“ Well, i'm actually here to see that retainer of yours... Laslow. I got some business with him. ”

An odd emphasis on the name, almost laughing while saying it.

“ Yeah... I know him pre-tty well! And don't worry— I already know who you are. ”

It's probably best he doesn't spill the beans over who Laslow's dad really is.

“ I'm pretty sure that little brother of yours could cast it if he tried. Not givin' him the tome, though! This puppy dies with me! ”

|| i deadass forgot that henry's the headcanon dad for my laslow account when i wrote this

“ Name's Henry. You could say i'm a friend of your retainer, Laslow. Anyway, the guy tried to recruit me to help carry out his weirdo plans or something. ”

Following his gaze, it lands on the birds.

“ Oh, and these guys? It's a little spell I came up with myself. S'called Corvus.

“ Woah there, chill out! That Iago guy gives me the creeps. ”

To give the creep the creeps is certainly an astonishing feat.

“ I'm just a wandering mage. Couple screws loose? Yeah, sure. But i'm not evil. ”

The crows from Corvus appearing beneath Henry's feet, moving him a safe distance away.

Corvus manifests, Henry appearing from the flock. Putting his arm around the king's shoulder.

“ Heeey, o mighty king! Whatcha up to, preparing for some murder? That's my faaaavorite! ”

It's the gnat that you can never quite swat away. He's been pestering both nations lately.

headcanon: he was just. there in fates. absolutely no reason for this outside of a mod that i like, but he knows what happens there and was just an onlooker.

|| Henry's definitely my new favorite character to write

“ Oh, trust me, I'll have no problem dealing with the less forgiving ones. ”

A long, exaggerated sigh.

“ But alas, you're right. Cursing a friend with something serious would be problematic... Don't want EVERYONE to hate me, y'know. ”

“ Just read page one, it's gotta have something on it. I'm TERRIBLY busy! Just don't mind if some crows come out of the tome every now and then. ”

|| its funnier because i imagine the tome not just being nosferatu, but a frankensteined tome of a bunch of dark spells to make it work different ways like nosferatu, sacrifice and even a couple pages of corvus just for fun. that shit is HEAVY.

|| i forgot that nosferatu just has an absurdly high weight stat

—Toodles! ”

“ Ooh, i'm gonna politely decline that offer, too much responsibility. Any answers you need should be in the book. ”

Another tome in his hand, he casts Corvus, a flock of crows forming beneath his feet, lifting him up.

“ You got lucky today, but next time we meet, i'm gonna put a curse on you!—

He tosses a tome of Nosferatu into her hands.

“ Well, kid the books, kiddo! You won't have the skills to cast without the tome like me for a while, so keep it! Hope you can use it more than me. Can't exactly feel pain and all... ”

(Henry is almost exactly as old as Lenna, calling her 'kiddo')

—
“ But it also does work from one person to another, or another to one. Goes both ways, can really be used for either good or bad. ”

“ Well, y'see... ”

Raising his other hand, it's nothing but bone.

“ It's kinda a thing of equivalent exchange. Takin' flesh from one part and using it to mend another. Small cuts and bruises don't take anything noticeable, though! ”

Reversing the spell, his hands turning back to normal.
—

“ Oooooh... That purple one looks like she'd handle a Goetia tome pretty well. Better stay away from Corvus, though! ”

“ Well, that's just perfect! Hey, look what I can do. ”

Waving one hand around the other, the once crow-eaten hand suddenly looks completely healthy.

“ We got miracles and such. Pretty 'hand-y.' Makes you wanna try, huh? ”

“ Oopsie! I may have gotten the wrong impression of you. But don't let the two examples here scare you off– you should try it, it's a HEX of a time! ”

Extending a withered and mauled hand forward.

“ The name's Henry. And you are? ”

“ Ooh, speak of the devil! You wouldn't be interested in dark magic, would you? It's pre-tty cool! ”

“ Robin's too much of a goody-two-shoes, plus Tharja would do worse than just kill me. I think that prince already has some dark magic up his sleeve. And that Odin guy is SUPER weird! I guess all that leaves is that new girl! ”

“ Hehe, so many mages! I wonder if I could convince any of them to turn to the dark arts? Except Tharja, of course. She's more far gone than me! ”

ermmm... what the hex !!

[petting one of his crows, not even feeling the bites it's taking out of him]

“ Heeeey, chill out! It's just a prank. You'll forget in no time and you'll be back to normal! ”

Henry can't help himself from laughing through his words.

“ It worked, right? Riiiiiiiiight? You're breathing manually! ”

“ Well, I think you'll be happy to know that wasn't a hex or anything magical. Just a little mind trick. ”

@politeknight00.bsky.social

Henry unsteadily strides over to the knight and supposedly casts a hex.

“ Manual breathing! ”

“ Well, I got what I came for. You can get going now! ”

Henry disappears into crows as you find yourself exactly where you were before this ordeal.

“ Alrighty, perpetual feeling of your limbs falling asleep it is! ”

He waves his finger to cast the hex.