《[Stubbed] Taming Destiny - a Tamer Class isekai/portal survival fantasy.》 Book One: Leap - Chapter One: Shadow of the Man I Used to Be I¡¯m sorry, what?¡± I can barely believe my ears as I stare at the woman sitting in front of me. Helen sighs, as if destroying what little is left of my life is simply something she¡¯d dearly like to tick off a list. But then, what else should I expect from a woman who met my request for bereavement leave with the question, ¡°Can¡¯t you take it another week?¡± How she ever started working in HR, I have no idea. ¡°I said, we regret to inform you that you are fired, Markus.¡± She says the words with such a lack of emotion that it¡¯s not surprising I need to hear it twice. Then again, she¡¯s not called the ¡°Ice Queen¡± for nothing. ¡°You are to remove all personal effects from your desk immediately. Jones will walk with you to ensure that everything is cleared correctly.¡± More like to ensure that I don¡¯t decide to do something stupid for revenge like delete or steal employee details, I say bitterly to myself. According to them, my conduct over the past three weeks has not been appropriate for my role and is worthy of dismissal. ¡°As a member of human resources, you should be demonstrating the epitome of good conduct,¡± Helen had said. Apparently, being late three times in that time period along with missing two deadlines by a day is sufficient justification for summarily firing me. Never mind the fact that I¡¯d never been late before. Also completely ignoring my past history of religiously meeting every deadline, even when it meant I had to stay until almost midnight on some evenings. Apparently, the fact that my father was dying meant nothing to them. That, and the fact that the deadlines fell on the day of his funeral, which I had officially been given leave for, albeit grudgingly. I¡¯m numb as I¡¯m escorted out of my manager¡¯s¡ªformer manager¡¯s¡ªoffice by Jones, the security guard who I¡¯ve nodded to on the way in and out of the office every day for the last five years. My pink slip¡ªnot actually pink, but white¡ªis clutched in one hand. I barely notice the looks of my colleagues as I am marched through the familiar corridors. Then I¡¯m at my desk, though I don¡¯t really remember getting here. Jones hands me a cardboard box, and I stare at it for a moment unseeingly. ¡°You need to put all your stuff in there,¡± he says gruffly, but not unkindly. I look up and meet his eyes. There¡¯s pity there, and I quickly look away, unable to bear it. Reaching out, I take my picture of Lucy from the desk. Recently it¡¯s been turned to the wall, but I haven¡¯t been able to get rid of it completely. Even now I can¡¯t leave it, but I don¡¯t look at it either. Next is the pen my father gave me when I graduated from uni. Then my penholder¡ªnothing special, just something I bought myself when I got irritated with my pens lying all over the place. Item by item, the remnants of my presence in this shared office are removed. And as each object is taken and packed in that small cardboard box, I find the numbness fading and being replaced by anger. How dare they treat me this way? After everything I¡¯ve given up for them? Glancing around the half-walls of the cubicle, I see the three colleagues who share¡ªshared¡ªthis office watching me. My team. Or they were an hour ago, anyway. I see the same pity in their eyes that I saw in those of Jones. Pity and judgement. They think I¡¯ve earned this somehow. That I¡¯ve earned being treated like a criminal. You¡¯ll be next, I think without saying it, scowling at my cubicle walls instead. Now that my brain is working a little better, I know what¡¯s happening here. At least, I think I do. Outsourcing has been bandied about a good number of times; more recently, it¡¯s been a process of replacing less-key members with AI. Thinking about my recent task list, I can see that it would be ripe to be taken over almost entirely by software. I don¡¯t know when it happened. At some point I got shunted out of a more face-to-face role dealing with people and into more administrative tasks. Was it after Lucy left me? Or when my father first got diagnosed with stage four cancer? I don¡¯t know. Either way, I can¡¯t remember the last time I conducted the interview of a candidate or did an actual performance review with an employee. I¡¯ve still been preparing them¡ªfinding the data about the employee, writing the job post description and the key requirements. But someone else has actually been doing the meetings. I bet that this dismissal is just so they can buy a much cheaper technological solution. Actually, when was the last time I was invited to a meeting with more than just my team? Maybe that should have been a red flag. I shake my head. I¡¯ve been completely off the ball recently, I mourn to myself. But facing the loss of my father brought back all the trauma of losing my mother so many years ago. I just ¡­ couldn¡¯t focus on anything. But couldn¡¯t they have given me a break? I¡¯ve given them five years of my life. Five years where I¡¯ve been a model employee. Haven¡¯t I earned three weeks of slight leeway? Especially when I did actually do everything they asked me to. Apparently not. But then, if my theory is right, it really wouldn¡¯t have mattered what I did¡ªthey would have found fault and a reason to fire me eventually. It looks like replacing Helen as HR director isn¡¯t going to happen now. Perhaps I was a fool to ever believe that it could. ¡°Done?¡± Jones¡¯s question jolts me out of my thoughts. I realize that I am and have just been standing there, staring into space, for who knows how long. ¡°Yes,¡± I croak through a dry throat. I¡¯m done. Done with this company. Done with this job. As I am escorted out of the office, more eyes follow my walk of shame, I feel the recent events on my shoulders like a mountain of regret. By the time I¡¯m standing on the pavement outside the office, my cardboard box in my hands, a few meaningless words of sympathy from Jones thrown at me like change at a beggar, I wonder something else. With everything I¡¯ve lost, what else do I have left? Although I uncomfortably dismissed the question when it was first posed by my subconscious outside the office building, it comes back to me later. And then again when I¡¯m halfway through a bottle of whisky. It¡¯s not my habit to drink my troubles away. But this afternoon, after getting home at least three hours before I normally would and with nothing else to do, I realize the emptiness of my life. I couldn¡¯t resist trying to find solace in the bottle. Honestly, though, all I¡¯ve found there has been the same question I asked myself earlier: what do I have left? And its natural brother: what do I have to live for? My mother is dead, and my father has now gone to join her. I have no other family I¡¯m on speaking terms with. Especially not after my father¡¯s funeral and the way my aunt behaved at it. I drove my girlfriend away weeks ago with my dedication to the company that has just fired me. I have no friends, my connections with schoolmates disappearing with age and distance, and my busy job didn¡¯t offer me much time to socialize. Apart from with work colleagues, of course, but the thought of trying to continue those relationships after what just happened ¡­ ? No. Just ¡­ no. And so I drink. At some point I find myself on the edge of my roof, staring down at the street below. Do I dare take another step? End it here and now? The playful wind pulls and pushes, as fickle as a woman promising to always be there one moment and then disappearing the next. A gust pushes me back hard enough that my drunken limbs fail to keep me balanced, and I fall flat on my ass, barking a humorless laugh. Is that a message from God? Or the Devil? If either exists, which I doubt. Either way, I find that I cannot summon the courage to step up to the edge again. Unsteadily, I make my way back into my apartment, collapse back into my overstuffed armchair, and raise my bottle to my lips once more. Time passes. Drink by drink, I make my way steadily through my alcohol cabinet starting with wine, then moving onto spirits to keep the buzz going and keep the impact of my memories at bay. It¡¯s a catch-22. Being drunk adds a layer of fuzziness between me and the memories, covering the glass shards with a soft blanket. But at the same time it stops me being able to think about anything else. I wallow in thoughts of the past, of happier times. And of not-so-happy times, which at the very least were better than the present if only because of the people sharing them with me. My mother¡ªdead. My father¡ªdead. My girlfriend¡ªgone. My friends¡ªvanished like the morning dew. For a moment I almost stand outside my own body, looking at this hopeless loser sprawled on the sofa. And then I¡¯m back in my body, alcohol sloshing over my face as I tip it too far backwards. I¡¯m a dead man walking; Hell¡¯s at my door; I¡¯m a shadow of the man I was before. I find the song running through my mind and smile bitterly. If Lucy had still been here, she¡¯d have been ragging me to pull myself together, telling me that losing my job isn¡¯t the end of the world. And it¡¯s not. I know that. In my head. But everything together ¡­ It¡¯s too much. I pulled myself together after my mother died. Then again after Lucy left me. Then after my father died. How many times do I have to get up and try again? How many more times do I want to? I¡¯m tempted to take myself up to the roof once more, but when I finally push myself to my feet, I¡¯m distracted. Something¡¯s happening just next to my overstuffed bookshelf. It takes my sozzled brain a good few seconds to register what I¡¯m looking at. Then, in the very eloquent way all drunks have, I question reality. ¡°Whas¡¯a?¡± Stumbling forwards, I wave my hand vaguely in the air underneath the apparition, then through it. ¡°Stop that,¡± the ghost says, a mite crossly. ¡°This is difficult enough without you interrupting the projection.¡± ¡°Wha? It speaksh?¡± I murmur, my words slurring together as I stare at the approximately thirty-centimeter-tall pearly-white figure floating a few centimeters off my table. It looks like a man, neatly dressed in what I muzzily recognize as a vaguely medieval doublet and hose. A bit like what my male coworkers and I wore at an Elizabethan-inspired Christmas party, though with less-poofy trousers and a more normal-height collar¡ªwe¡¯d almost poked our own eyes out with the cardboard points of our costumes. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As for the face of the ghost, it looks rather like a stereotypical villain with a pointy beard, moustache, and a dark look that grows even darker as I prod it again. ¡°Stop that, I said!¡± the figure barks at me. ¡°Are you ¡­ drunk?¡± it¡ª he¡ªthen asks. I shrug languidly. ¡°Maaaybe,¡± I drawl. Looking around, I can¡¯t see the whiskey. If I can question whether I¡¯m drunk or not, I clearly haven¡¯t had enough. ¡°Where¡¯s z¡¯whiksy?¡± ¡°From the looks of it, you¡¯ve had more than enough,¡± the ghost tells me disapprovingly. ¡°This is the only hope for my legacy?¡± he mutters under his breath. ¡°Gods help me.¡± Sighing, he speaks louder. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time. Drunk or not, listen to me now.¡± I hold up one finger that turns into two as my eyes lose focus. ¡°Whiksy firsht,¡± I tell him as firmly as I can make it. The man sighs again, clear annoyance in the sound. ¡°Next to you, on the floor.¡± I lean over the arm of the chair quickly, almost tipping over it as my center of gravity shifts a bit too far. I see the bottle on the floor and grab it, sloshing its contents as I lean back. Already down by more than half, the liquid doesn¡¯t actually spill out of the bottle despite the abrupt movements. I tip it back, almost missing my mouth again. Taking gulps of the liquid, I barely feel the burn, but the alcohol content soon gets to me as the world starts spinning even more. I tip my head back to stare at the ceiling, marveling at the way the cracks are moving round and round and round ¡­ ¡°Now will you listen?¡± the apparition asks with frustration in his voice. I wave one hand vaguely in the air, almost hitting myself in the face. ¡°I hope you remember at least some of this when you sober up,¡± he mutters to himself before once more speaking loudly and clearly. ¡°I come with an offer. I need to bestow a powerful inheritance on a successor, and the Oracle has indicated that you are my only option if I do not wish my legacy to be destroyed within the next generation.¡± He continues speaking, but I have lost the ability to focus, staring at the ceiling vacantly as his voice becomes background sound, the odd word filtering in but not making much sense. It¡¯s almost soothing¡ªtoo much so for my drunken state to endure, and my eyes slip closed without me even noticing. My hands shaking a little, my head and throat still killing me even after the paracetamol I took, I once more smooth out the piece of parchment. I¡¯ve already read it at least three times since finding it, but I read it once more now, still disbelieving it could be real. Greetings, I will briefly reintroduce myself, as due to your ¡­ inebriated state during my visit, and the fact that you seemed to fall asleep halfway through, I doubt you took in much of what I had to say. I must be brief. To send the transportation emblem is effort enough; a message is a further expenditure and is greater the longer the message. It is also an expenditure that I had not anticipated needing after already having paid the cost to project a semblance of myself to explain in person and to answer all the questions of the candidate. Nevertheless, I shall present myself again: I am Lord Nicholas of Azaarde. I offer you a new life and the potential of power and influence beyond what you ever thought you could achieve, beyond what you ever thought possible: the inheritance that I and my family have built over the last few centuries. A powerful Class, Skill set, wealth, and further benefits I will inform you of in person await you. I have no heirs of my own and so I must choose one suitable. I have been informed that you are the only hope of my family¡¯s legacy surviving to the next generation, but you will have to prove yourself worthy of it. I would rather it dies with me than that it is destroyed by a drunkard. I say this so you know I do not make this offer lightly. You have the opportunity now of deciding the rest of your life. You can walk away and forget this ever happened. Imagine it was a dream. Or you can take your destiny in your hands and decide who you will be now and in the future. Should you decide to gamble everything on the chance that you show yourself deserving of what I can bestow on you, hold the transportation emblem accompanying this letter and acknowledge aloud your acceptance. I will warn you: the magic of the emblem will draw you across worlds and universes and there is NO way to return. Any unfinished business will, therefore, remain unfinished. You have twenty-four of your hours to decide; after this, the emblem will return to me, and I will know I must attempt to look elsewhere for a worthy heir. I am aware that it would take an unusual type of person to accept such an uncertain offer of potential power in exchange for everything you currently possess. For the sake of my legacy, I can only hope that you might be such an unusual character and, moreover, that you might overcome the trials ahead and prove yourself more than unusual¡ªthat you may prove yourself worthy. My sincerest and most cordial sentiments, Lord Nicholas Titanbend of Azaarde My fingers are numb, my heavily hungover brain still unable to fully understand what I¡¯m looking at here. After waking up and worshipping the porcelain god a few times, I¡¯d found this missive folded below an odd-looking emblem. It¡¯s thick and heavy, about three times the size of a coaster, and has an intricate golden design inlaid in a black background. It¡¯s a coat of arms with three sections: a fox in a side profile; a hammer crossed with a sword; and, filling the lower section, a fine spiderweb. The object isn¡¯t anything I¡¯ve seen before and definitely not something I put there. The parchment is odd too, much heavier and thicker than normal paper, the words written in fountain pen or something. What the hell is the letter talking about, anyway? An inheritance? And why are Class and Skills capitalized? I have a feeling he¡¯s not talking about going back to school. But there¡¯s one line my eyes are drawn back to again and again. ¡°You can take your destiny in your hands and decide who you will be now and in the future.¡± If it¡¯s somehow real ¡­ Cutting through the depression that I have been mired in for far too long is confusion, incredulity, and one more emotion. Like the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel, I feel the faintest glimmering of hope. Take my destiny into my own hands ¡­ ? It¡¯s a siren call, but my doubting mind quickly pulls me back down to earth. Magic doesn¡¯t exist. Does it? Though there have always been peddlers of miracles, I¡¯ve never truly believed that any of them were genuinely capable. But then, what created that spirit-like apparition last night? I remember it, recall waving my hand around and through it. I recall it speaking to me, and the letter here proves that it wasn¡¯t just a figment of my imagination. Unless I¡¯m being set up, of course¡ªtechnology nowadays is probably able to produce that effect. But who would bother trying to trick a loser like me? I¡¯m already weighing whether stepping off my apartment roof would be the best option. Trying anything on me now would be kicking a man already prone on the ground. So, really, what do I have to lose? If it works, great¡ªwith magic in the picture, maybe I might even be able to turn my life around for good. And if it doesn¡¯t? If it turns out that this is just one of those reality TV shows where they¡¯re going to leap out from behind the curtain to film my reaction? At least I might be able to offer someone a good laugh. I¡¯m tempted just to accept right away, my hand moving towards the emblem to say the activation phrase and get it over with ¡­ but then I hesitate. I¡¯m filthy, covered in alcohol that I sloshed over myself and still in my work clothes from yesterday. Is this really the self I want to take to my new life? Do I have time, though? Twenty-four hours, he said ¡­ It was dark when the apparition came; I remember that much. And the letter must have come after he appeared because he¡¯s referenced my ¡­ drunkenness. I eye the window in my bedroom. The light is already falling¡ªbetween my tiredness from alcohol and my genuine exhaustion, I¡¯ve slept almost the whole day away. I should have time to have a shower, though. My eyes fall on a picture on my night table, the last taken before she was killed. Maybe I even have enough time to pack a few important keepsakes. If I¡¯m leaving this world for good, I don¡¯t want to leave anything behind that I¡¯ll sorely miss. Decided, I pull a suitcase from under my bed and start moving around my bedroom and kitchen like a whirlwind. Wait. I hesitate, pausing in the middle of the room. Can I even take anything with me? It¡¯s a good point. I rush back to the letter and read it again. There¡¯s no indication either way, but surely I wouldn¡¯t just be teleported in the nude? So, I should at least be able to bring whatever I¡¯m wearing. Surely it¡¯s not too far-fetched to imagine I might also be able to bring anything I¡¯m holding? Though, I should probably be able to lift whatever it is off the ground, just to increase the odds. But, again, what do I have to lose? If I don¡¯t pack the things, they¡¯re lost anyway. If I do pack them, I have a chance at taking them with me. Though, I¡¯d better not take too long about it¡ªI don¡¯t want to accidentally miss my window of time. It turns out that fitting a life into a few bags is actually pretty difficult. It¡¯s like packing for a holiday in a country I¡¯ve never been to, where I have no idea what awaits me. In the end, I¡¯ve filled most of the two bags with half my wardrobe and a few pairs of shoes. I¡¯ve got my Kindle and phone and their chargers, but I¡¯ll probably have to rewire the plugs since I don¡¯t know if my universal adaptor is actually universal. Or trans-universal. I¡¯ve taken a cross-head screwdriver anyway. I¡¯ve got my favorite books alongside my Kindle, so at least I should have something to read even if the plugs don¡¯t work. My bathroom still looks a bit like a bomb hit it. When the alcohol turned my stomach earlier, I wasn¡¯t always quick enough to get to the toilet. Or well-coordinated enough. I¡¯ve settled for just grabbing the items on the basin¡ªmy toothbrush and shaving kit. I should be able to buy shampoo and that sort of thing later, I guess. Either way, I¡¯m not walking through vomit and broken shower glass to get them. Otherwise, I¡¯ve made sure I have my wallet and a few family pictures. I hesitated over including the couple with Lucy I had turned towards the wall after she left, but in the end, I decided to take them. It¡¯s a one-way trip, after all. I even remembered to grab my swimsuit and a pack of condoms, just in case. I pick up a few little nick-nacks that I figure might not be in Nicholas¡¯s world and with that, I¡¯m ready. About to grab the emblem, I pause, a final thought occurring. Nipping into the kitchen, I wrinkle my nose at the smell and carefully avoid the puddle of broken glass and alcohol lying on the floor to access my pots. Maybe it seems a bit weird, but it took me years to find a wok that cooked food to my satisfaction; I¡¯m not going to leave it behind now. After finding a spot in my bag to stuff the wok into, I finally grab the round disk of the emblem, hoping that it won¡¯t suddenly disappear out of my fingers, a minute too late to accept the offer. It¡¯s heavy in my hands, both with its physical weight and the weight of this decision. I hesitate, even though it feels like precious seconds are trickling out of my fingers. Do I really want to do this? Go into something completely unknown? Even assuming that the presence of ¡°magic¡±¡ªor technology sufficiently advanced to be called such¡ªis real and I¡¯m about to be teleported somewhere else, there¡¯s still a lot that could go wrong. What if this is actually some sort of scam for human traffickers or something? What if by ¡°accepting the offer,¡± I end up becoming some sort of alien slave? I have no guarantee that this Nicholas guy is telling the truth about his motivations. And is my life really that bad? Maybe this dark emptiness won¡¯t always be all I have to look forward to; maybe one day I could pull myself up, maybe make something big of myself ¡­ I bite my lip and then my grip tightens on the emblem. No, I¡¯ve made my decision. Here¡¯s my big chance to make something of myself, to turn my desire to end my life into a desire to transform it. If I don¡¯t at least try this, I might as well just throw myself out of my window and hope I don¡¯t hurt anyone by landing on them. This is my decision, for better or for worse. ¡°Hold the transportation emblem accompanying this letter and acknowledge aloud your acceptance,¡± said the letter. I¡¯m about to do so when it occurs to me again that I might be better off lifting my suitcases off the ground rather than just holding their handles. It takes a bit of juggling to succeed in holding both suitcases as well as the emblem; the effort it takes to lift what has to be forty-plus kilos reminds me that, as well as everything else, I¡¯ve been neglecting the gym. Still, I succeed eventually and even as my fingers strain and my face reddens from the effort, I gasp out the activation phrase. ¡°I accept.¡± Book One: Leap - Chapter Two: Proof of Worthiness For several long moments, nothing happens. I open my eyes, realizing I¡¯ve screwed them shut, only to see my familiar apartment. Did I do something wrong? Or is it a prank after all? No one¡¯s jumped out from behind the door to laugh in my face and film my reaction, but maybe it hasn¡¯t been long enough yet. Then, as if it just needed a bit of time to get going, I feel the emblem heat up, almost burning my palm. The world lurches sickeningly around me, and I feel my stomach crawl into my mouth as I hear the rushing of a great wind. I close my eyes again in a desperate attempt to quell my motion sickness and only open them again when the rushing wind calms down. What meets my gaze is completely different from anything I was expecting. My mouth hangs open, and I lose the battle with my stomach and, unimpressively, empty it all over the surface on which I stand. When my stomach is finally empty and beginning to feel settled again, I look around, hoping that my initial impressions were wrong. Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t appear to be that way; if anything, it¡¯s worse. I don¡¯t know why, but when I imagined where I would be taken, I¡¯d always envisioned a city, or a manor house, or even a palace. The ¡°lord¡± in the letter must have been what gave me that idea, I realize. This ¡­ It¡¯s not a city. It¡¯s not even a village, let alone anything more palatial. Instead, it looks like there are no signs of civilization in sight. I¡¯m standing on the upper slopes of a mountain, a rocky area covered only in a thin layer of hardy grass. Above me on one side towers a great snow-covered peak; on the other side lies a vast valley full of trees. It¡¯s cradled between mountain peaks and disappears into the distance; my eyes are unable to even make out the mountains at its end. The humid mistiness to the air above the trees doesn¡¯t help in that respect. Otherwise, as far as my eye can see, there is a sea of other mountain peaks stretching out from the mountain on which I stand. They, too, are obscured by mist when my gaze travels too far. I¡¯ve never been anywhere with such untouched nature; there¡¯s not a human construction in sight. It¡¯s intimidating and yet, at the same time, almost exhilarating. To think that I might be the first person to see this view ¡­ The temperature itself is actually rather pleasant, perhaps on the slightly chilly side when the wind blows. The air is crisp and fresh. Too fresh. There¡¯s not a hint of the polluting smells of human presence¡ªnot fire, nor petrol. It truly appears to be a paradise for the intrepid backpacker. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never been into the whole backpacking thing, and I don¡¯t think anyone would label me as ¡°intrepid.¡± Heck, I don¡¯t even go on camping trips! I hated them as a child, and then there were no more childhood holidays after ¡­ the incident. As an adult, holidays to me meant relaxing in whatever luxury I could afford. I always chose to stay at a hotel, either picking a warm place for a sojourn to the beach or a cold place for skiing. A nice convenient location, some fun or relaxing activities during the day, good food cooked by someone else in the evening ¡­ That¡¯s what I call enjoyable. The only reason I own the massive backpack I¡¯m currently wearing is that I was convinced to take part in a ¡°team building¡± exercise soon after being hired by a previous employer. Instead of being some fun, well-organized time for us to get to know each other and improve our working relationships, it was a week¡¯s camping trip in the wilds of the Brecon Beacons. Apparently, going hungry, cold, wet, and miserable for a week with a whole load of co-workers who barely knew each other was supposed to help team spirit. And the reason I¡¯d bought a whole new fancy backpack was because I was trying to impress my new colleagues. Spoiler alert: it didn¡¯t work. Perhaps it would have if my sturdy, practical backpack had been accompanied by a sturdy, practical man, but, as I¡¯ve already established, camping isn¡¯t my thing. Which is why I¡¯m currently desperately hoping that this is some sort of a joke and Lord Nicholas is about to jump out from behind a rock or something. Or that there might be some well-hidden palace just around the corner. As I think that, the emblem in my hand warms up again. Hope and nerves both rise inside of me again. What if, despite what the letter said, I¡¯m actually about to be transported back? Honestly, I don¡¯t really know how to feel about that. As it happens, I don¡¯t have the time to do any deep soul-searching, as that apparently isn¡¯t the reason for the emblem¡¯s reaction. Instead, it crumbles into glowing motes of dust, which easily fall out of my hand. The motes drift down, but instead of coating the ground as normal, they take shape in the air. Under my disbelieving gaze, a wooden table comes into existence, rather incongruously placed in this completely natural landscape. It¡¯s a good solid-looking piece of furniture, though the slightly rough ground means that it doesn¡¯t look completely stable. I rub my eyes, I¡¯ll admit it. My mouth might also be hanging open. I touch the table tentatively, wondering if it will just shatter into dust again before my fingertips can come into contact. It doesn¡¯t, of course, and I just spend a few moments marveling at my first experience with magic. To create something solid from nothing? Amazing! Once I manage to get past my amazement at how the table appeared, I start to explore what is actually on it. At least, I try to, but the gloves I¡¯m wearing rather impede my ability to pick things up. Cursing softly, I strip them off and shrug off about three extra layers of clothes while I¡¯m at it¡ªI¡¯m hot! Now more comfortable, I turn back to the table. There are a number of items. Some of them are recognizable, if a little alarming in what they imply; others just look like strangely glowing stones of different shades and sizes. Right in the center is another piece of paper; however, it¡¯s a scroll rather than a folded piece of parchment. It¡¯s rolled up with a blue ribbon and sealed with black wax, indented with the same heraldry that had been on the emblem. Picking up the scroll, I crack the wax reluctantly, briefly admiring the way it looks like something out of the medieval era. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Greetings, You have taken the first step. You are an unusual person indeed to have dared the unknown in search of a fleeting greatness. However, greatness requires a proof of worthiness, and the price for transporting you from your world to mine is not small. Thus, for the purpose of efficiency, the task for the two aims shall be one and the same. Your objectives in this task are twofold. First, survival: you must survive in your current world for a year. However, you must do more than just survive to achieve your second objective: collecting enough Energy to pay for your passage to my world. I am sure that you will be confused about this last point, so let me explain. I stop reading at that, taking a deep breath and then starting at the top again. No, I had understood what it was saying. I have to survive here. For a year. Anger rises within me, but I¡¯m self-aware enough to recognize the fear that curdles my stomach underneath it. All my self-awareness doesn¡¯t stop me from feeling this, though, and my thoughts are quickly overtaken by emotion. As the wave of heat rises within me, my hand clenches and the rustle of paper crunching sounds loudly in the still air. A small part of my mind notes how much more effort I have to use to crush the paper than I would expect, but most of my awareness is concentrating on my thoughts about what I¡¯ve just read. This is completely ridiculous! What kind of ¡°opportunity¡± or ¡°new life¡± is this? Setting aside my worst-case scenarios of some alien version of human trafficking, if this guy Nicholas was on the level, I would expect him to at least welcome me in person! Not dump me in some deserted area and tell me to ¡°survive¡±¡ªfor a year. The fear curdling in my stomach quickly turns into panic. What do I know about survival? A week in the Brecon Beacons hardly counts! I¡¯ve never even watched those reality TV survival shows! I curse and kick the leg of the table making the items on it wobble alarmingly, one of the colorful stones almost rolling off completely. How the hell is this supposed to show my worthiness? By failing miserably to even set up a tent? No, that¡¯s not referring back to an incident during my previous ill-fated expedition in the ¡°wilds.¡± Really! I swear again and storm away from the table. My behavior can be best described as a tantrum as I shout, stamp, wave my arms in anger, and kick the ground. In reality, it¡¯s about more than just this particular problem; I realize after a while that I¡¯m venting all the pent-up anger and frustration and, yes, grief that has been brewing in me over the last few days. Hell, weeks. I¡¯m crying and I don¡¯t even realize it until my eyes blur enough that I can¡¯t see clearly. This ends my tirade as I kick a hidden rock in a tussock of grass. Sharp pain shoots up my foot. Of course, when I say my tirade comes to an end, that¡¯s only once I¡¯ve turned the air blue while hopping on one leg. I decide to pretend that the tears are from the pain and let myself go a bit. It¡¯s not like anyone is here to see me, after all. Slowly the pain ebbs and with it goes all the intensity of emotion that had been moving me. In its place I feel calmer, emptier, and ever-so-slightly more settled, like perhaps not now, and not anytime soon, but one day I might feel better. About myself. About my life. Of course, if I really have to survive in an untouched jungle by myself for a year, my life isn¡¯t likely to last very long, but then, I¡¯m the stupid one who decided to accept magical transportation without reading the small print. Or even having the small print to read, as a matter of fact. Maybe that should have been my first warning. Honestly, when I think about it, I¡¯m not angry at Nicholas. Not really. I¡¯m angry at myself. Of course it was going to turn out to be too good to be true; it always is. Anytime I¡¯ve let myself get sucked into something that seems fantastic on the surface, it¡¯s always turned out to be a smelly, putrid bog underneath. This is no different. And although I know I didn¡¯t actually expect magic¡ªor highly advanced technology capable of teleportation and materializing objects out of nothing¡ªto be real, that¡¯s not really an excuse. Nor is the fact that I made the decision under a sense of time pressure and while hungover. I¡¯m better than that. Or I should be, at least. Contracts are kind of my day job, after all. Were. I sigh, my shoulders slumping, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. Well, I made the decision, and now I¡¯m trapped somewhere with no way to go home, completely at the mercy of nature and whatever these items are. I suppose I¡¯d better make sure I know everything I can about the situation in which I find myself, even if it feels a bit like locking the door after the horse has bolted. Still, I might find out that it¡¯s not quite as bad as I think¡ªmaybe the letter will say that there¡¯s a city beyond this valley that I need to get to or something. After picking up the crumpled piece of paper from where I had thrown it in my tantrum, I smooth it out once more and continue to read. Energy is found in all things, even on your original world. On your world, however, there was such a minimal density of it that you could not even detect its presence. On my world, Energy is an essential part of life. Relevant to you at this moment are Classes and magic. It is why the stones I have sent you are so useful: the Class stone gives you the Tamer Class and all the advantages that come with this; the knowledge stones allow you to instantly absorb knowledge of a subject, up to a certain limit; the Skill stone instantly gives you access to a Skill outside your Class set, which you can then use immediately. All of this is only possible because of our ability to use Energy. As, of course, is my ability to contact you and pull you part of the way towards my world. Why only part of the way? For one simple reason: the amount of Energy to pull you all the way is significant. Frankly, I would need to know that you were worth neglecting all my other responsibilities for the task. As I said at the beginning, it is far more efficient to combine a test of your worthiness with the practicality of paying for your journey. To be completely blunt, you need to collect sufficient Energy before the year is up. If you do not, the spell will take its due regardless. Given the distances involved, this would most likely cost you your life. As the anchor and initiator of the spell, I would be held partially accountable for your debt should you arrive in my world without having fully paid it, so you can see that it is also in my interest that you gain in strength. I stop reading for a moment, staring sightlessly over the top of the letter. Great. From bad to worse, I say to myself bitterly. Not only do I need to survive here for a year, but I can¡¯t even plan on just finding a hiding spot and becoming a hermit. No, I actually have to do something to gather ¡°Energy¡± or I¡¯ll be signing my death warrant anyway. Feeling sick again, I look back at the letter. Better get it over and done with so at least I know what I¡¯m dealing with. Book One: Leap - Chapter Three: A Treasure Trove Scanning the letter to find the point where I¡¯d left off before, I feel my anger rekindle at the cavalier approach Nicholas seems to be taking to my life. Sure, maybe he might have some consequences too if I fail, but it seems very much that the risk is all on my side of things. I continue reading. At this point, I imagine you are wondering how to collect Energy to pay the debt of your passage. In short, by killing beasts. When a creature is killed, part of its Energy goes to the one who kills it. Believe it or not, the same was true on your previous world; it was just such an Energy-starved place that it would take longer than you have to live currently for you to even start making noticeable progress to pay for your passage. Indeed, that is why I made the choice to pull you to your current world: it may not be populated by civilized beings, but it is well suffused with Energy. A treasure trove, of sorts, if you would only reach out to harvest it. I feel my heart sink. ¡°Not populated by civilized beings¡± is the fatal blow to my last, clearly futile, hopes of there being a city beyond the valley that I could travel to. Apparently, I¡¯m being abandoned to the wilderness. What was that term Nicholas used? I check the letter again. A ¡°treasure trove,¡± he considers it. Somehow, I doubt there are chests full of goodies anywhere near me ¡­ And even if there were, where would I spend gold or jewels without any cities? I read on to find out what exactly has been given to me in order to even hope to survive in this unpopulated ¡°treasure trove¡± of a world. I have provided the following resources for you: - A Tamer Class stone (Epic¡ªorange) - A System lore stone (Novice¡ªlight blue) - A woodcraft knowledge stone (Novice¡ªlight green) - A hunting knowledge stone (Novice¡ªlight brown) - A tracking skill stone (Initiate¡ªbrown) - A Lay-on-Hands Skill stone (Beginner¡ªaquamarine) - A survival pack including a knife, a water flask, 2 days¡¯ rations, and some other essential items - 2 minor health potions These resources should be sufficient to allow you to start the path to power. Because your world seems to be one of technological advancements rather than individual survival, I have included several knowledge stones on this topic. It is kill or be killed, traveler. Harvest the Energy of others or be yourself harvested. I hope to see you on the other side. My most cordial and hopeful sentiments, Lord Nicholas Titanbend of Azaarde P.S. I suggest that you use the Class stone first and then the Skill stone. Once you have received your Class, you will gain access to your status screen. Check your Intelligence stat before deciding how to use the knowledge and Skill stones; unless you have an Intelligence stat of ten or more, I would suggest not using more than one knowledge stone per day, as you will be unable to absorb the majority of the second. You would need an Intelligence stat of more than twenty to absorb more than two stones in one day with reasonable efficacy. I stare at the letter, feeling numb. Then I snort; I suppose I have been given what I asked for. If my guess is correct, the things this Nicholas guy has given me are awesome. I just wish I didn¡¯t have to be in the wilderness for a year to get them. Sighing, I lower the piece of paper down and regard the items on the desk thoughtfully. Nicholas suggested using the Class stone first¡ªthat¡¯s apparently the orange one. Easily spotting it among the other colors, I pick it up and turn it over in my hand. The stone is warmer than I would have imagined, almost like someone else has just been holding it. There¡¯s also some slight ¡­ buzz or static electricity¡ªthe way a rubbed balloon attracts hair except the other way around? Something like that. Either way, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my imagination to say that I feel something I shouldn¡¯t from a simple stone, never mind the fact that it¡¯s glowing. I figure that I should probably follow Nicholas¡¯s advice; he¡¯s the one who sent me these items, after all. Sure, since arriving in this uninhabited place¡ªinstead of wherever he is, to receive the inheritance promised¡ªI¡¯m taking his words with a bit more salt. Even so, I can¡¯t really see why he would give me bad advice¡ªthinking otherwise is just letting my paranoia take over. If he¡¯d wanted me to die immediately, he could have just not sent me anything. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Taking a deep breath, I activate the stone. Well, that¡¯s what I try to do. Turns out, staring intently at the stone is not how to activate it. ¡°Activate?¡± I say hesitantly. Nothing happens. ¡°Gain Class?¡± Still nada. ¡°Start? Infuse? Osmosis? Damn you, do something! ¡± I shout at it, squeezing and glaring. My eyes go wide as a crunching sounds and a crack appears on its surface. My stomach drops as the crack spreads and fractures further until the whole stone falls into a million pieces no bigger than finely grained sand. Fear claws at my belly¡ªhave I just broken my only chance to survive the next year? The dust glows and suddenly starts melting into my skin. For a moment, it¡¯s like the world has paused, and then the next thing I know, pain is shooting through every atom of my body. It isn¡¯t excruciating, but it¡¯s everywhere. Like pins and needles but not just in one limb. Plus, after a breath, it¡¯s not just at the surface but under as well. I¡¯m struck with the thought that I could almost map my entire body out, organs included, if I could build a picture based on the prickling sensation. While not terribly painful, it¡¯s enough to make me want to tear my skin off as my mind interprets the prickling as insanely itchy. Then, a few moments later, the pain vanishes as if it was never there. Everything feels ¡­ off. Just ¡­ wrong, somehow. Like the feeling when you walk into a familiar place where something has changed, but you can¡¯t immediately spot whether it¡¯s the furniture that¡¯s moved or the wall that¡¯s been painted a slightly different shade. The feeling of wrongness intensifies as a screen suddenly appears in front of me. The screen is made of whitish mist formed in a boxlike shape. The main part of the box is almost opaque, but it fades abruptly around the edges until I can see normally with my peripheral vision. I can just about see through the box enough to tell if I¡¯m about to walk into something, but it would definitely be a better idea to stay still while using it, I think. Black words in a clear font style are printed on the densest section of the misty space. At the top are two separate words; they look almost like tabs. One says ¡°Status¡± and the other says ¡°Messages.¡± From the looks of it, I¡¯m in the ¡°Messages¡± section.
Congratulations! You have absorbed a Class: Tamer. You consequently have access to your status. To see this, think or say ¡°status.¡± You have 0 status points to assign. You have 3 new messages.
Next message? Y / N
I think ¡°yes¡± and the words dissolve away and are replaced swiftly with another message.
Congratulations! You have new Class Skills (2).
Tame: activate this Skill on a being and it will offer the being the option of becoming bound to you. Warning: beings may choose to reject the Bond or require actions from you in exchange for accepting the Bond.
Dominate: activate this Skill on a being to enter into a Battle of Wills, success in which binds the being to you as a Bound. Certain previous actions may increase your likelihood of winning the battle, even with a lower Willpower than your opponent. This includes, but is not limited to, having already defeated the being physically, having trapped the being so that they are unable to move, and having terrified the being. Warning: if you lose the Battle of Wills, you will be rendered vulnerable for ten seconds as you recover. Recommended Willpower before attempting a Battle of Wills: 10¨C30 for a Stage 1 beast.
Next message? Y / N
Once more, I think ¡°yes¡± even while my thoughts whirl.
Congratulations on achieving a Class. You have gained access to an Inventory and a Map.
Your Inventory can hold up to 10 item slots per Class level, starting with five additional spaces per Class-rarity rank above Uncommon. Identical items can stack; the number of items per stack is determined according to the item. Live items cannot be stored. Please note that the storage and withdrawal of items consumes Energy and will not function until you have gained some. You can access your Inventory by thinking or saying ¡°Inventory.¡±
Your Map keeps track of your environment. This is a passive ability, which you can toggle on or off. This ability consumes a small amount of Energy and will not function until you have gained some. You can access your Map by thinking or saying ¡°Map.¡±
Next message? Y / N
Congratulations! You are now able to absorb Skill stones. 1 Skill stone detected in range. Do you wish to absorb this Skill stone now? Please note: you can choose to absorb this Skill stone later by holding it and thinking or saying ¡°absorb Skill stone.¡±
Y / N
I hesitate but think ¡°no¡± for now. I have enough to consider right now without adding an extra dimension to it. A new message forms in front of me.
Close interface / Return to message panel / View status summary
Nicholas said something about looking at my status screen or something, didn¡¯t he? I think to myself. ¡°View status summary,¡± I say. The screen dissolves and reforms, but I don¡¯t have time to register anything it¡¯s showing me. A flash of light scrambles my view and pain explodes in my head. Book One: Leap - Chapter Four: Zest for Life Wha¡ª?¡± I mumble blearily, my eyes crossing. I can see white and black in front of me, but the shapes aren¡¯t resolving themselves into anything recognizable. What happened? Light, pain ¡­ A screen. A status screen. That¡¯s right. There¡¯s the sound of something thudding next to me, and a strong musky smell meets my nose, which wrinkles in response. I can¡¯t see. I need to see. What was the thing I needed to say again? Oh yes. ¡°Close screen.¡± The blurry figures disappear, and I find myself staring at a rock. A rock that is covered in blood. My blood. I got hit by a rock? Is it raining rocks now? I can only blame the almost certain concussion for the glacial progress of my thoughts. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised my skull didn¡¯t explode like a watermelon¡ªit must have only been a glancing blow. If it¡¯s raining rocks, I need to get to shelter yesterday. Abruptly, I hear a rustle of feathers. Turning towards it, I¡¯m just in time to see a sharp beak coming at my face. I flinch back, my head protesting fervently at the movement. It¡¯s enough to avoid getting my eyes pecked out. Instead, the sharp beak latches onto my nose. ¡°Gerrof!¡± I shout, squinting through tears of pain. I flail my arms in front of me and, more by luck than design, manage to hit it in the neck. ¡°Wark! ¡± I hear, and the bird lets go. The relief is temporary¡ªnow it¡¯s released my nose, it has full access to the rest of my body. I curl up, trying to avoid the painful bites as much as possible. Meanwhile, my stomach is trying to exit my body and my head is aching fit to burst. My nose would also like to register its discontent, but I have no time for that. This is not working. The bloody bird is going to win at this rate. The rock it must have dropped on my head has done half of the job for it already. The rock! Bit by bit, I shift back towards the rock and cover it with my body. I grip it with my hand, preparing even as the bird starts drawing blood through my clothes. Summoning up all my strength, I explode into movement. Well, I stagger to a half-kneeling position, at least, and scrabble with one hand to grab the bird anywhere I can¡ªits neck, it turns out¡ªand flail with the rock. Once more, luck seems to be with me. I¡¯ve actually grabbed it at a good point to drag its head down to the ground, where I can start beating at it with the rock. I start swearing with each blow, taking out all my anger and fear at the situation I¡¯ve found myself in on the now-helpless bird. Eventually, it stills and its body collapses. Its wings go limp from where they had been battering at my body, and it becomes a dead weight against me. I stop myself when the head is just bloody mush and lean back to sit on my heels, staring blankly ahead of me. Emotions course through me, unfamiliar both in their type and intensity. Recently, all I¡¯ve experienced this strongly are fear and grief. And, of course, the leaden dragging of hopelessness and depression that has almost consumed me more than once in the last week. This ¡­ There¡¯s fear, to be sure: the lingering twisting, curdling sense of terror. But how ironic for someone who stood on the edge of a building so recently, only a bare few centimeters away from tumbling to my death, that the fear is of dying. The perfect opportunity to solve all my problems by just letting the bird do its thing appears and I suddenly discover that I don¡¯t want to die. I laugh suddenly, feeling like a weight has been lifted from my chest. It¡¯s illogical, and ridiculous, but so many of my thoughts over the past while have been consumed with questioning whether I even wanted to continue living. To suddenly be confronted with an unmistakable desire for survival is ¡­ a relief. A decision, finally. Having acknowledged that, I now realize what the other emotion running riot through me is. Triumph. This bird attacked me, tried to kill me, and it failed because I succeeded in killing it first. It¡¯s been so long since I have felt the triumph of winning that I almost don¡¯t recognize the sensation. Of course, then I realize I¡¯ve ¡°won¡± by killing another living creature, and I feel a moment of guilt and not a little nervousness at this new side of myself. I¡¯ll admit it¡ªI¡¯m a soft office worker. I don¡¯t even kill spiders I find in my bathtub! Never in a million years would I have imagined I would brutally beat in the head of some bird. I console myself that I didn¡¯t go seeking this fight; the bird is the one who dropped a rock on my head. That, of course, reminds me of the pain in my head, my nose, and innumerable other places in my body, which are no doubt becoming dark bruises as I sit here and think. Plus, if another of those creatures attacks me with my head the way it is¡ªboth my state of mind and my actual physical state¡ªI¡¯ll be done for. Actually ¡­ wasn¡¯t there something about healing in the list Nicholas wrote? Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. I check the table and see that either the bird¡¯s flailing around or mine has knocked everything off its surface. I curse and my stomach drops. Now that I¡¯ve rediscovered a zest for life, I feel like I¡¯m scrabbling for every possible advantage I can get. I need to find those stones! Setting the table back on its legs from where it had been knocked onto its side, I search around the area for Nicholas¡¯s gifts. The letter is an obvious pale spot, and I grab it. It¡¯s slightly smudged by blood but still legible, thankfully. I use the list of items to find everything and put them back on the table. Then, with a wary glance up at the sky, I grab the items instead and tuck myself under the table¡ªjust in case another avian decides to try to drop a stone on my head. Feeling a little bit more secure under cover, my stomach only settles once I¡¯m sure I haven¡¯t lost anything. With how disadvantaged I am already, I really can¡¯t afford to lose even one of these lifelines. The last few minutes have proven just how quickly things can turn into a fight for life or death. I take in a deep breath and try to pull myself together a bit. I may still have a stomach that feels like a pile of quivering jelly and probably a concussed head, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t think. Still, sorting out my physical discomfort would probably help. I knock back one of the health potions. In just a few seconds, my head is significantly clearer¡ªand painless. My eyes widen as the implications sink in, then my stomach sinks again as I realize that I might have made a mistake. If it cleared my cracked skull and other bumps and bruises so easily, how would it do with more significant life-threatening problems? I have no idea what is facing me; what if tomorrow I end up with a broken bone or something, and no potion? Come on, Markus, I tell myself sternly. Pull yourself together. Think logically. You can¡¯t change the past, but you can change the future. All right, try to think through this logically, like it¡¯s just another problem at the office. Though, maybe that¡¯s a bad idea as I was recently fired, probably to be replaced by some ticketing system based in India ¡­ No, don¡¯t think about that, I reprimand myself. I have no desire to once more sink into dark depression. I¡¯m stuck far from home in a completely unfamiliar environment. That¡¯s the problem. However, I do have resources available to me. I have a lot of things in my bags¡ªthough, whether they¡¯ll prove useful for survival in the wilderness remains to be seen¡ªand I have the items Nicholas gave me. Surely I can find a solution to my issue about survival among all of those? I review the item list in the letter again. Which items are essential for my survival now and which will be more important later? I¡¯ve already absorbed the Class stone, and Nicholas suggested absorbing the Lay-on-Hands Skill stone after the Class stone. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s supposed to be for, but I¡¯ve already decided that I need to trust his advice. Maybe it¡¯s some sort of crafting Skill, enabling me to magically make the things I need for survival by touching the right materials? That would be pretty useful. Absorbing the stone seems like the natural next step. After that, there are four more stones: two knowledge stones, a lore stone, and a skill stone. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any difference between the capital S for the Lay-on-Hands Skill stone and the small s for the tracking skill stone, or if that¡¯s just a writing error. From what I understand of the implications in Nicholas¡¯s letter, I can absorb a ¡°Skill¡± stone and knowledge stone without a problem, but can I do the same with a ¡°skill¡± stone and knowledge stone? Do I want to take the risk? Probably not, as the consequences would be that I lose a large part of the information from the stone, making it worthless. All of these seem far too important to my survival to do that. In fact, that¡¯s the problem: I can¡¯t really decide which one stone is the most important now. They¡¯re all important! Though Nicholas didn¡¯t put a description of the stones into the letter, I have to guess that the tracking skill stone and hunting knowledge stone are what they say on the tin. The problem is that both of those are going to be absolutely essential for me once the rations Nicholas has given me run out¡ªhunting to provide the meat and tracking to find the animals in the first place. As for the other two, the System lore stone will probably tell me more about the Class system, which will be important as I progress. Of all of them, this is the only one I can put in the ¡°important later¡± category, as it doesn¡¯t seem quite so essential to my immediate survival. The final one, on the other hand, is a good candidate for the first stone I use after the Skill stone, if it does what I think it might. Woodcraft could mean carpentry¡ªliterally crafting with wood¡ªbut I have to guess from what Nicholas said that it¡¯s more likely to mean the other sense of the word: being able to survive in the wood. While that might not help me much with the mountain I¡¯m currently on, it will no doubt be invaluable in the forest that fills the vast majority of the valley I¡¯m more likely to spend time in. Of course, before I can decide on the order, I need to check out my Intelligence level. Nicholas was clear: unless I have an Intelligence stat over ten, I can¡¯t absorb more than one knowledge stone a day. That said, I would imagine my Intelligence is over ten unless I start at zero because I¡¯ve just gained my Class. After all, I always did pretty well at school, and I left uni with a First Class degree. Plus, I¡¯ve worked most of the time since leaving uni, and my employers have generally been satisfied with my performance. Until the last one¡ªcost-cutting misers. ¡°Status screen,¡± I say, then reflexively flinch sideways. The last time I did this, a rock landed on my head. I don¡¯t think the two are linked, but better safe than sorry. When nothing comes flying at me or lands on the table above my head, I focus on the screen itself. Book One: Leap - Chapter Five: Lack of Wisdom
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 0 Energy to next level: 2% Energy absorption rate: 5u/hr Energy towards debt: 0%
Intelligence 6 Mana: 60/60
Wisdom 3 Mana regeneration rate: 75u/hr
Willpower 4 Health regeneration rate: 4u/hr
Constitution 4 Health: 40/40
Strength 5 Stamina: 20/20
Dexterity 3 Stamina regeneration rate: 30u/hr
Class Skills: Dominate ¨C Beginner 1 Tame ¨C Beginner 1 Non-Class Skills: Lay-on-Hands ¨C Beginner 9
Six,¡± I splutter indignantly, ignoring everything else. ¡°Six?!¡± How could I only have a six for Intelligence? And how could that be my highest stat? I mean, the fact that it¡¯s my highest stat isn¡¯t in itself a surprise. I¡¯ve always been more than half-decent at academia. It¡¯s the fact that it¡¯s so low, along with all my other stats, that shocks me. Did all the days at the gym mean nothing? Or maybe they did help since Strength is only one point behind my Intelligence stat ¡­ I smile wryly as I note my Wisdom stat¡ªnot inaccurate, I suppose. I have made some rather stupid decisions, and not just today. Perhaps I ought to think about increasing that at some point, though probably not immediately, as I can¡¯t really see its benefit in the immediate future. Though, maybe that¡¯s my lack of Wisdom talking ¡­ Sighing, I close the screen. I need to spend some time thinking about it and trying to work out how all the different elements function. But not right now. For now, I know that I definitely can¡¯t absorb more than one knowledge stone a day. So, which knowledge stone? I look over the stones again thoughtfully. Hunting, tracking, and woodcraft are all essential for me at the moment, and I¡¯m grateful Nicholas sent them; though, not so grateful that it outweighs my resentment at him sending me here in the first place. I wrench my thoughts back from that dark place again and reconcentrate on the subject at hand. Based on what I surmise is the function of each of the stones, I reckon that woodcraft is my first priority, and I¡¯ll have to hope that it doesn¡¯t mean carpentry. After that ¡­ Well, I¡¯ll have to decide later whether I¡¯m going to need to know how to hunt before learning how to track or vice versa. If the bird was an exception and most creatures here avoid me, I¡¯ll need to be able to find them; therefore, tracking. If today is not an exception, then probably the animals will find me, so hunting becomes more of a priority. Either way, it¡¯s not a decision I can make now. Looking back at the letter, I identify the two stones to absorb and triple-check that it should be fine to absorb both of them. ¡°I suggest that you use the Class stone first and then the Skill stone. Once you have received your Class, you will gain access to your status screen. Check your Intelligence stat before deciding how to use the knowledge and Skill stones; unless you have an Intelligence stat of ten or more, I would suggest not using more than one knowledge stone per day,¡± I read to myself, glancing around every so often just to make sure that nothing is sneaking up on me. ¡°So, that means that the Skill stone, the¡±¡ªI check the letter¡ª¡°aquamarine one doesn¡¯t depend on my Intelligence stat while the ¡­ light green one does.¡± I¡¯m not completely sure, but I¡¯m sure enough. Now, which one is ¡°aquamarine¡± and which is ¡°light green¡±? Because there are three stones that all look similar to me! Arranging them so they go from blue to green, I pick up the middle stone. ¡°Here¡¯s hoping my color identification is the same as Nicholas¡¯s,¡± I say to myself grimly. Thanks to the previous instructive message, I focus on the object and think, absorb Skill stone. It takes a moment, but then it¡¯s almost like the stone turns to gel, slumping into a pool in my hand. The semi-liquid is quickly absorbed, leaving a faint glow in the palm of my hand that just as quickly disappears. Unlike the previous time, there¡¯s no pain. Instead, a sort of ecstasy envelops me, an energy running through every cell in my body and making it feel completely fresh. It feels like something is going through my body, searching for problems to solve and injuries to heal. I don¡¯t think this is a crafting Skill, I think to myself muzzily, my eyes rolling into the back of my head at the bliss. And the next moment, I groan and collapse forwards over my crossed legs as someone drives a railroad spike through my head¡ªfortunately, not a real one; though, honestly, it might be better if it was. Then at least it would be over quickly. In reality, it¡¯s memories, or perhaps impressions would be a better word, which are being forced into my head. I suddenly realize that I know all about Lay-on-Hands and how to use it. I curse out loud as I suddenly regret taking the health potion. Lay-on-Hands most definitely isn¡¯t a crafting Skill¡ªit¡¯s a healing Skill. Sure, it might not have healed my cracked skull in a single cast¡ªI can¡¯t tell what level it¡¯s at without looking at my status, nor how much mana I have¡ªbut I could have used it multiple times until I was healed. I only have¡ªhad¡ªtwo health potions; now I only have one. What if I¡¯m severely injured and out of mana at some point in the future? Gritting my teeth, there¡¯s not much I can do about the new wave of chagrin that washes through me. All I can do is try to do better in the future. That last health potion is going to be kept for a real emergency. Then I realize that I should be grateful that it is a healing Skill at all. This way, I have on-going access to medical treatment¡ªsomething that¡¯s going to be very important in a world without hospitals or doctors. Heck, I might even be better off than I would have been in the UK, considering the state of the NHS. I¡¯d probably still be sitting in the waiting room if I¡¯d even gotten to the emergency room. When the pain finally fades, I breathe a sigh of relief. Though tempted to try to use it, I don¡¯t actually have anything to heal right now and don¡¯t want to waste the mana. Besides, it feels like the memories haven¡¯t quite ¡°settled,¡± like I¡¯ve just learned something new but need to sleep on it to let the connections form fully. I hesitate as I pick up the light green stone. Should I risk taking it? It felt like an awful lot of information was shoved in my brain just now. What if Nicholas was expecting me to have a higher Intelligence level when he gave me the advice? I look at the letter again, trying to parse through the wording. At the same time, I¡¯m starting to get a bit jittery. My skin is itching from the drying blood, there¡¯s a bird carcass in front of me that is starting to attract flies, and who knows when something bigger will come to investigate. Even I know that blood attracts predators. That¡¯s why the expression ¡°blood in the water¡± exists, right? Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s got to be okay,¡± I decide finally, my voice sounding uncertain even in my own ears. In the letter, he talks about ¡°knowledge¡± stones being the issue and recommends taking the Skill stone before even checking my status. Deciding that just sitting here and agonizing is probably worse than the other options, I pick up the light green stone and absorb it as I did the Skill stone. It¡¯s not a railroad spike this time¡ªit¡¯s worse. More like the train being driven into my head, all lights and horns blazing. I reel, lose my balance drunkenly, and fall. The added pain of hitting the floor is a sidenote to what¡¯s happening with my head. Why am I in so much pain? I ask myself blearily through the sensation. Has something gone wrong? Fortunately for me, nothing has gone wrong. It simply turns out that shoving years¡¯ worth of knowledge about surviving in the wild into my head all in one go is just a little more impactful than the vague sense of how to use a skill that I¡¯d received before. Worse, I can sense that some of it is slipping away. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have absorbed it so close to the Skill stone, or maybe it would have happened anyway. I¡¯m just too unfamiliar with even the basics of what is being shoved into my mind; some of it just isn¡¯t sticking. Maybe it¡¯s even because of my recent concussion. Even though it¡¯s healed, what if it¡¯s left some sort of lingering difficulty in absorption? Fortunately for me, it¡¯s only a small portion that¡¯s lost, as absorbing this stone is within my capabilities¡ªjust. That said, I have to admit that I only draw these conclusions after the pain starts to subside. ¡°Ow,¡± I groan, daring to open my eyes; they had slid shut. The sunlight dazzles me for a moment and sends a bolt of pain spearing once more through my brain. I slam them shut again, waiting for the spinning to subside a bit more, but make a new attempt as soon as I feel remotely ready. As soon as I think about what to do next, my new wilderness survival knowledge screams at me that lying out in the open with closed eyes is not the best way to see the next day. Or even the next hour. And it is wilderness survival, thankfully. More than just surviving in the forest, this stone has given me the knowledge of how to survive in a range of environments¡ªall of them, of course, far from any inhabited area. Newly armed with knowledge, I find my hesitancy about the path forward clearing up a bit. I quickly crawl out from under the table and put the remaining stones into the pocket that wasn¡¯t torn up by the bird¡¯s attack. I shrug on the extra clothes that I had pushed off at the start and then sling the pack with the other survival supplies over my shoulder, where it joins the other backpack I brought with me. My most important items now stored, I gaze at my bright orange and green suitcases wondering how I¡¯m going to carry them. Then I remember something else important. ¡°Inventory,¡± I say quietly. The message said that I could either say it or think it; for this test, I decided to say it. For the next, I¡¯ll try thinking it. Twenty empty squares appear before my eyes, only a faint mistiness making them stand out from the area in front of me. I decide to test with something I don¡¯t care about and pick a stone up off the ground. I first try to put the stone in one of the boxes in front of me, but my hand just waves in the air, and the stone remains stubbornly held within it. Something¡¯s missing. Hmm. ¡°Put stone in my Inventory?¡± I ask uncertainly. Nothing happens. I think back to my previous interactions with this System. Most of them have required verbal or mental instructions. Verbal isn¡¯t working, so what about thinking them? Put the stone in my Inventory, I think, concentrating on the stone being in one of the boxes in front of me. Suddenly, the weight of it is missing from my hand. I raise my eyebrows. That worked? Leaning down to pick up another stone from the ground without closing the Inventory, I heft it in my hand thoughtfully. Was it the clear thought that was missing originally? Or the intention? This time I don¡¯t put words to my thoughts and just imagine the stone being in the same slot as the other one. A moment later, it¡¯s gone from my hand and there are two stones in the same slot. ¡°Good to know,¡± I murmur to myself. Close Inventory, I think, and the boxes disappear from my vision. ¡°All right, time to test opening it again.¡± Hopefully, the stones will still be there. This time I don¡¯t say the command out loud; instead, I make the thought as firm as I can. The boxes reappear. The two stones are still there. Right, now to get them out. As it turns out, removing the items from the boxes is simply the reverse of putting them in¡ªinstead of focusing on putting them in the box, I have to focus on them being in my hand. It¡¯s good to work out the exact method, but I do find it a little cumbersome. Not useful for an emergency situation, I note, resolving to keep my health potion and knife on my person. I swiftly drop them unceremoniously on the floor¡ªcommon pebbles, after all, are not what I wish to store. Instead, I hold onto the handle of my bright orange suitcase and focus on putting it into one of the boxes. Nothing happens. Is it because it¡¯s a bag full of items? Does it not count as a single item and that¡¯s why it¡¯s not working? Are there are too many items within it to fit in the twenty boxes? Dismay fills me at the thought. In neither design nor color is either of my suitcases adapted to my new environment, but I¡¯d rather not have to just ditch everything either. I sigh. If I¡¯m going to have to ditch everything I can¡¯t carry, I¡¯d better first work out how many slots I¡¯ll be able to fill. Releasing the handle of my bag, I go over to the carcass of the bird I¡¯ve just killed. My new wilderness survival memories are screaming at me that this is a useful food source but also that butchery and blood are a perfect way to lure predators. Right now, that¡¯s the last thing I want to do. Plus, there¡¯s no water source nearby to enable me to clean up the mess. As much as I want to prioritize the photographs of my family, I cannot. Food is going to be far more important. So, reaching down with a heavy heart, I touch the body of the bird and focus on putting it in my Inventory. Nothing happens. I frown. This can¡¯t be because there are too many items. It¡¯s a single item. If the body of a creature is counted according to its organs or feathers or whatever, then what is considered a single item? Beyond stones, of course. No, there must be another explanation. I think back to when I put the stones in. What¡¯s the difference between this and that? They were smaller, for sure, and I held them in my hand rather than leaving them resting on the ground. Is that the difference? Returning to my suitcase, I lift it off the ground and then once more focus on it being placed in one of the empty slots. This time, to my delight, I feel the weight disappear from my hand, and a picture of my bag appears in the slot. A grin splits my face. I¡¯m more relieved than I thought I¡¯d be at realizing that it wasn¡¯t the nature of a bag full of items that was the problem. I quickly place my lime green bag right next to my orange one; a weight lifts off my chest when they are both stowed safely away. For a moment I wonder at the nature of the Inventory. It had no issue with taking the two suitcases and can apparently hold a lot of items. I don¡¯t feel any extra weight on me, so it¡¯s not like an invisible backpack. Is it some sort of non-physical space? What are its limits? Looking at the dead bird, I have to hope that at the very least it will hide the smell of blood. It would be immensely helpful if the Inventory space held the items within it in stasis; if not, I may find that the meat has spoiled before I manage to finish butchering it. Assuming I can get it inside my Inventory, of course. The bird is big and dead¡ªit¡¯s a literal deadweight¡ªbut by carefully arranging its limbs and heaving with all my might, I get it off the ground. Though it¡¯s only been raised by a centimeter or so, I¡¯m impressed with myself ¡­ and also in pain. Before I drop it, I quickly activate my Inventory and imagine putting the bird in it. To my relief, the whole carcass suddenly vanishes. I stagger, thrown off-balance by the abrupt disappearance of the weight I was pressing against. So, the theory is proven thrice over: I need to hold whatever I wish to put in my Inventory off the ground. No putting an airplane in my Inventory¡ªif I found one, that is. And I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any size limit per item slot. Another thought has me pulling the precious knowledge stones out of my pocket and putting them into three of the seventeen slots that remain. No way do I want to lose those! About to set out once more, I have another thought. I wonder ¡­ Shrugging my backpack off again, I try to put that in my Inventory. I grin as it also succeeds. Even better, it only takes up one slot. This Inventory is awesome! Maybe I should do the same with my new survival pack? I try it, but this time it doesn¡¯t work. I frown. Why did the suitcases and backpack work and the last bag didn¡¯t? A loud cry rings out and I jump, reminded of where I am. No time to continue testing out theories¡ªnot sitting out in the open as I am. Frankly, I¡¯m lucky I haven¡¯t been attacked while playing around with my Inventory in such a vulnerable position. I quickly fill up a few more spaces in my Inventory with the bulky coats I¡¯m wearing, giving me more range of movement. I now know that the difference of speed between wearing them and not could save my life¡ªor end it. As I¡¯m about to leave, my gaze is caught by the single item remaining, which is sticking out from the mountainside like a sore thumb. The table. That could be useful, I think to myself. As a table, as a barrier, as material for weapons, or simply as firewood, there are many uses for this piece of furniture. Lifting it is as cumbersome as the bird was, but I manage to get it off the ground. However, the moment I try to enter it into my Inventory, it crumbles to golden dust, which then disappears with the breeze. I¡¯m left staring at my empty hands, the single slot intended for it left bare. Well, I think to myself, a little dismayed, at least that didn¡¯t happen to anything else. Book One: Leap - Chapter Six: Wealth of Information I cut down towards the forest line in a meandering route. Wanting to block the view of myself from the sky as much as possible, I take advantage of the many outcroppings of rock dotted about the mountainside. Fortunately, no other rock-bearing bird¡ªor anything else¡ªcomes along to test the soundness of my choices. When I reach the tree line I start walking along it, at right angles to the way I had been walking before. Why? My reasoning is that I need to find fresh water as a priority, and this is most likely to come from the mountain. With any luck, I¡¯ll come across a stream bubbling into the forest. If that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ve got a few more ideas to try, but this is the easiest one. As I walk, I try to plan a bit for the future while doing my best to keep a wary eye out for rocks about to drop on my head. Or anything else, really. Who knows what other dangerous creatures could be lurking in this forest? Better to keep my eyes peeled as I walk. There are lots of things that need doing, that¡¯s for sure. More than I would have ever thought of before absorbing the wilderness survival knowledge stone. Nicholas gave me a knife, which, when I consider what I would have had to use otherwise, is a godsend. A knife is an essential tool, as well as a useful weapon for all its lack of reach, and having a metal one will make a lot of difference. The one Nicholas has given me is practical: a single-sided straight blade about twenty centimeters long with a slightly curved tip, quite similar to a bowie knife. It even has a serrated section on the part of its spine closest to the handle, which will come in handy for sawing through smaller pieces of wood and tough flesh. Fortunately, it also comes with a protective sheath; otherwise, I¡¯d probably have stabbed myself with it already. Still, I¡¯m going to need a good number of other tools too, and those I¡¯m going to have to make. Not having either blacksmithing equipment or expertise, I¡¯m going to have to go right back to basics and make them from flint. If I can find any, that is. That¡¯s another reason to find a stream. If I¡¯m lucky, there¡¯s flint below this mountain or forest and a stream will have cut deep enough into the layers of sediment to have unearthed some nodules for me. If not ¡­ Well, at least I still have my knife. I can use other rock types to make blunt instruments, but flint is truly the best¡ªaccording to my newly absorbed wilderness survival knowledge, anyway. So, I need to make tools. I also need to sort out my food supply a bit. I have the dead bird in my Inventory, which is a start, as long as it¡¯s being kept in stasis. While it¡¯s possible that the bird will be inedible for me¡ªI am in a different world, after all¡ªmy newly gained memories say that it will most likely be fine. Generally, animal flesh is safe to eat, though it should really be cooked to avoid harmful bacteria as much as possible. There are some animals that have levels of vitamins or toxins in their bodies that are unsafe for human consumption. Usually, though, those are the result of evolution to adapt to a particular environment or to ward off predators¡ªoften in the latter case accompanied by bright warning colors. Carrion eaters can have levels of parasites that render their meat inedible too, but I might have to take that risk. With any luck, the ¡°no living things¡± limitation of my Inventory will mean that there are no parasites living inside the bird, but, again, I can¡¯t count on that. Being in a different world might make a difference to my knowledge about what is edible and inedible. However, the fact that I can breathe the atmosphere with no problems and that its temperature is mild to me indicates that the natural balance of the world is not that different from what I¡¯m used to. Hopefully, Nicholas wouldn¡¯t have sent me to a world where everything was poisonous to me. One thing that has been significantly affected by being in a different world, though, is my knowledge of safe plants to eat. I¡¯ve been looking around while walking and have discovered to my dismay that I don¡¯t recognize anything. If I¡¯d been relying on my personal knowledge of plants, that wouldn¡¯t mean much. I could name the fruit, vegetables, and leaves that feature in your average British supermarket, and I could probably recognize a number of trees and plants that I regularly walk past in gardens or woods¡ªthough that wouldn¡¯t mean I¡¯d know if they were edible or not¡ªbut that is it. My new wealth of information about fauna and flora comes purely from absorbing the woodcraft knowledge stone. Unfortunately, it was information about a world that was neither Earth nor this one. I haven¡¯t recognized any plants so far and have to conclude that I¡¯m unlikely to. In fact, it¡¯s been somewhat disorientating. I¡¯ll see a plant with leaves of a certain shape that sparks recognition in my mind and then realize that the color is completely wrong, or that it¡¯s a bush instead of a tree, or a flowering plant where it should be a fern type. In short, there¡¯s no way I can rely on the encyclopedia of plants in my head to choose what to eat and what not to. Fortunately, my new knowledge also comes with instructions on how to test if a plant is edible or not; the downside is that it takes a long time. I can¡¯t just shove something in my mouth and hope for the best. No, I¡¯ll have to first choose a plant, then separate it into its individual parts¡ªleaves, stem, fruit or flower, roots, and so on. Next, I¡¯ll have to test one part for irritation on contact, then try eating a small amount, then try eating a larger amount. The problem with this is that I have to allow enough time for symptoms to emerge¡ªabout eight hours for each test. Plus, in order to be certain whether I¡¯m reacting or not to the plant itself, I¡¯ll have to avoid eating or drinking anything but clean water during each test. So, either I¡¯ll have to go without eating anything else for a whole twenty-four-hour period, or I¡¯ll have to spend three days testing each part, using my time sleeping as the necessary fast. Did I mention that I have to test each part of the plant separately? At the same time, I¡¯ll have to be working hard to create the tools and shelter I need, meaning that the effects of hunger will be felt much more keenly than if I¡¯d just been in my office all day. I can¡¯t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Who knew that it took so much just to survive? Or at least to survive without access to a supermarket and money to buy the things in it. Perhaps I should be grateful that I¡¯m in a place where there¡¯s probably abundant food available and I just need to work out what I can eat. There are many on Earth who are in just as poor a situation and can¡¯t say the same about their environment. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I really do hope that the Inventory stops items from deteriorating. It will make things much easier if I have access to an effective refrigerator. Of course, that may have some sort of downside that appears later. Apart from not being able to put live animals in it, that is. I¡¯d rather have a refrigerator than a live-animal pen, anyway. Of course, before I can even consider any of that, I need to find water and a shelter, which brings me right around to my first aim. I sigh and just continue trudging on, my feet and legs already aching, my eyes squinting as they search for the glint of water. Finding water ends up taking a long time. Much longer than I¡¯d anticipated. Apparently, all those films where a person is lost in the wilderness and then stumbles across a stream after only crossing a couple of hills are a lie. Who knew? At least I didn¡¯t end up falling into one like I remember a character doing. I run out of things to think about, or, rather, I become too distracted by my actual surroundings to make meaningful plans. This place is genuinely beautiful. I¡¯m mostly walking at the forest¡¯s edge, and the trees are shorter here than the ones I can see downhill. But they¡¯re green and vibrant, and some are literally covered in flowers, berries, or interestingly colored leaves. I¡¯m tempted to eat some of the berries but avoid it, knowing just how badly that can turn out. The ones with lots of flowers are magnets for all sorts of flying creatures¡ªI even saw something that looked similar to a butterfly but was the size of a bird and had round wings. The berry-laden trees, however, are attractive to other wildlife, but I don¡¯t see much more than flashes of color from them as they dive under cover at my approach. There isn¡¯t much undergrowth, making my steps easy enough¡ªas long as I avoid the occasional hidden hole beneath the mossy ground cover. And the air is just so fresh. It¡¯s full of smells that are completely alien to me: the odor of musky loam from the ground mingling with the perfume of the flowers; damp and rotting leaves combining with the fresh scent of green ones. But as my legs tire, my mouth dries, and my eyes start to ache from searching for water, the beauty around me fades. After a while of trudging fruitlessly, I suddenly pause; once more, something from the messages I read occurs to me. I don¡¯t only have access to an Inventory, but also ¡­ a Map. If that could show me where to find water, it would save a lot of time. ¡°Map,¡± I say, trying not to be too hopeful. Despite my attempts to keep my expectations reasonable, it turns out that I am disappointed anyway. The Map appears in front of me, a misty screen the background to what looks like a simplistic line drawing. It¡¯s almost completely blank. There are chevron shapes in a ring around the edges of my Map, which I have to guess are the mountains I saw stretching out into the distance. In the space between the mountains, there are many, many drawings of trees¡ªthe forest, I guess. There¡¯s also a blinking dot at the edge of the forest, a sort of ¡°you are here.¡± Actually, that¡¯s probably its best feature for me, as working out my position in comparison to everything around me tends to be my biggest problem when reading maps. Further up the mountainside near the dot is an X shape next to what looks like a line drawing of a boulder¡ªwhere I started, I have to conclude. Apart from that, nothing is recorded. No rivers, no streams, nothing. So, either they don¡¯t exist, which I doubt, or I have to discover them to add them to my Map, which is much more likely. Indeed, the shapes closest to me are the most defined; the ones furthest away, particularly towards the end of the valley, which I had barely been able to see, are blurry. So clearly, being able to see something is sufficient to add it to my map¡ªbut I need to see it. Sighing, I close the screen and start walking again. It would have been nice for things to be that easy, but it¡¯s not surprising that they aren¡¯t. The Map should come in handy once I¡¯ve discovered some useful spots, but right now it¡¯s fairly useless. After some time, I become too tired to do more than just focus on moving forward, and the loveliness of my surroundings fades further into normality. I even find myself not keeping as close a watch on my environment as I probably should. Dangerous. I make an effort after that to keep looking around myself, but I¡¯m tired. As the sun starts to dip towards the horizon, a scene of particular beauty occurs. My ears catch the faint trickle of a small stream, obvious in the quiet peace of the woods. I¡¯m lucky. I had actually gone a bit further under the tree cover than before because I¡¯d seen a big bird circling high above. It¡¯s worked out well for me, fortunately. The stream is really just a trickle, emerging from a crack between the rocks, but unless it disappears underground at some point, it should lead me to something bigger. It¡¯s the most marvelous thing I¡¯ve seen in a long time. I use my cupped hand to scoop some of the life-giving liquid to my dry lips; the waterskin really didn¡¯t last for long, it turns out. After soothing my parched throat, I suddenly pause. Something from my new knowledge is sending alarm bells through me. I gaze at the water filling my hands and realize what it is. I should really boil this. The water looks clean, but what microscopic bacteria or parasites could be floating around in it? What if there¡¯s a rotting carcass upstream? I let the water drain out of my hands and push myself to my feet with a sigh. A mouthful of liquid is really not enough to quench my thirst, but I don¡¯t want to stop to make a fire just now; this is no place to make a camp, as picturesque as it is with the sun glinting off the trickling water. Following the stream, I walk in search of a greater body of water, and maybe even a good campsite. As I keep walking, I see the stream gathering tributaries and widening. Eventually, after long enough that the light is starting to dim, I reach a body of water that might even be wide enough to be considered a rivulet¡ªI¡¯m not planning on measuring it to make sure. I have a hard choice to make: stop soon or walk in the dark? Frankly, the thought of doing the latter makes my bowels turn to water. If a bird could almost kill me in the middle of the day, how much more vulnerable would I be at night? Especially when I¡¯d be either blind in the dark or half-blinded by the light if I carried a torch. My new knowledge pipes up to helpfully tell me about several different creatures that hunt at night and exactly how they like to take down their prey. Okay, decision made on that one¡ªI¡¯m not going anywhere. Even if the same animals probably don¡¯t exist here, I bet others that are just as bad do. Books 1, 2, and 3 stubbed Hi everyone, As I said in my author''s note for the first chapter, due to the upcoming release of book 1 on April 15th 2025, I have removed the content for books 1, 2, and 3. The edited and publisher-ready (though not professionally edited) version of Book 2 is now accessible via any of my Taming Destiny Patreon tiers (Survivor, Builder, Hunter, and All Included). I''m currently editing Book 3 and will similarly make it available on Patreon when it''s ready (probably the end of April). Otherwise, Book 2 will be published on Amazon in July 2025 and book 3 will be coming out in December 2025 (according to current plans - these dates may change). All formats of these books will be available (audiobook, paperback, and ebook). For those in the US, you may be able to order a paperback through your local bookshop - please ask them to find out. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. All the books will be available free with Kindle Unlimited (which is why they need to be stubbed here) If you would like to know when they come out, you can join my newsletter at https://www.winterswritingcorner.com Please find the books here: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0F19F7W4K https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leap-Isekai-LitRPG-Taming-Destiny/dp/B0F19FLSRL/ https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Leap-Isekai-Litrpg-Taming-Destiny/dp/1039482376/ (Apologies if I haven''t included your link.) Preorder is now available for Book 1: Leap. Thanks in advance for your support! Interlude the Second Across worlds, Lord Nicholas Titanbend is preparing to leave his manor. ¡°Tell my groom to saddle my horse,¡± he orders one of the servants. ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± the man acknowledges, bowing and then hurrying away. Walking towards the main doors, Nicholas takes his scarf and coat from the cupboard next to them. He knows that Sarran is likely on his way, but is too impatient to wait for his manservant. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s an invalid, anyway. Or one of those dainty lords, too good to even take their coats off a rail. He snorts contemptuously at the thought, several faces coming to mind. If only the king didn¡¯t require him to play ¡®nicely¡¯ with the other lords¡­. But there is no point in thinking such things: the kingdom is in a delicate enough state as it is. There¡¯s no sense in upsetting the udja cart just to satisfy his own vanity. That would make him just as bad as one of those alara-flower lords. The lord is already opening the doors, the heavy wood easy for him to move thanks to a combination of well-oiled hinges and his Strength stat, when Sarran appears around the corner. As always a perfect manservant, the other man has perfected the ability to move without making more than a whisper of sound, even to Nicholas¡¯ enhanced senses, and to be able to hurry without looking like he is. ¡°My lord, where are you off to?¡± asks Sarran as he stops at arm¡¯s length away from Nicholas. ¡°Why, do you wish to come with me?¡± the lord asks with an arched eyebrow. ¡°If my lord wishes,¡± the other man answers levelly. About to refuse, Nicholas then reconsiders. ¡°In fact, yes. I do wish it. It has been too long since we travelled a road together. I¡¯ll tell the groom to saddle another horse while you get yourself changed.¡± ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± the manservant replies, bowing. He holds the position until the lord turns away, then Nicholas¡¯ keen ears catch the slightest sound to indicate his quick retreat. The lord grins to himself: though Sarran is far too professional to ever let on any sense of discomfort, Nicholas knows that he was more than a little perturbed at his employer¡¯s unexpected order. The fact is that he actually would appreciate the company on his trip, and it has been a while since they¡¯ve gone riding out together. Of course, it isn¡¯t in the slightest because of that dig about his midnight brooding a week or so ago. Whistling cheerily to himself, Lord Nicholas walks along his wide driveway to the stables which are at its end. Letting himself in, he sees the groom holding his horse, saddled and bridled. ¡°Sarran¡¯s coming along too, Lark,¡± he announces. The groom, Lark, looks a little startled. ¡°Truly, my lord?¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± ¡°Then I should go and saddle White Lightning for him, I presume,¡± he suggests, a wicked grin curling at his lips and dancing in his eyes. ¡°Cheeky,¡± Lord Nicholas reprimands, but the humour in his own eyes and on his lips soothes the sting. ¡°Tease Sarran and he¡¯ll have you helping the groundsmen for a few days. Spreading the piles of material you muck out from the horses¡¯ stalls would no doubt be his answer to the jest.¡± ¡°That it would,¡± the groom admits wryly. ¡°With your permission, lord, I¡¯ll go and saddle Old Nala instead, then.¡± ¡°Go on then,¡± Nicolas encourages, walking forward to take the reins. ¡°Hello my beauty,¡± he says, stroking his horse¡¯s nose gently. It¡¯s been a long time since he Bonded this stallion as a foal, but he still remembers the joy of it. After spending weeks caring for the orphaned foal, feeding, grooming, and encouraging it, to have the young creature accept his Tame Bond had been a validation of all the effort he¡¯d put in. All the sleep he¡¯d sacrificed. And even now, Tempest is a magnificent mount, though he is starting to get on a little in years. ¡°But then, we both are,¡± Nicholas sighs to himself. Tempest¡¯s strength and life has been prolonged with excellent feed, excellent care, and a good number of Cores, but even that will come to an end. The stallion¡¯s only fault is that he¡¯s never shown any sign of being able to progress to the next Tier; without that, prolonging his life can only be about delaying the inevitable. Still, for now, his beloved horse is still one of his Bound, and he takes the time to fuss over the stallion. He actually appreciates the time Sarran takes to get ready, though he¡¯s certainly going to chide his manservant on it when he appears ¨C amicably anyway. ***** ¡°Where are we going? You never said,¡± Sarran asks once they¡¯re en route ¨C and the obligatory joshing at him primping himself like a lord or lady bound for court has been done. ¡°I wish to visit the Oracle,¡± Nicolas answers shortly. Sarran turns in his seat to look at him for a moment, then quickly turns back to face the front when his sudden movement threatens to unseat him. ¡°The one who directed you to the candidate?¡± he asks once he¡¯s sure he¡¯s not about to accidentally nose-dive off the side of his horse. ¡°The same,¡± Nicolas replies. ¡°Why? If I may ask,¡± Sarran hurriedly adds. Silence spreads between them for a few long moments. The manservant is probably giving up hope of a reply when Nicholas begins thoughtfully. ¡°I am wondering about the character of my candidate. To have accrued as much Energy as he did in such a short time¡­. How did he do it? Did he kill something immensely powerful? Did he Bind the creature instead? Did he find some sort of treasure? My curiosity is driving me insane.¡± ¡°And do you think that the Oracle can answer your questions?¡± Sarran asks, his eyebrows climbing up his head. ¡°¡®Can she¡¯ isn¡¯t the question,¡± Nicholas corrects him. ¡°¡®Will she¡¯, is more uncertain.¡± He sighs. ¡°I have brought a few items she might find interesting. I hope that at least one of them will engage her curiosity sufficiently to pay for the questions.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ***** ¡°Is this it?¡± asks Sarran, sounding like he isn¡¯t sure whether to believe it or whether to assume Nicholas is playing a joke on him. A faint hint of resignation is tucked in the wrinkles of his face, like he¡¯s prepared for the revelation that the whole story about the Oracle is just a cover for some other expedition. Nicholas doesn¡¯t blame him. The Oracle¡¯s house is an unassuming cottage tucked into some woods just out of their closest city. It¡¯s surrounded by flowers, even a type of climbing flowering vine crawling all over the front of the house. Its blossoms fill the air with a heady type of fragrance. ¡°I felt the same way when Roland first gave me the directions,¡± Nicholas tells him with wry amusement. ¡°But based on my previous experience, she¡¯s the real deal. However, her requirements for payment are a little unusual.¡± Without saying anything more, he walks up to the door and lifts his hand to knock. Before it falls, the door opens. Clearly it¡¯s not a coincidence as the woman now standing in the doorway doesn¡¯t look the slightest surprised. She could have just seen them coming through the window, but Sarran feels like it isn¡¯t because of that. ¡°Lord Nicholas Titanbend,¡± murmurs the lady, who looks like she absolutely fits in this quaint cottage setting, and not a bit like Sarran would have imagined an oracle to appear. ¡°A pleasure to see you again. And Sarran Mirransson,¡± she continues, shifting her gaze to the manservant. ¡°A pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡± Sarran can¡¯t help swallowing a little, his eyes going wide, wondering just how she knows his name. As he meets her eyes, he finds himself struck by some other-worldly quality in them. Suddenly, despite the setting, despite her appearance otherwise, he has no doubt that she is indeed an Oracle. The Oracle looks back at Nicholas. ¡°I will take all three of your offered items,¡± she announced, though he hadn¡¯t said a word or even moved to withdraw them from his Inventory. ¡°Three items for three questions. Fair, yes?¡± Nicholas can¡¯t help but chuckle a little. ¡°Fair indeed, my lady.¡± A small smile teases at the corner of the Oracle¡¯s mouth, though it doesn¡¯t soften her visage at all, instead making it all the more mysterious. ¡°Then shall we begin?¡± she invites. Inside, Lord Nicholas takes a seat at the circular two-person table in the cosy room, the Oracle sitting opposite. Sarran stands at the door, falling easily into his role as manservant and, while his master is otherwise occupied, guard. ¡°A question each of the past, present, and future,¡± states the oracle. "Ask your first.¡± Lord Nicholas thinks for a moment. The topic is obvious, but how to phrase it right is another matter. ¡°What was the event which caused the candidate to so quickly pay off a large portion of his debt?¡± The Oracle takes a pouch, holds it within her hands for a moment, then quickly upends it. A number of items fall out around the table, arranging themselves on the intricate design which is painted upon it. Bones, stones, feathers, and other objects which neither man is able to identify immediately. Murmuring to herself, she shifts some of the items off, tucking them back into the pouch. Others, she nudges and prods before lifting her head to gaze at the lord. ¡°The world-traveller encountered an unmissable opportunity. Like many, risk was balanced with reward; he suffered greatly, but what he gained was many times the value of what he lost.¡± Clear as mud, Nicholas thinks to himself, but is partially satisfied nonetheless. The candidate might have killed a great creature, but if so, it¡¯s likely that it was in the attempt to reach some natural treasure. Actually, that seems rather probable: any natural treasure is bound to be guarded by a powerful beast. Satisfied with his conclusions, the lord asks the next question. ¡°How many Bonds does he hold right now?¡± It¡¯s a strategic question: the candidate¡¯s use of his Class will be key for his success in the future here. By this point, if he has not started using his Class Skills, it spells dire things for the future. At the same time, it will be interesting to discover if he has a tendency to seek a small group of intelligent and powerful Bonds, or a larger group of weaker and less intelligent ones. Once more, the Oracles goes through the rigamarole of her art. ¡°The world-traveller currently holds twenty-seven Bonds.¡± Nicholas¡¯ eyebrows shoot up in shock. ¡°Twenty-seven?¡± he sputters. ¡°What sort of Willpower stat does he have?!¡± The Oracle eyes him. ¡°I can only answer one question about the present,¡± she comments wryly. Nicholas waves it away. ¡°It was an exclamation, not a genuine question,¡± he answers quickly. Twenty-seven, he can¡¯t help but repeat to himself again. Either the candidate has rapidly increased his levels as he couldn¡¯t have had more than a fifteen in Willpower before coming to the world, or he has had some other fortuitous encounter. Or, Nicholas theorises, all of the Bonds are with particularly weak and unintelligent creatures. He will have to hope that this isn¡¯t the case, though, as a high Willpower would definitely stand the candidate in better stead when he comes to this world. Of course, it could also be due to having raised Dominate rapidly, but since that went along with gaining Bonds, it was unlikely to be the sole reason. Could they be Tame Bonds instead? Nicholas wonders to himself. That wouldn¡¯t necessitate such a high Willpower stat, but engineering the kind of circumstances to gain twenty-seven Tame bonds in such a short space of time has its own kind of difficulty. After all, it takes time to build the trust necessary for them. Time, or trials. Perhaps he has come across a creature with a large amount of young and has built Bonds with each of them? ¡°What is your third question?¡± the Oracle asks at a moment when his thoughts have paused ¨C almost like she knows exactly when is best to prompt him. Which, honestly, she probably does. Nicholas takes a moment to consider again, still a little shocked by the previous information. ¡°What will be his greatest obstacle before he arrives here?¡± Nicholas chooses to ask the question assuming that the candidate would survive the year: he¡¯d made unexpected steps so far that the lord sees no point in assuming that he won¡¯t. Once more the Oracle plies her trade, but this time is different. She takes much longer over the paraphernalia than the previous two times, and a frown creeps onto her face. Nicholas waits, more than a little impatient as she mutters to herself and nudges the items. Finally, she shakes her head a little. ¡°I cannot truly answer that question.¡± Before Nicholas can object, she holds up her hand. ¡°It is not that I won¡¯t, it¡¯s that I can¡¯t. His fate hangs on a knife¡¯s edge, a filament bridge over a chasm. If he falls off the path, on either side lies death. All my arts cannot see further than this moment. Come to me again in a few weeks and perhaps I will be able to answer your question.¡± She hesitates for a moment. ¡°In return for my inability to give you an answer now, do you wish to ask another question?¡± Nicholas eyes her. While the greedy part of him would dearly love to milk this situation for all it is worth, and the merchant within him wishes to get at least as much as he¡¯s paid for, an instinct warns him that this situation is not all it seems. He is playing mental games with an opponent who probably already knows his moves at least five steps in the future. ¡°No,¡± he says finally, trying to smile unconcernedly, like the rejection means nothing to him. ¡°You have given me information about the future, even if it is not exactly what I asked for. You have earned your reward.¡± The Oracle smiles, the mystery in her eyes lightened with pleasure. ¡°A gentleman as always, Lord Nicholas. Then I shall give you this for free. Should he navigate his path correctly and traverse the chasm, he has the potential to come to this world far more powerful than you might have ever imagined he could with beasts and elements at his command.¡± With those parting words, the two men thanked the Oracle and left, Nicholas giving her the three items he had promised. The ride home was quiet, the two men both thinking over what they had learned that day. Book Four: Expansion - Prologue The inferno roars, tongues of flame leaping high into the air. With some sense other than physical hearing, I hear the sounds of desperate screams fill the air. Closing my eyes, I revel in the power that lies at my fingertips, the sense of my control being on a knife¡¯s edge sending a thrill through me. If I lose control of this fire, it will sweep through a large portion of the forest before it burns out. Hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of beings would be killed as it burns unchecked. Millions, if I consider the insects and flora. Perhaps the effect wouldn¡¯t be as bad now as it would have been in the height of summer, but even the rains we¡¯ve had so far haven¡¯t sunk in enough to truly stymie its progress. Especially not with a fire as strong as this one. But I won¡¯t let that happen. I have too much reason not to. There are too many lives riding on me maintaining control, too many people I don¡¯t wish to disappoint. Too many potential gains from burning only what I wish to burn. So I cling onto control. I am on the back of a galloping horse, but I am in my seat with my hands on the reins. I am on the back of a tiger, but I have a knife to its throat. I am damming a river and feeling its power try to push through my barrier, but still I am controlling the jet of its exit. It takes all my Will, all my concentration. I have to rely on my Bound to keep me safe while I do this or risk being attacked at the worst moment. I know that if that happened, I would fully lose control of the fire. My attacker wouldn¡¯t come off well since they¡¯d probably be immolated by the fire that I would then be surrounded by, but the damage would be done. Forcing my eyes to open, I wonder at the beauty of the destruction before me. Trees are like roman candles, blazing with light and sending out explosions of sparks. Twisting and writhing, I almost feel sorry for them as they try to escape the blaze. But this must be done. They are a cancer on this area, trying to take over everything. Stolen novel; please report. Finding the fire pulling at my control again, I¡¯m forced to close my eyes once more. Not long after, I sense that we need to move. Too far from me and I will definitely lose control. Walking forward, I move slowly, each foot carefully placed to make sure that I don¡¯t accidentally jolt myself. The ground is hot, but that somehow doesn¡¯t matter to me. In this state, though I¡¯m not exactly part of the fire, I am somehow kin with it. As such, the heat doesn¡¯t do more than warm me. My Bound are another question, and I have to make the decision over whether I can afford the concentration to pull the heat out of their paths forwards, or if I can risk moving forwards alone. Preferring to keep them with me if I can, I tentatively reach out a tendril of my awareness, pulling the spark of fire from the area directly around me and returning it to myself. Unlike before when I had such trouble with extinguishing fire, now it is no problem: I was the spark, and therefore the spark is me. Transforming it back into my own mana is just a matter of Will. I send a sense of reassurance to my companions, wordlessly indicating the area around me which I instinctively know is cool enough for them to traverse. I trust them to follow the implicit guidance. If they don¡¯t, they will feel the burn and quickly be directed back to cooler paths anyway. Walking towards the fire, I clear a route for my Bound, replenishing my dwindling mana pool as I do: controlling the fire is not mana-hungry as I am not feeding it directly, but it does take power to accomplish. Time becomes immaterial, the world simply reduced to one of stark beauty: dark and light, tree and ash, hot and cool, black and orange and red and yellow. I refill my stocks of mana almost as quickly as I use them, but my mental energy drains with time. My lips become dry and cracked, my throat like sandpaper when I swallow. And then something changes. I feel something reach out to me. Please, I hear, whispered on the wind. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter One: Advocate I gulp as I pass the rock that looks vaguely shaped like a head. It¡¯s the sign that we¡¯re rapidly approaching ¡®home¡¯ ¨C and the angry nunda mother who is no doubt going to confront me as soon as she notices the bond between me and her cub. We¡¯ve gone over various possibilities, each of us who have come into extended contact with Kalanthia guessing what she might do or say, and how to deal with each scenario. But it¡¯s hard to know exactly what her reaction might be ¨C she¡¯s surprised me in the past. Probably, Bastet is the one with the best ability to predict ¨C she too is a maternal figure with cubs to protect. River is too fearful of ¡®the Great Predator¡¯ and Lathani is too biased. But even she seems split on how Kalanthia might react. Frankly, I¡¯m a little surprised that Kalanthia hasn¡¯t already confronted us. Last time we came back from rescuing Lathani, she¡¯d met us shortly after this point, so we figured that the same would happen this time. We¡¯ve been bracing for that for the last hour, but there¡¯s been no sign of the massive nunda. I look around the cavalcade travelling with me instinctively, wanting to make sure everyone is with us. I see River with his temporary team of tempin, scalla, itho, encono, and his fellow samuran ¨C Catches-leaves. When given the choice, he chose a team of mostly-bipedal creatures, with only one moving on four legs ¨C the tempin who looks a bit like a tortoise, but is significantly faster than one. Leading the vanguard is Bastet with her smaller and stealthier group of Tamed Bound. She¡¯s only taken three, as she also has the three cubs to keep track of. These are the reer, oloc, and mea ¨C all lithe-looking predators. The reer is the biggest of the group, slightly bigger than Bastet herself, and with a wicked bone spike on his tail. He¡¯s completely scaled and has several bone protrusions elsewhere on his body, making him a thorny prospect to attack. That hadn¡¯t seemed to deter the danaris, though. The oloc and mea are not nearly as dangerous looking ¨C at first glance. One look at their mouths full of needle-sharp teeth proves that they can do some damage when they want. The oloc looks rather like a big weasel, her body held close to the ground, her scales slipping easily through any sort of obstacle. The mea is far more chunky, looking far more like the wolvezard that I encountered in my first few days in this world. Heck, for all I know it is a wolvezard ¨C I wasn¡¯t able to Inspect creatures at that point so have no idea what that one was actually called. Persephone has taken almost only herbivores, interestingly enough. That¡¯s the icehal, quan, thion, and cyran whose hulking body offers significant protection against any attack. The lone carnivore of the group, the meiryl, is a shy-looking thing which seems to try to hide at every opportunity. Even Bonded, she was unwilling to come too close to me. I hope that that wears off ¨C her bond is a trial one, so I guess that if I prove that I¡¯m not planning on eating her or something, that she might decide to stick with us for the long-term. Hades has a rather mismatched assortment of my new Bound in his team: the woshel, tidis, hernem, deri, and krerus. He¡¯s acting as rear-guard, and his temporary team looks to be suited to that role. They have a couple of heavy-hitters, a couple of what look like moving tanks, and the krerus who looks particularly suited to rogue-like attacks. The last three ¨C the carnivorous serara and the two herbivorous stio ¨C are just sticking with our group, moving warily at the edge of the party. Frankly, were it not that my destination makes me far more anxious than the forest itself does even on a normal day, I would feel completely relaxed at travelling in such a cavalcade. The feeling and sound of scrabbling in the hide bag on my back reminds me of something else ¨C the three danaris larvae I kept from the wounds of my new Bound. They¡¯ve got a chunk of meat in there which should be keeping them happy. I was concerned at first that they might engage in cannibalism, since that¡¯s clearly something which they¡¯re happy to do, but it turns out that these slightly-older larvae can actually defend themselves well enough to deter the other larvae from seeing them as an easy meal. As long as there¡¯s an easier meal present, anyway. With my check done, I focus once more on the route ahead, soon seeing the river come into view. We¡¯re almost back. As each metre passes without any sign of the massive leopard-like predator, I find the knot in my stomach tightening. Almost at the hill now, I find myself mentally cursing Lathani for putting me in this spot. We all agreed that it was going to be bad enough with the marks of a consensual Tame Bond no doubt visible on her soul, but this? This is going to be far worse. I glare down at the nunda cub padding next to me. I¡¯d been very clear when we woke up this morning that I wanted her at my side throughout the trip. There¡¯s no way I want to risk her getting into more trouble. I¡¯m sorry, she says again. It¡¯s not the first time she¡¯s apologised, and probably not the last, but all it does now is make me sigh in frustration. ¡°Sorry doesn¡¯t magically make things all better,¡± I tell her, breaking the silence I¡¯ve been in for the past couple of hours. ¡°Besides, if you were truly sorry, you wouldn¡¯t have done it in the first place: you knew before invoking the Bond that it wasn¡¯t a good idea.¡± It is a good idea, she corrects obstinately, as she has every time we¡¯ve discussed this. But I know mother will be angry at you for it. And I¡¯m sorry for that. ¡°Angry,¡± I chuckle humorlessly. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s call it that. The alternative is murderously furious.¡± Why would I be murderously furious, Markus Wolfe? I freeze. The rest of the cavalcade stops with me. The ¡®managers¡¯ take their cue from me, and their teams take their cues from their leaders. Kalanthia fades into view, her stealth ability falling away to reveal her massive form standing just at the foot of the hill on the other side of the river. The herbivores among us are abruptly poised to flee, the massive predator in front of them too much for their sense of safety. The carnivores cower a little too, their senses no doubt telling them that they have no chance against this apex-predator. As discussed, the managers take control of their groups, calming them and reassuring them. At least, that¡¯s what they should be doing. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It¡¯s OK, I send along the network of Bonds, just in case. She¡¯s friendly. At least, I hope she is. Or will be when she realises what¡¯s happened. She definitely hasn¡¯t yet, as she looks more curious and amused than angry. ¡°Come on,¡± I tell Lathani quietly, walking forwards. She follows my lead, though her own nerves are clear in her body language. Better to get it over sooner rather than later. Are you sure I should not come? Bastet offers again as I pass her spot. I send a sense of negation down the Bond to her: as I¡¯ve told her before, I¡¯d rather not have anyone else in the line of fire. We keep walking forwards. I, at least, feel a bit like I¡¯m walking to my execution here. I know the moment that Kalanthia senses exactly what¡¯s happened. We¡¯re only a few body-lengths away from her at that point, and her demeanour completely changes. Her lips lift to bare her teeth, her hackles rise as she shifts into a threatening crouch, and, most importantly, her aura billows out from her in a frightening wave. I grit my teeth and stand my ground ¨C having already felt it a couple of times improves my ability to withstand it, and my increased Willpower must also help as I manage to not even take a step back. My Bound are not so lucky, and I sense my team leaders needing to take firm control of their groups to prevent a terror-stricken stampede from happening. But that¡¯s why I delegated almost all the Bonds. The last three I have to control myself, but that¡¯s relatively easily accomplished. Then I have no time to think about anything other than the angry nunda in front of me. True to our expectations, she¡¯s almost incandescent in her fury. Her eyes burn with some inner energy, the earth shifting beneath her paw. I¡¯m very aware that at any moment, she could open a chasm beneath my feet and drop me in it, silencing my cries in an instant. But then, she could also swipe or bite my head off in just as little time, so the fact that she hasn¡¯t done any of that is a good sign. Isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ve Bound my cub, Binder, seethes Kalanthia. After everything I¡¯ve done for you, everything I¡¯ve¡­I trusted you and you¡¯ve taken my cub for your own selfish designs. She seems to be working herself into even more of a rage, though I wouldn¡¯t have believed it possible. ¡°Kalanthia, look, listen to me, I didn¡¯t-¡± No! she roars. No! I listened to you before and you have betrayed me! Then she stops and glares at me. My heart almost fails me at the look in her eyes. In that moment, I believe that looks can genuinely kill in this new reality. It¡¯s not only because of the anger there, but also the soul-deep hurt which I see. Without giving me a moment to say or do anything, she leaps towards me. She¡¯s too fast for me to do anything but hopelessly and instinctively lift my hands to cover my face. The next moment, an impact strikes me, but not the one I was expecting. Instead of teeth and claws tearing through my flesh like butter, I¡¯m slammed to the ground, a weight landing on top of me. Not Kalanthia¡¯s. I open my eyes which had instinctively slid closed to see Lathani standing over me. That wasn¡¯t the plan. Any of them. Through her legs, I see that her mother has halted her own strike and is standing only a couple of inches away from me, her claws practically touching my armour. I gulp at the sheer sharpness and lethality of those weapons. I highly doubt that even my nere-hide armour would stand up for more than a fraction of a second against them. Fortunately, it appears I have something of a protector in Lathani, as she¡¯s currently snarling back at her mother. By dipping into the Bond between us, I can eavesdrop on their conversation ¨C Kalanthia¡¯s already wanting to kill me, so I might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb. As might be expected, their conversation isn¡¯t really in words, but my mind automatically interprets it into such. You¡¯re defending your captor! shouts Kalanthia at her cub. He¡¯s not my captor! shouts Lathani back, just as passionate. I won¡¯t let you kill him! You¡¯ll have to go through me first! If it hadn¡¯t been my life at stake, I might have rolled my eyes at the melodrama of teenagers, but as it is, I¡¯m grateful. I mean, considering she caused the most recent issue, I would hope that she would defend me but still, I¡¯m not going to just take it for granted. You¡¯re being affected by the insidious nature of the Bond, Kalanthia hisses at her cub next, her aura increasing in spikiness, almost provoking a physical response from my body. I do my best to stay still despite having the almost uncontrollable urge to squirm. You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying. I will kill him and then you will be free. And then you will realise that I am right. I could be free any time I chose! rejects Lathani. It¡¯s you who doesn¡¯t understand! I understand, Kalanthia says suddenly, sounding abruptly calmer. I would like to feel relieved, but a gut instinct tells me that it¡¯s not what it seems. I understand that he has made you promises. Told you that he will release you whenever you want it. That he won¡¯t force you to do anything you don¡¯t want to do. That he won¡¯t force you to kill anyone precious to you. But he¡¯s lied. That¡¯s what humans do! They cheat, and they lie, and they destroy. I thought that maybe he was different. But I was a fool to believe it. I will kill him and remove this cancer from our lives. There¡¯s a deafening silence for a moment. I feel hurt, I have to admit it, if only to myself. It¡¯s illogical ¨C I am pretty certain that Kalanthia has good reason to distrust humans, from what little I¡¯ve picked up. I also know that this whole situation doesn¡¯t look good ¨C that¡¯s why I was so nervous about coming back. Perhaps it¡¯s more empathetic hurt than hurt in myself. I know how awful it feels to be betrayed, and regret that everything has led to Kalanthia feeling like that. Especially when Lathani and I both know that the situation isn¡¯t at all as she thinks it is. Whether Lathani can get the message across before it¡¯s too late for me is another question, though ¨C I have a feeling that Kalanthia¡¯s almost on the point of forcibly separating us so that she can kill me without risking Lathani. I¡¯m not sure why she hasn¡¯t just opened a pit beneath me ¨C maybe she thinks that might hurt Lathani, or maybe she¡¯s just been too angry to think of it yet. In that case, her calming down might be a two-edged sword. I would try to speak up in my own defence, but have a distinct feeling that it would just make things worse. Especially if I revealed that I¡¯m listening into their private conversation. For better or worse, it appears that I¡¯ve got to rely on Lathani to be my advocate here ¨C and hope that she succeeds in getting Kalanthia to back down before I get my head torn off. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Two: Listen For A Moment The ground shifts below me abruptly, and I send an instinctive and wordless message to Lathani. We roll away just in time to avoid me getting a spear of earth in my gut. However, with me now on top of Lathani, I¡¯m fully exposed to Kalanthia¡¯s rage and barely dodge her strike. I probably only manage even that because she¡¯s pulling her blows so as not to accidentally go through me and into Lathani below. I¡¯m on borrowed time ¨C I dodge Kalanthia¡¯s strikes by a hair¡¯s breadth, but it¡¯s only a matter of time before I take just a fraction of a second too long. Especially since every step is potentially treacherous with the earth falling away beneath my feet or forming a spike just where I want to land. I didn¡¯t Dominate your cub! She Bonded me! I shriek mentally, not having the breath to say it out loud. I mean, it¡¯s not completely true, but my vague hopes come true as the unexpected statement makes Kalanthia stop trying to kill me for a moment. What is this new lie? she asks, poised to pounce once more, but for now not actually doing so. I take a moment to breathe ¨C a very brief moment. ¡°I Bonded her, yes, but only as a very temporary situation,¡± I say, returning to speech using my mouth rather than my brain. I might have got more used to mental speech, but it¡¯s still not my preferred option. ¡°This Bond came later, and I did not at all instigate it.¡± For the first time since this conversation began, Kalanthia looks a little uncertain. Perhaps she felt the sincerity of my statement or caught a little of the memory behind the words? Then why do I feel a fully intact chain between you and my cub. I can sense that you are the holder of her chains, so don¡¯t try to deceive me with lies about her chaining you. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± I quickly say. I sigh. ¡°Look, Kalanthia, please can we just have a pause here. Let us explain a bit. You know that we¡¯re not going anywhere. What harm would it cause for you just to listen for a moment?¡± Apparently that was the wrong thing to say as her aura spikes once more, almost feeling like knives are pricking at my skin, poised to pierce me like a magician¡¯s assistant in the famous box of swords trick. Only, unlike the magician¡¯s assistant, I don¡¯t have a false floor to escape through. Listening to you is how my cub became chained to you in the first place! She leaps at me, her mouth open and teeth bared. Reacting more on instinct than anything else, I summon fire to my fingertips, the element eager to come to life, to burn. My own flesh sizzles a little in the heat, my divided concentration unable to pay sufficient attention to make sure that it doesn¡¯t. I ignore the pain, directing the gout of fire to singe Kalanthia¡¯s whiskers and lips; no more. It¡¯s a struggle to stop it from burning anything else, but I¡¯m determined to not hurt anyone except for my target, and even then, only as much as she forces me to. I do have to intensify the fire, though, pouring in my own mana to force it to burn more hotly ¨C Kalanthia is apparently not going to be deterred by a simple singing of her whiskers, but she does back off when the heat threatens to do a lot more than that. While she retreats a moment, I know it¡¯s not for long. I see her through the billowing fire, a silhouette prowling and waiting for my guard to drop. At least she hasn¡¯t tried to attack any of my other Bound ¨C that would have been a good way of distracting me and forcing me to defend them. But perhaps there¡¯s some innate sense of justice in her which says that I and I alone am her target. I¡¯m certainly not going to complain. But this isn¡¯t tenable. My fire will burn through my mana in time, especially with as much as I¡¯m having to pour into it to keep it burning hotly with no other source of fuel. Then what do I do? It¡¯s not only the fire which is burning hot; tempers are also far too high. Kalanthia is too enveloped by emotion to look at this at all logically. She¡¯s not listening to me; she¡¯s not listening to Lathani. At this point, I don¡¯t even really consider any of my other Bound intervening as we discussed ¨C at best she¡¯d dismiss them as biased; at worst, she would turn her rage on them. We¡¯d known she was going to be angry, but had thought she¡¯d be more reasonable than she turned out to be, more willing to at least hear me out. What if I¡­? The new idea comes to mind like an assassin, creeping in the darkness of my mind to suddenly appear when I least expect it. No, she¡¯s far too strong! I reject it. Yet it still nags at me. I only need a few moments. Maybe this is a way of getting through to her. It¡¯s possible, but¡­what if this enrages her even more? Honestly, the latter is probably more likely than the former, but do I have a choice? I don¡¯t want to even properly attempt to kill Lathani¡¯s mother. If I had the time to prepare, I might be able to by this point, using all my Bound and my Bound¡¯s talents wisely. Without that time to prepare, it¡¯s a lot less likely. But I don¡¯t want to do it nonetheless. Not only would Lathani probably never forgive me for it, but¡­I would probably never forgive myself for it either. The problem is that she¡¯s trying to kill me which leaves me with few real options. I can¡¯t retreat either ¨C she¡¯s far faster than me or my Bound as a group. So what does that leave me with? Abruptly, I cut the mana flow to the fire, its billow guttering out. I meet Kalanthia¡¯s eyes. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Dominate,¡± I whisper, and brace myself. It¡¯s a good thing I knew this was going to be difficult because I¡¯m almost blown out of the Battle of Wills in the first instant. It¡¯s only by applying the full strength of my Will that we remain in the space, clinging on by my metaphorical fingertips. You dare?! Kalanthia roars, a blurred shape at the far end of the space. Judging by how little detail I can see, I¡¯m only a few inches from being booted out of the space completely. The pressure against me is incredible, a fireman¡¯s hose of water aimed straight at me, a deluge of spring waters falling over a waterfall and trying to pound me to the depths of the pool beneath. I actually crouch down to the ground, hoping that presenting a smaller target area might affect even metaphysical pressure. Oddly enough, it does seem to help. Enough to allow me to cling on. For now ¨C I sense that even a soul battle like this uses some form of stamina. Just like with the crocodile, I know that the soulspace around me will fracture long before I make any real sort of progress. The difference here is that ¡®progress¡¯ to me in this case counts as just managing to stay put, not actually moving forward at all. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to Dominate you!¡± I call back at Kalanthia, doing my best to shove my sincerity at her. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate in that way until I¡¯m at least a third of the way towards my opponent, but this isn¡¯t by any means a normal situation. I¡¯m hoping that her own telepathy will be able to do the legwork here. Then why have you brought me here? she demands, not sounding in any way appeased. ¡°I just want to talk!¡± I call back to her, once more trying my best to emanate honesty. We must be in your battleground with chains clinking ominously around me to talk? she asks somewhat sarcastically, but I¡¯m relieved to hear less actual ire in her voice. Plus, her poetic words indicate that she¡¯s a little less angry than she was. Good. Honestly, that¡¯s what I was banking on. I knew that it was probably the biggest gamble I¡¯ve ever taken, but a previous improvement to my Dominate Skill was that my opponents would be calmed and pacified while in my space ¨C as long as I remain calm and peaceful myself. With Kalanthia¡¯s temper so high, this was the only thing I could think to do. Of course, if she¡¯d immediately thrown me out of the space like the salamander did all those weeks ago, I¡¯d have been completely done for. But I was hoping that with my significantly greater Willpower now, I¡¯d at least be able to stand my ground. As it is, I perhaps underestimated just how great the difference between our Willpowers still is, but I was never intending on actually trying to win this. If I can calm her down enough to not want to immediately kill me when I inevitably get cast out of the space, that will be enough for me. ¡°You weren¡¯t willing to talk outside my ¡®battleground¡¯, so yes,¡± I point out to her, trying to draw on meditation. I need a calm head here so if I can even get into a state of Light Meditation, that would improve things. Plus, I¡¯ve proved before that I can still use magic even while paralysed physically from failing a Dominate; if I can regenerate enough mana, I might be able to cover myself with a blanket of fire while I¡¯m completely physically vulnerable. Perhaps that might stop her. Then again, she has Earth-Shaping at her command, so probably not. Your words are clearly poison, hissing in my cub¡¯s ear, Kalanthia says, hissing herself, but less angry than she had been. ¡°And we keep trying to tell you that that¡¯s not how it happened.¡± I say firmly. ¡°Did you send Lathani after my party?¡± I ask. I¡¯m ninety-nine percent sure that I know the answer to that, but it¡¯s worth establishing foundations here. What? Kalanthia asks, seemingly pulled up short. That, too, was something I was aiming for ¨C just like I changed the physical battleground to here, I need to change the battleground of our words too. Letting her be the predator and me the prey even verbally isn¡¯t going to work: I need to take control of the discussion if we¡¯re going to make any headway. ¡°Lathani followed me. I didn¡¯t ask her to, in fact I specifically told her not to ¨C you were there for that. Did you send her?¡± Once more, I push my sincerity at her, figuring that it can only help. It had occurred to me that she might think I had said one thing in front of her and then encouraged Lathani to follow in some other way. No, I didn¡¯t, Kalanthia replies strongly. I interpreted your words and thoughts to indicate a significantly dangerous foe and did my best to discourage her from following. ¡°Then how did she slip out to follow us?¡± Even I must sleep, Markus Wolfe, Kalanthia tells me, bridling a bit at my unspoken accusation. In the quiet of my own mind, I smile: she used my name. I thought her to be slumbering too. ¡°I understand that,¡± I say, sending soothing feelings at Kalanthia almost unconsciously, despite my surprise that Lathani was able to move quietly enough to slip past her eminently-aware mother. ¡°But then why did you not come to find her?¡± The pressure against me lessens a little. Not enough to allow me to take even one small step forwards, but enough that losing a finger¡¯s hold might not spell the end of my stay here. Losing two probably still would, but a little leeway is more than I had before. By the time I woke, she was out of my Earth-sense range, Kalanthia says, a little grumpily. ¡°Could you not have followed her tracks?¡± I¡¯m not a rocas, she snaps back at me. I cannot just follow a scent on the breeze. And I have been teaching Lathani to hide her presence in as many ways as possible, she finishes, sounding even more grumpy, as if she didn¡¯t want to admit it. Could that be another effect of this space? Encouraging honesty even when my opponent isn¡¯t keen to give it? I shake the thought away ¨C for when I¡¯m not facing dismemberment from an angry mother. It takes a second for ¡®rocas¡¯ to click, but based on her reference to ¡®scent on the breeze¡¯ I have to guess that she¡¯s talking about Fenrir. Evidently, the powerful nundas don¡¯t have particularly good tracking abilities. Or Lathani has a particularly strong anti-tracking talent. ¡°She¡¯s that good at stealth?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask. She¡¯s far more talented at it than I expected, Kalanthia admits, a little pride in her voice. Then the anger returns. And now you will expect to use it, to use her. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was thinking,¡± I object immediately, though now she¡¯s mentioned it¡­. ¡°So Lathani slipped out below your notice, escaped your earth sense range, and your tracking abilities. Is that right?¡± Kalanthia doesn¡¯t reply and I feel a sense of impatience from the blurred shape in the distance. ¡°Didn¡¯t you think she might have followed us?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Three: My Patience Is Wearing Thin I didn¡¯t think her such a fool, Kalanthia snaps. Even after you¡¯d gone, I impressed on her how dangerous the foe you sought was, and thought that she had understood. I imagined she had gone hunting, but when she didn¡¯t come back by nightfall, I became worried and went searching for her. ¡°You¡¯ve been searching for her for a night and day?¡± I ask incredulously. A growl comes at me from the other side of the space. Yes! I worried that she had been killed by a creature, or caught by those wretched lizards again ¨C and my patience is wearing thin on that matter ¨C or taken by some other predator to provide food for their own young. When I picked up her presence on the edge of my senses, I was overjoyed ¨C and then I saw her and saw exactly what you had done to her! The anger is back, but I understand it far better now. Kalanthia has spent the majority of the time since we¡¯ve been gone frantically worried for her cub, probably combing every inch of the mountainside and forest for any trace of her presence ¨C or her body. Not being a parent, I can¡¯t imagine how it felt to feel the relief of knowing her child was alive, but then finding out that she¡¯d been ¡®chained¡¯. Her fury is no surprise, but I still don¡¯t want to be killed by it. ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why I did it!¡± I respond to Kalanthia just as firmly as she¡¯s been speaking, but without the anger. Did what? The seeming non-sequitur seems to have derailed her a little ¨C good. ¡°Lathani followed us into a battle with a dangerous opponent. I offered her a temporary Tame Bond ¨C temporary, mind,¡± I repeat just in case she didn¡¯t hear it the first time, ¡°to protect her.¡± How does chaining her protect her? Kalanthia asks more than a little incredulously. But at least she¡¯s actually asking the question now rather than just rejecting my words outright. ¡°Telepathic communication both ways means that we can communicate danger and a decision to retreat in split-seconds. In addition, I made it a requirement in Lathani¡¯s Bond that she listened to the instructions of my other Bound, all of whom knew how important it was that she survived. That was to stop her from deciding to disobey an order to retreat if necessary. Without that, she would have been a complete loose cannon, and I wasn¡¯t willing to put the rest of us at risk just because she refused to sit on the sidelines.¡± The pressure against me lessens even further and I actually manage to start creeping forwards a little. I meant what I said to Kalanthia ¨C I¡¯m not trying to Dominate her at all ¨C but gaining a bit more of a sense of her feelings would help. That it would also help her feel the sincerity and honesty within my own words can only be a benefit too. You are telling me that she accepted a chain willingly? Kalanthia asks, still incredulous, but this time sounding a little less sure of herself. ¡°She did since that was the only way I would permit her to be part of the battle.¡± If you had a choice, why not keep her out of the battle completely? Kalanthia demands. I know what you were up against and cannot fathom why you would let Lathani anywhere near one of them. ¡°Because the only way to keep her out of the fight was either to tie her to a tree, which could lead to her being vulnerable to any other predator that came past,¡± I say to Kalanthia, my words snapping through the space between us, ¡°or tying her to one of my Bound, thereby depriving us of another fighter.¡± I breathe in and out deeply. I probably don¡¯t have to in this space, but it helps me clear my mind a little, dropping back into Light Meditation. ¡°It seemed like the best idea of the time, and in fact meant that I was able to keep her alive.¡± What do you mean? Kalanthia questions me furiously, the pressure suddenly hitting me full force once more. I lose one of the inches I¡¯ve just gained before I manage to brace fully against the force. I can feel myself tiring, though ¨C the soulspace isn¡¯t likely to last all that much longer. River¡¯s lasted longer than this, but it was significantly less draining than this constant battle against pressure that I¡¯m required to engage in now. ¡°She almost died from the venom of the danaris, but because she was my Bound at the time, I was able to heal her without her body putting up any resistance.¡± I know that for a fact now that I¡¯ve had to heal her while unconscious and not Bound to me. ¡°When the dawn came, as intended, her Bond dropped away and she was ¡®released¡¯,¡± I continue. Then why is she still chained to you, if the Bond released? Kalanthia demands, seemingly confused. I don¡¯t blame her, but I¡¯m thankful when it means that the pressure between us drops a little and I can start inching forwards again. ¡°Because of what happened after,¡± I sigh. ¡°To give you a little background, since I don''t know what you know and what you don¡¯t, I have three types of Bonds. One through Dominate, gained through a Battle of Wills in this space,¡± I explain, gesturing to the space around us with a hand that quickly returns to clinging onto the ground. ¡°One through Tame, which is more of a negotiation. That is the kind I had with Lathani. It¡¯s more limited in duration or extent, or both. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Then I have Companion Bond. This requires me to already have had a Bond of significant depth with the other being.¡± Actually, how come Catches-leaves was able to have a Companion Bond with me, then? We¡¯d only met less than a day before. Unless it¡¯s because of his deep gratitude for me healing his eyes? I dismiss the thought ¨C something else to consider later, maybe. ¡°I discovered by accident that I don¡¯t have to be the one to offer a Companion Bond ¨C if one of my Bound feels like making a significant commitment to me, apparently that¡¯s enough to trigger it.¡± I feel Kalanthia¡¯s impatience even without her saying anything. I get to the point. ¡°Lathani almost died again. She went off hunting with Trouble ¨C without instruction or telling any of us ¨C and angered a family group of cyrans.¡± I try to project a picture of the creatures to Kalanthia. Whether it works or not, I feel Kalanthia¡¯s exasperation and see her tail lashing. ¡°We got there just in time to save the two of them, and I was able to heal Lathani, though not without a huge amount of difficulty since she wasn¡¯t my Bound at the time,¡± I add, just to help justify why Taming her in the first place had been a good idea. I don¡¯t, however, mention that I activated Dominate on her: I don¡¯t think it actually made any difference to the Bond between us, but still don¡¯t feel like I should muddy the waters here. Kalanthia has only just properly started listening, after all. ¡°Afterwards, when she woke up, she decided that she wanted to join our group ¨C permanently ¨C and the Companion Bond snapped into place without any intention on my part. And she wasn¡¯t lying earlier,¡± I add, ¡°or being deceived. Unlike Dominate, beings Bound with Companion Bond are able to end the Bond at any time. However, once broken the Bond cannot be reestablished ¨C ever. And I think there¡¯s probably some significant soul backlash ¨C on us both, most likely.¡± My piece finally fully said, I wait for Kalanthia to speak. She¡¯s been listening in silence and doesn¡¯t seem to be too inclined to break that streak yet. Why should I believe your claim? she says finally, sounding calmer than she¡¯s been all conversation, yet I sense that the calm is just on the surface. I search for a good response before finally shrugging helplessly. ¡°You can sense my mind, can you not? You can detect if I¡¯m telling the truth or not. You can speak to Lathani and see whether her story is the same as mine-¡± Kalanthia snorts. And hear only what you have told her to say? I think not. I pause, momentarily derailed before picking up my train of thought again. ¡°Well, you can still tell if I¡¯m lying or not in my mind.¡± I¡¯ve closed the distance between us enough by now that I can start seeing some details of her body and I see her looking at me thoughtfully. I know I¡¯ve only made this much headway because she¡¯s not been actively working against me for the past while, but even the non-focussed pressure between us is enough to challenge me. If she actively starts resisting me, I¡¯ll be blown back to my starting point before I can say ¡®Kalanthia!¡¯. Out of respect for that, and to prove that I meant what I said when I told her I wasn¡¯t trying to actually win this Battle of Wills, I pause my movement forwards as soon as I can see enough of her to properly read her body language. Plus, we¡¯re now probably ¡®touching souls¡¯ or whatever happens when I start being able to feel my opponent¡¯s emotions ¨C and they mine. Kalanthia¡¯s dominant emotion right now is one of consideration, as if she¡¯s weighing up pros and cons of a decision. If it¡¯s one about whether to let me live or not, I¡¯m seriously hoping that the pros outweigh the cons. But for now, I¡¯ve said my piece; speaking more would just weaken my position. Let me into your mind and if your memories and thoughts match your words, I will let you live, she says finally, her voice resolute. ¡°Like you did with River when we first came back with Lathani?¡± I ask, a little dubiously. Yes. I grimace a little: even second-hand I¡¯d felt the pain of what she¡¯d done to him. Actually, why does she need permission anyway? Isn¡¯t reading minds something she does all the time? Sort of, anyway? Unless maybe her telepathy is a bit like my Flesh-Shaping ¨C possible to do with or without permission, but a lot easier with permission. ¡°Alright, fine,¡± I say after a few moments of thought. Although I¡¯m a bit nervous about what she might find in there ¨C my thoughts aren¡¯t all pure or well-meaning, after all ¨C and not too keen on having myself completely laid bare, I¡¯m also rather attached to my life. If this is the only way she¡¯ll be willing to agree with me keeping it, I¡¯m willing to let her into my mind. Hopefully this way will also maintain a reasonable relationship between Kalanthia and me too ¨C although I might be able to escape or hurt Kalanthia enough that she couldn¡¯t follow us, that would mean making her an irreconcilable enemy. Not what I want. I¡¯m willing to take one on the chin if it means avoiding that. ¡°Do you want to do it now?¡± I ask, a little concerned: I suspect that it might shatter the soul-space around us. No, this is your domain. We must do it in mine, she tells me, eliminating that possibility anyway. ¡°OK, I¡¯ll exit this space. I won¡¯t be able to move for a few seconds after,¡± I warn, before wondering whether I should have revealed that vulnerability. It matters not. You do not have to move for me to read your thoughts. Joy, I say to myself sarcastically, before stepping backwards. The Battle of Wills space shatters around me as I intentionally fail it, and I mentally sigh in relief as a burden falls away from my metaphysical shoulders. A headache blooms, sharp and strong, and I feel liquid trickling down from my nose. Am I bleeding? Without being able to raise my hand, I can¡¯t tell, but since I didn¡¯t have a cold earlier, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s mucus. Did I actually cause myself some damage? Before I can send healing magic through to check my brain¡¯s condition, I see Kalanthia moving towards me. Perhaps healing my brain after she¡¯s done digging through it would be a better option anyway. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Four: I Don’t Want To Be Alone As Kalanthia walks towards me, I sense my Bound tense, ready to attack. Lathani shifts over me, having obviously moved to guard me while I was vulnerable in the Battle of Wills. It¡¯s OK, I send to all of them at the same time. We¡¯ve talked. She¡¯s going to look at my memories. Then I consider what might happen if Kalanthia decides that I wasn¡¯t justified in Binding her cub. But be prepared to move anyway, just in case, I add. The massive nunda stops when she¡¯s less than the length of my body away. Honestly, even if my Bound are prepared, I doubt they¡¯ll be able to move fast enough to do anything. Move to the side, Lathani, I hear Kalanthia tell her cub, muffled through our connection. The nunda cub tenses for a moment, but then reluctantly complies with shifting off me. Instead of moving to the side, though, she puts herself between her mother and me. Do the protective aspects of Dominate apply to Companion Bond too? Even if the Bound in question started with a Tame Bond? And what about the inclination towards obedience? I¡¯ll have to ask Lathani later and hope she has enough self-awareness to be able to tell the difference. However, to be able to even ask her, I need to survive the next few minutes. With the way Kalanthia has placed herself, she¡¯s looking directly into my eyes, unimpeded by Lathani¡¯s body. Bracing myself, I prepare for Kalanthia to start her work, but nothing could prepare me for the actual experience. Her eyes boring into mine, I feel like I¡¯m falling within them, while simultaneously feeling her tunnel inside me. It¡¯s a very different sensation from the Pure Energy, though, I muse in the moment before the pain hits. Suddenly, it feels like a needle the size of my finger is piercing my brain. I grimace and can¡¯t prevent myself from trying to close my eyes. A shiver of fear goes down my spine as I realise that I can¡¯t close them. Nor can I move under her gaze ¨C it¡¯s like there truly is a needle pinning me in place. River coped with this without letting out a cry, I say to myself stubbornly. I¡¯m not going to either. Clenching my jaw, I set myself to enduring this, remembering belatedly that I can use Sensation Management to dull the pain a bit. I sense Kalanthia flicking through my memories, odd snippets of conversation or half-seen images flashing up unbidden. It¡¯s much like I remember the most severe period of my PTSD was after the accident with my mother: a memory would surge up from the darkness below and grab me by the throat without my direction. And during the worst of the times, I was unable to exit the memory until it released me either. This is very much reminiscent of that, without the strong emotional component of my PTSD flashbacks. I never experienced as much pain then as now, though. I¡¯m reluctant to use Sensation Management too much ¨C if I don¡¯t know that I¡¯m injured, I won¡¯t be able to heal it. When the needle finally pulls back, it leaves my mind feeling as sore as if I genuinely have just had a thick piece of metal shoved into it. And maybe I did, in mental terms ¨C perhaps my mind was forced to yield to the telepathic intrusion as much as flesh would be forced to give way to the piercing of sharp metal. Still I don¡¯t think that any damage has been done, certainly nothing that won¡¯t heal with a bit of time. While I didn¡¯t see a lot of the actual memories she examined, I saw enough of the flashes that I can tell she was mainly looking at the last few days, in particular the moments with Lathani linked to both Bonds. What I can¡¯t tell is how she feels about them. She could have been angrily pawing through them or methodically inspecting them ¨C I don¡¯t have enough experience with having my mind ransacked to know the difference. Kalanthia blinks and turns her attention elsewhere. The paralysis from ¡®failing¡¯ the Battle of Wills wore off a while ago, but I was forced to remain unmoving. Even now, I stay still: I¡¯m anxious to know how Kalanthia is feeling about things before I draw her attention back to me. Through my connection with Lathani, I sense that her mother is now interrogating her instead. Not surprising, really ¨C she¡¯s heard and seen my side of the story; now she wants Lathani¡¯s. Well, now she¡¯s willing to actually listen to it properly. Whether she doesn¡¯t know that I can eavesdrop on the conversation, or she doesn¡¯t care, I¡¯m not planning on giving up the advantage unless she actively objects. As before, they don¡¯t exactly communicate in words, but their thoughts are so well directed that it takes little effort for me to put their mental speech into something that makes more sense to me. You agreed to two chains, Lathani. Two! Why?! I had a moment of enlightenment, mother, Lathani says, a little subdued, but with a core of defiance running below the surface. Enlightenment? Kalanthia asks, startled. Yes.I want to be part of their group, Lathani tells her, more of that defiance coming through this time. It¡¯s the best thing for me. You¡¯re a nunda, Lathani. You don¡¯t need to be part of a group. We¡¯re not pack Beasts; we¡¯re apex predators! A group will hold you back, prevent you from being all you can become. My moment of enlightenment said exactly the opposite. Just because you and my sire are solitary apex predators, does that mean I have to be too? Lathani hesitates for a moment. Mother¡­ maybe¡­maybe I¡¯m not like other nundas. What do you mean? Kalanthia asks, sounding confused. I have to admit that I am too. I¡¯ve been trying to get Lathani to tell me exactly why she prompted the second Bond ever since it happened, but she¡¯s been rather tight-mouthed over it all, and what she has said has been confusing. Perhaps Kalanthia will be able to get more out of her. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I¡­. Lathani hesitates, fear winding sickly through the connection between us. You won¡¯t hate me? She sounds so much like a plaintive cub that my heart goes out to her. Never, her mother promises. Perhaps I''m different because¡­of what the lizard-folk did. Explain, the adult nunda demands, her own mental connection suddenly emotionless, like she¡¯s intentionally keeping her reaction back. They wanted to make me into a protector, right? Into a spirit loyal to them, who would fight danger with them and¡­help them. That seems likely, Kalanthia agrees, though still as flatly as before. I think they succeeded. But not in making me loyal to them. The Binder has made you loyal to him instead? Kalanthia hisses, her hackles rising and her tail starting to lash angrily. If I kill him then your forcibly transferred loyalty shall be sundered. You will be free. No! shouted Lathani urgently. I mean, yes, but not in the way you think. Mentally, I roll my eyes. How eloquent¡­Hopefully she doesn¡¯t talk me into getting killed rather than out of it. The next moment, I feel bad for my scathing thoughts: Lathani¡¯s doing her best. It¡¯s not her fault she¡¯s an awkward teenager who¡¯s unable to properly explain herself to an angry parent ¨C I didn¡¯t do much better with my own parents in that situation either. Then tell me, Lathani! Kalanthia demands forcefully. Pack-leader has never been anything other than good to me. He¡¯s played with me, fed me, taught me, and saved my life multiple times. I owe him for that. Which is exactly why I rewarded him every time he saved you, emphasised Kalanthia. Debts must be paid, but you should have waited to get back here. I would have rewarded him on your behalf, as your mother. You did not need to allow yourself to be chained to him. But I wanted to! Lathani shouts back at her mother. I like spending time with him. I like spending time with the other elders. The time I spent Bound to him was¡­ The next part of the communication is not translatable into words. Instead, it¡¯s a sensation of joy and connection and togetherness that warms my heart. Mother¡­I know what you¡¯ve been trying to teach me when we go out. I know you¡¯re trying to make me independent. But¡­maybe I don¡¯t want to be independent like you. And¡­I don¡¯t want to be alone. Lathani¡­. Kalanthia sounds like she doesn¡¯t quite understand where her cub is coming from. I get it, kind of. But I don¡¯t want her motivation to Bond with me to be from fear of being independent. I guess I¡¯ll have to see how things work out. If Kalanthia doesn¡¯t kill me or force the sundering of the Bond, that is. Lathani, my cub, the adult nunda starts again. You are young, inexperienced. Your growth has been affected by those pests but that is not permanent ¨C in time you will barely remember it. I can¡¯t help but feel a little sceptical at her thoughts here ¨C not only do I have my own memories of enduring childhood trauma, but she¡¯s indicated that she does too. So either she thinks that whatever she went through was worse than Lathani¡¯s experiences, or she¡¯s hoping that Lathani will be able to do what she can¡¯t. You will grow into your paws; you are like any other nunda juvenile in that. Independence requires experience, and judgement, Kalanthia continues soothingly. Both come with age. But this Bond? You have marked your soul. If you end the Bond now, there will forever be scars, but they will be limited. If you wait for yourself to feel more capable of independence, the scars at the Bond¡¯s end will become much, much deeper. But I don¡¯t want to give up the Bond, Lathani says sincerely, though a hint of petulance comes through with her words. I like it. I¡¯m suddenly struck by the uneasy thought that I am now Bonded to a teenager, by her own decision. Is that morally wrong? She¡¯s very much still exploring her place in the world ¨C maybe now she¡¯s keen on being part of our group, thinking that that¡¯s what she wants to do with her life but what happens if she changes her mind in a year¡¯s time? Or ten years¡¯ time? Once, I wanted to be a fireman. Then I wanted to be an astronaut. Later, I realised that I wanted neither. What if Lathani is as changeable as younger-me? Suddenly, I understand a little more about where Kalanthia¡¯s coming from here. The main issue is that if I break the Bond now, it burns a bridge. I remember what the Companion Bond description said: A Bond once broken may not be reinstated. While the description did indicate that another Bond might be able to be created, it almost certainly wouldn¡¯t be Companion Bond. And I¡¯m not too keen on just breaking the Bond I have simply for the sake of breaking it. The thing is that though I didn¡¯t ask Lathani to reinstate the Bond between us, or make it into a Companion Bond instead of Tame one¡­as long as Kalanthia doesn¡¯t kill me over it, I¡¯m not actually upset about having it. Lathani can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but it¡¯s the way Trouble is ¨C she¡¯s my pain. While I haven¡¯t known her for all that long, I feel like I¡¯ve been there through multiple significant moments in her life. I was there when she was attacked by the wolvezard. I rescued her from the lizard-folk. I reunited her with her mother. Between my Bound and I, we¡¯ve helped her develop a fair bit as a hunter and been part of battles with her. I definitely feel at least an uncle to her at this point. So to break the Bond with her when she doesn¡¯t want to, just because of her mother¡¯s qualms doesn¡¯t sit well with me. Through her decision to Bond with me, I now have more ability to keep her alive. That could be by actively keeping her out of danger: with her in a Companion Bond, she will be forced by the connection between us to stay on the sidelines if I order it. She wouldn¡¯t like it, and I won¡¯t do it unless I absolutely have to, but it¡¯s possible. The other protective aspects are the same as I offer all my Bound: a telepathic network to call for help, mana stores in the body, and now the ability for each Bound to use one attack from any other member of the group. In addition to her natural advantages, these should keep her safe. Plus, I might even work out how to send healing down a mental link: I certainly managed to pull mana from River that one time. Putting aside my emotional connection to her, though, there are very good practical reasons for keeping Lathani close, though I had better not think about them too hard while near her mother: they are the same reasons for why Kalanthia was so afraid that I would Bind her in the first place. But it¡¯s only necessary to look at Kalanthia herself to recognise most of them. So, overall, I¡¯m not going to break the Bond unilaterally. I might have offered the Tame Bond, but Lathani¡¯s the one to make herself into a Companion. If she decides later down the line that she wishes to break it, that¡¯s her right ¨C she has the power to end it at any moment. But it remains to be seen if Kalanthia will understand that. And even if she understand it, whether she will accept it. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Five: I Have Stayed My Claw For Now Kalanthia regards her cub seriously, her body-language hard to decipher. Her tail has stopped lashing; her ears are no longer pinned back. Her hackles are still somewhat raised, but not as much as they were. While her domain is still present, it¡¯s not pressing as much against me as it was before, and is far less sharp. Is this the calm before the storm? The moment of consideration before she decides to eliminate me once and for all, or is she actually being convinced to allow this? Markus Wolfe, Kalanthia starts, and it takes me a moment to realise that she¡¯s speaking directly to me this time. If you continue to hold the chain you have wrapped around my cub, what will you do with it? A brief moment of glee sweeps through me ¨C she is genuinely considering letting the status quo continue. Then I quench it, focussing on her actual question. ¡°You mean, what will I do with Lathani?¡± I clarify. Yes. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll treat her the same as any of our party. As one of us,¡± I offer. Expand, Kalanthia orders, her tone implacable. I bridle a little inside at her high-handedness, but oblige: this is no time to get offended. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to tell you,¡± I confess. ¡°My Bound are my companions, but not only that. We¡¯re a team, a¡­family, of sorts. It¡¯s not just about helping me, but us all helping each other. We offer each other advice, and I take it as much as I give it. We help each other get stronger, sharing resources and time. We hunt together, and face enemies together, either in small groups or with everyone present. You saw what happened when Fenrir was taken ¨C we went after him and saved him.¡± And many others, I notice, Kalanthia comments dryly. I incline my head in a brief nod. ¡°Yes, because I couldn¡¯t leave all the other creatures who were there to die.¡± Don¡¯t pretend that you acted purely out of a sense of altruism, Kalanthia chides me. I¡¯ve been in your memories; I¡¯ve seen your thoughts. ¡°Then you¡¯ll know that those who chose not to form a Bond with me were allowed to go their way after I got the larvae out,¡± I point out, a little piqued. ¡°And that I did not put any demands in the Bonds I offered regarding the permanency of the Bonds themselves. They chose that themselves. I¡¯m not denying that I sought to find some element of benefit for myself and my group, but I still benefited the creatures more than I have yet benefitted myself. And you¡¯re a fine one to talk about that ¨C did you not want to wipe out an entire group of creatures to keep your cub safe?¡± That seems to silence her as she doesn¡¯t respond for a few moments, her tail-tip flicking, her eyes piercing. You swear to protect Lathani, while she remains under your care? The question is unsurprising except in that it indicates that Kalanthia is on the point of accepting our Bond. ¡°As much as possible, I do,¡± I say. ¡°I cannot guarantee her safety anymore than you can,¡± I warn, ¡°but I recognise that the Bonds mean that the lives of my party are held in my hands. I do my best to keep them safe, even when that means letting them face danger: only by becoming stronger can they keep themselves safe.¡± Thank you Spike for teaching me that. May your memory mean that I don¡¯t make the same mistake again. ¡°I think you understand that,¡± I say shrewdly. I do, the adult nunda sighs. It is the nature of the world: those who do not challenge themselves cannot advance. And it is with advancement that we protect ourselves and lengthen our lives, making ourselves more able to face the next challenge. She pauses for a moment, eyeing me. But what will happen when you must leave this world? If the connection between the two of you must be sundered in less than a cycle, why not break it now; it would be less harmful. I hesitate. She has a good point there, one I haven¡¯t actually considered up until now. What will happen in a year¡¯s time? I¡¯ve been so focussed on working out ways to survive the year at all that I¡¯ve barely given any thought to what happens at the end of it. Nicholas sent me a Tamer Class stone; he must know that I would create Bonds with creatures. So surely that means whatever I¡¯m gathering Energy for takes into account the Bonds I make? Except that the Energy I must gather appears to be static: despite forming twenty new Bonds, I¡¯m still sitting at eighty-four percent progress towards my debt. Nicholas talked about the power to move me through worlds being great, hence why he made it as part of my ¡®test¡¯. In that case, wouldn¡¯t pulling other creatures through space be even more demanding? So the fact that it¡¯s static, does that mean that all Bonds will be broken when I leave here? Willingly or not. A bolt of fear goes through me at the thought ¨C arriving once more in an unfamiliar land with no one else, losing those I have come to care for once again. But surely Nicholas wouldn¡¯t expect that? Wouldn¡¯t expect me to either put time and effort into Bonds and then abandon them at the drop of a hat? Or not even use the two core Skills of my Class? Then again, I don¡¯t know enough about how magic works to even begin to guess. Maybe establishing the connection takes the most Energy, not actually transporting me. Perhaps it is more like a bus than a bicycle: the majority of the ¡®fuel¡¯ goes into simply moving the vehicle; the number of passengers on board is relatively immaterial. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I admit to Kalanthia out loud. ¡°I don¡¯t know how the transportation system will work. I don¡¯t know how many of my Bound I¡¯ll be able to bring with me, if any. But I can¡¯t let that control me,¡± I decide, putting words to my thoughts as I process them. ¡°If it turns out that I can¡¯t bring anyone with me? Yeah, that¡¯s really going to suck, but if I can leave everyone stronger, longer lived, and more able to face the future and achieve their objectives? Then that¡¯s better than assuming the worst and just breaking all the Bonds now, right?¡± Kalanthia tilts her head to one side. And what if the Bond is not sundered at that point? Would you take Lathani with you into the next world? Force her to leave me? I suck in a breath, having not thought of that either. My mind races, I look at Lathani herself. She doesn¡¯t seem to have any idea of the question I¡¯ve just been posed, though seems rather anxious about the conversation. I don¡¯t blame her: I am too. ¡°I think that by that point, it would have to be Lathani¡¯s decision,¡± I say slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to force her to choose between me and a parent, I never want to do that,¡± I emphasise, looking at Kalanthia. After all, that¡¯s one major reason for me coming back, despite knowing that the mother nunda would take the Bond between us badly. I risked my life ¨C technically am still on the knife¡¯s edge ¨C to offer Lathani and Kalanthia the opportunity to remain together even after the juvenile nunda had decided to Bond so deeply with me. ¡°However,¡± I continue, ¡°it¡¯s true that I will be leaving this world at the end of the year, which guarantees that either the Bond will be broken by necessity, or she will have to choose whether to continue with me or stay with you.¡± I shift to my knees, then reach out to cup Lathani¡¯s neck. ¡°Lathani, did you hear enough of what we¡¯ve been talking about to understand?¡± I did, she confirms. Mother wants me to stay with her, to break our Bond so that I will not be hurt later. ¡°Yes, and if it turns out that you can come with me to where I¡¯m going, you will then have to make a choice of who to go with.¡± It¡¯s easy, she says, sounding like it should be obvious. I frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± If mother comes with us, I need make no choice, she says, with the emotional equivalent of an eyeroll, in typical teenage style. ¡°I doubt that even if my Bound can come with me, that anyone else will be able to,¡± I comment, my eyebrow raised. Then Bond with mother, Lathani, suggests earnestly, as if it¡¯s that simple. I can¡¯t help but laugh a little incredulously. ¡°Uh¡­¡± I dart a glance at Kalanthia who probably heard exactly what Lathani said, message through our connection or not. ¡°I doubt she¡¯d be open to that. Lathani, please think about it carefully ¨C do you want to continue with the Bond now, despite knowing that it may forcibly be broken in less than a year¡¯s time? Or that you may have to choose between your mother and me? You can still hunt with us, even without a Bond.¡± I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m arguing against having a nunda Companion, but I want to be sure that she¡¯s not going to regret this later. Well, as much as I can now ¨C she might say one thing now and then change her mind, but at least if we¡¯ve broached the subject now, she¡¯ll be hopefully more prepared when the situation occurs. But would you let me join battles like the one we just had? Would you take me with you to face the¡­those who caged me? ¡°No,¡± I say without hesitation. Because it¡¯s true ¨C without the advantages of a Bond between us, I wouldn¡¯t be able to trust her in dangerous situations like that. Then I want the Bond, Lathani says firmly. I do not wish to be left back at the cave like a cub when you are doing exciting things. I wish to face those who attacked me at your side and prove that they were mistaken in what they did to me. ¡°We aren¡¯t planning on committing genocide,¡± I warn her. ¡°Though I fully expect some of the lizard-folk to die, I¡¯m hoping to minimise the loss of life. If you want to Bond with me out of wanting revenge, then I suggest that we end it there.¡± She shakes her head firmly. It is not just for revenge. I like feeling the emotions of you and my elders. I like the sense of connection between us. It is as I said to mother: I feel like my path lies in a different direction from most nundas. That I am not born to be a solitary predator, lonely at the apex. I crave the companionship that I have found with your group. And you have proven yourself to be a capable leader. ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± I say seriously. ¡°You have challenged me before, disobeyed me intentionally to test how I would respond. If we keep this Bond, you mustn¡¯t do that. Moreover, you won¡¯t be able to ¨C the Bond will prevent it. I imagine you can sense the limitations of the Bond; don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t use all aspects of it if necessary.¡± I hope she understands what I¡¯m saying there ¨C if the safety of one of us is at stake, I won¡¯t hesitate to force her to obey. I trust you, she says simply, the words hitting me in the chest with the force of a crowbar. As must I, Kalanthia interjects, having clearly followed the conversation closely. If Lathani is so determined to maintain the Bond, I shall not gainsay her. I am satisfied that you have not sought to chain her from malice or pure selfishness. I recognise that the second Bond happened on her instigation, without your intention. But I must trust my precious cub ¨C the fruit of so many years of labour and dedication ¨C to your hands, trust you to take her into dangerous situations, and give her the means of coming out of them. Her words are solemn, her tone even more so. Once more, I feel the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders. I push myself to my feet and look her in the eyes, treating it with the seriousness the situation deserves. ¡°I can only promise that I will do my best,¡± I say. ¡°And surely you will still be there? You¡¯re not going to suddenly disappear, are you?¡± I wonder, abruptly concerned. Of course not. But there can only be one highest authority. That is now you. ¡°Then I hope you will not hesitate to give me advice or your suggestions if you think I need them,¡± I tell her. For the first time since we¡¯ve returned, I feel warmth from her side of things. With pleasure. Then her gaze narrows on me once more. And on that note, I wish to know what you are planning on doing with the vermin infesting my territory. I have stayed my claw for now, but I shall not for much longer. I frown. ¡°What vermin do you mean?¡± Vermin like them, she answers, nodding towards where River and Catches-leaves are still tense and ready to attack or defend. My eyes widen as I realise exactly what she means. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Six: Middle Manager ¡°You¡¯ve actually spotted lizard-folk? Near here?¡± Sniffing around, far too close to my den. If you do not deal with them soon, I will kill them all for their trespass ¨C and for what they have done to my cub. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them,¡± I hurriedly promise. There is far more to be gained from facing them myself. ¡°Do you know how many there are?¡± I am unsure about exact numbers but there are more than your group before, but less than your group now. That¡¯s a bit of a range: my group before numbered seven; now it numbers twenty-seven. So anything between eight and twenty-six. I nod slowly ¨C that¡¯s going to require some careful consideration. Ideas already starting to flick through my mind, I meet eyes with Sirocco, sitting on the branch above. Do you feel up to some scouting? I ask. She sends me the sense of being eager to do something more exciting than this slow trudge through the forest. It¡¯s true that our trip has been much longer this way than the other ¨C it¡¯s already well past midday, heading on for dusk. Sirocco has been practically hopping from branch to branch, taking short flights between trees as we moved below at the speed of our slowest members. It was still probably a quick jogging speed from before I started being enhanced, since even the hulking cyran was able to move relatively quickly. But it certainly can¡¯t compare to our speed in the other direction. Alright then, try to find the party of lizard-folk, I ask the bird. Be careful, try not to be seen and come back to me as soon as you¡¯ve found them. She sends me a sense of assent and then wings away. Looking back at Kalanthia, I see her watching with intelligent eyes. ¡°Sirocco will find them,¡± I tell her. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with them as soon as possible. But for now, we need to get back home and sort things out a bit.¡± Frankly, I¡¯m thoroughly looking forward to having a wash, and I know there are a number of things that would be best done at home. My quiet cave seems to be something of the past, Kalanthia comments a little pointedly. ¡°Yeah¡­sorry about that,¡± I say a bit bashfully, scratching the back of my head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly planned. Is it OK?¡± I check, because after all, it is her territory and technically she only offered me a home, not all of my Bound. Kalanthia heaves a gusty sigh. I should have known when I invited a Binder to stay that it would mean inviting others too. As long as they don¡¯t bother me, they may stay. ¡°Thanks,¡± I say with a hint of gratitude. ¡°And thanks for being understanding and¡­well, not killing me,¡± I tell her. While I would have fought against it regardless of her decision ¨C my life is rather precious to me ¨C I¡¯m still grateful that it seems to have turned out OK. Continuing to prove worthy of Lathani¡¯s and my trust in you will be gratitude enough, she says meaningfully. Then, a moment later, she looks away from me. For my part, I thank you for protecting my cub on several occasions. And I¡­apologise for not being willing to hear you out at first. You have done nothing but prove yourself to be an ally and trustworthy. I was overcome by emotion but it is no excuse. I am more than just a thoughtless beast. I gape at her for a moment. This is a first! Kalanthia is a prideful being, and doesn¡¯t strike me as someone who will easily admit to being wrong. I quickly collect myself: I must respond correctly to this olive branch. Kalanthia has made the first moves to heal the rift between us, but it takes two to tango. ¡°Thank you for your apology,¡± I say carefully. ¡°While I was hoping you would hear me out, I admit that I understand how bad it might have looked to you. Especially since you seem to have had poor experiences with those of my Class before,¡± I mention, eyeing her to see her reaction. She doesn¡¯t speak for a moment, then sighs again. That is true. But I should not have allowed my past experience to overcome everything I have seen of you. I apologise for the pain you suffered during my mental investigation. At the time I did not care to make it much easier on you than I did on the Bound at your side. Another wrong I did you. Does your mind feel well now? she asks solicitously, clearly a little anxious to not have caused permanent damage. ¡°A little sore,¡± I admit, ¡°but it feels like it should get better soon enough.¡± A renewed sense of shame comes from the massive nunda in front of me. Her ears are back, her hackles lowered. Perhaps it should feel good to see her humbled, after how easily I could have died because she wouldn¡¯t listen, or how she could have caused me mental damage because of not being careful as she dug through my memories. Somehow, though, it feels wrong. Still, I¡¯m not above milking the situation, plus, if I¡¯m calculating correctly, it might help her feel better anyway. ¡°If you want to do something to make up for it,¡± I start slowly, watching her closely, ¡°there¡¯s one thing I need.¡± Kalanthia¡¯s gaze returns to mine, very slightly suspicious. Which is? ¡°Forgive the rest of River¡¯s debt,¡± I say to her straight. ¡°It¡¯s more than two-thirds complete as it is, and now Lathani¡¯s part of our group we¡¯ll all be working to help each other anyway. Then we¡¯re square; all forgiven. How about it?¡± The big nunda thinks for a moment, then she sends a sense of acceptance. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Very well. It is forgiven. I shall not hold Lathani¡¯s treatment against your Bound. However, if Lathani¡¯s two main torturers survive your takeover of their village, I will demand more restitution from them, and I wish for compensation for her from the village as a whole, she warns. I nod. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I have a bone to pick with the shaman and herbalist anyway,¡± I agree. Then I shall return to the den, Kalanthia says, abruptly taking her leave with only a single glance at Lathani. Before I can do more than offer her a farewell, or suggest that the nunda juvenile go with her too, she fades to near invisibility and takes off with impressive speed. Unlike the last time she did this in our presence, I can actually see the faintest distortion around her outline, allowing me to actually keep track of her as she runs off. Perhaps my increased Wisdom is to thank for that. Either way, I still wouldn¡¯t be able to see her standing still, and I doubt I would spot her moving unless I was looking for the tell-tale signs of distortion. I turn back to my group. The lightening of the sense of dread caused by an angered Kalanthia¡¯s domain has calmed my Bound to some degree, and the absence of the massive predator has reduced their tension even further. It¡¯s not gone completely: my herbivorous Bound in particular are nervous even with her disappearance, probably because they fear that she might just be waiting to ambush them. But it¡¯s better. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± I say, sending a sense of safety over the Bond, ¡°That was Kalanthia. Normally we have a much better relationship than you¡¯ve just seen, and now we¡¯ve sorted things out, you should be safe as long as you don¡¯t bother her. But you will have to get used to being around her ¨C we live next to each other.¡± The response I get back from my Bound is mixed. Those of my Bound who are already familiar with Kalanthia send relief that the situation was resolved without bloodshed. Those who are not either express reluctance to go nearer the apex predator than absolutely necessary, trust that I will keep them safe, fear that despite my promises, I am unable to do so, distrust in my motives, or a mixture of all of them. But none of them immediately break their Bonds, so I take that as a good sign that they¡¯re willing to see how things turn out. The final stretch back home seems to pass in a flash, though we do stop at the river near the cave to wash and replenish water supplies once more. Walking up the hill, I feel a sudden sense of relief once more when I see the hole in the mountainside which now says ¡®home¡¯ to me. Thinking through everything, I decide that my ¡®crafting¡¯ cave is going to have to fulfil another purpose for now ¨C my Bound are definitely not all going to fit inside the alcove. It might be a bit of a challenge to get them all fitting in the new cave as well. I eye the cyran in particular ¨C I have a feeling that that one¡¯s going to struggle with even getting through the entrance. The icehal is another one who might have difficulty, but that¡¯s because she¡¯s quite tall. Looking rather like a relatively short-necked scaly giraffe, similar to an okapi, she¡¯s both wide and long-legged. She¡¯s easily the tallest of my Bound, her shoulder just above my head, but unlike the kiinas, who are second tallest when they¡¯re standing as high as possible, she can¡¯t duck down as easily. Well, if I have to make the opening a bit larger, I¡¯ll do so, though it will take a fair bit of effort. Or I¡¯ll need to bribe Kalanthia to help me again. Facing my Bound, I send the sense of needing their attention down the Bond to all of them. One by one, they quieten and look at me. For a moment, I can¡¯t help but marvel at the diversity now in front of me. Easily twenty different species are before me. Their sizes range from the tempin, a creature looking rather like a long-legged tortoise and about the size of a football, to the cyran, the triceratops look-alike which is far smaller than the dinosaurs were, but still has a shoulder at the level of mine. Not to mention that she¡¯s probably ten times my weight. Size isn¡¯t the only difference. Body types range hugely, as do diets ¨C from pure carnivore, to pure herbivore, including insectivores and omnivores. And I suspect that behaviour and personality probably range just as much, but I won¡¯t know that until I become more familiar with each of them. ¡°Right everyone,¡± I start. ¡°If you want to sleep inside, this is where to go. It¡¯s pretty bare inside, so I''ll send a party down to the forest so you can collect items for bedding and eat some more, if you like. For the meat-eaters among you, I¡¯ll put out a carcass for you,¡± Lathani¡¯s intervention fortunately yielded us a fair bit of meat, ¡°and we¡¯ll organise a couple of hunting parties for tomorrow.¡± I pause for a moment, thinking through what to say next. Though I¡¯ve managed to touch base with all of them, it was brief and mostly just to work out the basics: what kind of Bond we have, their sex, their immediate needs, their diets etc. I also scanned all of them, alerted by the problem Catches-leaves had been suffering, and found a number of problems which I¡¯m going to try to correct. I didn¡¯t want to spend the mana then, but I will do it over time. ¡°We¡¯re a group,¡± I say finally. ¡°A team. We work together for each other¡¯s benefit. We help each other become stronger. While you are part of our network of Bonds, you are one of us, benefiting from everything we each can offer, as long as you give as wholeheartedly as you receive. That might be for a week, a month, a year, or permanently.¡± It took a bit of thinking for me to decide on that, especially as it affects distribution of the few Energy Hearts I have remaining and any Cores we find. But in the end, I look at Sirocco. If I¡¯d done what I¡¯d originally planned of treating her as different because she was my only Tame in a group of Dominated Bound, we wouldn¡¯t now have the close Bond we do. I was convinced to treat her as one of us, and she has become such. Perhaps some of those who have only chosen to have a limited Bond with me will change their minds. Perhaps not. But either way, it benefits me to have stronger Bound, even if only for a limited time. ¡°That means no attacking a fellow Bound outside our daily sparring,¡± I take up the thread of my speech once more. ¡°If you have a problem with another Bound, come to me or to your team leader. Heck, if you have a problem full-stop, come tell us about it. If we know, we can help you solve it; if we don¡¯t, we might not notice until it becomes much worse than if you¡¯d just told us straight. ¡°Follow first my instructions, then second your team-leader¡¯s. If they are contradictory, come and ask me about it unless you are out in the forest where it would be dangerous to do so. In that case, just follow what makes most sense in that context.¡± I think carefully. What have I missed? ¡°I don¡¯t know how long we will be here for,¡± I admit. ¡°I have several objectives to meet which may include some or all of you and which will require extended time away from the cave. And I have plans for the future which will probably involve moving. But when I have more concrete ideas, I will let you know.¡± Not able to think of anything else to say, I end my impromptu speech with some positivity, advice from colleagues coming back to me of always leaving the audience on a high note if possible. ¡°But I¡¯d like to officially say welcome to the team, and express my gratitude that you¡¯re all here with me. We are stronger together and if we all pull together, we¡¯ll get stronger still,¡± I finish, part of me cringing inside at hearing the familiar jargon of middle managers coming out of my own mouth. The sense of doubt and caution that still lingers in the network of Bonds makes me feel even more awkward inside. Still, I was being honest, and hope that they will come around in time to the ¡®new¡¯ way of doing things. Dismissing the group, I quickly organise a party to go into the forest ¨C I figure half should go at a time. River being the leader of five new Bound, Bastet being the leader of the other five and leaving the cubs behind. A brainwave has me shaping a hide to fit across three branches as a sort of makeshift stretcher ¨C a way of carrying the bedding material. I entrust that to River and Catches-leaves just before they start walking down the hill. Even as their silhouettes disappear into the trees, I notice another shape winging her way up to me. Sirocco¡¯s back. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seven: Did You Find Them ¡°Did you find them?¡± I ask urgently as soon as she lands on my shoulder. In return, she sends me an image. No, a memory ¨C of her watching the party of lizard-folk. It¡¯s a pity that River¡¯s out of range already, otherwise I¡¯d share it with him and get his thoughts. I¡¯ll have to wait until he gets back and then do it. My first concern is to count the number of lizard-folk who have come to find me, as that is the most likely explanation for their presence, I figure. Fifteen. No, sixteen ¨C as Sirocco turned her head, she spotted another hiding behind a bush, on guard. Five of them were clustered around a carcass. One small and slim, two hulking, and the other two bigger than the smallest, but lithe rather than on steroids. The other ten were waiting patiently to one side, gazing at the group in the middle, but not approaching. No, not gazing at the group ¨C looking at the carcass itself. Paying close attention to the differences between them, I become increasingly convinced that the party is composed of one Pathwalker, four Warriors, and ten, probably eleven unevolved ¨C I can¡¯t tell what the sentry might be since I can only see his crest sticking up over the bush. Given what I¡¯ve learned about the way the lizard-folk operate, I¡¯m not surprised that even in the field ¨C or the forest, more accurately ¨C the unevolved are second to eat. I suppose it¡¯s only the presence of the Pathwalker which permits them to eat at all; otherwise they¡¯d probably be forced to be like Catches-leaves had been ¨C starving while surrounded by food. I force my thoughts away from my anger at that cruelty and focus once more on the matter at hand. Why this composition? Is it a standard one unless intending to fight a powerful foe: I remember River indicating that the party which left to face Kalanthia had been bigger and mostly, if not entirely, composed of Warriors. I also remember him saying that their deaths had left the village vulnerable ¨C perhaps there are so many unevolved here because they can¡¯t dedicate the same number of Warriors without leaving the village defenceless? Something to ask my own lizard-folk Bound when they come back. With sixteen fighters, four of which are probably faster or stronger than the unevolved, perhaps both at once, and one capable of using magic, this is going to be a challenging fight. I¡¯ve seen how both River and Catches-leaves use their weapons, and I¡¯m sure that the Warriors at least would be even more effective. A head-on battle is likely to lead to casualties on both sides. And that¡¯s not what I want. But then, maybe it doesn¡¯t have to be a straight battle. My mind ticking over busily, I slowly smile as an idea comes to mind. I¡¯ll have to see whether it will work when my Bound come back from the forest, so I consider a few other alternative plans as well. The sensation of squirming against my back reminds me of something. Three things, actually, and I head quickly into my alcove to sort them out. When we¡¯d returned to the danaris¡¯ cave after all my Bound had had the chance to eat and drink ¨C and all the other fateful events which happened too ¨C I¡¯d found three of the danaris larvae still alive. They seemed to have established a truce after vanquishing all the others. The chitinous bones of their siblings had littered the ground around them, and they were casually snacking on the carcass I¡¯d left for them, peacefully side by side. Why they would be peaceful after having had such a voracious appetite for the flesh of their own kind, I don¡¯t know. Did each larva have a limit in the terms of the number of siblings they would kill? Were they satisfied with what they had already consumed and felt no need to be aggressive towards the other hatchlings? Or did they all recognise in the other a powerful opponent, an instinct for survival telling them not to engage? Perhaps I will discover one day. For now, it seems like I have three danaris larvae to look after as well as three raptorcat cubs. Concerned that they would just eat through anything made from creatures, I¡¯d actually made a little bag out of one of my polyester shirts and given it to Persephone to carry in her mouth ¨C I figured that asking the soon-to-be mother to carry the babies was a reasonable demand. After the confrontation with Kalanthia and when Persephone wanted to drink at the stream, I¡¯d taken it from her and carried it myself the rest of the way. Now in the alcove, I start building a small enclosure as far away from the fire as possible. I¡¯m not keen on having them close to my head, so put them close to where my feet will be when I¡¯m lying down. Using rocks, I build a ¡®cage¡¯, then use sticks on the outside to reinforce the wall and hopefully block any gaps the stones don¡¯t. Maybe I ought to get some clay to create a properly smooth wall later, but this will do for now. Putting a pile of meat chunks inside ¨C since I don¡¯t have any more whole carcasses ¨C I tip the larvae in. Gazing at them for a moment, I note that they seem half again as big as the larvae I pulled out of Fenrir were. Is that because they grow fast at this stage? Or because these ones were big to begin with, and that¡¯s why they survived the feeding frenzy? Or a bit of both, perhaps. Covering the cage over with one of my jackets so it¡¯s as dark as it would be inside a creature¡¯s body, I head back outside. Sitting on the ground, I pull out a few lumps of roasted meat for myself. I¡¯m not famished since I¡¯ve been snacking at regular intervals, but I¡¯m looking forward to a good meal later ¨C I need to prepare it though. After I¡¯ve eaten, I¡¯m going to get on to creating clothes for myself out of the danaris¡¯ web, but for now I feel the need to relax a bit. A hulking lump catches my eye and I twist my head to look at it: the carcass of the danaris is now decorating the hillside ¨C I really need to get on to harvesting that. I didn¡¯t want to do it at the cave, first because I was keen to get going, wanting to make the best use of the light and second because I wanted to get the inevitable confrontation with Kalanthia over with. I did grab a large section of the poisoned web, though, and I see that next to the carcass, still on the long stick I¡¯d made for Catches-leaves to carry it without needing to touch the dangerous material. If I can replicate the effects, that could come in very useful too. Perhaps Kalanthia might like the meat of the danaris? My Bound hadn¡¯t, but she¡¯s stronger; maybe the venom-laced meat would be palatable to her where it wasn¡¯t to them. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a Core inside too; perhaps giving that to her might help smooth the disruption between us. Or maybe she¡¯d see it as a bribe for her cub¡¯s life. She did imply that the most important thing for her at this moment would be that I keep Lathani alive and help her get stronger, after all. I do find it a bit odd that the Oath we took didn¡¯t react to this whole situation. Weren¡¯t our promises of mutual no harm contravened here? Either by me Bonding Lathani, or by Kalanthia attacking me. It¡¯s understandable if the oaths didn¡¯t react to me Bonding Lathani. After all, I offered the first Bond to help protect her, and then she instigated the second by herself. What would the Oaths have against that? But then Kalanthia attacked me. I expected it, but it still wasn¡¯t necessary; if she had heard either me or Lathani out first, she probably wouldn¡¯t have chosen to attack. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Perhaps the Oaths didn¡¯t activate because she thought it was warranted? But then when would any attack trigger the Oath? After all, we always think our attacks are warranted, even if only motivated by greed. Unless it only activates when, deep down, we know that what we are doing is wrong. But then that¡¯s a bit of a shoddy protection. Unless it did activate, but didn¡¯t tell me? In which case, that¡¯s not a particularly good protection either. I¡¯m starting to understand why Oaths are not well-regarded by many people in Nicholas¡¯ world. Deciding to see if there¡¯s anything in my status screen, I pull it up.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 13 Energy to next level: 100% Energy absorption rate: 40u/hr Energy towards debt: 89% (246)
Intelligence 36+1 (+5%) Mana: 546/555 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 40+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1050u/hr
Willpower 43+10 (+25%) Health regeneration rate: 53u/hr
Constitution 22 Health: 330/330 (15u/CP)
Strength 20 Stamina: 120/120
Dexterity 20 Stamina regeneration rate: 200u/hr
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 3 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Initiate 1 Fade ¨C Initiate 3 Inspect Fauna ¨C Novice 4 Inspect Flora ¨C Beginner 8 Inspect Environment ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Taming ¨C Beginner 3 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 9 Stealth ¨C Novice 3 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 2 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 6 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 1 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 Spearmanship ¨C Beginner 9 Archery ¨C Beginner 8 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 2 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 6 Fire-Shaping ¨C Beginner 3
Glancing down at my Skills, I notice that a few have increased by one or two levels, Sensation Management now on the precipice of crossing into Novice. I was leaning on that Skill quite a bit during that confrontation with Kalanthia, so it¡¯s not terribly surprising. Energy Manipulation is still sitting stubbornly at Master one, but that¡¯s also not too shocking: I haven¡¯t spent any time trying to increase it. Actually, I have four Skills now which are due for a rank-up any time soon ¨C Flesh-Shaping, Sensation Management, Spearmanship, and Inspect Environment. It will be interesting to see what happens when I get there. More relevant right now, though, is what I¡¯m seeing in both my Energy store and debt. They¡¯ve both climbed significantly. My Energy towards the next level is now sitting at one hundred percent ¨C I can level up! I think with glee ¨C and the percentage of Energy put towards my debt is now at eighty-nine percent, five percent higher than it was the last time I looked. Does that mean that the Oaths broke? And that I received Kalanthia¡¯s portion of the collateral as well as my own back? It¡¯s possible, but in that case, it¡¯s definitely not a good system: there has never been an indication of the Oath being active, and apparently no real indication of it being broken. All I can guess is that the amount of Energy from Kalanthia filled my store, then, per my usual intentions, overflowed into my debt storage. Perhaps if it had happened when I¡¯d still been level one, I¡¯d have noticed a large amount of Energy entering me, but maybe not. Nicholas¡¯ world must have some better way of monitoring active Oaths, I think to myself. Otherwise, what use are they? And what if you have multiple? How would you know which had been broken? In the end, I just shrug to myself. I think that Kalanthia and I are past the point of needing oaths. I respect her capabilities, and she has come to trust my intentions ¨C mostly. I know her well enough now to have a good idea of what actions will set her off. Bonding her cub was always going to cross one of the clear lines she drew, hence why I¡¯d been uncertain about being able to come out of that confrontation fully intact. Now, though, I¡¯m pretty sure there are only really three lines which I could cross. One, allow Lathani to die. Two, attack Kalanthia. Three, try to Bind Kalanthia ¨C in a serious attempt, not what I just did to her which was more to make her stop and listen than actually an attack on her. Since I¡¯m not planning on doing any of that, we should be fine. So, once more I have to make a decision about what stats to increase, and now I can choose from all of them. Closing my status screen, I head over to the danaris¡¯ carcass. Before I start cutting, though I poke my head into the cave and look at Kalanthia. She¡¯s cuddling with Lathani, but her eyes are open. ¡°Are you interested in the danaris¡¯ flesh? I¡¯m going to butcher the carcass now,¡± I tell her, trying to keep a usual bright and casual tone in my voice, not the wary one which wants to come out. Nor do I let my gaze linger too long on the massive white fangs which almost pierced me, or the paws from which sword-like claws had extended. If you can succeed in removing the venom which usually laces it and makes it inedible, yes, Kalanthia says after a moment of thought. That tells me two things: one, that she has faced this creature before, and two, that the venom would be distasteful or actively harmful even to Kalanthia. Good to know. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll try,¡± I promise, then quickly beat it outside again. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll feel more comfortable with the giant leopard in the near future: I overcame the last time she attacked me quickly enough. And I logically know that she¡¯s very unlikely to attack me right now. It still doesn¡¯t mean that my heart won¡¯t beat faster when she¡¯s watching me with that predator¡¯s gaze, or when I remember just how quickly she could end my life. Though, thinking about it, although it felt like I was on the brink of dying at any moment, the fact is that I didn¡¯t die. Does that mean that she wasn''t actually trying to kill me? Or that part of her was holding her back? The thought warms me ¨C that maybe, despite her anger, she had still had a part of her that hoped she was wrong, and that wanted to give me a chance to explain. Even while I go back to the danaris¡¯ carcass and start to dismember it, even as I think about where to put my level-up points, I find the warmth from that thought lingering. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Eight: Another Authority By the time I¡¯ve decided what I¡¯m going to upgrade, I¡¯ve managed to butcher the carcass of the danaris. In fact, it¡¯s the way I do the majority of the butchering that helps convince me. Instead of using my knife, I end up spending a while filling the carcass with mana, switching between Light and Heavy Meditation to maximise my mana regeneration. I¡¯d love to go into Deep Meditation and experiment a bit with the ¡®challenge¡¯ that I was offered last time, but considering how removed that makes me from the world, I¡¯m reluctant to do it right now. I¡¯m fairly confident of my safety: the two kiinas are here, as are Fenrir and Sirocco, so even if one of my other Tame Bound decided to try to attack me, I think I¡¯d probably be fine. It¡¯s more a question of if I could be woken up from it: last time, I lost three days without even realising it. This time, I don¡¯t have that to spare. So Heavy Meditation it is: at least I have more of a sense of time passing there. Once the carcass is full of my mana, it¡¯s simple to separate all the bits. I create a neat pile of mana-filled chitin, and another little pile of the danaris¡¯ organs: its oddly-shaped lungs, its web-glands, its damaged brain ¨C since I didn¡¯t bother to reconstruct that ¨C and its digestive sacs. Then there¡¯s a bigger pile of the meat from inside its legs and body. I¡¯m surprised at just how much there is to eat ¨C if I can rid it of the venom within. As it turns out, removing the venom is more complicated than butchering it, but not by much. With my mana saturating the material, all it really takes is finding the right image and applying my will to the task. Finding a container is more of a challenge, but in the end, I actually take two pieces of chitin and reform them to make a large bowl. Then, holding each piece of meat above the bowl, I force the venom out of it, letting it drip into the bowl like water from a cloth that I¡¯m wringing. Much easier than getting blood out of a stone, I chuckle to myself. There¡¯s a Core too, as expected ¨C a large one. It was buried in the meat of the tail, not far from the sting and nestled in among the silk-glands. It¡¯s about the size of my head, and more faceted than the natural ones. It¡¯s brighter than all the other beast Cores I¡¯ve encountered so far ¨C a vibrant yellow not all that dissimilar from its venom. I think I¡¯ll have to use this one carefully: any who absorb it are likely to gain some characteristics of its venomous approach. However, I already have two in mind who I think will benefit most from it ¨C and who deserve to. In one case, at least. The thing is that my exploration of the danaris¡¯ body has yielded an interesting fact: River and Fenrir both have venom glands. The organs in their body which I couldn¡¯t identify the function of are all too similar to the venom glands near the danaris¡¯ stinger to be for a different purpose. I think that the reason I wasn¡¯t able to identify them before was because they don¡¯t seem to be active, or if they are active, they¡¯re not functioning very well. Whether it¡¯s a mutation, or even an inert organ from their ancestors which has stopped working for their generations, I don¡¯t know. Either way, Catches-leaves doesn¡¯t have the same glands. Thinking about it, maybe that¡¯s the reason for why River¡¯s self-injury when I was testing the healing aspect of Flesh-Shaping was so difficult to heal. My healing magic at the time registered ¡®foreign bodies¡¯ in his flesh; maybe those were caused by a small amount of venom from his claws. Perhaps if River and Fenrir absorb this Core, those glands will become active. That would add further firepower on our side: from what I can see, Fenrir¡¯s front claws would then become venomous, as would River¡¯s teeth and claws. I¡¯ll check with them first, but figure that they will probably leap on the opportunity. I¡¯ll speak to them together when River returns. For now, though, I go over to the cave mouth. ¡°I¡¯ve managed to get the venom out of the meat,¡± I tell Kalanthia. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to have some.¡± The large nunda pushes herself to her feet and stretches luxuriously. I don¡¯t take a step back at the sight of the cavernous mouth, but it¡¯s a close thing. This shall be a treat ¨C I tried once to taste the flesh of the trapper, but the venom made me so sick that I never tried again. ¡°You¡¯ve encountered them before, then?¡± I ask while moving backwards to give her enough space to walk past me. A few times. They have never been dangerous for me, but I cleared the area of two when I moved here with Lathani: she would have been a tasty meal for them. ¡°How did you deal with their venom, then?¡± I ask curiously. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. I didn¡¯t bite them, she replies with her equivalent of a shrug. I used my claws and the earth. ¡°Good strategy,¡± I admit. ¡°So, how is it?¡± I ask since by this time we¡¯re standing by the pile of meat and Kalanthia has taken a bite. Delicious, she says with a rumble of pleasure. Full of mana, tender, and scrumptious. That¡¯s interesting. I take a piece of meat from the pile and pull out all the mana I can from it. ¡°How does this one compare?¡± I ask, holding it out to her. She takes it from my hand and I barely have a moment for my stomach to drop at the thought of her immense teeth so close to my fingers before she¡¯s already pulling away. Not so nice, she says pensively. Still tender, but not so tasty. Not so much mana. I remember this taste from the nere. You can fill flesh with mana? ¡°Yes,¡± I tell her. ¡°But didn¡¯t you know that? I¡¯ve been doing it for weeks now.¡± She shrugs again. I did not know you could do it to dead flesh, she responds. Fair enough, I suppose: I¡¯m not sure how much experimentation I¡¯ve done regarding that while she¡¯s been awake ¨C the bulk of my discoveries have been done during the dark hours, I think. Can I try? My thoughts are interrupted by Lathani piping up. She followed us out and is evidently interested by what her mother¡¯s eating. Mother, can I? Kalanthia casts a considering glance down to her cub, then looks at me with an unreadable expression. You have another authority now, Lathani. Ask your binder. Lathani seems a little taken-aback. So am I, to be honest. I wasn¡¯t expecting Kalanthia to take to it that well. If anything, I was expecting there to be more conflict of authority, where she would continue to expect Lathani to follow her instructions. I was mentally prepared for that, had already decided that I would let things be ¡®normal¡¯ at the cave, as long as the chain of command was clear when we went out hunting. But if Kalanthia is going to recognise the change in the situation, all the better. Though maybe this is a test ¨C to see how far I will push my new Bond with Lathani. Perhaps Kalanthia is trying to see whether I will deny Lathani something for no good reason, just because I can. The young nunda herself doesn¡¯t seem fazed, looking at me next. Pack-leader, can I eat some? she asks next. I look back at Kalanthia. ¡°Yes, if your mother is happy to share,¡± I answer. Kalanthia holds my gaze for a moment longer before she dips her head to grab a few pieces, tossing them gently over to her cub. Enjoy, my cub, she says, sounding the faintest bit satisfied. Perhaps I passed the test, if it was one. Leaving the predators to their meal, I go over to sit next to the poison-laced web. Hesitating for a moment, I then touch it with one finger. Ready to pull it away at a moment¡¯s notice, I watch like a hawk ¨C or Sirocco ¨C at how the poison immediately seeps through my skin and into the nerve network. It starts spreading through the network, obviously intending to do the same to me as it did to my Bound. Unlike my Bound, however, I have sufficient control over the mana saturating my body that I¡¯m able to immediately stymie its progress. I send my own mana into the poison, invading it as much as it¡¯s intending on invading me. Passing from the poison into the body of the web itself, I use my control to isolate a small section of it and cut it away. I¡¯d like to investigate this final attack from the danaris, but imbuing the whole of the large piece I cut will take way more of my mana pool than I¡¯d like. Even if I don¡¯t feel as over-strained as I did the morning after rescuing all of my new Bound, I still don¡¯t want to have to refill my mana pool multiple times. A small piece will work well enough. Over the next period of time I experiment a bit with the piece of web and the venom saturating it. I work at separating the two, and combining them. Next, at growing the web and the venom within, then each separately. Finally, I work on changing the venom itself. If I can strengthen it, I might have another poison I could use on my enemies in addition to the one from that mimic creature which I used on the danaris. After spending so much time working with that particular venom within the body of the spider-like creature, I feel like I might even be able to recreate it from scratch. If that¡¯s true, that would be good ¨C I won¡¯t necessarily always have an example of venom to hand. Being able to weaken a venom also has a good purpose: the danaris proved that it could inject its victims with a version of its venom which would simply put its targets to sleep without actually killing them. If I could do that, it might help me with the lizard-folk ¨C in both the near and more distant future. Not having a test subject is a bit of a drawback, but I decide with resignation to test it on myself: I don¡¯t want to subject any of my Bound to something that could kill them before I could heal them, after all. I have a little bit more faith in my own ability to self-heal, but keep close at hand a couple of the healing potions I left back in the cave ¨C just in case. When my Bound come back from the forest, I¡¯ll need to organise the second group to visit and get their own bedding. In the meantime, I¡¯ll need to get the first group sorted and ensure that they¡¯re all comfortable. Hopefully I¡¯ll even be able to get a bit of time in with each of them, to continue building our Bonds. I need to find names for them all, after all. Then when the second group comes back, I¡¯ll need to plan with River and Catches-leaves. In between all of that, I need to feed myself and get some rest because tomorrow is going to be a long day. But for now, I lose myself in the curiosity of experimenting with a new substance. One, I feel, will play a pivotal role in the coming hunt. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Nine: A New Name, A New Start ¡°Do you think everyone¡¯s sorted?¡± I ask as River and Catches-leaves come up the slope, looking fatigued. The beasts in their train immediately carry what is in their mouths or on their backs into the alcove. Bastet brings up the rear but only briefly greets me with a head-rub before tapping into the alcove to find the cubs. This is the second group to come back, and some of the first group have already gone to bed. The raptorcat cubs are in a snoozing pile currently watched over by Fenrir. It¡¯s getting to be time for bed, anyway ¨C the sun has just disappeared below the horizon and it¡¯s rapidly getting darker. But before everyone disappears, I still need to do something. Everyone in the group has eaten, master, River reports, fatigue in his mental voice. And they should have enough bedding, Catches-leaves continues, indicating the stretcher they¡¯ve just laid down which is piled with vegetation as well as a carcass. ¡°You caught something?¡± We thought that with as many mouths to feed, we¡¯d need more meat, River shrugged. And this beast was unwary enough to get too close. I think that it was attracted by the number of prey beasts in our group. ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± I muse. ¡°We¡¯ll have to be careful about taking them out into the forest.¡± I don¡¯t want another Spike to happen, after all. ¡°They¡¯ll need to have protectors every time they do,¡± I say, more speaking out-loud than to them. I¡¯m definitely going to have to carefully consider my groups. Master, River hesitates so I raise my eyebrows to prompt him to continue. Are we, I mean, are you going to keep all of these beasts in the pack? ¡°You can say ¡®we¡¯: it¡¯s your pack too,¡± I point out. ¡°And, honestly, I was planning on just seeing how things fall. I¡¯ve already been wrong about the offensive ability of a creature I thought was purely defensive in nature. Besides, not everyone has to be a warrior: there are lots of things we¡¯re going to need to do in the future, and lots of ways members of the pack could be helpful. Then, of course, there¡¯s the fact that not all of these new Bound are planning on staying, and some will only stay if I succeed in completing their requirements within a specific time period.¡± Yet you are willing to accept them even if they have not committed to staying for the long term, Honoured Markus? Catches-leaves asks, speaking up for the first time. I frown a little ¨C is he still not able to just say my name? It doesn¡¯t come up all that much ¨C most of the time, he just doesn¡¯t use any name since it¡¯s obvious he¡¯s speaking to me. ¡°Just Markus, alright?¡± I sigh. But I do honour you for what you have done for me, Catches-leaves objects. Does it offend you if I say it? ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­oh never mind. Call me what you wish,¡± I respond a little irritably, not having a good way of saying that I feel like I don¡¯t deserve it. Very well, Honoured Markus, Catches-leaves agrees, a little uncertainly, tilting his chin upwards to reveal his throat for a long moment. Looks like he¡¯s not any easier to convince than River. Well, at least he¡¯s not calling me ¡®master¡¯. Even though I understand better what the term means to River ¨C and presumably Catches-leaves too ¨C I personally still have some instinctive dislike when I hear it. ¡°Speaking of names, do you mind if I shorten yours a little?¡± Catches-leaves is less of a mouthful than Runs-with-the-river, but it¡¯s still likely to trip my tongue up a bit. In what way? the lizard-man in question asks with a questioning tilt of his head. ¡°Perhaps to ¡®Catch¡¯. Is that OK?¡± Catch¡­. This is like how you call Runs-with-the-river simply by ¡®river¡¯, yes? A way of showing belonging to the group? I have been informed of how you name everyone in it when they first join. ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± I say, a little taken aback at the meaning he¡¯s ascribing to my desire to make addressing him easier on myself. But in a way, it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? I name those without a name, and rename those with one. ¡°I mean, if you don¡¯t like it, then there¡¯s no problem in sticking with your preferred name,¡± I quickly say, just in case he¡¯s feeling obliged. No, it is fitting, he muses. New eyes, a new name, a new start. I smile. ¡°As long as you¡¯re OK with it, Catch. And, of course, you can change your mind. Or request another name, if there¡¯s one you¡¯d prefer." No, this is good, the newly renamed Catch replies firmly. Bearing the presence of the past, but not bound by it. Well, at least it doesn¡¯t seem that Catch has the same issue with telling me ¡®no¡¯ that River does. I suppose that Catch feels less guilt than River: his decision to Bind himself to me permanently was born of his gratitude, not the messy process of a mixture of threats and bargains and guilt that has muddied the waters with River¡¯s Bond. ¡°Right, well now that¡¯s sorted, can you choose a couple of Bound who you think might be good at protecting me and who are not too tired? I need to go level up.¡± Though Catch looks confused, River immediately forces himself to straighten. Master, I will come. I shake my head sharply. ¡°You¡¯ve just done two trips into the forest, in addition to the trip we did from the cave. You need to rest.¡± But- ¡°No,¡± I tell him firmly. ¡°I appreciate your dedication to my protection,¡± I continue, my voice softer, ¡°but it won¡¯t do either of us any good if you come when you¡¯re practically stumbling from exhaustion. I doubt you got much sleep last night, either,¡± I accuse him. He looks a little guilty, proving that I¡¯m right. Though I slept well last night, still tired from the night before, I was aware of him only sleeping lightly, keeping guard on our core group with as many newcomers as there were. ¡°I¡¯ll take Hades, Persephone, Fenrir, and three others that you recommend. That should be fine.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it What is this, Honoured Markus? Catch asks. Of course, he¡¯s never been around for when I levelled up. ¡°When I level up, I usually expel a whole load of nasty-smelling liquid. I therefore, as much as possible, do it near the river so I can wash off after. But this does sometimes lead to attacks while I¡¯m vulnerable, hence needing a guard.¡± The last time it happened, master was attacked by an Evolved nere, River explains to Catch. The second samuran hisses through his teeth. And yet you are all still here and intact? Impressive. ¡°Yeah, so that¡¯s why I need your recommendations of creatures who can keep a good watch. Ones with keen senses might be the best options,¡± I say pensively, thinking about it. Fenrir has his sense of smell and a powerful bite; the kiinas have their air-blades and impressive ability to use both wings and teeth as weapons. Really, what we need most is advanced warning from sight- or hearing-specialised Bound since Sirocco won¡¯t be particularly useful in the rapidly darkening forest. I should probably wait until tomorrow morning to do this, but tomorrow¡¯s going to be a full day, I suspect, and any delay will just lengthen it. The woshel? asks Catch, looking at River. Yes, and the quan, agrees River. Looking at me, he explains. The woshel has a very keen sense of hearing, and vicious claws and teeth, despite her small size. The quan is a prey beast, but a wary one, with the ability to see in all directions at all times, and a particularly strong capacity to spot movement. Perhaps the krerus too, Catch adds. His bite is venomous and he is fast to strike. He will defend you well if you are attacked. ¡°Alright, thanks for the recommendations,¡± I say to them with a smile. ¡°If you could just signal to them to meet me out here, I¡¯ll go get the others. Then you two rest.¡± From the feeling over the Bond, they are both happy with that instruction, despite River¡¯s previous protests about accompanying me. ***** It¡¯s not long before I find myself down by the stream. I light a torch and stick it in the bank of the river, after inspecting the water for any signs of another nere. I even cast an Inspect Environment, but it comes back clear of any creatures, though I do note a few plants which are outlined in red or gold for later. Hopefully, that means I¡¯ll be able to level up in peace. I¡¯ve been thinking about where to put my points for a bit of time, so know exactly what I¡¯m going to do now. I said to myself before that I would dedicate one level up to each stat, just so I can see exactly what happens to it. Last time, I put all my points in Wisdom, and that was a very informative experience. This time, I¡¯ve decided to put them all in Willpower. Not only is it the stat which gives me the biggest ¡®bang for my buck¡¯ because of the additional twenty-five percent I get from my bonuses, but it¡¯s also the most important to me at the moment. Part of my conclusion is based on logic; part is based on instinct. The logical aspect comes primarily from when I Inspected the danaris. I would have needed sixty-three points in Willpower to have a reasonable chance of Dominating it. Yes, perhaps I could have Dominated it with a lower Willpower, but from how hard it was to even push the venom through its system, I suspect not. The danaris was probably fairly high in Tier two, but it didn¡¯t seem all that smart. Smarter than the average Earth creature, perhaps, but not by a huge amount. Not as much as the lizard-folk, that was for sure. Which means that there is a good chance the Pathwalkers and Warriors will require even higher Willpower. And what about other creatures in Tier two? Or Tier three beasts? If I¡¯m really going to put my Tamer Class to work with either Tame or Dominate, I¡¯m going to need more Willpower. Not to mention that using Flesh-Shaping in battle also either uses Willpower or the amount of mana I can throw at the issue to decide whether I¡¯m successful or not; considering how quickly I seem to go through mana, it¡¯s better not to bank on the expectation that I¡¯ll have enough to do the latter. The instinct part comes from sensing that I might have a few too many Bound. There¡¯s some sort of sense of¡­strain right now. Like I¡¯m carrying a heavy weight, or have ropes pulling me in different directions. I don¡¯t sense that it¡¯s at breaking point at the moment ¨C I reckon that I could easily have another few Bonds as matters currently stand, but that there is a limit and I¡¯m rapidly approaching it. I remember that I felt something vaguely similar a while ago, though far weaker, and it disappeared when my Willpower increased. Evidently, there is some sort of limit on the number of Bonds I can hold, though I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s due solely to the number of Bonds, or is impacted by other factors. Considering that I¡¯m likely to lose a few of these beasts as their Bonds come to their predetermined end, it may not be an issue for too long; it¡¯s worth monitoring though. Perhaps by levelling up with only Willpower, I¡¯ll be given a clue of where to start looking. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to level up, now,¡± I tell everyone. ¡°No signs of anything nearby that¡¯s likely to attack?¡± With the series of ¡®no¡¯s or negative feelings across the Bond, I nod and start stripping off. Stepping away from my clothes, I settle down to the ground, my Bound surrounding me. I might be worried about being so vulnerable in front of my new Tame Bound, especially since two of them are predators who are not obliged not to hurt me. However, I have faith in Fenrir and the two kiinas to keep me safe and alert me if the others suddenly turn on me. And let¡¯s face it, I¡¯m not so easy to kill, not anymore. Activating the level up is easy, especially since there are no subcategories to Willpower. Quickly diving into my Core space, I watch the modifications to my system unfold. Like when I levelled up Wisdom, light gathers in my Core, increasing in intensity until I can barely stand to look at it, before exploding outwards like a star might. The Energy rushes through my mandala, just as it did before, but here¡¯s where I see the difference. Before, it ricocheted through my inner weave like the golden lines were an inescapable series of tubes. This time, it¡¯s almost like the lines aren¡¯t even there. The Energy passes through the matrix and beyond, into the blackness. The contradictory luminosity of the darkness in which my inner matrix is situated, like a jewel in its setting, increases by a noticeable amount. At the same time¡­can that be right? I squint as I try to work out if I really am seeing what I think I¡¯m seeing. It is! I exclaim to myself in excitement. The Energy, still being sent out from my Core in waves, is actually expanding my Core space, like air being blown into a balloon. Or the tide lapping at a beach. How interesting, I think to myself. So Wisdom widens and strengthens the channels of my matrix, while also extending the lines which lead out of my Core space entirely. Willpower, however, seems to almost ignore my internal matrix entirely and fills the black space around my matrix, while expanding that too. They¡¯re almost like opposites¡­ I wonder what the implications of that might be, especially since none of this was in the information I received from Nicholas, not in the letter and not in the stone. Like the other things I¡¯ve discovered about my internal matrix and how it affects and is affected by my stats, I wonder whether it¡¯s just that this is considered advanced information, and not therefore included in a basic information stone, or whether they just don¡¯t know about it. As before, the waves of Energy lose their impetus, but the same ending happens: the waves pull back toward my Core, then explode in one final powerful punch, blowing the bronze specks out of my body. Pulling out of my Core space, I quickly scrub off the disgusting liquid that the bronze specks seem to turn into. Only after verifying that there are no more crocodiles ¨C or anything else ¨C waiting for me in the river, of course. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Ten: Give That Lizog An Oscar I¡¯m wedged in the crook of a large branch, my feet tucked around the trunk, my stomach flat on the branch itself. I¡¯ve chosen it carefully: it¡¯s overlooking the clearing but is high enough above it that I shouldn¡¯t be immediately noticeable. The lizard-folk have ranged weapons, after all. My ears are pricked, both physical and mental ones. All around me, the Bound I have brought with me are waiting silently. I decided to leave the most vulnerable of my Bound at the cave today, so we have slightly reduced numbers, but hopefully that will also reduce the number of possible casualties. We wait. All hinges on the lizard-folk party not knowing what they¡¯re getting into. I¡¯m coming, I hear faintly through one of the Bonds. I send a signal to the rest of my Bound to be ready and sense them shifting slightly, moving from waiting to full readiness. I mentally run through the plan once more, as well as the contingencies based on how the lizard-folk react. I think I¡¯ve planned for everything, but I¡¯m aware that reality has a way of kicking plans in the teeth. As I¡¯m about to start running through the plan again, I see a shape moving through the trees. My grip tightening on the branch I¡¯m lying on, I don¡¯t relax even when I identify it as River. He¡¯s running full-tilt and barely slows as he gets into the clearing. Running around the edge, he stops when he is on the far side of where he entered. Pulling his spear from his back, he prepares. Behind him, I see a whole load more of silhouettes that rapidly become full-colour as they get closer. One, two, three¡­.sixteen. Yes. Good, they¡¯re all here. Two of the Warriors are at the front, the slimmer and more lithe ones apparently faster than the hulking examples of their species. At the back, accompanied by one of the biggest lizard-kin, is the slim figure of the Pathwalker. They enter the clearing warily, their eyes mostly focussed on River¡¯s halted form, but also looking around at the trees and bushes. As I know from River, the lizard-folk have learned to be highly observant ¨C they would have died young if they hadn¡¯t. I hope that none of my Bound are visible, but moving at this point would be the worst possible reaction. To that end, I also stay absolutely still, my position fortunately already lending me an excellent view on the situation ¨C intentionally so, of course. I can imagine what the lizard-folk are thinking. They¡¯ve been chasing a member of their village, who disappeared under suspicious circumstances with two escapees. Suddenly, he¡¯s stopped running. Rather suspect, right? Leaning into River¡¯s understanding of his own language, I¡¯m able to catch hints of the uncertain murmurs between the members of the hunting party. They don¡¯t know whether to wait or to attack, and if to attack, whether to run forwards and grab the estranged member of their village or to use weapons from a distance ¨C use the advantage of his turned back to bring him down. They look towards the Pathwalker and the Warrior at her side for guidance. These two seem hesitant to commit. Perhaps they fear a trap ¨C rightly so. But that¡¯s not what we want them to be thinking about right now. Well, that¡¯s what the next bit of drama is for. And who better to play the part than someone who¡¯s already proven himself quite capable of acting? A blood-thirsty growl ripples through the air, grabbing the attention of all the lizard-folk. Levelling his spear at the bush in front of him, River starts backing away ¨C towards the group of lizard-kin. He¡¯s pretending that he¡¯s not even aware of their presence, he¡¯s so focussed on the ¡®threat¡¯ in front of him. But I can see how he deliberately stops before he reaches the line he¡¯s fully aware he mustn¡¯t cross. Emerging from the bushes is Fenrir, his teeth bared, his body hunched. He¡¯s got bigger, I realise. I hadn¡¯t noticed before, but now seeing them from above, I can tell that he¡¯s grown both in height and breadth. Well, I¡¯d always thought his mental presence felt young; maybe instead of being a bit of a runt, he¡¯s actually just not fully-grown? Either way, he¡¯s a threatening sight. Well worthy of the ¡®fearfully¡¯ shaking spear of River. The other lizard-folk curse when they see him; eavesdropping on the utterances they make explains why: they¡¯re fully aware that lizogs run as a pack. They think that Fenrir is just the single one visible. Darting looks at the forest around, they seem to be searching for the rest of the group. Holding their weapons more firmly, they pull together. To their credit, they don¡¯t look fearful, simply wary. As if it¡¯s a previously established strategy ¨C which it might easily be ¨C they arrange themselves with the Pathwalker in the middle of the group, the Warriors protecting her, the Unevolved adults surrounding them. They¡¯re clearly ready for anything, but they¡¯re not quite where I want them to be yet. Still, at least the first step has succeeded: they¡¯re bunched up together rather than spread apart. But I need to get them to move a bit further into the clearing. Fortunately, I have a plan for that. After all, this lizog does run as a pack, but not with other lizogs. Sending a message to certain of my Bound, a sudden ripple of growls and snarls fills the air around the lizard-folk. They startle, their heads turning this way and that, trying to pinpoint the sounds probably. This isn¡¯t right, I see one of them saying, his spikes an urgent orange. There are too many different beasts. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Well, I suppose I should have expected that: beings who have lived in the forest for all their lives should know the difference between different sounds. That¡¯s not as relevant as the fact that even the sounds of aggressive animals haven''t made them shift at all. Instead, they¡¯ve just pulled their circle in tighter. I send a message to one Bound in particular. The next moment, a loud bellow makes the Unevolved adults around the edge of the circle flinch. A cyran? I interpret one of them saying. A lizog, and now a cyran? What¡¯s going on? A moment later, the thunder of thudding feet fills the air and the hulking shape of my cyran Bound ¨C newly named Trinity for her three horns ¨C comes into view, stampeding towards the group. They shift like water, changing shape to form more of a line, the six Unevolved with spears presenting them like pikes, their bases against the earth below, the Warriors with clubs clearly ready to clobber my Bound when she comes near. At the last moment, she slides to a halt, the spears coming within a hand¡¯s width of her skin, but not actually managing to pierce it. The lizard-folk stand firm. Pity. Move away quickly, I tell Trinity and she snorts but follows my instruction. The lizard-folk by this point seem very confused. I don¡¯t blame them. But I still need them to move. Perhaps another threat would work better. Lathani, Bastet, Artemis, you¡¯re up. From the trees jump three figures. Artemis is the deri I Tamed, the one who requires me to find others of her pack to join us if I wish to keep her Bond past a few months. She¡¯s also clearly an ambush predator along the lines of Bastet, though looks more wolfish than Bastet¡¯s panther-like appearance. Apparently she¡¯s a particular effective hunter, hence why I settled on the goddess of the hunt for her name. These new threats cause the lizard-folk to shift once more, pulling their formation tighter, their weapons bristling from the group like a hedgehog. Or porcupig. The three predators prowl around, testing their defences. They don¡¯t commit to any attack, but feint a few times, jumping towards the lizard-folk and then pulling away before they can be hit. But they¡¯re still not moving. River, try to get their attention, then look like you¡¯re getting away, I tell him. He quickly obeys, stabbing at Fenrir. Take that! he yells loudly, then sends a private message to Fenrir ¨C a message which as the master of the communication network, I can still hear. Play dead, he tells the lizog. Fenrir, bless him, immediately understands and gives a mournful yelp, keeling over to one side with a thud. Give that lizog an Oscar, I can¡¯t help but chuckle to myself despite the tenseness of the situation. Ten out of ten for drama, but it¡¯s done what River intended it to do. The lizard-folk now have their attention split: between the predators still prowling in front of them, and their estranged member who, having ¡®killed¡¯ Fenrir, has now run out of the clearing. He doesn¡¯t run far before he hides behind a tree and then starts making his way back to the clearing, but the lizard-folk still bunched together seem completely fooled. He¡¯s getting away! shouts one. Do we go after him? demands another. He must have answers. The Pathwalker speaks for the first time since she entered my view. Quiet all of you! That yellow and black prey looks like the creature he was accused of stealing, she says suspiciously. We can track Runs-with-the-river¡¯s path later. Now, we should kill the black and grey prey, and catch the black and yellow one. I will trap it if you direct it to the edge of the clearing. An opportunity, even if the Pathwalker¡¯s dismissive approach to Lathani makes my blood boil a bit. Lathani, run around the group and then let them ¡®chase¡¯ you over the centre of the clearing. When they¡¯re all there, quickly leap clear. Yes, pack-leader, she quickly assents, clearly pleased with her pivotal role in this little drama of ours. Just try to make it look natural, OK? I emphasise. After all, Fenrir is clearly a born actor, but I¡¯ve never seen Lathani in action. Fortunately, it seems like Lathani is treating it a little like a game, like something she might do with the raptorcat cubs if she wants something that they¡¯re playing with ¨C drawing them away from it with little feints and then running around to get it when they¡¯re distracted. The lizard-folk follow perfectly in her lead, the only moves they make which are not so desirable being spreading out a bit. Artemis and Bastet work to stop that without me even needing to ask them. By threatening any member they see who is at all outside the group, they reduce the amount the lizard-folk spread out. Then, finally, they¡¯re in position. Lathani, get clear! I tell her urgently. As she follows my order immediately, I send my mind down the mana-saturated string connecting me with the large web beneath their feet. The whole web isn¡¯t itself saturated with mana, not anymore ¨C I did need to conserve some mana for simply growing it to the size it is now. But the threads connecting it to the pegs buried in the ground are. With a flex of will, I sever them all. I can¡¯t manage them all in one go, but I¡¯m fast enough that the difference is limited. The ground disappears beneath the lizard-kin¡¯s feet, and they tumble into a deep hole. The two which were on the edge of the hole and manage to remain on the surface teeter off-balance for one crucial moment. With a ¡®helping¡¯ hand ¨C or head-butt, rather ¨C from Artemis and Bastet, however, they tumble into the pit to join the rest of the group. From above, I grab the pile of material sitting in front of me. Letting it unfold with gravity, I focus carefully and then drop it on their heads. The sleeping poison-laced web fulfils two roles ¨C subduing, and preventing them from throwing their weapons. At least, that¡¯s what I hope it will do. Swinging one leg over the branch, I let myself slide down the tree, dropping the last metre or so to the ground. Approaching the hole, I sigh in relief and relax a little. The first major step is done. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Eleven: Great Egg Take You The lizard-folk hunting party has been captured. They¡¯re struggling to remove the web covering, but it¡¯s big and unwieldy. Not to mention the poison which coats it is no doubt making their movements more difficult and their minds more foggy. Already, I see less movement than before. Hopefully that means the poison is taking effect, not that they are preparing to do something to us when I remove the web. I will have to do that, though ¨C I don¡¯t actually want to send them into comas, which I know can happen with too much exposure to this particular poison. ¡°Well done, team,¡± I say to everyone. River, now re-entering the clearing. Fenrir, ¡®resurrected¡¯ from the dead and peering curiously down into the pit below. Bastet and Lathani, rubbing affectionately against me. Artemis, a bit more stand-offish and looking into the forest. Trinity, her heavy footsteps thudding as she comes closer. Sirocco, landing on my shoulder ¨C she wasn¡¯t needed in the end as none of the lizard-folk ran, but she was prepared to do her part if needed. The ten other Bound who had filled the air with growls and snarls and flashes of movement to disturb the lizard-kin and make them fear. I¡¯ll need to say well done to those waiting back at the cave too ¨C this really was a team effort; even some of those who aren¡¯t here now helped dig the hole. There¡¯s no way I could have created it by myself. Not unless I spent a week or more on it. The pit is big. When I tested its diameter down at the bottom, I could lie flat with my hands above my head and almost brush my fingertips against one side while my toes touched the other. As for its height, it¡¯s half again as tall as River, which makes it about the same height as it is in diameter. It was a challenge in several ways and, frankly, I¡¯m still surprised and pleased that we managed to pull it off in as little time as we did. Digging such a massive hole in a single day seems impossible, or at least improbable, but with almost all of my Bound helping with something, we managed it. Fifteen of my Bound ended up digging in shifts, five at a time. Some were better than others, sure, but they all attacked the task with single-minded focus. In between times, they rested or ate. River, Catches-leaves, and Louie ¨C the omnivorous henerm who looks rather like an orangutan except with four arms, a tail, and scaly skin ¨C as the most dextrous of all my Bound had another task. They filled a couple of buckets I¡¯d made out of hide with the earth the diggers disturbed and spread it around the clearing so it wouldn¡¯t be obvious to our targets. When the hole started getting too deep to easily step out of it, I had to set up a primitive rope-pulley system. I did this by using a tree and several strands of my cord twisted together. Trinity, as the heaviest and strongest of my Bound, was responsible for pulling any of my Bound out of the hole who needed to be, and the bucket of earth itself. Just walking back and forth throughout the day didn¡¯t seem to bother her too much as long as she was still able to eat, which was fortunate. As for the others, I kept some of the predators back as guards, and sent Bastet with a couple of captains to take a group out to collect food to feed the workers ¨C for both carnivores and herbivores. In the course of doing that, I learnt something useful about the new delegating aspect of my Tame Skill: I can create a hierarchy. If I assign the manager role and a number of Bound to a creature, and then add that manager to another Bound¡¯s group, then there¡¯s an enforced chain of command. That worked very well as it meant that I was able to assign the predators to one of my new Bound, the prey to another, and then assign both leaders to Bastet¡¯s party. She therefore had overall command, but her two sub-leaders were able to maintain control over their own parties in the absence of a specific order from Bastet. Very useful indeed. So, we had quite a good system going there of food and resources being collected and brought back to the clearing to keep the workers here able to do their tasks without worrying about getting hungry. Meanwhile, my role was mostly one of supervision and creation. Namely, the two pieces of web and the poison which has now almost finished doing its job. Such large pieces of fabric took a long time to grow since I needed to keep waiting for my mana to replenish. Being able to dip into Heavy Meditation and significantly increase my mana regeneration rate is probably the only reason I was done before dark as it was. At least it¡¯s given me a couple more levels in that Skill: one more and then I¡¯ll be on the precipice of Master with Meditation too. Creating the poison was another challenge, though it was getting the dosage right which was the main issue. I don¡¯t actually want to knock the lizard-folk into a coma, after all. I asked Bastet to bring a few live test subjects back with her ¨C I needed to know how it worked on creatures who weren¡¯t Bonded to me, in case that made a difference. A laborious series of testing ensued, and included testing on River and Catches-leaves too ¨C that was unavoidable, unfortunately, unless I wanted to just guesstimate the required dosage. After I¡¯d figured that out, I needed to lace one of the pieces of web with enough to deal with the whole party. That one was folded and tucked on the branch I was planning on watching everything from. The other piece was laid across the top of the hole, its size only just a bit larger than the hole itself. I spun thick pieces of web from the edges while my Bound held it in place, using quickly crafted wooden pegs to hold them in place. Much like a trampoline or a tent, really. To disguise the shifting feel a little, River, Catches-leaves, and Louie piled some earth on top that they¡¯d set aside for this very purpose. Besides, we were hopeful that the lizard-folk would be sufficiently distracted that they wouldn¡¯t notice how the ground beneath their feet wasn¡¯t quite as stable as it should be. Evidently, we had good reason to hope. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I was worried for a little bit that the earth would be too heavy for either the webbing threads or the wooden pegs, but it turned out that my worries were groundless. Even when the three of them stepped on top, it didn¡¯t shift. I didn¡¯t ask Trinity to test it, though ¨C the hulking cyran would probably have been a step too far. Our final task was to make the clearing look as though nothing had happened ¨C a bit of a challenge, but one that apparently my two lizard-folk Bound were perfectly capable of. I suppose they would know what their kin would be looking for, so with a bit of thought and ingenuity, they were able to disguise our activity. Now it¡¯s time to see whether all that effort was worth it. Using a stick which I¡¯ve tied another stick to at an angle in order to form something of a hook, I slowly lift the webbing off the lizard-kin¡¯s heads. As the off-white material reveals the hunting party below, I see that not everyone is unmoving. The Unevolved all seem to be still, though I note that they¡¯re all breathing, which is one worry off my mind. The Warriors, though, are mostly still awake, though clearly battling with the soporific nature of the poison. One actually grabs his spear and moves as if to throw it at me, but halfway through the attempt, his hand relaxes without his instruction and it falls out of his grip. The red flashing through his spikes show his anger and frustration. The two lithe Warriors seem the worst off, unable even to stand anymore, though still trying to force their eyes open. The Pathwalker, too, seems to be trying to fight off sleep from sheer determination and stares up at me with a glare. I might feel more intimidated if her eyelids didn¡¯t keep trying to close and her eyes didn¡¯t keep losing focus, but I can tell that she¡¯s not happy with me. She¡¯s also trying to use magic, I think ¨C she¡¯s touching roots sticking out of the earthen walls and appears to be¡­weaving them? I have to admit that I wasn¡¯t exactly impressed with her showing in the confrontation, but maybe she doesn¡¯t really have battle-suitable magic? Anyway, that doesn¡¯t matter too much: she might be trying to escape, but even if she managed to do it, she would be facing us while fighting off the poison; not a good position to be in. Especially because her back up would be equally afflicted. But I have other plans for her. While I¡¯m aware that diplomacy might not work, especially considering all the things River has told me about the village, I¡¯m keen to at least try. ¡°River, help me communicate with them, would you?¡± I ask and my first samuran Bound quickly assents. ¡°Tell them that I mean them no harm as long as they don¡¯t attack me or mine.¡± He does, repeating what I said word for word as far as I can tell. Still tapping into his understanding of his native language, I also understand her response. ¡°The Great Egg take you, traitor!¡± she spits. ¡°Don¡¯t think I have forgotten how you killed one of us on your way out. And to bow to a prey-thing? Have you no shame?¡± ¡°He is not prey,¡± River argues, without me even needing to prompt him. ¡°He is worthy of respect. He is going to save our village from the Forest of Death, and bring knowledge of how to control the life-devourer!¡± ¡°Our village? No more, outcast ¨C you are to be brought back to justice. If you are lucky, you will only be banished,¡± the Pathwalker glares and spits again with all the strength she can. Not literally spitting ¨C I¡¯m not sure their mouths are suited to that physical action ¨C but the way her teeth click almost enough to cut her own gums and the grunts make her chest move sharply tells its own story. River reels back a little as her words hit him ¨C although he¡¯d told me before that he felt he was betraying his village, I¡¯m not sure it had ever fully registered that everyone he loved would feel the same way too. That Catches-leaves doesn¡¯t is a bit of a miracle, probably mostly due to him being so far down the hierarchy that no one really cared to tell him anything. ¡°And saving our village from the Forest of Death? Controlling the life-devourer? Don¡¯t make me laugh!¡± She doesn¡¯t look anywhere near laughter, instead appearing enraged. ¡°You¡¯ve been listening to too many hatchlings¡¯ tales. Or perhaps you just don¡¯t want to admit that you betrayed our people for a prey-thing which cannot offer you anything like what you had with us.¡± I make a ball of fire appear in my hand but she¡¯s already turned back to the wall. I dismiss the flame with a hint of annoyance ¨C her expression would be fun to see. Unfortunately, instead of looking around, she¡¯s redoubled her efforts in trying to create a way out of the pit, even as the poison takes greater and greater effect on her. And the others are too sleepy and glazed to even notice. Pity. Looking down, I see that River¡¯s claws have curled into balls, cutting his own palm if the blood which abruptly drips through his fingers is anything to go by. He seems about to tear a patch from the Pathwalker, but I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Calm,¡± I say quietly. But master, Honoured Weaver disrespects you! he almost shouts through our mental connection. ¡°Because she hasn¡¯t learned to respect me,¡± I sigh. ¡°I understand what you were telling me before: first I¡¯m going to have to force them to acknowledge my power. Then maybe we¡¯ll get somewhere.¡± River¡¯s fist loosens and he grimaces as his claws pull free of the wounds. I quickly send a little magic down through where I¡¯m still holding his shoulder, healing them in a few moments. Then you are going to- ¡°Yes,¡± I quickly reply. ¡°Though I hope it will only be necessary with her.¡± I¡¯ve already got enough Bound, after all ¨C I don¡¯t need a whole village of lizard-folk tied to me like that too! If I¡¯m lucky, once I¡¯ve got the Pathwalker under my control, the others will fall in line: they¡¯re used to looking to the Pathwalkers for instruction, after all. Well, I¡¯ve tried the diplomatic route and it failed just as River thought it would. I could try using Catches-leaves as my mouthpiece ¨C clearly the way we left the village means that River is persona non grata with his people ¨C but he¡¯s so low-ranking that I doubt it would be any better. River had the Pathwalker clearly angry; she would probably just ignore Catches-leaves. Oh well, I guess it¡¯s to the Battle of Wills I go. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twelve: Laid Some Cards On The Table If the Pathwalker continued to glare at me intermittently, that would help. Unfortunately, she seems to be determined not to look at me as she puts all her limited efforts into trying to escape. I¡¯ll definitely need to do something catch her gaze before she falls asleep from the poison. Still, there is something else I want to do first. Inspect Fauna
Samuran: Shouts-joyfully Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Weaving Health: 580u Mana:1050u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 68 (52) Open to a Bond: No Impacting factor: Power Member of a samuran community; one of its leaders. While this beast is mostly suited to non-combat activities, she can apply some of her special abilities in combat if necessary. Social Beast with a strong capacity to form bonds.
