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I love how Anthony just points out the flaw mid story. XD
And the dad already looks like a… “type”

Oh my gosh Tony that is no way to speak to your mother.

And how then should he speak to her?

Stop and think about how such a TEENAGER would react.
His life was screwed over by the events in Exchanges.
He is NOT coping well with what he has been transformed into.
He resents having to rely on the charity of his best friend, when it was the selfsame friend who caused Anthony’s current Situation.
And now, to cap things, he is learning just how comprehensive the extent of lies has been that he’s been told by his mother over his life to date.

Tony’s not exactly in the best mental state at the moment, what with his entire world being rocked (in the bad way) 24/7 for the past few days. Kid’s under a lot of stress.

Admittedly, he really shouldn’t talk to his mother like that, you’re right, but I think he’s due a little lee-way in light of the circumstances.

What species would that sorceress be?

I wonder if the horns are common among human born sorcerers.
That they usually wind up gaining them in accidents involving magic.

Wonder what “I would do anything” wound up as.

Also, Jeez, Kory, what a great storyline you have here!

I believe the “anything” in this case is being banished to the human world forever. Poor girl.

Maybe not so banished, she still has the memories and people will still recognize her, though minus wings and tail.
But to remain human for the remainder of her life. We dont know how long Harpies are supposed to live either, could be quite some time, and maybe longer than a natural human lifespan.

Until next week when it is revealed as obviously not true, the man on the boat is actually the Beatle I first took him for and that’s why she moved to Liverpool.

Obviously it’s not that permanent for the next generation. Also, what exactly makes it permanent and other types of magic not? If it’s the same spell as the one for Ike’s father, then it’s not very good if it’s doing that to their children.

Ophelia, god dang it.

Not so much, not permanent, but rather I think weaker in comparison to the Medallion Magic in that nokk medallion.
Remember what Tim says in Exchanges, Heartaches, page 25:
“Medallions, especially blank ones, hold a very, very powerful spell. There are few magics in the world that can compete with their complexity.”
“Weak or ill-cast spells buckle and fail when confronted with Medallion Magic.”
“If your friend here had an old or weak spell when he interacted with that Medallion, it could have been enough to crack the spell and cause it to get weaker until it disappeared completely.”

Possibly it is permanent in the sense that this is very strong magic, and it would take even stronger magics to undo it?

Such as the magics in a medallion?

So this sorceress would’ve said that it would take something more powerful than what she has to reverse her work, and so the spell is effectively “forever”.

The permanent was cast at Ophelia, not Anthony. Remember? Oh, yes, of course you do. You’ve just read it. Anyway, he’s her son, so the spell is weaker in him, which made it easier for the medallion to break it. Maybe in her case it wouldn’t happen. Not like that, at least.

Time for TINFOIL HAT SHENANIGANS! Those sideburns look awfully familiar. Perhaps even similar to a certain half-manticore’s? DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!! SECRETLY, TONY AND IKE ARE HALF-BROTHERS!

(Just kidding. Mostly. It’s a popular hair shenanigan on British dudes, I’m sure, especially after the Beatles.)

((Also yeah, curious if the horns thing is a common side effect of learning magic or if she’s of a different race. Could Tim maybe be a halfsie of one of whatever those are and not know it?))

I think the most important thing that Tony will be taking away from this story is that there’s a sorcerer who can change a harpy into a human permanently. And even if she’s since died, the spell at least exists and can possibly be learned by another sorcerer.

Learned from who?
Tim has no knowledge of it, else he would have made some mention of it by now.
Another sorcerer rediscovering the spell independently, would likely be the only way. Unfortunately then you have the problem of learning who and where this new sorcerer is, and then, getting Anthony this sorcerer.
And if the old sorcerer on the island Avalon is still alive, there is the issue of getting Anthony to that Grecian island. Abbie can’t get to Cardiff without major problems. Imagine the nightmare of trying to get through Immigrations And Customs for a Monster race in 2004/2005.

Agreed with you Jeni, and Cardiff isnt terribly far from Liverpool, 3 1/2 hours by car, longer on a train. Someone who has a medallion from the magical world and who is able to drive could do it. However, for Abbie i bet that would be terrible uncomfortable, sitting down in a human way with all those tail feathers and not to mention feet that dont really work in the same way either. All in all an uncomfortable trip.

Also Jeni your right with all the heightened security from the 9/11 and if they where to go in july of 2005 then you have the 7/7/05 London Tube bombings which makes things harder.

Ah, but Tony can fly.

Or at least, he can when his wing feathers return and he learns the art.

He could in theory get himself to the Mediterranean sea under his own power and look around for the island, using his mother’s description of the location.

In theory.

In reality, storywise, its not likely of course.
Though-
Flying at a high enough altitude, over water to avoid casual detection from landbound humans, he could get there without being seen.
He is based on a frigate bird, so long range gliding on air currents should be a natural thing for him.

Just a thought.

-Badger-

Badger, I’d like to point out that we don’t know if Anthony can fly, yes hr inherited the harpy thing from his mum, but to what extent, did he get the hollow bones as well or is he still human enough that he is too heavy to fly.

Of course it would be nice if he could get there, but I cant see him wanting to even learn to fly, even with his mum as a guide, he would be way to angry at her for that. He’s 16 and not coping well at all.

Geez, be a worse authority figure why don’t you Mr. Sorceror guy. “I command vast stores of hidden wisdom and can cast illusions about entire islands! Now, naive teenager, I will ascede to your request and permanently make you another species so you can run off with some douchebag who brought his boat here! Oh, you haven’t met him? That’s OK! Now you can! Not come back, I mean. Poof!”

Also, I bet she’s got an uncomfortable hole back there where her tail feathers came out…

Oh crap, his dad is going to turn out to be a total jerkface. I can see already it :(

More than likely, but we dont know how Anthony’s father left yet, whether he left voluntarily, without telling her, or he is deceased. Heck maybe he left because he is also magical as well and is why he was hanging around that avalon. Tony might be really really lucky in that his fsther was a shape shifter of some kind.

To me it seems really sad that she would give up her entire world for a man she had never known, she gave up her friends, her family, her wings, for a man who is no longer with her. Who I bet abandoned her, not long after or maybe before she even knew she was pregnant with his baby. Left to a cold cruel world with a body that was new to her. Its kind of similar to tony’s story. the whole new body, forced to leave all you love behind thing. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It might be cruel to say but I really hope Tony’s dad is dead and didn’t just abandon her.

Agreed, though maybe she admitted to him what she was/used to be showed him that very same photo and he got scared off by it. Still I wonder why she moved to Liverpool? And in theory she could have used the CSA (Child Support Agency) to track his father down and make him pay child maintainance.

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