The Old Hooded Man bursts into bellowing laughter.
>>5267196>Yes, it does change the nature of the thing itself>things change with the telling!Somehow you blubber this through slobbering gobs and long trails of spittle and partially regurgitated matter. You realise you have fallen flat upon your face, and there are clods of bitter earth and soil in your mouth.
The Old Hooded Man squints at you curiously. It is an ugly expression, for you can see he possesses only one good eye - the other eye drooping, almost seared shut. Finally, he laughs again:
-You have not shamed yourself. You must tell all the tale of how you murdered a Great Evil-Doer, a great wizard! It was a mighty battle! I feel your mortal blow upon me now, ha, ha! But I think you understand, though you did not express it... as I expected it, at first. Things change, depending upon how they are told! So another way of saying this is... magic is lies! A wizard is a liar!
(You are not sure if there are two, three, four or five overlapping visions of the Old Hooded Man Now. Your vision churns and all seems unfocused and blurred. You still feel nauseous and very dizzy. Nonetheless he continues:)
-Now Bolverkr, The Baleful One, The Great Evil-Doer (ha, ha!) is just one of my many names. I have been called that very often. I am known also as The Bearer Of Burdens, The Slain Tamer, The Wandbearer; The Hooded One, The Blind Wanderer, The Songfather (Galdrafodr), The Gallows-catcher... I have many epithets. As I said, the names do not matter. Only the lies! The lies are the magic!
Suddenly, The Hooded Man, The Great Evil-Doer, turns mournfully away from you. He whispers,
-You do not know of the lies. You are just a weakling child.