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It¡¯s my first time being able to see any details about one of the Pathwalkers. I¡¯m quite taken aback by just how high my Willpower would need to be to Dominate this one at least in a straight battle ¨C higher even than to Dominate the danaris. Though I suppose that shouldn¡¯t be too surprising: the danaris wasn¡¯t nearly as sapient as the lizard-folk ¨C or samurans, as I should remember to call them. The danaris must have focussed more of its Evolution into its bodily power based on how much health it had had. Not to mention that I have to guess that sapience also has a significant impact. I¡¯m abruptly glad that I decided to pour six points into Willpower yesterday: now with sixty-five points in it, I reckon that I¡¯d have actually stood a pretty good chance of Dominating her successfully even without trapping and poisoning her. As it is, it should almost be a piece of cake. Indeed, the fact that my current trap has brought the requirement all the way down to fifty-two points is interesting, and indicates that if I¡¯m smart about how I approach the village as a whole, having really high Willpower isn¡¯t absolutely necessary. At least, that¡¯s what I assume the fifty-two within brackets means. It makes sense, anyway. I have to guess it¡¯s coming from levelling either Dominate or Tame, not that it¡¯s said anything about that in the information boxes. It all bodes well for my upcoming battle with the other Pathwalkers. I mustn¡¯t expect it to be a doddle ¨C for all I know, this is the weakest of the group and the shaman is the strongest ¨C but it¡¯s heartening to think that I¡¯m probably not all that far off. If I can tilt the odds in my favour by having already defeated my opponent in a physical battle, or by trapping them like I have here, then it should be fine. If I get the opportunity to level up again before tackling the lizard-folk¡¯s village, I might double down on Willpower, but I want to explore what that challenge in my soul space was about first. I managed to gain an extra point in Willpower without expending Energy, I think. Anyway, that¡¯s for later. Right now, it¡¯s time to see what this battle has in store for me. Waiting until the next time the samuran looks directly at me is irritating; Murphy seems to be on duty as now I want her to look at me, she¡¯s dedicating all of her failing focus on her attempts to weave a way out of the pit. Her fluttering eyelids indicate that I¡¯m running out of time. Clapping loudly doesn¡¯t draw her attention; moving to stand over her head and making flame flare from my hand does. Her eyes widen and spikes flash a deep blue. I immediately take the opportunity her rapt gaze offers me. ¡°Dominate.¡± Immediately, we enter the usual greyish space. I¡¯m hit by significant pressure from the start, but it¡¯s nothing like Kalanthia¡¯s. Hers was a waterfall of snow melt that beat me down and forced me back with every stinging drop. This is more like the crocodile-like nere¡¯s was, except there¡¯s one big difference: like it was when I faced Persephone, the pressure feels empty. It¡¯s a gust of air trying to be a river of water, a paper bag trying to pretend to be a concrete wall. The consequence of me doing this while she¡¯s trapped and poisoned, I would conclude. But even if it didn¡¯t feel hollow, the pressure doesn¡¯t feel anywhere near as insurmountable as facing Kalanthia had been. Pressing forwards, I barely have to lean into the wind to make progress. The figure on the other, the Pathwalker, is clearly not a happy bunny as I approach her. Stay away, prey, she hisses at me, attempting to strike me with her emotions. Interestingly, she¡¯s the first to have tried to use that as a weapon in this space, and it¡¯s surprisingly effective. I hiss in pain as her lash of anger lands, her disbelief that something she has designated as prey would dare to try to force her to submit. I will not, I say through gritted teeth as she lashes at me again. I try one last attempt at diplomacy. River spoke true: I am going to save your village from the Forest of Death. I shove my sincerity at her, as much of a weapon as her fury had been. As if inferior prey could offer us help! Even if you do have some sort of trick with something that looks like the life-devourer. Her scathing words and tone rub me all up the wrong way. I grit my teeth even more ¨C if I was actually here physically, I¡¯d probably have risked cracking my teeth. However, since this seems to be a projection of my soul, I guess I don¡¯t have to be too concerned. Instead, I just put my whole will into moving forwards, the lashes of her anger and outrage falling with every step. As I get closer, though, they weaken as I sense fear creeping into them, making them brittle and sharper, but less able to pierce my steady determination to advance. I even start deflecting them, finding that my rock-hard Will is a good defence against the attacks. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Step by step, I move towards my opponent. The pressure is great, but fails to keep me at bay. Like with Persephone, as I approach a certain point in the distance between us ¨C in this case two thirds of the way towards the samuran ¨C the pressure builds and builds until it actually threatens to make me pause. Taking a moment, I focus my attention, imagining it like a blade: if the samuran can use emotions as a weapon, why can¡¯t I? I visualise my will becoming the blade that has become as familiar to me as another limb, then strike the space in front of me. Like the paper bag of the kiina¡¯s fearful will, the lizard-kin¡¯s resistance caves, pressure streaming past me, unguided. In its wake rises fear and disbelief, lingering like a miasma in the air between us. Impeded even less than before, I stride forwards until I am six inches away from the Pathwalker. There, I stop. Meeting her eyes with my own, I see the mixture of fear and rage and disbelief that are echoed in the emotions surrounding her. She can¡¯t believe that a prey beast she and her sisters ordered caged could have cut through her will like the knife I imagined it to be. ¡°I could force the Bond right now, you can feel it, can¡¯t you?¡± I ask her levelly, though it¡¯s less of a question, and more of a statement that I¡¯m demanding she confirm. My eyes bore into hers: both River and Catch have indicated that strength is the only thing their society recognises. Well, I might not like that, but if I wish to change it, then I¡¯m going to have to prove to them that I have the strength they require, before I can teach them that there are other ways of measuring people¡¯s worth. She doesn¡¯t answer me, but I feel the rage around her flare. ¡°Look,¡± I tell her, equally firmly but not allowing my own anger at what these people did to Lathani and me any rein. ¡°Either you respond to me and we can have a nice little conversation here, or I can Bind you here and now, and we can have the conversation after when you have no agency to deny my wishes.¡± The fear and rage both flare in equal measure as she takes in my words, but she doesn¡¯t respond. I sigh in disappointment, but reach out towards her nonetheless. She can¡¯t move, can¡¯t avoid my hand, and all her resistance up until now has been fruitless. I don¡¯t want this, but she¡¯s forcing my hand. Almost literally. Stop, she says, my fingers only a couple of centimetres away from her forehead. I pause, but don¡¯t back off at all. ¡°Will you converse with me?¡± I ask, not letting emotions come through my voice, though she can probably read the hope in my aura: it¡¯s hard to hide what you¡¯re feeling in this space, perhaps even impossible. But I generally don¡¯t mind too much: it¡¯s better that both parties are honest with each other, I think ¨C I¡¯ve seen the consequences of contracts made in bad faith, and I reckon that this would probably be even more damaging. I will converse with you if you will release me afterwards. ¡°The Bond is non-negotiable,¡± I tell her firmly. Quite apart from the fact that Kalanthia expects me to take control of the lizard-folk village if I wish to keep the members of it alive and protected from her wrath, I suspect that Bonding at least the Pathwalker of this little band is the only way to keep the others in line. And since I suspect she¡¯d reject any Tame Bond which didn¡¯t favour her far more than I¡¯d be willing to accept, Dominate is the only option for now. Then why do you wish to converse with me? she demands. Or perhaps you are unable to carry out your threat and wish to convince me to accept the chain I feel hovering around me, she suggests scornfully. ¡°I am not bluffing,¡± I tell her. ¡°Feel my sincerity in my aura.¡± I instruct, waiting patiently for her to do so. The fear in her aura grows, even as she tries to deny it. No, you must be bluffing! And even if you are not, it is only because you have trapped me and poisoned me. If you met me at my full strength, you would fall before my might! she insists. You¡¯ve cheated and this contest is worthless for it. I can¡¯t help laughing. ¡°I used my advantages against you. You are a Weaver; I am a Tamer. I used my Bound to scout for you, to create the trap, to lead you into it. How is that cheating? If you and I faced each other, would you stop yourself from using your magic to attack your opponent?¡± She gazes at me, frustration in her eyes and aura, but doesn¡¯t answer. She knows that I¡¯m right. ¡°And frankly, even if we were matched face to face with no poison or trap or numbers, I give myself better chances of winning than I would give you. Do you know why?¡± No, she mutters reluctantly after a moment. ¡°Because, as River said and you rejected, I am not only a Tamer; I am also capable of controlling fire and flesh.¡± While I recognise that the Pathwalker is probably much stronger in her single area of magic, I think that fire would probably be a hard counter to whatever she could weave, unless she can weave the air itself. And if I could get close enough, with how close our Willpower stats are, I reckon that I¡¯d be able to cause her some serious harm, enough that Dominate would be easy afterwards. My strength of conviction is clearly obvious to the samuran and I feel her aura quail away from mine for a moment. Then I do not understand why you have not yet closed the noose on me, she challenges, her defiance empty. If you are so sure of yourself. ¡°Because I would prefer not to be Bound to someone completely antagonistic to me,¡± I say honestly. ¡°If you force my hand, then I will Bind you regardless, an inevitable consequence of what your shaman and herbalist did. But this is your opportunity to decide to cooperate. You will find that I can be amenable, though don¡¯t test my patience and ask for too much or I will press on regardless,¡± I warn her. The thing is that even if I can force my Dominated Bound to do anything, I don¡¯t want to be obliged to dictate their every move. I like my connection with my current Dominated Bound because all of them desire to work together, rather than only doing so begrudgingly. Adding someone into the mix who is constantly looking for a loophole or a way to escape is like putting a rotten apple in among good ones. I¡¯ve seen it happen before with teams of people. So if, by making some small concession, I can buy her goodwill, then I¡¯m willing to do that. What do you mean by your words about inevitable consequences of the Shaman and Herbalist¡¯s actions? They have done nothing but try to help and protect our people! the samuran demands, her tone indignant, completely failing to address the other parts of my declaration. Very well ¨C I¡¯ll play along for now. ¡°They were working on a solution to the issue with the vine-stranglers. Did you know that?¡± Of course! ¡°Then did you know what the solution was?¡± This time, she hesitates. Though Shaman and Herbalist have refused to clarify, they have said that it is a long-term solution which should combat many threats which might face our village in the future, not only the threat of the Forest of Death. ¡°Then let me tell you. They kidnapped the cub of Kalanthia, the being you know as the Great Predator, and brought her back to your village,¡± I tell her bluntly, my calm words not showing the rage which threatens to boil over the limits of my control. I fight it back, not wanting it to derail what is slowly becoming a decent negotiation. ¡°They fed her a series of potions which somehow drew on her future potential, ageing her and making her more powerful in the present, but at a cost. That cost was one they were willing to pay as they were intending on killing her and enslaving her spirit, using that somehow as a weapon against the vine-strangler¡¯s encroachment.¡± I forcibly force myself to calm, even in this non-physical space feeling my breath quicken and heart beat faster. ¡°Now, how does that sound as a plan to you?¡± Horror has taken over the Pathwalker¡¯s being, though I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s horrified at. The treatment of Lathani? The fact that it was the Great Predator¡¯s cub? Or that I, a ¡®prey¡¯ creature, knows about it when she doesn¡¯t? I¡¯ve laid some cards on the table; time to see how she responds. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirteen: Clearly, That’s Going Well For You The samuran is silent for a long moment, but finally she responds. If that is how my sisters sought to protect us, then I support them in it, the Path-walker says loyally, though the doubt in her aura is enough to prove to me that she¡¯s not as content with the method of protection as she¡¯d like me to believe. ¡°Even if it has actually called another doom upon your head?¡± Confusion fills the Pathwalker¡¯s aura. How so? ¡°The group sent to kidnap Kalanthia¡¯s cub failed in one big aspect: they left Kalanthia alive. For the crime of kidnapping her cub, Kalanthia would have sought blood. When her cub returned, permanently changed, she desired to kill every last one of your village. Does that seem like a good method of protection now?¡± The lizard-kin is silent for a long moment. She¡­they¡­I¡¯m sure they did not expect such a response from the Great Predator. ¡°They should have,¡± I tell her grimly. ¡°I do not believe that Kalanthia is known for her mercy.¡± Then perhaps they had a plan to defend us against the Great Predator, the samuran snaps. You should ask them, not me ¨C I don¡¯t know! ¡°Oh, believe me,¡± I tell her, my anger finally leaking into my words. ¡°I will.¡± Then, closing my eyes, I take a moment to rein back my fury. It has no place here. ¡°Fortunately for you, your village had a spokesperson.¡± Confusion once more leaks into the space around us. What? Who? ¡°The lizard-kin you call ¡®traitor,¡¯¡± I hiss at her, unable to allow a bit of vindication into my voice. I saw how River flinched at the word, how it had hurt him to be rejected by the people he had only ever tried to protect. ¡°River, Runs-with-the-river, agreed to help me because he believed both in the vengeance which Kalanthia would bring to bear for the loss of her cub, and because he believed that I could protect your village myself. He sold himself to me to protect you. And when Kalanthia spoke of genocide, he offered up his own life in an attempt to placate her.¡± My emotions rising once more inside me, I can¡¯t help but shove the memory of River kneeling before Kalanthia at the Pathwalker in front of me. I don¡¯t know how it works considering there is no Bond between us ¨C not yet ¨C but perhaps it''s because we¡¯re touching souls. Either way, I know my attempt is successful. The Pathwalker¡¯s aura betrays her uncertainty after she¡¯s viewed the memory, and I don¡¯t hesitate to hammer it further in. ¡°Thanks to his demonstration of regret and my own request to spare you for his sake, Kalanthia has agreed to let your village live; on one condition.¡± Which is what? the Pathwalker asks a moment later, her voice faint. ¡°That I rule your village.¡± The lizard-kin is silent. ¡°So you see that the Bond is inevitable, and this is the opportunity to ask for something in exchange for your cooperation. Unless you prefer death, of course,¡± I say in an afterthought. If that genuinely would be someone¡¯s preference, I won¡¯t stand in their way or force them to Bond with me. The Pathwalker is silent for several long moments. I wait patiently, pushing my anger, my impatience, my restlessness away. Interestingly, the space isn¡¯t showing any sign of shattering, nor am I tiring from holding it. Perhaps it¡¯s because Dominate has increased in level? Or because my Willpower is higher? Or perhaps because the differences between our Willpower stats are small. Eventually the lizard-woman answers. I do not wish to die, she admits in a small voice. ¡°Then you accept that a Bond is the only other alternative?¡± I ask levelly. I wish for power, she says, instead of answering me properly. Give that to me, and I will offer you cooperation. ¡°Magical power? Advancement to the next tier? Power over other lizard-folk?¡± I check. The first two. She gives off a feeling that I reckon would be a head toss if she could move. I care little about power over others of my kin. The first two will give me the third, anyway, she admits. I nod slowly. ¡°Being part of my group, a proper part, means cooperating with each other, and seeking each other¡¯s safety and benefit. In that way, we all benefit, we all rise. One of my Bound has already evolved into the next Tier while Bound with me, and others are approaching that time. Three are also heading for Tier three, like you. If you can accept that, then I will agree to your desire for power.¡± There¡¯s a long pause, then a sense of acceptance emanates from her. It¡¯s not a whole-hearted agreement, not like Fenrir who had practically thrown himself at me emotionally when I made the same offer. But at the same time, it¡¯s not a begrudging or plotting agreement which might indicate she¡¯s planning on making trouble later. I¡¯ll take it. I move my hand back towards her head from where I had withdrawn it earlier. ¡°Then join us, Shouts-joyfully.¡± Surprise emanates from her, even as my fingers touch her skin and the world shatters around us, a new Bond thrumming into place. The world comes into colour around me and I breathe deeply for what feels like the first time in a while. I¡¯m still staring at the samuran in the pit below; her eyes continue to flutter, the poison almost having done its job in pulling her to sleep. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. How do you know that name? she demands, her voice thin and exhausted. I haven¡¯t used it in many cycles. Not many know it and those who do don¡¯t use it. ¡°I know many things,¡± I tell her, a grin curling the corner of my lips. ¡°River, Catch, help Joy out of the pit, would you?¡± They immediately snap to, eagerness evident in the quick movements of their limbs. Briefly brushing the Bonds between us, I sense triumph mingled with relief, welcome mixed with a hidden sense of fear. Knowing both of them as I do, I suspect that I know why each emotion is there. Relief that I can indeed overcome at least one of the leaders of their village. Triumph that we have succeeded in our task. Welcome for another of their people joining us. Yet fear that perhaps now a higher Tier samuran is present, that they will be relegated to the outskirts once more. Not that I will ever let that happen. River has been at my side through thick and thin ever since our own Battle; loyalty like that is only to be rewarded, not punished by being cast aside. Though I¡¯ll need to make sure he understands that when I release his Bond it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t want him now I have a more powerful member of his species Bound to me. Catch decided to Bind himself to me out of gratitude and so far has done everything I could have reasonably wished him to do. That¡¯s worth far more than someone who¡¯s only really accepted the Bond because she hopes for power through it. Even if she¡¯s a Pathwalker. Hopefully, they¡¯ll see that with time ¨C actions will probably speak louder than words at this point. Joy definitely needs the help of both River and Catch leaning down and grabbing onto her to get out of the pit ¨C her limbs are too weak right now to hold onto a rope by herself. It makes me concerned about the others in there, especially the Unevolved who succumbed much more quickly. I wasn¡¯t expecting it to have that much effect ¨C maybe I underestimated either how much each would absorb, or how powerful I made the venom¡­. ¡°Trinity,¡± I call quietly, and the massive three-horned beast lumbers over to me. ¡°Could you help River and Catch get the samurans out of the trap, please.¡± She sends over a good-natured feeling of assent ¨C apparently now we¡¯ve become her ¡®family¡¯, she¡¯s perfectly willing to help us in whatever way we¡¯d like. My two Tier one samurans seem about to launch themselves down into the pit, but I tell them to wait. ¡°Here, let me wrap these around your feet,¡± I say, pulling a few hides out of my Inventory. Filling them with my mana will take too long, but the two lizard-men don¡¯t need perfectly tailored shoes; they just need something that will keep them from accidentally absorbing the venom themselves. Wrapping the hides around their feet and then using some bark cord to tie them on offers them serviceable, if probably uncomfortable, footwear. With that, it¡¯s only a matter of minutes before they¡¯re jumping down into the pit, a rope tied around Trinity¡¯s tail. While they cooperate to tie the unconscious samurans one by one to the rope and get them hauled up to the top, then untied, I turn to Joy. ¡°I¡¯m just going to clear the venom from your system,¡± I tell her as I reach towards her. Unease comes across the Bond, but she submits to my touch, perhaps picking up for herself from the Bond that I mean no harm. Diving into her body, I focus on searching out the venom and pulling it out of her. It¡¯s not hard: since the venom was previously soaked with my mana, it seems to reaccept it easily. Most of the work is actually in repairing the small amount of damage it¡¯s caused to her system. While doing that, I find myself comparing her body to River¡¯s and Catch¡¯s. It¡¯s¡­surprisingly different. Not only are there a number of organs present which are clearly linked to reproduction of which there is no sign in River or Catch, but there¡¯s also some sort of network which I can almost see. It¡¯s like looking at faint stars in the night sky: I can see them in my peripheral vision, but if I look at them directly, they vanish. I¡¯m intrigued, but put that aside for now: I need to clear Joy¡¯s body as quickly as possible so I can then get started on dealing with the rest of the samurans. ¡°Feel better?¡± I ask as I return to myself and open my eyes: even if I¡¯ve managed to learn how to heal myself with my eyes open, I¡¯m not yet confident enough in doing it to someone else like that. I do, Joy responds, sounding¡­strange. ¡°What?¡± I ask with a frown. ¡°If something doesn¡¯t feel right, tell me. If you leave it, it could have bad consequences.¡± No, it is all well, she hurries to assure me. ¡°Then what is it?¡± You¡­I did not expect you to be so powerful, she admits. ¡°Powerful?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask, the question slipping out without my permission. I felt your magic inside me, invading me. I sensed that if you had intended me harm, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist it. That¡¯s probably more to do with the Bond than my own personal power, but I don¡¯t tell her that. Honestly, it¡¯s probably better for her to be in awe than contemptuous, especially when it seems like power is the only thing she wants ¨C and will respect. ¡°Well, as long as you work with me and my group, as we discussed, I won¡¯t need to harm you,¡± I say neutrally instead. ¡°On that note, what will happen if we wake up your companions here with you Bound to me, but them not?¡± She hesitates. I am unsure, she admits. I frown again. ¡°I thought that you Pathwalkers were the leaders of the village?¡± We are, she quickly responds, sounding slightly offended at my doubt. But the Warriors are sworn to protect the village. If they feel that my actions are not in keeping with that, they might choose to disobey my orders. And if that happened, I am unsure who the Unevolved would obey. I raise an eyebrow. ¡°So in fact it¡¯s the Warriors who control the village, really.¡± Surprisingly, she doesn¡¯t become offended again. The Pathwalkers offer the direction, the Warriors, the support. Yet they will not choose to support a direction which appears to lead to destruction for the People. However, without direction, they would be vulnerable to the changing challenges which threaten the village. We are in balance with each other, as it should be. Interesting¡­but not particularly helpful. Apparently my hope that by converting the Pathwalker of the group to my side she¡¯d be able to keep everyone in check, was unfounded. ¡°Alright. You¡¯re a weaver, right?¡± I ask, changing the subject. She tilts her head briefly upwards to affirm what I said. ¡°What can you weave?¡± Plant fibres, strips of animal hide and sinew. Branches. Plant roots. Anything physical, she answers with the sense of a shrug. ¡°Good,¡± I say, thoughts coming together. ¡°I¡¯m going to cleanse each of your hunting group members now, and I¡¯d like you to bind their limbs so they are unable to get up and attack me or any of my Bound when they regain consciousness. Can you do that?¡± Of course! she replies, her tone indignant. That was what I was sent for. Then she stops abruptly, a sense of alarm coming across the bond like she felt she said too much. ¡°Expand on that,¡± I order her with a steely gaze. She turns her head away and says nothing. ¡°Don¡¯t make me force you,¡± I threaten. A sense of irritation mingled with frustrated helplessness comes across the Bond. We were sent to find Runs-with-the-river ¨C and the prey beast he freed from the cage and allowed to kill one of our sisters. You. I was to bind him, and you if you still lived, so that you could be taken back to the village for punishment. ¡°Lovely,¡± I sigh, staring at the canopy above. Ah well, not much more than I¡¯d already learned from the insults she threw at River earlier. ¡°Clearly that¡¯s going well for you,¡± I can¡¯t help but prod at the lizard-kin. I hear the sound of her snapping her teeth in irritation, but she doesn¡¯t respond. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going with dealing with your friends here.¡± Pushing myself to my feet, I go over to the first samuran, aiming for an Unevolved one since they seem to be the most vulnerable. I pretend not to hear the question that drifts over almost unintentionally from Joy. What is ¡®friends¡¯? Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fourteen: What I’m Dealing With Since the other samurans are not Bound to me, it¡¯s harder work to heal them than it was to heal Joy, but still not too difficult. The Unevolved ones, anyway. It¡¯s actually much easier to deal with them than it was to heal Lathani while she wasn¡¯t Bound to me, interestingly enough. Since they were both Tier one, I would have expected them to be similar. But then, Lathani¡¯s a nunda, so perhaps that makes a difference. Plus, I¡¯ve added six more points in Willpower since then, and the venom is already half-imbued with my mana. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t be so surprised. It¡¯s more mana consumptive than difficult, actually, but by keeping at least the Light level of Meditation going, and the Medium one where possible, I manage to pace myself enough that I only have to stop to regenerate my mana properly a few times. Which, considering that I¡¯m cleansing and healing fifteen lizard-kin, is quite a good improvement. Joy follows behind me, weaving plant roots from the ground to bind the samurans firmly to it, preventing them from moving more than a few inches. I think she¡¯s a bit bored of the task: after the first two, I start noticing her creating patterns and shapes in the bindings. Oh well, as long as they do the job, she can use the fibres to tell an epic ballad, if she likes. I pause my healing of the unconscious samurans to clear my two helpers of venom when they finish hauling all of their previous village-mates out of the pit. Although the hides wrapped around their feet had done a good job in protecting them from the venom-laced web beneath their feet, they couldn¡¯t help but absorb some of it from the bodies they were touching. Fortunately, it¡¯s only a matter of moments to force the last bits out of them, the venom being squeezed through a small area of skin at their wrists ¨C that being an area with very thin scales. Of course, I¡¯m collecting all the venom in one of my pots: I never know when having sleeping poison which is absorbed through the skin will come in handy. Though I will have to work on dosage more: by the time I get to the last of the Unevolved, I¡¯m concerned that they might not actually wake up again, even once the venom is out of their system. Finishing the healing, I eye them as they remain unconscious. I guess I¡¯ll have to see how it goes. Moving onto the Warriors, I immediately feel how much harder it is to heal them than any of the previous. I have to fight to remain in their bodies, much as I did with the danaris. It¡¯s not quite as hard as that ¨C I am making progress, and am able to affect their body. It¡¯s still hard work. While taking a breather, and allowing my mana to refill, I Inspect the Warrior I¡¯m working on.
Samuran: Murmurs-quietly Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Increased Strength Health: 1590u Mana: 50u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 60 (45) Open to a Bond: No Impacting factor: Protection of the Village Member of a samuran community; one of its protectors. Fights mainly with spears and clubs, overwhelming opponents with his raw strength. Social Beast with strong capacity to form bonds.
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Interesting¡­well, his Willpower stat checks out, I suppose, I think to myself. I still don¡¯t know exactly what impacts how easily or not I¡¯m able to affect a target¡¯s body, but Willpower must be a big part of it. Flesh-Shaping must not be affected by the same debuffs to Willpower that Dominate is, though, because I would expect interfering in the body of a creature with only forty-five points in Willpower to be significantly easier than this is: there is a difference between the resistance I¡¯ve been feeling here and what I felt with the danaris, but not almost twenty points¡¯ worth of it. So it must be based on sixty, not forty-five. It¡¯s interesting to see that the Willpower is seven points lower than Joy¡¯s is ¨C is that because Joy is closer to Tier three? Or is it the reason for why Joy is a magic-user and the other one isn¡¯t? Or is it simply that different beings have different Willpowers, as is no doubt the case among humans? Perhaps one day I¡¯ll be able to answer that question, but today is not that day. I put it out of my mind and concentrate on refilling my mana. Wanting to minimise the amount of work I have to do, I simply direct the venom out through a hole I make with my knife, then only repair the worst of the damage. Even just that takes as much time and mana as two of the Unevolved. It seems to be enough, though, as the bulky Warrior wakes up with a vengeance, tugging and straining against the fibres holding him to the ground. Using the understanding of the lizard-kin¡¯s language gleaned from all three of my samuran Bound, I can tell that he¡¯s not saying anything constructive, more spewing invective against Joy for turning against them. In response to his insults, the Unevolved, who up until now have been pretty docile since a Pathwalker is by my side, start struggling too. ¡°If you shut his mouth, I¡¯ll cover his spikes,¡± I suggest with a glance at Joy. An expression of distaste tugging at the corner of her crocodilian mouth and discomfort coming through the Bond, Joy complies without a word. Roots snake up towards his mouth and, despite his thrashing attempts to keep away from them they crawl inexorably around his jaws and bind them shut. Not wanting the lizard-man to suffocate, I simply cover his head with one of my jackets. With both audio and visual cues hidden, we have effectively silenced the Warrior. ¡°Settle down,¡± I say to the shifting Unevolved samurans with Joy as my mouthpiece. ¡°All will become clear soon.¡± Hoping that that will be enough for them ¨C they do stop wriggling a bit, though whether that¡¯s more to do with the fact that we so easily silence the one who had been encouraging them to move than my instructions, I don¡¯t know ¨C I go back to healing. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Moving over to the next one ¨C one of the slim, lithe samurans ¨C I first Inspect him so I know what I¡¯m dealing with.
Samuran: Eats-dirt Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Increased Speed Health: 1480u Mana: 70u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 61 (46) Open to a Bond: No Impacting factor: Protection of the Village Member of a samuran community; one of its protectors. Fights mainly at range with javelins and rocks, conquering opponents with his speed. Social Beast with strong capacity to form bonds.
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¡°Not all that dissimilar to the first Warrior, but more speed focussed. Makes sense,¡± I murmur to myself. It¡¯s interesting to see that the Willpower of this one is a little higher than the previous, as is his mana, but only by a little. Hopefully that won¡¯t make healing him much harder, though¡­. One by one, I work through the four Warriors. The last two are practically the same as the first two when it comes to Willpower; the only real difference is in the weapons they use and their abilities. The other bulky Warrior apparently uses a shield and spear, where the other lithe one uses darts. Although the bulky Warrior had the Increased Strength ability of the other Warrior, the second lithe one had Stealthy Step instead of Increase Speed. I wonder with interest if it¡¯s similar to the Stealth Skill that I have. Their health and mana pools are a little different, but only by ten units for mana and twenty for health. As for their names, the bulky Warrior is apparently called ¨C rather incongruously ¨C Leaps-from-fright, and the lithe one is called Sleeps-peacefully. I have to admit that it amuses and horrifies me in equal measures to think that the samuran hatchlings end up burdened with a name that reflects the first action they did on their name day, regardless of whether it suits them in terms of general behaviour or not. Then again, parents on Earth could be known to give rather burdensome names that they felt sounded ¡®cool¡¯. I remember a boy at my secondary school called Andrew Niss. Whenever his first name was shortened to an initial, it was the cue for everyone in the class to snigger. Apparently he had an elder brother called Peter, which was probably just as bad. What their parents were thinking, I don¡¯t know. I redirect my wandering mind ¨C I¡¯m tired, and we¡¯re not even finished yet. We¡¯ve had to silence three out of the four Warriors because they started spewing invective as soon as they realised their situation. The third, however, has just watched us with calculating eyes ever since he woke up. I¡¯ve been tempted to cover his head just for that, but so far have managed to convince myself that just looking doesn¡¯t deserve being shoved into darkness. I¡¯m going to have to get these Warriors on board, somehow. Not only to keep the other eleven Unevolved in line, but also because having four Warriors on my side would definitely help when it comes to taking over the village. But I doubt I¡¯m going to be able to Dominate all of them right now: I can already feel a hint of mental strain from all the battling I¡¯ve had to do to heal them. One round of Dominate is probably fine, maybe two. But four? Not unless they¡¯re very short and easy. And no way I could do fifteen. So no, the Unevolved are going to have to stay Bond-less ¨C unless they agree to a Tame Bond. But they probably will only agree to that if all four Warriors as well as Pathwalker are on my side ¨C otherwise they¡¯ll have the same issue Catch had when he was Bound to me with a Tame Bond. At least since increasing my Willpower by six points I don¡¯t have the same sense of getting close to reaching some sort of limit. Apparently my theory was right there. Could I offer the Warriors a Tame Bond instead of Dominate? Perhaps. We¡¯ll see how they take my explanation. But first, I need to eat and rest a little. Trinity is lying down on the ground, evidently deciding to have a little snooze after all her hard work earlier. The rope around her tail has been untied and coiled up neatly next to her. With a sigh, I sit down and lean against her warm scaly side. She grunts a little, but doesn¡¯t actually wake ¨C I guess she feels safe enough with us to sleep despite the disruption. I find I appreciate that more than I might have thought I would. Pulling out some chunks of roast meat, I devour them hungrily, all the work I¡¯ve been doing with mana really taking it out of me. When I stop feeling the need to stuff my face quite so quickly, I look back up and call River and Catch over. ¡°Update me on the situation, please,¡± I ask, still eating. I¡¯ve been aware of them moving around and doing things, but with my focus on the healing, I don¡¯t know exactly what they¡¯ve been up to. Hopefully organising the rest of my Bound. We¡¯ve split your Bound into groups. One group is hunting with Bastet ¨C the scalla, the woshel, the reer, and the mea, River starts his report. I take a moment to picture them ¨C reminding myself that I need to find names for all these newcomers. The scalla is bipedal, a bit like a spinosaurus, but its spine ridge isn¡¯t nearly as impressive as those dinosaurs had been. A lot smaller too ¨C even when it stands fully upright, its head is lower than mine. Not that I¡¯d want its toothed maw anywhere near my face if it wasn¡¯t Bound to me. The woshel is one of the Bound I took with me to the river when I levelled up ¨C a relatively small carnivore that looks a little like a big otter, but with absolutely vicious claws and teeth. She¡¯s also got particularly powerful senses of hearing and sight. The reer is the one that kind of looks like a more dangerous ankylosaurus ¨C the bone protrusions all over its body are spiky, as are its tail spikes. It¡¯s not all that fast, but is probably the tank of the group. Finally, the mea is the one that reminds me almost uncomfortably of a wolvezard. That¡¯s the creature which almost killed me when I stepped in to interfere with it hurting Lathani way back in my first few days on this world. As I think through them, I realise it¡¯s not a bad hunting group, actually. If Bastet is OK with it, I might assign them to her on a more permanent basis. She¡¯s got all the bases covered with it ¨C strong senses, speed from some of the members, defence from other members, and plenty of damage power. Heck, the reer probably is good at carrying the bodies too. ¡°When did they go out?¡± I ask. A while ago, master. They¡¯ve already come back twice with a carcass for the rest of us to eat. ¡°You¡¯ve had something, right?¡± I check, looking at each of them. We have, thank you, Honoured Markus, Catch replies. There are some who haven¡¯t eaten yet, but they should be given the opportunity when the group comes back the next time. ¡°What about those who don¡¯t eat meat?¡± I ask next, the thought suddenly occurring. Hades and Persephone have been taking out a few prey beasts at a time to graze the surrounding areas. We assigned a group of sentries ¨C mixed prey and predator beasts ¨C and we¡¯ve been rotating them at regular intervals so each has the opportunity to eat. They also regularly bring some back for those here. I can¡¯t help but chuckle in amazement. ¡°Maybe you guys should be running the show here. You seem like you¡¯ve got everything sorted.¡± River makes his version of a shrug. We could not have healed all these creatures, or Bound them together, he says matter-of-factly. But cooperating with others to gather needed resources is what we are used to; though not as the organisers, granted. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I muse. Thinking about it, River and Catch might have more idea about what needs to be done than I do ¨C I¡¯m far more used to a corporate work context than a forest one. The lizard-folk, however, are far more used to surviving in the forest. I¡¯ll need to sit down with them and have a good chat about how to delegate the large number of my Bound with them. But first, I have this other challenge. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifteen: I Shall Test His Might And See If He Is Worthy ¡°So,¡± I say quietly, darting a glance at the samurans tied to the ground. Hopefully they won¡¯t be able to hear from this distance, or see the flashing colours of Catch¡¯s and River¡¯s crests, but maybe we should go around the other side of Trinity anyway. Having done that, I start again. ¡°So, do you think any of them would be open to diplomacy? Should I even try diplomacy?¡± The two samurans eye me. Should the Honoured Pathwalker not be part of this discussion? suggests Catch. She would surely know better how to advise you. I shake my head. ¡°I don¡¯t trust her yet,¡± I say bluntly. ¡°I trust you two.¡± They both look a little taken aback, Catch more than River, a sense of feeling flattered coming across the Bond from both of them. Then I would say that you are likely to need to prove yourself to the Warriors too, River responds a little hesitantly after a moment of thought. ¡°They won¡¯t accept my victory over a Pathwalker as sufficient?¡± I ask for the sake of being thorough, though the reactions of the Warriors have been fairly plain so far. Both samurans before me send me a sense of negation. The Pathwalkers and Warriors are good at different things: they will not accept that they would necessarily be the losers just because one of the others has lost, River answers. I sigh. ¡°Great. So I need to win four more battles, do I?¡± River and Catch exchange looks. Not necessarily, River ventures to say. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask. The Warriors have a ranking system amongst themselves, as do the Pathwalkers, Catch continues, a hint of enthusiasm creeping into his voice. Yes, agrees River, continuing the thought. I feel a hint of amusement at how close they¡¯re getting ¨C and suppress the tinge of jealousy that causes me. Just because Catch and River are friends doesn¡¯t mean that River can¡¯t be my friend too. If he even sees me that way¡­. I catch myself before I end up going too far down that train of thought again, tuning back into what the lizard-man is saying. -so if you can defeat the strongest, the others will most likely fall into line. I take a moment to mentally recall what River said ¨C my ears heard, even if my brain was elsewhere. Something about a regular competition among the Warriors to determine exactly where in the rankings each fell. ¡°But how do I know which is the highest ranking?¡± I ask. River and Catch exchange another glance. Wasn¡¯t it Murmurs-quietly? No, he lost a ranking to Leaps-from-fright at the last fight. But what about Sleeps-peacefully? He did pretty well last time. I don¡¯t think he was higher than Leaps-from-fright, though. They seem to have come to a consensus. ¡°Leaps-from-fright, then?¡± We think so, River replies, a little doubtfully. But perhaps check with the Honoured Pathwalker: they monitor all the Warrior ranking fights. We may have missed something when needing to go and find resources. Standing up, I beckon Joy over. She seems a little confused by my gesture so I clarify with a mental instruction to come over. Looking a little irritated by my summons, she nonetheless obeys. ¡°Which of the Warriors is higher in the ranking?¡± I ask her bluntly. Leaps-from-fright was higher than the other three in the most recent ranking fight, she answers without hesitation. That is why he was charged with my protection specifically. That was an interesting bit of information. ¡°How would the village take the fact that you were captured under his watch, then?¡± I wonder. Poorly, she answers promptly, a biting quality to her voice. Warriors are highly-valued, but his failure in such an important matter would immediately drop him to the bottom of the Warrior hierarchy and disbar him from ranking fights for a good few double moon cycles were he to return without me. I nod slowly, my mind turning over the new information. I wonder how it might affect my own likelihood of turning him to my side. If he feels insulted and offended by me overcoming his defence, he will probably be less open to a proposal from me. On the other hand, if he fears returning to the village without the Pathwalker more, then he might be open to making a deal. ¡°Alright, next question. You said that the Warriors and Pathwalkers are kind of two sides of the same coin, the Pathwalkers offering direction; the Warriors offering support.¡± I wait for her to send a confirming feeling down the Bond. ¡°So, what would happen if the Warriors and Pathwalkers come into conflict?¡± Joy hesitates. It¡­has happened. Not in our village, but in others. And it was always a poor outcome for the village, which is why we do our best to balance the needs of both Warriors and Pathwalkers. To ensure that each group still respects the other, every year when the warmth returns, shortly before the eggs hatch, we fight each other. Each group has a ranking match to determine the hierarchy within the group, and then the top Pathwalker fights the top Warrior to determine the overall hierarchy. The loser of the battle must fight with the others of opposite role until they win. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°And who usually wins those matches, or is it fairly equal on each side?¡± Even though a Pathwalker is not always the highest ranking of the village, it happens more often than not. In those cases, Pathwalkers with more combat-capable magic tend to do well against him. However, those with less combat-capable magic are sometimes at a disadvantage, and the speediest Warriors can sometimes take us unawares. When the top Pathwalker loses against the top Warrior, it usually only takes one or two battles with the other ranking Warriors before she wins. Also interesting to know. I think I might have an approach to work with. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to try.¡± Standing up, I walk over to the bound samurans. ¡°Joy, translate for me, please¡± I tell her before starting to take the hides off the Warriors¡¯ faces. The Warriors immediately start squirming and insulting me, agitating the Unevolved samurans again. ¡°Quiet, please¡± I tell them, and Joy repeats my word in their clicks and grunts. They don¡¯t; if anything, the sight of a Pathwalker standing at my side seems to set them off even more. The insults and threats are kicked up a notch. ¡°I said: quiet!¡± I try again; again Joy repeats my words. Again, they have no impact. I¡¯m starting to feel frustrated. It¡¯s difficult to speak through someone else, especially when Joy¡¯s voice is being drowned out by the racket that the Warriors are making. Her teeth click together in annoyance as she has to once more reinforce the root bindings that are holding them captive. Taking a deep breath, my focus narrows onto being heard. ¡°Quiet!¡± I tell them, loudly and firmly. They all go silent, staring at me with their eyes wide. My own eyebrows go up a little in surprise. I wasn¡¯t that loud, was I? Surprise also echoes down my Bonds, surprise and shock. If even my Bound are shocked¡­did something different happen? Suddenly, the memory of the recent upgrade to Animal Empathy comes to mind ¨C that talked about being able to be understood, didn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll have to check later. For now, I have another job to do. Focussing on the desire to be understood, I speak once more. ¡°Do you understand me?¡± I ask, and this time hear a strange¡­overlay of my voice. While words are coming out of my mouth as usual, I can also hear some clicks and grunts, as if River were speaking at the same time, his voice combining with mine. ¡°How are you speaking?¡± the biggest of the Warriors asks, the one I¡¯ve identified as Leaps-from-fright. Well, that confirms it, doesn¡¯t it? I¡¯m going to have to explore this Skill for sure. But not now. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Now, listen to me ¨C¡± ¡°What have you done to our Honoured Pathwalker, you egg-sucking prey beast?¡± Leaps-from-fright roars. ¡°What have you threatened her with that she will stand by your side and turn against us, her kin?¡± I eye Joy. ¡°Care to tell them?¡± I invite. She clicks her teeth together nervously, but steps forwards. ¡°He has great magic. He overcame my Will and wrapped a chain around me.¡± There is a sudden outcry from all the samurans on the ground, one of outrage and disbelief. I glare at Joy. Tell them everything, I order her with annoyance. She flashes me a look, but then focusses back on her people. ¡°But I accepted the chain after we had conversed!¡± she hurriedly added, her words causing the cries to die down as they automatically listened to the Pathwalker. ¡°He¡­Our Shaman¡­Our village is in danger, and he offers a way to survive ¨C as long as we submit to his leadership. He offers power and knowledge; I have felt his strength and I have accepted his promises.¡± Well, I suppose that¡¯s a reasonable summary of things without actually going into details of exactly who is at fault here. Probably just as well ¨C Joy seems to still hold a fair bit of loyalty to her ¡®sister¡¯ and is unlikely to cast her as the villain. To my mind, she definitely is, though. There is silence for a few moments. The Unevolved look to the Warriors; the Warriors all look to Leaps-from-fright, the hierarchy clear. Perhaps I didn¡¯t even need to clarify with Joy about who is the highest ranking ¨C I¡¯d have been able to see it here. ¡°You swear that you speak the truth, not only the words he wishes you to speak?¡± Leaps-from-fright asks suspiciously. ¡°I swear it on my Weave,¡± Joy answers, raising her right paw, a faint green hue surrounding it briefly. The big samuran¡¯s spikes flash a complimentary green with his acceptance. Whatever vow that was, I suspect it was something big. ¡°Perhaps he has proven his strength to you, but he has not to me,¡± announces Leaps-from-fright a moment of thought later. ¡°Release me from these Bonds, and I shall test his might and see if he is worthy of leading our village.¡± Since that was as much as I was expecting to happen, I direct Joy to loosen his bonds. ¡°I accept,¡± I say, the focus needed to create that overlay of my voice coming easier each time I do it. The Pathwalker flicks her claws and the bindings over Leaps-from-fright fall away, even as the others stay tight. Still not completely trusting my newest Bound, I privately direct River and Bastet to keep their eyes out for treachery. At the first indication that any other bonds might accidentally come loose, they are to order the rest of my Bound into action, that action depending on whatever the situation is at that moment. My attention is going to have to be on the big lizard-man now prowling towards me. ¡°Do you dare allow me to use my weapon?¡± he snarls at me, his grunts having a growling quality to them. ¡°Of course,¡± I tell him grimly. ¡°Feel free to take it. I shall not attack until then.¡± Eyeing me suspiciously, Leaps-from-fright goes over to retrieve his spear and shield from where River and Catch had put them after retrieving the samurans from the pit. While he¡¯s doing that, I move. He whirls around at the first sound, clearly expecting me to take advantage of his turned back, but that wasn¡¯t what I was doing at all. Instead, I cross over to an area of the clearing to one side of the pit ¨C I might be able to drive him back into the pit and win the fight, but I don¡¯t think that using tactics like that would prove my ¡®strength¡¯. Having chosen my battleground, I wait for my opponent to prowl closer. Joy, allow the others of your group to sit up, but not stand, I tell her, making sure to include Bastet and River in the communication so they didn¡¯t think they needed to give the order to the rest of my Bound. I¡¯m not willing to take my eyes off my opponent, so I hope that she has indeed done what I asked of her. Stopping several paces away, the samuran eyes me, bouncing a little on his elongated toes, his claws digging into the soil. ¡°You should have attacked while my back was turned,¡± Leaps-from-fright growls at me. ¡°That was your only chance to beat me, prey beast. I will enjoy ripping your spine out of your body and whipping you with it.¡± ¡°You should never have attacked me at all,¡± I respond, unable to resist the smack talk, though unruffled by his threat. ¡°Your mistake was in coming so close to my home. Like the Pathwalker, you will submit, or die.¡± That appears to be the end of the pre-fight banter: as if there had been some signal, the big lizard-man explodes towards me, his feet digging deeply into the loam. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixteen: You Were Never Going To Win I haven¡¯t been idle during the banter time, though. I automatically jab my hand at the samuran Warrior, imagining my index finger as the nozzle of a flame-thrower. The mana I transformed into fire magic provides the spark, and then the flame draws greedily on my mana as it billows outwards. With no other fuel, my mana is its only source of life. Fortunately, I¡¯m full right now; I drop into Light Meditation to increase my regeneration and improve my thinking ability. Moving too fast will break it, but it doesn¡¯t stop me from reacting quickly, if I need to. The samuran halts his forwards advance immediately. In fact, he starts backpedalling, making sure he¡¯s out of the range of my fire. His eyes are wide, alarm in his spikes, but he doesn¡¯t seem about to turn and run. To conserve mana as much as possible, I let the flame die back: with a Master-rank in Energy Manipulation controlling the amount of mana I feed to the flame to produce exactly the amount of flame I want is just a matter of focus and intention. The samuran hesitates, eyeing me. ¡°You can control the Devourer?¡± He sounds a mixture between wary and impressed. I¡¯m a little impressed myself: he doesn¡¯t actually sound scared so much as wary. Given River¡¯s reaction, I would have thought that fear would be a common factor among the lizard-folk when exposed to fire. Apparently Warriors are a cut above the others in more ways than one. And Pathwalkers too ¨C Joy hadn¡¯t been as impressed as I would have liked earlier. ¡°I can,¡± I tell him. It¡¯s probably a bit of an¡­extension of the truth. I¡¯m still very much learning the limits of my new Skill. But I can control fire a lot more than I could a few days ago, and infinitely better than the lizard-folk who haven¡¯t even discovered it yet. Leaps-from-fright is silent for a few more moments longer before he asks his next question. Well, questioning statement. ¡°It was my impression that you were a physical fighter,¡± he says cautiously. ¡°Where did you get that idea?¡± I ask, slightly surprised. How do they have enough data on my fighting style to make any assumptions about me at all? Then the answer hits me, just as he responds. ¡°The way you caved in Honoured Mover¡¯s head!¡± the lizard-man answers with anger tinting his voice, his spikes flashing red. I shrug, though since I didn¡¯t put any real intention into the movement, doubt that its meaning is conveyed. ¡°I am capable of defending myself physically, but I am primarily a magical fighter.¡± Leaps-from-fright looks me up and down with a hint of a glint in his eyes that I take an immediate dislike to. ¡°You are female?¡± he asks with more than a little interest. A sense of horror goes through me. ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡± I say more than a little forcefully. I try to ignore the amusement that comes through the Bond from River and Bastet at the lizard-man¡¯s misunderstanding. ¡°I¡¯m not the same kind of creature as you; I am male and I am also capable of magic!¡± I emphasise. Then, wanting to move quickly off that topic, and deciding that a bit of grandstanding probably wouldn¡¯t go amiss, I continue. ¡°I am a Flesh-Shaper, a Fire-Shaper, and a Binder. Offer me your surrender now and I will not force you to submit.¡± Unfortunately, that doesn¡¯t seem to have the reaction I was hoping it might, vague ideas about perhaps offering a Tame Bond flying out the window as the samuran speaks. ¡°One of us or not, if you seek my surrender, you will have to force it,¡± the lizard-man clicks and grunts at me, the sounds clipped more than usual, emphasising the sharpness of his teeth. ¡°So be it,¡± I say grimly. With that, the battle is once more joined. As the lizard-man charges towards me, his spear in hand, his maw slightly open, I once more open up with the fire. Again, it makes him shy away, but he doesn¡¯t backpedal this time. Instead, he dodges sideways. I follow him with my jet of fire, but he keeps staying just ahead of my blast, getting closer with each step. Briefly strangling the amount of mana I¡¯m feeding to the fire, the jet dies away almost completely. I twist just a bit faster than I had been, and blast straight at where Leaps-from-fright is about to be. The samuran takes the jet right to his face and he lets out a stomach-curdling shriek of pain and, well, fright. I feel guilt well up in me, but remind myself that, first, he demanded this, and second, I can heal it after. Letting my fire die away almost completely, I look on slightly anxiously to see what effect I¡¯ve had. Bad idea ¨C I almost take a spear to the gut as the samuran strikes forwards. His aim is off: his eyes are streaming and his jaws are burnt. Because of that, the spear misses me by an inch. Letting my flame die away completely, I grab my own spear in both hands, knocking his off-course and striking back at him. I don¡¯t pull my blow any: even if I pierce his gut, I can heal it. I don¡¯t know what my chances are against him like this: meeting him with his own weapon. I do well enough against River, beating him more than I lose, but he¡¯s not a Warrior. This guy looks significantly stronger than he is, and is probably far more skilled. Nonetheless, I can¡¯t help but want to just try it out. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Besides, being close might offer me an opening with my other Shaping Skill. Even already injured, the samuran is fast, dodging away from my blow and pulling his spear back into position, striking at me with an efficiency of movement that leaves me briefly jealous. It¡¯s my turn to backpedal, and my first back-step turns into several more as the blows just keep coming. Leaps-from-fright is significantly faster than River, and his level of Skill is leagues better. It¡¯s all my improved physical stats can do to keep up with dodging his blows. No thought of winning. But that¡¯s OK ¨C Spear Mastery isn¡¯t anywhere near my highest Skill for a reason. The spear flies towards me, its sharply shaped point almost gleaming maliciously at me. I try to twist away, but am just not quite fast enough. The blow hits, the first one to actually do so. Fortunately for me, my nere hide armour seems up to the job and the point is deflected away. Leaps-from-fright wasn¡¯t expecting that ¨C he clearly committed enough to the blow that he¡¯s now over-extended. I take the opportunity to strike at him with my own spear. Unfortunately for me, he¡¯s faster than I am and he manages to dodge my blow completely. It does put him a little on the back-foot, though, which I take advantage of. We exchange more blows. The Warrior quickly regains the upper hand, quenching the sudden fire of hope which had been lit in my breast by my brief moment of dominance. As if he had been holding back, the blows come faster and stronger than before. My armour proves itself time and time again, the blows bruising with their force, but not coming close to piercing my flesh. In his increasing frustration, the Warrior aims for the areas not covered, but they are easier to keep away from his blows than the solid trunk of my torso and he doesn¡¯t succeed. It¡¯s a stalemate with neither of us managing to strike any significant blows, but one that teeters on a knife¡¯s edge. I¡¯m tempted to activate Dominate now, but one thing stops me: proof of strength. The whole point of doing this is to prove to the Warriors that they should accept me as a form of authority. If I want to do that, more than half the battle taking place in another realm isn¡¯t likely to help. At the same time, it¡¯s a bit of a risk extending the battle here when I know that Dominate is going to be the finale ¨C the more defeated my opponent feels before the Battle of Wills, the easier it is. Conversely, the more confident my opponent is, the harder defeating them with Dominate is. I could make a bad error at any moment and give Leaps-from-fright the opening he needs to bring me low. Frankly, that¡¯s only a matter of time. I¡¯m not going to win solely with my spear, and letting him feel like he is on the cusp of winning isn¡¯t helpful. However, if I can take that away from him¡­ My distraction is costly, the almost-fatal error happening sooner than I could have predicted it. Leaps-from-fright¡¯s spear flies at my head. I jerk sideways, only to realise with a swoop of horror in my belly that it was a feint ¨C and that I¡¯ve dodged right into the place he wants me. In the split-second before it hits my chest, I see the spear glowing yellow. This time, when it hits my armour, it isn¡¯t deflected; instead, it goes straight through. Not without effort, but it pierces nonetheless. It slides into my chest, only a last-moment flinch stopping it from stabbing my heart. It punctures a lung, though, and I have the horrible sensation of feeling something deflating forcibly within me. I wheeze in shock, then forcibly dull the agony down ¨C I know I¡¯m badly injured; pain will only distract me further. I can still breathe with one lung ¨C that¡¯s enough for now. Leaps-from-fright opens his jaw, his spikes flashing a bright blue of satisfaction as he realises he¡¯s struck a significant blow. He doesn¡¯t expect the next move, though. When he tries to pull the spear from me, I grab onto it with all my strength. He tugs harder, his clawed hands grabbing closer to my body. Releasing the spear suddenly, I clutch instead onto his forearms, shoving in my magic. He breaks my grip soon enough, swinging his arms, spear held tight in his clawed hands. I¡¯m sent staggering away as the blood on my hands from the spear-shaft makes my grip more slippery than I¡¯d like. But that¡¯s OK. I stand there grinning at him. The blood staining my teeth combined with my lack of apparent fear seems to make Leaps-from-fright even warier than before. He eyes me carefully, flicking his eyes this way and that, perhaps fearing that I¡¯ve sent some trap for him. I have, but he¡¯s playing right into it. Perhaps he hasn¡¯t got enough sensitivity to feel it, but my mana is running rampant through his body at this very moment. It¡¯s hard work, and takes more effort than I¡¯d like ¨C one reason I¡¯m standing still and grinning is because I can¡¯t do much else. I¡¯ve only done a very stop-gap healing to limit the blood pouring out of my body and any movement will dislodge it. My lung is filling with blood and any movement is likely to worsen the damage to that too. The other reason is because I¡¯m manipulating mana from a distance ¨C and in a foreign body that I haven¡¯t scanned. I don¡¯t think I could spare the concentration to dodge right now, so it¡¯s fortunate that Leaps-from-fright is being extra cautious. It gives me the time I need to force myself through his body¡¯s natural resistance and start actually causing damage. One point in my favour is that his body is substantially less resistant than even Lathani¡¯s had been, despite being a Tier higher. No, two points ¨C causing damage requires significantly less attention to detail than healing does. ¡°Why are you so confident?¡± Leaps-from-fright growls. ¡°If you call on your assistants, I will never submit to you. You must defeat me with your weapons alone.¡± ¡°Well,¡± I reply, splitting a small part of my precious conscious thought off to speak ¨C the longer I can draw this out, the better. My voice is more breathless than usual, the words taking more effort to force out. I try to keep that hidden, though. ¡°I¡¯m a Tamer. Arguably, my Bound are my weapons.¡± The samuran growls in outrage. ¡±But that is not my intention.¡± ¡°Then what is your intention?¡± the lizard-man demands. My grin grows wider. ¡°To stall.¡± The samuran¡¯s eyes widen in shock, and he leaps forwards, spear outstretched. At least, that¡¯s what he tries to do. I¡¯d been paying particular focus to his joints, to his leg and arm joints especially. Leaps-from-fright found to his abrupt dismay that they weren¡¯t responding to him when he tried to move. In fact, all he succeeded in doing was sending himself falling to the ground with a faint huff of air knocked out of him. Light Meditation had broken earlier, but I¡¯d engaged it as soon as I¡¯d stopped moving, so while I¡¯m low on mana, it¡¯s rapidly being replenished. I direct as much as I can to my chest wound, focussing on creating unblemished skin where his spear pierced me as well as dealing with as many of the most serious aspects of the wound as possible. I verify that the injury is in no way life-threatening, not if dealt with properly soon enough. Then, Sensation Management still dulling the pain of the wound, I walk forward. Crouching down, I grab Leaps-from-fright¡¯s head by his crest and lift it, meeting his eyes. ¡°You were never going to win,¡± I bluff. Dropping my own spear, I lift my hand to my chest and wipe away the blood, holding open the rent made in my armour. His eyes go wide as he sees the apparently healed wound below. I see the disbelief turn to defeat in his eyes. Perfect. ¡°Dominate,¡± I growl. The world greys out around me, the misty space which has become so familiar to me spreading in its place. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventeen: The Strong Decide, The Weak Obey The pressure against me in this space is almost the weakest I¡¯ve ever felt. A breeze rather than a gale or torrent of water. Walking forward is easy, barely any resistance keeping me back. The samuran has a lower Willpower than me, but not so much lower that I would expect this to be the consequence. No doubt it¡¯s the result of his physical defeat. I decide to do something similar to the Pathwalker and walk forwards until I stand only an arm¡¯s length away from the big Warrior. There are none of the attempts to attack which I encountered with the Pathwalker. He doesn¡¯t even resist as much as the other creatures I¡¯ve Dominated did. I find myself baffled, even suspicious. Standing before him, I see nothing but acceptance; even his emotions are calm. There is no anger, no resentment. If anything¡­there¡¯s respect. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you resisting?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask. Should I? He asks in return. You have proven yourself a worthy Pathwalker. Several of my kin have already been defeated and bowed to you; why should I not do the same? It¡­takes me a little aback. To have someone be so matter-of-fact about it. But then, I suppose it¡¯s more normal in their society ¨C if they have ranking fights on a regular basis, being defeated must be a familiar experience. This defeat is different, though, and I¡¯m not completely sure the Warrior has recognised that. ¡°Do you sense what will happen upon this defeat, though?¡± I ask him. Maybe it¡¯s stupid to do so; maybe I should just take his resignation and go with it. But I don¡¯t want him feeling later that he¡¯s been tricked into something. I sense the weave poised around me, he acknowledges. It waits only for your decision to tighten and confine. OK, so maybe he does know what¡¯s happening. ¡°And you¡¯re OK with that?¡± I ask, the question almost slipping out without permission. But then, this is the moment for honesty, for clarification. When we¡¯re soul to soul, no deception can last long. The strong decide, the weak obey, the samuran says with equanimity. You have proven yourself a worthy Pathwalker, albeit a strange one fighting with both magic and weapons as you did. I have demanded obedience from those weaker than me; now I have been proven weaker, it is my turn to yield to the one stronger than me. My Pathwalker has acknowledged you as her leader meaning that there is no shame in me doing the same. I nod slowly, a frown making its way onto my face ¨C this might not be the physical world, but that doesn¡¯t mean my sense of self or reactions have changed. While it works out well for me right now, I fear that this absolute philosophy might cause issues for me in the future. But I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Without another word, I reach out and touch Leaps-from-fright on the bone that runs between his eyes. So lost in thought am I that I barely notice the world reshaping itself around me. I do notice the pain that suddenly spears through my chest, though, Sensation Management having apparently been reset or something while I was otherwise engaged. My mana has regenerated a little, so I send it to immediately repair the still-serious wound in my chest. Then, moving to sit by the now-aware Warrior, I send a quick message to River, Bastet, and Catch, letting them know of my success. The first two should have deduced it at the very least: they know what happens if I fail a Battle of Wills. Catch, however, might not. ¡°I¡¯ll heal you once I¡¯ve regenerated some mana,¡± I tell Lee ¨C Leaps-from-fright is both far too long and doesn¡¯t suit the burly Warrior at all. I¡¯ll check with him later as to whether he¡¯s OK with the name change ¨C given his graciousness in accepting defeat, I figure he has earned the right to object ¨C but for now that¡¯s what I¡¯m sticking with. After a quick mental warning to my ¡®managers¡¯ I drop into Deep Meditation, resting within my Core space and watching the waves of Energy come flowing in. It¡¯s relaxing, removing the remaining stress from the battles recently, both physical, mental, and in my soul. Once my stores are full again, I ¡®rise¡¯ out of my meditative state, though maintain Light Meditation even while I finish my own healing and then get to work on Lee¡¯s. Fortunately, even though I¡¯d acted a bit like a bull in a china shop while damaging his joints earlier, they aren¡¯t too difficult to fix; I¡¯m already very familiar with the joints of River¡¯s body, so I just have to reinforce them a bit more to match the bone around them and what I see in the undamaged joints, and it¡¯s fine. After sorting out the joints, I heal the light burning to his jaw and face. When I come out of my healing trance and look at Lee, I find him bending his right elbow with a look of wondering surprise on his face and flashing in his spikes. ¡°What?¡± I ask. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve made a mistake ¨C especially as his reactions seem to be positive, but it¡¯s always possible. This joint has been painful since I broke it in a fight last winter. Yet now, it feels like new. ¡°Well, I guess it kind of is,¡± I reply, feeling a bit awkward, though also a little bit pleased. Are there more undiscovered or unhealed injuries in the samuran¡¯s village than I¡¯d thought? Well, perhaps that¡¯s one way of me winning everyone over. Standing, I hold out a hand to the now-healed lizard-man. He looks at my hand in confusion, then pushes himself upright and lifts his chin. I thank you, Honoured Pathwalker. What command do you have for me? I shrug after a moment. ¡°I need to deal with the rest of your group, so perhaps come and help me convince them to accept me as a Pathwalker so I don¡¯t have to fight all of them.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. You fear their strength? he asks, hints of red and orange flickering in his crest of spikes. ¡°No,¡± I tell him, my eyes narrowed. ¡°But I have better things to do than beat them one by one to prove my own strength.¡± Is the whole ¡®might makes right¡¯ thing going to bite me sooner than I thought? He certainly seems to be more than a little offended by my response, though appears trying to keep it off his expression ¨C the Bond between us doesn¡¯t lie, though. If you wish to earn the loyalty of my brothers, you must prove yourself to them, as to me, he answers, his tone almost neutral if it weren¡¯t for the distaste I can still read in it. I hesitate for a moment, then dip a bit deeper into his emotions than I normally would ¨C I don¡¯t like doing it since I see it as an invasion of privacy, but at the same time, I need to know where I am with this new guy. If there¡¯s an issue here, I need to know what it is and how to deal with it before it becomes worse. A moment later, I have my answer, and it¡¯s probably one I should have realised before now. Essentially, for a society like the samurans to exist, one where the strongest rules, the strength of the ¡®boss¡¯ must be undeniable. That¡¯s why they have the regular ranking fights within the Warriors, so only the strongest Warrior would lead the group, and why they have yearly fights with all the Pathwalkers so it was clear who stood where in the hierarchy; who could command who. I was hoping that, having used magic in the fight, I could be considered as the ¡®top Pathwalker¡¯ fighting the ¡®top Warrior¡¯. Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t seem to have worked out that way ¨C I am not of any established group like the Pathwalkers, and they haven¡¯t seen me fight for my place even among my actual group. So that means I have to prove myself. Me saying that I had better things to do than fight all the Warriors had been tantamount to spitting on their culture and announcing my own lack of conviction. I wonder for a moment why I haven¡¯t run into this issue with River or Catch, but it doesn¡¯t take me too long to work it out. They¡¯ve never really been part of the hierarchy, not really. As hatchlings, they were the bottom of the pile ¨C no hatchling could command another, apart from perhaps another of its own age-group. Then, as adults, Catch remained at the bottom of the pile because of his disability; River did rise up, but that was purely to do with the choice of Herbalist to take him as her assistant. It wasn¡¯t because he¡¯d fought and defeated the majority of the unevolved adults. It didn¡¯t seem like that kind of strict hierarchy actually came in until they¡¯d crossed the tier threshold. From what River had said, and Catch a little too, the unevolved adults had a selfish outlook for the most part, scrambling for the resources that would give them access to more meat, but not actually targeting each other that much. I can¡¯t help but wonder why not ¨C wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for the stronger to take the weaker samurans¡¯ resources? But it didn¡¯t seem to happen particularly. I mentally shake the thoughts away ¨C right now I need to deal with the samurans in front of me. And apparently I¡¯m going to have three more fights. I feel exhausted already. ¡°Very well,¡± I say finally to Lee with a hint of a sigh in my voice. ¡°Let¡¯s get to it, then.¡± Without waiting for a response, I walk over to the still-bound samurans. Stabbing the butt of my spear into the ground, I cross my arms and glare at them, still annoyed that my strategy of challenging and winning against the most powerful of them and therefore having them all decide to obey is not going to work. If I¡¯m going to have to fight them all, I¡¯m going to Dominate them all too, I decide. It might be a little unfair, but right now, I don¡¯t care. Especially now I know more about how the Warriors in particular are structured, I probably shouldn¡¯t risk any of them having Tame Bonds, anyway. Too much opportunity for betrayal if one of them decides that I¡¯m vulnerable. ¡°Right then,¡± I say, concentrating on being able to communicate with the non-Bound lizard-folk. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± The three Warriors look at each other, a little more uncertainly than they did before. ¡°I shall challenge you,¡± responded one of the lithe ones ¨C Eats-dirt, I think it was. ¡°Fine,¡± I say, then turn to Joy and indicate that she should release him from his bindings. Once more we head to the ¡®duelling field¡¯, but this time, I don¡¯t mess around with fire, Flesh-Shaping or even my spear. I¡¯d done that before because I¡¯d hoped that by showcasing exactly what I could do, I¡¯d prevent the fights from even starting; now that that strategy has failed, I don¡¯t see the point in wasting more time. Instead, I just use Dominate as soon as my opponent meets my eyes. The resistance is stronger this time: defeating Lee in the physical world had definitely made his battle easier. It¡¯s not all that difficult though, either. A torrent of water, yes, but one that I can wade through without too much difficulty. Perhaps the fact that Lee had been identified as stronger than Eats-dirt but had still fallen to me has had an effect on Eats-dirt¡¯s own feelings of likelihood of success. Whatever the reason, I force my way forwards from my starting spot. Once I¡¯m more than a third of the way towards the samuran on the other side, he speaks to me, though his words aren¡¯t exactly what I was expecting. Hey, I thought that you would use some of that cool magic; maybe have a bit of a spear against javelin battle. Not¡­this. It¡¯s more the tone of the samuran¡¯s words than the content which gives me pause. He sounds¡­sulky. Disappointed. ¡°You¡¯re objecting to my way of beating you, rather than the fact that I¡¯m beating you?¡± I ask, just checking whether I¡¯ve heard correctly. Yes! I mean, I knew I wasn¡¯t going to win ¨C Leaps-from-fright beat me within ten seconds during our last ranking fight and he still says that my aim with a javelin is little better than that of a hatchling, but I was hoping for more of a fight, you know? I eye him dubiously. That¡­wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. But I¡¯ve been learning enough new things today that I decide not to question it further. Instead, I start moving forwards again, even as I speak. ¡°We can fight like that another time. We do plenty of sparring to improve our Skills,¡± I promise the samuran. The crazy lizard-man actually perks up at that. You do? Awesome ¨C I love it when one of the older Warriors is willing to teach me some things. Hunting is all well and good, but sometimes you don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong until someone points it out, you get me? ¡°I do,¡± I agree, starting to like this one, crazy as he seems. ¡°So, do you accept the Bond? You sense what it¡¯s about, right?¡± I check even as I come to a stop in front of Eats-dirt. Sure, he says with a hint of a shrug. You don¡¯t need my agreement anyway ¨C I can¡¯t stop you. Probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to even if we¡¯d had our fight first. ¡°No, but I¡¯d rather have it,¡± I tell him, though I feel myself to be a hypocrite even as I say it ¨C if he said no, wouldn¡¯t I do it anyway? What other choice do I have right now? I touch the bone between Eats-dirt¡¯s eyes and the Bond snaps into place even as the discomfort within me grows. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Eighteen: Honey Badger Don’t Care Finalising the Bonds between me and the other two lizard-folk doesn¡¯t take much more time. Though I recognised Eats-dirt¡¯s annoyance at not getting a proper battle ¨C and what nickname am I going to use for him? ¨C I decide that the time would be better spent elsewhere. Of course, there¡¯s also always the risk that, out of tiredness, I accidentally make a mistake and lose the physical battle, rendering the soul one more difficult. On that note, I manage to complete the final Battle of Wills, but only just. The last two resist more than either Lee or¡­Iandee. That would work, I say to myself in satisfaction. It¡¯s a bit of a play on letters ¨C E and D: Iandee. More syllables than the original, but it rolls off the tongue far more easily. In addition, it seems like I really do have a limit when it comes to conducting soul battles. I remember how it felt after I''d had the battle with Persephone; even though Hades hadn¡¯t resisted much after, I was still exhausted. If I hadn¡¯t increased my Willpower so recently ¨C and probably fixing my soul has had an effect too ¨C I doubt I¡¯d have managed to complete all five of these Bonds in one day, even if the only real battle was with Joy. The last two samurans ¨C Murmurs-quietly and Sleeps-peacefully ¨C resisted at first, but as I proved that I could push through their resistance easily enough, and had already proved my physical might against their superior, they gave in. I did my best to convince them about why I was doing it, but feel like my words were falling a little on deaf ears. Well, not deaf ears, but more uncaring ones. It just¡­seemed irrelevant to them. Unlike Joy who was clearly very concerned about the future of the village, the Warriors in general have been more interested in whether I have more strength than they do, physically or otherwise. It seems like River was absolutely right when he talked about needing to prove my strength ¨C much as I dislike the concept. Feeling completely done-in, I withdraw from my final battle with Sleeps-peacefully. I¡¯m very tempted to call him Sleepy, but half-fear that it might cause a certain multi-billion corporation to discover how to world-hop just to slap me with a lawsuit. Tiredly, I once more indicate for Joy to release the Warrior. She does and he pushes up from the ground, brushing himself down. He eyes me a little uncertainly, but then steps to join his brothers and the Pathwalker at my side. With fatigue pulling at my eyes and a headache pounding in my head, I sigh wearily. It¡¯s not done yet. I walk over to the Unevolved. They¡¯ve quietened as one by one their champions have been defeated. Now, they look at all five of the Warriors and the Pathwalker standing at my shoulder, at my command. ¡°Are you going to cause me any trouble?¡± I ask bluntly. They look at each other as if unsure who should answer. ¡°I do not believe we could¡­Honoured Pathwalker?¡± one of them finally answers, looking from the Weaver, then to me, then back again. I eye Joy in my peripheral vision, seeing her clench her jaw a little. After a moment, she relaxes it and gives an almost imperceptible twitch upwards with her jaw. At the signal, the Unevolved relaxes a little too. ¡°No, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he answers more easily. ¡°We are at your command.¡± The others around him flash their agreement in their spikes. ¡°Alright,¡± I sigh, looking at Joy. ¡°Release them, then.¡± Then I focus back on the group of Unevolved. ¡°But if any of them decide to run, I want you to wrap them up again before they can take more than a couple of steps.¡± As you command, Joy responds both audibly and through the Bond, a mixed sense of irritation and reluctant agreement coming across our connection. If I had to guess, I would say that she doesn¡¯t like being ordered around, but recognises the reason for the command. But honestly, I¡¯m too mentally tired to be able to deal with figuring out the emotional hang ups of my new Bound. And it¡¯s not quite done, but I don¡¯t feel like I have the mental energy to even deal with offering the Unevolved Tame Bonds right now. Since they aren¡¯t challenging me and requiring me to show them my strength, nor have I had the indication from River or Catch that the Unevolved generally see challenging the status quo as a way of them going up the rankings, I don¡¯t feel the need to use Dominate on them. But, for similar reasons as offering Lathani the Tame Bond in the first place, they need to be linked into the network somehow. Although the sun itself considers the day unfinished, I personally have had enough of it: the trap, the battle, and the aftermath have all been tense and tiring enough that it feels we¡¯ve done a full day¡¯s work. River, I don¡¯t feel like bringing this whole group of lizard-folk to the den is a good idea ¨C shoving them in Kalanthia¡¯s face probably wouldn¡¯t be very diplomatic of us, I send to him privately. I agree, he responds in the same vein. Do you trust them to stay out here on their own? They have bowed to your strength, but that doesn''t mean they can¡¯t betray you, he warns. I send him a warm sense of appreciation for his protectiveness. That¡¯s why I decided to do a full Dominate, but I know ¨C if I am not here to give an order or to stop them doing something, even Dominate is no protection. That¡¯s why I¡¯d like to leave you here, if you¡¯re up for it. Leave me here? He sounds surprised. They will not listen to me, an Unevolved adult. I feel a surprising sense of anger rise inside me. To think that they would disregard the caring, careful, and level-headed lizard-kin that I¡¯m lucky to call my Bound just because he hasn¡¯t yet got into the second Tier? But I have an answer to that. They will if you hold control over the Bonds they are now bound by. There¡¯s a pause as River interprets my words. You mean to make me their team-leader? I do, I confirm. There are four Warriors and one Pathwalker; that¡¯s a perfect number for River¡¯s team. I can leave you with some others as back up, if you like. Maybe Bastet and the kiinas? A sense of negation comes from him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! No, master, if you wish to leave me here, you must take Bastet with you. Perhaps if I keep Trinity, the woshel, and the quan, that would be sufficient. Why them? I ask, curiously. Trinity is big and could offer significant defence if they turn on me, he explained. The woshel is a keen combatant for all that she is small ¨C she fights like a creature several times her size and knows no fear. The quan, while not a combatant, has excellent abilities to see ¨C she will help me spot signs of betrayal before they happen. Good reasoning, I agree after a moment of thought. And his descriptions have given me ideas for names too. Honey for the woshel because River¡¯s words here have reminded me of honey badgers ¨C everyone knows that honey badger don¡¯t care. As for the quan, I think Theia might work ¨C the Greek goddess of sight and vision. With her all-round visual perception, I figure it¡¯s enough of a tenuous connection to suffice. Alright, I say finally. I¡¯ll designate you team-leader, leave those three with you, and ask Sirocco to perch nearby ¨C if you need anything, anything at all, tell her and she¡¯ll come get me. Thank you, master, he replies gratefully, excitement and trepidation warring within him. I don¡¯t blame him for the mixed emotions ¨C facing those he once looked up to as superior, and giving them orders. No doubt it will be hard for the Warriors and Pathwalker to stomach too. But to me, River is worth all of them put together so they¡¯ll just have to deal. After communicating with those we¡¯ve discussed leaving behind, and checking with Sirocco that she¡¯s OK with being on guard duty, I step forward to face the members of the hunting party. They¡¯ve been surprisingly quiet, obviously understanding that something was going on that they couldn¡¯t hear or interpret. I noticed that even when I was speaking with River, he was making an effort not to let his spikes flash and to keep the communication purely mental. He didn¡¯t entirely succeed, but I think he was successful enough to keep the plan away from his kin. ¡°Right,¡± I start with a business-like tone, focussing on making myself understood. ¡°I want you guys to set up camp somewhere near here. I live with the Great Predator, and I doubt she¡¯ll want to be sharing space with you.¡± From the uncomfortable reactions to that news, I don¡¯t think they want to be near her either. ¡°River here is one of my most trusted Bound,¡± I tell them, beckoning River forwards. He moves closer, his expression as blank as I¡¯ve ever seen it, his muscles tense. ¡°He will be in charge of you when I¡¯m not present.¡± That gets a reaction. The Unevolved exchange startled looks; the Evolved, offended and questioning ones. Like they aren¡¯t sure whether I really said that. Honoured Pathwalker¡­you can¡¯t be serious? Lee questions incredulously. ¡°I am,¡± I assure him. But, an Unevolved¡­commanding us? He has no strength to do such a thing; any of us could defeat him in battle, Lee explains, indicating the group of Tier two samurans, like that should be the end of it. With my peripheral vision, I note how the others are all intent on the confrontation. The Warriors look more curious; the Pathwalker more calculating. She hasn¡¯t spoken yet, seemingly willing to let the top Warrior do her talking for her. I need to nip this in the bud if River is going to have any peace tonight. I feel my face harden and I take a step towards Lee, crossing my arms. He¡¯s a bit taller than I am, but I don¡¯t let that be a disadvantage: I just remember what he looked like toppled on the dirt at my feet, his joints frozen, his eyes defeated. Suddenly his height is irrelevant. ¡°I did things your way,¡± I tell him levelly, but with my tone allowing no rebuttal. ¡°I proved my strength to you physically, magically, and mentally. You lost. By your own culture, that means that you have no grounds to argue my commands.¡± I wait until he looks away, his chin tilting up slightly, a little begrudgingly, in submission. Then I step away, returning to River¡¯s side. I stare individually at each of the lizard-folk until they look away or up in submission. Even Joy does, though I sense that there are more battles to be fought there. ¡°I do things differently from your village,¡± I tell them quietly but firmly. ¡°Among my Bound, no one goes hungry.¡± The Unevolved perk up at that, a couple flashing looks back at me even as flickers of blue and yellow play over their crests ¨C pleasure and suspicion intermingling, I would guess. ¡°We all work for the benefit of each other. We try to raise everyone up, not a chosen few,¡± I tell them, keeping a careful eye on their reactions. As predictable, the ¡®chosen few¡¯ don¡¯t seem too happy about that; the majority who are not ¡®chosen¡¯, on the other hand, seem a lot more hopeful. ¡°For us, strength itself matters less than loyalty; power is less important than what that power can do for the group. River has proved his loyalty many times over, and has used his power for the benefit of everyone ¨C over his own benefit sometimes. He, therefore, is my designated leader over you, who have so far done nothing to prove yourselves to me.¡± The reactions to my words are mixed, but I was expecting that. My way of approaching things requires a complete upheaval to what they are used to. Time will tell if it¡¯s any better for their people, but I refuse to compromise my own beliefs or way of doing things to fit in with those of a people who have caused so much damage. We hear and understand, Joy says finally, her tone guarded. She can¡¯t guard the Bond, though, and I feel her discomfort, and a slight undercurrent of rebelliousness. ¡°And obey?¡± I ask pointedly. That thread of rebelliousness strengthens for a moment, then dies away. And obey, she sighs, shooting a quelling look at Lee when he looks like he¡¯s going to object. There¡¯s a much stronger sense of rebelliousness from him, but it¡¯s overlain by resignation. The others all seem to be willing to follow the lead of their two superiors. ¡°Good,¡± I say, then allow my mask to crack, a humourless smile spreading across it. ¡°You won¡¯t have much choice, anyway: I¡¯m designating River as Manager of your team with power over your Bonds just under my own.¡± I do just that as I speak, finalising the temporary party with River as its leader. Evidently, there¡¯s some sort of shift in the Bonds which the Tier two can feel, as their eyes all shoot towards River, shock and discomfort threading through the Bonds once more. With a few more words of parting to River and the three Bound ¨C including checking with them that the names I¡¯ve identified are acceptable with the Warriors ¨C the rest of us leave. Honey and Theia seem perfectly happy with what I¡¯ve selected, fortunately. Honey, actually, seems more than pleased at the choice, especially when I showed her memories of seeing honey badgers in action: I think she approves of their viciousness. I hope I haven¡¯t created a monster here¡­. I nod to Sirocco as I pass under her tree and she flicks her tail in response. Hopefully everything will be OK with the lizard-folk tonight. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Nineteen: Getting To Know My Bound We pause at the river¡¯s edge ¨C after doing our best to make sure that there are no creatures hiding in or near it in ambush. My herbivorous Bound start rooting and nosing through the bushes, seeking sustenance. Catch, Louie, my orangutan-like Bound, the okapi-like icehal, and the serara have all been carrying the left-over carcasses which the hunting groups brought while the rest of us were building the trap yesterday. They put the carcasses down on the ground; the rest of the leftovers are in my Inventory. I notice a few bite marks in one of the carcasses which look like they might match the mouth of the serara. I look at the Bound in question and she ducks her head to avoid my eyes. She¡¯s an odd-looking creature. A bit like a kentrosaurus, but she¡¯s clearly not a herbivore. Her spikes each have one of those venom glands which I recognised in River¡¯s and Fenrir¡¯s bodies, enabling her to make the spikes venomous at will. Out of curiosity, I wander over to her and sit down. Getting to know my Bound a bit more is a good idea anyway and as tired as I am, I¡¯m not going to be doing anything else particularly productive. ¡°You hunt, right?¡± I ask her. She seems to consider it for a moment, then gives a sense of uncertainty. No, it¡¯s more of a ¡®sort of¡¯. She sends me an image of burying herself under leaves or among branches, then waiting for something to step on her. Ah. That makes sense. Though she¡¯s not too slow, she¡¯s also not fast enough to catch prey. But if she waits for the prey to come to her¡­. Her venom must be fairly fast acting, then. I¡¯ll have to test it. ¡°And are you doing OK?¡± I ask, then settle in for some time as she starts giving impressions of her experiences so far with the group. It seems like there have been a few teething problems which I haven¡¯t even been aware of ¨C my Managers have done a good job in dealing with their teams. In fact, they¡¯ve even collaborated with each other to head off inter-team problems, especially ones where a predator has started trying to throw around its weight among the herbivores ¨C the scalla and reer have apparently needed to be told off about that a couple of times. I make a mental note to go and see them next. In the end, we settle on Spine for a name. Not particularly imaginative, but she seems to be a rather practical sort, and it certainly is descriptive with the number of venomous spines sticking out of her. Spiky probably would actually do better as a description, but it¡¯s too similar to Spike for my comfort so that one wasn¡¯t even suggested. One by one, I make the rounds of my Bound. The scalla, a large creature which looks almost like a spinosaurus except with a smaller sail on his back, gets called Pride. That one was a bit of an accident ¨C after debating back and forth for far too long over possible names, I¡¯d exclaimed that I¡¯d call him ¡®Pride¡¯ if he was going to be so picky about his names. Funnily enough, that was the first one he¡¯d liked, so Pride it was. I spoke firmly to him about the fact that all Bound should be considered equal unless otherwise stated and warned that there would be consequences if he continued trying to bully the smaller and weaker members. He seemed to take the rebuke well enough, but we¡¯ll have to see if he¡¯s actually taken it to heart. The reer is another question. He¡¯s turned out to be a most obstinate creature. Difficult to talk to, and even more difficult to convince of a course of action he doesn¡¯t agree with. He seems to be set in the idea that the strong take, the weak give ¨C he¡¯d fit right in with the samuran village with an attitude like that. He only has a temporary Bond, but it¡¯s still for three months. That could be a long three months if he doesn¡¯t change his ideas. Well, we¡¯ll have to see. I spoke to him about the benefits that each member brought to the group, that even those physically weaker could be stronger in other areas. Time will tell if that discussion bears fruit. I end up calling him Thorn because he was so thorny to deal with ¨C and he has several bone spikes sticking out of his tail and the plates covering his body, though not nearly as many as Spine. The icehal gets the name Shakira because her hips don¡¯t lie! Actually, I noticed how she sways from side to side as she walks to and from bushes and the name jumped into my mind. She didn¡¯t object, so Shakira it was. The oloc receives the name Woozle because when I came over to see her, she was high up in a tree and had actually found something very interesting: a beehive! Well, not exactly bees, but a type of insect which seems to do the same sort of thing. Interestingly, they don¡¯t create hexagonal hives, but square ones. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s that they haven¡¯t yet discovered that hexagons are a better choice, or if there are reasons to make squares preferable. They also have nasty bites rather than stings, but my armour proves its worth once more: by sealing the hide as close to my skin as possible, and then using some of the web to cover my face and hands, I¡¯m able to harvest a good portion of the¡­well, I suppose I could still call it honey-comb. Hardening my skin would probably have worked too, but I¡¯m still mentally-fatigued ¨C not the state I want to be in when making changes to my own body. ¡°Good find!¡± I tell Woozle happily, handing her a small chunk while tasting a little of the sweet gold myself. Of course, I only do that once I¡¯m again standing on firm ground. It doesn¡¯t taste exactly like honey, but it¡¯s sweet and delicious, so that¡¯s good enough. I have a moment of fear that it might be poisonous: just because it kind of looks like honey and kind of tastes like honey, doesn¡¯t mean it is definitely as safe to eat as honey. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Scanning my body with Flesh-Shaping doesn¡¯t reveal any indication of parasite, disease, or poison, though. I¡¯ll have to keep an eye, but so far so good. A thought occurs to me as I gaze at the now-disturbed not-bees¡¯ hive. Now that I¡¯ve found it, I don¡¯t want to risk the not-bees abandoning their home, or being attacked by something else. Another oloc, perhaps, or something else. I¡¯m sure these not-bees have the same number of raiding enemies which wild bees do on Earth. What if I made a bee-hive? It should be fairly simple. My survival memories don¡¯t have that kind of information, but I remember seeing something about it on a documentary once. It¡¯s basically just a box with removable frames, right? And holes for the bees to go in and out. If I could form a Bond with the queen ¨C presuming there is a queen for this type of creature ¨C then it might work even better than the traditional way of managing bees¡­. I make a note on my Map about where the beehive is and hope that it will still be here when I come back. Then I remember that I need to get going on my quest and dealing with the lizard-folk and my heart sinks. I don¡¯t have time to build a hive. And then I remember that I¡¯m not alone in this anymore. ¡°Looks like I have something for the samuran group to do tomorrow,¡± I say to myself, rubbing my hands together. The thought of the samurans brings me back to my feelings of concern about whether I¡¯m using Dominate too much. I don¡¯t want to just steamroll over everyone I encounter: otherwise, I¡¯ll just end up becoming the lizard-folk, justifying my actions by the fact that I¡¯m stronger. Might means right is a tempting philosophy, but I¡¯m aware from the history of Earth where that ends up. But then, am I actually steamrolling over everyone? I would have only used Dominate on the Pathwalker, but it had been clear afterwards that that wouldn¡¯t be enough to make the rest back down. The Warriors had needed a demonstration of my might to respect me, and even the demonstration with their strongest member hadn¡¯t been enough. I don¡¯t like to say that they ¡®forced¡¯ me to use Dominate as that smacks to me of not taking responsibility for my own actions, but at the same time, I don¡¯t see that I had a better option. Sure, I could have offered Tame Bonds rather than Dominate, but I¡¯m not keen on presenting my own back for the knife. Knowing how cut-throat and strength-focussed the society is, using Tame Bonds would just be asking for another challenge to happen at probably the worst possible time. With a Dominate, I protect myself, and consequently all my Bound who depend on me. At the same time, I feel like the lizard-folk have to take some responsibility for where this has all ended too. After all, I wouldn¡¯t have gone searching for the samurans of my own accord. They chose to make themselves my concern by starting off the whole chain of events with Lathani and then hunting for River and me. No, it wasn¡¯t this group of lizard-folk who took the actions against the nunda cub, but their philosophy of the strongest leads is now coming back to bite them. They are guilty by association, particularly the Pathwalker and potentially the Warriors as they arguably had the power to stand against Shaman, or at least demand an explanation for exactly what she was doing. They didn¡¯t, and then they came searching for us so¡­. In the end, I shrug a little. I think it¡¯s right not to Dominate the Unevolved, though I will offer a Tame Bond to each of them, just for the benefits it offers. As for the other Pathwalkers and Warriors we come across¡­if they require me to show my strength, I won¡¯t hold back and will bind them with Dominate. If they are willing to follow the lead of those I have already Dominated, then I¡¯ll offer them a Tame Bond. And if they refuse to follow my lead¡­well, I suppose I¡¯ll have to cross that bridge when and if I get to it. Satisfied with my conclusions and noticing that my Bound here seem to be content, I figure it¡¯s time to head back. The sun is almost touching the horizon by this time. I¡¯m looking forward to being home anyway ¨C we slept near the trap last night. It was warm enough with as many bodies as there were, and I made a fire besides. But I found myself missing home, funnily enough. Walking up the hill, the majority of my Bound head willingly for the cave which was meant to be my tanning cave, but has now become an overflow sleeping area for all my new companions. Bastet rubs against me then nudges the cubs along to our alcove. Catch pauses for a moment, eyeing me in question, but I just wave him towards the main cave entrance. Lathani copies Bastet, rubbing against me, then bounding over to greet her mother who is enjoying the last of the sun. I follow her ¨C something tells me that Kalanthia would like to speak to me. I pause in front of her, about a body-length away: that¡¯s the best way for me to actually see her whole face at once, she¡¯s so big. She¡¯s not having any of that, though, reaching out to gently pull me closer, nudging me insistently with her head. I can¡¯t help but smile and bury my fingers in her soft fur, something tight within me loosening ¨C although she¡¯s been fine with me since we ironed out the whole Bond with Lathani thing, we haven¡¯t been quite as relaxed with each other as before. This demand for scratches indicates that she¡¯s willing to look past that. I smell the lizard-folk on you. Have you dealt with the vermin in my territory? she asks after a few moments of us mutually just enjoying the stroking. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with that group, yes,¡± I confirm. ¡°There weren¡¯t any others that you know of?¡± Not at present. But more will come. When will you fulfil your promise to deal with the root of the problem? she asks, a hint of impatience in her voice. I take a few moments to run through what I need to do before leaving. ¡°Five days,¡± I say finally, resuming scratching behind her ears and down the side of her face, as she purrs. ¡°We will go in five days.¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty: Give Me The Edge It¡¯s the evening of the fourth day since I Bound the Tier two members of the samuran hunting party. Tomorrow, I have a promise to Kalanthia to fulfil. The sun has been gone from the sky for a while and I¡¯m starting to feel tired, but not quite tired enough to go to sleep. It¡¯s odd: I remember when I first got here that the elongated and laborious days meant that my head would happily hit the pillow as soon as the sun had set. Now, I find myself still a little restless. Perhaps I have just got used to the length of the days, or it¡¯s the fact that magic is making my life easier. Or maybe it¡¯s my stats at work here ¨C I don¡¯t know what impact they have on sleeping patterns. Either way, I settle down next to the campfire I have outside. The nights are getting colder, and even if I doubt I¡¯ll ever have to worry about frostbite with my Flesh-Shaping Skill, it¡¯s more comfortable to sit next to a nice fire. My new clothes are definitely helping though: I¡¯ve managed to find time to turn the spider-web I made for the samurans¡¯ trap into clothes ¨C after clearing it of poison, of course. Well, I call them clothes, but it¡¯s really more of a onesie undersuit which I made for myself and basically only take off when I want to have a bath. Disgusting? Not so much when my mana is soaked into the whole of the fabric and can prevent dirt from sticking. I do find that there¡¯s a bit of dust that comes out when I shake it, though, so taking it off every so often is still necessary. Going from my ankles to my wrists, it¡¯s basically a wetsuit. Even better? No need for zips when mana¡¯s involved, so no chance of accidentally catching a very sensitive bit of flesh when needing to answer nature¡¯s call. Most of the time I have my armour on top of it; I¡¯m getting used to its weight though I¡¯m still slowed a bit by it. I guess that that will continue until I manage to increase my Strength or Dexterity or something. It¡¯s good that I¡¯m not too slowed, though, as I¡¯ve upgraded my armour a bit, adding to its weight. I reinforced the armour with chitin from the danaris, covering the tough hide almost completely. By this point, it almost looks like I¡¯m wearing black dragonhide armour, the tough substance reformed into hand-sized scales which I¡¯ve melded into the body of the armour itself. It¡¯s truly amazing what Flesh-Shaping is able to do ¨C frankly, it¡¯s come in far more useful than I ever thought in my preparations. I¡¯ve also been working on my other Shaping Skill, and I decide to do a little more of that now. Focussing on the fire, I place a new log on the glowing embers and try to make the flames leap merely through my will. Just as yesterday and the day before, it doesn¡¯t work. I sigh, and reach out to the fire, both physically and mentally. Feeding it mana, I see it leap and start devouring the new log happily. Knowing what lies before us, I¡¯ve been doing my best to get a handle on my fire-related abilities. I¡¯ve discovered a lot, and my control over the fire both in macro and micro tasks has improved immensely, but I still can¡¯t control a fire I¡¯m not connected to. Perhaps that¡¯s just a natural limit, but without any guidance, I find all I can do is push and push at the limits, finding which will move and which stay firm. Though, at least I can affect it through two types of connection: simply feeding it my own mana after bargaining with it through Fire-Taming, and transforming my own mana into fire magic and controlling it through Fire-Shaping. What I¡¯ve discovered is that, at my current Skill level, anyway, it¡¯s easier to work with an established fire with Fire-Taming where Fire-Shaping is better when creating fire. They feel¡­different. It¡¯s hard to explain, but fire which is established has more¡­presence. If I try to use Fire-Shaping on it, I tend to have very poor results as something seems to be fighting me for control. On the other hand, I¡¯ve discovered that I get much better results with Fire-Taming if I offer it fire magic rather than just my normal mana. I only discovered that this morning, so I¡¯m keen to experiment a little with it. Closing my eyes, I extend my hand towards the fire, working more with the lines of connection than anything else. I don¡¯t need to drop into any level of Meditation: I¡¯ve basically been in a permanent state of Light Meditation except for when I¡¯ve needed to move quickly or have dipped into a deeper state. Feeding the small bead of mana down my channels, I transform it into fire magic. With the amount of practice I¡¯ve had with this, the speed at which I¡¯ve become able to transform magic has increased significantly, as has the ease. Holding the magic within ¡®me¡¯ I feel how interested the fire is in the bead of magic. Actually, it¡¯s less a sense of ¡®interest¡¯, and more confusion. Contemplating exactly what I¡¯m feeling, I realise that it¡¯s that the fire feels like it is ¡®here¡¯ and ¡®there¡¯ and is confused about why it can¡¯t affect ¡®there¡¯. It reminds me of that experience I had where I felt like I had become the flames, only this time it¡¯s the fire which is confused, not me. I sense some hint of inspiration there, some understanding which is just outside my reach. Trying to grasp it only makes it skip further away, like some teasing child playing keep-away with something of mine. Giving up, I instead test what I discovered this morning: that because the fire considers the magic to already be part of it, it is far less hesitant to agree to any sort of bargain. After all, why would it deny itself something? That is not the nature of fire. Allowing it the bead of fire-magic, I find that I don¡¯t even have to keep a constant stream of mana going towards it: I am part of it, so it follows my wishes willingly ¨C as long as I don¡¯t try to quench it. I¡¯m able to move it off one area of fuel and onto another, or to exchange wood for mana, but the moment I try to smother it entirely, it seems to recognise that I am not part of it. It was the same before, I remember: it was my desire not to let the fire burn my clothes which caused me to return to my own mind. Fortunately, in that case. Equally, it is my desire to stop the fire burning entirely which causes it to realise that I am other. I manage to reduce the fire to a single branch, but it resists firmly being snuffed out completely. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Not wanting to build resentment within the greater body of Fire, I release the fire from my control completely. It roars back to life, swiftly regaining access to the still-hot branches, half-burnt logs, and cinders. Opening my eyes, I stare at the fire contemplatively. It should be possible, my plan, I decide. But I¡¯m going to have to make sure I¡¯m as rested as possible: I¡¯ll need all my wits about me. And, frankly, as much willpower as possible. I sigh and lean back, staring up at the sky. Should I? My work in my soul space gave me more Willpower last time, but that was only after three days of effort. Though was the Willpower from the three days? Or was it from the end, after I had finished healing my soul and started pushing? And there¡¯s that challenge. Might that not help me in some way? But then how long might it take? After all, last time my Bound were unable to wake me. We have a time pressure now, is this really the time to be trying something new? But what if this can give me the edge? Despite my time in Meditation, despite my Bound hunting regularly, I¡¯m only halfway towards my next level. I¡¯m unlikely to acquire enough Energy to level up in our route deeper into the valley; what if the challenge gives me a boost which will make achieving my objectives even possible? Feeling restless, I check my Inventory: better make sure everything else is prepared. Plenty of food, both cooked and not, I say to myself, noting all the slots filled with different foodstuffs, some for me, some for my Bound. Having been in my Inventory, they will be Energy-less unless I decide to spend some of my own mana to infuse them, but that¡¯s better than starving. Plenty of water too. I¡¯ve taken some time to create more containers out of flesh, or at least what counts as flesh for my flesh shaping. What that actually means is bones, fused together to become watertight, chitin extended and reshaped to work as a bowl or a bottle or an urn, thick water-proof hide reinforced with bone to create sturdy pouches, and more. I didn¡¯t bother tanning the hide I used for the water-skins: I figured that since they¡¯ll be spending most of the time in my Inventory, they shouldn¡¯t end up rotting. If they do anyway, I¡¯ll be able to replace them easily enough. I¡¯ve discovered that items which are made of the same materials and are almost exactly the same size and shape stack, so have done my best to make as many uniform receptacles as possible. That¡¯s not always easy when working with natural materials, however. I¡¯ve also created plenty more arrows. In some ways, I¡¯m glad about having waited for one reason in particular: no more of the dreaded flint-knapping! With Flesh-shaping able to manipulate any part of the body, I¡¯ve found a solution to my projectile needs: tooth arrows. Well, kind of tooth since I¡¯m using purely the tooth enamel and reforming it into a sharp point. It took a fair bit of experimentation, but I¡¯ve managed to create arrow shafts made of bone which have enough flexibility to be almost as good as wooden shafts, and have the added benefit of being able to be melded with the fletching feathers and enamel tips. It¡¯s almost anti-climactic: my first set of arrows took so much time and effort to craft, requiring me to make pitch and spend hours knapping the heads. My second set took an afternoon after determining the right kind of bone to make the shafts. An afternoon to make about fifty arrows. Insane. Still, I¡¯m grateful. I even made some equivalent spears, though this necessitated even more testing since a spear shaft is put under a lot more stress than an arrow shaft. Finally, I kind of used wood as an inspiration and melded some of the qualities of sinew together with bone, creating a flexible yet strong structure which I hope will work well enough. The arrow points are wickedly sharp, my Flesh-Shaping able to create a point which no human would be able to achieve with filing alone. My spear points are a lot less sharp since I decided that given it needs to hold its point more reliably than the arrows, it was worth losing a bit of the sharpness for durability. As a result, they¡¯re much thicker around and the point is relatively blunt. Then again, with my Strength behind it, they should still be able to pack a punch. To help with durability for all my weapons, I¡¯ve used magic to reinforce them to the extent that they¡¯re almost able to compete with flint for pure hardness. Almost. But what I give up in terms of hardness and sharpness, I gain in terms of the ease of replacing my weaponry and flexibility in battle. Other than that, I have clothing, boots, armour, and have even made some for some of my Bound. I haven¡¯t had time to outfit them all, but River has been convinced to wear light hide armour and even Bastet has agreed to a layer of spider-web that covers her neck, chest, between her wings, and even has a sort of barding that offers a little protection to her flanks. It¡¯s thin and light by necessity because of the way she fights, but should help ward off glancing blows and provide a little protection against direct ones. Since the spiderweb itself is naturally white, and that doesn¡¯t go at all with Bastet¡¯s role, I intentionally made it a bit sticky and then rolled it in mud so it was completely covered. At River¡¯s request, I even reshaped his eyes ¨C apparently the job I did on Catch was good enough that River wanted better eyesight too. He approached me very apologetically, apparently feeling like he was asking too much. I suspect that that¡¯s why it took him several days to ask me. Honestly, I was kicking myself for not thinking of it myself. In the end, I also improved his sense of smell and hearing as it turned out that Catch had much better senses in both areas ¨C unsurprising considering how much they needed to compensate for his poor eyesight. I considered trying to help my other Bound but, honestly, I¡¯m reluctant to try to improve things without a template. That Catch¡¯s eyes ended up better than River¡¯s was a bit of an accident; it could easily have gone the other way. River¡¯s hearing and sense of smell ended up being about the same as Catch¡¯s, but no better. And I¡¯m not inclined to offer the Warriors and Pathwalker the same benefits that I¡¯ve given Catch. Not yet ¨C they haven¡¯t earned it, in my opinion. Nor are they as disabled as Catch was when we first met. It¡¯s a bit odd not to have had River with us for the last few nights though I invited Catch into the alcove so at least it hasn¡¯t been as empty as it could have been. Though the other samurans have been behaving themselves so far, apart from a few tests of his authority that we both agree was most likely calculated to see our reactions, River¡¯s thoughts have been that he ought to stay with them. I agreed, unfortunately, so I have just had to deal with one of my closest Bound, and one I consider a friend, not being around much. They¡¯ve been quite industrious, making a little camp out there in the woods ¨C three huts have sprung up around a small pile of bones ¨C and a campfire. Although I wasn¡¯t there at the time, River shared with me the memory of his people¡¯s faces when he first lit a fire. I decided to give him the fire starter because with my new Fire-Shaping abilities, I don¡¯t need it so much. Probably that¡¯s one reason they haven¡¯t caused much trouble: that I was able to share my ¡®magical¡¯ control of fire with River has to have impressed them a fair bit. So far, they¡¯ve been quite stand-offish around my other Bound, though. While that¡¯s worked OK until now, since they didn¡¯t need to interact much, the trip back down is likely to force them into closer contact. Hopefully they¡¯re not going to let their cultural biases cloud their vision too much. River didn¡¯t, but then he approached the whole thing from a different perspective. Either way, I think that they are as prepared as possible for the return down into the valley and, from the looks of my Inventory, so am I. But should I take the risk of trying to enhance my Willpower in my soul space before we go? Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-One: Withstand and Overcome With all the practice I¡¯ve had of my various Skills, I¡¯ve certainly seen results on my status screen. They have all made me stronger and more able to face the challenges ahead even if individually some don¡¯t mean much. Pulling it up, I remind myself of them.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 14 Energy to next level: 49% Energy absorption rate: 40u/hr (+25) Energy towards debt: 94% (241)
Intelligence 39+1 (+5%) Mana: 600/600 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 40+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1050u/hr
Willpower 52+13 (+25%) Health regeneration rate: 65u/hr
Constitution 22 Health: 330/330 (15u/CP)
Strength 20 Stamina: 120/120
Dexterity 20 Stamina regeneration rate: 200u/hr
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Initiate 7 Fade ¨C Initiate 4 Inspect Fauna ¨C Novice 9 Inspect Flora ¨C Beginner 8 Inspect Environment ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Taming ¨C Beginner 7 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 9 Stealth ¨C Novice 3 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 5 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 1 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 Spearmanship ¨C Novice 3 Archery ¨C Beginner 8 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 1 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Shaping ¨C Beginner 8
As expected, Flesh-Shaping has increased, though it now seems to be stuck at the bottleneck of the leap from Journeyman to Master. If Energy Manipulation was anything to go by, I¡¯m going to have to deepen my understanding of the Skill to be able to get it over the threshold. Thinking about Energy Manipulation, that¡¯s still only at the first level of Master. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised: I haven¡¯t actually been spending much time on discovering more about stamina, or how to make the conversion of Energy more efficient. Still, I thought that perhaps managing to turn some mana into Fire magic might have counted. Apparently not. Most of my other Skills have increased by a few levels. Even my weapons Skills: I¡¯ve managed to fit in a little bit of sparring every day with my new Bound, the exercise useful for me in learning both how to counter new styles and how they tend to fight. I won¡¯t be taking everyone with me down to the samuran village, and the spars have helped me decide who should go and who should stay. The biggest change was probably the rank up of Spearmanship. That happened a couple of days ago, and I¡¯ve already been experimenting with its new effect.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill from Beginner: Spearmanship is now Novice 1. You have taken further steps along the path to Spear Mastery. You are starting to display some understanding of technique, and how to more efficiently use your weapon. Continue practising techniques designed for the more efficient and effective use of a spear in order to advance this Skill. Gain 3% to the effects of Strength and 3% to the effects of Dexterity per level in this Skill when using a spear. When focussing on a target, you have a 5% chance per level in this Skill post Beginner to spot an area of particular vulnerability to a spear attack. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Close message? Y/N
It¡¯s not as good an upgrade as Blunt Weaponry, not at first glance. But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. When I use a blunt weapon, I have a guaranteed chance of spotting an area which might be vulnerable to a blunt weapon, and the longer the fight goes on, the more obvious it becomes. At first glance, the effect Spearmanship gives is the same, only not a guaranteed chance. However, in practice, the effect that Spearmanship offers is far more precise. Where Blunt Weaponry just gives an area, Spearmanship gives an exact spot. It also gives an idea of what kind of strike would be best: a straight thrust for the area? A sweep? The butt end of the spear first, followed by the point immediately after? It gives that information and more ¨C a slight sense of how strong to make the strike itself to be most efficient. It¡¯s like my attempts to become more efficient and effective have been rewarded with an effect which offers just that. Par for the course from what I¡¯ve seen of this System so far. Once more, I get the feeling that I¡¯m missing something, that Blunt Weaponry is the overarching Skill which should then be complemented by more specific Skills for the weapons I use. And equally, that I¡¯m missing the overarching Skill that should complement Spearmanship. Oh well, nothing I can do about it right now except to continue what I¡¯m already doing: making better weapons and then trying to improve how I use them. I¡¯ve got several other Skills on the point of ranking up: Inspect Fauna, Inspect Environment, Sensation Management, and Short Blades, with Meditation also being on the cusp of crossing over into Master. It¡¯s a pity that I haven¡¯t earned enough Energy to level up again. I hope that I will succeed before needing to face the other Pathwalkers and Warriors: if they¡¯re all going to require me to defeat and Dominate them, then I¡¯m definitely going to need more Willpower. While the Tame Bonds of the Unevolved haven¡¯t added any more strain on me, I definitely sense that my capacity to create more Dominate Bonds is¡­limited. Closing my status screen, I look at the sky. Dark, though getting lighter as the first moon rises above the forest. Should I explore the challenge that awaits me in my soul space? Or should I just go to sleep? I hesitate for a long moment, weighing up the pros and cons. In the end, my curiosity wins out. I mean, as long as I leave tomorrow I¡¯m still upholding my promise to Kalanthia, right? It¡¯s too tempting to resist. I¡¯ve been holding off all this time because of other things that needed to be done; now they¡¯re all done and I¡¯m sitting here with little to do, I find myself without a way of saying ¡®no¡¯. Sure, there are other things I could do: there are always projects which need to be progressed. But what I really need right now is Willpower, and this offers me the possibility of just that. Or at least, I think it does. But first, a little failsafe. Reaching out mentally, I touch Bastet¡¯s mind. She¡¯s asleep, but only lightly and rouses at the touch of my mind. I feel a bit guilty about that, but since she is awake now, I might as well continue. I¡¯m going to test something in my soul, I tell her. If I¡¯m not awake by tomorrow, get Catch or River to tie me onto Trinity¡¯s back and we¡¯ll go regardless, OK? She sends me a sense of hesitant agreement. You¡¯re not trying to do something dangerous, are you? she asks dubiously. No, I tell her. Well, it shouldn¡¯t be, I admit as she sends a pointed questioning feel. Just, if I start bleeding from my eyes or nose or something again¡­don¡¯t worry. Her questioning turns into alarm. You¡¯re not going to do the same thing as before when we couldn¡¯t rouse you for three whole days, are you?! No, not the same thing, I reassure her. I decide not to tell her that I¡¯m going to do something else completely new instead. And I¡¯m not intending on being out that long, but if I am, we might as well get going anyway. It¡¯ll just have to be you giving the orders rather than me. We¡¯ve discussed the plan, anyway. As you wish, she agrees, a little reluctantly. But she doesn¡¯t argue any further. I¡¯ve given both River and Bastet the status of ¡®managers of managers¡¯ meaning that between them, they can order the whole lot of Bound in my name, if necessary. It¡¯s a lot of trust, but they¡¯ve earned it. That sorted, I close my eyes by the fire. Then, thinking better, I push myself to my feet and slip into the alcove, avoiding Bastet¡¯s gaze as I sneak in past my other sleeping Bound. Fade and Stealth are particularly useful for that. I¡¯d rather not accidentally get hypothermia because I allowed myself to go insensate outside when it¡¯s probably going to drop to five degrees or something. Much better to do it in my bed. Accessing my soul space turns out to be pretty easy. I just have to sink¡­deeper into myself than normal to access my Core space. I somehow open my eyes and then I¡¯m there, in the grey feature-less world which surrounds me. And then there¡¯s something floating in front of me, as it did once before.
Challenge initiated: level one
Commence challenge / Leave arena
¡°What challenge?¡± I ask again. Last time, this had led to an error. This time¡­.
Challenge initiated: level one Withstand and overcome.
Commence challenge / Leave arena
¡°Withstand,¡± I murmur to myself. ¡°Withstand what? Overcome what?¡± It doesn¡¯t give me much more information than the first box did ¨C three words only, in fact. But perhaps those two words tell me enough. I don¡¯t have to kill anything, or build anything. I don¡¯t have to go on some quest. What I have to do is withstand whatever is about to happen. And then somehow overcome it. Once more I hesitate for a moment before shrugging. I¡¯ve come this far, I might as well see what it¡¯s all about, I decide. Besides, it¡¯s only the level one challenge, how hard could it be? The moment I think that, I feel like facepalming. Way to jinx fate, idiot, I reprimand myself. Choosing to commence the challenge, I brace myself for anything. Perhaps a beast will come and I need to withstand its strikes. Or perhaps I will have to withstand pain. Or- My thoughts are cut off by a light sense of pressure settling upon my shoulders. I look upwards automatically but see nothing there. ¡°Is this it?¡± I ask, baffled. It feels like there are hands loosely resting upon me; nothing more. Withstanding this will be easy. Though it still doesn¡¯t clarify what the ¡®overcome¡¯ refers to. After a few more moments, though, the challenge becomes clearer. The pressure upon me increases incrementally. The hands resting upon me start pushing, at first lightly, and then increasingly heavily. They go from resting to pushing in a relatively short period. I can¡¯t tell how time passes in this strange space, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that long until I have to shift my stance to better brace against the pressure. It¡¯s even less time before I start gritting my teeth, the pressure becoming overbearing. I suddenly realise what this reminds me of: a Battle of Wills. Yet it¡¯s different because there, I normally experience two senses of pressure. One from the environment, one from my opponent. Here, my opponent is absent, leaving only the environmental pressure. Maybe this isn¡¯t about gaining Willpower; maybe this is designed to help Tamers better withstand the pressure in the Battle of Wills. Well, if it¡¯s that, then surely a level one challenge can¡¯t throw at me the same kind of pressure that Kalanthia did in the midst of her rage. And if I could cling on with my fingertips there, then I can stand tall here. Gritting my teeth once more, I find my stubbornness rising. If all the heavens can throw at me is pressure, I¡¯m determined not to let them see me collapse under their weight. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Two: The ‘Perfect’ Me Perhaps the challenge can read my mind as the atmosphere around me changes. While before I could feel it increasing slowly, it now seems as if it¡¯s doubled or tripled the rate at which it increases. While I still manage to stay standing, the increasing pressure makes that harder and harder. It starts to actually become painful, the pressure radiating through my whole body, making my bones grind together, squishing my organs. Why am I resisting? I wonder. What is the benefit to this if I kill myself doing it? And what if I am injured in reality? Last time, I had blood running out of my eyes and nose; what about if this time I end up with organ failure? I need to leave today to travel towards the samuran village; this is no time to go too far. Surely I could just give up now and then come back to it. I wanted to see what happened with the challenge and I now have. There¡¯s no need to drive myself to the point of injury this first time. There¡¯s always next time. I¡¯m on the point of giving up. Somehow I sense that all I need to do to call an end to the challenge is to drop to my knees under the pressure. I almost do. The words slither through my head like snakes, all too logical, all too tempting. But I don¡¯t. Why? Because I recognise that voice. It¡¯s the voice of my doubts. It¡¯s the voice of my temptations. It¡¯s what led me into drinking so much the night before I came here. It¡¯s what encouraged me to party and procrastinate instead of working on my first year assignments, meaning that I only just scraped by with a pass ¨C the sobering revelation of my year¡¯s marks is the main motivation for the effort I put in for the rest of my degree. It¡¯s what encouraged me to lie to my mother about that fateful sleepover; it¡¯s the same voice that made me throw in the towel when the other boys¡¯ bullying became too much for me. It¡¯s what ultimately led to us being on that road at the same time as the drunk driver. It¡¯s a voice which has never led me anywhere good. Here in this space, I find it easier to identify: it seems to almost come from outside myself, rather than being an insidious thought inside which only becomes verbal when I¡¯m already starting to consider it properly. ¡°No, I will not give up,¡± I grind out, needing the sound of my own voice to reassure me, to make it more of a promise that I must keep. ¡°Oh but you will ¨C you¡¯re weak.¡± I almost accidentally fall to my knees, my surprise reducing my resistance for what might have been a fatal moment of inattention. Fatal in terms of my hopes, that is: I doubt that failing this challenge would actually kill me. My surprise is because that¡¯s my voice, though more malicious than I¡¯ve ever heard myself. Out loud, that is. It¡¯s the voice which scathingly criticises my friends and family when they¡¯ve done something which I don¡¯t agree with ¨C the voice which says the things I would never express out loud because they¡¯re so nasty. And it¡¯s the voice which says horrible things about me too ¨C it¡¯s the voice which drove me to drink, and the voice which drove me to the roof. It¡¯s even the voice which goaded me to use the emblem in the first place, telling me how if I didn¡¯t take this opportunity, it just proved how weak I was. Suddenly, I think I understand a little more about this challenge. It isn¡¯t only about dealing with outside pressure akin to that experienced during a Battle of Wills; it¡¯s also about facing myself. And maybe that¡¯s exactly who I need to ¡®overcome¡¯. As a figure fades into view in the mists, walking towards me casually, I realise that my thoughts were actually more true than I thought. The figure, as might have been expected, is me. Only, it¡¯s not the me that I see in any vaguely reflective surface at the moment: wild beard, wild hair, and usually at least a bit dirty. It¡¯s the me that I consider ¨C considered? ¨C the ¡®perfect¡¯ me. His dark brown hair is short, neatly combed with a side parting. His face is clean-shaven. He¡¯s impeccably dressed in a snappy suit, a neat tie around his neck and not a speck of dirt or dust on any of his clothes. His blue eyes are piercing, sharp. And then there¡¯s his bearing. He looks like he¡¯s just walked out of a board room after having been an implicit part of the discussions, his words weighty, his hand one of the most important on the rudder of the company. In short, he looks exactly like I dreamed I could look, all those times I was denied a promotion, or sat in an information meeting, only able to receive the decisions which had come down from on high. But it¡¯s not all as I imagined. The look on his face, for one. His mouth is twisted in disgust, his eyes glinting in malice and contempt. He¡¯s looking at me as if I¡¯m a speck of dirt on his polished Oxfords. As if I¡¯m almost below his notice, and that I¡¯m going to regret having been brought to his attention. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Is this what I would have become if I¡¯d risen as high in the company as I wanted? I can¡¯t help but ask myself, my eyes wide. ¡°You¡¯re weak,¡± he says again, his mouth twisting further. Even though we¡¯re the same height, he seems to be looking down on me. ¡°You will fail. You always do.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± I grind out, the pressure on my shoulders intensifying even more. ¡°You do,¡± he says. It would be dispassionate if there weren¡¯t the slightest hint of glee. ¡°Look at our mother. Lucy. Our father. Our friends. Our job. Our ambitions. All gone. You failed.¡± The pressure redoubles on my shoulders, what had felt like bearing the weight of a single boulder now feeling like supporting two. The doubt and reminders of past failures steal into my heart like thieves. Perhaps the pressure itself hasn¡¯t doubled; perhaps it¡¯s that the doubt has just made it harder to bear. No. I¡¯ve come too far to fall now. There has to be an end to this and I¡¯m determined to reach it. ¡°Past failures don¡¯t mean future ones,¡± I force out, barely managing to keep standing with the pain running through my body, the weight on my head and shoulders. I can¡¯t deny his words: I have failed. But hope springs eternal and tomorrow is another day. It sounds trite even in my own head. ¡°No? But look at your track record just in this world,¡± the figure of me says languidly. ¡°How long did it take you to start to properly pay attention to your surroundings? It¡¯s only by pure luck that you survived the first month. And look at how much you¡¯re leaning on your Bound now. You can¡¯t stand by yourself; it¡¯s pathetic.¡± The words hit me like arrows to the heart. ¡°That¡¯s the nature of a Tamer,¡± I protest weakly. ¡°I can¡¯t do everything.¡± He flicks his hand, like my words are flies buzzing around him. ¡°You can¡¯t do anything. What have you even done for them anyway? You promised River to save his village and yet you¡¯ve been spending days, weeks doing everything but. You¡¯ve been messing around with magic and tanning and petty concerns where, for all you know, his village has already been engulfed by the trees.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing,¡± I respond quietly, the explanation sounding all too insipid in this context. ¡°You¡¯ve been procrastinating,¡± he accuses. I close my eyes, my legs wobbling, my back starting to curve. This is too much. Murphy must have been listening to my thoughts, must have taken offence at my determination not to bow to the pressures of the heavens. I didn¡¯t know then that they could release my inner demons to torment me like this. And this is only level one! The reminder steadies me. This is a challenge. Moreover, it¡¯s a challenge from one of my Class Skills, something designed to help me get stronger. It¡¯s not something like the Pure Energy where my life was something I had to struggle to keep. I also realise something important: though this demon has insulted me, derided me, tried to tear me down ¨C is doing so at the moment, even, though my own thoughts are drowning him out for the most part. But not once has he touched me. He¡¯s not even come close. He¡¯s stood still, and talked to me. At me. Understanding goes through me. His only power over me is what I give him in listening to him. If I let him destroy my self-confidence, I will fall and I will fail. Just as he wants me to. But if I don¡¯t? He is powerless. This is good. My inner demon has been given life, and is giving voice to the doubts which have plagued me both recently and in years gone past. He wears the visage of all I aimed to be ¨C once. But I¡¯ve changed, and my desires with me. My Wisdom has grown, and I realise that it¡¯s not only a stat, a number on a screen. I realise that the answers to all his insults and questions lie within me already. The knowledge steadies me. The burden on my shoulders suddenly feels a little lighter; my back straightens, my knees lock once more. The demon stops talking and eyes me. He seems slightly wary, like he¡¯s suddenly aware that the pitiful animal he was poking with a stick has grown teeth and claws and is growling at him. ¡°I am human,¡± I say. The words are difficult to get out, but easier, somehow, than the weak protests I was giving before. ¡°I make mistakes. Before, I interacted with other humans who also made mistakes. I failed to achieve things I sought, but in some cases, my true mistake was in seeking the wrong things.¡± Images of Lucy¡¯s upset and angry face flashes through my mind. Not the stone one which she wore when she walked out of our relationship, but the ones she wore before then, every time she discovered that I would put my job before her. The demon in front of me looks like every ambitious career dream I ever had, but I doubt that Lucy ¨C or any other significant partner ¨C is part of the deal. And if they are, it¡¯s probably because they¡¯re seeking something other than intimacy and relationship: where there¡¯s money, there are always those willing to prostitute themselves for it. But that¡¯s not what I wanted. ¡°I did fail,¡± I admit, but the admission doesn¡¯t make me weaker; if anything, recognising my mistakes makes me stronger. ¡°But the good thing about surviving a failure is that I have the possibility to learn from it, to become better and try again. As for not saving River¡¯s village? Yes, I recognise that perhaps I haven¡¯t been as focussed on that objective as I should have been. It¡¯s true that I was preparing, but I admit that I have also been procrastinating a little. Or not procrastinating, but allowing other concerns to take precedence. I will apologise to him for that.¡± I swallow, then say the words which really don¡¯t want to come out of my mouth. ¡°Thank you for raising it to my attention.¡± The demon looks rather taken aback; I don¡¯t blame it. It¡¯s not something I would have done before. But now, I¡¯m becoming more self-aware, more humble, more willing to admit when I have been wrong. And that¡¯s a good thing, as long as I don¡¯t let it stymie future growth. Because that¡¯s what the demon wants to do. ¡°I am human, and I have made mistakes. I will make more. But all I can do is try to be better. And that¡¯s what I¡¯m determined to do.¡± With that last pronouncement, I feel the pressure on my shoulders intensify one more time. I stand my ground, holding my position through sheer force of will, the determination filling me and steeling my spine. And then suddenly, it vanishes, the figure of my alternate self vanishing along with it, as if neither were ever there. I guess that in many ways, that¡¯s completely true. For a moment, I stare around at my misty surroundings, and then a box forms in my vision.
Challenge completed: level 1
See rewards / Leave arena
Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Three: Waves On The Beach Of course, I select the option which lets me see the rewards. Stupid question, really.
Congratulations! You have completed: challenge of Willpower level 1. Grade: A (G-SS) ¡®It is not by having no demons that we learn to strengthen our will; it is by not allowing their voices to sway us.¡¯ Reward: +2 Willpower, +2% Effective Willpower. Challenge unlocked: challenge of Willpower level 2
Accept rewards? Y/N
Another stupid question! As if I would choose to reject the rewards after going through all of that!
Rewards accepted; Energy store sufficient.
Leave arena / Challenge level 2
I have to admit that I¡¯m very tempted to take the second challenge. The rewards from the first one are exactly what I was hoping for. Though two points to Willpower aren¡¯t a huge amount, the fact that I can earn them without needing to level up is huge. Though what was that about my Energy store being sufficient? I frown. Does that mean that the points I¡¯ve been ¡®rewarded¡¯ are being given to me like the points I ¡®earned¡¯ before reaching twenty in each stat? Meaning that to be applied to my status, they take away from my Energy store? It seems likely, which feels like a bit of a swindle: I¡¯ve worked hard, yet still have to give up Energy to get the points? Then again, with what I now know about how the points on my status screen actually are reflected in my bodily changes, I suppose it¡¯s not so surprising. I might have put effort into increasing my willpower, but for it to become Willpower with a capital letter, Energy needs to explode out of my Core and make the changes. Without the Energy, I don¡¯t know what would happen. Probably nothing. Though I can¡¯t say for sure, I don¡¯t think I lost Energy last time I increased my Willpower in my Core space, but perhaps that was more to do with my use of health. Maybe that¡¯s what I should try next? Using my health to push at the boundaries of my soul space? Then again, maybe I should see just how much time has passed in the ¡®real world¡¯ first. I can always come back, I tell myself. Reluctantly choosing ¡®leave arena¡¯, I feel myself rise slowly out of my soul. As was the case last time, I feel very disorientated as I open my eyes, the world spinning around me. Swallowing down the nausea, I close my eyes again and just focus on breathing. At least I¡¯m lying down so there¡¯s no way for me to fall. After a relatively short amount of time, the sickness abates and I reopen my eyes tentatively. The world has stopped spinning, the rough ceiling above my head staying where it should. I turn my head to one side; Catch is there, sleeping. Turning to the other side, I see Bastet by the fire, eyeing me. How long was I out? I ask her. My mouth doesn¡¯t feel that dry so it can¡¯t have been nearly as long as last time. I¡¯m not famished either, though I am a bit peckish. Pulling a lump of meat from my Inventory, I chew at it as she responds. Not long. One white eye has reached its zenith; the other is cresting the horizon. Thanks, I tell her with a hint of gratitude. Good ¨C that¡¯s not too long at all. Actually, I could probably have answered my own question: there¡¯s a ray of moonlight coming through the hole in the wall and making a spot on the wall opposite. That must be the second moon rising. So now I have another question: do I sleep, or do I go back and experiment with pushing the boundaries of my soul space? It¡¯s hard to decide. I do often feel refreshed after meditating, especially when I¡¯m in Heavy Meditation. This would be Deep Meditation which could arguably be more relaxing. On the other hand, I certainly don¡¯t feel mentally rested right now. Physically rested, yes, but mentally tired. But then maybe that¡¯s because it was a challenge? In the end, it¡¯s my status screen that convinces me.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 14 Energy to next level: 49% Energy absorption rate: 40u/hr Energy towards debt: 94% (240)
Intelligence 39+1 (+5%) Mana: 600/600 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 40+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1050u/hr
Willpower 54+14 (+27%) Health regeneration rate: 68u/hr Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Constitution 22 Health: 142/330 (15u/CP)
Strength 20 Stamina: 120/120
Dexterity 20 Stamina regeneration rate: 200u/hr
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Initiate 7 Fade ¨C Initiate 4 Inspect Fauna ¨C Novice 9 Inspect Flora ¨C Beginner 8 Inspect Environment ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Taming ¨C Beginner 7 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 9 Stealth ¨C Novice 3 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 5 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 1 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 Spearmanship ¨C Novice 3 Archery ¨C Beginner 8 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 1 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Shaping ¨C Beginner 8
My Energy store hasn¡¯t dropped since earlier today, even if the rewards panel in the status screen indicated that it used Energy. Or should that be ¡®since yesterday¡¯ since according to my countdown on my debt, it¡¯s now a day later? I suspect that in fact it did use Energy from my store to increase my Willpower: that is coherent with what I know about how this whole System works. But I¡¯ve been in Deep Meditation for hours. At its base rate, Deep Meditation offered between seventy and a hundred and thirty percent increase in Energy gain. I¡¯m now sitting at Journeyman nine, which means that my increase is now between a hundred and sixty-five and two hundred and thirty percent. With my current level, I seem to gain about four or five percent per day, purely with Light Meditation offering a bit more than half again my base absorption rate ¨C effectively forty units turns into over sixty, though the actual rate seems to depend on how much I¡¯m actually ¡®meditating¡¯ even as I move and do other tasks. If Deep Meditation can offer around two hundred percent increase on average, that means that I¡¯d be earning more like nine or ten percent per day. Although I wasn¡¯t in my soul space for a long time ¨C comparative to my last time doing it, at least ¨C I was still in there for a good few hours. So, I might easily have earned enough Energy to pay for my increase in Willpower. In fact, that seems the most likely explanation since otherwise it doesn¡¯t make sense for why I wouldn¡¯t have gained Energy. Which means that if I spend the rest of the night in Deep Meditation, I might have two good effects: more Energy gain and maybe even another point in Willpower. At the same time, we¡¯re going to be travelling through the forest tomorrow, going deeper into the valley; I''m going to need my wits about me. I hesitate for a moment, then make my decision. I will go back into my soul space. I won¡¯t do a challenge, and I won¡¯t spend a long time there. When I come out, I will see whether I¡¯m feeling more or less fatigued than when I went in. If I¡¯m feeling more fatigued, I will sleep. If I¡¯m feeling less fatigued, I will continue. It¡¯s worth a go, I figure. Though if I end up feeling less fatigued, I know I¡¯m going to regret not doing this every night since discovering this facet of my Dominate Skill. Putting that out of my mind for now, I go back into my soul space. The box which offers me the challenge appears immediately in my vision, but I reject it this time. Instead, I settle down to the ¡®ground¡¯ as before. I¡¯m not completely sure how it worked last time, but I have a good idea where to start. Once more making a humming, elongated ¡®ommm¡¯ sound, I get a sense of exactly where my limits are. It feels like the substance I have to call my soul extends beyond my ¡®body¡¯ by about a millimetre. Last time, I filled in the empty space which had surrounded my hand and arm. Once I¡¯d finished doing that, I pushed at the empty space surrounding the rest of me. I figure that that¡¯s what I need to do now. Reaching for my health pool, it doesn¡¯t take me long to grab it again: I developed something similar to muscle memory while doing it so much when healing my soul. Not sure exactly what to do here, I just push at the boundaries around me. I actually move physically, holding my hands out in front of me and imagining them extending further, even with me sitting still. I feel resistance, not against my ¡®hands¡¯ but a mental resistance. It¡¯s different from that of the challenge, though. That was more of a rushing pressure; this is more like I¡¯m reaching for something which is just a little out of my grasp. Not really knowing what I¡¯m doing here, I just¡­direct my health into my ¡®fingers¡¯ and reach some more. It doesn¡¯t seem to do anything so I sigh and stop pushing. What happens when I level up? I think to myself. Closing my eyes, I bring back the memory of watching my most recent level up when I committed all my points to Willpower. The Energy had washed out of my Core like waves, lapping at the edges of the Core space and expanding them little by little. It didn¡¯t explode out in a single wave, nor had it focussed only on one spot. Maybe that¡¯s where I¡¯m going wrong. Returning my hands to my lap, I keep my eyes closed. Even if I know that this is only some sort of avatar or mental image of myself, I¡¯m so attached to my physical body and the physical effects of it that closing my eyes still helps me concentrate. Humming again since that seems to work, I once more take hold of my health and gently send it washing out of me like a wave. I focus on imagining it emerging in my centre, my heart coming to my mind, and with every pulse of my heart it is sent to my extremities, to my skin. There, it washes past my skin to push a little outwards before returning to the centre, the next wave taking over. I imagine waves on the beach, the next one coming as the first returns, yet like the tide coming in, each wave pushes just a little further up the beach, or in my case, outwards. Over time, I sink into the images, my heart pulsing with the beat of the ocean, the waves washing through me like blood. It feels endless. Like the waves that wash with my heartbeat are but a drop in the oceans of water that lie behind them. It¡¯s almost a shock when I start feeling resistance, when my health runs almost dry. The ocean does not run out of water; how then can this be? I almost keep pulling from my reserves, but a sense of danger runs through me like an electric shock. It startles me back into wakefulness; pulls me out of my image. My heart stutters, the waves drain away. Slowly rising out of my Deep Meditation once more, I feel even worse this time. It¡¯s a real struggle to keep from seeing my supper again, only sheer force of will and swallowing almost convulsively stops the bile from rising too high. I don¡¯t even try to open my eyes. I feel absolutely horrible, shaky and shivering. I¡¯m in shock, I realise with a moment of clarity. I curse the fact that I have to focus to be able to use Flesh-Shaping. I need more health. Remembering what I did before, I slide back into Heavy Meditation to work on converting mana into health and sending it flooding back into my body. The disconnection from my senses works in my favour here as I actually manage to concentrate without the nausea and physical suffering grabbing at my attention. My body gobbles the health I feed it as if it were starving, the luminous blackness surrounding my internal matrix almost matte. Once it¡¯s finished consuming the health I feed it, I pull back out of Meditation. This time, I feel a lot better. There¡¯s less disorientation to using Heavy Meditation than Deep Meditation anyway, and I¡¯m no longer suffering the symptoms of shock. I feel liquid trickling down my cheeks and lift my hand to wipe it away. As I do, I smell the coppery scent of blood. Looking at my hand, I¡¯m unable to see colour ¨C the little moonlight allowed into the alcove isn¡¯t strong enough for that ¨C but the darkness of it against my skin indicates it¡¯s what I suspected: blood. Sighing, I pull a rag from my Inventory and wipe my face. I¡¯ll need to wash it properly in the morning but this will do for now. Lying back down, I feel the bone-deep tiredness in my body. This time, it seems like I¡¯m physically tired as well as mentally ¨C pulling the health out of my body and replacing it clearly has an effect. Though I should have known that from how much pain I was in after last time. Looks like I will still need to sleep. Pity. Checking my status screen, I can¡¯t help but smile. At least I got a point in Willpower out of it ¨C proof that it wasn¡¯t just a one-off last time. Even better, I¡¯m sitting at fifty-one percent Energy, indicating that it didn¡¯t even use any of my store. Closing my eyes, I¡¯m asleep before I can even think about what that means for the future. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Four: Before the Sun Rises I wake up before the sun rises. That¡¯s pretty usual, especially these days, and apparently my late night wasn¡¯t enough to change my habit. Normally I wouldn¡¯t actually get up; I¡¯d just stay in my warm bed. Although I wouldn¡¯t say that sleeping on the floor is exactly comfortable, and do sometimes think of my soft mattress with longing, I¡¯ve mostly got used to it. Enough that it¡¯s often a sufficient lure to keep me dozing until the sun actually starts to rise above the horizon. This morning, though, I know I have too much to do to laze around, so I get up. Bastet opens an eye as I shift to sit in front of the fireplace, but I send a wordless message down the Bond about taking advantage of the time to sleep while she still can. She yawns and closes her eyes again, nosing into the pile of cubs next to her. They¡¯re getting so big, I can¡¯t help but think to myself. Once able to fit in a sling against my chest ¨C all three at once, even ¨C the ¡®cubs¡¯ are now the length of my torso. They¡¯re finally growing into their paws. Well, talons. By the time the spring comes, I bet they¡¯ll be fully grown. But in some ways they¡¯re still very much cubs, tumbling together and playing just as fiercely as ever. The only difference is just how much trouble they get into ¨C Bastet has had to warn off each of the cubs at least twice recently from going to explore the forest on their own, and that''s even after Trouble''s escape a while ago which almost ended in disaster. Apparently Trouble is completely undaunted from his more recent experience only a week ago with Lathani. At least the nunda juvenile seems to have calmed down since being accepted into our group. Actually, she¡¯s been the model of good behaviour. It¡¯s been a bit awkward, giving her orders with her mother just there. But the awkwardness is fading, and Lathani herself doesn¡¯t seem to be in the least conflicted about who to look to, which is good, I suppose. She¡¯s been going out a lot with the hunting groups, and has apparently been a great help. I¡¯m not surprised, not after hunting with her myself. I¡¯ve only managed to make it out with a hunting group twice, but both times included the nunda juvenile. Though still sometimes a bit impulsive and with an annoying tendency to act before checking with the rest of the group, she¡¯s a strong and accomplished hunter with an ability to keep herself concealed that rivals even the Tier two Bastet. Even with the Bond indicating her location, I¡¯ve sometimes found myself struggling to keep track of her. I¡¯m starting to understand how she was able to get away from Kalanthia. Using an almost absent-minded bit of Fire-Shaping, I relight the fire in my stove, quickly adding in some branches and then a couple of logs. My intervention means that the fire roars to life very quickly, consuming the fuel with eagerness. Setting a pot of water from the stream on the fire, I chop in some herbs, some roots, and some chunks of meat. Not for breakfast, but for later ¨C hot stew after a long day of travel will be very welcome. Because it¡¯s going to be a long day of travel, that I¡¯m sure about. For breakfast, I pull out a couple of pancakes from my Inventory along with a large bowl of steaming herbal tea which I sip from. I cooked a whole stack of them the day before yesterday ¨C more like potato pancakes than anything else, but the addition of almost-honey into the batter has given them a lovely taste. Adding a drizzle more of the liquid gold, I half-close my eyes in delight. Now this is more like it. Pancakes and tea for breakfast¡­all I need is smoked bacon to go with it. Instead of bacon, I have roast meat which, while not bad, just doesn¡¯t quite hit the ¡®bacon¡¯ spot. In winter, I definitely need to have a go at making smoked meat, I decide. It¡¯s a good way of preserving meat outside of my Inventory anyway. And who knows ¨C maybe it will preserve the natural Energy in the meat better too. After breakfast, I head outside to continue my preparations. Though most of the items are in my Inventory, I don¡¯t want to disturb my Bound more than I already have. Pausing at the entrance of the alcove to scratch the stirring Fenrir behind his ears, making him settle back down, I glance back into the main body of the cave, spotting the dappled shape of the large nunda. Kalanthia opens her eyes to gaze at me, returning my greeting nod with a flicker of acknowledgement. She then closes them again and I head outside. The second moon is still bathing the area in its light; it¡¯s enough that I don¡¯t need to light a torch to see where I¡¯m walking. If I slip into Fade, then I can see even better. Walking out onto the plateau, I nod at the two on watch ¨C Bary and Kanga. I¡¯ve finally been able to meet with all my Bound and give them proper names. Well, apart from all the Unevolved samurans from the hunting band, that is. Although I offered them all Tame Bonds which basically required them to follow orders, I haven¡¯t managed to spend much time with them. Frankly, I¡¯ve been too busy. But I¡¯ve had Catch join them for the days to help take them out in groups to the forest, so hopefully delegating my responsibilities to him and River has meant that they¡¯re not feeling too abandoned. Certainly, Catch seemed pretty pleased with himself: I suppose that going from bottom of the pile to top dog in one fell swoop is quite satisfying. River confided in me when I went to visit him that he¡¯d heard more than one of the group exclaiming over the transformation ¨C and wondering what other transformations I might do. That¡¯s all pretty positive, even if it adds more pressure onto me. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. While we¡¯re on the road, I do want to do a scan of all the lizard-folk, just checking for injuries. I¡¯ve already managed to do that with all the creatures we rescued from the danaris, and they know they are to bring me any injuries they suffer in the meantime; several of them have already taken me up on that, though not for anything serious. Returning my thoughts to the moment, I wander over to my two watchers. I didn¡¯t ask them to do that; one of my more aware managers must have thought of it. Probably Bastet, knowing her. ¡°All quiet?¡± I ask casually. They both send over a sense of agreement and welcome. It¡¯s¡­nice. Bary, named because he looks rather like a baryonyx except smaller and with flightless wings instead of mini-arms, nudges at me with his head. He¡¯s not all that gentle, so the shove pushes me back a pace, making him grunt in satisfaction. I chuckle, scratching him at the root of the short crest which goes from the base of his skull down his neck to mid-back. He makes a moaning sound, the pleasure which comes down the link letting me know that he¡¯s enjoying this. Not wanting to be left out, Kanga nudges at me, though she¡¯s more polite about it. Obliging, I start rubbing her under her chin ¨C her preferred spot. I can never remember the name of the dinosaur she reminds me of ¨C it¡¯s one which looks like it kind of has an elongated skull, though it is vaguely pointed on the top end so she can use it to defend herself a little. She¡¯s also one of those who has two sets of eyes, so her field of vision is excellent. I named her Kanga because, despite being scaled and dinosaur-like, she rather reminds me of a kangaroo. She certainly can sit like one, and does when she¡¯s alert and on watch. Though she tends to walk on four legs, she also runs like a kangaroo, her bigger and stronger back legs sending her lolloping forwards. After spending some time with them, I quickly head down to the forest line ¨C my bladder is sending some rather strong messages to me. At the treeline, I cast an Inspect Environment, looking for any signs of something about to pounce on me. All I see are a few plants outlined in either red or gold, and few of those. Reassured, I manipulate the mana in my undersuit to create an opening, take myself in hand and then sigh at the sense of relief even as splashing meets my ears. I keep a sharp eye on my surroundings, though ¨C I slipped into Fade as well as checking my surroundings before I started releasing, but I never know if there might be a creature which comes by and can still see me which decides I might make a good meal. Finishing my business, I head back. Before starting to walk up the slope, I see the item which the lizard-folk hunting party have laboured over the last few days sitting just a few steps away from the forest edge. This one is Mark Three, the first two definitely not being suitable. This one is promising enough that we¡¯ve actually taken the next steps. It¡¯s a cuboid made of six faces of woven twigs. Within it are ten frames, each made of four pieces of branch, about as thick around as my two fingers put next to each other. They are held together with densely woven bark fibre, Joy¡¯s input very useful at that stage. Though I can¡¯t see it right at this moment, I know that at the bottom, there¡¯s another woven piece with small holes in it, but this one is horizontal where the frames are vertical. This one is held a bit above the other woven piece which forms the bottom. It¡¯s a very rudimentary bee hive, and I¡¯m really hoping that will work. Not only was I not a bee-keeper in any sense of the word back on earth, but my survival knowledge doesn''t have anything on making a beehive or keeping bees. Added to that is the fact that these creatures aren¡¯t even bees. I don¡¯t know how they will react ¨C whether they will stay in the long term, or take the hive and disappear. The only reason I think it might be at all possible is because they seem to behave like bees. They build hives out of a waxy substance, which they fill with sweet honey-like substance. They defend these hives with their bites and numbers. They even appear to have a queen like bees do, a single insect which was about three times the size of the others, and five times as long. I walk carefully towards the hive, keeping my eyes peeled. It¡¯s still dark so most if not all of them should be in the hive still, but I should be able to see the odd one here or there if they¡¯re still in there. My sharp eyes catch sight of one lump of black on one of the branches, then another, then another. I stop moving forwards and smile in satisfaction. I would guess that they¡¯re all still there, then. Excellent. I do still have the Tame Bond with the queen, but that¡¯s no guarantee that they will stick around in the accommodations I¡¯ve provided them, and if they don¡¯t accept the hive the lizard-folk built, then the queen could easily break the Bond. Yes, I discovered that I can indeed offer a Tame Bond to an insect. Well, kind of insect ¨C they have eight legs but are definitely not arachnids. It did take me braving the bites of her warriors ¨C covered in dense web, of course ¨C and carefully taking apart the hive that they had built at the top of the tree, to find the queen. We did it at night when they were more docile, me testing my control over fire to stop it from burning any not-bee which came close. That didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t willing to bite, of course, and I had to close up a couple of holes that they managed to find ¨C their bites hurt even if I could almost immediately heal them. Once I found the queen ¨C not too hard considering her significantly different size ¨C I offered her a Tame Bond. To my surprise at the time, it worked ¨C though maybe I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised: she does have eyes. Essentially, she agreed to pay tribute in terms of an amount of honeycomb as long as I didn¡¯t take so much that the hive would be in danger, and also provided protected accommodation for their hive. Honestly, I was surprised at how intelligent her requests were, even if we are as yet unable to communicate beyond the most imprecise of feelings. Either way, she seems to be happy enough with the hive the lizard-folk built; now, I just need to make sure they are guarded. The Bound I¡¯m leaving behind should be perfectly up to the task. I notice the sun coming up, its rays starting to touch the top of the mountain, visible beyond the band of trees which grow above Kalanthia¡¯s cave. From the plateau, I hear the sounds of movement. It¡¯s time to give my final instructions, and then depart on our expedition. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Five: Every Little Helps ¡°Right, you know what to do, then?¡± I ask the group of my Bound staying behind, my question aimed mostly at Hades and Persephone who I¡¯m leaving in charge. Unfortunately, Persephone is within days of laying her eggs, the lumps in her belly now actually visible, so there¡¯s no way I can bring her with me. And of course, where Persephone goes, so does her mate. It¡¯s not all bad: there are a few other Bound who I¡¯m not comfortable taking on this particular expedition, so having two of my most intelligent companions stay with them is probably a good idea. Plus, I don¡¯t want to take the danaris larvae with me, even if I did give in to creating a Dominate Bond with them to keep them out of trouble, so someone needs to keep them fed and under control. And it also means that, for once, the raptorcat cubs don¡¯t need to accompany us into a situation with unforeseeable risk levels; Bastet seemed rather happy with that. The other ones I didn¡¯t want to bring with me are Cery and Neian, the two lizard-deer; Scooter, the tortoise-like herbivore; Rooter, the insectivorous almost-porcupig; and Sailor, the large lizard with a sail which is at least twice his height, sticking out of his back. Due to almost all of them being herbivorous, I judged that the risk of bringing them with me seemed to be higher than the possible benefits that they could bring to the team. Of course, I couldn¡¯t only leave the ones I didn¡¯t want since they¡¯re still going to have to be protected and Persephone is going to have to be fed while she¡¯s guarding her eggs. So, after careful consideration, I¡¯ve also left Artemis, a wolfish Bound a little smaller than Bastet; Bary; and Kanga. I figured that the former two could protect whatever group is going out while Kanga can spot any threat before it has a chance to target them. Hopefully they will all still be present when I come back. Hades and Persephone both confirm that they are prepared so I next look at Kalanthia, standing in the mouth of the cave. I struggled to find the right words; perhaps she realises that as she speaks first. May your hunt be successful, Markus Wolfe, and take good care of my cub. ¡°I will,¡± I say. ¡°I would appreciate if you would keep an eye out for my Bound too, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± I will ensure that the den and its immediate surroundings do not become part of any other predator¡¯s territory, as always. They may bargain with me over other services with Cores that they find, as you do. Good enough, I decide. ¡°Thanks. Goodbye, then ¨C next time you see me, I¡¯ll be the overlord of the lizard-folk¡¯s village,¡± I say with more confidence than I really feel. For their sake, I dearly hope so, Kalanthia says. Lathani looks at me for a moment, her eyes pleading. When I abruptly realise what she¡¯s asking me, I nod at her and she bounds over for a quick nuzzle and final goodbye. While she does that, I give the members of our pack who are staying a last message of good wishes. Then, with a last look over everything, checking for anything I might have forgotten, we depart down the hill. We¡¯re a cavalcade walking down the hill, and this isn¡¯t even all of us: the new samurans along with River and Catch are still in their little camp in the forest. Still, even without them, our party numbers eighteen. When we get to the camp and add in the others, we will have a whopping thirty-four to travel down into the valley ¨C it¡¯ll feel like an army. It does give me hope in our success, that¡¯s for sure. For now, River will remain in charge of his Tier two brethren, and they continue to be in charge of the Unevolved samurans, though not as official ¡®managers¡¯, but just with their usual hierarchical bonds. I would rather have had all of them under one of my trusted Bound¡¯s direct control, but unfortunately with Hades and Persephone staying back, I simply don¡¯t have enough to cover everyone. As soon as we hit the forest line, Bastet moves ahead with her own group of stealthy and predatory Bound, namely Honey, Woozle, Thorn, Marty, and Wolverine. The biggest of the lot is Bastet herself; the smallest, Marty ¨C a shy creature rather similar to a scaled pine marten, hence the name. Their job now, as it will be during the rest of our trip, is to scout the way ahead, checking for threats that might threaten the main part of our group. Sirocco, still the only flying Bound of our group, is charged with ranging further ahead and spotting both issues with our terrain and potential threats. The rest of us are travelling together, though Theia is walking at the back as the rearguard, accompanied by Fenrir and Pride, the spinosaurus-like scalla, as protection. That leaves Shakira, the okapi-like icehal, Demon, the small but vicious daemonosaurus, Louie, the vaguely orangutan-like omnivore, Spine, the kind-of-kentrosaurus carnivore, Lathani, and Trinity, the triceratops. They stick with me in the centre of it all, two of them the slowest of all of my Bound, and the ones who are going to set our pace. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I anticipate it taking at least two days to get down to the forest line, but don¡¯t feel too worried about camping out under the stars: with this many creatures all moving together, I doubt that there will be many who choose to challenge us ¨C and we still haven¡¯t added almost our full number again in samurans. It only takes us a few minutes of walking to find the samuran camp. I connect with River as soon as he comes into range, something that I¡¯m pretty sure has extended just a little since completing the challenge last night. Are you ready to go? I check with him, nervousness making butterflies flutter in my belly. We¡¯re actually doing this. Everything is prepared, River answers promptly. I see that for myself a couple of minutes later when we enter the clearing that they have made. The logs from the trees they cut down have become the roof of the underground shelter that they dug for themselves. Bones are piled in one small area; ashes in the other ¨C River hasn¡¯t wasted any time in communicating the knowledge about fire that I shared with him. I mentally shrug ¨C I knew that once shared, it wouldn¡¯t be long before all of them would know. All I can hope is that I haven¡¯t done the equivalent of teaching people previously only using spears and arrows how to create and use a firearm. The samurans have arranged themselves with Joy and Lee at the front, the other three Warriors behind them, and then the Unevolved finishing up the group. It¡¯s hard to read their expressions, but over the Bonds between me and the front five I can tell that they¡¯re rather conflicted. Understandable, perhaps, since I present both a threat and opportunity for their village. Even if those Bonded through Dominate don¡¯t really have the choice of whether to follow me or not, they still have the freedom to feel as they will. And their feelings have changed a little since that first day. Though I haven¡¯t personally had a lot of contact with them, River has; knowing him, he¡¯s been doing his best to get them to come around. That they seem to have given him, an Unevolved adult, their attention is evidence enough of how their attitudes have changed. I can only hope that we have as much success with the rest of the village. This is probably the time when I should give some awesome inspirational speech, but I don¡¯t have one to give. ¡°Let¡¯s go and deal with the forest of vine-stranglers threatening your village,¡± I say simply instead. ***** The first day of the journey goes surprisingly smoothly. By the time dark has fallen, we¡¯ve found a nice spot to rest for the night. Creating a small shelter for the night for those Bound who would prefer it is simple enough with many hands working. Trees are cut down for the large teepee frame, branches and bushes are collected for the walls, earth is dug to make the floor. Obviously, neither Trinity nor Shakira are going to stay inside with us. Spine is another one whose venom-laced spikes make poor bedfellows. Three are set on watch at all times, keeping an eye in all directions, the large number of us meaning that each only has to stay alert for a relatively short amount of time. The rest all pack into the shelter, a fire at the centre warming the space, its smoke disappearing through the holes at the top where the brush doesn¡¯t cover. With the amount of bodies present, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be getting cold. Bastet¡¯s team of predators spent the time the rest of us were building the shelter in hunting for dinner, and brought enough meat to satisfy the group. I even roasted a couple of haunches ¨C I decided I might as well benefit from the Energy-laced dinner rather than just eating pre-prepared food. I left the hearts for those who had actually done the hunting. Iandee asked to try some of my roasted meat, and surprisingly enjoyed it ¨C neither Catch nor River had. After he¡¯d shown evidence of liking it, the other samurans all tried. It seems to be a bit of a rare taste among them, though: only one other liked the meat cooked, and even then preferred it more bleu than well-done. There was even a Core in one of the creatures: I let Bastet decide which of her team should get it and she chose Honey ¨C apparently the honey-badger-like creature had been the most active in the hunt. River and Fenrir are still absorbing the danaris Core: apparently they feel that it¡¯s important to take their time over it. Since neither of them have any good means of storage, they keep giving it back to me to hold for them and then asking for it at convenient times. I noticed several of the samurans giving River envious looks as he spent some time doing that after supper. And then incredulous ones when he passed it over to the lizog. It¡¯s the new world order, I feel like saying to them, but don¡¯t ¨C it¡¯s more something they¡¯ll have to discover for themselves. After tucking the remains of the carcasses in my Inventory and asking Trinity and Spine to help with digging over the blood-soaked earth, I join the mass of bodies in the shelter. Sure enough, it¡¯s more than sufficiently warm ¨C I end up pulling the fire apart a bit to reduce it. I could use magic, but in this case it¡¯s actually quicker and easier to do it manually: if I¡¯d been trying to make it grow, that would be another question. Lying down with my eyes closed, I find my thoughts going to tomorrow. I¡¯m not heading for the tunnel which leads to the Pure Energy spring ¨C even with Bonds in place I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d trust all of the samurans with that knowledge. Besides, I still don¡¯t know what kind of situation the quest is going to make me deal with, so I¡¯d rather avoid that just for now. Dealing with the vine-stranglers is definitely the priority, especially with only twenty-two days still remaining before the quest becomes due. For that reason, we¡¯re heading for an area which is thick with them. I decided not to go for the narrow bit of the ¡®eye¡¯ but to one of the bulbous bits, a place where it would take more than a day to walk through normally. I¡¯m still not entirely sure that my plan will work, and may need to adapt it. There¡¯s little I can do in the way of preparation, not until I have more information. However, there is one thing which is bound to help me in my future endeavours: gaining more Willpower. To that end, after briefly warning River about what I¡¯m doing, since he¡¯s one of those taking first watch, I sink into my soul space to work on pushing it outwards. As a well-known chain of shops put it: every little helps. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Six: Ever-changing Venom The first indication I have of danger is when alarm spikes through our vanguard¡¯s Bonds. What¡¯s happening? I ask Bastet urgently, speeding up and encouraging the others with me to do the same. Ambush, she replies grimly, with an accompanying still image. The sight makes me suck in a breath. They are being attacked by seven beasts that are far too reminiscent of a komodo dragon to be comfortable. They¡¯re more than three times the length of Bastet and are a little taller, mouths full of sharp-looking teeth. Their heavy and muscular bodies are going to be difficult for the relatively small and light members of the vanguard to land any wounds on at all. Trinity is slower than I would like, and once she builds up steam, it¡¯s also difficult for her to stop or turn. As a result, I leave her and Shakira behind, surging on ahead with the bulk of the samuran Unevolved and all of the Tier two lizard-folk. We explode onto the scene with our weapons bared, but several of the Unevolved samurans flinch back as they see the creatures. Problem? I shoot at River as I move forwards quickly, kindling fire in my hands and shooting it as a thin flame-thrower at the large lizard currently menacing Marty. It flinches back from the attack, but its scales are thick and all I succeed in doing is pulling its attention to me instead. Belatedly, I shoot an Inspect Fauna at it, hoping that it might tell me about some weak points.
Kalestan Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Enhanced rip, Ever-changing venom Health: 2440u Mana: 100u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 65 (69) Open to a Bond: No Impacting factor: Power Running in packs, this creature dominates the upper middle region of the valley, and is only rarely found in areas of low Energy density. This species is feared due to their venomous bites and strategic tactics which spell the end of the majority of their targets. Displaced, this group is searching for another territory.
Close message? Y/N
Looks like there aren¡¯t any obvious weak points, I think grimly, quickly dismissing the box as I see the movement rapidly approaching through it. The kalestan snaps at me and I deftly avoid it, my mind working busily. I need more distance in this situation. ¡°Lee, take over,¡± I snap at him and he appears before I have to do more than dodge two more attempts at strikes. Then the kalestan has more to worry about. Backing up, I leap on top of a rock to the side of the action, getting me a little bit higher. The kalestans have strategically divided the vanguard away from the rest of us and three are now facing four of them. Bastet is off to one side with a kalastan attacking her ¨C fortunately her barding seems to be helping to confuse the creature as it keeps snapping at the cloth rather than her body. Marty is also off to the side but fortunately doesn¡¯t have anything actually attacking her. The other three kalestans are all now facing the bulk of the samurans, who have bunched up together with only Lee being separate, facing one by himself. I feel an unusual level of fear coming from the group of samurans, and they certainly aren¡¯t the usual tough, fierce warriors which I¡¯m used to. Even the Warriors seem reluctant to engage, with Joy tucked in the centre of the group. What¡¯s the problem? I ask River again, who is circling the group to go back up Bastet. Their bites are notorious for being killers even if you survive the attack, River answers a little tersely. We avoid them wherever possible. I have healing magic, I remind him. I know. They don¡¯t, he pointed out, referring to his brethren. Well, arguably, they do know, but it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they wouldn¡¯t trust that in the middle of a battle. But I¡¯m determined not to lose someone because of their fear. Honey, Woozle, Marty, Wolverine, Thorn, Bastet, evasive manoeuvres, I snap at them. Avoid the trap and join the rest of us as soon and as safely as you can. Extra points if you can get them to group up a bit as you move. Samurans, I want them grouped, not spread out. I can heal you if you¡¯re hurt; get them in the centre. I send a thought back to another creature who¡¯s quickly approaching. Trinity, full speed towards me. My Bound follow my orders with gratifying alacrity. The members of the vanguard evade their pursuers. Marty and Woozle go straight up trees and into the branches above. Wolverine and Bastet instead circle around the kalestan group, Bastet almost running into River in the process. Thorn and Honey, with their characteristic ornery attitudes, actually go straight through the group. Their actions are appreciated as it turns three more of the kalestans around, bunching up with the other three already attacking the group of samurans. The temerity of my Bound in daring to defend themselves apparently attracts the undivided attention of the komodo dragon type creatures. They don¡¯t get through unscathed though, and I see several wounds bleeding on each of them as they make it through the line of spear-wielding Warriors and Unevolved samurans. Of course, with Thorn¡¯s protective bone protrusions, the kalestans pay in blood for their attacks too. Lee, retreat into the group, I order him and he immediately obeys. With that, the seven kalestans are as bunched up as we¡¯re likely to get them. Joy, weave them into place, then everyone back away as quickly as possible. Make sure there¡¯s a clear path through from the direction we came in. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I watch closely as they obey. Joy weaves the roots and branches beneath the kalestans¡¯ feet, the creatures hissing and trying their best to move as they see their prey backing away from them. Their strength breaks through the bindings again and again, but every time they succeed in freeing one foot, she snags another. The Pathwalker¡¯s face is a mask of concentration and I sense her strength flagging as she expends herself on growing and replacing her bindings, but she¡¯s having the effect I need and her job will be done shortly. However, with as much as she needs to concentrate, she¡¯s just standing there, the four Warriors sticking around to defend her, even as the others have followed my instructions to back away. And that¡¯s a problem. Lee, Murmur, just pick her up and get her out of there, I order, my ears now telling me what the Bond has also indicated. They obey, but only just in time. Iandee actually gets clipped as the juggernaut of Trinity brushes past him, the momentum of her passage sending him flying forwards. The rhino-sized triceratops slams into the lizards which stand waist-high on me. Her head is lowered, her horns angled downwards to catch the kalestans which are only just tall enough to brush the bottom of her throat in a normal situation. I have a moment where I fear that she might catch the tips of her horns in them and end up accidentally breaking her own neck. A moment later, I realise I shouldn¡¯t have worried. Evidently, her neck is powerful enough to cope with the impact as a kalestan actually becomes impaled on her horns and wrenched into the air, the bindings around its feet disintegrating into pieces. Trinity roars, the low boom of her cry rattling through my chest. She soon breaks through the group of kalestans, her head still decorated with the carcass of one of them. Behind her is a blood-drenched path, littered with the flesh of those who stood in her way. Skidding to a halt, she shakes her head irritatedly, the carcass of the still-living kalestan evidently unwanted. Go help her, I instruct two of the Unevolved samurans. They shoot a look at me, fear coming through the Bond. I don¡¯t blame them, but need them to do what I¡¯ve asked. Go on, she won¡¯t hurt you, I try to reassure them. They obey, a bit reluctantly, but they go, which is the most important thing. Trinity, two samurans are coming to help you get rid of that carcass, I send to her, just in case she mistakes them for enemies ¨C her vision isn¡¯t all that great, so it¡¯s possible. That sorted, I turn my attention back to the battle ¨C or the remains of it, anyway. Without me needing to direct them, River and Lee have urged the rest of the samurans forward to deal with the kalestans which survived Trinity¡¯s rampage. Which, actually, is most of them. Three were out of her path entirely and haven¡¯t suffered much more than shock and minor injuries. Two more are injured to a greater or lesser degree. One is nothing more than pulp on the ground, and the last is still attached to Trinity for now. Keep the biggest one alive, I tell River since he¡¯s the closest to it and he sends me a sense of acknowledgement. Summoning Honey and Thorn over, I start working on dealing with their wounds. I quickly understand why the kalestans are so feared by the samurans, and what it means by ¡®Ever-changing venom¡¯. I¡¯d taken opportunities where I could to check out the other kalestans with Inspect Fauna and seen that apart from small variations on health points, and number of points required for Willpower, all of the members of this band seemed pretty identical. Ever-changing venom appears to be a venom which keeps changing what it attacks. For a short time, it¡¯s a hemotoxin, increasing blood loss and reducing clotting. Then it becomes a necrotoxin, destroying the cells around where it is. Then it¡¯s a myotoxin, attacking the muscles. Then it becomes something different. No pattern, no way of predicting what it will do. And also, I suspect, an absolute nightmare to try to create an antidote or treatment for. In the end, all I can do is force the venom to exit the body and then heal the damage which it caused. While I do that, I keep an eye on the battle, my improved capabilities with Flesh-Shaping and Energy-Manipulation allowing me to heal while not being completely unaware of my surroundings. Once they¡¯re healed, Thorn and Honey both join the battle, eager to express their dissatisfaction with the creatures which hurt them. One by one, the kalestans are whittled down to just the one which River is keeping occupied. I see the increased confidence in the samurans, especially when the first healthy one is taken down: the bogeyman has been proven to be mortal and their numbers great enough to kill it. I only notice a couple of injuries, and mostly because the samurans become too overconfident. They calm down once they realise that, though I can heal them, it hurts. When Lee and his band move to kill it after dropping the other two healthy ones, River stops them, indicating that it¡¯s at my instruction. Seeing that as my cue, I cast a last look around the area, then jump down when I see no further threat. ¡°Keep an eye for other predators or scavengers which might be attracted by the fight,¡± I instruct all and sundry, walking over to the injured and angry kalestan which is now surrounded by a wall of spears. It¡¯s not attacking right now, but seems to just be looking for an opportunity. So, too, do I see an opportunity. I gained another point in Willpower last night after I emptied my health pool again to push my soul outwards just a little more. That one point turned into two thanks to the twenty-seven percent extra I gain in that stat. Though I¡¯m aware I¡¯m going to need to use Dominate plenty in the samuran village, I figure that showing I control a creature they fear so much can only help my cause. I use Inspect Fauna again on it.
Kalestan Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Enhanced rip, Ever-changing venom Health: 2860u Mana: 140u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 69 (41) Open to a Bond: Yes Impacting factor: Power Running in packs, this creature dominates the upper middle region of the valley, and is only rarely found in areas of low Energy density. This species is feared due to their venomous bites and strategic tactics which spell the end of the majority of their targets. Displaced, this individual is searching for another territory.
Close message? Y/N
Little is different from the other kalestans. Its health is the highest I¡¯ve seen, as is its mana. The required Willpower to Dominate in normal conditions is higher than the others had been. However, with its injured and cornered state, the current Willpower required is a lot lower, and well within my limits considering that my Willpower is currently sitting at seventy-two effective points. Actually, though it wasn¡¯t something I was able to do more than briefly note at the time, I noticed that when I Inspected the first kalestan, the recommended Willpower for the situation at that time was actually higher than its usual Willpower; I can only guess that that was because it felt it had the upper hand. This one, obviously, has no such delusion. Interestingly, it actually shows that it¡¯s open to a Tame Bond ¨C perhaps it¡¯s realised that it has no chance of survival. I don¡¯t find myself particularly keen on that idea, though ¨C it¡¯s attacked us and proven itself to be a threat. Like with the Warriors, I don¡¯t really want to give it the chance to become one a second time. No, I¡¯m going to give it the chance to live, more than I¡¯d give it if I didn¡¯t have the ability to use Dominate. If it would rather die, that¡¯s its choice; from the look on multiple faces around me and the feelings rippling down my Bonds, I suspect that plenty of the samurans in particular would be happy with that option. Putting those thoughts out of my head for now, I approach the creature. Meeting eyes, I trigger the Battle of Wills. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Light Is Fading With one more Bound added to the list, we keep going. Though there are a couple of other tentative attacks on one or more of the vanguard members, the moment the rest of us appear on the scene, the creature disappears as quickly as possible. That¡¯s if it¡¯s successful in evading all of the reinforcements, of course. And assuming it doesn¡¯t get killed by the other members of the vanguard too. By the end of the day, my Energy to the next level has increased by fourteen percent, bringing me to sixty-five percent progress to level fifteen. That¡¯s from a combination of the various creatures killed and the increasing Energy absorption rate which, by this point, is just shy of a hundred units per hour. It just proves how much my increased Wisdom is affecting Energy absorption. Or perhaps the Pure Energy in the centre is emitting more Energy than before ¨C I have no way of knowing. As the light is fading, we come into view of the Forest of Death. We¡¯ve made good time, even with the fight with the kalestans, but that¡¯s not the only reason why we¡¯re seeing the vine-stranglers half a day sooner than before: they¡¯ve expanded. ¡°How close was the line of the carnivorous trees to your village when you left?¡± I ask Joy, summoning her closer as we pause next to a clear pool of water. It¡¯s an off-shoot from the river, and returns to it later, but in the meantime has created a small pond, complete with glinting silver fish. The Pathwalker moves to my side, also eyeing the trees with worried orange-yellow spikes. A little closer than when Runs-with-the-river left, but not much. They were not this far up the valley either, though: we passed through this area when searching for his tracks and stopped at this pool. I nod, my suspicions confirmed. I can only hope that the village hasn¡¯t yet been engulfed, though I suppose it would solve some issues if it had. Then again, it would cause others at the same time so it¡¯s six of one and half a dozen of the other, really. Even if the light is fading, it looks like it¡¯s too urgent to leave this to the morning. However, we have been running all day, and have engaged in fighting too. Everyone is tired, including me. ¡°River, make camp here. Bastet, have your group rest. Theia, Louis, Spine, take first watch. Otherwise, eat and rest for now.¡± After giving my brisk instructions, I close my eyes, concentrating on reaching out to Sirocco, asking her to return. I wish I could make more detailed contact with her but vague ideas are my limit at the moment considering her range. Then, following my own advice, I pull out some food and take a seat on a nearby log. I watch as the samurans work efficiently, creating much the same shelter as yesterday. It¡¯s a quickly accomplished task which ends up being half underground, half a sort of teepee above ground. Though it¡¯s the Unevolved who do most of the digging, they all pitch in. The strength-focussed Warriors concentrate on cutting the wooden supports for the teepee and also clearing the area of trees and bushes. Joy¡¯s weaving abilities certainly come in handy with making the shelter as water and wind-proof as possible. Frankly, I¡¯d just get in the way of their smooth process. There¡¯s a small pile of bodies in the middle of the camp, the carcasses of creatures that we¡¯ve killed throughout the day and then hauled with us. Several of my Bound are tucking into them, with the herbivores instead munching plants and trees around our little campsite. The areas the Warriors cleared are popular feeding spots. Bastet¡¯s group are among the creatures feeding, looking very fatigued. It¡¯s not surprising: they¡¯ve taken the brunt of the attacks for one thing, and have also used a lot of energy in running backwards and forwards, scouting the area around where the bulk of our group would be travelling. River is in the centre, making a fire which I¡¯m glad to see ¨C I¡¯m definitely going to want to boil this water. It¡¯s more stagnant than the river normally is, so, even if it looks fairly clear, I don¡¯t want to drink it directly. Sliding off the log, I fill my wok with water from the pond and place it next to the fire ¨C like old times. It will take a while for the metal to transfer enough heat into the water for it to boil so I settle down next to it, closing my eyes. Trusting my Bound to protect me and themselves for now, I drop into Medium Meditation. It''s partly for rest purposes, partly for Energy gain, and partly for something else. The thing is that I¡¯m feeling rather nervous at this point. I¡¯ve been doing little bits of practice with both Fire-Shaping and Fire-Taming whenever I¡¯ve found a moment. Both of them are now sitting at the cusp of Novice, though they haven¡¯t yet broken through from Beginner nine. But that¡¯s the thing: they¡¯re both still Beginner tier. I¡¯m about to try to use them to defeat a massive forest of trees which are particularly vulnerable to fire. And that would be far easier if I didn¡¯t want to avoid burning down all other parts of the forest along with the vine-stranglers. Creating a fire is easy enough; controlling it is another question, especially something as powerful as the inferno I¡¯m likely to create here. Sure, I could burn the trees one by one, make a path through the forest easily enough. But that¡¯s not really feasible: the forest is growing far too fast for such a measure to work. And sure, I could have others set fire to different parts of the forest: Bastet has her Firebreath, as does everyone else with sufficient mana if I get them to use the group perk I earned when Tame ranked up. But as I considered before, starting the fire isn¡¯t the issue ¨C it¡¯s the control. Plus, there are other concerns here. Creating a fire isn¡¯t only about the fire. More deaths occur due to smoke inhalation than by burning in house fires. I don¡¯t have control over air; neither do any of my Bound. Well, not proper control: again, using the once a day perk, all of my followers could technically cast Airblade once. I did test it yesterday and Bastet was able to do it even though neither of the kiina are with us, proving that it¡¯s not limited by distance in any way. However, that¡¯s only once per day; not enough to offer proper smoke control. Another option to reduce smoke is to make the fire burn hot enough to fully combust the materials it¡¯s burning. But fire that hot brings other complications with it, namely how close I can stand to the source. As I can see from even my little campfire here, my water is starting to boil despite only actually sitting next to the fire. A fire that¡¯s bigger and hotter than this? I¡¯m not going to be able to be anywhere near. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Which is a problem because my control range is limited and even practice hasn¡¯t extended it much. That will probably come at higher levels, but again, both my Fire control Skills are only Beginner still. I find it difficult to maintain Medium Meditation, rising to Light Meditation level and opening my eyes. By this point, I¡¯ve used Light Meditation so much that it¡¯s basically become a passive, enhancing the clarity of my thoughts a little, and my Energy absorption by different percentages depending on how much I¡¯m moving and focussing on something else. Staring into the fire, I hold my hand out. I feel the fire¡¯s heat; the sight of invisible connections overlaying my vision of physical reality ¨C practice apparently makes perfect when it comes to that. I gaze at the tendrils eagerly seeking my hand. I know that I could easily make a connection with the fire, taming it. But that¡¯s not exactly what I¡¯m seeking right now. I remember when I was experimenting with fire, I think before I even gained Fire-Taming. Or maybe after Fire-Taming but before Fire-Shaping. It was when I almost lost sense of myself, when I woke up having crawled into the fire. I¡¯m not aiming to lose control of myself again, quite the opposite. However, in that state, I was the fire, and the fire was me, and the fire could not damage me because it would be like a flame burning another flame. That¡¯s what I want; what I need. But how? Sirocco¡¯s arrival jolts me from my thoughts and I flinch back from the fire as my hand ventures just a little too close, the burn a sharp pain that engages my reflexes. ¡°How was your scouting? What did you see?¡± I ask the bird. She sends me a sense of discomfort, then her memories of what she saw. Instead of trying to focus on them like that, I switch to looking at my Map. Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t update automatically with what my Bound can see. Fortunately, it does accept the transferred memories of my Bound as my own memories. As a result, it now reflects Sirocco¡¯s observations. For a moment, it¡¯s hard for me to work out exactly what I¡¯m seeing, and then I spot the river. My heart thumps suddenly in my chest, the bottom dropping out of my stomach. It¡¯s the Forest of Death. But so much bigger. There¡¯s no ¡®pupil¡¯ in the centre of the ¡®eye¡¯ now: clearly without the salamander present, the trees have repopulated the area around the entrance to the Pure Energy cave. Looking northwards, I realise that the trees are almost at the other entrance to that tunnel, the place where we exited; when we left, there hadn¡¯t been any vine-stranglers in sight. Where before the forest had only stretched out to touch one bend of the river, it has now engulfed that area completely. It has extended out in all directions though not completely evenly. I actually spot the samuran village ¨C right on the edge of the vine-stranglers. No, not on the edge, but slightly into the forest itself. Confusion runs through me as I focus on that little circular clearing. The trees should have almost consumed the village as the edge has advanced almost past it, but instead there is a ring of normal forest forming a horseshoe of protection. The lizard-folk still have a narrow neck of non-carnivorous trees down-valley, but they must fear being cut off any day now. Truly, there¡¯s no time to waste. We need to get through to them as soon as possible. But that doesn¡¯t mean leaping to action right this minute and running around like headless chickens. The situation of the samurans is dire, but it¡¯s not yet hopeless. Though they are probably hard pressed, it¡¯s still a better reality than the one I was fearing when I saw just how much the trees had expanded: that they would be completely gone, the village merely absorbed into the body of the vine-strangler forest. Closing my eyes, I drop back into Medium Meditation to work on a plan. When I open my eyes again, the light has almost completely faded, but I have an idea of what to do. ¡°River, come here, please,¡± I say quietly. He hears nonetheless and quickly comes to crouch next to me. Master? How much do you trust the other samurans in this group? I ask him, sending it as a private message. Confusion comes through the link from him. I do not understand. Do you trust them to follow your orders no matter the situation? Not to stab you in the back as soon as they gain any control or support? He thinks about the situation carefully. I wait as patiently as I can: this is important. The other samurans have seen wonders. They have seen the power of controlled fire; they have felt the benefits of your Flesh-shaping. The other Unevolved in particular are pleased with having full bellies every day for the first time in their lives and are willing to show their appreciation by doing what I ask. And the Pathwalker? The Warriors? I knew that the Unevolved should prefer our way of doing things to that of the village; it¡¯s a different question to ask about those who had been benefiting from the system. River pauses for a moment. Joy is curious. She sees in me one more powerful than I should be considering my Unevolved nature. She sees in your other Bound power she has never experienced before in the village. She wishes to know more of our secrets more than she wishes to return to the way things were, I believe. The Warriors though¡­ He sighs. They are held mostly by the fact that you have beaten them, and that you have appointed me as your representative. Apart from Iandee who I succeeded in defeating in battle, I have not won their respect of my own merit. Would they betray you? I ask urgently. I do not know, he admitted. Lee is not the strongest of the Warriors from my village, so if he was ordered by the leader of them to attack me? I do not know what Lee would choose. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but not terribly surprising either. I nod slowly. ¡°Alright. This is what I want you to do.¡± Without any further procrastination, I tell him all about the situation and the role I wish him to play. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Eight: Consume It¡¯s full dark. The only light is cast by the moon filtering through the leaves and branches above us and the torch I¡¯m holding. Butterflies are fluttering in my stomach and my mouth is going dry. This is it: the big one. The one I¡¯ve been waiting and preparing for since returning from this area in the first place. And there¡¯s so much that could go wrong. Soft feathers brush past me on one side and soft fur on the other. I send appreciation down the Bonds to Bastet and Lathani for their non-verbal support. Lathani has been surprisingly well-behaved over the last couple of days ¨C I¡¯ve barely even noticed she¡¯s been present. She¡¯s been walking with me but I¡¯ve hardly seen her. I¡¯m wondering if she has some sort of innate stealth abilities because she seems to just¡­vanish. From sight and mind. Then I realise that I¡¯m trying to divert my mind away from the task at hand and quickly return my thoughts to it. We¡¯re quickly approaching the tree line. By we, I unfortunately am not including River. He¡¯s currently back at the camp with the majority of my Bound, though he won¡¯t be staying there for long. Instead, he and most of the samurans will soon set off to circle the edge of the vine-stranglers and try to get back to their village before it¡¯s completely cut off. Right now, they are resting for a bit in preparation since once they get going, they won¡¯t be stopping until they¡¯re back at the village. It will be a hard slog, but while samurans aren¡¯t necessarily the fastest of my Bound, they¡¯re certainly able to endure; I¡¯ve seen that much from how they can travel a whole day and then create a camp in less than an hour. Not to mention from Catch¡¯s capacity to survive. Going with River are all the Unevolved samurans from the hunting party, Joy the Pathwalker, and two of the Warriors. Wary of betrayal, we still decided that Lee should go with the party as his word will hold the most weight with the other Warriors back at the village. Though this also means he¡¯s the most potentially dangerous one to send with the group, hopefully my focus on giving River as much control of the Bonds as I have will mean that he¡¯s able to stop Lee in his tracks if he tries anything. I¡¯ve kept two of the Warriors: Murmur who seems to be the strong but silent type, though I¡¯ve noticed that even Lee and Joy listen when he does decide to say something; and Iandee, who is the absolute opposite, nattering on about all and sundry. I¡¯m actually tuning out what he¡¯s saying now ¨C some sort of story about the last time he saw the Forest of Death. Since Bastet is already occupied with her five, I¡¯ve put the two Warriors under the control of Catch: though I haven¡¯t known him for much longer than I¡¯ve known them, I¡¯m almost certain that he¡¯s not likely to betray me. Not after how he committed himself to me. Finally, Fenrir is back at the camp with the rest of the group, the ones who are neither quick nor would offer me much protection if something tries to attack me while I¡¯m concentrating on the fire. That would not be good. I would rather have one of my Tier two Bound with that group, but the kiinas aren¡¯t here so I¡¯ve got to hope that Fenrir¡¯s up to it. We stop. We¡¯re here. The closest vine-strangler sits just a couple of metres in front of me. Its branches shift slightly, ominous creaking coming from wood rubbing against wood. The last one only started stabbing at us when we were trapped within its cage, but that doesn¡¯t mean this one is willing to wait that long. ¡°Be prepared for if it attacks us,¡± I warn my followers. ¡°Don¡¯t focus on destroying the wooden spears; just focus on deflecting them.¡± Agreement and acknowledgement comes in various forms from all those surrounding me. I can already see other baby vine-stranglers pushing their way out of the ground. In the time it takes me to look from the sapling to the fully grown tree, I¡¯m sure that the sapling puts on a few more centimetres. Then again, given as much ground as they¡¯ve covered in the last four weeks, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that they¡¯re literally growing before my eyes. But now is not the time for distraction. I close my eyes and drop as deeply into Light Meditation as I can. My body feels slightly disconnected from me, the nervous chemicals rushing through my bloodstream having minimal effect on my thoughts now. It¡¯s almost into Medium Meditation but I do maintain some connection to the external. With my vision of connections, I see the vine-strangler forest once more. As I once thought, there is so much more here than I could see before. The trees are connected inextricably to each other and to everything around. The ground, yes, but also the air. They¡¯re even feeding off the Energy of everything that lives within their domain ¨C parasites, or perhaps symbiotes since they do offer a certain degree of refuge to those they don¡¯t try to kill. As I gaze at the trees, I realise something else: what I thought was a forest of trees isn¡¯t that at all. It¡¯s a single, vast organism. Like that massive fungi network which stretches across most of North America, except this one is populating every inch with its own roots and its own saplings. If I¡¯m going to succeed here, I¡¯m going to have to burn it out underground just as much as I burn it overground. However, one thought does occur. If it¡¯s a single organism, can I convince it to back off? To absorb its own trees and give up the ground it¡¯s taken? It¡¯s proven itself able to recognise a threat in the salamander and be able to shift its limbs to force us to face the fire-using creature when we travelled through the forest last time. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. In a last ditch attempt to resolve this a different way, I reach out to the network of connections. I send it impressions of my thoughts, the desire not to create conflict where conflict is not necessary, the fire that I can bring to bear if it does not yield. For a long moment it is silent. I think that perhaps it hasn¡¯t heard me; that I am too small for it to take notice. Then it responds, and its answer makes me clench my jaw in anger. Contempt. It does not believe a little creature like me could do anything. It sees me as another salamander ¨C annoying, but not ultimately damaging. Well, if that¡¯s how you want to play it, then fine by me, I send back to it, not really caring whether it hears me or not. My anger making the butterflies vanish, I send a good ball of mana down my connection and make it pool in my palm at the end of my bent finger. Setting light to it, I focus on the fire not hurting my hand: I¡¯ve managed to do that much. Then, moving my hand, I touch the top of the baby vine-strangler with the ball. It immediately bursts into flames and we all have to take a step back from the heat. Focussing on the fire, I have it burn hotly and thoroughly consume the wood, producing little smoke. The tree burns to the ground quickly ¨C it started off only reaching my waist anyway. The fire descends down the trunk like it¡¯s burning a stick of incense, only ash remaining. Then it reaches the ground and starts licking at the dead branches and leaves lying around the base of the tree. With an effort, I control the fire and send it down into the ground. It doesn¡¯t like that. The ground is slightly damp and has no oxygen within it. But this isn¡¯t just an ordinary fire: it¡¯s a fire connected to me ¨C and my mana. As it turns out, magic can replace any of the elements of the fire-triangle, or all of them. Though it consumes more mana than I¡¯d like, the fire follows the tracery of roots through the underground world, burning out the organism¡¯s foothold in this area. Under my guidance, it follows them back to the body of the vine-strangler network and three trees start smouldering at their base. It¡¯s harder to keep my focus on all three fires at once. My attention jumps from one to the other, fanning the flames, encouraging them to burn. The vine-stranglers writhe, and the closest starts sending spears at us. Bastet takes on the first, demonstrating exactly what to do to the rest. I¡¯m not able to pay much attention to them, but I see it when the lizard-folk start joining in, as do Lathani and Wolverine. The rest of Bastet¡¯s group probably aren¡¯t suited to the activity so I imagine they remain watching for attacks from other creatures instead. But I dare not look away from the fires to check. The fire is starting to take a hold. It¡¯s burning brighter and hotter by itself, little mana needed from me to do so. It still needs encouragement and support in entering the underground root network, but it¡¯s happy and eager to consume the flammable wood above ground. Too eager, perhaps: the fire consuming a branch ends up crossing the distance to another tree, setting light to that one too. While trying to wrestle back control of the fire in that area, I take my eye off another of the trees. When I next look back at it, I see that that one has set two other fires ablaze! Fear creeps into my belly and I step forward almost unconsciously, desperately trying to grab control of the fire which I have created, the fire which threatens to rage throughout the forest without my hand on the reins. But every attempt of mine to bring it back under control only sees it slipping further. It¡¯s like a child, gleefully playing keepaway, darting around the other side of the table every time I try to grab it. Five trees turns into seven, into ten. They are incredibly vulnerable to fire and the flames I have created take full advantage of that. Even the air around me is changing, a breeze being caused by the hungry fire sucking in more and more oxygen to feed its growth. My forehead is sweaty, my skin clammy despite the heat. My eyes are wide in horror as I imagine the fire raging into an inferno, animals trapped within the flames, River cooking in his scales, Bastet, Lathani, Fenrir¡­all of them being unable to escape, as close to the fire as they are now. No. No! I take a step back ¨C mentally rather than literally ¨C and pull on the peace of Meditation to calm my mind and my emotions. Fear makes people act stupidly, and right now, I¡¯m panicking. Breathing deeply, I reach out to the fire. It hasn¡¯t escaped my control; it¡¯s just being like an excitable child. Or no, perhaps part of the issue is my imagery. Likening it to a child makes it other. If I was using Fire-Taming, perhaps that would be useful. But I¡¯m not ¨C I¡¯m using Fire-Shaping. This fire is not other, it is a part of me. In that state of calm meditation, I find myself managing to grasp the same thoughts which I experienced once before, only this time I am in control of them. The fire is my mana, my mana is the fire. It came from me, and it is mine. Much as my armour is me, and my undershirt is me. They are filled with my mana and they are mine. I do not fear that my armour will fail to stand between me and an attack; I do not imagine that my boots will walk off without me. Nor that my undershirt will constrict me in my sleep. Why then do I fear my fire? It¡¯s like an epiphany hits me. The hours of staring into the heart of the fire, of interacting with it, exploring it, using it, playing with it, admiring it, they all merge into one understanding. I breathe in and the fire sucks in oxygen. I exhale and the fire grows. I feel each flicker of flame as if they are hairs on my body. Almost in a trance, I step forwards, into the fire. I keep walking until I¡¯m at the heart of the flames immolating the trees. I feel the heat; it does not burn me. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Light Which Burns Bastet watches as her packleader walks into the light-which-burns. Even this far away, her feathers curl slightly at the heat it¡¯s producing. Packmate Marty makes a quiet sound and shifts in worry. Bastet sends her a feeling of calm, of patience. Though packleader doesn¡¯t always know what he¡¯s doing, he certainly seemed to this time. Looking up, she sees that the two of Packmate River¡¯s kin who accompanied their pack are staring at the flames, their eyes wide and panicked, their muscles restless. They might run at any moment. Bastet grunts and her pack shifts accordingly to block off the escape routes of the taller creatures. The leader looks around her pack in satisfaction: they might not be her kind ¨C those her pack leader calls ¡®raptorcats¡¯ ¨C but they are good team-mates. Bastet might have taken inspiration from the ¡®spars¡¯ and set up a number of exercises to help her group become more accustomed to working together. Cubs learn it when they are small; just because these are no longer cubs does not mean that they cannot learn the same lessons. Bastet recognised that for herself after her body changed and elder Kalanthia reprimanded her. Rightly so. Settling back down, the raptorcat looks into the fire carefully, trying to catch a glimpse of the tall creature who leads her pack. There. The fire thins enough to show the shadow of a bipedal figure. Then the fire closes in again and he is gone. Bastet feels a hint of relief. Even if she was confident that he would be well, it¡¯s good to have confirmation. She watches as the burning-light grows bigger and bigger, its tongues licking hungrily at the hunter-trees in an expanding ring ¨C yet only them. There is the sense of intense concentration across the link, of focus that must not be disturbed. Bastet shifts a little: she is concerned that there might be an attack. While most creatures should be running away from the dangerous heat, there is no guarantee that a panic-stricken beast might not charge straight through its centre. Yet if she and her group step forwards, they would be immolated like the trees themselves. So she waits. The fire continues to build. A great wind ruffles the branches of the trees near them, the flames before them sucking eagerly at the air. And then, suddenly, a feeling of summons. A beckoning from her packleader. Towards the tongues-which-bite. For a moment, Bastet finds herself feeling doubt. Towards the light-which-burns? And not even to follow from a distance, but to enter the roaring-beast itself? Yet she trusts the packleader to keep them safe. Standing, she orders her pack to gather up, and to walk forwards. As she trusts the packleader, they trust her and obey, despite the fear running through them. The two of Packmate River¡¯s kin are reluctant, but Packmate Thorn¡¯s boney spikes and Packmate Honey¡¯s growls get them moving forwards, their claws tight around their long sticks. Pace by pace they step closer to the flickering tongues. The heat builds more and more, yet it never reaches the point of singing scales or feathers or fur. The black dust which remains in the wake of the burning-light¡¯s path coats their feet in warmth, but does not sear their flesh. Fear and dread of being eaten away, until they too turn into black dust, turns into wonder as they step through a world which has been reduced to black, white, and different shades of orange. Bastet keeps her gaze ahead, eyes fixed on the hazy figure which gains more definition with every step. Finally, they make it to the side of the packleader. His eyes are distant, his concentration so much that he doesn¡¯t even greet them. However, the fact that the flames do not swoop in to consume them must mean that a part of him knows they are there. Bastet calls a halt among the other packmembers. They are here to protect from anything that might have survived the fire, not to be completely distracted by their surroundings that they almost bump into him. She has to remind one of Packmate River¡¯s kin that as he stumbles over a rock and almost careens into their pack leader. He will not soon forget the feel of her teeth sinking into his scales and dragging him backwards. Giving out the instructions, they settle into the task. They move forwards at a slow rate, cool air swirling around them from somewhere beyond the flickering light and allowing them to breathe without inhaling smoke or ash. Bastet cannot say how long it has been since they entered the domain of the burning hunter-trees: it has been both long and short. All she knows is that something has changed. Packleader¡¯s focus has shifted. She sends a warning to the rest of the Bound: be ready. ***** Please, I hear, whispered on the wind. It¡¯s almost more concentration than I can spare to listen to it. The fire rages and the delicate balance I have between losing myself to the fire and losing control of it is on a knife¡¯s edge. It¡¯s like I¡¯m on a tightrope which keeps getting thinner the more the fire grows. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I feel every tree that it eagerly bites into, three turning into ten, turning into fifty, to hundreds, even thousands. I also feel the innumerable other lives the fire has taken ¨C I¡¯ve taken. Animals too slow or too close to flee, insects, fungi, birds, other plants, even a few of those mimic-creatures. I¡¯m not at all regretful about those, though I do feel a faint twinge of it about the others. I¡¯m too at one with the fire to feel more than that. For now. Fortunately, thanks to my epiphany, I¡¯ve also managed to work out how to transform fire magic back into my own mana. Given that the fire seems to generate its own magic by burning things, it¡¯s an exothermic reaction which keeps feeding me what I need to maintain my control. But that doesn¡¯t make it easy. Another plus: I¡¯ve succeeded in working out how to control the fire and heat around my Bound, giving them a path through the raging inferno to follow me. Working out how to give them sufficient oxygen to breathe while the fire greedily sucks at any that it could reach was another challenge, but by keeping the area above them flameless, I¡¯m able to indirectly control the draught¡¯s direction and make sure that they get it first. I only managed that because they joined me fairly early on when the fire hadn¡¯t stretched as far, when I¡¯d had more concentration available for experimenting. Now, the fire is happy to respect my wishes ¨C as long as I continue helping it to grow. Stopping it will be a different question, but since my epiphany, I no longer have any doubt that I will be able to do so; I just know that it will be hard, perhaps the hardest thing I¡¯ve ever done. Please, stop, I hear the voice say again. ¡°Stop what?¡± I croak, my voice surprising me with the way it cracks, my lips painful. Liquid trickles from them and I taste blood. I swallow dryly and fight back the urge to cough, suddenly becoming aware of how utterly parched I am. I ignore it: as long as I¡¯m alive, I should be able to fix any of these things with Flesh-Shaping. If I switch my focus now to heal myself, I might easily lose control of the flames and then I won¡¯t be alive. I was on the verge of losing it a moment ago when I spoke, the concentration required to form words almost more than I could cope with. You are hurting me, burning me, the voice implores. I can barely spare it any of my attention, but what I can dedicate to the task tells me that something about it feels familiar. That, added to its words, tells me exactly who, or what, I¡¯m speaking too. Why should I? I ask mentally. If it can project to me, surely it can hear me in return. And I really can¡¯t afford to keep speaking. Why do you hurt me? It sounds bewildered, but I have no sympathy to spare. How can you hurt me? I am legion. You threaten those under my protection. And I don¡¯t want a carnivorous forest in my backyard, I grit out. The line of fire stretches even further. Abruptly, I feel that the next tree to burn is different. It¡¯s not so flammable, not connected by its roots. With a force of will, I prevent those flames from licking forwards. Instead, I spread them a little further in both directions sideways. I¡¯ve reached the other side of the forest? Already? I do not wish to be consumed, the forest tells me plaintively. Can we not make a bargain? I inhale and the flames pull more oxygen. I exhale and they spread wider. Another line of trees falls victim to my advance. Yet part of me is intrigued. What do you propose? I will not threaten those under your protection; you leave me to grow as I will, the forest suggests eagerly. I shake my head, the desiccated skin on my neck tearing a little with my movement. You threaten us with your presence. I don¡¯t have the focus to explain, but shove vague memories of beasts appearing where they shouldn¡¯t have been, driven out by the forest from their usual hunting grounds. Confine yourself to a small area, and I will let you live. Confine myself?! the forest booms, and through the flames, I feel those I have only recently touched sway and shoot spears in all directions in its fury. It¡¯s far away from where my physical body is so I am unaffected. Never! I mentally shrug and return to focussing on the fire. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. The forest falls before my advance. I reach the point where I feel like I¡¯m extended to my uttermost, that the next tree will be the last before I lose. And then I¡¯m past that point, yet I remain. It¡¯s almost like a second wind, like the feeling after having pushed myself to what I thought were my limits in lifting weights and running, only to find that I actually have more to give. That there¡¯s another world beyond the horizon. The tightrope has not got any wider; the fire has not become more tame. I just suddenly realise that I¡¯m not going to fall, not going to fail. Confidence fills me and I lose some sense of my body as my mind soars through the inferno. But not like before. I still know who I am; I still know I am me. But Me is Fire, and Fire is Me and I understand that like never before. The flames ripple out, covering new ground faster than ever. They travel through the root network, leap across the gaps to grab the branches. The trees try to pull apart, try to create gaps that the fire cannot span. But they cannot completely detach themselves from the root network. Even a single root is enough to allow a spark to travel through and, fed by my mana, recreate the inferno. And the mana used to feed that spark is returned quickly enough by the fire that consumes the flammable wood of the tree. It¡¯s a cycle that will guarantee the demise of the entire forest in the not too distant future, despite its size. And the forest knows it. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty: Supernova Time passes. A lot of it? A little? Fire cares not for time, so nor do I. All I care about is that my flames keep consuming. I am only pushing in one direction now. I stopped pushing in the other direction after I met trees which were different, less easy to burn. I don¡¯t quite remember why it was important, but I do remember that I¡¯m only supposed to burn the easily flammable trees. I was tempted to ignore my urge to stop pushing. Why should I stop pushing? I am Fire and fire burns everything. Yet something inside me kept insisting not to push past the limit of the easily combustible plants, and so in the end, I reined in my hunger for more. The fire under my control protested, but I soothed it by redoubling the efforts on the other front: one tree or the other, as long as it could burn and grow, it¡¯s happy, and so am I. My consciousness is spread thin; I start to lose connection entirely with my physical body. I¡¯m aware of it, but can¡¯t recall why that¡¯s a problem. My flesh body is inherently limiting; my new fire body offers so much more. More power, more flexibility. Just¡­more. Though the fire doesn¡¯t have a voice, I feel it urging me to join it, to leave my earthly concerns aside. To become part of the immortal being of Fire. As the inferno grows ever bigger, ever hotter, ever more powerful, the seductive call becomes equally more powerful. Join us, I almost hear, whispered through my mind like it had always existed there. Be part of us forever. Never know pain or death, disappointment or heartbreak again. I waver. That would be nice. My memories of pain and death, disappointment, and heartbreak are hard to recall in this moment, but I remember that I didn¡¯t like them. Part of me reaches for the promise, disconnecting almost entirely from who I had been. There is an odd, uncomfortable feeling like I¡¯m being stretched. Like I have bindings around me which are being pulled too tightly. A sense of worry touches me from one of the bindings, concern mingled with deep, deep trust. The two emotions seem so contradictory that I find myself hesitating. What is this? Then other emotions seem to spill into me: worry, fear, concern, awe, admiration, hope, determination, protectiveness¡­love. I touch each of them, their presence spilling colour into the world which I realised had narrowed down to black, white, and shades of orange. Without realising it, I¡¯ve drifted back to my body. Back to a greater sense of me. Suddenly, like being hit by a concrete hammer, I remember what I¡¯m doing, why I¡¯m doing it, and most importantly, what I must not do. The fire crackles in displeasure. It has grown big enough to gain more of its own consciousness, and it doesn¡¯t like that I have drawn away from it. It is possessive, and sees me as belonging to it, a part of it. Too, I find that there is a voice screaming in my mind, one I could not hear when enveloped by the crackling of the flames. I yield, I yield, please! Please stop! Just leave part of me alive and I will do whatever you want! It¡¯s the forest. Desperate, without any recourse but to beg for its life from the force of nature currently threatening its existence. Very well, is all I can say, and that only a bare thought which I hope it can hear. While I would love to finalise the deal now, I simply can¡¯t spare the attention. The fire is trying to buck out of my control for real and I need every ounce of concentration I can spare to keep it from raging unchecked. The fire has done its job. I don¡¯t know how much forest it has consumed, but I sense that it¡¯s a huge amount. It¡¯s time to pull it in. Gritting my teeth, I reach out to the front lines, to where the fire is greedily leaping to the next trees, passing along the root network. I wrap my will around it and hold it back. Like I¡¯m trying to hold back a team of stallions with bits between their teeth and thin pieces of leather for reins, my control teeters on a knife-edge of failure. The fire screams at me, the sound heard with my mind, my soul, rather than my ears. It rejects my attempts to stop it, rails against my control. I just clench my teeth until they crack and hold on tighter. I have friends with me, family. River and his group are travelling somewhere in the woods. I can not lose control now. The fire fights me. It struggles against me. But it is made of my mana, it has been directed by my Will. I have fed it, led it to burn more, sparked it in the first place. It and I are inextricably interwoven. It obeys, pausing where it is and not spreading anywhere new. But it is not happy: it knows that its fuel is limited and will soon be gone. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I do not wish to die! I feel it moan through the wind that it continues to greedily suck into its maw. I feel struck through the heart: did not the forest say just that a moment ago? Why must one die to allow the other to survive? Acting more on instinct than anything else, I start feeding it with my own mana, beckoning the flames back to me. When I start running out of mana, I draw from the heat still around me, the conversion between the lingering fire magic and my mana a poor one, but it helps me to sustain the fire. The flames move. Quickly. Happily. Eagerly, even. I am giving the fire a command which does not spell its oblivion, which offers it something to consume; it is happy to cooperate. It pulls back from the vine-stranglers, not even embers left to burn. It streams across the burned and destroyed gulf between me and the head of the fire. It shouldn¡¯t work ¨C there is nothing more for it to burn ¨C but magic seems to solve all problems. It is much reduced by the time it reaches me, but what actually returns to me is stronger, oddly more solid. It streams around me, twining around my whole body in streams like a strangely-shaped cat. Being this close to the almost white-hot flames should be enough to consume me in seconds, but it¡¯s not even uncomfortable. This is the core of the flame, the heart of the inferno. It has come at my call, trusting in me to offer a solution to it being starved. Not even fully knowing what I¡¯m doing, I direct the flames to condense more and more. From thick streamers which can wrap all around my body at the same time, I direct them to become thinner and thinner streamers which shift around me faster and faster. Then, sensing that it is time, I hold out my hand to catch them. They condense in my palm, the immensity of the inferno confined to a space which could hold a large marble. I flood the space and flames with what remains of my mana. It¡¯s not enough. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing, but I sense that it¡¯s not enough. I draw all the lingering fire magic from the environment which I can, feeding it into the ball. It¡¯s still not enough. Desperate, I pull my Bonds, feeling small bits of magic flow down the links between us. It¡¯s still not enough. Going beyond frantic, I convert my own health into mana, pouring it into the ball even as my body weakens and pain creeps in. I feel liquid trickle from my eyes, from my nose, from my ears. It is enough. A moment before I sense that I will not be able to take any more from my own health and am wondering whether I can justify taking it from my Bound¡¯s health, I realise that it¡¯s done. What¡¯s done? I don¡¯t know. But it¡¯s done. The glowing ball which had been formed when the streamers of fire condensed in my hand has become incandescent. It shivers, trembling in my palm. For a moment, I think that it¡¯s because my hand is shaking. And that is true, but it¡¯s not why. The ball vibrates, its small shifts to one side and then to the other growing in speed and frequency. It isn¡¯t long before I can¡¯t see the movement any more, but that¡¯s not because it¡¯s stopped: it¡¯s because it¡¯s too fast for my eyes to track. Almost feeling like I¡¯m sobering up, I return to full awareness of myself. I stare at the ball. What the hell have I created here? I wonder, a sense of dread sinking deeply into my stomach. I wonder frantically whether I should throw the thing away: it looks like it¡¯s going to explode. If so, I want to be well away from it. I try to throw the ball into the already desolated swathe of land ahead of me. It refuses to leave my hand ¨C it¡¯s stuck somehow. I try to brush it off, but my other hand just passes through it as if it¡¯s not there. I look frantically around me and, for the first time, realise that I¡¯m surrounded by my concerned Bound. They¡¯re not all looking so good: tired, singed, several with blood marking their faces. ¡°Get away from me!¡± I croak, or try to. My throat would put the Sahara to shame in its dryness and lets very little sound out. But that doesn¡¯t matter: they¡¯ve heard my instruction through their Bonds and back away. Bastet is the last, moving slowly and reluctantly. The vibration of the ball reaches a point where it¡¯s sending ripples through my whole body. How it can do that when I can¡¯t seem to touch it otherwise, I don¡¯t know, but it does. I sense that it¡¯s coming to some sort of denouement and fear ripples through me with the vibrations at what that might be. A moment later, the ball explodes. It¡¯s like a mini sun has just gone supernova, a wave of light, heat, and wind explodes out from my palm. It hits me in the chest and knocks me backwards. From my position, I see Bastet shield herself with her wings, the heat fortunately dissipating to the environment quickly: she is otherwise unharmed. My other Bound are further away and are only knocked off balance a little. I feel awful. Almost as bad as when the water monster knocked me into a wall and I broke my jaw, spine, gave myself brain damage, and ended up covered in bruises and other injuries. This isn¡¯t the same kind of hurt: this time I feel like I¡¯ve had my head squeezed through an old laundry press and my gut sliced open with all my internal organs pulled out to leave an empty, aching hollow within. I¡¯m nauseous and exhausted, my mental and physical energy completely defeated. I couldn¡¯t fight off a beetle at this point, can¡¯t even bring myself to push my body off the ground and stand up. But all that vanishes when I see what¡¯s in front of me. A flame hangs in midair above my face. It¡¯s impossible. What is it burning? Nothing. My exhaustion forgotten, I lift my trembling hand up to touch it. It twines with my fingers, a sense of¡­affection coming from it? From it, or from me? Or from both of us? It¡¯s an odd temperature: immensely hot, but it doesn¡¯t burn. Like the flame is contained within something which only lets a hint of its true heat through. Then I feel a moment of mischievousness and a moment later the flame shifts down to hop on my nose. Mystified, I stare at it. What the hell have I done? I ask myself again. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-One: Everything We Had Whatever this thing is, it seems as benign as the inferno was threatening. After hopping on my nose for a little, it then moves to explore my face, touching everything with feather-light almost-hot strokes. Its form is ever-shifting, sometimes a candle flame without the candle, sometimes a ball, sometimes something that looks more like a child¡¯s drawing of the sun or a virus with spikes of flame coming out of the centre. When it finally bounces back into the air, curiosity and expectation emanating from it, I lift my hand to rub at my face ¨C its exploration tickled but I didn¡¯t want to interrupt it while it was busy. I still don¡¯t know what on earth it is. Apart from something made of fire ¨C that¡¯s obvious. A fire spirit? Is it possible? It¡¯s harder to open my eyes after closing them than I thought it would be. I¡¯m exhausted. My mind has been put through the wringer; my soul has been worked harder than it ever has before. And yes, I can now identify the difference between my mind and my soul when it comes to exhaustion. My body actually isn¡¯t too bad ¨C I¡¯ve done a fair bit of walking, but nothing compared to normal daily labour in this world. Most of the pain comes from when I pulled almost all the health out of my own body to transform into mana to feed¡­whatever this is. My health points have already started replenishing themselves, but I quickly transform some of my faster-replenishing mana into health to replace it. I wince as I do so: my internal channels feel raw and¡­different, in some way. Something shifts nearby and I feel alarm spike within me. It¡¯s followed by determination and protectiveness. From the ball of fire, I realise after a moment. Heat suddenly washes over me, like the sun has just come out, but only on one side. Forcing myself to sit up, I quickly take in the scene. Bastet is halted, one paw raised, her eyes narrowed, the feather-fur of her hackles raised. Before her eyes bobs the ball of fire. It is back in that spiky ball form, and this time it seems to actually be releasing heat. From the slight pain coming down the link from Bastet, I realise that the heat feels a lot worse for her than for me. ¡°Stop it!¡± I croak, then cough. Both turn to look at me. Well, Bastet does, and somehow I sense that the spiky ball¡¯s attention has settled back on me. ¡°She¡¯s a friend,¡± I tell the ball, sending it a sense of peace and comfort, hoping that my impression of the situation is correct. I felt alarm and protectiveness from it when Bastet approached yet it had been comfortable while bobbing above my head and exploring my face. I can only conclude that it thinks it¡¯s defending me, since it appears possible that a ball of fire can think at all. Fortunately, it seems that I was right. The heat abruptly fades, like a veil has been dropped between the ball and the world around it. It flies back to me, bobbing a little next to my head, caution and fierce vigilance rippling out from it. We don¡¯t have a Bond, not the way I have with my Bound, Tamed or Dominated. But we are connected in some way. The nagging sense of notifications indicates that probably some of the answers are waiting for me to read them. However, first I need to make sure everyone is OK. Sending a tendril of Flesh-Shaping magic to my throat, I heal the scorched and desiccated layers of my trachea. That should help me to speak without it feeling like I¡¯m rubbing sandpaper through my voice-box every time. I spare a little more to heal and revitalise the cracked and broken skin on my lips too: even if it¡¯s not very painful, it¡¯s still annoying. ¡°How are you all?¡± I ask Bastet urgently, my eyes sweeping over her. She has blood on her face, like tears tracking down from her eyes. Concern and caution are intermingled in her body language and Bond. We are¡­able to fight, she says in response, though I sense that a whole wealth of meaning lies behind her words. Are you well? You felt so distant. Our Bond felt held by a single claw, tenuous and breakable. I¡­don¡¯t remember everything, I realise. There¡¯s a period of time which is filled only with the crackling and roar of the forest fire. It¡¯s almost like that dream I remember having ¨C the one with the woman who spoke to me with the sounds of a fire, yet I couldn¡¯t understand a word. That¡¯s what my memories are to me now. ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± I tell her, a little distantly. Then my eyes focus on her. ¡°Why are you bloody? Were you attacked?¡± It seems crazy to think that something might have attacked her in the middle of an ash field still smouldering from the fire which had passed through it, but everything¡¯s possible. No. You needed mana; we all gave you mana. You needed more; we gave you everything we had. It suddenly dawns on me exactly what happened. Her words spark some sort of familiarity, the sense of needing more, more, more, and drawing it from my Bonds without thinking about what that might mean for my Bound. With a sudden sense of fear, I open my Bound tab and scan through all the entries, noting each that I pass. Finally, after a few frantic moments, I relax. Everyone is fine. I apparently only drew from the Bound here present: River and his band were evidently too far for me to draw from, as were the members of Fenir¡¯s group back at the campsite and the kiinas¡¯ group at the cave. Marty, as the smallest and one with the lowest health points, is the worst off, but even she is at more than half health. Apparently being able to draw from nine Bound meant that I didn¡¯t take too much from any of them. Seeing Joy, Lee, Iandee, Murmur, and Peace still on my list actually answers another concern I¡¯d had at Bastet¡¯s words. She¡¯d mentioned that for a moment, the Bond had felt very weak, very fragile. I was concerned that some of my newest samuran Bound might have taken advantage of the opportunity to break their Bond. Apparently they didn¡¯t. I¡¯ll have to find out later if that¡¯s because they didn¡¯t want to or didn¡¯t realise they could. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I summon all my Bound present to come closer and, pushing myself to my feet, I start healing each of them. I¡¯m exhausted, at my utter limit, and every use of my magic feels like I¡¯m an almost-finished tube of toothpaste being forced to squeeze out just a little bit more. But I keep going until each of my Bound is healed: I owe that much to them. And then once they¡¯re healed, I thank them deeply for their support. I don¡¯t remember exactly what happened in that last period of the inferno; what I do know is that I would have been lost without them. Every one of them has stood beside me and given everything I asked for. Not to thank them for that would be an insult. After healing Murmur, the last on my list since he has the largest health pool and therefore suffered the least from my draw, I collapse to the ground, utterly spent. Trying to force myself back to my feet, I can only curse weakly as I am unable to do more than roll over. You must rest, Bastet chides me. She has been watching with more than a little disapproval as I pushed myself to heal everyone. I feel the silent ¡®I told you so,¡¯ from her ¨C she did. But I was determined to do it. Pick him up, I hear her say, confusing me. I can¡¯t pick myself up; how can I pick anyone else up? Then I realise that my fuzzy mind had interpreted the instruction incorrectly. A shadow falls over me a moment before I feel things wiggle their way underneath me like snakes. I¡¯m lifted into the air before my mind can catch up with what¡¯s happening. The world rights itself a moment later ¨C well, sort of. I realise that I¡¯ve been hoisted over one of the samuran¡¯s shoulders like a bag of potatoes and am being carried. Catching sight of Iandee, I realise that I must be over Murmur¡¯s shoulders since I don¡¯t think that Catch would be able to carry my weight this easily. A flash of light accompanied by a feeling of concern and question makes me realise that the ball of fire is still bobbing near my head. I send it a sense of reassurance, or try to, anyway. Maybe it works; maybe it doesn¡¯t. Either way, I can¡¯t care any more about it, or about the undignified way in which I¡¯m being toted around. My eyes unable to stay open any longer, I slide into exhausted sleep. ***** When I wake, I¡¯m lying on my back again and I¡¯m not moving. I blink at the ceiling, the lattice-work of dark and light taking a moment to resolve itself. It¡¯s a few moments before I realise where I am: I¡¯m back at the campsite near the pool of water, staring up at the roof of the shelter the hunting band of samurans made for our group last night. Was it only last night? It feels much longer ago than that. I feel better. I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ve slept for, but it has to have been a good while because I¡¯m ravenous. Sitting up, I realise that it¡¯s actually night time: the light coming through the roof must be moonlight rather than sunlight. And of course there¡¯s also light from the ball of fire which is still bobbing gently above my head. Definitely need to work out what you are, I say to myself, deciding not to speak out loud in deference to the number of creatures spread around me who are currently sleeping. Looking around carefully, I realise how much smaller our group is now that River and his party have left: there¡¯s enough room for everyone in the shelter to have space to spare, though the three samurans are curled up near each other anyway. I don¡¯t see Trinity¡¯s bulk, nor Shakira¡¯s ¨C they must be outside. Otherwise, almost all the others seem to be present. Wolverine isn¡¯t, nor is Honey ¨C they¡¯re probably on guard. Fenrir is near me, pressed against my leg. Bastet is just above where my head was. Though she wasn¡¯t touching me, from the gap left behind now I¡¯ve moved, her nose must have been almost doing it on one side, her tail on the other. One of her eyes is open and gazing at me. Seeing that I¡¯ve noticed her wakefulness, she shifts, lifting her head and eyeing me questioningly. I¡¯m going outside to check my notifications, I tell her, shifting quietly to a standing position. I want to eat, drink, and check the messages waiting for me without disturbing everyone else. I will join you, she announces, pushing herself to her feet as well. You don¡¯t have to, I protest, but not too strongly: it would be nice to have the company. I will join you, she repeats, fixing me with a look that warns me not to argue. Fine then, mother, I tell her with mock anger, but accompany the message with a sense of affection that belies the tone of my words. We step carefully out of the shelter, avoiding the paws, tails, heads, and other assorted body parts which threaten to trip us. Or cause someone to bury their teeth or claws in our flesh out of a mistaken belief that they were being attacked. Settling by the pool, I pull out some thick stew and ¡®bread¡¯. Tearing into it, I wash it down with pre-boiled water: even if I might be willing to drink directly from the stream, I¡¯m not drinking from this pool, especially not after we¡¯ve been camping next to it for a couple of days. I eat about double what I normally would, feeling the energy rush through my body. Touching the automatic sense of my own body that I gain from having such an advanced Flesh-Shaping Skill, I realise that the food and liquid I¡¯m pouring into myself is being broken down even faster than normal, the nutrients being delivered to my desperate cells by magic-aided bodily systems. Whether this is an effect of Flesh-Shaping or Constitution, I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s certainly intriguing: maybe something for later exploration. It takes a bit of time, but finally I feel like I¡¯m back in a good condition. Physically, that is: my mind still feels tired, like the sleep wasn¡¯t long enough, and my soul feels over-strained. I don¡¯t sense that there¡¯s anything exactly wrong with it: it¡¯s just like a muscle which has been overused ¨C time and rest is what¡¯s needed. I know I need to deal with the forest: it¡¯s surrendered, but I didn¡¯t see any sign of a new entry on my Bound list, so I don¡¯t think anything ¡®official¡¯ has happened. But I can spare the time I need to deal with my notifications. Worst comes to worst, I just have to control another inferno. But hopefully the fact that I controlled the first one will be enough motivation for the forest not to renege on its original capitulation. But for now, I¡¯m going to check out the messages which are waiting for me. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Two: Finally, Some Answers The first thing I do, as usual, is pull up my status screen ¨C I always find it better to see the effects of whatever¡¯s happened first and then check out the reasons for the changes afterwards.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 14 Energy to next level: 100% Energy absorption rate: 102u/hr Energy towards debt: 112% (238)
Intelligence 34+1 (+5%) Mana: 615/615 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 40+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1050u/hr
Willpower 56+15 (+27%) Health regeneration rate: 71u/hr
Constitution 24 Health: 345/350 (360) (15u/CP)
Strength 20 Stamina: 120/120
Dexterity 20 Stamina regeneration rate: 200u/hr
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Initiate 7 Fade ¨C Initiate 4 Inspect Fauna ¨C Novice 9 Inspect Flora ¨C Beginner 8 Inspect Environment ¨C Beginner 9 Fire Taming ¨C Beginner 9 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 9 Stealth ¨C Novice 3 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 5 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 2 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 Spearmanship ¨C Novice 3 Archery ¨C Beginner 8 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 1 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Shaping ¨C Novice 5
Apparently burning that forest was worth a significant amount of Energy, I say to myself, staring a little dumbfounded at the numbers at the top of my status sheet. Getting to a hundred percent towards the next level isn¡¯t too surprising; the amount of overflow that went into my debt is. As is the fact that apparently the debt isn¡¯t capped at a hundred percent. Though, what that means in practice, I don¡¯t know. I eye my stats, pretty sure that something has changed there too. Aren¡¯t my mana and health pools larger than they were? Though why is there a three hundred and sixty in brackets after my maximum health? There¡¯s also a new line on my status - ¡®Special¡¯. What¡¯s ¡®fire affinity¡¯? I wonder. Obviously, I can tell that it¡¯s something to do with my experience of getting closer to fire, but what does that mean in a practical sense? Finally, as expected, there¡¯s been some movement in my Skills lists, though not completely what I¡¯d expect. Fire-Shaping has made a leap into the next rank, which was expected ¨C if controlling an inferno wasn¡¯t enough to make it rank up, I don¡¯t know what would be. Fire-Taming appears to have been changed, but it¡¯s in those italics that Lay-on-hands once was ¨C I guess that means it¡¯s waiting for me to make a decision on whether to change it to another Ability. If my past experience is anything to judge by, anyway. The one change which surprises and pleases me is to Energy Manipulation: it¡¯s gone up a level. While that might not seem like a lot, the fact is that it¡¯s been stuck at Master one for a long time; going up even a single level at that rank is an achievement. But why? It¡¯s unlikely to show up in my messages so I spend a few minutes trying to work it out. Could this be something to do with how I was manipulating fire? No, it must be to do with how I manipulated the fire magic. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. It makes sense ¨C I got to Master in the first place by transforming mana into health and health into soul-healing energy. Today, well, yesterday, I created a cycle of transforming mana into fire magic, then excess fire magic back into mana. That must be why I ended up advancing a level. Satisfied with my theory, I switch over to my messages tab and select the oldest unread notification.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill past Beginner: Fire-Shaping is now Novice 1. You have created and controlled an inferno which threatened to wipe out a large swathe of the forest. You have wielded the destructive power of fire without losing yourself to it. Your ability to control fire now improves slightly according to the size and power of the fire you¡¯ve created: the bigger and more powerful the fire, the better your control.
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Interesting, I find myself thinking. Is this rank up the reason why I found that second wind while controlling the inferno? Because what I¡¯d previously experienced was that the bigger the fire, the harder it was to control. This is turning that on its head. Well, sort of ¨C it doesn¡¯t give any numerical indication of just how much it¡¯s improving my control, after all. It could simply help me keep an even keel when the inferno threatens to consume me along with whatever it¡¯s burning ¨C which would match my experience, honestly. Either way, it¡¯s a good little update. Though, I do notice one thing: it mentions ¡®the destructive power of fire¡¯. I remember how a long time ago, before I had either Fire Taming or Fire-Shaping, I thought about how fire isn¡¯t only destruction. Maybe I need to explore other things that fire can do before I get too trapped in one aspect of fire alone. At least, that¡¯s how it seemed to work with Flesh-Shaping, anyway.
Congratulations! You have earned enough Energy to complete the Gateway and Passage. A destination Gateway must be opened first. The destination Gateway is due to be opened in 237 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes. The gateway will be open for 30 seconds. Every 2% more Energy you can gather will keep the Gateway open another 1 second. Current duration of Gateway: 36 seconds.
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Finally, some answers! So, from the sounds of it, the process at the end of my time here will be a bit different from when I arrived. When I arrived, the emblem had done something to pull me through worlds ¨C but it only applied to me and whatever I was holding. This seems to be different, which I¡¯m relieved about. Trying to have all my Bound perched on top of me would have been a bit of a difficult proposition. Sending them through a ¡®gateway¡¯ ¨C if indeed it¡¯s a doorway like I¡¯m imagining ¨C seems a lot more likely to succeed. Of course, that is assuming that I can send them through the ¡®Gateway¡¯, but why would Nicholas have sent me this Class if he wasn¡¯t expecting me to bring others with me? Because if he expects me to leave everyone behind and be happy about it, he has another thing coming. So, while it¡¯s relieving to know that I¡¯m not going to die at the end of this year when all my Energy is wrenched out of my body or something horrible like that, it looks like the debt still isn¡¯t done: the longer this ¡®Gateway¡¯ can be kept open, the more room for error we¡¯ll have. Still feeling rather thoughtful, I look at the next message.
Congratulations! You have gained a ¡®special¡¯ quality: Fire Affinity Affinity is a measure of how closely linked you are to a specific type of Energy. This is reflected both internally and externally and governs your interactions with all types of Energy. An affinity for Fire energy means that you find using this type of Energy easier and less draining; conversely, you will find that your ease of using all other types of Energy has changed too. Fire-adjacent types of Energy will be easier to use, though not as easy as Fire, and Fire-opposing types of Energy will be commensurately harder to use.
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So that¡¯s what it means by Fire Affinity, then, I muse to myself. Something happened during the inferno; something changed. I felt it then, and I can still feel echoes of it now. Closing my eyes and trusting in my Bound to keep me safe, I dive into my Core space. At first glance, nothing has changed. It¡¯s still a glittering mandala of lines of golden light which encircle and embrace the glowing Core in the centre. But when I look closer, I see that the pattern of the mandala has shifted very slightly. It¡¯s slightly more jagged, the places where it twists and turns slightly sharper. The mandala still has more in common with the centres of dense pattern which make up my Core Skills, but now there is inspiration from the patterns which make up Fire-Shaping too. I would say that it¡¯s similar to Fire Taming too, but that Skill is oddly¡­blurred. It¡¯s hard to look at directly, and even when I succeed in snatching a glance at it, I find it hard to identify exactly what it looks like. That must be to do with the choice which is probably waiting for me. Feeling that I¡¯ve got the answers I came for, I pull back out, my mind whirling. I suppose that the most important question I¡¯ll need to answer next is how much Flesh-Shaping is affected: that¡¯s one of my most important Skills and it¡¯s already heavy on mana usage and the need for concentration. If having a Fire affinity makes it harder to use that then I might be in trouble. I¡¯m definitely going to have to test exactly what Fire Affinity means, but at least I¡¯ve got more idea of what the implications probably will be. And I suppose it¡¯s not too surprising that I gained it: I rather was filling my body with converted fire magic, and spreading my mind and soul through the inferno. It would have been more surprising if that hadn¡¯t had any effect.
Congratulations! You have earned a new achievement: Elemental Creator Creating an elemental is not too difficult: enough mana fed into a large enough concentration of the element often results in an elemental being birthed. You have wrestled with an inferno and dedicated enough of your personal mana and health to kill you in pursuit of this goal, yet have survived. You have gained +1 to your Intelligence and +2 to your Constitution.
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The next message confirms that my thoughts about my mana pool and health pool growing were correct. While the percentages I¡¯d received with the last achievement will probably help me in the long run, the two points I¡¯ve just received towards Constitution are very welcome. It doesn¡¯t explain about the brackets, though. And actually, why is my maximum health three hundred and fifty? At twenty-four points of Constitution and each point being worth fifteen health points, I should have three hundred and sixty points as my maximum capacity ¨C the number in brackets. I frown, confused but hoping another message might reveal the reason. I guess that there must be tiers of achievements ¨C and this one is on the lowest of them. Survivor, my first achievement, gave me three stat points each to Constitution and Willpower. Then there were the two Masochist achievements I¡¯ve had which increased my mana and health pools by half again on an ongoing ¨C and retroactive ¨C basis. Healer gave me percentage increases to my mental and soul stats. This one, with its total of three points given, is not nearly as good as any of them. Still, three points which I haven¡¯t had to ¡®pay¡¯ for are better than nothing ¨C though how Achievements give anything is still a question I can¡¯t answer. Other than that, it¡¯s good to know exactly what the little ball of fire is ¨C since I assume that¡¯s what it¡¯s talking about when it¡¯s referring to ¡®elemental¡¯ ¨C and to know how exactly it came about. Like with Fire Affinity, I guess I¡¯ll have to discover anything more than that for myself. The next message gives me a little more information about the Fire elemental ¨C and the reason for my maximum health being ten points lower than what it should be.
Congratulations! You have formed a symbiotic Bond with a Fire elemental (nascent). In exchange for regular gifts of your mana, it will follow your orders and attempt to satisfy your desires. As a nascent Fire elemental, it has no health pool of its own, and therefore has required some of your own. It will die if your health points reach 0. As a non-physical elemental, it is immune to all physical attacks, however it is vulnerable to attacks made from opposing elements. With time and sufficient Energy accumulated, it may evolve into a different form of elemental, however this is not guaranteed. At any point, either you or the elemental can choose to break the Bond, but if the elemental has not found another source of health, it will die upon the severance.
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Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Three: What I Am Well, that¡¯s a bit of a turn-up for the books, I say to myself, my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline ¨C not too hard these days, admittedly, considering how shaggy my locks have become. So, if I¡¯ve understood it correctly, the Fire elemental doesn¡¯t have its own health pool so it uses a bit of mine ¨C which means that if I die, so does it. I don¡¯t think the reverse is the case, though. I do apparently need to give it mana, though. And it¡¯s not able to be attacked physically, but it can be by ¡®opposing elements¡¯. I guess that that makes sense: if I think about fire, I have now become this elemental¡¯s fuel. If I go, and it hasn¡¯t found a new source of fuel, then it will die. I could beat at a fire¡¯s flames as much as I¡¯d like, but if I don¡¯t disturb either its fuel, source of oxygen, or heat, then I¡¯m not going to have any effect. If I pour water or earth on it, though, or cool it so much the exothermic reaction cannot continue, or remove the oxygen or replace it with some other nonflammable gas¡­. At least I guess that that¡¯s what it means by ¡®opposing elements¡¯. Still thoughtful, I pass onto my final message. There, I find the reason for why Fire Taming is in italics on my list.
You have tamed a Fire and have transformed it into a Fire elemental. You therefore have a choice to either keep your current Skill or transform it. If you choose to keep your current Skill, it will rank up with the following additional effects: - Increased Ease in Taming a fire according to your Fire Affinity. - Increased chance to create a Fire elemental depending on the duration of your active taming connection with a specific instance of Fire. - Increased chance of making a symbiotic Bond with other Fire elementals, whether you are the creator or not. Note, some fire elementals may still be hostile even with this increased chance. - Slightly increased chance of making a symbiotic Bond with elementals from Fire-adjacent elements. - Reduced chance of making a symbiotic Bond with elementals from opposing elements. Transform If you choose to transform your Skill, you will gain access to a new Skill instead: Elemental Bonding. Until you make a choice, you will remain with the functionality of Fire Taming at Beginner rank.
Do you wish to choose now or close messages? Choose / Close messages
This time, I know more about the kind of choice it¡¯s offering me and I know that I ought to make it as soon as possible. That doesn¡¯t make the choice any easier, though I know where I think I¡¯m leaning already. The thing is that although the rank up of Fire Taming sounds pretty awesome with a surprising number of effects ¨C three, really, if I combine the chances of making a symbiotic Bond with any elemental into one effect ¨C I¡¯m not sure how much more it really offers me. Fire-Shaping already offers me control of fire. This whole inferno was managed through my use of Fire-Shaping, not Fire Taming. And with my rank up to Fire-Shaping, I¡¯ve increased my ability to control bigger fires through that. Fire Taming was gained pretty much by mistake in the first place: I approached trying to control fire in the same way I would approach a potential new Bound, and so I got a Skill which was closer to my Class than I really wanted. Now with Fire-Shaping becoming more and more powerful, I¡¯m not sure how much I will use the control aspect of Fire Taming. As for the increased chance of creating Fire elementals¡­I¡¯ve got one already, and I¡¯m not keen on losing even more of my maximum health to create an army of them. Besides, technically, I already created one without the Skill to help me, so what¡¯s to say that I couldn¡¯t create another if I put my mind to it? It might be harder, but surely it would be possible? Finally, the increased chance of making a Bond with another Fire elemental, or Fire-adjacent elemental, is balanced by the reduced chance of making a Bond with an elemental of an opposing element. The notification is fairly thin in information about the other Skill it¡¯s offering me ¨C Elemental Bonding. However, just from the name, I have to conclude that it¡¯s exchanging the increased power over fire specifically for a more general power over elementals of all types. Whether my Fire Affinity will make a difference to elementals which are opposed to Fire, I don¡¯t know. Probably, I would guess. But perhaps if I have a Skill which is designed to help me make a Bond with all elementals, it would counteract whatever issues my Fire Affinity would cause them. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. So really, it comes down to a question of specialisation versus generalisation. Specialise by choosing to continue with a Skill which doesn¡¯t offer me a lot of new benefits, but improves what I already have access to, or generalise by taking something which potentially offers me new options. I take some time to consider both options carefully. Ultimately, the choice comes down to one main consideration: what I am. I¡¯m not a Fire-mage; I¡¯m a Tamer. Continuing with Fire Taming offers me aspects which would help me with my fire-magery, but limit me with my taming. Of course, I might be completely wrong about what Elemental Bond is about, but it seems more likely to give me more versatility in my Taming Skill-set. After taking a moment more to think through the options for a last time, I nod my head and make my choice. Curious about what¡¯s going to happen, I dive straight into my Core space. Last time, it was Lay-on-hands which transformed into Flesh-Shaping. Then, the core of Lay-on-hands had been integrated into Flesh-Shaping, but that¡¯s because it had promised that all aspects previously explored would be included in the new Skill. The same thing hasn¡¯t been promised here, so I¡¯m curious about what the differences will be. My internal matrix vibrates, the shifting becoming stronger and stronger, centralised around the dense web of lines which makes up Fire-Taming. Then, the lines start shifting. At first the movement is small, subtle. Then, it becomes more and more evident. The lines move like snakes, coiling and uncoiling, writhing and twisting. Though some of the lines don¡¯t move, most of them do, the area becoming a blur of gold for an elongated moment. Then the moment passes. The snakes find their new positions and settle down, finally quiescent. The design before my eyes now is significantly different from the one which had been there before, as different as it is from any of the other Skills in this area of my matrix. This is where all my Class Skills are, so they all have a similarity to them which they share with my matrix as a whole. At least, they used to ¨C now with the changes my Fire affinity has had on the mandala around my Core, the similarity isn¡¯t so strong. Seeing as the process seems to have finished, I pull out of my Core space. As expected, I have a new message waiting for me.
Congratulations! You have gained a new Skill: Elemental Bonding. Would you like to see the Skill description?
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Elemental Bonding Elementals appear from time to time in places where a concentration of their element and Energy coincide. With this Skill, gain the attention of the elemental and be able to offer them a Bond. With your Fire affinity, you have an increase of 25% in your chance of success with Fire elementals, and 12.5% more chance of success in Bonding Fire-adjacent elementals.
