Shiobe's Talisman

It is a life-debt, owed for saving my brother. I gladly created this talisman and enchanted it with defensive magicks, for you defended Kshn from the terrible theave. You risked yourself to protect a young, unknown Imp from harm. So I protect you in turn.

~Stchn

Conversation between Shiobe and a curious dragon:

All artwork by Shade Melodique unless otherwise stated

The Talisman

This? Yes, it is pretty, isn't it. If you can see color in magick like I can, it shimmers and gleams like a rainbow.
What's it for? Protection. When I get scared, it triggers physical and magickal defensive shields. Sikode made the first talisman for me, and since he's a healer, he attuned it to my physical responses to outside stimuli. It's very effective.
What do I mean by first talisman? Well, when we started our quest to the Glass Volcano, Sikode created a silver Rakan disk with runes that provided wielded protections. I was happy to have it because a dragon's lair trial isn't easy or fun to traverse, and I've read enough histories and dragonpriest works to know the dangers. And, well, Merren wasn't the safest place. Not only did rebels attack those aligned with Illena and Prince-designate Cilair, the bloodmages who supported the dead despot were still around and causing problems. I am--was--a freelance fighter. I couldn't protect myself from magick attack.

The Rakan protection glyph is a stylized version of a sta gi, a mountain antelope. The long horns curving over its back are seen as a shield for its legs below

Yes, it's hard to call myself a dragon companion. I really am just a freelance fighter and translator. I'm not heroic, or legendary, or any of the things a dragon companion's supposed to be, which is why I needed a protective talisman before I met Kykini.
It proved useful, too. It helped me survive a theave attack. I would have left it alone and helped Sikode with the person who summoned it, but it was chasing an Imp child, and, well, I just couldn't let a child face a monster the height of a three-story building by himself. I didn't think I was brave, I thought I was foolish, but I helped him escape.
Yeah, it was harrowing. The theave smacked me and I went tumbling through the forest. Didn't knock any sense into me, though. I still helped Kshn. I still crawled up the theave and shattered its controlling gem--and that's not something I want to repeat. As thanks for rescuing his brother, Stchn gave me a rainbow amulet.

In humans, the ability to see color in magick is rare; in Imps, it's even rarer. Both Stchn and Kshn can, which gives us something in common.
This is also how I know Stchn has enchanted something. His touch is colorful, and I haven't seen another with so lovely an energy. Humans have a single hue to their wieldings, with no variation. Dragons have a single hue, but it's more energetic.

The Amulet

At the time, I didn't know who he was or that he gave me a wondrous amulet. All I knew was a disk with rainbows racing across the surface appeared right in front of my face and levitated there until I grabbed it. I was a little scared but Sikode wanted to do experiments.
Of course he did. Sikode likes to downplay his scholarship, but he's curious when it comes to magick. He studied it, told me he sensed nothing wrong with it. When I put it on, it formed a bond with me so I was the only one who could wear it.
There I was, with two protective wielded devices. I hadn't even expected one, let alone two, and sometimes I still wonder, why Sikode and Stchn made them for me. They both put a lot of magick into those two disks to protect someone who, at heart, is just a freelance fighter bumbling through life.
No, Sikode's talisman isn't gone. It got absorbed into Stchn's. How? Well. . . I got caught spying on rebels plotting to take out Lieutenant-general Iavan. Yeah, it did not go well for any of us. They chased me and ended up burned to ash in shadowfire, and I got a quick trip back to our room because both the talisman and amulet over-reacted to the threat--I mean, was SCARED--and they hurt me. The magick released in combination was too much for the situation, and since the amulet swallowed the talisman and the energy needed another vessel to fill, it retreated into me.
I'm not a wielder. I couldn't control the flow, so I got a nasty magick burn. I was sick for days. And more days. Bleah. You know how it is? I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Combined

While I was bedridden, Sikode fiddled with the new amulet, making sure the energy released would return to it and not plow into me again. And Stchn checked up on me because he realized something had happened. That's when he told me he claimed a life-debt for saving Kshn. Not an act for an act, but a true life debt, to continue until he or I kiss the earth for the last time. It's rare for Imps to claim it, and I'm honored he thinks so highly of me.
Huh? No, the two combining was a good thing. By studying the changes they made in the new amulet, both Stchn and Sikode learned a lot from each other. And without the dual strength, I wouldn't have survived the Glass Volcano. I would have ended up a permanent stain on its jagged rocks.

Oh, you noticed? Yeah, I still can't remember what happend and I don't really want to. Thank you, talking about something else sounds good.

The new amulet still has all the protections I need, and I think Kykini meddled with it some.