I graduated from the Succubus And Incubus Academy after about 375 years, having received a reasonably well-rounded education.
Fa'lina called me into her office the day before I left, asking me one last time if I would reconsider and stay to teach or do research as my father had done, but I declined.
"I've been cooped up in SAIA for nearly four hundred years, Fa'lina. I'd like to see the outside world again."
"Very well," she sighed, "I see you mind is made up, but my offer still stands. I shall give you a charm - if in time you should decide to return for further study or to help us out, it will allow you to return."
My first few days outside of SAIA were not pleasant. I had grown too used to keeping the company of other Creatures, and as a consequence of this I foolishly allowed my headwings to reappear while relaxing in a tavern.
At first I didn't notice that the Beings were slowly edging away from me, for they had done so quite cleverly to avoid arousing my suspicion, and most of them had obscured their thoughts. But when a feline huntsman burst in through the door wielding a crossbow and shouting "DEATH TO THE INCUBUS!", it became clear that something was amiss.
A crossbow is a very deadly thing - the shock alone can bring down a feral moose even if the wound itself is not directly fatal - so this was not a good situation to be in. My hand snaked towards the charm, now fastened to a chain about my neck, but I quickly saw it was pointless. In all likelihood the spell would take far too long and succeed only in bringing my murdered corpse back to SAIA, not quite the result Fa'lina had envisaged when she gave it to me.
Fortunately my reflexes and timing were still quite good - honed by the self-defence courses I had taken at the Academy - so as the huntsman reached to fire, I managed to dodge at the last moment, the bolt nicking my arm in a puff of grey fur. This of course put the huntsman at a disadvantage since the crossbow would now have to be reloaded and this required time I had no intention of giving him.
With a snarl, I jumped forward, my backwings reappearing as I did so, accompanied by the canine-headed tentacles that were a hallmark of my clan.
I had an eerie feeling that Fa'lina was watching me through her powers of omniscience, and somehow her parting advice came back to me very clearly.
Remember, Jakob, we have only taught you to use your abilities. By themselves they are neither good nor evil - it is how you see fit to use them which will determine what you are."
Lashing out, I morphed the tentacle-heads away, flattening and honing the ends to razor-sharp edges like living knives. The hunter jumped back with an expression of shock on his face, but it wasn't his life I was after - it was the crossbow. My tentacles sliced through the bowstring like butter, putting the device beyond immediate use and causing the remains of the string to whiplash back across his hand. It may also be that I cost him a finger into the bargain, I was never quite sure. Either way it could have been far worse for either of us.
"I came here for a drink," I snarled, both at him and the rat landlord who was now cowering behind the bar, "but if this is how you treat your patrons, then may you both rot in Hell. I bid you good day!"
Turning around I felt the warm tension of a swordsman's concealed thoughts behind me, but a quick blow from a tentacle to the back of his knees sent him crashing to the floor. I left the establishment with a flourish, this time making sure both sets of wings were properly hidden.
Unfortunately my problems did not end there, and I found myself having to flee. Reports of a grey, lupine incubus on the hunt for souls spread quickly through the town and on more than one occasion I saw wolf-beings arrested or set upon by mobs. I was disguised as an Alsatian of course, but it seemed that the Beings in this time and place were not aware that a 'cubi could change their appearance so thoroughly as we can, so I went unchallenged.
Nonetheless I travelled quickly, hoping that my innocent brethren would be able to prove that they were Beings and not incubi.
I spent much of that year wandering from town to town, earning my keep by performing various odd jobs and tinkering. As the days shortened and the nights started to become chill, I wondered again whether I should perhaps have heeded Fa'lina and become a researcher or professor at the Academy. Several times I found myself reaching for the chain around my neck, but each time I slapped my hand away. I would brave the world outside SAIA for a little longer.
One day in mid October I found myself at gates the city of Ha'Khun, a large town situated in the valley beneath the fearsome slopes of the Black Mountains. This proved to be a most fortuitous place to stay, since it was controlled by an angel and because of this, combined with his efforts to ensure the peace was kept, 'cubi and demons were free to live openly in the city so long as they did not cause any trouble themselves.
As it happened, I was in the vicinity of a new mill about which a certain amount of excitement was being made, so I decided to attend its opening.
It really was quite revolutionary - set on the bank of a fast-flowing river, it used the water to drive a large wheel which by means of a series of pulleys drove six large grinding stones. I had seen some simple machinery and even built small waterwheels from palm leaves as a child, but I had never seen anything on this scale before, and I found it utterly fascinating. I was not the only one - the wonder in the air was almost tangible, and it proved most welcome as I had been somewhat undernourished of late.
Up to this point, flour had to be milled by hand - typically by an army of workers armed with mortar and pestle, grinding each day for a meagre wage. With machinery like this, the price of flour would drop through the floor.
"Think of it.. bread for everyone!" called out a voice belonging to an angel, a snow-leopard with long flowing hair and sumptuous purple robes. He was in fact Page, the mysterious and charismatic patron of Ha'Khun.
"When this mill and others just like it are at full capacity," he continued, "we will be able to export bread in quantities unheard of! It is as I have always maintained - science will bring us a new age of prosperity!"
There was a round of applause, but it was muted - many, including myself, were standing as if hypnotized by the sight of the machinery.
Suddenly one of the drive belts snapped, bringing me out of my reverie and causing the leopard's face to fall. "There seem to be a few teething troubles to overcome before we get to that point, though.." he admitted.
As I stared at the broken belt and pulley arrangement, which had been used to transfer power around a corner, I began to design a more robust means of doing so in my head. Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
"Your pardon, Mi'lord," I said to the angel, "but would it not be better if, instead of using belts, you had two wooden shafts at right-angles? Perhaps with interlocking gears?" I pulled out a piece of vellum and some charcoal and began to sketch my design.
"Furthermore," I added, "you could improve the efficiency of the mill by utilising gear ratios.." As the leopard stared at my diagrams, his face suddenly bloomed into a wide smile and he led me away by the arm.
"Good sir, you probably have no idea how difficult it is to find people with the intuitive knack for machinery that my projects require. Many of those who are both able and willing are, unfortunately, Beings which means I can get maybe forty years benefit of their experience, and spend maybe as long again finding a suitable replacement.
"This turnover has set back my plans by a century at least.. but a 'cubi such as yourself who is versed in such matters would be a most valuable asset to my projects, and indeed the city as a whole. Pray tell me your name, and what I need offer in order to put your skills at my disposal?"
I named a modest sum. He laughed.
"Jakob, I can offer you ten times that as your starting salary," he said, suddenly dropping his usual mannerism and talking to me as an equal. "I'll throw in a room within my palace, and provide full access to whatever equipment you need.
"I know much that is hidden, my friend, secrets such as you would never have learned in SAIA.. sciences that make this mill seem like a child's toy. If your work pleases me as much as I think it will, I shall share these with you. Perhaps more besides.." he added, with a twinkle in his eye, as we shook hands.
It was a meeting which changed my life, for both good and ill...