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Much as expected, though it¡¯s good to see that I don¡¯t appear to have had any reduction in my chances of Bonding an elemental of an opposing element to Fire, which I would have if I¡¯d continued with Fire Taming. It¡¯s also good to see that my guess about what Elemental Bonding actually was turned out to be fairly accurate. My messages all dealt with, I turn my mind to deciding how to assign my points in my next level up. While I wanted to dedicate a level to each stat, and found watching both Willpower and Wisdom being increased by six points to be very interesting, I have to consider my needs at the moment. What¡¯s facing me in the near future is first dealing with the forest, which hopefully will fall into place easily enough, and then dealing with the lizard-folk. Although I could always do with more health, more mana, more strength, more everything, I have to make a choice. Ultimately, I have to go back to the reason I chose Elemental Bonding over Fire Taming ¨C I¡¯m a Tamer, and that¡¯s where my strength is. My Bound provide the strength, the power, the protection. In a pinch, as I¡¯ve just seen, they can also provide the mana either from their own pools or from their health ¨C not that I want to make a habit of demanding that from them. What I do, as I¡¯ve identified before, is bring the players to the table in the first place. With a sigh, I decide that I know where I need to put my points. Adding six at a time to my physical stats and Intelligence to see how that works when I¡¯m in my Core space will have to wait. For now, I¡¯ve got to make sure that when I face the Pathwalker and Warriors ¨C no matter if they are trapped or free ¨C I don¡¯t fail. So that means putting at least the bulk of the points in Willpower. Though, I might put a point each in Dexterity and Strength: those ones are rather falling behind and if it comes down to a fight, as it did with the members of the hunting party, then a point in each of those might help me get to the point where I can confidently use Dominate. But that will be in the morning ¨C I¡¯m not stupid enough to go wandering into the pool in the middle of the night when I can¡¯t see what I¡¯m putting my feet on. And even if I can easily clean my clothes now, I¡¯m not keen on stinking up the shelter for hours with the stench of the liquid that is expelled from me when levelling up. ¡°Want to sleep a bit more?¡± I ask Bastet quietly. She¡¯s been pressed up against my back this whole time, her presence comforting. I could sleep, she comments off-handedly, pushing herself to her feet. Then after a good stretch, she nudges at my shoulder. Is all well? I cock my head to one side. Is all well? River and his group are who knows where. I don¡¯t know how Persephone is getting on with her pregnancy. I¡¯m still tired on a mental and soul level. And I still haven¡¯t completely figured out this ball of fire that has continued bobbing gently over my shoulder without pause or sign of distress for goodness knows how long. Well enough, I reply finally. Well enough. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Four: Grey Wasteland The next day dawns upon a sobering sight. If I had ever doubted the power of fire, the scene before me is enough to cure me of it forever. A grey wasteland stretches ahead of me, its reach vast. The contrast between healthy forest and burnt field is stark. I don¡¯t think any Earth fire would look like this: the edge of forest almost untouched next to an area which has been burnt completely to ash. The non-vine-strangler trees have of course been impacted ¨C the heat of the inferno has made its mark in terms of wrinkled and burnt leaves, singe marks on the closest trunks. Yet the impact is minimal: with plenty of vine-stranglers to feed the fire, it hadn¡¯t protested too much about me directing it away from the other trees. Looking back on it, I think that, in as much as fire can think, the inferno considered it a ¡®later¡¯ rather than a ¡®don¡¯t touch¡¯. It doesn¡¯t take well to being told it can¡¯t have something, but if it thinks it might get it later, it¡¯s a lot more amenable. Thinking about fire brings me back to the ball of it still bobbing over my shoulder. ¡°Can you understand me?¡± I ask, a little uncertainly. It doesn¡¯t seem to react. Maybe it didn¡¯t understand me, or maybe, like my first Bound, it just can¡¯t communicate its understanding. ¡°If you understand me, move over to my other shoulder,¡± I tell it, pointing with my finger and also focussing on my intentions. Nothing. Maybe it can¡¯t understand me? But then why did it stop attacking Bastet right at the beginning? It seemed to recognise what I said when I called her a ¡®friend¡¯. Sighing, I sit down and pull out some food, barely even recognising what I¡¯m eating as I do so. My mind going over the question, I¡¯m suddenly hit by an idea. All communication so far seems to have been emotional in nature. It sent me affection, curiosity, and alarm. What if my emotions are what were communicated instead of my thoughts? Turning to face the ball of fire, I wordlessly tap my right shoulder and try to project a sense of¡­desire. The ball moves to bob over my right shoulder, exuding a sense of question. In response, I send it the bubbly feeling which inevitably causes a smile. It bobs a little faster, sending the same feeling but times ten back at me. My slight smile widens, unable to do anything else at the feeling of¡­I can only call it simple joy. Alright, well, communication is clearly not going to be easy, but at least it¡¯s possible. More testing will have to be done later. There are other things we need to do and at the moment the elemental ball of fire I¡¯ve somehow Bonded is interesting, but not urgent. Forest, can you hear me? I ask, projecting my mental voice as much as I can. Recently, I seem to have done a lot of projecting my mind ¨C across the Bond between Fenrir and me, into the venom in the danaris¡¯ body, into the inferno as it consumed the vine-stranglers. All of it means that I¡¯m becoming a little more used to the idea that my being ¨C whether my mind or my soul, or something else ¨C does not need to stop at my skin. And means in turn that I can sense better how my mental messages are projected into my environment. At this moment, though, I don¡¯t actually have any link to the being I¡¯m trying to contact, so my mental projection doesn¡¯t go far. Perhaps it¡¯s limited by my ¡®domain¡¯ or something. I hear nothing. I feel nothing. No sense of connection, not even any sense of something which hears but does not want to respond. Sighing, I finish my food and push myself to my feet. I was concerned that this might be the case. Before, my connection was either with the vine-strangler right in front of me or the inferno which was consuming them. Now, there is nothing for miles except for this grey wasteland. A whisper of wings heralds my scout. She¡¯d gone up without me even asking, predicting exactly what I¡¯d need. Landing on the opposite shoulder from the Fire elemental, a picture is sent across the Bond and I know that my map will have updated. ¡°Thanks Sirocco,¡± I say, daring to affectionately rub at her head. She hesitates for a moment, then leans into my touch, as if deciding that yes, I may pet her a little. Then she pulls away, ruffling her feathers in a business-like manner. A pointed feeling comes across the Bond ¨C it¡¯s like she¡¯s the chair of one of the meetings I used to attend, sternly pulling me back on task. ¡°Alright, bossy bird,¡± I tell her, more than a little fondly. Opening the map, I look at the changes. A frown makes its way onto my face. They¡¯re not exactly what I was expecting. Of course, there is a huge area which is now blank on my map ¨C no vine-stranglers, no forest, no grass, nothing. Nothing but ash, anyway. I feel a bit depressed at that thought for a moment. You did this, a little voice inside me accuses. You destroyed all of this. A feather-light touch brushes past my right cheek and I turn my head to see the Fire elemental bobbing just an inch away from my eyes. It¡¯s exuding concern, question, and a touch of fierceness. I find I understand exactly what it¡¯s trying to say ¨C concern for if I am well, a question about if there is an enemy to fight, and a commitment to doing what it can to help. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I say, trying to send that as some sort of feeling that the little elemental will understand. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± And after that moment of depression, I find that I am. The vine-stranglers were a blight on this area of the forest; they would have killed and driven out just as many in their spread, if not more. I remember too what I once thought about fire when studying it for the first time: fire is not destruction alone; it is also creation. The ash which lies upon the ground now will be watered in by the next rainfall. The nutrients within it will provide a rich terrain for other plants to grow. In a few years¡¯ time, there will be no way of telling what happened here. In a few decades, or centuries ¨C depending on how long these normal trees take to grow ¨C the forest will have retaken the area and it will be like it was never invaded. However, that is for the future. For now, I see where the collection of remaining vine-stranglers is on my map. This is what is confusing me. While I don¡¯t have completely clear memories of my time connected so thoroughly to the inferno, I¡¯m pretty sure that I didn¡¯t intentionally sweep around in a circle to isolate a small patch of the carnivorous trees in a sort of island at the centre. I thought I was rather burning them in an always-advancing line which stretched across the whole of the vine-strangler forest. I was expecting to see the remaining ones in the furthest corner. Then I recognise exactly where the trees are making their final stand and I realise what must have happened. It¡¯s not news that the trees can move ¨C we learned that to our detriment when they funnelled us through their body to face the salamander. But I had thought it was more of a slow shift that they could do rather than an all-out march. However, whatever the capabilities of the trees, it seems like they¡¯ve holed up around the entrance to the tunnel through which we passed ¨C the tunnel which leads to the Pure Energy stream and the Energy Hearts nearby. That¡¯s both good and bad for us. Good, in that it¡¯s not that far away; at the speed we can travel, we can probably make it within the day, even from where we are right now. Bad in the sense that I don¡¯t know what the clump of trap trees could do with the time and Energy to prepare. Then again, I suppose that there¡¯s probably little they can do to protect against me calling another inferno on them. I¡¯m not injured from the last time and with them isolated as they are, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry too much about stopping the fire burning: it would go out by itself once it ran out of fuel. Of course, the question remains about whether we can spare the time: River and his band must be a good way towards the village by now, and it will still be a good day¡¯s travel to get to the village for us. Then again¡­I suppose that it¡¯s not completely out of our way: the Energy tunnel is relatively close to the village. It might extend our journey by a few hours, but not by as much as a day. Though we would need to camp before reaching the village in the morning¡­. But that¡¯s only if we get going straight away. I make my decision. ¡°Alright everyone, let¡¯s get going as soon as possible. Drink something, grab a bite to eat, and then we¡¯re going into the ash wasteland.¡± ***** Of course, we weren¡¯t able to leave as quickly as I¡¯d hoped. Since we are travelling through wasteland, the herbivores ¨C Trinity and Shakira ¨C aren¡¯t able to graze while walking. That necessitated a bit of a delay where all of my Bound got to work collecting things they could eat and piling them on Trinity¡¯s back. Shakira had been happy with that arrangement ¨C she could eat on the hoof. Trinity hadn¡¯t been so content, but by instructing Shakira to feed Trinity as much as she ate, I¡¯ve managed to keep both of them happy. I took advantage of the delay to level up, putting four of my points into Willpower ¨C which effectively meant five thanks to the bonus ¨C one into Constitution to bring my health above what it had been before the elemental came along, and one into Dexterity. That final point had been the subject of much mental debate, but in the end, I decided that Dexterity would still be necessary for using physical weapons and tools, even if it didn¡¯t have an impact on mental processes. Which I¡¯m not at all sure that it doesn¡¯t. Plus, I was hoping that it would help me move a little better in my chitin-scale and nere-hide armour. On reflection, I think that it does, but one point makes such a little difference now that it¡¯s hard to tell for sure. I dipped myself in the pool after all my other Bound had drunk their fill and I had replenished my containers of water with boiled stuff from upstream. Going into the dry ash field, we¡¯re going to need it. The trek through the field of ash is, predictably, dusty and unpleasant. I have never wished I had wings like Sirocco so much as today when every step kicked up light ash which coated us in grey. By the time we see the vine-stranglers on the horizon, it looks like we¡¯ve been dipped in grey paint. Then there¡¯s the danger aspect: the ash coats the landscape like freshly-fallen snow, hiding an uncountable number of holes and dips in the terrain. I have to fix several sprained legs and one broken tibia when Pride, the haughty spinosaurus look-alike, gets one foot caught. All that means that it takes a lot longer than I was expecting to get to the final stand of vine-strangler trees. The sun is already barely hovering above the horizon by the time we get there. Those vine-stranglers had better still be willing to make a deal or I¡¯ll burn them immediately, I think darkly to myself, in a bit of a foul mood from all the difficulties and delays. I have no intention of camping on top of ash ¨C who knows what danger inhaling so much of the stuff could cause us? No, the cave system would be a far better proposition, assuming that nothing else has moved in to take the salamander¡¯s place. Though if it has, I¡¯ll burn it too, I decide. Maybe I should be worried about how easily my mind is jumping to burning things, especially considering what my experience of walking through its aftermath has been, but right now I don¡¯t care. Can you hear me now? I ask the trees as we get within a few metres of the closest. My tone is weary despite my best efforts ¨C I¡¯ve been doing the same thing at regular intervals. I suppose at least the fact that I haven¡¯t had any sense of the forest being able to hear me is a good thing: if it could, that would probably have meant that I¡¯d have left bits of its root network unburned. I certainly didn¡¯t leave any trees half consumed. I hear you, a voice comes back. Finally. It sounds fearful, the trees closest to me starting to move gently, though there is no breeze strong enough to move them. Have you come to consume me utterly? it asks. Not unless you intend on trying to take back your surrender, I tell it grimly. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Five: That Benefits Both Of Us There is a pregnant pause. Completely unamused at the idea that, after all of this, the forest might be having second thoughts, I summon some fire to my hand. Pushing a little bit more mana into it makes it flare up like a torch. To my surprise, a sense of delight comes from the elemental still hanging around my shoulder and it zooms forwards to bathe happily in the flames. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be shocked, thinking about it. It¡¯s made of fire, and fire, as an intelligence, is remarkably welcoming and all-embracing for something that destroys everything else by nature. Then again, I guess that the destructive nature is the reason for it ¨C everything becomes part of the greater whole eventually. The addition of the elemental makes the flames jump higher even without me adding more mana and they also increase in temperature. Catch, who is standing right next to me, takes a careful step away, worried perhaps about what might happen. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s worried that they might go out of control, or whether I will create another inferno of myself, but I don¡¯t blame him too much for his caution. Turning my attention back to the trees ¨C which I will be setting on fire unless they reply to me with an answer I want to hear soon ¨C I take a step towards them. Wait! I hear, the trees starting to shiver even more violently. I pause for a moment, eyeing the little that¡¯s left of the forest. I¡¯m waiting, I answer, but not for long. Do you surrender? Yes, or no. I surrender, I surrender, the forest answers, it¡¯s tone a mixture between resigned, annoyed, and desperate. An odd combination, but the only one that describes the feelings I get off it. Then here are the terms. You will move away from this area ¨C I want access to the tunnel and Energy. You will not grow any larger than you currently are. You will not bother me or any of my Bound. Clear? Then you might as well consume me now, the forest argued, a hint of petulance to its mental voice. Unable to grow; what do I have to live for? I¡¯m only barely holding onto the ability to think as it is! So, what, you become more sentient the bigger you get? I can¡¯t help but ask. The bigger or the older or the more Energy I absorb, the forest willingly tells me. Now I¡¯ve actually convinced it to talk, it seems almost chatty. But if you force me away from this nice little spot, force me not to grow, not to eat, I might as well just die. It pauses for a moment and then, if it had eyes, I bet it would be glaring at me from the feeling it gives off. Murderer. I scoff, unable to refute its accusation but finding its hypocrisy just a bit grating. Breathing in and out deeply I try to push both my irritation and bad mood aside. I give serious thought to actually just going through with it ¨C setting fire to the small remnants of the vine-stranglers and just finishing the job. It would certainly be the cleanest option. I absentmindedly start tossing the fire in the air, looking at the trees speculatively. From the glee that comes from the elemental, apparently it likes the motion. I can¡¯t help but smile slightly at the creature, its ball of flames just a few shades lighter than the ones surrounding it. Perhaps the forest senses somehow the direction in which my thoughts are heading as it suddenly breaks in with a suggestion. What if we find a solution that benefits both of us? You want to benefit from the Energy too. I can keep other creatures from getting at it ¨C I¡¯ve been doing that ever since I was a single sapling growing above it. I could let you through unharmed and keep all others out. Then we can both have access to the Energy. It¡¯s not actually a bad idea, I decide contemplatively. Having the forest here sucking up the Energy has almost certainly kept other stronger creatures from coming to investigate. One downside of me wiping it out is that then the Energy will spill out unimpeded, announcing its presence to all and sundry. Since I want to take advantage of it myself, that wouldn¡¯t be a good strategy. Here¡¯s a counter-offer, I say firmly. You guard the entrance to the cave but let me or any of my Bound through unimpeded. That means no attacking, no blocking, nothing. Actually, you should also protect them if they ask you for help and kill anyone who tries to follow unless they¡¯ve made it clear that the other being is a guest. In return, you can continue to absorb the excess Energy. And grow? The forest sounds hopeful. About to refuse immediately, I hesitate. I¡¯m currently raising danaris larvae. I¡¯m also probably going to be arming the samurans with metal and fire. Can I really justify not letting the forest grow at all just because it¡¯s also a potential disaster in the making? Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. A little, I say slowly, my mouth twisting at its immediate sense of success. No faster than the slowest of the trees in the surrounding area. And when you meet their growth later, you must not supplant them but grow among them. What? The forest seemed surprised at my suggestion. Displeased too. Think about it, if you want to eat creatures, how many more would wander within range of your branches if you are among trees which won¡¯t attack them? I point out, half of me yelling that this is a bad idea: teaching a carnivorous tree how to hide in a forest. However, I¡¯m thinking about when I¡¯m gone from this world. A vine-strangler forest which replaces everything it encounters will destroy the local ecosystem. One that intermingles with it just becomes another threat to be wary of, not an eco-disaster. I never tried that, it replies, appearing a little intrigued. So, we have an agreement? I ask, aware of the sun almost disappearing below the horizon. If you insist, the forest says, trying to appear that it¡¯s giving me the concession. I let the fire disappear from my palm ¨C my fire elemental isn¡¯t very happy with that ¨C and reach out with a Tame Bond. I don¡¯t know if this will work ¨C I¡¯m trying to Tame a group of trees for heaven¡¯s sake ¨C but I¡¯ve had enough experience with Tame to know how to reach out with it. What is this? the forest asks me, confused. Apparently something has happened. It¡¯s our agreement, I tell it shortly. It hesitates for another long moment. Accept it or the fire comes back out, I threaten it. I¡¯m still not sure that this isn¡¯t a bad idea, so if it pushes me, I will be happy to finish what I started and find some other solution to the escaping Energy. After another little pause, almost long enough for me to ignite the ball in my hand again, I feel the Tame Bond snap into place between us. It¡¯s a different sensation from what I¡¯ve experienced before. Taking a moment to close my eyes and feel it, I sense that the difference is because of two reasons. One, the forest is just so different from any creature I¡¯ve Bonded before: it¡¯s a single consciousness spread across many bodies, no more in one than it is in any of the others. As a result, the Bond is a lot more¡­mental than physical. Where my Dominate Bonds offer me the possibility of feeling the actual body of my Bound, and my Tame Bonds offer me more or less of that depending on the Bond itself, this one doesn¡¯t offer my any sort of connection to the body. The second reason is that the Tame Bond itself feels quite a bit different from any of the others. Going into my Core-space briefly, I note that though the new strand emerges from my Tame Skill, it loops once around my Dominate Skill too. Is that because I essentially forced the forest to accept the Bond? I wonder as I open my eyes again. Then I put it to one side. The forest is obliged to follow the terms of the agreement as long as it¡¯s in force. It can break the agreement, sure, but I will know if it does and then come with fire to wipe it out. How I¡¯ll stop it from going back to its old habits once I¡¯m gone, I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ve still got over two hundred days to figure that out. For now, we¡¯re all hungry, tired, and need a bath. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve only got enough supplies in my Inventory to partially satiate one of those. But at least we can go and bed down in the cavern and harvest some of the Energy Hearts. Hopefully that will make everyone happy enough to forget their hunger and thirst. I¡¯m a little nervous despite the agreement we¡¯ve just hammered out as we step towards the trees. Not wanting to start our truce off on the wrong foot, I don¡¯t recreate the ball of fire, but I do keep a very sharp eye out. Watch out for an attack, I warn my Bound, careful to keep the forest out of the group communication. It should be fine but¡­just be wary. By using a Tame Bond, I¡¯ve left the door open for betrayal: having warning of the agreement breaking is no good if it happens the instant before a root pierces my brain. I could have tried Dominate, but with no obvious eyes on this thing, I don¡¯t know if it would have worked, and besides, I''ve already got too many Bonds on my hands ¨C both current and the ones I¡¯m probably going to have to create in the future. The trees creak as we get closer, but rather than strike at us with the roots hanging from their branches, they shuffle aside slightly, leaving a path wide enough for three of us to walk abreast. Well, me and two samurans, that is ¨C Trinity takes up more than half of the passageway by herself. Bastet ranges a little ahead with Honey and Woozle, the other three members of her team staying close to me. Pride brings up the rear with Lathani and Fenrir, between the three of them probably able to deal with any threat other than trees which might be hiding in this forest. At least for long enough that we can come to help them out. Full dark has fallen before we make it to the centre of the forest. Well, more of a wood now. Since both moons are currently in the sky, we actually have enough light for all of us to see by as long as I drop into Fade. Since we¡¯re in shadow, I get the extra bonus from the Skill so I can see pretty well. Finally reaching the centre, I see the hole in the ground. Unlike before where there had been a cleared space all around it, this time the trees are practically growing in the tunnel. Still, that we¡¯re approaching it is obvious: the dip in the ground is still significant and the trees are offering a clear path forwards anyway. I¡¯m anxious to know whether something else has taken up residence ¨C the trees only protect the outside, after all, and there is another route through to this area. Sending Bastet and her team forwards, I wait with the rest of our group near the lip of the basin. Bastet has only just reached the edge of the hole when she pauses and looks back at me. What is it? I ask urgently. Come and see for yourself. It is safe. I think. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Six: A Few Hours Earlier A few hours earlier River and his group have been travelling in silence for hours. He couldn¡¯t say whether it¡¯s a comfortable or uncomfortable quiet, though. They are all attentive to their surroundings; every one of them knows the danger of their environment intimately. It is a good reason for silence: even if their communication is a lot quieter than that of the noisy human, it is still audible. Well, it used to have to be ¨C these days with the Bonds facilitating communication it¡¯s a different story. They remain silent regardless. River suspects another cause. Though most of his kin have come around to the new way of things, not all have been so willing to acknowledge his leadership. The Honoured Pathwalker ¨C no, just ¡®Pathwalker¡¯ he tells himself ¨C for one has not been so happy about it. Lee is another. They obey because they must, but River doesn¡¯t doubt what would happen if the Bond broke. The Unevolved are happy with the change in status quo, much as Catch had been ¨C the opportunity to eat without needing to fulfil a quota of resources is key in that. River senses discontent among the Evolved, though, as if they fear that the order of the world has been turned on its head. Some of the Unevolved, too, are uneasy, as if fearful that they have done something wrong. The closer they get to the village, the more the unease mounts ¨C it is one thing to accept new, beneficial rules when far from home; it¡¯s very difficult to do so when returning to it. But is this home still? For the others, yes. For River himself¡­.? He finds he cannot answer, good memories of the village and convivial moments shared with other villagers juxtaposed with warm moments and camaraderie with Markus¡¯ band of hunters. And he has a number of bad memories of the village, but very few of them with his master¡¯s group. They are approaching the village. River has been noticing familiar landmarks for a while, the trees and rocks he has used to lead him home since he was a hatchling. They do not pause. It has taken almost two Egg-rises to reach this point, the need for them to go around the furthest reach of the Forest of Death necessitating them to go a good distance out of their way. Joy had complained about that, demanding why, if River¡¯s master ¨C their master ¨C was so powerful, they could not just go through the trees. The answer had come within the first Egg-rise. A plume of smoke had been the first thing they saw, stretching up to heaven above the forest canopy. They hadn¡¯t known what it was then. Next had come the rush of beasts, maddened and terrified, stampeding out of the forest. These were the beasts which were obviously too small, or too weak, or otherwise not interesting enough for the forest to kill. The villagers had to pause to weather the storm, the Warriors acting as the first line of defence as they huddled behind a the trunk of a large tree. Fortunately, the beasts didn¡¯t seem interested in fighting; they simply wished to get away. From what became all too obvious. The light was what they saw first, a reddish, orangey light which flickered and made their shadows fall oddly. Then they felt the heat, the waves of it that emanated from the forest to their sides. And then they saw it: the life-devourer. This one was the real deal. After having seen and made so many small fires for his alchemy or his master¡¯s cooking, River had started wondering whether his memories were faulty, if the life-devourer wasn¡¯t actually as terrible as he had remembered. What he saw then reminded him of just how terribly powerful the life-devourer could be. They had backed away from the flames which licked out, expanding the body of the devourer faster than they could run. River didn¡¯t think he was alone in fearing that he would never see another Egg-rise. He¡¯d cursed himself for not running with the beasts earlier, for not having let the others run when they wished too. And then¡­he saw the power of his master ¨C as he was sure this was Honoured Markus¡¯ work. The flames had spread to the edge of the Forest of Death¡¯s domain¡­and there they had stopped. Though the leaves of the normal forest trees had withered, their branches blackened and singed from sheer proximity to the heat of the life-devourer, they had not caught light. The villagers had paused, their desire to flee quenched. They had stared at the fire, just as River had. It truly was magnificent, and all the more so because of the sheer control that they could sense behind it. A river of fire which could so easily burn them to the same ash that they could see the trees crumbling into, yet it was held leashed, bound to the will of the one who controlled it. River felt awe go through him and through the Bonds of the others he was connected to. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. They bore witness in silence, watching as the edge of the Forest of Death was burned, the trees showing their vulnerability to fire in the speed that they were consumed. And then, once the fire had taken its due from each of the trees, it died, the flames reducing to nothing more than glowing embers. Still the villagers stood staring, for what was revealed after the curtain of fire disappeared was just as awe-inspiring as the control of the fire had been. Where a dense forest of trees had been, there was suddenly nothing more than a blank, featureless field of grey ash that stretched as far as their eyes could see. With his enhanced vision, River was able to catch sight of flickers of red and orange far in the distance ¨C the life-devourer hadn''t finished its work. Neither, apparently, had his master. Yet in that place, where the villagers were, the Forest of Death was no more. ¡°This was your master¡¯s work?¡± Lee had asked, his spikes muted, awe still flickering through them. ¡°Yes,¡± River answered simply. ¡°Would he be willing to teach us, do you think?¡± Joy asked moving to face River directly, greed and awe warring for dominance in her spikes. River hesitated. ¡°My master is generous,¡± he said finally. ¡°But only with those who are as committed to the group as he is. As I am. You know that he taught me to set a fire, and would have taught me magic if I could learn it.¡± He couldn¡¯t answer for his master, but that is what he had seen of Markus¡¯ approach so far. Joy seemed satisfied enough with that answer, as did the others who had heard it, the Unevolved seeming almost as interested as the Pathwalker. River had felt a brief pang of fear go through him at the thought of his master taking another assistant and replacing him. A moment after, he had chided himself ¨C his master had said and proved multiple times that he valued River, that even if he gave others attention, he would not cast River aside. They had continued loping through the forest not long after that, and had made camp soon after the Great Egg had disappeared below the mountains, maximising the amount of travel time. River had felt a change in the Bonds connected to him, a sense of awe never fully leaving them, joined by hope. At the same time, he sensed increased conflict within the Bonds of the Evolved, though the details escaped him. Now, as they prepare to put into place the plans they discussed in the darkness of last dark-fall, River takes a moment to once more touch the Bonds which he can control. While they are still connected to his master, as a team-leader, they seem to go through him first. It¡¯s taken quite a while for him to get used to feeling the emotions of his kin constantly ¨C like he is being forced to watch their spikes all the time. He doesn¡¯t understand how his master can cope with so many Bonds feeding their emotions to him, but maybe he knows a way to mute them. For now, though, it¡¯s important for him to know how his kin are feeling since, potentially, his life will lie in their claws. While he can control the actions of the Pathwalker and two Warriors with him, the same is not true of the Unevolved. And even with the control, there is much damage which can be done ¨C River himself is held with a Dominate Bond and knows exactly how much wriggle room there is in it. Not that he¡¯s ever taken advantage of that. Reaching a spot that they know is only a short distance away from the village, but is not yet actually in sight of it, they pause. River withdraws from his sense of the Bond ¨C with no indication that any appear to be planning to betray him to the Pathwalkers who seek his head, he will just have to trust his kin. He feels a brief sense of grief that he needs to consider his own kin as enemies, but pushes it aside ¨C he knows he is doing this for the village¡¯s good. And they will know it too before the end. ¡°Right,¡± says River quietly, facing the group of villagers. ¡°Yells-a-curse, it¡¯s up to you now. Remember, quick in, see what¡¯s going on, then quickly come out again and tell us what you¡¯ve found out.¡± ¡°Yes, Runs-with-the-river,¡± the Unevolved assents, lifting his chin briefly. ¡°I understand my task.¡± River nods briefly, then feels a flash of¡­something at the realisation that he¡¯s picked up some of his master¡¯s physical movements. He pushes that to the side too. ¡°Give him the carcass,¡± River orders Lee ¨C the biggest villager has been charged with bearing the body of the beast they killed only a short while ago. It¡¯s Yells-a-curse¡¯s reason for returning to the village and he accepts it with a bit of effort. Then, setting off, the rest of them hide in the nearby bushes ¨C they don¡¯t want to be found before they know where the land lies in the village. River can only hope that Yells-a-curse will be back soon ¨C and that no one realises he isn¡¯t meant to be there at all. That¡¯s why, after copious debate about the right approach to take, they had chosen to send in an Unevolved adult. After all, everyone would know which Pathwalker and Warriors had been sent to chase down ¡®the traitor Runs-with-the-river¡¯, but would they remember which Unevolved had gone? It would have been even better if Catch had been able to scout for them, but he had stayed with Markus. River is glad of that, despite how much more certain the plan would be with Catch ¨C his master needs to be protected and River is certain that Catch will do so with his life. However, it does mean that there is a chance that someone will realise Yells-a-curse isn¡¯t meant to be in the village and the whole plan will come tumbling down around their jaws. As a result, River finds himself unable to be completely still. From the tension he senses over the Bonds which he keeps checking with almost frenetic frequency, he is not the only one feeling concerned that their half-dead corpse of a plan might escape their claws. The Great Egg moves across the sky, heading once more for the mountains; the tension mounts still higher. They wait. The Great Egg dips below the mountains; its disappearance heralds the return of darkness. They wait. The white glow of the first Spirit¡¯s Eye rises and pierces the darkness, making it almost as bright as day to their dark-adapted eyes. They wait. When they hear the sound of feet drumming towards them across the forest floor, River hears a shift from all his kin hidden around. Finally, something is about to happen. Yells-a-curse bursts into the clearing, his eyes wide, his spikes flashing with alarm. ¡°We need to stop it! The Honoured Shaman she¡¯s¡­.she¡¯s gone mad.¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Seven: Our Side At the Unevolved¡¯s words, all the hidden villagers emerge from the bushes and trees where they have been hiding. They circle him, each demanding a question. Yells-a-curse tries to answer them all at once and ends up answering none. The clicks and grunts of the group members create a cacophonous din; the flashing of spikes is enough to blind one even in the dim light. ¡°Quiet, everyone!¡± River tries to say, but his clicks are lost in the din. ¡°Let him speak!¡± With frustration he tries to pull at the Bonds, but he can only tug on those of the Warriors and Pathwalker. They look at him and he wonders what their response will be ¨C help, or hinder. ¡°Yells-a-curse, take a hold of yourself,¡± Joy snaps out, her teeth chattering together cutting through the rest of the noise. ¡°The rest of you, clear a path.¡± Accustomed to obeying the Pathwalker, they do just that, revealing the small scout in their midst. Help, it seems is their decision, to River¡¯s private relief. Joy, Lee, and River step closer. Yells-a-curse looks pale, like his blood has fled his body. His eyes are still wide, his body juddering with nerves. ¡°Now, Yells-a-curse, start from the beginning. What did you see?¡± Joy asks briskly. Everyone focuses on the small adult. ¡°I got back into the village fine ¨C the Warriors on guard didn¡¯t seem to realise I wasn¡¯t meant to be there. It was quiet, almost deserted despite being the time for villagers to return for food. One of the Warriors remarked that I was almost late for the ceremony. I didn¡¯t dare ask which ceremony for fear of betraying my ignorance. There, I saw¡­¡± he gulps and takes a breath. ¡°Go on,¡± River encourages him softly when it looks like he might not. ¡°I saw¡­the Honoured Shaman¡­she¡­she¡­k-killed the hatchlings.¡± The last is said in a rush, as if he has to force it out, and once started, it comes out like a stream that was blocked suddenly becoming undammed. ¡°What?¡± is asked by several voices, everyone¡¯s crests flashing in confusion and concern. ¡°She killed the hatchlings? Shaman?¡± Joy asks as if she can¡¯t believe it. River, too, is finding it hard to conceive of it. He may have come to understand that Shaman¡¯s plans with Lathani would have led to nothing but destruction for their village, but he never doubted that she was trying to protect it. But this¡­killing hatchlings? Yells-a-curse¡¯s spikes flash with damning confirmation. ¡°I saw it. They had ingested some sort of concoction, I¡¯m almost sure: their eyes were glassy and their movements unnatural. It was like when we must say goodbye to another villager and release their spirits, yet here the hatchlings were alive. The adults all chewed the macanna root. I did not ¨C I pretended to, and then kept in the shadows cast by the Spirit¡¯s Eye. I watched as they danced around the hatchlings, like they were already dead. Yet they were not. Not until¡­until¡­¡± He gulps again, then closes his eyes, as if reliving the moment. ¡°She danced between them, then drew a claw across the throat of the closest. The hatchling¡¯s blood pumped out; it fell. She moved to the next. By the end, they were all gone. Their bodies lay on the blood-soaked ground. ¡°The adults all collapsed to the ground too, their Energy spent. But not me: I stayed hidden in the shadows.¡± ¡°And then? What did you see?¡± asks River sharply, horror rising within him at the description. What, by the ancestors, is Shaman doing? ¡°The Pathwalkers were the only ones still standing; even the Warriors who took part in the ceremony had collapsed. But even they seemed drained. Most of the Pathwalkers chose to move off a little way and then sit down together, sitting in silence. Shaman was the only one who seemed energised. ¡°She walked away from the bloody mess, accompanied by one other Pathwalker.¡± Here Yells-a-curse opens his eyes again, looking at River with a mixture of hostility and sympathy in his expression. ¡°Herbalist.¡± The knowledge hits River like a spear blow to his chest. His previous master was involved in this travesty? How much? ¡°And what did they do?¡± he asks, barely able to click his teeth together correctly or force out the grunts to ask the question. ¡°They moved towards Shaman¡¯s hut, which brought them closer to where I was hiding. Herbalist asked ¡®is it enough?¡¯. Shaman replied: ¡®not yet¡¯. There was a pause and then Herbalist asked ¡®then what can we do?¡¯ and Shaman replied ¡®we need more sacrifices. Five adults next Egg-rise.¡¯¡± River hears the sound of teeth chattering around him, everyone paying close attention to what Yells-a-curse has to say. He sees red and orange in everyone¡¯s crests, the rest of the group as horror-filled as he is at the story. ¡°And did Herbalist agree to it?¡± River can barely ask, noting as he does so how easily the honorific falls away from his previous master¡¯s title. Yells-a-curse, too, hasn¡¯t used it since starting his story. River doesn¡¯t blame him. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°She was uneasy. Asked whether it was truly necessary, especially since recent reports had been that a life-devourer had come through to consume all of the Forest of Death. Shaman scoffed at the idea that a life-devourer might have come through yet only ate at their enemy. She insisted that this meant the ¡®weapon¡¯ was even more necessary ¨C that it would protect against anything which threatens the village. Life-devourer, Forest of Death, or other unknown threat. She insisted that the ¡®weapon¡¯ was almost ready, but that it needed more power. According to her ¡®the lifeforce of the hatchlings, unprepared, isn¡¯t enough.¡¯.¡± Yells-a-curse¡¯s jaw hangs open for a moment in disgust, then clicks shut again. ¡°Herbalist gave in.¡± The Unevolved adult looks at River, the same mixture of sympathy and anger in his gaze and spikes. ¡°I do not think that she was happy with the answer, but she accepted it nonetheless. They then separated, Shaman to her hut, Herbalist to hers. I waited until they had disappeared before slipping out of the village by the side gate. And then I came here.¡± He stops and looks at River expectantly. Glancing around himself, River realises that everyone else is doing the same. Instead of looking to Joy, or to Lee for answers, they¡¯re looking towards him. For a moment he can¡¯t help but ask why, but that moment of thought reveals the answer. The old systems have failed them. Shaman is the leader of the village, the main protector, the one who stands between them and the evil spirits who would otherwise destroy them. Yet she has gone mad, has turned on her own. From the sounds of it, she has decided that creating whatever this ¡®weapon¡¯ is requires the lives of some of those under her protection; and that this is somehow justifiable. For a moment, River is taken back to a day long ago when he stood next to the cooling carcass of an adult he had hunted with, had tried to save, only to fail. Then, the Honoured Herbalist had told him that it was everyone¡¯s duty to serve the village. That those who were weak would die, and that this was good because if the weak survived, the village would be weakened in its turn. What was this but taking that philosophy a little bit further ¨C to where if the deaths of villagers could benefit the village directly, should they not give it? Yet even if River could agree with that philosophy ¨C which he could not now, not having experienced life with Markus ¨C how could he permit it to happen when he knew that the threat of the Forest of Death was no more? That Shaman was being willfully blind? He could not. He would not permit this to happen. ¡°Egg-rise, you said?¡± he asks, looking at Yells-a-curse. His kin¡¯s spikes flash in confirmation. ¡°Then we don¡¯t have much time. Come, let us make a plan.¡± ¡°You intend on interfering?¡± asks Joy, an odd note in her voice. ¡°I do,¡± River says firmly. ¡°Not only do I disagree strongly with the whole idea of willfully killing some of our kin to save the rest, but if they are trying to create something which defends against the Forest of Death, they are working in vain. The Forest of Death is already conquered ¨C we¡¯ve seen it.¡± ¡°Are we sure that the whole forest is conquered, though?¡± asks Lee, his rumbling grunts breaking into the conversation for the first time in a while. ¡°We saw the furthest section of it burn, but we do not know if the whole of it has.¡± River gives the burly Warrior a level look, clicking his teeth together sharply to underscore the solid belief clearly flashing through his spikes. ¡°I¡¯m sure. We have seen nothing but ash of the trees all day.¡± Even the stretches of trees which had almost encircled the village had been destroyed to the last one. River wonders how the village reacted when they saw the flames and smoke so close, even if there¡¯s still a stretch of normal forest around the village itself which remained untouched. ¡°What if your master was only able to destroy a small section of the forest?¡± asks Lee, his spikes intentionally muted to disguise his emotions. He was unable to keep them from the Bond, though, and River feels the tumultuous emotions rumbling under the surface. ¡°He conquered the Forest of Death, I¡¯m sure of it,¡± River says, his voice completely confident. ¡°By this point, I expect that the Forest is nothing but ash. Or perhaps master has forced it to bow to his might and accept his Bond, much as he did with both of us,¡± he says firmly, staring at the other villager until Lee looks away. ¡°Our kin are making decisions based on fear ¨C horrible, awful decisions. We must stop them.¡± ¡°I agree with Runs-with-the-river,¡± Peace says, speaking for the first time. He¡¯s the other Warrior, a lithe scout-build. He is a quiet villager, only talking when he has something to say. As a result, when he does speak, his words hold weight. ¡°So do I,¡± pipes up one of the other Unevolved adults ¨C Stumbles-over-a-bone. He looks defiant, like he feels like he probably shouldn¡¯t be saying anything in this discussion between leaders, but he¡¯s going to anyway. River flashes approval in his spikes ¨C he¡¯s glad to see that change is happening. ¡°And me,¡± agrees another Unevolved adult, looking like Stumbles-over-a-bone¡¯s daring has given him the confidence to speak. At that, it¡¯s like a dam has broken ¨C the other Unevolved all chime in with their agreement. Suddenly, instead of it being River making the decision with Joy and Lee hesitantly agreeing, it¡¯s eleven adults all exclaiming their strong agreement that something must be done. Lee, Joy, and Peace all seem surprised at the vehemence of the Unevolved. Or perhaps surprised that they would dare try to be part of the decision-making. River, as one of those Unevolved, put in a position of power only because his master had decreed it, and had the power to enforce his decree, can¡¯t help but feel a visceral sense of satisfaction. ¡°So, it¡¯s decided: we will interfere, we will save our kin from the leaders who should be protecting them, and we will deal with Shaman¡­and Herbalist.¡± His grunts feel hard to force out as he says the last. Herbalist, after all, still has a special place in his heart ¨C without her, he would have been just one of the other Unevolved, struggling every day to gather enough resources to eat. River regrets that they will not be able to wait for his master to join them ¨C if Shaman intends to sacrifice five adults at Egg-rise, they will need to interrupt within the next few hours. Closing his eyes for a moment, he attempts to send a message through the Bond that he has with Markus, a message of urgency and needing him to come quickly. Unsure whether it has got through or not, he opens his eyes and faces his kin. Ultimately, they will need to make a plan based on only the people they have here. Which means¡­. ¡°So, since the fifteen of us are not going to be able to overcome all the others in the village, does anyone have any idea of how to convince everyone else to join our side?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Traitor The fifteen villagers head through the dark forest. Their path is lit only by the light of the Spirit¡¯s Eyes which move across the sky, watching everything below with an unwavering gaze. Underneath the canopy, their rays are impeded by the leaves, but still enough slips through to allow the sharp-eyed People to avoid most dangers. With so many of them travelling together, including three Evolved, the rest of the potential threats apparently choose not to bother them. Or perhaps it''s the recent visit of the life-devourer which causes the forest to be so quiet tonight. It¡¯s just as well since River doesn¡¯t feel like he would be inclined to offer any sort of mercy to creatures who attempt to interfere with their mission tonight, not when the hours before Egg-rise are too short as they are. Reaching the so-familiar path that leads directly to the gateway to the village proper, River takes a moment to swallow, pushing away his fears and worries. Once more, he attempts to send his master a message to hurry, to join them as soon as possible. He didn¡¯t expect to be doing this by himself, for all that the whole reason for him bringing almost all of his kin who were tied to Markus was that he could if necessary. Though, the ¡®if necessary¡¯ had been more to do with if Markus had an issue with his fire, or the threat from the forest was more immediate than they had thought. They hadn¡¯t considered that Shaman might have done something so¡­detestable. Be planning to do more. That was the only way he could describe it, sacrificing the lives of hatchlings, planning to sacrifice the lives of adults. All so that the rest of the village could survive. At least he wasn¡¯t alone in his disgust ¨C everyone had agreed that Shaman¡¯s actions could not be tolerated, even if Joy and Lee had taken some time to come around. Hopefully they would be able to convince others. Well, he would know sooner rather than later: the first targets stand just a few paces away, motionless in the moonlight. Motionless, until they spot the approach of the large party. Clearly not recognising the group as kin, the Warriors move into a threatening position, one shifting his spear into a ready position, crouching lower to the ground to give himself stability. The other has a throwing weapon, the woven pockets for the stones and the bands of which were probably created by the Pathwalker stepping silently beside River. ¡°Halt, come no closer. State your business,¡± the Warrior holding the spear commands firmly. His voice is flat, toneless without light to illuminate the colours on his crest, but the meaning is clear. ¡°Peace, Fights-a-broodmate,¡± Lee says, at the front of their little cavalcade. ¡°It is I, Leaps-in-fright. We have returned from our hunt.¡± The reaction of the Warriors is quick. They immediately relax, spear butt placed back on the earth, sling slowed and stopped from whirling above the other Warrior¡¯s head. The group of returning villagers start moving forward again. ¡°Leaps-in-fright! You are welcome back. Presuming you have brought our Honoured Weaver with you too, that is.¡± ¡°I am here,¡± answers Joy. Fights-a-broodmate clicks his teeth together in what River has to guess is an expression of gladness. ¡°It is good to have you back, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± the Warrior says. ¡°I am glad that our Warriors have kept you safe.¡± River senses an odd discomfort from both Peace and Lee. He supposes it makes sense ¨C technically, they utterly failed in all their objectives. Due to the trees having been cleared away from the village and its environs, the returning hunting party steps into the light as they approach the two Warriors, allowing the guards to better identify all the members of the group. River notices their expressions twist. ¡°I see that you were successful in recapturing the traitor Runs-with-the-river,¡± says Fights-a-broodmate. This close, River can catch a hint of the deep colour which spills through his spikes. He can¡¯t quite tell what the colour is, but he can guess well enough. ¡°We found him, for sure,¡± Lee answers, his own spikes kept carefully blank. ¡°Brother, there is much to speak about. Let the others enter the village and Sleeps-peacefully and I will share news with you.¡± ¡°The Pathwalker will be safe without you to protect her?¡± the other Warrior asks dubiously, speaking for the first time. River is able to identify him as Chews-a-bone, one of only three Warriors in the village who rely on ranged weapons. ¡°He does not seem bound in any way and I do not see Murmurs-quietly or Eats-dirt with you.¡± ¡°By my claw, I promise that Honoured Weaver will be safe,¡± reassures Lee. ¡°As for the other two of our brethren, they are well, but on another mission at the moment.¡± Though not looking entirely convinced, the two Warriors nonetheless shift to the side to give the hunting party entrance. As River¡¯s party moves into the village, the quiet sounds of the Warriors¡¯ conversation become indecipherable. It¡¯s an odd experience for River, entering somewhere which is both so achingly familiar, and so terribly strange. He has become habituated to calling the cave home, to considering his people to be Bastet and Markus, and Fenrir, and Sirocco. Even Hades and Persephone feel more familiar to him than the two Warriors he has just walked past. There is also a surprisingly vulnerable feeling, brought home to him in the guarded question of Chews-a-bone. A reminder that here he is considered a traitor, one deserving the heavy and sharp claw of justice for his crimes against the village. He doesn¡¯t doubt in his companions ¨C he trusts in their equal fervour to see the shaman¡¯s plans foiled, even if he didn¡¯t trust in the Bonds which hold them tied to the same master as him. Yet still, he can¡¯t help a niggling sense of doubt. Is this like it was when Markus walked into a camp of enemies, forced to trust in me, so newly Bonded, to keep him safe? River can¡¯t help but wonder. No, it must have been worse: River, at least, knows and trusts the rest of the hunting party, having worked with them for years. Led them for days. Seen their change of heart and lack of desire to return to the old ways of thought. Or, at least, their motivation to see Shaman¡¯s plan a failure. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. River brushes the thoughts aside ¨C they will do him no good. He has a task to do. The Unevolved break away from their party as previously agreed, moving over to try to rouse the other Unevolved, to find out if all the hatchlings have been sacrificed or only a small number. Silently, Joy and River head to their destination. Once more River approaches the hut of his previous master in the middle of the night. This time, however, it is not to sneak Lathani out like a thief. Instead, he heads to the hut next door, the one where his master¡­his previous master sleeps. At the entrance, he hesitates for a moment, then pushes the leaf-door aside, crawling in feet first. Inside, he finds himself suddenly accosted, a blow pushing him against the wall. ¡°Stop!¡± he exclaims, the sounds of his grunt and snapping teeth cutting through the air like a spark through the darkness. His assailant freezes. ¡°Runs-with-the-river?¡± a voice breathes, the clicks almost inaudible. He would recognise the voice of his master¡­his previous master anywhere. ¡°Yes,¡± he answers flatly. Not that Herbalist would be able to see any emotions he showed on his spikes anyway. Not in this all-encompassing darkness. ¡°Are you¡­are you here to kill me?¡± Herbalist asks, her teeth chattering slightly. In anger? Fear? He cannot tell. ¡°No,¡± he breathes, just as quiet as Herbalist¡¯s had been before. ¡°At least, I hope not,¡± he can¡¯t help but add. From what Yells-a-curse said, Herbalist has been a reluctant participant in Shaman¡¯s scheme, but a participant she has been regardless. And River can¡¯t forget that she seemed perfectly willing to go along with the plan to use Lathani as their weapon. That¡¯s also another reason he can¡¯t promise that he won¡¯t kill her ¨C if his master requires him to kill Herbalist for her crimes against Lathani¡­but he wouldn¡¯t ask that of River, surely? He would do the job himself, or give it to the Great Predator to take her revenge. He wouldn¡¯t be cruel enough to ask Herbalist¡¯s previous assistant to be her executioner. River feels a faint hint of doubt, but pushes it away ¨C he wouldn¡¯t. But that¡¯s a later consideration for when his master joins him. For now, they have to deal with the impending sacrifice of five adults for nothing. ¡°It¡¯s dark,¡± he says, pointing out the obvious. ¡°We need some light.¡± ¡°Do you wish to take this outside?¡± asks Herbalist, a little uncertainly. Clearly she doesn¡¯t want to take it outside, out of her den and away from her weapons. ¡°No need,¡± River says, pulling two items from his belt. Working from feel, he strikes the firestarter until sparks fly. They are enough to illuminate the torch head, allowing him to aim the next set at the flammable end. Soon, one catches, and then flames ripple across the pitch-soaked plant fibre which is wrapped around the piece of stick, held in place by more fibre. The flames illuminate the wide eyes of Herbalist. River watches as she recoils backwards in shock, her tail knocking into several pots of unknown substances as she backs into the drying plants hanging against the wall. ¡°What¡­?¡± she apparently can¡¯t help but ask, her jaw sagging open in shock to allow the grunts through. Her spikes, now lit in the torchlight, show deep shock and confusion, shot through with not a little worry. ¡°How?¡± ¡°My master taught me,¡± River says carefully. Her reaction has helped steady him a little, has reminded him that however great an impact on his life she has had in his memories, she is no longer the direct authority over him. And she seems oddly diminished compared to his memories even if her physical size has not changed. ¡°Your¡­you have taken another¡­one of my sisters as master?¡± she asks, confusion spilling through her spikes. And is that hurt that he sees? As if with unfortunate timing, Joy decides that now is the right moment for her to slide through into the room. ¡°I saw the fire,¡± she explains as soon as she gets in. ¡°I thought perhaps you had managed to make some progress.¡± A curious expression twists Herbalist¡¯s jaws, and an odd pinkish shade goes through her crest ¨C not one River has ever really seen before. Certainly not with him as part of the conversation. ¡°So it is you!¡± Herbalist clicks angrily, her breath hissing through her teeth. ¡°What?¡± Joy asks, looking completely baffled. River feels much the same. ¡°You stole my Runs-with-the-river¡¯s loyalty!¡± accuses Herbalist, stepping forward towards Joy, away from the wall. ¡°Did you tell him to kill Mover? And to let that prey-beast free? Why? Because you couldn¡¯t stand being weaker, lower in the rankings than I am? You disgust me!¡± Her tail lashes angrily back and forth; she doesn¡¯t seem to notice the pots being knocked over and spilled behind her. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± cries Joy, her grunts rising in volume. River begins to worry that Shaman will hear: the mud walls of the huts are good at insulating sound but not that good. ¡°And it¡¯s you who disgusts me! Hatchlings, how could you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you¡¯re better than me sister. All you can do is steal.¡± The two Pathwalkers are practically jaw to jaw and River doesn¡¯t know how long it will be until a fight breaks out. ¡°Stop it,¡± he says, at first a little weakly. Then, when the two females show no indication of having heard him, he says it more firmly. ¡°Stop it!¡± This time, they glance at him, Herbalist in surprise, Joy in wariness. Perhaps Herbalist has never heard him being so assertive ¨C he certainly never has been with her. Not until now. He¡¯d always known what his place was when he was with her, and had never even considered risking it by being rude or aggressive. Now it was a different story. ¡°Joy, back off,¡± he orders firmly, holding the Bond instinctively just to make sure she would obey. He has never done this before, wasn¡¯t even sure whether he would dare command a Pathwalker if it came to it. Apparently, though, he¡¯s willing to do it. The Weaver eyes him for a moment, rebellion both in her eyes and her Bond. She doesn¡¯t like it. Doesn¡¯t like him ordering her around; especially doesn¡¯t like it that he¡¯s doing it in front of her sister. He fears that she will try anyway, wonders what might happen if she does. However, he senses that the Bond will not let her defy him, not with him holding it as firmly as he is now. He still remembers the times his master used the Bond against him ¨C first when they had been escaping this very village, second when he had been enraptured by the Energy Hearts. He remembers well the feeling of his body obeying another over him. No doubt Joy feels that now, the inability to make her limbs obey her if she tries to move against his command. It sends an odd thrill up his spine. Joy steps back, closing her jaws from where they¡¯ve been gaping open in a threat, lowering her claws. Her tail sinks from where it had been lifting to offer her balance if she needed to move quickly. River looks over at Herbalist. She, too, has partially dropped the threatening position. She doesn¡¯t look any more relaxed though: instead of glaring at Joy, she¡¯s now looking at River with suspicion flickering through her spikes. ¡°So, Weaver is not your new master?¡± she asks slowly a moment later. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Thirty-Nine: Weakness is Not Failure, but the Opportunity to Succeed ¡°No,¡± River answers slowly. ¡°Did you think¡­?¡± Herbalist glares back at him. ¡°You said you had another master, and suddenly Weaver comes in. What am I supposed to think?¡± Then she glances as Joy and her spikes ripple with thoughtfulness, the light blue colour replacing the pink. ¡°But if anything, I would have said that the relationship seems to be the other way around. Though how that could be true, I don¡¯t know.¡± Her gaze narrows as she stares at Joy who looks vaguely offended. ¡°Especially since you were supposed to be chasing Runs-with-the-river down to catch him to bring him back to face our judgement, the last I¡¯d heard.¡± Joy eyes River instead of answering. He sighs through his teeth ¨C it was true, he¡¯d insisted on leading the discussion. Joy was supposed to back him up; that was it. They¡¯d discussed different options and Joy had mentioned that Herbalist didn¡¯t like her much ¨C apparently that was true enough if what he¡¯d seen so far was any judge. ¡°Let¡¯s start again,¡± River suggests, feeling surprisingly calm. Joy huffs and shifts, but doesn¡¯t protest. Herbalist eyes him, but lowers her tail and leans back against a wooden cupboard. River pretends not to notice how close her claws are to a pot he recognises ¨C if she throws that one, he will have to close his eyes so as not to be blinded by the irritating contents. ¡°Go on,¡± Herbalist says, the colours in her spikes carefully muted. River opens his jaws, but pauses. How should he start? The same question has been going around and around in his mind ever since they decided that he should lead the discussion. He¡¯d hoped that once he got in front of his erstwhile master, the ancestors would bring him the words to say, but apparently not. Momentarily speechless, he looks around the room. This hut is not as familiar to him as the one next door, her workshop. However, he has been here a number of times. There is Herbalist¡¯s bed, made of a type of bush from the forest which is comfortably springy. Its top layer is made of soft leaves to cushion the spikes of the bush. That had been his task too ¨C renewing it when the plants started to lose their natural bounciness. Around the edges of the round hut are a number of cupboards, tailor-made by Wood-shaper to fit the space. He wonders if he still knows what is in most of those ¨C he has been sent often enough to collect one of the pre-made concoctions which Herbalist stores in them. Or stored, perhaps ¨C he doesn¡¯t know whether anything has changed in his absence. Where they stand is a woven mat, perhaps made by Joy even. Here, he had helped care for a number of wounded villagers who had been injured enough to be given a bed here: if their conditions deteriorated in the night, Herbalist could help them immediately. Lathani hadn¡¯t been one of them ¨C she had been kept in the workshop. For obvious reasons: if she¡¯d broken free of the cage, the risk of Herbalist being injured or killed was too high. That, of all his thoughts, gave him inspiration to speak. ¡°We made a mistake,¡± he says calmly, looking up at Herbalist. She stays silent. ¡°Shaman made a mistake ¨C more than one, but I¡¯ll get on to that. You made a mistake.¡± His previous master shifts a little, faint red spiking through her crest ¨C he doesn¡¯t care. He doesn¡¯t need to impress her any more. ¡°I made a mistake by going along with it, not that I realised at the time. ¡°Capturing the Great Predator¡¯s cub was a big mistake. But in a way, it has led to our salvation.¡± ¡°Salvation,¡± Herbalist repeats, her tone flat, her spikes colourless. River gestures at the fire. ¡°The ¡®prey beast¡¯ who I brought into the camp was nothing of the sort. A while before that, he had captured me, brought me low. Showed himself to be far more powerful than me, strong enough to force my surrender. Yet instead of doing so, he explained the situation. Gave me an ultimatum: to help him save the cub, and in doing so avert disaster, or to be tied up and out of the way while he did it by himself. I convinced him to go a step further ¨C to destroy the threat offered by the Forest of Death in exchange for my service.¡± Herbalist shifts again, her claws digging into the wood of the cupboards. ¡°He has now done just that. The Forest of Death is no more.¡± At that, Herbalist pushes herself fully upright. ¡°That can¡¯t be true-¡± ¡°It is,¡± River answers, the click of his teeth almost seeming to echo off the walls of the hut. Herbalist looks at Joy. ¡°Sister¡­has he eaten something? Is he deluded? Is that why he turned from us?¡± she pleads, almost sounding like she wants to believe that that is the reason for the incredible things she¡¯s hearing from River¡¯s mouth. Joy shakes her head. ¡°Sister, I¡­I understand your disbelief. But¡­I have to support Runs-with-the-river. The¡­I do not know what to call him. He is not one of us, that is sure, but he is no prey. He wields the powers of a Pathwalker, and powers no Pathwalker has ever wielded before, to our knowledge.¡± She gestures to the fire as River had done before her. ¡°He knows the secrets of the life-devourer. I watched as he produced it from his claws. I have seen Runs-with-the-river creating this ¡®fire¡¯ which warms our scales at night, a secret learned from his new master.¡± She swallows, her eyes gaining a gleam of fear. ¡°And I have seen the life-devourer consume the trees of the Forest of Death, leaving only ash, yet touch not a single tree beyond its limits.¡± Herbalist gazes at the fire, then at Joy, then River, then back to the fire again. She steps forwards, holding her claws out to the flame, pulling them back with a wince of pain. ¡°Did you think it was not real?¡± River asks softly. ¡°An illusion?¡± ¡°That would be more credible than your story,¡± grumbles Herbalist. She sighs, drops her claws back to her side, then looks back at the two of them. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°We want to stop Shaman from sacrificing our people,¡± River tells her frankly. ¡°It is pointless for one thing ¨C the Forest of Death is gone. For another, it is the wrong thing to do.¡± ¡°The weak serve the strong,¡± argues Herbalist, but her spikes ripple with colours which indicate her doubt in her own argument. ¡°I told you that long ago, Runs-with-the-river.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°You did,¡± he concedes. ¡°But I have learned another philosophy since then. One where the weak are only that because they have not had the time or opportunity to become strong. Where differences are desirable, needed, because no one can be strong in all things at all times. Where weakness is a responsibility of the group to strengthen, not an opportunity for them to take advantage. And then I come back here to find that Shaman, and Herbalist, two of the pillars of our village, the two who should be our greatest protectors, have instead killed hatchlings in pursuit of power.¡± The grunts falling out of his mouth are heavy, his spikes no doubt flaring with the deep colours of disappointment. Herbalist stands straight, as if he has just run his claws sharply along her spine. ¡°You dare to philosophise at me? You who are not even three Great Cycles old?¡± ¡°I do,¡± he responds, stepping forward and clicking his jaws together. Even Unevolved, he is bigger than the slighter Pathwalker; that has never seemed like an advantage before today. ¡°Because I have learned better from a being who is over twenty Great Cycles old.¡± Herbalist rears back in shock. ¡°That¡¯s as old as Shaman,¡± she responds, her teeth clicks barely a whisper of sound. ¡°Older, perhaps.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± River agrees, though he keeps his master¡¯s words about the significantly different ageing of his kind to himself. For now, his pure age is an advantage in this discussion. ¡°And, just so you know, if we had continued with the original plans for Lathani ¨C the Great Predator¡¯s cub ¨C the Great Predator herself would have come to wipe us out.¡± ¡°The Great Predator was killed by the hunting party which captured the cub in the first place,¡± disagrees Herbalist, as if she¡¯s holding onto the thread of the argument only by a claw. ¡°Wrong. By the time my master, the cub, and I got back to her den, she was in perfect condition,¡± River refutes grimly. ¡°The only reason our village has yet been spared was because my master argued for our continued survival.¡± ¡°And why would he do that?¡± demandes Herbalist, her eyes half-mad. ¡°If he is so intelligent, so old, so powerful, why did he care one bit about us? We, who put him in a cage, who would have used or eaten him happily.¡± ¡°Because of me,¡± growls River. ¡°Because even if I was weaker than him, he valued my service well enough to defend what I cared about. And that is why, whether you are with me or against me, I will defend those of my kin who will let me. I will not let Shaman ¨C or you ¨C sacrifice any more of their lives. They deserve the chance to grow, to develop, to learn what I have: that weakness is not failure, but the opportunity to succeed.¡± By the end, he¡¯s almost panting, his claws curled so tightly that the tips risk piercing his own skin. He quickly loosens them ¨C since absorbing a large portion of the Core of the danaris, his master had informed him that he now has active poison glands. They don¡¯t seem to be particularly powerful ¨C not yet, anyway. Since they¡¯re apparently still in flux, that might change even before he Evolves. Herbalist looks at him, her jaw sagging loosely again. She closes her mouth a couple of times, seeming to search for what to say. ¡°Weaver, sister, what say you to this madness?¡± she asks weakly. ¡°Do you support it? To throw the order of our village on its head?¡± Joy cocks her head to one side and flicks her tail in uncertainty. ¡°I do not know whether I truly support it or not,¡± she says slowly. ¡°But I don¡¯t have much choice.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an Unevolved!¡± cries Herbalist. ¡°If you do not agree with him, why is he not trussed up right now?¡± Joy twitches her tail again, though River notices the faint colouration of embarrassment playing through her spikes. She¡¯s silent. ¡°Tell her, Joy,¡± River says quietly. He doesn¡¯t use the Bond to force her compliance, but as she looks up at him and they meet eyes, he sees that she knows very well that he could. ¡°The truth is, that we, too, have been subdued by River¡¯s master,¡± Joy admits, sounding ashamed. ¡°What?¡± demands Herbalist, her grunts faint. ¡°It was a trap,¡± Joy almost falls over herself trying to explain, the grunts and clicks tumbling out of her mouth like a rain-swollen stream over rocks. ¡°We fell into it ¨C literally. We didn¡¯t have a chance. There was poison, and there was the life-devourer, and then he and I were facing each other in some other space. He was too strong. I tried to fight him off, to push him away, but he just kept coming. And then¡­and then¡­¡± She trails off, closing her eyes and swallowing dryly. ¡°And then he promised power. Knowledge. He¡­and I believe him. He is¡­you need to meet him.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s the prey beast we ordered shoved in a cage, I believe I have,¡± comments Herbalist faintly. ¡°No, properly.¡± Joy shakes her head violently as if to flick water away from her eyes. ¡°In that space where you feel yourself completely bare to him, and he to you. Where only truth is possible, and it is only your will against his.¡± There is silence for a few moments. ¡°So the whole hunting party is, in fact, a group of galaba come to infest the camp,¡± Herbalist asks tiredly, referring to a type of creature which tend to hide under the skin below the lower claws of villagers, laying their eggs where they would easily fall free to be picked up by another. One villager with a galaba infestation quickly passes them around to all the other villagers, only for it to be discovered when a number of kin fall sick with foot infections. ¡°Not galaba,¡± River breaks in before Joy reacts in offence. ¡°We do not seek to hurt, but to improve. It is Shaman who seeks to destroy ¨C for no more reason than power.¡± Herbalist holds still for a long moment, then sighs. ¡°Runs-with-the-river, speak plainly, if you please,¡± she starts, sounding like her patience is wearing thin. Were this to be the past, he would have lifted his chin and paid close attention to anything she asked of him, for fear of inciting her wrath. But this is not the past; she is no longer his master, no longer the gatekeeper to his survival. ¡°What do you wish of me? Why have you come here, in the middle of the night?¡± River, too, takes in a deep breath. ¡°I wish you to help convince the other Pathwalkers not to aid Shaman. No matter what happens.¡± She eyes him carefully. ¡°You do not intend to fight her, do you? She is a powerful Pathwalker, and has held the highest place in both rankings for the last four Great Cycles. Longer than you¡¯ve even lived. And you are still Unevolved, besides. You know what the consequence of raising a claw against a Pathwalker would be, even if, somehow, you won.¡± ¡°I will do what I must,¡± River answers with determination, meeting and holding her gaze in a way he would have never dared to do before. ¡°But all I wish is to protect our people from her. When my master comes, he will help sort things out and decide her fate.¡± Herbalist continues to gaze at him, her eyes unreadable, her spikes neutral. ¡°If your master is strong enough to prevail over Shaman, then he has earned the right to decide her fate.¡± She pauses for a long, tense moment. ¡°If you are right and the Forest of Death is no more, then I agree that sacrificing five adults upon Egg-rise is the wrong decision.¡± ¡°It is,¡± River assures her once more. She flicks her head slightly, expressing her dubiousness. ¡°I do not know whether I believe you, but I do not wish to be proven wrong after having condemned five of our village to death. I will support you in protecting our villagers. I will talk to my sisters and try to convince them of the same. But any further than that is your responsibility.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± River says with a sigh that is more relieved than he thought it would be. ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet, Runs-with-the-river,¡± Herbalist warns. ¡°You have made many claims this evening. If but one of them proves false, you will find yourself in so much trouble that you will wish you had kept running.¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty: Your Fault By the time River emerges with Joy and Herbalist following closely behind, there is already a murmur going throughout the area, unusual for this time of night. Returning to the main area, River sees a number of groups which wouldn¡¯t be out of place close to Egg-rise or dark fall, but under the Spirit¡¯s Eyes looks very strange indeed. The Unevolved are mostly sitting in groups, figures moving between each of the groups with regularity. Near the gates is a small clump of Warriors, clear even in the low light by their distinctive body types. Another small group is huddled together just outside one of their communal huts. River can only see one Pathwalker other than the two next to him and at this distance, he can¡¯t identify who it is. Perhaps Wind-Whisperer. ¡°Weaver, let us go and talk to our sisters,¡± murmurs Herbalist. River glances back to catch Joy eyeing him warily. Go with her, he says, sending the Pathwalker under his control a private message. Let me know if she does what she said she was going to do. He feels a wrench inside at the thought of doubting Herbalist ¨C the Pathwalker had done so much for him, after all. But his loyalties are elsewhere now, and until his master comes and takes over, he will have to be on his guard. Joy eyes him for a moment longer, then twitches her jaw upwards almost imperceptibly in silent acknowledgement. River fancies he feels a slight hint of appreciation that he¡¯d at least kept the order silent this time. ¡°Yes, let us go, sister,¡± Joy agrees with Herbalist and they hurry off to the Pathwalker standing in the shadows. River takes a moment to check in with the rest of his group. Lee, how is it going with the Warriors? Are you making any progress? There is a moment of silence but River doesn¡¯t doubt that he¡¯s been heard. He might think that he¡¯s being ignored except that the feeling emanating from Lee¡¯s side of the Bond is one of distraction. While waiting for Lee to get back to him, River sends the same message to the other Unevolved. Breaks-a-claw is the one who replies. It¡¯s not too surprising ¨C he¡¯s a rather silent villager, one who listens far more than he speaks. Where the others may be involved in discussions, he¡¯s probably just sitting and listening. They are groggy, Breaks-a-claw says. Some worse than others. We haven¡¯t been able to rouse about four of the adults and they don¡¯t look good. I see you have convinced Herbalist ¨C perhaps she could look at them. Can you see any marks on them? Are they injured? asks River with concern, already starting to walk over to Herbalist. They look¡­hungry. Injured, no. But tired. Their scales are drawn tightly on their bones. The ones who are best off have more meat on their bones, but everyone seems to be fatigued. More so than we would expect from being awake at this point in the night. And mentally? How are their minds? It is mixed, but I think they are all afraid. I think they are only just starting to remember what happened to the hatchlings. Some are resigned, others angry. Two have already tried to leave to bring Shaman ¨C they think she is doing the right thing. Do they know that they were next to be sacrificed? Yells-a-curse told them, group by group. A few have said they don¡¯t believe him, but I think that almost all of them do. They¡­they don¡¯t know what to do. They need the Pathwalkers to give them direction. Or the Warriors. River stops next to Herbalist, a feeling in his stomach as if he has swallowed the torch he instead left near Herbalist¡¯s hut ¨C he had estimated that holding it would bring too much attention to him and could derail the efforts of the rest of the group to convince the others in the village. After all, he¡¯s a known ¡®traitor¡¯. This close, he can see that the other Pathwalker is indeed Wind-whisperer. The three of them have been joined by two more ¨C Grower and Wood-shaper. With Mover having been killed when River and Markus had run away the last time, that means all Pathwalkers except for Shaman are present. Once, River would have either basked or quailed at the regard of all five of them turning to look at him, depending on whether it was for a good or bad reason. Now, however, he has eyes only for Herbalist. ¡°The Unevolved are in a poor state,¡± he says neutrally, only a hint of the anger he feels inside colouring his scales. ¡°They would appreciate your attention, Herbalist.¡± The other Pathwalkers ¨C except for Joy, of course ¨C hiss in anger at his disrespect. He feels a hint of air movement around his spikes as Wind-whisperer calls on her gift. Perhaps he should be afraid, but he¡¯s too angry to be such. Instead, he just stares around the group, meeting their eyes one by one with his own livid gaze. These are supposed to be the kin who protect and grow the village. That¡¯s why they are given their positions of honour, fed the best food, obeyed instantly by any of the village. Yet they have betrayed that, allowing one of their number to use hatchlings as sacrifices. Even if they didn¡¯t know what Shaman planned with the adults, to have stood by and allowed any of the village to be killed in the pursuit of power is a betrayal. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Perhaps the Pathwalkers read his thoughts in his gaze or in the emotions he cannot keep from his spikes. Either way, the wisps of wind playing about his scales vanish and the Pathwalkers look away from him. River turns his head to see Herbalist staring at him, her eyes narrowed. ¡°Will you help?¡± he asks her, almost daring her to say no. She tilts her head to one side gently, then brings it back to centre. ¡°They are probably fatigued from the ritual,¡± she replies after a moment. ¡°It is normal. They will recover in time.¡± ¡°Four cannot be roused,¡± River tells her abruptly, gesturing to the group of villagers sitting around four prone shapes, unable to stop his teeth from chattering a little in his anger. ¡°Is that what you consider normal?¡± Herbalist startles a little, her tail twitching. ¡°They should not be that fatigued, no,¡± she admits. ¡°Then you will investigate?¡± River growls, a restless energy going through his body which makes his claws tap on the ground. ¡°I will,¡± Herbalist agrees. ¡°Sisters, remember my words,¡± she warns them, then bustles off, immediately moving to the group River had gestured towards. The four other Pathwalkers look at him with varying emotions. ¡°So, you think you can just walk back in here and start ordering everyone around,¡± starts Wind-whisperer angrily, ¡°you, an Unevolved!¡± ¡°Sister,¡± interrupts Joy. ¡°I¡¯ve told you ¨C he represents a power we did not expect.¡± ¡°And where is this power?¡± demands Wood-shaper. ¡°Why is it not here representing itself?¡± ¡°My master will come when he comes,¡± says River flatly, cutting in. ¡°Do I have your agreement that you will not interfere when we deal with Shaman?¡± The three non-bound Pathwalkers hiss again in anger. ¡°The temerity of him,¡± Wood-shaper says, Wind-whisperer agreeing. Grower, however, appears to be watching him with more calculation, sending glances to Joy every so often. Joy, of course, is silent, her expression carefully neutral. ¡°Speaking to us with such little respect. And he, an ancestor-damned traitor.¡± ¡°I speak to you with as much respect as is due to Pathwalkers who have failed their people,¡± River tells them levelly, not allowing the fire flaring in his belly to come out in his voice or spikes. ¡°Now, do you agree to not support Shaman? Or do you hold with her plan to kill five of our number before Egg-rise?¡± The two more vociferous Pathwalkers look like they¡¯re biting back words, closing their mouths tightly rather than letting their teeth click together and accidentally letting out their thoughts. ¡°We will stand back and watch Shaman punish you,¡± Wind-whisperer says more than a little spitefully after a moment, Wood-shaper tilting her head in agreement. ¡°For what you did to our sister Mover, and for your attempts at rebellion now. Because we know what this is! It''s a rebellion against all that is right and good!¡± ¡°We did not agree with Shaman¡¯s idea,¡± says Grower, speaking for the first time, her level voice cutting through the rest of them. ¡°But we saw no other option. Think of us as you will, Runs-with-the-river, but do not forget that we have always sought the good of the village ¨C while you only weakened us by bringing the prey beast into our midst that killed our sister.¡± Oddly enough, that does cool the fire a little in River¡¯s belly. He had been so angered at the idea that his defenceless brethren were being taken to feed Shaman¡¯s desire for power that he had forgotten why the Pathwalkers would have agreed to it. However, while the fire has cooled, it has left behind a residue not unlike the ashes of a real fire ¨C the determination to see that his people won¡¯t have to make that sort of choice again. ¡°What is the trouble?¡± a voice asks. One with an unmistakable click of authority. Everyone goes silent and turns to look at the origin of the sound. Even in the darkness, Shaman is unmistakable. She¡¯s not wearing her usual decorations, her spikes looking bare without adornment, her scales looking oddly naked. Like when River spies his master bathing and sees vulnerable skin which is usually hidden away. Lee, are the Warriors willing to stay neutral? River demands of the Evolved. Because if they aren¡¯t¡­. As long as we don¡¯t all pile on Shaman, they will not attack, he answers, sounding a little harried. In the light of current circumstances, they are willing to see it as a ranking challenge, but that means that whoever faces Shaman will be on his own. I¡­I really don''t think I could win against her, he admits, shame filtering across the Bond from him. It¡¯s fine, River tells him with a hint of resignation. He is the leader of the group ¨C Unevolved or not, it is up to him to confront the enemy. ¡°I asked a question,¡± continues Shaman after several long beats of silence. Everyone seems fixed in place, like hatchlings quailing before the gaze of some powerful beast. River breathes in and out slowly, steeling himself. Abruptly, he wishes that he hadn¡¯t left the torch by Herbalist¡¯s hut. The reasons had seemed good at the time, but he would appreciate having its comforting heat now. And the reminder of all that has changed in recent times. Stepping forwards, he comes close enough to see the faintest hints of the colour spilling across Shaman¡¯s spikes. Recognition lights her eyes. ¡°Runs-with-the-river. You have returned.¡± She seems confused, looking around at the other villagers. River watches her in silence. He could take advantage of her confusion to strike the first blow, but that is not their way. Not if the Warriors wish to make this a ranking fight. Foul play will probably see them stepping in to defend Shaman. Even if he was confident he could kill the Pathwalker in one blow, which he isn¡¯t, he only has two Warriors and a Pathwalker under his command. With another nine Warriors unbound, his chances of escaping with his life are slim. Escaping without any of his kin dying is even less likely, and he has no desire to spill his kin¡¯s blood ¨C that¡¯s exactly where this all started. Except one necessary exception, unfortunately. So he waits until Shaman is ready. ¡°Why are you unbound?¡± the Pathwalker asks him directly, after apparently not being able to answer her own question. ¡°And why is everyone awake? It¡¯s the middle of the night.¡± ¡°Why did you kill all the hatchlings of this generation that remained to the village?¡± River asks instead, ignoring her question. She doesn¡¯t miss the disrespect ¨C she¡¯s far too observant for that. But, given the strange situation, she apparently decides to ignore it for now. ¡°Because I had to,¡± she clicks, hissing through her teeth. ¡°Do you think I wanted to?¡± River doesn¡¯t respond, doesn¡¯t know how to respond. She chatters her teeth in angry laughter. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s rich. You¡¯re outraged at what I have had to do? It¡¯s your fault!¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-One: You’re Wrong! ¡°What?¡± River can¡¯t help but ask, his tail shifting from side to side in cautious surprise. ¡°You took the cub! You stole it. Ancestors only know why, but you took it. Days of effort, weeks of preparation¡­gone.¡± She chatters her teeth again and her eyes gleam wildly with anger and something else. ¡°That creature was powerful. By focussing its potential into the present, by redrawing its magical pathways into something far simpler, far more useful, I could have harnessed its spirit into something wonderful. Something no other village has. A shield, and a guardian. ¡°Nothing could have threatened us within the boundaries of our home. Nothing. But you stole it away, and so I have been forced to settle for weaker options. And since they¡¯re weaker, and unprepared besides, I needed more spirits. Even all the hatchlings aren¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°No, you wish to take the adults too, don¡¯t you!¡± growls River, taking a step forwards to stare down at the slightly smaller Pathwalker. She growls too, the sound rumbling in her throat. ¡°Because I have to. Because they will all die otherwise. Because of you.¡± Hisses and clicks come from the group of villagers behind River. He hears the shift of bodies but can¡¯t turn to look. ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡± he grunts loudly at Shaman. ¡°There were other solutions. We could have moved -¡± ¡°And left our ancestors¡¯ bones behind? Forsaken our territory? What solution is that?¡± cries Shaman angrily. ¡°And how was your solution any better?¡± demands River. ¡°The moment our people kidnapped the Great Predator¡¯s cub, we were sentenced to death! Her mother would have come to kill us all if you¡¯d been allowed to finalise your plan.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? She wouldn¡¯t have been able to get in! The cub¡¯s spirit, strengthened by our ancestors¡¯ blessings, and the power over spirits that I wield, would have kept even the Great Predator at bay! We would have been safe from the Great Predator, from the Forest of Death, from anything which threatened us!¡± There is the sound of murmuring behind River, but he still doesn¡¯t look away from Shaman even to check whether he¡¯s about to be attacked by his kin. ¡°And so what?¡± River asks with frustrated exasperation. ¡°Were we to be prisoners within our own village? Caged in as we would do to a prey-beast? How long would we have survived with the Great Predator prowling around our boundary, killing any who left the shield? What would we have done when the vine-stranglers took over the whole forest around us? What sort of a plan is that?¡± ¡°The Great Predator would have given up when it found it couldn¡¯t get in,¡± the Pathwalker dismissed. ¡°We chased it away once; we would be able to do so again. It would have just been a matter of time.¡± She conveniently seems to forget the question about the Forest of Death. ¡°You are seriously underestimating just how strongly she feels about her cub,¡± River warns Shaman, then shakes his head in what he only realises afterwards is a very Markus gesture. ¡°You have failed the people you were supposed to protect. You have brought us to the point of ruin several times. You are no longer fit to lead.¡± The Shaman chatters again in angry amusement. ¡°And who is going to challenge me? You?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± answers River firmly, however much his spirit quailed within his breast at the very thought of it. The Pathwalker rears back, as if she wasn¡¯t expecting him to actually go through with it. ¡°Sisters, Warriors, are you going to stand for this?¡± clicks Shaman incredulously. ¡°A mere Unevolved, challenging me? Does this not make a mockery of everything we hold dear? And a traitor at that!¡± For the first time, River dares to look backwards. There he sees that the whole village seems to have assembled to watch the events. Herbalist is missing, but a brief moment of searching proves that she¡¯s still tending to the four adults who have not yet roused. At Shaman¡¯s question, however, she pushes herself to her feet and comes to join the rest of the Pathwalkers. The Warriors are in two groups, the Pathwalkers all together in a clump. The Unevolved adults are hanging back, filling the spaces between the three more distinct sections. One of the Warriors steps forwards. He¡¯s even bigger than Lee and River recognises him as Shrieks-loudly, the current top ranked Warrior, the leader of the male Evolved. ¡°The Warriors support Runs-with-the-river¡¯s challenge,¡± he rumbles, even his tooth-clicks sounding more sonorous than anyone else¡¯s. ¡°What?¡± Shaman asks faintly, sounding like she has taken a blow to the jaw. ¡°How could you¡­¡± ¡°Do you remember what you said when the party came back from hunting the Great Predator¡¯s cub? The single Warrior out of almost twenty?¡± Shrieks-loudly asks, sounding like he¡¯s chewing stones. ¡°That their sacrifice was worth it. That they would ensure the village would be safe forever.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s exactly what would have happened if Runs-with-the-river hadn¡¯t fled with the ancestor-damned cub!¡± ¡°Perhaps. Perhaps not. But your decision to sacrifice the hatchlings is one I wish I had never stood by to allow to happen. They may be weak and almost useless, but with no hatchlings, we will not replace our numbers of Warriors. The Warriors you threw away for a single cub.¡± He straightens again and steps back. ¡°The Warriors support this challenge ¨C we question your dedication to the village,¡± he says once more. ¡°Let our ancient rituals decide the village¡¯s fate, and who is in the right.¡± The Shaman¡¯s jaw hangs open and she looks wildly at the other Pathwalkers. ¡°Sisters, you cannot mean to let this happen? Allowing an Unevolved to challenge a Pathwalker? What next ¨C a hatchling?¡± It¡¯s a poor choice of words and River sees her realise that a moment after they¡¯ve left her jaws. At the same time, he notes how the other Pathwalkers straighten and stiffen. ¡°We too have doubted your recent decisions,¡± Herbalist says levelly. ¡°I, for one, have only gone along with it because I believed it to be the best course of action. I no longer believe that.¡± ¡°And what has changed?¡± demands Shaman, her eyes gleaming brightly with anger ¨C and what River suddenly realises is madness. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°The Forest of Death is gone,¡± interjects Joy levelly. ¡°I saw it with my own eyes.¡± ¡°Gone? It can¡¯t be gone,¡± denies Shaman weakly. ¡°And if it is, then we must defend against whatever it is that destroyed it ¨C it must be a most powerful foe.¡± River and Joy exchange glances and River is almost surprised to see a hint of amusement in the bound Pathwalker¡¯s eyes. ¡°Sister, why are you arguing so much?¡± Wind-whisperer asks, clearly irritated. ¡°We understand how humiliating it is to be forced to fight an Unevolved, as if he is an equal. But just destroy him and be done with it. Do it fast enough or gruesomely enough and no one will dare try it again in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± admits Shaman, turning her gaze to River. He almost recoils at the menace gleaming within the orbs. ¡°Very well. I will entertain this ridiculous challenge, just to prove to all of you that there should be none.¡± Pulling his spear from his back, River sends an order to Peace, an instruction he probably should have given before now. Due to the heightened emotions caused by the situation, he had briefly forgotten that he could send messages to the other Bound. ¡°Commence,¡± says Shrieks-loudly, his clicks clear in the air. River strikes at Shaman with all the speed and power he had built in the time sparring with his master and other Bound. Ending this battle as quickly as possible has to be his best strategy. After all, he has never seen a ranking fight ¨C the Unevolved are not allowed to watch them ¨C but he knows that Shaman must be powerful, being the undefeated champion for the last four years. Unfortunately, Shaman is used to quicker and more powerful spear strikes than River can produce. She sidesteps his blow. Redirecting his strike, he attacks her again. She dodges once more. The next time, he tries to feint, and then strikes where he thinks she will be a moment later. She somehow knows that it''s a feint, and goes in exactly the opposite direction than he had thought she would. She scoffs in disgust. ¡°This is my challenger?¡± She shows her contempt by daring to look away from River and at her sisters. ¡°This is simply humiliating. I don¡¯t even need to use my powers to defeat this imbecile.¡± River feels his anger grow within him at her dismissal. Seeing as she¡¯s still looking away from him, he takes advantage of it to bodily throw himself at her. This, she is not expecting, and she is unable to completely avoid it ¨C his whole body covers much more space than his spearpoint. She manages to avoid part of his attack by moving back swiftly, but he succeeds in raking his claws down her front. Her scales are thinner than his own and peel under his attack. With a hint of satisfaction, River knows that she now has some of his venom in her system too. The battle pauses for a moment as she stares down at the sluggishly bleeding gashes now marring her chest. ¡°How dare you?!¡± she practically shrieks, her grunts higher pitched than River has ever heard one of his kin make. ¡°I¡¯m going to tear you apart!¡± Even as River tries to leap forward again, Shaman makes sounds which throb oddly in his ears. Suddenly, he feels something close around his wrist, then something else around his opposite ankle. Then, abruptly, they start to pull. River fights back against them, but the tension refuses to slacken. With his free hand, he tries to push whatever it is away, but it¡¯s like nothing exists there ¨C his claws just pass through open air. The opposing pulls are threatening to throw him completely off balance ¨C only his free foot and tail are keeping him upright. The tension is becoming painful as his body protests. His mind works busily. The Shaman is known for her work with spirits. Is that what this is? Are there spirits trying to literally tear him apart? He darts a look at Shaman, seeing her stare down at him with amusement and satisfaction playing across her spikes, visible even in the low light. And what can he do against spirits, if that¡¯s indeed what they are? Is this why Shaman has beaten all, even the greatest of Warriors? Another band wraps itself around his free wrist, a fourth around his other ankle. Abruptly, he is no longer even in contact with the ground ¨C the spirits are holding him above it and pulling. The Shaman steps lightly, close enough to him that he would easily be able to stab her ¨C if his limbs were not completely immobile. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, Runs-with-the-river,¡± Shaman clicks with regret ¨C he can¡¯t tell if it is genuine or not. ¡°You had so much potential.¡± Her eyes glint oddly, and the sight sets off the anger within River again. Is this to be how it ends? Torn into pieces by things he can¡¯t even see? Abandoning his people to Shaman¡¯s poor decisions? No. River refuses to give up now. Not when there¡¯s still something he can do. Ever since the Egg-rise after they¡¯d killed the danaris, he has felt something inside him, something waiting for him to call on it. And now, he beckons it. Heat builds greater and greater in his chest, scorching at his throat. When it feels like his body will be consumed by the fire, he opens his jaws and lets it pour out. The fire spills out of his mouth, licking eagerly at Shaman¡¯s face. She shrieks, a high-pitched noise which pierces his ears. The bonds holding him fall away and he tumbles to the ground. The flames run out quickly: his mana pool is much smaller than Bastet¡¯s, but it is enough to free him. Now would be a perfect time to attack, but he can do no more than rake at her again before she stumbles away, out of reach, the fire already done. All his joints aching, his throat and mouth raw and burnt, he pushes himself to his feet. The Shaman glares at him, absolute fury filling her eyes. She starts making those disconcerting noises again, and River knows he has moments before he¡¯s wrapped in spirits again. But now he has a weapon against them. Peace, toss me the torch, he orders. The Warrior obeys immediately. From the look of him, he¡¯d been lingering uneasily at the edge of the crowd, not sure what to do. The torch arcs through the air towards River. He manages to catch it. Just in time ¨C he feels the sensation of the spirits try to grasp him around the ankles again. Gripping the wooden handle, River waves the head of the torch through the space, forcing the spirits to let go. He looks at the furious Shaman, sure that his face must be a rictus of glee, his spikes practically overflowing with his pleasure at her failure. ¡°You think that is my only trick?¡± The Pathwalker laughs angrily, her face marked by the flames which had so recently wreathed them. ¡°You will die screaming.¡± Once more, she speaks those odd sounds which make River uncomfortable. Pushing through the discomfort, he attempts to attack the Pathwalker, but he finds himself slowed. It¡¯s like he¡¯s walking through mud. With the torch, he waves at his legs. It helps, but only for moments. It¡¯s like the spirit shifts back while the torch is in the way, but fills the space again once it has moved. River sets his teeth and moves doggedly on. If only he can get close enough to Shaman to stab¡­but she is not willing to let that happen. Abruptly, the situation changes, and not for the better. One moment he is swinging the torch before his knees, his mind working busily to try to work out another approach ¨C perhaps he should try throwing stones at her? The next, a force strikes him on the wrist. It¡¯s a precise, hard blow which numbs his wrist. He inadvertently drops the torch, and then another force knocks him sprawling. He¡¯s pinned once more. This time, he¡¯s completely enveloped in the spirits ¨C they are apparently not willing to take any chances this time. Even his mouth is being pinned shut, though he can still breathe. Not that they need to worry ¨C he senses that he will not be able to repeat the same feat. The Shaman approaches him again, this time a little more warily. She holds a long knife in her claws. Apparently she doesn¡¯t want to sully herself with his blood. She lifts the knife high, then pauses for a moment, as if considering whether to say something more. To gloat, perhaps. And then she jerks. River looks at her in confusion. Her head looks different. There is a growth from it, something long that has abruptly appeared from her mouth. Not her tongue. With no warning, the spirits let go of him, vanishing like they were never there. Suddenly, River realises what it is. Without a second more of hesitation, he surges upwards and rips out Shaman¡¯s throat with his teeth. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Two: The Village Are you sure you want to come with us? I ask Lathani for what feels like the fiftieth time since we left the remains of the vine-strangler forest, though it¡¯s probably only been a handful of times in reality. I send the message mentally since I¡¯m panting too hard to say it aloud. We¡¯ve been running for three hours already, and I¡¯m desperately hoping that we haven¡¯t delayed too much as it is ¨C the messages I¡¯ve received from River seemed to indicate significant urgency. I will be fine pack-leader, the nunda juvenile seems to sigh even as she runs alongside me, grace incarnate. Her muscles ripple under her spotted fur, every stride a lesson in economy of movement. She¡¯s not panting. At least this time I¡¯m not the slowest of the group ¨C that¡¯s my newest Bound, Komodo. It would have been Trinity, but given the urgency of River¡¯s message, we¡¯ve left her and Spine behind to follow after us at their pace. Komodo, though slower than me, is only just so ¨C I figure it makes sense to have the highly venomous Tier two bound with us even if it delays us slightly. Hopefully my gamble will be proven to be the right thing to do. Because it¡¯s fine if you¡¯re not, I reply to Lathani. Previously, I dropped it after she said she wasn¡¯t worried. And then I would find my own concern rising again, only to once more ask the question with the same response. This time, I¡¯m going to dig a bit more into it ¨C to make sure she really is as fine as she says she is. We¡¯re heading back to confront the creatures who shoved you in a cage and were going to kill you and use you. And are they going to be allowed to do that again? she asks me pointedly, impatience drifting across the Bond between us. Of course not, I reply immediately ¨C as if I would even consider it. Then all is well. If anything, I am relishing the opportunity to show them that they were terribly arrogant to think that they could capture me and get away with it. I search the Bond between us but see no indication that she¡¯s lying in any way. Though she¡¯s not quite as lacking in concern as she would like me to believe, it seems more to be a sense of uneasiness which is bothering her slightly than the fear or trauma which I half expect. Are you sure it¡¯s not you who doesn¡¯t want to return? asks Lathani a moment later. Of course it¡¯s not, I respond again, automatically, but her question does make me think. A moment later, I have to admit to myself, even if not to her, that she might have a small point. I¡¯m almost as nervous now as I was right before starting the fire among the vine-stranglers. Partially because of my previous experiences, I have to admit that. After all, though I didn¡¯t suffer through what Lathani did, I too was shoved in a cage and not entirely sure I would get out of the whole thing with my life ¨C it¡¯s not one of my best memories, that¡¯s for certain. But it¡¯s also because of what this means. Even assuming that everything goes well and I can take control of the lizard-folks¡¯ village with minimal casualties, which is not at all a guarantee, everything will change afterwards. I will be in charge of a whole village of sapients and responsible for their actions. I¡¯m planning on changing their whole way of life and it¡¯s on me to make sure that I don¡¯t doom them in doing so. More personally, it will also mean that there are no obligations remaining between River and I ¨C I will finally find out exactly what he feels about me, with no Bond between us to affect his emotions. That is a surprisingly large part of my nervousness, actually. We¡¯re getting close ¨C I can see the tree line only a short distance ahead. The field of ash curls around the trees, like arms reaching out to embrace the village, yet they have somehow maintained a small margin of normal trees between them and where the vine-stranglers were. It means that we can¡¯t see anything of the village itself, not yet. We wouldn¡¯t be able to even if it was light; with it being only lit by the moons, our visibility reduces further. At least both moons are more than half full tonight. And Aingeal, the inferno-turned-fire-elemental, is actually pretty useful at lighting our path forward too ¨C by offering it a little mana, it glows more brightly and basically acts like a torch-less light. Even better, it seems perfectly happy to do so, pleased to be given more fuel to burn. Suddenly I receive a message from Sirocco. The bird, as usual, is scouting ahead, though since her vision is more day-adapted than night-adapted, she¡¯s not able to see as much as usual. Nevertheless, I can see well enough from what she¡¯s sent me to know that we need to speed up. There¡¯s some sort of fight breaking out, I tell the rest of my Bound tersely. Quicker! This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Pulling stamina from reserves we didn¡¯t know we had, we pile on the speed for the final sprint. This time, we don¡¯t move at the pace of the slowest member, instead each moving at their fastest pace. We¡¯re close enough that the differences between us are not too significant now. Entering the trees, we have to slow down a bit to avoid running into something, though the footing is actually a bit more secure than the drifts of ash we¡¯ve been running through otherwise. There¡¯s a flare of light through the trees ahead. Very brief, but it sends unease down my spine. While not easily identified, it was the right colour for fire, and there¡¯s only one being I know who might be using that in the samuran village. Breaking through the last of the trees, I¡¯m met with a sight which makes my heart rise into my mouth. We¡¯ve got a view right between the gates and through the open central area of the village. All the lizard-folk are gathered together in a massive clump, but thanks to our position with them facing us, we can actually see what they¡¯re staring at. River, his arms and legs being held unnaturally widely outwards, none of his limbs touching the ground. And towering above him, a large knife gleaming between her claws, a samuran, clearly identifiable as a Pathwalker from size and shape. Even the fastest of my Bound won¡¯t get halfway between us and them before the knife comes down to give River a wound he may easily not survive long enough for me to get there and heal him. Without thinking, I whip my strung bow out of my Inventory, nock a bone arrow to it, and release with only a moment to aim. I can only hope that my twenty-one points in Dexterity will mean that I manage to hit at least near what I aimed for, despite the speed. Even before I see the arrow land, I¡¯m running again. The rest of my Bound never paused, so I need to catch up with them. My eyes on the Pathwalker, I see with a sense of relief how she abruptly jerks. My arrow must have hit somewhere important, I conclude. River falls to the ground, hopefully out of danger. Then, just before Bastet and Honey, the fastest of my Bound, reach the pair, I see River spring upwards, jaws first. Liquid sprays out, black in the light of the moons. It takes me a moment to realise what it is: blood. All the lizard-folk are frozen for a long moment. Bastet reaches the pair and plants herself next to River. After a brief glance at the dead or dying Pathwalker, she positions herself between River and the rest of the lizard-folk. I approve ¨C we don¡¯t know exactly what the situation is here. Even if Joy, Lee, and Peace shouldn¡¯t have been able to betray River, there¡¯s no guarantee. Better to make sure that River is protected for now. Honey pauses next to her, but just starts growling at all and sundry, seeming to indicate that the next to move will feel her teeth. No one seems inclined to test her on it. A moment later, the rest of us are able to catch up and I slide to a stop next to River, my spear in my hand, my magic ready to set anyone who moves on fire. By this point I¡¯m rather winded, but know that it won¡¯t take much time for my stamina to regenerate a bit. If the samurans decide to attack, I¡¯ve definitely got enough Bound with me to make them reconsider, even without my magic. River looks up at me with relief both on his features and pouring through the Bond. Master, you made it. ¡°Just in time,¡± I say, wheezing a little. ¡°This is your new ¡®master¡¯?¡± a voice asks incredulously. I look up to see a Pathwalker stepping forward from a small group. ¡°This prey beast? You can¡¯t be serious.¡± She looks towards Joy who I abruptly realise is standing with four other Pathwalkers. ¡°This is your unexpected power?¡± I watch as Joy¡¯s eyes narrow and her jaw sags open a little to reveal her teeth, irritation spilling over the Bond. ¡°Wind-whisperer, hold your tongue. You do not know what he is capable of.¡± The other Pathwalker, Wind-whisperer, apparently, makes a sound that my Animal Empathy translates as a snort. ¡°Clearly it¡¯s capable of deceiving even you, sister. But I will not believe it capable of anything else. And now Runs-with-the-river has killed Shaman with its help ¨C another of our sisters murdered by this duo. What are we to do now?¡± I glance at River, more than a little surprised at the identity of his opponent ¨C and slightly disappointed that I won¡¯t be able to battle her myself. Then, I pull myself to my full height ¨C first impressions are important and I¡¯m not only speaking to this insulting Pathwalker, but also to everyone else standing silently around the scene. I sense that the situation hangs on a knife¡¯s edge, and, even if I¡¯m confident that I have enough numbers on my side to make it out alive, I have no desire to engage in a full-out battle. Instead, I step forwards confidently, stopping a bare half-pace away from the Pathwalker who turns to glare up at me. Shorter even than River, she only reaches my shoulders, making it easy to appear physically imposing. Bastet hisses at me about putting myself in danger, but I just ask her to keep an eye on my surroundings ¨C if any of the lizard-folk move towards me, I''ll step back. But for now, I need the closeness. ¡°You ask what I am capable of,¡± I say, concentrating on being understood. At the way both the Pathwalker and several others around rear back in shock, they weren¡¯t expecting that. ¡°I defeated your sister and several of your Warriors in single combat. I convinced the Great Predator to spare your lives. And I destroyed the Forest of Death.¡± At those final words, I send a large chunk of mana to Aingeal and ask it to move above the gathering. It does, and abruptly it¡¯s like the sun has just come out from behind a cloud. The lizard-folk hiss and cover their eyes as colour washes over the whole central area. By the time they are able to see again, they are met with another sight: though I¡¯m spending mana like water, I¡¯ve created a cloak of fire which flares out around and above me, hot yet not burning my flesh. With another flick of a finger, I send a line of fire spooling out from my cloak, circling around the whole of the group of samurans. ¡°What say you? Will you submit to me and my rule, or will you be the next obstacle in my way?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Three: It’s Not That Simple The samurans react in different ways to the fire. The Pathwalkers, interestingly, show the most fear, pulling tightly together and stepping almost as one away from the fire wall ¨C Joy included. The Warriors show the least: while some fidget uncomfortably and I see a good amount of unease flickering through their spikes, none actually move. The Unevolved are more varied, some reacting almost as strongly as the Pathwalkers, others barely reacting at all. If I had to guess, it would be that it is based on whether they have actually experienced the ¡®life-devourer¡¯ before. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± a massive samuran rumbles from the crowd, his grunts more guttural and deeper than any other I¡¯ve spoken with. Of course it¡¯s not, I sigh to myself. Not wanting to waste more mana, I cut the connection to the ring of fire and my ¡®cloak¡¯. Without my mana as fuel and with little else to burn in the dirt and thin cover of dried grass of the samuran¡¯s village, it disappears quickly. I keep feeding mana into Aingeal, though, and the not-so-little flame continues burning merrily. It doesn¡¯t require much mana at all to keep the fire elemental shining brightly, and having the extra light is definitely an advantage. ¡°Is it not? Your leader is dead, killed by one under my command. I¡¯ve taken out a threat which none of you could deal with and which threatened your village with extinction. And if I don¡¯t take control of your village, you will be wiped out by the Great Predator for what your leader did to her cub.¡± ¡°We hear your words,¡± the large lizard-man grunts. ¡°Yet we have no guarantee that you speak truth.¡± I feel like groaning. The vine-stranglers disappear in a fire, then I suddenly turn up with fire at my command and they don¡¯t believe I had anything to do with it? No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s true, I realise, looking carefully around at the different samuran faces. They do believe it, but apparently that¡¯s not enough for them. ¡°Our leader is dead, that is true,¡± one of the other samurans starts saying carefully, a Pathwalker this time. ¡°However, the situation has been very¡­irregular.¡± What even happened, River? I ask my Bound mentally. He answers quickly and concisely, filling me in on the broad brushstrokes of what happened. I still don¡¯t know why the shaman had decided to kill her own people, nor how exactly they managed to convince the rest of the village not to intervene on her behalf, but at least I know a little more than before. The mental messages are quicker than speaking, but it¡¯s still been a long pause before I answer the Pathwalker. Apparently the lizard-folk are not in a hurry and have been taking the time to look me and my Bound over in the meantime. There are a few surprised grunts of recognition as the three samurans who had stayed behind with me move forward and into the light. ¡°It seems pretty clear cut for me,¡± I say finally. ¡°From what I understand, you guys consider your leader to be the one who beats all of you, and Shaman was the strongest combatant. River succeeded in defeating Shaman; does that not make him de facto the leader? And as his boss, me too?¡± I¡¯m trying to come to terms with their ¡®might is right¡¯ philosophy; it would be just typical that this is one situation in which it doesn¡¯t apply. ¡°Except he didn¡¯t win the battle in the right way,¡± points out another Pathwalker, this one with an obstinate cast to her jaw. ¡°Even if we ignore the fact that he¡¯s not Evolved, it wasn¡¯t a proper challenge fight. Not to mention the fact that he didn¡¯t defeat Shaman completely independently ¨C had your party not arrived in time to help him, he would now be dead. He has not proven his strength anywhere near adequately for us. As for you, you¡¯re not even one of us; how could you become our leader?¡± I sigh again. Great. The idea of just attacking them with all my Bound and forcing them to acknowledge me is sounding less and less stupid by the minute. Maybe it¡¯s the exhaustion of having spent a whole day travelling, and then having only just settled down to rest when the message from River came through and so having to set off immediately that¡¯s causing it. I¡¯d honestly quite happily kill to be able to rest and not have to worry about someone killing me in my sleep right now. Perhaps Joy senses my rising homicidality as she hastily intervenes. ¡°Sisters, it is late. Everyone is tired.¡± she starts saying placatingly. Ostensibly she¡¯s talking to the Pathwalkers, but her body-language indicates that it¡¯s directed at the Warriors too. ¡°We¡¯ve just lost our leader, one of the pillars of our community. No one is thinking with clear heads right now. We have dealt with Shaman and her regrettable plans. The Forest of Death is gone. We have no immediate threat to combat. Let us take the time to sleep. Then we can approach this matter in the morning when we are rested.¡± ¡°And your suggestion is not at all affected by your odd connection with Runs-with-the-river, that he says is due to this prey beast in front of us?¡± spitefully asks the same Pathwalker who had doubted me before ¨C Wind-whisperer, I believe. Apparently she¡¯s been able to recover enough from the shock of my control of fire to allow her doubts free rein again. Pity. ¡°Yes, Wind-whisperer has a point,¡± says another Pathwalker. ¡°You have said that we have dealt with all immediate threats, but how do we know that this mysterious master of Runs-with-the-river does not intend on ripping out our throats while we sleep? Poor Mover learned too late of the threat that this duo holds ¨C and they are far more than a duo now.¡± ¡°Come now, Wood-shaper,¡± a fourth Pathwalker says impatiently. ¡°Use your brain. He has said that he wishes to rule us; I hardly think that he means to rule over a village of corpses. We are most likely safe enough for the night.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°You¡¯re only saying that because you don¡¯t want your precious Runs-with-the-river executed for killing Shaman,¡± Wood-shaper snaps back at her. ¡°I bet you¡¯d be willing to raise your chin to even a prey beast to protect your little assistant.¡± The Pathwalker I¡¯ve just realised is Herbalist growls and looks like she¡¯s a moment away from tearing Wood-shaper a new one ¨C either figuratively or literally. But before she can, the last Pathwalker to speak steps in. ¡°Sisters, calm yourselves,¡± she remonstrates. ¡°Since this is a matter of safety for the village ¨C and for ourselves ¨C we should consult the Warriors.¡± Looking towards the samuran who stands head and shoulders above even the other bulky Warriors, she invites him to speak. ¡°Shrieks-loudly, what say you?¡± The Warrior who is evidently the leader of their group takes a moment to consider the question. His bronze-coloured eyes roam across me and my group, touching on the blood-coated River, and dipping to the body of Shaman lying on the ground near us. I have the impression that he misses nothing ¨C not the readiness of my Bound to attack at my order, nor the fatigue that is surely lining my face, nor the determination to see this through that must be in my eyes. ¡°I concur with Honoured Weaver. It has been a night of ill-deeds, of intrigue and machinations which would shame our ancestors if done under the light of the sun. If the¡­mysterious master of Runs-with-the-river will agree to taking himself and all of his followers outside the walls of the village for the night, we will convene in the morning to discuss where to move next.¡± With that, he stops and waits expectantly, looking between me and River as if unsure as to who will respond. I take a moment to think it through. It¡¯s possible that he just wants to get me out of the village, me and all my Bound. Perhaps he thinks it would be easier to prevent me from reentering afterwards since they could defend the gates against our invasion. However, if that¡¯s his plan, he hasn¡¯t thought through the fact that I have fire at my command ¨C burning the palisade fence won¡¯t take all that much power, and then the village will be vulnerable to me once more. Plus, I¡¯ll then be angry. But that would be annoying to deal with, and would pretty much guarantee that I¡¯d have to slaughter most of the lizard-folk which, again, is not my aim. ¡°Very well,¡± I say finally after a moment more of thought. ¡°However, to ensure that you are equally not intending on sending a party of Warriors out to attack us, I require a hostage.¡± ¡°A hostage?¡± Shrieks-loudly repeats dubiously. ¡°Yes. Her,¡± I say, pointing at the herbalist. My demand causes uproar ¨C even my Animal Empathy Skill is unable to keep up with the grunts and clicks that fill the air around me. Abruptly, Shrieks-loudly clicks, the sound managing to cut through the raucous din. Interestingly, the Pathwalker in question has remained silent throughout, just eyeing me with an unreadable expression and the barest flickers of colours through her spikes. ¡°You cannot be serious ¨C Herbalist is one of our honoured Pathwalkers, a treasure of our community.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± I respond, fixing him with my gaze just to prove how serious I am. ¡°What better way to ensure our safety through the night? If you are being honest, then no harm will come to her and she will be released in the morning to join you for your discussion.¡± Shrieks-loudly looks like he¡¯s about to argue more, but the herbalist herself intervenes. ¡°I will go with them.¡± ¡°Honoured Herbalist-¡± ¡°Sister-¡± Several voices try to speak out but she cuts through them with a sharp snap of her teeth. ¡°I said: I will go with them.¡± She steps forwards towards us, stopping right next to River with something that looks like a challenge in her eyes. Though who it is directed at, I don¡¯t know. There is an awkward silence as it seems that several would like to speak but don¡¯t dare do so with her looking as formidable as she does right now. ¡°Then that¡¯s settled,¡± I say, deciding to move things on. ¡°We will set up camp just out of sight in the trees. At dawn, we will return. We will not engage in hostilities until then at the earliest.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Shrieks-loudly says, sounding displeased. I nod, then send a message to the Bound who have been with me all this time to back off and withdraw out of the village. We start moving but he halts us with a word. ¡°Wait.¡± I look back at the samuran. ¡°For what?¡± I ask, impatiently? I want to sleep, damn it. ¡°We agreed that you would take with you all of your followers.¡± With that, he looks meaningfully at Joy, Lee, Peace, and a few others that I recognise as the Tamed Unevolved samurans. ¡°Elder brother¡­¡± objects Lee weakly. ¡°No, I¡¯m staying here,¡± agrees Joy, more strongly. ¡°I am still one of the village¡¯s Pathwalkers, don¡¯t forget. I need to be part of the decision-making.¡± ¡°Then you may return tomorrow with Honoured Herbalist,¡± Shrieks-loudly says with a sense of finality. ¡°But I will not tolerate any with a split duty to the village to remain with us this night.¡± It¡¯s alright, I tell them mentally. Come join us for tonight and then go back in the morning. But they will be talking tonight, no matter what they say, Joy objects. And do you think that they will listen to you? With how they know that you are one of my ¡®followers¡¯? Besides, they won¡¯t have the herbalist with them either ¨C you could work on her tonight. And if they decide to do something stupid, we¡¯ve got lots of strategies which we can use to succeed eventually. I hope you¡¯re right, she sighs after a moment of thought, clearly not happy but willing to go along with it for now. Stepping forward, she joins our little party. At her movement, Lee and Peace join us too, as do the eleven Unevolved who hold a Tame Bond with me. Still, as we walk towards the gate through which we had charged, I send a couple of messages down the Bond and two forms peel off, to be lost in the shadows. There¡¯s no harm in leaving a couple of eyes to keep watch, I figure. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Four: Heart to Heart ¡°River, will you give me the details of what happened now?¡± I ask the silent lizard-man walking next to me. Of course, master, he replies readily. Shall I tell everyone, or just you? I consider the question for a moment. ¡°Might as well be everyone in our group,¡± I tell him. He subsequently starts to explain the whole of the night¡¯s events in far greater detail than before. Partway through the explanation, I realise that he¡¯s in pain so step closer to him to heal his burnt throat and mouth. He sends gratitude down the link when I finish, and continues his explanation. At the end, I eye both Joy and the herbalist speculatively. I was half-expecting Joy and the Warriors to try to betray River and me as soon as they came back into contact with their village, but in fact they did the reverse. They managed to convince their respective groups to at least give River the space to challenge the shaman instead of attacking him on sight, which would presumably have been the expected reaction. River finishes his story about how he¡¯d used Bastet¡¯s fire-breath to defeat the invisible creatures ¨C ¡®spirits¡¯ or not ¨C which had attacked him, only to then be caught a second time. It¡¯s good to know that it¡¯s not necessary for the origin of the ability to be in close proximity to the Bound temporarily borrowing it. Though we¡¯ve experimented with it a couple of times since I received that upgrade to Tame, it was always with both Bound near each other. As he describes how he spotted my arrow piercing the shaman¡¯s skull and felt the bonds holding him loosen, taking advantage of the moment to rip out the Pathwalker¡¯s throat, he looks at me a little nervously. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask as his words trail away. You are not angered? I frown. ¡°At what?¡± That I killed Shaman? I thought that you wished to take your revenge against her. I shrug. ¡°Honestly, while I was angry at the shaman, and the herbalist, and everyone even remotely connected to Lathani¡¯s kidnapping, ultimately, it¡¯s not me who holds any rights to revenge.¡± I look over at Lathani, padding almost at my heel, her body stiff. ¡°How do you feel about this?¡± And then I suddenly realise something. ¡°Oh Lathani, how are you feeling about having the herbalist here? I¡¯m sorry ¨C I should have checked that you¡¯d be OK with it first.¡± I definitely feel remorseful, and actually pause for a moment to crouch next to her so we can be eye to eye. We¡¯re out of the village by this point and within the treeline, probably almost far enough away from the village to make camp. However, when everyone else realises I¡¯ve stopped, they stop with me. The two Pathwalkers, walking near the back of the group, surrounded by the four Warriors I currently have Bound, almost run into us. Looking up at the one who stopped a moment before she would have tripped over me, I see it¡¯s the herbalist. Her gaze isn¡¯t on me, but on the nunda juvenile in front of her. It¡¯s clear from her wide eyes that she recognises who Lathani is. I glare at her, protective anger rising in my belly once more. Joy, move her away. I don¡¯t want her bothering Lathani until I¡¯ve found out how she¡¯s dealing with the situation. As you command, leader, the Pathwalker replies with more deference than I¡¯ve ever heard from her before. My eyebrows rise slightly in surprise as she puts action to word, herding the herbalist away before the other Pathwalker can say a word. I look back at Lathani, only to see her gazing over at the herbalist. The Bond between us writhes with emotions that are not expressed at all in her body language. To all outward appearances, she¡¯s normal, but I know that that¡¯s not true. I can feel eyes from all around watching us. This isn¡¯t the ideal situation to have a heart to heart. I push myself up to a standing position, putting a hand on Lathani¡¯s head and starting to stroke comfortingly. ¡°Alright everyone, let¡¯s make camp here. Bastet, Catch, please direct the groups to make camp. River, Lathani, you stay here with me.¡± My Bound obey with alacrity ¨C I think they are all just as tired as I am. I take a moment to send a message to Spine and Trinity, letting them know where to find us. We¡¯re up-valley from the village, so hopefully there isn¡¯t any risk that they might try to go through the samurans to get to us. ¡°Right, now we¡¯re a bit more private, Lathani, talk to me. What¡¯s going through your mind?¡± I ask gently. River shifts uneasily, so I send him a look and a flick of emotion through the Bond which make him settle a little. The nunda juvenile herself shifts from paw to paw, then presses into me. I don¡¯t know, pack leader, she says finally. I can¡¯t express it. Instead, she just pushes her emotions at me through the Bond. It¡¯s a bit like Bastet used to do, but there, it was more that she chose which emotions she wanted to send, a precursor to talking. This is more like Lathani wants me to interpret her emotions for her, so she doesn¡¯t have to. I¡¯m not a therapist, but part of me can¡¯t help but think that that is an unhealthy habit to get into. After all, after my mother died, my therapist was all about coming to terms with one¡¯s own emotions. Owning them. If I interpret Lathani¡¯s emotions for her, how is she supposed to do that? ¡°Alright, well how do you feel about having just been in the village where you were held?¡± She thinks for a moment. Nothing. I didn¡¯t recognise it at all. Even the smell was different. When I was there last time, I was held in a place which was either dim or dark, full of the smells of plants and animal parts, and things that made me want to sneeze. Where we have just been was nothing like I remember. Except her, she finishes, using her nose and whiskers to indicate the herbalist who, along with Joy, is sitting in the middle of the space, watching everyone else build the shelter. I narrow my eyes at that, but decide to tackle it later. At least Joy is helping ¨C I see her focussing and branches weaving together to create the roof. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°OK. And how do you feel about the shaman dying?¡± This makes Lathani pause to think a little longer. I don¡¯t know. I am happy¡­and yet I am angry at the same time. And why do I still feel a little afraid of her? My heart aches at the confusion and frustration in the nunda¡¯s mental voice. ¡°It¡¯s OK to have multiple emotions about the same thing,¡± I tell her. I honestly never thought that I¡¯d end up channelling my old therapist so much in such a short time. ¡°Can you work out why you¡¯re feeling those different emotions?¡± I am happy that she is dead, Lathani says with vehemence. She did horrible things to me which hurt and made me feel ¡®wrong¡¯. It¡¯s only been recently that I¡¯ve started feeling right again ¨C and only when I joined the group properly. Mother taught me how to see my pathways and I can still see what a mess many of them are in. She burned almost all my minor pathways, did you know that? Destroyed them so that they will never grow again as they once were. And at the same time, she force-grew my major pathways so they are now bigger than they should be. Mother told me what would have happened ¨C I would have become very powerful, but it would have half-destroyed me each time to use that power and I wouldn¡¯t have really been able to control it. A blunt weapon rather than a graceful hunter. I had never asked Kalanthia for more details about what had happened to Lathani at the hands of the lizard-folk ¨C maybe I should have. The nunda¡¯s words don¡¯t make a huge amount of sense when put in the context of my own Energy-chanel network: the mandala seems very balanced with no evident major or minor pathways. However, from the images Lathani is sending with her words, the same is not true of her. It looks more like her system was originally more like her cardiovascular system: major veins and arteries led from the Core which appears to be somewhere in her chest, branching off into smaller and smaller channels. As she spoke about the shaman¡¯s work, I saw an image of those small capillaries one by one being extinguished. Then, as she talked about the major pathways, I saw those major arteries being doubled, tripled in thickness. Sure enough, what was left was a very crude structure, nothing but thick cables running from her Core to her extremities. I still have much to learn about Energy channels, but I can kind of imagine what might happen with a network like that ¨C the thick cables would allow a lot of power down them all at once, but it doesn¡¯t surprise me that there would be little control. ¡°So that¡¯s the happiness,¡± I say finally, getting us back on topic. ¡°What about the anger?¡± I wanted to kill her myself, Lathani says immediately. I wanted to taste her blood on my claws, to rip out her throat with my teeth. River shifts again, unease and guilt seeping through the Bond between us. ¡°Do you feel angry at River for killing her?¡± I ask carefully. It¡¯s an awkward question for sure, but one that needs a response. Otherwise, it will just fester between the two of them. Lathani looks over at River, then shifts away from my hand. I let it drop to the side, watching closely as she prowls over to him. He looks nervous, but doesn¡¯t move as she approaches. He flinches a little as she rears up, placing her front paws on his shoulders. She¡¯s got big, I think absently as I watch them. Like that, she¡¯s actually taller than him, her head easily reaching my height. Her paws are now the size of side plates, and still look a bit big for her body ¨C big as she already is, she¡¯s not finished growing yet. For a moment, they just stare at each other solemnly, then Lathani leans in and butts her head against River¡¯s crocodilian jaws. Then, leaving a shell-shocked lizard-man behind, Lathani pushes off his shoulder and drops down to her normal four-pawed position. No. I like him and wouldn¡¯t want him to have died. If he hadn¡¯t killed the nasty lizard, he probably would have been stabbed instead. ¡°Alright, good to know,¡± I reply, feeling almost as relieved as River is right now. ¡°As for fear, it¡¯s understandable that you would still feel afraid of someone who hurt you like that. Now she¡¯s gone, hopefully the fear will fade. How about the herbalist? How are you feeling, being so close to her?¡± Then, almost reluctantly, I ask the next question. ¡°Do you want to kill her too?¡± Lathani eyes me and then River. I do not have good memories of her, she says slowly. She forced me to drink potions which tasted horrible, and burnt my insides. She ignored every cry for help I ever made, blocked my attempt to communicate from her mind. She did not cause as much direct damage to me as the shaman, but she certainly hurt me just as much. River is tense next to me, negative emotions flickering both through his spikes and the Bond. Lathani¡¯s gaze rests thoughtfully on him. I want her to hurt, to be punished, yet I think that friend River would be hurt if I were to kill her as I ache to do. ¡°We¡¯re talking about your feelings here, Lathani,¡± I say gently. ¡°Not River¡¯s.¡± If it were just myself and my mother, I would choose to kill her, Lathani says with finality. I would choose to kill them all and have their blood bathe away my hurt and the damage they caused me. Apparently being genocidal is a species trait. Then again, they are cats. Kind of. However, I do not wish to hurt my friend. The nasty lizard is dead. As long as the other nasty lizard is punished in some way, and I am not required to be her friend, I can live with her survival. It¡¯s a mature way of looking at the situation, far more mature than I would have expected from the teenage nunda who followed after us when we went to rescue Fenrir, putting our rescue attempt at risk, or the same nunda who unilaterally invoked companion Bond and put me in conflict with her mother, almost leading to my own death. Then again, maybe she¡¯s finally learning that actions have consequences, and in this situation has decided that the consequences of hurting someone she¡¯s grown to care about are not worth the pleasure that taking her revenge will have. I applaud her ¨C honestly, I¡¯m not sure I could have said the same thing if it was me who had been hurt and permanently changed. Especially when River was someone who hurt her at first too. ¡°That¡¯s a very mature viewpoint,¡± I say to Lathani finally. ¡°As for whether we¡¯ll let the herbalist live, that¡¯s still up in the air. If I decide that she has to die, I¡¯ll let you do it, OK? Then you don¡¯t have to feel guilty, because it¡¯s me who made the decision, but you can still have your revenge.¡± Lathani flexes her front paws so that her sharp claws slide out of their sheaths. In that situation, I would be happy to oblige, she says darkly. Then she looks back up at me. Pack leader, I am hungry and tired. May I go rest? ¡°Of course,¡± I say. It reminds me to pull out some meat for everyone. ¡°River, wait here a moment,¡± I say, then go with Lathani to do just that. Everyone gathered around the carcasses, even Joy and the herbalist deigning to join in with the group, I return to where River is waiting for me, nerves jangling in my stomach like a whole flock of butterflies is in there. ¡°OK, River, I think now is the time.¡± The time for what, master? ¡°The time to set you free.¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Five: The Feeling of Grief River rears back from me. Master, it¡¯s not necessary, he says, a hint of pleading in his voice. ¡°River¡­it is.¡± When he looks like he¡¯s about to argue with me, I hold up a hand to stop him. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for you, it is for me. I just don¡¯t know how much of this is genuine, and how much is the Bond,¡± I tell him, gesturing between us. ¡°I¡¯ve said before that as soon as all debts were cleared between us, I would release you from the Bond. Now that the Forest of Death has been destroyed and your village is safe, that time is now. ¡°However,¡± I continue, looking seriously at him and pushing my sincerity down the Bond so it is unmistakable. ¡°I want to again make it very clear that this is in no way intended as a punishment. Or a case of trading you in for a new samuran. I will say it now that my ideal situation is that you wish to Bond again afterwards, whether Tame or Companion Bond, and that we can continue as we have been. I only want that, though, if it¡¯s what you want too. ¡°So, please, take your time to think. Make sure that if you choose to Bond again, it¡¯s purely because you feel it will be most beneficial to you.¡± There¡¯s a short pause as River just looks at me silently, emotions flickering so quickly through the Bond and over his spikes that I have no chance of interpreting them. But¡­what about the village? River asks hesitantly. I look at him quizzically. ¡°What about them?¡± If I chose not to Bond again with you, would you¡­? Would you change your plans? I consider his question, then give a slight shrug. ¡°If you¡¯re concerned that I would leave them to the tender mercies of Kalanthia if you chose not to continue as part of my group, then no. I¡¯ve invested enough time and effort already in them; I might as well see it through to the end. I need to discuss with that herbalist of yours about it all, but one way or another, I¡¯ll take over the village. How much of a part of that you wish to be is up to you.¡± I consider it carefully for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about Kalanthia attacking you despite not being Bound to me ¨C you¡¯ve already ¡®paid¡¯ your dues. No, as long as you don¡¯t actively work against me in the village, you¡¯d be welcome to remain part of it, even if you don¡¯t rejoin the group.¡± But then I wouldn¡¯t have the connection to everyone else that I currently have, he says softly. ¡°No,¡± I agree. ¡°That¡¯s true. But if you¡¯ve got your village back, would you even need it? I¡¯m not planning on being a very hands-on leader here, not once things have been set up more to my satisfaction, anyway. If you choose to stay and not Bond, you probably wouldn¡¯t see the rest of us very often.¡± I see, he replies neutrally. I can¡¯t get a read on him. Well, I probably could if I dived deeply into the Bond, but given this whole thing is about severing that, I probably shouldn¡¯t. Even if I am tempted ¨C though I¡¯m trying to keep cool about it, to not let on how my own emotions are in tumult, I can¡¯t help the feeling of grief, of loss. It¡¯s like my subconscious is already resigned to losing him, to him turning his back on me like too many friends and family members have done to me in the past. ¡°Do you have any other questions?¡± I ask, not sure whether I want the answer to be yes or no ¨C whether I want the opportunity to procrastinate further, or be forced to just rip the band-aid off. I do not, River answers, still just as unreadable as before. I give him a short nod. ¡°Alright. Brace yourself. When I did this with Bastet, it was very¡­unpleasant.¡± I see tension creep into the lines of his body. Then, unable to stop myself from closing my eyes, I focus on releasing the chain that stretches from my Core space to wrap around River. The pain that hits me makes me groan quietly. It¡¯s like the ache of losing a tooth combined with the wrench of saying goodbye to someone close who you know you will never see again. It feels like I¡¯ve just watched a train pull out of a station carrying a close friend, destined for somewhere on the other side of the world, in a reality without the technology to keep communication. The ache of the tooth eases after a few moments, but the gnawing ache of loss remains. It¡¯s not as bad as the pain I still carry at the loss of either my mother or my father, but it¡¯s not dissimilar. I force my eyes open. River¡¯s¡­Runs-with-the-river¡¯s face is lined with pain too, his eyes full of it. ¡°How long will this last?¡± he asks, only my Animal Empathy allowing me to understand his words, just as it allows me to understand any other unBound samuran. His words sound flat in a way I¡¯ve never noticed, the depth of emotions filtering through the Bond completely absent. It¡¯s the same as with any other samuran without a Bond, but I¡¯ve never experienced it with Ri-Runs-with-the-river. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I say, then, seeing the lack of understanding on his face, realise what I forgot to do. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I repeat, focussing on letting him understand me. ¡°It was painful with Bastet too, but we quickly Bonded again afterwards, so it didn¡¯t linger. However, if this is soul-damage, which I suspect it is, it will get better ¨C in time.¡± How much time is indeed the question ¨C I remember seeing how my soul had already started healing the damage I inflicted on myself with the Pure Energy, but not enough to start making any real difference. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I can have a look at what the damage is on my end of things, to get some sort of idea,¡± I offer. ¡°If you will,¡± Runs-with-the-river asks. It doesn¡¯t suit him, this stilted politeness. I nod and am diving within myself before I consider that, now not one of my Bound at all, River has no restrictions on attacking me. When the thought does occur to me, already entering the soul space, I consider it and then push it to one side. My other Bound around would come to my aid if I needed it, I¡¯m sure. And I can¡¯t stand to think that River might attack me. Not River any more, I remind myself. Seeing as I¡¯m here, I might as well as check things out. Close inspection reveals that indeed there are small marks in the substance which makes up my soul. It¡¯s like a chain has pulled free, taking a small chunk of soul with it. I suspect that it will take a few days to a couple of weeks to fill in again. And that¡¯s with me intentionally releasing it. If it had been ripped out against my will, how much worse would the wound be? I suspect that Runs-with-the-river¡¯s wound is much worse. I can¡¯t see his soul, but from what I¡¯ve learned about the Bond, the effects are always worse on the Bound than on the Binder. I suppose I can understand Kalanthia¡¯s anger more now that I can see that the Bond¡¯s release has actually had a visible effect on my soul, and a probably far greater one on River¡¯s. Runs-with-the-river¡¯s. Pulling out of my soul space, I sway a little in disorientation. Only having spent a short time there, the effect isn¡¯t too bad. And, sending a frisson of relief and hope through me, the samuran is still sitting in front of me patiently, apparently not having moved. I tell him my findings succinctly, not trying to soften them in any way. Better to know what he¡¯s dealing with than to have false hope that the pain will resolve quicker than it probably will. ¡°I see,¡± he says finally, emotions once more flickering quickly through his spikes. ¡°I wish to take advantage of your offer to think things over a little, if I may?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I agree hurriedly. ¡°And although you don¡¯t need to feel obligated to do so, if you do decide to stay with us tonight, you¡¯re welcome to eat the food available.¡± ¡°I thank you, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he says, tipping up his chin briefly. ¡°May I be excused?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I agree again, watching as he steps away, joining the group around the carcasses. My eyes are narrowed, watching as he walks away. I see the pain still running through every line of his body ¨C we¡¯ve spent enough time together, and I¡¯ve seen him suffering frequently enough that it¡¯s unmistakable. Is that why he¡¯s being so formal? Or is he just falling on old habits for lack of direction of what else to do? Certainly, his final address indicated that, Bond or not, he recognised me as being at the same level as the leaders of his village, which I guess is a good sign. One, because it probably means that he doesn¡¯t intend on obstructing my attempts to gain control of the village. Two, because it might indicate that he still considers me as part of his group, even if it¡¯s the greater group rather than the smaller, more intimate one we¡¯ve had for the past while. Hope and despair war within me and I try to push them away. Denial of emotions isn¡¯t great, I know, but wallowing in them is just as bad. I told River¡­Runs-with-the-river to take some time to think about it. That he hasn¡¯t suddenly jumped to wanting a Bond straight after the last one was cut is a good thing ¨C it means he actually wants to give this some thought. I should be glad of it ¨C or so I tell myself. Either way, until he comes to me and tells me straight out what his choice is, I can¡¯t do anything about it. I might as well go and do something productive, namely speaking with the new Evolved samuran in our midst. Pushing myself off the tree I started leaning on when I moved to enter my soul space, I head with determined footsteps to where Joy and the herbalist sit, a carcass sitting between them, apparently only for them. That makes my mouth tighten in displeasure. Pausing before I get to them, I send an Inspect at the herbalist. Her head turns to look right at me, anger on her face and in her spikes. I only catch a glimpse of that before the box of information returned by the Skill appears in front of me.
Samuran: Grubs-in-the-dirt Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Transmutation, Healing Infusion Health: 540u Mana: 1220u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 72 (70) Open to a Bond: Uncertain A member of a samuran community; one of its highest-ranking leaders. While this beast is mostly suited to non-combat activities, she can apply some of her special abilities in combat if necessary. Social Beast with a strong capacity to form bonds.
Close message? Y/N
The description is almost identical to that of Joy¡¯s, but there are some key differences. Her name, for one ¨C I get a moment of amusement at the image that it brings up. She has a little lower health and higher mana than Joy too, and the Willpower needed to Dominate her is higher, though still within my capabilities. Then there¡¯s the fact that she has two special abilities. I can kind of get what Healing Infusion probably does, but Transmutation is very intriguing. It actually sways me more towards wanting to let her live, just to see what that¡¯s about. I dismiss the screen to see her glaring at me. Apparently, she felt that. Well, perhaps that¡¯s not such a bad thing ¨C it showcases that my abilities aren¡¯t limited to fire and binding. ¡°So,¡± I say, moving forwards to sit next to the carcass, like the two Pathwalkers are. ¡°Grubs-in-the-dirt is an interesting name.¡± I see her stiffen next to me ¨C I gambled a bit on starting like that, judging from Joy¡¯s reaction to me knowing her name. From the looks of it, though, it¡¯s hit a mark. Reaching forwards, I use my knife to cut a slice of the carcass off. Then, holding it between two fingers, I summon fire to surround it. It sizzles and I feel my fingers starting to burn from the heat of the meat itself. Not wanting to reveal pain and ruin the little scene I¡¯m trying to create here, I reduce my pain sensation by a little ¨C enough that I can keep a straight face without completely losing all sensation. ¡°Do you remember what exactly you were grubbing for at the time?¡± I ask as if I¡¯m not grilling meat between my own fingers. Once it¡¯s cooked enough, I dismiss the fire, then pop the meat straight in my mouth. Keeping my pain off my face and my fingertips hidden from her view, I send healing magic through my system to the burns I¡¯ve just caused myself. Perhaps that wasn¡¯t terribly well-considered, but from the impressed look on both Pathwalkers¡¯ faces, it¡¯s certainly had the effect I wanted. Point to me. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Six: Just Because You Can, Does It Mean You Should? ¡°You are capable of divining information about those you see?¡± the herbalist, Grubs-in-the-dirt, asks. And honestly, between all the names I¡¯ve heard of the lizard-folk so far, that is the one I can least take seriously. And I need to take the samuran herself seriously ¨C she seems to be at the centre of so much recently. ¡°I am,¡± I reply briefly. ¡°What else are you capable of, I wonder,¡± she says, her tone wary. ¡°Controlling the life-devourer. Somehow converting the loyalty of my kin to you. Now divining information that should remain personal.¡± ¡°Many things,¡± I answer, not giving an inch. ¡°I find your abilities to be quite interesting, too. Transmutation and Healing Infusion. Care to explain what those might be?¡± ¡°No,¡± she answers, just as short with me as I was with her. ¡°Not before I know why you¡¯re doing what you¡¯re doing. Why did you steal Runs-with-the-river?¡± The ¡®from me¡¯ is unsaid but loud nonetheless. ¡°I didn¡¯t ¡®steal¡¯ Runs-with-the-river,¡± I refute. ¡°We had a conversation and he decided that he¡¯d rather help me in exchange for my help with your problem with the ¡®Forest of Death¡¯. Especially when compared to the alternative of me just doing what I needed to do and probably killing more of your kin in the process.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe that he was willing to sit down and talk to you about traitorous actions?¡± Her tone is incredulous. ¡°That a mere conversation could create the changes I see in him and my sister?¡± Joy shifts a little uneasily at that. ¡°It¡¯s a special type of conversation,¡± I tell the herbalist. ¡°If you wish to live, you will find that out for yourself soon enough.¡± After all, the herbalist in particular is one who will either submit to a Dominate Bond or die. For her actions against Lathani, I highly doubt that Kalanthia will be satisfied with anything less than a full Dominate Bond ¨C if that. And nor will I, when it comes down to it. Not when I¡¯m realising just how much risk these Evolved samurans could offer to my family if not Bound to me. The samuran stills. ¡°Is that a threat?¡± she demands, a hiss underlying her clicks and grunts, angry red spilling into her spikes. ¡°It¡¯s a consequence,¡± I tell her, outwardly calm and unconcerned, but actually preparing to defend myself if she suddenly decides to attack me. River knew little of how the Pathwalkers attacked, but Joy was a mine of information which I took full advantage of in our journey away from Kalanthia¡¯s cave. Apparently, the herbalist tends to use a mixture of concoctions and, unusually for a Pathwalker, mundane ranged attacks with precisely thrown slim wooden daggers or darts shot through a blowgun, often laced with some sort of debilitating poison. It seems like the healer specialises in disabling her opponent one way or another, and then only gets close when they¡¯re already down. What that means is that where a Warrior might be significantly disadvantaged by starting a fight from sitting on the ground, the herbalist is not. However, I think her wooden daggers and darts would have a hard job piercing both my armour and silken undershirt, so she might have a surprise if she does try to attack. Thankfully, after a tense moment, she settles down. I still stay on alert in case it¡¯s just a facade. ¡°A consequence,¡± she repeats doubtfully. ¡°Of what? Is this where you tell me that we were wrong to try to save ourselves? I have heard Runs-with-the-river¡¯s story. He claims that we would have been destroyed by the Great Predator if we had continued with our plan to kill her cub. If so, where is she? Why did she send you in her place?¡± ¡°Because I argued against genocide,¡± I tell her, weariness suddenly dragging once more at me. The pain of burning myself briefly chased my exhaustion away, but it¡¯s back with a vengeance. ¡°Because her ultimatum for allowing you to live was to take control over your village, to ensure that you would no longer pose a threat to her or her cub.¡± ¡°Who is she to impose such on us?¡± the herbalist snaps back at me with abrupt fury. ¡°She is not our conqueror; neither are you. We succeeded in taking her cub from her against her will; she could not stand against even half our Warriors. If she is weak enough to allow that to happen, why should we bare our throats to her threats?¡± ¡°Answer me this,¡± I say instead of continuing this tit for tat argument. ¡°Is this whole ¡®might is right¡¯ philosophy working for you?" I ask, almost softly. ¡°Just because you can, does that mean you should?" I¡¯m suddenly tired of all this. The posturing, the resistance. I¡¯ve dealt with the Forest of Death for them, advocated for their lives, River almost died trying to save them from themselves while the rest of them just watched him battle a samuran much older and more powerful than him¡­. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I sigh and shift so I¡¯m looking the herbalist right in her bronze-coloured eyes. They¡¯re similar to River¡¯s and Catch¡¯s but not identical, I realise. Though the base colour is the same, there are flecks of other metallic colours which spike out from the slit of black that makes the pupil. ¡°River¡­Runs-with-the-river said that almost half the village¡¯s Warriors were killed in the expedition to kidnap Lathani. If Kalanthia attacked, this time on the offence rather than the defence, there would be far more deaths. Your village would be destroyed even if you managed to kill her before she wiped you all out. And that¡¯s by no means a guarantee, especially since I would have fought to protect her, and my Bound with me.¡± Joy shifts again, discomfort flashing through her spikes. ¡°What is your point?¡± demands the herbalist, tensing as if she is about to attack, or is perhaps bracing for one. ¡°My point is that there is a better way of doing things.¡± ¡°And you think you can teach us that?¡± she asks, hints of contempt in her voice as she looks me up and down. ¡°Who are you to come and criticise the way we¡¯ve been doing things for generations?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been killing hatchlings for generations?¡± I ask pointedly. She shifts and looks away. ¡°No, but our sister¡¯s motivations were good. She wished to protect our village.¡± ¡°Did she?¡± I ask shrewdly. ¡°Or did she just want to protect her own power?¡± It¡¯s just a theory here, but River told me how she had rejected the idea of moving away from their ¡®ancestors¡¯ bones¡¯. Given that she was known to control ¡®spirits¡¯ ¨C indeed, that was the whole idea behind kidnapping Lathani in the first place ¨C I have to wonder if her power was actually dependent on being close to the bones of creatures she had either killed or who were connected to her through blood ties. She¡¯s dead now so I can¡¯t ask her. Still, if the way the herbalist goes quiet is any judge, she either knows more or feels like my supposition might have merit. ¡°I¡¯m not from here,¡± I tell the herbalist softly. ¡°And my people have learned that though having a philosophy of the strongest rule can be good in certain ways, it doesn¡¯t allow a society to grow beyond a certain point. How many hatchlings who might have become Pathwalkers or Warriors die in their first year because of bad luck? Or how many intelligent minds which could have created ways of making your life easier and better have been lost because they were born into weak bodies? ¡°My people have set foot on the moon, have plumbed the deepest oceans, and those even though we can neither fly naturally nor breathe water. All because we recognised that different people have different strengths and weaknesses, and that by offering support for the weakest, we actually help the whole of society.¡± The herbalist says nothing, just gazing at me thoughtfully, then turning to look at the fire River¡­Runs-with-the-river has made off to the side of the camp. He is lying next to it, gazing up at the stars which peek through the canopy above ¨C I wonder if he¡¯s planning on joining everyone in the shelter later. Joy is still looking uncomfortable, darting glances between the fire and me. We need to sleep ¨C the morning will come earlier than we¡¯d like it to, considering how late we¡¯ve been awake. I push myself to my feet, making both Pathwalkers look up at me, the herbalist tensing again. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± I tell them. ¡°I suggest that you do the same.¡± Joy scrambles to her feet as quickly as she can, and catches up with me when I¡¯m only a couple of paces away. Wait, Markus, she said. I pause, turning slightly to look back at her. ¡°What is it?¡± I ask her wearily. Would you¡­ she hesitantly starts, then continues silently across our Bond. Would you¡­if the Great Predator had attacked the village and you fought with her, would you have¡­required us to fight too? I sense that she hasn¡¯t asked it privately, and that the other samurans around us, apart from the two which are not currently part of the network, are listening intently. I¡¯m dying to lie down, but it¡¯s an important question for them, so I give it the time it deserves. No, I wouldn¡¯t have, I tell them after a period of thought. Not if the goal was to wipe out your village. I would have only taken part myself to keep Kalanthia alive. After all, at the time, Kalanthia meant a lot more to me than any of the group of villagers, apart from River. I wouldn¡¯t have actively taken part in the genocide, but I would have used my healing to help Kalanthia stay alive, and if she retreated, to defend her retreat. But if that had been the decision, then it would have happened long before we met each other, so it¡¯s irrelevant in a sense. And if it turns into a fight now? This time, the question is from Lee. I hesitate for a long moment. This is different. I would like to keep deaths to a minimum. Among the leadership, it must be either submission or death; among the Unevolved, if they would prefer to leave the village entirely instead of submitting to my rule, then I may permit it. But I will need your help ¨C either to convince or to control. I will not ask any of you to kill your kin, I say making a decision about a question which had been playing on my mind for a while, and no doubt on theirs as well. Then we shall try to convince as many of our kin to submit as possible, Lee says, apparently acting as spokes-samuran for the group, if the chorus of agreement from the other lizard-folk is anything to go by. And I will continue talking to Herbalist, Joy chimes in. That way, hopefully she will offer a supporting voice tomorrow. Then, privately to me, she adds further thoughts. I am still not entirely sure whether this upheaval is a good idea, but I have seen enough that I¡¯m willing to support it for now ¨C and not only because you could oblige me to do so. Alright, thanks Joy, I say to her not sure if it¡¯s a true compliment or a bit of a back-handed one. Still, if she can convince her kin not to engage in an all-out battle, that will save us all a lot of time and pain. With that, I say goodnight to everyone, cast an uncertain glance at the figure of River still lying on the ground, staring up at the stars, and then duck inside the shelter for some much-needed sleep. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Seven: A Real Ride The next morning dawns bright and early. I see the sun rise because I was woken up by Marty and Sirocco returning. Marty isn¡¯t too badly off ¨C I get the sense that her kind is probably at least partially nocturnal ¨C but poor Sirocco seems to be almost falling asleep on her feet. Well, wings. I decided that it would be too much risk to ask them to stick around the village when it started getting light. And ultimately, the reason I left them around was just to make sure that the samurans didn¡¯t start amassing a hunting party without us knowing. They will be passing on the baton of information gathering to Joy when the Pathwalkers convene later. From what the two related, the village was mostly quiet after we left. They did send me some images of what looked like Pathwalkers and Warriors meeting together and separately ¨C the discussions which we were expecting them to have, no doubt. I was worried that they might have been discovered, but they don¡¯t think that they were. At least, there was no sort of outcry about their presence. If they had been¡­. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t such a good idea to leave them behind. I was too tired to properly consider it at the time, but thinking back to it, and considering the consequences of having made a deal to leave with all my Bound and then having been discovered not to have done so makes my stomach swoop a little. Well, nothing to do about it now. The rest of the group are rousing now that dawn¡¯s first light is peeking through the trees. The rays of light are slowly turning the murk of the mist that wreathes the bases of the trees into what looks like plumes of breath on a cold morning. There¡¯s a chill in the air which heralds the coming winter, making me glad for my spider-silk undergarments. I¡¯m pretty sure it rained during the night too: the ground is too damp for it to just have been mist. Fortunately, being under shelter, I wasn¡¯t woken by it if it did rain. Pulling on my armour, I head out to the fire circle that I lit last night. By this point, it¡¯s long cold, but between restocking it with fuel and magic, it¡¯s soon burning merrily. Aingeal, the fire elemental, happily goes to dance in the flames, becoming indistinguishable from the rest of the fire. I might think that it had completely disappeared, except that I can still sense it, an external flicker of innocent joy and freedom. Pulling out some more carcasses, my Bound gather around, eagerly digging in. Looking around the clearing, I note with relief that Trinity and Spine both made it ¨C their large forms are rather hard to miss. I hadn¡¯t liked leaving them behind, but in light of what would have happened if I¡¯d been a couple of seconds later in arriving in the village, I can¡¯t regret it. Especially not since they¡¯ve apparently made it back to us unscathed. Almost unscathed, I amend my thought, noting the small marks on Trinity¡¯s shoulder, and the broken spike on Spine¡¯s tail. Walking over there, I take a moment to check in with them, healing the injuries. It appears that they encountered a group of beasts, but that their defences were more than up to the task of keeping them safe. I didn¡¯t recognise the creatures in the memories they sent ¨C not that that¡¯s surprising. After all, I¡¯ve only been in this world a couple of months. I¡¯m just glad that they made it through fine. Heading back to the fire afterwards, I take some time to eat some of my pre-prepared food and drink some of my previously boiled water. I make a mental note to take a trip to the river bend that¡¯s closest to the village ¨C I¡¯ve got enough for now, but my Bound will also need hydration. Those thoughts flee my mind when a figure stops in front of me. ¡°How do I know you mean well for my village?¡± Grubs-in-the-dirt, the village¡¯s herbalist, confronts me. ¡°How do I know that by following your different way of approaching things, we will survive?¡± Her spikes are rippling with almost a rainbow of colours. It seems she¡¯s rather conflicted, and I abruptly wonder just how much actual sleep she got last night. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was less than me. ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± I tell her, concentrating on being understood. Evidently, that¡¯s not the answer she was expecting, if her spikes are to judge by. What, was she expecting me to have some sort of blithe answer which would wipe away all her doubts? I wish I did. ¡°But what you have right now clearly isn¡¯t working, so what do you have to lose?¡± ¡°It is working,¡± she argues, her jaws set mulishly. ¡°We have survived for untold generations like this.¡± ¡°But how many more generations will your village survive if you start sacrificing hatchlings and Unevolved adults for power?¡± I ask pointedly. The herbalist clicks loudly in frustration. ¡°I did not agree with my sister in that decision, I¡¯ve told you that already. Yet I accepted it because she had good reasons. It was only for the current situation which, prior to the burning of the Forest of Death, was dire. It wouldn¡¯t have been something that continued.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± I ask, my tone dark. ¡°The pursuit of power is a slippery slope. My people have many histories of people who started searching for power for good reasons, and ended up committing atrocities. How long would it have been until your shaman had started saying that sacrificing the next generation of hatchlings would have been necessary to give her the power to deal with a smaller threat than that of the Forest of Death? And then how long until it was justifiable to just give her the power? That¡¯s the problem with a ¡®might is right¡¯ philosophy: if the shaman has the power, then whatever she says is right.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I¡¯m aware as I speak of the certain amount of hypocrisy in my words. After all, what am I doing here but seeking power over the lizard-folk to ¡®help¡¯ them? And I¡¯m willing to resort to using strength in combat to ensure that I succeed. My intentions are good, but in practicality, I need to seriously consider if my actions are any better than the shaman¡¯s, both now and in the future. It will be a difficult balance to reach, I think. The herbalist opens her mouth, but the words she wishes to speak are lost as both of us instinctively look off to the side at the sound of a commotion. I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s the movement or the flickering light. It could even be the change in the air: the Energy almost becomes static. Though it doesn¡¯t make my hair stand on end, it feels like it should. I don¡¯t remember that happening last time, but perhaps my senses were not so good then. Either way, my attention is drawn to a spot off to the side of the clearing: the spot where, until a short time ago, River was sitting. Perhaps he still is, but I am unable to see: he is obscured from sight in a way that I¡¯ve only seen once before. A large ball of bright yellow Energy has formed around the space where, only a few short moments ago, River ¨C Runs-with-the-river ¨C sat with the much-reduced Core from the danaris between his claws. Still my Bound or not, he earned that Core, so I saw no reason to keep it from him when he came to me asking for it. ¡°He¡¯s evolving,¡± both the Pathwalker and I breathe at the same time. We exchange glances, everything else forgotten in the excitement of the moment. At our words, quiet clicks and grunts ring out among the other samurans, Warriors and Unevolved alike. The latter seem the most excited ¨C as well they should be: one of their number is well on his way to reaching another tier. It is a sign that they, too, might be capable of doing the same, someday. One by one, all of my Bound, along with the herbalist, make a circle around Runs-with-the-river. I join them too, though glance around a little warily ¨C if all of us are watching the Evolution, who¡¯s watching our backs? Fortunately, I¡¯m not alone in being concerned ¨C Bastet is alert and on the lookout, as are Lee, Catch, and Murmur. Reassured, I focus back on the Evolution taking place in front of me. The cloud of Energy concealing the person who I thought was my friend when he was my Bound, but now feel completely uncertain about where he stands. I haven¡¯t approached him in any way since he asked for space ¨C I haven¡¯t wanted to intrude. Even when he came asking for the Core, though tempted to ask whether his time to think had rendered any answers, I resisted the urge. After all, giving him the time he asked for is the least of what I owe him, really. Now, watching his Evolution, all I can feel is pride at being part of getting him there. Though I¡¯ve only seen one Evolution in my life, it seems it¡¯s going well. At least, it appears similar to what I saw happen with Bastet. The sparks are a different colour ¨C and I wouldn¡¯t have picked yellow if asked which colour might best represent River ¨C but they¡¯ve formed a whirling ball around him, just as Bastet¡¯s forest-green ones had for her. If I remember Kalanthia¡¯s words correctly, this is a good sign that the first stages of the Evolutionary process have been correctly accomplished. Certainly, the samurans around me seem to be unconcerned, watching the events with eager excitement. It occurs to me that, though Evolution is still a very new concept for me ¨C this type of evolution, anyway ¨C it¡¯s a familiar one to the samurans. Indeed, several of those standing in the circle with me have undergone it themselves. After sending a quick look around, I sidle closer to where the herbalist has joined Joy. Iandee and Peace are standing nearby too, which makes that a good group to join for a variety of different opinions. As I get closer, I hear the herbalist murmuring to Joy, the colour in her spikes indicating pleasure. Joy is aware of my presence ¨C I see it in the quick glance she sends me ¨C but since I¡¯m approaching from behind, the herbalist isn¡¯t. I pause before announcing myself, curious about what they¡¯re discussing. ¡°I told you he would be one that reached Evolution, didn¡¯t I? I told you!¡± ¡°Yes, I know,¡± Joy replies a little testily. ¡°You don¡¯t need to rub it in. Besides, he hasn¡¯t got there yet.¡± ¡°No,¡± agreed the herbalist, seemingly undaunted. ¡°But he¡¯s past the point that all but one of out of a clawful of those who even attempt Evolution get stuck at.¡± ¡°True,¡± allows Joy. ¡°Now let¡¯s hope that your erstwhile assistant has the sense to avoid the fate that the rest of the failures managed to fall to. Markus, you wish to speak to us?¡± she asks, alerting the herbalist to my presence. Eyeing her, I¡¯m not sure whether she¡¯s trying to be polite by acknowledging me, or stymie my information-gathering about her sister. Either way, I file what I¡¯ve just learnt away for later consideration ¨C it might turn out to be useful or completely useless; for now, I have another question. ¡°What do you usually do when one of the village manages to Evolve?¡± I ask curiously. ¡°Is there a celebration or something?¡± ¡°A celebration? Oh man, you have no idea,¡± an unexpected source of information breaks in. Iandee shifts closer to me, turning himself so he can see both me and the ball of whirling sparks which is my recently-released Bound. ¡°It¡¯s wild, I tell you. First there¡¯s an obligatory ranking fight among all the Evolved. Then there¡¯s a massive feast. We eat fresh meat, we drink something that the Honoured Herbalist gives us, we see some crazy things, and then we sleep. It¡¯s a real ride, that¡¯s for sure.¡± We all stare at Iandee for a long moment. ¡°What?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Eight: A Seat Around The Carcass I eye him for a moment, then look between Joy and Peace, silently inviting further explanation. ¡°Well, he¡¯s not wrong,¡± admits Joy, almost reluctantly. ¡°A new Evolved joining our ranks is certainly an opportunity for celebration, and one which all the village joins in on. It¡¯s one of the few times where no distinction is made between Evolved and Unevolved ¨C an acknowledgement that a villager has passed from one to the other. And Herbalist does give us all something to drink.¡± She gives the Pathwalker in question a look. The herbalist seems reluctant to speak but does so after a moment of silent urging that I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the only one engaging in. ¡°It is a concoction designed to enhance the ability of all drinkers to connect with the world around them. It has long been believed that a newly-Evolved being can offer insight to their kin in the first day after making the leap. Indeed, sometimes even those who have been Evolved for a long time can benefit, though it is more likely to benefit those who haven¡¯t yet Evolved.¡± That actually sounds pretty interesting, I reckon. I still don¡¯t know how my own Energy channels and levelling fits in with what seems to govern the natives of this world ¨C and wherever Kalanthia is from, I guess too. However, given what I¡¯ve theorised and observed about Wisdom and the way it affects my connections with everyone and everything in my environment, this potion might still be useful to me. Assuming it actually works and isn¡¯t just some psychedelic magic mushrooms equivalent, that is. And that it would work as intended on someone with a completely different physiology than a samuran. On second thoughts, maybe I shouldn¡¯t even consider taking part without some extensive testing. ¡°Though whether the usual celebrations will happen given the current situation, I don¡¯t know,¡± muses Joy, breaking through my thoughts. Iandee stares at her with clear dismay written all over him. The Unevolved adults closest to us, and apparently eavesdropping on the conversation, do the same. ¡°You can¡¯t cancel the post-Evolution celebrations!¡± Iandee almost shouted, his clicks and grunts loud enough to make me hush him. ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± he repeats at a slightly lower volume. Though they don¡¯t say anything ¨C perhaps accustomed to not having a voice ¨C I can tell the rest of the Unevolved adults around me feel the same way. ¡°Think about it, Eats-dirt,¡± Peace says with a hint of irritation. ¡°Not only is the village in a tense temporary truce with an unknown threat,¡± he sends me a hint of apology down the Bond which I reply to with understanding, ¡°but the Evolved in question is a bit of a difficult subject. Remember that we were sent to capture him for causing the death of a Pathwalker.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t him, though,¡± I interject. ¡°I¡¯m the one who killed the Pathwalker.¡± ¡°We know that,¡± Joy replies, briskly. ¡°But, like it or not, you are not part of our village ¨C or at least have not yet been accepted to be so. Runs-with-the-river is still one of us unless a judgement is rendered which changes that, and is both the one who brought you into the village and who let you¡­well, who released you to actually do the deed. Thus, in our eyes, he is the one responsible for Mover¡¯s death. We were sent to capture Runs-with-the-river: killing or capturing you would have been a bonus, but not an objective,¡± she tells me, not shying away from the hard truth. As if he¡¯s somehow aware of the growing tension, Catch drifts over to stand behind at my shoulder. I abruptly feel the lack of River at my side. While the rest of the samurans had definitely been more loyal than I feared they might be last night, in the light of day, it¡¯s clear to see where their true loyalties lie ¨C and it¡¯s not with me. Or not entirely so, anyway. Then again, I suppose I can barely expect them to do so ¨C and if they did, it would almost certainly be more to do with the effect of the Dominate Bond than a genuine change of heart. Which makes me feel guilty for missing River since, until and unless he decides to support me without the Bond forcing him to do so, there¡¯s no guarantee that any of his previous support was genuine. In that sense, I can only really trust Bastet, Catch, and Lathani which¡­actually, is more reassuring than I thought it might be. It helps put things a little into perspective for me. ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope that you and your sisters manage to sort things out quickly enough that you will still get your celebration,¡± I tell them calmly, but firmly. ¡°If it helps the Unevolved in particular, I would hate for this situation to get in the way.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in putting the kill ahead of the hunt,¡± grunts Lee with a hint of a growl ¨C apparently he¡¯s been following the conversation through the Bond since I don¡¯t think he¡¯s been close enough to hear it most of the time. ¡°Runs-with-the-river may not survive yet, or even if he does survive, he may not have been sufficiently successful to become either Warrior or Pathwalker. In that case, this conversation is irrelevant.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. We all send him a glance, though a number of different emotions are represented, I¡¯m surprised to see that both the herbalist and mine are full of irritation. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Runs-with-the-river,¡± the herbalist says just as I speak too. ¡°I have full faith that he will complete the process.¡± We share a slightly startled look. Considering how much else we disagree on, it¡¯s good to see that at least we both want the best for the samuran currently undergoing Evolution. On that note, we wordlessly agree to table the discussion. The outline of Runs-with-the-river¡¯s form is becoming clearer ¨C it will soon become clear whether his Evolution has or hasn¡¯t become successful. What do you think are his chances? I ask Bastet privately. Good, she answered promptly. We have discussed my Evolution. I gave him the advice Kalanthia gave me. I take a moment to parse that, then find myself reassured. At least he¡¯s not doing it blind. We watch in silence, all anxious to know how things will turn out. As the outline of the Evolving samuran becomes clearer, more details appearing, grunts and clicks ring out across the clearing. I know why. Instead of the hulking form of a Warrior like Lee, or the still big but more lithe form of a Warrior like Peace, River has actually got smaller. Unless something has gone wrong with his Evolution ¨C which by the indications seems unlikely ¨C then River is actually becoming another type entirely. ¡°A Pathwalker,¡± I hear breathed by someone near me, though I can¡¯t tell who it is, and don¡¯t bother to look around to check. I¡¯m too focussed on watching exactly what is happening in front of me. Just like with Bastet, the Energy around Runs-with-the-river is slowly absorbed bit by bit until finally his¡­her form is revealed. She ¨C I can already tell it¡¯s going to be hard to get used to that ¨C pushes herself to her feet, brushing her hands over her form, investigating her own appearance for the first time. I suddenly wonder if we should be watching this: shouldn¡¯t Runs-with-the-river have the chance to get to grips with her own, very much changed body without our gawking? But she doesn¡¯t seem uncomfortable, nor do any of the other samurans around indicate any need to give privacy ¨C they should really know best in this situation. So, I instead cast my eyes over her changed form. She has got smaller and slimmer in all ways ¨C even her jaws are slightly narrower. Her ear flaps seem thinner, her spikes are shorter, and even her claws seem more dainty. From what I understand, physical strength and advantages have been traded out for magical ones. Though why that should necessitate losing the physical abilities he ¨C she ¨C had to begin with, I don¡¯t know. Within a short space of time, she looks up at us with a challenging gaze. I notice that it¡¯s particularly focussed on the two beside me: Joy and the herbalist. ¡°I am a Pathwalker,¡± she says. Even her voice has changed: the grunts becoming slightly lighter, probably because the parts that make them have reduced in size. ¡°You are,¡± acknowledges Joy. ¡°Congratulations,¡± responds the herbalist, rather warmer than Joy had been. ¡°Then you will agree that I am owed a seat around the carcass as we discuss what our village should do about the proposition posed to us,¡± she announces, a statement; not a question. The samuran around listening ¨C which is all of them ¨C fall absolutely silent and still. The two Pathwalkers exchange looks, and then flash simultaneous ones at Lee. ¡°She¡¯s¡­not wrong,¡± Lee says slowly. ¡°She¡¯s not acknowledged,¡± Joy shoots back at him. ¡°Does that matter?¡± he asks. ¡°She¡¯s a Pathwalker, and one of our village. I see no reason why she should not be given a seat around the carcass.¡± From the repetition of the odd phrase, despite the automatic translation of both the Bonds and Animal Empathy, I have to guess that it¡¯s similar to ¡®a seat around the table¡¯ or something like that. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t, I don¡¯t think,¡± answers the herbalist slowly after a short pause. ¡°However, it is likely Wind-whisperer or Wood-shaper would have more issue with it. Perhaps Shrieks-loudly would object too.¡± Runs-with-the-river shifts her jaws into an expression which I recognise even on her new features ¨C an anticipatory grin on a human. ¡°Then let us go ask them.¡± She starts walking back towards the village and the whole group shifts to follow her. I¡¯m left behind, looking at Bastet in a little amusement. Should I be concerned? I ask her half-joking, half-serious. No, she answers with a sense of nonchalance. I wonder what she knows that I don¡¯t. If Runs-with-the-river sets herself against me, it¡¯s evident that I¡¯ll have a fight on my hands even among my own Bound ¨C my fault, perhaps, for setting her up as a leader before she even became Evolved. Now, with the final barrier removed from them being able to see her as worthy of leadership, all I can hope is that she ends up at least not obstructing me. Alright then, I say finally with a shrug. Ultimately, I can¡¯t do anything more than I¡¯m already doing right now: the ball is in the newest Pathwalker¡¯s court. Come on, everyone, I instruct, extinguishing the fire in the circle with a thought. Compared to taming the inferno of the vine-strangler forest, it¡¯s child¡¯s play to overcome the fire¡¯s objections. Following the rest of the samurans, I increase my pace so I get to the front before we approach the gates. On the one hand, being at the front is the most vulnerable position if they decide to attack us. On the other hand, not being at the front might be a fatal concession of authority. When I find all three Pathwalkers and four Warriors in the vanguard, I know that my instinct was right. I¡¯d like to cast an Inspect at Runs-with-the-river, but reckon that there¡¯s a better than good chance that she¡¯ll detect it. I¡¯m still debating whether I should ask her permission to cast it when the village gates come into view and I lose my opportunity. Showtime. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Forty-Nine: The Traitor Has Evolved The shock that ripples through the guards¡¯ spines as they spot the newest addition to the Pathwalkers is satisfying to see. ¡°Who¡­?¡± asks the one on the right, only to be shoulder-checked hard enough to stumble a little sideways by the one on the left. ¡°It¡¯s Runs-with-the-river, idiot. Who else could it be?¡± ¡°Maybe a delegation from another village,¡± argued back the first. I watch in a bit of bemusement as they get into a debate and almost seem to forget about us. What sort of guards are they? ¡°A delegation from another village? Accompanied by our Pathwalkers and our Warriors? Use the berry-brain inside that thick skull of yours, would you?¡± Joy seems rather less amused at the sight. She snaps her jaws together loudly and the two arguing Warriors look up. A moment later, they appear rather shamefaced with the olive-green of embarrassment flashing through their crests. ¡°Uh, apologies Honoured Pathwalker Weaver,¡± the samuran on the left ventures, tilting his chin up. Joy flicks her tail in dismissal. ¡°We wish to enter,¡± she says neutrally instead, moving towards them. The herbalist and Runs-with-the-river stepping forward with her indicates wordlessly exactly who she means by ¡®we¡¯. The two guards exchange a nervous glance, but don¡¯t move out of their way. ¡°Shrieks-loudly said that only you and Honoured Pathwalker Herbalist were to be given entry. I¡­he said nothing about an additional Pathwalker,¡± the one on the right says tentatively. If I had to guess, it would be that he¡¯s fighting between two impulses: the desire to obey his direct superior, and the desire to obey the Pathwalkers who are his indirect superiors. ¡°Then I suggest one of you goes and finds him,¡± says Grubs-in-the-dirt levelly. ¡°And while you¡¯re doing that, you might as well find our sisters since I¡¯d imagine they¡¯ll want to have some say.¡± The guard on the right looks at the one on the left uncertainly ¨C I think I can see what the hierarchy is. ¡°Go on,¡± the samuran on the right tells him and he doesn¡¯t need more urging than that, shooting off into the village quickly. By his speed, I suspect that he has some sort of movement-enhancing ability, but I haven¡¯t checked either of them yet. I decide to remedy that now, using my slower and potentially less productive version of Inspect, since it¡¯s the one which is least likely to be detected. The remaining guard shifts a little nervously ¨C perhaps he¡¯s realised that if we decided to march into the village right now, it would be one against the whole group arrayed before him, including three Pathwalkers, four Warriors, and me. Still, I¡¯m currently intending to play nicely for now. Hopefully diplomacy gets me what I¡¯m aiming for and we don¡¯t need to resort to violence ¨C especially in light of what I was discussing earlier with the herbalist. While we wait, the results of my Inspect seep back into me. It¡¯s not the same as a normal Inspect ¨C no box appears in front of my eyes. Instead, I get a sense of how much health and mana he has compared to me, whether it¡¯s likely that I could Dominate him, and a kind of feeling of what his extra ability might be. It¡¯s unsurprising that his health is significantly more than mine; it¡¯s equally unsurprising that my mana outstrips his by a large margin. I get the sense that his Willpower is below mine, which I also expected. As for his ability, it¡¯s different from the ones I¡¯ve encountered so far ¨C more defensive than offensive. Without getting any real details about it, I would guess that it¡¯s something which would help him stand fast in the face of a charge. Tempted to do the same to Runs-with-the-river, in the end I decide that I¡¯d be better off asking her permission and then using a proper Inspect than risk her feeling betrayed or violated or something by me using a surreptitious Inspect. Stepping forwards, I come level with the newest Pathwalker, my approach making the guard tense even more. I don¡¯t pay him more than cursory attention, though, focussing instead on Runs-with-the-river. ¡°I¡¯m not coming to ask you for an answer, don¡¯t worry,¡± I say quickly, the space where River¡¯s Bond once was sending increased pangs of loss through me as I have to focus on him ¨C her ¨C being able to understand me instead of being able to rely on the Bond transmitting the information. I have to grit my teeth briefly as the pain swells. I catch a hint of pain in her body language and eyes, the lines of it both hauntingly familiar and disconcertingly different. I feel another pang run through me, this time one of dismay. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll go,¡± I say, already preparing to step back. I hadn¡¯t intended to hurt her. ¡°It is fine,¡± she says, raising one of those delicately clawed hands, clearly more agile and capable of finer movements than her old ones were. ¡°What did you wish to speak to me about?¡± ¡°I was wondering¡­¡± I hesitate. ¡°Would you mind if I use Inspect on you?¡± I ask tentatively. ¡°You don¡¯t have to agree,¡± I hurry to add. ¡°It would just be¨C¡± ¡°Very well,¡± she interrupts me. I stumble to a stop mid-sentence, eyeing her with more than a hint of surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t mind?¡± I check. ¡°No,¡± she replies, amusement joining the pain. ¡°Not as long as you share the results.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Ah. Fair enough, I think. I don¡¯t know how those without a screen manage to work out what their stats or abilities are, but they obviously do. However, maybe knowing what Inspect says would be useful for them regardless. Quickly using the information-gathering Skill, I eagerly look at the notification it sends through.
Samuran: Runs-with-the-river Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Fire Herbalism, Poison-Claw Health: 610u Mana: 1530u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 78 (65) A recently Evolved samuran with as-yet unused new abilities, this Beast was recently a Bound (Dominate) of Markus Luke Wolfe. Previously a user of the spear, this Beast has not yet developed a new fighting style which encompasses her new abilities. Social Beast with a strong capacity to form bonds.
Close message? Y/N
So much has changed. From her name and description to her species. Still, I suppose that answers one question I had: River had previously been identified as ¡®lizard-folk¡¯ because he had been under a Dominate Bond with me, and that was my name for them. Now, not Bonded to me, his description has reverted to what Inspect would normally say. I¡¯m also intrigued by her Willpower: it¡¯s the highest I¡¯ve seen on a samuran so far. I wonder whether that¡¯s something inherent to Runs-with-the-river or whether it¡¯s been affected by his¡­her previous Bond with me. Like how the body successfully fighting off a virus makes it easier for the body to fight off the same virus in the future. Of course, that¡¯s only when it¡¯s at max which at the moment it¡¯s not. A dip of thirteen points is something I¡¯ve only seen when the creature in question was trapped or fearful, or similar. Runs-with-the-river is none of the above. Then come the changes in the description and her actual stats and abilities. I eye the other Pathwalkers, in particular the herbalist. ¡°Shall we take this off to the side a bit?¡± I ask her, not sure whether she wants her information shared with everyone. Unfortunately, without a Bond, I can no longer communicate it to her privately. Loss rattles through me once more. Runs-with-the-river follows my gaze and then shakes her head slightly. ¡°My sisters,¡± she starts, emphasising the relationship while eyeing the two other Pathwalkers, ¡°will need to know what I can do.¡± ¡°Well, your health has dropped a bit,¡± I tell her, though keep my voice down so it doesn¡¯t spread too far. ¡°And your mana has increased a lot.¡± In fact, her mana has increased by far more than her health has dropped. Originally, her health had been eight hundred and thirty points; now, it¡¯s six hundred and ten, which is still almost double mine. Her mana, however, has leapt from seventy points to a thousand, five hundred and thirty. That¡¯s an over twenty times increase. At only six hundred and fifteen points, I abruptly feel that I¡¯m being left behind. In comparison to Grubs-in-the-dirt, the newest Pathwalker outstrips her on all counts. Again, I wonder if that¡¯s something intrinsic to Runs-with-the-river, or whether there¡¯s another reason for the differences. ¡°And my abilities?¡± she asks, her eyes intent on me. She¡¯s shorter than she was, I realise. Before, her eyes were level with the tops of my shoulders. Now, they¡¯re level with my chest. ¡°Can you feel them in some way?¡± I ask, curious myself. ¡°I sense that I have two,¡± she responds thoughtfully. The attention that the other Pathwalkers and the samurans in earshot are paying is made clear by the surprise that ripples through their spikes and the quiet clicks which meet my ears. Those who weren¡¯t paying attention now are and I sigh internally. So much for keeping things quiet. On the other hand, perhaps they¡¯re used to knowing what each other is capable of, working together to defend and improve the village. And as long as it doesn¡¯t come to a fight between us, then them knowing what River¡¯s abilities are isn¡¯t a problem. I suddenly realise that I¡¯m assuming that River¡­Runs-with-the-river will be on my side. With that fear settling in my stomach like a lead ball, I listen to her speak. ¡°I sense that one ability is linked to fire and¡­potions? And the other ability is linked to absorbing and using poisons.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± I say, forcing myself to smile despite the fear inside. ¡°One is called ¡®Fire Herbalism¡¯, and the other ¡®Poison-Claw¡¯. So it seems like your feelings are pretty on the mark.¡± Runs-with-the-river hums. ¡°I wonder if¨C¡± But I will never know what exactly she was wondering as that¡¯s the moment when the other village Pathwalkers accompanied by seven Warriors arrive on the scene. Obviously pre-warned by the messenger, the group look unsurprised to see the third Pathwalker standing next to their herbalist and weaver. I take a couple of steps back from the small group ¨C I¡¯m not asking to go in right now, after all. ¡°So it is true,¡± the one apparently called Wind-whisperer says with clear surprise. ¡°The traitor has Evolved.¡± ¡°I am no traitor to the village,¡± declares Runs-with-the-river firmly. Apparently Evolving has made her feel more able to speak to them as an equal. Or maybe it¡¯s more than that. ¡°At least no more than the rest of you are for what you allowed to happen, and what you would have allowed to happen if I hadn¡¯t stopped it.¡± ¡°You speak with authority which you have not yet earned, Unranked,¡± hisses the other antagonistic Pathwalker ¨C if I remember correctly, that was Wood-shaper. The third ¨C Grower, or something ¨C seems to be the silent of the group and instead of participating seems to prefer to observe. ¡°And that¡¯s only if we allow you to join our group at all after all you have done,¡± adds Wind-whisperer spitefully. ¡°You mean bargaining with the one who has eliminated the threat of the Forest of Death? Or defeating the one who would have killed you all one by one for her own power?¡± Runs-with-the-river asks, refusing to back down. It¡¯s¡­quite a change. Is this due to her Evolution, or time to think, or something else? ¡°I mean that I see no reason why you, who are directly responsible for the deaths of not one but two of our sisters, should be allowed into our Honoured group. I call for banishment!¡± Wind-whisperer clicks angrily. ¡°Who is with me?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty: Your Kin, But Not Yet Our Friends There¡¯s silence. I almost hear a cricket chirping in the stillness. Clearly, it¡¯s not the reaction that the angry Pathwalker was going for. Even her staunch ally doesn''t immediately agree with her, something that Wind-whisperer takes exception to. ¡°Wood-shaper, shame on you! Did we not discuss just last night how even banishment was too good for the one who murdered our shaman?¡± she demands. The samuran in question looks away from her and shuffles her feet slightly. ¡°That was before she Evolved,¡± she says finally. ¡°It changes nothing!¡± insists Wind-whisperer. ¡°It changes everything,¡± refutes Grower, the quiet Pathwalker evidently deciding to step in there. I see her exchange a look with the herbalist and then focus on Wind-whisperer. ¡°Sister, I understand your anger. I feel it too. Mover was a dear sister who didn¡¯t deserve to be killed in the middle of the village during the night. Shaman has been a guiding presence for our village for as long as most of us can remember.¡± I note how she doesn¡¯t say that the shaman was ¡®dear¡¯ in any sort of way. ¡°However, put your anger aside and consider the situation.¡± ¡°What situation?¡± Wind-whisperer demands waspishly, obviously feeling defensive with all of her sisters apparently set against her. At least, that¡¯s what her mulish body language seems to indicate she¡¯s thinking. ¡°We need hatchlings,¡± the herbalist says bluntly, stepping forwards to face off with Wind-whisperer. Only the single guard remaining on the gate stands between them, and he quickly backpedals, clearly not wanting to get between two potentially angry Pathwalkers. ¡°Thanks to recent events, we have none. That means no new Warriors or Pathwalkers from this year¡¯s generation. We need them due to recent losses, and not only those caused by Runs-with-the-river. To make matters worse, we have two fewer Pathwalkers; that means at least twenty fewer eggs for next year. More, probably, since Shaman was always one of our most fertile.¡± I look around to see that everyone is fully focussed on the herbalist, and that all but the Wind-whisperer look solemn enough to be convinced of her argument. ¡°If we banish Runs-with-the-river then we are left with only five of us,¡± the herbalist continues. ¡°That means around forty hatchlings when the warmth returns, if we are lucky and don¡¯t lose any to the cold. It is not enough!¡± ¡°And whose fault is that?¡± demands Wind-whisperer again angrily. ¡°Should we reward her by letting her join our ranks when she has caused the problem?¡± The herbalist steps forward once more so she¡¯s practically jaw to jaw with the other Pathwalker. ¡°We should put the needs of the village ahead of our desire for revenge,¡± she says, her tone like steel. Though she¡¯s no larger than Wind-whisperer, in that moment she seems to tower over her sister. ¡°If Shaman had done that in the first place, we would have been saved from all of this.¡± My eyebrows go up in surprise. Is she referring to Shaman targeting Lathani in the first place? I wonder. If so, then she¡¯s clearly been doing more contemplation than I¡¯d thought. There¡¯s a long moment of silence, then Wind-whisperer backs down. ¡°We should have a vote,¡± she says grumpily, taking a step backwards and turning her head slightly to one side. ¡°All to deny Runs-with-the-river a seat around the carcass for the discussion today?¡± Obviously, Wind-whisperer raises her tail, indicating that she supports her own proposal. After a moment, so does Wood-shaper. ¡°I don¡¯t support the banishment of Runs-with-the-river,¡± she explains defensively. ¡°But I don¡¯t agree that she¡¯s yet earned the right to sit with us over a discussion of such magnitude.¡± After a long moment, it becomes clear that none of the other Pathwalkers wish to vote in favour of Wind-whisperer¡¯s proposal. ¡°Then it¡¯s clear,¡± announces Grower neutrally. ¡°Two for the motion, three against. Newly-Evolved Runs-with-the-river is to be allowed a seat around the carcass for the most urgent discussions. Confirmation of her status is to happen as soon as possible afterwards, allowing her to be fully accepted.¡± ¡°Well, I count two for and one against,¡± Wind-whisper argues, apparently not willing to let it go even now. However, even Wood-shaper eyes her like she thinks the other Pathwalker has gone a little mad. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± snaps the herbalist, her hands twitching like she¡¯d like to wring her sister¡¯s neck. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°You¡¯ve spent all night with the traitor and her ¡®master¡¯; your opinion cannot be trusted. Nor can Weaver¡¯s since she has such odd lines of connection with the traitor and the traitor¡¯s master,¡± the Pathwalker accuses wildly. This time, the silence that results from her assertions is even more tense than before. ¡°Wind-whisperer, consider what you¡¯re doing,¡± Grower says, her voice that of reason. ¡°You¡¯re accusing two members in good standing of being incapable of making a decision. You do not have the authority to do that. More, you do not have the rank. I know that Shaman favoured you and that you were often trusted with missions of importance for her, but do not forget that Herbalist beat you in the last ranking fight.¡± She looks around at the guard still standing in the gateway to the village. ¡°Runs-outside, let the three Pathwalkers in. No one else.¡± ¡°Yes, Honoured Grower,¡± the Warrior says respectfully. He doesn¡¯t actually need to do anything ¨C it¡¯s more ceremonial than practical since the way is open already. However, he doesn¡¯t move to interfere as the herbalist, Joy, and Runs-with-the-river step forward to make their way through into the village. Then, with nerves playing across his spikes, he moves to stand in our way, in case we decide to try to follow the three of them in. Tension fills the air for a long moment as he and the other Warriors behind him eye us. ¡°We will wait here,¡± I tell the guard, though my eyes are on Shrieks-loudly, the real boss here. After another dragging silence, the largest samuran moves his tail gently to the left and then the right, a non-verbal indication of acceptance, though without any conceding of authority. It¡¯s something that I never saw River do with me, but only with other samurans. There are a number of subtleties like that which I will have to learn if I am to communicate well with the villagers. Shrieks-loudly leaves, following the retreating Pathwalkers, three other Warriors going with him. The other four who had come with him remain, moving to stand near the original guard. One, the guard who had gone to fetch the other Evolved in the first place takes up his previous position. The others arrange themselves behind them. Silence ensues. I look around at everyone and then at the retreating Pathwalkers. I itch at the idea of leaving Joy and Runs-with-the-river unguarded in the middle of a camp which right now feels like it¡¯s full of enemies, especially with how Wind-whisperer was behaving there. Yet I¡¯m definitely not going to be allowed to go in there and, though I could probably ask Sirocco to keep an eye on things, she wouldn¡¯t be able to intervene if something went wrong. Instead, an idea comes to mind, something that I accidentally did a long while ago and have wanted to try doing again. I meant to attempt it at a time when I had the Bound in question right in front of me, but since I haven¡¯t got around to it, needs must. However, given the situation, I¡¯m not keen on making myself so vulnerable in front of the samurans. At least, not without having someone to defend me. Looking thoughtfully around my group, a plan slowly forms itself in my mind. I walk over to the komodo dragon-like lizard who is my newest Bound. If we don¡¯t include Aingeal, anyway ¨C I¡¯m still not sure whether we should consider the fire elemental as the same as my other Bound. On my way there, I summon Bastet, Lee, and Catch over. ¡°Komodo,¡± I say to the kalestan, ¡°I¡¯d like to ride on your back for a bit. I¡¯m going to be testing something out, and I¡¯m likely to be unresponsive while doing so. You¡¯ll be in charge of keeping me out of danger if something happens. Are you willing to do so?¡± The interactions I¡¯ve had with the kalestan have proven that he¡¯s reasonably smart, but rather quiet. He hasn¡¯t yet shown the ability to focus his thoughts sufficiently to ¡®speak¡¯, despite being Evolved, but as far as I can tell, he understands everything I say to him. This moment doesn¡¯t seem to be an exception and he sends me a sense of unconcerned agreement, pressing himself slightly against my leg, those venomous jaws uncomfortably close if I hadn¡¯t been confident that the Bond keeps him from using them on me. That¡¯s one of the reasons why I decided on him being my ¡®mount¡¯ in the absence of Hades: although he¡¯s not the fastest, he can be quite quick, and he¡¯s both safe for me and dangerous for my enemies. ¡°Lee, you¡¯re in charge of keeping the rest of the samurans in line, even if we¡¯re attacked by your kin. Bastet, you¡¯re in charge of the rest of the Bound. Catch, I want you next to me, helping Komodo keep me safe if it comes down to a fight or fighting retreat. Any questions?¡± All of those I¡¯m putting in charge are Bound by either Dominate or Companion Bond, meaning that I can trust they will follow my instructions. What are you doing? Lee asks, my other Bound emanating curiosity. Bastet has a sense of knowing about her too ¨C I think she either knows what I¡¯m planning or has a good idea. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to get a closer view of that meeting than we can currently have,¡± I tell him simply. He¡¯s not satisfied, I sense, but he doesn¡¯t ask any more questions, perhaps realising that I¡¯m not going to clarify further. The next couple of minutes involve Lee and Catch helping to bind me onto Komodo¡¯s back while Bastet gathers the rest of my Bound and arranges them in a more defensive position. The samurans are on one side, everyone else on the other. About to slip into Heavy Meditation, I am interrupted by Murmur coming over. Honoured Pathwalker, before you become insensate, may I ask that you give us a few of the carcasses you have stored away? ¡°Sure,¡± I say, pulling some more out, noting that we¡¯ll need to go hunting soon. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± The samuran hesitates then eyes me cautiously. It is not for me. It is for my kin, he answers, indicating the samurans standing at the gates. I pause at that, looking between the Warrior standing before me, and the Warriors blocking the path between us. Maybe it¡¯s not such a bad idea, actually. Maybe if we can work on the Warriors while Joy is working on the Pathwalkers, we¡¯ll be able to reach an agreement earlier than just relying on Joy alone. ¡°Alright, take them with my blessing,¡± I tell him. ¡°Just be careful. Right now, they might still be your kin, but they¡¯re not yet our friends.¡± Murmur tilts his chin up slowly to acknowledge my words. Then, as he grabs several carcasses at once, I close my eyes and drop into Heavy Meditation. It takes me several false starts. Thanks to my experience with Fenrir, I¡¯m able to find and reach Joy¡¯s mind easily enough, but trying to see out of her eyes and hear out her ears is oddly harder to achieve. Still, eventually I manage. Hopefully I haven¡¯t distracted Joy enough that the Pathwalkers around her have noticed that something¡¯s going on. From the intense discussion ¨C argument really ¨C going on between, surprise surprise, Wind-whisperer and Runs-with-the-river, I have a feeling that it¡¯s unlikely anyone would have noticed anything untoward. I¡¯m not in control of Joy¡¯s mouth, merely riding along as an observer, and I settle in to watch with interest. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-One: It Is Decided Joy has great affection for her sisters. They¡¯ve been working together for many cycles and know each other¡¯s strengths and weaknesses with spear-point accuracy. Their sisterhood is closer than hatchlings of the same brood ¨C though that¡¯s saying little since the nature of the forest puts hatchlings in direct competition over resources. It¡¯s stronger even than the brotherhood of the Warriors since there tend to be far more of them for every Pathwalker who Evolves. Joy sends an irritated thought towards the departed Shaman whose decisions have so reduced the numbers of Warriors that there are barely even two of them for every Pathwalker, let alone the usual five or six depending on the year. Nevertheless, at this moment, she finds herself wishing that certain members would go feed themselves to a marluck and save her the trouble. ¡°For the last time, Wind-whisperer,¡± she hisses with her claws curled inwards so they won¡¯t accidentally rip her sister¡¯s throat out, ¡°we voted to allow Runs-with-the-river into this discussion. If you don¡¯t shut up about how she shouldn¡¯t be here, I¡¯ll make you shut up by binding your jaws closed!¡± ¡°Weaver, don¡¯t threaten our sister,¡± Herbalist says wearily. ¡°And Wind-whisperer, shut up. Your concerns have been recognised and dismissed. Let us actually discuss the hunt at hand rather than the one long over.¡± As the second-strongest in their most recent ranking matches, she is automatically allowed the authority of being the strongest ¨C until proven otherwise in a ranking fight. Which, presuming their sisterhood makes the right decision, should be before the next Egg-rise. Joy herself is increasingly convinced that there is nothing to gain from resisting the one who holds her Bond and everything to gain from accepting him. It is rather unusual, accepting a non-villager as overall leader, but if he is strong enough, then Joy doesn¡¯t have any issues in dispensing with tradition. The strongest creatures survive ¨C if he can make their village stronger, they stand a better chance of surviving. ¡°The question we must discuss is what role, if any, to let this prey beast take in our village,¡± states Grower neutrally. ¡°A prey beast, taking a role in our village,¡± scoffed Wood-shaper. ¡°Are you listening to yourself, Grower?¡± ¡°He is no prey beast,¡± Runs-with-the-river interjects heatedly. ¡°If anything, he makes us into prey beasts.¡± Wind-whisperer looks as if she¡¯s about to interject, probably to protest Runs-with-the-river¡¯s right to speak ¨C again ¨C but the stern looks that Herbalist, Joy, and Grower all pin her with suffice to make her subside without doing more than grunting in disapproval. ¡°Of course you would say that,¡± scathes Wood-shaper. ¡°You are his captured beast, are you not?¡± ¡°Not,¡± answers Runs-with-the-river gaping her jaws open in a threat. ¡°At this moment, there is no Bond between us, no lines of obligation or debt. He is not currently my master.¡± This is news to everyone except Joy ¨C she had felt the absence of River in their network of Bonds. Quietly observing the body language of both Markus and her newly-freed kin revealed that it was a mutually consensual break, if not pleasant for either of them. Joy was surprised that Runs-with-the-river took it as well as he did ¨C losing the Bond and position of assistant put him in a very vulnerable position. Not only would he not have been able to continue in Markus¡¯ group without a Bond ¨C that had been made clear enough with what she had heard about the affair with the Great Predator¡¯s cub ¨C but he would not have been welcome back in the village either. Not after his previous actions against the village combined with his attack on Shaman. Justified as it might have been, and Joy had been completely behind him on that matter, the effect was that he robbed the village of its leader when he was only an Unevolved. Then he had Evolved and become a Pathwalker and everything had changed. Options had blossomed for her, even if Wind-whisperer had done her best to close them down again. Perhaps that was why River had looked so unconcerned about being Bond-less ¨C he had known that his Evolution was coming. Though, if he¡¯d become a Warrior, he wouldn¡¯t have had nearly the amount of leverage she now had as a Pathwalker. ¡°Is this true?¡± Grower asks. It takes Joy a moment to realise that the question is directed at her. ¡°It is,¡± she confirms, realising that the other Pathwalkers wish her to respond to Runs-with-the-river¡¯s comment. ¡°Even your master didn¡¯t want you,¡± snaps Wind-whisperer meanly at the newest of their members. Runs-with-the-river snaps wordlessly back at the other Pathwalker, her spikes rippling with irritation and anger. Still, Joy doesn¡¯t think she¡¯s seeing things when she spots a hint of uncertainty there too. ¡°Wind-whisperer, enough,¡± Grower says. She¡¯s the most even-natured of our group, and has said more so far this discussion than in the last two added together. ¡°Your commentary is less than useful. We have a decision to make; let us actually make it.¡± Wind-whisperer seems slightly taken-aback by their sister¡¯s uncharacteristic admonition. Joy can only hope that she takes it more to heart than all the others she¡¯s received so far. ¡°How we¡¯re supposed to make a decision around a carcass when we don¡¯t even have a carcass, I don¡¯t know.¡± The grumble from Wood-shaper breaks the tension in the moment and directs the attention her way. ¡°We¡¯ve been almost cut off from the forest for three days now,¡± Herbalist says irritably. ¡°Where exactly do you expect us to summon a carcass from?¡± Joy finds herself thinking about Markus doing exactly that ¨C pulling massive amounts of meat from nowhere. It didn¡¯t always taste great, but it filled the belly and gave their limbs energy to move which was the key objective of eating. As if her thoughts were some sort of summoning, she abruptly feels a stirring¡­somewhere. Hello? Joy hears spoken, yet she doesn''t hear it with her ears. She doesn¡¯t even hear it in the same way she normally hears Markus¡¯ messages. This feels¡­closer. Like she has something in her own mind which is speaking to her. It¡¯s more than a little uncomfortable, if only because she¡¯d had absolutely no warning. Yes? Joy thinks back cautiously. OK, so it¡¯s partially working, Markus¡¯ voice ¨C for who else could it be ¨C says with a hint of blue relief to it. But I can¡¯t see through your eyes or hear through your ears right now. That¡¯s what you¡¯re trying to do? she sends back, slightly intrigued by the thought even if it is her eyes and ears in question. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. It worked once before. Hang on, let me try something¡­. There¡¯s an odd sort of¡­rummaging in her mind. It¡¯s like she¡¯s a hatchling looking for worms in a leaf pile again, except she is the leaf pile. And then something clicks into place. Suddenly, she has the sense of another presence sitting at the forefront of her mind, seeing through her eyes, hearing through her ears, feeling through her claws. If she¡¯d felt even the slightest loss of control, she might have panicked. As it is, she senses that she is still completely in control ¨C to test it, she turns her head from one side to the other, looking at her sisters who are still squabbling pointlessly. Is it always like this? Markus asks her, a hint of green bemusement in his eerie mental voice. It¡¯s not usually so bad, she answers, though there¡¯s almost always some in-fighting. Except directly after a ranking fight, she adds, recalling how, with the feasting order so clearly established, the discussions directly after tended to be quick and subdued affairs. That¡¯s probably why this one is so bad, she realises. With the loss of both Mover and Shaman since their last ranking fight, and the addition of Runs-with-the-river, everyone is feeling uncertain about her place in the hierarchy. ¡°Well, until we¡¯ve sorted out this decision we can¡¯t send any villagers out into the forest for fear that they might be picked off by this¡­him,¡± Herbalist cuts into the growing argument. ¡°So, let us make the decision which we came here to make. How should we respond to his demand for our capitulation?¡± ¡°Send our Warriors to kill him,¡± answers Wind-whisperer promptly and more than a little predictably. The huffing grunts which emerge from Joy, Herbalist, and Grower all show the lack of patience the three of them have for her stupidity. ¡°And have them consumed by the life-devourer that he controls? Great idea,¡± Herbalist replies, her spikes showing her insincerity. ¡°I have seen only a portion of his strength, and it warns me not to test him too blatantly.¡± ¡°I concur,¡± Joy says, very much aware of the presence still in her mind. Wary of revealing more information than he wishes her to release, she speaks only in huts rather than individuals. ¡°You have seen only the mushroom head, not the network of roots below the ground. With his abilities, I am confident that he could carry out his threats of destroying our village.¡± She hesitates, the weight of Markus¡¯ presence in her eyes and ears heavy. ¡°Moreover, I think that he has much to offer our village. Just look at how quickly Runs-with-the-river has Evolved ¨C she is so young and yet she is already a Pathwalker.¡± ¡°A coincidence,¡± scoffs Wood-shaper. ¡°I agree with Weaver,¡± sighs Herbalist. ¡°I spoke much with this would-be warlord and observed how he acted. I am uncertain, but I think that he quite possibly could do our village good. At least, he can hardly do worse than our Shaman¡¯s most recent actions.¡± That silences even the two most verbal opponents. Grower looks at Joy and Herbalist with calculation, then turns to Runs-with-the-river. ¡°You are¡­three Great Egg cycles old, are you not?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she confirms. ¡°How much of your progression to Evolution would you say is as a direct result of your former master¡¯s different approach?¡± ¡°A large portion of it,¡± the newest Pathwalker answers immediately. ¡°Master¡­my previous master gave me access to powerful carcasses to consume, Cores to absorb, and encouraged me to go hunting frequently. My Bond-sister gave me advice about how to correctly balance the different Energies and how to succeed in and direct the Evolution itself. I fully believe that my previous master¡¯s approach to making resources freely available and encouraging cooperation rather than competition is directly responsible for my success.¡± Even Wind-whisperer and Wood-shaper don''t appear able to refute this in any way. The fact is that Runs-with-the-river has achieved Evolution at a very young age. It normally takes seven to ten full Great Egg cycles for a villager to accrue enough Energy to even attempt Evolution. More fail than succeed even then. Though there have been early Evolutions in the past, they have been far more the exception than the rule. For Runs-with-the-river to achieve an Evolution at three Great Egg cycles is more than an achievement ¨C it¡¯s almost unheard of. Joy recalls a time before she Evolved herself where one of her peers had had some sort of fortunate encounter, and had been brought to the point of Evolution at only five Great Cycles old, but he had failed. So this proves either that Runs-with-the-river is exceptional, or that River¡¯s master¡¯s methods are exceptional. The admission of either would work against what Wood-shaper and Wind-whisperer wish to argue. If Joy was asked, she would say that she thinks the answer is a little of one, a lot of the other. That Herbalist saw something in Runs-with-the-river enough to want him as her assistant and to be protective over him is undeniable. However, what Joy has seen of Markus¡¯ methods suggests that the village, and others of their kind, may have been perpetuating an inefficient method for generations. ¡°I will agree that, though I expected Runs-with-the-river to reach Evolution, and hoped that he could one day join our ranks as a Pathwalker, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to happen this quickly,¡± adds Herbalist, her opinion matching Joy¡¯s perfectly. Wood-shaper grunts wordlessly in disgust, but cannot apparently find anything to actually say. In contrast with her approach thus far, Wind-whisperer stays silent, her tail tip flicking, showing internal turmoil. ¡°Sisters, I have a suggestion,¡± Grower says, looking around from one to the other. She has definitely taken an unusually large part in this discussion and Joy finds herself reevaluating her a bit. The fact is, that with the sisterhood so divided, Grower has been the only vaguely neutral party in the group. ¡°Let us hear it,¡± sighs Wood-shaper. ¡°Our discussion is going round and round in circles, like we are hatchlings chasing each other¡¯s tails. The one to lead us can only be one of us, agreed?¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± they all say simultaneously, though different colours flashing through their spines indicate different degrees of agreement. ¡°We cannot agree on whether the one who leads the group in the forest is a prey beast, or should be accepted as one of us. Correct?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agree Herbalist and Wood-shaper; the others remain silent. ¡°Then it is simple. Let us test both our newest sister and her previous master in the traditional post-Evolution ranking fight. We need to do one anyway, with Shaman gone. If this leader in the forest wins against all of us, then he has earned the right to be our leader. If he doesn¡¯t, then it is up to the new leader among us to be the deciding voice regarding what to do about him.¡± She pauses for a long moment, looking around at the reactions of the rest of the sisterhood. It¡¯s a mixture between anger ¨C Wind-whisperer ¨C and intrigue ¨C Herbalist and Wood-shaper. Runs-with-the-river is unreadable. ¡°Let¡¯s vote,¡± Grower suggests. ¡°All in favour?¡± Is this what you want? Joy asks tentatively, hoping that the presence in her head will hear her. For a few long moments, during which Herbalist is the only one to raise her claws, there is silence. Sure, why not? Markus responds finally. Joy lets out a breath she hadn¡¯t realised she was holding. If he had said ¡®no¡¯, she would vote according to his wishes, but she honestly thinks that this is an ingenious solution that Grower has proposed. She raises her claws. As if waiting for her signal, Runs-with-the-river raises her claws a moment after. There¡¯s a long moment of silence. With four having voted for the proposal, it will go ahead for certain, but it would be better if they could get a unanimous vote for something as potentially momentous as this. The silence drags. ¡°Wood-shaper, Wind-whisperer. Do you agree or not?¡± Grower asks eventually. Wood-shaper sends an uncertain glance at the Pathwalker to her side. ¡°It is unprecedented,¡± she says finally, looking back at Grower. ¡°We have never offered anyone outside our kind the opportunity to rule one of our villages. Even if I doubt that he will defeat all of us¡­still, it seems like more of a risk than we should take.¡± ¡°If he wins against all of us, has he not proven that he is strong enough to lead us?¡± asks Herbalist, remarkably gently for her ¨C her approach tends to be far more brusque. ¡°And no, we have never offered this opportunity to one not of our kind, but this situation has never come up before. We have never had one of another kind wanting to rule us. Either they fear us or they wish to destroy us. Never to work with us as this new being seems to wish to.¡± Wood-shaper wavers, then finally raises hesitant claws. ¡°If he¡¯s strong enough¡­¡± she says quietly to Wind-whisperer. The final hold-out clicks her teeth together in a wordless gesture of irritation. The silence drags for a moment more. Then, finally, with an irritated flick of her tail, Wind-whisperer raises her claws. ¡°Fine. But I will not hold back as we usually do. If I can kill him, I will.¡± And with that, it is decided. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Two: I Am Not Unreasonable By the time the Pathwalkers come to join the Warriors, I¡¯m standing near the gates with the rest of my Bound arrayed around me. Bastet and Catch are on one side, Lee and the three Warriors on my other. The rest of the samurans are behind me, mixed with my non-samuran Bound. I¡¯d withdrawn from Joy¡¯s senses when the discussion devolved into more mundane matters and sniping. I asked her to let me know if they started discussing anything interesting. She didn¡¯t, and the Pathwalkers are here now. I¡¯ve been trying to use my time wisely, both in devising a strategy and gathering information to help with it. I¡¯m a bit nervous, I have to admit. The thing is that, even with their numbers reduced, it¡¯s going to be a lot of fighting. Even if four of the village¡¯s Warriors and one of their Pathwalkers are already Bound to me, that still leaves nine Warriors and four, now five Pathwalkers. It means that I won¡¯t be able to use Dominate to win my battles for me: I struggled to use it five times in succession when dealing with the hunting party. Even if I¡¯ve increased my Willpower since then, there¡¯s no way that I¡¯ll be able to do thirteen Battle of Wills in quick succession ¨C since I definitely won¡¯t be using it against Runs-with-the-river. All that means I¡¯m going to need to find other ways of defeating beings who have been fighting for their lives a lot longer than I have. Fortunately, I do have a good few advantages and I¡¯m going to have to use all of them to pull this one off. Information is one of those advantages. Though I don¡¯t want to risk tipping any of my targets off, my more discreet Inspect has been feeding me information about all of the Warriors currently arrayed before me, which is almost all of them. The information it gives me is not as good as if I¡¯d been able to use the more blatant one, but it is a whole lot better than nothing. Knowing health points is only vaguely useful since I¡¯m not intending on killing them, but since health points tend to go along with toughness, they do give me a good clue as to how hard it will be to take the samurans down. Being Warriors, their mana points are uniformly low, so their special attacks must feed off something else or be very limited. As for special abilities, I notice a small range. Most of them enhance the body ¨C its speed, its strength, its dexterity. Another few enhance the Warrior¡¯s use of their chosen weapon ¨C increasing aspects of it in similar ways to the body enhancements. Then there is one with something similar to Fade, who I¡¯ll have to keep my eyes on at all times. As the Pathwalkers walk towards me, I take the chance to use my discreet Inspect on them too. The results are much as I expect ¨C high mana, though Runs-with-the-river seems to outstrip all of them ¨C and low health. As for their actual abilities, they reflect the Pathwalker¡¯s names well enough that there are no real surprises. Grower is the only one other than the herbalist with two abilities: one seeming to be geared to growing things, the other more linked to fertility, from what I can tell. Not likely to cause me issues in combat, I would guess. It seems that I¡¯m not the only one to feel nervous about the coming trials: I notice a hint of hesitation in Wood-shaper¡¯s bearing as she walks with her sisters towards us. The Pathwalkers exchange some quiet clicks and grunts with the Warriors, presumably informing them about what¡¯s about to happen ¨C I don¡¯t even try to listen in. Then, Grower steps forward a few steps, Wind-whisperer at her side as if she cannot bear to let the other Pathwalker take the lead in this moment. From what I saw of the meeting, that is most likely to be the explanation, anyway. ¡°We have made a decision,¡± Grower announces neutrally. Wind-whisperer eyes me in unconcealed disdain and anger. I remember what she said in the meeting ¨C she intends to try killing me. I mark her down as one that I will definitely attempt to use Dominate on if I get the chance. I¡¯d rather not kill her since her ability is useful, but she¡¯s clearly an enemy I don¡¯t want to be working behind my back. Not even for the few days it will take me to enter into a Battle of Wills with all of the leadership. ¡°You will have a chance to prove your strength,¡± the more neutral Pathwalker continues. ¡°These are exceptional circumstances and so we will offer an exceptional solution. You will be allowed to join a ranking fight as one of us. Win, and we shall obey you as we would any of our own leaders. Lose, and your fate shall be in the claws of whoever wins.¡± ¡°Or you¡¯ll be dead,¡± adds Wind-whisperer spitefully. ¡°And all of this shall be solved very neatly.¡± Grower shoots a quelling look at her sister but the other doesn¡¯t look away from me, her jaws gaping open slightly to reveal her teeth. ¡°Do you accept the challenge?¡± Grower asks me bluntly. ¡°I do,¡± I say immediately ¨C I¡¯ve had enough time already to second-guess myself. Ultimately, this is the best way to achieve my ends ¨C if I¡¯m up to it. ¡°Then you may enter; your beasts may not.¡± ¡°And us, Honoured Pathwalker?¡± Lee rumbles from next to me. Grower looks over at him, considering. For the first time, she looks slightly uncertain. ¡°Do you intend on taking part in the ranking challenge?¡± she asks him. Wind-whisperer hisses. ¡°They are corrupted, stolen. They are no longer part of the village.¡± ¡°We already covered that, Wind-whisperer, when discussing whether to give Weaver a seat around the carcass,¡± the herbalist tells her with irritation, stepping forwards to join the rest. Wood-Shaper and Joy, not wanting to be left behind, join their sisters. Belatedly, so does Runs-with-the-river, though I notice a gap between her and the others ¨C clearly she still hasn¡¯t been fully accepted by the group. Then again, that¡¯s the other reason for this ranking fight, isn¡¯t it? ¡°They have committed no crime against the village; as long as they pose no threat to it, they should still be considered as members of it,¡± Grubs-in-the-dirt continues. She eyes Lee and the rest of my Warriors carefully. ¡°Can you fight against the¡­him?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Lee, in turn, eyes me and stays silent until I give him a short nod, sending agreement for him to speak down the Bond. ¡°We can fight the one who holds our Bond, as long as he agrees to it,¡± Lee tells his kin matter-of-factly. ¡°However, I, for one, would not choose to.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± asks Wood-shaper, seeming confused. ¡°It seems rather pointless when the fight only goes on as long as my Binder wishes it to,¡± remarks Lee, slightly ruefully. ¡°What does it prove about strength when one party can stop the fight at any time with a single word?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± admits Grower. ¡°But we would still like to prove ourselves against our kin and perhaps earn a new place in the ranking,¡± Lee continues. The Pathwalkers exchange glances and then clicks and grunts ring out, almost too quiet for me to decipher them. From what I can hear, they¡¯re having a quiet argument about what to do. ¡°It¡¯s decided,¡± says the herbalist eventually. ¡°You are still considered as members in good standing of our village. You have the right to take part in the ranking challenge, just as you have the right to choose to submit to an opponent without fighting. You may enter, but the rest must stay here.¡± She seems to think that that is the end of it all and starts turning away, but I step forward, my hand held up before me to stop her. She tenses and abruptly turns back to face me, perhaps concerned that I¡¯m about to attack her. We pause, both unmoving. ¡°I wish to bring some of my Bound with me to help in the fights.¡± Several scornful grunts ring out from both Pathwalkers and Warriors ¨C predictably, Wind-whisperer is one of them, and indeed expresses her disdain verbally. ¡°You cannot fight your own battles and yet you wish to rule us?¡± ¡°Would you have forbidden the shaman from using her invisible spirits?¡± I ask coolly. ¡°Did you ridicule her for being unable to fight her own battles?¡± ¡°That was different!¡± exclaims Wind-whisperer. ¡°That was one of the key parts of her Evolution-given abilities ¨C controlling spirits. Denying her the use would have been like requiring Weaver not to weave.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± I say with a thin smile that they probably don¡¯t understand. ¡°While I am capable of controlling fire and a number of other abilities, I have learned to do those. The ability to Bind and control beasts is as intrinsic to me as controlling wind is for you. If I am not allowed to bring any of my Bound with me into the fight, then should I expect you not to use the wind against me? Should we instead fight only with claws and teeth?¡± Not that I have claws, exactly, but better to use language they¡¯re used to. ¡°But if you bring all of your beasts with you, what chance do the rest of us stand?¡± demands Wood-shaper. I let the silence drag a little just to let that sink in. ¡°I am not unreasonable,¡± I say after a few moments. ¡°I recognise your need to test my strength ¨C my individual strength as well as what I can bring to bear as a Tamer. I will bring only two of my Bound with me.¡± ¡°One,¡± argues Grower swiftly. ¡°Two,¡± I say firmly. ¡°But I will only have one fighting with me at any one time.¡± The Pathwalker considers this, then looks around at her sisters. Finally, she looks at the leader of the Warriors. When he, too, agrees to the suggestion, she turns to me. ¡°Fine. You may bring two of your beasts with you, as long as only one is fighting with you during a battle ¨C and you must choose which one before beginning the fight.¡± Good enough. The first choice is obvious. ¡°Bastet,¡± I say, no more needed to be expressed between us. The second¡­. I would have chosen River if he had still been with me. Without him¡­. Komodo would be a good choice ¨C he¡¯s a powerful tier two with impressive venom. The problem with him is that we haven¡¯t fought together much and lack of teamwork could be our downfall. Fenrir is also a possible choice: he¡¯s practically a moving tank, though far more agile than one. Plus, he¡¯s got the ability to destroy a target¡¯s own agility, either by biting and holding on or by crushing bones. The problem is that his size won¡¯t do much good against the strong Warriors, and his lack of speed will be his disadvantage against the quick ones. I don¡¯t know how he would stand up against the Pathwalkers. Lathani is almost as powerful as Bastet is physically, though she doesn¡¯t have the magical bits ¨C apart from an odd kind of stealth which doesn¡¯t show up as an actual special ability on her status sheet. I¡¯d be more concerned about her hot-headedness, though. It¡¯s improved, for sure, but I just don¡¯t know if she would be able to control herself in fights with those who have hurt her so badly. I wouldn¡¯t blame her for losing her cool, but I wouldn¡¯t want it to be what lost me the match either. It¡¯s probably better not to bring her. Running through the list of my Bound currently with me, I find lots of possibilities, but none who are perfect. Then someone I wasn¡¯t considering turns to me. Would you let me fight with you? asks Catch politely and slightly anxiously. I eye him. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to have peace with your kin rather than fight them?¡± You have done so much for me, Honoured Markus. Please let me show my devotion to you by helping you conquer the village I once called my own? I hesitate, looking at him. He¡¯s Unevolved, meaning that he will be at a disadvantage when it comes to speed and strength. He also doesn¡¯t have the health pool of Fenrir or the lizog¡¯s defensive capacity. However, he does know samurans. He knows how Warriors fight better than any of my other non-samuran Bound. He¡¯s crafty and adaptable ¨C the fact that he¡¯s survived so long with such a defect to his eyes is proof of that. And he has that stealth ability which might help me pull out a victory against a difficult opponent. Plus, it will be a good demonstration of my point that the Unevolved are not worthless. ¡°Alright. Catches-leaves will be my second Bound.¡± That sets off a minor uproar and more debate about whether that is permissible or not. Finally, though, with Catch remaining steadfast about his decision, and me not moving an inch either, it is decided. I¡¯m tempted to make a snide comment about whether they¡¯re afraid of the little Unevolved, but decide that it would be undiplomatic. I enter the village with Catch and Bastet to my sides, mentally preparing myself for what may be the most gruelling sparring session of my life. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Three: What Are You? I dodge a blow from the cudgel of my opponent, back-pedalling swiftly. Bastet leaps in from the side, a feint which allows her to avoid the cudgel¡¯s backswing. Her distraction offers me an opportunity to stab at the samuran with my spear. The benefits from Spearmanship and Blunt Weaponry are coming in handy already ¨C the ability to spot vulnerable areas has me aiming for a spot in his shoulder joint; the increased effect of Strength and Dexterity has me succeed in both hitting close enough to deal some damage, and actually piercing the lizard-man¡¯s tough scales. He¡¯s light on his feet, and I don¡¯t manage to completely avoid his next blow. Glowing slightly red, the cudgel slams into my shoulder, though it¡¯s mostly deflected by the chitinous plates which cover it. I let out a grunt of pain. Fortunately, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s more than bruises. To an onlooker, the trade of blows would be fairly equal but I know better. I back off and let Bastet occupy the Warrior. He tries to attack her, but she¡¯s too agile for him to hit. I see the moment when he remembers that she¡¯s not the true target anyway, not that it does him much good: she¡¯s not going to let him get close to me now. While she works her magic, I work on my own. Focussing on the venom that was on the tip of my spear and is now in my opponent¡¯s body, I feed in magic to make it multiply. It¡¯s not easy at a distance ¨C when I fought the danaris I had to actually be in physical contact with it to succeed in this same tactic. Now is a different story, though. A combination of the lizard-man being an easier opponent than the danaris and the breakthrough in controlling magic from a distance during the burning of the forest of death means that I¡¯m able to do something which previously was impossible. The venom multiplies more and more. By standing still, I¡¯m able to keep my mind in Light Meditation. Actually, almost Medium Meditation ¨C it¡¯s on the cusp but not quite into the next level. In practice, it means I¡¯m almost regenerating as much mana as I¡¯m losing per second in my work with the venom. The samuran¡¯s Willpower would have once posed me a problem, but not now. He doesn¡¯t have the capacity to fight internally that the danaris had which might have offered him a way out from his otherwise inevitable defeat. His system is vulnerable to the venom now ravaging it, and even our onlookers should be able to tell that. The Warrior finds himself slowing, tiring, and gets desperate. His attacks start getting sloppy even as he engages his enhancing ability several times in quick succession. He¡¯s determined to get past Bastet before his stamina runs out completely. I wonder if he¡¯s recognised the venom yet. It¡¯s the same one we once used on lizogs, a component of the one used on Kalanthia. Bastet isn¡¯t willing to let him get close to me: she¡¯s been charged with my protection and she takes that very seriously. Her full focus is on dodging in a way which doesn¡¯t leave the lizardman any opening to get at me. My heart is in my mouth as I see those enhanced blows aimed at her, but she manages to dodge every single one, sometimes only by a whisker. Within a few more minutes, the lizard-man slumps down to the ground, unable to continue. I look up at the onlookers and raise an eyebrow. ¡°Winner: Markus,¡± Wood-shaper announces, a hint of begrudging respect in her voice. The herbalist hurries over to check the fallen samuran, Bastet letting her pass after I send her a quick thought. She looks up at me with a bit of an accusing look in her eyes. ¡°Hadaran venom?¡± she asks. ¡°Yes,¡± I respond, walking over. Hadaran is apparently what my Inspect calls what I had previously been naming ¡®black blobs¡¯. Before we came down into the valley, River¡¯s group took one down and brought it back. After how I¡¯d killed the danaris, he¡¯d wondered whether I might find the venom useful. After tests proved that I could use it as easily as any other venom generated by a living creature, I added it to my arsenal. While the venom originally taken from that mimic creature in the vine-strangler forest is powerful, it is rather fatal. The hadaran venom is excellent for incapacitating when I don¡¯t actually want to kill my opponent, or not immediately. ¡°I think I have an antidote in my hut,¡± I hear the herbalist muttering to herself as I get closer. ¡°No need,¡± I tell her, crouching down and laying my hand on the prone Warrior. Feeding magic into him, I pull all the venom to the surface of the skin then use my knife to make a small cut. The yellowish venom pours out of his body and I collect it in a container I pull from my Inventory ¨C waste not, want not, after all. With the venom gone, I work on the actual damage done from the fight. It takes a fair bit of effort since he¡¯s not Bound to me, but from the amazement with which my healing has been met from every samuran I¡¯ve used it on, I figure that it¡¯s worth doing. Besides, with his low Willpower in comparison to mine, it¡¯s not even as difficult as trying to heal Lathani had been when I tried to heal her spine. The damage from Bastet is mostly superficial ¨C she wasn¡¯t really trying to hurt him, just distract him. As for the venom, that affects the body in ways that I haven¡¯t yet been able to understand, so he¡¯ll have to recover on his own. Without the venom still in his system, that will happen quickly. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. In fact, it¡¯s quick enough that by the time I push myself to my feet, he is able to move slowly into a sitting position. He eyes me with more than a little awe in his eyes. ¡°Thank you for healing me,¡± he says, looking like he¡¯s about to say something more. Then his eyes dart to the herbalist and he shuts his mouth with a click. ¡°You are the victor,¡± he acknowledges, tilting his chin up. I nod and stick my hand out. ¡°Good fight,¡± I tell him. He eyes my hand then grasps it and lets me pull him to his feet. With another quick chin tilt, he moves off to join the rest of his brothers. I¡¯m left with the herbalist who eyes me a little strangely even as she paints the sigil on the back of my armour which shows that I was the victor of the fight. It joins the other two which are already there. ¡°Controller of the life-devourer, poisoner, healer, binder¡­.what are you?¡± she asks with an unreadable tone to her spikes when she¡¯s finished and has returned to face my front. ¡°Human,¡± I reply with an enigmatic smile. The herbalist just gives me a frustrated look. ¡°Fine, keep your secrets. Your next match will be shortly,¡± she snaps her teeth at me, then strides off to join those watching a fight where blood is already coating the ground. I take the opportunity to wander around too, watching those who will be my opponents soon. Four fights down; six, technically nine, to go. None of my opponents so far have been particularly difficult. I¡¯d suspect the Pathwalkers of strategic sacrifice to allow the stronger Warriors to gauge my fighting abilities, except that this is just the way they apparently do it: each Warrior challenges the one directly above them in the ranking, or is challenged by the one directly below them. Since I wasn¡¯t part of the ranking last time for obvious reasons, I have to work my way up from the bottom. That doesn¡¯t matter except for the sake of order, though: every Warrior fights every other one meaning that everyone has at least fifteen fights. They then work out the rankings by overall number of fights won. What happens if there¡¯s a tie for the top spot, I don¡¯t know. I suppose it¡¯s strategic that I have been put in the Warrior tournament at all. Technically, as a magic-user, I should be in the Pathwalker tournament, meaning that I would be sitting this one out, then only fighting the other Pathwalkers. Only the top Pathwalker fights the top Warrior at the very end; the loser fights the other opposite group, moving downwards until a rank is established. I¡¯m being disadvantaged by having to fight far more battles than anyone else has to. Still, I¡¯m not actually annoyed by it too much. I¡¯m going to have to Bind all of these beings anyway; if I¡¯ve already defeated them in a physical battle, I¡¯ll have a better chance of winning the soul battle too. With so many fights that need to occur, there are twelve fights happening at any one time, the Pathwalkers and higher ranking Warriors ¨C those who aren¡¯t fighting ¨C acting as referees. I just hope that Wind-whisperer doesn¡¯t monitor any of my fights since I doubt she¡¯ll be fair about it. The last two times have been Wood-shaper, with Grower watching my first fight. I suspect that Joy won¡¯t be allowed to referee my fights either, which is fair enough. The first fight didn¡¯t start too well ¨C I¡¯d forgotten to tell Aingeal what we were doing and it almost went and immolated my opponent. Since Bastet hadn¡¯t actually attacked in any sort of way, I was able to argue that Aingeal was my Bound in that situation. Still, it almost devolved into a proper fight since they were accusing me of having brought three of my Bound with me instead of the two we¡¯d agreed. The fact that the first fight was over in about five seconds because the other opponent was so seriously burned that he couldn¡¯t continue seemed to disturb them more than a bit too. After a fair bit of talking ¨C and probably because Wind-whisperer was occupied elsewhere at that time ¨C we managed to straighten it out. I apologised for unintentionally bringing an extra Bound with me ¨C which was true since I¡¯ve got so used to the little ball of fire bobbing over my shoulder that I didn¡¯t think to leave it behind. As it turned out, Aingeal refused to leave me at all, but it did agree to not intervene unless I was close to death, the argument a little complex since it was done purely through projected emotions. Since its existence seems tied to mine, I can understand that. The samurans had to accept the compromise since they didn¡¯t want Aingeal acting in the fights and I made it clear that the ball of fire wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere. My healing of the seriously burned samuran also helped to soothe their tempers a little. I was a little worried at the start of the second fight, but Aingeal stuck to the agreement and stayed bobbing serenely over my shoulder. After seeing that he wasn¡¯t about to get immolated, my second opponent took heart and actually attacked me properly. That fight didn¡¯t last very long either ¨C seeing how tentative about fire he was, I used a flash of flame in his face to distract him. That gave Bastet the opportunity to knock into him. With my spear causing him to trip, he quickly landed heavily on the floor. With that, my spearpoint to his throat, and Bastet snarling at him menacingly, the fight was clearly over. After that it was Iandee who immediately surrendered, giving both of us a little break until the next fight. In fact, only my fourth opponent has managed to activate any ability at all so far, and it didn¡¯t do him much good. A call comes out for me and I head towards my next fight. Spotting who it is, I decide to make a quick change in my line-up. Catch, you join me on this one. Bastet, just watch for now, please, but I may need to switch you out at a moment¡¯s notice. If you can keep a careful watch on where he is, that would be good too. With any luck that will be enough to nullify the ability of my next opponent. My two Bound rearrange themselves and Catch strides forwards with me. I pull a large shield made out of chitin out of my Inventory and hand it to him. He fixes it on his arm and readjusts his grip on his own cudgel. Made out of pale reinforced bone with a large flint head and flint studs set into it, bone grown around them to hold them in place, it¡¯s a far more intimidating sight than the one my previous opponent holds. I¡¯m already ready so we step into the ring that¡¯s been drawn on the ground. Forcing an opponent outside the ring actually isn¡¯t a win condition ¨C it¡¯s just supposed to demarcate where we¡¯re supposed to be fighting. There¡¯s nothing saying that we can¡¯t go outside the ring temporarily, which is one thing I¡¯m concerned about with this new samuran. After all, I know from personal experience just how annoying stealth can be. When paired with projectile weaponry, this fight has become one that I definitely need to take seriously. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Four: Don’t Take Too Long To Rest Facing each other tensely, we wait for the Pathwalker ¨C the herbalist this time ¨C to start it. With a loud click of her jaws, she does just that. Bracing ourselves for our opponent to immediately throw his daggers ¨C no doubt laced with some sort of poison, we keep our eyes fixed on him. If my own stealth Skills and that of Catch has taught me anything, it¡¯s that paying focussed attention to the target prevents them from working properly ¨C or at all, normally. Unfortunately, it seems that the Warrior knows it too, and has a trick up his sleeve. Or, rather, on his belt. Pulling a small canister from his belt, he flicks open the top and throws the contents our way. We dart to the side, splitting up to allow whatever it was to pass harmlessly in between us. The only problem is that it turns out it wasn¡¯t anything meant to attack us, not directly, anyway. Dust fills the air, then expands until it creates a dense fog which completely blocks sight. I¡¯m reminded of my soul-space except for the fact that this mist is tinted blue and makes me cough and my eyes water. Pulling out a shirt from my Inventory, I hurriedly tie it around my nose and mouth. While I do that, I keep moving ¨C we¡¯ve lost sight of the Warrior, so he¡¯s no doubt gone into stealth. My ears strain to hear the sound of claws on the ground; my stinging and watering eyes search for signs of air movement rippling the dust. If only I had control of wind¡­I could blast this whole thing away in a moment. Then two thoughts strike me simultaneously. Catch, get out of the fog, I tell my Bound quickly, still turning and stepping carefully to reduce the chances of being caught off guard. At the same time, I start cycling healing energy through me, working on my eyes in particular to stop them impeding my vision. A slight whistle in the air is my only warning before a dagger slams into me. Fortunately, with the slight warning, I was able to shift a little, enough that it stabs into my armour rather than my neck. The dagger is sharp, and even leaves a slight mark in the nere hide that makes up the body of my armour. Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t penetrate. As I shift away, I reach down to grab the dagger, tucking it into my Inventory ¨C no point leaving weapons around for the Warrior to pick back up. Another whistle comes and I twist sideways, avoiding it. I¡¯m tempted to send fire back in the direction it came from, but I¡¯m hesitant to use it when surrounded by unknown alchemical reagents. Who knows what might happen? I¡¯m out, Catch tells me, just as another dagger flies at me from a different angle than the two previous. He¡¯s moving around. I keep twisting and turning, moving this way and that as unpredictably as I can to make myself a more difficult target. Use air-blade on the smoke. Try to make it as powerful as you can. I¡­I¡¯ve never tried that before, he tells me hesitantly even as I have to avoid another dagger. A second comes unexpectedly quickly on the heels of the first and I don¡¯t manage to avoid this one. It slices the meat of my bicep and I curse. You¡¯ve used air-blade before, I tell him, my teeth gritted against the fire I already feel emanating from the wound. It¡¯s poisoned ¨C that I know. But I can¡¯t have a conversation with Catch and dodge daggers and heal my wound. Just focus on putting as much mana into the blade as possible. I know you can do it. With that, I cut off the conversation and throw my magic at the wound in my bicep. My feet never stop moving, but my concentration is more on pushing the poison out of the wound than avoiding the daggers. I¡¯m tempted to just leave the poison within me, but with how quickly it¡¯s already spreading, I fear that that would be a potentially-fatal mistake. Two more slam into me, but neither actually cut me ¨C I manage to move well enough to have them strike the armour I¡¯m wearing instead of my flesh. I breathe a silent ¡®hah¡¯ as I manage to push the last of the poison out. It trickles down my skin, but is clear of my wound now. And then a gust of wind comes and the dust cloud blows away from me. It¡¯s not gone completely, but the area around me is almost fully clear. I¡¯m willing to risk fire now, and send a wave of it spreading out from me in all directions. The fire crackles as it hits the dust particles still hanging around. As it touches the greater body of dust, there¡¯s a sudden quiet ¡®whoomph¡¯ as the whole of it abruptly ignites. I stare at it, wide-eyed for a moment. It was only a quick ignition, and over within a second. Still, I¡¯m very glad I didn¡¯t try to use fire while standing in the middle of the cloud. A pained grunt brings my attention back to where it belongs ¨C in the fight. I suddenly realise that I know where the Warrior is. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s dropped stealth ¨C I can¡¯t actually see him. Instead, it¡¯s like the pulse of fire which went out from me briefly mapped the area and told me where the only living creature in its radius is standing. Or was, anyway ¨C I doubt he¡¯s still there. With Catch still clear, I pulse my fire again, and identify where the Warrior is. As soon as I know, I send an image through to Catch. The samuran took the opportunity of the dust cloud to drop into Stealth himself, and apparently using the air-blade hasn¡¯t broken it. Now, he starts sneaking up on the Warrior. I keep sending out pulses of fire, minimising the mana I put into it by reducing the actual damage it¡¯s doing. After all, I¡¯m the distraction and information gatherer right now. I also make sure that it¡¯s not harming Catch ¨C no friendly fire here if I can avoid it. In the meantime, I pretend that I don¡¯t know where the Warrior is, continuing my careful stepping and turning, my spear held at the ready. In reality, of course, I know exactly where he¡¯s prowling, and that helps me to be ready to avoid the daggers coming in my direction. It¡¯s a cat, cat, and mouse game, only the Warrior is confused about which one of us is the mouse. Apparently he either doesn¡¯t have more of that dust, doesn¡¯t feel the need to use it, or doesn¡¯t want to use it after seeing what my fire did to it. The battle ends with more of a whimper than a bang. I stop moving and look over to where I know that Catch has just put one of the Warrior¡¯s own daggers to his neck and the other to his side. He had placed his own shield and cudgel down surreptitiously and then grabbed two of the fallen daggers for his own use. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Our onlookers look a little confused for a moment until both of them flicker back into sight, cancelling their Stealth. The Warrior has his chin tilted upwards in their gesture of submission and his claws are empty. ¡°Victor: Markus,¡± the herbalist announces neutrally and then starts stepping towards us. The Warrior nods at me and then at Catch who has lowered the daggers. ¡°Good fight,¡± he said, his grunts surprisingly reverberant considering his lithe and relatively small form. He¡¯s still bigger than Catch, but not by much which did make Catch¡¯s tactics at the end easier. ¡°Thanks, you too,¡± I say honestly. It was a different fight from the others I¡¯ve experienced ¨C I have a feeling that this one is worth keeping an eye on. I hand him back the dagger I popped in my Inventory. ¡°Did you make the poison?¡± His spikes flicker in negation. ¡°No. It is from a plant in the forest. The grunt-click-flash-of-yellow.¡± Clearly even Animal Empathy can¡¯t translate something I have no idea about. Hopefully River¡­. Perhaps Catch will know about it. I eye him and he sends me negation down the Bond. Pity. Well, something to pursue at a later time, perhaps ¨C I¡¯m intrigued by how fast-acting it was. I want to ask about the dust cloud too, but the herbalist is already here and painting my victory sigil on my back and I lose my chance. The Warrior moves around to collect his daggers. Catch helps and they exchange some words which are too quiet to be audible for me. Then the Warrior moves to join his fellows, watching another fight. ¡°Your next fight will happen as soon as you have recovered,¡± the herbalist tells me. ¡°Your opponent is already waiting. Don¡¯t take too long to rest or we will start anyway.¡± I sigh a little ¨C after four fights, I¡¯m already getting a little tired, even if Meditation is helping me to keep my mana regeneration up with my usage. I will need a couple of minutes of at least Medium Meditation to replenish it after all the fire pulses I was doing here, not to mention the healing. I sit cross-legged on the ground, Bastet and Catch moving in to guard me protectively. Before I drop into Medium Meditation, I take a glance at my next opponent ¨C I might as well use the time to do some planning. After all, no doubt he¡¯s been using the time during my fight to do just that. ***** The fight is fine. After seeing that he was a Warrior who obviously focussed on physical defence and offence, based on his size and weaponry, I decide to swap Bastet back in. While I was definitely glad to have brought in Catch for the last fight, given the significant differences between his physical capabilities and those of a fully Evolved Warrior, he would simply be too outclassed to help me. Especially since he¡¯s now used his once-a-day ability. Perhaps it would have been better to hold onto that as an ace for later, but I don¡¯t regret it. One reason I¡¯ve been using so many different Skills and techniques during the fights is to show the samurans just what I¡¯m capable of. After all, although not many of my job interviews, nor those I¡¯ve conducted, have been as much of a literal fight as this is, the similarity is undeniable. That¡¯s also why I¡¯m determined to get through this without losing a single fight, even if I probably technically could based on the way they determine the overall winner. Bastet doesn¡¯t try to overpower her opponent ¨C her advantages are speed and agility. Not to mention that she¡¯s capable of magic all by herself. The samurans haven¡¯t yet seen a fire-breathing raptorcat, but I¡¯m sure that will happen by the end. All of that goes to say that, although my fifth actual fight was with a higher ranking Warrior ¨C since I don¡¯t count Iandee¡¯s ¨C it was actually easier than my fourth. In the end, I repeat one of my previous finishing moves ¨C stab him with my spear and then have Bastet keep him busy until I¡¯ve been able to multiply the venom to the point it has him on the ground. My sixth real fight was much the same, though I used my Flesh-shaping on this one to lock his joints since he gave me a good opening when he tried to take me down by wrestling with me in the first few moments of the fight. I got away from his hold easily enough ¨C transforming myself temporarily into a human torch has the automatic reaction of making people let go, after all ¨C but left him with a nice packet of mana imbued in his limbs. My seventh fight, coming after two ¡®fights¡¯ with Peace and then Murmur, is a bit harder. It¡¯s with a lithe and fast Warrior who manages to avoid my spear blows annoyingly well. In the end, I win by blinding him with a sudden flash of fire, much like in my second fight. This time, though, it¡¯s Catch who trips him and then pins him rather than Bastet. Having my spear to his throat at the end is the same, though. I¡¯d feel disappointed over my lack of originality if I wasn¡¯t more concerned about making it through without losing a fight. Besides, I know that after the Warriors are done, I still have the Pathwalkers to fight, which is going to be¡­interesting. And I¡¯m concerned about my last two fights with the top Warriors. Taking a short break between fights, courtesy of Lee quickly surrendering in our bout, I try to flush the fatigue out of my system in the same way as I helped my Bound in our rush to get to Fenrir. It definitely helps, but it''s not an instant fix, nor does it take me back up to fresh-as-a-daisy status. Still, it prepares me for my eighth proper fight. Once more it¡¯s a Warrior who looks like he¡¯s gone the gym bunny route rather than the runner one, but that almost relaxes me. Until he goes and pulls out what looks like a bola of all things. I take my first major setback of the fights so far when the bola wraps itself around my ankle and trips me. Not only do the stones slam into my bone and give me probably deep bruises, but the Warrior was expecting me to fall and has prepared for it. Bastet is in the fight with me, since I wasn¡¯t expecting him to have a ranged weapon, and she¡¯s unable to keep him away ¨C he just charges straight forward and she has to clear out of his path or be trampled. As he gets to me, he lets loose with a bone-breaking kick that manages to lift me off the ground. A kick from a samuran is not to be dismissed easily ¨C their legs are strong, and their feet are clawed just like their hands. Fortunately, the chitin plates deflect the latter and the rest of the armour and undershirt cushion the former. A little. I¡¯m still left wheezing with the taste of blood in my mouth when I thump back down to earth a couple of metres away. Unable to move, and with a juggernaut hurtling towards me I instead have to send out an intense burst of fire to make him check himself. Aingeal stirs over my shoulder and sends me a questioning feel. Asking whether it should intervene, I guess. I try to send it a negative feeling, but don¡¯t have time to do more. Bastet, fire-breath, I tell her shortly, then trust that she will keep him distracted for a moment and drop my own fire. Working faster than ever before, I heal the wounds from both impacts ¨C enough, at least, to get up. As soon as I think I¡¯m even remotely able to stand, I push myself to my feet. Bastet seems to have attracted the Warrior¡¯s attention enough for now, but as I watch, her fire dies completely. She¡¯s probably out of mana. Her sluggish movements indicate that she¡¯s suffering from mana-depletion, at least. Pulling out my bow and arrow, I quickly nock an arrow to the string. Imbuing it with mana takes only a few moments, but they¡¯re moments in which I have to watch Bastet dodge a walking mountain¡¯s strikes. She¡¯s getting tired, just like I am ¨C her dodges are barely fast enough to keep ahead of him. I hurry up with my preparations. I shoot the arrow. It pierces the meat of the samuran¡¯s shoulder. The lizard-man turns to glare at me tauntingly, seeming to think I¡¯d missed. The bone spike which I send towards his head, and which stops only when it¡¯s pressing into his jaw, makes him freeze. Increasing its pressure little by little sees him giving up in a short time and we finish the fight with relief. With the eighth fight now done, there is only one to go. I should feel exhilarated, but instead I feel more apprehensive than anything else. After all, we barely squeaked through that fight, and from what I¡¯ve seen, the boss Warrior, Shrieks-loudly, is not to be underestimated. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Five: The Sights of a Predator I gaze at my next opponent. Shrieks-loudly is even more of a mountain of a samuran than any of my previous opponents, but I¡¯ve seen that he¡¯s not just some brute with no brain from how he handled last night¡¯s events. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t been able to see how he actually fights ¨C whether through chance or design, he¡¯s always been fighting at the same time as I have. Now that our own battle is imminent, I hesitate over which of my Companions to bring in. Catch has done well, even if I¡¯ve only brought him in on two battles out of seven. In one of those battles, he proved to be essential to my success. However, with his once-a-day ability now used, he will be unable to use any further magic today. Beyond his Stealth ability, that is. It¡¯s tempting to bring him in for that ¨C being able to creep up on an opponent is certainly an advantage. For this battle, though, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s enough of an advantage to outweigh his disadvantages. The fact is that Shrieks-loudly is half again Catch¡¯s height, towering more than a head over me. He¡¯s broad and thickly muscled, looking like he¡¯s been living in the gym and tossing back protein shakes for the last year. That would suggest that he¡¯s slow, but from what I picked up from him earlier with my non-invasive Inspect, it¡¯s not at all the case. That means that Catch is out-matched in pretty much all ways. Bastet is just as outmatched when it comes to size and weight ¨C more so even since she¡¯s smaller and lighter than Catch. However, she¡¯s faster, perhaps fast enough to keep up with the bulky samuran. In addition, although she doesn¡¯t have a dedicated stealth ability, she has something that makes her harder to spot when she doesn¡¯t want to be, and she has both her once-a-day ability and her own magic. Her disadvantage is that there would be no way that she could go toe-to-toe with the Warrior. Catch might be able to do that if he hunkered down behind a shield, even if it wouldn¡¯t be for long; Bastet would just have to keep out of his reach. With so much on the line, I decide to use a proper Inspect. At this point, it doesn¡¯t matter if he feels it ¨C we¡¯re about to fight anyway. Making him angrier is unlikely to work against me right now.
Samuran: Shrieks-loudly Tier 2 Beast (Evolved) Special abilities: Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Blow Health: 1990u Mana: 10u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 65 (65) Open to a Bond: No Impacting factor: Protection of the Village Member of a samuran community; the current leader of its protectors. Fights with multiple weapons, overwhelming opponents with his raw strength and speed. Social Beast with strong capacity to form bonds.
