Merlin was closing up shop, looking forward to checking in on Bobby. Ever since he got
that new enchanted TiVo, looking in on the mischief his customers caused was a breeze.
It should be pointed out that the old wizard wasn't evil (just very, very chaotic). As
amusing as the various predicaments his clients got themselves into, he prided himself on
being able to step in the minute something got out of hand.
So when Bobby rushed in, soaking wet, with a tiny young girl in his arms, he got a sinking
feeling.
"Mr. Merlin, please, I didn't mean to do it, you have to help her!"
Merlin noticed immediately that the girl was wearing a dress far too large for her, as if
she'd been playing dress-up. From long experience, he knew a regression victim
anywhere, but how...?
"Good grief, come this way, she's soaking wet." First things first.
He had Bobby lay the tiny girl on a cot he kept in the back room, and conjured a thick
blanket and pillow for her. Another quick incantation shrank her clothing to fit her
shrunken body (and dry cleaned the outfit instantly). He guessed her age at about 10,
although she was quite small for her age at exactly 4' tall. Her slender, delicate frame
probably weighed no more than 50 lbs.. She was blissfully unconcious, and one final spell
ensured she'd stay that way for now. She looked like such an angel....
He gestured Bobby into his living room, and sat the boy down.
Bobby, for his part, looked very guilty. Part of Merlin's mind was disappointed, he hadn't
expected the boy to learn his lesson so fast. Cursing himself for being so selfish,
worrying about his entertainment, of all things, he sat down across from Bobby.
"So tell me what happened."
The words came spilling out of Bobby's mouth at such a rapid pace the old man had
trouble keeping up.
But he got the gist straight away. He stood up and snatched Bobby's hand, examining the
ring.
"SHAZBAT!!!" he exclaimed.
"This isn't the ring I sold you at all...it's not the Ring of Age...but the Ring of De-Age!"
He fumed. This was more than an inventory mistake! He sensed a dark and mischievous
force at work.
"Sir...can you change her back?"
He sighed. "No Bobby, I can't. I admit, I fibbed a bit about the Ring of Age; if things had
gotten out of hand, I could have fixed the problem straightaway...part of the store
guarantee, you understand. I call it SRU-surance."
He shook his head as Bobby brightened. The boy was only hearing what he wanted to
hear, poor kid. "If I'd sold you THAT ring, you'd have been covered as well. The problem
is, I didn't sell you that ring. It wasn't even in my inventory...Ring of Youth, sure, but De-
Age? I haven't seen that cursed thing in awhile."
Bobby frowned. "What's the difference?"
"Ah, well that's quite interesting. You see, there are two kinds of Youth Ring. One affects
the body alone, leaving it's benefactors...or victims, fully aware of their circumstances.
The other one affects the mind as well. The Ring you have, however, is neither of these."
He paused and continued. "You see, a normal youth spell reverses time. If I used one on
you now, and made you five again, you'd look just as you did when you were five. That's
pretty basic. The Ring of De-Age works differently. It makes you younger, but not as you
were."
"Huh?!"
"As we grow and age, our bodies change based on health, excercise, a lot of different
factors. If you used a youth spell on someone who used to be chubby, they'd be
overweight again. Or if you used one on a bodybuilder, the years of muscle training
would vanish. De-Ageing is different. It makes you younger, but doesn't reverse these
effects in the same way."
"Wait so...if I was fat before, but skinny now, that ring would make me younger, but I'd
stay thin?"
"Got it in one."
"Um...why is that bad, exactly?"
"Mostly it wouldn't be. Except when you make someone too young. You see Bobby, you
can only go through puberty once (Thank Hecate!)."
Bobby's eyes widened. "Oh no..."
"Exactly. She'll never grow up. This is how she is now. Even if you used the Ring of Age,
it wouldn't change that. If it did anything at all, she'd end up like one of those unfortunate
children with progeria."
"Gah! That's even worse! Take the ring back, I don't want it!" Bobby futiley attempted to
remove the ring.
"No can do. That thing is cursed, it won't come off, and I can't take it back, because it's
not mine. Somehow, someone stole the ring you bought, and switched it on you. It had to
be after you left. As a wizard, I have protective wards inside the shop."
"Great...I just ruined someone's life, and it could happen again!" Bobby moaned.
"You'll just have to be careful, that's all. Just remember, if you regress someone before
liminality, it can't be undone."
"Limina...what?"
The wizard rolled his eyes. "Where childhood ends and puberty begins. Now I should
warn you, partially regressing someone through their puberty will have side effects, but it's
not as big a deal. Oh and making a kid younger should be fine."
"Like I'd want to do that! But I keep getting these...urges."
"Yep. Told you, it's cursed. Let me guess, when you first used it, you wanted to regress
that girl all the way to nothing."
Bobby hung his head.
"Part of you is very curious about what that would do. Your rational mind wouldn't allow
it, but the Ring weakens your resolve."
"...what would happen?"
"Honestly? I don't know. I mean, I know what could happen, in theory, with a standard
youth spell...but this thing is very strange. Typically, in a regression before birth..."
"Um, wouldn't that be an unbirth?"
"No no, that's when you go back to the womb, different spell entirely."
"...huh?"
"If you don't know, you don't need to. Look it up on the internet when you're older, if you
must, but don't say I didn't warn you. Ahem. Anyways..youth spells affect the body, not
the soul. Even if it affects your mind, you have the same soul. A youth spell can't destroy
the soul, although it can destroy the body."
The wizard paused again, wishing he had a shot of blackberry schnapps handy.
"So, let's imagine someone's body, reduced to nothing but inert chemicals. Their soul
remains. They're not dead, so they don't pass on, or become a ghost, but they're not
exactly alive either. They'll tend to gravitate towards the nearest viable female. Whenever
that girl gets pregnant, the, ah, non-born soul will be reincarnated."
"Woah. Will they remember anything?"
"Maybe. Depends on the spell involved, how traumatic the event is...certainly, they will
seem much more mature than an ordinary child."
"So what happens with this ring?"
"Depends. It could be the same. Or it could shunt you back in time, placing you back
inside your mother. Or it could turn you into your mother..."
"What?!"
"Sure, I mean, other than some DNA from your father, your body was grown from your
mother's body. Thus the pre-conceived form of your body could very well be your
mother's body before she became pregnant."
Bobby twitched abit. "That's messed up."
"You got it. And if the ring works that way, you could keep making someone younger, de-
ageing them until they become some distant ancestor."
"Or not even human anymore..."
"Sure, why not? Although I doubt the ring has that kind of power. It's powerful, but it's
only a minor artifact."
"Wait...so if I make someone too young, I could keep going, and turn them into their
mother?"
"I suppose that's one way to make someone older again...but first of all, we don't know if
that's what would happen, and second of all, well, that's just squicky."
"Huh?"
"Just like it sounds kid, just like it sounds."
"Um, so what about the girl?"
"What about the girl? It's up to you. She's your responsibility...but if you want, I could
handle it."
Bobby thought about it a moment and then said...