Had trouble falling asleep last night because my mind was occupied by thoughts of Cyril wanting to know *how* Sir Simon had accurately gauged the warlock's general age, unwilling to accept he just had 'an eye for that sort of thing' as an explanation. Finding himself unable to satisfy the warlock's inquiry with levity, Sir Simon goes on to explain he'd began his supposition with Cyril's apparent intimate knowledge of the village's history hinted at in their very first meeting, leading the knight to seek more information about the village. Learning when the villagers claimed the warlock had begun haunting them, Sir Simon gleaned that Cyril must have been there since roughly the village's founding, placing him at minimum more than 150 years old.
Now of course Cyril may point out that there are plenty of 200 year old mages that look much younger than him, which Sir Simon acknowledges. From Cyril's temperament, however, the knight assumed he must have extended his lifespan later on in life. To elaborate, he notes the more ambitious mages he was aware of had done so in their younger years, seeking positions of influence and power. A four hundred year old mage that looked about Cyril's age was an advisor for a number of the kingdom's rulers, for example. Cyril, on the other hand, did not appear to have any great ambition to change his standing in the world, seemingly content to continue living in the woods in a cottage built for two.
Ah, but why would Simon think that about the cottage, Cyril might ask. Among the tales Sir Simon learned from the villagers was that of a builder that was said to have been enthralled by the warlock and disappeared one day into the woods not too long after the village's founding. As Sir Simon had gotten to know Cyril better he concluded the builder was likely an old flame. Given the warlock's reticence in accepting affections from a younger man(or at least the knight himself), Sir Simon presumed that Cyril and this builder must have been in the same age range, meaning Cyril would have been middle aged at the time. If Sir Simon's guess that Cyril had been somewhere around his late 40s, early 50s at the time he'd extended his lifespan were accurate, then the amount of aging the warlock had
experienced in the following century and a half would follow perfectly from this assumption. But why would Cyril have chosen to do so at that point in his life, the knight had pondered. Sir Simon has considered that perhaps as he aged the warlock had developed a fear of his mortality, but he suspected a different motivation instead. As the warlock had no remaining strong connections in the village or with the local woodfolk, Sir Simon concluded that Cyril most likely forged a pact with Derk to extend his life as companions, the dragon being the one notable figure that Sir Simon was aware of that Cyril maintained a positive connection towards.
Cyril is a little stunned by the knight's conclusions, not having considered just how observant he truly was.
Thoughts that kept me up last night
#MWWarlocksKnight