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His health is the highest I¡¯ve seen yet from any samuran, unsurprising considering his size. Still, it¡¯s a little daunting ¨C it¡¯s almost six times my health. Having it that high clearly has had an impact on his mana, though ¨C that is the lowest I¡¯ve ever seen, and not just among the lizard-folk. I note that if I do go for the poison route, I¡¯d better not choose one which requires me to whittle his health down significantly before it will work properly. I suspect his stamina will be his weak point, though. Enhanced Speed has got to consume stamina considering how low his mana is, and so must Enhanced Blow. This is the first Warrior I¡¯ve encountered who has two abilities. No wonder he¡¯s top dog ¨C or rather, top lizard. It would have been nice if the description had told me more about the weapons he uses, but unfortunately he doesn¡¯t apparently use one or two weapons so much that my current level of Inspect will inform me about them. In the end, I make my choice of which Bound to bring in and step forwards into the ring. On the other side of the fighting area, Shrieks-loudly does the same. Catch tenses at my side, his eyes fixed on the other samuran. It¡¯s a bit of a risk to bring him with me, but having seen what Shrieks-loudly¡¯s stats are, I decided that Bastet¡¯s abilities wouldn¡¯t be suited to this battle. With his health as high as it is, her claws and teeth wouldn¡¯t make much difference, and her speed might not match his enhanced movement ability. With his speed and strength, she wouldn¡¯t offer him much deterrent even if she stood in his way, either, and would be more likely to be hurt. It remains to be seen whether Catch, with his ability to hold a shield, is a better option, though. Either way, as the refereeing Pathwalkers ¨C Grower and Wood-shaper ¨C click their teeth in unison, we all explode into movement. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Expecting Shrieks-loudly to run directly towards me, I¡¯m taken a little off-guard when that isn¡¯t what he does at all. Instead, he reaches behind himself and withdraws something. His next movement is faster than I can track. The next thing I know is that I¡¯m reeling backwards, pain exploding in my shoulder. I¡¯m only barely aware of Catch moving in to cover us both with his shield as something strikes me again in the same shoulder. The first blow cracked the carapace which protects it. The second presses those shards into the armour and transfers its force into my joint. The third, which follows quickly on the heels of the first two, causes an ominous crack and horrible pain to radiate through my shoulder. Then Catch has the shield between us and the other samuran. Several quick-fired dull thuds prove that Shrieks-loudly isn¡¯t playing around. The wood is better for absorbing impacts and dents rather than cracks, but it won¡¯t be able to stand up to this kind of abuse for long. Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t seem like the shield will need to do so as the thuds stop quickly enough. My brain scrambles to catch up with just what has happened even as I send healing magic to my shoulder. Part of my mind focuses on filling in the cracks and rips which have been caused by the three blows unerringly hitting the same spot. It¡¯s a surprise that the bulky samuran has chosen to attack with projectile weaponry, but perhaps that¡¯s exactly why he did it ¨C he wanted to push us off-balance, and that¡¯s exactly what he¡¯s done. I drop into Medium Meditation, wanting to use the increased speed of thought to work out how to move next. Aware of time not being on my side, even in this space, I quickly run through what happened. Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Blow¡­. Clearly they don¡¯t only apply to moving from A to B, but also made him able to throw his weapons fast enough that Catch¡¯s and my actions felt like moving in slow-motion in comparison. That¡¯s not good since it means that we can¡¯t risk getting into a hand-to-hand battle ¨C neither of us would be able to react fast enough to avoid being stabbed. On the other hand, I suppose that that would explain why the blows stopped fairly rapidly once they started hitting a shield ¨C if both abilities use stamina, Shrieks-loudly isn¡¯t going to want to waste too much of it. I play around briefly with the idea of taking this battle immediately to the soul-space, but decide against it. Just like with Lee at the start, the samurans need to be convinced that I can win the battle according to their terms. But I don¡¯t dismiss the possibility ¨C ultimately, I need to win. It¡¯ll be easier to convince them if I¡¯ve won the battle, regardless of how I¡¯ve actually won it. But for now, the only weak point I can determine is most likely present is his stamina. At that thought, an idea occurs. After a few more short moments of deliberation, I pull myself out of Medium Meditation. Little time has passed since I entered it, but my ears pick up the sound of feet pounding towards us. We have seconds before he is on us. Stealth, I order Catch shortly, throwing up a curtain of fire around us. Briefly obscured from view, it¡¯s easy enough for him to enter Stealth and me to engage Fade. Catch¡¯s Stealth is different from mine. Perhaps it¡¯s because it¡¯s a higher level or something like that. Where mine just helps me move more quietly, his makes him generally more unnoticeable. It¡¯s more similar to my Fade but is still a bit different. Even though I have resistance to it because he¡¯s my Bound, I still feel that my eyes wish to slide away from where he is. The feet on the other side of the flame pause, but, a moment later, there¡¯s the sound of a roar and a large, dark shape leaps through the flames to land where we both were a moment ago. Of course, we¡¯re not there now. Instead, we¡¯ve split up, each on opposite sides of the ring of fire. Now the fire is hindering more than helping us, I drop the curtains of flame. For a moment, all three of us are frozen in position. Catch and I both feel like we¡¯re in the sights of a predator as Shrieks-loudly turns his head slowly to either side, his gaze searching. My heart is in my mouth as his light bronze-coloured eyes slide over where I¡¯m standing, frozen. It stays there even when he turns away because that means he¡¯s now looking in the direction of where Catch is. The younger samuran stays just as still as I did when that gaze passed over me. With him turned away, though, I take the chance to ease backwards, putting some distance between us. I freeze as soon as he turns his head towards me with a jerk. Behind him, I see Catch beginning to shift like me, only he intentionally makes a bit of noise. He¡¯s recognised that he¡¯s the distraction without me needing to spell it out. Shrieks-loudly¡¯s head snaps back in his direction immediately and he starts prowling forwards. He¡¯d brought a long spear into the fight with him, the weapon I thought he¡¯d be using. Now, he does use it, waving it back and forth to find a lump where there shouldn¡¯t be a lump ¨C a decent tactic for finding someone in stealth. Catch retreats backwards, the space between us widening without me having to move. Just as well ¨C Fade does work with me moving slowly, but that¡¯s when I¡¯m most likely to be discovered. With what I have in mind, the longer my effective invisibility can continue, the better. Pulling my bow out of my Inventory, I take a moment to string it, moving slowly. I probably don¡¯t need to unstring it, considering my Inventory holds things in stasis, and it would certainly have sped things up now if I had left it strung. The next object I remove is one of my bone arrows, but I make a bit of a change to it on the fly. While I work, I keep an eye on the other participants of the fight. Shrieks-loudly is getting ever closer to where Catch is pressed to the ground, his shield slung on his back and somehow covered by the same effect. The smaller samuran shifts slowly whenever the Warrior isn¡¯t looking directly at him, but his movements are, by necessity, much smaller than Shrieks-loudly¡¯s. Nocking my modified arrow to the bow, I pull it back and shoot it towards the large samuran¡¯s back. The Warrior reacts faster than I had expected, but isn''t quite fast enough to avoid the arrow. It sinks into the meat of his bicep as he whirls around. I¡¯ve frozen physically as his gaze scans where the arrow came from, but my magic is active. Shrieks-loudly hisses and snatches at the arrow as it expands into his arm. Too late: even as he tears out a chunk of his flesh, the payload of the arrow has already been delivered into his blood-stream. Perhaps realising that he¡¯s now on a timer, Shrieks-loudly moves swiftly in my general direction. He clearly can¡¯t see me; he just as clearly knows approximately where the arrow came from. With his spear stabbing unpredictably at all angles, I stay absolutely still, focussing all my mana on multiplying the venom I¡¯ve just fed into him. I see Catch starting to move, creeping up behind the Warrior. His footfall is light enough that the bulky samuran doesn¡¯t know he¡¯s there until his cudgel comes heavily down on the side of Shrieks-loudly¡¯s knee. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Six: What Do You Intend For My Village The large samuran whirls around and lands Catch a stunning blow, ringed with a fiery orange glow, before he can react. My stomach drops into my feet as I see him go sailing back. Shrieks-loudly follows up his attack, running quickly towards where Catch has crumpled to the ground. Even as I start healing him with the mana I¡¯ve been feeding into his system in between fights, whenever I¡¯m free ¨C him and Bastet ¨C I also send two more bone arrows at the Warrior in quick succession. With his attention focussed on the prone and unmoving samuran, he doesn¡¯t notice the arrows flying at him this time. Without the same accuracy which the Warrior had displayed with his initial salvo, I am unable to hit him anywhere particularly vulnerable. Still, two arrows hitting him in the back are enough to regain his attention once more and he whirls around. Then I see the moment he decides that chasing after me, the ghost he can¡¯t see, is less tactically sound than dealing with Catch, the samuran he can see. Urgency pressing me, I work hard on both fronts: healing Catch so he can defend himself, and dealing with Shrieks-loudly so he doesn¡¯t have to. Pouring magic into the venom within Shrieks-loudly, I find to my surprise that the magic is unintentionally going in two different directions. It figures that I¡¯d manage to unconsciously work out how to multitask with mana in the middle of a battle. I don¡¯t waste time figuring out exactly how I¡¯m succeeding, instead just focussing on doing it, while maintaining the highest level of meditation I can so that I replenish my mana as quickly as possible. The spear flashes down, ringed with orange. At the last moment, Catch shifts away. I let out a breath of relief, but it¡¯s not over yet. The spear stabs at him again and again, Shrieks-loudly¡¯s whole body glowing faintly orange. The smaller samuran dodges him, avoiding being pinned like a butterfly on a board by a hair¡¯s breadth most of the time. But he is avoiding it, somehow. I know it won¡¯t last, though. Relaxing my focus on Catch¡¯s body ¨C his injuries not at all fully healed, but not too bad for now ¨C I turn my attention to the bone arrows I shot at the Warrior. Touching the mana within them, I force them to grow spikes. Shrieks-loudly hisses in pain, and tries to grab at them, but they¡¯re behind his back and out of his reach. The spikes growing longer, sweat rolling down my forehead at the mental and magical strain of doing it, I breathe heavily in relief when he stiffens. Abruptly, the Warrior¡¯s lower legs collapse under him, sending him to the ground. He can still move his arms ¨C and does, his spear flailing around him ¨C but everywhere from mid-back downwards is abruptly out of his control. Piercing his spinal cord with a bone spike will do that. Dropping Fade thankfully, I dry-heave for a moment, nausea abruptly the only thing in my mind. Overusing my magic is never pleasant. Fortunately, my rate of replenishment is quick enough that I¡¯m only suffering from the symptoms for a minute or so before they begin abating. I walk towards the two samurans. Catch has pushed himself to his feet and is standing out of range of the Warrior¡¯s long spear. I come to stand by his side. ¡°I¡¯ve paralysed your lower half,¡± I tell the Warrior evenly. I hear a susurration around me as the watching samurans hear me. Shrieks-loudly looks up at me with horror glinting in his eyes ¨C I¡¯m not surprised. ¡°I can heal it,¡± I tell him, ¡°But only when this battle is concluded. Will you surrender?¡± He looks up at me for a beat and then slowly lifts his chin in wordless sign of agreement. With this victory, I¡¯ve proved myself to be the strongest of the Warriors. I¡¯ve won every fight I¡¯ve been in and my Bound warriors have all surrendered the moment the Pathwalker started the fight. I thought the Pathwalkers might give up on setting us up against each other, but perhaps the structure of it all is important, even if the outcome is predetermined. Or perhaps it¡¯s to do with the sigils ¨C I only gained them once the others had officially surrendered. There¡¯s something else to consider now than just sigils. The thing is that the number of marks on the back of Shrieks-loudly here indicates that even if he¡¯s not top lizard, he¡¯s still going to be high in the rankings, and therefore have a lot of influence, especially on the other Warriors. I know that I¡¯m going to need to use Dominate on the Pathwalkers for sure, but I decide to do it on the Warrior at my feet too. I think it¡¯s worth the risk of over-extending myself later. I admit that part of my reasoning is also that fixing a spinal injury is going to take a lot of concentration and mana as it is ¨C it will work significantly better if he¡¯s one of my Bound. Shifting to the side so I can meet his eyes, I whisper the trigger word which sends us into the greyed out world of the Battle of Wills. The pressure here feels much like the pressure during the Battle with Lee. A bit stronger, perhaps, but not by a lot. I suspect if I had used Inspect on Shrieks-loudly shortly before triggering Dominate, it would have shown his effective Willpower to be below fifty. Almost strolling forwards through the minimal resistance, I make my way towards the figure on the other side of the space. Shrieks-loudly watches me approach with impressive impassiveness. Even his emotions, when I get close enough to feel them, are calmer than most. Lee was fairly calm when I Dominated him too, but Shrieks-loudly beats him hands down. I stop within an arm¡¯s length of his motionless form. ¡°Do you sense what this is about?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. I do, he rumbles, his emotions briefly flickering, before returning to their calm placidity. ¡°Do you have anything to say? Any questions? Any requests?¡± I offer him the chance to speak, probably more for my benefit than for his, based on how the other Warriors¡¯ Battles went. There¡¯s silence for a few moments, but I sense an undercurrent of emotion shifting, so wait patiently for him to answer either way. The movements are too subtle for me to determine exactly what they are, but I can feel the ripple nonetheless. What do you intend for my village? he asks after a long moment. I¡¯m not entirely surprised by the question ¨C and also not surprised that this is the samuran to ask it, of all the Warriors. After all, they only have to obey the commands from the Pathwalkers and the boss Warrior; Shrieks-loudly is the boss Warrior ¨C or was, at least. Perhaps still is since I¡¯m not exactly a ¡®Warrior¡¯ due to my use of magic. It was his job to ask that kind of question, to be the balance against the Pathwalkers¡¯ new initiatives and ideas. Personally, I think he probably should have asked that question a bit more when it was the shaman raising the idea of capturing Kalanthia¡¯s cub, but perhaps he did and was convinced in some way. I might ask him later. For now, though, I give his question the weight it deserves. ¡°I intend to share knowledge which I have from my own people, hopefully making the village stronger and more successful. I intend to try to make the village more egalitarian, recognising that even the physically and magically weaker may offer more to the village than what resources they can gather. In short, I am going to change many things about your way of life, but I intend it for the better.¡± And if they do not ultimately improve my village? he rumbles. I shrug. ¡°Then we find things which will work better.¡± I feel him searching through my aura, probably testing my sincerity and maybe something else. After a moment, his intensity fades. Very well. I give myself, and with it, my village into your hands. Considering he has little choice ¨C I have beaten him in the physical fight and could easily force the issue now ¨C it could be construed as something a little arrogant or pompous. However, I¡¯m touching him soul to soul and I feel the weight of what he is giving me ¨C his trust. I feel just how hard it is for him to give it to an outsider, one who is not even the same species. One who has already harmed those under his care. Yet, for the benefit of his village, he gives it nonetheless, if only tentatively for now. ¡°Thank you,¡± I say in the end, my tone serious, my emotions sincere and appreciative. Because ultimately, with him on my side, willingly rather than forcibly, I suspect that change will be easier to perpetrate. Reaching out, I touch him on the bone between his eyes and the Bond weaves its way into place as the space shatters around us. Some time has gone past and so Shrieks-loudly already has the herbalist at his side, fussing a little over him. She turns to me with ire colouring her spikes a deep crimson. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have won in any other way? Shrieks-loudly will be crippled for life! Our strongest Warrior, useless to us!¡± That¡¯s all she can think about? His use? I find my lips drawing back from my teeth in a gesture I¡¯ve probably picked up unconsciously from the carnivores in my life. ¡°No anger on his behalf? Just because he can no longer protect you?¡± The herbalist hisses at me, clicking her teeth together, but I don¡¯t let her speak. ¡°As it happens, you need not worry ¨C I can heal him.¡± Then, without mincing any more words, I brush the slighter Pathwalker aside, making her stumble away, and crouch down next to Shrieks-loudly. Putting my hand near the wound I caused, I close my eyes and send my mind into his body, trusting in my Bound to keep me safe. For this kind of wound, I definitely need to dedicate my full attention to healing it. Slowly, and probably unintentionally painfully, I use Flesh-Shaping to first reform the bone arrow so that it no longer has a spike sticking straight into the spinal column, and then to heal the damaged tissue and replenish the fluid around it, making sure to remove any foreign bodies that could cause issues. It¡¯s difficult, painstaking work, and I¡¯m worried about making a mistake. I might have sounded very confident when telling Shrieks-loudly and the herbalist that I can fix it, but the reality of the situation is that I¡¯m aware of how even the slightest error could cause the Warrior to be paralysed for the rest of his life. Or, even if not completely paralysed, cause enduring stiffness and weakness in his lower half. However, as I work, I realise that there¡¯s something helping me, something which I realise has been helping me for a while. I had thought that my ease with healing my Bound came from familiarity with their bodies. That probably is true to a certain extent, but I realise as I¡¯m doing this that there¡¯s something more to it. Shrieks-loudly¡¯s body is actually helping me to heal itself. It¡¯s like the body has some memory of how it should be, and as long as I don¡¯t force my own vision to take over, but instead merely gently nudge it and provide the magic, the body itself heals with far greater accuracy than I probably would be capable of. Like the body has some sort of code within it which determines how it should all look like. It¡¯s like I¡¯m hit by an epiphany. Of course the body knows exactly how all of it should look. It¡¯s not like the body has a code ¨C it actually does. DNA ¨C the chemical code within every single cell of my body and, presumably, those of all my Bound which tells the body exactly how to create and maintain itself. Could my Flesh-Shaping be tapping into that? If so¡­well, making changes on the DNA level could go very well, or very badly. On a less mad-scientist front, it could potentially supercharge my healing: I could arguably bring my Bound pretty much back from the dead as long as whatever spark it is which determines if someone is alive or not is intact. Though, if it was a genetic defect, things like Catch¡¯s eyesight may not have been healable by using his DNA as a template. I need to remember that not all DNA is perfect ¨C and that following the DNA ¡®blueprint¡¯ is not the only thing my Flesh-Shaping can do. I push the possibilities to the back of my mind and concentrate on healing my newest Bound¡¯s spine so that he is no longer paralysed. Once I¡¯ve done that, I send my mind through the rest of his body and take a moment to heal some injuries to his legs ¨C including the damage to the knee that Catch got in ¨C and a nasty scar on his arm which is currently reducing his mobility in that arm slightly. Pulling out of my trance, I¡¯m immediately aware of the nagging sense of a notification. Anticipation runs through me, but my curiosity will have to wait to be satisfied ¨C the group of samurans currently looking at me with a range of expressions need to be dealt with first. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Line-up Awe is certainly one of the expressions, and one that Shrieks-loudly himself directs at me when he sits up gingerly only to find no pain, no limitation to his movements. He¡¯s not the only one. The herbalist, who is probably the samuran who knows best just how difficult it is to heal a spinal injury, is almost as impressed as the lead Warrior himself. A couple of other Warriors look a mixture of impressed and relieved; the rest of those currently watching also look relieved, though it¡¯s mixed with other emotions like uncertainty or active discomfort. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s because their top Warrior has been laid low, though they could have been rooting for Shrieks-loudly to have been permanently injured, for all I know. Others are even less positive. Wind-whisperer is, of course, rather disgruntled ¨C probably because I have made it through the whole gauntlet of Warriors without losing, heck, without taking significant injury. Wood-shaper seems just as discomforted, avoiding looking in my direction at all. She¡¯s been almost as strong a voice against me, but she¡¯s been more open to reason than Wind-whisperer; why she¡¯s upset, I don¡¯t know for sure, though I have some suspicions. Bastet and Catch both have almost identical expressions of smugness. Bastet¡¯s, of course, is far more obvious than Catch¡¯s ¨C though she isn¡¯t a feline, exactly, she does their expressions rather well, and no one does smug like a cat. ¡°So, what¡¯s next?¡± I ask since no one seems to be inclined to break the quiet that¡¯s fallen around this little area. There is still plenty of noise: just because I¡¯ve finished all my fights doesn¡¯t mean that everyone else has finished theirs. But this is a small oasis of peace and quiet amongst the noise of battle. Or at least, it would be an oasis if the silence was comfortable. As it is, I push myself upright restlessly, putting out my hand to help Shrieks-loudly to his feet. He hesitates a moment, then sets his big paw in mine. I raise an eyebrow at how his massive hand makes mine look like a child¡¯s, but pull him up all the same. Fortunately, even though he¡¯s heavy, I¡¯m a lot stronger than I used to be and levering him to his feet takes little effort. Either my question or the movement, or both, manage to jolt the rest of the samurans into motion. The Warriors, now the show is over, disperse to watch the active fights. The Pathwalkers remain. The herbalist moves around me to paint the new sigil on my back ¨C well, the back of my armour anyway. There must be thirteen of the things on me now ¨C even if I didn¡¯t actually fight my four Bound, I still ¡®won¡¯ those battles, so Grubs-in-the-dirt was obliged to paint their symbols on me nonetheless. ¡°You may have made it through the Warriors without too much difficulty, but you¡¯ll soon be facing a much greater challenge,¡± Wind-whisperer tells me with their equivalent of a sneer. Shrieks-loudly shifts slightly and I feel irritation drift over his link. I¡¯m not surprised and can only think that if this is how she normally is, and it isn¡¯t just because of my presence, then I¡¯m surprised he hasn¡¯t killed her or conveniently didn¡¯t notice something attacking her when they were out in the forest. ¡°Yes, I am slightly concerned about Runs-with-the-river¡¯s skills,¡± I ¡®admit¡¯, feeling satisfaction when Wind-whisperer clicks her teeth in anger. It¡¯s probably immature of me to prod at her, but she¡¯s really starting to get on my nerves. I¡¯m frankly looking forward to meeting her in the ring ¨C especially since, having declared that she¡¯s not going to hold back, I won¡¯t feel the need to do so either. Still, I was hoping to have a break. I¡¯ve just fought nine fights with very little respite between them, and I need some time just to chill before engaging in six more. Well, five ¨C Joy is mine, after all. ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry,¡± Wind-whisperer hisses at me. ¡°It¡¯ll be all over soon for you.¡± Apparently determined to have the last word, she turns and flounces off, her tail swaying more than normal in her annoyance. ¡°She¡¯s afraid,¡± remarks a voice behind me, its tone flat without the influence of coloured spikes. ¡°Herbalist¡­¡± says Wood-shaper, her tone a mix between reproachful and hesitant. ¡°What? She is.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you should talk about one of our sisters in front of¡­.in front of him,¡± Wood-shaper continues, still refusing to look directly at me. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt he already knows it,¡± scoffs the herbalist, though she shuts up after that and just finishes painting the sigil. I don¡¯t tell her that I didn¡¯t in fact know that, though it makes a lot of sense now I think about it. Hmm, I wonder if I could use the knowledge¡­. Stepping back around to my front, the herbalist faces me squarely. ¡°The tournament between the Pathwalkers takes place immediately after the end of the Warriors¡¯, so you have the time until then to rest.¡± She goes silent for a moment, gazing at me thoughtfully, her eyes flicking to Shrieks-loudly and back. I sense that she wants to say something. ¡°Come on, Herbalist,¡± Wood-shaper says and Grubs-in-the-dirt turns her head to look at her sister. ¡°We¡¯re needed at the other fights.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The herbalist looks back at me, but the moment is lost and she departs with her sister a moment later. What was that about? I wonder to myself as I gaze at her back. The shifting of my newest Bound next to me draws my attention back to other matters. ¡°How are you feeling, Catch?¡± I ask solicitously. Even before he answers, I touch his shoulder and channel healing magic into him. Searching out the areas which were not fully healed earlier in my stop-gap actions, I smooth away the injuries and knit together the broken flesh. Much better, thank you, he says with relief when I¡¯ve finished. ¡°Up for more fights?¡± I check with him. Both he and Shrieks-loudly look at me with surprise. You want¡­me to fight with you against the Pathwalkers? Catch asks slowly. I stare at him. ¡°Well¡­yeah. Either you or Bastet, case depending. Who else?¡± Catch turns to look at Shrieks-loudly pointedly. The big samuran seems to be thinking along the same lines as his smaller kin, incredulity mingling with surprise. ¡°Oh, I see,¡± I tell them, my mind turning over the idea. It should probably have occurred to me to use my newest Bound, the strongest Warrior instead of one who is an Unevolved samuran. Certainly, it seems to have been obvious to Catch and Shrieks. But as I think it over, I shake my head. ¡°No, I think it would be better to stick with the line-up as it is ¨C unless you¡¯re too tired to continue,¡± I say frankly, gazing at Catch. Both of them now send incredulity down the link at me. I can continue. But¡­why? asks Catch, clearly baffled. ¡°Several reasons,¡± I tell him. ¡°First, think about how it would appear if I swap you and Shrieks around. Shrieks, am I right in guessing that you did pretty well against the Pathwalkers last time?¡± I ask. Shrieks is staring at me with contemplation slowly replacing the confusion and surprise. I did. I did not beat Honoured Shaman, but I won against Herbalist. Well, that was useful to know ¨C I decide to ask him what the order of Pathwalkers were last time, since that will give me my battle order for this time too, I would imagine. ¡°See. Now if I take him in to fight with me, what are the chances that they will assume my victories are due to my companion, rather than to me?¡± Arguably, the strength of a Tamer is in having strong Bound, so that shouldn¡¯t make a difference, but I suspect it does. The samurans seem to be all about personal strength ¨C they allowed me to fight with two of my Bound, but weren¡¯t happy about that. And although it¡¯s important that I win these fights, how I win is just as essential. From the feelings that are filtering down the link between Shrieks and me, I suspect he¡¯s in agreement with me over that. ¡°Then there¡¯s the question of whether they¡¯d consider it to be fair play to change which Bound I bring in considering how reluctant they were to let you be part of a ranking fight at all. There¡¯s also the fact that I¡¯d like to show them that the Unevolved are worthy of respect. Finally, and perhaps most practically, there¡¯s the question of teamwork.¡± I turn so I¡¯m looking directly at Catch. ¡°You and I have fought together multiple times now, and we¡¯ve sparred together too. We know how each other fights. Shrieks and I don¡¯t.¡± I turn my head so I¡¯m now looking up at the mountainous samuran. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to cast any doubt on either your skills at fighting, or even fighting with others. I just don¡¯t feel that leaping into a fight with the Pathwalkers is the right place to start our teamwork.¡± I agree, rumbles Shrieks, taking me a little by surprise. ¡°You do?¡± Yes. I am familiar with the problems that can result from two Warriors fighting together who are unfamiliar with each other¡¯s fighting style. I do not wish to accidentally strike you or be burnt myself because we have misread each other¡¯s moves. Perhaps I forgot who I¡¯m speaking to ¨C a leader and trainer of others of his kind. Of course he¡¯d understand where I¡¯m coming from here. ¡°Alright, good. Then it¡¯s settled. Bastet, Catch, you will join me for the final battles, so take the time to rest now. Shrieks, while we rest, tell me about what you know of the existing Pathwalkers¡¯ fighting styles. Start with their ranking order, please.¡± While listening to Shrieks, I focus on running my magic through my system. I heal any small injury which I had missed before, then focus on external parts of myself. Refilling my armour with my mana, I heal it ¨C though don¡¯t clean it since I¡¯d lose all the sigils ¨C and make small changes which I think might stand me in better stead in the coming fights. Once he¡¯s finished, I send him off to watch the rest of the fights ¨C it¡¯s what he wants to do and might offer me useful information for later too. Finally, I take the chance to look at the notification which has been nagging at me all this time. As I read it, my eyes go wide.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill past Journeyman. Flesh-Shaping is now Master 1. You have achieved this feat by gaining an in-depth understanding of at least one aspect of your Skill. You have developed an ease with manipulating healing and shaping energy within the body, as able to fix a problem as to cause it. You have noticed that the body carries information within it which offers a blueprint to restoring its constituent parts to full health. Using previous knowledge about that which directs the body¡¯s processes, you have understood that you may be able to change the very essence of the body ¨C to heal or to harm. However, how to apply this knowledge and the consequences of doing so are still unknown to you. Equally, your understanding at present barely touches the depths of the possibilities. Advance your understanding in this area or significantly expand your understanding of other areas of Flesh-Shaping to advance this Skill further. Research and explore, but beware of unintended consequences of your actions. The path to Sage is long and hard; do you have the will and inspiration to stay the course?
Close messages
So DNA manipulation is a thing, I think to myself. Though, even the message warns me against doing it without thought about the consequences. It¡¯s interesting that I didn¡¯t actually have to manipulate DNA to get the Skill to Master ¨C is that because I was so close to ranking up that it only needed a little to tip into Master, or because DNA is such an advanced concept? Either way, I close the message for now. It¡¯s something to explore later ¨C very, very carefully. But right now, I need to concentrate on resting and getting ready for the battles to come. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Eight: I Refuse To Prepare A Knife For My Own Back ¡°Begin,¡± calls a Warrior, sounding like he¡¯s chewing on rocks. Normally that would be Shrieks¡¯ role as the lead Warrior ¨C or mine, considering I was the only one to beat him. This is not a normal situation, and he was deemed too biased to referee the match. So the second best Warrior has taken on that role instead. With the starting permission given, the three participants of the fight leap into action. I¡¯m not particularly worried about this fight: with my control of fire, I¡¯ve got a pretty hard counter to Wood-shaper¡¯s Skill set. A sneaky Inspect revealed both her name ¨C Plays-with-sticks, which seems particularly prescient ¨C and the fact that she neither has a big mana pool in comparison with her sisters, nor more than the single ability to control plants. Though, perhaps, if my Flesh-Shaping is anything to go by, to a creative enough mind, maybe that one ability is as much as she needs. Apparently she doesn¡¯t have a creative mind. Her first move is the same as Shrieks predicted ¨C the same as she¡¯s used in practically every ranking fight ever. She throws a bunch of roots at me, intending on entrapping me with them. The thing is, according to Shrieks, it worked in the first ranking fight she did. The other Pathwalkers of the time weren¡¯t expecting it and so she actually got halfway up the ranking order with that initial attack since, like with the Warriors, all the Pathwalkers are fighting right now. All but River. Runs-with-the-river. She¡¯ll be fighting Wood-shaper next ¨C with seven combatants, it¡¯s inevitable that one will sit out in each round. So Wood-shaper figured that the attack was a good one, and then never stopped using it. Of course, her second ranking fight went a bit differently as everyone was expecting the move, dropping her to the bottom of the pecking order. Seeing the balls of roots coming towards us, I reach out with my fire and incinerate them midair. Before the ash has even cleared the air, both Bastet and I are moving. The raptorcat is faster than me, so she¡¯s running straight at the Pathwalker, though is prepared to dodge aside at the last moment in case Wood-shaper has another ball of roots on her. I, on the other hand, am preparing to use ranged warfare against this magic-user. As it turns out, Wood-shaper does have more balls of roots at her disposal and she throws a couple of them at Bastet¡¯s feet. The agile raptorcat just dodges them and keeps going. Nocking an arrow to my bowstring, I pull it back and then release. The Pathwalker fails to dodge the first one and it sinks into her shoulder, the impact making the slight samuran grunt in pain. The second arrow unexpectedly sinks into a chunk of wood which seems to appear out of nowhere. Eyeing it, I see that it¡¯s actually something I¡¯d taken as a bracelet which has been expanded at speeds I wouldn¡¯t be able to match with Flesh-Shaping. Despite myself, I¡¯m slightly impressed. It seems like Wood-shaper is being more creative than in her previous two ranking tournaments. The shield, and the bracelet it used to be, crumble to dust a moment later, but it did its job. Raking my eyes over the samuran, I see several more bracelets around her upper arms and ankles which are no doubt able to achieve the same effect. Perhaps I¡¯ll be able to find out how she did it after the fight. Still, my first arrow got through which, ultimately, is all I need. Keep her distracted, I tell Bastet, then focus on the poison I¡¯ve sent into Wood-shaper¡¯s system, pushing at it and feeding it with more magic to help it overcome the body¡¯s natural defences. Running out of stamina isn¡¯t such a problem for magic-users ¨C mana exhaustion is far more detrimental. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t yet have a poison which can attack that directly. Instead, I¡¯m going with something that¡¯s already worked against a Pathwalker: the danaris¡¯ venom. It takes time ¨C more time than with the Warriors. There¡¯s more resistance to my intrusion in Wood-shaper¡¯s body than even in Shrieks¡¯. Perhaps it¡¯s her magic taking exception to my presence. Fortunately, Bastet is very good at distracting the Pathwalker ¨C especially since she doesn¡¯t appear to be a good enough fighter to realise that¡¯s what Bastet is: a distraction to allow me to defeat her. Finally, when she starts stumbling, her eyes beginning to close, Wood-shaper seems to realise that she¡¯s been tricked. That the raptorcat who she was ¡®barely holding at bay¡¯ with her shaping skills was in fact doing nothing more than keeping her busy. But by that point, it¡¯s too late. My venom has taken over her system, and within a few more moments, she slumps to the ground, sleep forcibly overcoming her. ¡°Honoured Markus is the winner,¡± the Warrior intones in a voice which neither expresses joy nor disappointment in the result. It¡¯s the guy I fought in my eighth round who used a bola. Bites-a-leaf, according to Shrieks. Since the herbalist is currently fighting, no one comes over to paint my back, but I have something else to do first. Kneeling down next to her, I carefully lever open her eyelids. Her pupils are dilated, unfocussed. I hope that this will work. What? Where am I? Plays-with-sticks asks, panic running through her aura as we both appear in the familiar greyed-out space. Interestingly enough, she¡¯s the first to react like that ¨C usually creatures react with anger or resentment, not fear. ¡°You¡¯re in my soul-space,¡± I tell her levelly as I walk towards her, focussing on sending her a sense of calm authority. ¡°And you will not be leaving it until you make a decision.¡± What-what decision is that? she asks, fear still shivering through her. There is practically no resistance to my forward movement. An instinctive pressure, perhaps, as she¡¯s certainly not focussing on keeping me away. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°To join me as one of my Bound, to accept the chain which you can no doubt feel.¡± I¡¯m past the middle point between our starting spots. O-or? comes her quavering question. ¡°Or die,¡± I say matter-of-factly. It turns my stomach a little to give such a black and white choice. Particularly when the reasons for giving it are so selfish ¨C I can¡¯t trust that even a banished Pathwalker would be harmless to me. Not only would it mean potential split loyalties of the rest of the samuran under my command, but I¡¯ve got hints that there are other lizard-folk villages out there. What if a Pathwalker went to one of them for support? From how easily River was accepted once she became a magic-user, it¡¯s clear that Pathwalkers have power over other samuran just from being female, let alone their own magical power. So no, whether objectively moral or not, I refuse to prepare a knife for my own back. The samuran of this village will fall in line under my leadership or else ¨C the Unevolved could be offered banishment as an option, but not the Warriors or the Pathwalkers. I¡­I don¡¯t want to die! cried Wood-shaper, anger now appearing around me, twined with misery. ¡°Then accept my Bond and join me,¡± I tell her firmly, then soften my voice and emotions a little as I continue. ¡°Think about Joy. Does she look miserable? Or oppressed? I know the way I¡¯m asking forces you to make a difficult choice, but if you had the opportunity to judge objectively, is my Bond such a bad thing?¡± I feel Wood-shaper waver, her Will and desire to resist, already weak, now almost gone. Al-alright. I¡¯ll join you, she finally agrees, sounding resigned. You¡¯ve proved yourself strong enough, I suppose, she sighs. Touching her forehead, the world around us fractures and fills with colour once more. Immediately, I get to work clearing Plays-with-sticks¡¯ system of the venom. With the Bond in place, it¡¯s a lot easier than infusing it had been. Still, I heave a sigh of relief when I get it all out and finish healing the damage it did. Sitting back on my heels next to the samuran, I watch carefully. With the venom out of her system and the damage repaired, it¡¯s moments before I see her eyes slit open, her eyelids blinking away to reveal sleepy eyes which quickly widen as she realises what¡¯s just happened. Don¡¯t let your sisters know for now, I order her silently. I see her take in a breath as she feels the pressure of the Bond against her. As you wish, she agrees reluctantly. It¡¯s not that I want to keep it quiet for long ¨C it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want my future opponents getting wind of what¡¯s going to happen to them when they meet me in turn. Plays-with-sticks, Wood-shaper, has joined us, I broadcast to my other Bound present. Don¡¯t let anyone else know for now. Acknowledgement rings across the Bonds and I head to where I can see the Pathwalkers who are still fighting. Wind-whisperer and Herbalist are almost obscured by a cloud of quickly moving powder of some sort. Shrieks mentioned that the herbalist, for obvious reason, had a tendency to use potions and poisons in her attacks. Grower and Weaver are just finishing up. Interestingly, it seems like Joy actually has the upper hand in that confrontation: Grower has clearly been trying to entangle Joy in plants that she¡¯s grown from seeds thrown around Joy, but my Bound has apparently turned the tables against her ¨C the plants are weaving tighter and tighter around Grower¡¯s form. Even as I watch, the plants around Grower wither a little, letting her move just a bit more. A moment later, Joy brings an end to the fight with her quarterstaff, something she¡¯s been practising with recently. Breaking through the remaining tangles around her feet, she slams the butt of the quarterstaff into her sister¡¯s jaw. Unable to move, Grower takes the full hit, and I wince as I hear the sound of cracking bone. ¡°Winner: Honoured Weaver,¡± the Warrior overseeing this fight announces. I notice a couple of the other Warriors look a bit disappointed, handing over something wooden to one of their fellows who looks rather smug. Were they betting on the outcome? Joy walks over towards me, also looking rather smug. I won, she says. ¡°I saw,¡± I answer with a hint of amusement. ¡°Well done. Looks like that staff is coming in useful.¡± Yes. I wish I had started using it sooner, she sighs. Using physical weapons does not make us any less as magic-users ¨C you taught me that. I raise my eyebrows at her a little in surprise. Is that why neither she nor my previous opponent tried to use physical weapons? ¡°I figure that we should use all the weapons we can to survive in this brutal forest. Didn''t you use weapons before you were a Pathwalker, anyway?¡± Yes, she answers, looking a little embarrassed, but after I Evolved, it felt like¡­using the same weapons as I used to made me look like my new magical abilities weren¡¯t good enough. And besides, I stopped needing to fight as much, anyway ¨C I barely went out in the forest before being sent with the hunting party to find you. I can¡¯t help shaking my head a little. I wonder where that belief came from ¨C the shaman? Consciously or unconsciously? Or was it just Joy¡¯s own insecurities causing her to unintentionally sabotage herself? ¡°Well, you¡¯re using it now,¡± I say diplomatically, ¡°and your chances of survival have increased because of it.¡± Our discussion is interrupted a moment later by a Warrior approaching. This was the fifth one that I beat ¨C I would guess that they¡¯re being careful not to let any of my Bound Warriors officiate any of my fights for the same reason that Shrieks wasn¡¯t allowed to, much to his annoyance. ¡°Honoured Weaver, Honoured Markus, you are the next pair to fight. Do you wish to begin now?¡± ¡°I am not going to fight him,¡± Joy answers quickly with a hint of exasperation in her spikes. ¡°Honoured Weaver,¡± the Warrior says with a hint of reproof, ¡°what you do in the ring is your choice. However, you must be in the ring to make it.¡± Joy looks at me with the same exasperation diffusing through the Bond to me. I just shrug. They did the same with my Warrior bound so why not with my known Pathwalker one too? ¡°Well, shall we?¡± she asks verbally with a greyish ¡®sigh¡¯ making its way through her spikes. ¡°Sure,¡± I answer in the same vein, turning and making my way to the closest empty ring. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Fifty-Nine: Serious Consequences As soon as my ¡®fight¡¯ with Joy is done ¨C a one-minute matter of facing each other in the ring and Joy immediately conceding ¨C I head towards my next opponent. Joy does the same ¨C she¡¯ll be facing Wood-shaper in the next bout. I suspect that the outcome is fairly obvious, but it¡¯s always possible that I will be unpleasantly surprised. I¡¯m a little tempted to follow her ¨C Wood-shaper is currently facing off against Runs-with-the-river and I¡¯m very interested to see what impact her new form and abilities have made to River¡¯s style of fighting. Having sparred so much, my erstwhile-Bound and I know each other¡¯s techniques very well, which means that with the changes in the newest Pathwalker, I may actually be at a disadvantage. Still, first I need to get through the next two battles, so I decide to head off to where my next two opponents are battling it out. In the ring in front of me, I see Grower taking a bit of a beating. She¡¯s facing the herbalist and not doing very well by the looks of things. Like Wind-whisperer before her, she¡¯s surrounded by a noxious cloud from which choking, coughing sounds are emanating. Unlike the herbalist¡¯s previous opponent, however, she¡¯s unable to control the cloud to, presumably, direct it away from her airways, hence the choking. While I watch, she tries to back out of it, her eyes streaming and her body convulsing as it appears to try to retch. As soon as enough of her emerges from the cloud, though ¨C which is holding together surprisingly well ¨Cthe herbalist raises a stick to her lips. There¡¯s a soft humming sound, barely audible against the backdrop of the battle sounds coming from the other two fights. Grower flinches as if struck by something and her right arm suddenly goes limp. To her credit, though, she doesn¡¯t give up despite the handicap, not even when it becomes clear that the paralysis is spreading across her body quickly. Instead, when the herbalist looks away from her for a moment to fumble with her stick ¨C the blowpipe mentioned earlier that she uses would be my guess ¨C Grower makes her move. Fumbling with a pouch at her waist, she pulls out a small stone. Working one-handed and with judicious use of her teeth, she agilely arms a sling. Grubs-in-the-dirt seems to be having problems with loading her own weapon and succeeds in getting it ready only to get a stone to her face. She looks up just as the small stone thumps the boney spot between her eyes. ¡°Impressive accuracy,¡± I comment quietly to the Bound around me. She has improved a lot since last time, Shrieks rumbles both mentally and audibly. At this point I don¡¯t know whether my understanding comes through the Bond or Animal Empathy ¨C or both. Her accuracy was poor before ¨C she has clearly been practising in secret. It is lucky that Weaver managed to bind her sling to her body during their bout or the outcome could have been very different. ¡°True,¡± I agree watching blood flow from the spot between the herbalist¡¯s eyes as a second stone hits the same spot. ¡°Perhaps she knew something that the herbalist didn¡¯t.¡± Perhaps. The first blow between her eyes stunned Grubs-in-the-dirt; the second staggers her. I can only assume that the impact of the first stone meant that she didn¡¯t have the wherewithal to dodge the second which draws blood. Knowing just how much damage tough samuran skin can take before it breaks or splits, I wince despite myself. The herbalist tries to stagger sideways, perhaps realising that she should be dodging. That movement spells her doom as she hadn¡¯t realised that a loop of roots has sneakily grown over her feet. Off-balance, she tumbles to the ground with a thump. More roots quickly grow over her body, binding her tightly to the earth and making sure she stays down. After taking those two heavy blows to the skull, she¡¯s not struggling all that much anyway. Grower isn¡¯t looking too good either, though. Within seconds of Herbalist falling to the ground, so does Grower, her right leg giving out on her. Her left arm pushes weakly at the ground but it seems to be losing its power quickly and her breath is coming in gasps. Whatever substance the herbalist injected her with via dart is acting quickly. Her bindings holding the herbalist to the ground aren¡¯t budging, though, which is interesting to note. I look at the refereeing Warrior, wondering whether he¡¯s going to call it before any permanent damage is done. He looks a little uncertain, and I don¡¯t blame him. ¡°Winner: Grower,¡± he finally decides. Interesting. Personally, I would have called it a draw, but maybe that¡¯s not possible in ranking fights. While Grower has definitely got the herbalist pinned and vulnerable, she looks like she¡¯s likely to expire sooner, her breathing becoming more and more laboured. Even her left arm and leg are now twitching uselessly at the ground. The next thing will be that her heart stops pumping: I would have to guess that this is something which attacks the muscles and the heart is as much a muscle as the arms or legs. In fact, I¡¯m morbidly surprised that her extremities have been affected before her heart ¨C I would have thought that something like this is carried through the bloodstream. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Shrieks and the other Warrior are exchanging increasingly worried glances as neither Pathwalker moves, despite the bout being officially over. They keep darting glances at me too. I cross my arms ¨C I have a feeling I know what this is about. But I let them speak ¨C I¡¯m tired, hungry, and grumpy. Not the kind of mood to give him more than I need to. Sure enough, a moment later, they speak to me. ¡°Honoured Markus, would you be willing to use your healing skills?¡± Shrieks asks politely. ¡°You were able to repair my spine; surely you would be able to help them too?¡± ¡°Quite possibly,¡± I respond shortly. ¡°Honoured Markus,¡± the other Warrior steps forwards, holding his claws out sideways beseechingly. ¡°Please. I know you have not yet been accepted, but I fear that we might lose two Pathwalkers in one fight if you do not intervene. That would spell serious consequences for our village.¡± They look at me expectantly. I sigh, eyeing the two fallen samurans. On the one hand, technically, I have no obligation to help. They are not my Bound. They are not my responsibility. They are forcing me to fight to prove myself to them. Kalanthia would happily see both of them dead and they haven¡¯t given me any reason to keep them alive. Nor, unlike when I¡¯ve healed my opponents, is it my fault ¨C they¡¯re the ones who went for attacks which could prove fatal. On the other hand, I have the power to help them, so shouldn¡¯t I? Plus, since I¡¯m intending on taking over the village ¨C and am well on my way to succeeding in my attempt ¨C the fact that the village will be weakened when these two die is my concern. Or will be, at least. Besides, healing them has got to create some goodwill among the Warriors at least ¨C they take the safety of their Pathwalkers seriously. I¡¯m tired and completely ready to be done with all of these battles ¨C while still having four more ahead of me ¨C but if I save my magic and my energy now, the consequences are likely to cause me a whole lot more trouble later. ¡°Fine,¡± I say, uncrossing my arms and striding forwards. I step first to the herbalist, just to make sure that her situation isn¡¯t as dire as Grower¡¯s. Once I¡¯ve ascertained that she¡¯s unconscious, but not likely to die from a brain bleed, I quickly move over to Grower. Her body resists my magic with more force than any I¡¯ve healed so far. Perhaps the danaris was stronger, but I wasn¡¯t trying to heal that ¨C I was trying to hurt it with venom which was already infused with my magic. The problem here is that what¡¯s affecting the Pathwalker isn¡¯t in the slightest linked to me. In fact, by how resistant it is to my magic, I suspect it¡¯s mostly plant-based anyway. Which means that I need to work with Grower¡¯s systems to get rid of it. Only, Grower¡¯s systems don¡¯t want to work with me. Worse, I¡¯m running out of time. Her heart is starting to fail, her diaphragm failing to pull in enough oxygen. If I keep going as I have been, she¡¯s going to die before I manage to push far enough into her body to be able to make a difference. Pulling one of River¡¯s healing potions out of my Inventory ¨C previous experimentation showed that they succeed in keeping their potency in that space, as opposed to dead flesh ¨C I tip it into Grower¡¯s mouth, then dive back into her system. It helps, a little, but the potion isn¡¯t strong enough to change much. Unfortunately, tipping more down her throat has diminishing returns and from what I can see, even the maximum health regeneration I could get won¡¯t be enough. I¡¯m sure that the herbalist has better brews available to her, but I wouldn''t know the difference between the beneficial and the lethal. At least, not quickly enough to save Grower. Runs-with-the-river might know, but she¡¯s in the middle of a fight. Similarly, I don¡¯t have the time to heal the herbalist to get her to help. I find myself cursing at my delay earlier ¨C seconds count now and I wasted far too many in debating whether to help at all. I let my irritation and resentment overcome my better judgement and Grower might now pay the price for that. Frankly, by this point, I see only one option. Pulling open Grower¡¯s eyelid, I quickly activate the Battle of Wills. With her so weak, the resistance against me is as feeble as Wood-shaper¡¯s was earlier. I stride forwards, stopping abruptly only an arm¡¯s length away from Grower¡¯s form. Her eyes look glassy; she¡¯s not entirely there mentally. Lathani had probably looked similar when I met her briefly in this space. I hesitate for a moment at the memory ¨C Lathani had intentionally allowed me to heal her, which had removed the resistance of her body at the time. Could just getting Grower¡¯s permission do the same? On the other hand, to what end? I hadn¡¯t wanted to Dominate Lathani because of Kalanthia¡¯s interdiction ¨C that Bond came later and at the juvenile¡¯s instigation. If I don¡¯t Dominate Grower now, I will do so in a short space of time when I face her in the ring. Not having the time to debate with myself, I make a snap decision just to go forward with it and save all of us time and trouble. I¡¯ll deal with the fallout later. ¡°You¡¯re dying,¡± I say to Grower bluntly. ¡°Your heart is failing and your lungs are unable to drag in air. I can potentially help, but your body is resisting my healing. If you accept my Bond, there¡¯s a chance that I can still save you. But we may already be too late.¡± I find fear running through me that at any moment Grower will disappear from the Battle, just as the nere once did. You¡­can save¡­me? Grower asks. ¡°Possibly,¡± I say. ¡°Though we¡¯re running out of time.¡± I shove at her my feelings of fear, tension, and urgency. She hesitates for a second. It¡¯s not long, but certainly feels like it with how close to the edge we are. If you¡­must, she responds, closing her eyes. Fear spikes through me and I quickly touch her forehead. The moment I¡¯m back in the ¡®real¡¯ world, I shove my mana into her body. Her heart has stopped. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty: A Taste Of Your Own Medicine Using my knowledge of how hearts work ¨C the electrical pulses that cause the muscles within it to contract and relax, shoving the blood through the body ¨C I force it to restart. Similarly, I quickly infuse magic into Grower¡¯s diaphragm and external intercostal muscles, forcing them to work too, filling and emptying her lungs. Fortunately, a samuran¡¯s body isn¡¯t so different from a human¡¯s in that respect. With her body operating under my magic, much as if she was hooked up to a life support device, I now have a little more leeway to actually start shoving the poison out of her system. Making a small cut at her wrist, I force the remainder of the poison to make its way out of her bloodstream. Unable to be as careful as I normally am, blood spills along with the poison. That¡¯s not ideal, but it¡¯s a small amount being lost; getting the remaining poison out is more important. Once all the poison is out of her system, I get to work on healing the injuries that it has caused to Grower¡¯s cells, allowing the underlying code of her body ¨C her DNA ¨C to guide my magic in the right directions. I find more debris being flushed out of Grower¡¯s system via the exit point in her wrist ¨C remnants of the poison that will only continue to harm the samuran. Finally, I carefully release my control over Grower¡¯s heart and respiratory muscles, moving gently and only doing one at a time. I don¡¯t want to accidentally send her into another cardiac arrest. To my relief, they continue functioning even after my magic pulls away from them. I did fear that I might have been too late and that I was keeping her body artificially alive when her soul had already departed. That her systems are now working properly by themselves is a good indicator that she is still alive in all ways. Though, it¡¯s not a guarantee that she will wake up with no permanent damage. Opening my eyes, I see the slow rise and fall of Grower¡¯s chest, her own eyes closed. I push myself to my feet, staggering slightly. Someone catches me before I accidentally face-plant. I dart a look and see that it¡¯s Catch ¨C ironically. Bastet comes up on my other side and presses herself to me in support. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± I hear Wind-whisperer demanding, but I don¡¯t have the energy to respond. I¡¯m completely tapped ¨C both mentally and magically. Healing of that level would be bad enough, but coming after ten battles as it has, I¡¯m exhausted. A large hand engulfs my shoulder, heavy even through my armour. I will explain, Honoured Markus. Rest. And¡­thank you. Shrieks is gone before I can respond verbally, but I send him a sense of gratitude down the Bond. He returns it tenfold, almost taking my breath away. Together the three of us move to the side and Catch eases me down to the ground, Bastet helping. Reassured that they will warn me if anything happens, I close my eyes and dip into Medium Meditation. Bastet knows how to alert me in that state, and I really need the opportunity to rest and recuperate both my mental energy and my magic. ***** When I resurface some time later, I find that the situation seems to have calmed somewhat. Runs-with-the-river is fighting with Joy; Wind-whisperer is fighting with Wood-shaper and, from what I see of the fight, running rings around her. The herbalist is sitting off to the side, alternating between watching us and watching her sisters. Grower, my newest Bound, is sitting not far from me, looking pale and rather under the weather, but alive. That¡¯s better than I feared might be the case, despite my hard work. ¡°How are you doing?¡± I ask her. She turns her head towards me, seeming a little startled. I guess she hadn¡¯t noticed that I was awake again ¨C she seemed to have been watching the other fights with interest. I am not in full health, but I do not feel that it¡¯s anything some rest and food won¡¯t solve. That¡¯s a good point. I pull a few chunks of meat out of my Inventory ¨C I¡¯m low on actual carcasses, but still have meat that I¡¯ve prepared for my own cooking. Suspecting they will be better for her if I fill them with mana, I quickly shove a couple of hundred units in. I¡¯ll get them back in a few minutes, my mana rate plus Light Meditation bonus more than up to the task. ¡°Here. Eat something.¡± Grower looks at the offered meat in surprise and hunger. Delicately, she takes the chunks and snaps them up in her toothy jaws. Surprise ripples through her spines. Tasty, she comments and we sit in silence for a little as she gobbles down the food. I pull some chunks of cooked meat out to join her in eating, my own body needing the nutrition almost as much as hers does. ¡°So,¡± I start once we¡¯re both done. ¡°We were due to fight next,¡± I say leadingly. Grower looks back at me. I would have died without your intervention, she says with a frisson of fear that flickers through her spikes and across the Bond. Even had I not accepted your Bond and still somehow survived, I would have conceded the match to you. As it is, I agree with my kin who earlier said that a battle between us would be rather pointless for the sake of proving who is the superior. Not when you can end it without a single word. We must only meet in the ring to make it official. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, rather relieved despite myself. I might have recovered my mana and a good portion of mental energy with my Meditation earlier, but having one fight less is good news for me. Especially considering I still have three to go. Since both of us are newly mobile, we officially deal with the bout between Grower and me, taking just as little time as the similar official process took with Joy. We quickly return to our previous position of rest, taking advantage of the ¡®battle¡¯ being over so quickly. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Before too long, though, the sound of someone approaching draws both our gazes. The herbalist has apparently noticed that we are free and has come over to join us. She¡¯s not looking great. Obviously someone healed her, but she¡¯s looking pale and unsteady on her feet. A Warrior to her side steadies her every time she almost falls over, but she sits down near us with obvious relief. I¡¯m a little surprised she still looks so bad. Her forehead isn¡¯t bleeding any more, though there¡¯s a small dent in it which I don¡¯t remember being there before. However, even at this distance I can see that her pupils aren¡¯t equal ¨C a symptom even I know indicates a concussion. It seems likely that her lack of balance is linked to the same cause. Wouldn¡¯t her healing potions have dealt with those? ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± I ask, eyeing her. She gives me a level look. ¡°I was hit in the head with a rock. Several times.¡± She doesn¡¯t even look at Grower, but I still sense the Pathwalker next to me bristling, irritation and indignation flowing over our Bond. ¡°You almost killed me! What was I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Realise when you were outclassed and concede, you idiot,¡± the herbalist snaps, then raises a clawed hand to her forehead. Sick-looking yellow ripples through her spikes, an indication of pain according to Animal Empathy and experience with samurans. ¡°I would have given you the antidote and there would have been no harm done. But you kept going when you shouldn¡¯t have and we ended up in a mess.¡± ¡°Exactly who was declared the winner?¡± demands Grower, her own spikes filling with crimson. ¡°Chews-a-bone was in error,¡± growls the herbalist. ¡°You would have died long before I would have, and then your roots would have withered.¡± ¡°How would you have fared if Runs-with-the-river hadn¡¯t known your storage system and given you the right healing potion, though?¡± asks my newest Bound stubbornly. The herbalist flicks her tail in a gesture of nonchalance. ¡°I would still have woken up eventually,¡± she says with irritation. ¡°Though you might still have died,¡± I interject ¡®helpfully¡¯. ¡°Concussions can be fatal.¡± I think. Bleeding and swelling in the brain is never a good thing, right? The herbalist glares at me. ¡°Anyway, why did you come over here?¡± ¡°I¡­.¡± for the first time in the conversation, the herbalist looks uncertain. ¡°I wanted to ask for your help. To heal my injuries. The potions I have on hand have not done as good a job as I had hoped they would.¡± ¡°My help?¡± I ask with a little surprise. ¡°Even though we¡¯ll be facing each other in the ring in a short space of time? And that these injuries could almost be considered self-inflicted given the situation?¡± The herbalist looks away for a few moments, then returns her gaze to me levelly. ¡°You spoke of helping the weak, of a different way of doing things. Does that not apply to this?¡± I hesitate. If she had been worse off, I would have healed her with no more questions asked. As it is, she¡¯s mobile and clearly verbal. ¡°It¡¯s not the same thing,¡± I say slowly. ¡°I¡¯ve fought far more battles than any of you have, but I don''t see anyone making any allowances for my fatigue. If my own mana regeneration wasn¡¯t enough to cope with the short pauses I have between fights, or my stamina couldn¡¯t recover quickly enough to continue fighting, would I be given a longer break? Or expected to fight regardless?¡± The herbalist is silent and looks away from me. ¡°No,¡± answers Grower for her. ¡°Endurance is an implicit part of the challenge. Herbalist has historically done well in these fights because she is able to heal her wounds in between bouts. The rest of us have had to deal with only having serious wounds healed. Unless Herbalist deigned to spare us a potion.¡± She glared at the samuran in question.¡±How is it getting a taste of your own potions? Having to ask an opponent for help and being in the position that he might refuse.¡± I sense a certain amount of history in the sheer satisfaction which flicks across the Bond from her. ¡°You little-¡± Grubs-in-the-dirt mutters before cutting herself off, shooting a look at Grower which, if glares could kill, would have seen her stone dead a moment later. ¡°Then you will not heal me?¡± she asks with a sense of resignation in her voice. I consider it for another moment. ¡°I¡¯m not willing to use my energy and mana against an opponent who¡¯s going to try to defeat me in the next few minutes, putting myself doubly at a disadvantage. If I heal you, then we should first undergo a different type of Battle.¡± The herbalist eyes me carefully. ¡°The same type as you evidently had with Grower ¨C that made her concede her fight to you without a single exchange? The one that has clearly converted her to your side, as with Weaver?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one,¡± I confirm. The herbalist seems to consider it for a moment, then twitches her tail in refusal. ¡°No. I will first meet you in the ring and test your strength, even if I have to do so at a disadvantage.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I reply, not sure whether to be happy or not with the answer. The herbalist summons the Warrior closer with an imperious gesture, then uses his support to get back to her feet, walking slowly towards the edge of the closest available ring without another word. It¡¯s not long after that that I¡¯m asked by the presiding Warrior to face the herbalist ¨C since we¡¯re both free, there is no point in their eyes to delaying the battle any longer. Since I¡¯m as recovered as I¡¯m going to get without having a good sleep, or at least a much longer rest, I decide that I might as well. She glares at me across the ring, still looking slightly unsteady as her supporting Warrior has to leave her side. Bastet has joined me, and I sense that she¡¯s eager to face the one who caused so much pain and hurt to Lathani ¨C she¡¯s as fond of the nunda cub as I am. Though I¡¯m trying to keep my mind away from revenge since that¡¯s not going to be productive in the slightest, I can¡¯t help but feel a bit of glee at facing the herbalist in battle finally. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-One: Why Didn’t You? The Warrior referee starts the match and immediately both of us move. Unlike previous opponents, staying at range isn¡¯t going to help us here. Grubs-in-the-dirt has proven that she has at least two ranged options available to her: the blowpipe and her clouds of choking gas. She has daggers too, as far as I know, though I haven¡¯t seen any evidence in the fights so far. However, we know she¡¯s still injured from the previous fight and her physical stats are bound to be low ¨C she¡¯s a Pathwalker after all. I hear the whistle of something flying past me and then a soft whoosh of air. Jinking sideways, I chance a glance over my shoulder. Ranged attack number one: noxious cloud. Why she decided to throw it when I¡¯m moving, I don¡¯t know: the cloud stays static. There¡¯s another whoosh, then another. Abruptly, I realise her strategy: to block off view of herself, perhaps to fill the whole area with gas so that our advantages are taken away. Bringing flame mana to my fingertips, I flick sparks at the closest gas cloud. Like the previous cloud, it goes up with a whoomph. Unlike the other cloud, however, we¡¯re not trapped in it. Yet. I grin. Bastet, keep out of the clouds, but light them up with your fire breath. She obeys and soon the area is clear of all the little patches of gas that the herbalist has been working on sowing everywhere. While Bastet¡¯s doing that, I take advantage of the generally chaotic sight-lines to drop into Fade. Moving to the edge of the ring, I step slowly towards the herbalist. She looks stressed and angry ¨C or is that fear I see? Pulling out ranged option number two, the blowpipe, she raises it to her lips. Wariness flickers through me. Bastet, darts incoming. Keep clear. I hope that the barding over her is enough to shield against wooden darts, but I¡¯m not certain. It hasn¡¯t been much use against the enhanced blows of the warriors. I don¡¯t know whether there¡¯s any magic helping them fly faster or be sharper than wooden darts should be in this situation too. Unfortunately ¨C for the herbalist ¨C her aim isn¡¯t good enough to effectively use her preferred weapon. Perhaps she¡¯s even seeing double from the concussion, or her vision is blurry. I don¡¯t know. Either way, it works out for us. However, the herbalist isn¡¯t stupid. Not only does she realise that she can¡¯t hit the raptorcat, but that I¡¯ve apparently disappeared. She clearly makes the connection that I must be in stealth and creeping up on her as she reaches for a pouch at her waist and starts throwing something around her. It creates a kind of bluish mist which only rises to knee level, and doesn¡¯t seem to have any negative effects on me. What it does, though, is stick to my boots and armour like blue paint. I shed and replace the outer layers of my armour and boots as quickly as I can, but she spots me and throws something else at me. I try to avoid the powder, but it¡¯s spread widely enough that I can¡¯t. Even though I instinctively close my eyes, it leaves a residue around my eyes that makes them sting and burn. Shedding the outer layer of skin around my eyes helps, but I probably need to refresh the liquid around my eyeballs ¨C something I don¡¯t feel able to do in the middle of a fight. Her focus on me, the herbalist has lost track of Bastet ¨C that¡¯s something which she soon comes to regret. The raptorcat, using her own version of stealth, leaps at the herbalist. Grubs-in-the-dirt seems to sense something and turns, but not in time to do anything about the leaping predator. Bastet¡¯s weight bears her to the ground and sharp teeth around her throat deter her from doing anything about it. I¡¯m aware that though she¡¯s down, she¡¯s not necessarily finished, for all her words earlier about how Grower should have conceded. In her position she could rake Bastet¡¯s eyes or stab her with something like she did Grower. To try to prevent that from happening, I meet her eyes. ¡°Dominate.¡± The usual greyed-out world appears around me, the figure of the herbalist facing me on the other side. Once again, though the pressure against me is unmatched by any of the other Pathwalkers, it¡¯s still not enough to keep me at bay. Frankly, anything feels weak compared to what I experienced with Kalanthia. I push forwards, shoving my way against the jelly that stands before me. Unlike some of her sisters, Grubs-in-the-dirt doesn¡¯t actively fight against me. Nor is she full of the anger that I¡¯m used to in these sorts of battles. Instead, as I get closer to her, she feels¡­intrigued. So this is where you spoke to Runs-with-the-river when he decided to turn against his village? she asks curiously. ¡°It is,¡± I answer. ¡°Though I would argue that he merely decided to serve his village in a different way.¡± She seems to ignore my qualification. And where Weaver and Grower gave up their animosity and became your creatures? ¡°That¡¯s the one,¡± I agree. And, I guess, where you expect me to do the same. ¡°That or die,¡± I acknowledge, still feeling a bit awkward at the necessity of presenting such a stark choice. Not because I feel it¡¯s unjustified, but because it¡¯s all too obvious coercion. I see. She falls silent. I keep moving forward, having to actually use some force to push through the final steps to reach a point where I could easily touch her and trigger the Bond. Still, I pause, crossing my arms and looking at her. She needs to make a choice; I won¡¯t choose for her. The silence drags on. Though I¡¯m so close to her, her emotions are muted enough that it takes me a bit of difficulty to work out what she¡¯s feeling. The task is made harder by how her emotions are flickering so quickly that I¡¯m sometimes unable to identify what she¡¯s feeling until it¡¯s already changed. All I gather is that her thoughts are racing faster than anyone else¡¯s in a battle like this. Tell me about the chain I feel hovering around me, she says finally, her tone more commanding than I would have expected from one in her position. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I eye her, trying to make it clear in my silence that she doesn¡¯t get to demand things. Not here, not now. Please? she adds finally, her emotions full of something clearly identifiable this time: exasperation. Regret flickers through me ¨C that was petty of me, wasn¡¯t it? Perhaps I have more to work through than I thought. We¡¯ve been getting on surprisingly well ¨C the herbalist is a surprisingly reasonable creature who has argued in our favour multiple times. I don¡¯t pretend, even to myself, that her motivations are to help me ¨C it¡¯s clear that she is solely motivated by a desire to do right by her village. However, that she seems to be somewhat convinced that supporting me is the way to go about that is an achievement in itself. She¡¯s clearly respected by almost all the other samuran ¨C as their healer, that¡¯s not really surprising. I shouldn¡¯t risk that by being petty. At the same time, I can¡¯t help the memories of Lathani¡¯s words last night from intruding into my mind. How she talked about this samuran¡¯s stone-cold reaction to her fear and pleas, how the herbalist had hurt her as badly as the shaman did. How Lathani wants her to be punished in some way, if my nunda is not able to take her revenge by killing the herbalist outright. But being petty will only offer me a brief satisfaction, and I¡¯m not the one she hurt. It won¡¯t offer Lathani any kind of closure or healing. I sigh, then unfold my arms and give the speech which I¡¯ve given several times before, though in different words each time. The one about working together; working for the benefit of the group. When I¡¯m done, the herbalist looks thoughtful. Do you intend to offer one of these ¡®Bonds¡¯ to all of the village? Now that¡¯s a question which no one else has asked. ¡°Not the same one as I¡¯m offering to you,¡± I tell her honestly. ¡°This one is stricter, more binding. I will offer this to all of the Evolved. Have, in fact, already offered it to all of the Pathwalkers I¡¯ve met in battle, though only one of the Warriors.¡± The herbalist¡¯s eyes widen and her emotions flicker with sudden realisation. So that¡¯s why Wood-shaper was being so subdued. I shrug. ¡°Probably. Anyway, the rest of the village may be offered a different kind of Bond when this whole ranking challenge is complete. Or maybe none at all. I¡¯ll have to see.¡± I see, the samuran says again, thoughtfully. And what of others of our kind from other villages? ¡°What about them?¡± Do you intend to offer them your Bonds? To conquer them as you attempt with us? I start shaking my head immediately. ¡°I have no real desire to be a conqueror,¡± I tell her. Her aura expresses doubt, so I shove my sincerity at her. ¡°I¡¯ve told you why I¡¯m here.¡± Yes, the cub, I remember, Grubs-in-the-dirt answers quickly. And now we¡¯re talking about it¡­I sense a certain amount of¡­hostility which feels like it is directed at me specifically. She eyes me warily ¨C I¡¯m not surprised since that very hostility is growing in my own aura at the topic of discussion. I was able to push it away temporarily while talking about more neutral things, but now it¡¯s risen with full force. Is it about what I did to the cub? she asks bluntly. I remember well how it pleaded with me to release it, to stop what I was doing. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you?!¡± I demand, my lips pulling back to bare my teeth as I shift forwards slightly into a more confrontational posture. A small voice reminds me that I need to keep calm, that the peace of this space requires me to keep my cool. But that small voice is largely washed away by the fury that rises within me. The memories of finding out about her kidnapping, that tense journey down into the valley, constantly worried that we were already too late, finding her and seeing the changes which had been wrought, her own worries about not being accepted by her mother because of how she¡¯d been affected¡­. Because I believed that my village needed that. Needed the sacrifice to be prepared, trusted in Shaman to guide us, to guide me correctly. ¡°And she did so well with that, didn¡¯t she?¡± I respond spitefully I regret my actions now, the herbalist says abruptly. I did not know, then, how far Shaman was prepared to go. I did not realise how far I would let her go. I eye the Pathwalker and feel my anger deflating like a balloon with a hole in it. There¡¯s nothing in her aura to indicate falsehood. Instead, there¡¯s just regret mingled with guilt and the touch of betrayal. ¡°Do you regret hurting Lathani so much?¡± I ask, needing to know. The herbalist hesitates. I¡­Shaman¡¯s decision to capture her was wrong, she says firmly. We lost too many in the attempt, and then it¡¯s clear that there would have been ¨C have been ¨C other consequences that Shaman either didn¡¯t take into account or outright dismissed. Going down that pathway in the first place was a bad idea because of where it ended up, sacrificing some to protect the others. ¡°But you don¡¯t regret hurting Lathani per se,¡± I conclude, a tired sense of anger going through me. The samuran just looks at me steadily. My people are paramount for me. If hurting another species will keep them well and safe, then I will do so with no guilt. I understand, even if I don¡¯t like it. I suppose it¡¯s not too dissimilar from people being willing to accept animal testing of new drugs ¨C better that any bad effects are discovered on mice or rats or rabbits or whatever rather than on humans. Lathani, for all that she is dear to me, means nothing to the herbalist. And isn¡¯t that the approach I take too? When I hunt or send my Bound out to do the same, isn¡¯t it a question of putting our needs above the needs of the creatures we kill? Isn¡¯t that the law of the jungle? How can I justify taking revenge when I do exactly the same thing? Is that likely to be a problem? the samuran in question asks hesitantly as the silence drags on. I consider the question carefully, then heave a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not going to torture you to make you feel how Lathani felt, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re afraid of,¡± I say as bluntly as she did earlier. ¡°Not even if you choose to die rather than take the Bond. But if you do decide to accept it, then your first responsibility, alongside being the healer for the village, is going to be finding a way to heal the damage which you and the shaman did to Lathani.¡± The Pathwalker mulls that over for a long moment. As long as life-threatening situations among my people are given priority over non-life-threatening research, she bargains. ¡°That¡¯s acceptable,¡± I agree ¨C I would expect her to prioritise like that anyway. Then I agree to your Bond, she says, lifting her chin slightly as the paralysis which holds her in place loosens slightly. I reach to touch her between the eyes. The irony of that same spot being her downfall in both recent battles does not escape us. The world shatters around our frozen forms. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Two: To Learn How To Modulate Immediately as the colour returns to the world around us, I lean down to heal my newest Bound. I can feel a sense of strain beginning again at the number of Bonds I¡¯m currently holding. I guess it¡¯s some sort of soul strain? Perhaps my work in the challenge space could help. Anyway, I¡¯m only feeling the starting symptoms now ¨C I should still be able to create a good number of other Dominate Bonds. Whether I¡¯ll be able to finish off the Warriors is another question, though. I may need to focus on Willpower again in my next level up just to make sure. Unfortunately, these battles are not particularly good for levelling up purposes since there doesn¡¯t seem to be any Energy transfer when I¡¯m not actually killing my opponents. I do seem to have got a bit, though ¨C probably from the successful Dominates. Once the herbalist is on her feet, she quickly retrieves her painting tools and uses the time to mark me with a number of other sigils. Unlike with the Warrior battles, apparently Grubs adds the marks of success whenever she gets a moment between battles. I guess that with fewer Pathwalkers and more observers, it would be hard for one to claim a win in a battle which they actually lost. Actually maybe I should stop thinking of her as Grubs. She¡¯s now one of my Bound which means a new name, a new start. Hmm¡­. Perhaps a herb from Earth? It would fit her profession. Perhaps ¡®tarragon¡¯, I think to myself. Tarra for short. With a hint of contrariness, I decide not to consult her about it, curious about whether she¡¯ll question me. ¡°What are the sigils for, anyway?¡± I ask. Tarra gives me a look as a sense of gleeful mysteriousness drifts across the Bond. That will be revealed at the end of the ranking fights, she informs me ¡®helpfully¡¯. I briefly consider forcing her to tell me, then decide that my impatience isn¡¯t a good excuse for using our new Bond against her. But just for that, I¡¯m not going to offer to heal her. If she asks, I will, but I¡¯m not volunteering. Instead, I sigh and cross my arms, checking through my own body for injuries. I take the opportunity to replace the saline around my eyeballs, getting rid of the material which still burns them. My magic quickly produces new liquid which makes tears pour down my cheeks. Fortunately, since crying isn¡¯t something which samurans can apparently do, no one misinterprets it. Tarra has gone off to check on the other combatants, adding sigils where she can. I wander over to see the end of the fight between Grower and Runs-with-the-river. Given that Grower¡¯s name is apparently Picks-a-flower ¨C also rather appropriate considering what she ended up being ¨C I decide to call her Flower for short. There are the indications of fire in the burnt roots which stick out of the ground, and Runs-with-the-river has clearly used her venom against her opponent, if Flower¡¯s unsteadiness is anything to go by. In fact, it¡¯s definitely the tail end of the fight ¨C within the next few moments, I see Flower succumb to the poison. As soon as the observing Warrior announces the winner, I stride forwards and touch Flower, sending magic into her system and pushing out the venom. I realise that I actually recognise the poison in question ¨C it¡¯s rather similar to the danaris¡¯. Not surprising, I guess, since absorbing the danaris¡¯ Core must be one reason why River ended up with that ability. Though she did have a poison gland of her own even before, inactive as it was, so I suppose she could have had a different type of venom to use. The substance is also full of magic already, so I don¡¯t try to fill it with my own mana. Instead, I just use my control over Flower¡¯s systems to push the venom out and heal the damage it¡¯s wrought. That done, I look up, surprised to find Runs-with-the-river standing close by and watching me with concern flickering through her spikes. ¡°Will Grower be well?¡± she asks. ¡°I am still trying to learn how to modulate the venom in my claws. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt her too much.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine,¡± I reassure Runs-with-the-river. ¡°Are you well?¡± The Pathwalker flicks her tail. ¡°Well enough to fight,¡± she dismisses. The silence between us feels awkward, like neither of us knows what to say. ¡°Good luck with your next fight, mas-Honoured Markus,¡± Runs-with-the-river says finally, her spikes blushing with the pinkish red colour of embarrassment. She quickly turns and hurries away to the next ring ¨C she¡¯ll be facing the herbalist ¨C Tarra ¨C next, which should be an interesting fight. ¡°You too,¡± I call after her, several beats too late. My mind was just too full of questions at her slip to respond in the right amount of time. By this point, I¡¯m not sure whether I¡¯m looking forward or dreading our fight. Before that, though, I have Wind-whisperer to face, and that one I know is going to be a bit of a battle. It will be particularly difficult since I don¡¯t really have any good way of combating her preferred strategy ¨C creating a whirlwind around her opponent that both blocks his or her view and makes it difficult to breathe. If that¡¯s not enough to down her opponent, adding items such as rocks or sharp sticks into the mix is enough to batter the other combattant into compliance. Last ranking fight, she won against all but Tarra and the shaman. The former won because her use of poison was a significant equaliser once she managed to get it into the other samuran. The latter won because her ¡®spirits¡¯ were unaffected by wind, and therefore were able to take Wind-whisperer down even if the shaman was unable to see and hardly able to breathe. I¡¯m not sure why I was scheduled to fight Tarra before Wind-whisperer ¨C there¡¯s no doubt some reason or other. I think getting this over quickly will be the name of the game. Looking between my two Bound, I hesitate over which one to take. ¡°Come on, Catch,¡± I say finally. I have to admit that my choice is perhaps partly motivated by how scornful Wind-whisper appeared to be about the Unevolved. I kind of want to beat her with the help of one of those that she seemed perfectly willing to throw to the shaman¡¯s sacrificial knife. The other part is more practical: having two sets of poison is more effective than just the one. To that end, I make sure to coat the head of Catch¡¯s spear with the danaris¡¯ venom, as well as giving him my knife, also coated. It¡¯s a gamble, but I figure that she¡¯s likely to concentrate on me, and not let me close. Hopefully that will mean that she pays little attention to Catch. The three participants of the next fight walk up to the edge of the ring, waiting for the presiding Warrior to announce the start. ¡°Ready to die, prey beast?¡± Wind-whisperer sneers, her spikes flashing an ugly combination of muddy brown and dirty green. ¡°Ready to kiss the dirt in surrender?¡± I retort. I¡¯d love to comment about how she¡¯ll be beaten by a ¡®prey-beast¡¯ and ¡®Unevolved¡¯, but don¡¯t want to draw attention to Catch right now. Ah well, I¡¯ll have to save my gloating for after we defeat her; for now I need to focus on not making any stupid mistakes and giving her any justification for her prejudice. Wind-whisperer just gapes her mouth open in threat even as the Warrior signals the start of the fight. Immediately, I see the dust becoming disturbed around me as the wind starts to pick up. Head off to the side, I tell Catch. Let¡¯s see how she reacts. With a silent acknowledgement, he does just that. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I need to know if her attention is fixated on me, or if she can split her focus to cover both of us. To encourage the former, I pull out my bow and fit an arrow to the string. Pulling the string back, I release it quickly. My arrow flies straight and true ¨C until Wind-whisperer gestures and sends it way off course. Expected, though annoying. Arrows are so dependent on the wind that the result of using them against a wind-controller was somewhat predictable. It¡¯s a good distraction, though, so I loose three more in quick succession before noticing that, though she¡¯s a bit distracted, the wind around me is still picking up its pace uncomfortably quickly. The dust is swirling and risks clouding my vision soon enough. Deciding to try a different approach, I pull a few trusty rocks out of my Inventory. Jogging sideways in the opposite direction from Catch, I note with interest that the beginning of the cyclone moves with me, though the slight delay indicates that it requires active instruction rather than doing it automatically. Considering how static the other Pathwalkers seemed to be, I wonder how many of them realised that they could get out of it just by jogging to the side. Throwing the rocks with all my twenty points of strength behind the movement, I note with satisfaction that the Pathwalker is unable to redirect that so easily. Instead, she¡¯s forced to dodge the projectiles. She loses some of her concentration, the wind gathering around me dropping a bit. I notice that, behind her, Catch has managed to go into Stealth, and is creeping up on her with his spear ready. Throwing another rock, I make sure that it¡¯s not likely to hit my own Bound even if she dodges it ¨C which she does. I throw again, each time taking another step closer. She seems to recognise the danger of my approach as abruptly a wave of dust is thrown at me. I¡¯m not quick enough to cover my eyes, though my automatic blink does stop the dust from actually blinding me. Spluttering and coughing, I wipe the offending particles away from my face. Then I hear something which sends ice through my system: a strangled choking sound. Forcing my eyes open despite the dust still on my lashes which makes me blink furiously, I see Wind-whisperer standing over Catch who has both hands clutched to his throat. His knees give way, dropping him into the dust alongside his spear. Boiling fury chases away the ice suffusing me and, with barely a thought on my part, fire explodes out of me. It closes the distance between me and the Pathwalker in a fraction of a second, grabbing onto the woven strands decorating Wind-whisperer¡¯s body with eagerness. One moment the Pathwalker is standing triumphantly over my suffocating Bound; the next, she¡¯s a pillar of fire. A thin scream comes out from the centre of the inferno and Catch abruptly drags in heavy gasps of air. I stride forwards and dismiss the fire with a flick of my hand and a thought. The Pathwalker meets my eyes, her gaze wide and shocked, her scales burnt red in patches. Without letting her make a single move, I activate another Battle of Wills. As soon as the grey world forms around us, I stride forwards. Wind-whisperer tries to fight me off, works out how to use her emotions against me as weapons even faster than Joy had. She throws what feels like daggers of fear coated in anger at me, controlling them as if they were weapons held within her wind. But it won¡¯t help her: this is my space. I grab the daggers with a mental grip and throw them back at her. She gasps in pain as they land. I then throw my own anger and determination to see this done at her as if they were the rocks I was flinging earlier. She makes a sound of pain, as if my emotions are heavy enough to cause actual damage. Maybe they are ¨C I¡¯m no expert in soul-spaces, that¡¯s for sure. Before very long, I¡¯m standing right in front of her, glaring down at the Pathwalker who has been my most fervent opponent since the beginning. I¡¯m very tempted to just kill her, honestly ¨C she¡¯s been a thorn in my side ever since I came to the village and the thought of her being one of my Bound is not entirely a happy one. ¡°So,¡± I say to her softly, unable to stop myself taking a moment to gloat. ¡°You¡¯ve been defeated by a prey beast and an Unevolved ¨C just as I promised you would be. Why shouldn¡¯t I just kill you like you promised to do to me if you could? Or, better yet, get Catch to do it ¨C you were the one who seemed to think that Unevolved were pretty much useless.¡± Wind-whisperer has been making unhappy noises ever since I started speaking, but apparently she¡¯s decided not to interrupt me. Probably one of the wisest decisions she¡¯s made since we met. You wouldn¡¯t! she exclaims, sounding more confident than she probably should be. ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± I demand suddenly more annoyed than triumphant. Even now she tries to deny reality. ¡°You¡¯ve been a constant pain in my arse, and wanted to kill me in this very fight. Why should it be any different because you¡¯re the one who lost?¡± I¡¯m a Pathwalker; you¡¯re a prey-beast¨C ¡°Shut up.¡± I interrupt her, my tone apparently strong enough to make her obey without argument this time. ¡°You know that that¡¯s rubbish now,¡± I continue after a moment of giving her a hard stare. ¡°I beat you with the help of Catch, an Unevolved. You have ample evidence that the rubbish you¡¯ve been peddling is worthless. So now, give me one good reason why I should even bother Binding you to me and leaving you alive.¡± Binding me? she exclaims, suddenly indignant despite the deep fear I feel emanating from her at my threat. ¡°Yes, Binding you. Because that¡¯s the only way you¡¯re making it out alive. It¡¯s the same choice as I¡¯ve offered all your sisters so far ¨C agree to a Bond or die. Given the way you¡¯ve been acting so far, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to offer you anything else. Frankly, being offered a Bond at all is a concession I¡¯m not entirely sure I should be offering.¡± I refuse to¡­to let you do that! she tells me angrily, once more battering at me with her emotions. Flicking them away like I did before, I cross my arms and stare at her for a long moment. She stares back defiantly, her attempts to attack me dying away as she realises they aren¡¯t doing much good. ¡°So be it,¡± I tell her, crossing my arms and turning away. ¡°You die the moment we¡¯re out of this space, then.¡± I start walking away from her. It will cause some problems with the village: she is a Pathwalker, and they¡¯re a rare breed, but I¡¯m sure I can smooth things over. Besides, everyone has heard how she swore she¡¯d try to kill me. Considering how I seem to have at least been accepted by a Pathwalker, and am going to be the leader based on the number of fights I¡¯ve won, I doubt that choosing to kill her instead will lead to too much anger. Wait, she calls after I¡¯ve stepped a bit away from her. She sounds defeated. I pause but don¡¯t turn back to her. If you promise to help me get stronger, then I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll accept your chains. ¡°Not good enough,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯m not even offering you my Bond yet. You haven¡¯t even given me a reason for why I should leave you alive at all ¨C and every reason why I shouldn¡¯t.¡± I sense her hesitating, a flicker of wounded pride keeping her silent. After a long moment goes by with nothing more from her, I shake my head and keep walking. Wait! she calls again, sounding far more desperate. I can¡­I can be useful to you, she says, sounding more than a little reluctant. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could be,¡± I tell her evenly, once more pausing my movement and half-turning back to her. ¡°But I¡¯m not looking for a Bound who must be coerced to do every little thing to help me or my other Bound.¡± I¡¯ll help you, she promises quickly. I¡¯d say she was lying except that there is sincerity among the resignation and anger that she has been brought to this. Make me stronger and I will do anything you want me to. It¡¯s a bit of an abrupt turn-about, but I understand ¨C Wind-whisperer seems to me to have a chronic inferiority complex, one that expresses itself by lashing out, sometimes illogically, at those she perceives to be weaker. I.e. she¡¯s a bully. But it¡¯s true that she has abilities I could use. And frankly, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s actually been particularly effective in what she¡¯s attempted. Though she¡¯s talked a lot, she¡¯s actually been pretty powerless to cause problems. She wanted to banish River; her sisters argued against her. She wanted to bar River from the discussion, wanted to discount both Tarra¡¯s and Joy¡¯s opinions because of their connection to me; she lost the argument. She didn¡¯t want to give me the opportunity to become leader of the village, but I¡¯m only one fight away from beating all of the Evolved samurans and ¨C hopefully ¨C earning their respect enough to declare me as such. Perhaps the rest of her sisters realise that her opinions aren¡¯t nearly as useful as her inherent abilities. In which case, perhaps it¡¯s not too risky to keep her alive, especially when she¡¯s Bound to me with Dominate. I turn back and start moving slowly towards her. ¡°I will not treat you any differently from any other new Bound,¡± I warn her. ¡°You will have to earn my trust and any further support. Make up for your past attempts at being an obstacle, and we can revisit your desire to get stronger.¡± She considers that for a long moment, but I sense that she¡¯s going to agree. Pausing in front of her, I raise an eyebrow. Making a discontented noise, she lifts her chin slightly. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Three: I Can’t See You As My Enemy The last fight looms before me, and I can¡¯t wait to get it over with. I¡¯m exhausted, a bone-deep fatigue that no amount of stamina regeneration can remove. I feed mana into my system to relieve the symptoms of pushing past my limits again and again. It helps, but doesn¡¯t do anything about my mental tiredness. Unfortunately, I suspect that this might be my hardest fight yet. Not only has Runs-with-the-river been making a good showing for herself among the other Pathwalkers ¨C the sigils on her back tell the tale of five battles won with only one loss ¨C but she also is the one who knows both my fighting style and my Skills the best. There¡¯s also the complication that I actively don¡¯t want to hurt her. Not anymore than a normal sparring session might cause. Yet I don¡¯t see much choice if I want to have the unbroken record which I feel obliged to aim for. Standing at the edge of the ring, I find myself once more hesitating between which Bound to bring with me. Runs-with-the-river knows Bastet as well as she knows me, and their bond is as close, which might mean that Bastet will hesitate at a vital moment too. On the other hand, Runs-with-the-river might be equally affected by her emotional connection ¨C if she hasn¡¯t disavowed us entirely in favour of fully embracing her new status. Runs-with-the-river and Catch haven¡¯t fought with each other as much, so are not as familiar with each other¡¯s fighting styles. That said, they both come from the same origins, and were exposed to the same kinds of dangers and training, meaning that their styles are not necessarily different enough to provide an advantage. Catch is younger than Runs-with-the-river, which means less combat time. Certainly, when they sparred together before, River tended to beat Catch more than the other way around, though their record was not wildly disparate. However, I do have to consider that Catch is now physically stronger than Runs-with-the-river and the weapon she¡¯s most familiar with ¨C the spear ¨C relies heavily on strength to have an effect. Dexterity is important too, but being able to hit the target matters little if the combatant''s strength is too weak to cause any damage. Even a badly aimed strike can cause damage as long as it actually hits with strength behind it. A moment before the Warrior calls for the battle to start, I decide to take Catch with me. While Runs-with-the-river might be hesitant to attack Bastet, I can¡¯t rely on that, and the fact that she knows all of the raptorcat¡¯s moves is a significant downside. ¡°Begin,¡± the Warrior calls and the three of us step into the ring. Immediately Catch runs towards Runs-with-the-river, his poisoned spear at the ready. In reaction, the Pathwalker pulls her own spear from its harness on her back, settling into a ¡®guard¡¯ position that makes short work of Catch¡¯s initial attack. Since Catch wasn¡¯t expecting his first strike to land, he¡¯s prepared to pull it, not leaving himself open for his opponent¡¯s counter-attack. They begin to fence cautiously, strikes made with force and speed, but not as much as they could put into it if they were really trying. They¡¯re more well-matched than I thought ¨C Runs-with-the-river¡¯s increased familiarity with the weapon in question makes up for her weaker physical stats. Catch is more used to using a cudgel, but unfortunately that doesn¡¯t work so well with my increasing use of poisons. While technically a blunt weapon could deliver poison to the bloodstream, it would take a much more serious wound than a sharp weapon. If it were just the two of them, I don¡¯t know who would win. Runs-with-the-river doesn¡¯t seem to be using any of her new abilities apart from striking at Catch with her claws every so often ¨C a new addition to her repertoire of attacks. However, it¡¯s not just the two of them, though they seem to have forgotten that. Seeing that their attentions are entirely fixed on each other, I quietly pull my bow out and fit an arrow to its string. Arrow, I warn Catch and see his footwork falter just a little. Runs-with-the-river pounces on the error ¨C and leaves herself open for my arrow to her shoulder. I couldn¡¯t quite force myself to shoot at her spine, for all that I know that I could heal it afterwards. The sudden pain evidently reminds Runs-with-the-river of my presence. I see the same expression on her face and in her spikes that always showed itself when she made a mistake in a spar and was furious with herself for it. She turns to start moving towards me, but Catch gets in her way. The Pathwalker is forced to deal with the threat in front of her, pained as she is by the arrow sticking out just below her left shoulder blade. In the meantime, I concentrate on the venom which I¡¯ve just sent into her bloodstream. It¡¯s more of a struggle than usual, I have to admit. Not only am I feeling resistance from the samuran¡¯s body, but I seem to only be having half my normal effect on my poison. As I battle on, I realise what¡¯s happening. Somehow Runs-with-the-river¡¯s body is absorbing some of my poison. Absorbing without causing any damage to herself. And that¡¯s not the only problem, I realise with dismay. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Her body is becoming more resistant to the poison entirely. What I¡¯m left with is having less and less effect on her system and the lethargy which had begun creeping through her is being quickly beaten back. Where Catch had started getting the upper hand in their battle, he now is becoming pressed once more. That must be an effect of Poison-Claw, I think to myself, impressed. If it allows Runs-with-the-river to become immune or at least resistant to the poisons she¡¯s exposed to, that is a pretty awesome ability. It¡¯s not good news for me in this fight, though. I consider shooting her with a different venom and trying to overwhelm her system: it¡¯s clear that her increasing immunity is taking time. That¡¯s a risky strategy, though ¨C she will either become resistant to all my venoms, or she may accidentally die as her ability is overwhelmed. I don¡¯t want to risk that. Nor do I want to burn her to cinders, which would be an option with another opponent. Sighing, I decide that we¡¯re going to have to go old-school. Running towards the fray, I pull a cudgel and a chitin shield out of my Inventory. Runs-with-the-river sees me coming at the last moment and doesn¡¯t have time to react. I slam into her, shield first, and send her staggering backwards. Unfortunately, she manages to stay on her feet or the fight might have been over then and there. Still, we have a moment¡¯s breathing space which I take full advantage of. Switch, I order Catch, handing him the cudgel and shield, and taking the spear in return. With both of us now wielding our preferred weapons, we tag-team the Pathwalker. She¡¯s hard-pressed to keep up with both of us working together, her spear whirling around frantically as she tries to block our strikes. I feel a building sense of triumph as I see her tire, her own strikes rebounding off the shield Catch is holding even as ours get closer and closer. Then she does something unexpected. Instead of aiming for one of us, she strikes at Catch¡¯s shield ¨C and with her bare claws rather than her spear. The next moment passes in a blur. Her claws press against the black surface of the shield and an expression of concentration comes over her face. Taking automatic advantage of the opportunity, I strike at her midsection. I miss, because she lunges forward, her claws going through the shield. It takes me a moment more to realise that the once-solid chitin has now transformed into ash and smoke. Her claws bury themselves in Catch¡¯s chest and he lets out a hiss of pain. I¡¯m out of position, but quickly pull myself back, ready to strike again. I aim once more for her midsection. Runs-with-the-river tries to dodge it but she¡¯s tired, even lethargic, and my spear strikes true. For a moment we are frozen in a tableau, and then the two samurans abruptly collapse. Catch¡¯s eyes are closed. He¡¯s still breathing, but I don¡¯t like the paleness to his scales. Runs-with-the-river has toppled forwards and caught herself on one hand, her claws on the other going to the gaping and heavily bleeding hole caused by my spear. I¡¯m holding my weapon, a foot of its length now covered in dark red blood. I drop it, going to my knees next to the two of them. Putting my hand on each, I frantically start trying to heal them. Catch is being affected by a poison which seems almost as strong as the danaris¡¯, and, since it¡¯s been injected in his chest, is already having bad effects on his lungs and heart. But he¡¯s easy enough to deal with ¨C his body accepts my healing willingly. Runs-with-the-river is another story. Her body resists my healing with a strength that is greater than any I¡¯ve felt so far except for Lathani¡¯s. And then¡­it doesn¡¯t. Not looking a gift-horse in the mouth, I pour my mana into each of them, dropping into the deepest level of Meditation that I feel comfortable with ¨C partially into Medium Meditation. With the lack of resistance, I¡¯m able to quickly close up the holes which are leaking out blood. Healing the damaged organs takes longer, especially since I¡¯m not as familiar with them as I was with her previous body. I¡¯m done with Catch long before I¡¯m finished with River. And then I pull out of my healing trance only to realise that she¡¯s still an opponent. The Warrior doesn¡¯t seem to have called an end to the fight if the samurans arrayed around the ring are anything to judge by. I gaze steadily at Runs-with-the-river. I¡¯ve emptied my mana healing her, and feel the nausea of low mana roil in my belly. I¡¯m kneeling next to her in a position which she could very easily take advantage of to rip out my throat, as she did the shaman, or claw at me and inject her venom. Instead, though, she tilts up her chin. ¡°I concede,¡± she says, her vocalisation loud enough for the watching samurans to hear. ¡°Winner: Markus,¡± the Warrior announces, with a hint of something in his voice. Without being able to see his spikes, I can¡¯t tell exactly what it is. But I¡¯m too focussed on Runs-with-the-river to look. ¡°You could have won,¡± I say quietly. ¡°Not if you hadn¡¯t healed me,¡± she answers just as quietly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t betray you like that.¡± I wonder if it¡¯s just me or whether there¡¯s actual affection there. ¡°Healing an enemy in the middle of combat doesn¡¯t seem like a particularly good strategy, though,¡± she comments a little wryly. ¡°I can¡¯t see you as my enemy, though,¡± I say softly after a moment. ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave you like that, risk you dying.¡± River¡¯s ¨C Runs-with-the-river¡¯s gaze is soft, the muscles of her face relaxed, her spikes flickering with the blue of contentment. ¡°Offer me a Bond, Markus,¡± she requests quietly. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Four: It’s Good To Be Back ¡°You mean¡­a Tame Bond?¡± I check with her. She lifts her chin slightly in answer. ¡°Alright, then,¡± I say, triggering Tame. I should feel surprised when I feel River pour in all that she is onto her side of the Bond and then accept it, but I don¡¯t. Or not entirely. Instead, I¡¯m filled with a deep gratitude ¨C that despite everything, she has made this choice. In return, I pour in my promise of protection, of respect, and of dedication to her to match the devotion she shows me. The moment I accept, I feel the Bond return, brighter and stronger than ever. Now no longer a forced Dominate Bond, instead we now share a consensual Companion Bond. The loss and grief that have been lingering ever since the initial Bond was severed vanish, replaced by the steady thrum of her emotions; of her soul. I find that I¡¯m grinning, and am sure that my pleasure is as obvious across the Bond as River¡¯s is to me. I wanted our Bond again the moment the last was severed, River confesses to me privately. But I knew that I needed to take some time to think, to reassure both of us that any new Bond was my true desire. And then I Evolved and I wanted to Bond again, but thought that it would be better if I were not to be one of your Bound when we had the discussion. And then I saw you fight the Warriors and I wanted¡­I wanted for you to defeat me again. To prove yourself the stronger once more. She looks away and hints of guilt drift across the Bond from her side. I know that you do not like the principle of ¡®the strongest rule¡¯, but I just wanted you to be the strongest of us two. It¡¯s OK, I reassure her. I get it. And there¡¯s nothing wrong with your desires. I just don¡¯t agree with making a culture based on it. Anyway, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back. I smile at her again and her spikes flash a deep blue in response. If you two are done making up, can I get up? Catch¡¯s voice breaks into both of our minds. I look down to see that, indeed, we¡¯re rather blocking him from moving. ¡°Hah, sorry Catch,¡± I say, though there¡¯s little apology in the grin I send him. He huffs, but I sense that he¡¯s not actually annoyed. Welcome back, I hear him saying to River. It¡¯s good to be back, she answers sincerely, and I can¡¯t help but feel she¡¯s revelling in the feeling of the Bond network again. Bastet is the next to express her pleasure that River has returned to the fold, and then Joy, though the latter¡¯s is more cautious than the previous two¡¯s greetings had been. Seeming unsure, the other samurans I¡¯ve so newly Bonded also send their greetings, apparently following in the lead of my previous Bound. I push myself to my feet, then stick a hand out to pull River to hers. I¡¯m expecting her to turn away, perhaps to go and speak to the other Pathwalkers, but instead she lingers almost shyly. I know that I could be considered ungrateful, she ventures, unable to hold my gaze as she looks at her claws. Especially with how long I left it between you releasing me from the Bond and requesting this new one, but¡­if you have not yet chosen another assistant, I would be honoured to call you ¡®master¡¯ once more. Ah. This. You remember that ¡®master¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean the same thing to me as it does to you, I remind her, speaking as privately as she had started. And that I don¡¯t need an ¡®assistant¡¯ as such, not as the Pathwalkers of the village do, that is. What I need ¨C and want ¨C is what you were before. My friend, one of my most trusted team-leaders, you and Bastet are my right and left hands. If you wish to call me ¡®master¡¯ but still do all of that¡­well, I¡¯ve got used to it. But I prefer ¡®Markus¡¯. She looks thoughtful and doesn¡¯t answer immediately. Think about it and let me know, I say, patting her shoulder and then moving off to meet Tarra to have my final sigil painted on my back. With the marks of thirteen Warriors and six Pathwalkers there, it must be getting pretty crowded. Even if I¡¯m done, there¡¯s still one more fight to go: River against Joy. I sit down and watch it, but find my mind wandering as my tiredness makes it hard to concentrate. Someone comes to sit down next to me, and then someone else. And then more. Within a moment I find that I¡¯m surrounded by samurans, all of whom are my Bound. Bastet sits to my right, half-flopping over my leg as I stroke her idly. Tarra is to my left. Catch sits in front of me, though he¡¯s careful not to block my vision. Shrieks sits behind me, his hulking form definitely too big to be anywhere else. Wood-shaper ¨C who I decide to call Sticks since apparently ¡®Plays-with-sticks¡¯ is her name ¨C is a bit more cautious and sits a few paces to the side of Tarra the herbalist, previously known as Grubs. Next to her sits Wind-whisperer ¨C who I¡¯m very tempted to call something rude and related to dogs, but instead decide to go with ¡®Windy¡¯. Technically, her name is ¡®Runs-over-a-branch¡¯, but considering she¡¯s been full of hot air lately, I think ¡®windy¡¯ is appropriate. Flower, aka Grower, makes the bridge between that little group and ours, which is appropriate considering what she¡¯s been doing all day. I find myself closing my eyes and replaying the events of the day in my mind, trying to work out where I could have fought better, what I could have done to avoid the various injuries which have happened, how I could have directed different Bound, or more Bound. It¡¯s idle speculation but might help me react better in future fights. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I¡¯m pulled out of my thoughts by a question from Tarra. I know that we discussed your lack of desire to conquer other villages, but could you expand on what you mean to do exactly when you come into contact with them? she asks. I sense the attention of all the Evolved around us focussing on the question. Apparently it¡¯s an important one which makes me discard the glib response I was about to say. ¡°If the other villages leave me alone, then I will be perfectly happy to do the same,¡± I tell them bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t see why I would need to come into contact with them at all.¡± There¡¯s a pregnant silence. I open my eyes to see the samuran around me exchanging glances. ¡°What?¡± Then you do not intend to lead the delegation to the festival? ¡°The what now?¡± I ask in confusion. Shrieks takes over the explanation. The festival is a yearly event held on the shortest day. All Pathwalkers and most Warriors join together to feast, share news, trade goods and, most importantly, mate. Only a few Warriors are left in each village to protect it; the rest of us travel deeper into the valley to meet up with others of our kind. The leaders of each village also meet together to discuss any grievances between villages, or any cooperation needed to deal with threats, he continues. If you had not already dealt with the Forest of Death, we would have had to seek our kin¡¯s aid at the festival ¨C if we were still alive. You would be rather¡­conspicuous in your absence, and indeed, to not have our leader present could cause our kin to see our village as weak ¨C and vulnerable. I groan out loud. ¡°And the fact that your leader isn¡¯t even the same species as you wouldn¡¯t cause just as much scandal?¡± I look rather pointedly at Windy. ¡°Some of you refused to accept me until it was a choice between that and death.¡± Windy looks away from the glances sent her way, her spikes pinking a little. It¡¯s a good point, Tarra agrees thoughtfully, but although you might come in for a few challenges, I agree with Shrieks-loudly that it would be worse if you''re not there to face them. Rubbing my forehead, I sigh. No one ever warned me that becoming the leader of the village would be this much trouble, I gripe to myself. Then to everyone else: ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll go. When do we have to leave?¡± Everyone looks at Tarra. In about three moons to allow enough time for attacks on our journey down, she says decisively. Ninety days, if the moon cycle here is like on Earth. From what I¡¯ve seen, it¡¯s not all that dissimilar ¨C there have been a couple of moon cycles since I¡¯ve been here which works out in terms of number of days. Three moon cycles is quite a while in the future, but given how quickly the last two months have gone, I mustn¡¯t let that time get away with me. There is lots to accomplish, both for me and for the village. High on that list is the quest ¨C frankly, the earlier I can get that over and done with, the better. I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m going to be walking into there, though the state of the tunnel at the centre of the vine-stranglers indicates that something has changed since we went through. Maybe I should take an expedition tomorrow? See what we can find. The samurans around me are pushing themselves to their feet and I notice that the fight is over. It looks like it¡¯s been a tough one ¨C both of my Bound look exhausted. Still, from Joy¡¯s pleasure and River¡¯s discontent ¨C not to mention how she¡¯s trussed up tightly ¨C I can tell who¡¯s the winner even before the Warrior announces it. I hurry over to deal with the poison running through Joy¡¯s system even as she releases River from her bonds. After healing Joy, I check River over and heal the small cuts and scrapes on her body. Gratitude flicks over the Bonds from each of them. I healed Tarra earlier too so by this point we should all be tired but in decent health. The ranking fights finally over, Tarra draws our attention with a sharp click of her teeth. ¡°Another ranking challenge is complete,¡± she announces, pleased grunts ringing out among the tired Warriors and Pathwalkers. ¡°The Pathwalkers have a new leader.¡± She beckons to me and I walk forward to stand by her side. ¡°And an additional new sister.¡± This time she beckons to River who also walks forward to stand on her other side. ¡°Sisters, do we have names for our new members?¡± she asks. The other Pathwalkers all flick their tails in assent. ¡°Then for Runs-with-the-river, sister of our village? What are your suggestions?¡± ¡°Poison-claw,¡± suggests Sticks. She gets several scornful looks for that. ¡°Poisonous Devourer,¡± says Flower. ¡°Devours-to-ash,¡± proposes Joy ¡°Spear,¡± offers Windy, which makes River scowl at her ¨C if Joy¡¯s reasoning for not wanting to use a mundane weapon is anything to go by, I understand why. ¡°Reducer,¡± suggests Tarra. They all then look to River ¨C evidently the final choice is up to her. ¡°Reducer,¡± she decides in the end. ¡°Then sisters, brothers, please welcome our new sister: Reducer.¡± Warm grunts of welcome ring out. Next, it¡¯s my turn. This time, Tarra just looks up at me. This is a bit of an unusual situation, she admits to me. Not only are you not really part of our village, but you¡¯re not female, and you¡¯ve defeated all the Warriors and Pathwalkers, making you eligible to be either. You therefore have the choice: to be offered a new name, and be considered a Pathwalker, or to retain your current one and be considered a Warrior. I think about it carefully for a few moments. From what I understand of the roles, the Pathwalkers are the ideological leaders; the Warriors are the protectors. Although I suppose I¡¯ll be fulfilling both, my aims of changing the way the village goes about things fits more with the Pathwalkers. ¡°I¡¯ll take a new name,¡± I tell Tarra quietly. She twitches her tail in assent and once more asks for new names. This time they¡¯re quite varied. ¡®Archer¡¯ makes an appearance instead of ¡®Spear¡¯. Binder, Life-devourer-shaper, Healer, and Poison-point are others. However, it¡¯s the last one which I like most, the one which describes so much at the same time as fitting my Class perfectly. Of course, it comes from River ¨C the one who knows me so well. ¡°Tamer,¡± I settle on, smiling at my Companion. ¡°Then sisters, brothers, please welcome our new Pathwalker and leader: Tamer.¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Five: Even a Fool It¡¯s another sunrise. I wake with my head aching and my stomach turning as badly as it did the day I decided to take advantage of Nicholas¡¯ offer. This time it isn''t because of alcohol, though. Nor am I restricted only to over-the-counter painkillers. Instead, I keep my eyes closed as I send magic through my body to push out all of the toxins which are making me feel so bad. It¡¯s a soothing sensation and I sigh with relief once it¡¯s over and I¡¯m feeling back to normal. With my brain no longer threatening to squeeze out of my ears or my eyes jump from my head the moment I open my eyelids, I tentatively gaze around me. We¡¯re in the middle of the samuran village, all of the lizard-folk curled up together. Interspersed between them are a number of my Bound, both lizard-kin and not. I grin as I spot Honey being cuddled by one of the Unevolved, and Wolverine curled up between Tarra and Joy. I hope that those two wake up feeling better than I did or those around them are going to regret being so close. Bastet is at my side, as are Catch, River, Fenrir, Lathani, and Sirocco ¨C perched on top of Lathani and sleeping with her head under her wing. The original gang who returned back to the cave together. Well, apart from Aingeal who, as always, is gently shifting up and down over my shoulder, not seeming to need rest or anything other than a bit of mana every so often. On that note, I send a chunk of fire mana down the link between us and it flares brighter, communicating pleasure to me. I see Trinity and Spine off to one side, Komodo with them. The rest of my non-samuran Bound are either with them or in other groups around the periphery. Reassured that everyone is where they should be, I remember back to last night. Iandee wasn¡¯t kidding about the celebrations after a ranking fight being rather wild. I have a feeling that this one was more so than usual because it wasn¡¯t just a normal ranking fight, but the recognition of two more Pathwalkers ¨C and myself as the new leader. I¡¯d been wondering at odd points where the Unevolved had been all day, and my question was answered soon after River¡¯s and my names were chosen. I¡¯d known that the Unevolved were not allowed to watch the ranking fights; instead, it seemed they¡¯d been turned out of the village and sent to find resources for the celebrations. A couple of Warriors had stood watch to make sure no one sneaked back into the village during the fights, being relieved when it was their turn to fight. Apparently even the Unevolved samurans connected to me with Tame Bonds had decided to join their brethren, taking several of my otherwise bored Bound with them. As a result, when the Warriors had allowed the rest of the villagers back in after the ranking fights had completed, there had been a steady stream of beings bearing carcasses, leaves, berries, and other assorted materials. The carcasses and most of the berries had been placed in the centre of the village in several different piles. The central pile was the biggest, though the one not far away from it was almost as big. The other three piles had decreased significantly in size and I was left wondering what the organisation was all about for a while. The rest of the resources had gone to Sticks and Tarra ¨C the village wood-shaper and herbalist, respectively. Sticks had made a whole load of new containers which also got given to Tarra. I watched her work, fascinated. I would say that it wasn¡¯t all that dissimilar from how I shape bone and I wonder if I might have a chance of learning how to do it myself. But that would take time that I don¡¯t have currently. Tarra then used a large container to combine a whole load of leaves, berries, mushrooms, and roots, all chopped or crushed in different ways, and mixed them all together with water. After adding each ingredient, she held her hand over the mixture and closed her eyes. Though I couldn¡¯t sense exactly what she was doing, I suspect she was using one of her special abilities. By the time the sun was going down, she had enough containers in front of her full of unappetising liquid that every samuran in the village had one. Well, every samuran and me, that is. What ensued was a party by all definitions of the word. The samurans drank the liquid from the bowls little by little, as if it were delicious alcohol that they wanted to savour, ate from the carcasses, played beats on drum-like instruments, and generally made merry. I was a little taken aback when I found out that the biggest pile was for the smallest group: the Pathwalkers. The second biggest pile was for the Warriors, naturally. The Unevolved had to content themselves with the other piles, with the smallest pile actually being for the biggest number of samurans. Not liking that at all, I pointedly took several carcasses from the pile set in front of me and handed them out to the Unevolved, staring down anyone who looked like they might challenge me. Windy was the only one who actually tried to say something snide, but I cut her off silently through the Bond and she subsided. After the samurans had started drinking from the herbalist¡¯s bowls, however, they became too distracted to want to pick a fight over a bit of meat when they already had plenty. As the samurans became more and more relaxed and cheerful, I was convinced to try a taste of the brew. Although very dubious to begin with, an Inspect didn¡¯t reveal anything too nefarious, nor did a small sip followed by a close inspection of my body with magic. It¡¯s taste was an odd mixture of rather pleasant and very unpleasant. But it did offer a lovely floating sensation. In the end, I did drink a little of it, though not as much as the samurans. I didn¡¯t want to get into the state that some of them entered ¨C drooling as they stared at the moon, their bodies swaying in time to the hypnotic drum beats. Instead, I only drank enough to make me feel relaxed and a bit dreamy. It was still enough to make me feel like death when I woke up, though perhaps that¡¯s because it was designed for samurans rather than humans¡­. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Around me others are now stirring too. That¡¯s good because I¡¯m eager to get going on the quest. Perhaps I should take some time to relax, but with the vine-stranglers, my Energy debt, and the samuran village now ticked off the list ¨C or almost so, anyway ¨C I¡¯d like to make some progress in my other deadline. While I wait for them to rouse fully, I think through what I have and what I need. Honestly, apart from making sure things are stable in the samuran village and replenishing my stocks of carcasses, there¡¯s probably not a huge amount of other things which I need. I haven¡¯t really used much in the samuran village which can¡¯t be easily replaced, after all, and had prepared to go deal with the quest immediately after sorting out the lizard-folk anyway. My healing skills are soon needed to help my various companions recover from their own evening of excess. The rest of the samurans around me are left eyeing my Bound in envy as they see how much more energetic and clearer-eyed they are after my treatment. Since there¡¯s still a good amount of food left over from last night, replenishing my stock of carcasses doesn¡¯t take too long. Still, it¡¯s almost mid-morning by the time we manage to set off into the forest. Not only did I have to heal my Bound and replenish my resources, but I also had to make some arrangements in the village which will have to tide us over until we get back from dealing with the quest. Which, hopefully, won¡¯t take more than four or five days. Unfortunately, as I discovered when visiting the tunnel at the heart of the vine-stranglers, we won¡¯t be able to go through that entrance which requires us to use our exit tunnel as our entrance. Given what we observed last time, I have to admit that the implications of that make me rather nervous. Making arrangements with the village was necessary since I¡¯ll be taking four of their Pathwalkers and five of their Warriors with me. With their currently rather diminished numbers, that¡¯s a significant portion of their strength, especially since the group contains three of the top Pathwalkers and their top Warrior. Fortunately, Grower, now renamed ¡®Flower¡¯ when part of my group, edged Windy out for the fourth in line, perhaps because of her victory over Tarra, which means I¡¯m not leaving the village in the hands of one who is still rather hostile to me. And apparently the ranking is actually enforceable in a way that I wasn¡¯t expecting. The use of the sigils was interesting, actually. I had thought them only a written record of battles won, but they ended up being a little more magical than that. About halfway through the evening, when most of the samurans were influenced by their brew, but not completely soused, Tarra, the herbalist, had stood up. Together with the other previous Pathwalkers, not including River or me, they had incanted something which Animal Empathy hadn¡¯t been able to translate. Though maybe that was because it wasn¡¯t a proper language since none of my Bound were able to understand it either. Shortly after the incantation was finished, I felt burning both on the skin of my back and underneath it. It was odd that I felt the burning on my skin at all, since the sigils were painted on my armour, but apparently whatever magic this was, it was able to affect even areas it didn¡¯t touch. The burning hadn¡¯t lasted long, nor had it been particularly strong, but afterwards I realised that I had a sense of what rank the Evolved Samuran I was looking at held among their group. The sigils disappeared in the process, the liquid perhaps being used up in the magic. Curious questioning revealed that I¡¯m the only one who can feel the relative ranking of both groups: Pathwalkers can otherwise only feel the relative ranking of other Pathwalkers and the top Warrior who fought some Pathwalkers. Likewise, Warriors can only feel that of other Warriors and the top Pathwalker. Perhaps it was because I had sigils from both groups painted on my skin. Obviously, the final fight between the top Pathwalker and top Warrior wasn¡¯t necessary this time since I¡¯d beaten everyone in both groups. It seems like a good theory, since those at the bottom of the ranking in both groups had much more difficulty in determining the relative ranks of those above them than the ones at the top of the rankings. I found myself becoming rather fixated on solving the puzzle, perhaps a result of the brew I¡¯d drunk. The effects remain even in the light of day, though, so it obviously wasn¡¯t only because of the mixture. That only emphasises to all of us how much of the village¡¯s strength I¡¯m taking with us, but I feel that it¡¯s necessary. I really don¡¯t know what we¡¯re heading into, only that it¡¯s significantly more dangerous than what we faced before. Tarra is coming because she¡¯s good at combat and able to produce any number of different potions. Joy and River are joining because I trust them ¨C River a lot more than Joy, but the older Pathwalker has earned a measure of trust for the way she¡¯s supported River and me ¨C and because they have skills which might be useful. I would have liked to bring Windy for her combat capabilities, but she¡¯s too much of a liability at the moment. And then, of course, I¡¯m going myself, which, to the samurans who have just lost one leader to combat, is probably one of the most concerning aspects. Of the other samurans, I¡¯ve brought my five Bound Warriors. Quite possibly some of the other Evolved would be useful, but I don¡¯t know them well enough to judge, and I''ve barely fought with them so can¡¯t really trust them as teammates. Finally, to round out the expedition, I¡¯ve brought my most combat-capable non-samuran Bound. Bastet¡¯s semi-permanent scouting group, of course. Lathani, Sirocco, and Fenrir also go without saying. Komodo is a recent addition ¨C it would be stupid to leave my Tier two kalestan Bound behind. Pride, Trinity, Spine, and Shakira are staying behind, and the rest of the Pathwalkers are under explicit orders to make sure that they remain unharmed. Catch is keeping an eye to make sure they do. He might be ¡®only¡¯ an Unevolved, but I¡¯ve given him authority over the others regarding the treatment of my other Bound. I trust him a lot more than the three newly-Bonded Pathwalkers. As for why I¡¯m leaving them behind, they¡¯re just too big for me to be comfortable taking them into the tight spaces I know await us underground. However, the rest are coming along. Hopefully that will mean we have the right combinations to cover any sort of possibility. With nerves playing through my belly, I face the village, my chosen group standing behind me. ¡°We go now to face an unknown threat, previously hidden by the Forest of Death.¡± It¡¯s not a lie ¨C it is an unknown threat, one which quite possibly could have caused issues for the village. ¡°Until we return, look to your leaders and keep yourselves and your kin safe.¡± It¡¯s probably not necessary to say, but the samurans seem to take the instruction well enough. Without saying any more ¨C even a fool who holds his silence can be considered wise, after all ¨C I turn and we head out of the village together. Once out of the gates, we break into a mile-eating lope, heading straight for the ash-field which is all that remains of the once-feared Forest of Death. Finally, we will find out exactly what awaits us in the Pure Energy tunnels. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Six: Very Dangerous The journey back up the valley is rather unremarkable for the most part. The animals which were chased away by the inferno that I used to destroy the vast majority of the vine-stranglers still haven¡¯t returned. Plus, we save time by walking through the ash field again. Although the mouth of the upper cave isn¡¯t actually within the vine-stranglers, it¡¯s certainly quicker to cut through where they were to get to it. All the samurans who haven¡¯t yet already seen the remains of the ¡®Forest of Death¡¯ seem to be suitably impressed. I hear various murmurs among them, quiet clicks and grunts exclaiming about the ¡®life-devourer¡¯ which clearly raged here ¨C and just as clearly was under control by how it left the trees around the area almost untouched. I figure that it can only be to the good if they respect my abilities more ¨C it might mean that they are more interested in trying out the changes that I wish to make. River ¨C since even if she¡¯s changed significantly and got a new Pathwalker name, is still as much my friend as ever she was ¨C approaches me with her equivalent of a frown. Markus, is the Forest of Death truly destroyed? she asks me privately. Why? I ask her silently in return. Because I see something over there, she replies, indicating a distant dark patch against the pale grey of the ash. She has good reason to ask the question. I didn¡¯t destroy all of the trees, I admit. I discovered that the vine-strangler forest was actually a single organism with a certain amount of consciousness. We made a deal. As long as the forest holds to its side of things, I won¡¯t finish what I started. River looks a little troubled. What if it threatens our village again? Then I will destroy it fully, I answer quickly. But since one of the conditions is to reduce its growth speed significantly I hope that that won¡¯t be an issue. Except you¡¯re not always going to be here¡­are you? she asks with a sense of trepidation coming through the link. I pause for a moment, eyeing her, before continuing to walk as the rest of the Bound around me start slowing too. The thing is that I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever explicitly talked about this with River. With Kalanthia and Lathani, yes, but River? No. Though maybe I should ¨C I might know now that I should be able to take some of my Bound at least with me, but I don¡¯t know whether my most dedicated Companions would even want to leave the planet of their birth. Especially not one like River who is now a leader among her people. How do you know that? I ask slowly first. River waves her tail in a shrug. Little bits here or there, nothing clear. I only know that you are not here permanently. But I do not know how long you are intending to stay. It¡¯s not so much ¡®intending¡¯, and more conditions imposed by someone else, I say a little ruefully, then continue to explain exactly what happened to bring me to this world. So you see, I conclude, I will need to go in a little over two hundred days with whoever wants to come with me. I pause for a moment and eye her, even as we keep moving forwards quickly. Maybe spend some time thinking about whether you want to come with me or not. I don¡¯t need an answer now ¨C take some time over it and consider all the advantages and disadvantages. I will need to know a bit before the deadline so I know what to prepare to take with me, but there¡¯s still a lot of time before then. River accepts my words silently, not giving any visual indication of the emotional tumult I feel lies beneath the surface. Still, she says a few moments later, that makes me question what will happen when you leave ¨C if the Forest of Death decides to break its agreement with you because you are no longer here, then there is little we can do against that, she points out. Unless you are planning on taking it with you. I grin. Though that would be pretty badass, I think it would probably be a bad idea for several reasons, even assuming that the forest wanted to come and that it were even possible. But the village should never be as vulnerable to it as before ¨C soon, everyone in the village will know how to create a fire. For all I know, one of the next few Pathwalkers may even end up being a Fire-shaper. So if the forest tried to take over like it did before, it would probably end up being destroyed in a fairly short amount of time. Why keep it at all, though? It seems to unnecessarily complicate the situation. I¡¯m momentarily a little taken aback by her frankness ¨C this new River shows very little of the deference that the old one always demonstrated. I wonder whether it¡¯s something inherent to reaching Tier two, or merely because she is far more confident in herself and her place. Perhaps the lack of Dominate Bond compulsions to be obedient and protective are also having an effect. Anyway, I find that I prefer it ¨C just as I know I can trust that Bastet will tell me when I¡¯m being an idiot. If River is honest with me I know I don¡¯t have to worry about her agreeing to do something she doesn¡¯t like just because I asked her to do it. Because of the Pure Energy, I tell her after a moment. Did Bastet or one of the other samurans tell you what we found in the place where we killed the salamander? Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. No, she replied curiously. A pool of Pure Energy, I tell her, sending her an image of what I saw when I followed Bastet down to the edge of the tunnel. It shows the tunnel blocked by the oddly moving and sparkling Pure Energy liquid. It wasn¡¯t up at the top of the tunnel, but was about two thirds there. Still, it was a clear indication that something has changed. The whole area had been thick with Energy with my hourly consumption shooting up to over three hundred units. It was enough to push my progress towards my next level up by a few percent, though the call came in from River before we could be there for more than a few hours. High as three hundred units per hour is, it¡¯s not actually as much as I might have expected. Although I don¡¯t remember exactly, I¡¯m pretty sure that my previous Energy consumption when next to the Pure Energy pool had been over seven hundred units. However, that was in a confined cavern ¨C perhaps that¡¯s why. Or perhaps it¡¯s the effect of the trees. After all, that was one of the reasons for keeping the vine-stranglers around ¨C to stop other creatures coming and investigating the source of Energy. The state of the vine-strangler entrance is the reason why we¡¯re currently heading for the tunnel which we used to exit the area. After all, even if I previously survived touching Pure Energy, I highly doubt I¡¯d survive swimming in it. Nor do I think it¡¯s a good idea for anyone else to try, even if they¡¯re tier ones who don¡¯t seem to be as affected by Pure Energy as those with Cores. Which leaves using the other entrance to find exactly why the Pure Energy, which used to be a small and isolated pool on the floor of the cavern full of Energy Hearts, is now filling more than half the tunnel to the surface. It seems like River¡¯s thoughts are moving along the same lines as mine. Do you know why the situation has so changed? she asks. I hesitate and then shake my head. I don¡¯t know. But I remember what we saw in the tunnels, and what I discussed with Kalanthia after we returned. I can only conclude that, for some reason, a creature, probably the same one which tunnelled down to the Pure Energy in the first place, has blocked the flow of the Pure Energy stream, and this is probably the second time it¡¯s done it. The first time created the Energy Hearts and then the other tunnel because of the pressure of the blocked Energy. This time, I guess that the Energy is not under the same sort of pressure, so it¡¯s just slowly moving up the tunnel. Abruptly, I wonder what will happen if the Pure Energy starts spilling over the edge of the tunnel. What if it starts coming into actual contact with the vine-stranglers, with the other creatures of the forest? Could this be the reason for the timer on the quest: that it would cause some irreversible changes if I don¡¯t find a way of rectifying the situation before that happens? Well, that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to investigate. River and I exchange a few more thoughts, wondering what kind of creature might be waiting for us. She thinks that it¡¯s likely the creature itself is blocking the way in order to get stronger by absorbing the Energy directly. Personally, I hope that¡¯s not the case: based on my own experience of how difficult Pure Energy is to deal with, the thought of having to combat a beast which is able to absorb a much larger quantity of the substance fills me with trepidation. I don¡¯t have many better ideas, though, and River¡¯s does make a lot of sense. Fortunately ¨C or perhaps unfortunately, depending ¨C we are making good time. Not needing to fight, or even move with much care through the ashfield certainly helps us. Once we enter the forest again, we have to be a little more cautious. After all, we never know what kind of beasts might decide that they want to attack us. Whether it¡¯s the large group of us moving together, the high proportion of Tier twos, or that the forest still hasn¡¯t gone back to normal, we remain unbothered. As the sun heads for the horizon, the cave mouth where we once fought a pack of lizogs comes into sight. Being a cave, it¡¯s invisible until we round a corner and, suddenly, it comes into sight. I think uncomfortably that it looks even more like a maw than it ever did before. The Bound around me shift uneasily too, their stronger senses picking up on more information than mine are capable of. Bastet moves with her party to investigate the entrance to the tunnel even as the rest of my Bound array themselves around me, their various weapons at the ready. There is danger here, Shrieks says grimly, the other Warriors sending their agreement, their eyes roving unceasingly around the little clearing and the trees beyond it. What danger? I ask urgently. Shrieks flicks his tail. I know not, he admits. It is nothing I have encountered before. But I sense that it is dangerous. Not too helpful, but I suppose that it does tell me one thing: something has definitely been this way ¨C River didn¡¯t react so badly the last time. There are traces of passage, Bastet says, still investigating with her team. It is a large beast, bigger than any of us. And strong, very strong. ¡°Stronger than the danaris?¡± I ask. Yes. Much. Well, that¡¯s not good news. ¡°How do you know?¡± Traces of its presence. I can sense them now after Evolution. I could not before. That¡¯s a good point. Maybe I should ask some of the other Tier twos to investigate too ¨C the more information we have, the better. ¡°Is it anywhere nearby?¡± I check first. Bastet hesitates. I don¡¯t think so. These traces are hours old. But it may return at any time. ¡°Then Joy, Shrieks, anyone who has good senses, can you check them out? See what you can find.¡± The two samurans mentioned, along with Tarra, River and Murmur step forward, cautiously crossing the clearing to meet with Bastet and her team. They spend some time poking around the area, touching different areas with their claws. River and Shrieks even head a little into the tunnel ¨C something that makes my stomach clench in fear. Fortunately, they come out and beckon the rest of us over. I move with my Bound to meet them near the entrance to the cave. ¡°So?¡± I ask impatiently. ¡°Did you find anything out?¡± It¡¯s strong, River replies grimly, Tarra, Joy and the two Warriors flicking their tails and their spikes flashing in grim agreement. Very strong. She hesitates. I suspect it has gone through a second Evolution. The other samurans start muttering. The rest of my Bound have different reactions ¨C Lathani is curious more than anything, with the other Tier ones shifting uneasily but not seeming to have understood too much about the possible danger. Conversely, I feel frozen. A Tier three? Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Seven: Strategy The danaris had been Tier two and it had been difficult to beat. We¡¯d attacked it in almost ideal conditions and it still almost killed several of my Bound one way or another. If this creature is actually Tier three already, it¡¯s going to be a much more difficult opponent. Of course, we have much more firepower on our side this time too. Three Pathwalkers, five Warriors, two other Tier twos in Bastet and Komodo, and a number of other fierce Bound ¨C Honey and Thorn are definitely members I would have appreciated having in the fight against the danaris. However, if the creature is already tucked away down in the depths of the earth, we won¡¯t be able to bring our force to bear. While that might restrict the creature as well, there¡¯s no guarantee that that¡¯s the case. In fact, given the evidence that it might be capable of the same kind of Earth-shaping that Kalanthia can do, facing the creature down in the tunnels might actually give it more of an advantage. My brain races and pieces fall into place. ¡°Right, we need to find out more about the situation. Demon, Marty, Woozle, would you be willing to go and scout down the tunnel?¡± The three take a moment to consider, then assent, scampering off. Marty is a small pine-marten-like creature and Woozle is kind of weasel-like. They¡¯re both on Bastet¡¯s team of scouts and are known for being stealthy. Demon isn¡¯t so used to the scout role, but he¡¯s small and very fast. It¡¯s a bit cold-blooded of me, but if they get found out, I hope that Demon might be fast enough to bring us word where perhaps the others will be too slow. ¡°Sirocco,¡± I start, turning to my only airborne Bound, currently sitting on my shoulder. ¡°Could you please keep an eye on our surroundings. Circle overhead at regular intervals and make sure we¡¯re not surprised. We don¡¯t know if the creature is below or not, after all.¡± She sends a quick assent and then pushes off my shoulder to do her first scouting trip. I turn now to the rest of the group. ¡°Tarra, River, we don¡¯t know what the creature is yet, so can¡¯t make anything specifically for it, but can you make some potions to help us anyway?¡± Healing potions are always useful, Tarra says thoughtfully. And I think we have the ingredients for some stamina reducers, and some good multi-purpose poisons, adds River. ¡°If you need some more ingredients which are likely to be in the local area, we may be able to organise some trips to find them,¡± I suggest. At their agreement, I turn to the rest of my Bound thoughtfully. ¡°Right, Shrieks. I would like you to choose two Warriors to stay here with you to guard, and two to each lead a small group of Bound to collect whatever ingredients the Pathwalkers need.¡± As you command, Honoured Tamer, Shrieks intones. He eyes his Warriors. Murmurs-quietly, and Sleeps Peacefully, you stay with me. Eats-dirt and Leaps-from-fright, you are in charge of the resource parties. Each of you choose three¡­companions to go with you. The Warriors lift their chins in acknowledgement of the order, then the two chosen to go into the forest quickly select their parties. I make the parties more formal by assigning the Manager role to the two samurans. They quickly move over to confer with the Pathwalkers over what they should collect. I turn towards Joy. ¡°I would like to make another net, much like the one which I used to capture your party, though with a much bigger mesh. That means it will use fewer resources but the silk should still be strong enough to hold even against a strong creature. I will create the thread, but I¡¯d like you to actually weave the net ¨C we can share the burden like that.¡± Very well, Tamer, Joy acknowledges. We settle down to do that and I share more details of exactly what I¡¯m envisioning even as the rest start their own activities. ***** By the time the scouts come back, we¡¯ve all made some good progress. Together, Joy and I have woven a large net which should be able to cover the opening of the tunnel. It¡¯s used a lot of mana, of course, but with both of us working on it, less than previously. Just becoming a factory which produces metre after metre of thread is easier than trying to shape it into a strong mesh at the same time. Equally, Joy¡¯s own abilities to grow what she¡¯s weaving mean that I didn¡¯t need to put as much mana in as I would have anyway. By this point, we¡¯re pretty much done and I¡¯m questioning whether to soak it in a poison of some sort. On the one hand, any edge will help. On the other, I don¡¯t want to accidentally cause a friendly fire situation where my own allies are hurt more than the creature we¡¯re trying to deal with. We don¡¯t even know what it looks like, though perhaps the scouts will have some idea. Seeing them approach, I find my gaze going over where River and Tarra are still working. There are multiple containers in front of them ¨C some the wooden vials that they brought with them from the village; some the chitinous or bone containers which I created for River a while ago. They¡¯re focussing, and it looks like Tarra is demonstrating something to River. Good ¨C I¡¯m glad she¡¯s teaching her younger sister. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What did you find?¡± I ask the three scouts as they stop in front of me. Given that none of them look too ruffled, I have to guess that they haven¡¯t been in any sort of fight. Three sets of images are abruptly shoved into my mind and I find myself struggling to make sense of them. ¡°One at a time, please,¡± I request as my brain hurts from the effort. ¡°Marty, you first.¡± She sends through an image again. To my relief, the previous three fade away. The image now in my mind is difficult enough to parse since apparently Marty has quite the different vision in the dark from me. In fact¡­does she have thermal imagery? I inspect the image carefully as much as I can, then release it, asking for Demon to give me his. His image is actually less that and more of an impression of sounds and smells. It¡¯s more like what Bastet sent me all that time ago when she scouted out the tunnel to the salt cave. Finally Woozle delivers her report and I try to use it to fill in the blanks of the others. When I¡¯ve finished, I thank the three of them and turn to the others. Summoning over the Bound who I feel would be the most use in a strategic discussion, I sit down on a large rock nearby and they gather around. ¡°Right,¡± I say to them. ¡°This is what the scouts gave me.¡± I send through the three images one by one to everyone before me ¨C the samurans currently present, Bastet, and Lathani. Fenrir, bless him, isn¡¯t yet ready to actually create strategies, and Sirocco isn¡¯t interested. The rest of my Bound present either aren¡¯t interested or aren¡¯t capable ¨C or both. ¡°What do you get from these?¡± I ask, wondering if their conclusions match mine. They take a little time to explore the memories. Finally, Shrieks is the first to give an opinion. The creature is not there, he rumbles. Agreed, says Murmur. There¡¯s no indication of a heat signature present. That doesn¡¯t necessarily prove anything, points out Tarra. Some creatures can meld with the environment around well enough to be invisible to all but magical means. That¡¯s an interesting point. I wonder whether my own Fade would be capable of that ¨C from its original description, I would guess that it is. Few means of concealment are so absolute, disagrees Shrieks. The scouts each had different ways of revealing their environment. It would be more likely that at least one of them would detect something if the beast was there. This is a beast that is likely past the third Evolution, though, argues Tarra. How often do we come across those? What do we know of what they are capable of? ¡°The question is,¡± I interrupt, ¡°Shrieks, would you be willing to stake your life and the lives of everyone in this party on the supposition that the beast is not there?¡± He hesitates for a moment. I would be willing to stake my life on it, he rumbles after thought, and the lives of my Warriors. However, I would not be willing to stake the lives of my Pathwalkers upon it. I nod slowly. But, he continues, I would not take my Pathwalkers into the lair of such a beast as this unless I had already seen it slain ¨C and any of its kin with it. ¡°I see,¡± I murmur. Which means that he''s pretty certain about his conclusions, but isn¡¯t keen on putting the females of the village at risk. I wonder if, different sex or not, that includes me. I notice something else, River breaks in thoughtfully. We all turn to look at her. I remember that when we travelled through the tunnel, there was a section where it was difficult to continue without falling into the stream below. ¡°Yes, I remember that,¡± I agree slowly, looking for what has caught River¡¯s interest in the scouts¡¯ memories. That was the section where only Bastet was easily able to move, using her wings to help redirect her around the lip of rock that stuck out almost into the Pure Energy stream entirely. Now, in the images it is blocked by something. As River continues to speak, I think I understand her point. Consider what it appears to be blocked by: three objects, surrounded by some substance. Three round objects. Is there any chance they could be ¨C ¡°Eggs,¡± I breathe, meeting eyes with her. ¡°What if this creature isn¡¯t here to benefit itself directly? What if it¡¯s a mother trying to help its eggs in some way?¡± If it¡¯s a mother, we will have to be even more careful, Joy speaks up for the first time in the meeting. Broodmothers are protective enough of the eggs we give into their charge; this creature is likely to be even more so. ¡°Very true,¡± I agree, looking at Lathani. ¡°Consider what happened when you kidnapped a certain nunda cub,¡± I remark pointedly. Tarra and Joy both avoid my eyes. I take a moment to think through the situation. We might be wrong in guessing that these are eggs, but I don¡¯t think so. It would fit ¨C a creature, probably an intelligent one if Kalanthia is anything to go by, has somehow detected a Pure Energy vein beneath the earth. It would make sense that she dug her way down, hoping that being exposed to Pure Energy while in the egg would help her offspring from the start and improve their survivability. She blocked the Pure Energy stream to ensure that her eggs were exposed to as much as possible, though accidentally caused enough pressure to create an explosion which made the tunnel. Though how strong are these eggs if they can withstand that kind of force? Not to mention the Pure Energy itself. Or maybe they¡¯re not eggs after all. Anyway, we now have a choice to make. I suspect that solving the quest will mean dealing with the blockage, perhaps sealing off the Pure Energy entirely. But how should we do it? ¡°So, what do you think? Do we set a trap out here and fight, or go into the tunnel to investigate what these objects really are and try to deal with them before the creature returns?¡± Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Eight: Unknown Risk Once more I head into the belly of the beast, hopefully not literally. With me are River, Joy, Peace, and Iandee of the samurans. Bastet insisted on accompanying me, Honey, Woozle, and Marty from her group joining us too. Lathani and Fenrir fill the last spaces in the party heading down into the tunnels. I did hesitate about bringing the nunda cub with us, but she was determined to come with our party and, honestly, it makes me feel better having her under my supervision. If I''d left her behind, I¡¯d be worrying more about her, I think. Shrieks was not happy with the decision for three Pathwalkers to go into a situation with such an unknown risk. I think that only the fact that Tarra isn¡¯t joining us reassured him enough to have him agree at all. He was even more displeased with the idea that he himself would not be accompanying us, but conceded to my logic in the end. The truth is that he¡¯s a mountain of a samuran, and if we end up fighting in the close confines of the tunnels near the Pure Energy stream, he is likely to be more of a liability than an asset. In fact, we¡¯ve only brought the smallest of the samurans. Joy and River are, of course, small by dint of them being Pathwalkers. As for the Warriors, they both have the lithe scout-type builds rather than the bulky defender-type bodies. It does mean that we¡¯re lacking a bit in terms of defence. Fenrir¡¯s the closest to a tank that we have, but he won¡¯t last very long against a Tier three beast. Fighting the creature to a standstill isn¡¯t the objective, though, so I decided that speed and flexibility were more advantageous to us than slower defence. First of all, we¡¯re hoping that we don¡¯t encounter the beast in the tunnels at all. Ideally, we¡¯ll be able to get in, deal with the blockage, solve the quest, then get the hell out of dodge before mama arrives ¨C if indeed we¡¯re correct with the theory about eggs. Of course, I¡¯m not optimistic enough to think that that¡¯s going to happen, so we¡¯ve come up with a number of contingency plans. That¡¯s the other reason for splitting the party: a good portion of our fighting force are currently guarding the entrance to the tunnel, making sure that nothing is able to sneak up and attack us from the rear. They¡¯re charged with preparing as many traps as they can, and doing their best to delay the beast for as long as necessary. That¡¯s assuming that the creature isn¡¯t already in here with us, admittedly. If we do encounter the beast in the tunnels, we intend to proceed to a fighting retreat, aiming to draw the creature out of the tunnels at best, discover more about it at worst. No, I think, at worst we will be forced to fight a beast which is too strong for us in a confined space which favours it more than us. The prospect is terrifying ¨C in that case we¡¯d have to just hold on until reinforcements arrive. In that case, we¡¯ll have to hope and pray that the beast hasn¡¯t torn its way through said reinforcements to enter the tunnel and find us, otherwise we¡¯ll be completely stuffed. But I try to keep my mind off that. After all, while making contingency plans is necessary, so is believing that we can be successful. As we descend, I check my status sheet from time to time. Curiously, it isn¡¯t changing much. Starting out at a bit over two hundred units per hour, my Energy absorption has only risen to just over three hundred units when the end of the tunnel comes into sight. Considering that last time we were here I was suffering from Energy poisoning for a good portion of it, there¡¯s an obvious difference between the experiences. Since everything I¡¯ve seen about the effects of increased Wisdom indicates that I should be absorbing more Energy rather than less, I guess that it¡¯s just another indication of the disruption to the natural order of things. The reason for the quest¡¯s creation, I would imagine. As the junction between the tunnel above and the Energy channel below approaches, I tense and sense my companions doing the same. For all we know, the beast is fully aware of our approach and is preparing to attack. Unfortunately, we can¡¯t conceal all traces of our passage, even if we¡¯re trying to step carefully. After all, I can¡¯t navigate the tunnel in absolute darkness, nor can several of my Bound. At least, however, we haven¡¯t had to carry a smelly torch made of pitch with us this time. I might not have a battery-powered torch at my disposal, but in a way I have something better: a friendly Fire elemental. Aingeal was, as always, happy as a clam to be asked to do something. It was a little more disgruntled when it realised exactly what I wanted from it: to shine less brightly. Still, after a little coaxing, it begrudgingly reduced its brightness to something that only barely lights our way. Hopefully if the beast has detected us, it¡¯s not because of the light. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Alright everyone, I say. Be as stealthy as possible from here, and be wary of possible attacks from any direction. So saying, I drop into Fade myself. I probably don¡¯t need to warn them to be wary of attacks. Even if they aren¡¯t able to understand exactly what we¡¯re here for, they know that we are potentially going to face a very difficult opponent. Bastet and Lathani become practically invisible ¨C if I didn¡¯t have the Bond to help me identify where they are, I wouldn¡¯t have a clue. The Warrior samurans are almost as good, though the felines put them to shame. Woozle and Marty also fade into the background, though theirs doesn¡¯t seem to be as ¡®magical¡¯ as Bastet¡¯s or my Fade. It leaves Joy, River, Fenrir, and Honey sticking out like sore thumbs. I direct the two Pathwalkers to stand in the middle of the group ¨C it¡¯s the most protected position so with any luck anything that aims for them will hit one of us first instead. Fenrir is tanky enough to hopefully cope with an attack, and Honey, reflecting her namesake, is perfectly willing to give any manner of bird or beast a good go. Creeping towards the hole in the floor seems to take hours. It¡¯s probably only a few minutes in reality, but each second just drags by. Abruptly, the sound of loose rock shifting makes us all look sharply at the source. Instead of a terrifying beast emerging from the shadows, there¡¯s a guilty-looking lizog, stepping carefully away from a couple of stones he accidentally kicked. A sense of annoyance mixed with a hint of relief washes through the network of Bonds. Without discussion or reprimand, we continue moving forwards. Finally reaching the hole in the ground which leads to the actual Pure Energy stream, I frown a little. Is the hole bigger than before? It looks like it. I remember hoisting myself out by putting my hands on both sides and pushing up. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be able to do that now. So, if the hole has grown, what does that mean? That the creature itself has grown? But then, what¡¯s the best indicator of the beast¡¯s size? The tunnel through which we have been walking where the roof is a good bit above my head? Or the Energy tunnel where I had to duck my head to avoid bashing it on the low ceiling? Not able to answer my own question, I focus on the next task: moving the group through the hole. Of course, we don¡¯t do it all at once. Marty, Bastet, and Woozle go first. Much as I hate to put Bastet at the forefront in such an uncertain situation, it¡¯s a fact that her Stealth is the best of any here besides Lathani, her intelligence is high enough to know what to look for, and as a Tier two, her senses are better than almost all present. When they give the all-clear ¨C after a long, nail-biting moment ¨C we continue sending others down. Joy and River are almost last in descending ¨C although leaving them alone and vulnerable in the tunnel above isn¡¯t an option, we don¡¯t want them getting trapped in the tunnel either. Hopefully having them close to the exit should help ensure that that doesn¡¯t happen. Though, honestly, I¡¯d rather that none of us end up trapped and dying in this confined place. The sense of tension and being in a small tunnel with rather too many beings to comfortably fit makes me think back to the horrible journey to the salt cave ¨C and the terrifying creature which lives therein. I forcibly redirect my mind. After all, thinking about how clearly outclassed I was with that creature isn¡¯t going to help my confidence with this one. To try to assuage my own worries, I quickly work out an efficient evacuation order which ensures that everyone gets out ¨C including those who will find it very difficult to climb out of a hole which is about ear-height on me, such as Fenrir. Fortunately, given the lack of attack so far, I think we can safely assume that the beast isn¡¯t here. That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s safe, though. Just because something hasn¡¯t tried to defend its territory doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t any traps or other dangers lurking. Still wary, I move forwards to inspect the blockage, my Bound shifting out of my way as I step through the tunnel. Interestingly, there is no Pure Energy beneath our feet. I warned everyone not to touch it, and had honestly been a little concerned that the other Tier twos might be tempted as I was. However, as I¡¯d already suspected from the scouts¡¯ reports, there¡¯s no sign of the stream. No wonder that the tunnel that exits in the vine-strangler grove is getting more and more backed up! I squint at the pseudo wall before me, but am struggling to see anything in the dim light. Focussing on sending a sense of desire for the light to be bright enough for me to see more details to Aingeal, I feel its happy agreement. A moment later, the radiance increases significantly. Too significantly ¨C the whole area is lit up like the Fire elemental is trying to imitate the noonday sun. After such a long period in almost darkness, it¡¯s completely overwhelming. It probably doesn''t help that my eyesight is sharpened when I¡¯m in Fade and the light level is below a certain point ¨C I don¡¯t think the effect vanishes quickly enough. Even with my eyes tightly closed, the red through my eyelids is painful and I immediately cover them with my hands. From the sounds of discomfort that come from around me and the feelings of annoyance which flicker across the network of Bonds, I¡¯m not the only one suffering. Communicating with Aingeal again, I do my best to ask for it to reduce the radiance to less than half. It seems a bit disappointed, but complies when I send it my sense of pain and discomfort at the bright light. Too slowly, my eyes adapt to the new level of light, but at least they¡¯re not streaming and actively painful. Being half- or fully-blind in an uncertain situation like this is stupidly dangerous, and I curse myself for not being clearer in my initial instructions, sending an apology around to the rest of my disgruntled Bound. Fortunately, nothing has taken advantage of our vulnerability. As my eyes adjust, I look at the wall again, the light now far better for the purpose of inspecting it. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Sixty-Nine: Alarm Gazing at the ¡®wall¡¯, I realise that I can easily identify where the material changes from the stone protrusion which we struggled to climb around, into¡­something else. What fills the circular space between the protruding stone is a solid piece of some dark brown substance. It seems to be bound to the stone in some way, and certainly looks to be fixed solidly in place. Tentatively reaching out to touch it, I am prepared for anything to happen. I even pull out my shield in case it explodes or turns into some slime monster and tries to attack me. More likely is that it will be poisonous on contact, but I have confidence that I will be able to deal with it in that case easily enough. In the end, it¡¯s none of those. Instead, it just¡­does nothing. It seems completely innocuous. After very lightly brushing the surface of the substance, I prod it slightly, then harder when it doesn¡¯t react in any way. It¡¯s cold, so I suspect that it isn¡¯t living, whatever it is. Instead, though it¡¯s quite hard, it¡¯s not like stone. Instead, it¡¯s more like¡­a car tyre. Trying to make the tread of a car tyre yield to the pressure of a finger is difficult, but it doesn¡¯t feel as impossible as when touching stone. That¡¯s what this is like. Though there is no real give to it, it feels like there might be if I could apply enough pressure. Though, since even as much pressure as I can apply with my enhanced strength doesn¡¯t make the smallest dent, I can¡¯t help wondering at the strength of the beast which must have put it here. Otherwise, the surface is pretty smooth, with only a few bumps and bubbles in it which might indicate that it was once liquid or something like that. It¡¯s not immediately poisonous on contact, nor does it seem to be a slime monster ¨C I should be rather relieved at that. I do feel something slippery on my fingers which at first I think is poison. Then, when I see the gleam of it on my fingers, and the way it¡¯s quickly absorbed into my skin, offering me a short-term significantly heightened Energy absorption rate, I know what it is. So this whole substance is saturated with liquid Energy? Or is it weakening and starting to leak Pure Energy? I grow emboldened, moving from touching it tentatively with a finger to brushing more than one finger, and then to running my hand over the substance. As was indicated in the memories from the scouts, there are three large, round shapes embedded within. Touching the shapes in turn, I find my eyebrows drawing together a little. Is it my imagination, or are they slightly¡­warm? The lumps are large, about three times the size of my head. If these are eggs, then surely they indicate that the adult would be very large indeed. On the off-chance, I try to cast an Inspect at them, but it is inconclusive. Using Inspect Environment, I¡¯m curious to see that the three orbs become ringed with gold. Or is that just the substance itself? Certainly, it seems to gleam with the hint of gold all over. Interesting. As if my actions are some sort of cue, I abruptly feel a wave of alarm and urgency crash into me from Shrieks¡¯ side of the Bond. The emotions are intentionally conveyed ¨C it¡¯s a signal. ¡°The others are under attack,¡± I tell my group, though they are probably already aware. ¡°It¡¯s most likely the creature.¡± For a moment, I hesitate. Should we stay or should we go? If we had been still in the initial tunnel, we would have gone to help immediately. If we were already working on the problem and had a solution in front of us, we agreed that we would continue working and the outside group would try to delay the attacker as long as possible so we could finish the quest. However, this is neither of those situations. It will take us a while to reach them even if we set off immediately, and we haven¡¯t even begun to try to find a way of unblocking the Energy stream. In the end, I make up my mind based on what seems the most urgent. The blockage doesn¡¯t seem to be going anywhere, nor does it appear to be unstable in any way. The situation my Bound are in is likely to be far more pressing ¨C Shrieks wouldn¡¯t have sent that much emotion unless he was genuinely alarmed by the opponent. ¡°Come on everyone, we need to get back to the tunnel mouth as quickly as possible,¡± I tell them grimly. There¡¯s no discussion, no argument. Instead, we work together quickly and efficiently to get everyone out and then start making our way back through the tunnel. This time we¡¯re not trying to be stealthy, quiet, or otherwise undetectable. That means we can move a lot faster. Hopefully it will be fast enough. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The journey back seems to both fly by and take forever. My mind is focused on the fight ahead, frustration going through me at the lack of knowledge of what we will be facing; what several of my Bound are already facing. I¡¯m actually slightly glad that it happened now: I can¡¯t imagine choosing to continue working below when I had no idea how many were being hurt or dying above me. So even though it¡¯s annoying to have been disrupted so early into our explorations, I¡¯d rather waste a bit of time than a single life that our intervention could save. As soon as we come into range, I reach out to my Bound to get more of an idea of the situation we¡¯re running towards. Sirocco is the one to answer, and from the images she sends, I can see why: she¡¯s the only one who is not actively involved in the battle. I send her gratitude for her scouting, and reaffirm her decision not to risk herself at this point. The image which she sends to me makes my heart briefly skip a beat. It¡¯s something that wouldn¡¯t look out of place in a fantasy book from Earth. Something which has captivated the imaginations of humans since time immemorial. It¡¯s a dragon. Or at least, that¡¯s what it appears to be. From above, Sirocco sends me a picture of it: a reptilian body with a long neck and tail and bat-like wings. Other pictures of it show it from different angles. It has vicious fangs and long menacing claws on both front and back feet. Its back feet look designed for grabbing and snatching, carrying its prey away. My stomach sinks within me at the thought that it might have already carried one of my Bound into the air with it, though Sirocco quickly reassures me that that¡¯s not the case. Instead, from what she sends me, it appears that my Bound are very sensibly staying hidden under cover of the trees and undergrowth around as much as possible. Unfortunately, its advantages don¡¯t stop only with the physical. It has some sort of breath attack, though not fire as I would have imagined of a dragon. I don¡¯t know whether that¡¯s a good or bad thing ¨C if it had had fire as an attack, potentially I could have turned it back on its wielder. On the other hand, perhaps it could have done that to me if it was more powerful or its mastery of its ability was greater than my mastery of my Skill. Either way, it¡¯s irrelevant as the attack seems to switch between a billowing mist and a stream of liquid which seems to be based on acid or something of the sort. The latter seems particularly powerful too, as can be seen of what happened when Lee and Thorn were unable to avoid it completely and were caught in the barest edge of the jet. Only Tarra¡¯s healing potions were enough to prevent them from dying what looked to be like a very painful death, and even then, apparently they¡¯re out of the fight for now. Two fighters down, when that wasn¡¯t even a full hit with the attack! We¡¯re getting close to the end of the tunnel and already I can start to hear the faintest echoes of noise. This close, more of my Bound start chiming in with what they¡¯ve experienced of the fight so far. They¡¯re scared, willing to fight, yet not wanting to suffer what they saw Lee and Thorn suffer. I do my best to send positive, optimistic feelings down the Bonds to each of them, or the equivalent in words depending on who I¡¯m talking to ¨C if they start breaking and running then this battle will definitely be lost. The only really good thing about the fight so far, from what I can see, is that the main objective of the dragon isn¡¯t to hunt the fighters outside. Instead, it appears to be just desperate to enter the tunnel, and it¡¯s only fighting with my Bound because my Bound are stopping it from doing so. It¡¯s a pattern which has repeated itself several times now. The dragon sends out a nasty breath attack at anyone in sight, which makes everyone scatter and run to hide behind trees and rocks to keep out of the attack¡¯s range. The dragon then banks and lands in front of the cave and starts trying to go in. At which point, knowing that we¡¯re inside the tunnel, my Bound start attacking it both at range and running in to attack at close quarters, clearly offering it more of a threat than it can ignore. The dragon takes off again, and once more sets out to drive away my Bound. The problem is that this situation isn¡¯t tenable. The area is becoming littered with pools of corrosive acid and caustic mist from the dragon¡¯s breath attacks, and the dragon itself is clearly becoming more and more agitated. I¡¯m worried that it may decide to change strategies ¨C that it might decide that the little flies are worth squashing before it attempts to enter the tunnel. Already, its use of teeth, wings, and tail mean that two more of my Bound have come close to death, only Tarra¡¯ healing potions helping them cling to life. With the killing-machine¡¯s sights set on them, I doubt my Bound will hold out for long. Even worse: with the Pure Energy tunnel blocked, our only source of air is from the very area which is becoming more and more impregnated with corrosive mist. I fear that it won¡¯t be long before we start being forced to breathe it in and that won¡¯t do any of us good. On the upside ¨C the only one I can currently see ¨C the dragon hasn¡¯t yet shown any control over the earth, though that¡¯s rather unexpected considering how the tunnel was made. Maybe it just hasn¡¯t yet revealed all the abilities it has. That¡¯s worrisomely likely, considering how powerful it probably is ¨C just something else to keep in mind. My brain races with ideas and I shove my thoughts down the links to the Bound with me who are likely to be able to offer some strategic advice. As we cover the last few metres of tunnel, we brainstorm ideas, thought racing across the network far faster than speech, urgency lending us wings to our heels. Hold on, I tell my beleaguered Bound. We¡¯re coming. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy: Hellscape We run as fast as we can, grimly determined to get out of this tunnel before the battle outside is definitively decided. Not only would that be terrible in terms of the loss of life outside that it would imply, but it would trap us in these close confines with a Tier three beast. As we run, my mind ceaselessly goes over the situation we¡¯re in. The main issue with the dragon at present is that it¡¯s able to fight a three-dimensional battle, where we can only really fight a two-dimensional one. We¡¯ve never fought an airborne enemy before, and now I realise just how difficult it is. Yes, we have several beings capable of ranged attacks, but sticks and stones thrown at a dragon have limited effect, even if they¡¯re sticks hardened and sharpened by a wood-shaper and laced in poison from a herbalist. Only a few attacks have apparently drawn blood, and that only by the Tier two Warriors when on ground level, despite all of my Bound doing their best to be reactive and quick to close in when the dragon stoops and lands. Actually, Komodo seems to have been somewhat successful ¨C too much so: in the last attack he bit its back leg and managed to get his teeth right in. The dragon reacted by launching him across the clearing to slam into a tree. He got up from it ¨C after a couple of healing potions were poured down his throat ¨C but he¡¯ll need more healing for sure. Everyone¡¯s weapons are laced with the strongest poison Tarra was able to make, one which almost rivals the one they used on Kalanthia, though leans more towards the deadly than the incapacitating. Apparently those were stronger in their actual effects because of the time they¡¯d spent brewing before the mission; this time, we didn¡¯t have that luxury. Nor, really, did we know what we were walking into. A dragon, for heavens¡¯ sake! I thought Kalanthia said there weren¡¯t any dragons in this world! The only way we might win this is to change the battleground to one that better suits us. I did consider clearing out of the tunnel and then ordering everyone to let the dragon through ¨C its wings wouldn¡¯t be much use in a tunnel. I decided against it, though, when Peace made a point: trapped in a tunnel, its greater bulk and acid breath would become far harder to avoid. Plus, when our greater numbers are our only real advantage against the much higher-level creature, restricting how many we can bring to bear at any moment is a strategic mistake. Not to mention that once the creature is back down there, getting it out could prove to be pretty impossible, meaning that it¡¯s a card which, once played, changes the whole game permanently. At least it¡¯s a card which should remain possible to play for as long as the dragon is more interested in getting back down the tunnel than killing the rest of us. There¡¯s the same problem with retreat: even a temporary retreat to regroup will give the dragon time to dig itself in and make our job harder. I consider just giving up on the quest and leaving sleeping dragons to lie. It¡¯s tempting and certainly the best way of us getting away from this almost unscathed. The problem is that some instinct is telling me that the consequences of failing the quest might outweigh the danger of battling even a Tier three. Lathani does suggest getting her mother involved, but I am wary to do that for several reasons. Time is the main issue ¨C it would take time to travel back to Kalanthia, and there¡¯s no guarantee she¡¯ll agree to help us anyway, meaning we could be wasting two or three days. Another problem is that I¡¯m not entirely sure how she¡¯s going to react to me taking control of the village in the way that I have ¨C and what she¡¯ll ask as compensation for Lathani¡¯s kidnapping and torture. While I certainly agree that some form of compensation is due ¨C and have already started acting on that with my requirements of Tarra ¨C trying to deal with that at the same time as asking her for help with this dragon doesn¡¯t seem like the best strategy. Not knowing how she will react, I¡¯m reluctant to throw the cat in with the pigeons ¨C or the samurans ¨C with so much at stake. But it¡¯s a back-up plan if the dragon is too much for us to handle. I hope I won¡¯t come to regret deciding to give dealing with the dragon ourselves a good go. So far, no one has actually been killed, even if four Bound have been significantly injured. We see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it¡¯s a hellscape that presents itself instead of salvation. The majority of the breath mist has fortunately settled. Unfortunately, it¡¯s settled into even more patches of acid ready to trap the ground fighters. The dragon itself has just been driven off, my outside Bound aware that we were approaching. It¡¯s roaring above, clearly frustrated at being blocked from entering the tunnel once again. By this point, I¡¯m almost certain that they are indeed eggs below: why else would it be so determined to get past the defenders? Before leaving the tunnel mouth, I make sure that everyone knows what they need to do. After quickly scanning the battlefield before us, we split into two groups. Bastet and her fighters, along with Fenrir and Lathani go off to the right; I run to the left, accompanied by the samurans. Weaver is exhausted, being half-carried by Peace and Iandee on both sides. River and I are a lot better off. Immediately, the plan goes sideways. The dragon spots us and, if the scream of rage it makes is anything to go by, realises that we¡¯ve been investigating its lair. Perhaps it fears we¡¯ve done something to its eggs. Either way, it dives towards us, its mouth opening wide to spew forth acid. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Though the memory was scary, the reality is terrifying. A billowing cloud of vicious green mist billows towards us and I freeze for a moment. One of the samurans shoves me out of the way and I¡¯m knocked out of my frozen state. Quickly pulling a wooden shield out of my Inventory, I hold it to protect our backs from the acid as we take off running. The other samuran ¨C Iandee ¨C is faster than I am, and half-turns towards me, agonised indecision in his eyes. Wordlessly, I urge him to run to the trees, and he does. With fear making my feet pound the ground faster than I thought possible, I¡¯m only caught in the very edge of the breath. My shield protects me from most of it, though I hiss in pain as a touch of the attack slips under my armour and brushes against the seam of flesh between my under-clothes and my boots. Feeling like my skin is a mixture between burning and freezing, I immediately send mana into the area, aiming to heal the wound. It¡¯s not as simple as I hoped, and I end up just focussing on limiting the pain as I run for shelter. As soon as I¡¯m behind a tree, and sure that the dragon isn¡¯t following, I focus more on the wound. Connecting properly with the mana in my limb, I suddenly realise why it¡¯s being so difficult to fight. It¡¯s not just acid damage; there¡¯s actual acid-mana in the wound too. At least, that¡¯s the only explanation I have for the stubbornness with which the injury remains in place. In the end, after sending another look around myself to check that I¡¯m not about to be attacked, I dive into Medium Meditation to try to have a real effect on it. There, I see its influence even on my internal matrix: a malignant-looking greenish energy which coats several strands at the edge of my Core space. Fortunately, after all the healing I did after my last visit to this area, I am far more familiar with dealing with such injuries, though I haven¡¯t had to heal an actively malicious energy before. Still, it proves not to be too hard to combat in this space: I pull mana from my Core to the area which is affected, then essentially use it to¡­scour my channels clear. Perhaps it¡¯s another aspect of the fire-affinity that my mana has apparently taken, but I find that purifying and cleansing the area merely takes focus. Pulling myself out of Meditation, I find that healing the physical damage is now as easy as healing anything else. Interesting. My injury now sorted, I find the bands of tension around my chest loosening a little. I focus on sending a quick message to the rest of my Bound. Do your best not to be hit by the breath attack. Prefer being struck by something else, if injury is unavoidable. Then, more privately to Tarra, Do you have potions for pain-relief? I do, she answers quickly. Then try to stop those hit by a breath attack from feeling the pain too much ¨C hopefully I¡¯ll be able to heal it after the battle, but I can¡¯t do it now. I¡¯m already doing that, she answered, sounding slightly annoyed, perhaps that I felt the need to give the instruction. But I¡¯d rather be clear. My healing potions are having limited effect on the breath weapon, she continues, sounding more worried. I¡¯m not surprised, I answer grimly. Just do your best. We need to get through this battle first. She sends a wordless agreement. How is everyone? I check a little belatedly. Responses come through from the ones who had run out with me ¨C apparently I was the worst affected by the attack. I guess that the others didn¡¯t freeze up, having the knowledge of how to react to an attack embedded in their bones. Only Iandee seems to have been licked by the acid attack like me. Moving over to where Tarra signals she has the majority of the wounded along with the rest of the inside party who have regrouped there, I call for him to join me. As I move cautiously, I dare to try to see what¡¯s going on with the wider battle. The dragon has been deterred from following my small group by the trees. It¡¯s unable to fly through the small gaps and it seems that its breath doesn¡¯t have the same effect on trees as it does on flesh. Instead, it¡¯s making another break for the tunnel, its movements even more urgent than before. On cue, Shrieks and the outside Bound have piled into attacking it, dodging the small puddles of greenish liquid. Their numbers are reduced, and my heart drops into my stomach as I see the dragon lash out with its tail, knocking several of my Bound over. Immediately after, it turns to bite at the downed beasts. Pain flares through the link and I feel one of my Bonds vanish. With everything gone on, I can¡¯t immediately tell which Bond has just disappeared, but I know what it means: we¡¯ve had our first casualty. But it only gets worse. The dragon rears back and, despite my Bound all frantically attacking the points which should be vulnerable, doesn¡¯t seem too bothered by the flies attacking it. Inhaling and expanding its chest far more than any attack it has done so far, I get a bad feeling about this. Run! I shout, just as the dragon exhales. Out of its mouth pours an acid attack like none I¡¯ve seen so far either through memory or reality. Instead of liquid or gas, it almost appears to be an amalgamation of both. Worse, it¡¯s either alive or the dragon is capable of much more control over it than anything before. It rings the dragon like fire, tendrils snapping out to attack anything within range. The smart ones among my Bound are already running; the less smart ones or slower ones are caught. Another Bond snaps, and then a third, pain shuddering across the Bonds as others are hurt, but not to the point of death. Several of them run straight towards me, others towards safety in the trees on the other side of the clearing. The numbers are reduced even further than before. Free of irritating attackers, the dragon heads straight into the tunnel, leaving three dark shapes on the ground behind it. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-One: Do You Have The Net? ¡°Damn!¡± I swear. All that, only to fail¡­. Maybe we should have just given up in the first place. Then the dragon stops moving with its head and shoulders in the tunnel and I find a hope rising within me. Is it stuck? Even better, it appears that the dragon¡¯s attack is time-limited as the flame-like acidic tendrils are already fading away. Either that or the dragon needs to keep focus on it at all times and has lost concentration. However, it¡¯s not all good. I don¡¯t know how long I can hold this, Joy¡¯s voice thrums through the network of Bonds, strain and weariness clear within it. It¡¯s trying to melt my weave away and replacing the broken areas is taking all my mana. Tarra, do you have any more mana potions you can give her? I ask urgently in response. She¡¯s had as many as she can cope with for now. She can¡¯t take another for two clicks or it will have a bad effect on her body, Tarra answers, her voice tense. Then Joy, hold it for as long as you can. Shrieks, do you have the net? We do, he answers shortly. But Murmurs-quietly is dead, and Leaps-from-fright is too injured to help. The knowledge hits me like a punch to the gut, but I push myself through it. We need to deal with the situation: if we let the dragon go now, everything is just going to get harder. Peace? Can you help? I force myself to ask. ¡°I will do what I can,¡± the Warrior answers with determination in his voice. We need at least one more to have a good chance of success, rumbles Shrieks, though I see both of the samurans already moving towards the dragon again. I can¡¯t help but admire their bravery for a moment. I¡¯ll go, River says. My immediate response is to reject it, but I stop myself just in time. If I reject it because of my close bond with her, that¡¯s unfair to everyone else currently putting themselves in danger ¨C and makes a mockery of those who have¡­already died. Fortunately, I don¡¯t need to reject it ¨C Iandee does it for me. No Pathwalker shall go into danger when I am able to take her place, he announces nobly. I will go. He makes it to my side just as I reach the area where the wounded are lying around Tarra. She and River are moving efficiently around the area, showing the long-practice they¡¯ve had in dealing with wounded together, covering injuries in paste, tipping potions down throats, and generally doing what they can. That¡¯s another reason why River shouldn¡¯t be one of those to take the net. But time is of the essence and I see Iandee wincing as he pushes himself upright and the stiffness of his movements as he limps towards the edge of the clearing. ¡°Wait. Show me the injury,¡± I demand, hurrying over to him. As I get to his side, he presents his back to me ¨C a tendril of acid breath clearly struck him like a whip across his shoulders. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I try to heal the injury, though to limited effect. I have to guess that Iandee is suffering the same attack to his internal matrix that I did, but I don¡¯t know how to fix that on someone else. With the urgency of the current situation, I don¡¯t have the time to experiment, either. Instead, I just focus on numbing the area, so that at least he doesn¡¯t need to suffer until I can do a better job. Thank you, Honoured Tamer, Iandee says in gratitude as the pain reduces. ¡°It¡¯s not healed,¡± I warn him. ¡°I can¡¯t do that right now. So be careful of it.¡± I will, he promises as he quickly hurries off, moving a lot more quickly than previously. Not wasting any time myself, I immediately move to start healing my suffering Bound. Wanting to heal them all at once, I unfortunately have to prioritise. Knowing I can¡¯t heal the full acid damage is useful, even as it¡¯s frustrating and worrying. For Lee and Thorn who were heavily injured by acid, there¡¯s little I can do right now. I take a moment to block off their pain receptors. It¡¯s not normally something I would do ¨C feeling pain is actually a good way of stopping us hurting ourselves ¨C but in this case, they already know they can¡¯t move. It¡¯s just cruel to let them keep feeling the agony when I can stop it. Komodo is my next target ¨C he¡¯s one of the most heavily injured still of my Bound, is arguably one of the most useful, and also the majority of his injuries are healable since they come from him impacting a tree. Hard. It takes a fair bit of mana, but by keeping up Light Meditation, I recover some of it even while I¡¯m healing the kalestan. After him, I quickly heal Bastet, Lathani, and Honey, who were all lightly injured, and only a little by the acid. Those areas, I just numb for now. It turns out that the three Bound killed were Murmur, Wolverine, and Demon. I clench my teeth together until they threaten to crack, doubt going through me. Was it right to continue fighting this? Is it right to continue it even now that we¡¯re out of the tunnel? I try to fight the doubt back with my previous reasoning, but in the face of the three losses, I find it¡¯s weaker than I¡¯d like. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. By the time I¡¯m done, the samurans are in position. I steel myself to continuing. There is still a chance that we can achieve what we set out to achieve, and to give up now would be to abandon the efforts made ¨C and lives spent ¨C so far. The dragon is still head and shoulders in the tunnel, though not much further than that. The reason why Joy was so weak when we left the tunnel was because we spent a few minutes on a quick back-up plan ¨C one that¡¯s proven itself to be essential. Using roots in the walls and ceiling, the Pathwalker wove a barrier into place across more than half the tunnel. It took her two of Tarra¡¯ potions ¨C one that increased her mana directly, the other that increased her regeneration significantly ¨C but she managed. Just. She¡¯s struggling to hold it ¨C no doubt the dragon is spitting acid at it to eat the roots away, and attacking it with tooth and claw, but she¡¯s pouring mana into it from a distance to make it resistant and replace parts which have been destroyed. The dragon is held still for a moment: this is our chance to turn the tides in our favour. Looking out between the trees, I see an arc of white go over the dragon¡¯s wings. Triumph chimes through the network of Bonds, and I start running towards the dragon, accompanied by those of my combat Bound who are still in a decent enough condition to fight. With Joy currently focussing on keeping the barrier up in front of the dragon, it¡¯s up to me to do the next task. The only problem: I¡¯m already low on mana. River, I need some of your mana, I say, the stress of the situation making me blunt. Out of the three Pathwalkers, she¡¯s the one who¡¯s not using her mana pool. Take it, she says immediately, apparently not minding. It¡¯s hard to concentrate well enough while I¡¯m running, but my ability to split my focus has increased significantly in recent times, and I manage to pull mana from my Bound. Perhaps it¡¯s helped by her pushing it to me along the Bond as much as she can too. Reaching the dragon, I use the netting currently lying over its back to pull myself up. The dragon bellows and starts backing up ¨C perhaps it¡¯s realised something more serious is happening that it needs to deal with. Even as I pour my recently borrowed mana into the net, I feel the dragon inhaling again, its chest expanding significantly. Run! I yell mentally again ¨C I recognise the signs. So do several of my Bound, particularly the ones who were in that previous battle. Most run, but to my horror, I see Bastet and Lathani lingering for a moment, their eyes on me, agonised. They don¡¯t want to leave me, I realise. Run! I order, forcing their compliance. I hate doing so, especially with them. But it¡¯s too late for me ¨C I¡¯m too slow to get away. I¡¯m just going to have to hope that somehow I can withstand the semi-sentient acid attack. The two felines turn and run like the wind, a moment before the green tendrils form around the dragon once more. They flicker out like tongues, searching for foes, and not finding any. I keep on feeding mana quietly into the net. It¡¯s already fairly full of my mana from earlier; I¡¯m just topping it up a little. For a few moments, it looks like my attempt to stay unremarked is successful. I¡¯m even using Fade to hide from sight, in case that helps. Then the dragon manages to back out completely, and twists its head to see me. It is extremely tempting to use Dominate on it. It¡¯s only the certainty that I will fail it and the ensuing period of vulnerability which stops me. It¡¯s not the right time. On the upside, I manage to confirm my theory that the acidic tendrils are at least partially controlled by the dragon, and that the dragon is definitely able to detect me through my Fade. Of course, the downside of that is that I am immediately attacked. By all of them. Pain sears through me, almost as bad as the Pure Energy had felt. It¡¯s actually remarkably similar, I realise as I immediately use Sensation Management to dull the pain so I can think. Probably because both of them attack the internal matrix. Maybe it was only that the Pure Energy also attacked the soul which made it slightly more agonising. Remembering what worked before, I drop into my Core space and grab mana, sending it flushing through my system like a wave. I know that this leaves my body vulnerable, but if I don¡¯t deal with the acidic mana, I won¡¯t need to worry about being eaten. Recalling how the mana had seemed to burn the invading corrosive energy, I try to focus on repeating the effect, imagining my mana taking on fiery characteristics, even if I don¡¯t dare actually change it into fire mana. I remember well how I once exploded the tip of a finger by doing that; I¡¯m not sure that my new fire affinity is enough to stop that from happening to my whole body if I start flooding my internal matrix with actual fire mana. To my bone-deep relief, it works. And it¡¯s just as well: unlike before where the corrosive energy just ate away at a small part of my matrix, this time it covered at least seventy percent of it. Even with my efforts, I can tell that it¡¯s done some damage, but am confident that I will be able to fix that with time. I keep spamming wave after wave out of my Core to deal with it, trying to recycle as much of my mana as I can: my Core has a limited capacity, of course. Finally, I emerge from my Core space, somewhat surprised that I¡¯m still alive. Even if I managed to fight against the acidic mana, I was rather expecting for the dragon to have bitten off my head. The first thing I realise is that my vision is gone. Again. Since the dragon hasn¡¯t actually killed me yet, I¡¯m going to assume that it thinks I¡¯m dead already, or not a threat, so I start healing myself. I need the mana regeneration so I dip into Medium Meditation ¨C the dragon would have killed me already if it was inclined to do so. My eyes are the first things I restore, using the ¡®blueprint¡¯ in the cells to tell me how to rebuild them. As soon as they and my eyelids are back in place, I look to see where the dragon is. Perhaps it thought that its acidic tendrils were enough to finish me off, because it has returned to the tunnel, its head and shoulders disappearing into the hole, evidently attacking the barrier again. The rest of the acid attack is fading, the tendrils disappearing. I take stock. Physically, I¡¯m actually not as badly off as I would have expected: my armour has done a good job in protecting me. It has paid for its protection, though ¨C more than half the scales have fallen away because the hide below has been eaten by the physical aspect of the attack. Still, I¡¯ve only suffered light to severe acid burns in most places. My head and hands have suffered the worst ¨C I suspect that I resemble Red Skull more than a little at the moment. Thank God for Pain Management, is all I can say. If the acid hadn¡¯t also burned away the blood vessels and cauterised them to some extent, I¡¯d probably be rather at risk of hypovolemic shock. My health has taken a beating, dropping down to a tenth in that one attack, despite my armour. But I¡¯m alive. And that¡¯s more than I can say for three of my Bound. The reminder firms my resolve and pushes away the slightly hysterical mood that hovers over me threateningly. I¡¯m not losing health; I can heal myself more later. Right now, we need to deal with this fucking dragon. Setting my hands ¨C skinned, muscle burned away, bone and cartilage showing in places ¨C on to the net, I focus my Will on it. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Two: How Dare You Do This? Full of my mana, the net responds eagerly to my intentions, expanding and tightening. Interestingly, it was minimally affected by the dragon¡¯s acid attack. I don¡¯t know why ¨C it¡¯s made of almost-spider silk, so surely it wouldn¡¯t have been treated differently from any other organic matter. Then again, the danaris¡¯ pieces of chitin weren¡¯t badly affected either, so maybe it¡¯s something about the danaris. Still, I¡¯m grateful for it ¨C I don¡¯t have to waste too much mana replacing burnt sections at the same time as healing myself, and can instead focus on my task: trapping the dragon. As the net slithers around its body like light snakes, the dragon seems to realise that there¡¯s something wrong and begins backing up again. I work as quickly as I can. Just as the head clears the tunnel and starts to crane itself backwards, I pull the threads tight. The dragon lets out a sound of surprise as the net closes in, pulling its wings in tight to its body. I¡¯ve managed to feed it under the dragon¡¯s body, through the gaps between limbs and the ground. I¡¯ve also woven it around the tops of its legs, so when the threads draw in close, the limbs are half-trapped against it. Its wings were already folded, but the net makes sure they stay that way. It¡¯s not immobilised, far from it, but it¡¯s more constrained than it has been all fight. Unfortunately, its head is still free since there was no way of getting that in the net without tipping it off to what I was doing, and arguably that is the most dangerous part of the dragon¡¯s body. But this is an opportunity for more than one thing. My first action is to send off a quick Inspect as I scramble off its back, getting out of its immediate attack range. The tip of its tail has fortunately been caught by the net since it was curled up next to the dragon¡¯s body when I was expanding the danaris silk.
Alcaoris Tier 3 Beast (enlightened) Special abilities: Acid Jet, Acid Cloud, Intelligent Acid, Unknown, Unknown Health: Unknown Mana: Unknown Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: Unknown Part of a complex society which balances extreme competition with strong family bonds, this beast is one rarely found outside areas of high Energy saturation due to its need for significant Energy to grow. The difficulty this beast has in growing is compensated by unusual power at even the initial stages of each tier.
Close message? Y/N
Not a dragon, then. Not according to the System, anyway. Still, it¡¯s similar enough to one to make no difference to me. It¡¯s not particularly informative, and that makes me hesitate with the next move. The two unknown abilities are particularly disconcerting. However, if there¡¯s a peaceful way of resolving this, that would be good. When I fail this, get me out of the way as quickly as possible, I say to my Bound who are already approaching. Attack while you can. Then, meeting eyes with the dragon, I activate Dominate. True to expectations, the moment the grey world forms around me, I¡¯m already being shoved backwards by the pressure. Immediately, I crouch down and dig my hands and feet into the ground below me. The pressure still pushes me back, especially since, this close to the starting point, it¡¯s stronger than it would be when I¡¯m on the point of being pushed out completely. Surprisingly, the resisting force isn¡¯t actually quite as powerful as Kalanthia¡¯s, though the difference is very slight. Certainly, I don¡¯t expect to win here, but where Kalanthia¡¯s resistance pushed me to the edge and almost over it within a very short space of time, here¡­I¡¯m able to resist. Even not being pushed out of this space is a win: every second I¡¯m here is a second my Bound might be able to land a decisive blow on the frozen dragon ¨C alcaoris. I know that it will fail, and not in the too distant future, but I¡¯ve done what I can for now. Gritting my teeth, I dig my fingers into the ground more firmly and focus on keeping the world intact around us, and not giving a single inch which I don¡¯t have to. Distant from my opponent, I can only see its vague outline. Not expecting to feel anything, I am surprised when I¡¯m hit by a wave of incandescent fury, its force only enhanced by the underlying layer of frantic worry. My surprise makes me lose focus for a moment; by the time I¡¯ve regained it, I¡¯ve slid back a good metre from where I was. I dig my fingers even deeper into the ground, but don¡¯t try to regain the lost distance ¨C releasing even a hand to move it forwards is likely to lose me more than it will gain me. Another wave hits me a moment later, but this time, I¡¯m braced for it and it doesn¡¯t affect me. A third strikes me shortly after, but this time it¡¯s more focussed ¨C an emotion which expresses a thought. How dare you do this! I¡¯m surprised, but maybe I shouldn¡¯t be. If I¡¯m right, this beast is only a little weaker than Kalanthia, or perhaps stronger in some areas and weaker in this particular one, and its description did say ¡®enlightened¡¯. Does that mean that it¡¯s capable of telepathy like her? Or at least something of that sort. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°You can talk?¡± I grunt out, most of my focus still on simply not moving. How dare you stand in my way! it cries again through a lash of outrage and fury. ¡°Because your actions are creating a problem in the local environment,¡± I say. I¡¯ll admit, if only to myself, that that¡¯s only half the reason, and even then only because mentioning the quest would probably be more confusing than anything else. Getting access to the Pure Energy and Energy Hearts is the other main reason. My eggs need the power, and I am too weak to establish a territory in a better area. I created this incubation space; it¡¯s mine! So, it is a parent with eggs, though its presence feels distinctly¡­male? Can a presence feel male or female? Well, thinking about my previous experiences, yes. Kind of, anyway. So this is a male with eggs. Maybe. After the samurans, though, I¡¯m not assuming anything. Either way, it¡¯s not really relevant to the situation at hand. ¡°Yeah, but by blocking off the Energy stream, you¡¯re creating a significant amount of pressure upstream. That¡¯s already created problems and will continue creating more. If the flood of built-up Pure Energy attracts another beast even stronger than you, we¡¯re all going to be in trouble.¡± Searching for an argument which might have an effect on the beast makes me slip another couple of inches back, focus having shifted to my words rather than staying in place. But I can feel the strain from holding this space at all, especially since my opponent is fighting it harder than Kalanthia must have. One way or another, this is going to be over in a very short time. If the draconic alcaoris is willing to talk, maybe we can find another solution to the issue. That¡¯s why I brought the seed of the trap trees, the alcaoris says dismissively. They hide the traces of my incubator. At least, they would have except that they appear to have been destroyed by one of my enemies. An enemy who may have found my eggs. I must check that they are well and that their growth has not been impeded. Get out of my way or I will destroy you! I gape at the creature for a moment. The vine-stranglers were intentionally brought here? Then another thought occurs: should I reveal that it was me who destroyed the trees? On the one hand, it could prove my power. On the other, it might automatically put me in the category of ¡®enemy¡¯ ¨C if I¡¯m not already. For now, I decide not to. If I stay silent now, I can always change my mind later. ¡°I can¡¯t let you continue blocking the Energy stream,¡± I tell the beast. ¡°But do you really need to block it? Can¡¯t you just¡­put them in the Energy stream and let it continue?¡± The stream is too small for that, the alcaoris dismisses. I¡¯m wasting time. Every moment I spend here with you is a moment my enemy could be attacking my eggs! ¡°I¡¯m the one who burned your forest, and I haven¡¯t damaged your eggs,¡± I tell him, deciding to go ahead with revealing it. ¡°Look, make a deal with me and I promise we¡¯ll find a way for your eggs to get what they need without causing so many problems for the area. It doesn¡¯t have to be a Bond,¡± I assure him, fearing that I might be sounding a bit too desperate. But if this could result in me succeeding in the quest and getting access to the area without losing any more of my Bound? Then yes, I am desperate for it to work. The emotional lashes pause for a moment. I find myself more than halfway between my starting point and the point where I will fail the Battle of Wills ¨C this conversation has definitely taken its toll on me. Though I don¡¯t think that will be the end of it: I sense that the strain of holding this world together will overwhelm me in a few more moments. I do not believe you, the alcaoris says finally. I sense your weakness. I do not believe you could have destroyed the trap trees, not with how widespread they had become. Perhaps you are allied with my enemy, distracting me while they attack my eggs. I will destroy you now as I should have done from the first, then rip apart any who have touched my eggs! Wanting to argue with him, I feel the world fracturing around me. I¡¯ve held the space for too long, and it¡¯s ejecting me prematurely. Frustration wells up inside me: I don¡¯t think that the conversation has done anything but make things worse. I could have done that better, I think as the last of the Battle of Wills vanishes like wisps of fog being blown by the wind. I¡¯m hit by the post-failure paralysis, slumping to the ground helplessly. The alcaoris opens his mouth, preparing to obliterate me with his weapon. A moment before the jet of acid hits me, I¡¯m hit by a truck which sends me out of its path. At least, that¡¯s what it feels like. Instead of a truck, it¡¯s Shrieks who has barrelled into me, grabbing my prone body and carrying me out of the path of danger. He dumps me on the ground roughly at the edge of the forest, but I don¡¯t blame him for the heavy landing: I see the pain tightening the lines of his face. When he turns around to defend against any oncoming attack, I see it. He¡¯s been hit by part of the acidic jet, a nasty wound that¡¯s sizzled its way through his scales and into his muscles from his shoulders to his tail tip. His tail is the worst affected, now only half the size it was before. Come closer to me, I order him urgently and he shifts back so that my hand is in contact with one of his feet. Sending mana through his system, I do the little for him that I can. Mostly just numbing the pain. Still, he sends me gratitude which I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve earned: it¡¯s in my defence that he was injured when, so far, he¡¯s managed to escape it. And what has that little stint achieved? The rest of my still-mobile combat Bound ¨C now reduced down to nine figures, of which only four are Tier two ¨C are attacking the alcaoris. The one good thing is that our Battle of Wills must have given them the opportunity to attack its weak points without fear, as the draconic creature is bleeding from several different points. The downside is that even with that advantage, the injuries don¡¯t seem to be enough to make the creature pause in any way. In fact, it¡¯s the reverse. The alcaoris goes still for a moment and then, a moment later, three Bonds go dark. It happened quicker than I could track, faster than my Bound could react. Scythes of green were flicked from the alcaoris¡¯ claws, killing and injuring any they came into contact with. As soon as its attack is done, the alcaoris roars with angry satisfaction and strains against the net binding it. The spider silk holds. For a moment, I dare to hope that it might continue to hold ¨C spider silk on Earth is stronger, relatively speaking, than steel. Then, the first strands start giving way. No longer in contact with the net, and feeling numb from the losses, I¡¯m unable to fix the net, and can only watch as we end up right back at square one. Come back, everyone, I order them numbly. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Three: Like the Hand of a Giant With a powerful beat of its wings, the alcaoris has regained the sky. And this time, he¡¯s mad. Even though the route through to the tunnel is wide open, with my much-reduced group of Bound pelting across the ground as fast as their weary limbs can take them, the draconic creature shows no intention of heading for it. Instead, it seems to be aiming itself directly at my single largest group of Bound. To my increased horror, it¡¯s the group that includes Bastet and Lathani. In desperation, I grasp for a solution. Nothing that we¡¯ve thrown at the creature so far has done more than make it pause for a short time. I can¡¯t even try Dominate on it again ¨C not because I don¡¯t think that I can use it on the same creature twice in a row, but because I still feel overstretched in whatever facet governs its success or failure. The alcaoris inhales and I¡¯m running forwards before I¡¯ve even thought about it. If I can only use my wooden shield to protect them, it¡¯s better than nothing. And it¡¯s better if I¡¯m the one struck ¨C I already know how to heal myself from the deeper effects of the acid attack. I¡¯m the only one with the fire-affinity mana which seems to do so well at purifying its effects. Fire-affinity¡­. A moment before the jet of acid hits, I throw forward my own jet. It travels across the distance and the billowing flames strike the acid attack. The fire doesn¡¯t nullify the alcaoris¡¯ strike, but it does divert it enough that my Bound escape almost unscathed. They bolt past me, entering the edge of the forest. I suddenly realise that I¡¯m the only one still visible in the clearing and my heart quails slightly inside my chest as the alcaoris turns his undivided attention to me. For a moment, we¡¯re both frozen, eyeing each other up. You have stood between my eggs and me for the last time, I hear in the same way we communicated during the Battle of Wills. Why now? Has he decided that he deigns to grace me with his speech? Or is this a holdover from the connection we had in that space? It¡¯s a voice full of menace. We don¡¯t have to be enemies, I try, attempting to project my mental voice back in the direction of the emotion which carried the alcaoris¡¯ message. The offer of a deal is still open. There is no response. Biting my lip, I get a very bad feeling about what¡¯s about to happen. The alcaoris, instead of attacking me, starts flying in ever decreasing circles around the clearing. As he flies, he starts glowing green, wisps of acid flickering over his scales. Those who can, run, I tell them, unease running through me. I don¡¯t like the look of this. I will not run while a Pathwalker remains in danger, swears Shrieks, Iandee in uncharacteristically quiet agreement. That Peace doesn¡¯t say anything surprises me ¨C until I realise that he is one of those struck down in the last fight. You¡¯ll run because you need to protect Joy and River, I tell him bluntly. But what of you? he asks, almost plaintively. I have a better chance of surviving this than any of you, I tell him, hoping that I¡¯m right. He needs a target, and I¡¯m the slowest of all of you. And this was my fight ¨C I brought you into it. It should be me that finishes it. Guilt curdles in my stomach at having done that. At having brought us into this battle. At having kept us in this battle when hindsight says I should have retreated and come back later. At the failure of my battleplans ¨C I¡¯m not a general! Who decided that I should be the one to command fighters? Overhead, the wisps of acid mana which had been flickering over his scales now start gathering between his front claws, a ball of acid mana building up. I figure that it¡¯s either going to create a death beam or bomb of some sort, though it could be something else for all I know. This must be that final ¡®unknown¡¯ ability which I saw with Inspect. Just run would you?! I yell down the Bonds. I don¡¯t want more dying for this doomed fight than have already. Cutting off communication from my Bound, I try to think of a way that I will be able to survive this too. The only thing I can think about using which might possibly work is fire, but I won¡¯t have enough mana to sustain anything powerful for very long ¨C I don¡¯t know how long this attack is likely to go on for. Then a realisation occurs and I look to my side. Sure enough, Aingeal, my little fire elemental is still bobbing serenely over my shoulder, out of my usual field of view. Why hasn¡¯t it attacked the dragon already? It was so eager to fight the samurans during the ranking fights; why isn¡¯t it trying to protect me here? I send a slightly accusing set of feelings to the fire elemental, doing my best to ask that question. Aingeal responds with confusion. It takes me a precious moment to work out the issue, but when I do, I feel like strangling someone ¨C probably myself. Aingeal is incapable of identifying one type of fight from another. That was obvious in the fight with the first samuran Warrior when it tried to kill the samuran. So, when I told it not to attack, it took that to heart, especially when I rejected its help when it offered it again. I didn¡¯t tell it that the rules had changed, and that it should attack this creature¡­so it didn¡¯t. It takes a few more precious moments to communicate that I very much do want it to be part of this fight. Indeed, if it doesn¡¯t help me with this next attack, I don¡¯t know whether any of us are going to survive it: with the amount of build-up the alcaoris is dedicating to this, how can it be anything less than utterly devastating? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Fortunately, the little elemental is very happy to act on my behalf, now it knows I want it to. Just in time: the alcaoris finally stops circling, hovering in midair, right above me. It releases the ball of acid, now about the size of its own head. The thing falls towards me with a chilling sense of finality. Aingeal rises in the opposite direction to meet it, and I pour mana into the little elemental. It doubles in size, then doubles again with the influx of mana, its heart glowing brighter and brighter. It¡¯s smaller than the ball of acidic mana, but I hope that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s weaker. Aingeal is the heart of the inferno which consumed almost the entirety of the forest of vine-stranglers. It¡¯s the remains of a force of nature far more powerful than a mere Tier three beast ¨C at least, that¡¯s what I hope. I pull the wooden shield over my head and huddle as close to the ground as I can ¨C I have no idea what¡¯s about to happen. Brace! I cry down the network of Bonds. There¡¯s a moment of silence, and then the world explodes with a bright light that sears through my eyes. I close my eyes reflexively against the brightness, but it still hurts even with my eyelids in the way. I¡¯m forced against the ground with crushing power and a wave of heat intense enough to make me feel like I¡¯m breathing fire. A moment later, a loud, deep whoomph deafens me. When the light dies away, I have to blink hard, still barely able to see anything. Automatically, I send mana to my eyes and ears, finding that my eardrums have been ruptured by the change in pressure, and my retinas have been injured. I quickly heal those and sigh in relief as my senses come back. The rest of the damage seems to be deep bruises from being pressed hard against the rough ground, but nothing serious ¨C I think my increased Constitution must be helping with that. I don¡¯t bother healing those ¨C they¡¯ll heal easily enough by themselves and I might need the mana for other things. Cautiously lifting the shield, I¡¯m met with a scene of devastation indeed. The trees closest to the clearing have been blown over completely, knocking into the ones beyond and making them tip precariously or even fall. It¡¯s like pictures I¡¯ve seen of sites where a meteor has hit, though not quite as widespread as those. Plus, there¡¯s no dip in the ground itself. And I don¡¯t think meteor strikes usually cause trees to catch light. Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t appear that we¡¯ve accidentally set off a forest fire, but I can still see certain sections of trees smouldering, and the trunks of the worst affected trees are blackened and burned. What happened? Sirocco must pick up on my emotion as she sends me a quick series of images. She was watching from above through the whole thing. The alcaoris dropped the bomb ¨C since that¡¯s the only thing I can liken it to ¨C and Aingeal rose to meet it. When they met, a light bright enough to damage even Sirocco¡¯s eyes was created, and a shockwave of force and fire went out from the meeting point in all directions. Trees were pushed over like with the hand of a giant, but Sirocco didn¡¯t see much of that ¨C even as high in the air as she is currently, she felt the effects in updrafts which threatened to either rip her wings off or send her falling towards the ground. The alcaoris didn¡¯t come off completely unscathed: caught by updrafts, he was sent flying up and then to the side, slammed into the trees himself. Looking sharply to where Sirocco showed him landing, I see that his bulky mass is still there. I start moving in his direction, my body aching. A flicker of light catches my attention ¨C Aingeal drifts down to bob over my shoulder once more. It''s down to a quarter of its usual size, glowing far less brightly than normal, and exuding a mixture of tiredness, satisfaction, and questioning. Like it¡¯s seeking my approval, wanting to know it¡¯s done a good job. I send it my approval indeed ¨C and my admiration for what it managed to achieve. I hate to imagine what would have happened if the acidic bomb had hit without interference. It might not have exploded to the same extent as it did, Aingeal¡¯s influence is clear in that respect. But it would have clearly been powerful anyway: I wasn¡¯t able to put that much mana into the little Fire elemental. Then again, maybe it did use up something that remained of the inferno ¨C my little elemental has definitely been significantly impacted by the blast. Hopefully it¡¯ll recover in time. With a swoop in my stomach, I abruptly wonder whether it could have been killed if it had proved to be less than the ¡®bomb¡¯. I hadn¡¯t even considered that possibility. Maybe I should have. It does surprise me a little that there¡¯s so little evidence of acid in the damage. But perhaps Aingeal managed to burn it off? Well, hopefully, my Bound won¡¯t have accrued more acid damage then. My Bound! A shockwave with that force could have killed them, especially the most injured. I quickly send out a mental message, fearing what I might receive back. Or rather, what I might not receive back. With everything that happened all at once, I don¡¯t know if I would have felt the Bonds break as I did before. I don¡¯t think I have many fewer Bonds than prior to the attack, but it¡¯s hard to tell. At least my strongest Bonds are still intact, which is a relief. We¡¯re all here, Bastet answers, giving me a sense of being within a woven dome. The weaving lizard protected us. None of us are lost. Now that she says it, I realise that there¡¯s an odd dome-shaped object among the fallen trees, one that looks damaged by the shockwave, but still intact. Incredible relief goes through me along with shame. I told them to run, hoping to keep at least some of my Bound alive, preferably my closest connections. Instead of doing that, Joy evidently found a different solution, one which could protect everyone. Thank you, I say fervently to the Pathwalker. She sends me back a sense of exhaustion ¨C it must have been tough on her. By this point, I¡¯m almost at the alcaoris who is starting to stir. It¡¯s a bit of a risk, but I move around to his head and stare into his eyes. Like with the samurans, I create a cloak of fire around myself. This time, I add two wings like his to the demonstration. I can¡¯t hold it long, but hopefully it¡¯s enough to prove my point. I dismiss the fire with a wave of my hand, trying to make it look like it wasn¡¯t just because my mana is almost empty again. ¡°I¡¯m the one who destroyed the ¡®trap trees¡¯,¡± I tell him, doing my best to project my thoughts. I still don¡¯t feel like I could hold a Battle of Wills for long, but hopefully he can hear and understand me. ¡°We can keep fighting, but neither of us will come out of it intact. Make an agreement with me,¡± I offer once more, hoping that he can¡¯t sense my bone-deep tiredness or grief. At this point, though he¡¯s clearly heavily injured, I¡¯m not confident that I could kill him easily. A truce is the best case scenario: I don¡¯t want to lose any more of my Bound and an agreement between us offers the chance to get what I really want. Killing a Tier three was never the intention. Activating a Tame bond, I offer it to him, pouring in my intentions to help him find a different way to give his eggs what they need without causing unknown damage by continuing to block the Energy stream. Taking a deep breath, I send it over to him to respond. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Four: What I Need To Do The draconic alcaoris takes a long time to respond. When he does, it¡¯s not to either accept or reject the Bond. Why should I accept this? he asks. Despite the slightly dismissive edge to his emotions, there¡¯s more respect and wariness present than there was in the recent Battle of Wills. You are¡­not as weak as I thought. Nor is the idea that you were the one to destroy the trees I planted quite as laughable as it was before. Yet if I reject this, what could you do? You have not proven capable of killing me. He seems genuinely curious where before he might have been contemptuous, so I answer him in the same spirit. I don¡¯t know whether he will be able to pick up my thoughts as Kalanthia does, so focus on using Animal Empathy to aid my communications. I¡¯m not nearly as familiar with this creature¡¯s means of communication as I was with the samurans¡¯, so I don¡¯t know if it will help. Still, no harm in trying, right? ¡°The fighters I have present are not my only ones. And there are other possible connections I could draw on. You¡¯re right ¨C I¡¯m not sure I could defeat you today. But I¡¯m far more confident about being able to do it if I had time to prepare. I could probably double my strength; maybe more. Can you say the same?¡± Perhaps it¡¯s a mistake to reveal that much: if he rejects the Bond and starts trying to attack again, then we will have to retreat and he will now be forewarned that we will be back. But I sense that he¡¯s weaker too than before ¨C whatever that last attack was, it seems to have taken a lot out of him. The presence which had always been around him, something which made him seem bigger and more fearsome than he is ¨C not that he needs much help with that ¨C has fallen away. He still looks deadly, but he seems diminished in some way. It puts me in mind of the aura which Kalanthia has used on me before. That one was unmistakable ¨C a feeling of a predator ready to pounce. It had triggered my fight, freeze, or flee instinct, and I¡¯d only managed to control them since I¡¯d been aware of what was happening. This one is more subtle, though ¨C enhancing the alcaoris¡¯ natural attributes and making him seem like a more difficult opponent than a blunt mental attack. Stripped of it, his teeth seem blunter, his scales less impenetrable. The wounds which he took from my Bound¡¯s weapons and teeth seem more serious than before. I start wondering whether we actually could defeat him. He¡¯s grounded ¨C his wings seem damaged from the fall ¨C and his scales look paler than they were before, though whether that¡¯s to do with blood loss, fatigue, or simply his aura being absent, I¡¯m not sure. Still, there¡¯s no guarantee of that and creating an agreement of some sort is probably better in the long run. Especially since I really don¡¯t want to lose more Bound than I already have and, even weakened, the alcaoris would no doubt take as many with him as he could. Then why did you try to fight without your full strength? he asks. It¡¯s a good question, though one I¡¯d rather not answer. I sigh. ¡°Because I underestimated your strength,¡± I admit. He fixes me with a hard look. It¡¯s rather impressive when it comes from an eyeball about five times the size of mine in a head more than three times the size of Shrieks¡¯. How can you ask me to trust that you will find a way to give my eggs what they need without causing the consequences you fear when you have proven to have such poor judgement as to face me in your current state? I wince at his summary of the situation. The problem is, he¡¯s right. If I had realised just how powerful he is, I¡¯d have retreated at the outset: it would have been easier to lay a trap for when he came out, or even to deal with him inside the caves than it¡¯s proven to be when fighting him in the open. But I didn¡¯t realise, and made decisions based on what I thought was right at the time. All I can do is try to be better next time. As for now¡­. ¡°I have always found a way to do what I need to do,¡± I tell him honestly. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s taken more time than I wanted, but I¡¯ve always succeeded in the end.¡± Since coming to this world, anyway ¨C I can¡¯t say that the same was true back on Earth. The alcaoris looks at me steadily for long moments, then finally I feel him moving on the other side of the Tame offer. I can¡¯t tell exactly what he¡¯s doing; all I can tell is that he hasn¡¯t just rejected it which is a good sign. The ¡®offer¡¯ returns to me, like a trade window has been adjusted on his side, but not fully accepted. Now, his requests and requirements are clearer. He has required me to come up with an alternative solution to the issue in the next three days. In the meantime, neither I nor any under my command may act against him or his eggs in any way. If I do not find a solution for him, I swear not to interfere with his eggs until they are hatched. I think about it for a long moment, then adjust it a little. I agree to not allowing any under my command to interfere with him in the three day truce, but require that he reciprocates. I also add that if I don¡¯t find a solution to ensuring his eggs get what they need while also solving my quest, that he will then help me find a way to deal with whatever the effects are of the blockage continuing. He hesitates for a moment, before accepting on his end. I do the same and the Bond snaps into place. Much like Sirocco''s, this Bond is very much based on the mutual desire of both parties to keep in place. I sense that it¡¯s equally as restricted in terms of what I can do to affect either the Bond or the alcaoris through it; perhaps even more so. But the fact that I''ve managed to make a Bond with a creature I¡¯ve been worried was going to kill us all is a victory in itself. However, as I consider the number of Bound who have died in the last¡­twenty minutes? It seems a rather pyrrhic one. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I am going to check on my eggs, the alcaoris announces. Remove the barrier in the tunnel. ¡°Can¡¯t you take it down quickly enough?¡± I ask tiredly. ¡°The one who created it is exhausted; she won¡¯t fight against you any more, but she probably can¡¯t get rid of it quickly either.¡± The alcaoris sniffs huffily. Considering it was your subordinates who put it in place, I would have thought it should be your responsibility to remove it. It takes far too much mana to eat through plant matter for me to succeed at the moment and I¡¯d rather not wear my claws and teeth further. I sigh. ¡°Fine,¡± I reply, stalking off to the tunnel mouth. I can¡¯t unweave the blockage, but I can burn it. My aches are slowly improving, my natural regeneration healing the superficial damage from the explosion. I move faster towards the tunnel than I¡¯d been able to cross the clearing, and quickly approach the woven barrier. It doesn¡¯t take much fire to catch light to the roots, and only a bit of time to burn the remains of the woven obstacle to ash. The effect of the draconic creature¡¯s teeth and claws are certainly in evidence but, true to his words, there¡¯s not much acid damage, and more to the floor than the roots, in fact. I suppose there¡¯s the proof of my theory that he used acid to create the tunnel rather than Shaping it. Once the barrier is reduced to ash, the alcaoris brushes past me swiftly, disappearing quickly into the darkness. I head back out, eager to check on my Bound now that the danger of attack has passed. Outside, Sirocco checks with me first whether I need to have eyes in the air still. When I confirm that I probably don¡¯t, she soars to land on my shoulder as I move quickly towards where the woven dome was. It¡¯s open on one side now, and my Bound have spilled out from it. They¡¯re in a sorry condition, though I¡¯m relieved to have confirmation with my own eyes that all who were alive before the final attack are still alive now. Unfortunately, we¡¯ve lost six from our group, and we only started with twenty to begin with. Twenty-one if we include Aingeal. Murmur, Demon, and Wolverine were killed earlier. Peace, Woozle, and Marty fell to the scythe attack while the dragon was still tied up in the net. Bastet¡¯s group has been cut in half, as has the small group of Warriors I Dominated not far from Kalanthia¡¯s cave. The knowledge of the losses mean that there is none of the jubilation which might have been expected from surviving a battle with a Tier three ¨C and one who was apparently unusually powerful to boot. But I don¡¯t blame them. A Bond is probably the best outcome, but it¡¯s certainly not as satisfying as succeeding in killing it, and the losses are heavy. At least, that¡¯s how I feel. Shrieks seems to have a different opinion. As I approach, he looks up, relief coming over the Bond. You are unharmed. ¡°I am,¡± I confirm. Out of everyone, I¡¯m probably the least injured. Well, out of the fighters ¨C Joy is exhausted but unharmed. River and Tarra aren¡¯t even that. ¡°But many of us are not.¡± No, he agrees, and a sense of sadness comes across him as he looks back towards the battlefield. The bodies of our companions who were killed are no longer on the field ¨C the explosion must have blown them away with the trees. We¡¯ll have to find them to give them whatever honours are appropriate. But to have come out of a battle with such a powerful beast with only two Warriors dead is far better than can be expected. ¡°We lost six, not just two,¡± I remind him. Somehow, it rubs me up the wrong way to have the other four beings'' efforts discounted. They were Unevolved, Shrieks pointed out. It is more surprising that the casualties among the Unevolved were not greater. Unevolved have no place trying to fight anything above Evolved, and even then they often struggle. That doesn¡¯t actually make me feel any better: it just tells me that I should have barred all the Unevolved from joining the battle at all, but if I had done that, I suspect the casualties among the Warriors would have been higher. And I can¡¯t bear to think that Bastet might have been killed along with them. Just remember to do better next time, I remind myself. Now I¡¯ve actually fought properly against a Tier three beast, I feel exceedingly lucky that Kalanthia has never really intended to kill me. ¡°It just shows how much your mother was holding back even when she was furious at me for the Bond between us,¡± I remark to Lathani, heading to check on the Bound who look to be in the worst condition. Mother is weakened at the moment, anyway, Lathani remarks cheerfully. I freeze, looking at her. ¡°What?¡± She¡¯s told me. Having children is very difficult for our kind, Lathani explains willingly, though more seriously than before. She had to dedicate part of herself to me to help me survive. Until I Evolve, she¡¯s not able to use even half of her abilities, and is magically and spiritually weakened. Or if I die, I suppose. I stare at her wide-eyed, and notice several of my Bound ¨C the samurans in particular ¨C doing the same. Well. I suppose it makes sense. Her mental presence felt stronger than this alcaoris¡¯, but I¡¯ve only seen her use her Earth-Shaping skills where this creature had significantly more than just a single skill. I¡¯d been kind of putting it down to Earth-Shaping being a wider skill than what the alcaoris demonstrated it was capable of, but what if it¡¯s because she can¡¯t use other skills while Lathani is still in Tier one? And what would have happened if the shaman¡¯s plan had gone through as intended? Lathani said that her mother would get her full capabilities back if she died, but what if the shaman¡¯s interference meant that that wasn¡¯t the case? I shiver at the implications. Suddenly, her caginess when talking about her Energy channels makes an awful amount of sense. Another thought occurs and I fix the samurans in my company with a gimlet eye. Even River doesn¡¯t escape my stare ¨C I trust her more than almost anyone else present, but she now has commitments to the village as a Pathwalker. ¡°This is an order,¡± I say firmly, not letting there be any doubt, either in their minds or in the Bond. ¡°Do not discuss what you have just learned about Kalanthia with anyone. Do not even hint about it, or act in a way that might take advantage of the information. Understand?¡± Understood, Honoured Tamer, answer Shrieks and Iandee swiftly. River chimes in next with an ¡®understood, master¡¯ ¨C I¡¯m not sure if that was intentional or not. Joy and Tarra acknowledge my words next with a certain degree of hesitation in Joy¡¯s case, and reluctance in Tarra¡¯s. I understand it ¨C this is valuable information which could help them if Kalanthia attacks them again. But hopefully that won¡¯t come up. Ultimately, she¡¯s my friend. With that baffling information received and settled, I turn to healing my suffering Bound as quickly and efficiently as I can. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Five: Because You’re Hurting What¡¯s interesting, I immediately note, is that the acidic mana in my Bound¡¯s wounds is¡­inert. Kind of. At least, it¡¯s not actively fighting me in the way it was. It still isn¡¯t keen on moving, and I have to expend a lot more mana to mend the flesh it¡¯s damaged than I would have if it wasn¡¯t present, but it¡¯s actually possible to heal my Bound which before it wasn¡¯t. Maybe it¡¯s because the alcaoris is no longer hostile to us, or perhaps it¡¯s because he¡¯s now connected to the network of Bonds, if only tentatively. Either way, I¡¯m thoroughly glad that I can actually fulfil my principle role ¨C what good is a healer who can¡¯t heal, after all? I suspect that there will still be underlying issues with their Energy channels, especially those like Lee, Shrieks, Louie, and Thorn who had significant damage. I actually had to grow back half of Lee¡¯s arm ¨C that he managed to survive the injury is more than a little impressive. All but Shrieks out of those four were knocked out by sleeping draughts from Tarra. I understood her reasoning: having them lying around conscious but in pain and helpless wouldn¡¯t have helped with anything. It¡¯s just as well that Joy was able to weave a protection to shelter them all in situ ¨C I¡¯ll have to do something nice for her in thanks. It takes a lot longer than I would like, and I end up spending a lot of time in Meditation to regenerate my mana between healing sessions. I want to test whether Tarra¡¯s mana potions would work as intended on me too, but don¡¯t think that this is the best place to do it. Finally, though, I heal the last injuries on Bastet who got away from the experience practically unscathed thanks to her agility. When I finally sit back, sighing, Louie comes over to me. The big, scaly, orangutan-like creature looks and feels uncharacteristically nervous. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I ask him warily, hoping that it¡¯s not something that¡¯s going to mean that we can¡¯t sleep tonight ¨C I need the rest; we all do after this fight! Not being Tier two, Louie, unlike his namesake, hasn¡¯t quite learned how to communicate in sufficiently directed thoughts that it comes through as words for me, but he¡¯s getting pretty close. I frown as I feel his message. It¡¯s somewhat apologetic, and more than a little fearful, but his preference is clear. ¡°You want to break the Bond?¡± I check, dismay going through me. It¡¯s not so much the regret at losing this Bound in particular ¨C although I¡¯ve tried to get to know him a bit, he¡¯s certainly not one of my close companions ¨C but more the realisation that my poor leadership skills has meant one of the team actually wants to leave. Not that I blame them when I consider the mess I made of this last battle. Louie clarifies a little. Regrettably, it¡¯s not to indicate that he still wants to remain part of the group. Instead it¡¯s to say that he knows he doesn¡¯t need my permission to break the Bond, but that he wishes to know if we would kill him if he does separate from us. ¡°Of course not!¡± I tell him, chagrined that he might think that that would be our reaction. ¡°You¡¯ve fought with us; you haven¡¯t betrayed us. If you wish to leave, not one of us will harm you.¡± With the Bonds I have in place, only Sirocco, Thorn, and Honey would be able to if I don¡¯t want it to happen, and not even them without breaking the Bonds. Which only Sirocco could do at present since Thorn and Honey have time-limited Bonds. Actually, Honey¡¯s Bond is due to be up in three days, thinking about it. I¡¯ll have to talk to her, see if she wants to leave or stay. Though not right now, perhaps, if Louie is anything to judge by. ¡°So no,¡± I conclude, tuning back into the conversation with my Bound ¨C currently, at least. ¡°You can leave with peace between us as long as you don¡¯t attack any of us. But are you sure you want to go?¡± I check. ¡°I might have healed the surface damage, but I think that your Energy channels are probably in a bad state. Hopefully I¡¯ll be able to find a way of healing those too in time.¡± The orangutan-like henerm thinks about it for a moment, and then sends a remarkably polite sense of refusal. I sense that he just wants to go but he fears doing so without gaining my approval, assurances or not. ¡°Alright,¡± I say sadly. ¡°All the best. So long.¡± The henerm hesitates for a moment before breaking the Bond and then scurrying off. Propelling himself across the ground with his elongated forearms, he moves surprisingly quickly, disappearing into the intact trees within just a few short moments. I gaze after him for a long moment. It¡¯s a shame it happened like this. Sighing, I turn my attention to the rest of the group. They¡¯re watching me with varying expressions on their faces and emotions rippling across the Bonds between us. I can¡¯t help wondering how many of them feel the same as Louie ¨C and how many of them would leave if they could. ¡°Anyone hungry?¡± I ask, as brightly as I can to cover my own negative emotions. Without waiting for a response, I pull out carcasses that I tucked into my Inventory from last night¡¯s revels. Was it only last night that we were having a party to celebrate both River and I being accepted as Pathwalkers? And here I am with two dead Warriors at my hands, less than a day later. I find I can¡¯t sit still and push myself to my feet. I might as well find the corpses of my companions before darkness falls. I should probably eat, but right now I find that I¡¯m not hungry. It¡¯s surprising considering how ravenous I was before. Or perhaps not ¨C grief often robs me of my appetite. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. To my surprise, a figure comes to join me. Then another. And then a third and a fourth. I stop and turn around to give them each a level stare. ¡°Look, I appreciate the company, but you were all fighting hard back there. You need to eat.¡± So do you, points out River. You fought with us even when you probably shouldn¡¯t have, and then healed us all afterwards. You need to eat as much as any of us, agrees Bastet, nudging at my leg with her head. But if you won¡¯t eat and rest, then we will stay with you until you do. That¡¯s emotional blackmail, I¡¯m sure about it. I glare at Bastet half-heartedly. She means well, I know that. And...honestly, I have to admit that having them come to join me without a command, without me even expressing any sort of desire for them to do so, is nice. Maybe not all of them are with me because they can¡¯t get out of their Bonds. Certainly Bastet, Lathani, and River could all leave me without even a moment¡¯s notice if they wanted to. That they haven¡¯t is oddly reassuring. ¡°I need to go find the¡­the bodies of our companions. They don¡¯t deserve to be forgotten in the forest overnight,¡± I explain, the lump in my throat a little bit easier to swallow past. Not to mention that doing so would probably mean there won¡¯t be any bodies to do anything with tomorrow: the forest is full of creatures who would quite happily consume them overnight. I agree, rumbles Shrieks. Which is why I come with you to find my fallen brothers. They were under my care and command too, he reminds me not unkindly. I find myself unable to argue with that thoroughly logical point. ¡°So why are you here, then?¡± I ask, turning to the final figure. Lathani, of course. Because you¡¯re hurting, she says simply. You helped me when I was hurting; I want to help you, even if that only means walking with you wherever you go. To my surprise, it¡¯s that which makes my eyes start to water a little. I swipe my hand across them, grateful that my companions probably have no idea what the human reaction means ¨C I don¡¯t think any of them are capable of crying. ¡°Alright,¡± I manage to force out gruffly and start moving again. Bastet starts leading me to where her nose is telling her there might be a body. I pause next to Lathani and stroke a hand down her back. ¡°And thanks,¡± I say quietly, knowing that it¡¯s not just to her, and knowing that my companions realise that too. ***** By the time we¡¯ve found the six bodies and brought them back to where the rest of the group is, the sun is heading towards the horizon and we probably ought to give serious thought as to where we¡¯re going to spend the night. If we¡¯d defeated the alcaoris, we¡¯d have probably sheltered in the tunnel itself; as it is, I don¡¯t think any of us would be comfortable doing so. Probably asking Joy to create a mini shelter as she did to protect against the blast of acidic mana is the best option. I¡¯ve got enough food and water in my Inventory to keep us going for a couple of days meaning we don¡¯t necessarily need to go to the river. And this close to where the vine-stranglers used to be ¨C and where there is now only a grey ashfield ¨C I suspect that there aren¡¯t as many animals in the forest as there would usually be. They will come back, but it¡¯s only been a couple of days since it happened. Though we probably ought not to leave bodies around to attract them. My inclination is to repeat what I did with Spike and bury them, but that will take a lot of time and effort, and we¡¯re all tired. I raise the question with my companions. Both Murmurs-quietly and Sleeps-peacefully were fascinated by your life-devourer, Joy mentions thoughtfully. ¡°You think I should cremate them?¡± I check, sending across an image of what I¡¯m talking about. Both my mother and father were cremated, so the memory sends a jolt of old grief through me. Perhaps, Joy agrees, maybe not feeling the emotions or just ignoring them. I think about it for a moment, appreciating the distraction. ¡°That¡¯s probably the most practical idea,¡± I decide. ¡°But don¡¯t you have any¡­traditions, words to say, anything like that?¡± I find myself looking over at Iandee ¨C whenever I asked questions like that in the past, he would happily chime in with a thought. This time, though, he¡¯s silent, avoiding my gaze and looking at the ground. Guilt clenches at my heart. Is he blaming me for his brothers¡¯ deaths? I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that were the case. Shaman used to want us to bring back something of any we lost if we could do so safely. We usually brought a tooth or claw, or bone if we could. But we will hold a remembrance ceremony for them when we return ¨C their bodies are not necessary for that. Indeed, it¡¯s usually so much more dangerous to try to bring their bodies back that it¡¯s actively discouraged. I suppose that makes sense ¨C carrying a bleeding corpse through the forest has got to be attractive to all the predators present. Cremating it is, then. And since I¡¯m cremating the two samurans, I might as well do the same with Woozle, Wolverine, Marty, and Demon who all met the same fate. The usual wood of a pyre is, of course, not necessary. Instead, we lay them out carefully in a row and say our final goodbyes. At least, I do, and Shrieks says something quietly to each of the Warriors. He takes their belts and necklaces from them ¨C he already has the weapons we could find ¨C and then steps back, looking at me calmly. He¡¯s probably far more used to this than me. Then, with a flex of my Will, each of the six bodies goes up in flames one by one. I support the fire with my own mana until it¡¯s caught on their bodies, and then merely add a little bit more mana just to make sure they burn as cleanly as possible. The flames flicker, sending shadows dancing around the clearing. One of those shadows is not, in fact, mere blackness, I realise with surprise that makes my heart clench. In the entrance to the tunnel, I see the dark form of the alcaoris standing. I can¡¯t help glaring at him, but redirect my gaze before my animosity causes a reaction which we can¡¯t afford ¨C he could break the Bond and his word whenever he likes. He waits until the flames are dying away, the bodies now no more than just ash, still mostly in the form of their living shapes. Then he steps out and his eyes reflect the dying light as he gazes towards us. Come here, he commands imperiously. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Six: The Whole Picture I eye the alcaoris, irritation at his high-handedness running through me, not to mention resentment of him interrupting this event when he¡¯s the one who actually killed the beings now burning on the pyre. Though I suppose I am just as guilty for bringing them into this place and for deciding to press the attack. Perhaps more. Probably more. I sigh as my anger dies away like the flames which have consumed their bodies. Eyeing the remains of my Bound and seeing that they are fully burned, I decide that there¡¯s no point being obstinate. First checking that my Bound have everything they need, I start walking towards the draconic creature, though try to make it clear that I¡¯m going at my pace, not running to him like an eager puppy. Bastet and Shrieks both check with me separately whether I want company. Well, Shrieks checks, and Bastet just comes. I try to tell the raptorcat to go back, but my heart isn¡¯t in the command and she ignores it with all the aloof regard of a true feline. I have to admit that I feel selfishly grateful to have her along. All I hope is that the alcaoris isn¡¯t planning on betraying our agreement, putting her in danger alongside me. ¡®I sensed your presence near my eggs, you and many others,¡¯ the alcaoris says accusingly. I just cross my arms and stare back at him unflinchingly, even if inside I¡¯m preparing to defend myself against whatever attack is about to come ¨C somehow. ¡®But I also sense that you did no harm to them,¡¯ he continues begrudgingly. ¡®I will forgive you for this infraction as long as you fulfil your word.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s my intention,¡± I confirm. ¡®I suppose you will need to inspect the area in more detail,¡¯ suggests the alcaoris. ¡°That would probably be useful,¡± I agree cautiously. ¡®Then come,¡¯ he commands, turning and heading back into the tunnel. ¡°What, now?¡± I can¡¯t help asking slightly incredulously. ¡®Yes. I wish to sleep. Come now, or do not come at all.¡¯ Exchanging a glance with Bastet, I quickly send a message back to Shrieks and the others warning them of what we¡¯re about to do ¨C and what to do if I do not emerge in a reasonable amount of time. Shrieks, for obvious reasons, is not keen on me going alone, but I convince him to stay. He¡¯s tired and needs to recover, as do they all. So do Bastet and I, but apparently I don¡¯t have much of a choice and Bastet is determined to come with me. Ultimately, the argument which convinces Shrieks is that there are three other Pathwalkers who need him. Since losing three Pathwalkers is far more serious for the village than losing a single one, especially one like me who can¡¯t make eggs, he agrees. Bastet and I hurry down the tunnel after the alcaoris. He moves surprisingly quickly for an airborne creature now under the earth. The journey down into the depths takes only a little more time than our last journey going up did ¨C and we were racing to help our companions against this very creature. Not for the first time, I wonder whether I¡¯m making a big mistake here. But for now the Bond is still intact, and I don¡¯t sense any intention on his end of things to sever it. Whether I would be able to sense it is another question and one that I try not to think about. Squirrely behaviour is probably more likely to cause the draconic creature to see me as prey to hunt than an ally to take heed of, I figure. In its weaker form, Aingeal works perfectly as a torch without me needing to ask it to tone down its brightness ¨C fortunately for all of us. Plus, hopefully this will mean that we won¡¯t repeat the whole blinding episode earlier. The alcaoris is definitely too big to fit into the tunnel below and curls up in a baleful heap around the hole down to the Pure Energy stream below. Or, at least, what should be the Pure Energy stream. ¡°So tell me, what brought you here?¡± The alcaoris eyes me as if wondering how much to tell me. ¡°The more I know, the more likely it is that I¡¯ll be able to find a solution to both of our problems,¡± I remind him. The draconic creature holds his silence for a few moments longer as we engage in something of a staring contest. Then he breathes out, his breath tinged with green acidic mana. Fortunately, it just drifts past us, not eating into our skin at all. I don¡¯t know whether that¡¯s the Bond at work or just his lack of intention to hurt us. Either way, it makes me even more relieved that we managed to find a way to deal with him which didn¡¯t involve being trapped in an underground space full of his mana. I told you before: I wished to find a space to incubate my eggs. ¡°Yes, but why here? In this specific space? And was this area already created or did you create it?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I made it, the alcaoris answered shortly before going silent for a few moments more. Finally, he sighed again. The dam of my eggs was powerful. I was lucky to have caught her in her mating rise before more powerful males could come along, he admits. I feel briefly gratified to be right about the feeling of his presence. I was even luckier that she agreed to nurture my eggs until they were ready to lay despite my weakness. After that, she left them to my care ¨C how could I do anything less for them than my best? ¡°And your best is to stick them in a Pure Energy stream?¡± I ask, trying not to let any sense of accusation seep into my words. Yes, the alcaoris answered uncaringly. I am too weak to battle for one of the best egg incubation spots. But, because of their dam, my eggs need a high level of Energy if they are to hatch, and to overcome my own weakness. I dared not go too close to the other males: without the power to establish a territory, my eggs would have been consumed the moment I left them to hunt for myself. I was forced to search the upper slopes of the valley for a better place, but the Energy is so weak up here. It seemed like I would be forced to incubate them at the edge of the hatching zone, and take them with me whenever I hunted. Then I sensed something ¨C a feeling of Energy which was too strong for this area, emerging from below. Landing, I found a crack in the rocks which was leaking more Energy than it should. I followed it, digging, digging, digging with my acid, the sense of Energy intensifying all the time. And then I uncovered it: a small pool of Pure Energy, stuck between layers of rock and surrounded with Energy Hearts. I lean against the wall. The alcaoris is surprisingly chatty now he¡¯s got going. The annoyance which has hung around him like a cloud since the end of the battle has lifted. Maybe he¡¯s been lonely or something? Anyway, it doesn¡¯t bother me ¨C the more he talks, the more information I will hopefully accumulate. I couldn¡¯t believe my luck. Even the greatest males of my kin would only be able to place their eggs in a pool of highly diluted Energy. I feared that the Pure Energy would be too strong, but tentative tests proved that my eggs eagerly absorbed the Energy they had access to. So eagerly, that the Energy started disappearing. I had to dig deeper and deeper, finally hitting rock that my acid could not eat through no matter how powerful I made it, how much mana I poured into each drop. I had to use physical force, and the use of a rock that I brought from deeper into the valley to make any impact. All the while, I had to be careful not to touch it for fear of sending myself into a trance I would not emerge from before my eggs died. Once I broke through the immensely strong rock, I found a whole chamber of Pure Energy. Dipping my eggs into it, I left to hunt: by this point, I was starving. Fearful that some of my rivals might catch a scent of the Energy, I brought back a sapling of the trap trees to be a barrier between where I was and others of my kind. I did not want them directly nearby for fear they might sap away the Energy that I wanted for my eggs, but planted them instead a little further into the valley, so they would catch any Energy that drifted that way. My eggs drank eagerly of the Pure Energy, but soon the level went down. When it reduced sufficiently, I found that the Pure Energy stream had been blocked by an Energy Heart until it had somehow found a path past the blockage. It certainly made a tasty treat. It was for this reason, I presume, that the Energy had been forced to escape and attract my attention in the first place. However, with the stream returned back to the way it should have been, my eggs could no longer be submerged the way they needed to be. I therefore blocked the section upstream with a strong and flexible substance, encasing my eggs carefully in it. The stream built up behind them until my eggs were once more submerged. All seemed to go well until something happened. I still do not know exactly what. One moment I was dozing and my eggs were fine. The next, I heard a tremendous roar and one of my eggs abruptly felt¡­wrong. It didn¡¯t feel like it was dead, but that something deep inside it had changed, and not for the better. I quickly pulled them all back, opening up the tunnel to a wave of Pure Energy. Returning to the surface, I was shocked to feel the quantity of Energy in the air. Fearing that one of my rivals might feel it, or something even more powerful, I fled with my eggs, watching from a distance. After some time passed, I was able to observe that no others of my species seemed to have detected anything. Nor had any other potential enemies. The trap trees had done their job: they had contained even such a massive wave of Energy by directing it into their own growth. And, more importantly, my eggs were hungry. I didn¡¯t have enough mana to keep up with their appetite. Returning to my tunnel, I saw that the chamber beyond the place I had put my eggs before had expanded, becoming rather similar in size to the first chamber. It mattered little, except that my eggs would take longer to be covered by the Pure Energy once more. Replacing my eggs, I resumed my wait. And so I have remained, going out to hunt and patrol for rivals from time to time. Until you arrived and tried to keep me from them. His eyes flashed and a low growl rumbled through the air. ¡°It''s fortunate we managed to make an accord, then, isn¡¯t it?¡± I hurriedly say thinking quickly. ¡°Now we can find a different way of doing things without risking the Pure Energy spilling out and alerting others of your kind.¡± Which is only necessary because you burned away the defence I had put in place, the alcaoris replied, not sounding any happier. I feel like arguing that causing an ecological disaster is not a good way of approaching a situation, but people in glass houses shouldn¡¯t throw stones and all that. Though I do make a mental note to make sure that the samurans don¡¯t end up doing exactly that under my guidance. ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± I respond, trying to smooth things over a bit. ¡°Let me think now.¡± Eyeing the hole in the floor, I consider the alcaoris¡¯ story carefully. It explains so much, and yet I still don¡¯t have the whole picture. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Seven: Earth-Aligned Obviously, the alcaoris was only able to tell me what happened from his side of things, but by putting the pieces together, I can make a better picture. I feel like I need to investigate the area again, now I know more. ¡°I¡¯d like to examine the area below,¡± I tell the alcaoris neutrally, trying not to sound like I¡¯m asking for permission, but equally not wanting to accidentally set off his protective instincts. I¡¯ll be watching every move you make, the creature responds warningly. Sure enough, as I drop down into the dry stream bed, Bastet next to me, the draconic beast follows me with his head. Given that the rest of him is definitely too big to make it through the hole, I have to guess that this is how he¡¯s been looking after his eggs. Pushing that out of my mind, I focus on looking around. Not starting with the eggs, I first go to the end of the chamber, where the tunnel abruptly narrows down to something that I doubt I could crawl through, only coming up to mid-calf level. Inspecting that area for a bit, I then look around at the tunnel as a whole, focussing for a while on the hole through which I came, before moving over to look at the eggs. They are much the same as I saw before ¨C vague lumps held within dark material which is itself connected to the stone ring which is part of the tunnel. ¡°Your eggs need to be fully or mostly submerged in the Pure Energy, right?¡± I check with the alcaoris, not bothering to turn around. Mostly submerged. They do not like being fully submerged, he answers. ¡°Then why not make a basin or something which they could sit in? Why block the area completely?¡± Even had I taken the time to carve something out of wood or stone, I would have had to replenish it far too frequently: my eggs were hungry. ¡°No, I mean in the stream bed.¡± I gesture to illustrate my idea. ¡°If you dug a hole then the eggs could absorb what they wanted of the stream, and the overflow would just continue as normal.¡± Were you not listening? the creature asks scornfully. I struggled to even make this hole big enough for my head and neck to fit in because I was limited to physical means alone. How could I have made a basin in the rock below the Pure Energy? Especially when I dare not touch it directly. I feel like pointing out that when his eggs were blocking off the stream would have been a good time to try such things, but that would still have left the issue of exactly how to affect something which didn¡¯t respond to his acidic mana. I suspect that pounding the tunnel floor with a rock would have been less productive than his efforts on its ceiling. That information is certainly intriguing, and I find myself wanting to view things with a different set of eyes. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never been able to manage to have both normal sight and ¡®mana¡¯ sight running simultaneously, not without making myself far too distracted and earning a severe headache. For this particular situation, I feel like I should probably go even deeper into it than normal, so sit down in the middle of the dry stream bed. Bastet stands next to me, wordlessly reassuring me that she¡¯ll keep watch and warn me if there is any danger. Or perhaps I should say more danger. It¡¯s not necessary ¨C I should be able to see that sort of thing for myself ¨C but I appreciate the thought and lean back against her for a moment. Closing my eyes, I focus on the environment around me. Instead of diving deeply into myself and finding my Core space, I spread myself wide. The moment I start seeing the connections around me, I find that I¡¯m almost blinded with their strength. I have to backpedal mentally a little to dim them down enough that I can actually see. My mental gaze wanders around the area in which I¡¯m sitting, lingering on areas of particular strength. A mixture of curiosity and awe fills me. I didn¡¯t do this before. And even if I had, I doubt I¡¯d have seen as much as I do now. The eggs are bright, the forms inside them vaguely brighter than the shells around them. The material holding them in place is also shining brightly, its connections rippling and moving, looking almost like the lines in the iris of an eye as they hold onto both the eggs and the stone wall. Beyond the material is something that feels like the magical equivalent of staring into the sun; I dare not look at it for more than a moment for fear that there may be damaging consequences. Instead, I move onto looking at the stone surrounding me. There, my eyes catch. I¡¯ve never seen magic in stone before. I¡¯ve tried, oh, I¡¯ve certainly tried. And that¡¯s when I ended up noticing the magic in fire, the connections in the flames. The stone and the earth seemed bare in comparison. But this¡­the magic in the stone around me is impossibly strong. In fact, I¡¯d dare to say that there¡¯s more mana in each square metre of the tunnel than there was in the heart of the inferno while it was still raging. Which is¡­honestly quite humbling. Interestingly, though, it¡¯s not completely consistent. The area of stone in the chamber around me is significantly brighter than what I can see in the smaller tunnel. Or rather, it¡¯s not that it¡¯s brighter, but that it looks more concentrated. Like the colours within have been packed tighter. Interesting. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Surfacing out of my meditative state, I move towards the entrance to the tunnel and hoist myself out. The alcaoris shifts backwards wordlessly to give me space and Bastet jumps out with me, making sure she stays next to me. Instead of going anywhere, though, I just close my eyes again and look around me with my mental gaze. Hmm, that¡¯s also very interesting, I remark to myself as I observe the area around me outside the Pure Energy tunnel. Opening my eyes, I look at the alcaoris. ¡°Can you direct some of your most powerful acid to touch the stone of the tunnel?¡± I ask him. He huffs a little. I can. But I do not see why I should. I eye him with irritation but try to keep it out of my voice and the Bond as I respond. ¡°I¡¯m trying to work out a solution. As I said, the more information I have to work with, the better. I¡¯d like to see why your mana couldn¡¯t make an impact on the tunnel.¡± Fine, the alcaoris responds, with the air of it being a great imposition. I just cross my arms and wait impatiently for him to do it. The moment I see him drip a little acid which practically glows green onto the stone, I close my eyes again and spread my consciousness out among the connections again. With my mental gaze open wide, I see exactly what happens. The acid actually does work on the stone. However, from what I can see, most of its power comes from the mana within it. That¡¯s not too surprising, I suppose: I experienced it myself when healing my own body and the bodies of my Bound from the alcaoris¡¯ attacks. The mana attack made it difficult for my own mana to work, especially considering it came from a being significantly more powerful than me. Its effects on my Energy channels were potentially even more disabling than the physical effects. Here, though, that actually works against it. As it turns out, a Tier three beast¡¯s acidic mana is definitely not powerful enough to overcome either the quantity or the quality of the mana suffusing all the stone around me. In fact, it¡¯s quickly attacked by the dark brown mana and¡­devoured? The poisonous green swiftly vanishes, the only effects left behind are physical ones. And those are barely noticeable. I feel like I have quite a good picture of what happened now. And it starts with the fact that the tunnel around the Pure Energy is unnaturally saturated with mana or whatever I should call the energy which isn¡¯t pure anymore. Perhaps this would be expected ¨C that areas in constant contact with the Pure Energy stream are full of Energy is not a shock. Nor, really, is the fact that it¡¯s not pure anymore, but I would guess has transformed into earth mana ¨C if an explosion could cause the creation of fire-aligned Energy Hearts, it makes sense that Energy seeping into the earth would become earth-aligned. What is surprising is how limited the Energy is. I would expect only the earth closest to the Pure Energy to be full of energy, and then for it to become less dense the further away from the Energy stream it got. However, that isn¡¯t the case. Or at least, it seems to be more complicated than that. It¡¯s like the earth tunnel is something of an¡­artery. Comparing the narrow tunnel with the wide tunnel was rather informative: the diameter of the area saturated with earth mana is actually identical. The difference is that, in the wide tunnel, all that mana has been condensed into a thin ring around the outside of the tunnel, perhaps only a handspan¡¯s width, where the earth around the narrower tunnel is perhaps a metre or more thick on three sides. And then when I look at the area where the alcaoris is sitting, there is barely any earth mana that I can see. I suspect it¡¯s there, but that it just isn¡¯t in such massive quantities that even a novice in earth magic like me is able to see it. There¡¯s a line drawn by the condensed energy which forms a circular tunnel around the space with the Pure Energy, like it¡¯s made of a completely different material. I briefly consider whether this is the case, but dismiss it after a moment. It¡¯s more about the way the earth mana acts which makes the difference; it¡¯s not visible with my normal eyes at all. Pieces fall into place about the series of events. The alcaoris said that there was a mana crystal blocking the way through the tunnel. Why it had formed there, I don¡¯t know. But it must have meant that the Pure Energy started building up pressure in the tunnel. For some reason, instead of immediately cracking the tunnel, the Pure Energy instead somehow expanded the tube. Upwards, that is: the mana that forms the base of the tunnel is already really concentrated. Then, again for a reason I can¡¯t fathom, instead of expanding further, the mana condensed the stone into something hard enough that the mana couldn¡¯t push it any further. But it¡¯s still clearly at least partially vulnerable to physical effects ¨C the stone was cracked by the pressure of the Pure Energy building up and then the alacaoris used physical force to crack his way into the tunnel. The rest I know from his explanation. It seems like the issues in this area have been going on longer than the alcaoris¡¯ interference and I wonder whether I would have been offered a quest even if there had been no eggs. That¡¯s irrelevant, I dismiss a moment later. So, now with a better idea of what happened, I need to work out what to do. After giving it some thought, I still haven¡¯t come up with a better idea than making a basin in the bed of the Pure Energy stream. It just seems to be the most effective solution for keeping the eggs submerged while still allowing any overflow to go past. Of course, another option could be releasing the pressure now and then blocking the opening up again afterwards. If we keep repeating that until the eggs are hatched, the short-term problem, at least, is solved. It might be the simplest, requiring no more resources than we already have access to. But I''ll have to see whether the alcaoris would be open to that idea first. Still, a basin will work well enough: if the flow isn¡¯t sufficient, they¡¯ll still benefit as much as they can from what there is. If the flow is more than sufficient, at least we won¡¯t be causing this pressure to build up again. But the problem is how to form the basin. Book Four: Expansion - Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Situation I suppose that with sufficient time, the acid could make a large basin for the eggs. But considering our time limitations, I doubt we¡¯d succeed within the Quest deadline, not to mention the alcaoris¡¯ far shorter one. It¡¯s possible that Tarra or River might have an idea of a potion which would dissolve stone, and I resolve to ask them. In the meantime, I go back to the alcaoris to see if we can go with the simplest option. ¡°Although I¡¯ve got a few ideas, I figure the easiest way to solve the issue is to release the pressure at regular intervals. What do you think about removing the material blocking the passage, and then replacing it once the stream has gone back to normal?¡± I ask. Before I finish, I can already feel negation coming from the alcaoris¡¯ side of the Bond. The material holding the eggs in place is not easy for me to make. I will only remove it in an emergency, as I did before. Even were I willing to do that, your suggestion means that my eggs will not be able to absorb as much Energy as it will take time for the stream to accumulate behind them again. I sigh. So much for taking the easy way out. ¡°Alright, fine,¡± I reply, trying to keep my irritation at bay. Plan B then. I pull a large chunk of flint out of my Inventory and make my way back to the hole in the floor. The alcaoris hisses and his head bars my way. Where are you going with that? he demands. ¡°I want to see if I can make a basin. You said you used physical strength to get through into the tunnel itself; I thought I¡¯d try this.¡± The alcaoris snorts disdainfully, but pulls his head back, looking slightly relieved. I belatedly wonder whether he thought I was going to try to smash his eggs or something. I doubt you¡¯ll have any impact, he predicts. You do not have the strength; nor does that rock. I shrug: he¡¯s probably right. Still, I need to try. Sure enough, even with my whole strength behind it, the floor of the tunnel proves itself to be far harder than my chunk of flint can affect. In fact, after two blows, my flint falls apart into two pieces: the strength of the rock I¡¯m pounding is enough to crack the flint nodule. If I had metal tools, it might be a different story, but I¡¯d probably need steel. While I¡¯m hoping to be able to make that soon, I suspect that it will take more than three days just to make a decent pickaxe, which means I don¡¯t have the time. Sighing, I have to hope that Tarra or River might have a good alchemical solution for me. Otherwise, the only option I can see is to try to work with the mana currently in the tunnel: if I can pull the mana away from an area, the alcaoris¡¯ acid might then be able to work the way it should. However, since I suspect that that basically means learning Earth-shaping in less than three days, I fear that¡¯s not a good answer either. ¡°Alright, I think I¡¯ve seen enough,¡± I tell the draconic creature as I hoist myself out of the hole once more. Good. I¡¯m going to sleep. Do not disturb me, the alcaoris answers grumpily. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have to disturb you later,¡± I point out. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to run tests on the various solutions I think might work.¡± The alcaoris growls unhappily. Make sure you announce yourself, then. Otherwise I might think you¡¯re an unwanted intruder and kill you, he answers. Well, an intruder, at least. Meaning that I¡¯m unwanted? Charming. I keep my temper ¨C just ¨C by reminding myself that we¡¯re all tired, and that I definitely don¡¯t want to get into a fight with the creature down here. Again. Instead, I just turn around and start making my way back to the surface, Bastet my faithful shadow. ***** By the time we make our way up to the surface, it¡¯s the middle of the night. We head towards where the rest have made camp, a combination of magically woven and physically hauled branches and logs forming a sort of shelter. Honey and Komodo are on watch, and acknowledge our approach with almost uniform disinterest. I get the impression that they¡¯d much prefer to see something they could fight and eat than us. Bastet and I have been sharing ideas as we walked, and she made some good points about what to do with the rest of the Bound while I work on creating the basin. She also made a suggestion about, if changing the floor of the tunnel is so difficult, what about damming it instead so the Energy is forced to increase in depth. It¡¯s a good suggestion, and I think I¡¯ll have to experiment with it. But for now, it¡¯s time to sleep after having a quick snack. Climbing into the shelter, I curl up in the small space between River, Fenrir, and where Bastet lies down herself. River and Fenrir both crack open an eye and then snuggle a little closer, apparently wanting a bit of contact. I can¡¯t say I mind it, considering how close I came to losing at least one of them today. I pull a few chunks of food from my Inventory and then let my heavy eyes close. When I wake, I find that the sun has only just risen, but I¡¯m feeling fully rested. I¡¯m also rather trapped: Fenrir has somehow moved so that his head is resting on my shoulder, and River has shifted to cover one of my legs with her long foot. I don¡¯t mind the foot, but Fenrir¡¯s breath stinks a bit, so I try to distract myself by checking on the notifications I felt come through yesterday after the fight. The first is not entirely surprising, considering how the fight ended.
