you are willing we are headed to the Raiaera harbour where Sir Elssmith's three ships rest sometimes in the dock, if you are able to. One has been destroyed, which we know was due to his half-brother, and now the two are in danger, with one gone missing. I have been asked to find you and ask if you would be interested in accompanying me to find out what happened to it." She paused, "not that exciting, sorry."

"Secondly, Vitruvion is not a Thayne. He is just an incredibly powerful mage, who happens to be able to read demonic, and most other languages ... he's half celestial. As is his brother."

She crossed the fingers of her hand on the mug secretly, hoping that Nosdyn would not notice, and that he would believe her.