Congratulations! The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. You have advanced a Class Skill past Initiate. Tame is now Journeyman 1. Due to your uses of this Skill, two new effects have been discovered. Effect 1: You have used this Skill to create an alliance with a powerful party. As a result, you have gained access to an offshoot of this Bond type: Alliance. Effect 2: You have engaged in extensive communication while negotiating a Tame Bond. Henceforth, an automatic means of opening a dialogue will be made available to you, regardless of any previous connection with the being or their ability or inability to communicate otherwise.
Next message? Y/N
Curious about what the new Bond type is, I concentrate on the word, asking for more information. I¡¯m pleased when, a moment later, the screen in front of me dissolves and is replaced by just that.
Alliance Whether an uneasy and temporary coalition for the pursuit of mutual objectives, or an enduring bond which can last generations, an alliance offers many advantages. This Bond type formalises the agreement which both parties come to, notifying the other party of any breaches of the agreement, and offering aspects of a Tame Bond. Note: both parties must enter into this Bond willingly, and it can be broken by either party unless the terms of the alliance state otherwise. Neither party has unilateral control over the Bond, nor can commands be enforced through it (unless otherwise stated by the initial agreement).
Next message? Y/N
Hmm, perhaps not immediately useful, but the way things are going, I¡¯m coming into contact with more and more sapient beings, so I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll use it eventually. It certainly seems a better possible option than trying to use either Tame or Dominate on everyone, and better than just hoping that they¡¯d stick to whatever they said too. Maybe I should even try it on the vine-stranglers? If it notifies of breaches of contract, that would be more useful than what I currently have with the forest¡­. Interestingly, the second new effect of Tame seems to be linked to what happened with the alcaoris too, though I''m glad of it ¨C enabling more communication when trying to offer a Tame Bond has to be a good idea. That has definitely been something I''ve found to be a disadvantage with Tame when compared to Dominate. Going onto the next message, I realise that it''s an update to the Quest. Unsurprising, really.
Congratulations! You have completed one of the required objectives for this quest: you have discovered the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels, and have found evidence to prove it. In the course of your adventures, you explored the centre of the Vine-Strangler Copse and defeated its guardian. Upon investigating the guardian beast¡¯s lair, you discovered a route down to one of the Ley Lines of the planet, running unusually close to the surface. You have discovered that this is due to two main reasons: an initial blockage by a mana crystal; a subsequent blockage by an alcaoris eager to incubate his eggs in the best environment possible. You have recognised that the continued blockage of the vital Ley Line could cause untold amounts of harm, both for the denizens of the forest around you, and others further down the Line. Finding a way to rectify the situation has become increasingly urgent, and the time frame has become commensurately shorter. Find a solution to the issues presented to you or discover the effects Pure Energy will have on the valley first-hand.
Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II Quest type: Regional
Objective: Find evidence to prove (or in the event of the theory being disproven, discover) the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels. (complete) Objective: Rectify the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy before it¡¯s too late. (3 days) Objective: Return the area to its previous state. (3 months)
Time to complete quest: 17 days ¡ú 3 days / 3 months
Suggested difficulty: Journeyman Reward: Rare Silver chest (rarity increased due to passing over of previous rewards).
No pressure, I think to myself, staring at the abruptly shorter time allowed. At least, for rectifying the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy, that is. From what I can see, that objective has now been split in two and I have more leeway with one, in exchange for having a lot less leeway with the other. Three days¡­. Well, I suppose it¡¯s no different from before, really. I¡¯d had the deadline given to me by the alcaoris of three days. Actually¡­. Could it be that the three day deadline was because of the agreement I made with the draconic creature? Perhaps. From what the alcaoris had said, something happened last time with one of the eggs. I¡¯d thought at the time that the pressure had just got too much and an explosion had happened which was nothing to do with the eggs per se. But what if it was because of the eggs? What if that baby alcaoris had somehow affected the Pure Energy even from within its shell? What if it had caused the explosion? And what if something else similar is due to happen with one of the other eggs if we don¡¯t release the pressure within the next three days? Or perhaps it¡¯s that it will happen before the hatching, but if I don¡¯t find a solution that the alcaoris is satisfied with within that time, then I won¡¯t get another chance, and then the bad thing will occur? Or maybe I¡¯m letting my imagination run too wild, and it¡¯s simply that the growing pressure behind the eggs will cause a wave of Pure Energy to spill across the earth as I¡¯d feared before, causing untold damage. Though it¡¯s interesting that the Quest information made a point of mentioning ¡®others further down the Line¡¯. I hadn¡¯t really thought about what it might mean if the Energy is stopped here for an elongated period of time. Just another reason to get the stream running again as soon as possible, I suppose. I have a quick look at my status screen, seeing little else changed except for my Energy store leaping up to fifty-nine percent. As close to the Pure Energy as I was down in the tunnels, and going into Meditation at the same time, I guess that it¡¯s unsurprising, even if the Energy density isn¡¯t nearly what it would have been with the stream running normally. Dismissing the screen from in front of my eyes, I find myself staring at the woven ceiling above my head. It just reminds me of what I have to lose. I don¡¯t know what will happen if I fail this Quest. Maybe we won¡¯t be affected much at all; maybe the Energy will go through us like a wave and then disappear. Or maybe it will damage us. Or maybe it will be followed by the powerful rivals the alcaoris is so fearful about, beings who will be capable of destroying us without really trying. But I have ideas of what to try and if, in the end, I¡¯m forced to learn how to shape earth just to succeed in the Quest, well, I¡¯m OK with that. With determination in my heart, I shift to get out from under Fenrir and River. They wake with my movement, but that¡¯s fine: time is ticking and we mustn¡¯t waste it. With them, rouses the rest of my Bound, aches and pains obvious in the way they¡¯re moving. My eyes roam over them, taking careful note of everything I need to fix. So much has happened in the last few days ¨C the death of the shaman, River¡¯s Evolution, the ranking fight and being accepted by the village, and most recently, the pyrrhic ¡®victory¡¯ against the alcaoris. I¡¯ve been uncertain of myself so many times. But right now, with the time pressure and promise of disaster sharpening my mind, I can¡¯t afford to be hesitant. A plan comes together in my mind and I nod unconsciously. Our future is uncertain, but we need to act right here and now to get a future we want. "Alright everyone.¡± I start, my gaze shifting over the group, meeting the eyes of each of my Bound one by one. ¡°Here is the situation, and this is what we''re going to do about it." Book Four: Expansion - Interlude Two youthful young men are reclining on cushioned loungers beside an outside pool. It¡¯s hard to tell if the pool is natural or man-made, though its location in the centre of a sprawling mansion seems to indicate the latter. Small fish dart through its waters, their colours glinting in the sun. It¡¯s a beautiful day and promises to be hot. One of the men is a study of contrasts with deep black hair and exceedingly pale skin. His eyes are a stormy grey with odd flecks of red. When he turns his head, the sunlight paints a red sheen onto his otherwise dark hair. He lifts a roll of paper full of some sort of herbal mix to his lips. Raising his other hand, he flicks his index finger slightly. A flame emerges from its tip, and he lights the roll-up. Taking a drag, he flicks his finger again and the flame disappears. Letting out a long breath of smoke, the man sighs in evident satisfaction. Staring up at the blue sky above, he takes a few moments to enjoy his herbal smoke, then turns to his companion. ¡°Do you have anything new for me, Josi?¡± ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t call me that, Layton,¡± grumbles the other man, though it¡¯s clear from his tone that it¡¯s more for the sake of having his complaint known, rather than expecting anything to come of it. His appearance is far less one of contrasts than Layton¡¯s. Although his hair is dark, it¡¯s clear that it is brown rather than black, and his skin is far more olive than pale. He¡¯s also shorter than the other man, stocky where Layton is willowy. With a slightly mischievous smile, Layton looks back up at the sky and just waits. Josi sighs after a moment. ¡°I heard an interesting rumour.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°About the King¡¯s upcoming declaration.¡± This attracts Layton¡¯s interest and he actually turns to regard his companion, offering the man his full focus. ¡°Go on.¡± Josi smiles, just a little smugly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s something to do with the Lost Continent.¡± Layton¡¯s eyebrows go up. ¡°The Lost Continent?¡± he wondered out loud, then focused back on Josi. ¡°How¡­reliable is this rumour?¡± Josi shrugs. ¡°More than some, less than others. But honestly, in this case, despite its seeming improbability, I think that it¡¯s more likely to be accurate than others I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°Huh,¡± opines Layton, lying back on his recliner and staring up at the blue sky above. ¡°Do you think he wants us to colonise it? Or just explore? Does he think that a new attempt will change anything?¡± In his position, Layton is unable to see Josi¡¯s shrug, but he knows his companion well enough to hear it in his voice when he speaks. ¡°Given what else I¡¯ve heard, I would suspect the former.¡± ¡°Have you heard who might be involved?¡± Layton asks, his brain already turning. ¡°Well, if we consider who is being invited to hear the declaration¡­all the Houses.¡± Once more, Layton turns to regard his companion with his full attention. ¡°All the Houses?¡± Josi nods slowly. ¡°All of them.¡± ¡°Even the Great Houses?¡± Josi nods again. Horror flashes across Layton¡¯s face, fast enough that only those who know him well would be able to catch it. As it happens, Josi is one of those people, and he smiles grimly in response. Layton shifts back to stare up at the sky, though this time his gaze is far more troubled. He drags on his roll-up with the air of a man desperate for succour. After a moment, Layton speaks, as if to himself. ¡°It¡¯ll be a bloodbath. The five Great Houses have been at loggerheads for generations, held back only by the King and the need to move carefully so as not to destroy their own interests. If they¡¯re given free rein to move against each other, no holds barred¡­¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that will be the case,¡± Josi reminds him. ¡°All I¡¯ve heard is that the declaration will involve the Lost Continent, and I would hazard a guess that it involves colonisation given everything else going on. But perhaps the King will set limits, conditions.¡± Layton snorts derisively. ¡°As if that will matter once he¡¯s out of sight? Too many ¡®accidents¡¯ and ¡®coincidences¡¯ can happen for that to be any consolation. No, we need to consider how to best orientate our own Houses if this should indeed be the King¡¯s decision. Should we throw our lots in with one of the Great Houses, and if so, which? Or should we do our best to stay out of the way?¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°In no world will I align my House with Lady Flameform,¡± warned Josi. ¡°I know she might be your preference, but there is too much bad blood between her family and mine.¡± ¡°Fair,¡± breathes Layton. ¡°And I have no desire for our Houses to be at odds. And I refuse to align with Lord Torrent. Not only does his Class not play well with my family¡¯s, but his House has proved itself honourless in the past and its current lord does not make me feel that they¡¯ve changed in any way.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± admits Josi. ¡°Which leaves only two options.¡± ¡°Three,¡± corrected Layton. Josi gives him a long stare. ¡°House Forestheart has been under the thumb of House Titanbend ever since that whole debacle with the kidnapping and extortion two generations ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about that,¡± sighs Layton. ¡°They don¡¯t always vote together so it had slipped my mind. I see your point: the choice is really between House Titanbend and House Goldmine. Or staying independent.¡± ¡°Which isn¡¯t really a possible option,¡± points out Josi. ¡°If our theories are correct and it¡¯s going to come to a clash between the Great Houses, not choosing a side is equivalent of becoming an enemy to all of them. But I¡¯m not sure that we¡¯ll have much of a choice at all.¡± Layton frowns. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Because House Titanbend still has no heir.¡± Layton¡¯s eyebrows go up in surprise. ¡°Still? I would have thought that the lord would have chosen his cousin or maybe his niece ¨C she has the correct Class, I believe?¡± Josi shrugs again. ¡°All I know is that there is no heir yet declared.¡± Layton leans back and takes another drag on his roll up, staring sightlessly up at the sky once more. ¡°Which means that, if our guesses are at all correct, either Lord Titanbend will have to go himself ¨C a risky prospect ¨C or he¡¯ll have to abstain and take whatever penalties the King will impose.¡± ¡°Or choose an heir,¡± Josi added. ¡°Or that,¡± agrees Layton. ¡°But if he hasn¡¯t chosen one yet, I don¡¯t see him doing so in the short time before the King¡¯s declaration.¡± ¡°Especially since I suspect the King will have warned the Great Houses long before now,¡± comments Josi. Layton makes a vaguely agreeing noise ¨C they both know that the uneasy balance between the power of the monarchy and the Great Houses is only intact because of the allowances and preferential treatment the King gives the Great Houses. Small Houses like Layton¡¯s and Josi¡¯s never receive such advantages. There is a long silence as both young men think over the discussion and its possible consequences. ¡°Let¡¯s see what the declaration actually contains,¡± decides Layton. ¡°It¡¯s only next week, after all. Then we can decide what to do.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking,¡± Josi agrees. ¡°But it¡¯s worth considering what we will do in the various scenarios in case the time frame after the declaration is short.¡± Layton nods slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll try to arrange a meeting with Lady Goldmine, feel her out a bit.¡± ¡°And I will try to do the same with Lord Titanbend,¡± replies Josi. ¡°Even if only to get a sense of whether he¡¯s intending on taking part at all.¡± ¡°He¡¯s your preference?¡± asks Layton with a sharp look in his eyes as he twists his head to look at his companion again. Josi shrugs. ¡°While his Class certainly makes me uneasy, his actions and history are more reassuring than Lady Goldmine¡¯s.¡± ¡°You always know where you are with Lady Goldmine,¡± points out Layton. ¡°Yes. On the losing end of the deal,¡± remarks Josi dryly. Layton points at him. ¡°Exactly!¡± They both chuckle, but without much humour. Instead, the idyllic surroundings seem just a little less perfect as their worries about the future and the way they should steer their Houses. ***** ¡°Are you sure about this, sire?¡± a man dressed in smart, yet sober clothes asks another man dressed in far more obvious finery. They are both showing signs of age, the first man more than the second. Yet the second man seems tired, wearied by something more than just lack of sleep. ¡°No,¡± he sighs in response, shifting position and hearing the clink of his various pieces of jewellery as they collide with each other. An expression of irritation passes briefly over his face before he clears it. ¡°But I don¡¯t see any other choice.¡± ¡°It could inflame tensions even higher,¡± warns the first man. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know that, Jasper?¡± demands the second man. ¡°But tensions will be inflamed anyway. Sometimes allowing a forest fire to rage and clear the dead wood is better than suppressing it until the dead wood accumulates sufficiently to light anyway and creates a much bigger blaze.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, your majesty,¡± agrees Jasper, ¡°However, the forest is damaged after the blaze regardless of when it takes place, and vulnerable to other threats.¡± ¡°Which is why I want the forest fire to take place in a different forest,¡± argues the King, then makes an impatient gesture. ¡°The metaphor has fallen apart. The fact is that there are far too many threats facing us at the moment for us to be able to continue with the same kind of divisive politics my father, and his father before him, allowed to run rife.¡± ¡°Over seven hundred years is a lot of deadwood to burn,¡± warns Jasper. ¡°I know!¡± the King snaps, then sighs and leans back in his ornate chair. ¡°I know,¡± he repeats more quietly. ¡°But can you think of any other option which will potentially solve as many problems as this one?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Jasper answers quickly, revealing that this isn¡¯t the first time he¡¯s considered the question. ¡°Neither can I,¡± the King admits. ¡°Which is why we¡¯re going forward with it, despite its potential risks.¡± ¡°Yes, your majesty,¡± Jasper answers, bowing deeply. At the dismissing flick of the King¡¯s fingers, he turned away and left the room. Behind him, he doesn¡¯t hear the final words of the King, staring at the distant wall from his lonely throne. ¡°Gods will it that the oracle is right.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Prologue I can feel the heat simmering in the substance before me. My hands feel jittery, every small twitch magnified by the distance. Even the smallest movement threatens to send the glowing liquid splattering everywhere. The container I¡¯m so carefully controlling is a large earthen cup at the end of a long piece of bone. I hadn¡¯t thought my hands would shake any more after all the level ups and increases in my physical stats that I¡¯ve had, but this little exercise has proved my assumptions to be a lie. I¡¯m concentrating fiercely, not only on holding the cup of precious liquid steady, but also on making sure that the conditions remain ideal: that it remains at a temperature beyond almost anything else I¡¯ve controlled. Only the inferno I used to destroy the vine-stranglers surpasses my current efforts. Yet the two are barely even comparable. There, I barely held onto control as the fire raged over kilometres through the ready sources of fuel; this time, the only fuel source is my mana and the heat of the inferno is concentrated within a small earthen cup. If I release even the slightest bit of control, I fear greatly what might happen. It feels like all my practice with Fire-Shaping has condensed into this moment: the ability to use the essence of fire without the outward appearance of it. If I haven¡¯t gone up at least a couple of levels in the Skill, I¡¯ll eat my hat. My control wavers slightly. Stupid! Don¡¯t get distracted now! Shuffling across the ground to the mould I¡¯ve prepared, I sense my assistant shifting out of the way. I know he¡¯s probably intensely curious ¨C he¡¯s proven to be that about everything else, so why not this? But I don¡¯t have the ability to answer any of his questions right now. Reaching the right distance from the moulds, I carefully reach out with my mind to reconnect with the mana I¡¯ve soaked into the clay. I check once more that there is no moisture left in them and that they are as reinforced as I can make them. I¡¯ve learned from the explosion of my first attempts at this process. Holding my breath, I tilt the bone-and-stone tool gently. The liquid drips into the cast and fills it quickly, the liquid as thick as syrup, but far more dangerous. I have to be careful not to over-fill it either ¨C it¡¯s not a large object that I¡¯m trying to make. Not yet. That will be next time if this works as I hope it will. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Moving onto the next, I fill moulds until my crucible is empty. It¡¯s only then that I breathe, my lungs burning. I keep a sharp eye on the moulds: the first sign of one starting to bubble like my first attempt did, and I¡¯ll raise a shield to protect us from potential shrapnel. I still feel guilty over accidentally hurting two passing samurans who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So far, so good ¨C the metal is calm, the magic reinforcing the clay prevents it from being badly affected by the heat in the molten substance. What do we do now, Honoured Markus? my assistant asks. ¡°We wait for it to cool,¡± I answer with a shrug, moving back over to my workstation. Time to prepare another crucible. It¡¯s such a demanding process that I can¡¯t prepare much at a time, but I¡¯m hoping to be able to increase the amount a bit more this time ¨C I think I¡¯m getting the hang of it. And then what do we do after that? ¡°We need to sharpen the heads, then pass them over to Sticks ¨C uh, Wood-Shaper. She¡¯ll make them into spears for the villagers.¡± Hurts-his-foot, or, as I¡¯m calling him ¡®Happy¡¯, cocks his head to one side. ¡®To all the villagers, or just to the Warriors?¡¯ One corner of my mouth pulls upwards. It¡¯s a question that I doubt would have even been asked before recent changes in the village. ¡°To the Unevolved first,¡± I confirm. ¡°The Warriors already have their weapons, and several advantages of their own. Hopefully this way more of the Unevolved will make it out of the forest at the end of each day.¡± Happy flicks his tail quickly in a gesture of fervent agreement. Will you explain what you are doing, Honoured Markus? he asks next, more tentatively. ¡°I can¡¯t talk while doing it, but I can tell you now what I¡¯m doing, and you can try to identify each step when I do the next batch,¡± I offer instead. Thank you, Honoured Markus, he responds eagerly. So interested in everything I''m doing with the metal ¨C I really hope that he will manage to become the village¡¯s first Metal-Shaper. ¡°I¡¯ve told you ¨C just call me Markus,¡± I sigh. ¡°Anyway, I need to recover my mana before starting again. So, what I¡¯m doing is this¡­.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter One: Already Everything It Needs My deadline is almost up. Three days seem to have passed by in a flash. The last time I was on the surface, the sun was already heading towards its zenith, and I¡¯ve been underground for hours. When it touches the horizon, the alliance between the dragon-like alcaoris and me will be over. If I haven¡¯t demonstrated my solution to allowing his eggs to incubate in a perfect environment without causing unknown consequences to the local environment by then, my opportunity will be gone. Not to mention that I¡¯ll fail that objective in my Quest, and who knows what consequences that will cause. But I¡¯m almost there; I¡¯m so close I can feel it. Sitting once more on the floor of the tunnel deep below the ground, I try to connect again with the magic around me. To get Fire-Shaping, I had to learn to both transform my mana into fire magic, and then shape that fire magic. Earth magic is different from fire magic. That¡¯s obvious. But I would imagine that getting Earth-Shaping will require the same things as Fire-Shaping. I have two problems though. First, I have an issue with image. Fire felt more familiar to me and has always been more fascinating than the ground beneath my feet which I¡¯ve rarely even thought about. But I think I¡¯m getting to grips with this one. My second issue is about discovering exactly how to change my mana into earth magic. With fire, I had the advantage of being able to feed my mana to the fire and watch how it was transformed before attempting to do it myself. I can¡¯t do that here. The earth magic in the stone around me is willing to accept my mana, but doesn¡¯t seem to do anything with it. Fire grabs anything it can and eagerly transforms it into flame, using it to grab even more. Earth just¡­sits there. Perhaps this is my Fire affinity working against me here, but I¡¯m really struggling to find a way around it. I sigh in frustration. It would have been so much easier if I could have got Kalanthia¡¯s help with this. I bet I could have bribed her to do the job for me and this would have been done days ago. But the alcaoris was dead set against allowing another beast near his eggs, especially not one as powerful as he realised Kalanthia is. It¡¯s not surprising, thinking about it. And I have no way of assuring him that Kalanthia won¡¯t do something to his eggs ¨C I have no control over her. It¡¯s annoying, though. I did consider going back up to the cave and asking her to demonstrate some Earth-shaping for me, but decided against it. My reasoning was that it would take a good day to get there and then another to get back, limiting my learning time to only one day. That would have been a short time frame at the best of times, and I had no guarantee that her demonstrating Earth-shaping would actually be informative enough for me to learn the Skill in a single day. So instead, I decided to try to do it by myself. At the same time, we haven¡¯t been idle in trying to find other solutions. My various Bound have been working as hard as me on a number of other avenues which seemed possible. River and Tarra have been working on alchemical options to melt stone, but haven¡¯t found any good solutions. Unfortunately, it seems that Tarra¡¯s Transfusion Ability counts as magic, and so when she uses it to enhance the strength of a dissolving potion, the earth magic in the stone resists it. Trying to concentrate the mixtures has had only limited effect ¨C really, from the sounds of it, we either need more powerful ingredients or better processes. Without a pocket laboratory, however, the latter is difficult, and the former is unachievable in our time frame. Bastet¡¯s idea of damming up the tunnel and letting the Energy accumulate behind it was a good one, but tests with the open pool at the centre of the vine-stranglers proved it unworkable. Testing with various items showed that Pure Energy appears to have a tendency to dissolve most materials put into it, given enough time. Stone lasted the longest, though even then normal stones from the surface dissolved within a few hours, but the main issue would be making a wall of stones watertight. Without cement, we¡¯d have to use mud or clay, both of which proved to dissolve very quickly. I did ask the alcaoris whether he could use the same substance which is currently holding the eggs in place to hold the dam together, but he refused. I don¡¯t know why and he wouldn¡¯t explain, frustratingly. It¡¯s still a possibility, though one which would require significantly more hands-on effort than I would like since we¡¯d have to keep replacing the sections which are dissolving. It would also risk whoever was working on it coming into direct contact with the Pure Energy; I can attest personally that this wouldn¡¯t be a good idea. Various other possibilities were suggested and attempted, but nothing has worked so far. Which means I have to get Earth-shaping - it¡¯s the only option left with a reasonable chance of success. Perhaps even if I don¡¯t manage to make a hole in the tunnel floor, I will still be able to make the same kind of rock that makes up the tunnel walls ¨C evidently they aren¡¯t able to be dissolved. Then I can use Bastet¡¯s solution without risk. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Stretching for a moment, I settle back into place and close my eyes. Not even trying to touch the magic around me at this point, I focus on settling my inner self. I might be feeling the pressure of time, and the frustration of my constant failures, but if I let them take over, I will definitely fail. Breathing in and out slowly, I feel the air around me. Caves always have a cool, clammy feel. Even my little alcove at home has it. It almost makes me shiver, the cold seeping through my clothes to my skin, through my skin to my muscles, through my muscles to my bones. Warmth surrounds me and, opening my eyes, I realise that Aingeal has reacted to my discomfort to expand and bathe me in its fiery heat. ¡°Thanks little guy,¡± I tell it gratefully, sending the emotion towards the little fire elemental. ¡°But I need to feel the cold.¡± It sends back a sense of disappointment and longing, making me feel like it¡¯s a puppy who I¡¯ve just stopped from climbing onto my lap. I send it a sense of apology, but firm decision regardless ¨C like that puppy, I don¡¯t want my actual instructions to be undermined by my regret in giving them. Closing my eyes again, I suddenly realise something. Being in a cave makes me feel uncomfortable. I like the sun, the fresh air, the feeling of being free. That realisation would have surprised my previous self from before I came here: when I was on Earth I barely ever spent time outdoors. All my life was spent either in an office, or at home. Or occasionally a shop when I needed to buy something. I didn¡¯t really take the time to go for a walk; I lived in a city so even if I had, I wouldn¡¯t have really had the sun or fresh air, let alone nature. And most of my experiences with being in nature were bad. But here, I¡¯ve come to an appreciation for the outdoors that I¡¯d never have believed that I would one day have. To be in a cave feels¡­like being trapped once more. Even if there¡¯s no hum of a computer, and the damp coolness could never be mistaken for my stuffy office, there are still too many similarities. The office which used to be my refuge would now be my prison. I wonder if this is where my blockage is. With fire, I was wary of the damage it could do, but I like fire. I was interested in what it did, happy to stare at flames for untold minutes, watching their flickering dance. The earth is a different question. Frankly, all the time trying to mentally ¡®stare¡¯ at it has been like watching paint dry. Opening my eyes, I lean against the tunnel wall and gaze sightlessly at the other side. Didn¡¯t Kalanthia say something about how she learned to shape the earth after coming to an appreciation for it? I flick through my memories until I land upon the one that I want. She said to ¡®feel the earth¡¯, but it certainly seemed like she had an appreciation for it, I say to myself. She talked about tearing the earth to shreds to express her frustration and anger, and learning endurance and inevitable action from it. Although I wouldn¡¯t say that was exactly what happened with fire, perhaps that¡¯s the point: fire and earth are different. Maybe I need to stop approaching earth the way I do fire, and try just¡­feeling it. Instead of sitting, I lie down on the floor of the tunnel and relax into it. I let the coolness seep into me without trying to reject it or feeling uncomfortable at the cold. I even ask Aingeal to move a little away when the sensation of heat bobbing close to my skin becomes distracting. It isn¡¯t happy, but does what I ask it to do. There, I push my fears and worries away and do my best to just be. The cold isn¡¯t too bad. Especially not to my more-resistant body. On a hot summer¡¯s day, I would be very grateful for it. And though the tunnel is small, there¡¯s enough space for me to stretch out. I would be very grateful for the roof over my head if it was raining. And it¡¯s peaceful. Soothing. The magic around me is calm, practically unmoving. It¡¯s not like fire ¨C there, nothing is ever still. Fire is in constant motion, and always searching for the next thing to consume. Earth is¡­peaceful. Content. It¡¯s like the earth has no need to move, to consume, because it already has everything it needs. I suddenly find myself yearning for that sense of contentment. For that peace. Everything recently has seemed to be so¡­fraught. The last three days have been a desperate rush to try to find a solution so I can complete the most immediate and urgent objective of the quest. Before that were all the fights to take control of the samuran village. Before that was dealing with the vine-stranglers. And before that was the preparation to do the former two tasks. In fact, it¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve been able to just¡­be. With no pressure, no objectives to fulfil. Even back on Earth there was always the next project, the next deadline. So here and now, with the pressure of the quest time limit pushed as far away as I can, it¡¯s nice to just lie down and feel connected to the earth around me. Slowly, as time passes ¨C and I refuse to allow that to impact my feeling of peace ¨C I realise that the earth is really an undervalued part of, well, everything. Without earth, we would have no solid surface on which to walk. We¡¯d either be a bubble of liquid, or a planet made of gas. We¡¯d have no soil, and without soil we¡¯d have no trees, bushes, or other plants. Without all the flora, none of the beasts would be able to survive either. Fire might be a force for both destruction and creation, but earth really is the bedrock of all life. Is it any surprise that earth is therefore used to form the arteries of the planet which pump its lifeblood around everywhere it¡¯s needed? Earth is steady; it¡¯s reliable. Unlike fire, it is slow to anger. Yet its anger is just as dangerous ¨C and can be just as quick to erupt. Like a landslide, years in the making and then abruptly releasing its fury on anyone around. Or like a volcano, its internal chambers building up pressure over decades until, in a single moment, it explodes. Fire and earth are not so different in that: when their fury is allowed to build up, they both have immense power, and none can stand against them. But where fire burns itself out as soon as it has no more fuel to power its rage, earth doesn¡¯t need any fuel: it¡¯s already everything it needs. Reaching out with my mental sense, feeling almost in a trance with how peaceful my mind and how heavy my body are, I touch the magic around me. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Two: Both Practical and Beautiful At first it feels like the magic before me is ignoring me. It doesn¡¯t react in the slightest as I reach out to it. But no, it¡¯s not ignoring me. It¡¯s just that my touch means nothing to it. Why should it care about my touch? Even if I were doing it damage, it wouldn¡¯t matter: a single area being affected is nothing to the body of Earth. Instead of trying to get a reaction, I instead try to make myself more like the earth. Bringing mana from my core, I bring it beyond my physical fingertips so that it¡¯s almost touching the magic in the earth, but is still held within my Energy channel. And there I pause. My mana doesn¡¯t like that. I hadn¡¯t realised, but it¡¯s eager to move, to act. Much like fire is. Maybe this is the effect of my Fire affinity. Either way, it tugs at my control, wanting to either rush out or rush in, but move in whichever direction. I control it, forcing it to stay still. It resists me, but I am implacable. Like the earth around me, I am patient. I do not move. Nor do I allow it to move. And slowly, the bead of mana calms down, almost like it realises I will not yield to it. Bit by bit, it struggles less against my hold until, finally, it is calm. I feed into it the appreciation for Earth that I have come to, and urge it to connect with the earth magic beside me. Slowly, I sense that something is happening. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but the changes become more and more evident. Like something petrifying and turning to stone, the bead of mana does more than stop moving; it actually changes its nature. From flickering and energetic, it has become placid, almost heavy in my Energy channel. Getting it to move now takes as much of a mental effort as stopping it from moving did before. Like I¡¯m pushing a boulder down a hill, I have to strain against it, but once it¡¯s moving, the little bead of mana picks up a momentum which would be just as difficult to stop. It topples out of my channel and into the earth against which my finger is pressing. It touches the magic within the earth itself. I watch eagerly to see what happens. Immediately, there are differences. Where before my mana was like something completely separate which could coexist alongside the earth magic, but not combine with it, this time the bead of mana is absorbed. Within a moment, I sense that there¡¯s no trace of my mana within the seam of earth magic lying beneath my hand. A smile spreads across my face. First step done. That there is no sense of a notification doesn¡¯t disappoint me ¨C if my experience with fire magic was anything to judge by, I¡¯m only halfway there. The first step to gaining Fire-Shaping was to transform my mana into fire magic; the second was to actually shape fire with it. So that would indicate that my next step is to learn how to shape the earth magic, using my own. I also need to try to avoid forming a bond with the earth ¨C I¡¯m sure there¡¯s an equivalent earth Skill to Fire-Taming and that¡¯s not what I want to aim for. Still, I¡¯ve just made more progress in the last¡­whatever period of time, than in the previous two and a half days, so I¡¯m pleased with that. I don¡¯t spend a lot of time congratulating myself, though ¨C I¡¯m still very aware of the time pressure. Focussing back on the task, I think about how I managed to shape fire finally. My mind brings me back to my recent experience of controlling the inferno. Creating a spark was one thing; controlling and shaping what that spark turned into was a different story. While fire and earth are definitely different, I¡¯ve just done the equivalent of creating a spark ¨C transforming my little bead of mana into earth magic. Or at least something close enough that the magic within the earth accepted it as its own. The latter part of that may be the most important, I think to myself. ¡®As its own¡¯. Maybe I can only shape magic which feels like it¡¯s mine ¨C or rather, in the case of fire, feels that I am its. I think I¡¯m going to need more mana. Taking a larger clump of mana from my Core this time, I feed it down the same Energy channel again. Being larger, it¡¯s harder to control, but my boosted Willpower is up to the task. Once more, I repeat the process of sending in my concepts of and appreciation for the earth. Like before, the large bead, practically a ball, of mana stills and calms, its nature transforming little by little. Making this ball move after it has been transformed is even more difficult than with the little bead, but I force myself to be patient. The earth is patient ¨C a decade is no different from a century to it; five minutes or half an hour is even less of a concern. I might be naturally more like the impatient fire, but I force myself to learn from the placid earth. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. This time, I keep it moving slowly, not letting it build up too much momentum as it moves through my Energy channel. At the same time, I focus on it transforming from a ball to a long oblong shape so that it doesn¡¯t move all at once. Almost surprisingly, it doesn¡¯t seem to reject that, and after a few moments, I think I know why. Stone isn¡¯t easy to shape, but stone isn¡¯t the only form of earth. Clay is mouldable with even the weak fingers of a human. So is mud. And cement, before it dries. Even stone can be shaped, too, when it is so hot that it becomes lava. That thought almost breaks my concentration ¨C the combination of fire and earth has surely got to be lava. Does that mean I could wield lava one day? I redirect my thoughts forcibly as my excitement threatens to upset my careful control. Step by step. Like the earth itself. I am not fire right now, flickering between one thing and the next. I am earth. Steady, reliable, solid. At least, that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to be. Perhaps I could do with a bit more earth in me, I realise. The end of the oblong tips out of my energy channel and drips into the earth magic below me like clumps of wet mud or cement. I focus on trying to get the earth to move, to make a hollow beneath me. Nothing happens. I feel a hint of frustration, but push it away. Earth doesn¡¯t get frustrated, it just keeps going, grinding away little by little until its objective is achieved. Perhaps I¡¯m doing something wrong here. I halt the movement of the oblong of mana. With as little momentum as I have permitted it, I only lose a couple more clumps of mana from it before it stops. I still have about half of the oblong left and it settles willingly in my channel, seemingly happy not to move. I think back to Kalanthia and everything she¡¯s said about and done with her earth-shaping. One memory comes to mind clearly. The one where she tried to control the earth while she was airborne. And failed. I¡¯ve seen her control the earth from a distance ¨C when Kalanthia created the second cave, she was a good way away from the stone wall she was affecting. But maybe that¡¯s not conclusive evidence against my theory: that there has to be a constant connection to the earth to allow its shaping. After all, I know that her domain is significantly larger than mine, if what I have can be considered a domain at all. Perhaps she¡¯s able to maintain a constant connection through a domain, where I can only do it when I¡¯m physically in contact with the earth. It would make sense. I didn¡¯t need it with fire, but then it is the nature for fire to spread without necessarily touching something. I saw it recently with the inferno ¨C a tree several feet away from the blaze would spontaneously erupt because the conditions were right. Earth isn¡¯t the same. Earth is always connected to itself. A landslide is only significant because a small chunk of earth pushes the rest of a much larger chunk down a hillside. A volcano only erupts because lava is pressing against the cooler earth around it. An earthquake is caused by chunks of earth being forced to slide against each other. There¡¯s always a connection. So, maybe letting the magic drop out of my Energy channels in little clumps isn¡¯t going to help. Maybe I need to find a way to keep it intact. Hmm. Perhaps I need to give it an image? I wonder. So far images have helped. And, actually, maybe it would be logical for earth to need an image. Fire doesn¡¯t really, though I do visualise the effect I want ¨C like a cloak over my shoulders or wings of fire stretching into the sky. But then, fire is ever changing. Who ever heard of a sculpture of fire? Not possible. Not a static one, anyway. Fire always flickers, moves, changes. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so fascinating. But earth¡­earth is the medium that artists have used through the ages to create their artwork. Whether it was coloured mud painted on walls, clay formed into shapes both practical and beautiful ¨C sometimes both at the same time ¨C or stone chipped away into a statue, it forms shapes which endure. Though I¡¯m not an artist, I imagine that they would have to have a clear image of what they wanted their final forms to be before they even started. Perhaps that¡¯s what I¡¯m missing? This time, as I move the patient earth magic through my channel, I focus on it being like clay. A sausage of clay which is going to form part of my artwork. I push away feelings of doubt, my self-questioning probably actively harmful here. The sausage of ¡®clay¡¯ tips out of my channels¡­and stays intact. It lowers, still staying together, and makes contact with the earth magic. There, I pause. The earth magic seems¡­uncertain. I can feel it for the first time. Fire had been open with its sensations, practically throwing them out as it does heat and light. Earth has been the opposite. Very closed, not unwilling so much as¡­quiet. Like with the cold, I had to touch it before it would seep into me. Here, I¡¯ve had to touch the earth magic with earth magic to feel it at all. And now, it seems confused. I think I know why: in this, it is like fire. Fire, too, was confused about the concept of something being part of it, yet separate. I would guess from the evidence that earth is the same. I focus on my appreciation for earth, trying to become as still and patient in spirit as it is in nature. That¡¯s harder than I thought it would be, as is waiting for it to respond ¨C it takes a long time. But I do my best to endure. To wait without complaint. Finally, it pays off. I sense the earth relax and accept me with calm placidity. I don¡¯t think it recognises me as part of it, not the way fire did ¨C with fire it was the other way around, really ¨C but at the same time, I don¡¯t find my own mind is captured like before. Now is the time of truth. Continuing to feed the sausage of my own earth-natured mana into the far greater body of earth magic below my hand, I focus on the stone becoming soft and mouldable like clay. I realise I¡¯m holding my breath and force myself to breathe calmly again, despite my building anxiety. Please let this work! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Three: Soften The connection trembles, as if the earth is evaluating my request, ruminating over it and considering it. And then¡­I feel it soften beneath my finger tips. Barely able to believe it, I press with my fingers, feeling them sink in. The sensation is familiar from my pottery sessions ¨C clay indeed. Triumph runs through me, a laugh emerging from my lips. A moment later, I feel the earth magic twitch where I¡¯m connected to it through the oblong of earth-nature mana still dangling between my Energy channel and the greater body of earth magic. It doesn¡¯t like the abrupt change in my emotions, I realise, so I do my best to push the excitement away, returning to calm placidity. As much as I can, anyway ¨C pleasure bubbles under the surface despite my best efforts. So, I¡¯ve been able to change the nature of the earth with my magic. That¡¯s a good start. Great, even. But I wonder whether I can push it a bit further. I think that softening stone into a clay-like consistency is enough to count for at least some earth-related Skill. Certainly, I feel the sensation of a notification waiting for me and I¡¯m pretty sure that my internal matrix has been rearranging itself a little, though can¡¯t be sure about that until I go to check it out. But I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s enough for Earth-Shaping exactly. After all, arguably I¡¯m still shaping the earth with my hand rather than the magic itself. With a very clear image in mind, I coax the earth into moving, into forming a bowl-shape beneath my hand. Without putting any pressure on the soft stone with my fingers, I press on it with my mind. It resists, though I don¡¯t get the impression that its resistance is a rejection. It¡¯s more, that its default is to resist anything ¨C wind, water, fire, force, light, anything. I don¡¯t give up ¨C earth is patient and persistent, using time and the accumulation of pressure to make changes. Slowly, the resistance crumbles, like stone developing cracks in a frost. It takes time but finally, just like that stone falling apart once the cracks grow too large for it to remain whole, the resistance gives way. I feel the earth move below my hand, turning my vision into reality. This time, my exhilaration is too great for me to push it away. The sudden wash of emotion sends the earth recoiling, abruptly sensing me as ¡®other¡¯ in the same way the fire did when I refused to let it burn my clothes, all that time ago. The sausage of clay-like earth mana falls from my energy channels and blends into the rest of the earth magic. Its absence leaves that hand feeling oddly lighter. I open my eyes and look at what I¡¯ve done. A shallow bowl made of stone is in front of me. It¡¯s a perfectly smooth shape, very obviously not natural. Just like the caves Kalanthia made, actually. When I close my eyes again and focus on seeing the energy threads, I see that the bowl looks no different from any of the areas around it ¨C the magic is reinforcing it as much as it reinforces the rest of the tunnel. A good sign. I take a moment to bask in my satisfaction. Then, anticipation building, I access my notifications.
Congratulations! You have earned a new Skill: Earth-Shaping
Read Skill description / Close message
Yes! I exclaim to myself in elation. Finally!
Earth-Shaping By exploring and coming to an understanding of earth, you have become able to transform mana into earth magic, and have proved yourself capable of controlling and shaping this magic according to your Will. Henceforth, you will now be more easily able to connect with the earth around you at a thought and shape it. However, as you have learned, earth takes time and requires a connection with its wielder, both through mana and trust. Your Fire Affinity is opposed to most aspects of Earth and will therefore make this more difficult in its initial stages.
Next message / Close messages
While the message is rather reminiscent of the one I received for Fire-Shaping, there are some significant differences. It seems like Willpower is less important with earth than fire, though I would be hesitant to agree. From the experiences I¡¯ve had, I¡¯d say that they are just different. Fire certainly needs firm control to stop it getting out of hand. Earth doesn¡¯t need control, from what I can see; it needs determination. But what is determination but just another form of willpower? I remember the message before talking about being able to ¡®summon fire at a thought¡¯. This one talks about being able to ¡®connect with the earth¡¯ instead, highlighting a major difference here. I suspect that I won¡¯t be able to just create a rock in my hand, though I might be able to form one out of the earth beneath my feet. Or perhaps that¡¯s somewhere I could take the Skill in later rank-ups, even if I can¡¯t do it right now. The message also really highlights how important connection is, though it¡¯s thrown in something that I hadn¡¯t thought of before: trust. Fire also required a certain degree of trust, but that was for Fire-Taming, not Fire-Shaping ¨C if I had kept my agreement with the previous iteration of fire, it would make a new agreement easier to make. Equally, the reverse was true too. Stolen story; please report. Is there something similar with earth? That the more I work with it, the easier I¡¯ll find to connect to it? Perhaps ¨C certainly Kalanthia didn¡¯t seem to have to concentrate even a fraction as much as I¡¯ve had to just for this one small bowl. However, I am conscious of the last line of the message: that I¡¯m going to have a more difficult job due to my Fire Affinity. Not unexpected, I suppose. Dumping earth on top is usually a pretty good means of putting out fire. And fire transforms earth, like turning sand to glass or melting metal and reforming it. Though maybe that¡¯s what it¡¯s referring to when it mentions ¡®most aspects¡¯ rather than ¡®all aspects¡¯. Perhaps these areas of crossover are where I¡¯ll have more ease. If so, that might be good news for my upcoming attempts to make metal weapons and tools ¨C if I can melt metal without needing to construct a furnace, that would definitely speed things up a bit. Though I guess I¡¯ll need to do it the hard way too for the samurans to know how to do it without me. The sound of a large form moving through the tunnel above meets my ears and recalls me to the present pressures. There¡¯s time enough to think about all that later. Right now, I have a feeling that I¡¯m out of time. He¡¯s coming, Bastet warns, then jumps down to join me in the tunnel below. The sun is touching the horizon on the third day of our truce, the alcaoris tells me tersely. Seeing as how it¡¯s such a temporary Bond, I¡¯ve stopped myself from naming him. Do you have an alternative solution? ¡°I do,¡± I tell him, relief running through me that, somehow, I managed to make the breakthrough just in time. Explain. ¡°It¡¯s the same solution as I¡¯ve spoken to you about before: forming a large bowl in the middle of the tunnel where Pure Energy can collect and surround your eggs. Then the overflow will continue on its way through the tunnel, no pressure building up. A win, win.¡± Then where is this bowl? the alcaoris asks doubtfully, sticking his large head down into the hole and looking around. The one near you there is far too small for my eggs. I have a sudden thought that, if I could get the earth to react quickly enough, I could slice his head off here and now. I doubt even a Tier three could survive that. But I dismiss the thought almost as quickly as it comes. Not only is it unfeasible since I can¡¯t move the earth that quickly, but it¡¯s not something I¡¯d really want to do. Not while I have an alliance and the alcaoris isn¡¯t threatening anything I care about. Not when there are other options. Though I am curious about how much Energy would come from a Tier three¡¯s death. Well, perhaps I¡¯ll find out one day. For now, the dragon-like father just asked a question. ¡°I need you to tell me how big the bowl needs to be and then I¡¯ll make it,¡± I tell him honestly. I was planning on guesstimating based on the shape of the eggs that I can see from this side of things, but if the alcaoris is down here to ask, I might as well get him to tell me. A single egg would need a hole at least four times that depth, the alcaoris says critically. Its width would suffice for a single egg, but not for three of them. And there must be plenty of Pure Energy all the way around each of the eggs. I nod thoughtfully, the description helping me to construct an image of what I should make. I also need to make sure that it¡¯s not an issue if the stream changes position in the middle of the tunnel for some reason. At the moment, there¡¯s a small channel which indicates the path it normally comes, but who knows what might change when we release the Pure Energy? With an image in mind, I settle back down to the floor, my hand outstretched to lie flat on the surface. This time, I use my left hand. I tend to use my right hand for fire magic since I¡¯m right-hand dominant. Perhaps the channels there are more used to fire magic. It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference. ¡°This may take a few minutes,¡± I warn the alcaoris. ¡°Please don¡¯t disturb me until it¡¯s done unless it¡¯s an emergency.¡± As long as it doesn¡¯t take too long, warns the alcaoris in return. My patience is not infinite. Mentally, I roll my eyes ¨C what¡¯s his hurry? I don¡¯t say anything, though ¨C the quicker this is done, the better. Focussing on my image, I patiently repeat the process I followed before to make the first bowl. Immediately, the influence of actually having Earth-Shaping is clear. My mana transforms more easily into earth-aspected mana and the connection with the earth is a little easier. After that, though, coaxing the earth to do what I want it to do takes as much effort and almost as much time as before. Understandably, Earth-Shaping has more effect on my internal processes than the external ones. Still, bit by bit, I make progress, my vision taking shape before my fingers. I think it is a little easier with my left hand, though I will have to test again with my right hand to check that it¡¯s not just the influence of my new Skill. It takes a lot of mana. Mana to make the connection, and mana to feed into the earth to make the changes. By the end, I¡¯m panting and nauseous from mana depletion and I haven¡¯t even quite done everything I wanted. Still, it¡¯s probably enough. I open my eyes to see what I¡¯ve managed to create. Mentally summoning Aingeal to get a better view, the little ball of fire happily zooms closer. I¡¯ve made a big hole in the middle of the tunnel. If I stepped into it, it would come up to just above my knee. It¡¯s about twice that in diameter, though it¡¯s not a perfect hemisphere. Instead, I¡¯ve made the downstream wall much steeper than the upstream one, hoping that it will prevent the eggs from being pushed out accidentally. On either side of the hole, I¡¯ve stretched two v-shape arms stretching back upstream ¨C channels, really. My thoughts are that if the stream doesn¡¯t go straight into the hole for whatever reason, hopefully it will be caught by the arms and then directed into the hole anyway. We¡¯ll find out soon enough if it works or not. ¡°What do you think?¡± I ask the father alcaoris. He tilts his head this way and that, looking with both eyes and then each one independently. It looks big enough, he answers finally, though sounds a bit dubious. Perhaps he wonders, like me, whether it will work as intended. ¡°Alright, good. Let¡¯s release the flow and test it out, then.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Four: Allure Tension fills the air. All three of us are currently huddled together around the hole into the Energy tunnel. There¡¯s no doubt going to be an explosion of Pure Energy, and none of us want to be caught in it at full blast. I haven¡¯t managed to get a straight answer out of the alcaoris in terms of what would happen to him if part of him was submerged in Pure Energy, but just the fact that he¡¯s trying to avoid it indicates that it¡¯s nothing good. Or, at least, for him, the good doesn¡¯t outweigh the bad. I have to admit that my more reckless side is urging me to touch the Pure Energy again. It might have done a significant amount of damage to me, but I was able to fix all that and it did propel me up eight levels in a few minutes. On the other hand, unable to use magic and possibly breaking my Core is probably not what I should be doing right now. Perhaps I could dilute it? Kalanthia talked about the lake at the base of the valley containing diluted Pure Energy. But that¡¯s a later consideration. Now, I need to focus. Lowering his head back through the hole, I hear the alcaoris doing something. Unable to see through his neck and with too much mana confusing my non-physical sight when I close my eyes and focus, I just have to be patient. Abruptly, he starts backing up quickly. As his head emerges from the hole, I see a long, black cord hanging from his teeth. I am about to pull my eggs free, he warns. Bastet and I prepare to flee ¨C we don¡¯t know how violent the Pure Energy is going to be here. Without another word, the alcaoris keeps backing up quickly, tugging at the cord. I see it stretch, then catch. And then, with an odd sucking sound, he¡¯s abruptly moving backwards faster than ever. Under my feet, I feel a slight rumble, and a wall of Pure Energy is visible an instant before it starts flooding through the hole in the floor. Bastet and I turn tail and start running up the tunnel, though we¡¯re blocked by the bulk of the alcaoris. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I scream at him. ¡°Move!¡± He doesn¡¯t. Turning around to fearfully check where the Pure Energy has got to, I suddenly understand why. The hole joining the Energy tunnel with the alcaoris¡¯ melted one is blocked. Apparently the plug holding the alcaoris¡¯ eggs is bigger than the hole is and it¡¯s being held tightly to the hole by the cord that the alcaoris is holding. The Pure Energy which had flooded out before is still there, shimmering and flickering almost as enticingly as before, but no more is coming out. I¡¯m terribly tempted to move forwards and once more touch the rippling Energy, but the memory of the awful pain that went through me when I did that, and the damage which almost killed me several times is enough to prevent my feet from moving. Oddly enough, the memories are clearer with the Pure Energy in front of me than when I recalled them before releasing the plug. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a traumatic trigger, to see and smell the almost acrid scent of the condensed Energy, or if Pure Energy is somehow connected to memories in an incomprehensible way, but I¡¯m abruptly almost trapped back in that moment. A phantom pain envelops my hand, my channels aching inside. I can practically feel my Core crack again. The same pleasure-pain caused by levelling up far too many times in a far too short time wracks my form once more. And then I feel feather fur brushing my leg and I¡¯m jolted back into the present. Bastet¡¯s creeping towards the pool, her movements an odd mixture of reluctant and eager. Her eyes are fixed on the Pure Energy pool, still moving and rippling before us. ¡°Bastet, don¡¯t,¡± I tell her. She pays no attention, doesn¡¯t even seem to have heard me. ¡°Bastet?¡± No response. ¡°Bastet, stop.¡± This time, alarm going through me, I make it an order, enforced by the Bond between us. The raptorcat immediately stops, her body no longer obeying her. There are times when I regret using the Bond against my companions, feeling like a puppet master in how much control I have over them. This isn¡¯t one of those times. Jogged out of my own memories, the Pure Energy has less of an allure. As I hurry forwards, I manage to tear my eyes away from it after only a moment. Crouching down in front of Bastet, I cup my hands around her face, directing her to look straight at me. It¡¯s a bit hard to do at first, but once I manage to arrange myself so I¡¯m blocking her view of the pool, I slowly see awareness coming back into them. The worryingly glassy sheen to them disappears little by little until I see my Bastet staring back at me. Packleader? she asks, sounding confused. I thought¡­I felt¡­. She shakes her head as if to clear it of something grasping at her feather-fur. ¡°You were creeping towards the Pure Energy pool,¡± I tell her, trying not to let the remnants of my worry and my relief come through. Given our emotional connection through the Bond, I doubt I¡¯m doing well with it, but she still seems a bit out of sorts. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I saw my pack. My birth pack. They were waiting for me in the liquid. I felt¡­that everything would be better if I touched it. She shudders. But it wouldn¡¯t have, would it? The longing and pain in her mental voice makes my heart clench within me. I can¡¯t help but lean forward to sit on my knees, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as I do my best to console her. She leans into the touch, sighing deeply, pain splintering through her. I remember seeing my parents in the liquid just before I touched it ¨C apparently tantalising onlookers with visions of the beloved dead is par for the course for Pure Energy. Whether it¡¯s an intentional trap or a side-effect of that much Energy concentrated in one place, I don¡¯t know. All I know is that my friend, my family member, is hurting. We stay there for a few moments. Fortunately, the alcaoris doesn¡¯t seem to care as he doesn¡¯t interrupt us. Finally, Bastet pulls away slightly, so I release my hold. ¡°Are you going to be OK if I stop blocking the Pure Energy from your sight?¡± I ask her intently. Bastet sends a feeling of ambivalence across the Bond. I could already see it from over your shoulder, she points out. Ah, yes. I hadn¡¯t thought of that. I still feel a pull, but it has lost the edge with which it pulled me forwards last time. I think I should be fine. ¡°Alright,¡± I answer, pushing myself slowly to my feet, keeping a sharp eye on Bastet in case she starts walking towards the pool again. She doesn¡¯t, but she does fix me with a somewhat exasperated look. I cock my head questioningly at her. May I move again? she asks with an even stronger sense of exasperation. I flush. ¡°Of course,¡± I tell her, mentally releasing the hold I had on the Bond to keep her in place. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologise a moment afterwards, still embarrassed about forgetting. She nudges my thigh with her head. Forgiven. What now? I look around at the alcaoris, still holding the string tightly, at the dark plug filling the hole, at the pool of Pure Energy sitting above it. ¡°Is there still a lot of Pure Energy rushing through the tunnel below?¡± I ask the alcaoris. I would check for myself, but the density of the earth magic which suffices the stone below my feet rather blocks my vision of anything beyond that. It is beginning to reduce, he answers shortly. I send a brief flick of gratitude his way for responding. ¡°We wait,¡± I tell Bastet in answer to her question. And that¡¯s exactly what we do. After a few minutes, I start walking towards the Pure Energy pool. Packleader? Bastet asks, half in question, half in warning. ¡°It¡¯s OK, I¡¯m aware of my actions,¡± I reassure her. ¡°I just want to test something.¡± Ever since making it back to the cave and managing to heal all of the things the Pure Energy damaged, I¡¯ve been cursing myself for not bringing some with me. Now is my chance. I know that materials dissolve quickly in Pure Energy, but if it¡¯s sitting in my Inventory, any disintegration should be held in stasis. As long as it follows the rules I¡¯ve learned about my extra-dimensional storage space, anyway. It¡¯s worth a shot, I figure. Taking one of my bone-formed bowls out of my Inventory, I dip the far edge of it into the Pure Energy. Immediately, I see the bone starting to blur at the edges. It¡¯s not going to hold its integrity for long, perhaps only a few minutes, but that¡¯s enough for a test. Despite the time pressure, I don¡¯t slop the liquid anywhere, but just tilt the bowl up carefully so that the Pure Energy sits in the bottom of it. It really is an odd sort of liquid. Although it follows the laws of gravity, the liquid continues rolling and shifting even when I¡¯m holding the bowl completely still. Putting it in my Inventory, I pull it out a moment later. To my strong disappointment, the bowl is completely empty. It¡¯s clear that it is the same bowl as before: the melted and pockmarked design makes that evident. I sigh. I suppose that it¡¯s not all that surprising: Pure Energy doesn¡¯t exactly strike me as stable. I¡¯d better feel lucky that Energy Hearts do count as stable ¨C though I don¡¯t know if there will be any left in the other cavern, considering how flooded it has been with Energy. I figure it could have gone both ways: either more Energy Hearts because of the quantity of Pure Energy, or fewer because they¡¯ve dissolved in the Pure Energy liquid. Obviously, I¡¯m hoping for the former but time will tell. ¡°How do you feel about making our home here?¡± I ask Bastet idly. Before she can answer, the alcaoris interrupts. You¡¯re not making your home here, he says strongly, fixing me with a fierce eye. Even if I decide to continue this alliance, I will not tolerate you around my eggs when there is no need for it. The original Tame Bond we had fell away at the end of the three days, but we established another temporary Bond, though this one is without a time limit, just to get us through this time. I don¡¯t know exactly what the alcaoris will want to do at the end of all this, but I¡¯m open to a proper alliance. Although killing him would definitely offer benefits, it¡¯s clear from our previous fight that there would be several casualties on my side too. Besides, Kalanthia has shown that an alliance with a Tier three beast is not a small thing. Frankly, given everything, I would prefer not to have to fight. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about making it here,¡± I tell the alcaoris calmly. ¡°I intended to make it near the other tunnel entrance. The one caused by the explosion.¡± He eyes me suspiciously. That is still too close to my eggs, he insists. You could creep underground to reach them. ¡°True,¡± I admit, ¡°but if we have an alliance that stipulates the protection of your eggs, then you¡¯d have someone guarding both sides. Otherwise, that entrance will be wide open to other threats.¡± Not if I block it off, insists the alcaoris, but he seems thoughtful. Perhaps convincing him to continue the relationship won¡¯t be too hard. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Five: Poisoned by the Energy We wait until the alcaoris indicates that the flood of Pure Energy has begun to subside by slowly moving closer to the hole. The moment the ¡®plug¡¯ lowers enough, the Pure Energy which had pooled above it drains away just like it was in a giant bath. It leaves a glimmer on the surface of the rock which vanishes bit by bit. Closing my eyes and activating my ability to see connections, I am almost blinded by the sheer brilliance of the remaining Pure Energy. Once I get over that, I see that it¡¯s seeping through the brown earth magic suffusing the rock. I think part of it combines with the magic that is already there, but it¡¯s so overwhelming that it¡¯s hard to see either way. Then it goes and joins something that I don¡¯t even dare look at straight-on for fear of it burning out my eyes. My non-physical eyes, anyway. If that¡¯s possible. Opening my eyes again, I see that the glimmering is pretty much gone so I step carefully forwards, ready to leap back if I even get the hint that I¡¯m about to put my foot in an invisible pool of Pure Energy. Apparently it¡¯s all drained away, though, as I make it to the edge of the hole. Seeing that I¡¯ve made it through with no issues, Bastet quickly hurries to my side ¨C she needed to be warier than me as I at least have my boots to offer a barrier between me and any potential remnants of the Pure Energy. She has nothing between her talons and the ground. We peer down into the tunnel below. Aingeal, bobbing over my shoulder as always, doesn¡¯t need my instruction to brighten a bit, just so the Pure Energy starts glittering like a river of liquid diamond. I do ask it to descend a little into the tunnel as otherwise there¡¯s too much left in shadow. I see that the river of Pure Energy hasn¡¯t yet fully abated. It¡¯s reduced from where it must have been before ¨C the weight of the other tunnel¡¯s worth of Pure Energy forcing it to begin flooding here ¨C but it¡¯s still pretty high. I guess that, because the exit tunnel is so small in comparison, it will take a bit of time to drain. The tunnel that I can see looks much the same as before, perhaps the end where it narrows is a little damaged. Closing my eyes and looking with magical sight, I take care not to look directly at the Pure Energy. That little glance confirms that the tunnel has been expanded a little further down: the earth magic in the stone is more compressed than it was the last time I inspected it. Switching back to normal sight, I spot the dark cable which the alcaoris has been clinging onto throughout this time. It leads down into the Pure Energy itself, the ¡®plug¡¯ holding the eggs now just a dark shape beneath the radiant liquid. Since there¡¯s still some time before we can find out whether my solution is helpful, I figure I might as well spend the time planning what to do in the next few weeks. There are lots of things to accomplish before this whole samuran meet and greet event. Ninety days might feel like a long time, but I know from past experience how quickly three months can pass when I¡¯m busy. And busy is definitely going to be the word to describe things. Not only do I have my personal projects such as creating metal weaponry and tools, but I¡¯ve got lots of magical experiments to try. I also want to create a new home down this way ¨C since it¡¯s near the Pure Energy and the village ¨C and I¡¯m hoping that Kalanthia might be willing to join us. Which, if she is, will mean I have to find a way to help her and the samurans coexist peacefully. And maybe the alcaoris if he decides to stick around. That will be fun. I¡¯m going to need to take a trip up to the cave anyway ¨C I need to get the stuff and the Bound I left up there. And the cubs. I bet Bastet¡¯s missing them even more than I am. Then there are all the things I need to do with the village itself: changing the way they run things ¨C hopefully without creating some sort of backlash by changing things too fast. I¡¯m familiar with how change can affect a company; I bet a village isn¡¯t much different. Plus, if I want to impress the samurans at the meet and greet ¨C enough to leave us alone, at least ¨C I need to make sure the villagers I take with me are sold on the changes I¡¯m introducing. That means I have to make sure the changes are having obvious, beneficial consequences on the village. It might be a bit hard to convince them at the moment considering my first action as leader has led to two dead Warriors, but I¡¯ll have to find a way to make it work. But before I can do any of that, I need to finish stabilising the situation in the samuran village by Binding the rest of the Warriors. That would be easier if I have another level or so beneath my belt ¨C fortunately, I have a helpful source of Energy right here. Actually, on that point, I check my status screen ¨C the last time I was this close to raw Energy, I was poisoned by just staying in the area nearby.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 15 Energy to next level: 76% Energy absorption rate: 1106u/hr Energy towards debt: 112% (232)
Intelligence 34+1 (+5%) Mana: 615/615 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 40+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1050u/hr
Willpower 60+16 (+27%) Health regeneration rate: 76u/hr
Constitution 25 Health: 364/365 (375) (15u/CP)
Strength If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. 20 Stamina: 120/120
Dexterity 21 Stamina regeneration rate: 210u/hr
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 9 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Journeyman 2 * Alliance Fade ¨C Initiate 5 Inspect Fauna ¨C Novice 9 Inspect Flora ¨C Beginner 8 Inspect Environment ¨C Beginner 9 Elemental Bonding - Beginner 1 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Master 1 Stealth ¨C Novice 5 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 5 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 2 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 Spearmanship ¨C Novice 4 Archery ¨C Beginner 9 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 1 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 9 Fire-Shaping ¨C Novice 7 Earth-Shaping ¨C Beginner 2
Most of my status screen is much as I expected it to be. The Energy I¡¯m earning per hour is a very healthy figure and has already increased my store by four percent from where it was before the Pure Energy was unplugged. I see that I¡¯m missing a single health point, but as I watch, it ticks up again to full before ticking down again a little while later. I have a feeling I know what¡¯s going on, but flick over to my notifications to check. Sure enough, there are two messages waiting for me.
Warning! You have entered an area of high Energy density. Your level is too low to safely absorb this Energy. Time until Energy poisoning begins: 0:10:00
Next Message / Close messages
Warning! You are in an area of high Energy density. Your level is too low to safely absorb this Energy. Time until Energy poisoning begins: 00:00:00 You are being poisoned. Your health will drop by one unit every 72 seconds until either you leave the area, increase your capacity to absorb Energy safely, or expire.
Close messages
Closing my eyes, I quickly work out a bit of mental maths. Finishing my calculation, I marvel at my ability to keep big numbers in my head ¨C that never used to be the case. It must be a reflection of whatever changes were done to me when I increased my Intelligence stat. My suspicions were correct ¨C I am being poisoned, but it¡¯s not having any real effect on me because my health regeneration rate is higher than its rate of poisoning. If I recall, last time I lost more health over the hour, and I didn¡¯t have anywhere near as high a regeneration rate. Not to mention that I couldn¡¯t use my healing Skill at the time because of what the Pure Energy had done to my Core. I¡¯m significantly better off this time. However, I suddenly have a thought and flick over to my Bound page. Finding Bastet¡¯s entry, my stomach drops as I see that she¡¯s already lost a quarter of her health, and it¡¯s continuing to tick steadily downwards. ¡°Bastet, you need to go back to the surface,¡± I tell her urgently. ¡°You¡¯re being poisoned by the Energy.¡± She fixes me with a mulish look. I¡¯m not leaving you alone here. Abruptly, I realise that she knew ¨C of course she knew, who would miss the pain that losing a quarter of your health causes? But she didn¡¯t want to do anything about it because that would mean leaving me here. I sigh. ¡°Alright. But I¡¯m healing you now and you need to tell me whenever your health dips by more than ten percent.¡± She cocks her head in confusion, apparently not understanding my reference. ¡°Uh¡­more than might be caused from a play session with the cubs and Lathani,¡± I tell her instead. That¡¯s probably a bit less than ten percent, but I¡¯d rather keep her topped up. Fine, she agrees and comes towards me. I¡¯m grateful that she has: even if I¡¯ve worked out how to heal from a distance, it¡¯s always harder and less efficient to do it that way. Sinking my magic into her system, I try to search for what needs healing. A frown creeps onto my face as I realise that I can¡¯t feel anything wrong with her body itself. I suppose that makes sense ¨C it¡¯s not a poison which has been injected into the body, attacking the organs, the nerves, or the blood itself. This is Energy poisoning, which probably means that it¡¯s attacking the Energy channels. The problem with that is that I can¡¯t access my Bound¡¯s Energy channels ¨C not yet, anyway. I add that to my mental to-do list ¨C find a way of healing the damage the alcaoris¡¯ acidic mana did to my Bound¡¯s internal matrices. I¡¯ll need to formalise the list on my display¡¯s notepad function later, but now is not the time. However, even if I can¡¯t actually heal the damage which is being done at its source, maybe I can heal its effects. Bastet needs more health as the first priority. I managed to transform my mana into health before when dealing with my soul damage. Perhaps I can do something like that for Bastet? After all, health is just another form of Energy ¨C I worked that out. And mana is another form of Energy too. I¡¯ve managed to convert mana to health without going through Flesh-Shaping for myself; it can¡¯t be too much harder to do it for Bastet. ***** In the end, it¡¯s not too much harder, but it does take me some time to figure it out. Enough time that I¡¯m getting to the point of having to decide whether to send Bastet up to the surface regardless of her preferences by the time I manage to get it working. It turns out that there¡¯s a¡­quirk to the health transformation when I¡¯m doing it to someone else. I guess that makes sense ¨C it¡¯s not like it¡¯s possible to have a blood transfusion with just anyone, and we¡¯re different species from different worlds. If there wasn¡¯t a difference in the form of our health, that would probably be more surprising than the fact that there is. But by sinking my consciousness deep enough into her blood to practically become part of it, I discover a way to transform my mana into something far more similar to her own, to the signature that runs through her veins. And there, I think I also find a way to find the Energy channels. I¡¯m not certain, but the deeper I got into her system, the more I started to sense the glittering, golden lines almost within reach. It¡¯s worth exploration. But not now. The Energy flood has abated, the alcaoris¡¯ voice rumbles in my head. I pull away from Bastet. ¡°Are you sure you want to stay down here with me?¡± I check again. ¡°I might have been able to replenish your health, but it might be doing more damage than we know. I certainly haven¡¯t been able to heal the effect of the poison itself.¡± I¡¯m staying with you, she replies firmly. I send her a mental hug, always appreciative of just how much support she offers me. You care about them; they are not just tools to you, the alcaoris asks, his voice oddly quiet and tone a little strange. I realise when Bastet doesn¡¯t react that it¡¯s a private message ¨C they¡¯re not so easy to identify along a Tame Bond in comparison to a Dominate one. I do, I reply in the same way. Some more than others, I admit, but I take responsibility for all of them. The alcaoris is silent, but moves forward so that the bulk of his body is at the edge of the hole with us. Putting his head down into the hole, I see him using acidic mana to carefully melt away the dark coloured substance around the egg. Slowly, one by one, the blue-green eggs are revealed. Moment of truth. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Six: Alliance The feel of the early morning sunlight against my face is very welcome after the long hours down in the depths of the earth. Even with my new Earth-Shaping Skill and appreciation for the peace and calm of the earth, I feel relief when we finally break out into fresh air. I see a group of my Bound eating from a carcass on the other side of the clearing. Not all of them ¨C I suspect that several are at the other entrance. The alcaoris lingers in the entrance of the tunnel, having accompanied Bastet and me up to the surface. He seems as uncertain as me about how to broach the topic I know we need to discuss. ¡°Wait,¡± I say as he looks like he¡¯s about to turn and disappear back down to his eggs, now tucked neatly away in the ¡®nest¡¯ I made for them. The alcaoris pauses. For what? he asks, almost snappishly, but I suspect that it¡¯s more due to him feeling uncertain than genuine anger. ¡°We need to talk about how our relationship is going to look going forwards,¡± I say firmly, though making sure not to let any hint of a threat come across either in my body language or the Bond. What is there to discuss? You and yours stay out of my way; I shall not harm you, the alcaoris answered offhandedly. ¡°Sure, we could agree to something like that, though I would prefer to keep what we currently have: an agreement to not attack in the absence of provocation, no matter where the person was. Or we could even agree to mutual defence.¡± If any creature goes near my eggs, they will swiftly be destroyed, the alcaoris answers fiercely. I do not need any other to defend me. He sounds slightly insulted at the insinuation. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± I try to appease him. I actually wasn¡¯t suggesting anything of the sort ¨C it¡¯s clear he can take care of himself. However, this situation reminds me of a very similar one all those weeks ago. ¡°But you still need to eat and your eggs are left defenceless when you¡¯re gone.¡± Is that a threat? asks the alcaoris with a hiss, his lips lifting to show his jaws full of very sharp teeth, his wings mantling slightly on his back, as much as the tight tunnel allows, anyway. ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± I tell him, outwardly calm, though internally tensing up, ready to react to an attack. ¡°I¡¯ve spent time making sure that your eggs are now bathed in as much Pure Energy as they need; I¡¯m not going to turn around and try to do something nefarious to them now. I¡¯m just suggesting that, if we have an agreement of mutual defence, then you could go hunting without worrying about leaving your eggs defenceless. And if we were having problems with an enemy, then we could call on you to help.¡± I shrug a little. ¡°It¡¯s up to you.¡± The alcaoris hesitates, then settles a little, apparently deciding that I¡¯m being honest. Which I am. Not that I would object to having three baby alcaorises as part of my band, but not at the price of intentionally making them orphans to do so. Plus, powerful or not for their stage, I have a lot of Bound at Tier one, a few at Tier two, and a friend at Tier three. Having an alliance with another Tier three beast can only be a good thing; better, perhaps, than Bonds with babies who would need to be nurtured for a long time before they¡¯d become useful. I will not be a weapon against any of your enemies, he says with suspicion. If we agree to this, I will agree only to defending your sleeping place, as you do my eggs. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I agree. Frankly, since I don¡¯t currently have any enemies who I want to melt into nothing with acid, it¡¯s more about having the agreement in place than anything else, making sure that this truce doesn¡¯t just fall away. Maybe if this had been before dealing with the shaman, I would have pushed for a bit more, but the shaman is long gone. Not sure how to activate the Alliance form of my Tame Bond, I focus on my desire to have an alliance with this creature and then say the word aloud. ¡°Alliance.¡± Immediately something like the Tame trade window appears for both of us. The difference is that, instead of putting things in my side of the ¡®trade window¡¯ then passing it over to another, anything I put in my ¡®trade window¡¯ immediately appears in the other side¡¯s window. It¡¯s like an online document where both parties can edit the same text in real time. I suddenly wonder whether I could use this Skill to make an alliance with more than two parties, and whether I could make an alliance between others where I am not one of the allying parties. It¡¯s an interesting question. For now, though, I just put in the two things we¡¯ve agreed on: non-aggression in the absence of provocation, and mutual defence. I sense that I could probably agree on that right here and now, but I get the sense that it¡¯s a little incomplete. After studying it a little, I realise why. It¡¯s practically a revisiting of the initial agreement with Kalanthia. Only, instead of making Oaths, I¡¯m using my Alliance Skill to bind us to our commitments. But perhaps we could make things better this time around. Last time, Kalanthia was able to attack me because she thought I was trying to Tame Lathani. She didn¡¯t do more than give me a significant shock, but it certainly made me feel a bit unsafe for a time. Plus, when she did break the agreement, the event happening soon after I Bound Lathani, I wasn¡¯t even aware of it until I saw that my Energy store was a bit higher than it should have been. Heck, I¡¯m not even sure that it has broken ¨C there¡¯s never been any sort of record that it exists, so checking on it is impossible. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I can see why Oaths aren¡¯t used much in Nicholas¡¯ world. However, maybe I can make this ¡®Alliance¡¯ be a bit more user-friendly. Focussing on the first point, that of non-aggression in the absence of provocation, I specify that ¡®aggression¡¯ is any physical, magical, or verbal action which is either intended to cause harm or to provoke the other party to retaliate in equal or greater measure. I then add a quick modification that mutually agreed sparring doesn¡¯t count. Who thought that working in HR would help in a wilderness? I ask myself wryly. This activity certainly brings back memories of constructing and checking through contracts written by the company¡¯s lawyers. I continue adding in more detail, namely that if the contract does break, then both parties will receive an obvious notification, and that either party can end the contract but must give notice of one day to the other party. I also add that the contract covers all those who are reasonably considered under the authority of the party leader. Getting into the spirit of it all, the alcaoris adds in some qualifications that entering the tunnel without his express permission counts as provocation, and that he would only intervene in a conflict within ten of his lengths of the other tunnel¡¯s entrance. I have a feeling that he¡¯s actually more interested in protecting the other entrance to his eggs¡¯ nesting place, but that doesn¡¯t bother me too much. I¡¯ll still benefit. I make an addendum to his interdiction on any entering his tunnel without his express permission to say that in the event of direct and provable threat to his eggs by something within the tunnel while he¡¯s away, one or more of my party could enter to intervene. He then throws it back at me to say that any damage done to his eggs in that event would be entirely taken out of our hides. I hesitate over that one, but finally add in a qualification that if the threat is far beyond our ability to cope with, we will not be expected to make a suicidal defence against it. He only agrees to that when I point out that, otherwise, I would expect him to do the same. In the end, it takes a lot more time than I was expecting, and the sun is already starting to rise on the horizon before we¡¯ve managed to come to an agreement which we¡¯re both reasonably satisfied with. Not completely, but I¡¯m used to that. A contract where one party is completely happy usually means someone is getting screwed somewhere. A bit of mutual screwing is often the best overall. And that¡¯s a thought I¡¯m not comfortable with having when a dragon is the other party of the mutual screwing. The simple three line contract has turned into several paragraphs ¨C and an actual visible window. I managed to find out how to do that, on my side at least, at the point when I was starting to struggle to keep everything in my head all at the same time. I don¡¯t know how the alcaoris is doing it, but he seems to be managing somehow. Accepting the Alliance turns out to be pretty simple: just focussing on my agreement with the entirety of the contract. Opening up my status screen, I see that there¡¯s now another tab alongside Status screen, Notifications, Bound status, and Notes. Unsurprisingly, it¡¯s called ¡®Alliances¡¯ and there¡¯s currently only one entry.
Alliance type Parties Terms Status
Mutual Alliance ¡®Alcaoris¡¯, Markus Luke Wolfe - Non-aggression pact - Mutual defence Active - notification of changes
I mentally select ¡®terms¡¯ and the screen in front of my eyes fills with the more detailed list of terms which the alcaoris and I came up with together. Dismissing the screen entirely, I¡¯m satisfied with the night¡¯s work. My design for the eggs seems to have worked perfectly, even if I had to deepen it a bit to make sure the eggs were fully covered. And now, I¡¯ve got a slightly more solid alliance with the powerful dragon-like alcaoris. Though seeing the entries in the ¡®Parties¡¯ column does remind me of something else. ¡°Do you have a name? I can¡¯t keep calling you by your species all the time.¡± The draconic creature tilts his head to one side. Not as such¡­though my kin call me Ravenous, for how my magic eats away at anything it touches. ¡°Alright, do you mind if I call you Rav? Or Raven? Ravenous is a bit¡­long.¡± As well as sounding like either one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse or a teenager¡¯s idea of a cool gaming handle. Why do you wish to call me something other than my given name? Fortunately, the alcaoris doesn¡¯t sound annoyed, just confused. ¡°It¡¯s¡­just something I do. Ask any of my companions.¡± Actually, I haven¡¯t done it to Kalanthia or Lathani. Hmm, maybe I should see if either of them would mind a nickname. Then again, I¡¯ve been calling them by their full names for so long that it would probably feel weird. Do as you wish. I care little, the alcaoris dismissed. That tempts the most mischievous part of me to give him some really stupid name, but in the end I decide on Raven. And no, it¡¯s not at all because his dark green scales, scary magic, and aloof attitude remind me of a powerful emo super-heroine I used to enjoy watching in action when I was a teenager. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m off. Let me know if you need me ¨C the Bond should allow you to send a sense of urgency to me even at some distance.¡± Actually, would it? That was tested with River¡¯s Dominate Bond, not a Tame one, let alone Alliance. ¡°Well, if you can¡¯t, just bellow for me ¨C I¡¯m sure one of us will hear you.¡± The alcaoris, Raven, doesn¡¯t deign to answer, simply twisting sinuously along his length to turn around. His tail is the last of him to disappear, its slim, pointed tip vanishing into the darkness. ¡°Alright,¡± I say again to Bastet, half amused, partly concerned, and just a little offended, though I push both of the last away. ¡°Let¡¯s go gather the rest of the party. I want to see what¡¯s happened at the other end of the tunnel.¡± You need to sleep, the raptorcat tells me severely. ¡°So do you,¡± I point out, amused. I¡¯ll be fine for a few hours yet, she answers dismissively. ¡°And so will I,¡± I tell her. ¡°I¡¯ve gone longer than this without sleep and gone into a fight at the end of it. I want to go and investigate the tunnel before something else beats us to it ¨C or those vine-stranglers decide to push their luck.¡± The trap trees, she sniffs in disgust. I still don¡¯t understand why you decided to leave some of them alive. ¡°Allies can come in mysterious places,¡± I point out to her, sending a picture of Raven down the Bond to support my argument. So can enemies, warns Bastet more than a little ominously. ¡°Then let¡¯s hope for more of the former than the latter,¡± I answer cheerily. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seven: Unstable Approaching the vine-strangler copse again, I find excitement mixed with trepidation filling me. It¡¯s about midday: Bastet and I compromised by resting for a few hours before we set out. Bastet¡¯s still tired, though I feel far more refreshed than before ¨C I wonder whether I actually need less sleep than I think I do. There was a notification waiting for me after I woke up ¨C about the quest. Unfortunately, it seems like I¡¯m not yet due for my reward, though in my opinion I¡¯m well over-due.
Congratulations! You have completed one of the required objectives for this quest: you have released the pressure on the Ley Line and allowed the Pure Energy to continue unimpeded along it. You have thereby saved the area and denizens around you from experiencing consequences of direct contact with Pure Energy. In the course of your adventures, you explored the centre of the Vine-Strangler Copse and defeated its guardian. Upon investigating the guardian beast¡¯s lair, you discovered a route down to one of the Ley Lines of the planet, running unusually close to the surface. You discovered that this is due to two main reasons: an initial blockage by a mana crystal; a subsequent blockage by an alcaoris eager to incubate his eggs in the best environment possible. You recognised that the continued blockage of the vital Ley Line could cause untold amounts of harm, both for the denizens of the forest around you, and others further down the Line. You have found a way to rectify the situation in the short term, but the area is still out of balance with unusual amounts of Energy leaking into the environment. Return the area to its previous state within a reasonable time period to complete this quest and receive your reward.
Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II Quest type: Regional
Objective: Find evidence to prove (or in the event of the theory being disproven, discover) the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels. (complete) Objective: Rectify the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy before it¡¯s too late. (complete) Objective: Return the area to its previous state. (3 months)
Time to complete quest: 3 months
Suggested difficulty: Journeyman Reward: Rare Silver chest (rarity increased due to passing over of previous rewards).
It doesn¡¯t really tell me anything more than I already knew except that I need to continue to restore the area. It¡¯s good to know that I¡¯ve managed to avert the major consequences, though. Lathani and River come to join me as we cross the last of the grey wasteland. I cast a look at each of them, seeing the grey ashes coating River up to her knees. Lathani¡¯s even worse off: she¡¯s grey practically up to her chin. It doesn¡¯t help that it¡¯s apparently been raining all night and started drizzling again soon after Bastet and I left the cave. Wet ash is even worse than dry ash for making us mucky, it turns out. Still, at least it should mean that the ash is beginning to be absorbed into the ground. It¡¯ll make this area into very fertile land for a short time ¨C a bit like the rainforests on earth which were cleared for farmland and then abandoned when their fertility was exhausted. I wonder if the samurans have ever thought of farming, I think to myself curiously. Then, realising I have a perfect person next to me to ask, I turn to glance at River. ¡°Has your village ever done farming?¡± I ask. She looks at me, uncertainty coming across the Bond between us. We grow some plants near the huts, but I sense that there is more to this ¡®farming¡¯ that you speak of. ¡°It¡¯s an intentional cultivation of plants either for use of the village directly or to feed livestock who then feed the village one way or another. Where I came from, pretty much everything we ate was grown or managed by farmers. Vegetables from the fields, eggs and milk from livestock, and meat from other animals who were looked after by farmers until they were ready to slaughter.¡± No, we have never done anything like that. Instead of River, it¡¯s Tarra who responds, apparently close enough to hear our conversation. She draws up alongside Lathani who growls at her. I glare at Tarra warningly and she hesitates before moving to the other side of River. Lathani¡¯s hackles are still lifted a little, but when I rub behind her ears and send her soothing feelings down the Bond, she settles a little. Now that Tarra doesn¡¯t need to work on trying to find a way to melt stone saturated with earth-magic anymore, it¡¯s time for her to get working on finding a solution for Lathani. I¡¯d prefer to be present for the first few times they have to work together, though, so I make a mental note to talk to them about it once we¡¯ve checked out the tunnel. ¡°Expand,¡± I say neutrally to the herbalist, still stroking Lathani¡¯s ears ¨C mostly because they¡¯re so soft. Both she and I enjoy it so why not? We have kept beasts in our village from time to time when they have more use to us alive than feeding our villagers, she starts. I fix her with another hard look. ¡°Like you wanted to do with me,¡± I comment flatly. She has the decency to look away for a moment, her tail flicking with discomfort even as it sways with her movement forwards. Yes. They have required food, but we simply find what they need in the forest. I have tested growing certain herbs closer to me so I don¡¯t always have to send someone out to get them, but haven¡¯t had much success. Only a few seem to have taken to the ground near my huts. She makes the samuran version of a shrug. It just doesn¡¯t seem like worth the effort. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I consider the question, rubbing my chin with the hand that I¡¯m not using to pet Lathani. ¡°Maybe I can have a look at what you¡¯ve been doing. I might have some ideas.¡± Not that I¡¯m an expert farmer or gardener, but I do have a little bit of knowledge absorbed from the survival stone. Only the very basics of farming, but perhaps that added to what I¡¯ve learned unintentionally from living in a society where farming is the bedrock of the food industry will be enough to at least get them started. Maybe the few Youtube videos I happened to watch will help too, though I don¡¯t have access to the machinery they showed. When we return to the village, then, Tarra responds to my suggestion. I let the conversation drop: we¡¯re at the vine-stranglers. Eyeing the trees suspiciously, I¡¯m tentatively glad when they shuffle aside to offer us a path through. That will never not be weird, though. The trees almost¡­swim through the dirt. Actually, maybe they¡¯re doing exactly that. As I close my eyes and activate my ability to see connections, I see how the roots below the surface move the dirt almost like the legs of a centipede or millipede moving forwards: each doesn¡¯t move much, but the sheer number of them mean that the tree itself moves a lot. I blink my eyes open, releasing my non-physical sight when the combination of the two starts giving me a migraine. Thanks, I say to the trees down the Bond I have with them. The organism on the other side sends me a begrudging kind of acknowledgement ¨C like it doesn¡¯t want to appreciate my thanks but kind of does anyway. But, so far, the creature hasn¡¯t caused any problems ¨C I¡¯ve had Bound coming and going between here and the spot outside the other tunnel throughout the last couple of days and none of them have reported any attacks. That could be just because it¡¯s biding its time for me to come back ¨C I¡¯ve been staying at the other cave while trying to learn how to do Earth-Shaping ¨C or it could actually be trying to stay on my good side. Or maybe it¡¯s just had far more Pure Energy than even it can cope with to absorb. Certainly, it¡¯s grown noticeably in the last few days which is treading close to breaking our agreement on that one. Remember not to grow any faster than the trees in the forest around, I remind the vine-strangler consciousness. I doubt they could grow two whole trees in such a short time, let alone expand their edges by two trees all the way around. But that¡¯s so restrictive! complains the vine-strangler mastermind. Look at how much space there is around me. Expanding by the depth of two trees is barely even noticeable! Until it becomes four trees, then eight, then the whole area is covered again, I point out to it as we walk through the passageway the trees opened for us. I keep a wary eye out just in case its indignation makes it send a spear at us again. You¡¯ve put on enough growth for now. No more than one more tree length¡¯s worth of expansion before the shortest day, I tell it severely. Dismay and anger mingle across the Bond between us. That¡¯s not enough! Do you want me to burn you back to where you were three days ago? I snap at it, stopping to cross my arms and glare at the closest tree. Or burn you away completely? The vine-strangler takes a long moment to respond. No, it answers finally, sounding very much like a sulky child. Then stick to the agreement, I grind out mentally, my teeth pressing together as a muscle in my jaw leaps. It doesn¡¯t respond, but it doesn¡¯t attack, so I resume walking. My Bound, who all paused with a mixture of expressions ranging from curiosity to fear, continue walking too. It¡¯s not a long time, and fortunately uneventful, before we get to the clearing in the middle. Though the clearing is smaller than it used to be with the salamander burning away the trees as they encroached on its space, I¡¯m glad to see that the vine-strangler has at least been honouring the area I told it to leave bare. I wanted to make sure that in the worst-case scenario even the vine-strangler¡¯s spears wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the area at the centre, and it appears that that¡¯s still the case. Unless its spears can grow longer as its power increase which¡­is probably possible, thinking about it. Damn it. A thought for later. For now, I¡¯m so eager to see what¡¯s happening that I barely even delay to greet the Bound who have been camping out here. Lee, Thorn, Honey, Fenrir, and Iandee have been almost permanent fixtures: I¡¯ve been hoping that staying near the Pure Energy might help with the damage they suffered due to the alcaoris¡¯ ¨C Raven¡¯s ¨C attacks. So far the results are inconclusive ¨C only Iandee and Lee are Tier two, but they don¡¯t have a very good understanding of their Energy channels and can¡¯t tell me what the damage is to begin with, let alone if it¡¯s improved in the three days they¡¯ve camped out here. Or at least, that¡¯s what River¡¯s reported ¨C she and Tarra along with their ever-present guard in Shrieks have been commuting back and forth most days, sometimes twice or three times. Considering that the distance between the two is only about an hour when run at a good pace, that¡¯s definitely been feasible. Standing at the edge of the tunnel, I stare down into its depths. The last time I was here before running to the village to rescue River, Pure Energy filled a good two-thirds of its length, its scintillating, glittering liquid promising everything if I took the plunge down into it. River reported that by the end of the three days, the level of the Pure Energy was within arm¡¯s length of the top: she¡¯d had to head down into the tunnel ¨C carefully ¨C to do her initial tests, but by the end of it all she needed to do was lean over the edge. Now, all of that is gone. The tunnel looks like it once did, the first time we came along here. Closing my eyes, I investigate with my other sight. Well, that¡¯s interesting, I say to myself as I stare at the walls of the tunnel. Down underground, the tunnel walls had been full of magic, but it had been earth magic, and all very calm and solid. This is quite different. There¡¯s magic here, for sure, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not all earth magic, and it¡¯s certainly not stable. Instead, I see different types of magic writhing and even conflicting within the bare rock. The greatest amount of conflict and shifting energy is at the surface. As I look deeper into the earth, I see that there¡¯s the faintest hint of brown earth magic. I probably wouldn¡¯t have even noticed it except I think I¡¯ve tuned into earth magic after all that time spent staring at it while trying to learn Earth-Shaping. Now I¡¯ve spotted it, I realise something else: it¡¯s absorbing the writhing, fighting multicoloured energies in the stone. Not fast, but it¡¯s happening. Within a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, I bet that this energy won¡¯t be present any more. I don¡¯t remember seeing this in Raven¡¯s tunnel, but maybe there was just so much earth magic there that it was absorbed much more quickly. Or maybe I just couldn¡¯t see it against the brightness of the Pure Energy itself. Either way, I take my time to carefully test my footing before committing to standing on the odd energy. I see some of it try to burrow into my boots, but only small wisps actually manage. It does make me wonder how my Bound will fare with their bare feet, though. Then I realise that River, Lathani, Tarra, and Shrieks have already passed me, apparently even more eager than me to find out what lies below, and Bastet is standing near me, impatience coming across the Bond. I open my mouth to tell them not to move, but then close it as I see that barely more of the energy is going into their feet than is going into mine. Quickly checking my Core space, I don¡¯t see any harm being done. Opening my eyes again, I shrug. Looks like we¡¯re going to explore. ¡°Hey guys, wait for me!¡± I call with exasperation mixed with fondness. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eight: Aspected I¡¯m very tempted to turn the descent into a race, and I think Bastet and Lathani would be happy to join me, but my more sensible side stops me at the last moment. Even forgetting about mundane dangers of accidentally tripping over something and falling face-first down the rest of the tunnel, who knows what¡¯s waiting at the bottom for us? I do scramble down with more haste than grace, more than a little envious of Bastet who not only is far more balanced on four legs than I am on two, but also has her wings to help her keep or regain her balance. Fortunately, the samurans have more difficulty even than me. Well, the two Pathwalkers do ¨C Shrieks, despite his massive size, is far more agile on his feet than I might have assumed. Then again, I¡¯ve learned not to underestimate the burly samuran because of his size. Still, I manage to catch up to them before they make the bottom of the tunnel. ¡°Lathani, wait!¡± I tell her ¨C the nunda juvenile, of course, is the fastest of all of us and looks to be about to start the exploration all by herself. Fortunately, she listens to me even though I don¡¯t use the Bond to compel her. She¡¯s definitely matured a bit as, despite the obvious impatience in her ears and tail, she stays put until we join her. You¡¯re all so slow, she complains as we get down onto the flatter section. ¡°Not our fault you¡¯ve got far too many natural advantages,¡± I say mock-indignantly, nudging her shoulder with my hip. She¡¯s grown again, I realise abruptly. Distracted from her curiosity, she licks at the back of her paw and strokes at her ear. I am perfect, she ¡®admits¡¯. I¡¯m not going to stand for that and tweak her ear so she jumps with a short yelp-like sound, batting at me with her paw and overextending so she almost topples over. ¡°Perfect, huh?¡± I tease her. She snarls at me and looks about to jump me and start wrestling. Are we going to investigate this cave or not? The sound of Bastet¡¯s ¡®matriarch¡¯ mental tone stops both of us in our tracks. We look over as one to see the other four looking at us with a mixture of impatience and amusement. I cough with a hint of embarrassment and step forwards. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I say to the group, my ears still slightly warm. A head nudges my hand as I stride forwards and I can¡¯t help but rub at those super-soft ears. Pleasure and what I can only identify as love comes over the Bond from Lathani. Without questioning myself too much, I send back my own feelings to her. And if there¡¯s more than a little bit of familial love there too, who¡¯s going to know? Apart from Lathani, that is. Focussing my mind back onto business, I look around at the cave which seared itself into my memory the first time I came here. It¡¯s different. That¡¯s the first thing I notice. Fortunately, not in the way that matters most. Shrieks and Tarra both draw in identical breaths of shock as they see the sheer number of Energy Hearts coating the walls, ceiling and even floor of the chamber. The chamber itself is even bigger than before, as if the Pure Energy has continued eating away at the stone even while it coats it in condensed Energy. Maybe it has ¨C not all of the Energy Hearts are fixed to the walls; some are where they might have fallen if the material to which they were clinging was eaten away. Either way, there are definitely even more than there were the last time I visited, which is what I was most worried about. Here¡¯s a way to help more of the Unevolved to become Evolved. If River¡¯s quick development when he was given practically unfettered access to these Energy Hearts before was anything to judge by, there ought to be at least a few more Tier twos among the village before we go down to the samurans¡¯ meet-up in three months or so. How can there be so many? asks Tarra, finally enough past her shock to speak, though not enough to move. River, after pausing for a moment in surprise at just how many of the things she can see, has already started collecting the loose Hearts to pile near the entrance. Shrieks, getting over his own surprise, starts helping her without a word. ¡°It¡¯s a good question,¡± I respond, carefully starting to walk across the Energy Hearts covering the floor ¨C not missing the almost convulsive movement the herbalist makes, as if to stop me. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Kalanthia thought that the Energy Hearts before were created by the pressure prior to the explosion last time, but there was no pressure this time. Unless the weight of the rest of the Pure Energy counts,¡± I muse more to myself than to my companions. Explosion? the herbalist asks, sounding baffled. Oh yes, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever discussed this in detail with her. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°River, can you explain?¡± I ask. My Companion easily agrees, and I hear them talking to each other as I step further into the cave. Like Tarra, I was worried at first that I might break the Hearts by standing on them, but they¡¯re surprisingly sturdy. Probably because of how it¡¯s less individual hearts, and more like patches of them all merging together. A bit like how cookies grow to touch each other in the oven. In fact, I might even need a pickaxe to get them all out of here. Stopping about midway into the cave, I look around slowly. It¡¯s definitely bigger. Is that why the Energy tunnels are thick with earth magic? Does that stop the Pure Energy from eating away at them? Or perhaps it¡¯s caused by the Energy eating away at the stone: there was that crack which alerted Raven to the presence of the Pure Energy to begin with. It would be good to know why exactly there are so many more Energy Hearts this time: if they¡¯re caused by pressure, it¡¯s a bit dangerous to try to manufacture them. If they¡¯re caused by unmoving Pure Energy, however, and if Pure Energy can¡¯t eat through stone which is sufficiently saturated with earth magic¡­. Maybe plants and animals aren¡¯t the only things I need to try farming. Though that¡¯s for later: for now, we have plenty of Energy Hearts here. Curious as to what they look like through my non-physical sight ¨C I might as well just start calling it ¡®magic sight¡¯ by this point ¨C I close my eyes and activate it. Immediately, I feel a migraine looming. The Energy Hearts are so bright. Not quite as bright as the Pure Energy was ¨C actually, significantly dimmer, really ¨C but it¡¯s the difference between looking at the sun and looking straight into a bright light. Both are painful even if one is far more permanently damaging than the other. The difference here is that the Pure Energy had been contained only in one area; the Energy Hearts are everywhere. Before I have to turn my sight off, I do notice something interesting, though. Switching off my magic sight, I rub at my eyes for a moment before opening them. Looking around thoughtfully, I crouch down to the ground. ¡°Aingeal, can you come closer please?¡± I ask, sending the little fire elemental an image and desire for what I want him to do. It happily shifts forwards and bobs close to the Energy Heart at my feet. Moving slowly forward, I get the fire elemental to shift with me. Interesting. The Energy Hearts are different colours, to both my magical and physical sights. The ones before were shades of red, mostly deep crimson. These ones are red, and yellow, and green, and brown, and purple, and white, and- I¡¯m not in a musical, I think to myself with a bit of amusement, stopping that train of thought in its tracks. Anyway, they¡¯re different colours, and from what I see in my magic sight, each is different there too. I¡¯ve used my mana sight to look at both Energy Hearts and Cores before, and have never seen huge differences. Both have the Energy contained in a sort of¡­ball. Even when the object itself isn¡¯t spherical. It¡¯s like my own Core. The Energy is held inside by Energy; there¡¯s no physical structure to it at all. Just like I could have repaired my Core before with the Energy held within my Core ¨C if it hadn¡¯t broken my Core more to get the Energy out than it healed ¨C these Hearts are made up of Energy as much as they contain it. However, each of the energies within are slightly different. Two, I recognise well. It doesn¡¯t surprise me in the least that they¡¯re the red and brown ones. The magic in the red Heart shifts around inside restlessly, whirling one way and then the other, though somehow each movement reinforces the shape of the Heart even as it battles it. The brown Heart is almost the opposite. The magic within it is calm, quiet, still. If they¡¯re not fire-aspected and earth-aspected Hearts, I¡¯ll eat my hat. And I don¡¯t even have a hat to eat. The implications send my mind racing. Last time, all the Hearts I harvested were fire-aspected. That¡¯s why I suspect that both Bastet and River have received fire-related Abilities. That River also received a poison-related Ability after having absorbed so much of the danaris¡¯ poison-aspected Core is just more evidence that the aspect of the Cores is important for the being¡¯s Evolution. But the fact remains that last time the Hearts were all fairly uniform where this time they¡¯re not. I don¡¯t know why; all I can do is make a guess based on what Kalanthia has said and what I¡¯ve observed myself. What if last time the explosion is what gave the Hearts their fire-aspect? And without that, they are more ¡®natural¡¯ this time. What if Pure Energy is a combination of all the other different types of energy? Magic energy, at least? Like white light is a mixture of all other waves of light. It would explain the odd combination of colours I noticed in the stone of the tunnel down, and the sheer variation of colours I see here. An interesting thought. Standing up carefully, I step further into the cavern. By this point, Tarra has joined River and Shrieks in collecting Energy Hearts, though she seems to be inclined to tuck them into the pouches she has hanging from her belt. I¡¯ll definitely need to talk to them about how things are going to go from here on out. Though I need to think for myself how to do it now that it¡¯s not just my little group involved. There are lots of plans to make, that¡¯s for sure. And I probably shouldn¡¯t do it all unilaterally ¨C that seems like a good way to put my foot in it. Getting deeper into the cave, I see the shimmer of Pure Energy up ahead. Idly feeding Aingeal some fire mana, I head towards it. The little fire elemental loves fire mana, though it¡¯s happy enough with my personal mana too. I tried feeding it a little earth mana on the way here and it rejected it with enough force and bewildered hurt to make me decide never to try it again. The Pure Energy isn¡¯t in a pool this time. Instead, the shimmering is reflecting up from the stream running through the tunnel below. Once more I feel a mixture of being drawn to the liquid at the same time as being repulsed by it. For now, I creep away. We have Energy Hearts to harvest, conversations to have, and plans to make. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Nine: Misunderstanding We¡¯re next to the river. It¡¯s a bit of a detour to where I want to go, but necessary for what I need right now, though I¡¯m going to have to figure out a way to get water closer to the cave. Even with Earth-Shaping I think it would take too long ¨C the river is pretty far away from the Energy Hearts¡¯ cavern. Hmm, maybe Kalanthia would be open to a trade¡­. For later consideration. For now, I quickly cast another Inspect Environment, my third in the last few minutes. I¡¯m just very wary of what might be lying in wait in the river. All my Bound currently present are watching carefully too. This is probably one of the safest level ups I¡¯ve done recently, but we are further down in the valley than most times I¡¯ve done it. It¡¯s following pretty quickly on the heels of my previous level up, but that¡¯s what spending a large quantity of time near Pure Energy does. With no sign of anything about to attack, I quickly strip off my clothes and armour, leaving them in a neat pile on the river bank ¨C even if I can clean my spider silk undergarments and my hide and chitin armour with magic after they¡¯re covered in gunk, it¡¯s better not to need to. Heading into the river, I go in up to my waist to the point where the current starts tugging at me slightly, then close my eyes and focus. Once more, I¡¯ve decided that I need to invest some more points in Willpower. We¡¯re about to return to the village which means it¡¯s time to Bind the rest of the Warriors ¨C having more Willpower will ease the slight strain I can already feel from the number of Dominate Bonds I hold. Of course, the possibility remains that I use Tame instead of Dominate, or even Alliance, but I still don¡¯t know whether I trust the samurans enough for that. Although I was grateful for them not attacking River when she ¨C he, at the time ¨C entered the village with an intention to stop the shaman, the fact that they did step aside proves that even the loyalty of the Warriors has its limits. Or rather, it¡¯s loyalty to the village generally rather than the leader of the village specifically. Which means that if one of them decides he doesn¡¯t agree with what I¡¯m doing, I could find a spear planted in my back. Obviously the easy solution to that is to not make myself unpopular, but I can¡¯t guarantee that. Hopefully everything I¡¯ve got planned will be obviously for the benefit of the village, but it¡¯s true that for the Unevolved to benefit more, the Warriors will benefit less. Having lingering resentment over that could be problematic. That¡¯s another advantage of the Dominate Bond ¨C even aside from its guarantee of my safety, it gives me an insight into what my Bound are feeling, allowing me to discover that resentment before it turns into hatred. Tame doesn¡¯t necessarily help me with that. So, for now, I¡¯m definitely going to make sure all the Tier twos in the village are Bound to me with Dominate. Which means I need more Willpower. However, that¡¯s not all I need. This time, I decide to add a single point each to all of my physical stats. I¡¯m determined to put a full level up into both Intelligence and Wisdom, but since I need the Willpower this time, I¡¯ll do that on my next two level ups. Which means I need to shore up the gap a bit between my physical stats and my mental and soul ones. I¡¯ve already experienced what happens if they get too out of balance, and my soul stat is a bit of a monster already. I¡¯ll probably need to dedicate a level up to each of my physical stats too, but I¡¯ll do that after Intelligence and Wisdom: those are more urgent since I use so much mana on a daily basis. Triggering my level up, I assign three points to Willpower, one to Constitution, one to Dexterity (Flexibility), and one to Strength (Endurance). I pick Flexibility because I have a theory that it¡¯s not only talking about physical flexibility. If it can make me more adaptable and able to think of ideas outside the box, that can only help. I dedicated the Strength one to Endurance because I want the stamina. I don¡¯t use Power a huge amount these days, but I do run out of stamina from time to time. As I watch the symphony erupt in my Core space, I notice how it clashes a bit. Not in a way that seems like it¡¯s detrimental, more in a discordancy which is somehow harmonious if you listen to it carefully. It¡¯s fascinating to watch ¨C as interesting as watching a single stat be increased, but in a different way. The wave of Energy erupts from my Core as usual, but after that it is far less unanimous. Some of it goes to expand my Core space ¨C the points towards Willpower. Other bits flow into my body and do something there. Strength, I would guess. Or maybe Dexterity. My mental presence frowns as I try to follow it. At the same time, something impacts my channels themselves. Again, there is too much confusion with clashing energies to see exactly what¡¯s happening there, but I can tell that at least one of them is affecting my Energy channels. I didn¡¯t expect that: I know it¡¯s not Willpower which means that one of my physical stats has an impact on my channels. Something I do notice which concerns me a little is that some of my Energy channels look a little¡­brittle. Almost¡­corroded. They¡¯re the channels furthest away from my Core, the ones which emerge from my Core space to absorb Energy from my environment. I¡¯m troubled by what I saw as I watch the final act of the level up, the way the Energy all rushes back to my Core and then explodes outwards, taking the motes of bronze impurities with it. I remain troubled as I wash off the disgusting mess that covers my skin with soap and cold water. Why would the ends of my Energy channels be corroded? And it isn¡¯t because of Raven¡¯s acidic mana attacks: I¡¯ve already dealt with those issues. So this is something else that¡¯s happened since. Could it be to do with Earth-Shaping? I don¡¯t see why it would be that, but I can¡¯t really think of anything else it might be either. I¡¯ll need to investigate the problem in more detail, but not now. As soon as I¡¯m clean, I walk back towards my clothes. My Bound are still being reassuringly attentive, especially since I¡¯ve been far deeper in my thoughts than I probably should be in the middle of the forest. After getting dressed, we all set off again. Sirocco¡¯s gone ahead to check on the village, making sure that everything is well with them. She¡¯s been a bit bored over the last five days ¨C three of them with me stuck underground learning Earth-Shaping; the other day and a half also spent underground harvesting Energy Hearts. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. We¡¯ve had all hands on deck ¨C well, paws, mostly ¨C to collect as many of them as possible. Not that anyone complained about needing to be in contact with crystallised Energy. In fact, I rather had to practically order them away to eat, drink and rest in between shifts. In fact, I¡¯ve noticed that all of my present Tier one Bound have gone up significantly in progress towards the next tier. The most amount of progress was made by Lathani who is already at eighty percent towards Tier two. Fenrir has also made good progress and is right on the cusp of Evolution. In fact, Bastet had to recommend that he be barred from the team working on Energy Hearts ¨C apparently he should use an actual beast Core for the final push to Evolution. He¡¯s therefore been absorbing the danaris¡¯ Core, but hasn¡¯t quite triggered his change yet. Sirocco is another who¡¯s close to Evolution at ninety-five percent. She hasn¡¯t been involved much in the excavation of Energy Hearts, though, not liking the small spaces underground. Apparently she¡¯s been close enough to the Pure Energy to gain six percent at least. My avian companion would have made the slowest progress of all of the Bound who came with me ¨C and survived ¨C except for the surprisingly little progress made by Honey. The honey badger-like woshel¡¯s Bond came to an end a couple of days ago, but apparently she likes being with us enough to want to extend it. Much like Sirocco, she didn¡¯t want to be too tightly bound, but she did want to be part of the group. Bastet was happy to not lose another member of her little scouting band, so Honey now has a relatively permanent Tame Bond, unless one of us decides to break it. She only managed to gain three percent progress to the next tier, which I have to guess is because of the significant damage she sustained from Raven¡¯s acid mana attacks. Actually, maybe that¡¯s why Fenrir hasn¡¯t made it to the next tier? Working on finding a way to heal the damage made to the Energy channels of my Bound is definitely high on my priority list ¨C and it¡¯s even more urgent if the damage is affecting the progress they make to the next tier. Only stabilising the samuran village is higher. As we approach the village, the huts becoming visible through the trees, I notice Iandee tense up even more than he has been recently. The normally garrulous young samuran Warrior has been worryingly quiet over the last five days. I can tell that Shrieks and Lee are concerned about him too. I¡¯ve been giving him space; I don¡¯t know what the other samurans have been doing. Guilt goes through me again as I conclude that it¡¯s probably the deaths of two of his brothers which has caused the change. What¡¯s wrong? I find myself asking him. At least I manage to keep it as a private message, even if I probably shouldn¡¯t have sent it at all. For a long moment, during which the huts and fence of the village come properly into view, I think that he¡¯s not going to respond. And then he does. I shouldn¡¯t be here, he says with a hint of despair in his mental voice. Why not? I ask, surprised. It certainly wasn¡¯t what I was expecting to hear. Murmurs-quietly should be here, not me, he replies, as if desperate to say it, as if he¡¯s been holding it in for too long. And now I recognise what I¡¯m feeling from his side of things. It¡¯s so similar to my own emotions that I couldn¡¯t identify it. Sometimes we¡¯re blind to what is right in front of us. He feels guilty. Terribly, horribly guilty. Why do you feel that way? I ask gently. He pushed me out of the way; took the attack which was meant for me. The attack which killed him. Ah. Survivor¡¯s guilt. Hello darkness, my old friend. Iandee, I start, then I check myself. I change direction, moving over to where he is and stopping next to him, my hand on his shoulder holding him in place despite the lack of force I put into it. The rest of the group looks at us curiously. ¡°Everyone else keep going,¡± I tell them firmly. ¡°We¡¯ll catch up.¡± This close to the village, I doubt there are many threats that we won¡¯t be able to handle, especially not with everyone else in shouting distance. We must enter with the leader, rumbles Shrieks. We will not be welcome if we do not, he points out. Traditions, right. ¡°Alright then, just¡­give us a bit of space, OK?¡± Even if we are communicating mentally, I feel like it¡¯s right to ask for that. Especially since the samurans find it difficult not to let their emotions spill into their spikes even when not actually speaking aloud. I know they can stop it, but it takes a lot of effort and practice. When the rest of the party has withdrawn a little, I turn to face Iandee, both hands on his shoulders, my head almost close enough to his extended jaw to bump into it. Eats-dirt, I say, the use of his full name apparently startling him. Listen to me, OK? I¡¯ve been there. I¡¯ve felt that it should have been me who died rather than a family member. And I¡¯ll ask you what my¡­friend asked me. Do you think that Murmurs-quietly would want you to be consumed by guilt and be unable to live after his death? No, but it was my fault- It wasn¡¯t, I refute firmly. If anything, it¡¯s my fault that you were all in that situation to begin with. I let that sink in, the surprise flaring through his spikes and the Bond telling me that he hadn¡¯t considered that. I could have made a different choice. We could have retreated, or not investigated the tunnel at all. Perhaps we would all be alive now, or perhaps we would all die later from the consequence of those choices. But it¡¯s not your fault that you were in that position. But if I¡¯d fought better¡­ he trails off, guilt flaring again. Then perhaps he would have died later, or you¡¯d have died when he wasn¡¯t able to save you, or perhaps neither of you would have died. We don¡¯t know. We can¡¯t know. All we can do is move forward from here. And I ask you again, do you think that Murmurs-quietly died wanting you to be consumed in guilt? Or wanting you to live? I think I¡¯m getting through to him. Thoughtfulness creeps through the guilt and self-condemnation which had been roiling together inside him until now. I should have spoken to him sooner, but I honestly thought he blamed me for the attack, not himself. I was trying to let his brothers help him. Maybe that was a mistake. He would want me to live, Iandee concludes finally. Then live, I say simply. Don¡¯t forget his sacrifice, but be grateful for it rather than guilty. It¡¯s easier said than done; I know that better than most. But I wish him better luck than I¡¯ve had with actually putting those words into practice. Patting his shoulders, I turn and start making my way back to the rest of the group. A moment later, a scaled and clawed hand lands on the opposite shoulder to where Aingeal is bobbing up and down. I pause and turn back to Iandee. I¡¯m not worried about an attack: all I feel through the Bond is gratitude. Thank you, he says simply, then steps forward to rub his cheek against mine. I¡¯m frozen for a moment, enough for him to step back again. Then, sending another pulse of gratitude down the Bond to me, he looks at me expectantly, sending glances towards the rest of the group. Oh. OK. I start moving towards the rest of my Bound, still feeling a bit off-balance. Was that a samuran version of a hug or something? I hope I¡¯m not misunderstanding flirting gestures again! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Ten: Plenty To Catch Up On Approaching the gates, I walk at the front of the group, flanked by River and Tarra, Shrieks, Lee, and Iandee immediately behind. The rest of my Bound are further back behind us. Apparently that¡¯s the traditional way of returning from a trip. I don¡¯t care too much about traditions, but the rest of the samurans do so I figure I might as well play along for now at least. ¡°Welcome back, Honoured Tamer, Honoured Herbalist, Honoured Reducer. Welcome, my brothers,¡± the Warrior on the right says with dignity. His eyes are searching and I can tell that he¡¯s already spotted the two who aren¡¯t with us. But he doesn¡¯t say anything about it. I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s called Bites-a-leaf, but I check with Shrieks before I answer. ¡°Thank you, Bites-a-leaf,¡± I reply after Shrieks has confirmed that I was right. The samuran next to him is called Jumps-over-a-rock and is one of the scouts I faced in the ranking fight. I remember he was pretty fast but he went down quickly. ¡°Have there been any changes since we¡¯ve been gone?¡± I ask him cautiously. ¡°Nothing significant,¡± Bites-a-leaf answers. ¡°Honoured Wind-whisperer and Honoured Wood-shaper have barely been seen since the ranking fights. Honoured Grower has given the instructions to bring the village back to normal. It is¡­odd to not have the hatchlings around,¡± he says, a mixture of discomfort, sadness, and confusion flashing through his spikes. He quickly moves on, though. ¡°The Unevolved have said that they¡¯re glad to be able to search for resources without worrying about the Forest of Death. They report fewer beasts to hunt, though.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± I murmur. ¡°The beasts should come back in time, though.¡± ¡°That is what happened the last time a life-devourer ripped through the region,¡± Bites-a-leaf agrees. ¡°Is there aught else you would like, Honoured Tamer?¡± I think about it but then shake my head. ¡°No. I will be calling for a meeting with all of the Warriors, but we¡¯ll probably do that one at a time. So just wait for someone to contact you about that.¡± ¡°Yes Honoured Pathwalker,¡± acknowledged both Bites-a-leaf and Jumps-over-a-rock, standing aside so we can go in. Quickly striding through, I look for the Bound I left behind here. Immediately, I see Trinity ¨C her massive bulk is a bit hard to miss. She¡¯s currently sleeping, a veritable hill of flesh. Spine is pressed against her though his venomous plates are currently flattened against his side so he¡¯s not hurting her. Theia and Shakira are both munching slowly at a pile of vegetation which has been provided for them. They look happy. Catch, Pride, and the Pathwalkers are the only ones I don¡¯t immediately spot, though I get a sense of their vague direction. Catch and Pride are much further away than the three Pathwalkers, though, so I wonder whether they might have gone out hunting. Good for them if they have. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± I say, turning back to my group. ¡°Lee and Iandee, you¡¯re back under Shrieks¡¯ command. Shrieks, you¡¯re released from the party. I do want to see all the non-Bound Warriors to bring them into the group. Up to you if it would be better to do it one by one, or have them all present. I can only do one Bonding at a time.¡± The same kind of Bond we have? Shrieks checked, indicating his brothers. ¡°Yes,¡± I agree shortly, not giving him my reasons. Pairs is probably the best option, he muses. I shall organise it. ¡°Thanks.¡± Turning away from them, I face the Pathwalkers. ¡°River, Tarra, what do you need to do?¡± They exchange glances. I no doubt have plenty to catch up on thanks to my absence for the last three days, Tarra answers with a hint of accusation. I give her a hard look until she avoids my eyes. I would appreciate Reducer¡¯s help, she answers, a little more subdued. I¡¯m happy to give it, River answers briskly, but I need to make sure that my new hut is in good condition. I¡¯ll help you with that, offers Tarra, if you then come and help me with my tasks. Agreed, answers River easily. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Looks like that¡¯s settled,¡± I say. ¡°Tarra, don¡¯t forget that I want you working on Lathani¡¯s Energy channels as soon as possible,¡± I remind her. I have not forgotten, answers Tarra with a quick look at the nunda juvenile currently sprawled over the dirt ground, enjoying the last of the sun before it dips down below the level of the trees. ¡°OK, then I¡¯ll see you later,¡± I say in dismissal, though smile at River when she sends a flicker of warm feeling down our Bond. I¡¯ll miss her if she doesn¡¯t come to sleep with the group later ¨C I¡¯ve already missed a couple of nights with her when she bedded down in the clearing surrounded by vine-stranglers. I¡¯d forgotten that each of the Pathwalkers get to have their own hut. Actually, that¡¯s a thought ¨C aren¡¯t I supposed to have a hut myself? I¡¯ll need to talk to someone about that. Maybe Flower would have a good idea. ¡°Right, the rest of you are welcome to relax, eat, go hunting, do what you want,¡± I say to those remaining: Thorn, Fenrir, Lathani, Komodo, Sirocco, and Bastet. I would like to hunt, says Bastet, clawing at the dirt with her talons. I have been underground a lot recently doing very little. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I tell her, feeling a little guilty. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to stay with me all that time.¡± I wanted to, she tells me firmly. But now I want to hunt if you are safe. ¡°Fair enough. And yes, I should be safe enough,¡± I reassure her. I can¡¯t help grinning a little and moving forward to scratch at her neck ¨C her favourite place to be rubbed. She¡¯s so bossy but when I scratch at the skin of her neck, she melts against me. ¡°Would any of you like to go hunting too?¡± I ask the rest. I¡¯d like to, says Lathani eagerly. I eye her, considering it. Given what Tarra said she needed to do, I doubt that she¡¯ll want to work on Lathani¡¯s Energy channels today, so the nunda juvenile might as well go out. ¡°Alright. Anyone else?¡± Thorn and Komodo both indicate that they would like to go out, which reassures me a little bit: with all four of them working together, there shouldn¡¯t be too much which could really offer a threat to them. Fenrir takes a moment to think about it, but Bastet nudges him both physically and mentally. It would be good for you ¨C you might evolve if you kill a bit, I hear her encouraging him. A moment later, Fenrir also says that he wants to go out. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go too, Sirocco?¡± I check with her, currently sitting on the opposite shoulder from Aingeal. She sends back a sense of negation, and the impression of her wings being tired. I suppose it¡¯s not surprising ¨C she¡¯s been doing a lot of flying between the two tunnel entrances just to check that everything is fine. Even in the last couple of days, she¡¯s been flying back and forth to check on the village. I haven¡¯t asked her to do it; she took it on herself, but I¡¯m grateful nonetheless. ¡°Alright, well, I¡¯ll see you all later, then. Happy hunting!¡± Lathani bounds over to rub her head against my hip ¨C gone are the days when she only used to reach my knee ¨C and then, with a final scratch to Bastet¡¯s neck, the hunting party leave. My hand now free, I reach up to rub at Sirocco. ¡°We haven¡¯t spent much time together recently, have we?¡± I ask her almost wistfully. I miss Kalanthia¡¯s cave sometimes. It was starting to sort of feel like home, somewhere safe to come back to. Here, I feel like I always have to be on my guard. Hopefully that will ease a little when all the Warriors are Bound to me. Reaching into my Inventory, I pull out a handful of samova beans, feeding one to Sirocco while popping the rest in my mouth. My harvest was better than I was expecting, especially considering how massacred the beans had been during my last visit down here. But as it turned out, the destruction of the original shoots actually helped produce more beans: when they grew back, they grew back far more bushy than they had been. The beans matured enough for me to harvest not long before I needed to leave, so I took half the harvest with me and planted the rest again. Hopefully my Bound who stayed back there are remembering to water them when they need it. Not that they¡¯ve probably needed it recently ¨C it¡¯s rained three days out of five, and only let up today as we got to the river. Five samova beans planted gave me over a hundred in harvest. While that¡¯s not going to get me far when they¡¯re only about the size of kidney beans, their speed of development means that there might be another harvest waiting for me by the time I get back. Obviously, that depends on how long it takes me to get things organised here, but it kind of gives me a deadline too ¨C I don¡¯t want to lose this next harvest. ¡°What do you think, Sirocco? Nice?¡± Sirocco indicates that she likes the bean and prods me mentally until I laugh and pull out another one. Since Shrieks knows I want to meet with the Warriors and where I am, I decide not to go anywhere else and just hang around the area, spending time with Sirocco. I¡¯m a bit peckish, so I pull out some meat and cooked ¡®potato¡¯ to munch on. With salt and a bit of seasoning on both of them, it¡¯s not half-bad. Perhaps Tarra will have a better idea of what other things can be eaten, though their digestive systems aren¡¯t the same as mine so I can¡¯t assume that we will be able to eat the same things. Resting on the ground, my back propped up against a convenient rock, Sirocco sitting on my shoulder, we discuss the last few days. Well, I talk; Sirocco gives her point of view on what¡¯s happened. It¡¯s interesting to see the burning of the vine-stranglers through her eyes, to see the way the fire moved in two directions and then in only one, chasing the vine-stranglers all the way across their territory. She was also watching most of the ranking fights ¨C I hadn¡¯t realised that. It¡¯s fascinating to see things from a literal bird¡¯s eye view and I see several things that I could have done better. At my prompting, she shows me the fight with the alcaoris too, and I feel a flicker of guilt again as I think about things I could have done differently, there too. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have lost so many as a result. I can¡¯t change the past, but I can change the future. Maybe this is something I need to do more ¨C ask Sirocco to give me her view of things. Her literal view, but perhaps also her opinion. We need to do more sparring, that¡¯s for sure. So many things to do. And as I see two Warriors approach me, nervousness playing through their spikes, I prepare to get on with my first task. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eleven: Involve the Unevolved Binding the rest of the Warriors turns out to be easy enough. Apparently the combination of having beaten each of them in battle, as well as having been recognised as the leader of the Pathwalkers means that they don¡¯t put up much resistance. I had a couple of interesting conversations with some of them, though ¨C the Battle of Wills setting encourages honest discussion. They gave me more ideas about what to raise in the discussion I need to have next. Now with fourteen Warriors Bound to me with Dominate instead of the five I had before ¨C three after the recent casualties ¨C I can feel a little soul strain again. The four effective points I gained from my level up have most definitely helped ¨C I doubt I¡¯d have been able to Bind that many without it ¨C but apparently Binding so many creatures all at once is still a bit of a strain. It¡¯s probably also to do with their sapience if previous experiences are any indication. I resolve to do some work in my soulspace to hopefully ease the strain a bit. It¡¯s not too bad as is, and I could probably even do a few more Dominates if really necessary, but I¡¯d rather not feel the slight ache all the time. And I don¡¯t know what long term effects it could have if I don¡¯t deal with it. As the last Warrior pair walks away from me, new Bonds in place, I see that the space around us has filled up a bit. The sun has pretty much disappeared below the horizon, only a little bit of light from it still illuminating the sky. One of the moons has appeared and the other is on the horizon. They¡¯re full tonight, so even once the sun vanishes completely, it¡¯ll still be fairly light. And I have Aingeal anyway who¡¯s always happy to be my lamp, especially when it earns him a bit of extra fire mana. The Unevolved samurans appear to have returned from the forest, and the fruit of their labours is stacked all around. They seem to have assumed that where I am is where the Pathwalkers will eat, as there¡¯s a pile of carcasses and a smaller pile of berries not far from my feet. The other Pathwalkers appear to have gone along with it as they are all sitting around it, though they¡¯ve left a space for me. The Warriors are all sitting around another pile of carcasses, this one a fair bit larger. The two Warriors I most recently Bound have gone directly for that and are already tearing hungrily at the meat. They have their own pile of berries which I see them dipping into. Finally, there are three other piles, each smaller than the last. Around them are varying numbers of Unevolved. Oddly enough, the smallest pile has the greatest number of Unevolved. Apparently my demonstration a few days ago didn¡¯t make the impact I wanted it to. Worse, making my stomach twist uncomfortably, there¡¯s a large group of Unevolved crouching with no pile in front of them at all. I don¡¯t have to be Bound to them to know that they are hungry: the way they stare at the food is enough evidence of that. Pushing myself to my feet, I move over to the Pathwalkers¡¯ pile. ¡°Take as much as you think you will eat,¡± I instruct them firmly. The group look at me questioningly but I just stare back at them silently until they comply. Each Pathwalker takes one carcass except those who chose a small beast and who take two. It still leaves about seven carcasses left. Leaning down, I pick them up. Or try to, anyway. It¡¯s not an issue with strength, though the dead weight of the bodies is heavy enough. It¡¯s more that it¡¯s very awkward to carry bloody, floppy bodies which try to slip out of my hands. I¡¯ll help you, Markus, River says, quickly pushing herself to her feet. Silently Joy joins her, using her power to create a woven mat of roots underneath the pile of carcasses. ¡°Thank you,¡± I say gratefully as I grab one side of the weave. River and Joy grab two other sides and I lead the way over to the group of hungry Unevolved. Joy hesitates as our destination becomes obvious, but she doesn¡¯t say anything, only continues walking. River doesn¡¯t hesitate. We lay the food down in front of the samurans. I do a quick head count ¨C there¡¯s just under fifty of them here. Seven carcasses aren¡¯t going to be nearly enough. Looking around, I see that everyone¡¯s watching what¡¯s happening. Let them watch. Perhaps this time it will stick. Especially when I put into place my other intentions. Going over to the Warriors¡¯ pile, I tell them to do the same as the Pathwalkers. This time they obviously realise what¡¯s going on. Several of them exchange glances as if to question whether they should play a part in this and a quiet murmur of grunts and clicks meets my ears. I just wait. I could force the issue with the Bonds I have with them, but I¡¯d rather not. Do it, Shrieks says, taking three carcasses from the pile. Lee and Iandee have already taken two each. The other Warriors, seeing their example, start slowly doing the same. There are fewer carcasses left over from this pile: the Warriors apparently need more food than the Pathwalkers. That¡¯s understandable considering they¡¯re bigger. Or maybe they¡¯re being greedier. I guess I¡¯ll see what¡¯s left over at the end of dinner. Still, Joy, River, and I take the five carcasses left over to join the seven already near the Unevolved. The bodies are untouched. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± I ask them, concentrating on being understood: only one of the samurans here is Bound to me. Yells-a-curse, I think his name is. ¡°Are we allowed to eat Honoured Pathwalker Tamer?¡± one of the unknown samurans asks tentatively. A quick Inspect reveals that he¡¯s called Rolls-a-stone. ¡°Of course!¡± I answer, more angry at what the question implies than surprised that he feels the need to ask. I wouldn¡¯t be so cruel as to put food in front of hungry people and expect them not to eat, but perhaps the shaman did. ¡°Just make sure to share it with everyone,¡± I add, fearing that it might turn into a free for all considering how famished they all look. ¡°I know it¡¯s not a lot,¡± I add apologetically, ¡°but you can also have whatever¡¯s left over from the other piles after.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. While I would like to share it all out evenly, I know that food control is something significant among the village. I will be changing things, but not everything this second. What I¡¯m planning will be more than enough change for tonight ¨C I¡¯d better not set the Evolved samurans against me from the start. ¡°Thank you Honoured Pathwalker,¡± Rolls-a-stone says, more gratitude in his spikes than I¡¯m comfortable with. ¡°No problem,¡± I say, then take a few steps back as the Unevolved start tearing into the carcasses with fervour. As I watch, though, I see that they are sharing with each other, each carcass being put in the middle of four or five samurans and quickly torn to bits. Aware of everyone looking at me ¨C overtly or covertly ¨C I hesitate for a moment. Should I sit with this group of Unevolved? They look so focussed on their meal ¨C it probably wouldn¡¯t help much with my overall objectives. Perhaps the other Unevolved? It could be a good way of letting the ¡®lower class¡¯ samurans get to know me a bit and send a message to the rest of the group that I don¡¯t see them as secondary citizens. Maybe not tonight, I decide in the end for the same reason as I decided not to share the food exactly equally. I have a feeling that the Pathwalkers would be a bit offended if I did that straight after taking ¡®their¡¯ food away, and we still need to be able to have a productive discussion. So, with River and Joy still flanking me, I head back to where I started, sitting down in the space left for me. Obviously, there are no carcasses for me to consume, but that¡¯s not a problem: I have food in my Inventory. Pulling out a baked ¡®potato¡¯ and some chunks of meat, I remind myself to do some cooking soon. I¡¯ve run out of stew, let alone anything nicer. I do help myself to a few of the berries, though ¨C after making sure with Inspect Flora that they¡¯re safe to eat, of course. ¡°Mm, these are nice,¡± I say, surprised at the sweet yet tangy flavour of them. Why did you do that? asks Windy, ignoring my comment in favour of leaning forward, anger flickering through her spikes. They hadn¡¯t earned food today. You¡¯ve rewarded their incompetence or laziness. For the majority of them, it¡¯s not incompetence or laziness which prevents them from reaching their resource quota, replies River before I can respond, anger in her own spikes. Then what is it? snorts Windy. For many of them it¡¯s bad luck: they haven¡¯t found what they were searching for, or not enough to meet the minimum to gain a food token. Some are injured and are weaker as a result. Some are simply weak from hunger. Has it been so long since you were an Unevolved that you have forgotten what it was like? River challenges. Windy harrumphs. The Unevolved are lazy, needing motivation. We all know that. Giving them food even when they haven¡¯t contributed sufficiently to the village will just end up with them sitting around the village doing nothing. ¡°What¡¯s your evidence for that?¡± I ask, interrupting River in what is sure to be a scathing rebuttal. I send her an apologetic look, amused when she actually flashes a quick glare at me before looking away. I like these changes in her. But her getting into a fight with Windy won¡¯t help achieve what I want to tonight, even if I¡¯m grateful for her supporting me. I couldn¡¯t have asked for a better way to start this evening¡¯s discussion. Wind-whisperer has a point that often when an Unevolved meets their quota and gains the token, they don¡¯t seem motivated to go and do more to earn a better token, Tarra points out. ¡°But have you considered that that might be because earning a better token isn¡¯t worth the risk of going back out into the forest?¡± I ask. There¡¯s a moment of silence. ¡°Perhaps this is a good moment to have a discussion which is desperately needed,¡± I comment, seizing the moment. ¡°I¡¯m going to invite some of the Warriors over.¡± This makes several of the Pathwalkers turn to me with confusion or rejection in their spikes and in the Bond. What, bring the Warriors over? Why? What do we need to discuss with the Warriors? The voices overlap, only River and Joy staying silent. I¡¯d like to think it¡¯s because they see where I¡¯m going with this. I¡¯ll take it if they¡¯re quiet because they trust me, though, which I figure is more likely. Shrieks, I say mentally, please choose five other Warriors and come to join us here for an important discussion. Bring your food with you. Yes, Tamer, he answers in his usual mental rumble. I see them having a quick discussion over in their circle, and then Shrieks stands up, his chosen Warriors with him. Lee is one of them, which makes sense since he came out fourth from the top in the ranking fight. Iandee is also with them which makes less sense since, although he apparently advanced a rank in the recent fights, that still leaves him in the bottom five. The other three are those who took second, third, and fifth place after Shrieks ¨C I¡¯m not really counting myself in the Warrior hierarchy as I chose to be considered a Pathwalker. If I remember their names correctly after all the Bonds I formed this afternoon, I think that¡¯s Bites-a-leaf, Plays-with-poison, and Runs-into-a-tree. Plays-with-poison is easy enough to remember since he was the one who used poisoned daggers and a choking cloud of dust to fight me ¨C flammable dust. I haven¡¯t yet come up with nicknames for them ¨C Leaf, Poison, and Tree are probably the easiest to remember. They move over to the circle and I shift to make space for them. Joy, Tarra, and River all do the same. After a moment, Flower does too. Sticks is the next to follow, though she does so rather slowly. For a long moment it looks like Windy is going to be the holdout ¨C predictably ¨C but after I glare at her, she moves. Begrudgingly, of course With enough space to sit down, the Warriors take their places as part of the circle. Due to Sticks, Flower, and Windy all moving to sit in pretty much the same part of the circle, Poison, Leaf, and Iandee are all together. Shrieks comes and sits next to me, dwarfing me beside his bulk ¨C even sitting he¡¯s still a mountain. Tree and Lee sit together between Tarra and Joy. It¡¯s good enough. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, looking around the circle, doing my best to meet everyone¡¯s eyes briefly. ¡°I wanted to have you all here because there are going to be some changes in this village and I would like to have your help in deciding how best to implement them. I thought it would be best to have equal numbers of Pathwalkers and Warriors for this first discussion as you reflect two sides of the leadership. However, we are still missing a voice.¡± They exchange glances, mostly of confusion, but I notice Windy looking mutinous. I think she¡¯s worked out what I¡¯m intending. From the sudden wave of understanding from River, accompanied with approval, I realise that she knows too. You wish to involve the Unevolved, Shrieks rumbles. Understanding ripples around the circle, accompanied by no small amount of disbelief. ¡°I do,¡± I agree. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twelve: Significant Counsel The disbelief increases, and there¡¯s even a hint of anger. Why do you wish to bring them in? asks Leaf incredulously. They are too young, too weak to be part of any sort of decisions. They haven¡¯t yet proven that they have the ability to offer significant counsel, agrees Poison. Windy doesn¡¯t say anything, but I can tell she¡¯s in complete agreement. Sticks and Flower seem rather against the idea too. But then, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be popular. ¡°Tell me, how many Pathwalkers are there?¡± I ask. Several of them look at me as if I¡¯m mad. Understandable: I could just count them, couldn¡¯t I? ¡°Humour me.¡± There are seven Pathwalkers, River answers calmly after a moment. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I agree, ¡°though since I¡¯m an outsider, don¡¯t count me.¡± Six, then. Myself, Herbalist, Weaver, Wind-whisperer, Grower, and Wood-shaper. ¡°And how many Warriors are there?¡± Fourteen, Shrieks answers promptly. If we do not count you. That is a far smaller number than there should be, however. Especially since you¡¯ve lost two more of them since ripping through our village like a wind-storm, accused Windy. About to speak in my own defence, I¡¯m beaten to the draw, barely able to take a breath before River starts speaking. You¡¯ve heard our story of what we faced, she tells Windy angrily. She has? That¡¯s news to me, but I suppose River and Tarra would have had to be doing something while I was Binding the Warriors. How long before a beast like that would have attacked our village, probably causing far more casualties. She has a point, Tarra backed up. It had Evolved for a second time ¨C you know what the death rate is normally for facing a beast like that. You found that out first-hand, she says pointedly. It takes me a moment to realise that they¡¯re talking about the attack on Kalanthia. I hadn¡¯t realised that Windy was the one to kidnap Lathani. The reminder of an old anger takes a moment for me to beat back. Lathani isn¡¯t itching to kill her any more; how can you? I ask myself. I can wait until Kalanthia decides what retribution she requires. For now, though, the responses from River and Tarra appear to have been enough to quell Windy¡¯s desire to attack me, so I just continue the conversation. Take advantage of small mercies and all that. ¡°How many Warriors would you expect to have normally?¡± I ask Shrieks, actually quite interested in the answer. Between thirty and forty. So it¡¯s a ratio of one Pathwalker to five Warriors, or thereabouts. ¡°And how many Unevolved adults are there?¡± I¡¯m not going to speak of hatchlings, of course. Since they¡¯ve all been sacrificed, there are none to worry about right now. This question apparently requires a bit more thought to answer. We don¡¯t keep track of them all, volunteers Sticks hesitantly. They die too frequently. That¡¯s depressing. Well, hopefully the changes I¡¯m going to make will reduce the death rate. ¡°Give me an estimate.¡± Perhaps¡­two hundred? ventures Tarra. I suppose she¡¯d have a better idea than most: she deals with injuries and illnesses, so is probably aware of when large numbers of Unevolved have died recently, or when they haven¡¯t. ¡°Do you see what I¡¯m getting at here?¡± I ask, leaning forwards. The incomprehension I can see gives me my answer. ¡°The problem is that the Unevolved are the biggest group by far, yet they have no voice in the decisions made about the village.¡± But why should they? asks Flower. I was expecting it to be Windy, honestly, but maybe she realised that her sister would object and so stayed quiet this time. ¡°Well, why shouldn¡¯t they?¡± I turn the question back to her. They haven¡¯t proved themselves, answers Sticks instead. We¡¯ve all worked hard and advanced. We¡¯ve survived for years and gained useful knowledge and understanding during that time. An Unevolved only needs to survive a single year as a hatchling. Why should we listen to them? It¡¯s an interesting point, using age and experience as an indicator of wisdom. The problem is that while there is a correlation between the two, age doesn¡¯t necessarily mean wisdom, nor does youth mean stupidity. For me, the recent situation with the samurans is a case in point. ¡°I understand your point,¡± I reply calmly. ¡°But I fundamentally disagree that the group which is more than ten times bigger than either of your groups has no representation. What I suggest is that, just as I¡¯ve invited over six of the Warriors, that we invite over six of the Unevolved.¡± That gives them equal weight in the discussion to each of our groups! objects Windy, as appalled as I was expecting her to be. ¡°Be glad that I¡¯m not suggesting proportional representation,¡± I respond, fixing her with a hard look. ¡°Since that would give you only one representative, the Warriors two, and the Unevolved around twenty.¡± She subsides, but glares at me nonetheless. I look around the group. ¡°Do any of you have any reasonable objections to this idea which haven¡¯t yet been discussed?¡± Several look as if they¡¯d like to argue, but they subside as my eyes flick over them. ¡°Alright. Tarra, Shrieks, please go and invite them to suggest six representatives to come over.¡± They agree and the rest of us wait with varying degrees of patience for the Unevolved to be chosen and come over to us. The Unevolved seem to be as disbelieving at first as the rest were at the suggestion, though I notice that there¡¯s none of the anger with which my proposition was met among the Tier twos. Instead, I see something that looks like excitement, and maybe even hope. Is this true? asks Yells-a-curse using our Tame Bond to contact me. After having been the one to discover the shaman¡¯s insane actions, he seems to have lost a lot of the fear and awe he had for Pathwalkers. Or maybe it¡¯s just with me. Are we really being invited to be part of the decision-making? It is, I tell him. So pick your representatives well. By the time the moon has moved noticeably and some of the Tier twos are shifting impatiently, the six Unevolved representatives have been picked and move over to join the circle. Not wanting to have a repeat of the awkward shuffling, I get everyone to make space for them before they make it over. Apparently not wanting to have them sit among the Tier twos, Flower and Iandee shift apart to make enough space for all six of them to sit down there. It¡¯s a bit cosy when they do so ¨C the space isn¡¯t quite big enough ¨C but they¡¯re here. That¡¯s the most important part. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Welcome,¡± I say to the newcomers, smiling at them to try to put them at ease ¨C they look understandably nervous. I say a few words to explain why I wanted to bring them in, and to summarise for both them and the Warriors the question which we were discussing before they joined us. The Unevolved still look a little shell-shocked at even being present for the discussion; when I start asking them questions about whether they think that their brethren would be willing to do as much even if they weren¡¯t being motivated by food, they seem hesitant to give a definitive answer, shooting nervous glances at the Tier twos. I decide to go easier on them. It¡¯s going to take time to encourage them to talk freely. ¡°It¡¯s my belief,¡± I start, ¡°from my experience and knowledge of systems of motivation back where I¡¯m from that using access to food is actively detrimental. I understand that if an Unevolved eats without permission, even if he does it outside the village, there are serious consequences?¡± I check. Banishment at the least, answers Tarra calmly. Usually significant physical chastisement first. ¡°In short, you beat them up and then toss them out of the village,¡± I summarise, pushing my anger at the injustice deep down inside me. She hesitates. I¡­suppose it could be put that way. I shake my head involuntarily. ¡°Where I come from, there were multiple studies done on humans ¨C my kind. Even if our diets aren¡¯t identical and our ways of having and raising our children aren¡¯t the same, I suspect there will be similarities between our psychologies given that we¡¯re both clearly social creatures.¡± I see that most of them look a bit lost so I decide to move on rather than going into the question of what psychology is and the differences between us. ¡°Anyway, what was discovered was that there are basic needs within us for food, shelter, warmth, and social belonging. If these needs are not fulfilled, it becomes very difficult to focus on anything else. What I¡¯m saying is that I suspect that one reason why so few adults become Evolved is because the basic needs are not in place.¡± This, predictably, sends a flurry of grunts and clicks around the circle, confusion mixing with hope combining with disbelief. Do you have any reason to believe that this might be the case, apart from your experiences among your own kind? Shrieks¡¯ voice cuts through the murmur of the gathering, turning all the attention back to me. ¡°River,¡± I say simply. They all turn to look at her. The Pathwalker in question sends a quick panicked look at me, apparently not completely comfortable with all the attention suddenly being on her. What do you mean by that? asks Tarra warily. I noticed Reducer¡¯s talent while she was still a young adult ¨C you cannot use her as proof that all Unevolved are capable of becoming a Pathwalker. ¡°No, but how long did you expect it to be before she would achieve Evolved status?¡± I ask pointedly. Tarra hesitates. Perhaps another three more years. At the minimum. ¡°And that is my point,¡± I say strongly, leaning forwards and once more looking from one to another. ¡°I¡¯m not denying that River is talented. But what I am saying is that the current system actively discourages your Unevolved from making any steps forwards. They are so focussed on resource gathering that they can¡¯t work on their own progress. They don¡¯t have access to Cores. And they¡¯re in danger which means that the longer they take to make progress, the more likely it is that they will be killed before they can actually Evolve. Or if they want to try to evolve quickly, they have to put themselves frequently in situations of high danger, increasing the chances that they will die before succeeding. Or am I wrong?¡± You¡¯re not wrong, agrees Tarra, her tone neutral though with a hint of discomfort in the Bond. No one else pipes up to gainsay either of us. ¡°Then what if we eliminate food as a method of motivation and replace it with something else which also will offer the Unevolved more chance of Evolving?¡± You¡¯re suggesting we give them Energy Hearts? Grower inquires, connecting the dots. She sounds vaguely disturbed, but also slightly thoughtful. Though there is a small minority who are clearly against the suggestion, most seem to be more thoughtful than immediately against the idea. Some of the Warriors are looking intrigued even though others seem uncomfortable with the idea. The Unevolved look excited and hopeful, unsurprisingly. ¡°I am.¡± There¡¯s a low susurrus among the group. We need them for our work and progression, objects Sticks. If we give them to the Unevolved, we won¡¯t have enough, and they might die anyway. It¡¯s a very cold view on things, but I can kind of see her point. Not that I agree with it. But then I do have an advantage now. ¡°First of all, as I mentioned, giving them to the Unevolved increases the chance that they will become Evolved, which increases the power of the village.¡± There are a few murmurs in response to that ¨C some in agreement, others not. ¡°Second of all, quantity isn¡¯t going to be a problem.¡± Pulling one of the Energy Hearts my group harvested from the cavern, I show it to the group. Several of them breathe in sharply enough to be audible and I see greed glitter in several pairs of eyes and across multiple Bonds. Everyone apparently uses this. It¡¯s not surprising. I spoke at length with Tarra and Joy on this subject on our way back to the village. I didn¡¯t reveal what I¡¯m planning on doing, but I got quite a lot of useful information from them ¨C as well as forbidding them from telling anyone where I got the Energy Hearts from. I think I¡¯ll keep that underwraps for a bit longer. Cores are more integral to the village than River had realised, not having experienced life as a Pathwalker. First of all, both Pathwalkers and Warriors use them to make progress to Tier three, though Tarra admitted that none of the village had reached that level in living memory. There seem to be bottlenecks which they¡¯re not entirely sure how to get past. Given that Bastet has been sitting at ten percent progress for the last while despite all the hunting she¡¯s done and the Energy she¡¯s had access to, I suspect she might be at one of those. I plan to speak to Kalanthia about it when I next see her. From what Tarra said, they tend to try to get through these bottlenecks by simply absorbing enough Energy to force it. There has to be a better way, though, especially as that doesn¡¯t appear to help them actually reach the next Evolution. That use of the Cores consumes the vast majority of them, and there are never enough. Pathwalkers also often use the Cores in their work. Tarra, for example uses them in some of her potions: used correctly they can enhance the power of a concoction rather significantly. But she is limited by how many Cores she can get her claws on ¨C especially since she doesn¡¯t want to impact her own attempts to reach the next tier. ¡°I have a large store of these.¡± I do ¨C the cavern was very fruitful and if I can work out how to crystallise some of the Pure Energy, I will hopefully have an ongoing supply of them. ¡°And I potentially have a method to help the Evolved make progress without them.¡± This gains even more of a reaction than the appearance of the Energy Heart did. The thing is that, even though Bastet hasn¡¯t made much progress, the other Tier twos I brought along with me have. Only one or two percent each, but they¡¯ve still made progress which indicates that being in an area full of Energy has to be helpful even to Tier twos. So it¡¯s a bit of a guess, but one that I feel has evidence to support it. But if the Unevolved spend all their time absorbing Energy Hearts, we will run out of food and other resources, objects Tree, just beating Windy by the looks of it. You can¡¯t be expecting us to go and gather all of that? ¡°Well, why shouldn¡¯t you?¡± I challenge. Warriors and Pathwalkers are responsible for tasks which the Unevolved are incapable of, points out Lee quietly. ¡°And as long as the division of labour is being done according to capability, that¡¯s fine,¡± I agree. ¡°But if it¡¯s done just because the Warriors or Pathwalkers don¡¯t want to do it, then that¡¯s not. Anyway, at present, I¡¯m suggesting using Energy Hearts as rewards for the completion of the tasks necessary to keep the village running ¨C whether the tasks are done by the Unevolved or Evolved. In the longer term, I have an idea about how to improve resource gathering, though it¡¯s going to take some time to set up. If everything works out the way I hope it will, you will have to labour for fewer hours, giving you more time to focus on your own progress. How does that sound?¡± If the hopeful and interested looks that statement garners me are anything to go by, I might finally be getting through to them. Of course, it¡¯s going to take time to prove whether I¡¯m right or not, but hopefully we¡¯ll be able to have some easy wins to motivate the rest of them. Either way, as the discussion continues, the Unevolved finally starting to speak up from time to time, very hesitant at first, I¡¯m pleased with the progress we¡¯re already making. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirteen: Walking Nuclear Fission Reactors Sighing in frustration, I feel the sense of a notification nagging at me. I dearly hope that this is something that¡¯s going to help me since I haven¡¯t been making nearly as much progress as I¡¯d like. If my attempts don¡¯t bear fruit soon, I¡¯m going to have to do this the long way regardless of my intentions. I¡¯m outside ¡®my¡¯ hut with every samuran who passes by taking a few extra moments to watch what I¡¯m doing. They don¡¯t stop, though: it seems like offering fragments of Energy Hearts as rewards for completing tasks is just as good as food for motivating people to work. Maybe better, though it¡¯s early days yet. It did take a lot of debate, but I¡¯m glad the council went forward with the idea. After all, if I just give everyone Energy Hearts, they probably won¡¯t appreciate them as much as if they earned them. It was different in my small group, because everyone was working for the benefit of the team. With over two hundred villagers, it¡¯s a different story here. Like the difference between a small start-up and a medium-sized company. Next step, corporate ¨C apparently it took going to another world for me to be promoted, I can¡¯t help saying to myself in amusement. The incentive has been met by excitement from everyone. The resource requirements are higher to gain an Energy Heart fragment than they used to be to gain a food token, but that hasn¡¯t deterred anyone. On River¡¯s suggestion, we¡¯ve also instituted a system where each samuran signs up for a task and has to return to the task-givers ¨C the brood-mothers ¨C to switch it to someone else. Apparently, stronger samurans taking resources from the weak ones used to happen from time to time. Hopefully this system will at least reduce the frequency of that. The brood-mothers, who otherwise are without a role, are also keeping track of who has submitted which resource and how much of it. They¡¯ll be earning an Energy Heart from time to time as a ¡®salary¡¯ for doing the job ¨C it was feared that giving them as bonuses for more resources gathered among each of their charges could lead to ¡®cheating¡¯ being encouraged. I have a feeling that we¡¯re going to have to stress-test the system a bit, and that crafty individuals are going to find multiple loopholes as we go along which we will have to resolve. That¡¯s what would happen with humans anyway. For now, though, being able to delegate a whole load of resource collection to the samurans has left me with the opportunity to do two things I need to do: try to heal my Bounds¡¯ Energy channels, and try to create metal items. I¡¯m having more success with the latter than the former, though both are hard-going. I¡¯m eager to give myself ¨C and the samurans ¨C metal tools and weaponry. I think it will be a game-changer for us all, though it¡¯s going to take time to adapt to. But first, I need to actually make the metal. Opening my notifications, a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. This should help.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill past Beginner. Earth-Shaping is now Novice 1. By spending time examining different elements of the earth, you have become able to identify its components and affect them individually.
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Getting from Beginner one to Novice in six days might seem to be quick progress, but when I consider just how much time I¡¯ve dedicated to trying to get all this to work, I consider my speed of progress to be barely acceptable, really. My first objective is, of course, to separate the metal from its impurities. Considering where I got the iron ore from, there are far more of the latter than the former. If I used a non-magical process, I¡¯d have to crush all the ore into powder, then heat it within a furnace for a long time, before even being able to begin processing the actual iron. And I¡¯d have to do that every time I want to process metal. Like a machine-builder, I¡¯m rather hoping that by spending the time on Earth-Shaping, I might find a much quicker way of doing all that which I¡¯ll also be able to use in the future. Considering how much better using Flesh-Shaping works to make clothes than the non-magical process of transforming skins, I have hope that it will work. I started by trying to notice what was different within the metal ore in comparison to the earth beneath my feet. When that didn¡¯t initially show any results, I diverted onto making my equipment. After all, I will still need a furnace even if I do manage to use magic to extract the metal from the ore itself. I will need to melt it so I can cast it into hammers, axe heads, arrowheads and spear heads, and maybe even knives and swords. Maybe not the last, actually ¨C I¡¯m no blacksmith so forging a decent sword is probably beyond me unless I dedicate the time to it, which I¡¯m not inclined to do. Cast swords are probably brittle in comparison. No, arrow and spear heads are probably the best options. Plus, they won¡¯t use nearly as much iron, and since I don¡¯t have an unlimited supply of the stuff, it¡¯s probably better for me to be careful with how much I use. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Forming the furnace and moulds out of the clay-like soil near my feet, I¡¯ve managed to both increase my level in the Skill steadily and to start to recognise some of the more obvious different elements in the earth. Like the roots, and the sand particles, and the remnants of dead leaves. The higher my Skill got, the clearer those became to my mental eyes, until the notification of the rank up came through. Abruptly, it¡¯s like a film has been removed from my eyes. Now, when I hold up a chunk of metal ore before my eyes, I see the different elements within them. Not elements as I might have thought of them, remembering the periodic table, but the different concentrations of things within. It¡¯s not like the Skill tells me what things are, either ¨C it just enables me to see what is different. I¡¯m going to have to use deduction and my spotty knowledge of just what is probably in whatever I¡¯m examining to try to work out exactly what things are, just as I¡¯ve had to do so far. Unfortunately, none of my Inspect Skills are much use for this job since it¡¯s neither fauna nor flora, and I already know that there are useful things in the chunks of reddish rock. Holding up a lump of iron ore before my eyes, I close my eyelids so I can focus with my magic sight. In this state, the deposits of iron ore are clear within it as small areas where a single element is present. It¡¯s rather like spots of watercolours on a page, or droplets of dye in frozen water. The centre of the colour is fairly pure; the edges are very much mixed with the rest of the elements. I spot some sand there too, recognisable from when I was forming the furnace out of the clay beneath my feet. There are other elements, but I see them as colours and can¡¯t identify exactly what they are. But my focus is on the metal anyway. Now, the notification said that I should be able to affect the elements individually. How do I do that? Sending my own earth-aligned mana into the lump of ore through the hand holding it, I note how the elements within the ore react to it. Interestingly, they each react slightly differently. Some react faster, others react more eagerly. Some don¡¯t react at all. Funnily enough, the iron is one of those. Does that mean I¡¯m not going to be able to control the metal in the way I can, say, sand? That would be annoying, but not the end of the world. After all, I can just as easily remove the impurities from the metal as I can remove the metal from the impurities. As long as the impurities aren¡¯t other metals, of course. To that end, I try to pull out the elements which react most eagerly to my magic. They seem to be happy to cooperate with my magic, acting almost like iron filings near a lodestone. Within a moment, I have a small handful of dark brown dust which has pulled away from the rock, though the chunk of iron ore doesn¡¯t really look changed. Not surprising at this point. Methodically, I pull one element out at a time, putting each of them in a separate container ¨C who knows, I might find a use for them at some point. By the time the eagerly responding elements have been removed, the iron ore is starting to look a bit craggy and fragile. I suspect that pounding it to dust would be easy enough at this point, but that¡¯s not what I want to do right now. Placing the iron ore itself into a bowl in case it falls apart in my hands, I start trying to coax the less cooperative elements out of the ore. I find that I¡¯m able to do it with a mixture of more mana and patience. The earth doesn¡¯t like being rushed, and these elements particularly dislike it, apparently. Finally, though, I¡¯m left only with the pure iron ore. Well, pure except for a few small, trace elements. I have a feeling that they might also be metals of some sort since they¡¯re just as indifferent to my earth mana as the iron ore is itself. There¡¯s still a lot of red to the iron; it must be iron oxide rather than pure iron. It makes sense that I wouldn¡¯t be able to separate the oxygen from the iron, though it does make me wonder whether there are people who can literally play with the building-blocks of the world like walking nuclear fission reactors. For me, though, I can only hope that smelting it with charcoal will burn off the oxygen enough to give me the iron I need. The iron oxide is fairly powdery from where everything else has been removed from it, though there are small sections where it¡¯s clumped together still. A few sections are even just holding together, forming a little structure above the surface of the bowl. I poke them and they fall apart. Satisfaction runs through me. Step one complete. I keep working on removing all the impurities from the iron ore lumps that my Bound and I collected near Bastet¡¯s old cave. While I do it, I consider exactly why the iron is so unresponsive to my mana. In the end I can only conclude that it¡¯s just not the right kind of mana. Fire and earth both have different kinds of mana which affect them; metal must as well. Unfortunately, even further observation of this ore doesn¡¯t help: the mana already within it is faint enough to be pretty much invisible to my eyes. Without having a clue where to start, it would be a process of trial and error. By the time everyone returns for the evening meal, I have processed more than half the lumps. Thanks to that, Inspect Environment has finally ranked up to Novice, and my Earth-Shaping has gone up by three levels. By this point, it¡¯s not far off my Fire-Shaping, though I¡¯m going to work on that Skill next: to smelt iron, I need carbon. To add carbon, I need to make charcoal. To make charcoal, I¡¯m going to have to carefully burn wood so that everything but the carbon disappears. Collecting wood for my project is something two of the Unevolved samurans have been tasked with, and they seem to be happy with the job. Whether it¡¯s that they like collecting wood, that they¡¯re keen to help the newest leader, or that they like the fact that every time they bring back a load of branches, they get to watch what I¡¯m working on for a bit, I don¡¯t know. Either way, by using woven vines to help carry more firewood, they collect more in half a day than I could have done in a week. But I¡¯m going to need all that they¡¯ve collected in the three days and maybe more. But that¡¯s for tomorrow. My other Bound have been out in the forest working on their various tasks too. Now, with them all back, it¡¯s a good opportunity for me to work on my other frustrating objective: healing them. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fourteen: Fenrir. Finally. So far, I¡¯ve had the most luck with Bastet out of all my Bound. Though nothing I¡¯ve tried has fully worked and I haven¡¯t managed to see her Energy channels yet, I get the feeling that I¡¯m on the cusp of doing so. I tried so hard last night that I gave myself a migraine ¨C one that I couldn¡¯t even fully heal with Flesh-Shaping. But it gave me information that I hope will lead to a breakthrough tonight. Bastet¡¯s not back, though. She went out with Honey, Thorn, and Sirocco. Apparently she wanted to kill some powerful beast in the local area. I have to admit that I wasn¡¯t paying as much attention as I probably should have been, my mind consumed with thoughts about getting the iron out of the ore. It turns out that having a much better memory doesn¡¯t help much when I wasn¡¯t paying enough attention to develop the memory in the first place. I take a moment to look at the rank up of Inspect Environment.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill past Beginner. Inspect Environment is now Novice 1. Due to focussing on specific elements you know are present while using this Skill, you are now able to attempt to find something you are not sure is present in your environment. Chances of discovering what you are searching for depends both on your proximity to the target in question (range expanded with the level of this Skill and Wisdom) and how strong your intentions are.
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I¡¯m feeling rather pleased with myself: that makes it two Skills ranking up to Novice in one day. In this case, it was purely by accident. I got a bit bored of repeating the same actions with Earth-Shaping and the lumps of iron ore and decided to experiment a bit. Apparently trying to find iron in the lumps with Inspect Environment was just what it needed to be pushed into the next rank since it was at Beginner level nine to begin with. The new aspects of it sound pretty interesting, to be honest. Before, it just highlighted useful, safe, and dangerous; now it highlights something that I want. I¡¯ve tested it since ranking up, of course. When focussing on iron ore, all the flecks of iron in the lumps of earth gleamed gold in the area immediately around me. It didn¡¯t reach very far, though, perhaps only a metre or so in all directions. But it isn¡¯t just iron ore that I could detect. I tested it by dropping a couple of arrowheads on the ground with my eyes closed. Doing a few turns on the spot, I focussed on my arrowheads and cast Inspect Environment. When I opened them again, my arrowheads were gleaming gold ¨C and the iron ore wasn¡¯t. If nothing else, it should make finding my arrows after a battle that much easier. I know that range is determined by the level of the Skill and Wisdom, but the last word in the description ¡®intention¡¯ makes me wonder whether Willpower is a less explicit factor in the Skill¡¯s success. Closing my screen, I notice that Fenrir has just arrived back, accompanying Catch and Pride. Spotting where I¡¯m sitting, they come over to me, pulling over a carcass with them. It¡¯s rather large, and if the feeling through Pride¡¯s Bond is anything to go by, he¡¯s currently rather well-named. ¡°Good kill,¡± I say nodding at the carcass which has rather nasty-looking claws and teeth. A llyrol, if Inspect Fauna is to be believed. ¡°Do you need any healing?¡± I ask a moment later. I am well, thank you, Honoured Markus, Catch says politely. He started trying to call me ¡®Honoured Tamer¡¯ when I returned back to the village after the whole thing with the alcaoris, but after I made my preferences known, he returned to the slightly better option. He still won¡¯t drop the ¡®honoured¡¯ though. I think he likes using my name, even with the prefix ¨C it sets him a little apart from the rest of the samurans; shows his connection to the new leader. Pride indicates that he has a small wound on his shoulder where a lucky blow must have caught him, but that¡¯s quickly fixed. He sends me an image of the downed beast, looking much more dangerous while alive and attacking him. A moment later, he shows it on the ground with its throat ripped out, accompanying the image with smugness. Apparently it was his kill. Fenrir nudges at my knee, sending a plaintive request for aid to me. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I send mana into him. Immediately, I realise that he¡¯s probably the most injured of the group. In fact, the level of damage he¡¯s suffering surprises me a little ¨C it¡¯s all internal with very little obvious externally. ¡°Did the beast fall on you or something?¡± I ask absently even as I get to work healing the internal bleeding and bruised organs. That¡¯s exactly what happened, Catch replied ruefully. I hum curiously, most of my attention on healing Fenrir. It¡¯s going quickly: his body is very happy to work with my healing mana, accepting it faster than any of my Bound apart from Bastet. Or maybe Lathani. Pride didn¡¯t realise Fenrir was in the way when he let the carcass fall. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I open my eyes briefly to send Pride a reproachful look. The large sail-backed scalla stares back at me, sending a feeling over the Bond that I interpret as him saying ¡®if he¡¯d got out of the way, he wouldn¡¯t have been hurt¡¯. Perhaps Catch has the same impression since I overhear him also reproaching Pride. If we¡¯re hunting with others, we must be aware of them at all times. Would you have been happy if he¡¯d bitten your leg rather than the llyrol¡¯s because he didn¡¯t realise you were there? Pride responds with feelings of sulky negation ¨C I¡¯d guess that he just doesn¡¯t want to admit that he was wrong. I leave it up to them ¨C Pride seems to be getting along pretty well with Catch. His Bond still has a month¡¯s timer on it, but I wonder if by the end of that, he''ll be more interested in being with Catch than me. If so, it¡¯s not a problem: I doubt Catch will want to break our Bond any time soon, so if Pride sticks with him, it¡¯s almost as good as a direct Bond with the prideful predator. Fenrir healed, I¡¯m glad when he doesn¡¯t move away immediately, instead choosing to slump against me, his head sitting on top of my knee. Although he¡¯s not furry, it¡¯s still pleasant to stroke his dry, scaly skin. Using the pleasure flowing down the Bond as an indication, I scratch him under the chin and between the eyes: those apparently are particularly nice spots for him. If he¡¯d been a dog, I bet his tail would be beating the ground by now; as it is, he simply relaxes more into me with a sigh. Around us settle more samurans, each around a carcass. The division of the Pathwalkers, Warriors, and Unevolved is slowly being eaten away now that there are no ¡®tokens¡¯ indicating which of the piles of carcasses a samuran is allowed to eat at. Instead, there are a few caracasses which have been left by the designated hunters in the shady hut to the side of the village central area ¨C a hut which previously would have housed hatchlings and is now being repurposed as a temporary larder. Samurans arriving either have a carcass with them like Catch, Pride, and Fenrir did, or go to grab one. The Pathwalkers still seem to prefer sitting together, but I¡¯ve noticed a few of the younger Warriors going to sit with other Unevolved ¨C perhaps their yearmates from before they Evolved. Time will tell whether the rest of the divisions will disappear, though I suspect they will. Personally, I¡¯ve spent one evening each with the Pathwalkers and Warriors, and then the last two evening meals have been with my Bound. I want to spend one with a group of Unevolved, but they looked too nervous last night when I approached them. Perhaps tomorrow night. For now, though, Fenrir and I bask in each other¡¯s company, finally being able to spend a bit of time together without anything else particularly pressing to get to. Much like being back in my alcove in Kalanthia¡¯s cave while waiting for food to cook. On that front, I¡¯m hungry. ¡°Pass me a chunk of that meat, would you?¡± I ask Catch. Of course, Honoured Markus, the samuran answers quickly and hands me several chunks. Taking my hand away from Fenrir earns me the Bond equivalent of puppy-dog eyes, but when I hand him a chunk of meat, his displeasure vanishes as he hurriedly scarfs it down. Pulling a piece of bone out of my Inventory, I concentrate on filling it with mana, then lengthen and sharpen it until it looks like a kebab stick. Stabbing it into the chunks of meat Catch gave me, I ask Aingeal for some help. Sure, I could do it myself, but the little fire elemental just loves burning things. Sometimes too much ¨C I¡¯ve had to be a little patient with trying to explain that the point isn¡¯t to burn my meat to a crisp. It¡¯s starting to get the hang of the idea by this point, though, and circles around my kebab stick, dipping to grab the dripping fat and blood drops when they fall, then circling above the stick. Who needs a rotating grill when you can have a rotating fire instead? Here, Catch says, handing me the Core of the beast. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to keep it?¡± I ask him. That¡¯s another new change. With the Energy Hearts available, it¡¯s not necessary to collect all the Cores for the use of the Tier twos. We are trying to keep track of who has received what, though ¨C too many of either kind of Energy source can be a bad thing if Kalanthia is to be believed. Which she is. Plus, I don¡¯t want some bully trying to grab all the Cores for himself even if he didn¡¯t earn them. This way, there¡¯s a bit more accountability. Catch flicks his tail, negation coming over the link between us. I think Fenrir ought to have it. He was more injured than he should have been. Pride makes a disgruntled noise, but the samuran sends him a Look and he subsides. ¡°Alright,¡± I respond with concealed amusement. ¡°I¡¯m sure Fenrir will appreciate it.¡± Especially since he is right on the cusp of Evolving. I¡¯m surprised that he hasn¡¯t done it already ¨C he¡¯s been hovering at ninety-nine percent for several days now. I¡¯ve been worrying that his blockage is the fact that his Energy channels are still damaged. He receives the Core happily and abandons his meat in favour of licking at it. I return to my meat, sprinkling it with salt and some herbs I¡¯ve found which are quite tasty ¨C and edible, obviously. Aingeal keeps cooking it, and slowly a delicious scent starts filling the air. Once it¡¯s ready, I thank the little fire elemental and give it a gift of fire mana. The bobbing flame expands briefly, sending feelings of happiness down the Bond to me before returning to my shoulder. Light fills the vision on my right side and I turn to ask Aingeal to reduce its brightness level only to see something else is the source. Fenrir. Finally. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifteen: I Know You Can I see the normal sparks emerging from the lizog, their colour the bright red of fresh blood. But as I look at them, I immediately realise that something is wrong. The sparks are not as numerous and they¡¯re not whirling around him as River¡¯s did, or Bastet¡¯s before him. Instead, it¡¯s like they¡¯re spitting weakly from his body, without even the power to whirl around him. I watch, biting my lip, a nasty feeling growing inside me even as curious samurans start to gather round. Apparently, even though it¡¯s not an Evolution of one of their own, it¡¯s still a spectacle they want to see. Joy and Tarra join my side, the feeling over the Bond one of hesitance and concern. Not concern for Fenrir himself, per se ¨C this is more the concern someone in a bus might have when watching a stranger face-plant into the road with a car approaching. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong, isn¡¯t there?¡± I ask them quietly, hoping that saying it won¡¯t make it more true than I already fear it is. I¡¯ve seen this before with others, Tarra replies, her own clicks and grunts equally discreet. The odd villager who becomes frustrated with his progress and tries to force through an Evolution before he is ready. It¡­never ends well. I don¡¯t need to ask for clarification. I know that the best result to expect is that Fenrir is alive, but never able to advance to a higher Tier. Other possibilities are that he advances to Tier two, but with a flawed Evolution which cripples him, or that he simply dies. That¡¯s apparently the most likely consequence. ¡°Is there anything we can do?¡± I fret, the growing sense of panic from Fenrir¡¯s side of the Bond making me start to fidget ¨C he¡¯s realised that something has gone wrong. No, answers Joy shortly. It¡¯s the answer I expected, but that doesn¡¯t make it hurt less. A feathery head presses against one hip even as a furry body leans against my thigh. My hands drop down to stroke both of their heads. When did Bastet and Lathani get back? We returned from the hunt and saw the commotion over here, Lathani explains, apparently sensing my unspoken question. This is not good, Bastet says slightly anxiously. His inner channels are still damaged. He should not have forced through the Evolution. ¡°That¡¯s the reason for this?¡± I confirm my suspicion with the raptorcat, giving her my full attention. She sends across the feeling of a shrug. I think it is most likely. I remember what it felt like for me. Instead of explaining further, she sends me a memory of her sensations at the time. I feel a great pressure both inside and out, like water is blasting through every vein in my body, and it¡¯s only not forcing its way out completely because the pressure on my skin is just as strong. I feel like every vein ¨C no, not vein, Energy channel ¨C in my body is being scoured clean, and new ones are being developed following my vision of myself and the patterns I have already established in my body. Like a crack which is forced open and develops a hundred more in the same style. Her suggestion makes complete sense. If there was a damaged part of her body, a leaky channel, then how could the process continue as it should? All the pressure would simply blast that area wide open, and not in the right way. But how does this knowledge help me except to know with even more certainty that Fenrir is not going to get through this intact? Bastet is looking at me. You can help him. I know you can. Her faith-filled statement cuts me to the bone. How can she have that much belief in me when all I¡¯m able to do is stand here like a lemon? ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± I hiss at her, my tone almost pleading. Begging her to understand, to forgive my weakness. My lack of knowledge. ¡°I don¡¯t know how.¡± You came close with me yesterday, I felt it, Bastet insists. But instead of going into my inner space, you went into your own. You can do it. I bite my lip again, this time tasting blood and feeling a small sting of pain as my teeth break skin. Do I dare try? What if trying messes things up further? Then again, Fenrir is clearly doomed if I don¡¯t intervene. How much worse can I make it? Hesitating for one moment longer, I decide to take the plunge. Refusing to let myself second-guess my decision any longer now I¡¯ve made it, I step forwards and through the weakly spitting sparks. From the shock I hear rise from the samurans around me, I wasn¡¯t supposed to do that. I don¡¯t care. My focus is on Fenrir. He¡¯s suffering. As I touch him and open our Bond wide, I feel it. The pressure that Bastet experienced is even worse for him because he isn¡¯t balanced. The pressure inside is weaker than the pressure outside; I can even see bones being shifted painfully under his skin as the process forces changes which should never have happened. Bastet said that I was almost there yesterday, only I diverted into my own Core space instead. So, I start in the same way as yesterday: sending my mind down the Bond between us, my hand on his head making it easier to do so. Last night, I attempted to Meditate while my consciousness was in Bastet, but ended up just returning to my own body as I fell into Medium Meditation. Maybe that¡¯s the issue. Maybe the Skill can¡¯t work when I¡¯m trying to look at someone else¡¯s Core space? But if so, I¡¯m not sure how to turn the Skill off ¨C I¡¯ve spent so much time recently with it permanently on. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. This time, as I try to sink into meditation, I try not to actually use Meditation. Instead, I try to sink my awareness into Fenrir¡¯s body, into the centre of his body, into the space which isn¡¯t physical but some other realm entirely. I feel the pull of Meditation, of my own Core space, but aware of it, I notice that it pulls me to the side. It pulls me away. I don¡¯t want to go away ¨C this is exactly where I want to be, just deeper. And then, like blinking only to find my reality has changed, I¡¯m there. In Fenrir¡¯s Core space. My immediate impression is that it isn¡¯t really a Core space, not yet ¨C it¡¯s a solar system with no sun. And his channels are completely different from mine. His are far more similar to what Lathani showed me hers were like, thick veins which all converge on a single point. I guess that¡¯s where Fenrir¡¯s Core is supposed to be eventually. Each of the veins branches off into smaller channels, the ends almost feathery in appearance. Except on one branch. On that branch, I see that the smaller channels have been corroded away, the end of that vein looking very unhealthy indeed. The next thing I notice is the Energy that¡¯s rushing back and forth along the veins. It looks like it¡¯s supposed to be pushing towards the centre, creating that Core that he needs. But it can¡¯t, because every time it starts building up pressure, it leaks out of the corroded channels. Right. That¡¯s where I need to start, then. To heal my own channels, I needed to pull mana from my core and feed it along the golden lines. Can I do the same here? Trying to pull my own mana into Fenrir¡¯s Core space ends up being worse than a failure: it ends up being actively detrimental. As soon as my mana touches the closest Energy vein to my physical contact with the lizog¡¯s body, it starts damaging the channel, blackening and eating it. Actually¡­is it burning the golden vein? Is this my fire affinity at work? Not wanting to cause more damage than I have already, I quickly pull my mana back. Clearly, that¡¯s not going to work. I hope that there¡¯s the same kind of time dilation between Fenrir¡¯s Core space and reality that there is with my Core space, otherwise we are already almost out of time. I think there must be, though: the waves of Energy rushing through Fenrir¡¯s veins have started reducing in speed, but not significantly. I suspect that if I don¡¯t do anything, Fenrir will simply fail to gain a Core. What other effects or long-term consequences he might suffer, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t care to find out either. Focussing on the movement, I wrack my brains to try to find something else I could do to help Fenrir which doesn¡¯t involve my own mana. Gazing at the flowing Energy gives me an idea. When I repaired my Core, I wasn¡¯t able to use my own mana since accessing it just caused the Core damage to worsen. Instead, I used the Energy that entered my Energy channels. Can I do that here? It¡¯s not my Energy, but if Fenrir works with me¡­. It¡¯s worth a shot, I decide. Trying to grasp the Energy rushing through Fenrir¡¯s veins is hard. Harder even than grasping my own Energy the first time. But it¡¯s true that practice makes perfect and, by this point, I¡¯ve had lots of practice. The waves of Energy have slowed a bit more since I started my attempt, but finally I manage to grasp some of the flowing golden light. Moving with the waves helps my movement, and I manage to get it to the channels which are corroded and damaged. Healing them is also hard. My own fire affinity must have significantly helped me in the battle with the alcaoris, or my own Energy channels are so much more responsive to my actions than Fenrir¡¯s. Maybe a mix of both. Either way, it takes longer than I was hoping to fix the Energy channels, even once I¡¯ve got the Energy there. By the time I¡¯m done, the waves of Energy have slowed by an easily noticeable amount, though, newly confined, they don¡¯t slow any further. I suddenly fear that there won¡¯t be enough of them to condense the Core. In that case, what will happen to the built-up Energy? I think about tales of beasts dying in the attempt to Evolve ¨C have I just made things worse? What if I give Fenrir some of my own Energy? Mana clearly doesn¡¯t work, but what about Energy which hasn¡¯t been converted to something personal? Again, it¡¯s worth a try ¨C I still don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done enough to actually improve the situation. Reaching into my own Core space while in the space of another is a new experience, and one that makes me feel inordinately vulnerable: I sense that if Fenrir attacked me right now, I would just shatter. But I manage to connect to my Core and pull Energy out of it. There isn¡¯t a lot in there ¨C just what I¡¯ve collected since my last level up. But I draw on what I have, and tentatively feed it into Fenrir¡¯s internal matrix. I brace for some negative effect as I add a couple of small drops ¨C hoping that it¡¯s not going to explode him or something. After a few moments, it¡¯s clear that nothing bad is going to immediately happen so I gradually add a bit more. As Energy drips into Fenrir¡¯s Energy channels, the golden waves start to brighten again, picking up pace. I drain my own Energy dry and mentally cross my fingers, hoping that it will be enough. Go on Fenrir, you can do it, I encourage. His presence has been hovering around me like a cloud for the whole of the time, half-aware of me, half not. I¡¯ve felt his panic turn into bewilderment, his automatic resistance to my efforts becoming submission, and now, his fear turning into hope. I feel him concentrate. It takes me a few moments to realise exactly what he¡¯s concentrating on: himself. Not in a selfish way, but in the sense that he¡¯s trying to focus on exactly what he is ¨C and what he wants to be. He¡¯s focussing on size, strength, and durability. He¡¯s recognised his role as the tank of the group, and clearly wants to emphasise that. Though not wanting to distract him, I can¡¯t help but give him a little nudge to consider health and health regeneration. That¡¯s how I¡¯ve survived this long: by being able to replace my health almost quicker than my enemies have been able to bring it down. He encompasses the nudge seamlessly into his concentration. The waves of Energy build up speed, the pulses of golden light becoming almost invisible with how quickly it moves from the centre of his Core space to the ends of his channels and then back again. Suddenly, it reaches critical mass. All the light drains from the Energy channels and condenses in the centre. It becomes white hot, burning even my mental presence here. Unfortunately, without eyes, I can¡¯t close them or look away. Time pauses for a moment of eternity. And then it erupts, all the Energy rushing through his veins and out. Behind, a fragile-looking, dim crystal is left in the centre at the nexus of all his thickest veins. I sense that the process isn''t finished, but that my presence is no longer necessary. May, in fact, be detrimental. Carefully, I withdraw, trying not to affect anything as I do so. Returning to my body, I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by bright red sparks. Lifting my hand from Fenrir¡¯s head, I push myself to my feet, almost stumbling with the weakness that threatens to overcome me. The moment I step out of the cocoon that now surrounds Fenrir, Bastet, Lathani, Catch, and River are all there to support me. I feel exhausted, and weak, and more than a little nauseous. It¡¯s not because of mana exhaustion, though ¨C that bar is close to full. It must be something else that I¡¯ve overstretched. Looking around, I see the eyes of every samuran present fixed on me, shock mingled with hope within their gazes. ¡°What?¡± I croak, my throat as dry as desert sand. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixteen: A Better Result You fixed its Evolution, breathed Tarra, her eyes as wide as anyone else¡¯s. I take a few steps forward, aided by my Bound, then move to sit on the ground as soon as I¡¯m far enough away from Fenrir¡¯s Evolution process to not risk falling back into it. Catch and River help lower me carefully to the ground ¨C I¡¯d probably have just thumped onto the dirt without their aid. Not that I would have cared much. Lathani sits behind me and I lean back gratefully against her ¨C she makes an excellent backrest. Reaching into my Inventory, I pull out a pot of water and drink greedily from it. One advantage of being the leader of the samuran village is that I don¡¯t have to collect my own water all the time now ¨C I can set it as a task for someone else to do. I feel a bit guilty about it, but remind myself that I¡¯m doing things that no one else in the village can do; anyone can collect water from the river. Once I¡¯m feeling a little more hydrated, I grab some of my backup cooked meat and tear into it hungrily. The nausea and exhaustion abating a little, I look up at the samurans who are still alternating between staring at Fenrir and staring at me. ¡°I hope I fixed it, but we¡¯ll find out when Fenrir comes out,¡± I say, remembering this time to make an effort for everyone to understand me. ¡°Why do you all look so shocked?¡± I ask with my eyebrows drawing together a little in confusion. Tarra eyes me then lets out a hiss that I can tell is her equivalent of a sigh of exasperation. She comes to sit down in front of me. Joy moves forward too, though doesn¡¯t sit. Behind them, I see the other Pathwalkers and several Warriors, Shrieks included. He looks and feels thoughtful; Sticks is flabbergasted. Like I¡¯ve turned the world on its head. Windy, unsurprisingly, is angry, though that¡¯s just her default around me. Underneath the anger is more than a little shock too. Flower has a similar expression to Shrieks ¨C thoughtful, with hints of calculation rippling through the Bond. Just because you¡¯ve done something impossible, Tarra answers my question with exasperation and the slightest amount of awe. To my knowledge, no one has ever interfered in an Evolution. Not with a better result, anyway. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee that this will be a better result,¡± I point out. ¡°He could end up deformed or crippled at the end of it.¡± Tarra flicks her tail impatiently. Then that will not be because of your efforts, she says plainly. Believe me, out of all the Pathwalkers, I am the one who knows the most about Evolutions. I¡¯m the one who has tried to heal so many of those whose Evolutions have failed. I¡¯m the one young Unevolved come to for advice about Evolution. I¡¯m the one who, in my younger years, tried to find ways of improving the chances of Evolution with herbal draughts. None of it worked. The most I was able to do was to reduce chances of successful Evolution. Yet here you are, she continues sounding almost aggrieved, though the emotions coming over the Bond are far more positive than her tone indicates, doing what I thought was impossible. What I had resigned myself to never being able to do. The lizog was about to fail to even condense a Core, dooming itself to being trapped as an Unevolved. Tell me ¨C do you know if it has a Core now? ¡°Well, yes, he does,¡± I answer almost reflexively, reeling a little from what she¡¯s revealing about the chances of me having done what I just did. I¡¯m rather glad that I didn¡¯t know all that before trying ¨C it would have discouraged me, perhaps to the point where I didn¡¯t succeed. My answer is received by the wider samuran group with quiet clicks and grunts of, from what I can tell, elation and shock. And that is precisely what I mean. I have never heard of anyone managing to help someone else gain a Core when they would otherwise have failed. Yet the evidence is before my eyes. It is now down to the beast and its ability to conceive of and believe in what it wishes to become. You have given it an opportunity which so many would be willing to give almost anything to achieve. And which many have lost their lives or their potential futures in trying to attain. Now I understand, and I feel slightly embarrassed that, despite my Intelligence and Wisdom stats, it has still taken me so long to grasp why it¡¯s such a big deal for them. I know that, for the samurans, becoming a Tier two all too often feels like an unachievable dream. Between the difficulty of gathering enough Energy, perhaps the right kind of Energy, and the dangers of Evolution itself, many don¡¯t even try until they¡¯re almost certain that it will work out. But if I can help fix problems with the Evolution process, then perhaps they can become a Tier two after all. At least, that¡¯s what I figure they¡¯re thinking. ¡°It may have worked here,¡± I say, making sure that I¡¯m understandable by everyone. I don¡¯t want to be misunderstood, or to give false hope. ¡°Though I¡¯m not even fully certain that it has worked in this case. But that doesn¡¯t mean it would work for anyone else. I will have to do more testing to find out exactly who I can affect in this way. In addition, it has taken a lot from me, including resources which I would otherwise put towards my own growth,¡± I warn them. After all, just because I was willing to pour Energy into Fenrir doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯d be willing to do it to a samuran who only decided to Evolve because he thought he had a safety net in me. My words don¡¯t seem to do much to reduce the hope in the samurans around me; I just hope it will make them think more about jumping into an Evolution tonight. You used your own resources? River asks, concern leaking through the Bond. ¡°Nothing I won¡¯t get back,¡± I tell her quietly, not making an effort for anyone other than my Bound to understand me. ¡°But yes, I¡¯ve used the Energy I was gathering for my next level up.¡± I don¡¯t need to check my status screen to know that my words are true. She knows about level ups ¨C we¡¯ve discussed them before in trying to compare the rest of this world and me. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. You must be careful with this, she says, the concern deepening. Bastet reflects the same emotion. I fear that you could easily do damage to yourself in trying to help others, she warns. ¡°I agree with you,¡± I sigh. I remember the feeling of fragility I felt when drawing from my own Energy to feed into Fenrir¡¯s, and my continued weakness. I might worry that I¡¯ve permanently done something to myself, but my strength is returning bit by bit. ¡°I will be careful, but I¡¯m still going to fix the damage the alcaoris did,¡± I tell them firmly. Besides, I don¡¯t think that that will be nearly as taxing ¨C controlling Fenrir¡¯s own Energy was hard, but not draining in the same way as my later efforts. As long as you¡¯re careful, agrees Bastet in her maternal way. We stay silent after that, watching as the cocoon of red sparks is slowly reabsorbed. Bit by bit, Fenrir is revealed. He¡¯s bigger, and his scales look harder, some of them almost like the armour that I wear. As the last sparks are absorbed, he pushes himself to his feet. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I ask him. Good, he answers, eagerness and relief pouring across the Bond between us. Thanks. You help! At those words, he steps quickly towards me and butts his head right into my chest. Hard. A huff of air is forced out of my lungs at his unintentional blow and I hear Bastet scolding him soundly over our network. I¡¯m just happy that he¡¯s alright after everything that happened earlier. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I gasp, still not quite managing to take in a full breath. Lifting my hands, I start scratching him under the chin. Apparently, he still enjoys it even if his scales are tougher. Continuing to scratch with one hand, I run the other along his body, feeling the differences. His head is definitely more armoured ¨C my chest can attest to that. The back of his neck is more protected, though underneath still seems a bit vulnerable. Maybe he didn¡¯t focus on that because he still stands quite near to the ground ¨C under his chin is less likely to be attacked than his spine. Peeking in his mouth, I see that there¡¯s a greenish tinge to his saliva. Venom, I¡¯d guess. His back and sides have received even more armour than his head, almost starting to resemble something like a tortoise. Not quite, though ¨C the scales are hard, but they still flex with movement and each scale is only about the size of my thumbprint. That¡¯s bigger than they used to be, but not by as much as double. His legs are thicker and more armoured, his claws are longer even if they¡¯re not sharper. I have to guess that they¡¯re more for stability than attack. I know that he started off the process thinking about speed, but nothing I¡¯ve seen so far indicates he could have got faster. If anything, it looks like he¡¯s traded speed for defence. Which is not a bad thing as a tank, though might have an impact if we need to cover ground fast. The only new offensive thing that I see is a spike that he¡¯s grown on either side of his tail. It¡¯s not a bad idea, really ¨C he offers his body as a target and then swipes the attacker in the side with his tail. ¡°Looking good,¡± I praise and he waves his tail back and forth in pleasure. I eye the spikes with trepidation ¨C getting hit by those would probably not be a fun time. Especially since a slight hint of green to their tips indicates that they might be the equivalent of a snake¡¯s envenomed fangs. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t wave your tail around, alright?¡± I suggest, putting one hand on its upper part to still it. The Evolved lizog sends me a hint of plaintive pleading ¨C the mental equivalent to puppy dog eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be stabbed,¡± I try to defend myself. Fenrir gives a quiet, sad hiss but obediently stops waving his new weapon around. ¡°I¡¯m going to Inspect you, OK?¡± I ask him. I could just check my Bound screen too, but I¡¯m curious about the changes in that information. Sure! he answers a moment later, tilting his head on one side. A lizard head full of sharp, venomous teeth shouldn¡¯t be cute, but it is. ¡°Inspect Fauna.¡±
Lizog: Fenrir Tier 2 Beast (evolved) Special abilities: Burst of Speed Health: 2070u Mana: 0u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 64 Bound (Dominate) of Markus Luke Wolfe. A venomous Beast with high defences and high strength for its size, this creature relies on its packmates to overcome the enemies which it can withstand but not defeat. Social Beast with strong capacity to form bonds.
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The description of Fenrir matches what I observed of his body ¨C is it showing up in the Inspect because of what I observed? Or would it have said that before? I have to guess that it¡¯s a bit of both ¨C I¡¯ve proven before that observation adds to what appears in the Inspect boxes. Fenrir¡¯s changes are slightly underwhelming compared to Bastet¡¯s, though the fact that he¡¯s managed to Evolve at all is more than would have happened without my intervention. Bastet¡¯s health pool doubled, her mana pool tripled, and even her stamina increased a little. Although Fenrir¡¯s health pool is now massive, even higher than Shrieks¡¯, it has only doubled ¨C it has always been high. In exchange, he seems to have completely lost even the small amount of mana he had. He won¡¯t be able to cast any of the shared pool of spells, that¡¯s for sure. His special ability, therefore, can¡¯t depend on mana or it would be immediately useless. I have to guess, based on its name, that it will use stamina instead. Checking my Bound tab, I see that his stamina has increased from three hundred and eighty to five hundred. That¡¯s an increase of less than a third ¨C hopefully it will prove to be enough. After all, if he has slowed down, being able to use a sudden burst of speed could prove essential both in fights and in travelling. I wonder suddenly whether my Bound will be able to share that ability just as they can Airblade or Firebreath. Or, thinking about it, surely all the other abilities of the Pathwalkers and Warriors I¡¯ve Bound. We¡¯re definitely going to have to make some time for testing ¨C and sparring. But that¡¯s for later. For now, I dismiss the box and relate the changes to Fenrir and the rest of my Bound listening. By this point, most of the samurans have disappeared. With the show over, they¡¯ve returned to their evening meals. Some have even started making their way into huts to sleep. Others are sitting around the bonfire that someone has lit in the middle ¨C a ¡®tame¡¯ version of the ¡®life-devourer¡¯ is endlessly fascinating to the samurans, though some are still too scared of it to go anywhere close. My firestarter has seen a lot of use recently, though not from me. River has been teaching as many as she can how to start a fire and, thankfully, how to not accidentally set things on fire which shouldn¡¯t be. I¡¯m tired, but my apparent success with Fenrir has fired me up. Now that the weakness I felt after helping the lizog has disappeared, I¡¯m eager to use my new knowledge to help others ¨C without them being in a dire situation first. ¡°Alright Bastet, ready?¡± I check, then dive straight in at her agreement. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventeen: A Good Balance ¡°Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, we have need of your presence to verify several tasks, if you have the time.¡± The samuran speaking to me looks more than a little nervous, his crest lowered submissively, his tail held low to the ground. I recognise him ¨C he¡¯s one of the oldest Unevolved, the scales around his eyes and nose starting to look a little fragile and discoloured. He¡¯s also one of the ¡®brood-mothers¡¯ ¨C the ones who look after the eggs and hatchlings of the Pathwalkers. From what I gather, even the Pathwalkers don¡¯t know which hatchlings are their own offspring as the eggs are distributed evenly among the brood-mothers. It¡¯s very different from anything I¡¯m used to, but I guess that it fosters more commitment to the community than to individual families within the village. At the moment, of course, there are no hatchlings, so the brood-mothers have taken a major role in keeping track of the tasks to be done, the tasks completed or failed, and the Energy-Hearts to be given out. Apparently, the brood-mothers are trustworthy. Certainly, the chances of them Evolving are very slim or nil ¨C they are all those who have failed to Evolve before and survived the attempt ¨C so they have little reason to keep the Hearts for themselves. They also already have the highest status among the Unevolved and are given everything they need in exchange for their services so there¡¯s less temptation for corruption. And perhaps I¡¯m just being a suspicious human about this, and one used to the cutthroat corporate world at that. I resolve to keep an eye on the expenditure from time to time nonetheless. ¡°Sure, just give me a few minutes to finish this,¡± I respond, focussing on the load of wood I¡¯m currently turning into charcoal. ¡°Would you like me to come to a particular hut when I¡¯m ready?¡± ¡°The green hatchling hut, if you would, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± the samuran says with a hint of relief in his spikes. ¡°That¡¯s the one next to the big hatchling hut, isn¡¯t it?¡± I check, furrowing my brow. Their naming conventions are not the easiest for an outsider to understand, but I suppose that that¡¯s kind of the point. ¡°No, Honoured Pathwalker. It is the one next to the new hatchling hut,¡± the samuran answers. ¡°OK, I¡¯ll come when I¡¯m done with this,¡± I say, giving up on pinpointing exactly which hut he¡¯s talking about. ¡°If I look like I¡¯m walking towards the wrong one, wave at me, please.¡± ¡°As you wish, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± the brood-mother answers, tipping his chin towards the sky for a long moment. Then, realising that I need to focus, he says nothing more but turns and hurries away. I keep an eye on his direction ¨C that might help me when I need to retrace his footsteps. As he moves out of sight, I return my attention fully to my task. I made the first lot of charcoal practically without magic, covering the wood with earth and burning it slowly. I did use Earth-Shaping in making the structure, and Fire-Shaping to light the fire, but mostly my aim was to observe exactly what was happening with the fire and wood to transform it into charcoal. Once I¡¯d observed the process to my satisfaction, I tried to replicate it without needing to spend as much time over the task. My first attempts were failures ¨C the greedy flame consumed too much oxygen despite my efforts to control it, and the pieces of wood were turned to ash instead of charcoal. Undeterred, I tried different things, finally settling on a method which seems to be a good balance of mana-efficient and time-saving. Though I did manage in the end to control the flame sufficiently to transform a stick into a long piece of charcoal even in the open air, the amount of concentration necessary for the task made it infeasible to do for them all. Instead, I found a good balance: using Earth-Shaping to form a small cavern around a load of wood, and then controlling the flame to speed up the process of transforming wood into charcoal. By using earth to limit the amount of oxygen available to the fire, I lessened the burden on my concentration, meaning that I could spread it more widely. By this point, I¡¯ve probably got more than three-quarters of the amount of charcoal I¡¯ll probably need to smelt the iron oxide I¡¯ve managed to extract from all the lumps of iron ore I found near Bastet¡¯s cave ¨C not bad for only two days of work. Not only have I made some of the physical products I will need, but all my work with the two Skills has had another gratifying outcome: Earth-Shaping has increased by two levels and Fire-Shaping has even ranked up! Now at Initiate one, its newest effect is rather curious. In my rank up from Beginner, I gained more control over large fires ¨C the larger, the better. That was a direct effect from my work with the Inferno that catapulted me up several levels and into the next rank. This time, I seem to have gained greater control over all flames, regardless of the size of the fire. It also seems that I¡¯ve managed to balance the Skill a little more as it referred to creation as well as destruction ¨C I guess because charcoal is transformed rather than destroyed wood, and is itself used for further creative aims.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Skill past Novice: Fire-Shaping is now Initiate 1. You have improved your control over small flames, using them in forms of creation in contrast to your previous destructive aims. Your ability to wield any size of fire is limited now only by your Will.
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The final sentence of the rank up message is one I¡¯ve since been musing over whenever I¡¯ve been able to spare the concentration: Your ability to wield any size of fire is limited now only by your Will. Does that mean that it¡¯s one more Skill which relies on my Willpower to reach the heights? Either way, the increased control should help with my attempts to smelt the iron oxide into usable iron ¨C maybe even rudimentary steel if I can get the carbon content right. I¡¯m hoping to actually start smelting this afternoon, but maybe I should set it as tomorrow¡¯s task. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. If I try to do it today, I may end up eating a bit into my evening work, which I don¡¯t want to do. My Bound deserve to be as healed as I can make them now that I¡¯ve figured out how to do it. All courtesy of Fenrir jumping the gun out of youthful impatience and almost dooming himself to Tier one forever in the process. Bastet was, of course, my first ¡®test subject¡¯ that evening two days ago. It was a different experience than with Fenrir, that¡¯s for sure. Her internal matrix is far more established than his at the time of my intervention. Fenrir¡¯s has probably changed since then, either in his Evolution or afterwards. Like him, Bastet¡¯s internal matrix had a sort of structure similar to veins and arteries, but there had also been the sort of shape of her body outlined in golden lines. The arteries had gone into each of her legs, her wings, her head, and her tail, thinner channels branching out and forming the outline of her body. Within the golden lines, I could see the faintest hints of something else I¡¯ve also seen in my own body: the influence of fire. It¡¯s more instinctive knowledge than something that I could find in a textbook ¨C if there are such things for this. But with my own fire affinity, I can tell that there is a similarity, even if Bastet herself doesn¡¯t have a fire affinity per se. Fixing the damage I saw to her internal matrix was not dissimilar from fixing Fenrir¡¯s. If anything, it was a little easier ¨C Bastet was clearly more aware of her Energy channels than Fenrir was, and she actually worked with me to remedy the damage sustained, controlling her own mana once I showed her what to do. Even though the damage she had sustained was more extensive than that of Fenrir, we were done sooner, and with far less effect on me. Not no effect, though, which proves that it wasn¡¯t only giving Fenrir all the Energy I had stored which wiped me out, but I was able to do two more Bound that evening. With two more Bound fixed yesterday evening too, there are only four left with damage: Lee, Thorn, Honey, and Lathani. But they are not going to be easy fixes. I wanted to help Lathani straight after Bastet, but when I managed to get into her internal matrix ¨C not Core space, since she doesn¡¯t have a Core ¨C I found that it was such a mess that I couldn¡¯t honestly tell what was damaged and what was supposed to be like that. I¡¯m hesitant to do anything before speaking with Kalanthia about it ¨C I¡¯m very aware that Lathani is a completely different creature from any of my other Bound; from a different world entirely. Using Bastet, for example, as a template could do more harm than good. Working on the rest of my Bound just reinforced that decision: all of them had similarities to each other that just weren¡¯t present in Lathani. Or that were present, but artificially so. I¡¯m hoping to return to Kalanthia within the next few days, so I figure that I¡¯d best leave well alone for now. Lathani was disappointed, but understood. I¡¯ve forbidden her from consuming any Cores or Energy Hearts which she sulked over, but there¡¯s no way she should be considering Evolving right now, and possibly even adding much more Energy into her system than comes from a kill is a bad idea. As for Honey and Thorn, it¡¯s a different problem. Trying to heal Honey proved something: I can only enter the Core space of one of my Dominate or Companion Bound. I thought I was doing something wrong ¨C I tried to help her last night after dealing with Shrieks, and just couldn¡¯t get anywhere within her. When I moved onto Iandee, the same actions had the same result as with my previously healed Bound, proving that it wasn¡¯t the process that was the issue. That left the type of Bond as the suspected reason; attempting to see Thorn¡¯s, Sirocco¡¯s and then Pride¡¯s internal matrices and failing proved that it was indeed the case. I suppose it makes sense. To heal my companions, I have to control their own mana, affect their own internal matrixes. If I had bad intentions, I could do them a lot of damage, and I doubt they¡¯d be able to do much to stop me. Dominate gives me the power to do what I want with my Bound; Companion Bond trusts that I will only do what is necessary and beneficial. Tame is a whole different beast ¨C it¡¯s logical that I would not be able to affect them in the same way. It¡¯s unfortunate in this case, though, especially since Honey and Thorn were two of those most hurt by the alcaoris¡¯ acidic mana. I¡¯m still trying to work out whether there¡¯s a way around the limitations I¡¯ve discovered. Unless I do, I doubt that several of my Bound will be making it to Tier two. Thorn in particular was so badly affected that I think the chance of him Evolving is slim to none. Lee is the only one I¡¯m actually hoping to be able to help tonight. I didn¡¯t want to leave him until last due to the sheer amount of damage he sustained, like Thorn, but in the end that has been the reason I¡¯ve left him to tonight. Multiple sections of his internal matrix are just gone. I didn¡¯t want to start reconstructing those until I had a better idea of what I¡¯m doing. I also need to be able to dedicate a good chunk of time to him ¨C the internal injuries are not going to be as easy or quick to heal as his physical ones. Realising that my flame has finished transforming the current batch of wood into charcoal, I open up the earthen shell and extinguish the fire. I let the black chunks of pure carbon cool in the earth, the bit of ash created at the edges of the fire blowing away in the breeze. Heading towards the centre of the village, I go to see what the samuran brood-mother wanted. The hut next to the new hatchling hut¡­. I repeat to myself, narrowing my eyes as I look from one large hut to the next. The hatchling huts are some of the largest, and are fairly distinct due to the slopes that extend from the entrance down to the floor below ¨C the hatchlings can¡¯t climb out of the normal hut entrances in the way that the adults can. But it¡¯s a bit hard to see which huts have slopes and which don¡¯t without going and checking each one, and that¡¯s a bit awkward. For me, if not anyone else. Fortunately, the brood-mother who came over to speak to me approaches me again before I spend too long looking for it. ¡°This way, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, if you please,¡± he invites, dipping his tail down. ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me all that, you know,¡± I sigh as I follow him to a hut. I know it¡¯s probably useless ¨C I haven¡¯t succeeded in getting anyone to call me ¡®Markus¡¯ or even ¡®Tamer¡¯. Apparently such informality is reserved only for those of the same rank or lower. I still give it a try. ¡°Tamer is sufficient.¡± ¡°As you wish, Honoured Tamer,¡± the brood-mother agrees. I hold back another sigh as we crawl backwards through the entrance. It¡¯s such an awkward way of getting inside, but the samurans are used to it. I suppose that the half-underground construction is the most logical for temperature control, even if I wonder what happens if it ever floods. We¡¯ve been lucky not to have rain during daylight in the last few days, but there has been plenty of it at night. I¡¯ve been rather glad for the hut I¡¯ve been given ¨C it¡¯s remarkably dry. And with my new Earth-Shaping Skill, I¡¯ve been able to ensure that my charcoal and iron oxide dust hasn¡¯t got wet either, and that all my Bound have been able to join me in the hut. From the slope that leads into it, I suspect that it¡¯s normally a hatchling hut. Given the range of Bound that I have, I¡¯m grateful for the alternative entrance. ¡°So, what do you need me for?¡± I ask once we¡¯re inside, Aingeal¡¯s bobbing form lighting up the area around us and gleaming in the eyes of six different Unevolved samurans inside. I might worry that it¡¯s a trap if not for the complete lack of aggression in their body language. ¡°We have retrieved the plants you asked for, Honoured Tamer,¡± answers one of the six. Realisation dawns on me. Of course. Those plants. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighteen: Testing Delegation is a great thing. It¡¯s time to see whether delegating finding farm-suitable plants has had any actionable results. ¡°So each of you has brought an example of a plant you think would be good for our purposes?¡± I ask the group of eager samurans, feeling some excitement myself. A chorus of clicks and grunts of agreement meet my ears. ¡°Then can each of you explain what you¡¯ve chosen and why you¡¯ve chosen it, please?¡± The young samurans ¨C and I¡¯m pretty sure they are mostly young from their demeanour and the softness of their scales ¨C look at each other and then the one who had first spoken steps forwards holding a plant between his claws. It looks a bit like a leek, though its leaves are less stiff and flop to either side of its main stem. Planted, I guess that it would come up to mid-thigh level on me. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s your name, and what do you have?¡± I ask him. ¡°Trips-over-a-stick, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer. This is a plant which the grunt-grunt-flash-of-green love eating. Whenever a herd of them goes through, they eat this plant down to the ground before moving on. It regrows from its roots despite this and spreads new plants sideways quickly. The dung of the grunt-grunt-flash-of-green seems to help it to grow as I have often come to a patch only a moon or so after the herd has seemed to destroy it, only to find that the patch has doubled in size.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± I respond to him, then focus Inspect Flora on the plant.
Uncommon plant: Ostrya Cassine Edible: Yes (leaves, bulb) Alchemical uses: Unknown Medical uses: Unknown This plant is a particular favourite of the asper herds and they will consume it whenever they have the opportunity to do so. In exchange, their dung offers this plant nutrients it needs to expand its root structure and grow new bulbs. This plant grows all year round, offering a meal for many different types of herbivores.
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It only gives a bit more information than Trips-over-a-stick did, though it probably wouldn¡¯t have given the whole description if I hadn¡¯t asked the samuran. I do have a name for the creatures he was talking about, which is both good and interesting. Good, because I don¡¯t think trying to imitate samuran speech without the help of Animal Empathy will end remotely well for me; interesting, because I hadn¡¯t realised that one Inspect Skill would offer information usually communicated by a different Inspect, especially when the object isn¡¯t even present. Inspect Fauna, in this case. Either way, this plant looks like a good option. Not only is it eaten by ¡®asper¡¯ herds, but it¡¯s apparently a meal for many other herbivores, and edible by me too. It also seems to have potential alchemical and medical uses too which maybe Tarra knows about. ¡°Are aspers a good choice for hunters?¡± I ask. After all, the whole point of this is to find a way to make the samurans¡¯ hunting more sustainable if my changes make the village grow faster than it would normally. ¡°We do hunt the aspers, Honoured Tamer,¡± the brood-mother answers. ¡°Though they can be difficult to hunt as they will attack predators. They are large, though, and a single carcass can feed at least two Warriors, three Pathwalkers, or multiple hatchlings.¡± Hmm, sounds pretty good to me. Working out how to start the process of domestication is another question, but I hope that at least one of my Skills will come in useful for that. ¡°Good choice, Trips-over-a-stick,¡± I praise, then pull a small fragment of an Energy Heart from my Inventory. After discussion with the council, we decided not to give full Energy Hearts except for the most dangerous and complex tasks. While neither I nor the group of Unevolved had at first been in favour of the idea, we had been reluctantly brought around by logical arguments from Flower and Plays-with-poison. Obviously of the same mind, they had argued that giving the same level of reward would motivate samurans to choose the easiest and shortest jobs, meaning that the more dangerous and complex ones wouldn¡¯t get done. Plays-with-poison had added that a full Energy Heart would take several days to absorb, and would therefore demotivate the samuran who had gained it to do anything in the meantime. Fragments given instead would still offer a reward which the samurans would be keen to gain, but would be quickly absorbed and leave them hungry for more. Awarding more fragments or a larger fragment for a more difficult job would be motivation for samurans to accept it despite the risks, especially if most of the easier jobs were already taken. So far, it seems to be working out well enough, and I have to admit that even if I have a lot of Energy Hearts currently in my Inventory, we¡¯d be going through them quickly if I were handing one out to every Unevolved samuran every day. As it is, I¡¯m still going to have to try to crystallise new ones for a future supply, but that¡¯s not immediately pressing. Giving the samuran in front of me the fragment, I see his spikes light up with eager anticipation. Thinking of it, this might be the first one he¡¯s received ¨C finding the plant might have taken most of the few days since the new changes were instituted. ¡°Thank you Honoured Pathwalker Tamer,¡± he says hurriedly, lifting his chin towards the roof and then hurrying away to and through the entrance, his claws carefully caging the glittering fragment so that it doesn¡¯t slip free. ¡°Alright, who¡¯s next?¡± I ask. The next samuran steps forward and introduces himself, his own spikes and body language full of hopeful anticipation. ***** By the time the last samuran seeker leaves the hut, I have four plants which seem to be good options for growing for farming purposes, and one which might be useful for Tarra to grow for her herbal concoctions. Those five all walked away with fragments. The sixth left empty-clawed. He couldn¡¯t explain why he had chosen the plant, and my Inspect Flora didn¡¯t indicate that it was anything special. I¡¯ll check with River and Tarra just in case ¨C I can always give him a fragment later if it turns out to be something good ¨C but I have a feeling that he just picked something at random, hoping to be given an Energy Heart fragment for it. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°How are you finding the change?¡± I ask the brood-mother. I figure I might as well check in with him while we¡¯re in the same room. ¡°And sorry ¨C I never got your name either.¡± The other samuran tilts his head to one side. ¡°I am Elder Twig,¡± he answers. Perhaps he sees my confusion as he explains a little. ¡°While we are not like the Honoured Pathwalkers, gaining a name upon our Evolution to better reflect our new abilities and leaving our Unevolved lives behind, we do shorten our names upon becoming an elder. I believe that the intention is to show our commitment to the village ¨C we are no longer complete individuals, but an important part of the village society. I was once Breaks-a-twig, but became Elder Twig when I failed my Evolution and decided to commit myself to this village¡¯s hatchlings instead of seeking power through combat.¡± ¡°Thank you for explaining, Elder Twig,¡± I answer. ¡°Now, how are you finding the change?¡± I repeat, not wanting to hurry him along, but also aware of time passing ¨C I have more work to do today. ¡°It is¡­a change,¡± Elder Twig answers slowly. ¡°I mean no offence, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer,¡± he quickly adds. ¡°I do not mean to question the wisdom of the Pathwalkers." ¡°None taken,¡± I tell him. ¡°I want your honest opinion, that¡¯s all. And you¡¯re perfectly at liberty to question the wisdom of the Pathwalkers ¨C recent events have proven that it¡¯s not always as wise as it should be.¡± ¡°Then¡­I can say only that I need more time to see how the changes might affect our village ¨C for better or for worse. I will be glad, though, when I have eggs to care for again. I feel¡­lost without the hatchlings around.¡± My heart goes out to the Elder ¨C his body language reflects his words, drooping and despondent. ¡°We will have hatchlings again soon,¡± I tell him, doing my best to be soothing. ¡°Until then, we value your help with guiding the group of samurans under your care to the right kind of tasks for them. Your help may mean that we have even more Pathwalkers to take down to the meeting with us, which, to my understanding, should mean more eggs.¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± Elder Twig answers, still looking a little doubtful ¨C but a bit less despondent. I¡¯ll take it. I excuse myself and head out of the hut after checking that he still has sufficient supply of Energy Heart fragments for now. We¡¯re not giving many to the brood-mothers ¨C or perhaps I should say ¡®Elders¡¯ ¨C so as not to offer too much temptation to other samurans, but we have given each of them a few just to ensure that they don¡¯t need to come to me every time someone completes a task. Touching my network of Bonds, I find the one I¡¯m looking for and close my eyes to get an idea of her direction. Sensing it, I start walking towards her. Even better, my target is actually talking to the one I was going to speak to next. ¡°Flower, Tarra, just the samurans I need,¡± I say brightly, walking quickly to their sides. Tamer, they answer practically simultaneously. What can we do for you? continues Flower politely, Tarra just sending a sense of impatient question down the Bond and rippling in her spikes. ¡°I¡¯d like you to tell me what you know about these plants,¡± I say to them, laying the six plants down on the ground. Crouching over them, the two Pathwalkers share their knowledge. It¡¯s not a lot more than was already covered by a combination of the explanations from the samuran seekers and Inspect Flora. Tarra does add in a few facts that I didn¡¯t know, filling in the alchemical and healing uses for two of the plants. As it turns out, the ostrya cassine that I first examined is useful as a neutralising agent between many other reagents, preserving the strength of the reagents while allowing them to actually work together instead of causing problems. It¡¯s also good as a salve when pulped and placed over a wound caused by a sting or venomous bite. If the poison hasn¡¯t gone very far into the body, it can draw it out and make the wound easier to heal. The other plant, a type of bush, has mild intoxicating and healing effects ¨C one reason, apparently, why the creatures like eating it. Using Tarra¡¯s Healing Infusion, she can enhance the healing effects; by crushing it and squeezing out the juice within, she can extract its intoxicating effects. The plant which I figured was a dud turns out to be that exactly ¨C no diamond in the rough here. Apparently it can be made into a mild poison with Tarra¡¯s Transmutation, but it¡¯s such a poor poison that there really isn¡¯t any call for it ¨C Tarra can make far better poisons from other, more common ingredients. ¡°Do you think that these plants,¡± I indicate the five which have been identified as being worthy finds, ¡°could work well as food for captive herds of creatures?¡± Grower tilts her head to one side. This is your idea of¡­keeping animals, yes? To use them for food instead of hunting? ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± I answer. ¡°Farming.¡± And you think this will work? she asks doubtfully. Will we not eat through them too quickly? ¡°Well, that¡¯s kind of my question here,¡± I admit. ¡°Where I come from, animal farming is done as efficiently as possible. Food is grown for the sake of feeding animals for slaughter, and the food chosen is often types which will make the animals grow as quickly as possible.¡± I don¡¯t mention chemical pesticides or growth hormones or any of those other things ¨C it¡¯s not like it¡¯s relevant here. Though¡­there are herbal infusions here¡­. ¡°Samurans eat more meat than my people generally do ¨C most of our diet consists of non-meat products, though we do eat plenty of things which are from animals without killing them.¡± Mental note: send someone out looking for killer chickens, I think to myself. I¡¯m sure the samurans would be happy to eat eggs and I¡¯d enjoy being able to expand my recipe list a little. ¡°On my world, we were limited by the amount of space we had, the plants that we could grow and their speed in growing, and thereby how many animals we could support from birth to slaughter. Here, I¡¯m hoping that you might be able to help with at least one of those limitations,¡± I say directly to Flower. ¡°How does your Growth ability work?¡± I can definitely help speed up the growth of plants, Flower answers thoughtfully. Though by how much, I don¡¯t know. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it over a massive space either. ¡°What about animals?¡± I don¡¯t know, she says bluntly. I¡¯ve never tried. But I would be willing to do so. ¡°And Tarra, do you think there¡¯s anything you could make with herbs which might increase the growth speed, or nutrition value of plants? Or perhaps increase the growth speed of animals?¡± I ask next, turning to the other Pathwalker. I¡¯d be interested to do some testing, she answers looking intrigued. ¡°Alright. Here¡¯s what I¡¯d like you two to do,¡± I say, quickly getting my thoughts straight before continuing. ¡°Flower, I¡¯d like you to organise groups of Unevolved going out to find a number of each of these plants, and then planting them in different sections of the ash field near the upper side of the village. I¡¯d like you to test what you can do with your ability. Also test what the ideal conditions of the plants are ¨C some like more or less water, others more or less sun.¡± I know there are also nutritional requirements for different plants, but I don¡¯t even know where to start there ¨C I have to just hope that the ash will offer a good start for the baby plants. ¡°At the same time, please experiment with your ability on animals ¨C see whether you can do anything.¡± ¡°Tarra-¡± She interrupts me. You want me to do similar ¨C to recruit one or more assistants to help me test different concoctions on the plants and animals. ¡°Yes, exactly,¡± I say, pleased I don¡¯t need to repeat myself. ¡°And don¡¯t forget that boiling, or baking, or burning plants with the use of fire might change their properties. I don¡¯t know how, but it might be worth exploring a bit.¡± She looks rather taken-aback, as if she hadn¡¯t thought of that possibility. ¡°Is everything clear? Any questions?¡± Tarra and Flower exchange a look. Let¡¯s go and find some assistants, sister, Tarra said with more than a little excitement visible in her spikes. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Nineteen: Choice to Merge Beside my hut and alone once more, I take a moment to navigate to my notifications ¨C I¡¯m pretty sure that I received one on the sixth time I cast Inspect Flora. Sure enough, when I check it, I find not just one message waiting for me, but two.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Class Skill past Beginner. Inspect Flora is now Novice 1. You are now capable of discovering more information about the plant in question and possible uses of it for the members of your network.
Next message / Close messages
It¡¯s quite a short message. Vague too. What does ¡®possible uses of it for the members of your network¡¯ mean? Is it going to tell me whether others can eat something as well as me? Or whether whatever alchemical benefit it offers applies to more than just me? I guess I¡¯ll have to find out. Before then, though, I decide to check out the other message ¨C I¡¯m too curious not to.
Congratulations! You have three Inspect Skills which you have practised sufficiently to attain the rank of Novice in each. You now have the choice to merge the Skills into one, or retain the individual Skills. Choosing to keep the Skills separate will result in no change to the current situation. The Skills will advance individually and develop their own functions relative to your use of them. Merging in the future may be possible if all Skills are in the same rank; the further the Skills are developed, however, the more difficult it is to preserve all functionalities. Merging the Skills at present will maintain all functionalities which do not directly conflict with each other. More functionalities may be discovered in the merging. Note: the more complex the Skill, the more practice and understanding is required to advance it.
Merge Skills / Retain individual Skills
Interesting, I think to myself. My brain works busily to try to process the content and implications of the notification. I¡¯m immediately drawn towards combining the Skills, especially since it indicates that all the current functionalities should be preserved. At least, as long as they don¡¯t ¡®directly conflict¡¯. Running through the various functions of each Skill, I don¡¯t think they do. Inspect Fauna gives me information about animals ¨C about their health, their mana, their basic fighting strategies, how much Willpower I need to Dominate them at that moment, whether they¡¯re open for a Bond, and sometimes a hint of how to get them to be more open to a Bond. It also gives me the option to gain less information, but for my probe to be less intrusive in order to not alert my target. Inspect Environment highlights resources in the area around me which can be useful in one way or another with a golden colour. It also indicates threats in red, and allies in blue. It gives me a sort of x-ray vision to an extent, allowing me to see through thin plant cover to plants or animals beyond. Its recent rank-up now means that I can search for something particular in my environment ¨C either something I can visualise, or all items which fulfil a particular function, like I did with trying to find the iron oxide in the iron ore. Inspect Flora is arguably the weakest of my Skills, probably because I haven¡¯t used it in many contexts. It gives me a little information about plants, telling me about whether the plant is edible or not, whether it has alchemical uses or not, and usually some sort of comment about its growth or how it should be treated. Now, apparently it should give me more information and links somehow to my Bound. Though, whether ¡®more information¡¯ means that it will tell me other facets ¨C if it tells me how to plant the flora for the purposes of farming, that would be pretty useful ¨C or it just gives me more detail of what it already says, I don¡¯t know. Either way, it would be useful ¨C maybe there will be fewer ¡®unknown¡¯s relating to alchemical uses. Considered like that, I don¡¯t see any ¡®conflicting¡¯ functionalities. Each Skill seems to cover a different area in a different way. Which means that I shouldn¡¯t need to worry about losing any of those aspects. And what if the functionalities can actually combine? I could send out a ¡®quieter¡¯ pulse to discover information about everything in the area around me without accidentally alerting a higher tier beast hiding in the bushes. Or I could check if a beast is edible or not. Or perhaps search for a plant with a particular characteristic. So many combinations might be possible. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. As long as it doesn¡¯t mean it does everything all the time, of course. But I don¡¯t think that that¡¯s likely. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m forced to use all functionalities of a single Skill all the time with anything else. Why would it suddenly be the case with this Skill? The warning at the end does give me a little pause ¨C the one about merged Skills taking more practice and understanding to advance. It might mean that passing the bottleneck between Journeyman and Master might be nigh on impossible. But considering the number of other Skills I have at that bottleneck ¨C with two even past it ¨C I figure that I don¡¯t need to rush my Inspection Skills to the top. Having a single multi-functional Skill which saves time and might warn me of things I wasn¡¯t even aware of would be more useful. Decided, I select the Merge Skill option and then quickly dive into my Core space. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to be interesting to watch. Before my mental eyes, I see my Core space beginning to vibrate, a hum that is more felt than heard buzzing through me. Moving closer to where the three Inspect Skills are situated close together, I watch as they begin to shift. It¡¯s similar to when I¡¯ve seen Skills evolve and change in the past, yet different too. The Skills almost come to life, their lines and patterns reaching out to embrace each other, dancing together like flames in a fire. The weave that forms them becomes ever more complex, lines from Inspect Fauna interweaving with lines from Inspect Flora, which themselves have become entangled with Inspect Environment. It¡¯s like a ball of yarn that a kitten has been playing with, yet there is clear organisation too. As the lines begin to settle, I see flashes of patterns I recognised from the individual Skills, but they are so interwoven with the patterns from the other two Skills that I couldn¡¯t hope to separate them again. I see now why it would become more difficult to merge the Skills at higher ranks. Each time a Skill ranks up, it gains more complexity, the pattern in my mandala reflecting that. With how the three Skills have now interwoven, their task mesmerising enough, adding further complexities would have risked the lines being unable to find the right space to feed into while keeping the pattern the same. Right now, the combined Skill rivals my Journeymen Skills for complexity, though there is something missing. Some¡­depth to the Skill, or to the lines which form its pattern. I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it, but I can tell when I look at Tame that it is a higher rank than either Dominate or this new Inspect Skill, even though it is not more complex. And I can tell that Dominate is higher than this new Skill, even though it is less complex. Its patterns are¡­brighter. Clearer. More definite. Since the process seems to have ended, I pull out of my Core space and go to check the notification waiting for me.
You have merged three Skills: Inspect Fauna, Inspect Flora, and Inspect Environment. You have created a new Skill: Inspect. Your Skill level of Inspect has been reduced to the level of the lowest of the three combined to make it.
Close messages
I look at the last line in dismay ¨C the lowest of the three was Inspect Flora which has only just got to Novice one. Is this the effect of the greater practice and understanding which the pre-merge message warned about? Well, too late now. I focus on the new Skill name, calling up its description.
Inspect Use this Skill to discover information about living and non-living beings in and aspects of the environment around you. Choose to limit the amount of information available to you in exchange for maintaining secrecy. If you have a particular item, being, or feature in mind, use this Skill to search for it around you. Limitations may depend on your line of sight or your strength of will, according to the type of information you seek.
Close messages
It¡¯s very vague ¨C I¡¯d have liked a detailed list of exactly what it can and can¡¯t do. Then again, I suppose that the vague Skills have proven to be the most flexible ones. Look at Fire-Shaping or Earth-Shaping, for example. Their lack of definition was because of their lack of limitations. Perhaps Inspect will be the same. Closing the message, I decide to test it out. First not trying to focus on anything in particular, I invoke the Skill with its name. Inspect It feels like a wash of mana goes out in a pulse around me. I see a chunk of actual mana disappear from my bar ¨C it seems it¡¯s more resource-heavy than my other Inspect Skills used to be. I hadn¡¯t considered that when I was deciding whether to merge it or not. Well, too late now. Focussing on the results of my Inspect, I see that the mana has lingered in several areas. It¡¯s lighting up the iron oxide which I¡¯ve powdered and the charcoal I¡¯ve recently made. Those two are highlighted in bright gold, as are the spear I leant against the wall of my hut, and the axe which I¡¯ve been using to chop up branches which are too long. The firewood waiting to go into the charcoal oven is also glimmering slightly gold, but not as brightly as the previous bits. The stone which I¡¯ve separated from the iron oxide glimmers too, as does the charcoal oven itself. Beyond my immediate circle, I become aware of the presence of samurans. Walking past, inside the huts near me, sitting against a wall¡­I apparently don¡¯t need line of sight to know where they are and that they are not a threat to me. Information filters as well into my mind about the composition of the earth beneath my feet, the materials lying around me, and the hut behind me. And this is only a small area which has very few items lying around. The pulse seems to have reduced in strength the further it went, most of the information coming from the area directly around me, but it¡¯s still a lot of details. I¡¯m abruptly both excited and nervous about the idea of trying this out in the forest. I¡¯d better make sure that the first time I try it out, we¡¯re in a safe place and I¡¯ve got several fighters with me to help protect me if I end up reeling from information overload. Hopefully that doesn¡¯t happen ¨C it won¡¯t be much use if so. Though perhaps it¡¯s just because I didn¡¯t focus on something in particular. It seems like more experimentation is needed. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty: Glowing Chunk of Metal The sun dawns once more on a new day. Well, I think it has ¨C it¡¯s currently hiding behind thick clouds which have spent most of the night dumping rain on us. Thank goodness for the ceiling above our heads! I spent quite a long time experimenting with my new Skill yesterday afternoon, learning different ways of using it. I didn¡¯t end up going into the forest, but I feel more confident that when I do, I¡¯ll be able to moderate the amount of information I received. The Skill is as flexible as the vagueness of its description promised it would be, and I''m more and more glad that I chose to merge the three Inspects together. It does use more mana than each of those Skills did individually, but the amount of mana varies depending on the range and the complexity of the task I want to achieve. Trying to spot all enemies and allies within about ten metres around me is possible, but it requires almost a hundred units of mana, and a whole lot of concentration. Doing the same thing with only a metre¡¯s radius requires a fraction of the cost. Equally, finding detailed information about a single being or plant doesn¡¯t cost too much, but trying to discover that about a group both requires way too much mana and also gives me a splitting headache as I receive the information. It¡¯s possible to still have the information appear in a box in front of my eyes ¨C when focussing on a single plant or animal ¨C but it doesn¡¯t happen automatically. Instead, the default is that I absorb the information directly. I think I¡¯m going to have to dedicate some points to Intelligence as the Skill increases in rank or I¡¯ll probably find that I become incapable of absorbing or processing all the information it offers. With what was left of the afternoon yesterday, I started preparing my work area for my task this morning. I¡¯m hoping that tomorrow we¡¯ll be able to head up to visit Kalanthia ¨C I¡¯m itching to find out how everyone I left back there is doing. No doubt she feels the same way about Lathani, if not worse. After all, I know that they weren¡¯t intending on getting into any sort of dangerous situation; Kalanthia has no such confidence. Stepping past the number of Bound who are still sleeping ¨C lazy things, I think fondly ¨C I hoist myself out of the hut. Pulling some water out of my Inventory, I take a moment to eye the sky carefully as I refresh myself ¨C I don¡¯t think it¡¯s about to pour again, but it wouldn¡¯t be the first time I was wrong in predicting the weather. I haven¡¯t done anything particularly interesting with food recently ¨C I¡¯ve had other projects ¨C but at least I have a tasty stew which includes a few herbs and vegetables recommended to me by Tarra. I did Inspect them first to make sure that they are edible for humans as well as samurans, and all but one turned out to be fine for me. Trusting in my ability to heal myself if they react badly together, I bravely tried my own cooking last night. Since I¡¯m still feeling fine, and Flesh-Shaping indicates that there¡¯s been no damage, I figure I can eat it this morning too. And probably tonight as well ¨C I made more than enough for that. After satisfying my needs and going just into the edge of the forest to relieve myself, I return to the work area I built yesterday. Without Earth-Shaping, I¡¯d have needed far more time to create the structure, but with it, I was able to accomplish my task in less than half a day. Now that I¡¯ve powdered my iron oxide and created enough charcoal to be getting on with, I need to do the actual smelting. To this end, I¡¯ve formed a furnace out of thick clay. Several samurans helped me out yesterday by gathering lots of the substance from the local river, and Earth-Shaping helped me speed up the process of transforming it into the furnace faster than I would have thought possible. Magic helped me remove the stones, shape it into a large structure with even walls all around, get rid of air bubbles, and then remove the water content. It¡¯s a squat, ugly structure, wider at the base than it is at the top, with a small hole at the bottom and a larger hole at the top. Fortunately, I also built a shelter around it so it¡¯s not completely sodden now, undoing my good work. It¡¯s now ready for the next step: lighting the fire. Taking a few handfuls of charcoal ¨C which was fortunately also under shelter ¨C I drop them through the top of the furnace and into its belly. Igniting the fire is as simple as dragging mana to my fingertips and transforming it into fire magic, then letting it drip down onto the charcoal beneath. With careful control, I encourage the flames to catch on the charcoal. Without magic, I¡¯d have had to use kindling and branches to get the fire established enough to start burning the charcoal, but with Fire-Shaping, it¡¯s far simpler. Reaching down, I grab another double handful of charcoal and drop it down. Once the coals are glowing, I start pouring in the iron oxide powder on top of the charcoal. Bit by bit, I add more of the powdered metallic substance, focussing on keeping the fire burning hot in the furnace below. My brow furrows as I observe the changes happening to the fire. It¡¯s being starved of oxygen. Although there¡¯s a small hole down at the base of the furnace, it¡¯s not enough to keep the fire going. Not with the powdered iron oxide filling the flue and smothering it. I could give it more mana instead, but I¡¯ve got another idea. Pulling a piece of hide out of my Inventory and two bones, I focus on pouring mana into the items. It¡¯s not a thick hide or special in any sort of way, and Light Meditation helps me fill my mana pool almost as quickly as the hide absorbs it. I¡¯m able to keep an eye on the fire too, keeping it going despite my distraction. Once the hide and bones are fully saturated with my magic, I get going into shaping them. Fortunately, thanks to the knowledge I absorbed months ago when I first arrived here, I have an idea as to how to construct a basic pair of bellows. The key points are to have a sealed construction except for two holes, and to have valves on these two holes to make sure that the air only moves one way. The bones form the handles of my bellows and I thicken the hide around one of the holes to lengthen it into a nozzle. Doing a couple of test pumps, I pull the bone handles apart, then push them together. I¡¯m a little too enthusiastic the first time I yank the bone handles apart and have to put a bit of mana into repairing the rips I accidentally cause. After that, though, I only have to make a few small adjustments before air is rushing into the hole in the side of the bellows, and exiting through the nozzle. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Sticking the hide nozzle into the hole at the base of the furnace, I pump the bellows with enthusiasm. The fire immediately responds, consuming the oxygen hungrily, increasing in temperature. I pump harder, encouraging the fire to burn even brighter, sending its tendrils into the powder piled on top of it. Though I can¡¯t see the magic within the metal itself, I¡¯m fascinated as I watch the interaction between it and the fire. The fire isn¡¯t just melting it; it¡¯s transforming it. Good. Though the knowledge I gained from Nicholas¡¯ supplies doesn¡¯t go into the chemical changes iron undergoes when it¡¯s smelted, my secondary school knowledge of chemistry is enough to indicate that iron oxide needs to lose the oxide bit of it somehow ¨C the oxygen. And then, ideally, it will be replaced with a bit of carbon from the charcoal. I have no idea what the ideal ratio of iron to carbon is to make good steel, though; I might have to do some experimentation when I can find the time. For now, if I can smelt some spearheads to leave with the samurans when I go up-valley to visit Kalanthia, that will be enough. Dumping more iron oxide powder into the furnace as I see the previous handfuls being melted within the heat of the fire, I continue pumping the bellows and controlling the fire. By the time I have a good chunk of metal in there, I¡¯m sweating buckets. The furnace is sending out heat even through the thick clay walls, and the surrounding area is sweltering. The samurans have even started giving me a wide berth, clearly uncomfortable. All but one. An Unevolved. He¡¯s been watching me for the last while. He¡¯s actually one of my Tames, one of those who came with the hunting party. I¡¯m embarrassed to realise that I¡¯ve forgotten his name. A quick Inspect rectifies that. Since he¡¯s Tier one, I doubt he¡¯ll notice it. He certainly doesn¡¯t react. My Inspect tells me several things ¨C his health, which isn¡¯t full, his mana, which is, his name, Hurts-his-foot, and that he¡¯s injured his shoulder recently. A new benefit to my Inspect appears to be highlighting injuries with wisps of red. The wisps are more obvious on my Bound, but they appear even on non-bound. I¡¯m curious to see whether they will indicate injuries on enemies too ¨C that could be invaluable. But for now.... ¡°Hey, come here,¡± I tell him, standing up straight and beckoning him over. He moves close to me cautiously, looking more concerned at approaching me than the furnace. In fact, he seems fascinated with the furnace itself. ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡± I ask. It is nothing, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, he answers deferentially. ¡°Call me Markus,¡± I tell him with a hint of exasperation. ¡°What happened? And would you like me to heal it?¡± My fingers are itching to do it but I probably shouldn¡¯t just go ahead without his consent. I was hunting in the forest and my prey struck me before I could kill it, he answers indifferently. I would not ask you to waste your time on one such as me, he continues. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not asking,¡± I point out. ¡°I am. Unless you are against it, I¡¯d rather heal you.¡± The Unevolved looks rather startled at the question, then thoughtful, blue flickering through his spikes. Honoured Pathwalker Reducer said that you were unusually concerned for the health of the Unevolved, he comments. Catches-leaves said the same. I shrug. ¡°It¡¯s to everyone¡¯s benefit that the people collecting the resources are in good health,¡± I point out. ¡°For my part, though, when I have the ability to heal others, I¡¯d rather not leave them in unnecessary pain. Not my allies, anyway.¡± If only I¡¯d had this power back on Earth. I could have been spared a lot of heart-break. My father¡­my mother. The feelings twinge inside me, though not as badly as they used to. I suddenly realise that I haven¡¯t thought about my parents for a while. Or Lucy. Not sure how I feel about that ¨C or how I should feel ¨C I push the thoughts to the side. Then if you are willing to spare the time, I would gladly accept, Hurts-his-foot answers, unaware of my sudden internal turmoil. I quickly heal the damage ¨C not much more than deeply bruised muscles, to be fair. ¡°Is there a reason you¡¯ve been watching me?¡± I ask curiously. The samuran, flickers of yellow fear going through his spikes, raises his chin towards the sky. If I have offended the Honoured Pathwalker, I apologise deeply. ¡°You haven¡¯t offended me,¡± I tell him, trying to keep my exasperation hidden. ¡°I was just wondering.¡± It''s¡­I was wondering what the Honoured Pathwalker was doing? he asked tentatively. ¡°I¡¯m trying to smelt iron,¡± I answer honestly, though the confusion that flickers through his spikes and in our Bond makes it clear that he has no idea what that means. ¡°Tell you what, you can watch what I¡¯m doing, if you like. If you have better things to do, you don¡¯t have to stay, but I don¡¯t have a problem with you observing as long as you don¡¯t get in my way.¡± I¡­I would appreciate that, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, Hurts-his-foot answers tentatively, but with an undercurrent of eagerness that intrigues me. ¡°Right, well, I¡¯m about to retrieve the hot metal from inside the furnace. Without magic, it would be much harder, but with magic, we save a lot of effort.¡± So saying, I reach out to the magic suffusing the clay furnace and connect with it again. Shaping a hole in the side of the furnace is difficult: the clay is hard and dry, as much from the intense heat it¡¯s been subjected to as my own efforts. In the end, I make do with creating a crack around a large chunk of the furnace¡¯s belly, and then using my control over the ground to make it move to the side. Moving the ground is easier: I treat it like a conveyor belt, the surface shifting towards me as the space it used to occupy is replaced by new soil. The red hot chunk of metal shifts with the section of the furnace, the charcoal which had been used to heat it almost burned away completely. I have to reinforce my hide armour to stop it cracking or bursting into flame from the heat; the bare skin revealed to the dimly glowing chunk of metal burns and I need to keep healing it. It¡¯s fortunate I¡¯ve had so much practice at multitasking with magic recently or I¡¯d be struggling now. I was hoping to have made the iron molten, but apparently I haven¡¯t managed to get the fire hot enough, despite my best efforts. Maybe next time. For now, I need a hammer ¨C any forging I do will need one, so I might as well attempt to make one now. Using Earth-shaping, I manipulate the earth to cut a chunk off the hunk of glowing metal and move it closer to me. Withdrawing a reinforced wooden mallet I got Sticks to make for me yesterday, I hope that this will work. Raising the mallet above my head, I bring it thumping down onto the glowing lump of metal. The first strike of many, and it feels good. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-One: A Good Way Of Increasing My Level In Fire-Shaping Metal-working seems to be a good way of increasing my level in Fire-Shaping, I muse as I receive a notification of it ranking up. It¡¯s nice to have something positive among all the frustration. I need to improve my process of creating metal weapons and tools since the first method I¡¯ve tried ¨C the basic one ¨C is rather slow. And requires skills I don¡¯t yet have in order to do it well. I¡¯ve sped up the process significantly, but all I¡¯ve been doing is the same thing I would have needed to do if I hadn¡¯t had magic available, only with less labour and less time needed. After cutting off the section of glowing metal, I used my wooden mallet to pound it into a rough hammer shape. Fortunately, though it¡¯s become a little blackened, the heavy wood of the mallet is far less immediately flammable than the vine-stranglers were. Fire-Shaping jumped a couple of levels when, deciding that waiting for it to cool naturally took too long, I worked out how to withdraw heat from the metal. That took a bit of exploration to discover, but in the end was relatively simple. The heat in the metal was caused by the fire magic suffusing it; withdrawing the fire magic caused it to cool rapidly. Testing proved that it didn¡¯t become more fragile as a result, fortunately. Fixing a handle onto the piece of metal simply required pulling out a bone and forming it around the middle of the rough chunk of metal. I did reinforce the handle significantly, not wanting it to be the weakest point of the tool. In the end, I created a metal hammer in a fraction of the time it took me to create a flint axe. Magic is wonderful. Using the hammer, I¡¯ve been able to beat another chunk of the glowing metal into a rough spearhead shape. But there I¡¯ve encountered problems. Namely, that I¡¯m far from an expert blacksmith. A proper blacksmith would know how much force to apply to form the shape he wants. I don¡¯t. I can make the rough shape, like I did with the hammer, but it¡¯s going to take a lot more practice before I¡¯ll be able to create something like a spear blade which doesn¡¯t have unforgivable weaknesses mid-blade because the metal is too thin, or is too chunky on one side. It¡¯s just as well I don¡¯t want to try making swords given how much difficulty I¡¯m having with something as simple as a spear blade. I had wanted to create some arrowheads for myself as well, but I think I need to find a better process since they have to be even more carefully balanced than a spear head. I have one advantage over the traditional blacksmith, though ¨C my Fire-Shaping. I¡¯ve just made a breakthrough on being able to adjust the heat in the blade directly, without needing the intermediary of the fire. And that, I think, is what¡¯s caused the rank up. Seeing as the spearhead I¡¯m working on is a failure anyway, I put my hammer to the side and look at my messages.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Class Skill past Novice. Fire-Shaping is now Journeyman 1. You have developed your understanding of the magic which underlies all fires. You have come to realise that heat and fire are irrevocably linked, but that one does not necessarily require the other with enough mana to make up the difference. You have also realised that cold is merely the absence of heat. You have therefore gained a greater awareness of the temperature in objects and beings in your surroundings, and a greater ability to manipulate it with fire magic.
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Dismissing the screen, I stare sightlessly in front of me. In some ways, that rank up was mostly descriptive ¨C explaining what I¡¯ve already discovered rather than giving me anything new. The greater awareness of the temperature in objects and beings in my surroundings could be invaluable, though, if it means what I think it might. Could I have developed a sense more like a snake¡¯s heat vision, or something? If I ever encounter something which can hide from my Inspect, they might not have been able to hide their heat signature. Well, even if it doesn¡¯t mean that exactly, the fact that it explicitly states that I can exchange mana for heat without having to necessarily have a fire involved will definitely make my crafting here easier. Already, being able to keep the heat in the metal while pounding it with my hammer has been useful and something a traditional blacksmith wouldn¡¯t have. In fact, it might even mean that I can try a different crafting method, one which would have been nigh on impossible for me previously with the tools and materials I have to hand, but now¡­. Honoured Markus? What is wrong? Happy asks inquiringly from where he is standing patiently, observing my every move. I managed to convince him to at least leave off the ¡®Pathwalker Tamer¡¯ bit every other sentence, but just like Catch, he doesn¡¯t seem willing to call me by my bare name. Fortunately, the more I¡¯ve been willing to answer his questions, the more questions he¡¯s felt confident asking. It¡¯s actually been good for me too ¨C I¡¯ve been able to work through some issues just by explaining them to him, and then spotting the answer partway through my explanation. He¡¯s also been able to offer a couple of surprisingly insightful comments. I¡¯m becoming more and more convinced that he has an instinctual understanding of metal that rivals what I remember from school and what I¡¯ve received through absorbed knowledge. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s somehow become a blacksmith or scientist on this world, but he¡¯s been able to recognise when the metal is soft and pure enough to mould. And that¡¯s without any experience or actual magic. I¡¯ll have to talk to Tarra and find out whether River showed any inclination towards herbalism when younger ¨C and if that¡¯s the reason she decided to invite the Unevolved to become her assistant. As for why I¡¯ve decided to call him ¡®Happy¡¯, it¡¯s a slightly convoluted thought process which essentially links the ¡®foot¡¯ in his name to a dancing penguin movie I saw a few years back. And I¡¯d rather not call him ¡®hurts¡¯ or ¡®foot¡¯, as is my usual habit when picking nicknames. I checked with him whether the nickname was acceptable, but he seemed rather pleased to be given it. Maybe he didn¡¯t like his name or something. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong,¡± I belatedly answer Happy¡¯s question. ¡°My Fire-Shaping Skill has just ranked up which should help us do something a little more experimental.¡± More experimental? he asks, sounding slightly startled. I haven¡¯t hidden the fact from him that this is my first time actually doing this sort of thing. ¡°Yes. Up until this point, I¡¯ve been using a method that, technically, anyone could do with the right material. But now, I want to try something which is only possible with magic. Here, at least. Where I come from, there are processes which do it all the time, but we don¡¯t have the resources or experience they do.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Can I help in any way? he asks. I consider it, then shake my head. ¡°Just watch what I''m doing.¡± An idea occurs, a question which might be interesting to have answered. ¡°See if you can spot any differences between what I¡¯m doing now and what I did earlier.¡± Pulling some more clay from my Inventory, I make a large cup shape, then push the still-glowing hunk of metal from the ground into it with the help of my hammer. Moving the earth beneath the cup and the section of furnace I previously removed like a conveyer belt again, the cup is shut inside. There is no charcoal this time and nerves send butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I think through what I¡¯m about to try. The furnace is still quite hot: even if I haven¡¯t been stoking the fire within, the heat has thoroughly sunk into its clay walls. Closing my eyes, I focus with my magic vision, observing the earth and fire magic intertwining in the clay walls, the fire magic filling the space within the furnace. Looking deeper inside, at the metal within the cup, I see the fire magic interacting with¡­something. But I cannot see what it is interacting with. Like being able to hear half of a phone conversation. Logically, I can guess what it is: just like there is fire magic in fire, and earth magic in earth, there must be metal magic or something in metal. I¡¯d love to learn how to be a Metal-Shaper too, but there is time enough for learning that later. I don¡¯t want to spend three days focussing on the nature of metal. Or more. Not right now, anyway. I realise that I indeed have a greater awareness of the heat, of how much the fire magic is affecting its surroundings. And that there is heat even in places where fire magic is not so evident, like in the soil and air around the furnace, or the hut walls which are in the sun. I¡¯ll definitely need to explore that later too. But for now, I focus on the metal inside the cup. I can connect easily to the fire magic within it: it was heated by a fire that I controlled, and I have been trying to keep its temperature high even after removing it from the furnace. This time, I want to try something different, though. I don¡¯t merely want to maintain a temperature; I want to increase it. And increase it massively. To that end, I drop as deeply into Meditation as I dare. Not quite into Medium Meditation, but the very limits between it and Light Meditation. I become less aware of my surroundings, though not completely unconscious of them. Instead, my whole focus is on the glowing chunk of fire and metal magic hidden from my physical eyes by the furnace. Into that, I start trickling mana, focussing on wanting it to go directly to heat. I don¡¯t want flame; I don¡¯t want ash. I want heat. I feel my mana obey me happily: it is part of me; it wants what I want. A trickle becomes a stream, but there I stop it from growing further. It would like to ¨C mana seems to want to be used, in as much as it can ¡®want¡¯ anything. It eagerly flows out of me, but if I let it all go at once, it will be a flood rather than a stream. I suspect that, just like if I poured a flood of water on the metal before me, I wouldn¡¯t get the result I wanted. Instead, I feed the metal with my fire-aligned mana, focussing on more and more heat. My new temperature awareness informs me that I¡¯m having an effect. It doesn¡¯t give me any indications of Celsius or Fahrenheit, or any sort of objective measurement, but it informs me that the metal in the furnace before me is now hotter than anything I¡¯ve encountered, save the inferno which I controlled to cut a swathe through the vine-stranglers. But I want it hotter still. The cup inside the furnace changes slowly with the increased heat, the earth magic starting to become agitated. I break briefly from my focus on the metal inside it to calm the earth magic, reinforcing it further. Something tells me that agitating earth magic like that is not a good idea unless I want to hurt someone. Once it¡¯s more under control, I return my focus to the metal, picking up where I left off. It has reduced slightly in temperature since I broke away, but I quickly make up that ground again and continue feeding it with heat-focussed fire magic. Slowly, I see the metal change. Its shape softens, fills the cup fully instead of holding itself apart. It starts to affect the clay cup itself, and I suddenly realise that I can see more than I could before. Working with the fire magic, I became aware of it. Interacting with the fire and earth magic, I start to be able to see its shape and movements. Something tantalises the edge of my awareness, the thought of where earth and fire magic might become one¡­. The magic wobbles and threatens to go out of control, so I quickly concentrate back on the task at hand. I still can¡¯t see the metal magic itself, but I become confident that if I studied this for a while, I might be able to start gleaning useful understanding from it which would enable me to do so. But my mana is starting to run dry. Even my increased regeneration isn¡¯t enough to keep up with what I am spending, and I¡¯m getting to my last hundred units. The metal has softened and liquified; that is enough. More than enough, really. Breaking away my focus once more, I quickly form three casts out of clay, cursing myself for not doing it before starting this experiment. Once more cracking the furnace side and using a conveyor belt to pull the crucible out of its interior, I find I have to back away, Happy moving with me as the sheer heat radiating off the molten metal beats at our faces. ¡°Pass me that bone,¡± I order Happy, not taking my eyes off the metal in front of me. The metal now open to the far-cooler air, I¡¯m having to work hard to keep it from reducing in temperature all too quickly. I need it to stay molten. A bone meets my hand, fortunately the one I wanted. It¡¯s already full of my magic, so all I need to do is keep it from charring under the influence of the blisteringly hot metal and crucible while I reform it to be a grip around the clay cup. I redirect the heat from the bone and from the cup itself back into the molten metal to aid my efforts to keep it liquid. ¡°Keep out the way,¡± I warn Happy. He¡¯s staring at the crucible, fascinated. I don¡¯t blame him ¨C I¡¯m rather interested in the glowing liquid myself ¨C but I don¡¯t want to accidentally bump into him, or have him jar me in any way. Lifting the crucible by the very end of the bone handle, I shift it very carefully towards the clay casts I¡¯ve just formed. So far clay has worked well to withstand the massive temperatures we¡¯re dealing with here; I hope that will continue to be the case. Controlling the crucible takes almost as much concentration as keeping the temperatures within it as high as they need to be. I shuffle slowly, each twitch of my fingers threatening to send molten metal everywhere. Finally getting the cup to the right place, I tip it gently, filling the first cast. The syrupy glowing liquid quickly fills the holes and levels out ¨C just what I was hoping would be the case. No worries about accidental hammer strikes making the metal too thin when it¡¯s a pre-made mould. I¡¯m about to start filling the second cast when I realise that there¡¯s a problem with the first. Physically, I see that the surface is starting to bubble, bits of metal spitting out of the cast entirely. With my magical sight, I realise that the situation is worse than I thought. The earth magic surrounding the metal is more agitated than the clay cup had been inside the furnace. I try to connect to it, but my attempts are too little, too late. ¡°Watch out!¡± I cry, dropping the crucible and diving to the ground as the mould abruptly explodes. Nothing lands on me, but I hear two cries of pain ring through the air. Looking up, I see two samurans passing by have been struck by molten metal. Running towards them, I spare a glance for Happy. He¡¯s fine, fortunately. Indeed, even as I reach the first of the hurt samurans and start apologising even as I push healing magic into them, I see that he¡¯s moved to stare at the molten metal spread across the ground from where I dropped the crucible, his head cocked to one side in interest. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Two: Is It Time? Is it time? Bastet asks as I sit up. ¡°Yes,¡± I answer. Finally! exclaims Lathani, leaping to her feet, almost vibrating with energy. The rest of my Bound aren¡¯t quite so enthusiastic, but they stir with more or less grumbling. It¡¯s early; the sun isn¡¯t even up yet. Aingeal happily lights the area for us, brightening a bit so that we can all see where everyone else¡¯s limbs are. I sometimes feel guilty at asking him to be a glorified torch when he¡¯s a living, thinking being ¨C well, for a definition of ¡®living¡¯ and ¡®thinking¡¯, anyway. He seems to like it well enough, though ¨C he just seems to want to do things. I send him his daily dose of fire-aligned mana which he happily accepts. I take a moment to go through my Inventory, making sure that everything is present that should be ¨C and that none of the things that shouldn¡¯t be are there. After all my work yesterday with the smelting and casting of spear heads, and then spending time sharpening them with Happy¡¯s help, I would hate to accidentally walk away with them ¨C I want them to be used by the samurans, not be rusting away in my Inventory. Not that they¡¯d actually rust in it, given the stasis effect. Last night I spent some time making a few different meals with the meat and plants the Unevolved had collected during the day. I now have more variety in my Inventory again, which makes me happy. I pull out a ¡®breakfast wrap¡¯ which I made with a couple of eggs the hunters found and some pseudo flour ground from some nuts and held together with an edible leaf around the outside. Taking a bite, I hum in surprised pleasure. The leaf actually isn¡¯t all that bad. A bit like tough lettuce. And the nut flour is, as expected, nutty, a flavour which goes surprisingly well with the strong-tasting eggs. We¡¯re going to try to make it all the way back to Kalanthia¡¯s cave in one day. Our success is going to depend on how much we¡¯re attacked. Given how fast everyone can move these days, it should be possible, but if we¡¯re caught in more than a couple of fights, we may find ourselves needing to decide whether to keep running through the darkness or not. That¡¯s why we¡¯re getting up so early ¨C we want to leave before the sun is properly over the horizon to maximise our daylight hours. Especially since the day and night are now almost equal in length, the day slightly shorter than the night. It does mean I¡¯ve had to double the layer of my spider-silk for sleeping ¨C the mornings in particular are quite chilly. After my last triple-check of our resources, I follow my Bound out of the hut. Lathani and Bastet gravitate to me. River too ¨C the last couple of nights she¡¯s come to join the rest of us in ¡®my¡¯ hut. I have to admit that I¡¯ve appreciated having her back with us. Fenrir seems to have enjoyed it too ¨C he¡¯s now big enough to flop over both of us when he sleeps. Honey has been joining us as well, inching closer every night. She still hasn¡¯t come to a decision over whether or not to switch her Bond to Dominate or Companion Bond so I can fix her Energy channels. I¡¯m not rushing her ¨C according to her status screen, she still has a good way to go until she¡¯ll be able to Evolve. Though I suspect that it¡¯s better to fix it sooner rather than later: building Energy channels around damage has got to be setting up problems for later Evolutions. At least, that¡¯s my guess. A weight landing on my shoulder informs me of another member of our band coming to join us. Sirocco doesn¡¯t like joining us in the hut, so has been perched on the roof. Spine, Shakira, and Trinity are all too big to get inside, so they¡¯ve been sleeping just beyond the front door. They¡¯re ready to go as much as we are. Pride has joined them the last few nights ¨C he finds getting in and out of the hut difficult too with his prominent dorsal ridge. Komodo and Thorn are still rather stand-offish, but have, like Honey, slowly been getting closer to us. A part of that is probably due to how wet the nights have been recently. Their shapes allow them to get in and out of the hut reasonably well, especially after I added a slope on the inside ¨C my visit to the hatchlings¡¯ hut inspired me. I also created a sheltered area outside for those who couldn¡¯t make it inside the hut properly. Thorn is another one I hope will Bind himself closer to me at some point ¨C I¡¯ve healed his physical wounds, but he was hit with Raven¡¯s jet of acid, so I¡¯m sure there¡¯s damage to his internal channels. Unlike Honey, so far he¡¯s been rather decisive in his refusal, though. Seeing as we¡¯re all here, I signal the group to start heading towards the up-valley gateway. As we pass two Unevolved sleeping huts, I spot a figure hesitating in the shadows. Narrowing my eyes at it, I realise as we get closer that it¡¯s Catch. Seeing that I¡¯ve spotted him, he sidles over to me looking more than a bit uncertain. Honoured Markus, I was unsure¡­do you wish me to join you? The question makes me hesitate a moment. Honestly, I¡¯d been assuming that he wouldn¡¯t want to. Now that his sight is fixed, he seems to be doing very well as a hunter in the village. From what I can tell, he¡¯s been earning Energy Heart fragments at a rate practically unmatched among the other villagers. ¡°Do you want to?¡± I ask him carefully. I don¡¯t want him to feel obliged in any sort of way. I don¡¯t want to be in the way, he answers carefully, but the hint of longing in his spikes is overshadowed by the wave which comes over from his side of the Bond. I take a moment to phrase my words carefully, sensing that this is an important moment. ¡°If you want to come with me, with us, you are welcome to do so,¡± I say deliberately, pushing sincerity down the Bond between us. ¡°But I¡¯ve seen how hard you¡¯ve been working for the good of the village. If you would like to stay here and continue that, you are welcome to do that too.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Catch looks away for a moment, a sudden feeling of anguish shooting through the Bond like a spear to my heart. I¡­I did not do it for the village, he replies quietly. I puzzle over that for a moment. If he didn¡¯t do it for the village, who did he do it for? And then it strikes me. The unspoken words which should follow: I did it for you. ¡°Why¡­?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask, even as I realise it was a mistake when he physically recoils from me, shame rippling both through his spikes and across our Bond. It¡¯s so strong that I actually step towards him, my hand raised to¡­I don¡¯t know what. I lay it on his shoulder, glad that he doesn¡¯t flinch back from me ¨C I seem to be misstepping a little this morning. Hopefully it¡¯s not setting the tone for the day or the meeting with Kalanthia that will follow. I was not strong enough to come with you before, he explains in almost a whisper, the shame intensifying within his Bond. I mentally signal my Bound to keep moving slowly towards the gateway ¨C I suspect that Catch would rather have less of an audience. ¡°Six of my Bound died in that battle,¡± I say to him heavily. ¡°And two of them were Warriors. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t bring you with me, because I know that you would have been at my side¡­and I wouldn¡¯t have wanted you to pay that price for your loyalty.¡± But if I had been stronger, if I had been able to fight- ¡°The outcome would have been the same,¡± I interrupt, ¡°except that perhaps you would have been among the dead. We had no chance of beating our opponent except with perhaps another ten Warriors and more combat-capable Pathwalkers. And preferably an advantage in knowledge or preparation time. He was just too powerful.¡± He is silent for a long moment, but I sense that my words have done something to soothe him. ¡°Is that why you have been working so hard? I thought that you wanted to help your village?¡± I ask a bit awkwardly. He gives his version of a shrug. I wish to get stronger to be of more use to you, and earning Energy Heart pieces and hunting is the only way to do that. Chagrin goes through me and I sigh, rubbing a hand across my face. ¡°Catch¡­I¡¯m sorry. Really sorry,¡± I apologise fervently. ¡°I¡¯ve neglected you and hadn¡¯t even realised it. I honestly thought that you had fitted back into the village, that you and Pride were having fun hunting together. That¡­you weren¡¯t interested in building a closer bond with the rest of our group. I made assumptions ¨C and an ass out of myself. I should have at least spoken to you about it. ¡°Listen, if you want Energy Hearts to advance, you can have them. As long as you use them carefully so that they don¡¯t harm your advancement, however they do that, then you can have as many as you need. You are part of a small group of beings who have dedicated themselves willingly to me and I should have remembered that. My Companions will receive everything they need as long as I am capable of giving it,¡± I tell him earnestly, feeling awful inside. I¡¯d barely thought about Catch, and when I had considered him, I¡¯d made assumptions based on his actions rather than talking to him. I should have realised that I would have to be the one to approach him ¨C culturally, he was taught not to ask anything of a Pathwalker; when I became the leader of the village, it could only have made things more difficult for him. He looks rather surprised at the depths of my apology ¨C or perhaps that I was giving him one at all. Clearly, he thinks that the problem is from his side, because of his ¡®weakness¡¯. Does that mean I can come? he asks, sounding a little confused. ¡°It means that I¡¯d like you to come,¡± I correct. Flickers of blue go through his spikes and he straightens up with hope drifting across the Bond. Thank you, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, he answers, tilting his chin to the sky. I point at him, narrowing my eyes. ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Markus¡¯ to you ¨C or Honoured Markus if you don¡¯t want to use that.¡± Relief combines with the hints of hope. Thank you¡­Honoured Markus, he answers whole-heartedly. ¡°Alright,¡± I tell him, glancing at where my Bound are almost at the gateway. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving. Have you got everything you need? Do you have a weapon to use?¡± We walk quickly towards the gateway and the farewell party waiting there, even while I do my best to ensure that my previous neglect isn¡¯t continued any longer. Reaching the gateway, almost at the same time as the rest of my Bound, I see Shrieks accompanied by his four top Warriors, along with the five other Pathwalkers. River, of course, is coming with us ¨C even though I suggested she continue with her experiments here, she wouldn¡¯t hear of it. I¡¯m not exactly sure why she was so determind to accompany us ¨C I didn¡¯t think that she and Kalanthia got along so well¡­. Maybe she left something at the alcove which she wants to retrieve. Honoured Pathwalker Tamer, we wish you all the best on your mission, Shrieks rumbles. I haven¡¯t told them exactly what I¡¯m doing, only that I¡¯m going to be away for a few days but no longer than a week. I would feel more reassured about your and Honoured Pathwalker Reducer¡¯s safety if you would take with you Plays-with-poison, Bites-a-leaf, and Jumps-over-a-rock. ¡°Are you sure you can spare them from the defence of the village?¡± I ask, not surprised ¨C he¡¯s been trying to suggest Warriors ever since he heard that I was leaving. ¡°We have plenty of protection with all of my Bound.¡± He lifts his chin slightly in respectful acknowledgement, but the feeling I get over the Bond is implacable determination. Our village is well-defended. We are not travelling through dangerous forest terrain, he answers. For your benefit, and that of the village, I implore you to take them with you. They will guard you and Pathwalker River well. I eye the three samurans. I remember them from the ranking fights. Plays-with-poison was the scout-type who used an alchemical powder to hide his position and threw poisoned daggers at me. Bites-a-leaf was the one with a bola which took me a little by surprise. Jumps-over-a-rock is another scout-type Warrior whose speed ¨C enhanced by his special ability ¨C would have been more problematic if not for Bastet. They¡¯re good choices, actually. Especially since we have powerful defenders in Trinity, Komodo, and Fenrir. ¡°Alright, fine. As long as you¡¯re confident that you have enough Warriors to defend everyone else, we¡¯ll accept them.¡± I already have a Bond with each of them so that won¡¯t be an issue. Shrieks lifts his chin again as the three come to join our party. After a few more words of farewell and good luck ¨C and a couple of resentful glares from Windy ¨C we¡¯re off. ¡°Come on everyone, let¡¯s try to be there by dusk.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Three: The Disaster You Court We make it, just. The sun has already disappeared below the horizon by the time the familiar landmarks start hoving into view. I find I need to drop into Fade so that I can benefit from my more accurate night vision before we make it to the foot of the hill. Aingeal lights our passage up the slope itself, its brightness carefully dimmed to the point where it won¡¯t disrupt our dark-adjusted eyes. While we should be safe in this area, I¡¯ve learned that it¡¯s better not to make assumptions about that. I rather hope that the welcome back this time is less dramatic than the last two times. Lathani is practically vibrating by my side, running forwards a few steps and then waiting impatiently for the rest of us to catch up with her. ¡°Just go on ahead,¡± I tell her with a hint of amusement. She doesn¡¯t need to be told twice, disappearing up the slope like a streak of lightning. Bastet eyes me hopefully. ¡°Go on,¡± I sigh, a grin tugging at the corner of my mouth. Using her wings to help her, the raptorcat also rapidly vanishes. The rest of us continue at a more sedate pace ¨C after the gruelling trek we¡¯ve had up the mountain side to get here, we¡¯re all feeling in need of a good rest. Fortunately, we¡¯ve only had a couple of fights, and with the number of fighters all travelling together, they were over quickly. Having seven Tier twos is rather overkill for the enemies we usually face up-mountain of the village ¨C and that¡¯s without counting me. I suspect that it will be a different story when we travel down-mountain to the samuran meet-up. But hopefully by that point we¡¯ll have a few more Tier twos in our ranks. Maybe even a Tier three or two¡­. But those are later concerns. For now, I feel a sense of nervousness mixed with excitement as we approach the plateau at the top of the slope. As we do so, I feel pleasure pouring down the Bonds from Lathani and Bastet. As soon as the plateau comes into view, I see why. Bastet is surrounded by three fluffy raptorcat cubs ¨C well, juveniles. In fact, they¡¯re looking far more like adolescents than cubs now. Though they still have some down among their feather-fur, most of it looks like Bastet¡¯s coat. They¡¯re still only half her size, but half her size is significantly bigger than the tiny cubs they used to be. Heck, I reckon that they¡¯ve grown just in the time we¡¯ve been away! They¡¯re all crowded so closely together that it¡¯s hard to tell where one raptorcat begins and the other ends. Lathani is pressed tightly against her mother too, almost buried in the massive nunda¡¯s fur. The young nunda¡¯s increase in size is obvious from how she is still visible, even pressed as firmly against Kalanthia as she is. As I pause at the top of the slope, satisfaction filling me at the sight, Kalanthia lifts her head and opens her golden eyes. Welcome back, Markus Wolfe, she says calmly. You have brought my cub back to me, and I thank you for it. Relief fills me ¨C I was half-expecting her to immediately tear into me about the damage to Lathani¡¯s Energy channels. However, as she continues speaking, it becomes obvious that I might have relaxed too soon. However, I can see that she has been in some serious battles ¨C and has taken serious wounds. I hope that you have a solution in mind for the further damage that she¡¯s received in your service, she warns, her eyes becoming far more intent and predatory. I swallow dryly, my pleasure at seeing her well overshadowed by fear. But I try to push past that ¨C I do have a solution in mind. Kind of. Walking towards her, I indicate to the rest of my Bound to go and get themselves settled and to have a break. I also make a quick detour to dump a few carcasses on the ground for the carnivores to consume ¨C the herbivores have been snatching food en route. I take a moment to send a brief message of greeting to all the Bound nearby who I¡¯d left here. Then I¡¯m only a body length away from Kalanthia and need to focus my attention on her. ¡°We did have a rather difficult fight,¡± I admit. ¡°It was with a Tier three with an attack which damaged the Energy channels of any who came into contact with it.¡± And you took my cub into such a fight? Kalanthia asks, deceptively calmly, though I see the way her claws scythe out of her paws and dig into the earth below. I almost wince at the sight of those sword-like weapons only a foot away from me. ¡°As I took all those I thought would be good fighters,¡± I answer levelly. ¡°I will admit that I underestimated the opponent that we would face. But I have managed to heal the injuries of almost all those who joined us in the fight and survived ¨C both physical wounds and those to their Energy channels. That some have not yet been healed is either because of the type of Bond we have in Thorn¡¯s and Honey¡¯s case, or the fact that I don¡¯t want to risk making Lathani¡¯s existing damage worse in her case. I wanted to get whatever guidance I could from you before risking causing Lathani further injury.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Kalanthia eyes me for a long moment, but I just meet her gaze levelly. I was pretty sure she would challenge me on this, and actually she¡¯s been far more reasonable so far than I was expecting. Are you telling me that you are somehow able to affect the Energy channels of others? Even those not directly connected to you? Her tone is unreadable. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m able to help others become aware of their Energy channels and heal them,¡± I confirm. ¡°But they must be connected to me through Dominate or a variation of that Bond. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t help Honey or Thorn ¨C they have Tame Bonds,¡± I explain. Hm, Kalanthia rumbles, looking down and stroking her cheek against her cub. How long are you staying here this time, Markus Wolfe? ¡°About that¡­¡± I say hesitantly. I¡¯ve thought about how to phrase the invitation several times since departing from the samuran village. ¡°How do you feel about leaving this place and making a new home further down into the valley?¡± The massive nunda eyes me carefully. I would need more information to give any sort of answer, she responds warily. ¡°Well, as Lathani will probably tell you, I succeeded in gaining leadership over the village. I will say now that I do not intend to Bind every single member of it to me directly, but I have Bound the Tier twos, who make up its leadership, and beat all of them in single combat, making me the top ¡®villager¡¯. I am now in a position to pretty much guarantee Lathani¡¯s safety and to bring the resources of the village to bear to help her. I¡¯ve already got their herbalist working on ways to help her.¡± Among other tasks. Then you are in a position to discuss reparations that they owe my cub for the damage they did? Kalanthia asks pointedly. And to give me her principal torturers. ¡°Yes to the reparations, if you feel them necessary,¡± I agree carefully, ¡°but the instigator of the conflict in the first place ¨C the shaman ¨C is now dead. She¡¯s the one who conceived of the plan to kidnap Lathani in the first place, and then ordered the party to come here.¡± You have robbed me of my chance for revenge then, Kalanthia growls slightly, narrowing her eyes. Lathani makes a few disgruntled noises into her mother¡¯s chest and the massive nunda calms a little. I sense that I need to be very careful here and take a couple of moments to marshal my thoughts. ¡°I spoke to Lathani after the shaman¡¯s death to find out how she felt about it coming at the hand of someone else. She was conflicted at the time, but ultimately concluded that the shaman being dead was the most important thing. She requested that, if any of the others were to be killed, that she might be allowed to do the deed, but she left it up to me to choose. As it happens, I was able to convince everyone else to submit to a Bond instead of death.¡± Kalanthia snorts softly, though I can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s contempt for them making such a choice, disagreement that this is sufficient retribution to what they did, or allowed to be done, to Lathani, or something else. ¡°I know you wanted to rip through the samuran village in revenge for what they put Lathani through, but in my world there is a saying: the best revenge is a life lived well. Is it not better that they ¨C we ¨C help Lathani become fully healed and advance with a powerful Evolution than that you bathe in blood?¡± I wait, barely daring to breathe as she considers my words. Although I was angry too at how Lathani had been treated by the samurans, and had been willing to kill anyone connected to the event¡­my feelings have changed. In learning more about the samurans, about their society and their motivations, after facing each of the Pathwalkers in a Battle of Wills¡­ I have a different perspective than I used to on the situation. They were wrong to kidnap Lathani, and wrong to essentially torture her into becoming a spirit guardian. But, as I said to Kalanthia, the main instigator for both those events is gone, and they¡¯ve suffered as a village with the loss of their hatchlings. While I am totally in agreement with the idea of the village pulling together to offer Lathani resources and aid which will help her in compensation for the pain and anguish they put her through, even if I can heal her fully, I don¡¯t want Kalanthia claiming a tithe of blood. However, she¡¯s Lathani¡¯s mother so is no doubt infinitely more outraged at her cub¡¯s treatment than I was. I will consider it, she answers noncommittally after a moment of thought. Well, at least it wasn¡¯t an immediate ¡®no¡¯, nor has she become furious at my words which, frankly, is far more reasonable than I was expecting. Is this the only reason for your invitation? ¡°Oh, no,¡± I quickly answer, realising that I¡¯ve forgotten to talk about the thing which I had intended to make my primary point. ¡°Right, you remember we talked about Pure Energy after the last time I came back?¡± Of course. The fact that you were able to heal your own Energy channels afterwards is no doubt the only reason you have been able to do the same with your Bound. ¡°Pretty much,¡± I agree, before moving back to my point. ¡°How would you feel about making a den near a Pure Energy stream, benefiting from the heightened Energy in the air around it?¡± Kalanthia goes very still, her eyes even more intent than they had been before. Are you being completely serious here, Markus Wolfe? Do you have ongoing, unchallenged access to the same undiluted Pure Energy which you encountered last time? I smile a little smugly. ¡°Completely, and yes, I do.¡± Then you do not know the disaster you court, she warns, her eyes larger and more alarmed than I¡¯ve ever seen them. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Four: A Careful Eye ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask, alarmed myself at her wariness. Do you recall what I spoke of when we discussed why I have created my den here? ¡°Yes, you moved away from the samurans because they were trying to attack you, and you thought that they wouldn¡¯t follow you into an area with less Energy density.¡± That is true, but it was also because I did not want to take Lathani too far into the valley. I do not want to go too far into the valley: there are beasts at its base which are far, far more powerful than I am. They spend all their time soaking in the Energy that is to be found in the lake which covers the feet of the mountains. But should they discover a different source of Energy, one that is far stronger than the diluted Energy they soak in all day¡­? ¡°You think they would come to claim the area?¡± I ask, feeling fear creep up upon me and seize my heart with its icy claws. I do not think it. I know it. To Beasts who have undergone four Evolutions, there is nothing more important than undergoing the fifth. They are only peaceful because it is far less beneficial to them to fight than to merely absorb and process the Energy of the lakewater. But if one threatens to impinge on their territory, they will defend it with the might of a mountain. They, of all of us, are the only ones who could absorb Pure Energy as if it were merely the Energy in the air around us ¨C an open stream of it would be attractive beyond measure. And in the process of obtaining it, they would obliterate any who sought to guard it from them ¨C or even remained in the vicinity. I shake my head, not in negation, but in confusion. ¡°But why don¡¯t they just find a Pure Energy stream of their own, then? Raven is only a Tier three and he managed ¨C if these are Tier fives, then they should be well-able to do it too.¡± Raven? Kalanthia asks blankly. I realise that I haven¡¯t actually told her anything about what happened beyond the fight with a powerful beast, so quickly rectify that. ¡°So yeah, if Raven could get into the Pure Energy stream with acid and a rock, and I could make a small basin with a beginner¡¯s level of Earth-Shaping, then how couldn¡¯t someone like you easily get at it yourself?¡± Then I add another question which had occurred to me earlier. ¡°And how, if only Tier fives are able to absorb Pure Energy without an issue, are Raven¡¯s eggs able to absorb it? They can¡¯t be Tier five, surely?¡± If I am completely honest with you, Markus Wolfe, I do not know the answers to your questions, Kalanthia admits. All I know is that I have never been able to sense one of these streams myself and that if the beasts from the valley below could access undiluted Pure Energy, they would do so. Which indicates to me that either they cannot do as you suggest, or they do not, for whatever reason. If it is the latter, I am not any more reassured about the wisdom of making a den anywhere near an open Pure Energy stream. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I frown, not following her logic. Because, answers the nunda grimly, if those beasts have made an agreement not to access the Pure Energy stream directly for some reason, I highly doubt that they would permit anyone else to do so either. I abruptly see what she means. ¡°And if someone else does it, they would all descend on that person like a pile of bricks,¡± I conclude. Precisely. I sigh and sit down, leaning back on my hands to stare at the dark sky above. If not for Aingeal still lighting my immediate area, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything ¨C neither of the moons has risen yet. ¡°Nothing seems to have come to investigate,¡± I say hopefully. ¡°Raven indicated that he kept a careful eye after the explosion to see if anything had been alerted, but it all remained quiet.¡± If the more stealth-inclined high-tier Beasts wished to remain hidden, even an Enlightened Beast such as the one you refer to wouldn¡¯t realise they were present. They could have come to investigate and then returned to make plans with the other Beasts in the lake. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s likely?¡± I ask, more than a little concerned by the possibility. Kalanthia hesitates. No, not really, she admits. There are not many Beasts who succeed in four Evolutions and they are all highly combat-capable. They also do not think in time spans as even I do, let alone a human with your fleeting lives. I suspect that if such a Beast had come, it would have most likely attacked immediately to gain control of the area and kill the instigator ¨C which would have resulted in this ¡®Raven¡¯ dying, leading to an immensely powerful Beast taking up residence in the tunnels. If it instead decided to return to the foot of the valley to discuss with the others of its level, they will probably still be locked in deliberations for another few years. What is time when their lifespan is measured in millennia? This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. That¡­I hadn¡¯t considered that a creature could live for so long. From what I gathered from the System knowledge stone I received all that time ago, a high level human¡¯s life can be extended to a few hundred years, but certainly nothing over a thousand, let alone multiple millennia. But in a way, that¡¯s irrelevant to the matter at hand. ¡°So, essentially, it¡¯s possible that a Tier five might have noticed the Energy, but it doesn¡¯t seem likely since there hasn¡¯t been any sort of action. Or the action hasn¡¯t been taken yet, but probably won¡¯t be for a while. So we should be fine to make that area a den, right?¡± Even if they haven¡¯t yet discovered the open Pure energy stream, that means nothing: they may discover it at any time. Pure Energy has a signature to it that even your Raven was able to sense while flying above the crack. Perhaps the signature simply hasn¡¯t drifted far down enough into the valley for the powerful monarchs to notice it ¨C yet. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what Raven was using the vine-stranglers for. And one reason I¡¯m allowing some of them to live,¡± I tell her logically. Such a small group of vine-stranglers will not be able to hide such an amount of Pure Energy, Kalanthia warns. ¡°Then we¡¯ll find another way of hiding it,¡± I tell her with as much patience as I can. Anyway, we need to find a way of returning the area to how it was previously for the quest. I can understand Kalanthia¡¯s reticence, but at the same time, I really want to do this. I was alarmed at her suggestion that a Tier five might suddenly attack us ¨C considering how much difficulty we had with a mere Tier three, I¡¯m certain a Tier five would be able to swat us like flies. But since it seems likely that the Tier fives either haven¡¯t noticed what¡¯s happened, or haven¡¯t yet got around to dealing with it if they have, I figure that I might as well try to take advantage of this massive opportunity for growth ¨C both mine and the samurans¡¯. ¡°Look,¡± I start again. ¡°Do you have any reason to think that this is a bad idea other than possibilities? Any instincts telling you ¡®no¡¯? Any reasons why you wouldn¡¯t want to be near Pure Energy for your own benefit?¡± She hesitates. No, the nunda admits finally. Being able to absorb the Energy near a Pure Energy source, along with hunting and careful internal work¡­. I might even be able to break through to the next stage by the time Lathani reaches adulthood. ¡°Then let¡¯s see what we can do together to make it as safe as possible, while still giving us all lots of opportunities for growth,¡± I persuade her. ¡°Think about how much more quickly Lathani might be able to increase in power too,¡± I wheedle, going for the soft spots. If the glare she fixes on me is any indication, she knows exactly what I¡¯m doing. Lathani definitely does not need an overload of Pure Energy at this point ¨C her channels are in enough of a mess, I hope I do not need to remind you, she warns, but the tone is half-hearted. I grin cheekily at her, daring to edge close enough to start rubbing behind her ear and at her jawline. She rumbles with pleasure at my touch, pushing into my hands almost hard enough to send me falling over. The conversation pauses for a moment as we just enjoy a little bit of physical contact. Lathani approves, if the feelings across the Bond are any indication, though she does express disgruntlement over the fact that she¡¯s not being stroked as well. I shift around so that I can reach her head as well, and start stroking two different nundas with a hand for each. My stomach gurgles, reminding me that I haven¡¯t eaten since our last pause at midday or so, and that I¡¯ve done a lot of exercise since then. My body seems able to go longer on less nutrition these days, but I still need to eat. ¡°So, will you come down with us?¡± I ask, pulling away from both nundas. Please, mother? Lathani enters the conversation, projecting her mental voice to Kalanthia, but an echo comes down our Bond too. It would be good to have you closer to us. To me. I sense more than see the softening of Kalanthia¡¯s resolve. I will come to see the area for myself, she allows. If there is a way to disguise the Pure Energy signature and there are no indications that any powerful Beast has discovered it, I will consider remaining. ¡°Good,¡± I say, not trying to hide my pleasure at her decision. I hadn¡¯t realised just how much I¡¯d missed her until I saw her again. ¡°But if you do come down, we¡¯ll need to discuss the samurans in more detail so neither of you start trying to attack each other.¡± We can discuss it tomorrow, Kalanthia decides. I presume you are not intending on going back down there immediately. ¡°No, definitely not tomorrow. We all need to rest a little from the march up. But I expect us to travel down the day after tomorrow, unless something has come up with my Bound that I¡¯m not aware about. Speaking of that, is there anything you think I need to know?¡± The nunda huffs, shifting her head nonchalantly. Not especially. Your Bound have been coming and going, hunting frequently. The two Evolved Beasts have been keeping the group organised, though the female has remained in your alcove for the last few days ¨C she laid her eggs and has been guarding them since, giving orders to her mate from inside. Your herbivores have been joining the hunting groups, though I know not whether they¡¯ve actually been going on hunts or just eating under the guard of your carnivores. The cubs have grown significantly, though I suspect that you have seen that. Otherwise, it¡¯s been quiet without you here. The last is said with a wry sense of humour which makes a slight smile come to my face in response. ¡°Alright, thanks,¡± I say to her. ¡°I¡¯ll go chat with them all now.¡± I¡¯d advise not disrupting the female in your alcove ¨C she has been increasingly grumpy recently, Kalanthia warns. ¡°Thanks,¡± I sigh. Well, I guess I¡¯ll be sleeping in the other cave tonight, then. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Five: How Things Have Gone Walking away from Kalanthia, I see that some of the Bound I came up with are still eating. Bastet is one of them, with Ninja, Stormcloud, and Trouble pressed almost too tightly against her to let her eat. Fenrir has finished eating, but is lying down and watching the environment around us attentively. Since his Evolution, he¡¯s definitely seemed to take being a guardian to heart, and has set himself in a good position to watch what¡¯s going on every time we¡¯ve stopped. In the village, he went out hunting, but since we¡¯ve left, he hasn¡¯t gone more than a few metres away from me at all times. Catch has also remained outside the cave, sitting on the ground with Pride serving as a backrest. His clawed hands are gently scratching at the scalla¡¯s head and around the top of his sail. I¡¯m a little surprised at how close the two of them have got ¨C Pride is called that because of his prickly, prideful nature. But I don¡¯t feel jealous at their closeness; if anything, I¡¯m glad. Especially given what Catch told me this morning ¨C he has chosen to put me and our group ahead of the village in his priorities. If he can build a special bond with one of the group, that¡¯s even better. Actually, I have to wonder whether I could do something to facilitate the Bond further. I¡¯m not sure whether Tame or Dominate could do anything to build Bonds between two other beings, but what about Alliance? Something to try later when I have time. Are you doing OK? I send privately to Catch. He flashes a look over at me, the lines of his body speaking of some fatigue, but not exhaustion. I am well, thank you for asking Honoured Markus, he replies. Do you need anything? I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to sleep in the alcove as normal ¨C Persephone apparently has her clutch in there and is rather grumpy at the moment. Amusement drifts over the Bond from him. The brood-mothers always get very protective over their clutches before they hatch, he tells me. It is normal. That, I believe ¨C human parents get just as protective over their babies. Well, most parents, anyway. Looking around, I frown as I don¡¯t see someone I was expecting. Where¡¯s River? She¡¯s already gone inside to sleep, Catch tells me. She was too exhausted after the journey to stay awake later. I frown. Is she OK? I check with him, a little anxious. Touching the Bond carefully between the other Pathwalker and me, I feel that she¡¯s tired but nothing worse. Catch¡¯s next words confirm my thoughts . She is fine. A Pathwalker¡¯s body is not suited to heavy physical pursuits: the power of the Evolution goes into their magic and their capacity to form eggs. She should have told me, I grumble. I suspect she didn¡¯t want to ask you to slow down: she knew how important it was that we make it here before full dark. That¡¯s true, I allow, but she could have ridden Trinity or something. The cyran has loads of stamina, and could have easily taken on her weight when she got tired. Catch pauses. I do not believe the possibility occurred to any of us. I sigh. That¡¯s understandable, I suppose. Mounts are not something within the experience of samurans at all. Well, I¡¯ll need to remember it for the journey down ¨C we will try to make as good a time on the way back as we did on the way here. Where did River go to sleep? And the other Warriors who came with us ¨C did they go to sleep too? After realising that there was a grumpy Persephone in the alcove guarding her clutch of eggs, amusement drifts over our Bond as I realise that I hadn¡¯t needed to give him the warning in the first place, River realised that she would need to sleep in the other cave. The Warriors quickly ate to replenish themselves and then went inside to help guard her as she slumbers. He hesitates for a moment. I think they were rather glad to be out of sight of the Great Predator. That¡¯s something I hadn¡¯t considered, and really should have. I know that most of the samurans had believed Kalanthia to have been killed by their party of Warriors and Pathwalker. I¡¯ve been assuring them of the contrary ever since my arrival ¨C and River even before me ¨C but perhaps they hadn¡¯t completely internalised it. Kalanthia didn¡¯t mention them, perhaps because they are Bound to me, and therefore part of the greater negotiations which we¡¯re going to do tomorrow. Given that they¡¯ve been travelling with us for the last day, she can hardly be concerned about Lathani¡¯s safety around them. Thanks for telling me, I reply to Catch after a short delay. Make sure you get a good rest too, OK? Will you be coming to sleep soon? he answers my question with another question. Shortly, I answer. I want to speak to Bastet first. The hatchlings will be happy to see you, he remarks. I half-smile as I look over at them, my gaze soft. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Well, I¡¯m happy to see them too. Pushing myself to my feet, I say a quick goodnight to Catch and Pride in case they turn in before I¡¯m done, then walk quickly over to the raptorcats. Seeing me, the three manage to detach themselves from Bastet long enough to almost send me head over heels as they butt against my knees and twine around my legs. Instead of falling, I crumple gracelessly into a small heap, doing my best to avoid actually landing on any of them. Bigger or not, I still suspect that I''d accidentally break their bones by doing that. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you too,¡± I laugh as they swarm over me, chirping sounds of pleasure. They rub their bodies all over me, as if to make sure that I regain their scent; the smell of their pack. Bastet sends me a grateful feeling ¨C with them swarming me, she¡¯s got some space to actually eat. I reach out to rub each of the cubs, scratching heads and wing roots wherever I can. They probably see it as me spreading my scent on them; I¡¯m just enjoying being able to reconnect with them. Eventually, I manage to push myself to an upright sitting position. Storm practically climbs into my lap as Trouble and Ninja alternate between pressing against Bastet and against me. ¡°Have you all been good?¡± I ask them fondly. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly put on some growth!¡± Although I have no Bond with the juveniles, and they aren¡¯t capable of telepathy like Lathani or Kalanthia are, I can¡¯t help but feel that they understand me. Partially, at least. And I get the feeling that they are well; that they¡¯ve been growing and learning. That they¡¯ve appreciated the opportunity to expand their horizons, but that they are happy to see us nonetheless. That they¡¯ve missed us, their pack. When Bastet translates a moment later, I find that I had actually understood almost everything they were trying to tell me, except for the fact that ¡®pack¡¯ includes Fenrir, Sirocco, River, and Lathani as well as Bastet and me. They are also apparently a little wary of how many new creatures have come with me, but trust that they will be safe: we¡¯re here. Their trust warms me and I can¡¯t help but dedicate extra effort into stroking their downy feather-fur and scratching at the places they love most. Eventually, I have to pull away. It¡¯s late and we¡¯ve been up a long time. The exhilaration of being¡­well, not really home, but with the beings I¡¯ve grown close to again has kept me going this long, but I¡¯m starting to feel the call of my bed. Bastet has managed to eat a decent dinner with me distracting the juveniles so we turn in together. Kalanthia and Lathani have already gone to their cave ¨C I don¡¯t expect Lathani to want to sleep with us for a while yet. Fenrir, Catch, and Pride follow us into the secondary cave, and we all find a place to bed down together. No one is on watch, but I doubt that we¡¯re likely to be surprised by enemies, not here with Kalanthia keeping watch with her earth-sense. It¡¯s very dark inside the cave, but Aingeal obligingly raises the light level just enough that we don¡¯t risk accidentally stepping on someone while not raising it high enough to disturb anyone¡¯s sleep. I cast a cursory glance around the cave, noting all my Bound present. River is indeed surrounded by the three Warriors, making sure that she won¡¯t be approached by any threat without waking them up first. She looks dead to the world; her guards not so much. The glinting of Poison¡¯s eyes vanishes when he closes them again ¨C I guess he realised that I¡¯m not a threat to her. Or not one that he can protect against, anyway. Hades isn¡¯t anywhere to be seen ¨C I suspect he¡¯s with his mate, either inside the alcove or just outside it, guarding her and their eggs. Otherwise, everyone else I¡¯m expecting to be there is present, which is something of a miracle, everything considered. Even the three danaris hatchlings are there, still corralled by the wall of bone I created before I went away, lined on the inside with woven branches in case their mandibles are capable of eating through bone. It¡¯s just as well that we have come back now ¨C the hatchlings have grown alarmingly quickly and are already getting a bit squashed in the space I made for them. Clearly, my Bound have been feeding them well. Sleep, Bastet tells me pointedly. She¡¯s already made herself comfortable on a pile of dry plant matter, brought in as bedding. Fenrir looks up at me expectantly: they¡¯ve left a space between the two of them in a clear hint. I grin in amusement and then obligingly settle down in the open area. Closing my eyes, I find sleep comes quickly to carry me on wings towards the morning. ***** The first thing I do in the morning, once I¡¯ve eaten and relieved myself in several ways, is to go find Hades. I left him and Persephone in charge, so I figure that they should be the ones to tell me about how things have gone. Hades is in the first place I look: the obvious one. He¡¯s guarding the entrance to the alcove ¨C what used to be my bedroom, and is now a safe place for Persephone and her eggs. He eyes me carefully as I step closer, cautious pleasure at seeing me drifting over the Bond between us. As if he¡¯s happy to see me, but concerned about what I might do. Paranoid, really ¨C I thought I¡¯d been very clear that I didn¡¯t intend anything bad to happen to the eggs. Then again, I suppose having paranoia would make a good guardian. ¡°Good morning Hades and Persephone,¡± I say, looking first towards the male and then at the shadowy form of the kiina I can see in the alcove beyond him. ¡°Congratulations on your eggs. How are you and they doing?¡± As well as could be hoped, Persephone answers even as her mate makes a disgruntled sound. I¡¯m not incapable of having a conversation! she snaps at him, her muffled intentions translating to words courtesy of our Bond. The male kiina makes further grumbling noises, but subsides after a moment. My mate is exhausted by keeping our eggs healthy, Hades answers after a moment. This environment is difficult for her and them. My eyebrows rise in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it? Is there anything I can do?¡± It¡¯s nothing you can do, Persephone snaps, then I sense her doing her best to rein in her irritability. We are accustomed to more Energy. Our eggs are starving for it. I am doing my best to supply them with it, but I am limited with what help I can offer, she explains, sounding even more exhausted at just that brief explanation. ¡°Would an Energy Heart help?¡± I ask pulling one out of my Inventory. I see both kiina¡¯s eyes snap to it. It would, Persephone answers, even her mental voice sounding hoarse. Hades looks like he¡¯s holding himself back from snatching at the glimmering blue Energy Heart in my hand. ¡°Then here,¡± I say, holding it out to Hades. I¡¯d give it to Persephone directly, but I suspect that her mate wouldn¡¯t be comfortable with me getting that close. The male kiina takes the Heart with his mouth, his movements surprisingly delicate given the amount of tension I see restrained in his body. He immediately passes the chunk of crystalised Energy to Persephone. Instead of licking it as I¡¯ve seen them doing to Energy Hearts in the past, she actually bites off a chunk of it, swallowing the fragment. Immediately, I notice a difference. She relaxes a little, the drawn tension visible even in her silhouette vanishing. A moment after, I sense a change in the air around. Quickly checking my status screen, I verify my suspicions: my rate of Energy absorption per hour has increased slightly. Somehow, Persephone is able to transform the Energy Heart into a cloud of Energy in the room. The effect doesn¡¯t last long: either the Energy dissipates or is absorbed by the eggs. Once my Energy absorption is back to what it was before all this, Persephone repeats her actions. It¡¯s clear that this is both inefficient and unsustainable. Fortunately, I have a much better solution to offer the two of them. ¡°How would you feel if I tell you that I¡¯m intending on moving everyone to a place with a higher Energy density? One higher even than the place from which you were pushed out by the vine-stranglers?¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Six: Work Ethic It goes without saying that Hades and Persephone are both very interested in taking their eggs down to a higher density area. Of course, they¡¯re also concerned about how the eggs could be transported safely, but I figure that I can make a type of palanquin which could be carried by Trinity. Or even by Hades and Persephone between them if they don¡¯t want to let someone else carry their precious offspring. Maybe we could transport the ¡®bee¡¯ hive that way too ¨C if they are willing to accompany us into a completely different area. If I make it out of a bone structure and hide, with lots of layers inside to hold and protect the eggs rather than the usual open space, it could work quite well. Heck an egg box design might be the best. After we discussed the matter of the kiina¡¯s eggs, we talked about how things had gone. At least, Hades and I did ¨C Persephone was mostly occupied with giving her eggs as much Energy as she could. Apparently nothing major has happened, which is good to know. They haven¡¯t tried to do anything particularly unusual either, which is probably a good part of the reason for no major issues. They¡¯ve been going out into the forest in groups, mixing hunting with resource gathering for the herbivorous creatures. Scooter, the tempin who looks quite similar to a tortoise, has proven to be very good at sniffing out tasty and Energy-rich plants, according to Hades. Whether they grow above or below the soil, he¡¯s got a nose which can find them, and strong feet which can dig them out. He sounds like a Bound I might need to assign to the ¡®farming team¡¯ back at the village. Cery and Neian, the two lizard-deer-like stios haven¡¯t distinguished themselves in any particular way. They¡¯ve happily benefited from the protection of the rest of the group in order to fill their faces every time they¡¯ve gone out, but they haven¡¯t really contributed much to the group. I may have to let them go if I can¡¯t think of anything they can do ¨C burdens on the rest of the group aren¡¯t welcome to stay. Rooter, the insectivorous tidis who reminds me of Spike the porcupig, has apparently kept to himself for the most part. He¡¯s helped Scooter dig out roots which were too deeply buried, but he hasn¡¯t made an effort to benefit the group otherwise. It puts him a step above the stios in my book, but not higher than that. Kanga and Sailor have been more beneficial to the group. Kanga¡¯s ability to look in all directions at once has made her an excellent sentry, and several times her warnings have allowed the group she¡¯s with to prepare for an ambush. Sailor, though a herbivore, has been an active part of the defence of the group, his bulky body and large sail scaring off a few attackers before they even struck, and his tail and teeth chasing off many more. The two carnivores I left with the kiina, Artemis and Barry, have apparently been invaluable. Hades expressed dissatisfaction that they were the only real predators I¡¯d left with the group, but he had no complaints with either their work ethic or willingness to obey. Not in those words, of course. Since Artemis had as a condition of her Bond that we encourage the rest of her pack to join, I guess I have another objective to fulfil in the near future, otherwise we¡¯ll lose her. If I can find the time ¨C it seems that I never have the time to do everything I want to. Something more urgent always comes up. It seems like we will be losing one of our number tomorrow anyway. After speaking to Hades, I took a bit of time just to check in with each of the Bound he¡¯d talked about, finding out how things have gone from their perspectives. Out of all of them, Rooter is the only one who is less than satisfied with how things have worked out. He¡¯s informed me ¨C with a complicated series of emotions that took me a while to work out ¨C that he intends to leave as soon as our Bond breaks tomorrow. I decided not to try to dissuade him, given Hades¡¯ words. I did try to ask him why, but got back the sense that he¡¯s uncomfortable with such a large group, and that he¡¯d prefer more independence with less obligation. I can understand that ¨C not everyone is cut out to be social animals. In comparison, the stios were very happy with how things had gone ¨C as well they should be. After all, they¡¯ve basically been able to do nothing but eat in relative peace. It¡¯s been practically a holiday for them in a place where such a concept doesn¡¯t exist. They didn¡¯t seem aware that they should be contributing to the group in some way, nor did they appear concerned at my suggestion that they find a way. If they resist me when I actually think of a way in which they could help, then that will be the final nail in the coffin, as far as I¡¯m concerned. They¡¯re Bound with Tame, so technically I have no way of forcing them to do anything ¨C but then I don¡¯t want Bound around who I have to force to help the group. I quickly visit the hive to check that everything is going well there ¨C it is ¨C and to find out if they want to go down with us. It¡¯s a little difficult to communicate with the insects ¨C they definitely aren¡¯t verbal and their messages are very grounded in present concerns. Ultimately, I think I managed to get through with the idea that either they come with us to a new place and we can continue protecting them in return for some of their honey, or they stay here and our deal falls through. They choose the former which pleases me ¨C having a spot of honey in my herbal tea is always more enjoyable than not. Finally through with checking up on everyone, I send a summoning message to gather all my Bound. Fortunately, I got started early so no one has gone to the forest yet. It¡¯s not long before I have a large group standing or sitting before me. Even Hades is willing to temporarily emerge from where he¡¯s been on guarding duty, though he hovers around the entrance to the cave still. Kalanthia and Lathani are sunning themselves outside and, though the young nunda doesn¡¯t come to join the rest of the group, she does poke her head out from her mother¡¯s fur to at least watch what¡¯s going on. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Warriors, Poison, Leaf, and Rocky ¨C I couldn¡¯t resist given that his name is Jumps-over-a-rock ¨C form up near River, watching everyone suspiciously. I remind myself I need to talk to the Pathwalker about her experience yesterday. Catch, someone else I need to chat to, sits just a little nearer me than the other samurans. The rest of the Bound are sitting or lying in a rough circle around us. ¡°Alright,¡± I say to everyone. ¡°As some of you know, we¡¯re moving further down into the valley. It will be an area of greater Energy density, though there are more dangerous creatures around too. Working as a group, though, we should be able to keep everyone safe. Does anyone have any questions or queries at this moment about that?¡± I wait for a long moment. Artemis sends a question, touching on the issue she raised with me earlier about her pack. She expresses uncertainty as to whether we¡¯ll be able to find them if we go deeper into the valley. ¡°I know about that, Artemis,¡± I tell her. ¡°Once we¡¯re a little more settled, I¡¯m going to make an expedition to see if we can find them. Perhaps we should try to get you to Evolve first, though ¨C that way they can see how much benefit they could get by joining us,¡± I suggest. She sends across a sense of thoughtfulness and cautious acceptance. I wait a little longer, but no one else raises any questions or concerns. ¡°OK, good. Then we need to prepare. First of all, I¡¯d like Scooter and Rooter to find as many useful and Energy-rich plants in the area as you can.¡± I look over at the group of samurans standing to the side. ¡°River, would you be happy to go with them?¡± I ask. Her knowledge of herbs could be essential. Of course, Markus, she answers. ¡°Great. Poison and Leaf, please go with her. Oh, and Sirocco. I¡¯ll give you some bags to take with you to put the plants in. Try to retrieve the whole plant and as undamaged as possible, please ¨C we¡¯re going to try to replant them nearer the village.¡± Yes, Honoured Tamer, they both answer. Rocky looks a bit disgruntled ¨C I¡¯m sure he¡¯d prefer to go with them. However, I¡¯ve got another intention in mind for him. ¡°Rocky, you¡¯ll be coming with me. Catch and Pride too, please.¡± I consider the group carefully. ¡°Honey, you as well.¡± I have several reasons behind that, but one of them is that her claws aren¡¯t half-bad at digging. ¡°We¡¯ll be going to collect another resource.¡± Turning to talk to the rest of the group, I continue. ¡°For those I haven¡¯t yet mentioned, we need carcasses for the carnivores and plants for the herbivores on the journey ¨C the less time we spend looking for food on the way down, the better it will be. So, please spend some time collecting food for everyone, and bringing it back here. Other than that, rest and spar in preparation for a hard day of travel tomorrow. Any questions?¡± Rooter is the only one and I think he¡¯s pointing out that he¡¯s leaving tomorrow, and questioning why he needs to help gather things for a journey he¡¯s not travelling on. I point out that he¡¯s still part of the group today and therefore needs to work towards the benefit of the group. However, to sweeten the pot slightly, I promise him a fragment from an Energy Heart if he works well with the group and they come back with lots of useful plants. That seems to satisfy him enough for now. My Bound disperse. Hades disappears back into the cave; Lathani cuddles back into her mother. I suspect that she¡¯ll be emerging sooner rather than later since she¡¯s usually pretty active, but I purposefully didn¡¯t give her a task to do. She deserves some cuddle time. When do you wish to depart, Honoured Tamer? asks Rocky, Catch standing a few paces away with Pride next to him. Honey is on the floor, inspecting her belly for something ¨C perhaps an insect ¨C completely unconcerned with the rest of us around her. To my surprise, Bastet is also standing there, looking at me expectantly, the three cubs imitating her perfectly. ¡°I need to speak to Kalanthia about your village first,¡± I tell them, ¡°but hopefully we will be able to come to an agreement quickly. I¡¯ll let you know when we need to go ¨C for now just relax.¡± They acknowledge my words but I¡¯m more focussed on the raptorcat. ¡°You don¡¯t need to come with me, Bastet,¡± I say to her with surprise. ¡°Just like I¡¯m not asking Lathani to come with me so she can spend time with her mother, you should spend time with your cubs.¡± I come, the raptorcat matriarch replies firmly. Our pack¡¯s cubs come too. Time to spend with pack, not alone. And apparently that¡¯s that. ¡°Alright,¡± I agree with a hint of amusement. ¡°Far be it for me to argue. Perhaps you¡¯d like to come help me with Kalanthia too?¡± I ask more than half-joking. Apparently Bastet doesn¡¯t realise that as she actually joins me when I start walking towards the large nunda. What? she asks me when I look down inquiringly at her. River is pack; other lizard-kin are new pack. I help pack and pack leader, she answers as if it should be obvious. And perhaps to her it is. ¡°Fine,¡± I say in the end. ¡°But don¡¯t promise anything without checking with me first,¡± I warn her. Not a cub, she answers a little scornfully. And I know I¡¯m not pack leader. Am top hunter. Will just watch and support. If needed. Huh. That¡¯s an interesting distinction, perhaps worth exploration later. But right now I need to get my head into the game for dealing with Kalanthia ¨C and how to negotiate a peace between her and a race who have done great amounts of harm to each other in the past. Especially when her cub still hasn¡¯t recovered from the damage they caused in recent events. ¡°Kalanthia, are you open to discussing the samuran village now?¡± I ask politely, stopping near her great head. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Seven: Don’t Bite We should broach the subject, I suppose, she allows, yawning widely. Inside her cavernous mouth, I notice something odd. It''s a flash of white in deeper red, but not in a place which should house one of her teeth. ¡°Have you got something trapped in your mouth?¡± I ask curiously. It is nothing. A bone got stuck in the wrong place, she dismisses. It will work its way out in time. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt, though?¡± I ask, a little concerned. ¡°And won¡¯t it become infected?¡± If this was Earth, I¡¯d be more worried about that, but this is a world of fantasy healing ¨C perhaps Kalanthia¡¯s body is strong enough not to be taken down by a mere mouth infection. Kalanthia gives her version of a shrug. It has happened before. It was unpleasant, but I survived it. I fix her with an exasperated look. ¡°Kalanthia, you could just ask me for help. Healer here, you remember?¡± She eyes me with an intent gaze, though I sense that there¡¯s a little uncertainty behind it. Your healing is not dependent on the Bond between you and your subject? I hesitate. Honestly, she has a little bit of a point there. ¡°It helps, sure ¨C something about the Bond allows my magic to work the way I want it to, where without the Bond the body I¡¯m trying to help often resists me. With you being significantly more powerful than me, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m not sure how much actual healing I could do without a Bond between us.¡± I quickly continue before she accuses me of angling for a Bond with her or something. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t try. And even if I can¡¯t do any proper healing, I could at least pull out the bone that¡¯s stuck in there and put healing salve on the injury to help get rid of any infection.¡± Testing has proved that I can put most potions and healing-infused salves in my Inventory without them losing effectiveness. I still haven¡¯t worked out the pattern among those which did lose their efficacy ¨C I¡¯ll need more tests to try to work that out. I also tested a number of the potions the samurans use to see which work on me. My fears that not all of them would have turned out to be true, though it¡¯s not as bad as it could have been. Most do still work without bad side effects which means that I have a good ten each now of healing, stamina-boosting, and magic-replenishing potions for emergencies. Since I don¡¯t know if Kalanthia would react any better than I do to the potions, I wouldn¡¯t give her one. The salves, however, have proven to react the same to me as to the physiology of the samurans, so I suspect that they would work well enough on world-hopping nunda too. If she agrees, of course. Kalanthia eyes me for a long moment, her gaze searching and not entirely friendly. I will not chain myself to you in any way, she says firmly. I suspect her will at the moment is as immovable as the stone that she controls. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I put up my hands in an automatic gesture of surrender. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to. It will probably limit how much I can help you, unless you can actively control your body¡¯s resistance to my magic, but I will do what I can.¡± You don¡¯t have to help me at all, she points out, her tone still very guarded. Given the little I know of her history, I¡¯m not entirely surprised. ¡°I want to help you,¡± I say honestly, trying to relax my own mind and project my feelings of sincerity at her. ¡°You¡¯re my friend, and I don¡¯t like knowing that you¡¯re in pain when I can do something about it.¡± Ever since I became able to heal, I¡¯ve found that I¡¯ve gained more and more appreciation for the Skill. I¡¯ve come within a hair¡¯s breadth of losing those I care about several times, but Lay-on-hands, and then later, Flesh-Shaping has meant that I¡¯ve actually lost very few of my Bound. My heart ¨C and the place where the Bonds were ¨C still aches at the deaths which occurred in the fight with Raven, but I¡¯m guiltily grateful that my closest companions were not among them. Fine, Kalanthia responds, jogging me out of my renewed sense of grief. You may try to help me, she permits. I might be offended at how she makes it sound like a concession to me rather than help for her, but I sense the poorly-hidden fear behind her words. I don¡¯t know everything about Kalanthia¡¯s history, but I know she¡¯s had a bad experience with Tamers. Heck, I wonder whether she might even have been Tamed in some way and broken free, or perhaps she got away before the Bond was instituted. Either way, allowing me in so close has got to be nerve-wracking even for her. ¡°Alright,¡± I say gently instead. ¡°Please open your mouth as wide as you can.¡± Who knew I¡¯d retrain as a dentist at this stage in my career? I ask myself with amusement. The massive nunda hesitates for a moment more, then opens her cavernous mouth almost as widely as she did earlier when she yawned. I see the problem spot ¨C it¡¯s indeed a bone which has been driven right into her gum at the back. It must be pretty painful, despite her stoicism. To reach it, I have to lean far into her mouth, maybe even half-climb inside. Shifting as close to the area as possible, I lean against her teeth. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯m going to lean into your mouth now,¡± I warn her. ¡°I will try to minimise the pain as I deal with the injury, but make sure you don¡¯t bite down, OK?¡± I¡¯m prepared, Kalanthia replies, her mental tone falling slightly short of an attempt at emotionless ¨C she¡¯s nervous. More than me, I think, despite the situation. It should make me feel scared to literally lean into a massive predator¡¯s mouth which stinks of meat and a hint of rot. She needs to put far more effort into not biting me than she would into chopping me in half. But there are two reasons I¡¯m only slightly nervous. One, I genuinely don¡¯t fear that Kalanthia wants to kill me. She¡¯s had ample opportunity to do so ¨C she doesn¡¯t need me literally putting myself in her mouth to be able to do so. Two, even if she did separate me from my legs, I¡¯m almost certain that I would be able to regenerate them with Flesh-Shaping. I don¡¯t know how well I¡¯d fare if my heart, lungs, or brain were destroyed, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be able to regenerate my limbs with enough mana. It would be a bit of a pain, though ¨C literally. Focussing on the injury and doing my best to ignore the stench, I gently place my hand on her tongue for support. It twitches beneath my touch but then stills again. I wordlessly ask Aingeal to come forward and light things up a bit for me ¨C dentists and surgeons would love having their own fire elementals, I¡¯m sure. The bone is embedded deeply in the gum. I gently touch the flesh around it and feel Kalanthia flinch in pain. The gum beneath my fingers is hot and already becoming infected ¨C apparently it is something that even Tier three beasts have to deal with. Or whatever Kalanthia¡¯s rank is. ¡°OK, I¡¯m going to try to numb the area a bit with my magic,¡± I warn Kalanthia. ¡°Try to let my magic work, please, or I won¡¯t be able to affect it.¡± She makes a grumbling rumble which sounds surprisingly like Lathani¡¯s plaintive yowls, only much deeper and stronger. Sending my Flesh-magic into the local area, I focus on temporarily deadening the nerve endings. There is a significant amount of resistance to my efforts, but not, I suspect, as much as if I was trying to do this without Kalanthia¡¯s permission and cooperation. It¡¯s fortunate that I¡¯m not trying to do any more than I am, though ¨C I really suspect my abilities to actually do any healing are going to be significantly limited. But if I can get the bone out, clear out the infected tissue, and then slather salve on, it should help Kalanthia¡¯s body heal the rest of it by itself. The slight relaxation of Kalanthia¡¯s tongue and jaw muscles indicates to me that I¡¯m having an effect here. I still check with her. ¡°Is that better? Has the pain gone?¡± It has, thank you Markus Wolfe. Her tone sounds so relieved I find it hard to understand how she could operate normally with such a painful wound in her mouth. But perhaps it¡¯s just practice and self-discipline. ¡°OK, I¡¯m going to pull the bone out now.¡± The problem is that the bone is so deeply embedded into the gum that there¡¯s very little sticking out for me to grab. Then I feel like slapping myself as I realise that I¡¯m once again forgetting about magic. Touching the top of the bone, I focus on sending my mana into it, saturating it. My attempt takes time, but the investment is worth it: I not only manage to saturate the bone itself, but also the bone fragments which have splintered off into the gum. Pulling the bulk of the bone out would have just left the splinters to fester. By using mana, I¡¯m able to meld the splinters with the bone they came from and make sure that I pull everything out at once. Removing the bone is as simple as lengthening it at the same time as narrowing it. A handle forms and I pull the long piece of bone free like I¡¯m drawing a sword from a sheath. I wrinkle my nose at the rotting smell coming from the wound and fluids on the piece of bone itself. Looking at the offending piece of bone, I see that even before my changes, it had to have been at least as long as my forearm when it went in. A nasty injury even for her. ¡°I¡¯ve got the bone out now,¡± I update Kalanthia. ¡°I¡¯m going to try to remove the infected tissue from the wound. Can you feel any pain?¡± I check while dropping the bone out of her mouth. No, she answers swiftly. Nodding in satisfaction, I once more dive into the wound with my magic. Removing the infected tissue is actually easier than deadening her nerve endings was. Though I can¡¯t know if my guess is correct, I would say that the body knows that the infection isn¡¯t part of it, or shouldn¡¯t be part of it, and so has started to reject the areas affected. Either way, it¡¯s easy enough for me to sweep the area clear, dumping the stinky fragments of meat out of Kalanthia¡¯s mouth with a grimace. Finally, I pull an all-purpose healing salve out of my Inventory and start spreading it over the area. I don¡¯t let it go into the hole itself ¨C I¡¯m too concerned that the bacteria on my hands might introduce a new infection, and I can¡¯t control the healing salve with magic. But I spread it over the gum and around the hole. Kalanthia¡¯s magic will have to do the rest. ¡°I¡¯m going to reactivate your nerve endings,¡± I warn Kalanthia. ¡°It will hurt, I¡¯m sure, so don¡¯t bite down in surprise, OK?¡± I will not, she promises. Nonetheless, as I reverse the effects of my magic, she jerks suddenly. Fortunately, she has enough self¨Ccontrol not to actually bite me. I would have done this from a distance except that I¡¯m having a hard enough job controlling it even from this close. It¡¯s not as simple as just removing the effects of my magic ¨C I actually have to put as much effort into reactivating her nerves as I did into deactivating them. Maybe even more, particularly as her body starts resisting the pain I¡¯m causing her. But finally I¡¯m done and I withdraw from her mouth with gratitude ¨C even if I was fairly confident of my safety, it was not a comfortable position. Nor a particularly fragrant one. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I check with her, concerned by the pained look in her eyes. ¡°I can deaden the nerves again, if you want, while it heals a bit more. I didn¡¯t want to because I¡¯m worried that the nerves might heal incorrectly by themselves, but-¡± No, Markus Wolfe, she interrupts me. The pain is significantly better than it was. No longer does my jaw feel wrong, but only that it needs time to heal. I am¡­I am simply grateful for your efforts. And now I understand the look in her eyes. It¡¯s not pain, it¡¯s painful gratitude. It¡¯s the feeling when someone helped in a way that was completely unexpected, when they noticed something you didn¡¯t want revealed, but that you¡¯re grateful they saw nonetheless. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I say to her a little briskly. I know how raw I felt the few times it happened to me. Gentleness wasn¡¯t what I wanted then. I suspect it might not be what Kalanthia wants now. ¡°I can¡¯t let Lathani¡¯s mother stay in unnecessary pain. Nor my friend,¡± I tell her, attempting a tone that brooks no defiance. ¡°Now, we were talking about the samurans.¡± She looks at me in complete exasperation and lets out a disbelieving huff. Had I not been certain that there was no way you could have known of my injury before this morning, I would have suspected you of setting up this scenario. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask, completely confused. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Eight: Don’t Tell Her How can I ask you for compensation from the people you have adopted as your own when you have just offered me your aid without setting any sort of price on it? Though I would have recovered from the injury myself over time, it would have caused a whole lot more pain than it will now. And yet, you asked for nothing in return. It would be churlish for me to demand sacrifices from the people you lead now. She sounds more than a little aggrieved, but also slightly grudgingly impressed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my intention,¡± is all I can say, still a bit taken aback. I know, sighs Kalanthia. Which is partly why it is so frustrating. She goes silent for a moment, but I can tell she is deep in thought. I will waive any compensation for my own injuries from the lizard-folk, she decides. For Lathani, I want her injuries to be healed. Either to return her to where she was, or to give her a different, even more powerful foundation. How that happens, I do not care any more. My bloodlust for those who stole Lathani away has been soothed by the knowledge that they are all now chained to you and that you will make sure they do not do it again. And that they are now part of your following means that any actions I demand against them will impact you which, as I said, is rather churlish after the services you have rendered me. ¡°Well, I would be happy with those terms,¡± I say after a moment of thinking them over. Frankly, they are nothing that I wouldn¡¯t be doing anyway, so it¡¯s a win-win scenario for me. ¡°If Lathani¡¯s ¡®foundation¡¯ ¨C her Energy channel pattern, I have to guess ¨C is changed, will that cause any problems for you?¡± Her eyes narrow. Why would you think it might? I hesitate, looking down at Lathani who twists to fix me with a pleading glance. Don¡¯t tell her, pack-leader, please! she begs. I wasn¡¯t supposed to talk about it. Kalanthia¡¯s eyes narrow further, becoming nothing more than the barest slits through which the golden colour of her irises peek through. Markus Wolfe, did my cub say something that made you consider that our channels might be linked somehow? I send Lathani an apologetic look. I¡¯m sorry, I send to her privately. It¡¯s probably best that she knows her secret isn¡¯t so secret anyway. Lathani lets out an audible moan. She¡¯s going to kill me, she mutters accusingly to me, burying her face back into Kalanthia¡¯s fur. I send her a sense of sympathy, though fear that I might have accidentally conveyed a bit of my amusement too. She¡¯s just like a teenager who knows that her parent is going to be mad at her. ¡°Lathani mentioned something about how you weakened yourself by dedicating¡­something to her, that you would only regain once she Evolves.¡± Did she now? Kalanthia asks, her tone dangerous, her tail lashing behind her. She dips her head and twists her neck fluidly so she can look at the juvenile nunda half-buried in her fur. Lathani? Anything to add? Sorry, mother? Lathani tries. I forgot it was a secret. Kalanthia growls, but it sounds more frustrated than anything else. And maybe a little anxious. I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s familiarity with her, increased Wisdom, all the practice in Animal Empathy I¡¯ve had recently, or something else, but I¡¯m finding that I can interpret her body language and mental tones more easily. Who else knows? she demands furiously. Maybe even fearfully. ¡°A few of my Bound,¡± I say, a little reluctantly. ¡°But I¡¯ve forbidden them from speaking about it with anyone else. But maybe now you can see why I¡¯m asking the question about how you¡¯ll be affected by the way Lathani heals.¡± Kalanthia growls again, but it trails away into a huff. It is more than I wished you to know, she says frankly, but I wasn¡¯t expecting Lathani¡¯s foundation to be as damaged as it is, nor that you would be in a position to heal it if it was. ¡°Sorry?¡± I respond tentatively, a little bemused at her aggrieved tone. I wish I could blame you, but it¡¯s the lizard-kin¡¯s fault first, Lathani¡¯s second, and only yours in small measure. I will speak with you about it, but too many already know more than I would wish them to. I will direct my words only to you; I ask you to do the same. I hesitate. ¡°I know how to do that through a Bond, but I don¡¯t know how to do it without one,¡± I admit. Block your thoughts from travelling down your Bonds, instructs Kalanthia, and direct them at me. I will collect them from the outer reaches of your mind. That gives me a disturbing view of Kalanthia like a massive cat catching fish that rise to the top of the water for some reason, but I push it away. If it works, great. I take a moment to block off the other Bonds as she says ¨C not enough that they couldn¡¯t contact me if they need to, but enough that I won¡¯t accidentally send my own thoughts to them. Is this working? I ask uncertainly, doing my best to push my thoughts to Kalanthia. Without a conduit between us, I try thinking about her as I speak in my mind. It works well enough, she thankfully verifies. Now that we are as private as possible, I will do my best to explain what you will need to know to help my cub. My kind¡¯s cubs are born very vulnerable. Unlike other species, it takes us a long time to start developing our foundations. Taking a long time over developing the foundation is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does delay the first Evolution significantly and therefore lengthens the time during which our cubs are vulnerable to attack since they don¡¯t fully develop their magic until after their first Evolution. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Can you explain what you mean by ¡®foundations¡¯? I ask. Is it their Energy channels? Yes, ¡®foundations¡¯ refers to Energy channels, but also the setting up for saturation of Energy in the body. The foundation set by these before and after the first Evolution are essential in determining how far the Beast will go in their life¡¯s advancement. You can thus see that it is very important to set ones that will offer the best chances for future advancements. Beasts have been blocked from advancing to further stages because they have poor foundations. Abruptly, I wonder about Fenrir. He rushed his Evolution when he was still damaged. We fixed it while he was Evolving, but I don¡¯t know whether his foundations could be considered ¡®good¡¯. Can foundations be fixed after the first Evolution? It¡¯s possible, Kalanthia admits. But harder. In your human terms, it¡¯s like building a house. If the foundations of the first Tier are correct, the house will be sturdy. At the same time, even while building upon the foundations, it¡¯s possible to put supports in place to ensure that the house can develop differently than originally intended. But the foundations of the house will still be a limiting factor. That makes sense, I agree, quietly noting how she knows so much about houses for a beast. So is that what causes blockages in Tier two? Needing to put supports in because the house design has changed? That is, perhaps, taking the metaphor a little too far, Kalanthia replies. From my own experiences, blockages are usually caused because we do not know how we want to proceed, or we wish to proceed in a way which doesn¡¯t fit with what we have already done. Prior to the first Evolution, developments are made mostly or entirely unconsciously. The first Evolution is the time when Beasts become aware of their Energy channels and begin consciously affecting them. Energy channels must be drawn and redrawn until the entire foundation is complete. After the second Evolution, the structure of the foundation is fixed. Do you understand? Mostly, I agree, thinking about my own experience with repairing my Energy channels. I haven¡¯t actually tried changing them actively ¨C I¡¯ve seen them adjust as I¡¯ve added Skills and stats, but I haven¡¯t redrawn the lines of my mandala in any significant way. When I repaired my internal matrix before, I only retraced what had originally been there. So what happens in Tier three, then? Is it something to do with the soul? Kalanthia eyes me in surprise. No, she replies slowly. I am told that that is the domain dealt with after the third Evolution. So Tier four, by my standards then. The next stage is all about modifying the body to make it more durable. But that is not relevant to the topic at hand. Perhaps we could return to Lathani, she suggests in a way that isn¡¯t a suggestion. Of course, I answer hurriedly. Good. As you can no doubt conclude, rushing ahead with foundations prior to the first Evolution can often lead to problematic development after. As a result, my mother ¨C and possibly her mother before her, but I was never able to ask ¨C had a way to impress on her offspring her own foundations as a sort of guidance. In return for sacrificing her own strength and power for a time, the cub, I, was able to much more quickly advance to my first Evolution. What this method sacrifices in individuality, it makes up for by offering the basics of a structure which works well to help the cub progress at later stages. A thought occurs to me: is this what the Tamer Class stone did to me? Impressed on me a previously determined structure? So what you¡¯re saying is that you¡¯ve kind of lent a bit of your own internal matrix to Lathani so that she can build her own foundation more quickly? In essence, yes, though she is not building directly on my own internal patterns, but is merely using them for guidance. A bit like tracing paper, I muse, then return my attention to Kalanthia. So back to my original question: if you¡¯ve lent your internal matrix to her as a guidance system, will you be affected by the changes she makes to the design? Not directly, Kalanthia answers. Meaning that they will affect you indirectly, I guess, narrowing my eyes at her. An astute observation, she acknowledges, then huffs heavily. Yes. My mother told me that if the cub reaches Evolution, the mother gains back the power she temporarily sacrificed, and more besides. The universe is balanced: short term sacrifice leads to long term gain ¨C if the being survives the period of sacrifice. And equally, demands for power in the short term lead to significant consequences in the long term. But that is more philosophical than we should be at the moment. The fact is that I don¡¯t know exactly how Lathani¡¯s Evolution will affect me. I should receive my power back regardless of how successful her Evolution is. However, I believe that the amount of extra power I receive along with it will depend on how successful her Evolution is. And if she never Evolves? I ask, feeling it¡¯s important to know. Then we will both be weakened for as long as she is still alive, Kalanthia replies heavily. I eye her carefully. It seems like a heavy price to pay, I remark. It is a significant change that this makes: offering the nunda cub the chance to Evolve in five to ten years rather than fifty, she answers pointedly. My eyebrows rise on my forehead. How old is Lathani? Four and a half years old, by your count, Kalanthia replies promptly. And she still looked like a fluffy cub until she got kidnapped by the samurans? I ask incredulously. She should have remained looking that way until she reached her first Evolution, Kalantia responds, her tone angry. That she has changed so much physically even before her Evolution is just another indication of the damage the lizard-folk wrought on her system. They must have poured the Energy they stole from her channels into her body, forcing her to grow unnaturally, even as they reformed her channels into brute tools of force. As she is right now, she cannot Evolve. Her potential for Evolution has been stolen to make her stronger in the present ¨C at the expense of her future. And now I have far more understanding of why Kalanthia has been so angry at the lizard-folk ¨C and still is, even if she¡¯s not now actively seeking retribution. It flabbergasts me that she has been willing to essentially forgive what they have done. But then, I suppose, the main instigator is dead, the other instigators are Bound to me, and she knows that I already intend on doing everything I can to help Lathani. Apart from gaining satisfaction by killing everyone associated with those who hurt her cub ¨C which, as she realises, would harm me ¨C there isn¡¯t much else she can ask for. Then what do we need to do to get her to a state where she can Evolve? I ask, determined to do just that. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Twenty-Nine: Gold Rush The conversation with Kalanthia ends up taking quite a while, and Bastet goes back to play with the cubs when it becomes clear that her presence isn¡¯t necessary. We discuss Kalanthia¡¯s original plans for dealing with the damage to Lathani¡¯s Energy channels. At the same time, I take advantage of the opportunity to discuss more about the obstacles that can come up at Tier two and what lies ahead in Tier three ¨C with a view to helping my Bound with them. Now that I have some Bound in Tier two ¨C and awareness of Kalanthia¡¯s own situation ¨C she¡¯s been more willing to share information than she was before. The sun has already passed its zenith before I manage to set out with my little group. It¡¯s a bigger group than I was intending on taking, but that¡¯s probably not a bad thing ¨C everyone who¡¯s coming is able to defend him or herself. All included, there are nine of us: Rocky, Catch, Pride, Honey, Bastet, and the raptorcat juveniles. I lead the way into the forest. We make good progress towards my intended destination. I¡¯ve been training my new Inspect Skill by sending out pulses every so often with the focussed intention of seeing any enemies or potentially useful resources. It does mean I have to ignore a whole lot of gold-haloed plants and rocks. Or, not ignore exactly, but mentally dismiss any which I already recognise as things we don¡¯t need. It¡¯s not long into our journey that Bastet realises where we¡¯re going. Are we journeying back to the cave? she asks, her tone troubled. Yes, I answer. Is that a problem? She¡¯s silent for a long few moments. No, she answers finally. I will show the cubs where their pack used to live, she decides If you think that that¡¯s a good idea, I reply neutrally and the conversation ends there. We slow as we approach the clearing around the cave where the battle with the snilapede took place a while ago. I keep sending out pulses of Inspect, watching carefully for any signs of enemies. Fortunately, it seems like nothing else has moved into the area since the last battle. ¡°Alright everyone,¡± I say to them after both observation and Inspect indicate that the area is empty of anything bigger than small lizards. ¡°This is what I would like you to look for,¡± I tell them, picking up one of the chunks of iron ore still lying around. We harvested a lot during our last visit but time meant that we weren¡¯t able to get all of it. ¡°There seems to be some buried under the surface ¨C that¡¯s where you come in, Honey. There¡¯s also some in the trees around. Try to find as much as you can and bring it to the cave mouth, please,¡± I instruct them. ¡°Look for this slight reddish colour to the chunks of rock. Any questions?¡± Is this what you¡¯re searching for? Catch checked, holding a reddish-looking lump of earth. ¡°Probably,¡± I agree. ¡°I¡¯ll look through them properly later. Just gather anything you think might be right, and pile it up, OK?¡± A chorus of agreement, verbal or otherwise meets my mental ears. Without any more discussion, they all set to looking for chunks of what I hope is iron ore. Heading towards the cave in question, I pause for a moment, eyeing the group thoughtfully. Pride, can you stand guard, please. Warn us if any enemy approaches. He quickly agrees to my request ¨C I have a feeling he¡¯s rather grateful not to have to grub around in the dirt. Honestly, he¡¯s not really suited to it, hence why I thought about assigning him a different role. Neither his small fore-limbs nor his big back-limbs are adapted to digging, and his long toothy maw would probably find it difficult to grip the chunks of ore. But as a sentry, he¡¯s ideal since he stands almost as tall as I do and taller than the two samurans with us. Speaking of them, I should probably give them a tool ¨C they can dig with their clawed hands, but it would be better if they have something else to break the ground. Pulling two long pieces of bone out of my Inventory, I concentrate as I feed them with mana. Once they¡¯re full of my Flesh-Shaping magic, I reshape them into something which vaguely resembles a spade. I didn¡¯t want to risk them breaking immediately, so the head of the spade isn¡¯t much wider than the bone handle itself, and it doesn¡¯t narrow down much either. They wouldn¡¯t be much good for digging a hole as they probably wouldn¡¯t carry much earth each time, but they should be better than nothing for this task. Calling the two over, I hand Catch and Rocky their new tools, explaining what they¡¯re for. Rocky looks a bit awkward; Catch looks curious. I leave them to it ¨C I have my own objectives. Last time I came here, I wasn¡¯t able to get hold of the copper in the walls because my mining tool ¨C my flint axe ¨C really wasn¡¯t suitable for knocking it out of the rocks. With my new Earth-Shaping Skill, I have to hope that it¡¯s going to be a different story today. Most people would expect low-tech mining to involve battering at the wall with a pickaxe. But they¡¯re not using magic. Instead, I sit down near the wall where I see the glinting metallic traces of the copper vein. Closing my eyes, I reach out with my hands to touch the wall, and then reach with my mind and magic inside the wall. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. With my mental sight engaged, the earth magic in the wall before me becomes clear. It¡¯s actually rather fascinating. I can see different shades of brown magical connections. They indicate different types of rock, I guess. I know that rock is made up of different concentrations of elements formed in different ways; I wonder if I could eventually get it to the point where I could break the rock down into those elements. Probably, I¡¯d guess, but I might need more scientific knowledge than I currently have ¨C if only I had Google at my fingertips still¡­. I also see where there isn¡¯t any earth magic. That, in fact, is more useful in a way: I want the metal which apparently doesn¡¯t identify as earth according to my magic. Knowing where there is solid matter but limited earth magic is a good indication of the metal itself. Working slowly, I start to shift the rock to bring the metal towards me, and then drop it at my feet. I have to move slowly: earth doesn¡¯t like shifting quickly. Though I can produce rapid movements, the mana required for them increases exponentially. No, it¡¯s better to just shift the rock wall slowly and steadily. I find a good rate of movement at which my mana regenerates as quickly as it depletes, meaning that I can theoretically keep going indefinitely. Theoretically, because it¡¯s still mentally tiring, and I will need to eat and drink from time to time, but at least I¡¯m not running out of mana. The magic within the earth is amenable to my requests as long as I don¡¯t require it to move abruptly. I find my attention being gently guided deeper into the rock, towards another seam of nothingness. It¡¯s almost like the magic has its own consciousness to an extent and is trying to help me find what I¡¯ve shown it I¡¯m looking for. I¡¯d previously thought of the earth as uncaring for the little insects which walk on its surface, but this experience is starting to make me rethink it. Maybe it¡¯s that the earth only cares for those who manage to catch its attention. I continue encouraging the earth to shift towards me, like lava flowing through the tube of a volcano, depositing the blank areas in front of me before returning to take the place of the spaces opened up further into the rock. If a geologist came along after me, I reckon that they would be rather puzzled as to the history of the region ¨C I don¡¯t doubt that I¡¯m completely messing up the layers of the rock. But considering how unlikely that is, I don¡¯t care. As I work, I come across a new type of deposit. Whatever these are, they¡¯re definitely not metal. Instead, it feels like the earth magic is extra-concentrated in them. They¡¯re also relatively distinct lumps in the midst of the surrounding rock. Actually, many of them are within the metal itself, offering an island of earth magic within the blackness. Curious, I open my eyes to look at one of the objects once my conveyer belt of rock has delivered the first to me. It¡¯s surrounded by a bluish metal ¨C a form of copper, if I¡¯m correct. Breaking apart the lump of ore with an application of Strength fueling my fingers, my eyebrows go up as I see what¡¯s revealed. ¡°Turquoise?¡± I question. I¡¯m not a geologist, neither by trade nor interest, but I¡¯m familiar with a few precious and semi-precious stones ¨C anyone who buys jewellery for a female partner has to be, in my opinion. At least successfully buys jewellery that she likes, anyway. I learned my lesson on Lucy¡¯s birthday when I got a bracelet for her. I proudly announced that I knew her birthstone was sapphire, so I¡¯d got her a silver bracelet with a sapphire set in it. Small, of course ¨C I was earning good money at the time, but not that good. I¡¯d got it for a very good deal ¨C or so I¡¯d thought when I bought it. She¡¯d accepted it with appreciation for my thoughtfulness, but there was a wry twist to her mouth that I didn¡¯t understand at the time. It was only when I overheard her speaking with a friend that I realised I¡¯d instead accidentally got a bracelet with blue quartz instead. She still wore the bracelet and it suited her, but I learned from that mistake. The next time I got her jewellery, I made sure to get it from somewhere which actually offered a certificate for precious gems, and did my own homework ahead of time so I knew what I was looking for. That homework is what indicates to me that I¡¯m holding turquoise, a semi-precious stone on Earth, and apparently something that has a much higher concentration of earth magic than what surrounds it. I briefly wonder what Lucy would think of what I''m doing here, then dismiss the fantasy, shoving it back into its box. While I have my eyes open, I pick up the chunks of mixed metal and rock which I¡¯ve managed to harvest so far. The coppery and blue coloured lumps are what I was expecting to find ¨C different forms of copper. I was expecting slightly greener lumps, honestly, since I know that copper roofs go green over time as the metal oxidises, but the blue I see here isn¡¯t too unexpected either. I remember chemistry labs and the blue colour of a type of acid that uses copper. Copper sulfite? Sulphate? Something like that. What I¡¯m not expecting are some of the other lumps I see. Picking one up, I turn it this way and that, the light from the cave entrance and Aingeal¡¯s illumination making it glitter. I¡¯ll need to inspect it in proper daylight, but I can¡¯t help suspecting that its silvery appearance isn¡¯t just because of the light here. Another lump I pick up has a more buttery colour than the reddish shade of some of the copper lumps. It¡¯s heavier too. Can it be¡­? My hand shakes a little as hope mingles with my sense of probability. I¡¯ll need to see it in the light to be more confident. Then a thought pours water on my excitement. Even if it is gold, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m in the middle of the Gold Rush or something. Things are only as valuable as what others are willing to pay to get them ¨C I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s a market for gold among the samurans. Or any market at all, actually. Though, I suppose that even if there isn¡¯t the opportunity to trade it among samurans, I¡¯m not going to be here forever. Perhaps I should keep it for when I go to Nicholas¡¯ world and hope that they are more interested in the malleable metal there. If it even is gold, and not iron pyrite or something. Though I¡¯ve seen iron pyrite before, and this doesn¡¯t look like it. I drop the lump among all the others. I wonder whether my Inventory will sort the metals apart automatically ¨C it would be interesting if it did. For now, I concentrate on trying to harvest as much of this bounty as I can before we need to head back. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty: Do You Wish To Be Burned The trip back down the valley to the place which will be my den goes even more quickly than the journey up, and is smoother as well. By the time we approach the burnt wasteland where the vine-stranglers used to be, the sun is heading towards the horizon, but hasn¡¯t got close to touching it yet. I¡¯ve got everyone with me. Well, not Rooter who left as soon as our Bond broke, but everyone else. Kalanthia¡¯s presence is in fact probably the main reason for the absence of attacks ¨C on our way up, we dealt with a couple of groups of enemies; on our way down we weren¡¯t harassed at all. I guess not many creatures want to take on a Tier three. Given my own experiences with one, I don¡¯t blame them. We take a brief break by the river to let everyone have a good drink ¨C travelling through the wasteland is thirsty work. I take advantage of the time to fill my various containers with water too. It seems like my idea for how to transport the kiinas¡¯ eggs has worked out well. The two kiinas watched very attentively as I made the hide structure, and then carefully lifted each egg into its own little egg-cup, cradled with spider-silk and supported by tough hide. By using thick lengths of bone as struts, I created something that would stand up to most dangers. Sure, if Trinity decided to lie on it, I wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee that the bone would stay intact, but the cyran was strongly warned not to go anywhere near it and was instead charged with carrying the ¡®bee¡¯ hive. In the end, Hades and Persephone wanted to be in charge of their eggs, so I jury-rigged a harness which they could use to carry it on their backs. As a result, they have been slower and have tired more easily than they would normally, but that just brought them down to the pace which several others of my Bound are restricted to anyway. This time, I also made sure that River rode with the bees on Trinity when she started to tire ¨C she¡¯s clearly not as exhausted now as she was when we journeyed up the mountainside. I did it a couple of times myself ¨C my stamina still isn¡¯t the equal of most of my Bound. It just meant that we could keep moving for longer and faster than otherwise. I have to admit that I was rather impressed by how well the raptorcat juveniles have kept up. They did hop on Trinity¡¯s back a couple of times, but considering that we¡¯ve been moving fast and for at least ten hours, if not more, that¡¯s not bad at all. Once everyone has refreshed themselves, we¡¯re off again, making our way through the last section of forest before hitting the grey wasteland. By this point, there¡¯s been a bit of rain during the recent nights, so the ash has reduced significantly, washed into the soil and down further into the valley. What it¡¯s left behind is even more desolate, though ¨C blackened ground with the remnants of roots or carbonised branches which crack under foot. However, despite all the blackness, here or there I spot a small shoot of green ¨C the vegetation isn¡¯t taking long to reclaim the area. We make a good pace across the wasteland, and thus it¡¯s not all that long before the small clump of vine-stranglers comes into view. As we get closer, I eye the trees suspiciously. Have they spread out a bit more or is that just my paranoia speaking? Either way, it firms up my decision to take advantage of my new type of Tame Bond. Still, I make sure that everyone gets to the centre first ¨C there¡¯s no point in making them wait outside the ring of trees when they could be benefiting from the increased Energy density found within it. I can already feel the pleasure and relief emanating from the two kiinas ¨C as expected, they are significantly happier with the Energy density in this area than back at the cave. Then, eyeing the trees, I reach out along the Bond I have with the consciousness which governs them. I¡¯m going to send you a new type of Bond. I want you to accept it. You wish to renegotiate the alliance between us? The vine-strangler consciousness asks with more than a touch of eagerness even as it tries to make it seem like it cared little. Good ¨C you have come to see reason. I must expand beyond these pitiful limits you have set for me. I roll my eyes at its one-track thinking, then connect to it with Alliance, sending across the contract I constructed in my head as we ran here. It¡¯s obvious when the vine-strangler understands the contents of the contract as an immediate outcry of denial rings from it. This is madness! You wish to restrict my growth further? No, no no! Then do you wish to be burned instead? I ask with my arms crossed and a glare fixed on the closest tree to me. Of course not, but how do you expect me to take advantage of the bounty which my roots and leaves drink from if I cannot expand beyond a few trees every cycle? Grow bigger trees, or stronger trees, or more magical trees,¡¯ I tell it. ¡®Heck, I don¡¯t know ¨C maybe you could even learn to do magic. But you¡¯re not going to take over this whole area again, not on my watch. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I sense the resentment within the other party ¨C even if I¡¯ve offered an Alliance, the consciousness is still connected to me through a Tame Bond and is apparently not good at keeping its emotions from me. But I refuse to give any concessions on growth. Not until the natural forest has been able to retake a whole lot more space. And I warn you, I continue, I will know if you contravene any of these requirements, and will come to burn you to the ground. I know you know I can do it. The forest consciousness burns with frustrated anger. You will burn me if I do not agree; you will burn me if I agree and then accidentally break one of these rules- There will be no ¡®accidental¡¯ about it, I interrupt. All of the restrictions in this contract are things that you would have to actively intend to contravene. And then, yes, I will burn you for it. The forest goes on as if I hadn¡¯t spoken. What is the point of continuing to exist if I cannot grow? it asks, rather melodramatically, to my mind. But I recognise that what I¡¯m asking might seem like a big deal to a creature whose main objective is to expand as much as possible. As I said, maybe you can find a different way of increasing in power,¡¯ I suggest. ¡®Be different from all the others of your species who have to grow in size. Maybe you can become something this world has never seen before. Honestly, I feel like I¡¯m talking out of my arse here, but, of all people, I understand the importance of hope. The vine-strangler consciousness is silent for a few moments while it turns that over in whatever it has that passes for a mind. Perhaps you have an interesting idea there,¡¯ it allows slowly. ¡®Yes. That is what I will do. I will find a way to be different ¨C and better ¨C than all others! It sounds abruptly more cheerful and excitable. A moment later, it agrees to the Alliance contract with absent-mindedness ¨C as if the restrictions on its growth and actions are now of secondary importance to its mission of finding a way to be unique among vine-stranglers. I hope I haven¡¯t created a monster here, I think to myself with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. Well, time will tell. At least for now I have a bit more confidence that it will actually stick within my stated limits ¨C if only because it now knows that I will be able to identify for sure when it doesn¡¯t. Heading towards the centre of the vine-stranglers, I see that all my Bound have disappeared down into the tunnel, even individuals like Trinity who would surely have found climbing down that steep slope to be quite a difficult endeavour. Perhaps the lure of what is below was enough to motivate her to overcome the challenge. Climbing down myself, I see the group of them spread out around the room. With the massive bodies of Trinity and Kalanthia filling the space, it abruptly looks much smaller than last time. I watch as the nunda sniffs around the cavern, then heads towards the opening which leads down to the Pure Energy stream. She inspects a few more things then walks over to me, the rest of my Bound moving respectfully out of her way. It is a promising venue, she admits. The Energy in the air will even help me make some advancement towards my next Evolution. It is not much good for those prior to their first Evolution as most of it will wash into their bodies and then be lost, but once they have Evolved the first time, this is a perfect place to work on establishing their Energy channels fully. You may find it easier to repair Lathani¡¯s foundations here too. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± I reply thoughtfully. I probably should have ¨C even if it doesn¡¯t actually help Lathani, it will increase my Energy gain, which, if I need to use it on her channels the way I needed to with Fenrir, could be useful. Then again, I only needed to use Energy because Fenrir was in the middle of an Evolution; Lathani isn¡¯t. Have you considered how you wish to transform this into a den? I assume you do not intend on leaving it like this. Kalanthia¡¯s question draws my attention back from thinking about Lathani¡¯s Energy channels ¨C another subject I¡¯ve thought a lot on over the last few hours ¨C and back to the present. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve got a few ideas,¡± I tell her, leaning against one of the walls. ¡°But as you may have been able to tell, they¡¯re complicated a bit by the fact that it seems like any stone which has been in direct contact with Pure Energy is harder to change.¡± It¡¯s not as bad as the casing around the Pure Energy stream, but tests have proven that it takes significantly more effort and focus to convince the earth magic in the stone of the cavern than the average rock. I used a lot of Earth-Shaping yesterday to pull out all the different metals, crystals, and special rocks from the raptorcats¡¯ cave wall, forced to leave more by the disappearing sun than running out of metal to harvest. I may have to go back there again one day. For now, though, I have other concerns. But the point is that the same amount of mana it took me to mine for hours would only allow me to make a small hole the equivalent of Raven¡¯s eggs¡¯ basin in the wall of the cavern. Yes, I sense that, Kalanthia agrees. It will take a while to reform this cavern to a comfortable den. ¡°I know, which is why I was hoping to run some things by you,¡± I request. Oh? I¡¯m about to launch into discussing my ideas, ones which take into account the fact that I want this to be a home as well as a place where my Bound or other samurans can come to absorb Energy, but I¡¯m interrupted. There¡¯s the sound of wings beating in the air outside the cavern ¨C familiar wings. Come out and explain yourself, intruder! Raven¡¯s voice calls in my mind as I hear a furious bellow echo into the cavern. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-One: Announce My Presence Uh oh. If the ¡®intruder¡¯ Raven is referring to is me ¨C which I more than half-suspect it is ¨C it¡¯s not a good sign of how he¡¯s feeling right now. I wrack my brains trying to work out what I¡¯ve done, but nothing comes immediately to mind. Trepidation sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I head back towards the entrance. Bastet starts towards me but I stop her with a look ¨C if Raven is mad, which it sounds like he is, I don¡¯t want to risk anyone else being exposed to his ire. I¡¯m the most likely of my immediate group to survive long enough to get under cover and with Kalanthia inside the cavern, we might stand a better chance of ambushing him inside if necessary. Kalanthia. Actually, maybe I know why Raven sounds so livid. Bringing another Tier three into his area without warning him probably wasn¡¯t the best of ideas. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± I say as calmly as I can when I¡¯m out of the cavern. I start to climb the slope though I¡¯m not able to see the alcaoris until I reach about halfway up. I¡¯m tempted to send calmness down the link between us but I refrain ¨C I suspect he would sense it and be even more angry at me trying to influence him. How dare you bring another Enlightened Beast into my territory without my permission! Raven bellows at me, acidic mana already swirling threateningly around his head. His wings are mantled above his head, making him look more than twice as bulky as normal even as his tail lashes angrily behind him. Unfortunately, I was right ¨C I really should have predicted this. Especially since I had already considered how the alcaoris wouldn¡¯t take Kalanthia coming into his territory well, and had originally planned to bring her down after the eggs had hatched. I can¡¯t remember when exactly I forgot that. It just¡­slipped my mind, replaced by thoughts of Bastet and how I missed the rest of our pack, particularly the kiinas and the raptorcat cubs. It¡¯s a bit of an oversight, though, and one that I need to rectify now. If I can, that is. Because the thing is that Raven isn¡¯t guarding his side of the Bond well enough to keep all his emotions from me, and I can tell that at the base of his anger is something else: fear. Fear for his eggs, I suspect. No matter of talking will do anything if I can¡¯t reassure him that his eggs are safe. ¡°Listen, Raven, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I start in as conciliatory a way as possible. The fact is I recognise that, although I haven¡¯t actually done anything against the alliance between us, so to speak, that¡¯s only because we didn¡¯t consider bringing in guests as part of our alliance negotiations. I should have at least notified him that I was bringing another Tier three into the same area, and I didn¡¯t. ¡°I promise that as far as I know, my guest has no intentions of damaging your eggs.¡± As I say it, I¡¯m suddenly hit by a wave of doubt myself. I haven¡¯t actually checked with Kalanthia whether she would be interested in eating the eggs of an alcaoris ¨C for all I know, that¡¯s just the thing she needs to make more progress of her own to the next tier. Perhaps he senses my doubt or he has enough of his own, but my words don¡¯t seem to make much of a dent in his fury. Useless words do not interest me! Your ¡®guest¡¯ must leave immediately or our alliance is through. I will kill any of you and yours who I see within fifty body lengths of my eggs ¨C of either entrance to the tunnel, he threatens. I think quickly. While I do feel a lot more confident at taking Raven on now that I¡¯ve got more of his measure and more of my Bound with me, especially if Kalanthia aided me, I suspect that there would still be casualties. If there¡¯s another half-way reasonable option, I¡¯d rather take it. ¡°What if I could facilitate an alliance between you and my guest?¡± I suggest. ¡°One where she promises not to harm your eggs? You would know if she tried to break it, that way.¡± What good would a notification do if my eggs are already broken? The alcaoris scoffs, but I take it as a good sign that he¡¯s even considering it. ¡°Then perhaps we could negotiate that she doesn¡¯t go within a reasonable distance either magically or physically,¡± I suggest. ¡°That way you would have some warning.¡± Or she could leave my territory entirely, returned Raven, but he sounds like he¡¯s calmed down a little. His body language seems to indicate that too. I take the signs as an invitation for further discussion. ¡°I¡¯ll ask her to come up to talk with you,¡± I answer figuring that I can¡¯t make any promises on Kalanthia¡¯s behalf ¨C and I doubt she¡¯d appreciate me trying. Kalanthia, can you come up here? I request, trying to direct my thoughts to her, hoping that she¡¯ll be able to pick them up from this distance. Is this the Beast of which you spoke? she asks. I hear her question but her mental words are slightly fainter than normal ¨C like she¡¯s talking from another room, but still ¡®audible¡¯. She sounds wary, understandably. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Yes, it is. He¡¯s a bit angry at the moment ¨C I probably should have warned him that we were coming but¡­it slipped my mind. I sigh. That would have been more diplomatic, she comments, of all things sounding slightly amused. Yeah. He¡¯s strong, but hopefully not an enemy, I tell her. As long as we can reassure him that you mean no harm to his eggs. You don¡¯t, do you? If she attacks me, I will not hold anything back, Raven warns, unaware of the conversation I¡¯m having with the nunda at the same time. No, Kalanthia answers my question to her with a mental voice that sounds clearer than before. A moment later, I see movement at the base of the tunnel. She emerges, her large paws easily covering the ground between the cavern and where I¡¯m standing near the lip of the tunnel. I¡¯ve intentionally not climbed out entirely so I could use the tunnel walls as slight shelter if Raven decides to attack. As it is, I¡¯m still hoping that I will be able to negotiate a peaceful agreement between them. Raven steps back warily and his wings mantle again as he spots the massive leopard. He looks to be only a few moments away from taking flight. I don¡¯t blame him: he¡¯s big, but Kalanthia is bigger. Down on the ground, he looks to be easy prey ¨C a bird to Kalanthia¡¯s cat. Kalanthia looks outwardly relaxed, but I know her well enough to see the caution in her body language, the very deliberate movements which belie her apparent relaxation. Of course, I don¡¯t know how well Kalanthia would deal with Raven¡¯s acidic mana, which by this point is writhing around his head, practically hissing and spitting with defensiveness. Then again, I don¡¯t know how well he¡¯d deal with her ability to control the earth either. If she bound him down to the ground, she wouldn¡¯t even need to get close to him to kill him. But those sorts of thoughts are probably what are going through the two Tier three beasts¡¯ minds as they size each other up ¨C I need to focus on more peaceful possibilities. Focussing on trying to activate Alliance, I feel a sense of achievement as a connection forms between me and the two Tier threes. More importantly, I also sense the connection form between them. That¡¯s a point in favour of the theory that Alliance doesn¡¯t only need to be used for alliances involving me directly, though it appears that I have to be connected to them in some way. Both beasts flinch a little in surprise as the connections form, though I sense that they have to agree to the connection happening at all. Kalanthia accepts with only a brief sense of hesitation; Raven takes a little longer, but accepts eventually. ¡°Right,¡± I say once they¡¯ve both entered the ¡®bubble¡¯. ¡°Kalanthia doesn¡¯t want to harm your eggs in any way, Raven. She¡¯s here to be with her cub and to benefit from the Pure Energy. That¡¯s all.¡± She is intruding on my territory, the alcaoris states imperiously. She owes me a gift before we even begin the discussion. Directing my thoughts to Kalanthia only, I silently inquire as to the veracity of his words. Beasts of our level do tend to present a gift to the local territory Guardian if we do not intend on conflict, she answers and I sense it is directed only to me. Then I sense her speaking more ¡®widely¡¯ to both of us. I did not sense any indications that this was your established territory. I am here, I hear Raven answer, though I suspect that he¡¯s not directing his words to me exactly ¨C it appears that I am party to any conversation that goes through the Alliance connections, perhaps because I was the one to instigate it. That should be sufficient. You must have felt my presence. I felt it, barely, Kalanthia allows, similarly speaking directly to Raven with me as a silent observer. But I saw no indications of your presence on the trees or rocks, I smelt no marking anywhere nearby, and your domain is muted as if you are in hiding. What among that demands that I announce my presence, let alone bring you a gift? Raven hesitates for a moment before snapping back at the nunda, his body language shifting to become even more defensive. You should have known because of the¡­our¡­the being who has brought us together, he answers, his strong start weakening as he seems to have difficulty mentally conceiving of exactly what role I fill. He is not one of us, Kalanthia answers, her tone contemptuous enough that I might take offence if it wasn¡¯t so obviously directed at the alcaoris. The dragon-like creature rears back, startled at her tone. Why assume that he would know anything of the proper etiquette? OK, now I feel a little offended, though I remind myself that it is probably accurate ¨C this whole conversation seems to be revealing a culture I didn¡¯t even know existed. Frankly, although I¡¯m wary that Kalanthia might offend Raven enough to have him trying to kill her, it¡¯s probably better to let her manage it. I¡¯ll have to trust that she realises that Lathani, as my Bound, will be caught in the crossfire if Raven declares war on us. You have not announced your presence in any way that matters; you have not claimed this territory as yours, continues the nunda, speaking as deliberately as she moved earlier, every mental word practically slicing into my mind like shards of glass. Indeed, I am tempted to claim this area as my own territory, she suggests almost lightly. The alcaoris rears back, clearly alarmed. You wouldn¡¯t! He answers, his tone half threat, half horrified realisation. Kalanthia yawns and flexes her paws. I feel her domain spread out beyond me, this time more of a watchful predator than one ready to pounce. It¡¯s no less threatening for all its apparent relaxation: there¡¯s no doubt that the predator could attack in the blink of an eye. Could you stop me? Kalanthia challenges. Abruptly, I wonder how this got so far out of control ¨C I wasn¡¯t intending on this happening! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Two: Battle Of Domains Raven rears back and I think that he¡¯s about to breathe acid mana at us. I almost dive to one side to avoid it, but then I notice he doesn¡¯t have his mouth open. Instead, he spreads out his wings widely and presses his own domain against us. His claws and teeth come into sharper focus and he seems to grow even bigger. Suddenly, I can¡¯t take my eyes off him and it feels like everything else should be forgotten in light of this revealed predator before me. At least, that¡¯s the way it would feel if Kalanthia wasn¡¯t next to me. Instead, his threat suddenly feels so much more like bluster than a real threat. And it¡¯s not because he isn¡¯t a threat ¨C I¡¯ve had personal experience in how much of one he can be. It¡¯s because the threat I feel from Kalanthia feels significantly more impactful. Where Raven is like a colourful bird darting about and flashing his feathers ¨C not that he has any of those exactly ¨C Kalanthia is the tiger lurking in the grass, waiting for your back to be turned before she pounces. Between the two, my newly-sharpened instincts know exactly which to be most wary of. Interestingly, I can sense some sort of battle of wills going on around me. Or perhaps, battle of domains. It¡¯s probably something I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to detect before I managed to increase my Wisdom level, but now I can sense that at one moment I¡¯m being more affected by Raven¡¯s domain, and then the next by Kalanthia¡¯s. The two Tier threes focus on each other without releasing eye contact. Neither of them reaches out to attack physically ¨C I wonder if needing to do so would be an automatic loss in this contest. I¡¯m relieved ¨C I know what Raven can do and some of what Kalanthia is capable of; between the two of them, there would be a significant amount of damage to the area and probably to my Bound in the cavern below as well. Hopefully that won¡¯t be the next step after the domain fight. I was hoping to avoid a fight by offering them an Alliance. Then again, perhaps it¡¯s necessary for them to figure out who¡¯s higher in the pecking order before they can actually start to negotiate. Maybe this is what Tier threes always do when they come into contact with each other. I¡¯ll have to see if Kalanthia¡¯s open to talking about it later. I sense the area around me becoming more saturated with Kalanthia¡¯s domain, the flickers of feeling that Raven should be my main focus becoming less and less frequent. A few moments later, it seems like he keeps reducing and increasing again in size and importance. And then his times of seeming particularly big and important become less and less frequent until finally, it¡¯s like he was at the end of our fight when he¡¯d crashed to the ground, spent. He¡¯s still big and imposing, but that¡¯s just his natural form, not the extra that¡¯s given to him by his domain. Frustration leaks down the link between him and me, his lips drawing further back from his teeth. For a moment it seems like he¡¯s considering turning this into a physical fight. And then he subsides. His wings come down to fold onto his back; his head lowers from its reared-back position. He¡¯s not submitting to Kalanthia, not exactly, but he seems to be recognising that she is stronger than him. I was here first; I will protect this area for my eggs, he says finally, grudgingly. Kalanthia¡¯s aura presses even harder against me for a moment, and then withdraws. The sense of a watchful, opportunistic predator doesn¡¯t exactly vanish, but it becomes less all-encompassing. Then you will not object to any actions we take which do not negatively impact your eggs in any way, states Kalanthia. They don¡¯t return to the original discussion ¨C I guess that the battle of the domains was sufficient to answer Kalanthia¡¯s question without actually needing to explicitly respond to it. Any reduction of Energy in the stream will poorly affect them, responds Raven. I do not believe that there is any intention to do that, Kalanthia replies. Abruptly, I realise they¡¯re both looking at me. I quickly review what they¡¯ve just said. Oh, yes. ¡°Not until the eggs hatch,¡± I answer briskly. ¡°Until then, we want to use the natural Energy which is currently produced by Energy¡­evaporating off the stream and seeping into the area above it.¡± I don¡¯t know if ¡®evaporating¡¯ is a good term when heat isn¡¯t involved, but it¡¯s the only one I think suits considering how the stream mostly behaves like water and the less concentrated stuff more like gas. I do want to work on crystallising Energy Hearts, but I¡¯ve already realised that trying to do it ahead of the eggs hatching probably isn¡¯t feasible. Then there should be no issue with our presence, Kalanthia follows up with a sense of finality. I have no interest in your eggs and agree not to move within a body¡¯s length of them in physical or intentional magical presence. It looks like Raven wants to demand greater certainty, but seeing Kalanthia¡¯s feline stare, he subsides without saying anything. Hammering out the rest of the alliance only takes a few minutes after that. Raven has stopped trying to demand that Kalanthia leaves the area, and has had to be satisfied with Kalanthia¡¯s promises. He¡¯s not best-pleased about it, but apparently he¡¯s not going to argue about it either. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Once the Alliance snaps into place, Raven quickly departs without a farewell. It seems like he¡¯s either eager to get back to his eggs or away from Kalanthia ¨C or a combination of both. ¡°So,¡± I ask casually, looking at Kalanthia, ¡°there¡¯s normally some sort of procedure when meeting another Tier three?¡± She eyes me warily for a moment then gives a quiet huff of air. Fine. Since you have a few Bound now already past their first Evolution, I suppose you should know at least a little about this. The second Evolution is considered to be the first true step on the Path as it is the first to be made intentionally. ¡°Why is that?¡± I can¡¯t help interrupting, though her chiding grumble makes me quickly apologise. ¡°Sorry, but it seems like the samurans very much intend to reach Tier two ¨C when they can.¡± Those who begin with sufficient knowledge and intelligence may intentionally seek the first Evolution, but most do not start in that position. Though, I will grant you that it¡¯s an advantage. The first Evolution can happen merely by killing sufficient numbers of creatures, or surviving long enough. It is not a guarantee by any means, but it does not have to be intentionally sought. But to pass the second Evolution is very much an intentional undertaking. ¡°I see,¡± I respond thoughtfully ¨C it makes sense based on what she¡¯s revealed before about needing to have a clear idea of where to go in order to make it past the blockages. ¡°So how does this relate to the whole thing between you and Raven?¡± I was getting there, huffs Kalanthia. The requirement of intentionality gives all Beasts past it a level of enlightenment ¨C the ability to think at a deeper level than previously. Attacking other creatures of our own level or higher is full of danger, and we understand the implications of that more than we might have previously. As a result, most enlightened Beasts develop a way of identifying the threat level of opponents based on their auras. It is the same on my home world as it is here. Over time, it became customary for a Beast to extend an aura when encountering a Beast of similar level. Courtesy ¨C and the first sally in the battle. A defeat of the aura is not a guaranteed defeat in a full fight, but it is often followed by one. On defeat of their aura, the loser will generally try to withdraw ¨C if the victor allows them to do so. ¡°Huh,¡± I respond with fascination. ¡°Does an aura defeat cause damage?¡± Not usually, Kalanthia answers, though I believe there have been cases if one has an aura far more powerful than the other. Most of the time it is sufficiently obvious by other indications as to whether two are so mis-matched and the weaker quickly withdraws. I nod slowly. That makes sense, I suppose. Kalanthia is obviously stronger than any of my Tier two Bound, as is Raven. I have to wonder how Bastet or the samurans might change at Tier three, though. Would they become massive in size too? Or just obviously more dangerous? ¡°So what was that about territories?¡± I ask. ¡°Do you respect the territories of other Tier threes or something?¡± It is more that to enter the marked territory of another enlightened Beast and not to visit the Guardian to present gifts is considered an outright challenge. The Guardian will see the intruder as a threat and attack them without warning. Unless, of course, the intruder is far more powerful; in that case, the Guardian does their best to go unnoticed as the intruder passes through, hoping that the intruder has not come to take their territory from them. In this situation, there were no clear indications of the other Beast¡¯s presence ¨C he had not claimed the territory officially. Thus, he had no right to demand a gift in exchange for peaceful discourse. ¡°I see.¡± Again, that all makes sense. I suppose I¡¯m more surprised that they might have a way of peacefully talking to each other. If it is peaceful, that is. ¡°If the intruder brings a gift, will the Guardian not attack? And what kind of things make a ¡®gift¡¯?¡± I suspect it¡¯s not the kind of thing that would typically lie under the Christmas tree back on Earth. Guardians might attack despite the presence of a gift, but they would find themselves shunned and possibly attacked by others when word spread that they had done it, especially if it was unjustified or repeated. It is usually more effective to accept the gift, hear the intruder out, and then chase them away if their message is unwelcome. As for a gift, Cores are the usual one, either in quantity or quality. Specific Guardians may appreciate other specific resources but Cores or other Energy-rich items are never undesired. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll try to remember your words if I ever come across another Guardian. Considering everything that has happened so far, I have to guess that it will happen eventually,¡± I say wryly. Heck, considering I¡¯m going deeper into the forest in a couple of months¡¯ time for the samuran meet-and-greet, I have to guess that it will be sooner rather than later. ¡°On the note of claiming territories, have you decided whether to stay here or not? And if so, will you claim this area as your territory?¡± Kalanthia looks thoughtful ¨C I know her well enough to be able to identify the look on her. I have seen no indications of the presence of any Beast stronger than your Ally, she says cautiously. That is no guarantee that one has not been here ¨C if they are far stronger than I am or stealth-focussed, they would be capable of hiding their traces from me. I have never ventured close enough to the crevice at the base of the valley to know what the specialisms of the Beasts that rule there are. ¡°So¡­?¡± I ask leadingly as she hasn¡¯t actually answered my question. She¡¯s silent for a long moment. I have decided that it is worth the risk, the nunda says finally. I doubt that you are going to leave this area without evidence that it is dangerous, and you will keep Lathani with you. I would prefer to stay where my senses can help detect any threat to her than to go elsewhere. The fact that I can finally start making some progress towards my own Evolution again is another important part of my decision. ¡°Excellent,¡± I tell her, not trying to hide my pleasure ¨C she¡¯d probably be able to sense it anyway. ¡°Then let¡¯s talk about some specifics about our new den.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Three: Work With The Earth You see, slow movements which build up speed are far more effective and efficient than trying to start with a fast movement, Kalanthia tells me as she carves the last of the large basin. ¡°Yes, I see,¡± I say thoughtfully as I use my magic sight to observe her control. It¡¯s amazing to see the differences between her deft and practised actions and my own ham-handed fumbling. I¡¯d thought that I¡¯d been starting to get to grips with Earth-Shaping, but Kalanthia¡¯s expertise shows me just how far I have to go. She uses a fraction of mana for a far faster and more finished result. She seems to work with the earth in a way that demonstrates her sheer understanding of the material ¨C and the deep relationship she has built with it. When I want to shape the earth, I have to first feed it with my own earth-aligned mana until I feel that it is moldable. I then have to continue feeding it with mana to actually effectuate the change, and the faster or greater the change, the more mana it requires. Kalanthia seems to be able to skip that first step entirely. I suspect it¡¯s something to do with her domain or simply her familiarity with the earth, but when she reaches out with her focus, the earth immediately responds, almost eager to act according to her desires. It¡¯s not the same as fire but there are similarities. Fire leaps in eagerness to act because it constantly desires to grow and consume, but attempts to quell it are met with significant reluctance. The earth doesn¡¯t wish to consume or to grow, but it moves to meet Kalanthia¡¯s intentions with the willingness of a precariously poised boulder hearing the call of gravity when given a strong nudge. And like that same boulder, the movement of one leads to the movement of many ¨C which is the core of the lesson she¡¯s just been teaching me. While the earth does move significantly more easily for Kalanthia, it¡¯s clear that there are foundational rules which remain the same no matter the Skill level. One of these is that getting the earth to move fast requires either a lot of mana, or a lot of preparation. It¡¯s been amazing to be able to watch a master at work, though. I¡¯ve already got up to Initiate four in Earth-Shaping, ranking up partway through the morning of the day after enabling the alliance between Kalanthia and Raven. The rank up didn¡¯t offer me anything new, instead just indicating that my relationship with the earth has improved and shaping it is therefore easier. My work with pulling out the metal ores and gems from the raptorcats¡¯ cave seems to have influenced my rank up too as the message indicated that my ability to identify and isolate components of the earth has improved too. My increasing skill in Earth-Shaping has meant that we¡¯ve been able to move faster than I anticipated, but it¡¯s Kalanthia¡¯s help which has really cut down the time we¡¯ve needed to turn this rough cavern into a proper home. Or ¡®den¡¯ as seems the most suitable appellation considering everything. Instead of the week I was estimating that it would take, it¡¯s been a little less than two days of actual work, though it¡¯s taken place on three days in total. The fact that we didn¡¯t really do much actual earth-shaping on the day we arrived before needing to sleep meant that we¡¯ve had a third sunrise, but we¡¯re pretty much done now. Just one thing left to do. ¡°You¡¯re sure that we can pull that underground spring to the surface?¡± I worry again, earning a light cuff from a padded paw. Kalanthia pulls the blow, but it¡¯s still strong enough to make me stagger. Yes, she tells me with a strong sense of exasperation. To be fair, this is probably the fifth time I¡¯ve asked her something similar. Today. It¡¯s just that she hasn¡¯t properly explained exactly how we ¨C or rather she ¨C would be doing it, and I know that trying to make water run uphill is complicated. Watch and learn, she tells me, so I do. The large nunda extends her influence into the earth. I can¡¯t see her domain, but I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the cause ¨C I can see that she¡¯s not putting any mana into the earth itself but it¡¯s rippling in response to her presence nonetheless. Like wind ¨C it¡¯s possible to feel the wind, and to see the effects of it, but not to see the wind itself. I follow the ripples of earth magic as it reacts to Kalanthia¡¯s focus, further and further into the earth. The action, when it does take place, is really at the edges of my magic sight ¨C a point where I can more sense than see what¡¯s going on, and barely at that. There is something in the earth. It¡¯s different from anything else I¡¯ve seen in this area. It¡¯s not any type of stone, or even one of the crystalline structures which I¡¯ve occasionally found ¨C this section isn¡¯t as full of them as the area around the copper vein was, but there were a couple here or there. It¡¯s not the bones which I¡¯ve found from long dead creatures, or the odd flecks of metal which we¡¯ve come across. It¡¯s not even the extra Energy Hearts we¡¯ve found from where the Pure Energy forced its way into cracks in the rock and then crystalised in place ¨C those have invariably been Earth-focussed Energy Hearts. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. No, this is water. And as Kalanthia starts making her changes, impressing me with just how delicately she can work even at such a range, I see why she had no need to worry about whether we¡¯d be able to bring the water to where we are. Although the slopes in this area are not as steep as in many other places around us, we are still on a mountain here. The water is found somewhere uphill from where we are, meaning that getting it here is a simple matter of providing it with a route down to us. Well, simple for Kalanthia, that is. I doubt I¡¯d have even been able to find the groundwater, let alone create the required channels so deep in the earth. My original plan had been to divert a bit of river through our area and then return it downstream, but that would have required a huge amount of work due to the distances involved. I watch with awe as Kalanthia brings the water down to us in underground stone channels ¨C rudimentary pipes, really. As she gets into the slope just above the remoulded entrance to the underground caverns, she skillfully splits the stream into two different channels. The upper one moves into the massive basin we have formed just downhill of the entrance to the cavern where it starts to fill what will eventually be a pond for drinking. The overflow of that mini-lake will go into a smaller basin which I will use for dirtier jobs. There is a channel from that dip which directs the water towards where we¡¯re likely going to need it for irrigation purposes in the ash fields down below. I¡¯ll need to do more work on it later when we actually know what kind of irrigation channels we¡¯ll need, but I wanted to take advantage of the deal I cut with Kalanthia ¨C that in exchange for her being able to stay in the area and benefit from the Energy in the environment, she would help actually create the den area. The best deal I ever made, in my opinion. The other channel goes further underground, into a bathroom of its own. There, it goes into another basin, this one about the size of a jacuzzi. My new bath ¨C and I have to say that I¡¯m rather looking forward to not having to watch out for crocodiles when I do my ablutions. The overflow of that runs through an open channel and then back underground. This one goes into the ash fields too, but not as a complete channel. Instead, it rises near the surface and then separates into multiple channels which then end in a sort of sandy earth pit only about half a metre from the surface in the middle of the vine-strangler copse. Since I¡¯m planning on using that open channel as my low-tech toilet, I hope that the trees will enjoy the new source of fertiliser. When Kalanthia finishes, she looks rather exhausted. ¡°Are you OK?¡± I ask with concern. I¡¯ve seen her enact massive structural changes without looking more than briefly puffed, so it¡¯s a little surprising to see how fatigued she looks now. Merely a little tired, she answers, sounding it. Working at range and with such finesse is mentally demanding, even if it does not require much mana. I will be well after a short pause. ¡°Alright,¡± I tell her and sit next to her for a while, watching the biggest basin start to fill. The water that trickles in is crystal clear and I can¡¯t wait until it fills the basin enough for me to reach it. Due to our building methods being magic, there¡¯s no dust or dirt left in the basin after all the work, meaning that the water goes in clear and stays that way. Movement exiting the encircling vine-stranglers catches my eye and I see Bastet returning with her little hunting party. Since the death of three of her party members in the fight with the alcaoris, she¡¯s had to replace her numbers. Thorn and Honey have both stayed with her, but they¡¯ve been joined by Artemis the wolf-like deri and Lathani. ¡°Good hunt?¡± I ask them as they come closer. Lathani bounds over to me to rub her head against my hip and then goes on to rub against her mother. Good enough, Bastet answers in satisfaction, licking her lips demonstratively and then coming over to greet me like Lathani. The rest of the group send greetings to me along the Bonds but don¡¯t come over to physically rub against me. We met up with Pride, Catch, and Hades ¨C they are bringing all the kills back. I make a mental note to work out a way that my less dextrous Bound can bring their kills back more easily. Or maybe a collaboration with Tier one samurans from the village to essentially become beasts of burden. Hmm. ¡°Good to hear,¡± I respond. Mother says you¡¯re finished making the den, Lathani pipes up. I was aware of them talking but didn¡¯t make any effort to listen in. Can we see now? Perhaps it is stupid, but I didn¡¯t want anyone to see our new home until it was done. Maybe it¡¯s a sense of pride, or of nervousness, but the result is that only Kalanthia and I know where everything is. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, butterflies flapping around in my stomach ¨C what if they don¡¯t like it? ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the others to come back and I¡¯ll give you the tour.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Four: Everyone Ready? In the end, the group includes Bastet, Lathani, Fenrir, Catch, Pride, Hades, and Persephone ¨C who is willing to be dragged away from her eggs to inspect her new home. The others either aren¡¯t really interested enough or have gone back to the samuran village. River is one of those: she went straight back to the village with the other samurans who joined us on our trip and has been there ever since. I¡¯ve missed her and sense through the Bond that she¡¯s missed me too, but I agreed with her that she would do most good working with Tarra on exploring her Fire-Herbalism and carving out a place for herself in the local community. I¡¯ll have to give her the tour later. ¡°Everyone ready?¡± I ask with excitement and nerves mingling. What are they going to think of our efforts? ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± I continue after receiving various positive responses. We move to the entrance. Once just a large hole in the ground, it has been moved further down the slope and is now a more even hole with a less-steep slope. As we go inside, more differences are immediately obvious. ¡°Kalanthia and I thought that a straight route forwards to the heart of the group wasn¡¯t a good idea, so we¡¯ve included a few switchbacks,¡± I tell them, pointing out the changes as we walk through. ¡°These various bends should offer our forces more cover in order to attack an intruder and slow them down.¡± I did suggest putting in a few hidden passages, but Kalanthia pointed out that passages could be used against me ¨C there¡¯s no guarantee that my forces will always be smaller than the enemy. In the end, I¡¯ve hidden a few ¡®surprises¡¯ in pockets of the stone ¨C poison, extra-sticky spider-silk, sharp bits of flint, and bone caltrops. In the event of an enemy coming, either I can trigger them to fall on the creature¡¯s head, or my Bound can use force to crack the thin stone keeping the trap substances hidden, releasing them on the floor. I¡¯ll have to check them from time to time just to make sure that they¡¯re not degrading, but hopefully this will help give us the edge even in the event of another Tier three trying to attack us. If a Tier four or five attacks us, we¡¯ll probably have to use the emergency exit instead. ¡°And here we are in the first room,¡± I say as we get to the end of the passageway. ¡°This is the area with the least Energy density, and as you can see, it¡¯s pretty big.¡± It¡¯s bigger than the original cavern, but not quite as big as the space that had been revealed after I¡¯d succeeded in fulfilling the terms of the deal with Raven. It¡¯s also a lot more intentionally shaped and almost a perfect oval. I have a feeling that that isn¡¯t going to be the most useful shape, but since I didn¡¯t know what would be most useful, I decided to just use Kalanthia¡¯s help to build the basic structure. Later down the line, either I can do some more shaping with magic, or others can build walls with clay. What will this room be used for? Persephone asks. I hope it is not where you intend me to guard my eggs ¨C it is far too open. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got another place in mind for that,¡± I assure her. I¡¯ve got a special area at the end of a passage leading off from the main room for that. ¡°I figure that this is basically the living quarters of anyone who can deal with the Energy levels. Actually, are any of you suffering from Energy poisoning right now? If you¡¯re not sure, I can check.¡± There¡¯s a pause as each of them seems to take stock of themselves. Bastet, Pride, Persephone, and Hades all indicate that they¡¯re fine. Catch seems uncertain, as do Lathani and Fenrir. I check them out. Catch is fine, as expected ¨C he¡¯s a Tier 1 and none of my Bound suffered ill-effects last time we came through. Lathani, oddly enough, is suffering from something, despite also being Tier 1. It¡¯s not affecting her health, but it is affecting her mana and stamina. I¡¯ll need to dig more into it after the tour to find out why. For now, though, I assess that she¡¯d better stay on the surface level with her mother. Of course, she doesn¡¯t like that idea. Why does everyone else get to stay and not me? she whines sulkily, the closest to outright rebellion that she¡¯s come in a while. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for you,¡± I tell her again, exasperated. ¡°I don¡¯t know why and I don¡¯t know how, but it¡¯s clearly badly affecting you in some way.¡± But you said it¡¯s not causing my health any damage, she argues. ¡°No, but having your mana and stamina drained can¡¯t be healthy,¡± I say, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes at her. ¡°Until I know why it¡¯s happening, I don¡¯t want you down here.¡± But why is no one else having any difficulties? she demands. I sigh and shrug, moving over to check on Fenrir. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But they aren¡¯t, so you¡¯ll have to just recognise that you each have differences and go back to the surface.¡± Then, as I touch Fenrir, I frown. ¡°Actually, you¡¯ll have a companion.¡± Oh? Lathani perks up. Who? ¡°Sorry Fenrir,¡± I say to the lizog. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re more sensitive to Energy since your Evolution. Your health is going down bit by bit. It¡¯s not a lot at this point, but this is the lowest Energy density. You¡¯ll have to go up with Lathani.¡± It¡¯s fine, Fenrir says, not displaying any of the annoyance that Lathani is. Keep Lathani company. He evidently broadcasted that to more than just me as Lathani instantly melts. Thanks Fenrir, she replies, moving over to rub against him. Once significantly larger than him, the size gap has narrowed and she doesn¡¯t even come close to pushing him over. Now that she¡¯s not going up alone, Lathani willingly leaves the cavern, accompanied by the lizog. Looking at them leave, I¡¯m reminded that I should probably see if Fenrir would rather have a Companion Bond ¨C at this point, there¡¯s no justification for keeping him Bound with Dominate. But first, the tour. ¡°OK, so this cavern isn¡¯t much to look at right now, but I¡¯ve got plans as to how to develop it further. I¡¯ll talk them through with all of you later ¨C please feel free to contribute ideas. Anyway, let¡¯s continue.¡± I lead them to the tunnel which goes into the next part of the place ¨C a series of several smaller rooms along a wide corridor. This is what took the majority of Kalanthia¡¯s time and mana. I¡¯ve been thinking about the samurans and decided that I wanted to create ways of rewarding the Tier twos. I know that Energy Hearts help, but so does a higher Energy density. But at the same time, I don¡¯t want them gaining direct access to the Pure Energy, or even knowing for sure that it exists. As a result, we created these rooms. Each, including the cavern itself, has a network of ¡®air ducts¡¯ which lead to the Pure Energy stream, but are small enough not to really be noticeable. The closest to the cavern have the narrowest ducts with the ones further away from the cavern gaining increasingly more and wider ducts. Experimentation with Kalanthia proved that Energy will build up in a closed room to a certain level. Once it reaches that level, it starts being absorbed into the wall enclosing it at a steadily increasing rate until the rate of Energy entering the room and the rate of it being absorbed is the same. The more Energy that enters the room ¨C through a duct of a greater width ¨C the longer it takes to reach that equilibrium and the faster the Energy density replenishes. It¡¯s not a big difference, but I was able to get an idea by using my hourly Energy absorption rate as an indicator. Outside the cavern, the Energy density has dropped significantly ¨C our interior works have stopped the majority of it leaking into the environment. As a result, I¡¯m now only getting about ninety-five units per hour, which is only about ten units more than I¡¯d get in the samuran village. That¡¯s without Meditation playing any part which, honestly, it almost always does since I keep the lowest level active pretty much all the time. Inside the cavern, I get around a hundred and fifty units ¨C closer to the ducts, it¡¯s more. Near the entrance it¡¯s less. The first set of rooms when they¡¯re fully saturated give me a little more than two hundred units per hour. The second set gives me around two hundred and seventy. The third pair of rooms give me over three hundred units per hour, and the fourth set of rooms over four hundred units per hour when fully saturated. One of these also holds my fire-heated bath. I figure, why not work on my progress to the next level while having a soak? Between all of these, I figure that I have some good incentive for the Evolved samurans working towards the good of the village. It¡¯s there that the corridor appears to stop. But what I don¡¯t even show my Bound ¨C though I am planning on showing some of them later ¨C is that the wall is false. Well, kind of false. It is actually a wall, but it¡¯s not the thick rock it appears to be. Instead, it¡¯s only about five centimetres thick. Beyond it, there¡¯s another room ¨C and the entrance to the Pure Energy stream which also serves as one of the emergency escape routes now that it¡¯s unblocked. There, the Energy density is much higher, going as high as almost eight hundred units an hour. Great, except for the fact that apparently that¡¯s still too much for me to tolerate for an elongated period of time. When I tested out the area, I got the same warning about poisoning that I had before, though with a slower rate. While I¡¯m not nearly as worried about the effects of it on my actual health as before, I¡¯m more concerned about what about the Energy might be causing my health to drop. Like if someone starts coughing up blood ¨C they¡¯re usually less concerned about the blood itself and more concerned about why it¡¯s happening. I want to use that little room as my personal Energy chamber. Well, probably shared with my Companions too. But first I need to figure out whether it¡¯s actually dangerous to be poisoned by the Energy. Which sounds ridiculous even in my thoughts, but that¡¯s my life now. Tour over, we head back up to the surface. I know Persephone¡¯s going to want to move her eggs in straight away, so I show her where to find her special room, also accompanied with a couple of Energy ducts ¨C she thoroughly approves of the Energy density in the space, fortunately. I also show my Bound how to operate the doors of the Energy chambers. Not having access to a DIY shop, I had to improvise. By using a system of pulleys and weights, I¡¯ve made a stone door that can be relatively easily opened and closed. I¡¯ve got the doors opening outwards since it makes them slightly safer for the occupant ¨C if the pulley system stops working for whatever reason, they can force their way out by pushing the door open, and someone trying to break in from the outside will have a harder job. I¡¯m relieved when Bastet manages to operate the system with her jaws and I get my other Bound to test it too. Only Pride ends up having a bit of difficulty, but he understands the idea when he sees the others do it. Right. Time to see if I can spot why Lathani¡¯s having issues even with the relatively low Energy density of the cavern ¨C especially when it¡¯s barely higher than the exterior density. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Five: How Does This Help Us? ¡°Well, I think I have an idea about why the Energy density is so badly affecting Lathani,¡± I announce to my audience. Kalanthia and Lathani are the most interested, for obvious reasons, but Bastet is curious too, as is, surprisingly, Fenrir. Or maybe it shouldn¡¯t be so surprising ¨C he had the same issue as Lathani, though not for the same reason. It¡¯s been quite useful having him here as I¡¯ve been able to see what the Energy density does to him as well as to me. It¡¯s been informative. The rest of my Bound are either taking advantage of the Energy density to make some progress to their next Tier or have gone hunting. With Kalanthia here now, there¡¯s no fear that any carcasses will go to waste. Catch and Pride are the exceptions ¨C I asked them to go back to the village and invite the Evolved to join me here. I told him that he should suggest they split themselves into two parties and take it in turns to come: all the Evolved samurans leaving at the same time was probably not the best of ideas. While we wait, I¡¯ve been working on Lathani¡¯s issue, hoping to find a solution. While I haven¡¯t found that, I¡¯ve at least got more clues about where to start. ¡°We know that Pure Energy has a negative effect if absorbed by creatures too low level for it, right?¡± I ask rhetorically. I have personal experience of how it tries to consume everything. Although it only consumed my Energy channels and soul when I touched it before, I have a feeling that that¡¯s only because it didn¡¯t have enough time to do more. Certainly, experiments since have shown that it¡¯s happy to consume even stone. A more recent test has proven that it can also consume flesh, but there I found something interesting. I tested with a chunk of meat from my Inventory compared to a chunk from a recently killed creature. The chunk from my Inventory started being dissolved immediately; the chunk from the recently killed creature took a bit of time to show any signs of damage. Combining that with my own experience, I¡¯ve come to the conclusion that Pure Energy first feeds on Energy and Energy channels, and then on physical matter. Why, is still not conclusively established, but just knowing that bit of information is potentially useful. ¡°It seems that this isn¡¯t only an effect of Pure Energy,¡± I continue, ¡°and I theorise that it¡¯s the nature of all Energy ¨C to consume or be consumed; to use or be used. Up here, we are all using and consuming the Energy in the air around; the closer to the Pure Energy we go, the more the balance tips towards the other direction.¡± How does this help us, Markus Wolfe? Kalanthia rumbles, more impatience than curiosity in her voice. It is the nature of the world to be predator or prey; conqueror or conquered. ¡°It is, but at the moment, Lathani is, according to your analogy, the prey in this equation. And we¡¯d like to change that. Which requires us having a bit more in depth knowledge about what Pure Energy is, exactly.¡± The giant leopard gracefully flicks her tail in silent concession. ¡°So, the next question is why Lathani is more affected than she should be. Last time we came through this space, she didn''t suffer poisoning; only I did. So, what has changed between then and now? And why is she alone out of all the Tier ones suffering effects?¡± Do you actually have any answers? Lathani asks. Unlike her calm mother, she¡¯s the very picture of impatience, her tail flicking this way and that, her eyes narrowing. ¡°Some, I think,¡± I tell her with fondness. ¡°But, as I said, it¡¯s important to set the scene of what we do and don¡¯t know. Now, after examining the Energy channels of Lathani, Fenrir, Bastet, Catch, and myself I¡¯ve come to the conclusions that the key factors here are the size, length, and strength of the being¡¯s Energy channels. ¡°Catch has significantly smaller and fewer channels than any of the rest of us. Fenrir and Bastet¡¯s channels are at least double the size of Catch¡¯s and more numerous, Bastet¡¯s more than Fenrir¡¯s. Having experienced some of an Evolution from Fenrir¡¯s perspective, I have to guess that the channels are blasted open during the process.¡± They are, both Bastet and Kalanthia confirm simultaneously. Exchanging a look, Kalanthia continues. In fact, the channels failing to be opened enough ¨C or indeed, being opened too much ¨C are reasons for the failure of an Evolution, or the creation of a weak Evolved beast. I nod in acceptance of her point, storing it away for future reference. ¡°Larger channels which lead to the outside of the network mean more consumption of Energy. Larger channels within the internal matrix itself mean that Energy and mana are more easily carried around the body.¡± This observation is something which has given me an idea for my own development. ¡°Consumption of Energy is also affected by the length of the channels which extend from the body.¡± This was something I¡¯ve been aware of for a good while. ¡°Lathani¡¯s channels are even wider than Bastet and Fenrir¡¯s. If Catch is any indication, that is unusual but in and of itself, not a bad thing. From what I understand, the more Energy a being can absorb and use, the faster they can make progress?¡± I end that with a questioning lilt, looking to Kalanthia for confirmation. That is true, though it takes more than just that to progress to become Enlightened. ¡°OK, but it¡¯s a factor. So having more Energy available is good. The main issue is to do with the strength of Lathani¡¯s channels. I have to guess that on Evolution, the channels are strengthened as much as they are widened?¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Once more I receive confirmation from Bastet and Kalanthia. ¡°The issue is that Lathani has the channel width of a Tier two ¨C or wider ¨C but not the strength or density of one. From what I can tell, the Pure Energy density which she is absorbing into her channels becomes detrimental to her very quickly and starts eating away at her channels. The same thing happens to Fenrir when he enters the cavern below: the density of the Energy there is too much.¡± And the same thing happens to me when I¡¯m closer to the Pure Energy ¨C I¡¯ve found out the reason for the corrosion I¡¯d noticed in my Energy channels. ¡°The reason for Lathani¡¯s poisoning now established, I have to wonder how it happened. And why it affects her mana and stamina rather than her health. I would guess that the whole thing is a consequence of what the shaman did; what I don¡¯t understand is why it¡¯s only affecting her now. I would have noticed if her health or stamina had dropped like this last time we came through.¡± I might not have noticed about her mana since she wasn¡¯t using it, but if it had dropped to zero, there would have been indications of that ¨C nausea, exhaustion, dizziness. Here I notice an odd expression on Kalanthia¡¯s face. When she speaks, I realise that it¡¯s either embarrassment¡­or guilt. That may be partly my fault, she admits. My eyebrows go up in surprise. Not what I was expecting, admittedly. ¡°How is that?¡± I did not consider that strengthening her channels would be necessary. I have been encouraging her to retrace her original foundation, incorporating her new and wider channels within the design. It has required her to¡­extend her channels further, and to build new channels which lead to the exterior. ¡°Ah,¡± is all I allow myself to say to that, concentrating on not letting my instinctive thoughts emerge enough to be picked up by the telepathic leopard. Since it¡¯s hard not to think of something, I focus on thinking of other things instead ¨C like the fact that I have made my own stupid mistakes, and with far less of a justification than not fully understanding what I was doing. Nor am I really an expert here, I remind myself. I still don¡¯t understand why it¡¯s only her mana and stamina which are being affected. ¡°I can see why that might have exacerbated the problem,¡± is all I say, doing my best to be diplomatic. ¡°So, that¡¯s the situation. I would say that the priority for Lathani now is to strengthen the channels she currently has and only work on retracing her foundation once she is able to tolerate higher levels of Energy around her.¡± Lathani doesn¡¯t look very enthused by the possibility. Does that mean I can¡¯t go into the den with everyone else? she asks rather dolefully. ¡°Not for now,¡± I tell her firmly, though with a hint of sympathy. ¡°But it¡¯s not all bad,¡± I tell her, leaning over to stroke her head and scratch behind her ears. ¡°From what I understand, and your mum can say whether I¡¯m right or not, once we get your channels sorted, you¡¯ll probably be even stronger than you would have if everything had gone right.¡± I look up at Kalanthia meaningfully. As long as you can make it through Evolution, she says. Then, perhaps at the pointed exasperation she can feel emerging from me, she continues. Which I have full confidence that you will be able to do. Yes, your potential will be even higher than I was expecting. Lathani doesn¡¯t look entirely satisfied, but she¡¯s less disgruntled than she was. At least she won¡¯t be alone in sleeping outside ¨C Fenrir can¡¯t join us underground yet and Sirocco doesn¡¯t want to. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you have some Energy Hearts to help you keep up with everyone else,¡± I promise. I do not think that Energy Hearts will help, Kalanthia says reproachfully. Have you not just been saying that too much Energy does her damage? ¡°Pure Energy does, but I¡¯m not convinced that what is in the Energy Hearts is Pure Energy any more. It¡¯s worth a test, I think,¡± I say. That then leads to another round of testing to see whether different Energy hearts have different effects. I feel gratified when it turns out that they do, though less pleased when some actually cause more damage to Lathani¡¯s channels. We¡¯ve only just discovered that an odd dark purplish type of Energy Heart is the most beneficial to her with the brown earth-aligned Hearts as the second preferred option when the first group of Evolved samurans arrive, led by my favourite Pathwalker. I leave Lathani with one of the purple Energy Hearts and go to greet the samurans. Upon exiting the vine-stranglers, the group takes an almost collective step backwards. The cause is obvious: Kalanthia. It¡¯s the first time some of them have seen her, perhaps ever. And those who have seen her before no doubt hold strong memories of the animosity between them. River, of course, doesn¡¯t have an issue. She overcame the problems between her and Kalanthia long ago. Iandee also looks relatively unfazed ¨C he isn¡¯t nearly as comfortable as River is with Kalanthia, but he has seen her a few times. That¡¯s a few times more than most of the other samurans. The group of lizard-folk are tense and getting tenser. Kalanthia¡¯s not entirely relaxed either. She¡¯s giving a good impression of being so, but I know her well enough to see the way she¡¯s prepared to leap if necessary. ¡°Alright everyone, enough of that,¡± I say, striding into the space between the two parties. ¡°Kalanthia, the Great Predator, won¡¯t attack you unless you attack her first. And you¡¯re not going to attack her, are you?¡± I ask, pinning each of the most fidgety samurans with a hard gaze. There¡¯s a rumble of discontent conveyed both audibly and through the Bond. I cross my arms, about to lay down the law, then sigh and forcibly uncross them. ¡°Look, I know that you have had issues with Kalanthia. And she¡¯s had issues with you. You invaded her territory. She killed members of your village. Your shaman ordered her cub to be kidnapped and changed in ways that are still causing problems for her. She has agreed not to retaliate because I am the leader of the village. This is your opportunity to clear the slate,¡± I tell them, though throw a pointed glance over my shoulder to make it clear that I¡¯m including Kalanthia in this too. ¡°But if you can¡¯t deal with the fact that Kalanthia lives here, then you don¡¯t have to come here again.¡± Several of the Warriors and Sticks look hopeful. Flower, however, looks like she¡¯s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tamer, why would we want to come here at all? she asks cautiously. I grin ¨C could I have asked for a more perfect cue? ¡°Come this way and I¡¯ll show you.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Six: Did Something Go Wrong? I¡¯m almost finished with my second tour when a blast of emotion sends me stumbling into a wall. It¡¯s overwhelming, its sheer intensity stripping the wave of any specifics. For a moment, I have to use a hand on the rock just to make sure I stay upright. I close my eyes and battle to clear my mind instead of being taken along by the tidal wave. Working out that the emotion is coming from one of my Bonds, I fumble mentally to turn it off, to block everything for a moment. When I succeed, the sudden lack of intense sensation sets me off-balance again, a splitting headache left in the tidal wave¡¯s wake. As I¡¯m still trying to work out what just happened, I feel a touch to my shoulder. Tamer, are you well? I open my eyes and turn my head to see who it is, wincing as the movement makes my headache worse. Shrieks. He¡¯s unsurprisingly concerned. ¡°Just give me a moment, please,¡± I request, sending magic to my head to try to deal with the headache. Unfortunately, it appears that there isn¡¯t anything physically wrong ¨C the pain must be from another cause. I close my eyes to block the sight of the samurans looking around at each other, enabling me to focus on what just happened. Diving briefly into my Core space, I go to the area of the mandala where my Class Skills are. First touching the connections from my Dominate Skill, I quickly determine that the issue isn¡¯t with any of them. Moving over to my Tame Skill, it doesn¡¯t take much longer to feel that none of them are the source of the emotion either. A little puzzled, I gaze at the area thoughtfully. If it¡¯s not from a Dominate Bond, and not from a Tame Bond, where did the emotion come from? Suddenly a brainwave is sparked. What if it was one of the Bonds connected to the sub-Skills of Tame or Dominate? Reaching out, I feel those. Within a short space of time, I have my answer. When I touch my Alliance Bond with Raven, I feel echoes of the emotions which poured through me. As echos, they¡¯re easier to determine. Frustration, fury¡­and a deep sense of loss and grief. Clearly, something has happened. Carefully reopening the Bond, I brace for another flood of intense emotion. Perhaps Raven has got himself more under control, or perhaps because I¡¯m more prepared for it; the emotion that does come through doesn¡¯t threaten to overwhelm me in the same way. But that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s not feeling the emotions just as intensely ¨C apparently, he is. It¡¯s¡­concerning. Opening my eyes, I sense a mixture of concern and curiosity coming from the samurans around me. My guard immediately rises ¨C I might have won the ranking fights but there are very few of them I would be comfortable revealing any level of vulnerability to. Not considering some still probably consider me a ¡®prey-beast¡¯ deep down. What I have inadvertently allowed them to see is already far more than I should have. ¡°Alright everyone, tour¡¯s over,¡± I say, straightening from where I¡¯m still holding myself up with a hand on the wall. ¡°As I said, keep working for the good of the village and you¡¯ll be able to come and meditate in the main chamber for a few hours. Discover or work on something new which will benefit the village and that meditation time can happen in one of the smaller chambers with its better Energy density. Really impress me with something, and you¡¯ll get to be in one of the chambers with the best Energy density. Sound good?¡± I wait only for a couple of tails to swish sideways in agreement, and then continue ¨C I don¡¯t have the time. I need to find out what¡¯s got Raven so riled. And whether it¡¯s going to mean trouble for us. ¡°Great. Take some time to think about it all. If you have more questions, let me know later. Right, everyone back to the main chamber ¨C you can spend a bit of time meditating there before going back to the village.¡± One of the Warriors ¨C Finds-a-bug, at least, that¡¯s what his name translates as apparently ¨C and Windy look as if they want to say something. I shake my head and hold up my hand. ¡°Think about it. Talk together. Maybe you¡¯ll answer whatever questions or concerns you have. If you still want to ask something, you can do so when I come to tell you that your meditating session is done.¡± After that, I turn and start fiddling with one of the pulley systems which operate the doors which block off the various parts of my new underground den. Most of the samurans have already started moving back to the large chamber, eager to benefit from it and those who are still lingering get the message and move off. Except, of course, for Windy. Sometimes I regret giving her a chance after our battle ¨C she¡¯s still a pain in my arse, even if she¡¯s not actually actively fighting against me now. Tamer, I must insist that I have full access to this cave. I am near a breakthrough and can feel¨C ¡°Be useful to me and the village, and you will get access,¡± I interrupt her, trying to be patient even as I itch to find out what¡¯s happened with Raven. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that several times.¡± Yes, but I am so close to making progress that¨C ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± I say, louder and sharper than I¡¯d intended it to be. She takes a step backwards, her spikes a mixture between affronted and fearful. ¡°Look, Windy,¡± I say, quieter but more intense. ¡°Your individual progress only matters if you¡¯re using it for the good of the village. So until you¡¯ve proven that you¡¯re actually useful for more than complaining and criticising, you¡¯re not getting access to this area. This is my home, and it¡¯s my decision on who gets to come in here and when. Clear?¡± She holds my gaze for a couple of seconds, then looks away. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Clear, she responds begrudgingly. ¡°Then go back to the main chamber and take advantage of the time I¡¯m giving you to work on your ¡®breakthrough¡¯. I will be calling a council meeting soon to talk about responsibilities and projects. I suggest you consider things you can suggest during said council which will prove how useful you can be to the village.¡± The Pathwalker eyes me for a long moment, then turns without a word. I can tell by her spikes and the Bond that she¡¯s a mixture between affronted and cowed. Probably not the best combination, but I can¡¯t just kill or banish her out of hand and right now I¡¯m too impatient to deal with her properly. Hopefully the motivation of access to the greater Energy density will be enough of a carrot that I won¡¯t need to work out what kind of stick to use to get her into line. Away from their watchful gazes, I lean against the wall again. Raven? I call down the Bond between us. What¡¯s the problem? I cross my fingers, hoping that he¡¯s near the Pure Energy stream. If he is, he should be within range for me to contact. If he¡¯s not¡­. My eggs have hatched, I hear him say. That he¡¯s coherent enough to communicate with me is a relief. Isn¡¯t that a good thing? I ask carefully. Certainly the emotions washing around him are not what I would have expected on the occasion. It should have been, he answers, grief and anger once more intermingling. This time, I can tell that there is a familiarity to the anger, but I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it. Did something go wrong? I venture, feeling my way through the minefield I suspect is waiting for me to make one wrong move. There is silence on the other side of the Bond. I can only guess that the answer is yes. Can I help in any way? The silence continues for long enough that I start fidgeting. I¡¯m aware that my Alliance with Raven hinges on mutual benefit. My protection of this side of the Pure Energy stream means that he doesn¡¯t have to worry about it but that¡¯s only useful while the eggs are there. If the eggs have hatched and maybe died or something, then that could lead to an angry dragon dad who doesn¡¯t care about anything. Or worse, who wants to take his anger out on everyone around. At least he shouldn¡¯t be able to get at us in my base here: I will admit to considering how to defend against various creatures when working with Kalanthia to build it, Raven in particular. Still, it¡¯s a relief when the alcaoris responds finally. Your creatures. The ones I struck with my mana attacks. Are they well? he asks. It seems like a non-sequitur, so I¡¯m a little confused as I respond. Yes, I healed them up, I answer honestly. Most of them, anyway. Then perhaps you can help, he answers. Come to me. I¡¯d prefer if he¡¯d been a bit more polite, but my curiosity and concern are too great to resist on principle. Not that it would be a good idea to test his patience with him in this mood anyway. Alright, I say. I¡¯m coming. Reaching out to Bastet, Fenrir, Lathani, and Catch, I tell them where I¡¯m going. Let me join you, Catch strongly requests. If the beast¡¯s emotions overwhelm him again, you may be in danger. Bastet says much the same thing at the same time, although hers is less of a request and more of an inarguable announcement that she¡¯s coming. What about the cubs? I ask her. Lathani will stay with them. They need to practise some hunting techniques anyway. She can be a good teacher and target. Despite my worries, I can¡¯t help smiling at the thought. It reminds me to check in with Tarra later over her progress in finding something that might help Lathani¡¯s recovery. I¡¯ve been trying to help her retrace her old mana pathways, but it¡¯s hard going and all too often the progress we make one day is erased by the next. I¡¯m hoping that Tarra will either come up with an answer for why the pathways don¡¯t always stay where they should, or a way to make them stick. Kalanthia is inconveniently baffled at the issue and her suggestions so far haven¡¯t shown any more fruit than my own attempts. Alright, I say to both Bastet and Catch. You two can come along. But you must promise to be careful, and if we have to run, you run with me. Don¡¯t stay behind and sacrifice yourself or something like that. They both agree, but I¡¯m not entirely convinced that they¡¯re being fully honest. Are you going to come up? Bastet asks. No, come down. We¡¯ll go via the underground stream. Out of all my Bound, these two are among the small group I don¡¯t mind knowing about the access point hiding behind rock. As soon as they enter the passageway from the large chamber, weaving through meditating samurans, I close the stone door between us and everyone else by pulling it shut by its rope handle. Walking past Catch and Bastet to the rock wall at the other end of the passageway, I place my hand on the wall and feed earth mana into the rock. It still takes more time to shape earth than I would like, but I have to admit that the process has sped up noticeably since my work with Kalanthia on the den. It probably helps too that this rock has received my mana before; unlike fire, earth seems to remember what it¡¯s done previously and be more willing to do it again later. An opening forms in the wall, releasing a wave of Energy. Climbing through the hole, I seal it up behind me. Bastet and Catch are already ahead of me, the raptorcat jumping down the hole in the floor to land to the side of the Energy stream; the samuran lowering himself down to land on the other side. Time to see what¡¯s got Raven so riled up about the hatching of his eggs. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Only Way The underground journey between our two tunnels is a lot shorter than the overground route. Part of that is because of the shape of the mountain but mostly it¡¯s due to the long and winding shape of Raven¡¯s tunnel. That wasn¡¯t intentional on his part, it was more due to the way the Pure Energy had fed itself through cracks in the ground rock to escape ¨C it hadn¡¯t exactly moved in a straight line. Skipping that tunnel definitely saves us a lot of time. No matter how short it actually is, though, this journey feels long, far longer than it should due to my apprehension about what we¡¯ll find on the other side. Approaching where the blockage used to be, we carefully navigate the stone that sticks out from the walls, threatening to land us in the Pure Energy. Tempted as I might be to touch it again, I know that it¡¯s not a good idea, especially not right now. I¡¯m relieved that Bastet doesn¡¯t seem to be attracted in the same way as before either, though I do notice her sending a few longing glances at the stream as we walk. Past the most difficult bit, it¡¯s not long before we reach the shapes in the tunnel floor which were the very first things I made with Earth-Shaping. The hollow which used to contain the eggs is noticeably empty. Raven? I ask warily. Where are you? Even as I ask the question, I hear movement coming from above us. I look up just as a massive head comes through the hole that leads to Raven¡¯s tunnel. I can¡¯t help but tense in reaction to his sudden appearance. But he only says one thing before withdrawing it again. Come. I exchange apprehensive glances with Bastet and Catch, then move forwards, leading them to the hole. Getting out of it isn¡¯t easy, but we¡¯re used to it ¨C we all had to climb in and out of this tunnel multiple times in the first three days of our acquaintance with Raven. That was when I worked on Earth-Shaping and others came to report to me failures of other efforts. In the larger area above the tunnel, Aingeal¡¯s constant light shines on Raven, his wing protectively covering something. The hatchlings, I assume. ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± I ask the alcaoris quietly. He hesitates, then withdraws his wing. I suck in a breath as the hatchlings are revealed. Similar shock echoes down the Bond from my two companions. I¡¯m¡­pretty sure they¡¯re not meant to look like that. One hatchling¡¯s wings look too small for its body, one side of its body visibly larger and more developed than the other. Another¡¯s legs are mismatched, the hatchling limping as it shifts position. The third is worryingly still, odd growths all over its form. ¡°Raven?¡± I ask again, not sure how to feel. I don¡¯t want to assume that something¡¯s gone wrong, but from the look of things¡­. I ruined them, he says plaintively, nudging at one of the hatchlings gently with his nose. I thought I was helping them, but I ruined them. Abrupt sympathy explodes from Bastet. I suppose if anyone would understand making decisions for the good of her young which might end in disaster, it¡¯s her. I send her a hint of reassurance down the Bond and she accepts it gratefully, then my attention is drawn back to the babies. The hatchling with the mismatched wings makes a quiet squeaking sound, then sneezes, a curl of flame coming out of its nose. Odd shapes or not, I can¡¯t help almost cooing at it ¨C baby dragons, even if they¡¯re deformed, are adorable. But I quickly sober as I look up at the agonised body language of their father. ¡°How?¡± I ask. ¡°And how can I help?¡± He¡¯s silent for a long moment. I thought that more Energy would help them, and they drank it up so eagerly. But yet¡­. It suddenly becomes clear. I know that Raven had been concerned about whatever had caused the explosion which created the area where my den now is. But he had seemed confident about the other two eggs which hadn¡¯t seemed affected. Now, though, it appears that damage was happening even if he couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°And you would like me to take a look at them?¡± I guess. It is most likely a vain hope, but yes. If you are capable of helping them in any way, I would be most grateful. ¡°Alright. Would you like me to start with any one in particular?¡± Raven nudges forwards the hatchling which had shot a flame out of its nose. This one is least damaged from what I can see. She is the most likely to survive. He sounds completely desolate at the thought. Unsurprisingly so, considering how fiercely he guarded them, and how he brought them here to give them a better chance at life. After I exchange a quick glance with Bastet and Catch, they move automatically to guard my back. If Raven does anything untoward while I¡¯m focussing on the hatchling, they¡¯ll prod me mentally until I respond. I then kneel down next to the hatchling who noses at me curiously. A pale shade of pink, she¡¯s about the size of a large dog already ¨C she must have really been packed tightly in that egg. Her build is more of a greyhound¡¯s than a rottweiler¡¯s ¨C probably because she¡¯s supposed to be able to fly. With her wings as they are, however, I suspect that that won¡¯t happen without my intervention. This close, I can see that her face is deformed too ¨C instead of the streamlined ridges of her father, one side of her face looks like it¡¯s been moulded against something flat where the other looks too bulbous. By how her bone ridges are being pressed into one of her eye sockets and are half-covering the other, I suspect that her vision is impacted ¨C if her eyes are working correctly anyway. With her father chirping at her, perhaps in reassurance, I gently stroke my hands along her body feeling for things which don¡¯t seem right. I¡¯ve never touched an alcaoris hatchling before, of course, but I¡¯ve seen her father in many different positions both during our fight and since. I feel kinks in the bones, and joints which aren¡¯t the same on both sides. If this is the least damaged, I¡¯m even more apprehensive about what I¡¯ll find on the most damaged. Oddly enough, though, when I cast an Inspect on her, it doesn¡¯t show anything highlighted in wispy red ¨C the usual indication of an injury. Considering everything, that¡¯s not a good sign. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The Inspect indicates that the alcaoris is a Tier one beast, with the burgeoning ability to breathe fire. Her health is very low, barely more than mine when I first arrived in this world ¨C considering how powerful her father is, I was expecting far more. It¡¯s a similar story with her mana. However, one oddity is that she practically shines with golden light under the influence of Inspect. After I¡¯ve observed as much with my eyes and hands as I can, I close my eyes and try to inspect her with my magical senses. Immediately, I withdraw my hand and open my eyes, blinking as I try to recover my vision. What¡¯s wrong? Bastet asks urgently. She¡¯s¡­she¡¯s just full of Energy, I tell the raptorcat disbelievingly. Not even an Energy Heart was as full as this little alcaoris. Or rather, I realise as I carefully inspect her again, it¡¯s not that she contains more Energy than an Energy Heart, but that it¡¯s far more active. An Energy Heart is remarkably calm. I venture to say that the Energy within the Heart acts like the crystal it appears to be. Perhaps that¡¯s the reason it looks like a crystal in the first place: the Energy behaves in a calm, settled, crystalline fashion, and so the Heart appears as such. The Energy within this alcaoris is not at all calm. Instead, it seems to act more like in the Pure Energy stream ¨C constantly shifting. I don¡¯t feel the same draw to it that I do when I¡¯m near the stream, but it¡¯s certainly reminiscent. The Energy is so in-your-face that I¡¯m actually unable to inspect the hatchling¡¯s body with my magical senses ¨C I¡¯m blinded and desensitised as soon as I try. The other two hatchling¡¯s bodies reveal much the same when it comes to an exterior examination of their physical problems, though even worse. However, the third, most damaged hatchling, is the opposite when it comes to Energy. I¡¯m able to see inside that one¡¯s body with no difficulty at all. In fact, there isn¡¯t even a trace of any Energy there which suddenly feels rather weird. I wonder whether I¡¯ve perhaps just got used to there being so much Energy in the other two hatchlings¡¯ bodies that it¡¯s like walking into a dark room with sun-blinded eyes ¨C I can¡¯t see the light that¡¯s already there because I¡¯ve got used to a much-higher level of light. To test that, I check Bastet¡¯s and Catch¡¯s bodies, looking for Energy. It¡¯s not something I¡¯ve ever tried to see, but now with a comparison of the hatchling, I see that there is a lightness, a presence which I¡¯ve never paid attention to. Like my luminous blackness which I only saw when a deeper blackness was set in contrast. Except, I feel it when I practise Flesh-Shaping, I remind myself. The pressure which surrounds my mental presence. It¡¯s the reason I couldn¡¯t do more than the most basic healing on Kalanthia when she had the tooth issue, and why I had to Bind Lathani when she was severely injured ¨C without the Bond, their internal pressure pushed me out. That doesn¡¯t seem to exist in the third hatchling, though it does in the first two. Is that linked to Energy somehow? Too many questions, not enough answers. I sigh as I shift away from the hatchlings. Looking up at the adult alcaoris, I tell him what I¡¯ve been able to observe. Do you think you can help? he asks after I finish. ¡°Not the two less damaged hatchlings, not while they have that amount of Energy in their system,¡± I answer. ¡°But the other one¡­I¡¯ll give it a go. Can you send me what a healthy hatchling should look like, please? Ideally, what it should feel like as well. Basically, any information you can give me would be helpful.¡± Raven silently sends me as much as he can. I turn to the third hatchling, the dark-coloured one who has barely even moved since I¡¯ve been here, even when I was running my hands along his body. Armed with Raven¡¯s images of a healthy alcaoris hatchling, I start trying to work on his tail. It¡¯s badly kinked where it should be straight, and the arrow-shaped end is more of a ball of bone. It¡¯s certainly not the biggest of the hatchling¡¯s issues, but in the absence of a life-threatening injury, I¡¯d rather experiment on an aspect of his body which isn¡¯t as essential as everything else. Focussing on the first bone kink, I try to heal it, but my magic does nothing. After a moment of thought, I understand why. It¡¯s the same reason why my Inspect came back without highlighting any injuries: the body doesn¡¯t think it is injured. This deformation is normal according to the blueprint which determines the body¡¯s shape and growth. I¡¯m undeterred. After all, I traded my Lay-on-Hands Skill in for Flesh-Shaping long ago. A pure healing Skill might not be able to do anything, but I¡¯ve been using my magic to make weapons and tools out of the body parts of creatures for a while now. I pour in mana, focussing on transforming the deformed section of tail into a straight and streamlined section. A few moments later, I release my focus and look up at Raven. ¡°Well, the answer is that yes, I can potentially help at least this hatchling.¡± I sense a hesitation, the alcaoris observes suspiciously. ¡°Just unkinking one small section of his tail took more than half my mana supply. Dealing with the myriad of other issues he has will be a long and drawn out process if that trend continues, and it might even be dangerous if I run out of mana halfway through repairing his heart, for example.¡± Then you are saying that it¡¯s not possible? Raven growls, though I sense that it¡¯s that familiar anger again. Not directed at me ¨C this time, I recognise it for the guilty, frustrated anger which is far more damaging to the person feeling it than anyone else. I can¡¯t help but sympathise ¨C I¡¯ve felt the same fury eat me up from inside. ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s impossible, but I suspect that you won¡¯t like the only way I can see this working,¡± I tell him, bracing myself. Which is? ¡°You and I are connected through one of my Skills, through a Bond which is formed by our agreement. In this, neither party is dominant. However, I have another Skill which gives me a lot more control over those I Bind to me with it. I suspect that I would be more easily able to help your hatchlings with one of those Bonds. However, even then it¡¯s not guaranteed.¡± What is the disadvantage of this? What are you not telling me? he demands suspiciously. ¡°Only I can release the Bond without causing significant soul damage. And even if I do release the Bond willingly, the longer the Bond is in place, the more damage its release can cause. You would have to trust that I will release your hatchlings at the end of all this. And that they would wish to go,¡± I warn him then wait for his decision. Without doing this, you cannot help my hatchlings? Raven checks, giving no clue either in body language or through the Bond as to what he¡¯s thinking. I hesitate, but ultimately shake my head. ¡°No.¡± The thing is that technically, yes, I could maybe help the most damaged hatchling a bit. But I have far more things to be doing with my mana for my own people that I just can¡¯t dedicate the time and energy it will take to heal him. Not if he¡¯s not one of my Bound. And without it, I can¡¯t even see what¡¯s going on with the other two hatchlings¡¯ internal matrices. I would bet my hat that those are damaged in some way too. And if Raven¡¯s question about whether I had healed my Bound damaged by his Acid Attack is any judge, he thinks so too. What would be your price if I agree to this? Raven asks, his tone measured. Interesting. He hasn¡¯t rejected it outright. Instead, it seems like he¡¯s actually considering going through with it. And it¡¯s a good question: what would be my price? If I put in the effort, I¡¯ll want to see something out of it. I take a few moments to think through the options before I speak. ¡°First, I would like three favours from you that I can call in at a time of my choosing. This is whether I end up being able to heal them or not ¨C I¡¯m going to be putting in a lot of time and effort to help them, with no guarantee that it will actually have any significant effect. Second, when they are healed, I would like the hatchlings to be given the opportunity to stay with me and my group. If at least one of them does, I shall consider the debt paid in full. If not, I would like another three favours from you. Do you accept the price?¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Eight: Some Progress We¡¯re heading back towards the village with the last light of the day shining on us. I¡¯d like to stay at the den for another night but the fact is that I haven¡¯t been to the village since before leaving to bring Kalanthia down. I probably need to show my face, even if I turn around and come back here tomorrow. But I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to do that ¨C I¡¯ve set lots of balls rolling and need to check on where they¡¯re going. Raven needed a bit more time to think about what I suggested to him, so I¡¯m giving him the space to do so. I think he wants to find out what happens in the next few days. I suspect he¡¯s hoping that exposure to the Energy-dense environment might help the hatchlings to heal. Personally, I doubt that there will be much improvement, if any. Too much Energy got them into this situation; why would more of it get them out of it? I mean, ¡®the hair of the dog¡¯ is a traditional remedy, but I¡¯ve never known it to work. But unless Raven agrees to my price, the hatchlings aren¡¯t really my concern. It has, however, made me reconsider putting the danaris hatchlings as close to the Pure Energy stream as I can. If too much Pure Energy has done so much damage to alcaoris hatchlings, creatures who, according to my Inspect during our battle, take more Energy to Evolve and are more powerful for their Tier in comparison to others, are my danaris hatchlings going to be any better off? Of course, I¡¯m not going to be dumping my grubs into the Pure Energy directly, but it does warn me to be cautious and look at how the Energy density is affecting them. I¡¯ll probably end up just leaving them to Persephone and Hades to keep an eye on. They¡¯ve already been doing that while guarding their eggs at both the old den and here ¨C maybe I just need to formalise that a little. With them needing to look after their own eggs, at least one of them has been home at all times which makes them perfect for the role. As long as the hatchlings have enough food to eat, they don¡¯t start trying to wander off anyway ¨C if they aren¡¯t eating, they¡¯re sleeping. As we travel, I take advantage of Tarra being part of the group to get started on checking up on her progress. How is the research going? I ask her though our Bond. We¡¯re travelling in different parts of the group so that¡¯s the most efficient way. And the most private ¨C no chance of anyone over-hearing when it¡¯s a private line between us. Which research? The research for the growth of plants, the growth of animals, or the healing for the Great Predator¡¯s cub. Hints of nervousness come through with the last. All of them, I answer. I don¡¯t blame Tarra for her continued caution around Kalanthia. Despite her saying that she¡¯d consider the slate cleared, I¡¯ve been a little apprehensive that Kalanthia might negatively react to Tarra¡¯s presence ¨C with the shaman gone, Tarra is the only one of Lathani¡¯s main tormentors still living. Though the big cat did narrow her eyes and growl threateningly at the herbalist as she walked into the clearing, she didn¡¯t attack. As always, I¡¯m impressed at her self-control. I don¡¯t think that I could have been able to be as disciplined in her place. At least we managed to get through the tour without bloodshed, which is the best I can hope for. It would be helpful if Tarra has made some progress to help Lathani, though, as I¡¯d be able to present that to Kalanthia as a preemptive reason not to change her mind. I have made some progress, Tarra answers, then pauses, uncharacteristically hesitant. That¡¯s good, I say when the silence continues beyond a normal pause for thought. What progress? It¡­occurred to me that I have previously increased the growth of a creature, she ventures, then hesitates again. It takes me a long moment to understand what she¡¯s getting at. Are you talking about what happened to Lathani? We¡¯re not doing that to anything else ¨C do you know how much damage it¡¯s done to her? I actually stop and stare at her across the other side of the group. My pause makes the others around me have to pull up sharply so they don¡¯t accidentally knock into me. I send an apologetic glance around, accompanied by the appropriate feeling across the Bond, and then start moving again. You¡¯re not suggesting doing the same thing to other creatures as you did to Lathani, are you? I ask Tarra again warningly. Most of what happened to the Great Predator¡¯s cub was not due to my concoctions, Tarra says, not answering my question. I have a nasty feeling that it¡¯s because the answer isn¡¯t what I want to hear. Then what was it due to? I ask, willing to hear her out for now, though wary of her attempts to convince me. A combination of everything. My concoctions were part of it, I do not deny that. But Shaman¡¯s rituals and magic were significantly more impactful, I believe. You believe, I repeat, sceptically. Tamer, one of my concoctions was designed to direct the Energy she had in her system and the Energy she absorbed into her growth and maturity. The other was designed to help her absorb more Energy so that more could be directed into her growth or, when Shaman did her rituals, into her work. Neither of them were designed to impact the Energy system in her body. Uh huh, I answer, continuing to be cautious, though it does sound like the shaman was the main reason for Lathani¡¯s issues. And why do you think any of that might help us with our farming objectives? This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. I have been thinking about your words a few cycles ago. From what you said, part of our concern should be about the resources the beasts we cage will need while they grow. I think the first concoction might help grow animals more quickly, reducing the resources they would need to reach maturity. The concoction might be able to affect plants too if I can adjust it sufficiently. Are you sure that will not cause damage? I ask a little anxiously. It sounds good ¨C indeed, that¡¯s the whole reasoning behind growth hormones: maximising output for the input. But the risk of damage is something I¡¯m very concerned about, especially since having to repair the internal matrices of all my Bound touched by Raven¡¯s acidic mana, and trying to repair the damage done to Lathani. I have tested it on multiple samurans. It was to try to reduce the number of casualties among the hatchlings. I thought that if they grew more quickly, they might survive longer. And? I ask, interested in the results. They struggled to adapt to so quickly increasing size. It caused them to make errors in the forest, many of which proved¡­fatal. Among those who survived, only one has so far made it to Evolved, though it was relatively late for his hatching. Finds-a-bug. He is eleven cycles old now, and has been a Warrior for two great cycles. Your Unevolved assistant with the glowing rocks is another of that hatching. Her rendition is brisk, but I sense the hurt and guilt beneath it. Presumably for causing more deaths among the hatchlings when her intention was to save them. It¡¯s interesting that Happy is one of the group experimented on. Do you think that the concoction you gave them for increased growth caused the delay in Evolution? Is it stopping others like Happy from advancing? I ask her warily. She avoids my gaze. It seems likely that it¡¯s causing the delay. Whether it¡¯s limiting their advancement, I don¡¯t have any way of telling, Tarra replies without looking at me, then turns her head to meet my eyes. But perhaps you can. Me? I ask in surprised reflex, but my brain quickly catches up with her train of thought. Because I intervened in Fenrir¡¯s Evolution? Or because I repaired the internal matrices of most of my Bound? Both, she says briskly. No one I¡¯ve ever known has been able to look at someone else¡¯s Energy system. Few enough manage to really look at their own. I have never been able to help anyone with their Evolution despite my efforts. You have. Perhaps you could look at the Energy systems of the samurans who survived that hatching and see if there is a reason for why they have not been able to Evolve. I¡¯d have to Dominate them to do that, though, I point out. You know ¨C that space where we spoke after our fight and then you accepted my Bond. Tarra sends across a feeling of nonchalance. For the chance to Evolve, I doubt that there is any Unevolved samuran in this village who would deny you. And if they do Evolve, you will force them to accept your Bond anyway, won¡¯t you? She¡­has a point. Perhaps it¡¯s worth taking a look at. It would reassure me if I know that the concoctions aren¡¯t actually causing any permanent damage. Then again, we¡¯re talking about raising creatures for the slaughter anyway. Are they going to live long enough for damage to cause a problem? It¡¯s something I haven¡¯t thought about. Farming as a concept is just something that happens. Farmers raise chickens or pigs or cows or sheep and then their meat ends up in supermarkets where I buy it. Bringing it to the samurans seemed a good way of helping them support what is likely to be an explosive population growth ¨C more hatchlings surviving means more adults, more adults means more demand on the forest resources. Therefore, supplying at least some of those resources through farming which can be done more intensively than relying on hunting animals is a good idea. But that doesn¡¯t take into account the fact that in this new world, every creature has at least the potential of becoming as sapient as Kalanthia, Raven, Bastet, the samurans, or me. Heck, every creature that makes it to Tier two seems to be able to start communicating mentally in a direct fashion, even Fenrir who only does it in short bursts. It adds a moral dilemma which I wasn¡¯t expecting. Chickens on Earth can never become more than what they are ¨C relatively dumb birds which eat, sleep, lay eggs, and shit everywhere. And get transfixed by a straight line drawn on the ground. They can¡¯t become sapient in the way that the killer chickens here probably can, even if they are probably just as murderous. Then again, didn¡¯t those animal rights activists on Earth complain about just this? That pigs in particular have an intelligence level not that much different from children at a certain level of development and that most farming practices even on Earth were cruel? I¡¯d never paid such things much attention ¨C I liked my steak and my sausages and my KFC. I didn¡¯t much care whether the eggs I bought were from caged or free-range hens. Maybe I should have. But regardless, the fact is that the samurans are primarily carnivorous. They¡¯re not like humans who can go vegetarian, or even vegan and, as long as they get the right balance of different foods, can be healthy. The samurans only get about twenty percent of their nutrition from non-animal sources, and even then they can go without vegetation for a prolonged time without suffering significant effects. Which means that cultivating plants is only half the story. Of course, I could choose not to interfere with the samurans at all. I could leave them with their death rate that sees only a handful of hatchlings survive to become adults in every hatching. It¡¯s worked for them. On the other hand, it¡¯s also meant that the Unevolved have been treated like second-class citizens, and left to starve unless they are good hunters or gatherers, or have been lucky enough to catch the eye of a Pathwalker and become an assistant. Who knows how many advancements their civilisation would have made if they were less focussed on just getting enough to eat. Maybe¡­maybe a herd of beasts would be willing to have some of their children taken away as long as they have shelter, food, and safety? It wouldn¡¯t be much different from normal life, but there would be less uncertainty for them¡­. I shake myself out of my musing. Something to consider later when the samurans have been able to round up some of the species which might be appropriate. And that can only happen when we¡¯ve figured out a way to feed them. I¡¯ll think about it, I say to Tarra realising that I¡¯ve left her hanging for far too long while buried in my thoughts. Maybe she realised that as she doesn¡¯t seem annoyed. What progress have you made on treatments for Lathani, then? Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Thirty-Nine: Blockages Reaching the village, I go straight for my work and experimental area, eager to see whether Happy has managed to make any progress without my presence. My discussion with Tarra ended up being both fruitful and frustrating. The herbalist hasn¡¯t made as much progress as I¡¯d like on a treatment for Lathani, but that was partly because she didn¡¯t really understand where the root of the nunda¡¯s issues lies. I thought she would have had more knowledge than she did since she was part of the whole thing with the shaman. It appears, however, that her role was strictly limited to those two draughts. Since she was one of those party to Lathani¡¯s indiscretion over Kalanthia¡¯s weakness, I was able to fill in more of the pertinent details which I¡¯ve discovered over the last few days. She¡¯s promised to see if there are any ways of incorporating purple Energy Hearts into a treatment. At the same time, I¡¯m going to help Lathani work on strengthening and retracing her Energy channels ¨C hopefully tonight if I have time. We need to find a way that sticks properly and not only a quarter of the time. It¡¯s always frustrating to have to redo work, doubly so if I have to redo it multiple times. Outside my hut I find Happy pounding a chunk of glowing metal with the rough hammer I created in my early work with metal. My eyebrows move up my head in surprise. That¡¯s more proactive than I¡¯d thought he¡¯d be. It¡¯s good, I¡¯m glad about it, but surprised nonetheless. ¡°How did you get the fire hot enough?¡± I ask him as he brings his hammer down again. Evidently he hadn¡¯t realised I was there as he jumps, his hammer swing going wide. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologise though with a hint of juvenile amusement at startling someone. It is no problem, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer,¡± he says. ¡°I told you ¨C call me Markus. How did you get the fire hot enough? And what are you doing?¡± I¡­I hope the Honoured Pathwalker does not mind me working while he was gone, Happy ventures tentatively. I gesture impatiently, like I¡¯m swatting a fly. ¡°I mind more that you¡¯re going back to being very formal around me,¡± I tell him with more than a hint of exasperation. ¡°No, I told you I didn¡¯t mind you experimenting while I was gone, so why would I be annoyed that you have?¡± At the question, he looks away from me politely as if he doesn¡¯t want to answer it because he suspects I won¡¯t like the answer. I don¡¯t push ¨C it¡¯s probably tied up with his reason for being all formal again. ¡°Anyway, I just want to know what you¡¯ve been doing.¡± Finally Happy looks at me properly, a hint of blue returning to his spikes. I suddenly wonder if another samuran said something to him ¨C he was less hesitant around me when I was last here. It¡¯s been a few days since then, but that shouldn¡¯t have made him this tentative, should it? I was unable to render the glowing rocks into the ¡®metal¡¯ liquid as you did, but by pumping hard with the¡­bellows? He waits for my agreement before continuing. I was able to make it glow enough for me to change its shape with this tool. I have been trying to make the same shapes as you did with the liquid metal. It was difficult at first, but I think I have been getting better. He sounds very tentative, the feelings he¡¯s unconsciously pushing along the Bond telling me that he¡¯s worried his efforts won¡¯t be good enough for me in some way. Without answering, since I don¡¯t want to give him a glib response, I walk over closer to look at his attempts. The first pieces which he almost reflexively moves to cover are definitely not great by any stretch of the imagination. Misshapen messes, really. However, the next attempts get steadily better and better. In fact, the most recent one, apart from the one he¡¯s working on, looks like a proper spear-blade. There are a few places I can see immediately that he¡¯s struck too hard, but it¡¯s better than what I tried to forge before experimenting with the molten metal. Frankly, coming from someone who only learned about the possibility of metal weapons a week or so ago, his progress is impressive. ¡°Well done,¡± I tell him, letting my pride show through. ¡°You¡¯re really making good progress.¡± You¡­you think so? he asks, sounding almost disbelieving. ¡°I do,¡± I affirm, pushing my sincerity down the Bond. Huh. He doesn¡¯t seem to know how to deal with that. I feel a sudden wave of sympathy for him ¨C what has this village been doing to their Unevolved? ¡°Show me how you¡¯ve been doing this,¡± I tell him. I sense that the piece of metal he was working on is starting to cool, so it needs to be put back into the fire. After all my experiments with different types and temperatures of fire, my ability to sense the relative temperatures of things around me has definitely improved. I¡¯ve also got a better idea of approximately what temperature this metal needs to be to work it either as a solid or a liquid. And right now, this particular chunk definitely isn¡¯t hot enough. Tilting his chin up briefly, he returns to his task. I watch with approval as he realises his chunk of metal is no longer hot enough and places it back in the furnace among the burning charcoal. He then moves to the bellows, pumping them furiously. Tarra said that Happy was one of the hatchlings she experimented on, attempting to increase their survival rates by bringing them to adulthood more quickly. I can¡¯t say I approve of using untested potions on beings who are the equivalent of children. I do, however, recognise that it¡¯s hard to find any other sort of test subjects in this place. Other creatures might not have the same reactions or chances of reaching Tier two to begin with. Plus, the fact that samurans are sapient from when they¡¯re young is a difference from most other creatures here, from what I can tell. Though, she could have at least asked for permission. Again, it¡¯s a bit uncomfortable thinking about this. I blithely benefitted from the advances in medicine and medical techniques without giving a thought to how they had been developed. How many have been killed or permanently hurt in the pursuit of advancement? And not only humans ¨C animal rights activists have been protesting the use of animals in testing of medicine and beauty products for years. Just like those protesting against intensive farming techniques, they¡¯d have far more grounds to protest if all the creatures had the possibility of becoming sapient like they do here. But all of those musings are rather beside the point. This isn¡¯t Earth and a lot of what I used to think and do on Earth is no longer appropriate or relevant. The point now is that Happy is apparently eleven years old, and at the age when more than the single samuran in his hatching who became Evolved should have reached that point. I¡¯d like to see if there¡¯s a reason for it. Seeing that Happy is still busy getting the temperature right, I decide to indulge my curiosity. I open my status screen and allow it to fill my vision. Flicking over to the tab on which I can find the information about my Bound, I focus on pulling up the information about Happy specifically, otherwise I¡¯ll be overwhelmed by the whole list. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Name Species Bond Type Max health Max mana Max stamina Progress to next level Life- span Special abilities
Hurts-his-foot (Happy) Unevolved Samuran Dominate 750 80 370 99% 15 None
Interesting, I say to myself. Two things immediately jump out at me: his progress and his life-span. It looks like he¡¯s only a step away from being able to Evolve, but I remember Fenrir taking a while to actually Evolve after he reached ninety-nine percent. Actually, if I remember correctly, so did Bastet. Not as long as Fenrir, but it still took longer than I expected for her to achieve that final percent. I guess this is what Kalanthia¡¯s been talking about ¨C at Tier two there are certain blockages which can stop Evolution. In this case, perhaps it¡¯s a result of the potion Tarra fed him as a hatchling. It could also be intentional, consciously or unconsciously. His life-span is equally as interesting. When River first came to me, his life-span was thirty-four years, and he was three years old, making his natural life-span about thirty-seven years. Happy is eleven years old according to Tarra, meaning that he should have about twenty-six years left. Instead he has fifteen. Is that because of a variation among samurans? It¡¯s hard to know without knowing my other samurans¡¯ current ages as well their life-span, but it¡¯s something that¡¯s caught my attention nonetheless. Because variation would make sense ¨C there are some humans who manage to reach more than a hundred years old while others die long before then. Presumably the life-span in my status screen is related to natural body conditions rather than catching a disease or being killed. However, what if it¡¯s another symptom of the concoction Tarra used? Kalanthia talked about borrowing future potential for growth in the present when I first brought Lathani back. Is this what she was referring to? Somehow using future years to become more mature now? And, even if my thoughts are right, is it something that is a problem for the use we intend of it? If the samurans are going to kill and eat the creatures they¡¯re raising to adulthood as soon as they reach it, does it matter if their natural lives have been cut short by a potion? I make a note on my ¨C ever-expanding ¨C list to find out the ages of the other Tier one samurans currently Bound to me so I can compare. By this point, Happy has managed to get his metal hot enough to start to work on it again. He pulls it out with a couple of long, rough pieces of metal which he obviously made while I was out. I¡¯m impressed once more that he¡¯s thought of using a basic pair of tongs when he doesn¡¯t even know what they are. He catches me looking at him, or perhaps senses the surprise down the Bond. I did not wish to burn my claws and nothing else seemed to work. ¡°No, it¡¯s great what you¡¯ve done. I¡¯m just surprised that you thought of it,¡± I admit. ¡°Though not wanting to burn your claws is a good motivation, I suppose.¡± He swishes his tail in the equivalent of a nod and then turns back to the piece of metal. It¡¯s curious ¨C his focus has shifted almost entirely to the piece of glowing metal. The more his focus grows, the less self-conscious or aware of ¡®manners¡¯ he is. I¡¯ve noticed it before, though not to this extent. Watching, I see how he pounds the piece of metal with the rough hammer, sparks flying as he does so. Closing my eyes, I focus with my magic sight. I still can¡¯t really see the magic within the metal, not to the extent I can see the magic in fire or earth, but I can sense something there. And more ¨C I sense that something responding to Happy. It¡¯s hard to detect, but it¡¯s like an echo. A fraction of a second after the hammer comes slamming down on the metal, a¡­pulse returns out of it. It reminds me of¡­.something. I open my eyes frowning, returning to watching Happy. He pounds the metal in three strong blows, then lifts the hammer to his lipless mouth, tapping it against his jawbone thoughtfully before aiming his hammer onto another section of the metal. Suddenly I remember what the sensation reminded me of. I remember putting a piece of metal in my mouth ¨C I can¡¯t remember what kind of metal ¨C and feeling like it almost exploded on my tongue, a pulse of sensation expanding from the point of contact. That¡¯s what these pulses feel like ¨C a much, much lesser version of that. Curious indeed. When he finishes, he places the blade onto the floor. From where I¡¯m standing, it looks like the best yet. When I left this on the tree stump, it set light to the stump, he confesses, looking up at me. I nod slowly. ¡°That¡¯s expected. Normally, we should quench the blade in a liquid, either water or oil.¡± I frown, digging at the knowledge I received from one of the stones back at the beginning of all of this. ¡°I think that water makes the blade harder, but more brittle. But I¡¯m not sure whether animal fat will work well enough, and we don¡¯t have the time and resources to make vegetable oil.¡± Looking back up, I meet Happy¡¯s eyes. We can try them both, can we not? he asks, sounding hopeful. I grin at him. ¡°Sure, why not. I¡¯ll add collecting fatty parts of animals and a container of water to the list of tasks for some of your friends to collect. Now, I have a question for you, and please don¡¯t take offence at this or think that I¡¯m accusing you of anything.¡± I pause until he¡¯s swished his tail slowly to one side and then the other, his spikes showing more caution than I¡¯d prefer. ¡°Do you know why you haven¡¯t Evolved yet?¡± He steps back, his spikes flashing with surprise and then shame. I immediately feel guilty for asking the question, but still think that it was necessary. I¡­not everyone in the village is capable of Evolving. The shame intensifies within his spikes. Perhaps I am not meant to¡­.be more than I am. I bite my lip as I feel the shamed despair come from his side of the Bond. I hope I can help him. I really do. And if I can¡¯t help him, then I will change the attitudes of the village to the Unevolved. No one should feel that ashamed of something they cannot change. ¡°According to the information I receive through our Bond, you are right on the cusp of being able to Evolve,¡± I tell him honestly. His eyes widen in surprise, one of the few pieces of body language that our two species share. ¡°I would like to take a look at your Energy channels to see whether I can find any reason for why you haven¡¯t yet been able to take that final step.¡± His eyes widen further, and then he tilts his chin up almost as far as it will go. Honoured Pathwalker¡­. If you can make me Evolve¡­. I will owe you everything that I am. I chuckle awkwardly, no more comfortable with this declaration than I was with Catch¡¯s all that time ago. And that¡¯s a point ¨C I still need to make some time to go through all the samurans in the village to check for defects like his. Realising that I¡¯ve allowed my thoughts to stray out of discomfort, I quickly return my focus to the present ¨C anything else would be insulting to Happy. ¡°I can¡¯t promise to be able to help you,¡± I say to my assistant as I did to Catch then. ¡°I will try, but it¡¯s possible that the reason is something beyond my capabilities.¡± It is more hope than I have had for so many cycles, Happy answers fervently. What do you wish me to do, Honoured Pathwalker? No, Honoured Markus, he corrects himself while shooting a nervous glance at me. Obviously he¡¯s trying to please me while fearing that he¡¯s doing the opposite. I shoot him a sense of reassurance down the Bond. ¡°Right now, just take a seat. I¡¯ll have a look at your channels and try to find out if there¡¯s anything I can help you with immediately.¡± He obeys immediately and I kneel down next to him. Using my tried and tested method of diving into my Bound¡¯s internal channels, I immediately notice something. Interesting. Many similarities to Lathani¡¯s channels. I wonder if this will prove to be a pattern¡­. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty: Expanding My Knowledge Base Unfortunately, I can¡¯t only spend time with Happy. I also have to do rounds of the brood-mothers and find out how they¡¯re doing with the various tasks assigned to them. I don¡¯t need to know about the everyday tasks just to keep the village running, but I¡¯ve set a few more specific tasks of my own and I need to know whether they¡¯ve been accomplished. In the course of this, I find out that two of my more important tasks have been fulfilled: an Unevolved has found a new area with iron ore if the rock he¡¯s brought back is anything to go by, and another has found an area where killer chickens are nesting. Apparently they make nests on the ground in a clump, setting guards to watch out for threats. I immediately act on the first one, rewarding the samuran in question with a bigger chunk of Energy Heart than normal, and then setting him a new task. After all, just knowing where the iron ore isn¡¯t much use ¨C I need him and his friends to bring it back here. ¡°I¡¯ll pay in Energy Heart fragments according to the amount you bring per day,¡± I promise him. Hisses-in-anger seems happy enough with that, his demeanour rather contrary to his name. I have to admit that I¡¯m rather dubious about the samurans¡¯ strategy of assigning hatchlings names according to an action they take within the first hour of their naming day, a day which is apparently about halfway through their first year of life. By that point, usually two thirds of those who are going to die have already done so. While sad, I kind of see why it¡¯s set then. But still, they could come up with a better way of giving names, I¡¯m sure. Not that my own name-giving is much better, though. As soon as Hisses-in-anger moves away, I see him going straight towards another small clump of Tier one samurans ¨C I guess he¡¯ll be organising a group to go and collect the iron ore sooner rather than later in order to earn those promised Energy Hearts. We¡¯re not ready to try to keep killer chickens yet, though I imagine that their nutritional needs shouldn¡¯t be too hard to fulfil if they¡¯re as carnivorous as they¡¯ve appeared so far. Still, I¡¯m glad we¡¯ve found one of their nests for later. Even better, the samuran managed to sneak one of their eggs from an unwatched nest off to the side and I¡¯m able to confirm that they strongly resemble chicken eggs apart from being about three times the size. I¡¯ll do a taste-test later, but so far the eggs I¡¯ve tried have tasted fairly similar both to each other and according to my expectations ¨C a stronger flavour, but not that different. I reward the samuran who brought me the news and then ask him to go by every so often just to make sure they¡¯re still there. I promise that he¡¯ll be rewarded again with a small Energy fragment when we actually make the capture if he does it. He agrees eagerly and then hurries off to start absorbing the fragment. He¡¯s a scrawny thing, his skin drawn close to his skull, his tail thin. I have to wonder how much he got to eat before I instituted the change. Or maybe there¡¯s another reason behind it. Could he be sick? Taking advantage of the fact that it¡¯s not quite dinner time, I walk over to him. He looks up, his gaze wary. Does he think I¡¯m about to take it back or something? ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t get your name,¡± I start, trying to emanate calming and reassuring vibes. I¡¯ve definitely got unpractised at doing this without a Bond between us, I realise. ¡°Breaks-his-toe, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer,¡± the samuran answers carefully, his chin tilted upwards. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you know Catches-Leaves? He¡¯s one of my Bound.¡± ¡°I know him,¡± Breaks-his-toe answers, the colours of emerald envy and turquoise longing rippling through his spikes. Why is he envious? ¡°Well, he had a serious problem with his eyes which I was able to heal, allowing him to see in a way that he¡¯d never been able to. I¡¯d like to check all of the samurans of this village, little by little, just to make sure there aren¡¯t any of those problems hiding. Would you be open to it?¡± ¡°You¡­I do not understand, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± Breaks-his-toe answers carefully. I have a feeling that he does understand it but is playing dumb for some reason. ¡°Will you allow me to check your body for any problems caused by injuries or present since birth?¡± I ask him patiently. If he says ¡®no¡¯ then I won¡¯t argue ¨C it¡¯s his choice. But I want to be sure he¡¯s saying ¡®no¡¯ because he doesn¡¯t want it, not because he doesn¡¯t know what I¡¯m offering. ¡°I¡­if you wish to waste your time on one such as me, then I would be honoured.¡± Is that his issue? That he thought a Pathwalker shouldn¡¯t ¡®stoop¡¯ to something like that? Or that he was unimportant? Fuck. That. If it¡¯s the only thing I achieve in my time leading this village, it will be to teach them that everyone in the village is worth respect, worth concern. ¡°I will need to offer you a Bond, though.¡± It will take too much unnecessary Energy, if not. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Will¡­¡± he hesitates, then backpedals. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Honoured Pathwalker. Please offer me a Bond.¡± ¡°What were you about to say?¡± I encourage. He hesitates then clicks his teeth together in a decisive way as if to encourage himself to speak. ¡°I haven¡¯t yet Evolved,¡± he starts, shame flooding into his spikes. ¡°Would you¡­you were able to help your lizog to Evolve when we could all see he would have failed without your intervention. Would you¡­see if there is a reason for why I have not been able to?¡± I hesitate, surprised by the question. I should have expected it, really. The samurans are less concerned with their current physical state than their ability to become more. I understand it to a certain extent, especially when the lives of the Unevolved and Evolved are so different. But I don¡¯t know whether I can help him. I saw some curious similarities between Happy¡¯s Energy channels and Lathani¡¯s ¨C I want to compare them to Find-a-bug¡¯s channels later. He has Evolved, but I wonder if the hallmarks are still present. But my work with Fenrir was mostly to heal the damage Raven¡¯s acidic mana did to his Energy channels and then to add more fuel to the actual Evolution. I¡¯m not sure that qualifies me to fix just anyone¡¯s channels or work out why they¡¯re unable to advance. It¡¯s what I was fearing might happen after managing to help Fenrir ¨C that all the Unevolved samurans who had failed to Evolve, or hadn¡¯t even got that far would see me as the saviour of their prayers ¨C or whatever samurans do. I¡¯m not an expert in this sort of thing; far from it. Then again¡­if I can help some samurans find a way to Evolve when they would otherwise be unable to do so¡­. Even if it was only ten percent of the current Unevolved who I could help, that would still mean twenty or so new Pathwalkers or Warriors. Add in the samurans who are approaching the age of being able to Evolve normally and we could be in a much better place to face the other villages in two and a half months¡¯ time. ¡°If you want me to look at your Energy channels, I can,¡± I answer slowly, ¡°but the Bond required for that is far more intrusive than the one I¡¯ll offer if I¡¯m just checking your physical body for injuries or problems. To gain access to your Energy channels, I will need to use a Bond which allows me to control everything about you,¡± I warn. He doesn¡¯t look put off. If anything, he looks more resolute. ¡°If you can help me Evolve, I will do anything you wish me to regardless,¡± I consider pointing out that I could use the Dominate Bond to force him to walk into the nest of killer chickens he found and be a meal for them ¨C something I doubt he¡¯d be willing to do without it, but I don¡¯t. Ultimately, I¡¯m not planning on using the Bond to force him to go counter to his desires; quite the reverse, really. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, immediately bringing us into the Battle of Wills. He doesn¡¯t fight against me so it¡¯s over very quickly. I see him startle slightly as he is immediately brought into the network of Bonds and becomes aware of multiple Evolved samurans paying attention to him, if only briefly. I don¡¯t know what he does after that as I dive into his body first, scanning it for issues and fixing the ones I find. He is definitely way underweight for a samuran. I¡¯d suspected it, but it was possible that he was just naturally scrawny. The signs in his body of extended periods of starvation prove to me that I wasn¡¯t mistaken, however. Otherwise, he seems pretty healthy in his body ¨C his thinness is due to not eating enough, not some other illness or parasite, fortunately. I quickly move on to checking his Energy channels. After a bit of exploration, I pull out, a thoughtful expression probably on my face. ¡°Did you¡­did you find anything, Honoured Pathwalker?¡± Breaks-his-toe asks nervously. I sense that he¡¯s fearful that I will tell him that there¡¯s nothing to be done, that he will have to remain an Unevolved for the rest of his life. ¡°I found evidence of starvation which has made your bones more fragile than they should be and put your organs under strain. I¡¯ve healed what I can, and time and better food will have to do the rest.¡± Of course, that¡¯s not what he wants to know about. ¡°As for your Energy channels, I need to look at a few more samurans¡¯ ¨C Evolved and Unevolved ¨C to get more of a sense of what is normal before I can see what might be abnormal.¡± He slumps a little, disappointment flowing over the Bond from his sides of things. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I can¡¯t do anything,¡± I say more gently. ¡°I¡¯m saying that at this moment in time, I don¡¯t know what the problem might be or how to fix it. But we¡¯ll leave the Bond in place, if you are willing, and when I do know, I¡¯ll have another look. Is that fine?¡± ¡°As you wish, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he answers politely but I sense the slight hope he¡¯s feeling. It means that I don¡¯t feel like he¡¯s only agreeing to what I¡¯m suggesting because I want it. ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll contact you again when I feel more confident about knowing what to try.¡± With that, I take my leave and he returns to absorbing his Energy Heart fragment. Whether that will help him or not, I don¡¯t know ¨C looking at his information in my status screen, I see that he¡¯s also at ninety-nine percent so the issue isn¡¯t as simple as not having made enough progress. Looking at the other Unevolved in my status screen, I see that about a third of them are also sitting at the ninety-nine percent mark so it¡¯s obviously a common problem. The other two thirds clearly have more Energy to collect before they can think of Evolving. Spotting two of the Evolved Warriors guarding the entrance to the village, I decide that there¡¯s no time like the present to get started in expanding my knowledge base. Starting by looking at those who have succeeded might help me identify what those who haven¡¯t succeeded yet need to do to move forward. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-One: To Be Useful So you see that while I should be able to increase the size of the plants and animals, I have no way of making them grow faster. And I fear that if they grow too big, the resources they will need will have a poor effect on the surrounding area, Flower concludes, nerves tiptoeing across the Bond as if she¡¯s fearful that I might be angry about it. And it is very much about my reaction ¨C she¡¯s looking directly at me, as are most of the council members. We¡¯re sitting in the same circle as before, the three groups once more represented in equal numbers. Around us sit a number of other samurans, listening with interest. Even the Unevolved are engaged ¨C I guess because now that they¡¯re represented properly, they might actually be able to affect the discussion, if only through an intermediary. We¡¯ve already listened to Sticks¡¯ and Joy¡¯s reports. Sticks has been working with a number of her own assistants to create hafts for the metal spear and knife blades and fence pieces for the fields that are expected to be used for growing plants. The fences will be to either keep animals in or out, depending on the field. We¡¯re going to have to experiment a little with all of that too ¨C I have no idea what kind of fences we¡¯re going to need, but at least knowing the limits of possibilities and creating some pieces to start with should help. Living fences ¨C hedges ¨C are also an idea as long as they¡¯re maintained.. Joy has been working with Sticks on the fence issue, working out what kind of bindings might be possible to create a strong structure, testing different materials too. She¡¯s also been working on creating fabric ¨C even if the samurans don¡¯t really need it for themselves, I figure that the animals might need some shelter in the winter. Even if it doesn¡¯t get that cold here, it does get rainy. That I can already see happening ¨C every day recently there¡¯s been some rain. Most of the time it''s either in the evening or after dark, but sometimes we¡¯ve had a shower in other parts of the day. One good thing about having an underground den ¨C even heavy rain won¡¯t bother us. Not since I¡¯ve built in anti-flooding properties, anyway. Flower is just finishing up her own report. The earlier part of it was that initial experiments with the plants the other samurans have been bringing her have gone well. She said that it seems like she is able to have a significant effect on the size of the plant, or the size of certain parts of the plant, but not its maturity. ¡°Your concerns are valid,¡± I start by saying, ¡°but I think that Tarra has a good solution.¡± For some reason, Tarra looks quite nervous about being called upon, faintly orange yellow flickering through her spikes. I silently prompt her to talk about the maturing draught and after a moment of hesitation, she does. I do note that she leaves out any mention of her testing it on hatchlings or her real motivations for creating it. Is she ashamed of it? Perhaps, or perhaps she doesn¡¯t want to admit that it didn¡¯t work for the intended purpose. Hopefully it will work better for growing food for the samurans. Of course, in the long term, the process we¡¯re attempting to build will rely on the village always having a herbalist and growth-enhancer, something I understand isn¡¯t at all guaranteed. But I am curious about whether each Pathwalker having a group of assistants might increase the chances of at least one gaining the same or similar abilities to their mentor. Time will tell on that one, but hopefully not too much time ¨C I¡¯ve got less than a year here and I want to leave them in a good place to be independent of me and my Skills. Either way, she gets the most important information across, so we next move onto River, the segue a natural one after talking about Tarra¡¯s herbalism. River has mostly been working with Tarra on the experiments and on getting to grips with her own new abilities. She¡¯s discovered that her Poison-Claw ability can reproduce any animal venoms she¡¯s been injected with, though not always at the same potency. She¡¯s now trying to work out why some venoms end up being more potent than others, and whether she can get plant poisons to work too. Initial results are mixed on the latter front and the plant poisons appear to be among the least potent when reproduced. I have also been experimenting with my second special ability: Fire-Herbalism, she says, sounding rather like her mentor in her almost clinical briskness. I have determined a few limitations and that I can do more than just burn things to ash with it, but investigation is ongoing on what exactly. What are your limitations? Tarra asks, clearly interested and just as clearly in the dark. I had the same question so I¡¯m glad she asked. While I can burn both plants and flesh, I cannot burn living matter. Well, that¡¯s a relief, I hear Sticks say. I don¡¯t blame her ¨C it¡¯s nice to know that if we have another ranking fight, I won¡¯t have to be worried about whether River will burn me to ash where I stand. Theoretically, anyway ¨C unless I seriously piss her off, I doubt River will want to do that to me. ¡°Alright, thanks River. Windy, do you have anything to report?¡± I ask the most annoying samuran levelly. Out of all of the Evolved, she¡¯s the one I haven¡¯t thought of anything specific for her to do. I therefore told her to practise with her Wind-Shaping and see if she can find any special uses for it. Apparently she hasn¡¯t had much of a role in the village since she Evolved. She has been useful for the occasional difficult hunt, but being a female is enough to guarantee her a cushy life purely down to her ability to produce eggs. She can apparently also sometimes identify things on the wind like the movement of herds or the approach of a bad storm. She knew about the inferno I created before anyone else ¨C it seems that her knowledge of just how big it was combined with her automatic prejudice against anything non-samuran is one reason for her inability to grasp the fact that I was controlling it. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Nothing I wish to share with the¡­council now, she answers with a slightly begrudging look around the circle, her eyes lingering on the Unevovled members. Apparently her prejudice is still alive and kicking. ¡°I see,¡± I answer slowly. Among all the other reports of new discoveries and experiments, her refusal sticks out like a sore thumb. ¡°Just be aware that access to my den is contingent on you finding some way to help the village beyond just being a female Pathwalker,¡± I tell her firmly. She indicated to me in our Battle of Wills that she desired power. My den is the best option for that, but she¡¯ll have to earn it. I can¡¯t help needling her a little, petty and immature of me as it might be. ¡°It occurs to me that of everyone in the circle, you are the one who contributes the least to the village. Perhaps your complaints about the Unevolved being lazy without the motivation of food were more speaking from your own experience.¡± I raise my eyebrows meaningfully at her, and feel a ripple of amusement come from several others around the circle. The light blue of the emotion shows in several spikes, though is quickly withdrawn as Windy glares around. I am quite capable of motivating myself, she tells me primly though with an undercurrent of anger and embarrassment. ¡°Then prove it to me ¨C and the village,¡± I tell her. ¡°Find some way for you to be useful to the village.¡± She says no more; just glares at me and then looks away, obviously intentionally not meeting anyone¡¯s gaze or lifting or lowering her head to show any sign of submission. I drop it for now, turning to the leader of the Warriors. ¡°Shrieks, have you managed to implement the classes as I asked you to?¡± Shrieks is already fairly busy with his usual responsibilities of patrolling and guarding the village, but I did ask him to do one more thing: to start training the Unevolved in combat. He was a bit resistant to the idea at first ¨C I think he saw it as a waste of time. And I understand that to a point: why train someone who was more likely than not to die or fail to reach Evolved? However, as I said to him at the time, training the Unevolved might help them to live longer, and if they do end up being Warriors, he¡¯ll have fewer bad habits to train out of them. He agreed, reluctantly. I have succeeded in organising a few sessions, the big samuran rumbles. Mostly, I have been asking each of my Warriors to give a demonstration with their preferred weapon. The Unevolved have come to sessions if they are in the village and if the weapon interests them. Not many have come. We have not really started actively teaching, though. ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± I agree. Delegation was a good idea. Having different samurans offering lessons on their weapons of choice is probably the best way to help all the Unevolved decide what suits them best and then improve. ¡°It¡¯s early days yet. But I hope that actual teaching will be able to happen soon. Are you giving them any sort of reward?¡± Shrieks sways his tail in a shrug. The Warriors earn fragments of Energy Hearts for each session they lead. ¡°Well, from now on, teaching can earn them meditation time in my den ¨C I think that will probably be more useful to them than Energy Hearts and would also leave those for the Unevolved who can¡¯t gain much benefit from the Energy levels in my den. Do you offer the attendees anything?¡± Shrieks looks at me incredulously. Why should they earn anything? They are already being given access to techniques which will help them survive. That should be motivation enough! ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I agree, though privately I decide I¡¯ll have to see what the attendance rate is like. Besides, rewarding them in Energy Heart fragments will potentially help them advance anyway, which is a net gain for the village. ¡°When are you holding the sessions? I would be interested in taking part myself.¡± I¡¯m being completely honest here ¨C our ranking fight just proved to me beyond a doubt that my combat style is barely worthy of the name and only just gets me by because I have magic to help me. If I¡¯m out of mana or don¡¯t want to use it for whatever reason, I¡¯ll be in trouble against an opponent who knows even vaguely what they¡¯re doing. But considering I was a soft office worker less than three months ago, I figure that that¡¯s understandable. Continuing to be like that when I have the opportunity to get better will be my own fault, though. Every day when the sun is at its zenith, Shrieks answers promptly. I frown. Are the Unevolved around at that time? I thought that is when they are usually busy fulfilling tasks like searching for resources in the forest. Shrieks gives another tail-shrug. It is when we usually practise. Learning to operate in too-bright conditions is good for Warriors. ¡°Sure, for Warriors,¡± I agree, ¡°but perhaps hold the sessions when more samurans are available? Maybe either just before or just after dinner? I gesture around. Lots of people are here at the moment ¨C it would be a good time to hold a session if we didn¡¯t have a meeting.¡± Perhaps, Shrieks agrees noncommittally, but I sense that he¡¯s thinking about it. We continue onto the rest of the Warriors ¨C who have little to say ¨C and then the Unevolved. These have a few fairly minor issues to bring up with the council, mostly related to the system of assigning tasks and awarding Energy Hearts. I need to work out a better way of storing them, for example ¨C they ran out of Energy Heart fragments while I was away and have had to be rewarding samurans with ¡®credit¡¯ notes. Have I instigated paper money? I ask myself with more than a little amusement. Not that it¡¯s paper money, of course ¨C they¡¯re carefully carved wooden discs instead; Sticks¡¯ work. I need to make sure they get replaced with Energy Heart fragments. Overall, however, the Unevolved appear to be very happy with the changes, which was rather expected. The Warriors and Pathwalkers don¡¯t appear too upset though, despite being displaced as top dogs ¨C or top lizards. I think knowing they will be able to earn special access to my den helps with that, as does the fact that they¡¯ve been given new responsibilities. Apart from Windy, everyone else is more or less enthusiastic about the new changes I¡¯m bringing to the village. Sticks is fairly cautious as are a couple of the Warriors, but by and large, the village is behind me and my changes. Good. After a final couple of discussions, the council breaks up. ¡°Happy, Lathani, and Finds-a-bug, can you come here, please?¡± Time to find out whether the pattern I noticed extends past Happy and Lathani. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Two: Similarities Withdrawing from Lathani¡¯s Core-space for the third time, I find a frown has unconsciously formed on my face. What have you found? asks Bastet. She¡¯s been lying next to me and relaxing while I dove into the others¡¯ Core-spaces. We¡¯ve withdrawn to near my hut ¨C I figured that this didn¡¯t have to be a public display. From what Kalanthia indicated when we first spoke on this matter, internal matrices are personal business. It¡¯s bad enough that all three here are having to share information about their internal matrices with each other. ¡°Interesting similarities,¡± I say both to her and the three I¡¯ve been examining. Happy looks particularly anxious, though Bug ¨C my obvious new nickname for the Warrior Finds-a-bug ¨C is almost as nervous. I guess he may be worried at the thought that something might be wrong which would prevent him from advancing. Unfortunately, it appears he¡¯s probably right. What similarities, Honoured Pathwalker? Happy asks. By this point he¡¯s confident enough to ask questions ¨C more so even than the Warrior. ¡°Each of you has unusually weak channels even if the pattern of channels is the same.¡± There¡¯s silence for a short time. What does that mean? asks Bug tentatively. Is that linked to why I can¡¯t go inside the den? Lathani questions curiously. ¡°Yes, Lathani,¡± I answer her first and then turn to Bug. ¡°As far as I can tell, the first Evolution requires you to build up a pressure of Energy within your Energy channels. This condenses and forms a Core as well as a number of other channels. Failing to form a Core means failing to Evolve. It may not even be possible to trigger an Evolution without that build up. I suspect that weak channels mean that it¡¯s difficult to build the pressure to Evolve as the Energy just leaks out.¡± But I have Evolved¡­ argues Bug, though his tone is more confused than combative. ¡°You have,¡± I agree. ¡°Can you tell me about the conditions for your Evolution?¡± Well¡­I was part of a great hunt at the time. We were gathering the meat needed for the hatching and were fortunate enough to come across a large group of click-grunt-flash of red-grunt. As usual, the name of a new creature means nothing to me, but he accompanies it with a flash of memory. The creature looks¡­tough. I wonder whether it¡¯s a cousin to or Evolved type of a porcupig because of the spines covering its back half and the horn on its nose. But if the porcupigs are like cute baby pigs, this is a wild boar. The horn which the porcupigs use for digging is clearly a weapon here ¨C sharp and about three times the length. The spines are longer too, and the whole creature is far bigger. Spike only came up to my knee with some of his spines reaching a little higher. This one reaches well over hip-height on Bug who isn¡¯t a particularly small samuran. He¡¯s a few centimetres taller than me even. Though I suppose he was Unevolved at the time. Apart from that, the scaly skin I can see looks thick and leathery ¨C probably difficult to get through. They are dangerous prey, Bug continues saying, but they are tasty and very good for the first meals of hatchlings. The better prey they eat in the first double clawful of days, the sooner they can leave the hatching hut and start hunting themselves. It seems like their maturing is linked to Energy. We worked as a team of Evolved and Unevolved and we killed many with remarkably few losses in our own ranks. We were fortunate to have Shrieks-loudly as our leader. Partway through the fight, I felt a sense of pressure starting to build, and by the time it was over, I knew I was ready. I was so excited that I chose to trigger the Evolution as soon as the scouts said that the prey beasts were all dead. ¡°And then?¡± I ask, my gaze on him intent. ¡°How easy was the Evolution?¡± Not easy, he admitted. But is such change ever easy? Mine was fairly easy, Bastet told him. I needed to keep focus on who I was and what I wanted to become, but other than that, I did not have to do much for the process. The Energy within me worked to form my Core and reform my channels. Oh, Bugs answers, seeming a little dismayed. Then no, my Evolution was not easy. I constantly felt that Energy was disappearing like water through my claws. I don¡¯t know how I did it, but somehow I managed to keep it contained long enough ¨C like when I need to hold waste material inside me during a hunt. It left me with little focus to think about who I was and what I wanted to become. My Core came together, and I finished my Evolution. He paused for a moment. It has been my greatest shame among my brothers that my Evolution was one of the weakest successful ones in living memory. Practically no sparks were created after I formed my Core, he admitted. I feel the shame he spoke of rolling across the Bond between us. But not just that ¨C there was hope too. Hope that maybe it wasn¡¯t all his fault? Or that I might be able to fix it? ¡°Well, if what I¡¯ve been able to see in your channels and conclude about Evolutions in general is correct, the fact that you were able to Evolve at all was a miracle ¨C or rather the product of a lot of Energy entering you at the same time. Even a bucket with holes in its base will fill up with water if a lot is poured in fast enough.¡± A what? Bug asks, confused. It takes me a moment to realise that he probably doesn¡¯t know what a bucket is. ¡°A container for carrying water. That¡¯s not important. The point is that I don¡¯t think you should be ashamed of your weak Evolution ¨C you should be proud that you succeeded at all despite your leaky channels.¡± Bug doesn¡¯t look entirely convinced, but he does appear a bit more cheerful. Happy, on the other hand, is the absolute opposite of the moniker I¡¯ve given him. Does this mean I will never be able to Evolve? he cries in dismay. Apologies for my outburst, Honoured Pathwalker, he quickly follows up his exclamation with. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No need to apologise,¡± I quickly reassure him. ¡°And that¡¯s hopefully not the case. We already have one demonstration that it is possible in Fenrir.¡± Then I have to go and hunt many dangerous beasts if I want the chance? he asks, sounding less than enthused. I wonder whether he was one of those who preferred to collect resources than go hunting. Of course, he must have done some hunting ¨C he¡¯s at ninety-nine percent progress towards his Evolution, after all. But perhaps he took it carefully and went for beasts he knew he could kill. ¡°That¡¯s a proven method,¡± I agree, ¡°but not the one I¡¯d like to try. The point is that your channels are weak, and I suspect that if it¡¯s not fixed they will impede your progress later on too. If we can strengthen your channels so you can build up more pressure within them, I hope that the Evolution will basically take care of itself.¡± Happy certainly resembles his nickname a lot more when I finish. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to help me? Bug asks anxiously. I am already past my Evolution. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± I answer with a shrug. ¡°If this method works at all it should work with both Unevolved and Evolved Energy channels. You''ll have more to work on since your channels are more extensive, but it should be the same strategy.¡± What I don¡¯t say is that if he doesn¡¯t fix his internal channels, I highly doubt that he¡¯ll make it to Tier three. Even after a couple of years of being Evolved, he still hasn¡¯t made any progress towards the next tier. Then what does this method consist of, Honoured Pathwalker? Happy asks, clearly eager to get started. I don¡¯t blame him at all. ¡°Well, first we need to find out if certain Energy Hearts are more compatible with you than others. When we tested it with Lathani here, we found out that certain Energy Hearts were actually detrimental to her progress. Then I need to help you find your Core space since I can¡¯t help all of you at the same time. Once you¡¯ve done that, you should be able to use the Energy from the Energy Hearts to strengthen your channels. Bug,¡± I say, turning to the samuran in question. ¡°Once you¡¯ve found your Core space, you can test whether the Energy from the den is better or worse for you than the Energy Hearts.¡± They all agree quickly, clearly eager to get started. ¡°Then, once we have a method that works, I¡¯ll try to help the others from your¡­hatching. If they¡¯re willing to make a Bond with me too, of course.¡± Bug and Happy both look at me sharply. Why them specifically? Bug asks perceptively. I hesitate, shooting a glance towards the central area where Tarra may still be. She obviously didn¡¯t want it becoming public¡­. On the other hand, these are the ones she¡¯s hurt. They deserve an explanation. In the end, I decide to put the problem squarely back in Tarra¡¯s lap. She caused it and I¡¯m already trying to clear up her mess. ¡°Go ask your herbalist about it. If she refuses to answer, though, ask me again.¡± Happy and Bug exchange a glance, Evolved and Unevolved in unusual accord. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get started with checking Energy Heart compatibility.¡± ***** It doesn¡¯t take too long before we manage to find some Energy Hearts which are more or less compatible with the samurans. Happy is comfortable with both Earth and Fire Energy Hearts which is particularly obliging of him since those are the ones I have in greatest quantity. Bug, however, seems more happy with a yellowish Energy Heart. I hope that he will find that the Energy in my den works well, though, since I don¡¯t have too many of the yellow Energy Hearts. I spend the rest of the evening trying to help Bug and Happy to find their Core spaces while also helping to guide Lathani on how to strengthen her channels. She, of course, had been shown her Core space long ago by her mother, probably soon after we came back from the village the first time. Bug doesn¡¯t take very long to find his Core space ¨C the process of Evolution, even if it didn¡¯t go as it should probably helped him find where it was. For Happy, it takes me actually starting the process of strengthening his internal channels for him to find the space. Perhaps it¡¯s like how we only realise we have certain muscles when we over-work them and feel pain. Either way, by the time we needed to turn in for the night, everyone has found their Core spaces and has got started on strengthening their channels. I¡¯m going to need to keep an eye on the samurans¡¯ progress from time to time, and Lathani¡¯s going to need more help as her issue isn¡¯t quite as simple as the samurans¡¯ appears to be. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll offer the other surviving samurans from their hatching a Bond. If all of them have the same issue, hopefully we¡¯ll see a few more Evolutions in the near future, I think to myself. I¡¯m just dropping off to sleep when something jerks me awake. It takes a few moments for my disorientated brain to work out what¡¯s going on. No one else seems to be alarmed except by my sudden movement. There are no enemies around; we¡¯re safe in my hut in the samuran village. Then it comes again. An authoritative summoning from one of my Bonds. It doesn¡¯t take much longer to realise which Bond it is ¨C I remember the feeling from when he almost made me fall over with his emotions before. Raven is calling me. Has someone tried to attack him? I wonder. Who would be stupid enough to do that? I send a questioning feel down the Bond, but we¡¯re too far away for any words to pass between us and instead he just repeats the same demanding summons. I send the closest approximation to ¡®now?¡¯ that I can with emotions. It¡¯s the middle of the night for goodness sake. Raven replies with a third summons, this one even more demanding than the first two. I sigh. Our Alliance does allow for either of us being able to call on the other in need; if Raven is being attacked and I don¡¯t come, then our Alliance will be broken. That¡¯s definitely not something I want. Nudging Bastet, I wake her. Problem? she asks, awake immediately. Maybe, I answer mentally so as not to disturb anyone we don¡¯t have to. Raven is summoning me. Now? She seems as incredulous as I am. Apparently it¡¯s urgent, as far as I can tell. Perhaps a battle, then, she concludes just as I did. Who are we taking with us? I think on the question for a moment. Lathani for sure. Fenrir too. Catch and Pride. We might as well take everyone who came to the village with us, I decide, moving around to wake them all up. Most of my Bound stayed at the cave ¨C even if the Tier ones can¡¯t benefit as much from the higher Energy density of the den as the higher Tiers can, it helps them more than being in a lower density area. We¡¯ll go via the den. It¡¯s a shorter distance and hopefully I¡¯ll be able to ask Raven if he needs the back up of my other Bound. Agreed, Bastet says. I fill the others in on the issue and we quickly leave. Honoured Tamer? Rocky asks. He¡¯s with Tree at the gates, clearly the designated guards for this shift. ¡°We need to return to our den urgently,¡± I tell him. ¡°I¡¯m not sure when we will return, but please inform the other Pathwalkers that that¡¯s where we have gone.¡± Of course, Honoured Pathwalker, the Warrior answers politely. Do you need any additional support? ¡°No, it should be fine,¡± I say quickly. If Raven really is being attacked, the sooner we go, the better; I have reinforcements waiting for me anyway. Then may your route be smooth and easy and your prey beasts fall before you. ¡°Thank you. May the spirits guard you and the village,¡± I respond with the phrases which I learned the last time we left in an official party. Hurrying out we head towards the den, Aingeal¡¯s constant presence lighting our way through the dark forest. Hopefully nothing too dangerous is hunting in the wastelands. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Three: Your Price Watch out! Bastet¡¯s warning is all that alerts me. I automatically dodge sideways. That movement may have saved my life as massive talons slice right through my armour to bury themselves in my shoulder. I shout in pain as they clench like a vice and tug. I shout again in alarm as I feel my feet actually leave the ground. Another set of teeth bury themselves in my ankle and I automatically activate Sensation Management to deal with the pain. Looking down, I see Bastet clinging onto me, her face twisted in a snarl. Catch grabs onto my legs a moment later as Bastet is lifted too. The addition of a samuran is enough to prevent the flying creature from carrying us away. It¡¯s a relief which allows me to get my panicked thoughts under control and actually start to plan. Agony sends fire through my veins as the flying creature¡¯s unsuccessful attempts to lift me off the ground start tearing even bigger holes in my shoulder. I dial Sensation Management up just enough to be able to feel if it gets worse, but not to prevent me from moving. I get to work. Marshalling my magic, I send it to the wounds, using part of my consciousness to direct its efforts to stopping the blood flow ¨C bleeding out will weaken me and my ability to fight. At the same time, I grab onto the creature¡¯s legs to ease the pressure a little. It means that I start feeling like I¡¯m being stretched on a rack, but at least the claws aren¡¯t being forcibly torn out of me. I need to bring it down to the ground. At the moment, it¡¯s too high in the air for any of my Bound to attack. Flesh-Shaping might work, but that¡¯ll take time¡­.fire! Focussing on the fire elemental who is casually bobbing around and lighting up the area, I send it the request to burn the creature¡¯s wings. It takes a couple of tries, but as soon as it understands, it responds in eagerness, as happy to burn a creature alive as it is to burn sticks of dry wood. I feed it extra fire mana to help it out and Aingeal glows brighter as it ascends. For the first time, I have a decent view of the creature which has attacked me. Almost exactly what I would have expected of a pterodactyl, only with a feathered body and wings, it screeches angrily as the ball of fire goes past its toothed beak. I feel it release its claws from my shoulder ¨C perhaps it has decided that I am too dangerous prey. It should have realised that before it attacked: I¡¯m not letting it go now. Gripping its legs tighter even as I increase the magic I¡¯m sending to my shoulder, it¡¯s now the pterodactyl which is caught. The pterodactyl screeches again, this time in pain. Aingeal has set light to one of its wings. It redoubles its attempt to escape, its wings flapping strongly enough to lift even Catch from the ground. He grips onto my legs almost as strongly as I¡¯m holding onto the pterodactyl. A moment later, Catch cries out in pain. I look down to see that Pride has mimicked Bastet and bitten into his leg to hold him down. ¡°I¡¯ll heal it after,¡± I force out, my own muscles starting to protest the length of time under such strain. The pterodactyl screeches again, and then a fourth time, its sounds full of pain and fear now. I didn¡¯t think it possible, but it manages to summon up even more strength, lifting us further off the ground and even succeeding in dragging Pride forwards a little. But with his added burden, the flying creature isn¡¯t going anywhere. Within moments we are set heavily on the ground as it collapses out of the air. Its wings are ragged and on fire ¨C in a short time, I suspect that it will be unable to fly at all. But it¡¯s not completely out of the fight. On fire and maddened by pain, it struggles to its feet. I let go as we landed so it is now free, but still grounded. Bastet releases her bite and I quickly send some magic to that area too, just to slow the blood flow. I¡¯ll deal with both injuries properly after the fight. The pterodactyl lunges for Pride. Big mistake. Pride dodges its attack and bites back, getting a mouthful of bloody feathers. ¡°Don¡¯t kill it!¡± I shout as I lunge forward, meeting its eyes. Dominate. Entering the Battle of Wills, I find that it¡¯s not hard to push forwards. Either it¡¯s not particularly strong-willed or its mental state has been affected significantly by the fight. It would have been helpful to cast an Inspect, but I¡¯ve been rather mentally occupied elsewhere. Stop! I hear shouted at me as I reach halfway between the creature and my starting point. What are you doing? I ignore it, pushing forwards further. It repeats itself several times, adding in some pleading as I¡¯m almost in arm¡¯s reach. And then I¡¯m there ¨C right before the creature. ¡°You attacked me,¡± I said. I was hungry! it replied ¨C she replied. ¡°And I was merely crossing the area to come to the aid of an ally. We both have reasons to be there, but the point is that you attacked me, and lost. Now, you can either accept the Bond you can no doubt feel around you, or my friends will kill you when we exit this space.¡± Have I become too comfortable with threatening creatures with my Bond or death? I didn''t like doing it to the samurans, but I had a good reason there ¨C they were too dangerous to let go. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. But then is that not the case here too? This creature was strong enough to lift me off the ground. She even managed to lift me, Bastet, and Catch when she was riled. That means she could take any samuran and almost any of my Bound. She clearly hunts at nighttime, but what if she hunts during daylight too? The route between my den and the village is going to be frequently travelled. I can¡¯t have a creature picking us off one by one. Sure, I could get her to move away, potentially. I might even be able to create an Alliance Bond just to make sure I¡¯d know if she had broken its word or not. But then if she does? All she would need to do is be more sneaky about her hunts and we¡¯d have a major problem. On the other hand, if I can convert her to a Bound, I could actually have a solution to this problem in the future. Put like that, my resolve is strengthened. Letting her go will only create problems. Keeping her will solve them. And ultimately, she attacked me ¨C and lost. Normally, the consequences of that would be her life, but I offer a different option. I will still be able to fly the skies, mate, and hatch eggs? she asks forlornly, clearly sensing my resolve. ¡°Of course,¡± I answer. ¡°Two of my Bound are currently guarding their eggs.¡± Then I will accept the Bond, she sighs, lowering her head. That¡¯s fortunate as, standing, she¡¯s almost twice my height, though a good portion of that is her neck. Reaching up, I manage to touch her beak and the space dissolves around us. ***** Healing the creature, newly named Ptera, takes some time, but we travel while we¡¯re doing it, so it¡¯s not a complete waste. The whole thing has delayed me a bit, though, especially since Catch and I could only limp until I fixed my ankle and Catch¡¯s leg. Fortunately, neither Pride nor Bastet are venomous ¨C I was rather glad that Fenrir didn¡¯t decide to join in on the fun. He probably would have while I was in the Battle of Wills space, but my warning just before it stopped him. Much as I¡¯d expected, Ptera is Tier two and has one main ability: Lighten. It seems that she¡¯s able to lighten herself and her load to an extent, explaining why she was able to lift so many of us. She doesn¡¯t have any other abilities, but in the end she doesn¡¯t really need them ¨C with her claws and teeth and air advantage, she¡¯s easily a match for most ground-bound Tier twos. And now she has access to a single daily attack borrowed from one of my other Bound if she needs it. Ptera is still hungry, so once her wings are healed and I¡¯ve managed to regenerate her feathers ¨C one more benefit of Flesh-Shaping over Lay-on-hands ¨C she takes off to look for some food. I offered her a carcass from my Inventory, but she turned her beak up at it because of the lack of Energy. I shrugged and warned her off hunting any samurans or any other Bound. She agreed a little sulkily and took off. We arrive at the den not long after. Raven? Can you hear me? I ask as we enter the den. I wait for a response. If he¡¯s down near the Pure Energy, he should be able to hear my words. If he¡¯s somewhere else, he might not. I can. Are you finally almost here? he asks impatiently. I was down in the village, I defend, and was attacked on my way here. Are you OK? Are you under attack? I¡¯m fine. Why would I call you for an attack? If I can¡¯t win against the opponent, neither will you prevail. I gape at the open air, stopping in the middle of the central area. A moment later, I facepalm. Why had I expected anything else from the arrogant draconic creature? ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to need back up,¡± I say absently to Bastet as I continue heading towards the Pure Energy stream. That will definitely be a shortcut to Raven considering he seems to be within his lair. She checks if I¡¯m sure, then, when I say I am, she curls up with the juveniles who came to greet her at our entry. We almost beat you, remember, I remind Raven then shake my head to focus on the topic at hand. What was so urgent that you needed to call me in the middle of the night? I have an answer to your question. And it couldn¡¯t have waited until morning? I ask incredulously. No. I stop dead again, raise my eyes towards the ceiling and ask for strength from the heavens ¨C or the rocky earth above me. Sighing, I get moving again. I¡¯m already awake; I might as well deal with it. Alright. I¡¯m coming. A bit of Earth-Shaping gives me entrance to the Pure Energy stream. I close it up again behind me ¨C I don¡¯t want any curious raptorcat juveniles, for example, finding an open door and falling into the stream. Because they would totally do that, cough Trouble cough. It¡¯s not long before I¡¯m hoisting myself out of the Pure Energy tunnel on Raven¡¯s side of things. ¡°So? What¡¯s your response?¡± Raven shuffles slightly, his eyes fixed on the three hatchlings curled up near his feet. They¡­don¡¯t look comfortable. Their deformed shapes prevent them from curling up in the sinuous shape that their father takes, and their sleep seems restless. They are not improving. I have done everything I can to help them since we spoke, and they are not improving. If anything¡­they seem to be deteriorating. ¡°The Pure Energy¡­.¡± I say meaningfully to him. What? My eyes flick up to meet Raven¡¯s gaze. ¡°They have been poorly affected by the Pure Energy. Being this close to the stream cannot be healthy for them.¡± Raven makes a sound of frustration. Yet anywhere else I take them will be more dangerous. I can¡¯t help chuckling. Raven feels my amusement and affront rolls across the Bond from his direction. ¡°Sorry,¡± I apologise. ¡°I know it¡¯s not a funny situation. But I was just thinking that that is really the least of the issues here. I can easily cover the hole with rock. I¡¯ve done the same on my side, anyway. I have to build in holes to allow some of the Energy to leak into different spaces.¡± Then I would ask you to do that here, Raven answers quickly. ¡°Even if it means you lose your nice Energy density?¡± I care for my children¡¯s wellbeing more, he responds firmly. I can¡¯t help a pang of sorrow going through me at his words. If only all parents were like Kalanthia or Raven in their attitude. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do that as soon as I leave. Now, you said you had an answer for me?¡± I do. He hesitates for a moment, closing his eyes, then opens them again. I see the sincerity within them ¨C and the pain. I know his answer before he gives it. I accept your price. Please help my children however you can. I will owe you three favours regardless of the outcome, and I will accept my children¡¯s decision of whether they wish to stay when they are healed. If none choose to stay, I will owe you three more favours. I take a deep breath. Alright then. Let¡¯s do this. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Four: Quest Is Now Complete I feel the notification come in as soon as I close the ¡®door¡¯ to Raven¡¯s access to the Pure Energy stream, but I don¡¯t immediately check it. Although the actual poisoning aspect of the Pure Energy is manageable with my health regeneration, I now know that it¡¯s the reason for the corrosion of my channels. I¡¯m already dog-tired from being woken up in the middle of the night, running four Battle of Wills, emptying my mana in healing the alcaoris hatchlings, and then shaping stone over the hole to the Pure Energy stream when my mana had regenerated enough. I don¡¯t want to give myself more to do than necessary. So instead I hurry through the tunnel, hoping to get back before the corrosion has enough time to really affect me. It takes a few minutes to start anyway. The stone I used to separate the tunnel from Raven¡¯s lair should work well enough. It¡¯s even thicker than the one I¡¯ve used to separate my own den from the stream. Although there is some Energy leakage with that, it¡¯s really minimal. And since it¡¯s not the Energy-reinforced stone of the tunnel itself, Raven can always use his acid to dissolve it if he needs to get access to the stream again. An idle thought occurs ¨C will the stone I created eventually turn into the same as the tunnel stone once it¡¯s had time to absorb enough Energy, or is the stone a different type entirely? The Energy within it resists my attempts to answer that question. For now, the alcaoris hatchlings are staying with their father. I¡¯ll come and visit them at least once every couple of days to continue the healing process. I¡¯d like to do it more often than that, but it will depend on everything else. Frankly, I feel rather stretched thin at the moment. I need to delegate more, but at the moment I¡¯m the only one who can do a number of the things I¡¯m doing, and I don¡¯t see that changing any time soon. But it is stopping me from working on some aspects of myself that I¡¯d like to improve. There are so many things I want to explore, like trying to understand more about the internal matrix and the blackness surrounding it. Or working out how stamina relates to the other types of Energy. Or the soul challenges I can undergo. I¡¯m also neglecting some of my Bound, I know ¨C I¡¯ve barely spent any time with several members recently and now I have four more all in a night¡¯s work. I definitely need to increase my Willpower ¨C I¡¯m holding so many Dominate Bonds now that I think I would struggle to gain another. I¡¯m fortunate that the alcaoris hatchlings are young enough that their nascent wills don¡¯t put much of a strain on my own Willpower. Otherwise, I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to complete my promise to Raven immediately. And with their Bonds come another set of responsibilities ¨C trying to find a way to heal the alcaoris hatchlings. Frankly, the issues they have going on put Lathani to shame. Not only are they deformed in body, but their internal matrices are a mess. The most damaged alcaoris hatchling doesn¡¯t even appear to have one. I thought that might be normal for just-hatched babies, but the other two proved that to be false. They do have internal matrices, but they are just as deformed as their bodies. It¡¯s like a cat has been let in to play with a carefully-constructed design made of thread. There¡¯s still a hint of the original design, but it¡¯s mostly just a messy tangle. And all of it is absolutely saturated with Pure Energy. I actually managed to go up a few percent to the next level just by absorbing some of the Energy they have in a reverse of what I did with Fenrir. It¡¯s going to be a challenge, that¡¯s for sure. I just hope I¡¯ll be able to properly help them and not just make things worse. Then again, I¡¯m not sure how much worse it could get. As soon as I¡¯m back in my area of the tunnel, I hoist myself through the hole in the ceiling, then quickly exit the Energy room via a hole I form for myself in my own rock ¡®door¡¯. Joining the others in the main den area, I lie down on a pile of plant bedding which one of my Bound has considerately put out for me. About to open my status screen, I fall asleep before I can. ***** The first thing I do when I wake up is to check my notifications. Well, actually, it¡¯s to blink blearily at the ceiling and let my waking mind catch up with what happened overnight. Then I remember about the notification and open my status screen.
Congratulations! You have made progress on your quest! In the course of your adventures, you explored the centre of the Vine-Strangler Copse and defeated its guardian. Upon investigating the guardian beast¡¯s lair, you discovered a route down to one of the Ley Lines of the planet, running unusually close to the surface. You determined the reason for the unusual amount of Energy in the environment and found evidence to prove it. You discovered that the issue was due to two main reasons: an initial blockage by a mana crystal; a subsequent blockage by an alcaoris eager to incubate his eggs in the best environment possible. You recognised that the continued blockage of the vital Ley Line could cause untold amounts of harm, both for the denizens of the forest around you, and others further down the Line. You have found a way to rectify the situation and return the area to its previous state. You have done this by: releasing the pressure on the Ley Line and allowing the Pure Energy to flow unimpeded; mending the broken areas of the physical aspects of the Ley Line and reducing the Energy leakage to a reasonable level.
Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II Quest type: Regional
Objective: Find evidence to prove (or in the event of the theory being disproven, discover) the reason for the formation of the underground tunnels. (complete) Objective: Rectify the situation with the exposed stream of Pure Energy before it¡¯s too late. (complete) Objective: Return the area to its previous state. (complete)
Time to complete quest: complete This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Suggested difficulty: Journeyman Reward: Rare Silver chest (rarity increased due to passing over of previous rewards).
Relief goes through me as I see that all objectives of the quest are now complete. I also notice that there¡¯s another notification waiting for me. With trepidation going through me, I open it. If this offers me another quest in the chain, I¡¯m refusing it immediately. Well, maybe not. I have a feeling that the issues with Raven blocking the Pure Energy would have happened regardless of whether I¡¯d accepted the quest or not, and then we¡¯d probably have just suffered the consequences without even knowing the cause. Fortunately, I don¡¯t have to make that choice.
Congratulations! You have completed all objectives on your Quest: The Vine-Strangler Copse II. This quest and quest chain is now complete. Would you like to receive your reward now or later? Reward: Rare Silver chest.
Accept reward now / Accept reward later
Accept reward now, I tell it firmly. It¡¯s been long enough as it is, though I suppose that¡¯s mostly Raven¡¯s fault ¨C until I could close his part of the tunnel, it couldn¡¯t be completed. A silver light fills the cavern, attracting the attention of everyone still inside. That¡¯s not too many, fortunately, since most of my Bound are either samurans in the village or out hunting. The silver light becomes bright enough that I have to look away. When it fades, I see that there is an old-fashioned box chest in front of me. It looks like it¡¯s made of silver, filigree designs etched into it. I frown as I look at them. It feels like I can almost make sense of the shapes. Like they are some language which I learned long ago and have almost forgotten. Or like they are pictures from an old and well-loved book that I left behind when I was a child. It¡¯s more than a little disconcerting, so I close my eyes and shake my head a little. When I open them again, the chest looks almost normal. Almost. Reaching forwards, I try to open it. And fail. A box flashes up in front of my eyes before I can get too annoyed.
Rare Silver chest. Make your choice of which reward you wish to have. You may choose one (1) option: - Weapon - Armour - Tools
Weapon / Armour / Tools
It¡¯s a difficult question. I bet a system-given weapon would be pretty awesome, as would its armour. And they would be doubtless things I wouldn¡¯t be able to create on my own. Heaven knows I need an upgrade to both of them. The thing is, though, that my current armour and weapons are serviceable. My armour didn¡¯t offer much protection last night, but it¡¯s usually pretty good, and the fact that I can regrow it with magic both in and out of a fight is very useful. If my system-armour is broken in a single fight, there¡¯s no guarantee I¡¯ll be able to repair it. And I can¡¯t be sure it comes with an auto-repair function, though I know such things exist. I can also reshape my current armour to whatever will be most useful. I can change its thickness and how much of me it covers ¨C to a certain extent ¨C depending on the battle in question. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to do that with a system-given set of armour. The weapon option is more attractive with that taken into account, but even there the same problems apply. Unless it¡¯s a self-repairing weapon which also grows with me and can change to what I need it to be, it won¡¯t be useful for too long. Tools, though not immediately attractive, actually seem to be the best option. With more advanced tools, we might be able to create more advanced gear, or weapons. And then it might actually help everyone rather than just me. Of course, it does depend on the tools offered ¨C if it¡¯s a crochet kit or tools for repairing a computer motherboard, it¡¯s not going to be much use. But then in a way, the same applies for the other options. If I¡¯m offered a butterknife or massive broadsword which I can¡¯t even lift for weapons, or a complete suit of armour like a mediaeval knight for armour, those wouldn¡¯t be much use either. It¡¯s a gamble no matter what I choose. Decided, I pick the third option. A new box appears.
Rare Silver chest. You have chosen Tools. Make your choice of which reward you wish to have. You may choose one (1) option: - Blacksmithing tools (rare quality) - Alchemy distillation tools (rare quality) - Beginner rune engraving tools (rare quality)
Blacksmithing / Alchemy / Rune
My excitement rises as I read the first two options, then turns into confusion as I read the third. What are runes? Even as I ask the question to myself, I suddenly realise I know what they are, memories from the knowledge stone I absorbed right at the beginning coming to my aid. Pulling my knife out, I run my fingers over the slight indentations I can just about feel but can barely see. I¡¯ve noticed the indentations before without realising what they were. Probably etched into the blade to increase its durability and maintain its sharpness, these are examples of what runes can be used for. Runes are a sort of physical representation of magic, as far as I can tell. Enchanters use them to imbue an object with a specific magical function. In my memories I see lots of enchanted items ¨C anything from a wand which can spit a fireball and only that, to a pot that boils water when it¡¯s filled, to a tile which explodes as soon as anyone steps on it. Those all used a fire-related enchantment, and the enchantment was anchored with runes. The thing is that I don¡¯t know any runes, per se. Nor, I suspect, do the samurans. If I choose it and the rune tool kit comes without an instruction manual, it will be a waste of a reward. Even a suit of armour which was too heavy but could be melted down to its base metals would be more helpful than that. And it¡¯s not as if the other options are bad. If anything, they would both be perfect for our needs. Better blacksmithing tools would allow us to make better weapons and, potentially, armour as well. Although I don¡¯t know alchemical distillation particularly, I¡¯d imagine it¡¯s not all that dissimilar from the distillation of alcohol. Equipment that could do that sort of thing could potentially expand Tarra and River¡¯s capabilities significantly. But despite myself, I keep getting drawn back to the rune engraving tools. After a moment of thought, I realise why I¡¯m drawn to it. The reason why enchanting was included in the system knowledge stone at all was because it¡¯s considered to be the great equaliser. To cast a spell or activate an enchantment, someone who is able to use magic is required. However, engraving the runes doesn¡¯t use magic, and once the object is activated, anyone can use it. Which would both give the Unevolved something to do, and things they could use. And the uses of runes are pretty much limitless. In fact, one memory which comes to mind indicates that some people think everything that can be done by a magic-user can be replicated by an enchanter using runes. Others disagree, but the fact is that no one can argue that the applications of runes are vast. All three rewards would be awesome and would help the village, assuming that the rune engraving tools come with an instruction manual. That¡¯s not guaranteed, but the fact that it¡¯s a ¡®beginner¡¯s¡¯ rune engraving kit gives me hope. In the end, I choose the rune engraving kit. I might regret the gamble, but ultimately this quest hasn¡¯t made me do anything I wouldn¡¯t have done already, and I¡¯ve benefited significantly just by doing it. This reward is the cherry on the top so if it turns out to be a cherry I can¡¯t eat, I won¡¯t be too upset. But perhaps that¡¯s taking the metaphor too far. When a book full of simple runes appears along with the styluses and chisels, my smile almost reaches both ears. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Five: Fifty-One Days I walk through the samuran village, looking with interest at all the activity. The village is absolutely bustling. Not that I blame them ¨C the biggest event of the year is soon to take place. Tonight there will be a celebration; tomorrow, we''ll be heading off to the samuran meet-up with all the Pathwalkers, and most of the Warriors. I bet that the village will feel rather empty once we leave. It¡¯s been fifty-one days since I completed the quest and the consequences of my choice have been clear. Actually, the consequences of all my choices, frankly. While on first appearances the village is the same as before ¨C still lizard-people walking around a village made of mud and leaf huts ¨C a second look tells a different story. Almost all the Unevolved are carrying metal weapons, for example. That¡¯s due pretty much entirely to the samuran before me and her group of assistants. ¡°How¡¯s it going, Happy?¡± I ask the Pathwalker. Wait a moment, she tells me briskly, never stopping her blows with the hammer. The ring of iron hitting iron is a familiar sound by this point ¨C it goes practically from dawn to dusk. While I wait, I watch her five assistants work. One is chopping up wood with a metal axe, preparing it for turning into charcoal. A second is doing the hard work of crushing iron ore into dust. A third is operating a furnace to transform the iron oxide into actual iron. The last two are operating bellows ¨C one for the furnace, the other for the forge. Happy is rather distinctive even when she¡¯s among other samurans. She¡¯s clearly a Pathwalker from her shorter claws and more delicate skull structure, but the rest of her body is surprisingly strong for one of the magic-focussed Pathwalkers. As a consequence, her maximum mana isn¡¯t as much as it could be ¨C and is significantly below River¡¯s ¨C but it seems like keeping some physical force was an important part of the process. It took a while to heal Happy¡¯s channels, or rather to help him do it for himself. Two multiplied into eight very quickly ¨C having started the process only with the Unevolved Happy and the Warrior Bug, I was surprised when others joined our session. ****Previously**** I look up as I hear more feet approaching me than I was expecting. My eyebrows go up as I see, not just Bug and Happy, but also six others. Given that none of them are already my Bound, they have to be Unevolved. Honoured Pathwalker, I apologise for asking this, but would you be willing to find out if the others from our hatching have all suffered the same effects? I frown. Bug is being surprisingly stiff and formal. When I look over at Happy I see that he¡¯s just as stiff, his spikes carefully free of colour. Touching the Bonds between the two samurans and me, I realise something. They¡¯re angry. No, not angry. Furious. ¡°You spoke to Tarra?¡± I ask, but it¡¯s not really a question. Bug twitches his tail in a short agreement. She was reluctant to explain, but after I informed her that you had promised to tell us if she did not, she caved. And so, I beg you to show our brothers the same kindness you have shown us. He hesitates, and I realise that below the fury is a deep grief and sense of betrayal. We have none other who can heal us from what our own healer has done to us. I understand his grief. I¡¯ve noticed that Tarra is one of those held in the highest regard among the village, especially among the Unevolved. The other Pathwalkers are held in awe; she is held in awe and appreciation. Sticks is also popular as she helps make weapons that keep them alive, but few samurans have been healthy and lucky enough to never need any of Tarra¡¯s potions. Whether in sickness or injury, Tarra has supported the village. To have her be the reason for difficulties in Evolving is clearly a massive blow. There is only one answer I can give. ¡°Of course I will help,¡± I answer, focussing on using Animal Empathy so that everyone present understands me. ¡°But you have to be prepared to be Bound by Dominate at least so I can make sure that the problems you¡¯re experiencing are caused by the same issue that has affected Happy and Bug. I¡¯ll help you find your Core space and then you¡¯ll have to do the majority of the work yourself after that. Is that acceptable to you?¡± ****Now**** Of course, they all agreed. Having a Bond with me was considered a small price to pay for having the chance to Evolve. In fact, for some it didn¡¯t even appear to be a price but a side benefit. I hadn¡¯t realised at the time but for many Unevolved samurans, to be included among one of my Bound is actually considered an honour. I only realised that when, after helping two of them to find their Core spaces, I went to release them from the Bond only to have them object and ask to keep it. ****Previously**** ¡°You want to keep it?¡± I ask, baffled. Please, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer? Flicks-his-tail ¨C aka Flicks ¨C almost begs. ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t it feel like a¡­chain?¡± No? replies the samuran, seemingly just as confused. It feels like a connection between us ¨C and between all the others connected to you. ¡°And that¡¯s a good thing?¡± I ask slowly. Of course, Flicks answers immediately, like it¡¯s obvious. I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to explain that to me,¡± I tell him levelly. ¡°Why do you want to keep the connection? He eyes me as if he¡¯s privately wondering why I¡¯m asking such dumb questions, but then looks away, a sense of self-reproval flicking through the Bond. He opens his mouth, but doesn¡¯t seem able to come up with something to say. Movement at my shoulder reveals Catch coming to plop himself down onto the ground next to me. Pride, as usual, is practically on his heels. Fenrir and Honey come and settle near us too. ¡°Had a good hunt?¡± I ask Catch casually. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Passable, he answers, then flicks it away with his claws. I heard what was going on and thought I¡¯d drop in to help here since there seems to be a miscommunication causing problems. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty accurate summation, I suppose,¡± I admit. The thing is, Honoured Markus, that you are forgetting who you are to us. ¡°A human?¡± I guess. Now it¡¯s Catch¡¯s turn to give me the ¡®Are you dumb? Why are you asking these questions?¡¯ look. ¡°Oh. The leader of the village?¡± Exactly, Catch answers. A Bond with you means a direct connection with the leader of the village. Not only that, but because you¡¯ve Bound all the Warriors and Pathwalkers, it also means a direct connection with all the Evolved. Which, for an Unevolved who is otherwise considered nothing special, is an absolute gift. Plus, your Bound have special access to your den and generally special treatment. ¡°I restrict access to my den!¡± I protest. Catch gives me another Look. Only to the rooms down the corridor, he reminds me. To be fair, he has a point. ¡°But I don¡¯t give special treatment to my Bound,¡± I refute firmly. Honoured Markus, I have run out of Energy Hearts. May I have one, please? he asks, the non-sequitur throwing me for a moment. I¡¯ve already materialised one from my Inventory when I see the look he¡¯s giving me. ¡°Alright, fine, you¡¯ve made your point,¡± I grumble, tucking the Energy Heart away ¨C if he¡¯d actually wanted one, he shouldn¡¯t have used it to illustrate his point. ¡°So basically being Bound to me is basically what every Unevolved wants.¡± I shake my head in disbelief. The difference between the attitudes of the Pathwalkers when I fought them in the ranking fight and the Unevolved now are like night and day. Not all the Unevolved, Catch qualifies. But the most of them, yes. ****Now**** Of course, I did have to release the Bonds of most of those Bound purely to help them heal ¨C I simply didn¡¯t have enough Willpower to hold everyone in the village. Though, I have found that holding the Bond of a sapient creature who actually wants to be there is far easier than holding the Bond of a non-sapient creature. And that in turn is easier than Binding a sapient creature who doesn¡¯t want to be. Just another reason why convincing creatures to accept my Bond because they see it as a good option is better than just forcing them or threatening them. They were happy enough when some of them started Evolving and getting the Bonds back anyway. Though, by that point, as Evolved samurans, it was a bit less attractive anyway. Happy was the first of that group to Evolve, though other Evolutions happened before he succeeded. Much as I¡¯d expected, she was the first Pathwalker in living memory to have Metal-Shaping as a Skill. I¡¯d rather hoped that she might pick up something to do with fire or temperature control as a second, but apparently my help with her Energy channels could only go so far. Instead, I talked the newest Pathwalker through setting up a primitive forge with the techniques I learned from the knowledge stones I absorbed, the survival stone in particular. She quickly formed a little team of Unevolved samurans to help her so that she could concentrate on the actual metal-shaping. I asked her once why she continues to use a hammer, but apparently it makes the actual shaping easier if she introduces physical force to the equation. I¡¯ve tried to see what she means a few times, but as of yet haven¡¯t quite managed to resolve what I can observe in the metal into something useful. I¡¯ve been concentrating on other things too which hasn¡¯t left me much time to experiment with metal. What did you need, Markus? Happy¡¯s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. She¡¯s returned the item she¡¯s currently working on to the forge with her tongs and her bellow-assistant is working hard to increase the temperature of the forge again. ¡°I just wanted to find out where you are on the gifts we are going to present to the other samurans.¡± Although I hadn¡¯t been thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t a surprise to me when I was informed that we¡¯d need to take gifts with us. Apparently it¡¯s a mixture of goodwill and subtle bragging ¨C the better quality and more useful the gift, the higher in their esteem the other villages would hold that village. That would lead to direct consequences of the Pathwalkers and stronger Warriors being willing to mate with those from that village, and indirect consequences of potential trade alliances. However, it is apparently a bit of a double-edged sword. If a village appears too prosperous and with an insufficient number of defenders, it can also encourage a more warlike and poorer village to come to raid or even absorb them. It¡¯s no surprise to me that the villages might be as callous and hierarchical to each other as they are within themselves to the Unevolved. Of course, that¡¯s all significantly changed in this village and for the better, in my opinion. Though I¡¯d say most would agree with me ¨C certainly there have been so many Evolutions that the complement of Pathwalkers and Warriors is stronger than ever. My part of the gift is almost done. I am finishing the last few pieces today. Most of the pieces are now with Enchanter. She indicates with her muzzle the other Pathwalker sitting off to the side. Enchanter, or as I call her, Hunter as her original name was Hunts-a-bug and I already have one Bug in my ranks, really took to the rune carving kit that I earned as a reward for completing the quest. After realising that the kit was exactly what I hoped ¨C all the tools and information necessary to learn to carve very basic runes, I took it with me back to the samuran village. At the time, I was more trying to learn how to do it myself. But then, like with Happy, I noticed that a particular Unevolved seemed to be hanging around frequently when I sat down with the kit. ****Previously**** I¡¯m trying to practice a basic rune for ¡®protection¡¯ in the dirt when I notice him. The samuran who has consistently come to watch whenever I¡¯ve pulled this kit out. This time, he¡¯s not just watching ¨C I see his claw tracing the same rune into the dirt near his feet. And honestly, he¡¯s done a better job than I have! ¡°Is this the first time you tried drawing that?¡± I ask him, surprised. He flinches as if expecting a reprimand. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not angry. Just curious.¡± He eyes me carefully, then, perhaps deciding that I sound like I¡¯m being genuine, sways his tail a little to the side, indicating ¡®yes¡¯. ¡°Impressive,¡± I smile at him, careful not to open my mouth in threat. ¡°How about this one? Try drawing it.¡± I point to the next rune down. This one is for ¡®stability¡¯, apparently. He draws it; even his first attempt is almost perfect. He quickly realises where he¡¯s made a mistake and gives a grunt of frustration. Before I can say anything, he sweeps his hand across the attempt and then tries again. This one is far better. Considering he¡¯s doing it with a claw on the earth, his accuracy is definitely impressive. And far better than my attempts, even after I¡¯ve practised a few times. Done, he concentrates on the rune, then looks from it to the other. I don¡¯t interrupt ¨C I can practically see his thoughts whirring. This one¡­protects, does it not? he asks, pointing at the first. And this one¡­it stops movement? Then his spikes go bright yellow in fear. My apologies, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer. I did not mean to be impolite and ¨C ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I tell him, cutting off his apologies. ¡°I prefer more informality anyway. And yes, the first rune is for ¡®protection¡¯ and the second is for ¡®stability¡¯.¡± I eye him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m just learning about this myself. Care to learn with me?¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Six: A Partnership Hunter had needed some reassurance that yes, I was actually offering the opportunity to learn runes, but then he threw himself into the project. He quickly became far better than I was, and learned to use the actual engraving tools. He couldn¡¯t activate the runes themselves ¨C that requires carefully feeding either mana or Energy into the runes ¨C so I did that, learning about the different effects of different mana types or Energy vs mana while I did so and improving my Energy Manipulation by a level. Since becoming a Pathwalker, though, she hasn¡¯t needed my help at all and has rapidly advanced onto combining two runes together in a basic enchantment, reaching beyond the knowledge stored in the beginner¡¯s book. She has had difficulty getting three runes to work together ¨C and has had more than a few explosions ¨C but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll figure it out. I earned two new Skills out of my own efforts, but with the number of other things on my plate, I decided to give the enchanting over to Hunter as soon as she was able to do the whole process by herself. Rune carving and enchanting is something I¡¯ll probably want to take up again later, but not now. Besides, Hunter doesn¡¯t actually need my aid now. Like Happy, she pulled in a couple of other Unevolved to be assistants, setting them to learn how to carve the rune properly to begin with ¨C perfection really does matter when it comes to runes, it seems ¨C and then giving them more important tasks. As I walk towards her, I see that she has her two original assistants helping to carve runes in the wooden parts of the handles and hafts while she uses an acidic substance to etch them into the metal blades. Just off to the side are two more Unevolved who appear to be learning the basics of rune carving ¨C by drawing in the dust, just like we did when we started. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± I ask her, greeting her assistants with a nod and wave ¨C I don¡¯t have a tail with which to display their usual greeting. They lift their chins in polite response. ¡°Are you and your team going to be done before the end of the day?¡± Yes, as long as Smith completes the final pieces that she is supposed to, Hunter answers easily, not taking her eyes off the rune she¡¯s currently etching. ¡°What are we giving them anyway?¡± As the leader of the village, that¡¯s probably something I should already know, but I decided to leave choosing gifts for samuran Pathwalkers up to samurans. Some short blades enchanted with sharpness and durability. Here she lifts her head and points her muzzle towards my hip. Your own blade was a great inspiration. We anticipate giving each village about six blades between them. In addition, we will give each village one spear each, its head is also enchanted with sharpness and durability, and its haft enchanted with durability. I am still experimenting with a rune combination which will enhance the grip of the Warrior, but it¡¯s not currently ready. Amusement comes through the Bond between us, tinged with a hint of chagrin. At the moment it sticks to the hand of whoever holds it until I deactivate the runes. I smirk at the image ¨C a Warrior trying to throw a spear only for it not to leave his hand. ¡°Well, a permanent sticking enchantment is useful,¡± I tell her warmly, ¡°but perhaps not for a spear, no. Still, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out. Anything else we¡¯re giving as gifts?¡± Many things, but only one other requires my work: wooden bowls made by Wood-shaper which slowly heat the contents. As you know, we don¡¯t eat cooked food like you do, but we thought that perhaps some of our fellows might find the bowls useful. And if not useful, at least interesting. She shrugs with her tail. Even if they find no use for it, the ability to create a magical item which operates even when far from us will send the reputation of our village soaring to new heights. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± I agree, privately wondering whether introducing runes to the samurans might be even more impactful in the long term than introducing smithing. ¡°Will the bowls continue working indefinitely, or do they have an expiry date?¡± Hunter sighs, annoyed regret coming through the Bond. They will stop working after some time. I have not yet managed to power the active runes with environmental Energy. Or not reliably, at least. It sometimes works for a short time, but then explodes ¨C often damaging the item itself ¨C or it doesn¡¯t work at all. She seems rather down about it; I sense her beating herself up inside at not managing to solve the puzzle in time. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine,¡± I reassure her. ¡°You¡¯ve learned a huge amount in a short space of time. You¡¯re doing great.¡± She looks up at me, hopeful turquoise rippling through her spikes. You think so? ¡°I know so,¡± I tell her warmly. ¡°Seriously, this is a whole new area of magic I¡¯ve introduced to you, and you¡¯re doing far better than I am with it.¡± You¡¯d do better if you actually spent some time doing it, she reminds me, the familiar gripe making a smile play at the corner of my mouth. Where¡¯s all that curiosity you had at the beginning? she teases. ¡°Why do I need to do it when I have you to do it for me?¡± I ask innocently. Hunter opens her mouth in a mock-threat. And what if I decide not to help you one day? Where will you be then? she asks, mock-chiding in her voice. I give her my best puppy dog eyes. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do that to me, would you?¡± Hunter holds out for a long moment, then sighs as if giving in against her better knowledge. No, of course I wouldn¡¯t. Actually, in all seriousness, I think I have a solution to the problem you brought to me. Look at this. Leaning over to borrow a stick from one of those practising in the dirt, she quickly and efficiently draws three runes. I frown and tilt my head, trying to see what she¡¯s getting at. You recognise this one, right? she asks, tapping at the one in the middle. ¡°I do,¡± I say slowly. ¡°The binding rune, right? But I thought we¡¯d already tried and discounted that as being useful outside of a rune combination.¡± The binding rune was one of the first we looked at when I first started trying to solve this issue: that without me, all the Bonds we¡¯ve built will probably fall apart. I can¡¯t see them sticking around when I¡¯m going to another world. In fact, I¡¯m planning on releasing all the Bonds I have except for those coming with me when the time comes. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. This means that all of my current Bound who have found that they prefer working with the village in some way will be left adrift. Without the ability to communicate with the samurans, they will probably return to the forest in the best case scenario, or come into conflict with them in the worst case. The problem that we found is that the binding rune only works when it is connecting two other runes. Unlike, for example, the two runes Hunter has been etching into the metal blades: sharpness and durability. Separate, they will still work because neither interferes with the other and even if one is lost, the other continues to work. With a binding rune connecting the two, the effect is combined. This has the advantage of requiring the whole rune combination to be significantly damaged to nullify both effects ¨C and with ¡®durability¡¯ as one of the runes, that¡¯s made harder than normal. However, it does mean that if the whole rune combination is damaged, both effects are lost. But then, if both runes are defaced even without the binding rune, both effects will be lost, so it¡¯s not a big deal. The issue we¡¯ve been having is that we need to somehow create a partnership between two different beings, which is a big step away from enchanting a single item. But I have faith in Hunter¡¯s ingenuity. We did. But what if it is in a rune combination ¨C in two parts. I run her words through my head a few times, then shake it. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t follow.¡± Fortunately, she is far more patient than I am, and is used to needing to slow down for me. We take a single piece of material, so saying, she takes a bit of wood that¡¯s lying discarded from a previous experiment, and we break it in half. She demonstrates. Then, we draw the rune combination¡­over the break. We put a transfer rune directly connected to the binding rune, and an anchor rune on the separate piece. The anchor piece goes to the beast; the transfer and binding runes are held by the villager. She looks up at me expectantly. My eyebrows almost reach my hairline in my surprise. ¡°And this works? Even if the pieces are separated? The enchantment doesn¡¯t break?¡± She flicks her tail in assent. It does as long as the piece of material was already in two parts when the engraving began. And as long as the intention when engraving and activating it was that the runes should work as a whole. It is an odd thing, but a useful discovery I made. ¡°Useful indeed,¡± I murmur, my thoughts racing as I consider all the ways in which a rune combination which can be split into two could be helpful. Could it cause automatic recall of arrows fired, for example? Or allow tracking of others if one piece is held by two people? Or allow for remote activation of another enchantment? Could I be potentially introducing the magical equivalent of dynamite to the samurans? After a moment, I shake my head, more to rid myself of the thoughts than in negation. There is a time to consider those, but it is not right now. ¡°A transfer rune¡­what exactly does it transfer?¡± Communication, ideally. Thoughts or intentions. Like with our Bond. ¡°But if it¡¯s only on one piece, it won¡¯t allow for two-way communication, right?¡± I ask a little doubtfully. No, it only works to transfer thoughts or intentions from the one holding that piece of the rune trio. I¡¯ve been trying to find a way to have thoughts going both ways, but so far I have failed. I eye the combination thoughtfully. ¡°What if you give each pair two sets of runes? So each one has an anchor and each one has a binding and transfer rune?¡± Hunter stopped still for a moment. That¡­might work. I will have to try it. ¡°And there¡¯s no control in this combination either. The one holding the transfer and binding rune half has to just hope that the other being will do what they say?¡± Again, I haven¡¯t managed to combine the control rune with the rest of it. But now you have mentioned possibly giving multiple rune combinations to a single pair¡­. ¡°What are the limits of this transfer of thoughts or intentions? Have you tested the combination?¡± I have, Hunter answers. On prey beasts I borrowed from the Grower¡¯s group, and on my assistants. I raise an eyebrow. ¡°With their permission, I hope.¡± Hunter gapes her mouth open in the samuran equivalent of a glare. Of course. I am not one to do experiments on those who cannot consent. Unlike some other Pathwalkers I could mention. I¡¯d take offence except for the fact that I know she¡¯s not talking about me. Though Hunter wasn¡¯t one of those affected by Tarra¡¯s growth potions, she¡¯s quite close with Happy, who was. I¡¯m not surprised that they¡¯ve talked about the reason for why Happy was unable to Evolve for so long. ¡°Alright, fine. What did you discover, then?¡± I ask hurriedly. The transfer of thoughts and intentions depends on the strength with which they¡¯re communicated ¨C and the receptability of the receiver. My assistants were both harder and easier to communicate with than the beasts ¨C if they wanted to hear it, it was easier; if they didn¡¯t it was harder. However, even among the unintelligent prey beasts of Grower¡¯s, there was a difference ¨C the cyran leader was harder to communicate with than the lesha leader, for example. It doesn¡¯t surprise me that the leader of the herd of cyrans ¨C the same species as Trinity ¨C was harder headed than the leader of the killer chickens. Though they¡¯re vicious and smart when it comes to being able to ambush prey, the killer chickens are still bird brains. The cyrans are far more ornery and I know Sticks has had to collaborate with Hunter and Flower to create fences which stop them from just barging through whenever they like. Other than that, though, the farming seems to be going well enough. Tarra managed to get her potions working on both plants and animals. She did encounter a problem where the creatures that grew quickly held very little Energy which made them not particularly nutritious, but by using Energy Heart fragments in the potions, she overcame that issue. I¡¯m still trying to decide whether or not to let her experiment with Pure Energy in potions ¨C though I¡¯ve worked out how to crystallise new Energy Hearts, they are so much in demand that it¡¯s still a struggle to keep up. We currently have three types of creatures being ¡®farmed¡¯, though it¡¯s somewhat different from what I was used to on Earth. I remind myself to go and check out the farming area again ¨C make sure everything is fine for us to be away for a good while. Still, Hunter¡¯s discoveries are very interesting. I am relieved that they¡¯re not the direct equivalent of my Dominate, though ¨C I would be nervous about leaving something as powerful as that behind when I go. We¡¯ll have to see what happens if she starts using a control rune, though. Tamer, do you have some time to discuss a matter about certain beings travelling with us to the festival? Shrieks¡¯ voice interrupts my thoughts. Sure, just give me a moment, I answer him. Where are you? Upon getting his location, I quickly finish up with Hunter, thanking her for the information, and congratulating her on her discovery. Within a couple of minutes, I push myself to my feet and let her get on with her work. I wonder why Shrieks needs to discuss the party composition ¨C I thought we¡¯d already sorted that in the last council meeting. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Seven: A Good Number Of Improvements On the way to meeting Shrieks, I open my status screen, focussing on seeing the changes over the last three months just to remind myself of how far I¡¯ve come. In the samuran village, I don¡¯t worry about being attacked and there isn¡¯t much to trip over ¨C I might guiltily take advantage of the fact that people tend to clear out of my way to be sure of that.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 16 -> 19 Energy to next level: 34% Energy absorption rate: 70u/hr Energy towards debt: 112% (178)
Intelligence 40+2 (+5%) Mana: 630/630 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 44+2 (+5%) Mana regeneration rate: 1150u/hr
Willpower 67+18 (+27%) Health regeneration rate: 85u/hr
Constitution 32 Health: 470/470 (480) (15u/CP)
Strength 21 Stamina: 130/130
Dexterity 28 Stamina regeneration rate: 280u/hr
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Initiate 9 -> Journeyman 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Journeyman 2 -> 7 * Alliance Fade ¨C Initiate 5 -> Journeyman 1 * Darkvision Inspect ¨C Novice 1 -> 5 Elemental Bonding - Beginner 1 -> 2 Management ¨C Novice 3 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Master 1 -> 2 Stealth ¨C Novice 5 -> 9 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 5 -> 7 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 3 -> 5 Sensation Management ¨C Beginner 9 -> Novice 3 Spearmanship ¨C Novice 4 -> Initiate 5 Archery ¨C Beginner 9 -> Novice 9 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Novice 1 -> Initiate 5 Short Blades ¨C Beginner 9 -> Novice 7 Fire-Shaping ¨C Novice 9 -> Initiate 5 Earth-Shaping ¨C Initiate 4 -> Journeyman 5 Energy Crystallisation ¨C Beginner 5 Teaching ¨C Beginner 7 Rune-Carving ¨C Beginner 4 Enchanting ¨C Beginner 8
A good number of improvements, though admittedly my speed of gaining and levelling up Skills has reduced a bit since I¡¯ve been working with the samurans and not concentrating on many of them. I¡¯ve only earned three new Skills, but I¡¯m not unhappy about that ¨C I have enough to be getting on with as it is. Teaching and Management both seem to be focussing on soft skills, which is not all that surprising considering how much I¡¯ve been doing of that. Management is a Skill which amplifies the effects of Wisdom and Willpower by small amounts per level, essentially increasing my ability to convince, encourage, negotiate with, and intimidate others. Its rank up to Novice increased the amplification and spread some of the effect to my Bound when they¡¯re explicitly working on my behalf. Teaching, on the other hand, seems to be about identifying my student¡¯s starting point and then going from there to transmit a new idea. I can imagine it synergising pretty well with Management when convincing others, though. Energy Crystallisation is a different matter ¨C I earned that by working out how to use the Pure Energy stream to crystallise new Energy Hearts. Its main benefit is that it gives me a five percent chance per level of being able to choose the element-affinity of the crystallised Heart, useful considering what I learned about how certain Energy Hearts can actually damage the internal matrix of my people. Still, my continued practice of Fire-Shaping and Earth-Shaping has seen them go up quite a few levels, Earth-Shaping showing just how much I¡¯ve used it recently by managing to rank up to Journeyman. The changes there weren¡¯t major, mostly just improving on what I was already able to do. There was a bit of a warning that I need to slow down with that a bit, though ¨C apparently I need to develop my relationship better with the ¡®Earth¡¯ if I want to advance further. I have a feeling progress there is going to be slow. Fade also jumped up to Journeyman and gave me a great upgrade ¨C I can now use the dark-vision without needing to use the stealth aspects of Fade. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A few experiments with Sensation Management on what exactly it can affect has helped with that one too. Inspect definitely levels more slowly than the individual Skills would have ¨C I¡¯ve been using it regularly but haven¡¯t seen it even manage to rank up to Initiate. I¡¯m quite proud of the two levels I¡¯ve got in Energy Manipulation, though. The first was due to my work with Energy channels of others, but the second was when I worked out how to extend my own Energy channels¡­.and give myself points in Wisdom. *****Previously***** Inside my Core space, I tug at the Energy within my channels. It wants to move, to flow towards the shining light of my Core, or the other way, out of my internal matrix completely. But I don¡¯t let it. I remember back to when I increased my Wisdom on a level up ¨C and only that. How the Energy flowed through my internal matrix, going all the way to the ends of my channels and then rebounding to hit my Core, before rebounding again, like a trapped wave. How small parts drifted into the black space in which my internal matrix is situated, binding with something inside me. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll manage to do that bit, but if I can control my Energy to move like a wave, extending my channels a little each time, that ought to do something, oughtn¡¯t it? At first it¡¯s hard, near to impossible. The Energy doesn¡¯t want to heed me, doesn¡¯t want to do what I want it to do ¨C only follow its natural inclinations. I try preventing it from exiting my channels, pushing it back towards my Core, and then stopping it from entering there either, causing a rebound. It seems to work for a time, but the Energy just slows over that time, finally settling into my Energy channels with complacency, all of its movement gone. Maybe I need to use more Energy? Maybe it didn¡¯t have enough volume to it? I try just that, pulling a whole chunk of Energy from my store. This time, even preventing the Energy from escaping my system is almost more than I can manage. Pushing it back towards my Core is like trying to move a mountain with my bare hands. But I refuse to let it escape. Setting my will against that of the Energy, I stubbornly refuse to give ground. And my mulish stubbornness works. The Energy reverses course; returns to my Core. There, I do the same, preventing it from entering my Core. This time is very slightly easier. I keep repeating the same actions, finding, interestingly enough, that momentum doesn¡¯t work the same way in this space as in reality. Speed doesn¡¯t give the Energy any more force; if anything, it¡¯s the reverse. As if the mass of Energy is getting with the programme, I start needing to use less and less force to have it reverse direction. I start letting it extend just a little beyond my Energy channels, hope kindling in my heart. And my hope proves fruitful ¨C the Energy which extends past my channels actually leaves a little of itself behind. By the time the Energy starts losing its speed again, my channels are noticeably longer. I pull out of my Core space with satisfaction rushing through me. That satisfaction is joined by exhilaration when I see the small change to my status screen ¨C I¡¯ve gained a point in Wisdom! This changes everything. Then I see just how much Energy I lost. Well. Maybe not everything. Twenty-five percent of my Energy store is a bit much to spend on a single point. Even if I take into account the fact that I used a bit in my first attempt, that probably still means at least twenty percent per point. Since I get six points per level-up, that means artificially giving myself Wisdom points is currently less efficient than just gathering enough Energy to level up. I still want to explore it a bit, maybe learn how to do it with the other stats. Maybe with practice the Energy required will go down. Or maybe at higher levels when each percent takes a lot more to earn, this method will become more efficient. *****Now***** On the other hand, at least working with the samurans has helped me increase my more Class-relevant Skills like Dominate, Tame, and Animal Empathy. And, of course, my weapons Skills. Even Shrieks has been forced to admit that running weapons lessons and sparring sessions for more than just the Warriors has been a good idea. Even some of the Pathwalkers have joined. River, of course ¨C she¡¯s been with me for long enough to be convinced that relying on magic alone is not a good idea. Flower was the next to come, surprisingly, and then Joy. Tarra has joined for a few sessions, but not regularly. Once they Evolved, Happy, Dusty, and Hunter all continued the regular attendance they had had as Unevolved. Only Windy and Sticks have passed up the opportunity. Of my non-village Bound, Bastet and Lathani have been the only regular attendees, bringing the cubs with them more often than not. Not that they¡¯re really cubs anymore ¨C and Trouble¡¯s tendency to cause mayhem has only grown with him. In fact, I have a feeling that Bastet is itching to kick him out now and I wouldn¡¯t blame her. It might be time to give the young raptorcats the choice of a Bond but I¡¯d best check with her first. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± I ask Shrieks as I find him at the main gate on the down-valley side of the village. ¡°I thought we¡¯d already made all the necessary decisions on this matter.¡± I recently visited your den to meditate, he starts briskly. When I emerged¡­ he grimaces, his spikes touched with an uncharacteristic hint of yellow, the Great Predator took pains to inform me that she would be coming with us. I can¡¯t help it: I gape at Shrieks. ¡°Kalanthia is intending on travelling with us¡­to a festival of samurans?¡± Apparently so. I¡­did not feel able to argue with her. Perhaps you could try to make her see reason? he requests politely. Honestly, I¡¯m a bit sad to have missed it. Shrieks always gives off this feeling of being impossible to intimidate; seeing him try to keep his cool even while Kalanthia is crouching over him must have been a sight. That said, I don¡¯t blame him for not wanting to argue. ¡°I will talk to her, but I don¡¯t promise to succeed in talking her out of it,¡± I tell him cautiously. ¡°She¡¯s a friend, not one of my Bound. I don¡¯t actually have any control over her.¡± Unless I threatened to cut off her access to the higher Energy density. But considering that she¡¯s far better than I am at Earth-shaping, all she¡¯d need to do would be to create her own access point. I understand, Shrieks answers, but I fear that if the Great Predator travels with our party, we will arrive at the festival too shaken to give a good impression. And it cannot be good for the eggs when we return either. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to her,¡± I reiterate. ¡°Is there anything else you¡¯d like to talk about? Is everything going well with the preparations to leave?¡± It is all well and we will be ready for tomorrow. Fortunately, we have enough Warriors now for me to feel comfortable with both the strength we can bring with us and what we leave behind. He sways his tail gently from side to side in amazement. If you had asked me when you first arrived in this village if I thought we could more than double our Warrior numbers within three moon cycles, I would have thought you had been drinking too much tarash. If you then said that you would add four more Pathwalkers to our numbers, in addition to Pathwalker River, I would have thought you completely addled even without the help of tarash. As it is, though¡­. He sways his tail again in wonder. We exchange a few things before I take my leave ¨C I¡¯d better see Kalanthia sooner rather than later. He¡¯s right that the village is in a much better position than it was when I first arrived; I can¡¯t deny that my own efforts have been a major part of that. After I finish the conversation with Shrieks and start jogging in the direction of my den, I find myself considering it. To be fair, when I started healing the samurans, I didn¡¯t realise just how much I would be able to help them. Although I¡¯ve managed to correct most of their physical problems ¨C remnants of injuries, for the most part ¨C when it came to their Energy channels, Happy was just the tip of the iceberg. As it turned out, the main reason for samurans reaching ninety-nine percent progress towards Tier two, and then never actually Evolving, was an issue with their Energy channels ¨C Happy¡¯s issue. The second biggest reason was due to a mismatch between their Energy channels and body in some way ¨C Fenrir¡¯s issue. After Happy Evolved, I found I was inundated with requests from other samurans for help. They had seen me interfere in Fenrir¡¯s Evolution and correct it, and had then seen me enable the Evolution of one of their own. It makes me uncomfortable whenever I hear it, but there have been whispered questions of whether I am one of the Great Spirits, come down to earth to bless the village after the betrayal and death of their shaman. I haven¡¯t been able to help everyone. Some are at the point of Evolution, yet I can¡¯t see what¡¯s holding them back. Others aren¡¯t yet on the point of Evolution. Some I haven¡¯t got to yet ¨C healing Energy channels is a painstaking and slow process. But I have been able to help twenty-three samurans to become Warriors, and Happy, Hunter, Dusty, and Yells to become Pathwalkers. Yells, aka Reflection, was a bit of a surprise. Once the Unevolved who first informed River what was going on in the village with the samuran, she is now the village¡¯s most recent Pathwalker. In fact, she only Evolved a few days ago so is still getting her feet under herself. Her magic is rather odd, though. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Eight: Troublesome *****Previously***** ¡°May I use Inspect on you?¡± I ask as the newest Pathwalker finishes her Evolution. I¡¯ve been itching to find out ever since the sparks started to dim, but I¡¯ve managed not to ask until she¡¯s had a bit of time to reaccustomed herself to her new body. She¡¯s very slim, even by Pathwalker standards, and short too. If experience indicates anything, she should have a lot of mana to spend. Of course, she answers, her clicks and grunts noticeably lighter. I cast Inspect, closing my eyes as the results filter back in. Making them appear before me, I interpret them for the new Pathwalker and the others standing around us, as eager to know as I am. ¡°Well, you have a lot of mana,¡± I tell her thoughtfully, my guess confirmed. ¡°More than River, even.¡± That¡¯s a surprise as River previously had the largest mana pool among the Pathwalkers, not knocked off that pedestal even by Happy and Hunter¡¯s Evolutions. ¡°But you¡¯ve got practically no stamina and your health pool is very small too.¡± I look at her in concern. ¡°You need to be careful.¡± She has less health even than me ¨C only three hundred units of it. For a Tier two with no healing abilities, that¡¯s worrying. ¡°As for your special Abilities¡­¡± I frown, pulling up the information I received from Inspect. ¡°You have one called Reflect, and another called Enhance.¡± That seems accurate, comments Yells thoughtfully. Then she looks up at me. Throw something at me, she requests. I frown in confusion. ¡°What? Like a rock?¡± She sways her tail back and forth in their version of a shrug. That will do well enough. I eye her carefully. I suppose that if I don¡¯t throw it hard, it shouldn¡¯t do any damage that I can¡¯t heal. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, picking up a rock from the ground. I toss it gently towards her, aiming to tap her shoulder. She lifts her hand and the rock bounces off, returning back to me with more force than I would have expected it to considering it hit flesh. Again, she says. I comply and the rock bounces off her palm again. This time, the rock almost makes it halfway between us. Again, but this time put some force behind it, please, Yells asks. I hesitate, but then remind myself that I can heal her afterwards if necessary. I don¡¯t use full force, but I do put enough behind it to cause a heavy bruise. This time when the rock bounces back, I¡¯m barely fast enough to avoid it. In my surprise, my eyebrows almost disappear into my hairline ¨C finally regrown after the Red Skull incident due to Raven¡¯s acidic mana. A shout of pain does ring out, but from behind me, not from Yells. My apologies, Yells calls to the injured samuran, wincing. After quickly healing the damage caused by the rock ¨C which somehow managed to embed itself into the unprepared Unevolved¡¯s shoulder ¨C I look up at Yells. ¡°What was that?¡± *****Now***** As it turns out, Yells¡¯ new abilities are both very powerful, and very restricted. She¡¯s almost solely good at combat but she has the potential to be very, very good. I, along with most of the other Pathwalkers, managed to beat her in a fight, but I suspect that as she becomes better with her abilities, that will become more and more difficult. In essence, her ability to reflect is just that. It¡¯s like she can hold a mirror up which rebounds any attack on her, both physical and magical. The stronger the attack, the more of her mana it takes to reflect it. Apparently she can choose not to reflect the whole attack, but then she risks getting hit by some of it. Enhance is also very simple: she can choose to dedicate more mana into the reflection and actually multiply its damage. It makes her a very difficult opponent to land a blow on ¨C for a time. It¡¯s good for her that she has a high mana pool as she needs it to have a chance of outlasting her opponent. It means she will have to become a very strategic and agile fighter, aware of which attacks she wants to avoid, reflect, and enhance. She also needs to be very aware of her environment as her Reflection doesn¡¯t do anything to undirected environmental effects. Joy managed to trip her up and pin her down by baiting her to move onto a prepared mat which the older samuran then wove around her. Flower was able to do something similar. Windy and Tarra also managed to win against her, the former creating a tornado around her and pulling the air from around her head. Since it wasn¡¯t a direct attack, Yells wasn¡¯t able to do anything about it and suffocated. Similarly, Tarra threw enough capsules containing poisonous gas that Yells was overcome. Sticks lost, though ¨C her trick of throwing a bunch of roots to grow definitely backfired on her. Literally. She got wrapped up in her own roots which, though she was able to cancel the effect making them grow, was enough distraction to let Yells get in close and knock her out. Of the newer Pathwalkers, River didn¡¯t succeed against her, nor did Happy ¨C their own type of magic is almost entirely offensive. Plus, their physical attacks couldn''t get through and were instead reflected straight back at them. Hunter managed to get her with a rune combination which stuck her feet to the ground ¨C it was considered enough for a win on Hunter¡¯s side. Dusty did similar to Windy, wrapping her head in a bubble of water until she half-drowned. I dropped her into a pit which I closed up around her, then surrounded her with fire until she fell unconscious from oxygen loss. Poison probably would have worked if I¡¯d managed to get it in her. Working out ways to avoid being trapped in a position where she will be suffocated is definitely something she needs to prioritise. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Not having anything in terms of offensive magic is another disadvantage, but she¡¯s already finding ways around that. I¡¯ve seen her experimenting with multiple ranged weapons: throwing them at herself and then shooting them away with Reflect and Enhance. Combined with poison, it might work quite well. That was the most recent mini-ranking fight, sorely needed for the samurans who love to know exactly where they are in the hierarchy. Instead of going the whole hog like they did with me, they decided that as long as no new Pathwalker defeated me or new Warrior defeated Shrieks, they would just test the newcomer rather than have the additional battle of the top Warrior against the top Pathalker or Pathwalkers. I didn¡¯t mind the fighting too much. I got a chance to practise using Earth-Shaping in combat, something that will stand me in good stead for later. I¡¯ve also been sparring a lot with the Warriors ¨C mostly how to properly use the weapons I¡¯ve been trying to wield. That¡¯s one reason I¡¯ve gained so much in terms of combat levels. The fights helped me solidify my mixed style a little more too. On my way through the village, my attention is suddenly attracted by a loud noise rapidly followed by the hisses of angry samurans. Sighing, I change direction. What¡¯s happened now? Kalanthia will have to wait. Going somewhere? The mental voice, accompanied by a couple of clicks and a quick grunt, draws my attention to the side. ¡°River,¡± I say happily, my irritation at needing to investigate whatever¡¯s happening immediately disappearing at the sight of my favourite samuran. I may have made friends with several other samurans, but River was my first samuran friend. I¡¯m looking forward to the journey if only to be able to spend a few days with less to distract us all from just having a good time. ¡°Tarra finally released you from prison, eh?¡± River hisses with amusement. She can be a bit of a prey-driver, that¡¯s true, she admits, coming closer. But we¡¯ve finished the last of our concoctions. Between you and me, she leans close enough that her muzzle almost reaches my ear, I think she¡¯s rather looking forward to being able to show the other herbalists up at the festival. I raise my eyebrows, tilting my head so I can see both her eyes at the same time. ¡°There are other herbalists? Are there many duplicated abilities?¡± River steps a little away and sways her tail in a shrug. Not exactly, but certain themes are common. Shaping wood, shaping earth, shaping water, controlling the wind, being able to make healing or enhancing concoctions¡­.all of those tend to be represented at least once at the festival, and often more than once. At least, that¡¯s what Herbalist says. Apparently there are currently five Pathwalkers, including her, who have some sort of potion-making ability, though they aren¡¯t necessarily the same as Herbalist¡¯s ability. ¡°Huh,¡± I say, not having really discussed details like that yet. We¡¯ve talked about the fights for the other villages and how to travel down to the location, but not a huge amount about what to expect when there. I figured we could use the twenty or so days it will take us to travel to do that. What are you doing? she inquires next, reminding me. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the ruckus going on from over there?¡± I wave vaguely in the direction I was going. ¡°I thought I¡¯d better go and check it out. Then, apparently, I need to go and try to dissuade Kalanthia from joining us on the trip.¡± I grimace. Looking at River, I see that she realises, probably better than me even, what complications that could bring, even though there are also benefits to it. Having a Tier three along would probably make the journey a little safer if our trip from Kalanthia¡¯s cave to the den was anything to go by. Well. She doesn¡¯t seem to know what to say. I can only wish you luck in that. Great Kalanthia doesn¡¯t seem the kind of being who is easily dissuaded, though I know you¡¯ve managed in the past ¨C fortunately for myself and my village, she adds. Oddly enough, her words are slightly heartening. Because it¡¯s true ¨C I have managed to change her mind from time to time. But first¡­ ¡°I¡¯d welcome the company,¡± I admit. Then I wink. ¡°Especially yours.¡± She hisses in amusement again as we start walking. Charmer. It¡¯s a shame you are not a Warrior or I¡¯d definitely choose you to fertilise my eggs, Markus. This isn¡¯t the first time she¡¯s made a similar comment. Though I was rather disturbed the first time I heard it, now I find myself more amused than anything else at the idea. I don¡¯t doubt that there¡¯s truth to her words, but it¡¯s difficult to see how anything more than our platonic friendship could ever happen between us. We¡¯re just too different. Sure, Flesh-Shaping could potentially change me enough to take the ¡®Warrior¡¯ position, but even with as much practice as I¡¯ve got with my Skill, I¡¯m reticent to even attempt such innate changes for fear that I¡¯d mess something up and not be able to return it to the way it was. I don¡¯t want anyone messing with my bits ¨C not even myself. Besides, it¡¯s not just a physical problem; it¡¯s a mental one too. River and I have different ideas about what makes a relationship and I probably have a better relationship with her now as a friend than I would as a ¡®Warrior to fertilise her eggs¡¯. That aside, there¡¯s the big factor that although I like, really like River as a person,and I¡¯m definitely pent up from months here with nothing but my hand¡­I¡¯m not into crocodiles. And no, the samurans aren¡¯t crocodiles, but with their crocodilian heads, claws, scales, and tails, they look like a more upright cross between a T-Rex and a humanoid crocodile. And yes, I could change River to look like my ideal woman, but I don''t want to for the same reasons that I don¡¯t want to mess with my own bits. Plus, I don¡¯t think it would help our relationship if I require my partner to change so much ¨C I¡¯ve seen how that worked out with Lucy, and there I was only expecting her to accept that my job came ahead of her most of the time. Expecting her to have changed her body in any way would have seen her leave much earlier, I¡¯m sure. No, I¡¯d rather keep what I already have ¨C a relationship which, when we see what¡¯s caused the outburst of hisses and grunts, has us reacting almost identically. ¡°Trouble,¡± we sigh together. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Forty-Nine: Not So Forgiving While I sigh in frustration, River sends more than a hint of amusement down the Bond. I send her a side eye. ¡°You don¡¯t have to deal with him,¡± I grumble at her. She just sends me more amusement for my pains. Striding forwards, I grab the offending raptorcat by the roots of his stubby wings and lift him up to eye level. He looks a little remorseful, but I have a strong feeling that it¡¯s more to do with being caught red-pawed, rather than any second thoughts about having committed the crime in the first place. And it truly is red-pawed ¨C he¡¯s managed to overturn the container of red berries the samurans have been collecting. Normally that¡¯s not something they¡¯d bring down since they would rot too quickly, but since I¡¯ll be using my Inventory to transport anything I can, they are able to do it this year. Fortunately, even without Energy they¡¯re still very tasty. Of course, other things are not so forgiving when it comes to having or not having Energy ¨C dried plants for use in potions or tanned hides, for example. Tanning is another technique I¡¯ve taught the samurans and that a group of Unevolved have taken to with gusto ¨C I wonder if I¡¯ll see my first magical tanner before the year is out. To deal with all the goods which need to be transported in a more traditional way, we¡¯ve had to come up with another means of moving them. And this one is once more something that existed on Earth and also exists on Nicholas¡¯ world if my ¡®memories¡¯ are anything to go by. And that¡¯s something else Trouble¡¯s actions have interfered with. The cyrans who are being fitted for harnesses to pull the large cart are pawing the ground, keen to attack the young raptorcat who dares to get so close to them. The samurans who were in the process of trying to fit them with the woven cords back off, wary about the large herbivores¡¯ horns. If I don¡¯t pacify them in the near future, they¡¯ll be breaking out ¨C and probably breaking the cart in the meantime. Even with Wood-Shaping on our side, that¡¯s the last thing we need right now. Glaring at Trouble, I flick reassurance and a request for calmness down the Tame Bonds between the cyrans and me and remind them that they¡¯ll receive an Energy Heart fragment if they comply with the samurans. They quickly settle down, though keep sending threatening looks to match my own at the raptorcat in my grip. I suppose that I should be relieved at least that Trouble didn¡¯t manage to tip over the clay pots that a group of Unevolved have been making ¨C they¡¯re getting pretty good at the pottery process by now. I hear that the last batch to be fired had barely any cracking during the process, and I notice that there are even fancy designs carved into the outside of the ones to go down to the festival. Breaking them now, the day before we leave, would not have gone down well with anyone. Which reminds me. I move away and drop Trouble on the ground, crossing my arms and glaring at him. ¡°What have I told you about getting into the supplies?¡± The raptorcat looks an odd mixture between apologetic and defiant. Using Animal Empathy, I can tell that he¡¯s apologetic for having incurred my anger, but plans to get back into the food as soon as my back is turned. I sigh. He¡¯s just not getting it and we don¡¯t have a Bond for me to be able to communicate properly with him. I don¡¯t know if Animal Empathy is failing me because he doesn¡¯t have a communication system much more sophisticated than feelings at the moment or whether he¡¯s intentionally misunderstanding me. Honestly, I think it could go either way. However, the fact of the matter is that I¡¯ve had enough of this. I don¡¯t have time to watch over him every minute of the day, but the number of scrapes he¡¯s getting into just seems to be increasing. ¡°Right. We¡¯re going to see Bastet,¡± I decide. It¡¯s fortunate that she¡¯s in the same place as Kalanthia is, meaning I can kill two birds with one stone. Though, to be fair, that¡¯s probably why Trouble is being so troublesome ¨C when she¡¯s around, she keeps him in line. But after having only just recently making it past the blockage holding her at ten percent progress towards Tier three, she wanted to make the most of the den¡¯s Energy density before we leave. Understandably so. ¡°And don¡¯t you dare try to sneak off behind my back,¡± I warn Trouble ¨C I can tell he¡¯s considering it. ¡°I will put a collar around your neck and drag you along if I have to. You know I will,¡± I warn him. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time. Perhaps he remembers the humiliation and discomfort he felt the last time he annoyed me enough to tie him up ¨C and the way his sisters teased him without him being able to react. Either way, I see him abandon the idea. ¡°Where are your sisters, anyway?¡± I ask. Because if it¡¯s time to offer the raptorcats Bonds, then I probably ought to do all three at once. Trouble points with his nose towards the upper part of the village. Good ¨C that¡¯s on our route. Yeah, I don¡¯t think the issues are due to him not understanding my words ¨C not when he¡¯s able to respond appropriately to a question like that. Whether he understands the idea or not is another question. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Do you want to come or stay here?¡± I ask River. She considers for a moment, then answers. I might as well come. I¡¯d like to meditate a bit before we leave. ¡°Alright.¡± With an apology to the samurans now having to refill the container ¨C and remove the berries squashed by the troublesome raptorcat cub ¨C we set off to collect Trouble¡¯s sisters. ***** Heading out of the village with three raptorcats and a Pathwalker, we see Artemis and her little pack on their usual patrol around the farming area. Doing OK? I ask her through our Tame Bond as we¡¯re a bit too far for my voice to carry. Yes. No enemies, she answers, never taking five words to say what she could in two. I see her pack raise their heads to take note of us, and then return to their guarding duties. After Artemis evolved, going from a wolfish-looking creature about the height of mid-thigh on me to a sleeker and larger creature who almost reaches midway up my chest, she came to break our Bond. I was disappointed at the time ¨C although she¡¯d certainly pulled her weight by defending those I¡¯d left behind at Kalanthia¡¯s cave while I was away, she had developed into a dangerous-looking creature and excellent hunter who I was sad to lose. But I understood ¨C she¡¯d always wanted me to go and convert more of her pack. That had been her condition for staying from the get go. But with my responsibilities with the samurans, it just wasn¡¯t going to happen any time soon. So I let her go with regret but no rancour. Surprisingly, though, that wasn¡¯t the last we saw of her, though her return was a more recent development. *****Previously***** Honoured Tamer, there are several beasts sitting outside the down-valley gates, the Warrior tells me, his eyes slightly wide. I believe the biggest is one of yours. I frown. Why wouldn¡¯t the Warrior recognise all the members of the group? My Bound have become familiar sights around the village, especially those who tend to go out hunting. And why would they just sit outside the gates instead of coming in? ¡°Alright, I¡¯m coming,¡± I answer, pushing myself up from where I¡¯ve been trying to examine the differences between two plants. ¡°Sorry Flower, Tarra. I¡¯ll come back when I can. The changes to the plant seem promising, though ¨C there¡¯s little difference between the one grown naturally and the one your potions and magic have worked on. A bit less Energy, perhaps, but the size difference is impressive.¡± Yes, Flower answers, though we would still like to increase the size if we can. Double helps, but is still not enough for what we¡¯re planning. ¡°No,¡± I agree, ¡°but double already means we need half the amount of space to keep the same number of animals. It¡¯s a good start and shows that by adding small fragments of Energy Hearts we can make up for the speed of growth. This was grown in three weeks instead of six, right?¡± In a little less than a moon cycle rather than two, Flower corrects me. I shrug ¨C I don¡¯t see much difference. ¡°Which also impacts how much food we can grow. Do we know if this process works with the animals themselves?¡± They have much less Energy in their meat, even in comparison to the Energy difference between these two plants, Tarra reports. I am still testing if adding more Energy fragments will help with this. Honoured Tamer¡­ the Warrior hesitatingly interrupts, reminding me that I was supposed to be going somewhere. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m coming. Alright Tarra, Flower, keep up the good work. Tarra, keep testing. Flower, try to work out how far we can expand this, and how many cyrans, killer chickens, and stios we can keep at full production.¡± After giving that final instruction, I quickly hurry off with the Warrior, following him to the down-valley gate. Sure enough, as he said there were a group of beasts sitting outside ¨C five in total. And I did recognise one of them. ¡°Artemis?¡± I ask, my eyebrows rising into my hairline at the return of the prodigal¡­wolf. *****Now***** Fortunately, Artemis and I managed to communicate by triggering the negotiation part of a Tame Bond. As it turned out, she had decided that if I wasn¡¯t going to help her find her pack, she would go and find it herself. That much, I had already concluded. The surprise was that she came back with them all. The answer as to why ended up being very simple: power. Having found her pack, and seeing that they hadn¡¯t made much more progress to Tier two than before she had been snatched by the danaris, while she had already Evolved, she decided that I obviously offered a better opportunity for progress. I can¡¯t deny her reasoning ¨C Bastet has indicated that even among a pack with a Tier two leader, the chances of the pack mates having a successful Evolution aren¡¯t much better than with a Tier one leader. Perhaps if I¡¯d actually come to help her convince them myself, they would have become part of ¡®my¡¯ party ¨C like Bastet and Fenrir ¨C instead of coming more for the den. As it is, they are far more attached to the location than me, but I¡¯m not too sad about it. They¡¯re still contributing to the village and, frankly, I have enough members to be getting on with for my personal ¡®party¡¯. In the end, we decided that I would form a Tame Bond with all five of them ¨C four females and a male ¨C but that Artemis would remain the leader of the pack, her position assured as long as she was the strongest and led them well. They quickly found a role as guards for the new farming lands and have been bringing in a good portion of the meat eaten at dinner time. After all, the fields of magically-enhanced, large and reasonably tasty plants are a great draw for the herbivores of the area. Continuing on our run, we see another of my Bound who has taken to being of more use to the village than me personally. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty: Taxi ¡°Alright there, Trinity?¡± I call as we pass the slower Bound. She trumpets loudly, expressing her satisfaction. Trinity, the triceratops-like cyran, has taken on a role of taxi, lumbering back and forth between my den and the village. Her passengers pay for their journey with tasty plants or even fragments of Energy Hearts and in return get a journey where they don¡¯t have to use their own feet. Using conveyance other than their own bodies is a new thing to the samurans, but they seem to be taking to it readily enough. I sometimes even see some of her riders meditating while she trots with an earth-shaking gait. Though how they can meditate when being jostled about like they are, I don¡¯t know. Clearly they¡¯re better at meditation than I am. Though, to be fair, if I went into Medium Meditation or deeper, I probably wouldn¡¯t notice the jostling either. At first, that sort of activity was a bit dangerous as they risked falling off Trinity¡¯s back when not paying attention. It wasn¡¯t long, though, before the Pathwalkers realised that they could make things more comfortable for themselves. Between Joy, Grower, and Sticks, they managed to make a sort of palanquin which carries them far more easily and safely. I did check with Trinity to make sure that it was comfortable for her, but she was actually happy about it ¨C the palanquin distributed the weight of her riders in a better fashion meaning that it makes her job easier. She does need help every evening to take it off and then in the morning to put it back on again, but she has a good strategy for that. All she needs to do is go up to the closest group of samurans ¨C Evolved or not ¨C and nudge them insistently to get any help she requires. By this point, the villagers are all well-trained. As we run, I see how much has changed in the last three months. The wasteland is no longer grey but green once more. The areas where the samurans have worked on their farming are obviously the most developed, but even the areas they haven¡¯t touched have recovered significantly. No trees, but the area is covered with green creepers and pioneer plants. Nothing I recognise from Earth, of course, but the mixture of thin and round leafed plants is not all that dissimilar from what happens to an unattended garden there too. We have tried to dissuade plants which are too thorny from the path between the village and my den, though. In fact, I think to myself with a bit of concern, we probably need to find a way to hide the path. It¡¯s getting a bit obvious. Trinity is probably largely the reason for that ¨C a massive herbivore running back and forth several times a day is bound to make an obvious trail ¨C straight to my den. Maybe I can convince Trinity to vary her route a little? Or suggest that Flower makes an effort to grow things while she¡¯s going to and from the den? As well as the fields, we pass the areas with livestock. It¡¯s hard to think of them that way, but I¡¯ve forced myself to do so, otherwise I¡¯m going to end up entangled by moral concerns again. The fact is that unless I¡¯m willing to be vegan, I have to accept that every creature I eat has the potential to become a sapient being. Heck, perhaps plants are able to gain sapience here too, which would basically mean I¡¯d have to starve or only eat berries or leaves, and that wouldn¡¯t do me any good mentally or physically. And ultimately, if we¡¯re offering a safe and cosy life for the herd, is it so bad if we take a few of their members to eat? The beasts in question don¡¯t seem to think so. In the end, we used Trinity and the two stios Cery and Neian as ambassadors. They helped us find a group of their own kind, and then got the herd to stick around long enough for me to be able to form a temporary Tame Bond with the leader. Eventually, anyway. Through those Bonds, I promised that the herd would be protected and given everything they needed as long as they stayed within a designated area and allowed the samurans to take a number of their offspring. To my surprise, they didn¡¯t have much issue with that. I would have thought that offering up some of their children for sacrifice in exchange for an easy life would have been a harder decision than it actually was, but perhaps I¡¯m humanising them too much. From what I understand, for them, being relieved of the fear that they would be the next prey was a key factor. They were resigned to lose some of their offspring, especially if they hadn¡¯t put too much time into the young ¨C which they don¡¯t because the samurans take the designated eggs soon after they¡¯re laid to a different area to be cared for. As soon as they¡¯re hatched, the farmers start feeding them Tarra¡¯s growth potions so they are ready for eating in a fraction of the time. I guess that the herd beasts being oviparous makes a big difference ¨C no real maternal bonding. Not prior to hatching, anyway. The mothers could be a bit protective of their nests, but as long as the farmers don¡¯t take all the eggs, they¡¯re happy enough with not having to worry about hunters waiting to pounce on them when they come to an area to eat or drink ¨C being able to hatch the rest of their eggs in peace. I dropped the Tame Bond soon after in favour of enabling an Alliance Bond between the leaders and a few key samurans. I figured that it would be good to have more than one samuran as part of the Bond, just in case of a problem. The killer chickens were harder, largely because we didn¡¯t have an ambassador and they wanted to kill and eat us on sight. In the end, though, I managed to capture four of the group of twenty alive and we avoided smashing too many eggs. Using Dominate to Bind the male ¨C obvious because of his much brighter colours and increased aggression ¨C allowed me to get my foot in the door and offer him the same deal. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. It took him a bit longer to accept, but he did in the end. Eventually, we transitioned to an Alliance Bond there too. As long as the keepers feed them first with the leftovers from the previous night¡¯s dinner, they won¡¯t attack when the samurans enter to collect the eggs. So, now we¡¯ve got eggs added to the menu. Not too many for now because the keepers are keen on letting the chickens increase their numbers a bit first, but by the time we come back from the festival, we should all be able to have at least one egg per day. They¡¯re big eggs too ¨C perhaps more like a goose¡¯s or turkey¡¯s in size. Honestly, the farming aspect has gone surprisingly smoothly. Not to say there haven¡¯t been hitches, there have, but most of them have been reasonably easily solved. Maybe it¡¯s partly that I haven¡¯t had to be too involved recently ¨C after needing a fair bit of input at the beginning, the farmers started getting the idea and began solving their own issues without calling on me. Delegation is definitely key. In fact, I think that Flower, Sticks, and Tarra have rather enjoyed the project, and they have each quietly confessed that they have grown magically from the experience. That growth is actually visible in the cases of Flower and Sticks. Their mana pools have each increased, no doubt from use ¨C and they have all made more progress towards Tier three. Perhaps I¡¯ll manage to see a Tier three samuran before I leave this world. That would be fun. We soon leave the farming areas behind and River and I spend the time chatting mentally and catching up ¨C we¡¯ve both been so busy recently that I haven¡¯t had the time to talk much to her. ¡­And that¡¯s when we realised that we¡¯d forgotten the key ingredient, River moans as the entrance to my den comes into sight, its overhanging roof and intentional mound of earth blocking view of the entrance stopping it from being obvious until one is close. That¡¯s a pain, I commiserate. Did you have to start the experiment all over? Yes, but it wasn¡¯t all bad. We discovered that by missing out the Heart¡¯s Blood, we¡¯d actually made something different. It didn¡¯t help with Energy, but it did help with growth. Not very effectively, but it offers another avenue of experimentation. Good to hear, I comment, a smile breaking out as I see what has now become ¡®home¡¯. Pride perks up from where he¡¯s sitting near the entrance, clearly on guard duty. While I¡¯ve enabled an Alliance Bond specifically between the two of them, if they don¡¯t choose to come with me to Nicholas¡¯ world, I don¡¯t know if it will stick around. At that point, if there¡¯s a way of creating a rune bond between a beast and samuran, Pride and Catch will definitely be the first pair to sign up for it. That Pride is here indicates Catch is meditating inside. Since Evolving, neither Catch nor Pride have slowed down at all. Pride is larger than he was, now easily towering over me by at least a head. His dorsal ridge has grown into a small sail, and like Sailor used to, he communicates through colours flashing up into it. He¡¯s capable of mental speech, but tends to disdain it, preferring body language. He fits in with the samurans in that sense and he and Catch seem to manage to communicate almost without a Bond. Most importantly, he now has a special ability which enhances his speed as well as another rather odd ability. *****Previously***** I watch the spar, barely able to follow the movement as Pride uses the first ability he gained from his recent Evolution. Suddenly stopping still, he opens his mouth wide and a long black thing shoots out. The Warrior, trying to take advantage of the fact that the scalla has stopped moving, finds that he has a problem: the black thing ¨C Pride¡¯s tongue, it appears ¨C wraps around him and pins his club to his chest. He fights against the muscle, but his struggles are in vain. The scalla tugs him off his feet and closes his mouth around the Warrior¡¯s head. He doesn¡¯t bite down, but the implication is obvious. Winner, Pride, announces the referee, his usual bored tones sounding surprised. Pride releases the Warrior in his mouth and struts out of the sparring ring with his namesake emotion fairly obvious. ¡°Did you know he could do that?¡± I ask Catch. Sure, the ability was called Extendable Tongue, but this wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. The samuran is heading over to congratulate the winner, but he pauses to throw a cheeky blink at me, cheerful glee carrying over the Bond between us. I shake my head, amused beside myself. ¡°Trolls.¡± *****Now***** ¡°Is Kalanthia inside?¡± I ask the scalla. He flashes his spine with a quick hint of blue. A ¡®yes¡¯ in his language. If it had been no, it would have been red, and uncertainty would have been yellow. Personally, I don¡¯t see why it¡¯s not purple, but I don¡¯t communicate in colour so who am I to say? ¡°And Bastet¡¯s there too?¡± Another flash of blue. ¡°OK, thanks. Let¡¯s go in then,¡± I say to my little group. River¡¯s already ahead of me, clearly keen to get started with her meditation. The raptorcats and I enter the open door, Trouble slinking at the rear, clearly rather unwilling to face his mother-figure. After walking through the numerous twists and turns of the entrance passageway, we get to the den itself. Inside, I see a couple of Pathwalkers ¨C Sticks, Joy, and Windy are all here. There are also a number of Warriors present ¨C among them is Catch, though he sits a little apart from the rest. When he Evolved, he became a Warrior, one of the rarer ones with a lithe scout build. Unsurprisingly, he gained a stealth ability. More surprisingly, he also gained something a bit like my Inspect ¨C if he stares intently at something for a while, he can gain some information about it. The longer he stares, the more information he can glean. It seems to work best against beasts, but he can get some information about plants too. Nothing about rocks or non-living objects, though. It seems a little odd to me that a being who was born with a significant eye defect would end up with an ability which uses his eyes. Then again, I suppose that eyes are a major part of his life, and his eyesight is now one of his most powerful senses, one of the best in the village since I haven¡¯t chosen to replace anyone else¡¯s eyesight. . Kalanthia is an obvious figure, leaning comfortably against the wall of the cave. Even if the entrance isn¡¯t really big enough for her to get through, she¡¯s perfectly capable of opening a temporary route for herself. Lathani is lying near her, though unusually isn¡¯t actually cuddling up. Next to Lathani is Bastet. Perfect ¨C everyone we need in one place. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-One: To Offer Them A Bond Kalanthia, Bastet, can I speak to you both outside for a moment? I ask politely, doing my best to direct my thoughts to them. Bastet, obviously, is easy to contact at will. Kalanthia has to intentionally pick up the thoughts on her side so I hope she¡¯s not actually asleep. When she opens her big golden eyes a moment later, I dismiss that concern. If this is about my decision to come with you, I am not changing it. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. How did you know that was what I was coming to talk about? It was logical. I knew that once I told the stodgy samuran, he wouldn¡¯t waste any time in telling you. He didn¡¯t dare argue with me, but I could tell he wasn¡¯t pleased. The ¡®stodgy¡¯ samuran? I ask with amusement. You mean you haven¡¯t noticed that he doesn¡¯t have a humorous bone in his body? I can¡¯t help grinning. Maybe, I agree. It¡¯s true that Shrieks is competent, intelligent, an excellent leader, and a great Warrior, but if he has a sense of humour, I haven¡¯t yet found it. Still that isn¡¯t necessary for anything he needs to do and the stoic, humourless top Warrior definitely suits him well. But he has a point. If you come down with us, you¡¯re likely to send multiple samurans into a mental breakdown. You¡¯re not planning on coming to the actual meet-up, right? I never said I wished to come to the lizard-folk event. However, you are taking my cub with you, I presume? I give a slow nod in response ¨C Lathani¡¯s recovery is coming on well, but I¡¯d rather be able to continue working on it than leave her in limbo for more than a month. Then I am coming. I also wish to reconnect with certain Guardians I became familiar with when I first arrived here. That was before Lathani was born and I was required to move somewhere safer. I hesitate. To be fair, my main concern is about her spooking the other samurans. If she doesn¡¯t intend to follow us to the actual event, then I¡¯m less concerned. Certainly, as I considered before, having a Tier three along would automatically make many creatures think twice about attacking us. And if she is willing to fight with us that would make the journey even safer. Will you be travelling with the party or just in the same direction? And if we¡¯re attacked, will you fight with us? Yes, and yes, she answers, yawning again. Keep me supplied with meat and we shall call it even. That isn¡¯t as small a factor as it sounds at first ¨C Kalanthia can eat a lot. On the other hand, if she¡¯s eating every day, she doesn¡¯t eat as much as she used to when only eating every three days. It¡¯ll be an extra burden for the hunters, but having a Tier three along should more than make up for that. Alright, you¡¯ve convinced me, I smile at her. I know Shrieks won¡¯t be happy to hear it, but I¡¯ll tell him that you¡¯re confirmed as joining the travel group. Good. Then if that is all, I wish to continue to bathe in this Energy, she answers, clearly wanting to finish the conversation. I don¡¯t bother her any longer, instead just leading Bastet outside ¨C I don¡¯t really want the following conversation to distract anyone else either. Before I even need to say anything, the observant raptorcat matriarch has drawn some accurate conclusions. She stalks over to Trouble and cuffs him over the head sharply with a scaled paw, growling and hissing at him wordlessly. The raptorcat grumbles at the chastisement, once more that mixture of apologetic and defiant. ¡°This is the third time in two days that he¡¯s caused an issue,¡± I remind her with a sigh. ¡°And each time it¡¯s something that he knows he¡¯s not supposed to do. It¡¯s not like this is sudden, either: he¡¯s been causing problems more and more frequently for the last month. I think it¡¯s time to offer him a Bond ¨C maybe that will calm him down, or at least enable me to control him.¡± Bastet turns and comes to rub her head against my hip. I drop my hand automatically to stroke and rub behind her ears, the feather-fur soft as always. I do not think that that will work, she confesses. It is not that he has a lack of direction, it is that he¡¯s growing up. ¡°Except that Storm and Ninja aren¡¯t going around doing these things,¡± I argue. ¡°The worst they¡¯ve done is snuck out to go hunting on their own. They don¡¯t seem to have an incorrigible desire to get their talons and noses into everything ¨C particularly the things that they¡¯re not allowed to access.¡± They are female, Bastet answers simply, as if that should answer everything. And maybe it does. If I try to recall, I remember a conversation long ago with Bastet where she said that male raptorcats either left the pack of their own accord when they reached maturity, or they were kicked out because they were causing too many problems. Is that what¡¯s happening here? I sigh. ¡°I¡¯d still like to try, if I have your agreement,¡± I tell her earnestly. Honestly, I don¡¯t want to lose Trouble. He¡¯s got big and the problems he¡¯s causing have grown with him, but to my mind he¡¯s still the cute little gangly cub who I first met. An orphan of the pack of which he, his sisters, and Bastet were the only surviving members. He might not be cute any more, but I still remember carrying him and his sisters against my chest through hours of travel as we came down to rescue Lathani. I don¡¯t want to just give up without even trying to convince him to stay. Bastet hesitates. They are old enough, she agrees slowly. You intend to offer a Bond to all of them, not just Trouble, correct? ¡°I do,¡± I answer, looking over at the other two. Stormcloud and Ninja have changed significantly too. They now resemble Bastet a lot more. The Bastet before her Evolution, of course. They stand mid-thigh on me and their coats have almost completely lost the fluffiness they had as babies. Their limbs no longer look long and gangly for their bodies, nor their heads too big for them. I truly can¡¯t call them anything other than adults now, even if they still clearly have a little bit of growing left to do. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Unlike Trouble, though, they¡¯ve clearly matured, no longer engaging in the cub-like behaviour of playing but instead doing serious hunting. They¡¯re sleek huntresses and have been going out with Bastet and Lathani frequently, Fenrir, Thorn, or Honey joining them from time to time too. It¡¯s been a slow transition and it¡¯s only now I¡¯m looking back that I realise how much they have changed. I agree that it is time, Bastet answers with equanimity, and I no longer hold any fear that they will be mistreated in your care. Instead, I know that those who choose to remain will progress far faster than they would be able to alone. It¡¯s a vote of confidence that I¡¯m warmed to receive. Bastet hasn¡¯t made any secret of how she is happy to be with me, and her faith in me has sometimes been exactly what I needed to push through obstacles I didn¡¯t believe that I could overcome. But it¡¯s still nice to hear, especially here where it concerns cubs who might as well have been her own biological children for all the care and dedication she¡¯s given them. ¡°Thank you, my friend,¡± I say to her warmly. Then I look at the three raptorcats and wonder which to offer the Bond to first. Ninja is out ¨C she tends to follow her sister in decisions, so she would have trouble making a decision if Storm hadn¡¯t yet made hers. So Trouble or Storm¡­. Looking between them, I see Storm¡¯s steady gaze and Trouble¡¯s furtive one and make my choice. Stepping forwards, I crouch down in front of Storm. ¡°Will you Bond with me and join our pack fully?¡± I ask her, using Animal Empathy to make my words easier to understand. While doing that, I send her the request for a Tame Bond. I don¡¯t see the need for Dominate. It was necessary between Bastet and I at first because she was a hostile predator who had already tried to kill me once. Storm, however, has never known me as anything other than a family member and raptorcat families don¡¯t tend to try to kill each other. Neither has she caused the same issues Trouble has so she doesn¡¯t need the controlling aspects. Ideally, I¡¯m hoping that she will become a Companion like Bastet, but we have to have a Bond first. Storm accepts the request to open the ¡®trade window¡¯. The communication aspect which was part of one of the upgrades allows us to exchange emotions, but it ends up not being necessary anyway. In her usual decisive fashion, Storm simply puts in her desire to be a pack just like her matriarch and then ¡®closes¡¯ her side of things. I take a little longer to just explore her side of the ¡®window¡¯. Pack to her means caring for each other, hunting together, agreeing to follow the hierarchy when necessary, and generally supporting each other. Honestly, I couldn¡¯t have asked for more if I¡¯d tried. It¡¯s not a vow of obedience because from what I understand, raptorcat packs don¡¯t work like that ¨C though Bastet is the matriarch, that¡¯s more because of her age and experience meaning she offers good suggestions rather than because she¡¯s the strongest. Although in our Battle of Wills it was important for me to prove myself as strong, the most important was proving that I had something to offer her and her cubs. But proving that I was able to make good decisions on behalf of the pack earned me Bastet¡¯s loyalty, and now Storm¡¯s. I sense the Bond settle into my being, feeling more like a Companion Bond than a Tame, even though I know it cannot be that yet. Briefly looking at my internal matrix, I see the cord emerging from my Tame Skill but passing through Companion Bond on the way. If it doesn¡¯t become a proper Companion Bond soon enough, I¡¯ll eat my helmet. ¡°Welcome to the pack fully,¡± I say to Storm with a smile. She rumbles in her chest, pleasure coming across the Bond as she moves to butt her head against my cheek. She then goes over to rub against Bastet, the older raptorcat rumbling in pleasure too. Shifting within my crouched position, I turn to Ninja and offer her the Bond next. She hesitates more than Storm did, being the more nervous and indecisive of the two. But following her sister¡¯s example doesn¡¯t take long, and soon I greet another member of the pack. Next, it¡¯s Trouble¡¯s turn. I feel a little more nervous over this one and once more hesitate over which kind of Bond to use. My head tells me that I should be egalitarian and offer him a Tame Bond, but my heart tells me that he needs something different. Biting my lip as the indecision wracks me, I decide to, this time, go with my heart. My instincts have been proving themselves more and more effective ever since I came to this world ¨C maybe it¡¯s time to follow them without questioning too much. ¡°Dominate,¡± I say quietly as soon as I manage to catch Trouble¡¯s gaze. Immediately, we both freeze and the grey space forms around us. There is a surprising amount of resistance between us. Nothing I can¡¯t handle, of course ¨C my effective Willpower of eighty-five isn¡¯t just for show. But more than I was expecting considering how familiar we are with each other. Pushing through, I reach the point where I can normally start to communicate with the creature I am trying to Bond with. And then I pass the point, the raptorcat on the other side of the space still silent. ¡°Trouble?¡± I ask, confused as to why he hasn¡¯t yet reached out. Is that all I am to you? he asks, his tone surprisingly resentful. I¡¯m slightly surprised at how verbal he is, even in this space. Bastet wasn¡¯t like that; would the girls have been if I¡¯d used Dominate on them? ¡°Well, you have to admit that you cause a fair bit of it,¡± I try to joke through the awkwardness, but it falls flat. I sigh. ¡°No, of course not. You¡¯re part of my pack, a cub I¡¯ve helped raise from babyhood. I¡¯ve carried you against my chest, played with you, scolded you, fed you, surprised you, almost strangled you a few times, and saved you from death even more frequently. You¡¯re trouble, but you¡¯re my trouble¡­as long as you want to be, that is.¡± He¡¯s silent so I slowly close the distance, taking my time to give him the chance to think rather than because I can¡¯t move faster. Why can¡¯t I do anything right? he moans. You and mother are angry at me all the time. I just want to explore. ¡°And to test boundaries, right?¡± I ask, giving him a pointed look. I don¡¯t see any other reason for why he would choose to explore the exact hut that I had just told him not to go into. Or investigate the cart which he knows he¡¯s not allowed to go near. He doesn¡¯t answer and I have a feeling that if he could move, he¡¯d be trying to avoid my gaze. As it is, the look in his eyes is more than sufficient admission. Well, why would you tell me not to go somewhere or do something unless it was somewhere I wanted to go or something I wanted to do? he protests. Which¡­I can get it. But that¡¯s a child¡¯s reasoning. He¡¯s supposed to be becoming an adult. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you to do it?¡± I point out. ¡°Because it¡¯s dangerous, or will cause problems, or someone else took a long time to collect something or make something and I don¡¯t want it broken?¡± He¡¯s silent again for a long moment. Are you going to Bind me? I can sense that you could at any moment. I feel it waiting for you to decide, he asks in a small voice. By this point I¡¯m right in front of him and I wish I could stroke his head as I would in the physical world. But I worry that if I do so, the Bond will snap into place immediately, reacting to my desire to not have to say goodbye to this grown-up cub. ¡°I¡¯m not going to force it,¡± I reassure him. ¡°I will only Bind you if you want the Bond. Do you?¡± He hesitates. I¡­I love my pack. My sisters. My mother. My brothers. You. But I also wish to be free. I¡­there is something which calls to me. From somewhere else in the valley. I don¡¯t know where it is, but I know that I want to go. And trying to find ways to distract myself from its pull just means you and mother get angry at me. Is this the reason he¡¯s been so problematic recently? Because there¡¯s some sort of biological imperative causing him to want to leave when he also wants to stay? ¡°You know,¡± I say slowly, ¡°leaving doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t come back later. And having a Bond doesn¡¯t stop you from leaving, if that¡¯s what you want. It just allows us to know that you¡¯re still alive, and maybe communicate with you a little.¡± I crouch down to look him in the eyes at his level. ¡°If something is calling you, follow that call. Find out what it is. And then come back and tell us. OK?¡± I know that¡¯s not the way raptorcat packs usually work, but if I can change the way the samurans live, surely I can do the same to the raptorcats. The samurans seem to be better off now, anyway. Trouble is silent for a long moment before he responds. When he does, it¡¯s not verbal, only a slight dip of his head. Smiling, my heart rejoicing inside me, I reach for his forehead. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Two: Well-timed With the raptorcats sorted, we take a moment to discuss tomorrow¡¯s plans. In the end, Trouble decided to travel with us for some of the journey since whatever calls him is also further into the valley. He promised me that he would do his best to not get in the way of any more of the preparations ¨C I think that his sisters plan to keep him out of trouble by taking him hunting for most of the time. That sorted satisfactorily, I walk with Bastet back into the den. There are some others I need to check up on. The first is Lathani. I greet her with the rub under the chin that she loves and then sit next to her, dipping into her Core space to see how things are going. What meets my eyes is significantly different from what it used to be like. There are still the thick Energy channels which lead from where her Core will be to her extremities, but there is now a filigree of thinner golden lines which fills the space around. It¡¯s a more intricate design than almost any I¡¯ve seen ¨C only my own beats it for intricacy. It¡¯s very different, though: where my lines almost all return to the centre eventually, looking almost like an extremely complicated 3D celtic knot, Lathani¡¯s Energy channels start either from the centre or one of the thick channels and interweave but remain separate from each other and end at the edges of her Core space. It does change the way her Energy flows: it¡¯s a lot easier to unbalance the weave since Energy flowing into one area doesn¡¯t necessarily have a connection to Energy in another area. On the other hand, I have to wonder whether it might be possible for Lathani to empower certain sections of her body later. Also, I suspect that damage to one section might not be as detrimental to the whole as it was for me. On the other, other hand, when my internal matrix was damaged by the Pure Energy or Raven¡¯s acidic mana, it was relatively easy to regrow the different sections and heal myself because I could approach the damage from all sides; that wouldn¡¯t be the case for Lathani. There are probably reasons for why different beings have different designs, but I don¡¯t know enough about it all to be able to identify what those reasons might be. Either way, the mess of spaghetti which makes up Lathani¡¯s internal matrix seems to work for her. The first thing we did together was to help strengthen her existing channels so that she could come into the den without getting poisoned. After that, though, we¡¯ve been working on retracing the blueprint Kalanthia lent her. At first I had to do a lot of the work, but with practice, Lathani has got pretty good at doing it for herself; now I just have to check in every so often. Once she¡¯s finished retracing the blueprint, she¡¯ll have to go back and strengthen her main channels more as they¡¯re still a bit weak. As for why we didn¡¯t just fully strengthen her main channels at the beginning, it was because we didn¡¯t want her to accidentally Evolve too soon. If the main channels were strong enough, she would be able to Evolve and probably condense a Core at their intersection. However, without all the other channels in place, this would lead to a poor foundation. Instead, we¡¯re taking time to lay the foundation properly before letting her trigger her Evolution. Of course, Lathani didn¡¯t really like the idea, impatient to Evolve and gain some magic finally; watching others Evolve hasn¡¯t helped her impatience. But both Kalanthia and I were firm on this point and she¡¯s mature enough by now to understand our reasons. At least, she¡¯s managed to hold off so far. Looking good, I tell her, pulling out of her Core space. Keep going like this and maybe you¡¯ll be able to Evolve before we return here in a month¡¯s time. Pleasure spills over the link between us, though tinged with that same impatience. I think that the latter will be there until I tell her that she¡¯s ready to Evolve. I don¡¯t blame her ¨C I found not being able to level up while I was fixing the damage to my Core space to be pretty frustrating too. I can¡¯t wait! she tells me fervently. Well, keep working as you have been and soon you won¡¯t have to, I encourage her. She seems to take my words to heart as she immediately closes her eyes, getting back to the task. Carefully stepping around the various beings meditating, I go to a tunnel which leads off the side of the main room, something I developed at the request of a certain kiina. As I go around a corner, the chirps and growls I¡¯d been hearing increase in volume. A third twist leads me to a much more open space, one that even has something of a sky light, though not one that lets in much light because of the stone roof that extends above it. ¡°Persephone, how are things going?¡± I ask. She¡¯s lying at the front of the room, her body creating a barrier to stop the creatures inside from escaping. Her eggs hatched a month ago and already the little kiinas are more than three times the size they started. Most of the raptorcats¡¯ hunts have gone towards feeding these little hungry mouths, as have Hades¡¯. Now I understand why there had been two males in the pack ¨C if anything, I question why there weren¡¯t more. The hatchlings really have a ravenous appetite, and there are a lot of them ¨C twenty-six. I can¡¯t tell which are male and which are female, but there¡¯s apparently only about seven females and therefore nineteen males. Well, she answers, her tone still a bit tired, but far better than it was before we moved here and I gave her this space. This environment is good for them. They will be ready to leave the nest in the next few days. While that¡¯s good ¨C great, even, considering how I¡¯ll be taking quite a few of their usual food-suppliers with me ¨C it¡¯s not as well-timed as it could be. I¡¯d like to take both Persephone and Hades down to the festival, but with the hatchlings not being quite ready to go, that won¡¯t be possible. I also have to admit that, having missed the actual hatching, I¡¯d have liked to see them be released to live their own lives. I¡¯ve had some fun playing with the hatchlings in the times Persephone and Hades have herded them outside for some experience beyond their nest, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve built any strong bonds with any of them. Not like with the raptorcats. In the end, I just have to shrug. The timing of the samuran Festival can¡¯t be changed so there¡¯s not much I can do about it. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°And how are the danaris hatchlings doing?¡± The kiina sends across a feeling of nonchalance. No change since the last time you checked. See for yourself. With that permission, I carefully step over her and make my way slowly through the moving carpet of kiina hatchlings. They don¡¯t take any notice of me, tussling with each other over a bone, or trying to climb over each other, or just sleeping in little piles on the floor. Set into the wall is a large trough. Previously, the danaris hatchlings had crawled around the relatively small area, finding and eating whatever meat was inside. And growing. Lots of that. By the end, they had multiplied in size from something that had originally fit in the palm of my hand to something which was longer than my arm. Their legs had become longer and sharper, and their exteriors had hardened. I¡¯d also been worried that they might start crawling up the walls of the trough, but their legs had proven poor at climbing sheer walls. Then, a few days ago, I found that they¡¯d decided it was time to move onto the next stage. Like a silkworm might, they had produced thread and built it around themselves in a cocoon. They didn¡¯t hang themselves anywhere, so there are three large, long parcels lying at the bottom of the trough, but I¡¯m interested to see what might emerge ¨C mini adult danarises? Or an in-between stage?. How long it will take, however, is another question. ¡°You¡¯ll keep an eye on the cocoons, right? Even after your hatchlings have gone?¡± I check with Persephone. If you wish, she answers indifferently. ¡°I do,¡± I confirm. Then I will. Suddenly thinking about what might happen if the danaris hatchlings come out of their cocoons and are abruptly more mobile than before, I assign Persephone as the leader of their party. That way, she¡¯ll be able to control them in my absence. With parting words of luck, I leave Persephone there and go to my last important stop of the day. As soon as I emerge through the earth cap covering the Pure Energy stream on Raven¡¯s side of things, I¡¯m dog-piled. Or perhaps I should say dragon-piled. ¡°Hey,¡± I laugh, ¡°Let me up, guys. Daphne, I¡¯ve told you before ¨C I need to breathe and sitting on my ribs makes that hard. Ivor, my armour isn¡¯t a chew toy.¡± Despite my chiding, I still give them each a good scratch on the necks behind their heads, just as they like it. When they finally give me some space, I sit up, then grin at the third hatchling. ¡°Come on Noir, give me a hug.¡± He steps forwards carefully and with dignity, extending his head over my shoulder to give his version of a hug. I wrap my arms around him just as carefully, aware of his brittle bones. He steps back quickly as always, not wanting to extend the contact. But I can feel the pleasure at my greeting spill through the Bond nonetheless. When he steps back, the other two crowd in again, begging wordlessly for scratches. I immediately comply, automatically using the contact and part of my conscious mind to direct mana to correct the deformation of their bodies ¨C an ongoing endeavour. I have Dominate Bonds with all three hatchlings ¨C there was no other way of me being able to work on their internal issues without it. And boy have there been a lot of issues. Despite Raven¡¯s good intentions, by putting his eggs directly in the Pure Energy, he¡¯s caused so many problems for them. Noir is the one worst affected, named for the darkness of his scales. Due to the lack of Energy within his body, I¡¯ve been able to correct most of his deformation, but that¡¯s been my limit so far. He has no internal matrix to speak of. None. I was barely able to access his Core space, only succeeding because I¡¯d had enough practice with my other Bound to know where to look. It was there, but it was completely empty. Not even traces were left to show where an internal matrix used to be. Zilch. He has no mana, and his health is permanently low. He doesn¡¯t heal as fast as his siblings either, though this actually worked in his favour when I was reforming his body as there was no fight to return it to the way it should have been. Now, he¡¯s a healthy-looking alcaoris hatchling on the outside, only probably permanently stuck as a sub-Tier one and far more fragile than either of his siblings. The other two, Daphne ¨C named for a flower and because of the faint pink blush to her scales ¨C and Ivor ¨C also named for the ivory colour of his scales ¨C are better off in the sense that they have the beginnings of an internal matrix. Their first issue was that they were completely full of Energy and before I could do anything to them, I had to drain all the excess out of them ¨C which did help me level up once. After that, it was just a long and difficult process of healing the deformation which still isn¡¯t finished, partly because of how often I have to do the same process several times before it stays healed the right way. Needless to say, I¡¯m still working on all three of them, though I''m not sure how much more I can do for Noir. Looking up, I see their father behind them, an ever-watchful presence, though by this point he¡¯s seen me help his hatchlings for long enough that he doesn¡¯t feel the need to hover over my shoulder all the time now. ¡°Hello Raven, are you well?¡± Well enough. You are leaving tomorrow? ¡°I am. I need to find out your final answer now. I have made some preparations but there are more to make if you agree.¡± The large dragon-like alcaoris shifts uneasily. I do not like letting them leave my sight. ¡°They will be protected,¡± I assure him for the umpteenth time. ¡°If they don¡¯t come, I won¡¯t be able to help them any more until I¡¯m back,¡± I point out again. I¡¯ve been trying to get him to agree to letting them come with me down into the valley. They should be safe enough considering how many Warriors and other fighters we¡¯re going to travel with, and I¡¯m concerned about how much they might backtrack if they have more than a month without my work. I still sometimes come back to find that their bodies have reversed a healing overnight, even when it had been stable for a time. He hesitates for a long moment. Then, he appears to have made up his mind. I will come with you, he announces. ¡°Kalanthia¡¯s already coming,¡± I tell him, and watch him stiffen. He snorts, a faint cloud of green emerging from his nostrils and then being sucked back in a moment later. Then I shall certainly come. It is decided, he finishes imperiously, his tone not brooking any rebuttal. I groan as I draw a hand across my face. Daphne nudges it a moment later when I don¡¯t immediately go back to scratching her neck. Then I find a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I wonder what Shrieks¡¯ face will look like when I tell him that not only is Kalanthia coming, but so is Raven¡­. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Three: Unstoppable Shrieks¡¯ face had indeed been a picture when I told him the news. His mouth had gaped open a little in surprise, his spikes had rippled with multiple colours, and the Bond between us had gone silent for one frozen moment. After that moment, though, it had practically exploded in emotion as the samuran clearly considered all the implications of two Tier threes coming with us. Are they intending on attending the actual events? he had asked delicately. I¡¯d have phrased it as ¡®are they coming to crash the party¡¯, but maybe that¡¯s just me. I reassured him on that point ¨C explaining that both were coming to ensure the safety of their respective offspring. I didn¡¯t tell him that Kalanthia might be intending on greeting the Tier threes whose territory we might happen to pass through, figuring that it wasn¡¯t too relevant. I¡¯m regretting that now as we face a creature who can only be another Tier three on our second day travelling. So far, it¡¯s been very easy. We haven¡¯t been attacked at all. I¡¯d assumed that that was because of our combined numbers and the average tier of the travellers, but I¡¯m now starting to wonder whether it¡¯s actually because of Kalanthia and Raven. More the former than the latter ¨C Raven hasn¡¯t actually been travelling with the group much, only coming by to check on his hatchlings a couple of times a day. Apparently one of his objectives today was to meet the local Guardian beast since, as the mammoth Tier three approaches us, its hooves almost making the ground shake, Raven walks by its side. They don¡¯t even pay attention to the rest of us, their eyes fixed on Kalanthia. As they are approaching from the front and she¡¯s bringing up the rear, they have to pass the whole party to reach her. The samurans part to let them through like the Red Sea did for Moses. The creature is truly massive, bigger even than Kalanthia and frankly dwarfing Raven. It appears to be a more powerful version of the cyrans currently pulling the cart and as it passes them, its gaze lingers. The samurans directly next to them who have been leading them back away rapidly ¨C even Warriors don¡¯t appear confident when faced with this creature. Not that I blame them ¨C regular cyrans are tough at Tier one. I¡¯d hate to know how tough and powerful this one is. Hopefully it won¡¯t come down to a battle. Kalanthia taps on the earth and it parts beneath her paw. In the area now revealed, I see a collection of Cores, all of them bright with power. I recognise a few as Energy Hearts I¡¯ve given her in exchange for various favours; others are clearly Cores from beasts which she¡¯s hunted. Curious, I wonder how she¡¯s storing them in the earth. Is it like a pocket of treasures which she brings with her through the earth, or at her level is there some way of creating a pocket which she can access from anywhere? Either way, it answers a question I didn¡¯t even realise I should ask about where she keeps her precious things. I make a mental note to talk to her at a good moment ¨C even if I have my Inventory, storing items in the earth like that might be better for some things or useful for someone else. The beast stops in front of her. For a moment, the whole scene is frozen. Kalanthia stares intently at the Enlightened cyran and the Guardian stares just as intently back at her. They must be communicating mentally, I say to myself. Either that, or it¡¯s the world¡¯s most intense staring contest. I cast Inspect at the beast, focussing on not alerting it. As the seconds tick by without anyone daring to move, information filters back to me. It¡¯s not very detailed ¨C it can¡¯t be without risking alerting the Guardian, which is the last thing I want to do. I wouldn¡¯t have dared even try if I hadn¡¯t known that, as long as my intention is to keep the probe undetectable, it will be. It will just limit the information it gives. Experiments have shown that even if the target is aware that I am sending a probe, they won¡¯t detect it, but then the information is very limited. Here, it¡¯s enough information to tell me that I do not want to fight this beast. Unsurprisingly considering its size and species ¨C a Tier three cyran, as I guessed ¨C it is extremely strong and has a high health pool even for a Tier three. I know that because I¡¯ve tested my Inspect against both Kalanthia and Raven ¨C unbeknownst to them. While this kind of secretive probe doesn¡¯t give me any sort of numbers, it does give me a sense in comparison to my own pool. Raven¡¯s health pool feels like a pond in comparison to my puddle. Kalanthia¡¯s health pool is an even bigger pond. This cyran¡¯s, however, feels more like a lake. And a lake that is being fed by a wide and fast-moving river ¨C its regeneration. It doesn¡¯t have a lot of mana in comparison, by far the smallest between the three Tier threes present, but I guess it doesn¡¯t need it. Its special abilities all feel like things that affect its physical form, and anyone who manages to get through its thick hide to actually injure it will then have to deal with its regeneration. As I proved when facing Raven, a being who can regenerate injuries quickly can be even more dangerous than one with a larger health pool. Finally the staring contest ends, but that apparently only opens the field for a new kind of contest. A domain sweeps over me, the sense of indomitable force, of unstoppable movement. In the old paradox of an unstoppable force coming up against an immovable object, this is definitely the first ¨C and I do not think that any of us qualify as an immovable object. I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. And then a more familiar feeling sweeps through me, replacing the sense of unopposable force with that of a watchful predator. Kalanthia¡¯s domain is no weaker than the other¡¯s, piercing me with the feeling of being eyed up as prey, my life dependent on whether the predator decides that I¡¯m worth making a meal of. I see the domains¡¯ effects on those around me. The same fear which clutches at my belly and bids me to run away before this beast decides to sweep me out of its path or before the dangerous predator decides it might as well kill me clearly has a hold on those around me. I see several samurans jerk as if to run, only to be grabbed by one near who has more sense. Many of the non-samurans who are part of our party quail, either crouching down to the ground in fear, or turning to run. Through the Bonds I have with everyone present, I send feelings of calm and reassurance, urging everyone to stay where they are. The Warriors and Pathwalkers who have kept their heads soon join with me in sending out instructions to stay still and slowly the group calms down. Those who broke and ran come back, though linger as far from the three higher Tiers as possible. The battle continues to be fought ¨C both the battle of domains between Kalanthia and the Enlightened cyran, and the battle among my network of Bonds to keep order and stop anyone from running again in blind panic. Fortunately, the Tier twos don¡¯t seem as badly affected as the Tier ones and almost all of the party are Evolved. Finally, both domains withdraw. It¡¯s not like what happened between Raven and Kalanthia where the nunda completely suppressed the alcaoris, stripping him of his domain. Instead, it¡¯s like both beasts have acknowledged each other as worthy opponents and have decided not to push the battle to an outright conclusion. The cyran stomps forwards, the ground reverberating once more beneath its feet. I can¡¯t help holding my breath ¨C is this where they test their strength against each other in other areas too? Fortunately for us, the innocent bystanders who would be injured or killed in a battle between Tier threes, it doesn¡¯t appear so. Instead, the cyran just leans forwards to sniff at the Cores. It grunts, then licks them up, apparently content with the gift. I let out my breath silently ¨C if I remember what Kalanthia said, this should mean that the Guardian will let us through without harm. Sure enough, after it has taken all the Cores, the Tier three just huffs, snorts, and then turns around, stomping away without a backwards glance. The silence and stillness in our party continues until it has pushed through enough of the forest growth for its form to practically disappear. As soon as the spell is broken, the whole party erupts in chatter, colours flashing all over spikes, clicks and grunts filling the air. I eye Kalanthia. ¡°The negotiations went well, I take it?¡± I know Unstoppable well, she says casually, stepping closer to me and nudging me for chin scratches. Not one to be left out, Lathani also pushes close to me so I sacrifice my other hand to rubbing at her ears too. In fact, if you had chosen to go to another Guardian instead of staying at my den that first day we met, it would have been to him that I sent you. ¡°To that Guardian?¡± I ask incredulously. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he have just killed me immediately?¡± Not if I sent you with gifts, she answers. Which I would have considering the service you rendered to me. He is rather difficult to enrage, however, you do so at your peril as he is equally difficult to placate afterwards. I was lucky enough to be able to help him with a matter small to me and big to him soon after my arrival. He and I are allies of a sort, though since I moved further up the mountain, our connection has lapsed a little. I was glad to reconnect with him. ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ve had the opportunity, then,¡± is all I can say. Glad that I didn¡¯t decide to go with the option of seeking out another home, I am reminded by Tarra from her place in the cart that we ought to get moving ¨C Tier threes are not the only threats in these woods. As we start moving ¨C both Kalanthia and Lathani displeased when I am forced to stop stroking them ¨C Shrieks comes to jog next to me. Perhaps I was wrong in asking you to dissuade the Great Predator from joining us, he says thoughtfully. Oh? I send back to him mentally. We have to move through the Great Charger¡¯s territory every year. This is the first year we have done so with no casualties. My eyebrows rise on my forehead. I had kind of assumed that the Tier three would just ignore the party of samurans. Apparently I was wrong. What normally happens, then? A small group of Warriors volunteer to hold its attention while the rest of us run past as quickly as they can. Those who survive join us later. It¡¯s never more than three out of five who rejoin us; some years, none of the party who remained behind make it through. Meeting Kalanthia¡¯s eyes, the nundu trotting at a relaxed pace near me, the samuran lifts his chin while still running. Great Predator, I thank you for the lives you have saved today. Kalanthia eyes the samuran for a long moment ¨C long enough that I fear they might accidentally run into something while they aren¡¯t looking at where their feet are going. Then she dips her head slightly. Your thanks are received, but unnecessary. I did not do it for you, she dismisses. Shrieks isn¡¯t offended. I offer you thanks for your actions, regardless of your motivation. Kalanthia meets his eyes again, and I see a glint of respect there. When she looks away again, Shrieks turns his attention back to me. With your permission, Honoured Tamer, I will check on everyone to make sure no one has been adversely affected by the experience we have just undergone. Yes, go ahead, I tell him, belatedly realise that I should probably do the same. You start on the left of the group, I¡¯ll start on the right? Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Four: A Veritable Horde ¡°Shrieks, take your group right. Tree, your group left. Poison, take your scouts and encircle them from the back to sow chaos within the group. Bastet, take your group to attack the front. Sirocco, give me a view from the air. Pathwalkers, Catch, Pride, with me.¡± My orders are swiftly followed, our group splitting up into our predetermined battle groups: this isn¡¯t the first time we¡¯ve been attacked. It is the biggest group of attackers by far, though. We¡¯re facing a veritable horde of what looks like bigger versions of the velociraptors which attacked me long ago and which are called ranars. They aren¡¯t Evolved versions, though ¨C not according to the Inspects which I managed to get off. As far as I can tell, they are all Tier ones unless Evolving to Tier two doesn¡¯t cause any physical differences. I don¡¯t have enough time to check each one individually, and my general Inspect indicates that they are all a similar threat to me. They are vicious with long teeth and long claws, but they don¡¯t show any signs of having ranged strategies like the other velociraptors had. It should make this battle easily feasible for us, despite their numbers. A good way to add to our Energy and food stores without having to waste too much time. That¡¯s just as well ¨C this is the second time we¡¯ve been attacked today and we¡¯re all already tired. With the few Pathwalkers who had been running with us at the time, I make a strategic retreat to the cart with the other Pathwalkers and one of the alcaoris hatchlings ¨C Noir. Climbing up on top of the wagon, I eye the battle with a calculating gaze, using the Bond to tap into Sirocco¡¯s eyes too. She flies from perch to perch, sending me quick snapshots of what the battle looks like from that perspective even when I¡¯m not actively looking through her eyes. The sound of irritable cyrans and a shuddering through the cart draws my attention to closer action. ¡°Flower, keep them calm,¡± I order the Pathwalker briskly and she tilts her chin slightly before moving to obey. Thanks to her time working with the animals to determine the best ways of increasing their growth speed, she¡¯s developed a mental presence which helps others to feel calm and serene around her and non-sapient creatures to be more docile. I¡¯ve been wondering whether she¡¯ll actually develop a special ability for it, but she hasn¡¯t as of yet. On this journey, she¡¯s been key in keeping the cyrans calm and compliant, saving me from having to create a Dominate Bond with each of them and being able to settle for Tame ones instead for communication purposes. With the cyrans now more relaxed, I can turn my attention back to the main battle, once more switching between my eyes and Sirocco¡¯s. Taking out my bow and arrows, I start shooting even as I oversee the battle. The ranars are starting to clump together as they meet the resistance of Bastet¡¯s group at the front. Fighting with her are Fenrir, Lathani, Thorn, Honey, Komodo, Daphne, and Ivor. The ranars stand almost twice as tall as Bastet, which makes them easy enough targets for my bigger Bound, but more difficult for ones like Honey. Noir is being kept back because he¡¯s smaller than his siblings and is far more fragile. He¡¯s not happy with having to stay in the cart, but I¡¯m not willing to risk his life in a fight like this. Of course, Honey doesn¡¯t let her size stand in her way ¨C she just goes straight for the enemies¡¯ legs, savaging them with her own sharp claws and teeth. Shrieks¡¯ and Tree¡¯s groups of Warriors are causing the ranars to clump together at the sides too. Now we¡¯re just waiting for Poison¡¯s group of scouts to block off their retreat. ¡°Joy, Sticks, ensnare their feet,¡± I order the two Pathwalkers. They immediately comply, the roots within the ground below the ranars¡¯ feet growing and weaving around their legs. The difference is noticeable ¨C the rate at which the ranars are being killed increases significantly once they are no longer able to dance out of the way of strikes. But numbers are still an advantage of their own. My eyes narrow in thought and an idea soon comes to me. ¡°Tarra, Windy, River work together and try to get some disabling or lethal gas or something in the middle of the pack. Ease up the pressure of the numbers.¡± The three Pathwalkers look at each other, then shift together to work out how to put my idea into practice. Unusually for Windy, there¡¯s no argument from her side of things ¨C perhaps she¡¯s more alarmed at the battle than I thought. I can¡¯t think of how the other Pathwalkers could help at the moment, unless¡­. Eyeing the battle, I notice how the scouts have reached the back and are starting to press the ranars from that point. The creatures are now in a fairly huddled group which they clearly don¡¯t like if their irritable snaps and hisses at each other are anything to go by. But they can¡¯t make it through the encircling cordon. At the same time, their irritability might start pushing them to force their way out. Joy and Sticks are doing a good job with snaring their feet, but they can¡¯t cover everyone all at once and the ranars appear to be pushing harder and harder. My assessment is confirmed a moment later. Tamer, we are being pressured hard, Shrieks warns me. As are we, agrees Tree. My group are tiring ¨C there are too many of them to manage. We are doing fine for now, Bastet chimes in, but too much more and we will start having difficulty. The attention is away from us, Poison adds his own report. But if that changes, we will struggle ¨C my scouts do not have the strength to push back the same numbers the other groups are dealing with. My thoughts race as I try to find a way of dealing with the situation, asking Sirocco to fly around the battle again so I can see exactly what¡¯s happening. If we hadn¡¯t already had a tough battle this morning where almost everyone had needed to use their daily ability to borrow another Bond¡¯s ability, this would be a perfect time to do so. But the few who haven¡¯t already used it are unlikely to make much difference. Still, I instruct those who can to send what they have the mana for into the mass. Airblades and Enhanced Blows thin the numbers a little, but not enough. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Greenish gas erupting in the middle of the group indicates that River, Tarra, and Windy have managed to work out a system. Fortunately for those at the edges, it doesn¡¯t diffuse outwards much. On the upside, that should reduce the numbers in the long term. On the downside, I see it increasing the pressure on everyone around ¨C the ranars are now not just attempting to move away from their too-close confines in the middle, but are actively trying to avoid something dangerous. I need to stop them moving. Joy¡¯s and Sticks¡¯ efforts are good but not enough and I don¡¯t have any sticky danaris silk to trap them in the centre. Suddenly, I have an idea. ¡°Sticks, Joy, focus on the ranars around the edges ¨C the ones directly in contact with our groups. Try to reduce the pressure they¡¯re dealing with ¨C we don¡¯t want any losses. Dusty, with me.¡± So saying, I climb down from the cart. Catch moves towards me, Pride following. ¡°No, stay here,¡± I tell him, answering his unspoken question. ¡°Guard the Pathwalkers.¡± He tilts his chin upwards in wordless acknowledgement, returning to his previous patrolling, watching out for anything that might approach the Pathwalkers. Dusty and I head at a run towards the front lines of the battle. ¡°Bastet,¡± I say, knowing she¡¯ll hear me through the Bond even if she can¡¯t hear my words over the din of battle. ¡°We need to cast some magic. Protect us, please.¡± Too much pressure to pull back, she warns. ¡°I have a solution for that,¡± I grin, focussing on communicating with the little fire elemental who, as always, is bobbing over my shoulder. Aingeal is, as expected, overjoyed to do something, and happily zips forwards. While it does that, I sink my awareness into the earth and spread it as quickly as I can through the ground on which the ranars stand. ¡°Right,¡± I say, my mind rapidly adjusting my plan based on what I feel. ¡°Pull back.¡± Bastet¡¯s team immediately disengages, though Honey does so with a distinct air of reluctance. Aingeal fills the gap that they left before the ranars can and flares itself brightly. It requests fire mana in its wordless way of communicating and I just about manage to feed some to it without losing my connection with the earth. With the extra mana, the fire elemental flares even brighter ¨C it¡¯s enough to put the fear of forest fire in the ranars. Those at the front turn and flee, trying to bodily force themselves into the ranars behind them. It rather reminds me of the London underground at rush hour, everyone so pressed together that it becomes almost impossible to move. Perfect. I focus fully on the ground, now doing more than just connecting with the magic in the earth. Instead, I send mana through my boots and into the network of connections. From there, I use the inherent connectedness of earth to send my mana further away, something I¡¯ve learned from Kalanthia. It¡¯s hard, and the further I push my mana, the harder it is to control, feeling much like when I try to Flesh-Shape one of my Bound at a distance. But practice makes perfect and I¡¯ve definitely been trying to practise ever since I gained the Skill. Not wanting to move closer to the ranars themselves while so vulnerable, I¡¯m forced to reach further than I ever have before. In comparison to Kalanthia, it¡¯s not far ¨C only to the centre of the velociraptor horde ¨C but considering that up until now, I¡¯ve only been able to affect the area within a few metres directly in front of me, it¡¯s a significant distance. ¡°Alright,¡± I say through gritted teeth, barely able to focus on anything but holding the mana ready at a distance. ¡°Dusty, pull water from the air and sink it into the ground in the centre of the ranars.¡± With a far more traditionally samuran ability than Happy, Yells, or Hunter, Draws-in-the-dust ¨C Dusty to me ¨C developed the power to shape water after her Evolution. It¡¯s something I want to learn too, but for now working together should be good enough. The Pathwalker wordlessly focusses and grunts in effort as she does as I asked. The water vapour in the air condenses and drips downwards, the surface starting to glint as if after a recent rainfall. She also works on grabbing water from some puddles nearby which remain after the real rain last night. While I can¡¯t affect the water itself like Dusty can, I urge the earth to accept it and to soften as a result. A quick dip into Sirocco¡¯s vision shows that I¡¯ve had the effect I want: the whole middle section of ranars has sunk in the new mud up to their heels. Like on the samurans, these are a good way off the ground meaning that the ranars¡¯ mobility is significantly impeded. With my own grunt of effort, I ask the earth to harden once more, and to harden even beyond what it had been before. The earth obliges, though slowly. If not for the other groups harrying the sides and rear of the creatures, I¡¯m sure we¡¯d have lost a large number of them. As it is, they succeed in stopping the attempt to flee, and even send the ranars back to the trap. Dusty pulls at some of the water that is forced out of the hardened earth and uses it to kill some of the creatures, the water running up their bodies to wrap around their heads and suffocate them. She can¡¯t do more than three or four at once, but every little helps. With the central ranars trapped, it doesn¡¯t take long for the battle to reach its inevitable conclusion. The fight turns more into a clean-up, samurans and my other Bound moving forwards with more tiredness than enthusiasm to kill all the creatures. I take part in some of the clean-up but when my tiredness from almost overusing my mana and mental focus causes me to be injured as I¡¯m unable to dodge an incoming blow from a still-fighting ranar, I take it as a sign to leave the job to others. Retreating back to the cart, I take a seat on it and close my eyes for a bit. Honoured Tamer? I open my eyes what feels like a minute later, but is probably more like fifteen or twenty from how much my mana has regenerated. In front of me is Tree, also looking rather exhausted. ¡°Yes?¡± Would you be willing to undo what you did to the earth? It is hard for us to retrieve the carcasses or to be sure that they are all dead with them trapped as they are. I sigh, then push myself to my feet with a groan. I might not have done much physical fighting, but using mana the way I did still leaves aches in my body. ¡°Alright,¡± I tell him with another sigh. ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Undoing the trap is easier than creating it had been, partly because I can stand far closer to it than before, and partly because I¡¯ve already worked with this patch of earth before, meaning I have more of a bond with it than other places. Fortunately, I don¡¯t have to do anything more than that ¨C other samurans come in to efficiently deal with the carcasses so I just return to the cart to rest. As I approach it, Tarra and River leave it, presumably going to help the wounded. I probably should be doing that too, but I¡¯m just feeling so wrung out right now that I can¡¯t face it. I do send a message to River to let me know if anyone is injured enough to need my Flesh-Shaping. Of course, she replies. But for now, rest. I can sense how fatigued you are. The Pathwalkers who remain murmur quietly around me, but I don¡¯t pay attention to what they¡¯re saying, instead drifting in something which is not quite Meditation, but is not all that dissimilar either. I¡¯m sure someone will come to interrupt me soon enough ¨C I might as well take my rest while I can. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Five: Outclassed Some time later, Sirocco comes to join me, landing next to me with a thump. I open my eyes to see her, then raise my hand to stroke her feathers. ¡°Thanks for your help,¡± I murmur to her. ¡°I know you really focussed on giving me a good view of everything going on around.¡± Of course, she answers with an almost insulted tone. How else would you gain a picture of the whole without my help? I just grin at her and close my eyes again, rubbing her head and chest in the way I know she likes. She soon nestles into me, laying her head on my stomach and tucking her wings away. Past her first Evolution, Sirocco at Tier two is not hugely different in appearance from her form at Tier one. She¡¯s a little bigger, but her wingspan is only about ten centimetres larger ¨C in her base form. She took her time to get to her Evolution, but seems to have been rewarded for her patience by gaining two special abilities: Change Size and Fire Wing. They both do pretty much what it says on the tin. Change Size lets her get a little bigger or a little smaller. When she first got it, she could only change her body by about five centimetres each way, which didn¡¯t make much difference. However, it seems that practice and increasing her familiarity with the ability allows her to make bigger and bigger changes. In her recent demonstration to me, she showed herself able to make adjustments of up to about ten centimetres each way. I asked her whether she knew why she had got that ability since it didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with the Cores or Energy Hearts she had been consuming. She¡¯d replied that she wanted the strength and endurance which bigger wings would give her, but at the same time still wanted to be able to access more confined spaces such as being able to fly in the forest without colliding with trees¡­and go into our den. I hadn¡¯t realised that she was so keen on the idea of joining us underground, but it seems that part of what had held her back was the fact that she didn¡¯t feel confident in being able to fly around the area and easily leave by herself if she wanted to. The first day she was able to access the den was a special one for her and it was immediately after that that she asked to become a Companion like Bastet, Fenrir, and River. I hadn¡¯t realised that it was the fact she couldn¡¯t always come with us that stopped her committing fully. Since becoming a Companion, she has lost any of the inhibitions which prevented her from emotionally connecting with us. It¡¯s a common sight now to see her nestling with one or more of my close Bound, and if she¡¯s not flying or sleeping during the day, she often comes to sit on my shoulder. And when she flies I¡¯ve been using her eyes more and more to get a view of what¡¯s happening. At first difficult and disorientating, not to mention a bit uncomfortable for us both, perseverance and effort on both our parts has meant that the change is almost seamless these days. And just as in the most recent battle, it¡¯s a key advantage to be able to see from different vantage points without moving myself. In the village, too, it¡¯s been useful in many ways, enough that I¡¯m still trying to work out how I could leave the samurans with something similar. So far I haven¡¯t come up with anything, but perhaps Hunter¡¯s recent discoveries might help with something similar. Shrieks is the one to disturb us shortly after. Honoured Tamer, I am ready to give my report. Do you wish to hear it? A bit of time to drift has eased the tension I was feeling mentally and physically. I¡¯m not fully rested, but I could go into another battle now with little difficulty. I do hope that large-scale earth movements become easier with practice as at the moment they are rather debilitating. I have to wonder whether my Fire Affinity is part of the reason for my fatigue ¨C although I¡¯ve learned to shape the earth, and improve both skill and endurance with practice, I have to admit that it doesn¡¯t come as easily as using fire does. I also wonder whether it¡¯s possible to develop an Earth Affinity at the same time as a Fire one or whether they would just cancel out. Though, considering the circumstances of developing that Fire Affinity, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d have to do to develop it. Be buried alive? ¡°Yes, please,¡± I answer Shrieks, belatedly realising that I hadn¡¯t responded to his question. The ranar are now all dead. There were a hundred and twenty-three beasts in the group. ¡°So many?¡± I exclaim in surprise. It had definitely felt like a horde, but I hadn¡¯t expected the number to actually cross the century mark. ¡°How come there were such numbers? Do you know?¡± The young ranars always do this around the time of the Festival. They travel across the valley, seeking something. I know not what they seek, but we have observed that those who have hatched in the great cycle preceeding seem to combine together and travel, always in the same direction. After the longest night, when the temperatures begin to rise again, they return in small groups or individually. And far fewer of them than departed. Some sort of seasonal migration, I have to conclude. ¡°And it¡¯s only the young ones?¡± I ask curiously. Shrieks shrugs. That is my guess. They are never Evolved, and always bear signs of having hatched a little before the longest day. ¡°Huh.¡± It was unfortunate that we were surprised by them, Shrieks continues, and that they came at a time when the Great Predator is not here. I suspect her aura would have warned the ranars off before they attacked. ¡°How do you deal with them on your usual trip, then?¡± I ask. After all, they would have been making this journey even if I hadn¡¯t been here. Normally Wind-whisperer is able to give us more warning, and we hide from them to let them pass. It is unfortunate that they came from downwind and she didn¡¯t notice until they were close. As you have seen, their numbers are formidable and we usually have less strength to stand against them. I suppose that makes sense. In fact, if I hadn¡¯t come along and helped a good number of samurans to Evolve, they would have only had six Pathwalkers ¨C including the shaman ¨C and thirteen Warriors in total. Shrieks has confessed to me that they would not have been able to leave the village completely bereft of defences, so they would have been forced to leave a really minimal skeleton guard of perhaps five of their Warriors. That would have meant a party of only six Pathwalkers and eight Warriors would have travelled to the meet-up ¨C definitely not enough to face the journey. The only other alternatives at that point would have been breaking tradition either by bringing some Unevolved with them to help defend the Pathwalkers, or by not going at all. But that latter wouldn¡¯t have been much of a solution, especially with all the hatchlings of this year dead. The shaman¡¯s short-sightedness still makes me shake my head sometimes in disgust. As it is, thanks largely to my efforts in healing or helping several Unevolved samurans to heal their own Energy channels, the village now sports eleven Pathwalkers, and thirty-two Warriors. Although that still doesn¡¯t bring them up to full strength ¨C with the normal ratios, eleven Pathwalkers should mean over forty Warriors ¨C it¡¯s still a reasonable number of Warriors. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Even better in Shrieks¡¯ eyes is the fact that because I have been able to leave some of my Bound like Artemis and her pack, Komodo, the two kiinas, and Ptera, he hasn¡¯t had to leave as many Warriors behind while still being confident in the village¡¯s safety. As a result, we only left five of the youngest Warriors behind with one of the more experienced ones. That leaves us with twenty-six Warriors to accompany the group ¨C and to take part in the festival. Of course, that¡¯s assuming that we didn¡¯t lose anyone in this most recent fight. I quickly put that question to Shrieks. We had some significant injuries, but no losses, the lead Warrior answers promptly. Herbalist and Reducer have been able to heal most of the injuries, but there are a few I think you should take a look at. He looks uncharacteristically disgruntled. Herbalist disagrees. Taciturn as usual but I sense a story behind that short sentence. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come and have a look,¡± I say, carefully dislodging Sirocco. She chirps in wordless annoyance, but hops to sit on my shoulder when I sit up. Walking next to Shrieks, we head towards where I see Tarra and River have set up their healing station. ¡°I take it we won¡¯t have to worry about food for a while,¡± I say wryly to the big samuran. No, though perhaps you could store a number of the carcasses for later. The Warriors are doing their best to dress and prepare the carcasses to last for longer, but they will still not survive indefinitely. That, I learned, was another duty of the Water-Shaper when there was one ¨C food storage. Working with another Shaper ¨C in this case Sticks ¨C to create containers, Dusty is able to create something like a tin which contains no air. It doesn¡¯t last forever, and apparently some materials are better than others, but it¡¯s better than nothing. I would guess that the spoiling within a certain amount of time is due to the porous nature of wood. Happy will probably be able to create excellent containers if she has enough of the right metal to work with. I have to guess that Dusty instinctively knows how to adjust the water so it helps to slow the spread of bacteria. It¡¯s a shame that most samurans don¡¯t seem to like cooked meat as that would definitely improve how long they can store food. They¡¯re not keen on dried meat either, though prefer that over cooked. Perhaps pickling? Though with Energy thrown into the mix, I don¡¯t know whether that would be preferred over just going and hunting something even if they do like the taste. Something to consider later. Shrieks continues his report, finishing with a suggestion. Almost everyone is tired and we have a lot of meat to process. Perhaps we should make camp for the night. I eye the bloodied earth and sniff pointedly at the scent of a charnel house. ¡°Not here, presumably,¡± I respond dubiously. If you are able to turn over the earth to bury the viscera and bloodied soil, Wind-whisperer should be able to blow away the scent of it. Water-shaper could help wash the area clean too, he suggests. It would allow some Warriors to start working on setting up the shelter while the others continue processing the carcasses. He¡­has a point. ¡°Well, it depends on whether Tarra and River need my help with healing,¡± I respond more thoughtfully. Of course. However, with your permission, I¡¯ll start having some Warriors clear a patch for the shelter to be constructed. ¡°Sure,¡± I answer, then watch as he tips his chin up slightly before striding away. I know that by the time I have finished whatever Flesh-Shaping I need to do, he¡¯ll have an area cleared, several samurans already digging in the dirt, and more cutting and positioning the log sand branches for the roof of the temporary travel hut. Apparently on our way back we¡¯ll do our best to come back this way so we can use them again. Still, they¡¯re pretty efficient ¨C the night¡¯s shelter is fairly sturdy and only takes about an hour or two to construct with as many hands as are set to the task. This one will probably take longer as not all of the Warriors will be helping with it, but I already see Joy and Sticks heading over to help. Hunter follows soon after ¨C her runes have helped make the constructions even safer. This is the seventh day of our journey and we¡¯re apparently approaching halfway through. According to the conversations I¡¯ve had with the Pathwalkers who have done this trip before, all the samurans from this side of the valley gather together at a relatively central point. They don¡¯t know if there are samurans on the other side of the river that runs right at the bottom of the valley ¨C it¡¯s too dangerous to cross over to see. As a result, we haven¡¯t gone very deeply into the valley itself ¨C most of the journey seems to be along the width of the valley. Only the last day or so will be spent going down the mountainside. That way we will avoid most of the more dangerous beasts. Though, as this encounter proves, that doesn¡¯t mean that the trip is without danger at all. Today has been particularly difficult, largely because without Kalanthia here, we¡¯ve been able to see what the journey would have been like without her domain warning off local beasts. It wasn¡¯t long after Kalanthia went off to pay her respects to the local Guardian beast that we were attacked for the first time. That one was by beasts who were fewer in number but far more powerful. They were Tier twos as well, so not only did we have to contend with higher health pools, but also mana abilities which caused the forest to practically come alive around us. Though appearing nothing like the danaris, I¡¯d say that their threat level had been not that far off and there had been five of them. Numbers were definitely still on our side and we were able to get through without losing anyone, but it came close a few times and forced us to pull out everything we could to defeat them. And now this ¨C Kalanthia still absent, we were forced to fight. It¡¯s not a completely bad thing, though, since it has helped the newer Warriors and Pathwalkers learn to work together and to use their abilities in combat. As long as none of them die. Tarra looks up at me as I step closer. I thought I told Shrieks-loudly that we didn¡¯t need help, she grumbles, clearly displeased. Why, I don¡¯t know ¨C she¡¯s been a bit irritable about my healing after today''s fights. I share a glance with River. Do you need me? I ask her privately. Need, no, she answers, though I am not like Herbalist ¨C I would welcome your help as it will mean I have to replenish fewer of my stocks afterwards. ¡°Well,¡± I answer Tarra casually, ¡°I can just sit here and watch you pour away your concoctions without helping if you¡¯d prefer.¡± The older samuran makes another wordless grunting grumble. Fine, you can help, she gives in with bad grace as if she¡¯s granting me a great favour. Start with those over there, she orders, waving at several samurans who have been treated with poultices, but not much else. What¡¯s making her so grumpy? I ask River quietly as I move over to follow her instructions. River hesitates for a moment before answering. I think she¡¯s feeling a little unnecessary, my Companion answers on the private channel. Your healing is faster, uses fewer resources, and sometimes leaves the recipient in better condition than they were when you started. She¡¯s always been the healer of our village, and now¡­. She feels outclassed, I conclude. Ah. That could be a problem. Tarra has always had the best interests of the village at heart. But if she starts feeling that she¡¯s not valued¡­. I thank River and then put my head down, concentrating on the healing. After a while, I hit on an idea. ¡°You know, Tarra,¡± I start casually. ¡°I¡¯m amazed at how many new potions you¡¯ve come up with recently, especially since learning about fire. The ones which we¡¯ve been feeding to the animals and plants for increased growth and increased Energy absorption are particularly important for the village¡¯s future. I doubt I or anyone else would be able to do the same. You¡¯re very innovative,¡± I praise. The samuran looks at me with a searching gaze, and then grunts and turns back to her task. Still, despite her seeming nonchalance, I see the flicker of pride going through her spikes and she appears just a little more relaxed than she was before. Perhaps my new Management Skill helped with my not-so-subtle approach. Either way, Mission accomplished. Book 5: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Six: What Else Is Wrong? Come on, you stupid thing, I murmur to myself, frustration mounting. I¡¯m currently sitting in the cart with several of the Pathwalkers, working on something that has eluded me for a while: my stamina. I¡¯m determined both to discover how to transform Energy and other resource pools into it, and to attempt to gain the third Masochist achievement that must exist ¨C I¡¯m sure it¡¯s possible and the first will be the key to the second. But, unlike both my health and mana, stamina is a slippery resource which I can¡¯t quite put my finger on. Sighing, I open my eyes and look up at the sky. Fully settled in my body again, I feel the movements of the cart beneath me. As would be expected when being pulled on a vehicle with no suspension, it¡¯s an uncomfortable ride. There¡¯s a reason the Pathwalkers only sit here when they¡¯re tired or want to meditate ¨C in meditation, the physical pains of the body slip away to become unimportant. Like the mind has a power over the body which makes what actually happens to it almost irrelevant. The mind has a power over the body¡­. My mind snags on that thought. Could that be my issue? Am I looking in the wrong place for stamina? I¡¯ve been looking purely in the body for it, reasoning that it¡¯s a resource which determines how far I can run and how long I can fight. The fact that it¡¯s primarily affected by Dexterity and Strength, to my mind, gives further credence to that idea. Dexterity seems to act on my body, giving my physical structure the flexibility, speed, and fineness of reactions to be able to do anything from dodge attacks at a moment¡¯s notice to carve intricate details on a piece of wood. Strength gives the muscular power to do the same actions. It all seems very physical. But what if it¡¯s not only physical? What if it¡¯s also mental? In order to dodge, I also have to perceive the attack coming and react mentally fast enough to command my body to move. To create an intricate carving, I also have to be able to conceive of the design I wish to etch and how one part of it relates to another. What if stamina isn¡¯t only about my muscles, but also my mental capabilities? Mental fatigue is a thing too ¨C I¡¯ve never checked to see whether it affects stamina as much as physical fatigue does. What if Dexterity is a mental flexibility as well as a physical one? Mental strength is already covered through Willpower, so I don¡¯t think that that stat has any relevance here. But Dexterity¡­. If my thoughts are true, then I¡¯ve definitely done myself a disservice by focussing on increasing Intelligence and not increasing Dexterity alongside it. It would also explain what I saw when I levelled up recently to level nineteen and chose Dexterity as the focus: when the Energy didn¡¯t just soak into the luminous blackness around my Energy channels, but also affected my channels themselves. At the time, I couldn¡¯t work out what it was doing. I could see it wasn¡¯t lengthening the channels, or strengthening them. It wasn¡¯t even creating more channels as Intelligence and Wisdom (Depth) both do. But it was still affecting them somehow. Now I wonder whether perhaps it was making them more flexible. Certainly, the main difference I¡¯ve seen since that level up is that it¡¯s been easier to move my mana through my channels in large clumps, my channels seemingly able to take more at a time than before. Which is all well and good as a theory. The problem, of course, will be trying to test it. My health is stored in my body. To access my health pool actively, I have to reach into the luminous blackness and pull it out of the space. Pulling out of one area has consequences, weakening and damaging that area. Pulling it out of the blackness as a whole spreads those consequences over my body. It naturally replenishes itself from Energy that seeps through my Energy channels and is transformed into health, or I can actively replenish it by transforming mana to health manually. I¡¯ve also discovered through experimentation that having health energy in my body has beneficial general effects. I don¡¯t feel the cold or heat as much, and injuries are less painful,even without Sensation Management playing a part. My senses are improved, but are also more controllable. My organs work more efficiently, transforming less into more ¨C I need to eat and sleep less. However, even if I overeat, very little of the excess is transformed into fat. Instead, an amount of excess food is broken down and used to reinforce my body further. The excess fat that I saw with Flesh-Shaping that did develop was quickly eaten away after I stopped overeating. It¡¯s like my body knows what shape I should be in to remain healthy and does its best to maintain that. My mana, on the other hand, is stored in my Core. Actually, my mana is my Core. It took me a while to realise that ¨C I had assumed that the outside of my Core was something different, I suppose because whenever I hold a Core, it always feels like solid crystal. It was only after I worked out how to form Energy Hearts by using the Pure Energy stream ¨C and earning a Skill for my pains ¨C that I made my mental breakthrough. As it turns out, crystallising Pure Energy is very simple: just stop it moving. And by that, I mean completely stop it. It took plenty of attempts, but I found out that if I form a hole in the Pure Energy tunnel, let the Pure Energy go in, and then block more Energy from entering, within a few days, that pool would become a massive Energy Heart. It hadn¡¯t happened with the basin I made for Raven¡¯s eggs because that was always moving, the Pure Energy entering and then the extra overflowing and continuing its journey. Once I realised that static Energy becomes crystalline, realising that the apparent crystalline surface of my Core was in fact static Energy ¨C or rather, for me, static mana ¨C was an easy mental step to make. When I grow my mana pool, I grow the size of my Core. When I use my mana, I pull my mana from the inner layers of my Core first, and then steadily make my way outwards towards its surface as I drain my pool. Now I understand why the first Masochist achievement warned about me having put myself in danger. The nausea and aching I get when I empty my pool is because my Core outside becomes very thin. In fact, I suspect that I could draw more mana even when my pool is at zero ¨C but at a cost. I don¡¯t know what would happen if I started accessing the most crystalline mana of the outer layer of my Core, but I suspect it would be nothing good. Perhaps I could even break my Core completely. When Energy goes into my Core, it is stored inside and is transformed into mana if my Core is not full at the time. Mana is the product of Energy being transformed by my soul. When I go into the Challenge space that my Dominiate Skill offers, I can even see the process, the fog that surrounds me being transformed into a faint sparkling in the air directly around me. And if I push my aura, my ¡®domain¡¯, further away from me, I can see it even more clearly. As for stamina, though¡­.where else is there for it to be stored? Perhaps if I can see it replenish, it will help. Hopping out of the cart, I start jogging alongside it, activating both Fade and Stealth in an attempt to use some of my pool. It¡¯s harder work than it should be to start using my stamina ¨C we¡¯re not travelling fast enough for me to consume it very quickly, and Fade and Stealth aren¡¯t massive drains. However, they are still drains so it¡¯s not too long before I¡¯ve dropped by twenty points or so. Coming out of Stealth and Fade, I apparently surprise the samurans running around me ¨C evidently they had forgotten I was there. Although my Bound using stealth abilities doesn¡¯t affect me, I can still affect them. ¡°Sorry, just testing something,¡± I apologise. It is of no concern, Honoured Tamer, the samurans murmur in response, both of them Warriors I don¡¯t know very well ¨C I vaguely recall sharing a few conversations with them, but nothing that sticks too well even in my improved memory. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Hopping back into the cart, I quickly go back into my Core space, wanting to watch my stamina replenishing itself. At first, I don¡¯t see anything. Well, nothing beyond the normal movement of Energy towards my Core as I build up more towards my next level. Unless¡­. I zoom in on something I noticed. It¡¯s very faint and I wouldn¡¯t have seen it if I hadn¡¯t been looking for it. In fact, I almost mistook it for just normal movement of Energy into my body to become health energy. But the Energy I see seeping into the walls of my channels isn¡¯t going anywhere ¨C it¡¯s becoming part of my channels. Focussing even closer, I see that my channel walls look very slightly thinner than they usually are ¨C but that that is rapidly changing. I watch until my channel walls return to normal, the Energy stopping its seeping into them and instead going directly to my Core. Is it stamina which actually makes up the structure of my Energy channels? Like mana makes up my Core and health makes up my body? I have a good feeling about this. Reaching out with my mental touch, I attempt to pull at the very substance making up my Energy channels. It resists strongly. More strongly even than health. Yet I am persistent and it pays off. A chunk of my Energy channel comes free and moves towards my Core, Energy immediately rushing to start filling in the gap. Pulling out of my Core space, I check my status screen, a feeling of success going through me as I see that my stamina has dropped by a single point. Time to experiment some more. ***** I keep experimenting throughout the day ¨C which fortunately is uneventful ¨C and into the night. Finally, when my companions have already almost all gone to bed, tired after the day of travel, I get the notification I was hoping for. And more.
Achievement awarded: Masochist III You have proven yourself a true masochist, tearing at all three aspects of your body without mercy. If you are as ruthless with your enemies as you are with yourself, Tyrant is likely the least of your titles. Idiot, Foolhardy, and Suicidal are also appropriate as only those who truly have no care for their lives and wellbeing even attempt to attain all three Masochist achievements. As a result of ripping away and replacing your stamina in such quick succession, your Internal matrix has now become more able to hold stamina energy. Each point in Dexterity now offers 15 units of stamina.
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I can barely contain the elation running through my body, though it¡¯s tempered by a wry agreement with the achievement¡¯s words. Honestly, now that I know why pushing each of the resource pools so far is dangerous, I can see its point. It¡¯s only because of the fact that I¡¯m capable of healing my own body and Energy channels actively that the pursuit has been a bit less dangerous for me. Although Tarra is able to create potions which help heal, none of those I¡¯ve yet encountered have been capable of healing like I can, and only those I¡¯ve shown have been able to work on healing their Energy channels like I do. Perhaps Nicholas¡¯ world is different, but if not, then perhaps this is why so many die. As it is, I¡¯m just glad that I have the advantages I do. There¡¯s another message waiting.
Achievement awarded: Tri-pool Manipulator You have discovered how to access and transform each of your resource pools into the other. This has had a strengthening effect on your system as a whole. You have begun to understand the connections each pool holds with the others and with your mind, body, and soul. 10% to Intelligence, Constitution, and Dexterity 5% to Willpower, Strength, and Wisdom
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That¡­is big. And even bigger is a realisation I¡¯ve come to while doing my experiments. The last line seems to confirm it. My resource pools are not merely linked to one of my stats, though of course one is more important. Stamina is connected to my body, yes, but it¡¯s also connected to my mind, and my willpower ¨C even when my stamina is low, I can force myself to continue if I have the strength of will. Mind and body are connected. My mana isn¡¯t only connected to Intelligence; it¡¯s also connected to Wisdom. And it is transformed by my soul. Mind and soul are connected. And my health¡­it¡¯s connected to Constitution, but it also dictates my strength, and thereby is connected to my stat Strength. And yet, it isn¡¯t just body. I saw that from the effects of the Pure Energy on me: when I had no soul in my arm, it was weaker and the effects of level ups were unable to affect that limb. Body and soul connected. I just know that when I look at my status screen, my Energy Manipulation Skill will have gone up. Opening it up, I see all the changes but there¡¯s one thing I frown at. Dexterity and Strength. According to my status screen, It¡¯s not Dexterity which is linked to my stamina pool ¨C it¡¯s Strength. But with what I¡¯ve learned, that makes no sense! I flick back to the Masochist achievement and my frown deepens. The achievement says ¡®Each point in Dexterity now offers 5 more units of stamina.¡¯ But shouldn¡¯t it be stamina regeneration? Or is my status screen just plain wrong? Or¡­not wrong, perhaps, but not necessarily the best representation. I remember studying Chemistry at school. My teacher showed us a picture of the atom with its nucleus in the centre and the electrons whizzing around it. He then told us that it was wrong, and demonstrated how electrons weren¡¯t little balls that moved around a bigger ball, but in fact areas of probability that looked more like balloons emerging from it. And then he said that if we went on to study Chemistry at university, the professors there would tell us that this model was wrong too. The experience impressed on me that we often try to create models which represent reality but which are not themselves real. Is this the case here? That the people of Nicholas¡¯ world have misidentified Dexterity and Strength? Because to me, it now makes far more sense that Strength with its subcategories of Power and Endurance are linked to stamina regeneration, and Dexterity, which is clearly linked to what I¡¯ve just been doing to my Energy channels, is linked to my actual stamina pool. As if responding to my certainty despite the evidence of my eyes, the text in the status screen shimmers and changes.
Level: 19 Energy to next level: 34% Energy absorption rate: 91u/hr Energy towards debt: 116% (169)
Intelligence 40+6 (+15%) Mana: 690/690 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 44+4 (+10%) Mana regeneration rate: 1200u/hr
Willpower 67+21 (+32%) Health regeneration rate: 88u/hr
Constitution 32+3 (+10%) Health: 515/515 (525) (15u/CP)
Strength 21+1 (+5%) Stamina regeneration rate: 130u/hr
Dexterity 28+2 (+10%) Stamina: 112/450 (15u/DP)
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Journeyman 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Journeyman 7 * Alliance Fade ¨C Journeyman 1 * Darkvision Inspect ¨C Novice 5 Elemental Bonding - Beginner 2 Management ¨C Novice 3 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Master 2 Stealth ¨C Novice 9 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 7 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 5 Sensation Management ¨C Novice 3 Spearmanship ¨C Initiate 5 Archery ¨C Beginner 9 - Novice 9 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Initiate 5 Short Blades ¨C Novice 7 Fire-Shaping ¨C Initiate 5 Earth-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 1 Energy Crystallisation ¨C Beginner 5 Teaching ¨C Beginner 7 Rune-Carving ¨C Beginner 4 Enchanting ¨C Beginner 8
While the switch between Dexterity and Strength for my stamina pool and stamina regeneration feels right, it opens up a worrying thought. If that was wrong, and appeared to be right all the way up until now¡­what else might I ¡®know¡¯ that is also wrong? Book 5: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Seven: Considered Fortuitous Enemies coming, Sirocco warns, but she doesn¡¯t sound entirely sure. I frown and flick a quick thought to Shrieks to stop. It doesn¡¯t take long for him to halt the whole group ¨C everyone by this point is well-trained to obey his cues at a moment¡¯s notice. Sixteen days of travelling together through increasingly dangerous forest does that to a party. Not needing to move, I close my eyes and dip into my Bond with Sirocco. She willingly makes space for me and I blink as her vision comes into focus for me. The first second is always disorientating. It requires switching from my normal vision to her highly acute one as well as adjusting to the way her eyes work like a pair of binoculars to focus in on something. But by this point I¡¯ve had enough practice with it to be able to concentrate after that first second. When I see the ¡®enemies¡¯ I take in a quick breath, slightly surprised even though, thinking about it, I shouldn¡¯t be. Thanks, I say to Sirocco, pulling out of her mind. She accepts my word of gratitude with an aloof air as if it¡¯s nothing more than she is due. ¡°There are samurans not far ahead of us,¡± I announce and a ripple of excitement goes through the villagers. How far? asks Shrieks, a hint of eagerness in his voice. Looking around, I see that all of the samurans are fully focussed on me. Maybe not the best idea in this forest ¨C at least my non-samuran Bound are being more sensible. To answer the question, I check in with Sirocco again, trying to get a sense of distance. ¡°Not far,¡± I answer. ¡°If we continue walking, we¡¯ll start hearing them within a few minutes, I think.¡± Then with your permission, Tamer, we will continue, Shrieks asks politely, but I can sense he¡¯s raring to go, as is everyone else. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go,¡± I answer, feeling a mixture of nerves and contagious excitement. We start moving again, and this time I don¡¯t think I¡¯m imagining that we¡¯re moving faster than we were before. The Warriors and Pathwalkers who have been on this journey previously seem to be the most excited, perhaps because they know what to expect. The new Evolved are excited too, but I also sense hints of trepidation among them. Perhaps it¡¯s the fear of the unknown. I have to admit that I have reasons of my own to be nervous. I¡¯m not a samuran, after all, yet I¡¯m the leader of this village. I don¡¯t want to get in a fight with the other villages, or cause them to declare war on my village, but at the same time, if they try to kill and eat me or decide that I¡¯m less than them because I¡¯m a different species, I¡¯m determined to show them differently. ¡°Is this usual?¡± I ask the closest Evolved ¨C Flower. She turns her head to look at me briefly. Is what usual? ¡°Meeting a group of samurans before actually making it to the Festival? I thought we weren¡¯t due to arrive there until tomorrow at the earliest. Or have we made even better time than we thought?¡± A journey that would normally take twenty or so days has been done in seventeen, largely because of the fewer fights which have happened to slow us down thanks to Kalanthia being present some of the time. I have to admit that I¡¯m glad she¡¯s not present right now, though, which is why we were concerned about enemies. I don¡¯t know how the other samuran party would react to her presence. Flower shrugs with her tail, the movement difficult to see among the natural swaying of it as she walks. It is not abnormal, she answers. It doesn¡¯t happen every great cycle, but there are other villages around who are all coming for the same occasion. Arrivals are usually a little staggered ¨C we are going to arrive earlier than normal for us as we¡¯re often one of the later parties. To encounter another party is considered fortuitous since it allows us to start making connections with another group even before the Festival begins. Unless we encounter a village we are actively in conflict with. ¡°Are there any of those I should be aware about?¡± I ask warily, wondering why it¡¯s only now that I¡¯m being informed about this. Flower hesitates. Not¡­exactly. I actually slow down and glare at her for her hesitance, though quickly get moving again when I almost cause a collision with the samurans running behind me. ¡°What do you mean ¡®not exactly.¡± We are not currently at war with any village, Flower explains, but¡­there is another village whose leaders seem to delight in the fact that we are small and relatively weak. Our increased strength might be taken as an insult. And there are additional villages who are not as¡­friendly as they might be. I groan. Great. So I¡¯m going to at least have to deal with trying to avoid a war breaking out between my village and this other one, and probably putting out metaphorical fires in other places too. After all, even if I¡¯m going to be leaving in half a year, the villagers won¡¯t be. ¡°I think we need to sit down tonight and discuss all of this,¡± I tell her. I don¡¯t want to go into this situation blind. ¡°For now, when we meet these other samurans, make sure to tell me what the village¡¯s relationship is with them.¡± I will, she promises. Her promise comes due shortly afterwards as we first hear the sounds of samurans moving through the forest, and then actually see them. The first samurans we see are clearly scouts. As they come into view, I feel all the samurans around me tensing slightly, wondering whether this group is one they¡¯re friendly with or not. The approaching samurans seem just as tense, obviously having spotted us and probably wondering the same. Then I see Shrieks and several of the Warriors relax a little. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Climbs-a-tree! Fallen out of any branches recently? Poison calls jovially, warm welcome flashing through his spines as he strides forwards. He clasps the other Warrior by the arm and leans in to rub his muzzle briefly against the other¡¯s. They are too far away for me to hear the other samuran¡¯s response clearly, but evidently this is a group of friendlies. I feel the rest of the samurans relax, and I do the same along with them. I flash a look at Iandee, standing next to me. ¡°Obviously Poison knows that one ¨C do you?¡± He shrugs casually in response. Vaguely, he answers. There are so many Warriors at the Festival that I don¡¯t know too many. Poison knows far more than me because he¡¯s been seven times. This is only my second time. ¡°Well you¡¯ll know more than me,¡± I comment wryly. At that he turns and looks at me properly, his eyes searching. I look away, feeling that he¡¯s seeing more than I¡¯d like him to. Don¡¯t worry, he tells me quietly. We won¡¯t let any harm come to you. You¡¯re one of our Pathwalkers, fertile or not, and our leader. ¡°I can take care of myself,¡± I say defensively. I don¡¯t like feeling vulnerable with beings I know are only friendly to me because of the Bonds I have with them. And what I can do for them, I suppose. I know you can, Iandee answers pacifyingly. But you don¡¯t have to. Not all the time, anyway. He gives me a gentle nudge. You helped me when I was in a bad place. Let me help you now. I eye him carefully, his metaphorical hand outstretched. Then I tilt my head slightly towards him. ¡°Alright. Thanks, I suppose.¡± He doesn¡¯t seem put off by my luke-warm acceptance. Further conversation is disrupted a moment later. Tamer, we need you to come to meet the other village¡¯s Pathwalkers, Tree says, almost knocking Iandee out of the way as he barges into the space between us. Oh, sorry Eats-Dirt, he apologises though doesn¡¯t sound particularly sincere about it. Iandee glares at him but holds his tongue. I exchange another look with Iandee, then follow Tree as he leads the way through the group. Just remember that I am here for you if you want me to be, Iandee sends mentally, clearly determined to finish our conversation. Thanks, I reply back to him simply. I can appreciate the offer of support even if it comes to nothing in the end. The other Pathwalkers join us one by one as we make our way through the group and then past it and then through the space between us and the other samuran villagers. Tree stops at the edge of our group, leaving us to continue alone. In the time I was talking to Iandee, the majority of the other group has come into view. Poison is still the only one speaking to a Warrior on the other side ¨C perhaps that¡¯s a part of tradition which I don¡¯t know when meeting another group of samurans. Certainly what is about to happen is clearly traditional: there are nine Pathwalkers on the other side arrayed in a sort of V shape. One is at the front of the formation; the leader, I guess. Like us, they are unaccompanied by Warriors. A show of trust? Or confidence? I send out a gentle probe of Inspect, focussing on keeping it subtle. It returns with a range of information ¨C some of the Pathwalkers are clearly unobservant as the probe practically gives me all the information I could want. Others are more observant, the leader unsurprisingly the most alert, and so I only get some basic information about them. Still, it¡¯s enough to tell me that they have a variety of abilities much like us, but that their abilities seem more ¡®traditional¡¯. Water, wood and earth shapers ¨C two of the latter two, interestingly. They have their own weaver and grower, though I sense that the abilities are not identical to Joy¡¯s and Flower¡¯s. Then there are some more unusual ones ¨C one seems able to talk to plants, controlling them in a different way to a wood-shaper or grower. The last, the leader, is capable of telekinesis ¨C much like the Pathwalker I killed when escaping from the village all that time ago. Given how combat-suitable that ability is, I¡¯m not surprised she¡¯s the leader. As we finish walking towards the group, I sense the Pathwalkers following me also arranging themselves in a V shape according to their rankings. What am I supposed to do or say? I ask the Pathwalkers mentally, trying not to let any of my abrupt panic show. We really should have prepared for this, but we weren¡¯t expecting it to be today. At least, I wasn¡¯t. Calm, Tarra rumbles at me. I will guide you. I stop at Tarra¡¯s word, a few steps away from the leader. Following her instructions, I stay silent and let the other group speak first. Apparently, that¡¯s the way to announce that I believe our party to be the stronger one. The other Pathwalkers eye us with a mixture of surprise, shock, and, for some, disgust. ¡°Greetings from the blue tribe of the third upper mountain,¡± the other leader starts after a long pause elapses, her spikes flashing with caution and a hint of uncertainty. ¡°Greetings from the green tribe of the seventh upper mountain,¡± I reply with as much confidence as I can, leaning into Animal Empathy to be understood. The other Pathwalkers break out into a hushed chorus of surprise, clearly not having really expected me to either understand or be able to respond. The leader is no less surprised, but she continues with what I have to guess is a ritualistic way for two tribes to meet. ¡°You appear to have travelled far. Is the Festival of the Tribes your destination?¡± she asks as if she doesn¡¯t already know. But then that¡¯s ritual, isn¡¯t it? Like when we ask people ¡®how are you¡¯, and the expected response is always a variation of ¡®fine¡¯ or ¡®good¡¯ no matter if you¡¯re actually completely broken inside. Ritual is all about the form; not the substance. ¡°We have indeed travelled far, but we would travel even further to meet with our brethren at the Festival of the Tribes,¡± I answer at Tarra¡¯s prompting. I¡¯m grateful that she is the one who offered ¨C I at least know that she wouldn¡¯t want her own village to look bad by feeding me the wrong responses. If Windy had been the one to offer, I wouldn¡¯t have felt the same certainty. ¡°Then, as we have the same destination, would you like to share a carcass and then continue together, beginning the Festival of Tribes before we even arrive?¡± There is only one response I can politely give, apparently. ¡°We would be honoured to travel together. Let us offer the carcass from which we will take the strength to continue our journey.¡± ¡°My people and I thank you for your gracious offer.¡± The leader answers, tilting her chin just the slightest upwards, curiosity flickering through her spikes. Now we must provide a carcass of suitable strength, Tarra tells me mentally, and sit around it with our cousins to feast. Be careful with your words ¨C they will be trying to find out if we truly are stronger than them or not. What have I just got myself into? Book 5: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Eight: You Might Just Get It Fortunately, the hunting we¡¯ve done recently has been yielding more and more Tier two beasts, especially as we¡¯ve started diving deeper into the valley itself. That has itself created more conflicts, especially in times when Kalanthia has been absent to greet a local Tier three. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m glad or disappointed that in our first contact with another samuran village, she isn¡¯t present. On the one hand, it would be an awesome intimidation factor to present the new samurans with: a friendly Tier three, even if she¡¯s of a different species. On the other hand, she¡¯s not under my control, and if one of the newcomers offended her, she could easily turn around and kill them. That probably wouldn¡¯t end well. We settle around one of the most recently hunted beasts, something that looks like Pride does since his Evolution, though it was called a pasis rather than a scalla. It has a large sail on its back and, when alive, stood a couple of heads taller than me with wicked teeth and claws. Against our numbers, though, it died before it even managed to make it into melee combat. I do wonder whether Pride will one day gain its ability to mesmerise opponents by flashing colours through its sail, though. That could be quite a good addition to our arsenal even if it did appear limited to the weaker of our numbers. Shrieks, Tarra, River, and I were practically unaffected. The other Pathwalkers appear impressed, though on the part of the leader, grudgingly so. ¡°This is a fine meal,¡± the leader says politely, though without a huge amount of enthusiasm. ¡°Thank you,¡± I respond automatically, though a quick reprimanding message from Tarra makes me continue. ¡°Of course, this is but the least of what we would wish to offer you. We must excuse ourselves by saying that the hunting has been poor. Hopefully we will be able to offer you a better meal before we arrive at the Festival of Tribes.¡± ¡°We shall supply the next carcass,¡± the Pathwalker promises. ¡°May the forest offer us the opportunity to find a carcass at least the equal of what you have presented to us.¡± With prompting from Tarra, I reach down to cut a slice of meat from the carcass. Though I could probably grow a claw from my finger by using my flesh-shaping to extend and sharpen my top finger bone, I decide to instead use my knife. The fact is that I am not a samuran, and am not pretending to be one. But showing that I am capable of everything they are ¨C and more besides ¨C can only be to the good. I slice through the pasis¡¯s hide with some effort ¨C my knife is sharp but the hide is thick. The flesh is easier to cut through and I take out a chunk of meat. I¡¯m glad to see the other Pathwalker struggling more than I did to get through the hide, though I hide my reaction as best I can, maintaining a polite expression. Not that they can probably interpret things such as smiles anyway. The other Pathwalker eats the slice of raw meat that she manages to pull out, her expression and the colours rippling through her spikes indicating that she is mildly impressed. Her eyes go wide as I make my next move, though. Again, I am not a samuran and don¡¯t intend to be. So I don¡¯t even pretend that I like raw meat. Instead, I pull off a trick which I once used with Tarra, only this time I¡¯ve improved it with practice. Holding the chunk of meat between my forefinger and my thumb, I focus. Fire flickers around my hand, its heat and flames concentrated entirely on the meat and not on my own flesh. Last time, I badly burnt my fingers by doing this; this time I have enough control over the flames to barely do more than warm them. The hottest part is when heated juices run over my fingers. The lead Pathwalker is not the only one with wide eyes before I finish grilling the meat to my tastes ¨C the rest of her retinue have followed suit, most even less composed than she is. My own group, of course, takes no notice. They help themselves one by one to the carcass, prompting the other Pathwalkers to do the same. Once my food is ready, I take a bite. Mm, higher Energy density definitely makes this meat tastier, I say to myself. ¡°I am Pathwalker Tamer,¡± I tell the other group, probably more casually than I should strictly be. ¡°These are Pathwalkers Herbalist, Reducer, Grower, Wind-whisperer, Weaver, Wood-shaper, Smith, Enchanter, Reflector, and Water-shaper,¡± I continue, introducing everyone by rank order ¨C according to what Tarra tells me, this is always the way. Given that it¡¯s also the order by which they¡¯ve helped themselves to the carcass too, I have to assume she¡¯s right. ¡°Greetings to you Pathwalker Tamer, and to your sisters,¡± the lead Pathwalker says, regaining her composure and tilting her chin upwards slightly. ¡°I am Pathwalker Mind-Mover, and these are my sister Pathwalkers: Water-controller, Plant-whisperer, Wood-former, Earth-whisperer, Fabric-maker, Plant-grower and Stone-speaker.¡± ¡°Greetings to you Pathwalker Mind-Mover and to your sisters,¡± I repeat her greeting, though don¡¯t add the chin-tilt. Apparently that¡¯s only a requirement for the weaker party and that she¡¯s offered it is a good sign that she indeed considers us to be the stronger group. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Hearing the names of her Pathwalkers makes me wonder whether they have a different naming tradition in their village, or whether a ¡®Wood-former¡¯ is indeed different from a ¡®Wood-shaper¡¯. Perhaps I¡¯ll find out in time. We continue exchanging small talk, the other Pathwalkers becoming involved one by one. They seem to do so in a very structured way ¨C Tarra being the next to join the conversation, then River, and then the others going according to their place in the internal hierarchy. Conversation focusses mostly on the recent journey, the individual abilities of each Pathwalker, and the strength of the Warriors accompanying them. I get it, I do. It¡¯s all about subtle and not so subtle bragging, jockeying for position to decide which group has the advantage. Not at any point do they challenge my position here as a non-samuran. I¡¯d be happy for that if the lack of challenge truly indicated that there was no question about it, but I¡¯m sensitive enough now to the undercurrents of a discussion to tell that it¡¯s actually the query uppermost in all of their minds. But apparently, it¡¯s not suitable conversation material. Not yet, at least. I let the other Pathwalkers do most of the talking, too concerned about accidentally putting my foot in my mouth. Instead, I just listen, trying to absorb the way they talk to each other for later use. I¡¯m already exhausted at the thought of having to repeat this again, multiple times probably. It¡¯s worse than when I was invited around to a friend¡¯s house after school ¨C those times were also made uncomfortable by an unspoken question that no one dared to ask. Lucy¡¯s parents never made me feel like they were wondering about where my mother was; that was one of the reasons I felt comfortable with them. More comfortable sometimes with them than I was at home with my dad. But all that is long gone, now, and was before I even came to this world. Eventually, the tortuous experience is over. The other Pathwalkers return to their own group, and we continue on the route together, but not right next to each other. ¡°You know those guys, then?¡± I ask Tarra now that she¡¯s not having to concentrate both on her own conversation and mine whenever I opened my mouth. ¡°What kind of terms are the two villages on? It seemed rather¡­stiff,¡± I judge. Tarra sways her tail in a shrug. We are on fairly neutral terms. They are a small village, much like ours. We have much in common, but do not dare to be seen as too friendly with each other. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I ask curiously. They are blues, we are greens. The larger villages of our tribes don¡¯t like to see the smaller ones of different tribes getting too close, Tarra answers darkly. The last time three small villages of different tribes became too friendly, one of them was attacked and taken over by a large one not too far away. None were left to tell the story of exactly what had happened. But we all know why. ¡°Samurans do that to each other?¡± I asked, surprised. Although I¡¯d had the sense that inter-village politics weren¡¯t always completely peaceful, I hadn¡¯t thought they were quite as warlike as Tarra¡¯s words indicate. I wonder if it¡¯s a tool of punishment from a larger authority rather than inter-fighting between tribes. ¡°In the same way as there¡¯s a lead Pathwalker among the other Pathwalkers, is there a lead village among the other villages of a tribe? And maybe a lead village overall?¡± There is no ranking tournament to decide a leader, Tarra answers hesitantly. But villages are judged in strength according to their Evolved, particularly Pathwalkers. The village with the greatest strength of Evolved ¨C which is not always the same as numbers, but is usually closely linked ¨C is considered the leader in the Tribe. Among the Tribe leaders, one is usually judged to be the strongest overall, though that position means little in practical terms. The biggest village last year had over seventy-five Evolved, and there were almost twenty Pathwalkers among them. Even if it only brought half its number to bear, it could overrun most small villages. Therefore, its leader is given respect and obedience, whether we are of its tribe or not, because none of us wish to be that village. ¡°Wait,¡± I say thoughtfully. ¡°Almost twenty Pathwalkers, meaning at most nineteen. We¡¯ve got eleven already, and thirty-four Warriors. That¡¯s forty-five Evolved already, which is more than half what this biggest village had. We must be doing pretty well in the implicit rankings, then.¡± Tarra shrugs again. We are certainly better placed than we feared we would be. It is why the village of the blue tribe acknowledged us as more powerful: they only had eight Pathwalkers and fewer Warriors accompanying them. But we are still not strong enough to be able to fend off the biggest three tribes if they decided to come to obliterate us. So, please, be polite. I wonder whether she¡¯d say the same if she knew that Raven still owes me at least three favours, I think to myself. Better not to reveal that card right now, though. I suppose I¡¯d better play their game until I can''t for whatever reason. Which means¡­. ¡°Does that mean more small talk over carcasses?¡± I ask out loud with a hint of a whine to my voice. Tarra looks at me flatly as if to say ¡®suck it up¡¯. Yes. Part of the Festival is doing the rounds to visit each village and share a carcass. Our Warriors will be busy during the day times to find suitable kills for us as their own ability to mate with other Pathwalkers will depend on how successful we are in convincing the other village of our power. I groan, though doing my best to keep it quiet. After everything I¡¯ve experienced with the samurans, I was expecting this more to be like a tournament, not a tea-party. ¡°So there¡¯s no fighting?¡± I ask, resigned. It¡¯s not like I like fighting, exactly, but between that and what I¡¯ve just experienced, I¡¯d choose the former every time. Did I say that? Tarra asks innocently. I have a feeling she knows exactly what she¡¯s doing. At any time, our Warriors may be challenged by other Warriors, and we may be challenged by other Pathwalkers to display our skills and talents. Challenges between leaders are particularly common. Fights are not to the death, but a loss can have serious consequences for the village if the expectation is that the samuran should win. And honestly, she continues even as I absorb that, considering that you¡¯re not actually a samuran in body, I suspect that you will receive challenges more than anyone else. They do say to be careful what you wish for ¨C because you might just get it. Book 5: Diplomacy - Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Other Party ¡°Mind-mover,¡± said one of her sisters, green wonder rippling through her spikes. ¡°Have you seen what they have with them?¡± Mind-mover looks over at her sister, Wood-former, and then beyond her to where she¡¯s staring. Unsurprisingly, it¡¯s at the other party of People that they encountered by chance on the route to the Festival. Encountering another party is not an unusual occurrence, but it¡¯s been a while since they last encountered members from the green tribe of the seventh upper mountain. As far as Mind-mover understands it, they are usually later arriving than they have proven to be this time. They must have had an easier time during the journey than usual. Or perhaps it is the contraption which has gained Wood-former¡¯s attention that is to thank for their rapid progress. Mind-mover has to admit to a little bit of envy. Walking surrounded by her Warriors rather pales in comparison to being carried along in a wooden contraption, pulled by two massive ilaropes. How did they even manage to convince the ilaropes to be so docile? she asks herself. Perhaps they have raised a beast-whisperer among them. This new ¡®Tamer¡¯? Either way, it¡¯s a clear demonstration of the new progress they had made and no doubt enabled them to travel faster, not needing to account for the Pathwalkers¡¯ usual lack of stamina. Since the two groups are travelling together, however, the other group has probably reduced their pace to match the blue tribe¡¯s. Mind-mover doesn¡¯t like the feeling of being an unintentional delaying factor. ¡°I have seen it,¡± Mind-mover finally responds to her sister. ¡°If we were able to catch and tame two ilaropes in the same way, do you think you could create something similar?¡± she asks curiously. Wood-former is silent for a long moment, consideration flickering in multi-colours through her spikes. ¡°Perhaps,¡± she answers finally, non-committal. ¡°I would have to take a closer look at how they make the round discs to the side able to turn. But then¡­quite likely, especially if Plant-whisperer or Plant-grower helps me grow trees in the correct shapes. But we¡¯re avoiding the carcass in the bush here. The contraption isn¡¯t the only unusual thing they have with them,¡± she says pointedly. Mind-mover abruptly wonders whether perhaps the moving wooden object wasn¡¯t actually what she was referring to. ¡°You speak of their new ¡®leader¡¯?¡± she asks, unable to help a hint of vivid orange scorn from entering her spikes. ¡°It is odd,¡± agrees Fabric-maker, sidling up to join the conversation. Mind-mover looks at her in barely covered irritation. She should have known that this particular sister would appear as soon as she sensed the hint of gossip. ¡°Do you think they have fallen so far that they would accept a prey-beast as leader?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s a prey-beast,¡± warns Earth-whisperer, also joining the conversation. ¡°What could she be?¡± demands Fabric-maker. ¡°She looks weak even though she¡¯s slightly bigger than us ¨C her skin looks soft, she has no claws and her teeth are blunt. She didn¡¯t even eat meat straight from the carcass!¡± ¡°But she did eat meat,¡± Wood-former reminds her sister. ¡°Which means she¡¯s not as much of a prey-beast as her lack of claws and teeth might indicate. And she was wearing hides over her skin, hides with scales large enough to be from some dangerous beast further into the valley. And, like it or not, she has been recognised as the leader of the other village, which either means their Pathwalkers have become pitifully weak, or that this outsider is stronger than we think.¡± ¡°I would bet my bones on the latter,¡± Earth-whisperer confides. ¡°I sense that she has a connection to the earth, as I do.¡± Mind-mover looks at her sharply. ¡°A connection to the earth? As well as a connection to what looked like the life-devourer? And what is that thing which hovers over her all the time? It sheds light, yet it doesn¡¯t appear to be a plant.¡± ¡°It is not a plant,¡± Plant-whisperer confirms quietly from the side. Earth-whisperer sways her tail in a shrug. ¡°I cannot tell anything about the life-devourer; only about how I feel the earth whisperering to her as she takes each step. The whispers are faint; she¡¯s not as practised as I am, but that will only take a little time.¡± ¡°It certainly smelled like the life-devourer,¡± murmurs Wood-former quietly, her colours subdued and troubled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forget that smell ¨C when we emerged from the shelter, only to see the carcasses of our villagers lying steaming in the blackened and barren grounds around. The scent of burnt flesh¡­it was the same as what came from the piece of flesh this Tamer held between her claws. ¡± ¡°Not claws,¡± Fabric-maker corrects. ¡°And if she wields the life-devourer as well as being able to whisper to the earth, she has no need of claws,¡± points out Earth-whisperer. ¡°Perhaps she is one of the People, but her Evolution gave her so much magic that she lost all of our defences.¡± That suggestion is met by scoffs all around. ¡°Her head is the wrong shape entirely, she has no tail, her legs are stocky and short, she has fur on her head, and no spikes to speak of,¡± Stone-speaker lists, clearly having been listening into the conversation. ¡°Even an Evolution that gave her access to two disparate magics would not result in that. Not to mention that she is taller than any of us. No, she is some other kind entirely.¡± ¡°Pathwalkers, danger,¡± their lead Warrior snaps, immediately gaining their attention and pulling them out of their discussion. The Warriors around them have stiffened and start moving into a defensive formation. Looking up sharply, Mind-mover sees something approaching the other party. Something big. ¡°Do you think they haven¡¯t seen it?¡± Fabric-maker murmurs quietly from where they are now tense, encircled by defensive Warriors. If the creature steps towards them, they are now ready to meet it with magic and weapons. ¡°Do you think we should warn them?¡± asks Earth-former warily. Certainly, the other tribe of People seem completely unaware of the danger. They are still travelling with the same slightly-wary relaxation which they have been the whole time Mind-mover¡¯s group has been with them. ¡°No,¡± Mind-mover decides. ¡°Let¡¯s see what they do. If they need our help and it is not suicide to offer it, we will step in. Perhaps a favour owed will come in useful later. But for now, let¡¯s see what this ¡®leader¡¯ offers her village ¨C and whether they truly are the stronger group.¡± She felt some of her sisters shift beside her, not entirely happy with her pronouncement, but not disagreeing enough to outright argue with her. The other party seems to have realised that something is amiss ¨C perhaps it is the way Mind-mover¡¯s own party have tensed and moved into a highly defensive formation which has warned them. They start shifting into their own defensive formation, the Warriors clustering around the wooden contraption bearing the majority of their Pathwalkers. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The leader jumps onto the contraption from where she had been walking among the Warriors ¨C an odd choice considering almost all the other Pathwalkers are in the wooden contraption. Why walk when she could ride? Yet, despite their attempts to move into a more defensible position, they are too late. The creature is already too close. Mind-mover hears several sharp intakes of breath and hisses of fear. ¡°A powerful Earth-Shaper,¡± Earth-former says, her spikes flashing with anxious colour. ¡°Far beyond my strength.¡± ¡°Maybe we should go to reinforce them,¡± suggests Stone-shaper nervously. ¡°If they fall, the beast may turn to attack us next. I don¡¯t think that even our combined efforts will be able to keep this creature at bay ¨C it looks to be one of the Great beasts, though I do not remember one claiming this area as its territory last great cycle.¡± There are several more fearful intakes of breath at that. Mind-mover¡¯s thoughts race, weighing up what would be most beneficial for their party. ¡°We will reinforce them,¡± she decides, casting her lot in with the other party. Even if their leader turns out to be nothing special, they have more Warriors with them than Mind-mover¡¯s own group. Together, they should be numerous enough to fend off even a Great beast. And with the other party¡¯s Pathwalkers adding their strength, they should manage to make it out without too many casualties. Running might work too, but its success would most likely depend on whether the beast wished to pursue or not: from its shape, it seems like one who could pursue them easily if it chose. No, better to fight together. But by the time they¡¯ve covered halfway across the distance between their two groups, Mind-mover can¡¯t help but ask a question: ¡°What are they doing?¡± The other party has dropped all defensive manoeuvres. They¡¯re¡­relaxing. As if there isn¡¯t a Great beast with strong powers over the earth approaching them. Do they even realise it¡¯s there? They must! she says to herself. Some of them are looking at the beast. Then a nasty thought comes to her mind. Does it have power to beguile or befuddle as well as over the earth? It would be unusual for a beast to have two such vastly different abilities, but not completely unknown, though usually beasts who are able to create illusions or affect the minds of others develop or already have a command over air, not earth. It almost makes her draw her party back: if the beast can befuddle the other party, they would just be walking into its mouth by moving closer. But there¡¯s one incongruity that draws her attention and stops her from giving the order: the beast itself shows no sign of aggression or intention to attack. Perhaps that¡¯s part of the act, she wonders. It pretends to be friendly up until the moment it opens its mouth to snatch prey? But if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s very picky about its prey: it has reached the outer edges of the Warriors who part before it ¨C another oddity ¨C without taking a mouthful yet. And why would beguiled Warriors move away with what looks like wary respect if their spikes are anything to judge by? Beguiled prey should either not move at all, or move towards their beguiler. Perhaps it seeks more magic-heavy prey? she asks herself as the beast heads straight towards the wooden contraption ¨C and the Pathwalkers within. But if so, that¡¯s the first beast Mind-mover has ever heard of who is so particular about its food. Then again, Great beasts can do some very odd things sometimes. Apparently, anyway ¨C Mind-mover is happy not to have had close and personal contact with many of them since that usually requires several of the party to die to escape. Given all the surprises so far, it is a tired sort of astonishment that occurs when she sees the other leader jump down off the wooden contraption and walk casually over to the Great beast. It¡¯s impossible to tell how she is feeling ¨C she has no spikes to announce it ¨C but her very gait is relaxed and¡­welcoming. More hisses ring out among their group as every one of Mind-mover¡¯s sisters ¨C and brothers, when it comes down to it ¨C watches the action. ¡°She wants to be eaten?!¡± exclaims one of Mind-mover¡¯s sisters. Not wanting to look away from what¡¯s happening, Mind-mover isn¡¯t entirely sure who it was. But being eaten doesn¡¯t appear to be the consequence. Instead, they all watch in astonishment as the other leader reaches up and¡­strokes the massive beast under the chin. The Great beast ¨C can it be a Great beast considering what they are seeing? ¨C half closes its eyes, clearly enjoying the caresses. Another beast, with the same spotted, furry coat as the massive one, though significantly smaller in size, nudges the other leader¡¯s spare hand. Those clawless digits rub behind the ears of the smaller one even as they dig into the fur beneath the chin of the large one. None of Mind-mover¡¯s group can believe their eyes. ¡°Pathwalker Mind-mover,¡± the leader of her village¡¯s Warriors starts, his voice uncertain. ¡°What should we do?¡± The Pathwalker doesn¡¯t blame him for being at a loss ¨C frankly, so is she. They have paused a little over halfway towards the other party, but whether they should close the distance or not is another question. On the one claw, moving closer would be towards the beast who might have beguiled the whole other group¡­just to be scratched under the chin. But moving away might show unacceptable weakness. ¡°We¡¯ll go closer,¡± she said, ¡°but be aware of your thoughts. If any of you start desiring to¡­stroke the beast, or do anything which you wouldn¡¯t normally do, tell us immediately and we will back off,¡± she warns. Perhaps if they are aware of the possibility, they will be more able to identify it happening. If it happens. Mind-mover has reminded herself of the other leader¡¯s Pathwalker name again: Tamer. It¡¯s curious that her obvious use of what looked like the life-devourer, and what Earth-whisperer says is her ability to communicate with the earth are not reflected in her Pathwalker name. Which means that either she has intentionally chosen ¨C or was offered ¨C a name which does not accurately reflect her actual abilities¡­or ¡®Tamer¡¯ is actually her biggest role. Which seems implausible since that would imply that she has three special skills, but seems more likely than one of the Great beasts just deciding all of a sudden to come for strokes under the chin. Moving forwards warily with her group, Mind-mover prepares to act at a moment¡¯s notice even as they come within range of the other group. The eyes of the other People are clear, no signs of befuddlement. The Warriors bar their way ¨C normal for the approach of another neutral tribe, but it feels very odd considering the situation. Mind-mover finds it rather surreal that they seem more wary about the approach of another tribe than what appears to be a Great beast! ¡°We have come to assist you with¡­.¡± she finds it hard to complete the sentence, not even knowing now what they are offering to assist with. In the Warrior¡¯s spikes, she sees a mixture of understanding and amusement. She appreciates the first; the latter not so much. ¡°Just give me a moment,¡± the Warrior says politely, clearing his spikes of all traces of mirth. ¡°I will check with Pathwalker Tamer as to what he wishes to happen.¡± And then the Warrior stands still. Mind-mover exchanges a confused glance with her sisters. ¡°Are you not going to check with your leader?¡± she prompts, feeling more uncertainty than she wishes to admit. ¡°I just did,¡± the Warrior replies incomprehensibly. ¡°Pathwalker Tamer says that the Pathwalkers can approach, as long as you swear not to attack anyone. And he means anyone.¡± ¡°The Great beast included?¡± Water-controller asks out of turn, but Mind-mover doesn¡¯t blame her. The whole situation is just completely outside their expectations. And is it the Great beast giving orders? The Warrior said ¡®he¡¯. ¡°The Great Predator included, yes,¡± the Warrior replying, answering two questions and raising a myriad more. Almost feeling like she¡¯s walking in a daze, Mind-mover advances forwards with her sisters towards the other leader¡­and the Great beast. The Great Predator, apparently. As they get within attack range, the Great beast¡¯s eyes snap fully open, a bright golden gaze boring into the Pathwalkers. Abruptly, Mind-mover knows exactly why this beast is called the Great Predator: a sensation of being nothing more than prey cowering under the freezing gaze of a far more powerful predator sweeps over her and stops her in her tracks. She senses all her sisters stopping in the same moment, the same sensation no doubt sweeping over them too. And then it¡¯s gone, though the beast seems far more dangerous afterwards than it had before. Mind-mover steps forwards only because there are too many People around her to allow her to run ¨C both on a reputation front and because there are bodies literally blocking her way. ¡°Pathwalker Mind-mover, greetings to you,¡± Pathwalker Tamer says, her tone casual. ¡°Please meet Kalanthia, my friend.¡± Mind-mover had no idea what to say, her mind going completely blank. Book 5: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty: Settling In We have finally made it to the Festival grounds. Eighteen days have elapsed since we left the village and I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m raring to get going with our reason for travelling or dreading it. After all, from what Tarra and the other Pathwalkers who have been here before have said, it sounds like it¡¯s going to be a series of tea-parties from hell and fighting for the reputation of my village. Though, I have to admit that the way the other samuran party reacted to Kalanthia a couple of days ago was rather funny ¨C I wonder what kind of rumours they''ll spread as a result. I sometimes forget how the samurans of my village used to view the huge nunda; seeing how warily the other village¡¯s representatives approached our group reminded me. That particular group has been very careful not to offend us in any way ever since, and has in fact offered us plenty of carcasses on the route which, according to Tarra, means that they fully acknowledge us as the stronger party. Unfortunately, that¡¯s also meant we¡¯ve had to share those carcasses which hasn¡¯t stopped being a painful experience. A useful one, though ¨C I¡¯m starting to get to grips with how to talk to other Pathwalkers, not needing Tarra¡¯s mental messages quite so often to avoid offending them. I said goodbye to both Kalanthia and Raven a few hours ago ¨C neither will be entering into the actual festival grounds, which I¡¯m slightly disappointed about, although I know it¡¯s for the best. They won¡¯t be going too far away, though. Kalanthia has said that she¡¯s going to continue greeting a few more Guardian beasts around the place, and Raven is probably going to meet up with others of his kind in some special place of theirs ¨C lots of those around here, it seems. He seems a bit nervous about it, probably because he¡¯s taking his hatchlings with him. Though I¡¯ve been able to use the last eighteen days of travel to make progress with all three of the hatchlings ¨C as well as Lathani and my own projects ¨C they are still far from healed. Still, he¡¯s a very protective father, so they¡¯re probably safer with him than coming with me. We both agreed that it¡¯s the best option. After all, it¡¯s unlikely that I¡¯m going to get much time to heal them over the next few days given what everyone has been telling me, and I wouldn¡¯t want a samuran from another village getting the wrong ideas about them. Either wanting to kill and eat them, or if there is another tamer around, try to take them from me. Lathani is another question. I discussed the same thing with her and Kalanthia, but the little nunda was adamant about coming with me. She disdained the idea that she might be ¡®stolen¡¯ away and announced that if anyone tried to eat her, she¡¯d eat them first. Kalanthia seemed to agree with her that it was unlikely with the kind of Bond that we have that any other tamer would be able to snatch her away from me. Our Bond, after all, is fully consensual which means it¡¯s stronger than one which is unwilling on one side. She did have a quiet word with me afterwards about watching out for Lathani, but she seemed to be aware that I would be doing so anyway. I think she did the same with Bastet too, so Lathani has at least two pairs of eyes watching out for her. Four, actually, since I think Bastet enlisted Storm and Ninja to take care of their ¡®sister¡¯. Trouble is long gone ¨C he travelled down with us in the first part, but at some point our route seemed to deviate from where he instinctively knew he needed to go so he left our group. I hope he¡¯s OK. The Bond between us is quiet, the distance too far to even let emotions through. But it¡¯s still there; if he dies, I know that I will feel it snap. ¡°Alright everyone?¡± I ask quietly, but know that my whole party can hear me. A series of affirmations comes through either in grunt or mental message. Taking a deep breath, I step forward at the head of our group. Directly behind me is Shrieks as the top Warrior, and then the other Pathwalkers. The Warriors follow ¨C as ever, in ranking order. Behind all the samurans come the rest of my Bound. Pride, Lathani, Bastet, Storm, Ninja, Fenrir, Thorn, Honey, and Komodo. Sirocco hops from branch to branch overhead and the two nameless cyrans bring up the rear with the cart, their guide the only samuran not with the rest of the group. There¡¯s a wall of vegetation in front of us and I wonder for a moment how we¡¯re supposed to get past it. And then Shrieks steps forwards and uses his spear to push it aside, revealing that it¡¯s some sort of creeper hanging down from the branches above. Do not touch the leaves with your hands, he warns. They secrete a dangerous poison. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, eyeing it carefully. ¡°Is there any reason why we shouldn¡¯t just burn our way through?¡± Aingeal floats forwards, bobbing in the air eagerly, always happy to join in pyromania. No! exclaim several voices. I look back at them in question. It is intentionally grown to protect our sacred spot, explains Shrieks. Two Warriors will hold it aside for everyone to pass. So saying, he beckons two of the Warriors forward and they break ranks to do just that, using their metal-tipped spears to part the curtain of small-leafed vines. I shrug and move forwards, leading the rest of the party. I¡¯m very tempted to test how strong the poison is, but hold myself back for now. If it ends up being something I struggle to heal, I risk not making a very good first impression on the rest of the samurans. Past the curtain, I can¡¯t help but pause to take in the sight, drawing in a breath of amazement. It¡¯s certainly not what I was expecting. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. We haven¡¯t really talked about the physical nature of the Festival; we¡¯ve been more concentrating on the internal politics. If I thought about it, I was either expecting it to take place in the forest itself, or within a clearing. Well, this is definitely a clearing, and one so big that the other side is invisible through the mist. But it¡¯s the hot springs which really draw my attention. Or at least, that¡¯s what it appears to be: water bubbling and steaming in a massive central pool and then spilling into other pools lower down the mountainside. ¡°What is this place?¡± I breathe, awed by the beauty ¨C the hot springs are ringed with all sorts of different flowers and low-growing plants, and the water itself is clear and fresh. The mist gives the whole clearing a mysterious quality, though it¡¯s thickest in the centre. It is our Festival grounds, our sacred place, replies Tarra, her mental tone a mixture of smug and appreciative. It¡¯s beautiful, says River, echoing my own thoughts. Her voice has the same quiet awe which I feel. Looking at the other new Pathwalkers and Warriors, I see that they all feel the same way. Clearly, it¡¯s something of a rite of passage to experience the Festival grounds for the first time, and none of the elders wished to spoil it by telling them what to expect. The moment passes and Tarra nudges me towards the left-hand side of the massive central pool. The green Tribe always sets up camp over there, she says, pointing towards a section of ground which seems like every other section of ground around the pool. When we get closer, though, I note that it¡¯s surrounded by boulders and that there are dips in the earth which could easily have been from the travel shelters they usually construct. The Warriors get to work. I help out with my Earth-Shaping ¨C it¡¯s good practice and by this point I¡¯m very familiar with the way they construct their temporary shelters. This one is slightly different though. We won¡¯t use tree branches to cover the shelters, Poison explains as he outlines what we¡¯re doing. We¡¯ll build a roof of earth and then only cover the hole at the top of the roof with leaves which we can scavenge from some of the plants around here. The sacred place must remain sacred ¨C bringing in trees from outside is forbidden. Well, far be it for me to argue with tradition ¨C unless the tradition is actively detrimental, of course. Also unlike the travel shelters, we will be making four of them this time. We need more space, Poison continues to explain. Normally it would only be three: one for the Warriors, one for the Pathwalkers, and one for mating, but this time we also need one for your companions. The non-samuran ones, I guess he means. Once I know more of the actual dimensions ¨C smaller than I¡¯ve been helping them make, of course ¨C I get to work, sinking my magic and consciousness into the earth and causing the earth to flow like water. What I remove to make the hole, I use to make the walls and ceiling. Familiar with the construction of the huts from the samuran village, I am able to finish two of them before the Warriors have completed the other two. Seeing as they¡¯re almost done, I decide to let them finish up by themselves. The Pathwalkers haven¡¯t been idle while we¡¯ve been working, either ¨C the cart has been unloaded and carcasses set out for the hungry workers to help themselves. The various items intended to be gifted to other villages are being organised by several of the Pathwalkers. They¡¯ve also set out a number of hides in the area between the four huts. Though the samurans haven¡¯t yet taken up tanning, I think I¡¯m winning them over to the benefits of it since they seem to prefer sitting on the hides I¡¯ve prepared instead of the cold, hard ground. Personally, I¡¯m much more comfortable sleeping now on the sort of mattress I¡¯ve managed to create for myself. Made out of spider-silk, filled with feathers from the killer chickens, and just over the length and width of my body, it¡¯s heaven in comparison to the mess of clothes I was using as bedding before. I keep it in my Inventory so it is always available to me ¨C and doesn¡¯t risk getting destroyed or taken. Yes, I could make another one, but it took long enough to make this one. Plus, I don¡¯t have enough feathers with me at the moment so I would need to get some more. Still, the samurans find it too comfortable, if River is anything to judge by. I suspect they might move to sleeping on hides soon, though. With our camp set up, I go over to Flower to find out what we should do next. Normally we aren¡¯t here this early, she explains. This time I can only see about four or five other villages present. Normally, there are at least fifteen by the time we arrive. ¡°How many villages are there in total?¡± I ask curiously, realising I¡¯ve never actually questioned that. In total there are about twenty-three villages in four tribes, but usually only nineteen or twenty make it to the Festival. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t some come?¡± I ask, confused. ¡°Because of the danger of the journey?¡± Flower shrugs. That is often the reason. Sometimes if there are not enough Warriors to guard the Pathwalkers, it¡¯s deemed too dangerous. We would have been in that position if you hadn¡¯t been able to raise several Unevolved to Evolved. However, sometimes the village is already numerous enough and so they make the choice not to have any more hatchlings ¨C there is a limit to what the local area can support and there is no point having hatchlings if they will just starve before reaching adulthood. I hadn¡¯t considered the issue of over-population. I suppose that with the ratio of Evolved to Unevolved that I¡¯ve noticed within my village, it could be an issue for the bigger villages. We should probably visit the other camps soon, but right now there is something else very important that we must do as part of settling in, Flower continues. Her spikes are flickering with green amusement, so I have a feeling she¡¯s not being entirely serious. ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± I ask her, going along with it. Bathing in the pools, of course! she exclaims. Several others around her let out a clicking grunt which doesn¡¯t translate, but which I¡¯ve noticed denotes excitement. Something like a whoop might from humans. Looking around, I can see that everyone is on board with the idea ¨C and all of them are looking at me. May we? one of the Warriors asks, doing his best impression of a puppy dog¡¯s eyes. Which never stops looking weird when coming from a humanoid crocodile. In this case, though, I just grin, their excitement catching. ¡°Last one in¡¯s a rotten egg,¡± I can¡¯t help but dare them, turning and running towards the pool, the rest following me with more of those excited sounds. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-One: Fire-Mage As it turns out, I¡¯m the rotten egg, but there¡¯s a good reason for that: the hot springs are, well, hot. The samurans, probably because of their reptilian natures, seem to cope better than I do ¨C they just go straight in and start letting out hisses of contentment at its heat. I dip one foot in and then let out a hiss of my own ¨C mine not so content. I¡¯m stuck hovering at the edge of the pool as all of my samurans relax in the waters. Fenrir tests the water with a paw, then huffs quietly, a sense of joy coming down the Bond between us, and jumps straight in. Several samurans exclaim in annoyance as their peaceful soak is interrupted by the over-exuberant lizog. Pack-leader, come in! he urges me, bouncing slightly and sending more ripples through the pool. ¡°It¡¯s too hot,¡± I tell him with frustration. Pride also wades in with a happy snort, though he chooses to stay next to Catch. As for the felines, Storm is true to the stereotype in avoiding the water. Bastet does walk in enough to coat her talons, letting out a sighing huff of content, but doesn¡¯t go deeply enough for even the ripples to touch her feather-fur. Lathani stays next to me, eyeing the water with disdain. Interestingly, though, Ninja seems willing to paddle a little, soaking her taloned feet up to just above where the feathers start. Sirocco comes to land on my shoulder, her weight reducing as she makes herself smaller to fit more comfortably on me. As she does so, I see Komodo waddling into the water too ¨C unsurprisingly, he finds it as much of a joy as the rest of the reptilians. Honey relaxes on the bank near us, lying on her back with her eyes closed as if she has no concerns ¨C though she normally likes the water and regularly swims in any river we come across, I think this is a bit warm for her. Post Evolution, she¡¯s about twice the size and she¡¯s developed some distinct markings: ironically enough, honey-coloured jagged lines decorate her back and her thick, furry tail. Unsurprisingly, her Tier two skill makes her better at completely overwhelming her opponent ¨C the flurry of enhanced blows she¡¯s able to embrace has made her an excellent shock troop member in several of the fights we¡¯ve had. Right now, though, she appears to be sleeping. I redirect my attention to the water, leaning down to brush my fingers through it again, some hopeful part of me wondering whether maybe I thought it was warmer than it really is. My fingers tell that part of me to shut up. Mourn not, Sirocco tells me in tones which I¡¯m pretty sure are meant to be sympathetic, but come off more patronising. Water is not fun to be in anyway. ¡°Not for those with feathers or fur,¡± I comment, eyeing her, Lathani, and Storm, ¡°but I actually like it.¡± Then go in, she urges as if I haven¡¯t thought about it. I roll my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s too hot.¡± Then make it less hot, she answers like it¡¯s obvious. I send her an incredulous look. ¡°Make this massive pool of water less hot? That¡¯s probably way beyond my capabilities, if I even knew where to start.¡± She has a point, Bastet comments thoughtfully. Storm looks at her as quizzically as I am; Ninja appears enraptured by the ripples her claws are making in the water. ¡°What do you mean? I can¡¯t change the temperature of this massive pool,¡± I object. Perhaps not, but you can change your own body. I have seen you do it many times before. She¡­does actually have a point. Immediately, I can think of several options ranging from making my skin more heat resistant to cooling my internal temperatures. Not that they¡¯re all necessarily good ideas. But it does remind me that magic is possible. Hmm, I wonder, I say to myself thoughtfully. Closing my eyes, I look at the pool with my magic sight. I hadn''t really taken notice of it before but there is no scent of sulphur near this pool. To my knowledge, hot springs on Earth usually smell of it because of the way that they are heated. With my magic sight activated, I can see that there is a very different reason here. The water is thick with fire magic as well as something else, a kind of magic which I can barely see and which slips away from my mental touch any time I come near. The two types of magic do not interact; if anything, they act more like repelling magnets, moving away from each other as soon as they come anywhere near each other. It¡¯s a wonder that each is so relatively evenly spread in the water. The greatest concentration of fire magic is in the centre of the pool, and I can sense it coming from somewhere down below. Opening my eyes again, I touch the Bond I have with Dusty, our Water-Shaper. What do you sense here? I ask her curiously. Lots of water, obviously, she answers immediately, then hesitates. But¡­there is something else. I see no reason why water should be so hot. I am not complaining, though! Suspicion confirmed: the two opposing elements are indeed water and fire and, not having any magical knowledge of fire, Dusty is unable to sense the fire magic just as I find it difficult to identify the water magic present. But it¡¯s interesting to also confirm that the heat of the water is purely due to the fire magic within the water. Now, how can I use this? Reaching down to almost touch the water, I once more close my eyes and then reach out with my mind to make contact with the fire magic within. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. It¡¯s immediately curious, sparks flocking to me. Perhaps it¡¯s partly because it is being repelled by all the water around but not by me that it is so eager to come; perhaps it¡¯s also because I offer it something different that it might burn. It tries to burn my flesh, but I stop that quickly enough. I don¡¯t have control over the magic in the same way as I do my own transformed mana, but¡­it¡¯s not all that dissimilar. It takes a bit of a twist of thinking, and a reminder that all fire is of Fire and therefore if I can control my own fire magic, there is no reason why I cannot control this, but I succeed in taking control of the fire magic near me. And from there, my control spreads in a circle around me. I sense that the circle extends about twice as far as I can reach with my hands. This time, when I put my bare foot into the water, the fire magic does not burn me, making it feel like I¡¯ve stepped into a boiling hot bath. Instead, this time it feels cold. I wonder why for a moment before realising that, in removing the effect of the fire magic, I now feel the temperature of the water as it would be without it. Though I don¡¯t mind a cold bath from time to time, I was rather looking forward to the ¡®hot¡¯ aspect of hot springs ¨C as long as I don¡¯t cook like a lobster. It takes a bit more time and experimentation to find the right level of allowing the fire magic to affect me without risking becoming overheated. In the end, I find that the best strategy is actually to allow the fire magic to do its thing, but just to lessen its concentration in the water around me. And how do I do that? Well, by feeding it to my friendly fire elemental, of course! Aingeal is very happy to receive a flow of fire magic from the water around me, joy and contentment conveyed across the link between us. Actually¡­. Is it bigger? I ask myself, eyeing the little ball of fire. Although it isn¡¯t back to the size and intensity it was before the fight with Raven where it detonated to defeat the Tier three¡¯s final attack, it is definitely growing and intensifying again. Hmm, I wonder how much it needs to grow before it is able to Evolve? I ask myself. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have that information about the elemental in my Bound tab of my status screen. I push the question to the side for now, taking off my clothes and stepping deeper into the water. Sighing with contentment at the feeling of the blissful heat sinking into my muscles, I move deep enough that I can float on my back without touching the ground. No one speaks for a while: everyone is just happy to bask in the experience. Then I find my curiosity becoming too much for me to contain. Does anyone know what created this place? I ask idly. Out of everyone, I¡¯m surprised when it¡¯s Windy who answers. The samuran is still a pain in my arse sometimes, but she has definitely calmed down a bit. I think that it helps that she has started seeing the benefits of helping the village more. These days, she often goes out with a larger hunting party ¨C always taking at least two Warriors with her, of course ¨C and helps them track prey to kill. I¡¯ve also seen her working with Happy to help get the furnace to higher temperatures, and she¡¯s warned us about a bad storm coming twice over the last month. In return, she¡¯s earned some good time in my den and has made some good progress to the next tier. Of all my Bound, she¡¯s actually the closest to Tier three at eighty-nine percent, though she still has a way to go. Her increased helpfulness doesn¡¯t stop her from being abrasive, rude, and irritating, but at least I don¡¯t feel like she¡¯s just a waste of resources anymore. Still, I¡¯m surprised when she¡¯s the one to respond to me, and relatively politely for her. Everyone knows the legend, she answers snidely. Everyone who Evolved the normal way, that is. I sense that River, Happy, Yells, Dusty, and Hunter all disagree with that: perhaps it¡¯s something they only learn on this first trip to the Festival. Once there was a village of People here. One of our largest villages. Some stories say that it was filled with fifty Pathwalkers; others with five hundred. Yet everyone agrees that it was populous. Perhaps too much so. It is said that they turned away from the ancestors ¨C they believed that they were populous enough not to need the knowledge and wisdom of their forebearers any more. And that led to their doom. An immense rock fell from the heavens. It smashed into the village and obliterated it, destroying every trace that it ever existed. The impact was strong enough to flatten the forest for days around. I know from experience that ¡®days¡¯ is not meant to imply time, but distance ¨C a day¡¯s walk. Over time, Windy continues, her usual scorn gone from her tone as she gets into the swing of the story, the destruction healed itself. The forest returned to where it had once been; the creatures followed. The rest of the People came to see what had become of the village, the strongest of them all. Where the village had stood, there was nothing but a deep hole. A hole which had filled up with clear, pure water. Water that was hot for no reason that any Water-Shaper, or Water-former, or Water-whisperer has ever been able to fully understand. It has become our sacred place. A place for the tribes to meet and for mating. And it is a reminder that we must always cleave to the ancestors and that, however big we might get, we are never invulnerable. There is silence after her telling. I find myself mulling over the story; I suspect everyone else who has heard it for the first time is doing the same. Maybe even those who have heard it before, as well. A meteor. That makes sense. That it seemed to aim directly for the largest samuran village of the time seems supicious, though that might be an erroneous attribution: a meteor landing directly on a village was more likely just to be bad luck in the probability game than anything else. Then again, this is a world of magic. Who¡¯s to say that another village didn¡¯t secretly want the strongest village destroyed and somehow managed to affect the aim of the meteor? Or perhaps there¡¯s even something to Windy¡¯s belief in the ancestors, though I¡¯m even more doubtful about that possibility than the previous. It doesn¡¯t explain the heat, of course, but possibly there¡¯s some sort of chemical reaction happening in the centre of the meteor, or maybe it holds some super Energy Heart from outer space which enables it to feed fire magic into the surrounding water. And continue doing so for what I have to guess is a very long time given Windy¡¯s implications in the story. As I think about a burning ball of rock hurtling down from space, another thought occurs to me. I can create a furnace hot enough to melt iron. I can create a cape of fire to drape over my shoulders. I can encircle creatures in a curtain of fire. I can cook food between my fingers without burning myself. Heck, I even once condensed the power of an inferno into a tiny ball which became Aingeal. But I can¡¯t throw a fireball. That¡¯s the most basic attack which any fire mage learns at level one. But somehow, I¡¯ve got to Initiate five ¨C checking my status screen, I correct myself ¨C Initiate six in Fire-Shaping without even trying to create a fireball. And Aingeal doesn¡¯t count even though it basically is just fire in a ball shape. This is a problem. How can I even dare to call myself a fire-mage if I can¡¯t even throw the tiniest fireball? Soaking quietly in the hot spring turns into the perfect opportunity for me to work out this attack ¨C without risking lighting something on fire which I really don¡¯t want to burn. By the time we get out, I vow, I will be a true fire-mage! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Two: Unquestionable By the time I get out, my skin is only not looking like a wrinkled prune because my Flesh-Shaping has been able to deal with that symptom of staying submerged for too long. I¡¯ve also had to reduce the amount that the fire magic is affecting me several times to the point where the ¡®bath¡¯ is only tepid now ¨C I was starting to get a bit over-heated. But I have succeeded! I let out a whoop as I manage to send my first fireball splashing harmlessly into the water a few metres away. The second goes further. The third even further. I seem to hit a wall at approximately thirty metres: the ball disintegrates in mid-air. But that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve done it! It turned out to be relatively simple, but the trick took a while to figure out. The main issue was that all the other Fire-Shaping I¡¯ve done has been connected to me. Even Aingeal is, though its connection is through a Bond rather than a line of fire magic. The problem with that and trying to make a fireball was that if I keep a fireball attached to me, it is more of a flail than a fireball ¨C able to move to a certain distance away from me, but no further. I had to work out how to disconnect the fireball from me, but yet maintain it in existence despite its lack of fuel. Throwing a ball of something it could have fed off would probably have worked, but that wouldn¡¯t have been a proper fireball; it would have just been a flaming ball of whatever. A version of a molotov cocktail. My breakthrough happened when I considered how Energy Hearts and Cores work. What seems to work is for me to create a tighter weave of fire magic around a core of fire. The interior fire burns away at the weave around it, but as long as it hits the target before that weave is all used up, it seems to work well enough as a fireball. I suspect that that¡¯s why it won¡¯t go further than thirty metres ¨C I¡¯d probably have to make a thicker or denser weave of magic to make it go further. Which, of course, will take more time and mana to form, so it¡¯s not ideal. Still, I¡¯ve created a fireball! Or at least a sort of fire grenade. Which is close enough. Stepping out with a grin on my face, I get dressed. Running magic through my silk undersuit and my hide armour, I give them a little clean before I put them back on. I love magic. By this point, almost all the samurans have returned to the camp, as have most of the others. Bastet is still here, Storm and Ninja cuddled up to her sides and to all appearances asleep. Fenrir¡¯s off to the side, also apparently sleeping. Catch and River are both there, Pride, unusually, is nowhere to be seen. Lathani is next to them, but she¡¯s not asleep; instead she¡¯s looking at the pool thoughtfully. I¡¯m amused to see that River is scratching gently at her head. ¡°Waiting for me?¡± I ask cheerfully. Well, you seemed to be having so much fun playing with your fire that we didn¡¯t want to interrupt, River tells me teasingly. We didn¡¯t want to leave you alone, Catch answers more seriously. Until you¡¯re fully accepted by all the villages, you shouldn¡¯t move around the area unguarded. ¡°I can take care of myself,¡± I point out. I would have thought that my demonstration in the tournament would have been enough proof of that. Of course, he answers, as if that was never in question. But as our leader, your actions and the way you are treated reflect on the village. It¡¯s better that it¡¯s never in question. Then he eyes me, a sense of wryness coming through the Bond. If you wish to fight, from what the others have been telling me, I think you¡¯ll have your fill of challenges. Now, if you¡¯re ready, Herbalist has been itching to start visiting the other villages. ***** Four days later, I think back to Catch¡¯s words with a hint of bitterness. The distraction costs me ¨C an orb of water impacts me in the chest and knocks the breath out of me. It then reforms, shifting upwards towards my head. Marshalling my own magic, I drop the top layer of my armour, ridding myself of the invading water. I then quickly jog to the side so it can¡¯t just climb right onto my boots again or stick my feet to the floor. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve dealt with that kind of attack. I¡¯m just grateful that the Water-Shaper failed to take control of my own body¡¯s fluids: I felt her try at the beginning of the fight, but my Flesh-Shaping was stronger than her Water-Shaping and I was able to fight it off. Another ball of water comes for me; I react by sending the fireball I was preparing at it. They meet within my area of influence, so I¡¯m easily able to force my fire to overcome the water, the orb turning into steam. Using the steam as cover, I run straight through it, my spear bared. I take some superficial burns but it¡¯s worth it: the surprised samuran takes my weapon straight in her shoulder. I didn¡¯t aim for her chest since I know that the consequences of accidentally killing the other Pathwalker would probably be worse than losing the fight. Pulling back, I stab again, at the same time taking control of the poison in both wounds. Dancing backwards, I avoid the samuran¡¯s attempts to hit me with a water orb ¨C harder at such close range. She gapes her mouth in frustrated threat and starts throwing orbs of water everywhere. But I¡¯ve already seen this tactic in a previous fight and just retreat backwards. As long as I can avoid being trapped by the water as she¡¯s attempting, I will win this. The poison is inside her already and barely needs my influence to do its work. The other Pathwalker seems to know this as her attempts to control the water around her intensify. The water around me forms hands and reaches for me, rolling over the ground like a sapient flood. I dart this way and that, avoiding it sometimes by only a hair¡¯s breadth, at all times keeping an eye on the samuran. To distract her, I send a fireball flying at her chest. She backpedals, tripping over her own feet to avoid it, the water going still for a moment as she loses focus. And then it¡¯s all over. My poison has weakened her enough that she cannot climb back to her feet. Though I cannot control the second poison which lowers her mana regeneration, it¡¯s also done its work ¨C making the water chase me as it did probably takes quite a lot of mana when she¡¯s on land. ¡°Winner, Pathwalker Tamer from the green tribe of the seventh upper mountain,¡± announces the referee, a leader from a village of the yellow tribe. Apparently there are four tribes in total ¨C the Pathwalker who challenged me was from the red tribe and we travelled to the festival with a group from the blue tribe. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I walk carefully over to the prone Pathwalker, wary in case she decides to attack me despite the fight being called. It would be ¡®dishonourable¡¯ of her, and reflect badly on the village, but she wouldn¡¯t be the first to try to attack me while my back was turned. Placing my hand over the wound on her shoulder, I summon my venom back. I can¡¯t do anything about the poison which Tarra made for me which works on her mana regeneration, but that¡¯s not likely to kill her. My paralysing venom, however, if it reaches her heart and lungs, quite possibly could. Some of the Pathwalkers from my opponent¡¯s village come rushing in to check on their sister, several sending me dirty looks, their jaws slightly gaped in threat. ¡°What have you done to her?¡± one of them demands. I don¡¯t bother sending out an Inspect ¨C I did lots of that at the beginning, but by this point I¡¯ve completely lost track of who I¡¯ve Inspected and who I haven¡¯t. Besides, since most Pathwalkers and Warriors seem to be within certain ranges of resource pools, and repeat Abilities among themselves, there¡¯s not much point in it. Inspect has only gone up two levels since I¡¯ve been here, and both of those were in the first two days ¨C I think I¡¯ll need to Inspect different creatures to make it go up any more. ¡°Nothing she didn¡¯t ask for by challenging me,¡± I tell the Pathwalker shortly. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine with some rest.¡± Sure enough, by the time I step back to my own party, the opponent Pathwalker ¨C probably Water-something by the way the samurans give names ¨C is back on her feet, though not looking particularly stable there. ¡°The red tribe of the lower second mountain acknowledges the green tribe of the seventh mountain¡¯s supremacy,¡± she says weakly. ¡°We thank you for showing us your strength under the gaze of the ancestors and humbly beg you to give us the honour of sharing a carcass with us.¡± It¡¯s all about wordy ritual and tradition here, I¡¯ve come to realise. Fortunately, by this point I¡¯m pretty used to giving the response, much as I might not want to. At least I¡¯ve won the match this time unlike my last fight against a Water-Shaper. ¡°We accept your thanks and your offer to share a carcass in the presence of the ancestors.¡± We follow the other group of Pathwalkers back to their camp. The unfamiliar samurans seem to have calmed their hostility towards me since their Pathwalker was obviously able to stand and walk ¨C albeit with some support ¨C but some of it still remains. Seeing as practically all the samurans treat me with wariness at best, and outright hostility from some of the elders at worst, I¡¯m pretty sure due to the fact that I¡¯m not a samuran. I¡¯ve seen a few other challenges between Pathwalkers, even between leaders. They¡¯ve all been far more amiable afterwards. Still, I suppose the fact that there hasn¡¯t yet been an attempt to hunt and eat me is enough of a victory, though I was more concerned about that possibility in the first two days after we arrived, before the rumour had spread around all the villages about my presence. Now they just look at me warily instead of with hunger. All the Pathwalkers from my own village have accompanied us to the other village along with a group of four Warriors. According to Tarra, the latter are more about flexing than anything else ¨C if any Pathwalker attacks another around a carcass, there would be severe consequences. It would be better for that village to pack up and go straight home, and not even dare attend any future Festival for at least a decade than to stick around, from what I can tell. Of course, the protection might be waived in my case, but not for my Pathwalkers so they¡¯re a good shield for me. We sit down around the carcass and make the usual small talk. Happy, and Hunter have each brought a couple of small gifts to offer to the losing party ¨C another part of the tradition. The leader accepts the gifts with measured thanks, but I can tell from her spikes that she¡¯s actually pretty impressed. The spear with a metal head and small dagger are probably enough to wow them, but when Hunter presents a bowl which slowly collects water from the air around and another which heats up the contents to the boiling point of water, I sense that impressed has turned into awe. The Pathwalker looks at me, her eyes round, her spikes flashing multi colours in her excitement. ¡°We are not worthy of these gifts,¡± she says, though I notice how she grips onto the water bowl as if she fears I might take them away. ¡°The gift is of the giver, not of the receiver,¡± I answer. I thought it was a pretty pompous way of responding, but apparently it¡¯s just as much the right thing to say this time as it has been the last ten times this has happened. Not that we¡¯ve been the winning party every time ¨C I¡¯ve lost three matches in total including my last with a Water-shaper. That¡¯s how I knew to look out for the trap this time ¨C I lost because I was caught and then swarmed and drowned by the water. I did learn that I can now survive a lot longer underwater before losing consciousness than before, though. There have also been stronger tribes we¡¯ve visited to present our gifts to, but that was in the context of them being the stronger party. Then, the gifts were more numerous and more humbly given. We continue sharing the carcass, the kind of small-talk now far more familiar to me even if I still don¡¯t enjoy it. I¡¯ve never liked that self-aggrandising rubbish, preferring actions to speak louder than words, but apparently that¡¯s how the game is played here. After it¡¯s all done, we return to our camp. I have to say that I¡¯ve noticed an attitude change in the samurans we pass even if they aren¡¯t exactly friendly. I suspect only the fact that either Catch or another Warrior stuck like glue to me any time I was out of our camp area in the first couple of days prevented some samurans from trying to get in a sneaky blow. After all, if they could pretend that they didn¡¯t realise I was a Pathwalker, they might have been able to get away with it. Now, though, I¡¯ve beaten the Pathwalkers of ten different villages, fought with three others, and gained the recognition of a further five. I¡¯ve proven that I¡¯m not just an oddity, nor that my village is weaker for having me as a leader. In fact, it¡¯s the reverse ¨C apparently the shaman lost against three of the Pathwalkers I defeated and, because of how I¡¯ve helped more samurans Evolve, they¡¯re actually in a better place numbers-wise than last time, if only for Pathwalkers. Just three more to go and then we¡¯ll have finished the obligatory social rounds. After that, I won¡¯t be needed any more ¨C the other Pathwalkers will be able to take it from there. Watch out, Tree warns. A hostile village approaches. We all turn to see a party of twelve Pathwalkers coming nearer, their spikes and body language expressing aggression and challenge. I groan internally ¨C I¡¯ve already done three challenges today. And this one doesn¡¯t look like a push-over. Not good, Tarra tells me, her mental voice nervous. This is the red tribe of the twelfth lower mountain. Shaman had a big argument with their leader last time, and managed to beat her in the ensuing battle. They lost influence because of it. She¡¯ll be looking to get revenge. And they are only just below the lead village of their tribe in ranking. Great. I stand up as the other party approaches, the other Pathwalkers of my village standing with me. ¡°We are the red tribe of the twelfth mountain,¡± the leader announces before I can speak. ¡°We challenge you, green tribe of the seventh upper mountain.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I say tiredly. ¡°Let¡¯s clear some space and get to it.¡± ¡°Ah, you think I speak of a mere battle between leaders?¡± the other Pathwalker says, a nasty combination of colours flickering through her scales, dominated by the orange of scorn. ¡°I think not. You aren¡¯t even one of the People; you¡¯re a jumped-up prey-beast. I won¡¯t sully my claws on you. No. Under the gaze of the ancestors in this sacred place, I challenge you to a Hunt.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Three: Trap Well, this might be the most blatantly my species has been brought up, but it¡¯s certainly not the first time. Heck, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve been so hamstrung during my fights: while a normal Beast-tamer or Beast-whisperer or whatever would be expected to bring their companions into the fight with them, I haven¡¯t been able to. Not because I wasn¡¯t ¡®allowed¡¯ ¨C technically ¨C but more because winning with the help of others would have only ¡®proven¡¯ my ¡®weaker nature¡¯. At least Tarra seemed slightly embarrassed when she told me that. When Flower and Sticks agreed with her, I was forced to concede the point. Apparently those who use beasts to fight for them struggle at the best of times to truly prove themselves in the culture of samurans who hold individual strength as the highest goal. Relying on beasts means being vulnerable if they die or flee. The shaman¡¯s control over spirits was considered slightly more worthy since the spirits could not be killed and it was also an indication that she had been blessed by the ancestors. However, the fact that she did rely on spirits meant that the reputation of the village wasn¡¯t as high as it might have been with a different Pathwalker in charge. Given my different species and the fact that I have access to multiple different magics, all my Pathwalkers and Warriors who have been here before highly advised me to lean into my non-taming strengths. Prove that you are strong and can win even without access to your main skill and you will gain more reputation for yourself ¨C and for us, had been Shrieks¡¯ advice, and since all of the others agreed with him, I decided to take it. Apparently even the losses I had, which I could probably have won if I¡¯d brought even Bastet in to help me, were good for my reputation ¨C and therefore the village¡¯s. That was because I put up a better fight than anyone was expecting and even almost won against one of the strongest Pathwalkers of the gathering. Now, faced with a rival with an axe to grind, seizing on any opportunity to take down her opponent, I can¡¯t help but feel that my time of intentionally reducing my capabilities has come to an end. ¡°The Hunt,¡± I repeat flatly, playing for time. What is the ¡®hunt¡¯? I ask my samuran Bound hurriedly over the link. It¡¯s a different kind of challenge, Sticks quickly answers. One that does not put the two challengers head to head in a battle, but which sets their capabilities against each other in pursuit of a goal. ¡°You do know what the Hunt is, don¡¯t you?¡± the other leader asks, her tone patronising. ¡°Any true member of the People knows of it,¡± she continues challengingly. I glare back at her. ¡°Of course I do,¡¯ I respond firmly, even as my own Pathwalkers continue to explain what the Hunt is to me ¨C mental communication really is a bit of cheat. ¡°What form of Hunt do you propose? Single, Pathwalker, or Warband?¡± I ask. The shock that flashes through her spikes at the revelation that I actually do know what she¡¯s talking about is very gratifying. Take that, I say privately to myself. You¡¯ve tangled with the wrong ¡®prey-beast¡¯. Unfortunately, she gathers herself together too quickly for my tastes. ¡°Both Warband and Pathwalker versions would allow you to hide behind the strength of true People,¡± she sneers, her mouth gaped open in threat. ¡°A single challenge will prove that you are nothing in comparison to a true member of the People,¡± she answers. I shrug, not bothered by her insults: I care nothing for her opinion. And honestly, if the information I¡¯ve been told is anything to go by, perhaps this actually works in my favour since I have so many new Evolved as part of my ranks. A Pathwalker challenge would have applied to all Pathwalkers of both villages, and a Warband challenge would require at least half the Warriors we brought with us to join as well. A Single challenge only applies to the challenged and challenger and whatever resources they can individually command. A shame for her that, these days, I¡¯m never truly alone. The thought sends a waterfall of warmth through me and enables me to meet her eyes completely unafraid. ¡°Fine,¡± I agree. ¡°A Single Hunt. Then, as the challenged, I will set the terms for the abilities used.¡± I eye her, letting the tension mount ¨C and for my subtle Inspect to do its work. From what the other Pathwalkers say, technically I could deny any use of magic at all. That would make her job rather hard as a ¨C hmm, interesting, another telekineses user ¨C Pathwalker who specialises in magic. Far more difficult than my own task as a mixed magical and physical fighter. On the other hand, it would stop me from using healing magic and also wouldn¡¯t be well-received by the rest of the samurans. From what my Pathwalkers have told me, if it had been a Warrior challenge, it would be expected. As a Pathwalker challenge, though, it would be questionable to the point of perhaps casting doubt on my capabilities as a Pathwalker. I hate politics, I complain mentally. ¡°No restrictions on abilities used,¡± I decide. ¡°Anything your abilities grant you is permitted to be used. As for physical resources, you can use any you personally have directed to be made, or collected, or which have been directed to be made, or collected as a result of your personal abilities, magical or otherwise.¡± The other leader seems incredulous, but not in a bad way. Instead, it¡¯s like all her Christmasses and Birthdays have come all at once. Or whatever their equivalents are. I keep a straight face ¨C it¡¯s easier to hide my emotions when I don¡¯t have spikes which reveal them to the world. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°And you think that your ability to do¡­whatever you do is enough by itself? That you have no need for healing potions or resources which you have not personally made?¡± she asks incredulously as if I don¡¯t know what I just said. ¡°Or have been made as a direct result of the use of one of my abilities, yes, I understand.¡± I agree easily. ¡°And the same for you.¡± Trying to stay casual, I notice a Pathwalker standing with the other leader looking troubled. She leans forwards, perhaps to warn the other leader of something ¨C she may have paid more attention than most to my Pathwalker name. Most appear to think that it relates to my use of fire or poison ¨C perhaps she knows better. She fails, though. The other leader is too eager to, as she probably sees it, close the trap of my own making, and waves off her sister¡¯s attempts to communicate. ¡°I accept!¡± she exclaims, not bothering to hide her triumph. I notice the Pathwalker who was presumably trying to warn her displaying both fear and frustration. ¡°I call on the lead village of the red tribe to set our task and be the judges.¡± ¡°I object to the choice,¡± I immediately interject after a quick flurry of mental communication from my Pathwalkers. ¡°On the grounds of bias. I call on the lead villages of the yellow and blue tribes to set our task,¡± I say instead. According to my Pathwalkers, there is no way for her to contest that since the villages I¡¯m calling upon have no relation to ours. And by her clear frustration, the other Pathwalker wasn¡¯t expecting me to know that fact and take advantage of it. It doesn¡¯t take too much time for someone to run and fetch the leaders of each of the top villages for the blue and yellow tribes. The leader and I both stand where we are, having something of a staring contest while we wait. Of course, I¡¯m being more productive than the other leader probably is: while I¡¯m staring at her, I can also keep the mental conversation going with the rest of my group. I doubt she¡¯s able to do that. And apparently, since I¡¯m not obviously communicating with my group, she doesn¡¯t feel able to do so either, once more waving off any who try to converse with her. Including the Pathwalker who might have seen through my trap. Finally the representatives arrive. I recognise the leader of the yellow tribe as being the one who defeated me in our fight. I didn¡¯t fight the leader of the blue tribe: they were one of the villages we visited to offer tribute to. Both of them eye me and the other Pathwalker with no small amount of interest. ¡°We have been informed that a Single Hunt has been called and that we are to be the ones setting the task,¡± clicks Pathwalker Water-caller of the yellow tribe. ¡°Pathwalker Flying-blade, leader of the red tribe of the twelfth lower mountain, Pathwalker Tamer of the green tribe of the seventh upper mountain. Is this true?¡± asks Pathwalker Air-shaper of the blue tribe. ¡°It is, Honoured tribe leaders,¡± we both answer, using their titles as the lead Pathwalkers of the strongest villages in their tribes. ¡°What are the conditions?¡± As the challenged, I fill them in on what I have set. There is a long moment where the two tribe leaders put their heads together, their muzzles almost touching the other¡¯s ears. I see more than a couple of glances sent my way, some mostly hidden mirth flashing across their spikes. A knot forms in my stomach. Of all samurans at this festival, I suspect that they would be the most likely to know the extent of my abilities ¨C and thereby the gaping loophole I¡¯ve left in my conditions. Apparently coming to a decision, Pathwalker Water-caller steps forwards. ¡°We approve of the conditions set,¡± she says first. The knot loosens in my stomach as relief goes through me. ¡°No aid is to be rendered to either challenger from any member of the People unless the challenger has a natural ability which entitles her to it.¡± She looks at both of us intently. ¡°This is your last chance to back out of the challenge. After this point, you and your village will be Shamed as long as you are the leader if you choose to back out later. Do either of you wish to withdraw your participation?¡± It¡¯s odd, but I get the feeling that Water-caller is actually rooting for me. Her question seems more addressed to the other Pathwalker than to me ¨C and her emphasis on the ¡®unless¡¯ in her conditions seems like a warning to Flying-blade about the loophole I¡¯ve left. Unfortunately for the other Pathwalker, she doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed what I have, almost immediately reaffirming her participation. ¡°I wish to continue with the challenge,¡± I agree too when Water-caller looks at me a moment later, the brief appearance of exasperation the only indication that my previous thoughts might have been right. ¡°Then here is the task. On the longest night, we must always sacrifice something of great importance to revive the Bond between us and our ancestors. Your task is to find an object which exceeds in power the one we have already prepared. The object which is used in the ritual will win. If neither of your objects at least match the one we have already prepared, you will both be considered to have lost, and your villages will lose favour with all villages currently present.¡± ¡°Are we allowed to see the object you have prepared?¡± Flying-blade asks with less confidence than she¡¯d had before. ¡°No,¡± Pathwalker Air-shaper denies. ¡°We do not wish you to limit your search to something which only barely surpasses what we already have. We wish you both to show us what you are capable of. Any other questions?¡¯ I have one. ¡°What is our time limit?¡± I ask. Obviously there is one: if they want to use the object for whatever this celebration is, we will have to return before then. But how long before the ceremony will they need us back? The two Pathwalkers exchange glances. ¡°By the time the sun dips to touch the horizon on the day before the longest night, we must have the object within our claws.¡± That¡¯s a bit more than four days, then. I can work with that. Seeing that there are no more questions, the two tribe leaders return to their own groups. The samurans who have gathered around us mostly disperse: the show is apparently over. I pull back to my own group: there¡¯s a lot we need to discuss and decide before I get going. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Four: To Win This Competition ¡°I presume you can give me some idea of what kind of object I need to collect to win this challenge,¡± I say tersely to my group as we return to our campsite. Some idea, yes, Tarra answers. Enough of one that you should be able to exceed normal expectations, adds Poison, surprisingly supportive. What? he asks in confusion as I look at him. You have more than exceeded expectations for what you¡¯ve been able to accomplish in our village. I see no reason why this should be any different. I send him a warm feeling. Although I hadn¡¯t realised he felt that strongly about it, it¡¯s nice to be appreciated. ¡°Thank you,¡± I say to them all, the group of samurans who once saw me only as a prey-beast to use, and now are some of my strongest supporters. Well, with a few notable exceptions. But even those are coming around. ¡°So, what can you tell me?¡± The object varies, but it is always something of power. Either a Core of a strong beast, or a fruit of a powerful tree, or an object from the earth that contains its might. Most of the time it is a Core of a powerful beast, usually close to or past its second Evolution. ¡°And I need to get it back here for the longest night, which means I have four days?¡± Four and a half, Flower answers. You do not need to submit the object until nightfall. I lean back against the mounded earth which is made into a sort of chair for me, thinking. In order to win this competition, I need to not only beat the object that the other leader, Flying-blade, brings back, but I also need to bring back something better than what they already have. Which means that I have to assume that the object they have is at least the level of a Tier three beast. It might, in fact, not quite be that high, but without being allowed to inspect what they¡¯ve collected, I won¡¯t know until too late. I consider the possibility of bringing back some object of power other than a Core. The problem with that is my lack of knowledge both about these objects and about where to find them. My Earth-Shaping might be able to find or make one of these things from the earth, and perhaps one of my Bound might know of a tree powerful enough to produce the kind of objects I need. But I don¡¯t know enough about either of those. Checking with the samurans and my other Bound around me, my suspicions are confirmed ¨C none of them know where I might find such objects. If we knew, why would we tell you? demands Windy. We¡¯d have just brought it ourselves as part of our tribute and raised the village¡¯s reputation. It was a fair point, if a little rudely put. I eye her warningly until she looks away, my non-verbal reprimand for her tone enough. I¡¯ve come to understand that ¡®abrasive¡¯ is just her default position ¨C she¡¯s like that with everyone except those whose favour she wants to curry. I dismiss her from my mind ¨C she¡¯s less than important at the moment. It looks like I¡¯m going to have to take on a Tier three beast which doesn¡¯t fill me with great joy considering what happened the last time I fought one of them. Then again, we¡¯ve all advanced in power since then. Besides, the same Tier three beast we fought owes me more than one favour. Maybe it¡¯s time to collect on one of those. As I consider the idea, I like it more and more. And I know just the beast to target. A way of striking two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Though I¡¯ll need to make sure that it¡¯s even possible before I commit to it. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, opening my eyes and looking around. A quiet murmur of conversation has sprung up while I¡¯ve been thinking, my different Bound discussing possibilities for winning this challenge. As I speak, though, all eyes turn to me and it goes quiet ¨C perhaps they hear the decision in my voice. ¡°I¡¯ve got a plan. I¡¯m going to assume that I will need to defeat a Tier three beast to get its Core to win this, and I have a beast in mind for it. But just in case, I¡¯ll check with Kalanthia and Raven to find out if they have any better ideas. ¡°Fortunately, the rules of the challenge leave some wriggle room for me. At least, that¡¯s how I tried to make them ¨C that I can use the help of any who are Bound to me through my Tamer Class Skills. Would you all agree with that interpretation?¡± The Pathwalkers look around at each other. That¡¯s our interpretation too, Tarra answers cautiously. We are Bound to you as¡­beasts would be to a Beast-tamer, she says slowly, discomfort flashing through her spikes. Windy looks away with a samuran equivalent of a scowl and several other Pathwalkers avoid my gaze. Only Catch, River and the most recently-Evolved samurans are willing to meet my eyes with no shame or discomfort present. Our aid should be counted as directed under your abilities. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Alright, good. That¡¯s what I was hoping. Anyway, I¡¯m not going to take all of you with me. Most of you will be more use to the village staying here and continuing to talk with other villages ¨C and mate.¡± I grimace a little at the last bit, an uncomfortable memory returning about that. From the quickly hidden amusement I see flashing through several of the samurans¡¯ spikes, they remember it too. ¡°Besides,¡± I say, moving swiftly on, ¡°if I do go ahead with the beast I have in mind, having too many around will be problematic.¡± I look around at everyone, trying to decide who might be the best to take with me. Any Tier three is likely to have a high health pool, and the one I¡¯m considering probably even more so. We¡¯ll need fighters to whittle it down, as well as stop it from moving around too much. ¡°River, Joy, Dusty, I¡¯d like to take you with me,¡± I decide. ¡°And Yells,¡± I add, making a snap decision. Thus far, she¡¯s mostly used her reflecting and enhancing skills to defend herself, which would be useful in this fight too, but I have an instinct which tells me that her capabilities might extend beyond that. I would like to take Tarra with me too ¨C potions are always useful ¨C but I¡¯m wary about bringing too many Pathwalkers with me. I can¡¯t forget that this challenge is very much a distraction from the main purpose of being here. ¡°Do you¡­¡± I grimace again at needing to ask the question. ¡°Do you think that you have already¡­mated enough?¡± River, wretch that she is, just sends amusement over our Bond at my discomfort. Thankfully, she answers without teasing me further. ¡°I sense that I have mated enough to fertilise my eggs,¡± she says frankly. ¡°Ideally, I would like to mate a bit more to increase the chances that my eggs will all be fertilised by strong Warriors, but I can do that during the longest night if we do not return sooner. Is it the same with you, sisters?¡± The other Pathwalkers all agree with River, saving me from having to talk about the subject any more. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m a prude, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want to invade their privacy any more than I have to. I shudder to think of the reaction of the average woman on Earth if I asked whether she feels as though she¡¯s had enough sex. ¡°Alright, good,¡± I say, trying to move swiftly on again. The good thing is that all but Joy of the four Pathwalkers I¡¯ve talked about are here for the first time so they don¡¯t have much influence. The downside is that by taking them away, they will have less time to talk with others of their level in other villages. However, being part of the winning party in this challenge should help make up for that. If I understand samuran dynamics correctly, of course. ¡°Bastet, you¡¯ll of course be coming with me. Storm, Ninja, would you like to join us? It will be dangerous, especially since you haven¡¯t yet Evolved,¡± I warn. Storm immediately disdains that. I get the sense that she¡¯d agree with the statement ¡®I laugh in the face of danger¡¯. Ninja is a little more cautious, but she¡¯s just as firm in her desire to come. For her, it¡¯s the fact that the ¡®pack¡¯ are all going that makes the biggest difference. ¡®I will support the pack¡¯, I can imagine her saying. ¡°OK, fine. Fenrir, I¡¯ll need you,¡± I say next. Help pack leader! Fenrir chirps happily, waving his tail from side to side. The two samurans near him rapidly push themselves away, warily eyeing the poisoned tips to the spikes on his tail. ¡°Lathani,¡± I start and then sigh. ¡°You also haven¡¯t yet Evolved, which makes it dangerous to take you into this fight,¡± I say frankly. ¡°But I¡¯m also wary of leaving you here.¡± I want to come, she says stubbornly. You are letting my sisters come. I want to come too. I sigh again, eyeing all three of them. The fact is that if they are part of a fight against a Tier three, they are likely to receive lots of Energy into their systems which would help with their progress. Lathani especially would benefit ¨C she¡¯s almost completed her Energy channel repairs. The Energy from the death of a Tier three could even be enough to push her close to Evolution. ¡°Alright,¡± I agree. ¡°But I want all of you to be very careful, and to stay mostly at the sidelines unless you can see that there¡¯s a reasonably safe opening. OK?¡± I wait until all three felines give their agreement, grudging or otherwise, and then look away. ¡°Sirocco goes without saying, we¡¯ll need your aerial view, whatever we actually end up doing,¡± I tell her. The bird is sitting on top of an earthen mound but she hops to my shoulder and nuzzles against my cheek. As if I¡¯d let you go off without me, she huffs, biting my ear lightly. I grin and rub at her chest feathers. ¡°Other than that, I¡¯d like to take Catch, though I think Pride had better stay here.¡± I look at the practically-inseparable pair. ¡°Is that alright for you? If you don¡¯t want to be separated, I understand.¡± The two exchange a glance. Why can¡¯t Pride come? Catch asks on their behalf. ¡°Frankly, he¡¯s too big,¡± I sigh. ¡°If we go for the beast I have in mind, we will have rather limited space. It¡¯s the same reason that I only want to take Poison and maybe another scout-type Warrior,¡± I say. Take me, another samuran speaks up. We all look at him. Iandee hesitates a little as he sees all eyes on him, but then rallies. Take me, Honoured Tamer. Please. Let me help you win this. I eye him carefully. He looks determined. ¡°You know that we intend to face a Tier three beast, right?¡± I ask. ¡°The same level of beast who killed Peace and Murmur.¡± Grief splashes across Iandee¡¯s spikes, but it doesn¡¯t seem to soften his determination. I know. And I have been training ever since to become better so that this time I won¡¯t have to watch one of my brothers or sisters die in front of me. I continue considering him carefully. It¡¯s true that he¡¯s been training like a man ¨C samuran ¨C possessed. There have been quite a few ranking fights among the Warriors, more than among the Pathwalkers as there were more samurans who Evolved to become a male fighter than a female magic-user. During those, Iandee has steadily risen in the ranks. He hasn¡¯t broken the top five Warriors, but he¡¯s made it to number seven. Honestly, from that alone he¡¯s a decent choice, and he does have a lithe scout build. And besides that, how can I deny his desire to face his own fears? ¡°Fine. That¡¯s a big enough party, I think. If we can¡¯t kill a Tier three beast with this number of good fighters, we don¡¯t deserve to win,¡± I tell them half-jokingly. ¡°Does anyone have any questions or concerns?¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Five: To Dishearten Although there are a few questions, none of them cause me to make any changes to the plan, the first step of which is to meet up with Kalanthia and Raven. Tarra¡¯s questions about which potions we wish to take with us do delay us a little, though, as it turns out that she doesn¡¯t have all the potions I¡¯d like to accompany us in stock. She does have the majority of the ingredients at least, so she and River get going with making those. While they do that, I take a moment to go through the bodies and Energy channels of the various Bound who are coming with me, checking that none of them have any hidden issues which might mean they shouldn¡¯t join us. Inspect is very good for highlighting injuries, even small ones, but it¡¯s not always so good at detecting other problems. I find that Catch seems to be suffering from some sort of viral infection and it takes me a little bit to work out how to heal him from it. I¡¯d probably have found it easier to do if I still had Lay-on-hands but Flesh-Shaping just doesn¡¯t work the same way. Still, I¡¯m experienced enough with my Skill now that it also doesn¡¯t take me an age to sort it out. Much like with poison, it turns out that the best way for me to deal with the viral infection is to boost Catch¡¯s natural defences against it, ease the symptoms of that, and heal the damage caused both by virus and defences. The benefit of this method is that I suspect his body will be stronger against this same virus now where perhaps if I¡¯d just used Flesh-Shaping to take over the cells of the virus and cause them to attack each other ¨C which would have both been possible and another way of dealing with it ¨C wouldn¡¯t have been the result. I also discover that Dusty has picked up a parasite from somewhere. Probably from the mating, if its place in her womb is anything to go by. It appears to be feeding on her embryonic eggs ¨C both parasite and eggs probably are the size of a pinhead, but both will grow. She¡¯s obviously alarmed when I tell her, and relieved when I use Flesh-Shaping to force it out. On the ground, the parasite is barely visible to the naked eye, only my enhanced vision allowing me to see any detail on it at all. It¡¯s like a wiggly worm, and I know from ¡®seeing¡¯ it inside the womb that it had a leech-like mouth that stuck itself to the side of an egg and started sucking. Tarra is even more alarmed when she sees it. I have never seen one so small, she says, prodding it with a stick to watch it wiggle. But I recognise it from when sisters laid a much-reduced brood of eggs. She prods it again. I shall have to warn the other villages about it, she continues. Looking up, gratitude comes through the link. Thank you. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I reply. ¡°The benefits of having a Flesh-Shaper around. But how does the parasite get inside? Mating?¡± I don¡¯t know, Tarra answers slowly. If it is through mating, then perhaps one of the Warriors has been infested with these parasites. ¡°That was my concern,¡± I agree grimly. ¡°While you finish up here, I¡¯ll check all the Pathwalkers over ¨C see if anyone else has it. If they do, we can see whether any of them have mated with the same Warrior or Warriors.¡± She agrees and turns back to her potions after I check her over. Tarra is free, as is River and Yells. Windy, Joy, Flower, and Sticks, however, all have the same parasite and are all horrified to realise it. Windy, interestingly enough, is even more shaken than the others. I realise why when Joy makes a comment about that explaining her reduced brood the previous year. If she¡¯s already experienced the effects, I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t want it happening again. I set them to discussing with Dusty to work out if they have any Warriors in common. After checking all the Pathwalkers, I quickly go over the Warriors just in case one of them has picked it up from somewhere. Fortunately, they¡¯re all clear. Finally, I eye the other possible explanation of where the five Pathwalkers picked up the parasite: the mating hut. It¡¯s certainly seen a lot of use, and I¡¯m as hesitant to go in as I probably should have been my own bedroom when I was a horny ¨C and untidy ¨C teenager. I went into the hut once when it had just been built, and then not since. Not for lack of trying from the various Warriors around, of course. The first proposition happened on the third day when, apparently, public opinion coalesced to decide that I was enough of a Pathwalker to surely be open to mating¡­. ¡°Pathwalker Tamer?¡± a Warrior says coming up from behind me. I warily turn, my hand tightening around my spear and my mind prepared to lash out with magic if necessary. Catch and Poison by my side also turn, their expressions and spikes indicating their readiness to defend me. ¡°Yes?¡± I respond shortly. ¡°I was¡­I am from the yellow tribe of the ninth mountain. I was wondering if you would¡­like to visit my village¡¯s mating hut with me?¡± He sounds very unsure and I suddenly wonder just how long he¡¯s been Evolved. I shoot a quelling look at Catch when I see his posture relax and amusement come through the link at him. For a moment, I¡¯m lost for words, a shiver going down my spine at the thought. I still have no idea about what samuran genitals are like from the outside and I have no intention of finding out. At the same time, I could cause offence to his village if I reject him as violently as I would like to. Plus, I remember being a teenage boy at school and trying to ask a girl out on a date. I¡¯m getting distinct vibes that this is almost as bad for the Warrior asking. ¡°Thank you for your offer,¡± I start, figuring that that couldn¡¯t go wrong. Except it seems to as the samuran perks up. Stop sniggering in your head, I growl down the Bond at Catch and Poison. Traitors, both of them. ¡°But I¡¯m not female. I¡¯m male.¡± He looks very confused. ¡°But you are a Pathwalker? You have clearly proven this.¡± ¡°I am not the same species as you,¡± I point out. ¡°But you are a Pathwalker,¡± he reemphasises, as if that should be all that matters. I sigh, giving up. ¡°I¡¯m sterile,¡± I say finally figuring that that is the best explanation which he might actually accept. Besides, I definitely am sterile for whatever mating samurans do even if I was interested in trying. The Warrior draws back, horror all over his face. ¡°My deepest commiserations,¡± the Warrior tells me, stumbling backwards as if I¡¯ve got something contagious. ¡°May the ancestors have mercy upon you.¡± With that, he turns tail and practically runs away from me. Neither Catch nor Poison try to hide their amusement and I growl at them loudly. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the end of it all. Despite rumours of my ¡®sterility¡¯ going around the festival area, it didn¡¯t stop a few samurans from trying. In fact, some tried to convince me that even if I was sterile, mating was still so pleasurable that I should do it anyway. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Nope. No thanks. Not my thing. And now, it seems like I¡¯m going into a mating hut anyway, though fortunately not accompanied by anyone. Inside, even my relatively-dull nose is filled with a musky scent which my instinct can recognise despite never having smelt it before. I grimace and focus on using Inspect with my desire to find the parasite. Nothing shows up, nor does a visual search with the help of Aingeal¡¯s light show any sort of wriggling worms on the earthen floor of the hut. Clearly, if there are parasites here, they¡¯re well-hidden. I leave the hut and breathe in the fresh air with relief. Outside, I find that everyone is now ready. The previously-infected Pathwalkers have identified a short list of names of Warriors they all mated with, and the potions are ready. I move over to load them into my Inventory, the best way of carrying supplies which won¡¯t lose their Energy. Thank you again for discovering the egg-eater, Tarra tells me earnestly. And it is good that you extracted them alive ¨C like this I will be able to prove to the other villages that we are not mistaken. ¡°Good,¡± I nod to her and then turn to the group waiting for me. ¡°Alright everyone, let¡¯s go win this challenge!¡± I tell the group and am met with resolve and excitement underscored by more than a little fear. This whole group knows that Tier threes aren¡¯t to be messed with. We head out of the campsite and towards where I know Kalanthia has made her base. I figure I¡¯ll check with her first and then Raven after since she¡¯s probably explored more of the area recently than Raven has. Just before we reach the curtain of vines which makes up the wall of this clearing, a loud grunt and click cracks through the air. ¡°I do hope you¡¯re not planning on accepting aid from any of those People with you, challenger,¡± I turn to see that Flying-blade hasn¡¯t left yet either. She¡¯s clearly been strategising with her group as well as I see her Pathwalkers clustered around in a circle just behind her. ¡°I am, actually,¡± I say casually in response. ¡°This is my party who are going to help me beat this challenge.¡± The other Pathwalker seems lost for words for a moment. Among her group, I see reactions ranging from confusion to the same glee that spreads across Flying-blade¡¯s spikes when my words register. Only the one Pathwalker I noticed before who seemed to realise what was going on looks like she understands, the dull colour of defeat creeping into her expression. ¡°Healer, Speedy, go fetch the judges,¡± I hear Flying-blade murmur to the Pathwalkers just behind her. The samurans push themselves quickly to their feet and then dash off quickly towards two other campsites, one noticeably faster than the other. I wait patiently with my party around me. We could just go, suggests Bastet, clearly not quite so patient. ¡°We could,¡± I agree. ¡°But it would be better to make this clear now. We¡¯re operating within the rules that she agreed to. That¡¯s on her.¡± It might also help to dishearten her, River assesses, her eyes narrowed in disdain as she looks at the other Pathwalker. If she knows that she has opened herself to a challenge where she has to beat practically a whole warband and is only allowed herself to operate alone¡­. And it will badly impact her reputation that she was ignorant enough not to realise what Hunt she agreed to, Poison adds. She will have to work extra hard to impress others with whatever she brings back to make up for it, even if she is unlikely to actually win. ¡°You don¡¯t think that it will reflect badly on us that we are taking a whole group when she is forced to be alone?¡± I check with him, hit by a sudden doubt. Not that I¡¯m going to change my mind now, but it would be good to know how our actions will be taken so that we can try to act accordingly. No, Poison replies firmly. There may be the odd one who says such things, but a challenge like this is different from a battle between Pathwalkers or between Warriors. There, it is personal strength and skill against personal strength and skill. A Hunt, however, even when between two challengers is about using all possible ways to win: the end is far more important than the means. A challenger who sneaks past a sleeping beast to retrieve a treasure is just as worthy as one who battles the beast to gain it. As long as the rules of the challenge are met, anything goes. The minutes go by and I start getting a little impatient. Four days is little enough time as it is and the sun is already past its zenith. We¡¯re wasting time here. While we wait, other samurans gather to once more watch the action ¨C we¡¯re daytime TV here. Then the two Pathwalkers appear, the ones who adjudicated the original challenge. They don¡¯t look very pleased to have been called. ¡°What is all this about breaking the terms of the Hunt?¡± Air-shaper asks as soon as she¡¯s in range. ¡°Can you not see?¡± Flying-blade leapt to answer. ¡°The jumped up prey-beast is bringing with it so many of its village! And has admitted that it intends to use their aid to win the challenge! This is against the rules.¡± Water-caller and Air-shaper exchange glances, exasperation spilling into their spikes. ¡°For all around us to witness, Pathwalker Tamer, could you please explain your actions,¡± Water-caller asks me with the darkening of irritation in her spikes. ¡°The rules stated that we are unable to ask for aid from others of the People,¡± I start, watching the satisfaction grow on my opponent¡¯s face and looking forward to seeing her reaction to my next words, ¡°unless we have a natural ability which entitles us to it. I am merely exercising that exception.¡± ¡°What?¡± Flying-blade¡¯s expression is replaced with uncertain confusion, especially when neither of the adjudicating Pathwalkers leap in to castigate or refute me. ¡°But¡­you use the life-devourer, some sort of body-changing ability, and have some influence over the earth. I watched every battle you have had! How can you have some sort of ability to entitle you to aid from others?¡± ¡°Did you not ever question why I¡¯m called Pathwalker Tamer?¡± I demand, more exasperated than anything else myself. Why would she think that someone was sure to reveal all their cards if they don¡¯t have to? And how come no one has yet enlightened her? ¡°I can use fire, yes, and shape flesh, yes, and shape the earth, yes. But none of those are my key ability. My key ability is more like your beast-tamers than anything else.¡± That sets the samurans around to murmuring. Most of those I can hear enough to decipher seem to be more gleeful over Flying-blade¡¯s misjudgement than critical of me. ¡°And just to clarify for everyone, you have¡­tamed all of those around you? Including the Pathwalkers and Warriors?¡± Air-shaper asks, disapproval in her expression. ¡°I have,¡± I answer simply. The murmuring gets louder, both curious and uneasy. I have a feeling I know why ¨C as far as I know, the other beast-tamers are only that: tamers of beasts. I don¡¯t know whether any of them were able to do what I¡¯ve done with other samurans. ¡°I beat every single one of the Warriors and Pathwalkers in the village in a ranking challenge when I came, and tamed each of them,¡± I explain, sensing that they needed a little more information. Certainly, the general tone of the murmurings around me improve slightly ¨C as I¡¯ve already experienced, samurans very much believe in might makes right, so the idea that I proved my might first apparently makes the whole situation more palatable to them. Nonetheless, I note a few dark looks from some of the older Pathwalkers around, those with cracks starting to appear in their scales. Unease is still there too; understandably so. ¡°Then we find that no rule has been broken. The Hunt continues,¡± answers Air-shaper without any of that unease found in some of her sisters. ¡°If you didn¡¯t want to be disadvantaged,¡± Water-caller snaps at Flying-blade as she looks as if she¡¯s about to protest, panic and fear both playing through her spikes, ¡°you should have more thoroughly done your research before proposing the Hunt. You had your opportunity to withdraw; now you must either complete the challenge or Shame your village.¡± With that, the two Pathwalkers strode off back to their own campsites. I look around at my Bound. ¡°We¡¯ve wasted enough time. Let¡¯s go.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Six: Favour An hour later, I¡¯m still satisfied at how that whole confrontation turned out. I¡¯m also drawing close to where Kalanthia has made her temporary den. Being an accomplished Earth-Shaper, making a home away from home is the work of only minutes for her. This time I can see that she¡¯s made an effort to conceal her presence ¨C I¡¯m only able to find the den because I¡¯ve already visited her here once before. Most of it is underground, only a small mound above the earth indicating where the entrance is for those who know. The entrance itself is a small hole concealed by another mound of earth ¨C Kalanthia must make it bigger when she wants to pass through it as it¡¯s barely big enough for me to crawl through; definitely not her size. She¡¯s also done something to conceal the whole area from magical senses. I noticed it last time too, and want to ask her to teach me when we have more time. Somehow, even though I know that there is a large, hollow space below the ground, I can¡¯t feel it there, not even with earth-magic. Every attempt I make just indicates that it¡¯s solid under there. ¡°Kalanthia?¡± I call, wondering where she is. I am here, Markus Wolfe, her mental voice tells me. Of course, mental voices don¡¯t offer the same sort of directionality that a physical voice does, but that¡¯s solved a moment later when she drops a little package of images into my mind. I follow the trail of image breadcrumbs past the mound and then to the right. Pushing through the thick undergrowth would be harder than it is if I didn¡¯t have my strength or my protective hide armour ¨C several of the bushes around are spiky. And I suspect that at least one is capable of moving in ways plants from Earth are not if the way I see some of the tendrils twitch and slither away from me is any indication. At least the plant is smart enough not to attack our party. Emerging from the mess of bushes, I¡¯m struck with a sight which makes my eyebrows rise into my regrown shaggy hairline. Raven and Kalanthia are¡­together? And not biting each other¡¯s heads off either verbally or literally? ¡°Well, this is new,¡± I remark to the two of them when I¡¯m both able to speak and continue walking forwards. The rest of my party breaks through the last of the undergrowth and into the small clearing, evidently recently made. Probably for Raven to be able to take flight easily. Lathani runs towards her mother to greet her. Bastet, Storm, Ninja, and I follow to do the same, though at a more sedate pace. The three alcaoris hatchlings dash over to me as quickly as they can too and wait impatiently for me to finish greeting Kalanthia. I rub their scales in their favourite places ¨C each of them prefers a different spot. Sending a quick pulse of magic through them, I determine that they¡¯re not any worse than when I last saw them two days ago. In fact, Daphne and Ivor¡¯s crazy mish-mashes of internal channels seem slightly more logical. They also haven¡¯t gone backwards with their physical forms, fortunately. Noir, of course, is unchanged, though perhaps a little bigger. ¡°When did you two get all friendly?¡± I ask curiously when the greetings are all done, the rest of my party just showing more or less fearful respect towards the two Tier threes. The thing is that while Raven and Kalanthia haven¡¯t tried to fight since I helped them form an Alliance, they¡¯ve still been very far from buddy-buddy. There¡¯s been a spoken and unspoken understanding to avoid each other¡¯s indicated territory and to try to ignore the other as much as possible. Even when we were travelling together, they mostly greeted the Guardians individually and didn¡¯t speak on the rare occasion they were both with our caravan at once. I hadn¡¯t considered what they might do while the rest of us were at the Festival, but if I had, I would probably have said that they would try to stay apart as much as possible, continuing the standoffish truce. The evidence in front of my eyes, however, indicates differently. We realised that we have some things in common, Kalanthia explained. We are both Enlightened beasts away from our families. We both have young who have been badly hurt. And we are both here because of you. Well, as a summary, that¡¯s pretty accurate, I have to admit. ¡°And this has allowed you to build, what, a friendship?¡± I wouldn¡¯t go that far, replies Raven coolly, though his body language towards Kalanthia tells me differently. He¡¯s relaxed in a way I¡¯ve only seen him with his hatchlings, when he forgets to be wary of me. But I have¡­appreciated the company. ¡°Your own brothers are still giving you trouble?¡± I ask sympathetically. Raven sighs, a gust of slightly-warm breath huffing through his nostrils. Yes, he admits. They still will not allow me access to the hatchling grounds. According to him, alcaorises aren¡¯t social in the sense that samurans are. They don¡¯t live together the majority of the time. They don¡¯t come together in big groups to face threats. They don¡¯t even hunt together much, and if so, only in parties of two or three at the most and that usually only at Tier one. But when it comes to raising their offspring, there is this period of time every mating cycle ¨C which from the indications he¡¯s given is probably about a decade long ¨C when the fathers who have successfully hatched their eggs bring their hatchlings to the ancestral hatching grounds. Apparently the hatching grounds are where the alcaoris fathers bring their new hatchlings to meet each other and to interact, learning to fight, to play, and to be with others of their kind. It also gives the fathers a bit of a break as they take it in turns to fetch food for everyone, and social contact which Raven won¡¯t admit that he misses. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The problem is that, due to the problems the young alcaorises are still suffering from, too many of the other alcaoris fathers are not willing to accept that it has been a successful hatching. They see Noir, Daphne, and Ivar as being deformed and disabled, doomed to die young ¨C not true alcaorises. And they have barred Raven from the hatching grounds as a result. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I say to him honestly. He turns his head away from my sympathy ¨C the prideful beast has difficulty admitting any sort of vulnerability. That apparently he¡¯s been able to get over himself enough to build something of a friendship with Kalanthia is amazing. Why are you here, Markus Wolfe? Kalanthia asks, perhaps to distract the attention from Raven and his continuing issues with his kind. I willingly go with it ¨C I don¡¯t have unlimited time, after all. Explaining the Hunt and my task, I soon have both Tier threes¡¯ eyes on me. At some point, I sit down, the three dragonlings pressing in close to me as I speak. Apparently Ivar, Noir, and Daphne have missed me. Treasures, Raven muses as I finish. They seek some treasure to empower their group. ¡°That¡¯s what it¡¯s about?¡± I ask, glancing at Joy and Poison who are most likely to know the answer to my question. The ritual of the long-dark does empower us in some way, Joy admits. It is hard to explain it, but those who make it to the Festival are often healthier and stronger than those who do not. It is why we must make sure not to leave the same Warriors behind every time ¨C and another reason for why we bring all our Pathwalkers, even the newest, despite the danger of the journey. ¡°I see,¡± I say thoughtfully. ¡°And does it make a difference to the ritual what kind of object is brought back?¡± Logically, I would have thought it did ¨C different Energy Hearts have proven to have different effects on Energy channels, after all. On the other hand, if it¡¯s just being used as a power source, to amplify something else that the Pathwalkers do¡­. I do not know, Joy admits, Poison flicking his tail in uncertain negation as I look at him next. ¡°Alright,¡± I say to them, then turn my attention back to Raven and Kalanthia. ¡°Do either of you know of a treasure nearby which we could aim for that would suit the requirements?¡± They are both silent for a long moment as they consider the matter. I do not know of any treasure that is not already claimed, Raven replies first. If I did, I would have already claimed it for myself or my hatchlings. ¡°Then you know of some treasures which are already claimed?¡± I check. I do, he answers, though since the treasures I know of are ones that I would not dare claim for myself because of their Guardians, I suspect that you will not want to try for them either. ¡°Well, that depends,¡± I say non-committedly. ¡°What about you, Kalanthia?¡± She huffs and comes closer to me, presenting her chin for me to scratch. When I start doing so, she rumbles in pleasure. Not one to be left out, Lathani comes over to receive her due, shoving Ivar out of the way to get through to me. The alcaoris hatchlings hiss and snap at her for her invasion and I¡¯m distracted as I am forced to deal with the issue or risk World War III breaking out on my lap. ¡°Stop it all of you,¡± I reprimand them sharply. ¡°Lathani, you pushed Ivar out of the way ¨C he¡¯s understandably upset by that. Come sit here where there¡¯s space. I¡¯ll stroke all of you in turn, OK?¡± They all grumble about that but settle as I start fulfilling my promise. Kalanthia grumbles even more loudly when I withdraw my hand from her chin to stroke Lathani. I fix her with a mock-glare. ¡°Like I said to your daughter, everyone gets a turn,¡± I tell her teasingly. She grumbles again wordlessly, but then sighs and finally gets around to answering my previous question. I am afraid I cannot offer much good advice to you on this matter. Similar to Ravenous, the treasures I know of around here are powerful enough to meet ¨C or exceed ¨C your requirements, but they are guarded by beasts more powerful than I would expect you to be able to overcome. The deeper into the valley, the more powerful the beast must be to maintain their territory. Most of the beasts around here are at least as strong as Ravenous. Even at full strength, I sense that she begins speaking privately only to me, I would have to be careful with quite a number of them too. Your party is not stealthy enough to be able to steal the treasure and avoid being tracked by its enraged Guardian either. ¡°Alright,¡± I say slowly, my mind turning over the information. Looks like I¡¯ll be going with Plan B after all. ¡°Then Raven, I would like to call in one of the three favours you owe me. I would like you to help me with this Hunt.¡± The alcaoris looks at me, startled and a little uncharacteristically nervous. I am not certain we could win against most of the beasts around here even if we fight alongside each other, he warns me. Several of the treasures I know of are guarded by other, stronger members of my kind. ¡°But do you think we could kill a Tier three if we work together?¡± I ask him with my eyes narrowed. ¡°Not one guarding a treasure.¡± Raven eyes me for a moment. Yes, he says a moment later, more thoughtfully. If we targeted one who was not of my kind, one who would be vulnerable to my attacks, perhaps. My kind is generally more powerful than another of the same stage so if we attacked another at the beginning of Tier three, we would probably win. Especially if it is not a Guardian with a treasure. There could easily be casualties among your numbers, however ¨C a clash between Enlightened beasts often has an impact on the environment around. I know that he doesn¡¯t care about those in my party, so this concern is rather uncharacteristic of him. He¡¯s nervous, I realise, looking at him and feeling the muted sensations he¡¯s projecting over the Bond. ¡°If you¡¯re hurt, I¡¯ll heal you to the best of my abilities,¡± I promise him, wondering if that¡¯s what he¡¯s concerned about. I would hope so, Raven snaps, sounding more like himself for a moment. Then he hesitates. If I am killed, you will take good care of my hatchlings, yes? Ah. Right. Father. Perhaps becoming a parent has made him more cautious, especially when considering the disastrous consequences of his decision to submerge his eggs in Pure Energy. ¡°Of course,¡± I tell him. ¡°But I doubt you¡¯ll be dying. Not with the target I have in mind.¡± And what is that? he asks curiously. I sense that the attention of everyone else with me sharpens too ¨C he¡¯s not the only one who wants to know. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Seven: Two Birds With One Stone ¡°Before I answer that, can you just tell me something? How fast could you fly back to our den area?¡± At full speed? Raven asked thoughtfully. If I left now, I would probably return to my lair before the first moon has reached its zenith. I nod slowly. That makes it perhaps four or five hours. Not bad. We travelled faster than anticipated to get here from the samuran village, making the journey in sixteen days rather than twenty, which makes Raven¡¯s estimate very impressive on the face of it. Of course, we were limited in the speed we made on foot because of the cyrans and the cart, and the fact that we couldn¡¯t travel in a straight line as we were forced to avoid certain topographical hazards. We were also limited in the number of hours we could travel due to the longer nights and the need to build a shelter every time we stopped. Then there were the occasional fights which delayed things further. If I had travelled with a small party, especially if I¡¯d had a mount for when my stamina ran out, I would have probably covered the distance in half the time, even with the same topographical features and the occasional fight. When all that is taken into account, the idea that Raven, who would be able to fly in a straight line with no obstacles and ¨C hopefully ¨C no fights might be able to make the same distance in a fraction of the time is slightly more plausible. He must still be able to fly bloody fast, though. ¡°Alright. And what if you were carrying passengers?¡± Passengers. Me. His deadpan tone reveals exactly what he thinks about the idea. ¡°As part of that favour to me ¨C this would count as you helping with the Hunt,¡± I remind him. He eyes me with his massive bronze orb, then sighs, visibly giving into the idea. How many passengers? he asks in long-suffering tones, his head turning to eye everyone present. If you are proposing that I carry all of you, I am not sure I could fly at all. ¡°How many could you take at maximum, then? With your current capabilities?¡± If I use my ability to enhance my flight and spend my mana without holding any in reserve to defend myself, I could probably take most of you. Not that one or that one, he says, pointing his nose at Fenrir and Catch who are probably the heaviest members of the party, but the rest. However, that would then mean I would not be able to benefit from the ability¡¯s increased speed. ¡°How would that affect the journey time?¡± I check. It would at least double the time, but I would have to take several breaks to rest or I would kill myself before the end. I nod slowly. It¡¯s a pity that none of us have any Skills over air. Then I feel like face-palming. ¡°What if we had someone with us who was able to direct the wind to aid your flight?¡± I ask, half-dreading the answer. It would certainly help, Raven replies. How much so, I cannot say. Not without testing. ¡°Right,¡± I sigh. We¡¯re too far away from the Festival for me to speak to any of the samurans still there, but I can still send a rough impression of a summons down the Bond. I proceed to do that, focussing on Windy¡¯s Bond and sending a firm order for her to meet us just outside the vine plants. I then try to work out the logistics. It took us an hour to get here, and it¡¯s probably not a good idea for me to ask Windy to try to meet us here on her own. The problem is that it would take a couple of hours for an escort to meet her there and bring her back. Then again, I suppose we do have other preparations to make. ¡°Catch, Iandee, Fenrir, please go and meet Windy at the same place where we left the clearing and bring her back here. If you encounter any difficulties, let me know down the Bond and we¡¯ll come to help.¡± Yes, Honoured Tamer, Iandee answers at the same time as Catch says much the same. As you wish, Honoured Markus. Fenrir just sends me an excited feeling, keen to be moving. The three set off into the forest, moving fast. Will you tell us your idea yet, Tamer? asks Dusty, clearly a bit impatient as I follow their disappearing forms with my gaze. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I say apologetically. ¡°I got a bit distracted. My intention is to use this Hunt to kill two birds with one stone. It¡¯s a bit risky, mostly because of timing, but as long as we can get this to work with Raven, I¡¯d like to do it. Not far from where Kalanthia¡¯s den used to be is a cave. Inside the cave is lots of salt ¨C guarded by a massive water creature. I¡¯m pretty sure that the beast there is at least Tier three which would make it suitable for the Hunt. And by getting rid of it, we can ensure that the samuran village has access to salt which has multiple uses.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. You speak of the white crystals you like to use on your food? River asks thoughtfully. ¡°Yes, exactly.¡± It would be good to have some more of that to experiment with, she agrees. You gave us a small amount to test in our concoctions and it had some promising results in extending the length of time that concoction stayed useful for. ¡°That doesn¡¯t surprise me,¡± I agree. ¡°People from my world have used salt to preserve food for millennia. So, that¡¯s what my plan is.¡± It is risky, rumbles Poison. I agree, Joy answers worriedly. That is a long way away from where we are now ¨C if something happens with our mode of transportation, we will be stuck far away from the Festival ¨C and will lose the Hunt by default when we do not return with an object to offer. After the humiliation we served to Flying-blade and the way we left with so many of us ¨C even according to the agreed on rules ¨C she won¡¯t be the only one glad to see us fall. ¡°I doubt it will come to that,¡± I reassure them, ¡°but if it does, then I can call for Ptera to come. She can definitely carry me, and between us we should be able to make the journey back in time. It¡¯s not an ideal solution since the rest of you would be left behind, but to win the Hunt, only I need to return, technically, right?¡± That¡¯s true, Joy agrees thoughtfully. ¡°And actually,¡± I think out loud, turning back to Raven. ¡°If you¡¯re able to use the once a day Skill borrowing that the rest of my group is able to, you could borrow Ptera¡¯s Lighten ability ¨C that might make at least some of the journey faster and easier.¡± Perhaps, he answers non-committedly. But I question why you wish to go so far afield. I will admit that most of the Guardians around this area are stronger than I would wish to battle, but there are a number of others of the same stage as me ¨C I would be more hopeful about our chance of succeeding against them. ¡°Well, like I said, two birds, one stone. But it¡¯s also because I think that we have a decent chance with this one. We have Dusty, a Water-Shaper who will be able to turn its environment against it. At the same time, it¡¯s in a cave, which I will be able to affect. If Joy can control its movements and stop it from using its tentacles against us, and we can get some poison into its system, I think we can probably win without casualties. Since we¡¯d be able to attack it from above, you wouldn¡¯t even need to come within reach, Raven. You could just pour your acid through the ceiling onto it. As long as the time frame works for getting there and getting back, I¡¯d say that this is a better target than most. But if any of you can see any major flaws, please point them out.¡± There is thoughtful silence as they all consider my words and the strategy I¡¯ve just outlined. I can¡¯t deny that there¡¯s also a part of me which wants to just get rid of the creature ¨C I still occasionally have bad dreams where I¡¯m being chased from a black tentacle which gets ever-closer to me no matter how fast I run or climb. I always wake up before it quite reaches me, but it¡¯s unpleasant nonetheless. Very well, we can try it, Raven agrees. I look around the rest of the group to see that no one has decided to object further. The only last caution comes from Joy once more. I can see that you have the benefit of the village in mind here. However, overreaching benefits no one. If we try this and we fail, we will struggle to try another option because of the time constraints. Kalanthia yawns loudly and then stretches. There is a Guardian who has been far too disrespectful to me recently. She has been impeding my efforts with some of the other Guardians too. I intend to kill her anyway. If you fail in your endeavours, I will cede her Core to you. ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you, Kalanthia,¡± I say with a bit of suspicion. ¡°But what would you want in return?¡± She gives me an enigmatic look. Let us call it a favour owed, shall we? I consider the matter for a few moments, then shrug. ¡°Sure, why not.¡± I trust Kalanthia not to ask for anything too outrageous. If she wants me to help kill an enemy or something, I might be able to call in a second favour from Raven If necessary. I¡¯m not keen on doing that, though ¨C the favours are good trump cards. ¡°If we don¡¯t need the Core, what will you do with it?¡± Kalanthia shifts her head nonchalantly. Consume it as I intended on doing anyway. Fair enough. There is only one problem. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m able to accept help from others who aren¡¯t Bound to me, though,¡± I say, looking at Joy. She hesitates. Technically the restriction only applies to help from others of the People, she replies slowly. There was no question over you bringing the raptorcats, for example, she says. However, were you to not even be present at the kill¡­. She grimaces. I do not know how the Pathwalkers would rule on that one. She doesn¡¯t need to say that while pushing the rules to their limits is acceptable, outright breaking them would make our village a pariah until I stepped down as leader. There¡¯s a simple solution to the problem, but I hesitate to raise it with Kalanthia. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, alright?¡± I start slowly, making sure to return to scratching Kalanthia under her chin in her favourite spot. ¡°Remember that I¡¯m the only one who can scratch you like this.¡± She rumbles, the sound a mixture between contented and cautious. ¡°I could offer you a temporary Tame Bond.¡± She pulls away to glare at me. I start speaking more quickly, wanting to finish it before she decides to rip my head off for even suggesting Binding her. ¡°One that disappears automatically after four days when this whole Hunt will be over regardless. It wouldn¡¯t force you to do anything ¨C it¡¯s literally just there so that I can honestly say that you were one of my Bound at the time if we have to use the back up plan!¡± I force myself to stop, knowing that I¡¯m beginning to babble. Looking at her anxiously, I¡¯m relieved to note that she doesn¡¯t look as if she¡¯s about to pounce or throw up earthen spikes to impale me. Instead, she looks¡­hesitant. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Eight: Preparing For The Journey This Bond¡­you swear that it would be temporary? she asks, her voice sounding like it¡¯s supposed to be demanding, but ending up more plaintive. Very unusual for Kalanthia, I think this is the first time I¡¯ve heard it. I almost regret raising the possibility at all ¨C I know that she¡¯s had bad experiences with Bonds in the past. I¡¯m probably bringing up all the bad memories here, and once more for the sake of the same people. ¡°I swear,¡± trying to project my utter sincerity. ¡°Anyway, as a Tame Bond, you can put in what you require and reject the Bond entirely if I ask for something you don¡¯t want to give. Although the temporary Bonds I¡¯ve had in the past have not allowed either participant to leave during the term, we might be able to put that in at the beginning ¨C allowing you to leave whenever you want.¡± And what damage does this¡­.Bond do when it breaks? Kalanthia asks and I sense that she forcibly directed her thoughts along the lines of Bond when they would have automatically moved towards ¡®chain¡¯ instead. ¡°None, as far as I know,¡± I tell her honestly. ¡°Neither Catch nor Honey showed or told me about any signs of damage to any part of them when they changed from Tame Bonds to Companion ones.¡± Kalanthia is silent for a long few moments. I dare to push myself to my feet and move closer slowly, reaching out to continue rubbing her under her chin. She growls a little, but I don¡¯t hear any threat in it. You are trying to gain an unfair advantage here, she complains petulantly, sounding very much like her cub. I will think on it, she answers finally. I will give you an answer before you must depart. ¡°No problem,¡± I tell her honestly. The Bond should be quick enough to do at the last minute. ¡°Take whatever time you need. And Kalanthia?¡± She turns her head slightly to fix me with one golden eye. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want the Bond, thank you for offering this at all. I appreciate it. And even if we don¡¯t need the Core in the end, I¡¯ll still be willing to do you a favour, just for being willing to help me out.¡± She rumbles again, this time sounding a little happier, and presses her chin more firmly against my scratching fingers for as much time as I can spare her. Which, due to our need to prepare for the journey, is less than I would prefer. Getting everything ready takes a good portion of the time we spend waiting for Windy and her escorts to return. Part of that is making sure that everyone ¨C particularly Raven ¨C has eaten and drunk sufficiently and that I have enough carcasses in my Inventory for later. We don¡¯t want to delay things by needing to make a hunting trip later even if the meat stored in my extra-dimensional space isn¡¯t ideal. The rest of the preparation time is spent creating a means of Raven carrying us all. After all, he might be big even in comparison to Kalanthia but we can¡¯t all fit on his back. We discuss a few options, but decide that the best solution is to create a capsule which Raven will carry in his claws where some of the party can sit during the flight. That would require fewer needing to perch on his back. I¡¯ve done my best to make the capsule as lightweight as possible, pouring magic into spidersilk to form the exterior walls with Joy¡¯s help, and creating hollow bones to form the structure itself. It¡¯s not robust at all and those inside will be at risk if anything attacks us, but it should stand up to the rigours of the journey itself. ¡°We¡¯re not likely to be attacked enroute are we?¡± I ask anxiously, suddenly wondering whether I should have asked that before. I realise that I had assumed that the skies were relatively empty of predators, but that¡¯s probably a wrong assumption to make. I¡¯ve already been attacked four times by creatures from the air which, while far less frequent than the ground-attacks have been, is still an indication that there are threats in the skies. Not as long as we head up the mountainside first as quickly as possible, Raven reassures me. Going deeper in would be asking for trouble, but at this height from the valley floor, few would dare attack a full-grown and Enlightened beast of my kind. That¡¯s good to know, though I don¡¯t rule it out as a possibility. As a result, I make a plan for what we should do if we are attacked and the capsule containing everyone risks being struck or getting in the way of Raven¡¯s offence. I don¡¯t want to have to heal everyone¡¯s Energy channels from his acidic mana again, after all. After the capsule is made, it¡¯s time to test and tweak it. We test it with small numbers and short flights, then expand the tests to larger numbers and slightly higher flights. We even test my Plan B a few times ¨C without anyone in the capsule until I¡¯m confident that it¡¯s working in principle, then with others added one at a time, my stomach tying itself in knots every time we run a test. My claws are starting to feel cramped, complains Raven as he lands, carefully setting the capsule down on the ground before landing himself. And if I take any more than that last flight, I won¡¯t be able to fly for very long before needing to rest. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I say. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to take everyone currently here. Hopefully Windy¡¯s help will enable you to carry the three additional samurans and Fenrir. As for your claws hurting, I¡¯m sure Joy and I can weave the cord around your legs so you don¡¯t have to grip the weight. Does the rest of it feel fine?¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It is well enough, Raven agrees slightly begrudgingly. Though I suspect that my top speed won¡¯t be anything like what it would normally be. I don¡¯t say anything for a moment, taking a step back from the situation. Should we really be doing this? The creature in the caves is a good target except for its distance. I am putting all my eggs in one basket here ¨C almost literally if we consider the capsule as a basket and my Bound as the eggs in it. I¡¯ve made a Plan B ¨C and Plan C if we consider Kalanthia¡¯s offer as part of my planning ¨C but anything can happen. None of my present Bound apart from Sirocco and Raven can fly, so if anything goes wrong¡­. But then things could go wrong at any time, I tell myself. Targeting a local Guardian and walking through the forest to get to it could go wrong. And there are no good targets nearby, nor do I have the first-hand experience with them that I do with this other creature. Plus, based on what Kalanthia said when I asked her in the past, the tentacle monster is at least her level of power, meaning that its Core would almost certainly be the outright winner. Because that is the additional issue that the Pathwalkers have put in ¨C hedging my bets and choosing a less powerful creature to attack might backfire on me if it turns out that the current ¡®treasure¡¯ of the lead samurans is of better quality. Based on what I¡¯ve learned about samuran thinking, I suspect that it would be more forgivable if I went after the creature alone ¨C as long as my treasure is better than Flying-blade¡¯s. But since everyone now knows I¡¯ve taken a party along with me, I really need to blow the others out of the water. Which all means that this creature ¨C powerful, known, and probably trappable ¨C is the best bet, even if it does mean needing to fly all the way there and back. ¡°We will deal with whatever problems happen,¡± I say to Raven, belatedly responding to his comment. The fact is that with him being one of my Bound, even if only with a Tame-origin Bond, there are options. Even if he can¡¯t borrow Ptera¡¯s Lighten ability, I can probably help heal the strain his flight causes during the journey and I may be able to feed him stamina ¨C I¡¯ve worked out how to do that with Dominate-origin Bonds. Even though Raven is an Ally, as a beneficial, non-invasive effect, I hope that it will work with Raven¡¯s Bond, despite it not being one originating in Dominate. We spend the rest of the time resting. At least, the others do. I can¡¯t stop myself from fidgeting with the capsule, trying to make it a little more solid, a little more safe without increasing the weight any more. Mostly, that involves shoving in more mana, focussing on making the bone and silk more robust, more protective, less penetrable. I do seem to make some progress ¨C when filled with enough mana, the bone seems to take on a different lustre, looking like it¡¯s become metallic, even though it doesn¡¯t increase in weight. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve reached a tipping point in it ¨C so much mana forced in and not allowed out instead transforms it into something else. The section of silk directly under my hand, too, takes on a faint rainbow-like sheen. That effect actually alarms me ¨C glittering rainbows in the sky is just asking for trouble. Really, we want it to be able to pass unremarked. However, just as I think that, the section of silk loses its rainbow-like qualities and becomes just slightly harder to see. ¡°Have¡­. Have I just made camo-fabric?¡± I wonder with bemusement. Several of my Bound look up at my voice, but don¡¯t comment. Reenergised, I work on doing the same thing to as much of the capsule as I can, not hesitating to borrow mana from my Bound when my own starts getting low ¨C this task is very mana-heavy. Markus, we are almost there, Catch tells me needlessly ¨C just the fact that he¡¯s able to contact me verbally through the Bond is sufficient to know that they¡¯re close by. I push myself to my feet and clap my hands. ¡°Alright everyone. The others are only a few minutes away. Let¡¯s get moving ¨C the sooner we¡¯re ready, the sooner we can get into the air.¡± The clearing soon looks like a kicked anthill as everyone immediately tidies up what they were doing and starts gathering close to Raven. I look at the capsule in slight disappointment. I was able to transform most of the fabric on the sides to ¡®camo-fabric¡¯ ¨C one hand at a time ¨C but I ran out of time to do the top and bottom. Hopefully that won¡¯t be important. Markus¡­. Kalanthia approaches me looking very serious. ¡°You¡¯ve made a decision?¡± I ask, almost sure that that¡¯s the reason. She dips her head for a moment. I will accept a temporary Bond with you as long as there are no constraints on me, it is sure to fall away after this short period, and you are not given access to any of my thoughts or memories. ¡°No problem,¡± I say honestly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on doing any of that anyway. But please, put in all the guarantees you feel are necessary for you. The process is a bit like that Alliance Bond we created with Raven.¡± I offer the Bond to Kalanthia. She¡¯s tense and stiff as she quickly adds her requirements into her side of things. It¡¯s like she¡¯s waiting for the other shoe to drop as she accepts and passes it over to me. I don¡¯t need to spend more than a few moments checking through exactly what she¡¯s added before I accept ¨C there¡¯s nothing in there which will cause problems. Not for such a short-term Bond that¡¯s only there for the excuse to be able to call her my Bound in case we need to take advantage of the back up plan. That¡¯s it? Kalanthia asks with surprise in her voice as the Bond slips into place. It¡¯s a gossamer-like thing, barely even present. I sense nothing from it, and it adds very little weight to my soul. ¡°It is,¡± I answer out loud ¨C I don¡¯t even have the ability to communicate with her mentally as she didn¡¯t want to risk me getting access to her mind. Which is fine by me since we¡¯re not going into battle together. I smile at her, projecting my fondness for her as I see the party we¡¯ve been waiting for entering the clearing. ¡°Look after yourself and we¡¯ll see you when we come back.¡± She seems uncharacteristically rattled, pulling backwards and becoming almost unnoticeable, half-hidden in the trees. At least that¡¯s one thing the Bond gives us ¨C I know where she is even when she wants to hide. But because I know she wants to disappear, I ignore her and turn my attention to my new and returning party members. Unsurprisingly, Windy looks like she¡¯s in an awful mood. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Sixty-Nine: High In The Air What was so important that you required me to come immediately? she hissed, striding up to me with her jaws gaping open and spikes flaring a deep red. The Warriors refused to explain. And she probably didn¡¯t even think about asking Fenrir. Though, bless him, that probably wouldn¡¯t have helped anyway since I¡¯m not sure he fully grasped everything that was going on in the discussion earlier. ¡°We need to make a long flight and having you directing the wind around and under his wings would help Raven to carry more of us and go faster,¡± I tell her with no preamble. For a moment, she¡¯s silenced. I see her thoughts racing, the angry red in her spikes being replaced by flickers of other colours. And why should I help you? she asks less angrily. ¡°Apart from the fact that the only reason we¡¯re doing this at all is to help your village gain precedence? And that there are already four, technically five of your fellow Pathwalkers aiding without argument or needing any further incentive? And that being part of killing a Tier three is probably going to be a good thing for each of us individually? And the fact that I, as your leader and Bond-holder, am asking you?¡± I shrug. ¡°No reason, really.¡± Windy eyes me with glittering eyes, then looks around at the rest of the group. They are all staring at her with a variety of expressions ranging from disinterest ¨C the raptorcat cubs ¨C to active dislike ¨C River. Then she turns back to me. Fine. How strong do you need the wind to be? Letting out a slow, silent sigh in relief that she¡¯s not going to be difficult about it, I gesture towards Raven. ¡°He¡¯ll direct you. Right everyone, positions please. Iandee, Catch, Fenrir please join the group moving into the mini-tent over there. River, Yells, Dusty, Joy, Sirocco, Bastet, take your places on Raven¡¯s back.¡± I wait, watching to make sure that the eleven needing to travel in the capsule are settled in it. To reduce the size and thereby weight, it¡¯s very low, only as tall as it needs to be to allow the two Warriors to kneel or crouch upright. That means they have to crawl in. The two younger raptorcats, Lathani, and Fenrir are fine as, even though Fenrir got bigger in his Evolution, he can still walk in without crouching. The three alcaoris hatchlings are much the same ¨C they¡¯re a bit bigger than Lathani, but that doesn¡¯t give them any trouble getting inside. Out of everyone they would have been the best to leave behind but Raven wouldn¡¯t hear of it. I don¡¯t really blame him for his mistrust when it comes to his children¡¯s wellbeing. Once they¡¯re inside, I tie up the flap, passing the cord through to Catch inside so that in the event of an emergency, he can pull it and easily get out. ¡°Remember,¡± I say to them quietly. ¡°The green cord is if Raven has to let go of you midair or you are somehow knocked out of his claws. The white cord is to open the flaps in a normal situation. The red cord is to cause the capsule to fall apart into several sections if you have to get out immediately.¡± We know, Markus, Catch reassures me. We¡¯ve practised everything at least once. ¡°I know, but in the heat of the moment¡­¡± We will remember it, Honoured Tamer, Poison speaks up next. This is not our first time going into a risky situation. ¡°No, I know,¡± I say, trying to feel reassured by that. The problem is that I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve ever been in this kind of risky situation. Up in the air, carried in a friendly alcaoris¡¯ claws¡­. But saying that probably won¡¯t help anything. ¡°Alright, have a good flight, and if you get sick, try to direct it out of the capsule, alright?¡± I try to joke, suddenly wondering if samurans can feel air-sickness. Heading back to Raven, I ensure that those on his back are tied down correctly in a position that isn¡¯t too uncomfortable and keeps them flat on Raven¡¯s back ¨C the less air-resistance we offer, the better. Creating the harness to hold us on without restricting Raven¡¯s movements also took some time. I then climb on myself, heading to the front where I tie myself down next to Windy on Raven¡¯s shoulders. I guess that someone showed her how to secure herself since there aren¡¯t any changes I can see to make to her straps. ¡°Alright Raven,¡± I say once I¡¯ve fixed my own straps. ¡°Try to borrow the Lighten ability from Ptera.¡± How do I do that? he asks. I¡¯m momentarily stuck for words since, honestly, I don¡¯t know. Fortunately, Bastet quickly chimes in to provide instructions. I feel a nagging notification appear and quickly check it.
Your ally has asked to access one of the special abilities belonging to one of your Dominate Bound. Ally: Ravenous ¡®Raven¡¯. Do you wish to grant him temporary access?
Yes / No If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Interesting, I say to myself, quickly agreeing to the request. Since he¡¯s an ally, he can gain access, but it needs to be with my permission¡­. A moment later, I feel Raven shift a little, staggering slightly as if someone had just lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s working?¡± I check. Yes, he says with bemusement. It feels as if half of you have got off, but I can still feel you on my back. ¡°Alright, good. Let¡¯s take off, then.¡± Carefully standing, Raven grabs the capsule containing my other Bound with his front claws and then leaps off the ground with his back feet. Just as we reach the apex of his jump, his mighty wings come down to propel us further into the air. My stomach feels like I¡¯m on a rollercoaster as we bob up and down. The first few beats are laboured, but they even out as soon as Raven clears the tree tops. We rise higher than in any of our tests and I stare in wonder as I see an ocean of trees of all shades of green ¨C and some which aren¡¯t green at all ¨C spread out in all directions. Before us looms one of the immense mountains which makes up the edge of this valley, its summit lost in the clouds above. Its slopes are remarkably gentle until it reaches the steep peak which juts out almost vertically. The next mountain feels impossibly far away, though I know that in the course of our journey here, we covered about four mountains in sixteen days. How did we do that? I now wonder as the distance seems incredibly far. Even as high in the air as we are, I can barely see the mountains on the other side of the valley, and I can¡¯t even start to see where the valley begins and ends. Of course, the haze of moisture in the air doesn¡¯t help with visibility. I sense Windy and Raven speaking to each other ¨C I could probably tune into the conversation if I wished, but I don¡¯t try. A moment later, I feel it as the wind around us changes direction, now starting to blow my over-long hair into my eyes as it comes from behind me. The next moment, Raven glows a subtle green colour and then we shoot forwards, faster than ever before. We¡¯re off. The first part of the journey passes in a blur of green trees below and grey sky above. We fly high enough that it would be difficult to make out individual trees even if we weren¡¯t going fast enough to make them a blur, but not so high that we have to worry about clouds unless they¡¯re particularly low. We do, however, have to worry about something else: rain. Can you do something about this? I ask Dusty as I grit my teeth against the stinging, cold droplets showering down on me. Pouring mana into the hide of my armour, I make it grow inch by inch until it¡¯s made a sort of hood around my head and protective covers over my fingers. That does improve things, but only for me. Glancing around from where I¡¯m lying flat against Raven¡¯s shoulders, I see that the rest of my Bound with me here are looking miserable. I don¡¯t blame them ¨C the air up here is colder than they¡¯re used to and we¡¯ve definitely been flying for hours. Raven¡¯s speed has slowed down considerably since his access to Ptera¡¯s Lighten ability expired ¨C apparently it¡¯s limited to an hour¡¯s duration even if the user has the mana to keep it going. Since then, it¡¯s only been Windy¡¯s constant effort with the air currents which have kept us in the air at all. We¡¯re still going far faster than we would have been if we were running through the jungle below, but it¡¯s a noticeable difference from when we set out. If we¡¯d managed to keep the same speed throughout the whole journey, it might have taken us only six hours. Right now, I estimate that it will take double that. And more if we have to stop and rest which I think we will ¨C if only to make sure that my more reptilian Bound don¡¯t half-freeze up here. But that should be fine ¨C we still have time. And at least those of us pressed against Raven get to benefit a little from his body heat. Though I suppose that those in the capsule are more sheltered from the rain and the wind. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. The rain stops hitting me and I look up to see that the rainfall is being diverted to either side of Raven, missing him entirely. Thanks, I say gratefully to the Water-Shaper, my gratitude echoed by several others in the group. Even the Warriors sitting in the capsule below are thankful ¨C apparently the container isn¡¯t completely water-tight and they¡¯ve been having leaks. Hopefully Dusty will be able to keep it up until the end of the rainfall. Anyway, it should be good practice for her. How are you doing? I turn my attention to Windy next. My mana is getting low, she answers with the feeling of gritted teeth accompanying it. She¡¯s not enjoying the experience, but has been surprisingly silent despite that. Maybe she¡¯s just needed to concentrate too much to spare the attention for jibes and complaints. Here, I say, handing her a mana-regeneration potion from my Inventory and then focussing on sending a trickle of my own down the Bond between us. What I¡¯ve learned from painful experience ¨C painful for my Bound ¨C is that if I just send my ¡®naked¡¯ mana, it carries with it elements of my fire affinity with it. For those who are already connected with fire like River and Bastet, that doesn¡¯t cause any problems. However, for those who are not connected at all, or who are diametrically opposed to it ¨C like Dusty ¨C it can cause damage to their channels. So, before I send my mana through to Windy, I carefully work on it to remove the traces of fire. I¡¯ve also been using the journey to try to observe what Windy¡¯s been doing with the air to create the effects. When I send the mana to her, I try to build in some of my observations to hopefully make the mana more compatible for her. And also because secretly I would love to become a full elemental mage, capable of using all four elements. Or is it five since metal appears to be different from earth? I still haven¡¯t had success in getting Metal- or Water-Shaping, despite my attempts since Happy and Dusty Evolved and developed them. Water eludes my grasp, probably because it¡¯s even more opposed to fire than earth, and I¡¯m missing something key with Metal. But Air seems like it might be easier for me to develop ¨C from what I can tell while watching Windy work, it¡¯s quite similar to Fire in some ways. Both of them seek freedom, movement, and change. But where Fire seeks to constantly consume, Air wants to play and tease. Most of Windy¡¯s efforts seem to be focussed around keeping the wind moving in the direction we want to go and not turn into eddies that go around in circles, or spread out in other directions. It definitely seems to be like herding cats and I can understand why her side of the Bond is starting to feel fatigued. Even more than the mana drain, the mental exhaustion must be significant. I had thought that she was being a drama queen whenever she loudly announced that she needed to rest every time she did something even remotely strenuous with her magic. And she probably was ¨C even if she was tired, she didn¡¯t need to be that loud about it. But it seems like it wasn¡¯t all pretence. I redouble my efforts in learning how to understand how air-magic functions ¨C now it¡¯s not only that I¡¯d like to complete the set which motivates me; it¡¯s also that I fear Windy won¡¯t be able to complete the whole journey on her own. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy: Break I need a break, Windy tells us all, her mental voice exhausted. I¡¯m not surprised. The wind current has been slowly weakening for the last while and Raven has begun labouring to keep us in the air at all. If the supporting wind dies completely, I will not be able to continue flying, Raven warns us. Alright, let¡¯s take a break then, I agree, slightly unhappy that we haven¡¯t yet made it halfway according to my map, but left with no real choice. Unfortunately, my Flesh-Shaping doesn¡¯t make much difference to Windy¡¯s mental fatigue ¨C I¡¯ve tried. See if you can find a good place to set us down, Raven. He doesn¡¯t respond but angles downwards, gliding as much as he can to save energy. I suppose we¡¯re not too far from halfway, I tell myself. We¡¯ve been flying for at least five hours and we¡¯re probably still another seven or eight hours out. Taking a break now isn¡¯t too bad as long as it doesn¡¯t take too long for Windy to recuperate. As we approach the canopy of trees, I see where he¡¯s aiming us towards ¨C a relatively bare patch on the mountainside which has few trees. The reason is because it¡¯s rather rocky and much steeper than most of the other areas. I hope that we¡¯ll be able to land well enough on it ¨C landing with the capsule attached is a different story from him just landing by himself. Joy, can you unweave the cords holding the capsule to Raven¡¯s legs, please, I ask her, making sure Raven can hear too so he doesn¡¯t accidentally drop it prematurely. The cords are there to stop Raven¡¯s clawed paws from taking too much strain due to needing to hold onto something heavy for an elongated period of time, but they will complicate the landing. Joy sends me an acknowledgement and presumably gets on with the job. I¡¯d help, but my mana is pretty low after helping support Windy for the last few hours. We¡¯ve come low enough that the capsule is almost at risk of skimming the top of the trees. We¡¯re preparing to set down into the space just ahead of us when suddenly Raven jerks abruptly to the side. I hear a number of surprised and discontented hisses from the samurans both on top of Raven¡¯s back and below, but as far as I can tell we¡¯re all still where we should be ¨C the hide straps holding us to Raven¡¯s back have proven to be invaluable. Then he jerks again, this time to the other side. What¡¯s happening? I demand, but just as I do, I see it. We¡¯re being attacked from below! Guardian, Raven says shortly. Attacking me. Can¡¯t move fast enough. Must lose some weight. No! I say immediately. Wait! But it¡¯s too late. Raven swoops into the clearing, and lets go of the capsule. We immediately feel the difference ¨C where before he had been labouring just to remain airborne, now he is able to shoot upwards with a single flap of his wings. My stomach would be going on a rollercoaster ride again if it wasn¡¯t already in my mouth from fear for my Bound. I barely notice Sirocco letting go of her perch and flapping into the air. Raven twists in the air, dodging a strike and our assailant comes briefly into view. The sight is awfully familiar. Bastet? I ask, briefly diverted from my fear for my Bound in the capsule. Yes, it is, she answers immediately, her tone both convinced and full of awe. Because our assailant is indeed what I thought it might be: a Tier three raptorcat. Looking as natural in the air as Raven does ¨C which is to say incredibly natural for a creature which I didn¡¯t know even existed until coming to this world ¨C the raptorcat twists and follows Raven¡¯s movements, aiming to strike at his vulnerable belly. Raven twists and turns, green acidic mana emerging from his jaws even as the raptorcat claps its wings and sends a blade of air at us ¨C the same ability that Hades and Persephone has, only this one is far bigger and obviously more powerful. Our ride dives to avoid the flying blade, giving me a momentary view of the capsule before he twists again to get into position to attack the raptorcat. The sight fills me with relief ¨C Catch or one of the other Warriors obviously deployed the parachute which was Plan B. The only problem is that it seems to have got caught in a tree, holding the capsule off the ground. I also manage to spot Sirocco perching nearby. Good ¨C hopefully she¡¯ll help guide the group. A moment later, I get another view of the capsule and this time I see that they¡¯re managing to climb out with the use of another cord from somewhere. Knowing now that that group is as safe as possible in the current risky situation, I turn my attention back to the ongoing fight. Now with my focus on the conflict, I see that there are a couple of oddities which immediately make me question what¡¯s going on here. The raptorcat doesn¡¯t seem to be seriously trying to attack Raven for one thing. It¡¯s instead only attacking him when he comes close to it, which happens any time he heads towards the clearing. Another thing is that it only appears to be using a couple of attacks ¨C that wind-blade one, and another which is similar but more like a flurry of weaker blades which are harder to avoid. Stolen novel; please report. Even if they¡¯re weaker, they¡¯re still dangerous, though. That point is brought thoroughly home when I hear an alarmed series of clicks come from behind me. Turning, I see only a flurry of movement where Yells used to be, and then she¡¯s gone. The hide straps which had been holding her in place are now flapping in the breeze, several small gashes cut into Raven¡¯s scales. ¡°Yells!¡± I shout urgently. Raven jerks downwards rapidly and then rises again. I have her, he tells me curtly just as she also speaks. He caught me in his claws, she tells me, fearful relief pouring through the Bond. The straps holding me in place broke when the air-blades struck near me. Are you hurt? I ask quickly even as my mind races ¨C this situation isn¡¯t tenable. None of us apart from Raven are used to fighting in the air, which means that we¡¯re at an automatic disadvantage. And the one who would be most adapted to this kind of fighting is currently too tired from hours of sustained effort to do much. Worse, as Raven twists again in the air, I get another quick glimpse of my group of Bound on the forest floor ¨C they¡¯re surrounded by very familiar figures. Only a little, Yells answers which at least takes that weight off my mind. Good, I quickly acknowledge. Bastet, can you help mediate? I think we¡¯ve accidentally stepped into a raptorcat den. I can try, Bastet answers, though her tone is full of uncertainty. Their matriarch might see me as a sister¡­or a threat. Well, they already see us as a threat, I say grimly. I doubt you could make things worse. Then I will try, my raptorcat friend says with determination. After a quick mental discussion with everyone, Raven backs off a little, using his domain to project a desire to communicate. Sort of. When it flows over me, I still feel the always-present elements of him projecting his sense of superiority, that he¡¯s bigger and stronger than anyone around so they might as well give up now. And the desire to talk comes across more as him deigning to pause his unstoppable attack to allow the lesser life forms to perhaps appease his wrath. Which doesn¡¯t seem very conciliatory to me. The raptorcat reacts by releasing her own domain. This one is full of a wild desire to protect. It¡¯s a sense that she will do whatever she must to make sure that those in her care remain safe, to the point of risking her own life. I guess that that makes sense ¨C I¡¯ve come to understand that a domain is about core beliefs and values being projected outwards. Kalanthia sees herself as an apex predator, so that¡¯s what her domain comes across as. Raven sees himself as being above others ¨C in all senses of the word ¨C so his domain takes on his belief in his own superiority. This raptorcat evidently is convinced that she is her pack¡¯s main protector and takes that very seriously. Either way, they have broken off actual attacks in lieu of allowing their domains to clash and struggle against each other. As they fight, I send mana through the network of straps holding us all against Raven¡¯s back, searching for the ones holding Bastet in place. Reaching them, I reform the hide sufficiently for her to pull herself free. Those of my Bound with hands are able to do their own straps ¨C another reason why only Bastet and Sirocco were on Raven¡¯s back to begin with of my non-samuran Bound. And they were only there because Sirocco can fly and Bastet could reduce the speed of her fall with her own wings in an emergency ¨C I thought it would be better to have them free to use their wings instead of trapped inside the capsule. Once free, Bastet carefully climbs up Raven¡¯s back ¨C he¡¯s currently gliding around in a circle, the raptorcat keeping pace on the other side as their domains still struggle against each other. From what I can feel, they are fairly matched in strength ¨C I guess that that¡¯s a good thing. If Raven was weaker than the raptorcat, she¡¯d probably just attack. If he was significantly stronger, she might attack anyway, in a suicidal attempt to keep her pack safe. Practically walking on Windy ¨C who glares angrily at her ¨C Bastet perches on Raven¡¯s shoulder, her talons digging into his scales, though only barely piercing them due to their thickness. I feel her project her own awareness outwards towards the other raptorcat. Bastet doesn¡¯t have a domain. Well, she didn¡¯t the last time I checked. But this is definitely the beginning of one. I sense wisps of determination, and a protectiveness that matches the other matriarch¡¯s. Though instead of being filled with wildness, Bastet¡¯s gives me the impression of a¡­shield? At my back? It¡¯s not clear yet, but that¡¯s understandable considering that Bastet isn¡¯t even getting close to Tier three yet. At least, I don¡¯t think she is. My curiosity getting the better of me, I quickly access her information on my Bound tab.
Bastet Raptorcat Companion T2 1500 HP 220 MP 510 SP 34% ~89y Firebreath
Well, she has made more progress towards her next Evolution than the last time I checked, even if it¡¯s still not anywhere near Tier three. Her progress is currently sitting at thirty-four percent instead of the twenty-nine she was at a month or so ago. She¡¯s also added a little more to her mana, health, and stamina, though I know she¡¯s been working on all of those since crossing the first blockage at ten percent. Closing the screen, I tune back into what¡¯s happening. The raptorcat seems to have recognised Bastet but I can¡¯t tell whether it¡¯s a good or bad thing. I sink my awareness more heavily into Bastet¡¯s Bond, trying to use it to understand what¡¯s happening in the same way I did with River right back at the beginning of my relationship with him. Only this time I¡¯m much more practised with Bonds in general and Bastet in particular, so I¡¯m far better at it. The other raptorcat matriarch is wary about the presence of a foreign raptorcat matriarch, but because Bastet is obviously weaker than she is, she¡¯s more curious than threatened. Hope rises in my heart when the other raptorcat uses her domain to extend a line of communication to Bastet. Maybe we can end this without bloodshed? Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-One: Intention My companion latches onto the offer of communication and sends a mix of emotions and impressions down the link. Eavesdropping through the Bond which connects me to Bastet, I access the messages which are passing down her connection with the Tier three raptorcat matriarch. Parsing through the impressions I sense that Bastet is apologising ¨C without actually apologising ¨C for our intrusion on her pack grounds, and is explaining that we are passing through. She¡¯s also promising that no harm will come to the other matriarch¡¯s pack as long as they don¡¯t attempt to cause harm to Bastet¡¯s own pack. Bastet skillfully weaves in an impression of threat to the last, attaching the sense that we have faced more powerful opponents and come out victorious. I¡¯m not sure whether that¡¯s actually true ¨C technically, we did come out alright from the confrontation with Raven, but we lost some of our number and it wasn¡¯t exactly a decided ¡®victory¡¯. Then again, I suppose that survival is a victory in and of itself when facing a more powerful opponent without taking all the precautions necessary. Plus, we¡¯ve all grown stronger since then. Maybe it¡¯s better that I let Bastet get on with it without risking my own concerns coming through to her. After all, the fact that she knows her own kind best is exactly why she¡¯s our lead negotiator right now. The other matriarch sends back a questioning feel over why we are flying at all, and why Bastet¡¯s pack seems to consist of so many non-raptorcat races. At least, that¡¯s what I interpret the mass of emotions and non-verbal thoughts to indicate. Bastet is pretty honest about it. She sends over a sense of wanting to make into prey an enemy who beat us once and sent us with our tails fluffed in fear, but needing to go on a long journey to reach it. And in response to the question over our diverse pack, she sends an impression of me which almost makes me blush. It paints me as one who stepped in to offer support and healing when life and hope were almost lost, and then continually helped her and the last remaining cubs of her pack to grow and, in her case, Evolve. It¡¯s all technically accurate; the reason why it makes me feel a little embarrassed is more because it all seems to be painting me as this altruistic saviour when, in fact, all my actions were very much selfish in nature. Still, it seems like Bastet is taking the right approach with the other matriarch as I sense a shift in the raptorcat¡¯s regard. From being geared towards keeping us as far from her pack as it can, her protectiveness shifts towards wondering if we might be of use to her. I have a feeling I might know where this is going ¨C I felt the shift start when Bastet sent across her memories of the healing I did. Sure enough, the next communication contains a question that even I can confidently interpret as being whether I would be willing to offer healing in exchange for us being allowed to land peacefully. Tell her that I will see what I can do, I instruct Bastet before she can ask me. I do not promise that I will be able to heal whatever the issue is, but I will do my best. My Companion immediately transforms my message into the emotional impressions with which the whole conversation has been carried out and then waits for the raptorcat matriarch¡¯s response. It comes back after a moment of hesitation. Cautious agreement, with the understanding that if any of our pack hurts or looks as if we¡¯re about to hurt a single one of her pack, she will rain down a protective fury. Do you agree to this, Raven? I ask, belatedly checking with both the most powerful of our group and our ride. I wish to rest, he says frankly. And eat. If I can do both of those without a fight, I will be satisfied. We¡¯ll get you something to eat, I promise, though it might not be very tasty. Unless I add some of my mana into the meat, that is. I had probably better keep my mana for whatever healing I¡¯m going to be faced with, though. We land relatively slowly, even Raven not wanting to risk restarting hostilities by moving too quickly. As soon as we touch down, I slide off Raven¡¯s back, letting the Pathwalkers sort themselves out. My legs almost buckle as my feet hit the ground ¨C my whole body is stiff and aching. But a quick pulse of Flesh-Shaping directing my heart to beat a little faster for a few beats and making sure that all my muscles receive the oxygen and nutrients they need is enough to clear that up quickly, even the sensation of pins and needles barely bothering me after everything I¡¯ve endured. After only a brief pause, I¡¯m able to stride over to where Bastet has also descended from Raven¡¯s back, flapping her wings to slow her fall a little. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I see the group of my Bound who were in the capsule have all descended from the structure. They¡¯re clumped together ¨C Catch, Iandee, and Poison all have weapons at the ready, and the rest all look prepared to leap at a moment¡¯s notice. Even the alcaoris hatchlings are bristling with their wings mantled and their jaws gaping wide. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t have been so panicky when Raven let the capsule go earlier ¨C I¡¯d forgotten that his children were in it. He wouldn¡¯t have acted in a way that put them at undue risk. Storm and Ninja look curious to see other raptorcats. Storm has her eyes narrowed and seems to be regarding the other pack in more than a little suspicion where Ninja seems a lot more interested. The other pack is divided in two ¨C five facing us, seven facing my other group of Bound. The matriarch stands before her pack, only a short distance away from where Bastet and I are standing. I hear the Pathwalkers slide off Raven¡¯s back and walk over cautiously to join us. I don¡¯t dare spare the attention to look at them, though. Now on the ground, I can see the matriarch more clearly. Her colouring isn¡¯t that different from Bastet¡¯s, though it has some bright green highlights which remind me of tiger¡¯s stripes on her face, flanks, and wings. She¡¯s about double the size of Bastet, which is quite small in comparison to Raven. That still means she stands almost as tall as me, though. And I wouldn¡¯t dare to think that her size is an automatic disadvantage ¨C sometimes small but powerful is a potent package. I use the time to let my subtle Inspect seep into her and then return with information. Immediately, I¡¯m glad that we didn¡¯t press the attack ¨C my previous thoughts were more on the mark than I thought. She¡¯s not necessarily more powerful than Raven, but that she¡¯s close to matching him is an indication that she¡¯s probably at least halfway through Tier three as Raven¡¯s species is unusually powerful for their Tier. Her specialities seem to be in wind-control and, interestingly, lightning. Was that why she didn¡¯t show off everything she could do in her fight with Raven? She was wary of collateral damage down below? The standoff continues, no one seeming to want to be the first to make a move. Not wanting to lose even more time than we already have to, I decide that starting with a gift probably wouldn¡¯t go amiss. Reaching into my Inventory, I pull out three Energy Hearts. One of them is a faint, light blue which causes Windy to accidentally project desire over the Bond. The others are the brown of earth-magic. My thoughts are that I don¡¯t have any lightning-focussed Energy Hearts. Nor do I have many air-focussed ones, to be fair ¨C it turns out that to determine the affinity of an Energy Heart, it needs to be exposed to that type of magic during its crystallisation process and I haven¡¯t wanted to let Windy near the Pure Energy to do that. However, what is lightning if not a connection between the air and the earth? From something I remember reading on Earth, lightning doesn¡¯t even require water in the form of clouds to happen ¨C it can happen without any clouds at all, or in clouds of other substances. But it always has a point in the air and it often has a point on the Earth too. So I figure that an earth-focussed Energy Heart might do as well as an air one. ¡°Gifts for you in thanks for being willing to hear us out,¡± I say to the raptorcat matriarch with Animal Empathy active, slowly moving to lay them in front of her. The large feline looks at me for a long moment, then dips her head to nose at the Hearts. Letting out a chirp of satisfaction, a long, sandpapery tongue emerges from her mouth and licks up one of the earth ones. There¡¯s a crunching sound as she chews it, and then it¡¯s gone. Tasty, she says to me directly, clearly demonstrating that she¡¯s capable of focussing her thoughts well enough to communicate in mental words, even if she didn¡¯t do so in her discussion with Bastet. You have clearly been well-taught the manners expected to speak with one of my power. Now, you are able to heal, correct? ¡°I can heal many things, but not everything,¡± I tell her cautiously. Good. I wish you to heal two of my pack who are not well. ¡°Yes, so I understood. Where are they?¡± I ask. In the den. But I warn you, if you even look at the cubs present, my pack-mates will rip out your throat ¨C and that¡¯s only if they can do it faster than I can. She growls threateningly, revealing her teeth. I hold up my hands in an instinctive gesture of pacification. ¡°I have no intention of doing anything to your pack¡¯s cubs,¡± I promise sincerely. ¡°As long as you do nothing to hurt any of my pack either,¡± I add. Then my pack-mate will show you where to go, she tells me with a final warning look. Another raptorcat, this one still Tier one, steps forward and cocks her head in a way that reminds me of Bastet when she wants attention. Then she turns around and I step forward to follow her. Bastet joins me, her posture bristling with determination even as I look down at her in slight askance ¨C will the matriarch permit Bastet to accompany me? Casting a glance over her shoulder, Bastet pauses. I do the same, half-turning to eye the matriarch. I sense the two of them having a short discussion, one which apparently Bastet wins as she soon follows me with a slight bounce in her step. It¡¯s more than fine with me as long as the matriarch isn¡¯t about to bite my head off. Alright everyone, I tell the rest of the group as the two of us follow the other raptorcat to a hole in the rocky slope. Take some time to rest. Don¡¯t do anything to start hostilities, but be prepared if they do. We¡¯ll be back in the sky as soon as possible. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Two: Help In the surprisingly large cave hidden behind the rockface, watched by the suspicious eyes of unfamiliar raptorcats, having my own at my back is a great comfort. It¡¯s not that I feel threatened by the mostly Tier one raptorcats ¨C I¡¯ve come a long way from when Bastet¡¯s group chased me through the forest ¨C but I know that I become vulnerable when I go too deeply into healing. And no matter how big my health pool is now, I can¡¯t forget that certain injuries can make it empty too quickly even for me to be able to overcome the drain. But with Bastet guarding my back, I know that I will at least have some warning if one of the raptorcats takes umbrage at something I¡¯m doing and attacks. Of course, their Tier three guardian is a different story; even Bastet won¡¯t be able to help me much if the matriarch takes offence at my actions. Moving slowly as I enter, I see three adult raptorcats on the left side of the cave with cubs of different ages around them. They growl softly as they see me, clearly warning me not to take a single step towards them that I don¡¯t have to, but they don¡¯t attack. The matriarch must have communicated why I¡¯m here. On the right side of the cave are my patients. I let my Inspect go out to examine them. It¡¯s two raptorcats, one Tier one, one Tier two. They seem to be too weak to notice my approach. Neither appear injured at first glance which makes me frown ¨C instead of certain areas being highlighted in red, there¡¯s a slight green tinge to the red glow around them. A disease? Or something which is wreaking havoc on their internal systems like a parasite or internal injury? Crouching next to the first ¨C the Tier one ¨C I offer her a Tame Bond, putting in no requirements other than allowing me access to her body to heal her, and promising to drop it as soon as I can afterwards. She looks at me with weak, half-glazed eyes, panting shallowly, but does nothing else. I offer her the Bond again, urging her mentally to accept it: I am here to help. After long enough that I¡¯m wondering if I¡¯ll need to use Dominate ¨C I really don¡¯t have enough mana to waste it on making this healing harder on myself ¨C the raptorcat finally accepts the Bond. Immediately, I send a wave of reassurance through our new Bond, accompanying it with my sincerity to try to find a way to help her. Even if she isn¡¯t one of my own, I¡¯ve still become enough of a healer to find an appreciation in making what was once broken and hurt into something healthy again. Assuming they¡¯re not trying to kill me, of course. Laying hands on her flank, I send my magic into her. My Inspect told me that the other raptorcat is also badly off, but still has more health than this one, which is why I started with her first. Looking through her body, I start to get a better picture of what is wrong. Much of her system is inflamed, her internal temperature too high. I can also see that there is a much higher proportion than normal of various white blood cells and other similar defences in her blood. Though I¡¯m still not a doctor, despite my experience with healing magic, I can recognise the signs: these raptorcats are fighting off a serious illness. I lean back on my heels and sigh, staring sightlessly in front of myself for a moment. The thing is that a virus is the hardest kind of damage for me to heal. An injury is easy now, even a severe one. Poison is almost as easy, though that depends on how wide-spread it is. A malfunctioning organ is harder, but still manageable. Even a bad infection is generally fine to heal, though it can be a time-consuming task to hunt down all the bits of infection in the bloodstream. Viruses and bacteria are a different question. Sure, I can take over the viral or bacterial cells themselves ¨C they both count as flesh and don¡¯t have even the beginnings of a will with which to resist my domination. But there are just so many of them, and I have to infuse them with my mana a few at a time ¨C trying to do large swathes of them tends to cause issues for the host. The only time I can do that sort of thing is when healing an injury and sterilising the area which was open to infection. My other option, and my generally preferred one on the occasions this has come up, is to do what medicine on Earth does ¨C manage the host¡¯s symptoms and help boost their own immune response. Which kind of just makes me a combination-drug rather than someone really able to intervene. Using healing potions tends to help as well. Of course, although I have health potions with me, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll work on raptorcats ¨C that¡¯s not something I¡¯ve needed to do so far. River, I send through the Bond. The healing potions you and Tarra made, are they safe for raptorcats to have? Of course, she answers sounding almost insulted. I wouldn¡¯t make potions to bring with us which might negatively impact any of your companions. I scratch my head, a little embarrassment going through me. That¡¯s a good point. Though, to be fair, I¡¯d rather check than risk using something on this raptorcat which will make her worse. Alright, thanks, I tell River, then pull a few general healing potions out of my Inventory. I have ones in there which are designed more for quick healing of wounds, and others which will help our stamina, mana, and health regenerations in our fight with the tentacled beasts. But right now, the general healing potion is probably the best choice. Drink this, it will help you, I tell the raptorcat, lifting the wooden vial to her mouth and trickling the liquid in. I know from taste testing it that it¡¯s not particularly nice, but the raptorcat doesn¡¯t seem to notice that. I watch carefully as the potion takes effect on her system. Her natural immune response goes into overdrive, cells for fighting off the invaders multiplying at a previously unseen rate and then flocking to the areas in contention. At the same time, the potion¡¯s magic strengthens the body, protecting it from its own reactions to the invaders. Though the raptorcat¡¯s temperature continues to increase, I¡¯m not afraid that she¡¯s about to cook her own brain ¨C the magic from the healing potion stops that. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. It¡¯s a shame that the healing potions do nothing for Energy channels, and they only work on problems that the body recognises as being foreign like cuts, infections, and illnesses. Otherwise I¡¯d have found healing Lathani and the alcaoris hatchlings to be an easier task. Still, at least being able to use them here is helping me save a bit of mana. When the speed at which the body is fighting the viral infection starts to slow down again, I take a second vial and again trickle it into the raptorcat¡¯s mouth. Three of them in quick succession is probably the most I can safely offer a Tier one, however. Some potions like the regeneration actually contain ingredients which can build up a toxicity. The healing potion doesn¡¯t, but it does use the body¡¯s natural resources to function. Though I can help replenish some of those resources, others can only be regenerated by sleep, food, and drink. But in the end, it turns out not to be necessary for this one. By the time the third vial¡¯s magic is starting to fade, her body has almost completely conquered the virus. I feed a bit of mana into her system to help her mop up the last of the dregs ¨C with so few active viral cells remaining, infusing them and then destroying them is possible. She slips into a sleep, finally managing to find some proper rest. Her temperature should reduce now, and with some food and sleep, she¡¯ll be fine. I do a final check of her body just to make sure that I haven¡¯t missed anything, then release the Tame Bond and move onto the Tier two. ***** ¡°Your two raptorcats are fine,¡± I announce to the matriarch tiredly, coming out of the cave. The area is lit by moonlight, nightfall having happened while I was working inside. The Tier three raptorcat stands and clicks past me into the cave I¡¯ve just left. A few moments later, she reappears. You speak truly, she says thoughtfully. I can no longer smell the approach of death for them. ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve both overcome the sickness they were suffering from.¡± I hesitate. ¡°This type of sickness often spreads easily. Do you have any others who are starting to show the same sort of symptoms which they did?¡± The raptorcat matriarch eyes me carefully. There are a few others who have started ailing, she admits. I did not realise it was connected, but now that you say it, the two you have healed began with eyes that itched and many sneezes. Now there are three others who are doing the same. ¡°The mothers,¡± I guess, remembering that I heard several sounds which reminded me of sneezes when I was healing the two inside the cave. Yes. And one other who has brought most of their food and groomed them. I nod slowly. ¡°That makes sense. The more contact with the infected being, the more likely it is for a virus to pass.¡± I make a sudden decision. ¡°Look,¡± I say, pulling four more general healing potions out of my Inventory. ¡°Tell the mothers that I¡¯m going to feed each of them one of these, and get the other one showing symptoms to come over. If we catch the issue now, it will be easier to heal and they won¡¯t risk getting as sick as the two I¡¯ve just healed. I¡¯ll leave this fourth potion with you for if another one starts showing symptoms. Any symptoms at all, mind.¡± Ideally, I should probably check each of them with my Flesh-Shaping, but I can¡¯t afford the time it will take to inspect everyone with the attention to detail that would be required to catch an incubating virus. The matriarch eyes me with an unreadable gaze. I will accompany you, she announces ¨C to tell her pack what¡¯s happening, or to keep an eye on me? Nevertheless, we head back into the cave and after the matriarch confirms that she¡¯s told the mothers what¡¯s happening, I approach them carefully. They watch warily as I step closer and I¡¯m careful not to go near their cubs. Well, I try to be, but when one disobeys its mother¡¯s obvious instruction and comes over to sniff at my boots, I have to carefully shoo it away. Probably a male, considering what Trouble used to be like as a cub. Interestingly, the gentleness with which I move that one cub seems to reassure all the raptorcats a little and the mothers willingly open their mouths for my potions. This close, I can see that their eyes are indeed irritated, and that their noses are running slightly ¨C obvious signs of illness. I even pull another potion out of my Inventory and, with the permission of the matriarch and mothers, pour a little bit into each of the cub¡¯s mouths ¨C only a fraction of the dose I¡¯d give the mothers, but hopefully enough to boost their infantile immune systems just in case they¡¯re in the process of catching what their mothers had. After leaving the cave and doing the same with the raptorcat the matriarch calls over to me, I actually take a moment to inspect the other raptorcats too, looking to see if any others have any signs of irritation to their eyes or runny noses. Bastet is my unneeded bodyguard as the raptorcats relax more and more around me. I guess that the longer I¡¯m here without attacking them, indeed, helping them, the more they trust that I¡¯m not going to turn around and do something. When I¡¯m finally finished checking over the pack of fifteen adult raptorcats and five juveniles, I turn to see the matriarch looking at me with that thoughtful gaze. ¡°What?¡± I ask warily, not sure if that gaze is a ¡®how can you do this¡¯ look or a ¡®why are you so odd¡¯ look or even a ¡®what do you taste like¡¯ look. Hopefully not the last. I can see why my little sister trusts you, the matriarch answers finally. ¡°Oh,¡± I say eloquently. Pride washes over me from the raptorcat standing next to me, gazing at the other matriarch with her own fierce expression. Pride and a deep, unshakable trust which both heartens me for its strength and shames me because I don¡¯t feel I am worthy of it. ¡°Your raptorcats are healthy now,¡± I say, trying to change the subject. ¡°And my group have had enough time to rest.¡± That was another reason I didn¡¯t feel too bad about spending time on checking out the rest of the raptorcats on a cursory basis ¨C Windy said that she needed a little more time to recover and Raven was still eating. ¡°If any of the others show the illness in the future, minimise interaction with that member until a few days after their recovery. Hopefully then no one else will catch it.¡± You have done more than I asked for, the matriarch tells me. You have not only healed the two who were close to death, but you have helped ensure that others did not sicken after your departure. In return, I will do more than I promised. Not only will I give you safe passage out of here, but I will accompany you for the first part of it, offering you wind to your wings. Now that¡¯s a nice surprise. If the matriarch is able to do something like Windy was, which appears to be what she was indicating, it will mean that Windy can save her mental strength for later, maybe even enabling us to finish the journey without needing to stop again. It looks like sometimes altruism is unexpectedly rewarded. There¡¯s only one thing I can say to that. ¡°Thank you, we¡¯d be glad to have your help.¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Three: Not Until We’re Ready I stand at the edge of a crevice, staring down into the still, black pool beneath, my stomach churning with butterflies. We¡¯re here. It¡¯s still night but dawn isn¡¯t too far away. In total, I think it¡¯s taken about sixteen hours to reach our destination. We had the pause with the raptorcats and then a shorter pause a couple of hours ago, so in total the actual flight was probably around thirteen hours long. Not bad considering everything. And at least we weren¡¯t attacked again. The help the matriarch gave us definitely shaved at least an hour off our journey. She didn¡¯t travel with us for long, but her wind current doubled Raven¡¯s flight speed while she accompanied us. And even after she stopped, she was able to send her wind with us for a little longer before Windy needed to take over. I have to admit that the irritating Pathwalker impressed me a little on our journey. She set to her task with a determination that I¡¯ve never seen in her. Well, apart from her determination to be a pain in my backside. No, that¡¯s a little unfair ¨C she hasn¡¯t been that bad in the recent months. But she also hasn¡¯t shown the kind of skill, perseverance, and willingness to help either me or the village that she has on this flight. Right now both she and Raven are recuperating while the rest of us start setting up the battle ground. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t touch the water whatever you do,¡± I remind the group. ¡°Don¡¯t even disrupt it with a rock falling. Not until we¡¯re ready.¡± I really don¡¯t want to reenact Lord of the Rings. They all send me tired or exasperated words or impressions of agreement ¨C but I¡¯d rather repeat myself ten times than risk all of this kicking off too early. For a Tier three, we need to be as prepared as possible. Bastet comes to join me at the edge, crouching to look downwards. I never wanted to come back here, she admits. It was terrifying. The cubs, the monster, then not knowing whether you were alive or dead. ¡°It was touch and go for a while,¡± I admit in return. ¡°And I was just as afraid for you and the cubs. But after today, we won¡¯t have to consider this creature ever again.¡± She doesn¡¯t respond, her eyes fixed on the mirror-like surface of the water below. Speaking of the cubs, Stormcloud and Ninja approach the edge too. Storm gives off the impression of thoughtful wariness where Ninja reacts with real fear, backing away from the crevice shortly after. I guess that they remember something about this place after all. I look back. Raven is resting curled up nose to tail, his head on the ground and eyes closed. Within the circle made by his head and tail are his hatchlings, though they look far less sleepy than he is. Leaning against him in the position she landed after dismounting is Windy, who conked out almost before she could undo her straps. I don¡¯t begrudge her the rest. Not far away are the rest of my Bound, crouching around the fire that I made as soon as we arrived. The warmth is nice ¨C it¡¯s even colder now than it was when I left the crevice and I was cold enough then on the exposed mountainside. River is currently using the time to make a few more potions. Working with Tarra has apparently allowed her to learn some tricks which compensate for not having the same Skills as her mentor. Her potions aren¡¯t quite as good as Tarra¡¯s but they¡¯re definitely getting better. Plus, she¡¯s learning a few tricks of her own ¨C I see her burning some of the ingredients before adding them to the brew. Interestingly, they aren¡¯t necessarily blackened by the experience ¨C sometimes new colours are revealed instead. Fire Herbalism at work, I have to guess. ¡°Dusty, I¡¯ll need you to join me soon, so rest now and make sure you¡¯re full on mana. Joy, you know what to do. Sirocco, rest. Catch, Poison, Iandee, can you take it in turns to keep watch? Otherwise, the rest of you eat if you¡¯re still hungry, and rest. We¡¯ll aim to start the battle at dawn, but be prepared for it to start sooner if, despite our best efforts, we accidentally disturb the creature.¡± I receive a series of agreements so turn back to the crevice. ¡°First, I¡¯m going to make this bigger so be careful where you put your feet,¡± I tell the Bound around me. The raptorcats have apparently decided to be an audience despite my suggestion that they rest. Kneeling down, I press both palms to the ground. I don¡¯t technically need to do this, but considering the difficulty of the task ahead, any mana I save is mana I can use later. Feeding my earth-aligned mana into the ground beneath my palms, I focus on connecting with the earth-magic already present. It happens faster than it used to and I¡¯m a little surprised to realise that this earth is almost as willing to connect with me as the earth near the village or my den. Then again, I say to myself, isn¡¯t that the point? That all the Earth is connected in the same way that all Fire is connected? Either way, I¡¯ll happily accept that this is going to be easier than it might be. My magic acts almost like a dye in water ¨C the earth-magic it touches becomes more open to my influence and in turn touches more earth-magic. At the same time, the further my awareness reaches, the more stretched I feel, like that dye is weakening even as it colours more water. When my influence covers the area I want to affect, I stop attempting to spread it any further. I did that once with my den ¨C over-reached myself. It felt a bit like I remember feeling as a child on a climbing frame when I attempted to do something I wasn¡¯t big enough to do. I remember overextending myself on the monkey bars, getting into a position where I couldn¡¯t move forward because it was too hard, but I couldn¡¯t go back because if I moved a single limb, I would fall. Fortunately, Kalanthia was there and showed me how to carefully withdraw my influence little by little so that I wasn¡¯t overstretched any more. That takes time I¡¯d rather not spend, though, so I¡¯m careful not to reach that point here. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Slowly, working methodically ¨C something the earth is happy to do anyway ¨C I open the crevice. Pulling back the edges, I expand the space at the same time as strengthening the edges ¨C I don¡¯t want any of my Bound accidentally falling through the earth during the battle. As a result, I make sure that the new edges are well-supported, feeding more mana in than necessary. It had a good effect on the spider silk and bone structure of the carrying capsule ¨C I don¡¯t see why it wouldn¡¯t have a positive effect here too. By the time the edges are done, I¡¯ve created a hole about ten metres long and with a width varying between three and five metres. Instead of pulling in my influence completely again, I shift it downwards. Still moving carefully to ensure that the earth shifts like wet clay instead of dry dirt ¨C I don¡¯t want to risk rocks dropping off ¨C I carve out lots of hand and foot-holds in the walls. I don¡¯t want one of my Bound falling and then not being able to get out. Then I consider the raptorcats carefully ¨C I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d be able to get out easily even with the handholds. A bit more time and mana later, and I¡¯ve carved a steeply sloped walkway in one of the walls. It¡¯s more vulnerable than the hand and foot-holds because it sticks out more, but I¡¯ve tried to carve it mostly in areas that are hopefully not going to be as under-fire as the rest of it. Since they¡¯ve decided to watch, I send Storm and Bastet to test the slope ¨C Ninja still seems too afraid of the cave to want to get anywhere close. Joy has been making some ropes with raw silk strands that I pulled out of my Inventory for her. Together, we ensure that they are securely sunk into the rocks ¨C either a backup way to save one of our own or another trap we can use against the tentacle monster. Using one of the ropes, I climb down into the cavern below. It¡¯s a bit dark so I ask Aingeal to slowly increase its brightness. It happily complies, increasing its glow bit by bit until I ask it to stop. It waits expectantly until I grin and send a load of fire-mana through to it. Sometimes Aingeal really reminds me of a dog doing a trick and then expecting a treat. Now able to see everything, I¡¯m able to observe just how much hasn¡¯t changed. There are still the two connected caverns, one filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and salt, and the other almost entirely covered by a pool of dark mirror-like water. The damage caused by the creature¡¯s rampage is still there, the broken edges barely blunted. I shiver slightly at the memory, then remind myself that much has changed since that time. I¡¯ve changed and it won¡¯t find me so easy a target this time. Alright, Dusty, come on down, I say to her mentally, not wanting to risk my voice alerting the creature in any way. Waiting for her to arrive, I send out my Inspect, prioritising secrecy and thoroughness over speed or depth of information. I want to know about anything in the environment which could be a threat or a benefit; I just as much want to ensure that my opponent knows nothing of my presence. The pulse I sent out takes a while to go and to return, understandably so. While I wait for it, I send more earth-magic into the ground below my feet, exploring the shape of the tunnel even though I cannot see it. Dusty manages to climb down awkwardly, choosing to use a combination of rope and rock climbing ¨C lowering herself with her hands as she digs her feet into the prepared holes. Well, that¡¯s another option, I guess. Do you wish me to test the water now, Tamer? she asks, keeping her grunts and clicks hushed. Yes, but be careful. Don¡¯t risk being discovered, I warn. I won¡¯t, she promises, then goes still, staring at the water. I sense a faint ripple of energy coming out of her, the very magic reminding me of the water it is connected to. Meanwhile, my Inspect returns and I close my eyes as I try to process what it and my earth-magic are telling me. My enemy is not within visible or detectable range, but I suspect that it will return quickly if we disturb this water. However, with my Inspect and my earth-magic, I¡¯m able to get a better picture of what this area looks like. It seems to be part of a network of massive tunnels which open up into a much larger space below. I push my magical senses as far as I can, a shiver going through me as even at the furthest extent of them I¡¯ve found no end to the underground water source. Underground lake or sea, I can¡¯t tell; all I know is that it is absolutely vast. Still, ultimately, the massive body of water so far below us isn¡¯t so important at the moment ¨C the key point is that I¡¯ve been able to determine that my vague plan should work. As long as we have the time for me to put it into place, that is. With that in mind, I start working on the other cavern as well, trying to turn it into a defensible position rather than the easily-attacked space it currently is. I even remove the boulders blocking the other tunnel just in case we need another exit route. The last of my Inspect returns to me whispering of possible treasures both above and below the water. The salt, of course, but also other items down below at the edge of its range. I¡¯m intrigued by the impression my Inspect gives me, but I remind myself that we need to win the battle first. Dusty is still standing fixated at the edge of the pool, her gaze in a place far away. With nothing else I can think of doing right now, I decide to consider potential strategies based both on what I know of the creature and its environment. The water down below where the beast probably is now is very cold, and almost certainly pitch black, both of which give me ideas. It might not have eyes which would make it difficult to blind, but I highly doubt that the creature will be resistant to fire, and heat may make things difficult for it too. Of course, as a Tier three, it¡¯s likely to have plenty of advantages too. Most likely something to do with water, considering its environment, but possibly some other abilities. How many is a different question. Raven has five different abilities ¨C that I know from my first Inspect when we were fighting. Unfortunately, it seems like Alliance doesn¡¯t let me access as much information about a creature as a normal Tame Bond. By happy accident, however, I¡¯ve finally been able to see Kalanthia¡¯s details ¨C though I¡¯m not sure whether she intended for me to be given access to them. She has fewer abilities than Raven ¨C only four. But that doesn¡¯t seem to make her any weaker. Her weakness mostly comes from how she¡¯s sacrificed her own strength for Lathani¡¯s benefit.
Kalanthia nunda Tame T3 6420 HP (10230) 2890 MP (7555) 880 SP (1150) 56% ~563y Earth-Shaping (-50%), Increased Cognition (-30%), Mana Sponge (-90%), Enhanced Stealth
Ultimately, the fewer abilities a creature has, the more practised they¡¯re likely to be with each of them. More abilities, however, indicate a greater versatility. I¡¯ll have to hope that my Inspect, higher level now and more comprehensive than when I faced Raven, will be able to tell us which our target favours. And as Dusty comes out of her trance and tells me what she¡¯s discovered, I acknowledge with another flutter of butterflies in my stomach that it won¡¯t be long until we find out. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Four: Fellapodil Drop them, I say over the Bond, tension winds my guts into an almost painful knot. From my protected vantage point, I see the stone fall and splash into the water in front of me. Hopefully dropping stones will be enough to gain the creature¡¯s attention. As the seconds pass by, Iandee drops another stone, and then another. He staggers them so they don¡¯t fall all at once, but also doesn¡¯t drop them at regular intervals so that it appears deliberate ¨C we can¡¯t forget that we¡¯re probably dealing with something as intelligent as the other Tier threes we¡¯ve come into contact with. The knot of tension in my stomach draws tighter for every second there is no sign of the creature. I really don¡¯t want one of my Bound to have to step into the water themselves. It shouldn¡¯t be necessary, not considering that all it took before was a single splash from a raptorcat cub¡¯s paw. But yet the creature hasn¡¯t appeared yet. Is it not paying attention? After five minutes have gone past with no sign of the creature, I¡¯m on the verge of asking Sirocco to go and hop around in the shallows ¨C since she¡¯s able to fly, she should be able to flee its tentacles before it even realises how she¡¯s escaping. Then Dusty clutches at my arm, her claws digging into my hide armour. It¡¯s coming, is all she says, her eyes intent on the water. Trusting her water sense despite not being able to see any sign of it myself, with either physical eyes or magical sight, I warn the rest of my Bound. Battle stations, everyone. They are already prepared, so all my warning does is puts them all back on high alert ¨C some of them had lost the edge as the minutes began dragging on. And then it¡¯s here. The first questing tentacle breaking the surface of the water. A shiver goes down my spine as I see it, my instincts screaming at me even more now than they did last time. My memories threaten to drag me back into that traumatic experience ¨C the downside of improved memory storage and recollection, I suppose. I force my thoughts fully into the present. Time to find out what we¡¯re dealing with. Go, Dusty, I tell the samuran next to me. At the same time, I send Inspect at the creature, not bothering to even try to be subtle about it. The creature obviously feels my probe as it expands its domain. A great sense of pressure that makes it feel difficult to breathe descends on us. The feeling is as if there is a massive rock pushing down on my chest, and at the same time the air has become thicker, more like water. To my alarm, the domain feels even stronger than Kalanthia¡¯s, who¡¯s had the strongest domain of any Tier three that I¡¯ve yet felt. I feel that most of my Bound near the entrance to the cave have taken a few inadvertent steps back to lessen the sense of pressure. The ones who are best off among them are Raven, of course, Windy, and Poison. I hear choking beside me and see that Dusty is feeling it even more strongly than I am, the sensation interrupting her efforts. Applying my Willpower to the pressure against me, I push it off enough that I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m about to choke at any moment. That¡¯s not sustainable, though ¨C I won¡¯t be able to do anything if all my attention is on just breathing; nor will anyone else. Gritting my teeth I open my eyes to observe the situation. Flowing through the domain like a current through water, I feel a sense of anger, outrage. This emotion is reflected in the creature¡¯s tentacles ¨C no longer is there only the one. At least ten of them are flailing around, searching for the one who sent the probe. They need a target. Sirocco, fly in and use your Fire Wing. Get its attention. Be careful, I order her, my final words more of a plea. She might be Tier two now, but she¡¯s still one of my most fragile Bound simply because of her body structure. She doesn¡¯t seem afraid, more determined to play her part, undaunted by the effects of the domain that have hit the rest of us so badly. In her largest size, she swoops in through the hole in the ceiling and scythes her wings towards one of the tentacles. A bright flash of flame illuminates their edges just before she pulls them back and releases the attack. A copy of her wings in flame flashes forwards and strikes the creature¡¯s tentacle. It has very little obvious effect on the massive water beast, but it certainly gains its attention. I gasp in a full breath and hear my Bound around me doing the same as the pressure lets up on us. Sirocco is another question. Now the focus of the beast, I see her flying falter for a moment, her wings a beat too late to catch her. A moment later she rallies ¨C just in time. It shoots another of its tentacles towards Sirocco, but they are far slower than my Companion and she jinks out of the way, just about avoiding it. The beast is not to be deterred, however, and sends a third and a fourth tentacle towards her. My heart is in my mouth as I watch the events, but my bird-like Bound is more agile than I give her credit for. Sirocco dodges every tentacle that comes her way, starting to fly and weave through the flexible black limbs. More appear from the surface of the water in pursuit of the bird. She reacts by reducing her size a little so she¡¯s more able to avoid them and then continues taunting them, sending out another Fire Wing when it looks like the beast might be tiring of the game. Meanwhile, I sigh in relief as the pressure on me lifts as the beast focusses its attention fully on the flying beast. I see her flying falter and become laboured, but even so, she¡¯s well ahead of the flailing limbs. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Forcing the information I received into a visible form, I quickly look through the creature¡¯s details. Or rather, the ¡®fellapodil¡¯.
Fellapodil Tier 3 Beast (enlightened) Special abilities: Gas Attack, Caustic Jet, Salty Sweat, Tentacle Flurry, Water Jet, Unknown, Unknown Health: 20,560u Mana: 9,080u Minimum Willpower recommended to Dominate without other impacting factors: 156 A beast from the deep, this fellapodil is trapped far from the place its brethren call home. It has adapted to its environment and forced its environment to adapt to itself as well, increasing the salinity of the originally fresh water of this underground pocket. It is a solitary beast by nature and circumstance, and a fierce defender of anything that it considers its own. It is weak to fire, heat, and dehydration.
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That¡¯s some seriously high health, I say to myself grimly, quickly passing on the information to the rest of the party. It¡¯s good to note that my previous guesses have indeed been borne out ¨C and that we have several among us who are able to strike at its weaknesses. I¡¯m grateful that the Inspect has revealed so much information ¨C I remember how little it managed to show me in our fight with Raven before it combined. It¡¯s also very clear that I can¡¯t even hope to try to Dominate this beast, not that that was my aim ¨C the minimum level is almost double my current Willpower. Sirocco is still managing to keep the fellapodil¡¯s attention ¨C and avoid its attacks. The tentacles¡¯ movements almost seem¡­lazy. Like it¡¯s not taking this entirely seriously. That gives me time to gather all the information I can, at least. Got anything, Dusty? I ask the samuran next to me even as I send my own awareness through the rock before me. It only seems to be using its tentacles to touch the walls, I tell her as I struggle to identify more of the creature than that ¨C its anchoring tentacles are near the surface of the water so it doesn¡¯t give me any idea of what the creature is like below that ¨C or how large it is. Here, Dusty tells me, a sense of strain even in her mental voice. An impression washes over me. Prior to having Fire- or Earth-Shaping, I would have really struggled to interpret it. Now, however, though it¡¯s still hard, it¡¯s not impossible. Water is more fluid than Earth and more solid than Fire, but by combining my understanding of both, I am able to decipher it a little. In the flow and movement of the water, I feel an immense, bulbous shape. The tentacles are only the tip of the creature itself ¨C below the surface lies something that almost fills the large tunnel. It is propelled almost like a jellyfish, its lower sections rippling in the water and creating their own currents. The only reason it¡¯s not bobbing up and down is because of the tentacles which brace against the tunnel walls. It descends into the tunnel as far as one of its tentacles could extend above it, which probably makes it the biggest Tier three I¡¯ve yet encountered. But it¡¯s not so big that its lowest regions are out of my Earth-Shaping range, something I had been concerned about. Keep it from noticing anything happening and I¡¯ll do my part, I tell Dusty, my voice tense. I am tiring, warns Sirocco just before I dive back into the earth. Pull out, then, I tell her immediately ¨C in the forest of tentacles which has become her battleground, the slightest delay from tiredness could spell her end. Poison, Iandee, River, start throwing some of the ammunition. Try to test what will get through its skin or otherwise affect it. Windy, help them. I wait to hear their acknowledgement before I focus in on my own task again. Feeding mana into the earth, I drag it through the connections in the earth until it gets where I need it to be. Deep, deep in the earth I draw the mana, down to where Dusty¡¯s water sense indicated that the fellapodil¡¯s body ended. There, I begin to create my trap. While I would love it to be as fast as springing an actual trap, the reality is that I was unable to set up anything, not knowing enough about the creature, its size and its shape. So that¡¯s what I do now. Moving as slowly as I dare in order to conserve mana, I encourage the earth to grow from one side of the tunnel to the other. At first, I try to grow the granite that forms the tunnel, but it takes so much mana that I fear I won¡¯t be able to complete the task before my pool is empty. Then, taking inspiration from my environment, I try something else. I don¡¯t have unlimited time ¨C only as long as my Bound can hold the creature¡¯s interest. But if this will make it possible to do what we need, it will be a good investment of the time I do have. Granite is a strong rock, stronger than most. But it¡¯s not the only type. And another type of rock is guarding where I am right now in the form of stalactites and stalagmites. Limestone. Given how easy it was to shape the area where Dusty and I are hiding, it should be far more doable to use limestone than granite. Even better, I realise as I begin trying, I can save some effort by drawing calcium carbonate out of the water itself ¨C for the granite I needed to actually create more stone myself which just intensified the mana draw. Not long after, I¡¯m relieved when the first pillar comes into place faster than even half of the granite pillar had. The limestone finger stretches all the way across the tunnel, dividing it in half. But that¡¯s only the beginning. A single pillar isn¡¯t going to be enough to stop the beast escaping, especially not weak calcium carbonate. Doubling down on my effort, I grow more and more pillars, each one stretching across another part of the tunnel, creating a trapdoor made of bone-like fingers. It¡¯s a pity it doesn¡¯t count as actual bone, though, despite the amount of calcium in bones ¨C my Flesh-Shaping could have made the job easier. I down my first mana regeneration potion not long after creating the third pillar; I down my second after creating the fifteenth. The increased regeneration gets me through the final one and gives me just enough time to grow more rock to seal up all the holes between the pillars. I lean back and sigh, feeling worn out already. But it¡¯s done. The beast is trapped in the cavern with us. Though with that health and mana pool, are we trapped with it? Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Five: Deprived I take a moment to check on the current situation. The fellapodil hasn¡¯t realised that it¡¯s trapped yet ¨C Dusty¡¯s been keeping the water currents moving as they would if there was no barrier in the way between it and the rest of its underground lake. My guess that it doesn¡¯t use eyes to see is borne out. It probably would notice anyway except for the distraction offered by my Bound at the moment. The fellapodil¡¯s lack of eyes doesn¡¯t seem to stop it from being able to target those attacking it. Tentacles flail through the air, writhing around the walls of the cavern like snakes as they attempt to strike and grab at those attacking it. My Bound are being sensible, though, not trying to take the tentacles head-on. Instead, they¡¯re attacking from a distance and then moving around the rim of the pit to avoid the counter-attacks. So far, it looks like none of them have sustained even minor injuries as the creature seems to be relying purely on its physical might. The only problem with this is that it doesn¡¯t appear that my Bound have managed to cause it any damage, either. I check in with my companions. Its defences are strong, Catch says tersely as he throws a large, sharp rock at it and then hurries to the side to avoid its return strike. Spears, even metal-tipped ones, just bounce off its thick hide. Crushing force from rocks seems to do more damage, but even that is very limited, grumbles Iandee. We don¡¯t know yet whether it is susceptible to poison ¨C if we can¡¯t get it inside the creature¡¯s body, we can¡¯t affect it, adds Poison with a note of frustration. Only two of my topical poisons are working, contributes River, her voice more even than the Warriors¡¯. Both used my Fire Herbalism and operate upon a principle of burning. The other concoctions I attempted seemed to be rinsed off by a material it secretes from its skin. But even the ones that worked have had little effect. Right, I acknowledge. It¡¯s little that I hadn¡¯t suspected, though I agree with the Warriors¡¯ frustration ¨C I was hoping that by upgrading our weapons to metal we¡¯d be able to bridge the gap a little. Apparently not enough. And the creature hasn¡¯t even begun to use any of the abilities it apparently has which suggests that it doesn¡¯t see us as a threat ¨C yet. Dusty, pull the water from around it. Raven, as soon as you can strike its body with your acidic mana attacks, please do. They both agree, Dusty more readily than Raven ¨C I suspect the proud alcaoris doesn¡¯t like taking orders, but since this is part of the favour he agreed to, he doesn¡¯t argue. Next to me, the samuran concentrates so much that her body goes completely still. While she works on expanding her control over the water around the beast, I continue feeding in mana to reinforce the barrier I¡¯ve built ¨C it¡¯s about to be put under pressure. Hopefully the dome-like structure I¡¯ve used will offer it some structural reinforcement ¨C it¡¯s too big for me to saturate it in mana as I did the capsule materials to bring my Bound here. Are you OK? I check with Dusty cautiously as the minutes tick by. My Bound can¡¯t avoid its tentacles forever, and the longer we take to move onto the next step, the more time the fellapodil has to change its mind and give up on this prey or to start using its attacks properly. Hard, she tells me shortly, her mental tone the equivalent of gritting her teeth. Creature has some control. As if that was the signal for all hell to break loose, the fellapodil¡¯s tentacles start going wild. My guess that it hadn¡¯t taken us seriously before is borne out ¨C their speed doubles and their patterns become volatile. Perhaps Dusty¡¯s attempt to wrest control over the water away from it has provoked it. I grit my teeth and pour more magic into my trapdoor ¨C perhaps it¡¯s that the fellapodil has realised it¡¯s trapped and is by no means happy about the idea. Every tentacle that isn¡¯t attacking my Bound or bracing it in place is redirected to striking at my limestone construction. Cracks rapidly develop almost as quickly as I can fill them in. Meanwhile, I hear Sirocco shriek in surprise as her wing is clipped by a tentacle; though seemingly not intentional, the fellapodil clearly realises it¡¯s caused an injury. I open my eyes to see five more tentacles shooting towards her quicker than the fatigued and injured bird can avoid them. My heart in my mouth, my mind races as I try to think of a way to help her. Abruptly, the matter is taken out of my hands as a dark-coloured blur snatches her out of the air. Fear makes my stomach sink, but a moment later it¡¯s replaced with relief. It wasn¡¯t another tentacle: Bastet had leapt and knocked Sirocco out of the way before the tentacles could strike her. They¡¯ve both landed safely on the other side, though Sirocco feels utterly exhausted over the Bond. I see River hurrying towards her, a potion vial in her hand. And it¡¯s not over yet. Deprived of its prey, the fellapodil creeps its tentacles up the wall, its snake-like movement sending shivers down my spine just watching. It even stops pounding the trapdoor to concentrate on seeking its prey. I take advantage of its distraction to reinforce the limestone further and warn my Bound to pull back from the edge. They didn¡¯t need the warning, already trying to escape the black serpentine limbs. My Bound have backed away far enough from the edge that the tentacles can¡¯t reach them, but that means they can¡¯t attack the main body either. And attacking the tentacles is risky as Daphne finds out. The brave little alcaoris rushes forwards to bite one of the tentacles. It rips itself free and bludgeons her with another of its limbs. She makes a horrible plaintive sound, one that rips at my heart ¨C and more at her father¡¯s. Raven rushes forwards in a rage to attack the fellapodil¡¯s tentacles, snapping at them with his teeth and acidic mana without a care. Leaving Sirocco¡¯s side, River rushes towards the baby alcaoris to feed her a healing potion even as the fellapodil concentrates its attentions on the other Tier three. I¡¯m sure that attacking the tentacles isn¡¯t the way to kill it, but with the beast so distracted, this gives us an opportunity. Joy, the ropes! I have an idea. I share the sense of my idea with my Bound and feel Joy¡¯s acknowledgement. She immediately takes control of several of the ropes hanging down the wall of the cave, weaving them in between the tentacles to do her best to tie them into a knot. Tamer, I can help you, Yells offers, determination in her mental voice. With what? She doesn¡¯t answer verbally, but sends me her intentions as a whole like I did when sharing my plan. You¡¯re sure it will work? I ask her tersely, aware of Raven gaining more and more injuries as the tentacles stab and rip at his skin, his movements always only a few moments away from getting snared. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Yes. Mostly. I hesitate. Experiments at this moment could be very dangerous. But if it works¡­ OK, fine. Yells get down here. Bastet, help her. But Tamer! The tentacles! Yells objects even as Bastet grimly agrees. It¡¯s distracted. Move fast, I order. The young Pathwalker seems to grit her teeth but doesn¡¯t argue any further. A few moments later, Bastet skids to a stop near my protected area, Yells on her back. Quickly shaping a hole in the wall around me just about big enough for me to squeeze myself through, I leave Dusty alone. She should be fine in the reinforced area hidden against the cavern wall ¨C I used my previous experience of hiding behind stalactites while the tentacled beast flailed around looking for me as inspiration. Hopefully our actions will give her the chance to take full control over the water around the fellapodil. A pained bellow from Raven hurries my movements ¨C the two Tier threes are going at it hammer and tongs, but my Ally is coming off worse. I cross my fingers in hope that this will work. Ready? I check with Bastet and Yells. Ready, they both answer. Vulnerable to heat and fire? Here we come. My first action is to fill Aingeal with as much fire magic as it can hold without exploding. The little elemental glows brighter and brighter, its movements increasing in speed as it zips around my head. I send it a sense of patience, of timing. It replies with impatience but willingness to play along ¨C for now. My next action is to create the biggest fireball I can. Are you sure you can handle this? I ask Yells, wanting to be sure. Fear flickers through her spikes, but she waves her tail in wordless assent. Alright, I say to her grimly. Here it comes. Throwing the fireball directly at her, I feel a swoop in my stomach as I fear that even more than half her mana pool remaining won¡¯t be enough to reflect the fireball. Especially since she¡¯s not just planning on reflecting it. Thankfully, it turns out that her estimation of her own abilities is more accurate than my own. The fireball reflects off her shield, growing more than twice its size as a result. Instead of flying back at me, Yells manages to redirect it towards the beast. I reach out mentally to it, hoping that I can take control of it again. Since it¡¯s still made out of my fire, even if it now also contains Yells¡¯ enhancement magic, it responds to me. Closing my physical eyes, I focus on enhancing it still further. The fireball impacts the water just above where I know the fellapodil¡¯s body to be. A gout of steam flies up in the air at the impact and fills our vision. The creature and its tentacles seem to vanish in the thick, white, superheated water vapour. Normally, the fireball would quickly use up its stores as it transfers heat into the water around it, transforming the liquid into gas. I don¡¯t let that happen. Through my direct contact with it, I pour in more and more mana. I pour in my own until I start feeling a mana-loss headache. Then, reaching for River¡¯s store, I pull mana out from her and pour that in too. When I¡¯m running out again, I reach for Joy who has finished her task, and then for what little remains to Yells after her own efforts. Meanwhile, Aingeal adds its own attacks into the mix. As my fireball is finally quenched, Aingeal flies into the billowing steam to continue the attack. Bastet looks at me questioningly. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s happened, first, I tell her tiredly, nauseous at the feeling of incredibly low mana. Trudging over to Yells, I pull out a mana regeneration potion. I can¡¯t take another yet according to the warnings River gave me earlier, but Yells should take one. She¡¯s drooping a little but perks up when the mana regeneration starts to take effect. We stare into the mist, looking for any sign of the creature. Nothing. I really want to know what¡¯s going on, but anyone going near that steam is likely to be burned. A bright point of light zips out towards us: Aingeal has returned, significantly smaller, and sending a feeling of satisfaction down our link. The steam starts to clear, the last of the heat having stopped its work. Watch out! warns Dusty sharply. I don¡¯t question it; I grab Yells and dive to the side, Bastet running in the opposite direction. We¡¯re almost in time. A jet of something shoots straight at us. When it touches my hide and skin, it sizzles, burning like my fireball is consuming my flesh instead of the fellapodil¡¯s. I barely have enough time to realise that it¡¯s probably the Caustic Jet my Inspect warned me about when the next attack strikes. Tentacles come flying at us, moving quicker than I¡¯ve ever seen them before. They attack five, ten at a time. It¡¯s only the fact that the fellapodil doesn¡¯t know exactly where we are that saves us in the first seconds of the strike, but as soon as one of the tentacles hits us, we¡¯ll lose that advantage. Tentacle Flurry? And then salvation comes from above. Green acidic mana shoots in a jet of Raven¡¯s own, striking the massive black form revealed by the clearing steam. I back away to the protected area, half-dragging Yells with me. Bastet gets there ahead of us and we all slip in through the hole in the side which I created earlier. I should block it up again, but I don¡¯t have the mana yet to do so. Besides, if it sends another of those caustic jets our way, we won¡¯t want to be trapped here. Then again, maybe Yells could reflect it¡­. An idea for later. Temporarily safe, I inspect the results of our previous strike. Enough water was burned off in our fire attack that the top part of the creature is now revealed. And that¡¯s even with it pressed down as far as it can against the barrier I¡¯ve created, I realise as I extend my awareness back into the earth. That¡¯s one advantage to Earth-Shaping over Fire-Shaping ¨C once I¡¯ve done something, I can leave it and then come back to it later. I don¡¯t have to start again at square one like with fire. The creature¡¯s bulk is pressed hard against the barrier, but so far the dome-like structure and extra reinforcement I¡¯ve given it is holding now that it¡¯s not hammering down with its tentacles. Once I have the mana, I¡¯ll try to grow some stalagmites from its surface ¨C cause the fellapodil to hurt itself as it tries to escape. The effect of the fire on the exposed part of the fellapodil is easy enough to see ¨C the first real signs of damage that we¡¯ve caused during the whole fight so far. No wonder it used two of its attacks against us in retaliation. Raven¡¯s acidic mana doesn¡¯t seem to be as effective as I¡¯d expected, interestingly enough. Maybe that¡¯s why he was on the losing side of their encounter. Nevertheless, a Tier three¡¯s magic is not something easy to shrug off, not even for another Tier three. I see it sink into the fellapodil¡¯s flesh, causing it to burn and melt away, though not with nearly the same kind of speed as it did my own or my Bound¡¯s when we fought him. The fellapodil is distracted, its tentacles trying both to protect it from the jets which shoot at it and then trying to find Raven when he has to take a moment to let his attack recharge. As he backs away, I see that my Ally is bleeding from myriad wounds and limping because of significant injuries to two of his limbs. He takes a moment to drink a health potion, one of the flagons made specifically for him. The fellapodil is more careful this time, searching for him by slowly feeling around the edge with its tentacles. It¡¯s clearly feeling more uncertain as it pulls a few tentacles back to cover the most badly-burned bits of its bulbous body. Through my Earth-Shaping, I also feel it starting to probe the trapdoor again, perhaps hoping to find a crack it can exploit. We need to distract it and take advantage of this opportunity. River, throw whatever you can at the creature which is either acidic, or fire-aspected. Iandee, Poison, Catch try to throw poisoned weapons at the damaged parts of the fellapodil. Dusty, do you have control over the water now? I do, she answers, though if it turns its attention to fighting me for it, I will struggle to maintain control. Then work with Windy ¨C get as much of it out of there as you can. Either feed it through the tunnel behind us or evaporate it. Bastet, Sirocco, send your own strikes where you can. Fenrir, Lathani, Storm, Ninja, work together to take opportunities to strike at injured limbs if you can, but don¡¯t take risks. Beware of friendly fire as well as the fellapodil¡¯s attacks. Joy, see if you can help them by impeding the movement of the fellapodil¡¯s tentacles even more by extending those ropes. We can do this, everyone ¨C we just need to whittle its health pool down and keep it distracted so it can¡¯t work out how to escape. Any questions? There were none, so I refocus us all on the situation at hand. Then attack! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Six: Poisonous Gas My own mana pool is still low but my increased regeneration is rapidly replenishing it. I don¡¯t dare to dip into Medium Meditation, but I push Light Meditation as far as I can. At the same time, I pull my bow and quiver of arrows from my Inventory. My best fighting tool is definitely my magic, but I¡¯d rather let my stores replenish themselves a bit. Maybe then I¡¯ll be able to unleash something even more powerful than the fireball from before, especially if Yells helps again. In the meantime, I¡¯ll do what I can. I choose my bone-headed arrows, not only because I don¡¯t want to risk wasting my metal-tipped ones, but also for another reason ¨C they¡¯re hollow. I take a few moments to imbue the arrowheads and poison within with my magic ¨C each only takes a few units due to the small quantity of liquid held inside so the expense is well worth it. This is a careful mix of the mimic¡¯s destructive venom and the black blob¡¯s stamina-inhibiting poison ¨C it probably won¡¯t have a great effect on the Tier three fellapodil, but any damage is better than none and any inhibitions we can apply to it are good. Stepping out of the cage of stalactites and stalagmites, I still half hide behind its protection as I start shooting arrows at the fellapodil. The arrows¡¯ ability to pierce the fellapodil¡¯s hide are hit and miss, and usually only sink into an area which is already damaged. However, full of my magic, I¡¯m able to worm each arrow that pierces even the top layer further into the fellapodil¡¯s body, employing a technique I saw in a video about bee stings. It takes longer, but it¡¯s more worthwhile than just peppering the beast with arrows that barely sink in, if at all. At the same time, the others follow my instructions and throw everything they can at the creature. Back to a decent condition thanks to potions, Sirocco divebombs it and shoots off Fire Wings; Bastet breathes fire at its body and agilely dodges its tentacles. The little party of Tier ones strike at every bit of its body that they can reach. Even the hatchlings do their best to rip apart any tentacle that comes near. The fellapodil fights back fiercely. Even as my Bound up above send things down to attack it, it harries them in return, its tentacles attempting to grab anyone it can, and shooting out caustic jets of liquid when they back away out of its reach. River ends up far more involved in giving healing potions and applying healing poultices to injuries caused by the corrosive substance than actually fighting, but when I touch her side of the Bond, I don¡¯t get the impression that she¡¯s upset by it. My vantage point from down in the cavern isn¡¯t great, but I can still see my Bound when they¡¯re close to the edge. Poison and Catch are caught unawares by a jet of caustic liquid. They dodge out of the way, but I can see their injuries are bad. River rushes forwards to treat their injuries, not noticing the tentacle snaking up the cliff side. ¡°River!¡± I shout in warning, but it¡¯s too late. It wraps around her ankle even as she turns to run. I start shooting arrows at the tentacle in question, my fear badly impacting my accuracy. Catch, the one she had been healing, starts trying fruitlessly to bash through the tentacle with his club, but the powerful limb shows little impact from the efforts of a Tier two. It pulls River¡¯s feet from under her. A moment later, she¡¯s dangling vulnerably in the air. Panic sweeps my insides. I don¡¯t know what to do! She¡¯s high above the cavern, facing straight down. Even if I can induce the tentacle to let her go, she could die from the impact with the unforgiving stone. But River isn¡¯t paralysed by the situation as I am. With a strength which her slim frame belies, she pulls herself up so her tail is hanging down but her head is level with her ankle. Abruptly, the tentacle releases her, rearing back. It looks more than a little burned. She falls. I throw magic into the area below her, the only thing I can think of doing ¨C to transform the hard granite and limestone into softer sand. All the mana I have regenerated goes into doing my best to save River. She never lands on it. A massive gust of wind slows her fall just enough that a massive pair of jaws can clamp themselves around her. Raven rapidly pulls his head back, just as a pair of tentacles shoot for him. He bellows in anger as another manages to wrap itself around his long neck. Green magic sparks along his scales and the tentacle flinches back as it¡¯s burnt by his acidic mana. He withdraws his head beyond where I can see. I¡¯m fine! River exclaims in the mental network. I release a sigh of relief, and feel a similar emotion from several others including Bastet. Thanks Raven, thanks Windy, I say gratefully. Tamer! It¡¯s got through to the water below! Dusty¡¯s voice pulls my attention away. I can¡¯t connect to that ¨C it¡¯s blocking me! I¡¯m trying to stop the water coming in, but it¡¯s fighting me and trying to make more holes! I hurry back to the protective cage, tucking my bow away, and then sink my awareness into the earth. Dusty¡¯s right. The fellapodil has made a hole in the trapdoor and is doing its best to rapidly widen it. Even as I pour magic into trying to fix it, I have to wonder: was its stunt with River an intentional attempt to divert our attention, or was it just an unfortunate coincidence? Creating the trapdoor when the fellapodil wasn¡¯t aware of my actions was one thing; trying to fix it when it¡¯s actively trying to combat me is completely different. I try to grow the limestone in spikes to deter it from trying to rip at the other pieces, but it just slips its tentacles through the hole it¡¯s already created and uses that as leverage. I try to pierce its body by shooting spikes from the tunnel walls, but its thick, rubbery skin defies my limestone weapons. Worse, its bulbous body easily reforms itself under the pressure of the spike ¨C much like a slug¡¯s might. Granite is just too slow to grow and uses too much mana. This isn¡¯t working! Desperately searching for an answer to how we don¡¯t lose our prey and let it escape back into an area where we¡¯ll never be able to find it, an idea comes to me. One which will hopefully do much more damage to the fellapodil than limestone spikes. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It¡¯s a long shot, something I¡¯ve attempted a few times, but never managed to make work. But sometimes desperation is the mother of invention, and I can¡¯t think of anything else. I need mana! And Yells, I need your help! I exclaim. Joy, Dusty, and Windy are all currently using theirs, but River readily feeds me as much mana as she can. I shove a mana regeneration potion into Yells¡¯ hands. Drink that, I order her. She does so and then I reconnect to her mana pool, taking her mana slowly but steadily. I try to match her regeneration rate for now, essentially doubling my own. Trying to start with fire didn¡¯t work before; maybe starting with earth will? It will have to ¨C I need to affect the trapdoor, not the area immediately in front of me. The earth is as reluctant to accept the fire as the fire is to enter the earth. It¡¯s like the fire realises that earth normally smothers it and it does not want to die. The earth, on the other hand, is not fearful that the fire will consume it, but instead it does not recognise the magic which I¡¯m trying to integrate into it. Doesn¡¯t recognise¡­I gained both Shaping skills by understanding what the elements were individually. Maybe here, I need to visualise what they can be together. Aware constantly of the time pressure, I urge the earth to consider how the outside of Happy¡¯s furnace emanates heat ¨C not flame, but heat. And how the earth warms under the sun¡¯s gaze, holding the heat for hours afterwards sometimes. And how it¡¯s possible to cook by placing a rock in the fire and then withdrawing it and using it as a hot surface. It feels like both Earth and Fire are paying attention to me, a sense of a small fraction of some ancient awareness touching on me with curiosity. Earth softens its refusal; Fire flickers curiously. I feed the fire magic into the earth, and it enters, yet it is not the same. The flickering, dancing nature of Fire has given way to an enduring heat; the hard, resistant nature of Earth has yielded to something softer and more flexible. Barely held within my control is something new and yet still with so many hallmarks of the old. I have no time to marvel at what I¡¯ve created, the ease at which it slips through the earth. The fellapodil¡¯s hole is bigger than ever, Dusty practically sweating blood at the strain it¡¯s taking to resist the water it¡¯s trying to bring through. When the beast unleashes its domain again, we lose even more ground. Beset by the fear of suffocating, Dusty loses control over her blockage and water comes streaming through the hole the fellapodil created. The creature redoubles its efforts, the water now aiding it from the other side. I force away the effects of the creature¡¯s domain, burying my consciousness into the earth so I¡¯m only peripherally aware of my bodily sensations. The combination of Fire and Earth that I¡¯ve created isn¡¯t fast and it is very mana-hungry. Wherever it goes it seems to leave parts of itself behind to work on the rock around it. I start needing more than just the regenerated mana from Yells, beginning to dig a little into her mana pool itself. She feeds me the mana willingly, and somehow does something else. Instead of it just being me taking from her, she¡¯s reaching back along the link to offer something else. Slightly wary despite my trust in her, the situation is too urgent to ask questions; I accept the offer. Together, we touch the new type of magic and abruptly I feel it grow in intensity and strength. It moves more easily, and what it leaves behind takes less of its entirety than before. I resolve to talk to her about it later when we¡¯re not in the middle of a battle. By the time I send the new magic into the water above my barrier, choosing a spot near the hole within it, I have come to an awareness of what this is: lava magic. The combination of heat and rock. When it emerges into the water, a new gout of steam bubbles to the surface. I barely manage to warn my Bound in time for it to emerge. The little party of Tier ones and Fenrir, taking my words to heart about being careful about friendly fire, back off quickly and no one is hurt. The fellapodil isn¡¯t so lucky. The superheated rock sends immensely hot steam that sears into the lower regions of the beast. Gratified, I send the lava magic as quickly as I can into the water where it solidifies to become rock, transferring its heat into the water around it and practically boiling the Tier three alive. It lets out a cry in a range which I can barely hear, but which shudders painfully through my ears nonetheless. My Bound are not so lucky ¨C every one of them has a better hearing range than I do, which is a downside in this situation. All attacks abruptly cut off as they recoil back from the aural attack. That turns out to be a mistake. Intended or not, the fellapodil takes advantage of their momentary incapacitation. In the next moment, it unleashes several attacks. Caustic jets shoot from its tentacles, striking several of my Bound in the area above the cavern. At the same time, I hear a cry from Dusty next to me. It¡¯s taken back full control of the water! she tells me with distress. The warning comes too late. A wave of hot, caustic water rises out of the pit in which the fellapodil is trapped and drives us all against the walls. Then it retreats back into the pit. I cough as I bring my awareness fully back into my body. Ten seconds later, it comes again. Dusty, Yells, and I are burnt, scalded, and in pain, but the reinforced stalagmites in front of us keep us from being dragged along with the wave. Fenrir, Bastet, and the little party of Tier ones are not so lucky. My heart leaps in my chest as I see them struggling against the waves which just keep coming. Especially when I see a noxious greenish-yellow gas starting to emerge from the pit. It looks almost like dry ice in the way it stays close to the floor and spreads out, but the hint of a smell that I catch makes my stomach drop to the floor. Chlorine. A poisonous gas which can kill in minutes if the concentration is high enough. Which, if the look of the cloud is anything to go by, this is. Dusty, Yells, get out of here! I order them tersely, using my magic to melt a bigger hole in the defences which will be our death if we stay trapped. Lathani, Ninja, Storm, Fenrir, Bastet, get out of the pit! Don¡¯t go near the yellow-green gas! Sibling is in the gas already! Lathani tells me, her voice frightened. What? Where? I demand urgently. She doesn¡¯t bother with words, instead sending a quick memory of what happened. Storm was dragged by one of the waves to the edge of the pit just before the gas started bubbling out. She hasn¡¯t come out yet. Bastet and I both run towards where the juvenile disappeared into the fog. Help the others, I tell her sharply. I¡¯ll get Storm. She hesitates. They need you! Go! I don¡¯t use the Bond, but she skids to a halt and changes direction anyway, sending me a sense of urgent plea ¨C and trust. If I hadn¡¯t already been utterly determined to save Storm, I would be now. Storm! I shout down her Bond even as I enter the cloud myself. The gas is immediately irritating to my eyes and nose and I start coughing. Cursing myself for not thinking about it, I pull a bit of clothing out of my Inventory and soak it with my canteen then hold it to my mouth. Staggering forwards into the dense cloud, I use my Flesh-magic to clear chlorine out of my eyes by over-activating my tear-ducts. The trails of tears going down my cheeks are an easy price to pay for being able to see. Storm! Respond now! Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Seven: Increasing Acidity There¡¯s a flicker at the end of the Tame Bond, a feeling of being barely able to breathe, unable to move, and completely terrified. I hone into the location the feeling came from, running over to it as quickly as I can. A moment later, I¡¯m on my stomach on the floor, gasping. My back feels like a rebar just slammed into it, all air slammed out of my lungs. Swearing, I send magic into the injury. My armour did its job to protect me, but the blow was hard enough that several vertebrae have been injured anyway. But my spinal cord is fine ¨C that¡¯s all that matters right now. I push myself painfully to my feet, then throw myself back to the ground in a move that sends agony up my spine as the damaged vertebrae grind against each other. A tentacle snaps over my head, ripping out several of my hairs with the speed of its passage. Someone distract the beast while I get Storm! I demand. No one responds verbally, but the tentacle doesn¡¯t strike at me again, so I guess that they did something. Feeling my way forwards, a huddled shape comes into view. A moment later, my foot steps into midair. I throw myself back onto solid ground just barely before I accidentally topple into the pit with the fellapodil ¨C suicide, even for me. Crawling forwards to avoid making the same mistake, I lay my hands on Storm, lifting her onto my shoulders. We need to get out of here, but even as we move, I send my magic into her. I feel the way the chlorine gas has attacked the insides of her lungs, causing them to fill with fluid ¨C drowning her from the inside. Working hard on healing the damage, I focus on moving towards my Bound ¨C my only indication of what is where. Tentacles flail past me, but they don¡¯t seem to know where I am, and I¡¯m lucky enough that they don¡¯t hit us accidentally. The gas fades in strength and I start being able to see more things. I avoid a tentacle which comes a bit too close by dropping to the ground, then leap above another which sweeps down low, gasping ragged breaths as the exertion costs my already over-burdened system. The chlorine has filled the whole of the bottom of the cavern, though at the edges I can stand tall enough to keep my head mostly above it. Grab the rope! Catch says urgently. I look up to find him at the top, holding one of the woven silk cords which Joy and I created earlier. Immediately taking his meaning, I grab onto the rope with one hand, holding the still-limp form of Storm with the other. The rope is pulled upwards and I walk up the cavern wall with its help. Though my strength is easily enough to climb the rope without aid, it would be significantly harder while holding Storm so I¡¯m grateful for the aid. At the top, I back away enough that hopefully I¡¯m out of range of the fellapodil¡¯s tentacles, then focus on stabilising Storm¡¯s health and my own. As soon as I¡¯ve cleared enough of her lungs that she can breathe properly and rid myself of the chlorine in my own system, I check in with the rest of my Bound. Any injuries that need dealing with immediately? I ask. No one immediately steps forwards. Reducer has been keeping us in fighting condition with healing potions, Poison offers after a moment. We were able to get out of the cavern before the gas spread too far, Bastet contributes. We are hurt, but not seriously. I breathe a sigh of relief at the news. Reminded of the potions, I pull one out of my Inventory and down it, then pull another out and gently tip it into Storm¡¯s mouth to help continue the healing. Then, gently laying her on the ground for Bastet and Ninja to come and inspect to reassure themselves, I push myself to my feet, wincing as the vertebrae grind a little. Sending more magic into my back, I direct the healing magic from the potion to more effectively heal the damage the tentacle caused. Walking to the edge of the pit, I look down into a sea of green. The fellapodil is probably still below, but I¡¯m far enough away from the barrier I made that I cannot be sure it¡¯s still there. Not without creating a new channel to it from here which will take a bit of time. Once more, we¡¯re hitting the difference between a Tier two and a Tier three. The only way this is better than the fight with Raven is that even if there have been plenty of injuries, none of us have died. So far, anyway. ¡°Any ideas on what to do next?¡± I ask with a sigh. No one leaps to say anything, so I sigh again and run through options mentally. I have no idea how injured the fellapodil actually is, though I know we¡¯ve had an impact. I suspect, though, that the longer we delay, the more health it will regenerate. It has such a huge health pool that it probably has a health regeneration to match. Delaying isn¡¯t in our favour. But neither is rushing ahead half-cocked. ¡°How¡¯s everyone¡¯s mana?¡± I could probably check on my Bound tab, but it¡¯s easier just to ask. The responses I get back are varied. Raven is doing fine ¨C he isn¡¯t willing to specify, but I suspect his pool is big enough that only his biggest attacks drain it significantly. And I¡¯m not keen on asking him to use that bomb attack of his ¨C we need the Core and if he blows the fellapodil to pieces, who knows what could happen? River has a fair bit thanks to her enhanced mana regeneration as a result of taking the potion. Yells and my own are quite low but climbing ¨C I check with River and knock back another mana regeneration potion when she says it¡¯s fine. Dusty¡¯s was low but is getting better, and Windy¡¯s is much the same as her. Sirocco¡¯s is climbing too. Bastet indicates that she is running a bit low ¨C her pool was never massive to begin with and her fire attack takes quite a bit of juice. I sense increasing acidity below, Raven says suddenly, interrupting my thought process. ¡°What?¡± I ask, moving to the edge to look down. The creature is barely visible ¨C only the flicker of a tentacle occasionally appearing through the thick cloud of chlorine gas. It¡¯s enough to tell me that it hasn¡¯t disappeared completely, but not much more. At least the gas seems to be reducing a little, either being drawn back into the creature¡¯s body or being absorbed into the water. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Then I freeze as a little fact comes back to mind, my improved memory highlighting something I barely remember. The memory of a colleague complaining about how much effort it took to maintain his pool. Chlorine, when it combines with water, makes the pH more acidic. And, if the marble statues affected by acid rain are anything to go by, calcium-based stone ¨C of which limestone is an example ¨C dissolves in an acidic environment. Which means that time is even more pressing than I thought ¨C one hole was bad enough, but if the whole structure of the limestone is compromised, we may have to give up completely on this particular beast. Pieces fall into place. ¡°OK everyone, those who use mana and who can still take mana regeneration potions, take one now ¨C we need to hit this creature fast and hard. Windy,¡± I continue, turning to the Pathwalker in question, she looks at me with a neutral expression. ¡°Can you create a tornado of air to pull that chlorine gas away?¡± Yes, she answers, certainty in her voice. ¡°Then do that,¡± I command her. Where should I funnel the gas? she asks reasonably. I consider the question for a moment. Chlorine could be good to have, but how to store it is the problem. ¡°Dusty, if the fellapodil is distracted, do you think you could take control of the water again?¡± If it is fully distracted, yes, probably, but I will need to be closer to it again, the samuran says fearfully. ¡°If the gas isn¡¯t there, that becomes possible,¡± I remind her. ¡°Alright. Windy, you pull the gas away and try to keep it contained for a bit. In the meantime, Dusty, you take control of the water again and pull it away from the cavern entirely. If you can combine it with the chlorine gas, great. If not, Windy, just make sure that the gas is thoroughly diffused in the air and as far away from us as possible. Raven, how intelligent do you think this Tier three is?¡± I¡¯m checking because that will impact our ability to distract it. Not very intelligent, he says, unruffled by the fight so far. Its will is reasonably strong and I cannot suppress its domain completely, but though it has shown some cunning, there is little thought behind it, nor has it responded to my attempts to communicate. ¡°OK, that¡¯s good,¡± I murmur, my thoughts racing. This creature has to be intelligent enough to have reached Tier three, but maybe isn¡¯t at the level of Kalanthia or Raven himself. Fortunately. Once I have my plan in mind, I outline it for everyone and check for questions or suggestions ¨C I¡¯ve learned that the old adage of ¡®fail to plan, plan to fail¡¯ is absolutely right, and also that I¡¯m not as good at planning as I thought I was. Arrogance in my own intelligence will just get my companions killed. On that note, I¡¯ve forbidden the Tier ones from getting closer again ¨C it¡¯s too dangerous. Storm and Lathani aren¡¯t best pleased to be relegated to staying with the alcaoris hatchlings who Raven barred from moving far from him in the first place. Ninja, however, seems rather relieved and quickly presses against Noir¡¯s side, the alcaoris wrapping his wing over her protectively. It seems like Storm hasn¡¯t been at all frightened by her recent brush with death. Everything prepared as much as possible, potions taken, poisoned weapons prepared, muscles tensed for movement, we launch into what I hope is the finale of this fight. With an intensely focussed look on her face, Windy reaches into the air above the cavern and pulls. The wind actually becomes visible, a distortion forming in front of our eyes. Air currents rip at my hair and clothing, but it feels more like an accidental byproduct than intentional. The distortion moves into the cavern and the gas immediately reacts. Where before it had been rippling with the unseen movement of tentacles, now it is drawn into a vortex of air. The currents scour the edges of the cavern first and gather the chlorine gas into the centre, like a reaching hand. Then, the pillar of air sucks the yellowish-green gas upwards. There¡¯s a pulse of outrage from the fellapodil below as its covering is unceremoniously ripped away. ¡°Now, Raven,¡± I tell him quietly. The alcaoris doesn''t respond verbally. Instead, he mantles his wings, his back feet digging deeply into the earth and rock even as his tail presses against the ground to keep his balance. He beats his wings forwards and into the pit,The same acidic mana which once burned my flesh until the bone was exposed jabs forwards, accompanied by an acidic jet which explodes from his mouth. The downside of his Intelligent Acid is that he has to have a decent portion of his body in relatively close contact with his target for it to work. To do that, he leans into the cavern with both head and wings; most of my remaining Bound pile on his tail to help him stay on the cavern edge instead of toppling into it. ¡°Dusty, go,¡± I say, but realise that it¡¯s not needed ¨C she¡¯s already hurrying down the slope, Yells with her. I jog to catch up with them, seeing their spikes rippling with the bronze of determination. We head down the slope and back into the cavern. It¡¯s damaged by the attacks of the fellapodil, but not destroyed. Our little reinforced area is a lot more fragmented ¨C the fellapodil must have thought that we were still hiding there as it has broken most of the protective stalagmites. But there¡¯s no time to fix that. Instead, we tuck ourselves a little around the corner and into the adjoining cavern. It¡¯s not much protection ¨C I¡¯ve seen first-hand how easily the fellapodil¡¯s tentacles can invade this space ¨C but it¡¯s better than nothing. Closing my eyes, I send my awareness down into the earth and to the barrier to find out its condition. What I discover is much as I was fearing ¨C the combination of the acidic water caused by the chlorine and the efforts of the fellapodil to break through it are having a distressing effect. The barrier is getting thinner and thinner, and has broken in several spots, once more giving the fellapodil access to the greater body of water below even if it can¡¯t actually escape yet. Knowing that Dusty will only be able to do her job and fully reveal the fellapodil if the barrier is watertight, I draw mana from Yells and send it through to the barrier directly. She does the same thing as before, her efforts enhancing the effects of the mana and allowing a small amount to go much further and act more quickly. Though the limestone isn¡¯t the best material, it¡¯s done a good enough job so far and it¡¯s only a temporary patch anyway. I¡¯ll still use it as the aim here is to quickly give Dusty the watertight area she needs. First, though, I create a bit of lava again to scare the fellapodil away from its attempts to get through. The heat makes it pull as far away as it can go, its efforts to pierce the limestone trapdoor thoroughly stymied. It¡¯s not long before I¡¯m able to patch the holes with a mixture of lava and limestone growths. I¡¯ve got control over the water, Dusty announces a moment later, her voice sounding exhuasted from the effort. Then get it and yourself out of here, I remind her. She sends a wordless, fatigued acknowledgement. I take a moment to check in with the rest of my party. I cannot maintain my Intelligent Acid any longer, Raven tells me in response, also sounding fatigued. Then pull it back and just switch to Acid Jets, I tell him. Try to cover Dusty¡¯s retreat if you can. Catch, Iandee, Poison, River, work with him and send your poisoned weapons to the spots where his acid has already burned through the fellapodil¡¯s outer layers, I remind them. Joy- Get control over its tentacles, I know, she interrupts. I remember. Good, I tell her, recognising her irritation as fatigue and fear. It¡¯s done, Dusty interrupts, sounding even more exhausted than before. Abruptly, a wave of darkness washes over my senses as another pulse of drowned anger and pressured outrage hits me like a mental blow. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Eight: Time To End This Exclamations come over the Bond. I can¡¯t see! I can¡¯t hear! What¡¯s going on? Stop! I mentally shout and the voices go quiet. Who is affected, and which senses do you have which are still working? I follow my own instructions, testing each of my senses. My eyesight is completely gone. My physical eyes can¡¯t see anything but darkness. I speak aloud and can¡¯t hear my own voice. Touch is significantly muted ¨C it¡¯s like my arm has gone dead as I reach out for the rock wall beside me. I use the little I can feel to carefully lower myself to my knees on the ground ¨C no point accidentally losing my balance and hurting myself. I smell nothing either ¨C the lingering scent of chlorine has completely vanished. That¡¯s not good ¨C if the fellapodil releases another pulse of chlorine gas, I could die before I realise that it¡¯s affecting me. My Bound start chiming in, seconding the fact that their physical senses are gone. It¡¯s only affecting us actually in the cavern and those within a few steps of the edge of the pit ¨C those beyond it just see a dome of blackness sitting over the hole. Abruptly, cries of surprised pain ring out through our Bond. What happened? I demand urgently. We were struck by something ¨C a tentacle, I think, or water jet, Poison answers tersely. We¡¯re backing up to try to get out of the dome. Be careful not to fall over the edge of the pit, I warn. Pain flashes through me as Dusty and Yells also cry out. It¡¯s the strangest sensation ¨C the Flesh-Shaping magic that constantly suffuses my body is screaming at me, but my nerves barely warn me of anything worse than a training blow. Nonetheless, I can tell that several of my ribs were cracked and, from the renewed injuries to my back, I must have been thrown into something. I can barely even tell which way¡¯s up, let alone where I should protect myself from. Groping around me, I can¡¯t even feel the floor except when a small flash of pain indicates I¡¯ve cut myself. I could be a centimetre or a metre away from my companions and not know it. Sending healing magic through my body, my mind races as I try to work out a way to get past this shroud. My lungs are burning and my magic indicates they¡¯re being damaged¨C chlorine again? Resisting the urge to cough, I cycle Flesh-Shaping through my lungs to clear them. Yells, Dusty, anyone else on the cavern floor, take a healing potion now! I think it¡¯s used the gas attack again! I close my eyes and activate my magic sight ¨C I probably didn¡¯t need to close them, but it''s a habit. I can see nothing in front of me, no connections, no magic, but when I send my mind into the earth, my awareness there is unaffected. Abruptly, the earth rights itself. I can tell where I am ¨C pressed against the cavern wall a bit beyond where I had been before. I can feel Yells and Dusty¡¯s presence ¨C not far from me. Immediately, I reach out to them and start channeling Flesh-magic into them. I can even still detect where the fellapodil is pressing against the walls of the tunnel and the barrier at the bottom, its weight now unsupported by water. It can¡¯t affect our senses in our own magic. Everyone just keep clear of the cavern until we can see what¡¯s going on again. Those capable of magic, keep doing what you can. Windy, clear out the air in the cavern ¨C we need to get rid of the chlorine gas. I cannot maintain two vortexes at the same time, she tells me. Then release the gas you¡¯re currently controlling in the way I said. This is more important. I do not wish to catch you in my Acid Jets, Raven rumbles next. It¡¯s fine, I tell him. We¡¯re out of the line of fire, so just keep shooting them at where you remember the pit is. The fellapodil is still in the bottom of the pit and most likely doesn''t have the strength to get out of it. I¡¯m sure it can¡¯t keep this up forever ¨C when you can see again, give it all you¡¯ve got. The two Pathwalkers with me more than half-healed from the double-whammy of tentacles and chlorine, I switch tactics. Connecting with Yells again ¨C the feeling across the Bond one of fear but also trust ¨C I pull at her mana. Time to end this before the fellapodil comes out with something else. Transforming my mana into what is most definitely lava magic is far easier this time, almost guaranteeing what the notification will say when I have a chance to consult it. With Yells¡¯ enhancement it grows even larger, and I draw it through the earth towards the barrier. The fellapodil is hard at work, the cover of darkness evidently intended to hide its attempts to escape. After the last attack, its tentacles have evidently been withdrawn into the pit to hammer at the barrier, trying to worm their way into any crack or crevice they can. It¡¯s also sending jets of liquid all over the barrier, presumably in an attempt to melt it away, not very successfully. When I recall what Inspect told me about its abilities, I figure I know why ¨C it¡¯s either using its Water Jet or Caustic jet. Water would have an effect eventually, but it would take time and if ¡®caustic¡¯ refers to ¡®caustic soda¡¯ then the substance is alkali and therefore has limited effect on limestone. It would probably be better off by using Water Jet and then its chlorine Gas Attack again, but it clearly hasn¡¯t realised that. Or maybe it¡¯s trying, but Windy is pulling off the chlorine as soon as it is produced. Either way, it¡¯s a relief ¨C the barrier will give way eventually under the strain, but we have a chance to kill it before then. Identifying the weakest areas of the barrier, I feed my lava mana out of the rock near those spots. This second time around, I realise that I can actually choose to increase or decrease the concentration of¡­something. If I had a better geological knowledge, I might know what it is. But all I can tell is that it affects both the speed of the lava flow and the amount of mana I have to dedicate into creating it ¨C the more of this element I use, the faster the lava moves and the less mana I need for it. Considering that this new magic has already proven to be a real mana hog, and that speed is definitely an objective here, I pour magic into increasing the proportion of this element. Once created, I direct the lava to spread across the surface of my limestone barrier. The fellapodil flinches away from the molten rock, pressing itself to the opposite side to the one I¡¯m working on. Its tentacles take on an even greater urgency, hammering desperately at the rock around it. I spread the lava further, adding more heat into the liquid to make it flow faster. I reduce the temperature a moment later, though ¨C I sense that the limestone below the lava is beginning to get a little fragile. Old memories from school remind me that at a certain temperature limestone burns to become quicklime, a much more fragile substance. Since I don¡¯t want the barrier accidentally disintegrating, I pause for a moment to both reform that section of limestone, and reinforce it a little with earth-mana. Moving more slowly and carefully, I realise that as long as I don¡¯t raise the temperature too high, I can balance the lava with the burning point of the limestone. The temperature absorption nature of the water pressing underneath it also helps. The fellapodil becomes more and more frantic as my molten lava gets closer and closer. It shoots liquid from its tentacles which cool the surface of the lava, but a little extra heat melts away the crust that forms enough for the lava to continue creeping forwards. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Then I sense that its efforts might be about to show fruit ¨C one of the sections of limestone is about to collapse. I draw more mana from Yells and cause lava to erupt from that very location. Another shriek batters my ears, loud and painful enough for me to hear it even as disconnected from my body as I am now. At the same time, Yells warns me wordlessly that she¡¯s getting very low on mana. Disconnecting from her, I rely on my own mana pool, almost entirely full thanks to my natural and enhanced mana regeneration. It¡¯s enough to send lava spilling across the full span of the barrier, leaving no space for the fellapodil to escape its heat. In a last-ditch effort to take us with it, the fellapodil drops its dark shroud and frees our senses. The sudden onslaught of sound, light, smell, and touch after having had none of those for too long is more than a little disorientating. The fellapodil further shrieks and makes my vision white out as pain explodes from my ear drums. Cries from my Bound ring out, felt more through the Bonds than heard. Suddenly, burning, scalding pain washes over me. My vision returns ¨C though my hearing doesn¡¯t ¨C only for me to see a black tentacle swinging towards me. I just about manage to roll out of the way, but it continues on ¨C to slam straight into Yells. I see her fly into the air like a ragdoll and hit the wall of the cavern. I feel the blood drain out of my face ¨C Yells has an even lower health pool than I have and she wasn¡¯t full to begin with. Using the last of my mana, I throw up a barrier between the two caverns, then, reeling with the ill-effects of using far too much mana in a short space of time ¨C fatigued, nauseous, and so dizzy that I can barely stand ¨C I crawl over to Yells. She¡¯s still alive ¨C that I know from the Bond. But barely so. She needs me now. It doesn¡¯t help that my eardrums keep getting battered with painful, barely audible shrieks. Reaching her, I pour in the magic, going straight for the most dangerous wounds ¨C the two ribs which have punctured her lung, the pressure on her heart, the cracked skull and bleeding in her brain. I¡¯m vaguely aware of Dusty hauling herself over and pouring a healing potion down Yells¡¯ throat, and immediately take control of the healing magic which enters her system to direct it to the most urgent areas. By the time I¡¯ve got her health regenerating rather than trickling away, the fight is pretty much over and I¡¯m completely done. I couldn¡¯t magic my way out of a paper bag right now and I have the worst migraine ever. I was feeling pity for the fellapodil, and maybe a hint of guilt ¨C being cooked alive is a bad way to go for anyone, and technically we started this fight, unless we count the first time I encountered it as the initial salvo. But now, after pulling my companion back from the brink of death while still covered in chemical burns myself, I¡¯m just grateful that it¡¯s too weak to try that again. The shrieks are almost inaudible now and have completely lost their ear-piercing quality. My own hearing partially restored, I can hear the sound of my Bound fighting. Unable to get up physically, I borrow Sirocco¡¯s vision. She¡¯s soaring around, guiding the Warriors and River in throwing their poisoned darts and javelins into the spots which Raven has eaten away with his acid. At the same time, I see that half of the creature¡¯s tentacles have been successfully tied up with the ropes of spider silk ¨C it probably couldn¡¯t have attacked us again even if it had succeeded in getting through the barrier. Then I see something that makes me immediately demand answers. Why are the Tier ones in the fight? I told them to stay back! The creature is almost dead, Bastet tells me. We thought it would be good for them to take part in the kill. And you agreed to this, Raven? I ask incredulously since his three hatchlings are also down there, attacking the tied-up tentacles with great enthusiasm. What if it has one last trick to pull out which kills them? I doubt it has, Raven replies confidently. The chance to benefit from a Tier three¡¯s death is worth the risk. I sigh. I suppose that they would all know better than I in this particular context. And ultimately, though I don¡¯t want the alcaoris hatchlings to die, Raven is even more dedicated to their survival than I am. If he thinks it¡¯s worth the risk, so be it. Alright, fine, but keep an eye on them. I will, Sirocco assures me briskly. You need to rest and recover, Bastet adds. Well, she¡¯s not wrong. Once I regenerate the mana and recover a bit, I¡¯ll have a lot of injuries to heal on all three of us down here, Yells particularly. And ultimately, I¡¯ve probably done enough in this fight ¨C my Bound can take it from here. And so I watch the final ten minutes or so of the fellapodil¡¯s life through Sirocco¡¯s eyes. I see as Bastet breathes fire onto the creature, Windy uncharacteristically helpful in sending a gust of wind to help it flare even bigger and engulf more of the sorry-looking tentacle monster. The fellapodil doesn¡¯t look so black and indomitable any more ¨C the flames and acid have eaten away at and burnt so much of its skin. Down below, where it¡¯s made contact with the lava, it¡¯s even worse off ¨C several tentacles have lost sections of their length to its heat. And yet it still lives, a testament to the health pool of a Tier three. In the end, I don¡¯t know what kills it ¨C the heat or the poison which the samuran Warriors and River have been relentlessly peppering it with. The poison is evident in the blackened flesh around where the darts or javelins have landed, veins of green and black disappearing into the healthier flesh. Finally, though, I feel a sudden rush of Energy enter me. Sensing the moment that my Core starts straining under the influx of Energy, I redirect it into the ¡®debt¡¯ ¨C though more levels would be good, I might as well use the Energy that would otherwise be wasted to increase the time the portal will stay open. Pushing myself to my feet, I stretch carefully, making sure that I haven¡¯t accidentally missed any injuries. I inspect Yells too with a critical eye and her spikes ripple with blue satisfaction as she is able to stand on her own two feet. Though she¡¯s not fully healed, she¡¯s significantly better after all my efforts. Dusty is fully healed ¨C her injuries were less, but still not exactly insignificant. Not needing to exchange words, I grin tiredly at them, then lead the way back to the main cavern. There¡¯s a strong, burnt smell of calamari with a hint of fish and a large dash of noxious fumes ¨C from the lava, I realise as I get closer. The molten rock isn¡¯t molten any longer, but it¡¯s probably still very hot. The fellapodil looks deflated in death, most of its muscles relaxed though some of its tentacles still twitch in post-mortem spasms. We know it¡¯s dead, though, from the influx of Energy. Looking around I see relief, joy, and elation. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go up top for now ¨C we¡¯ll get the Core out once we¡¯ve had a moment to rest,¡± I tell the group. I¡¯d also like to look at my notifications ¨C and level up if I get a chance. Pack leader, Pack leader, Lathani says excitedly, practically dancing next to me as we head out via the slope. I think I can Evolve! ¡°What?¡± I ask in surprise. ¡°Are you sure? Safely?¡± Yes, I¡¯m sure! I¡¯ve finished working on my internal matrix! And I sense that if I Evolve now, with this Energy, I will have a really good Evolution! ¡°That sounds fantastic, Lathani,¡± I tell her frankly, ¡°but let me just quickly look at you when we get to the top, alright?¡± She dances on the spot again, though this time I sense it¡¯s more impatience than excitement. Fine, she allows sulkily. But don¡¯t take too long! ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I promise. True to my word I go over her internal matrix as quickly as I can though still paying attention to detail, not wanting to miss something that could turn her Evolution very wrong. ¡°Well,¡± I say as I pull my awareness out of her internal matrix. Lathani is waiting with bated breath, clearly praying to anyone who will listen that my evaluation is positive. Around us, almost everyone is gathered, watching in interest. The only exceptions are Dusty, who is still focussing on a massive bubble of yellowish water, and Windy who appears to be meditating. ¡°I don¡¯t see any reason why you shouldn¡¯t have a good Evolution.¡± Lathani practically jumps for joy. Then can I Evolve? Can I? Can I?! ¡°Keep your mother¡¯s and Bastet¡¯s advice in mind,¡± I warn her sternly, then flash her a smile. ¡°But sure, go ahead.¡± Not needing any more than that, Lathani closes her eyes, focusses, and then what seems like a tsunami of purplish sparks erupts from her and begins orbiting her form, completely masking it. Sharing a glance with Bastet and River, I feel their excitement like it¡¯s my own. Fenrir paces forwards and lies down almost touching the wall of sparks ¨C clearly he wants to be one of the first to see her after her Evolution. The other samurans murmur quietly amongst themselves as Ninja and Storm slink forwards to sit on either side of Fenrir, Lathani¡¯s honour-guard. Though I¡¯d love to watch every second of the Evolution like those around me, Dusty is waiting for me to tell her what to do with the chlorine-laced water she¡¯s holding together with her magic. As I walk over to speak to her, something else abruptly draws my attention. A second shower of sparks erupts ¨C from Windy. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Seventy-Nine: Skill Choice My first thought: I¡¯m finally going to discover what a Tier three samuran is like. My second thought: But it¡¯s Windy, the only Pathwalker who¡¯s never fully come around to my leadership. Even as I instruct Dusty to feed her chlorine-imbued water into some containers I pull out of my Inventory, I continue considering the matter. I suppose it¡¯s not terribly surprising, thinking about it. She¡¯s the oldest of the surviving samurans and her progress was already at eighty-nine percent before coming here. But I¡¯d be lying if I said that I¡¯d even considered the possibility of her actually Evolving. Not when it¡¯s taken three months for Bastet to make just over twenty-four percent. Then again, Bastet hasn¡¯t exactly been consistent with her progress. Sometimes she¡¯s been stuck at a certain percentage for a while and then she makes three or four percent progress all at once. Something to do with making mental breakthroughs about herself and what she wants to be, apparently. So perhaps that¡¯s what¡¯s happened here. Windy made a small leap of progress after she got access to the den area and the Energy density within, but since then she hasn¡¯t moved forwards at all. Maybe this situation was just what she needed to conceptualise herself in a way that catapulted her into being capable of Evolution. Either way, this could be a problem. Assuming she succeeds in her Evolution, of course ¨C I don¡¯t know what second Evolutions are like but the first is certainly not guaranteed to work. On the one hand, it would be great to have a Tier three samuran as part of our village, especially since no other village has one. On the other hand, this is Windy we¡¯re talking about. The only thing holding her back from challenging me for leadership is the fact that I beat her in the first ranking fight and have held her Bond since then. If she becomes a Tier three, she¡¯s almost guaranteed to be able to beat me in a one-on-one fight. As for the Bond, I remember from somewhere that the bigger the strength disparity is between me and the Bound, the more likely it is that they can break free ¨C if they want to. That latter is one reason why I¡¯ve been focussing on building the emotional bond between me and those Bound to me, not just the Bond created by my Skill. The more they see being connected to me as being beneficial, the less resistance they will give to my Bond, even if they surpass me in strength. I hadn¡¯t thought it would be put to the test so quickly, though, and with Windy of all people. I sigh and look around. The other samurans have joined me in gathering around Windy, thoroughly distracted from their interest in Lathani by seeing one of their own kind attempting to reach the lauded second Evolution. Most of them are fully focussed on the shower of off-white sparks which envelop Windy and block her almost entirely from view. There are plenty of them ¨C clearly she¡¯s not going to have the same issues Fenrir did with not having enough Energy to do whatever the second Evolution requires. Over our Bond, I feel nothing but intense concentration. For a moment, I consider interrupting it ¨C that could lead to a less-powerful Evolution and give me more chance of retaining control. I dismiss the thought the next instant, ashamed of myself. It wouldn¡¯t even necessarily have beneficial effects anyway. It wouldn¡¯t be guaranteed to interrupt her concentration enough to negatively affect her Evolution, and the attempt would just earn me even more ire than she already bears towards me. And even if it did succeed, how would damaging Windy¡¯s Evolution actually help in the long run? It might mean that she continued to be under my control, but to what end? To be a weak Tier three? No, it¡¯s unfortunate that she¡¯s the first to Evolve, but I¡¯ll just have to create some contingency plans. As I look around at the samurans, both River and Catch turn their heads to acknowledge my attention. Markus, what happens if Wind-whisperer emerges and is powerful enough to forcibly break the Bond? River asks in a message which is limited to the three of us, cutting to the heart of the matter. I was just wondering the same thing, I confirm grimly. What would the reaction be from the Warriors and other Pathwalkers? I ask in reply. They both send me uncertain wordless emotional responses. Pathwalker Wind-whisperer would probably call for a ranking fight, or at least challenge you, Catch ventures. If she beat you, that would be grounds enough to call for a full ranking fight. I think that Catch is right, seconds River with more certainty. And I think that that is likely to happen sooner rather than later. I nod, having concluded as much myself. However¡­. In the original fight, I hamstrung myself by agreeing to only have one other Bound in the fight with me. But this time, what if I pulled in others? Do you mean non-People, or People? Catch questions me. Because if you intend to bring in other Pathwalkers or Warriors to face her¡­. Yes? I encourage. They exchange glances and I sense an undercurrent of conversation going on between them which I don¡¯t make the effort to listen in to. It would be put to a vote, River says finally. They might agree to it, considering everything you¡¯ve done for the village. Part of the reason for why Wind-whisperer has been disgruntled lately is because she¡¯s been finding fewer and fewer of our sisters willing to listen to her grumbling. Our other sisters might vote on something that all but guarantees your victory, simply because they do not want Wind-whisperer to be in charge, Tier three or not. It¡¯s an interesting point, and one that I hadn¡¯t considered. I was thinking that I¡¯d have to essentially brute-force the whole thing since I¡¯m not willing to have everything I¡¯ve worked for be taken away by a grumpy Pathwalker who just hasn¡¯t fully accepted the new way of life. But perhaps I¡¯ve made more allies than I think. It would probably not be a good idea to involve Warriors, suggests Catch. To do so, even if very much within your right, would seem a little desperate. But if the other Pathwalkers stand with you, I suspect that even Windy will think twice about the challenge. Alright, good to know, thanks, I tell them both, feeling a little more settled. Ideally, I¡¯ll be able to maintain the Bond which will prevent Windy from attacking me at all, if I don¡¯t let her. But at least we have several contingency plans in place for if it doesn¡¯t work that way. Right now there¡¯s also something else I can do: level up. When choosing the stat points to level up, there¡¯s only one real option. I¡¯m most concerned about losing control of the Bond and there¡¯s only one stat which will help me with that: Willpower. Fortunately, these days when I level up, I don¡¯t produce any of that putrid stuff any more. I do sweat a bit, but that¡¯s easy enough to clean out of my clothes with Flesh-Shaping. Besides, with all the fighting, there have been far worse things soaking into my clothes than just a bit of sweat. Levelling up to twenty also brings something else: my next Skill choice. I glance at Windy and Lathani, and see both of them still fully involved in their Evolution. Deciding that I have enough time to check the Skills out, I call up the screen.
Stun (1) Release your remaining mana in a single, directed blast from your hands to render your opponent unmoving for between one and ten seconds. Note: the effects of the blast depend on both the amount of mana remaining, and distance from the epicentre of the discharge. The disparity between your Willpower and that of your opponent will also partially determine the length of time the target is stunned. Maximum effect can be achieved at full mana and when touching the target.
Track (1) Notice and be able to follow marks which show the passage of your target. This Skill scales with Intelligence.
Bond Eyes (4) See through the visual senses of one of your Bound at any time. At lower levels, this sight replaces your own; at higher levels, and with practice, it is possible to view through both sets of visual senses. This Skill becomes easier the greater the disparity between your Willpower and that of your Bound. It may also be easier or harder depending on the Bond you have. It is easier to view through a tightly-controlled Bond or a Bond with a deep sense of trust. The distance limits of this Skill are determined by Wisdom/Willpower and the strength of the Bond.
Bond Ears (4) Hear through the auditory senses of one of your Bound at any time. At lower levels, this hearing replaces your own; at higher levels, and with practice, it is possible to hear through both sets of auditory senses. This Skill becomes easier the greater the disparity between your Willpower and that of your Bound. It may also be easier or harder depending on the Bond you have. It is easier to hear through a tightly-controlled Bond or a Bond with a deep sense of trust. The distance limits of this Skill are determined by Wisdom/Willpower and the strength of the Bond. Stolen story; please report.
Bond Puppet (4) Send your consciousness into the body of one of your Bound and control their limbs as you would your own. Any damage sustained to your physical form will not affect your own body. Mental or soul attacks, however, may still damage your true mind or soul. This Skill becomes easier the greater the disparity between your Willpower and that of your Bound. It may also be easier or harder depending on the Bond you have. It is easier to puppet a Bound through a tightly-controlled Bond or a Bond with a deep sense of trust. The distance limits of this Skill are determined by Wisdom/Willpower and the strength of the Bond.
Sympathetic Bond (8) Build a sympathetic Bond with one of your Bound (Tame or Dominate). When they use a special ability, you are able to use it too. As the Bond deepens, they may become able to use some or all of your Skills too, however this depends on both their access to resources and their intellectual capacity.
Parasitic Bond (8) Take an ability or a physical characteristic from your Bound (Dominate only) for a time determined by the level of the Bond. You will be able to use this ability or physical characteristic as if it is your own for that duration. While you use the ability or physical characteristic, however, your Bound will not have access to it.
Transformation (8) Use the Bond to learn how to transform a part of your body into an equivalent of the physical characteristics possessed by your Bound (Tame or Dominate). This Skill synergises with any Shaping Skill or similar that you already possess (e.g. Earth-Shaping combined with a Bound with claws will enable you to use this Skill to create claws shaped of an earth-type substance which act like true claws).
You have 8 Skill points available. Either choose a Skill to use your Skill point now, or say ¡®Bank¡¯ to store the points for later and close the Skill selection menu.
The Skills from my first ever choice are still there, and their benefits are even less advantageous now than they were. With my far-greater mana pool, either I¡¯d end up vaporising my opponent or messing up the Skill if I took Stun. I¡¯m slightly tempted to choose that, just to see what would happen, but dismiss the thought ¨C there are far better options there. Track not being one of them, of course ¨C my reasons for not choosing that one originally have just become more compelling as I¡¯ve got more experienced and Bound more creatures. Why have a tracking Skill when I can just lean on Sirocco¡¯s eyes or Fenrir¡¯s nose to find what I¡¯m searching for? And that¡¯s disregarding Inspect which is like Track on steroids. Bond Eyes and Bond Ears remain useful, but a waste of Skill points ¨C I¡¯ve worked out how to do it already for myself. Bond Puppet also remains interesting, but not with my style of managing Bound ¨C each of them playing their individual parts works far better than me trying to become a puppet master. And I¡¯m not interested in pulling back more from the front lines than I already have. Which leaves the three new choices as my best options for this particular round. And a thought-provoking choice it is. All three have their advantages and disadvantages. I need to work out which is most valuable for me and my general style of strategy. Sympathetic Bond is valid for both Tame and Dominate Bonds ¨C an advantage. It primarily allows me to use my Bound¡¯s special Abilities like Bastet¡¯s Fire Breath or Sirocco¡¯s Change Size. I wonder whether it would work on the Pathwalkers¡¯ Abilities too ¨C it seems likely. The downside is that it¡¯s only, it seems, when they are also using the Ability. And though it¡¯s possible that they could use mine in time, it doesn¡¯t start with that benefit. Plus, the indication of use being contingent on resources and intellectual capacity indicates that this is no cheat Skill. However, I can see it being pretty powerful if I had one or two powerful companions who attacked an enemy with me ¨C we¡¯d be able to enhance and multiply each other¡¯s attacks. Imagine if both Yells and I could enhance an attack from, say Dusty. It¡¯s certainly a strong and enticing option; whether it¡¯s a good Skill for me, however, is another question. Just the name of Parasitic Bond makes me inclined to reject it. I easily recall the parasites I pulled out of several Pathwalkers ¨C I have no intention of becoming like one of those. However, I look at the description anyway, and find myself more tempted than I thought I would be. The advantage of this one is that it applies to both special abilities and physical characteristics. I have to guess that this might be like Bastet¡¯s or Sirocco¡¯s wings, or Fenrir¡¯s venomous teeth. However, there are two major disadvantages to it. First, that it only applies to Dominate Bound; second, that by using the physical characteristic of one of my Bound, they are robbed of it. Does that mean that if I grew Bastet¡¯s wings or Fenrir¡¯s teeth that they would lose the characteristics entirely, or just be unable to use them somehow? And what if I took their ability to breathe? Or to eat? Or to see? Even just taking their teeth or claws would risk them not being able to protect themselves in a fight. I can definitely see why these two Skills are named the way they are ¨C in many ways, they¡¯re opposites. One is about working in partnership; the other is about selfish benefit. The third is quite different. Transformation only applies to physical characteristics, but is a mimicking rather than a borrowing, unlike Parasitic Bond. The thing that makes me more than a little excited about this one is that it ¡®synergises¡¯ with any other transformation magic I already possess. While it gives the example of Earth-Shaping, it¡¯s more the question of how it synergises with Flesh-Shaping that interests me. Although I¡¯ve played around a bit with the ways Flesh-Shaping can affect my body and potentially give me advantages, I¡¯ve never done anything too extreme, worried about what might happen if I get it wrong and then can¡¯t turn it back to the way it was. But if I have an actual Skill showing me the way¡­.? I hesitate for another moment between Symbiotic Bond and Transformation. Then, deciding to trust my gut feel, I pick the latter. My Bound already benefit from each others¡¯ special abilities with the daily perk from Tame. This time, I want to see if I can benefit myself a little. Opening my notifications, I¡¯m reminded of something else exciting when I see the message waiting for me.
Congratulations! You have earned a new Skill: Lava-Shaping. Would you like to see the Skill description?
See Skill description / Close messages
Lava-Shaping You have combined Fire magic with Earth magic and shaped the result. As a consequence, you have become capable of creating and shaping different types of lava. Beware: lava contains both the ever-devouring nature of Fire and the inexorable determination of Earth. Fail to respect it at your peril. Your 25% Fire Affinity translates to a 12.5% Lava Affinity: creating and shaping lava is slightly easier and slightly less mana-consumptive.
Close messages
I can¡¯t help it ¨C as I close the message, I pump my fist into the air with excitement. Lava magic? How cool is that?! And my Fire Affinity actually helps with it a bit too! Though, considering how much I was struggling with mana-consumption if the affinity reduces the mana required, exactly how heavy is this ability normally? I pull up my status screen just to see how it¡¯s all looking post-level up.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 20 Energy to next level: 0% Energy absorption rate: 91u/hr Energy towards debt: 121% (153)
Intelligence 40+6 (+15%) Mana: 690/690 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 44+4 (+10%) Mana regeneration rate: 1200u/hr
Willpower 73+23 (+32%) Health regeneration rate: 96u/hr
Constitution 32+3 (+10%) Health: 515/515 (525) (15u/CP)
Strength 21+1 (+5%) Stamina regeneration rate: 130u/hr
Dexterity 28+2 (+10%) Stamina: 112/450 (15u/DP)
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Journeyman 5 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Journeyman 7 * Alliance Fade ¨C Journeyman 1 * Darkvision Inspect ¨C Novice 6 Elemental Bonding ¨C Beginner 2 Management ¨C Novice 3 Transformation ¨C Beginner 1 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Master 2 Stealth ¨C Novice 9 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 7 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 6 Sensation Management ¨C Novice 4 Spearmanship ¨C Initiate 7 Archery ¨C Novice 9 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Initiate 5 Short Blades ¨C Novice 7 Fire-Shaping ¨C Initiate 5 Earth-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 1 Energy Crystallisation ¨C Beginner 5 Teaching ¨C Beginner 7 Rune-Carving ¨C Beginner 4 Enchanting ¨C Beginner 8 Lava-Shaping ¨C Beginner 1
The two new Skills are there, and I¡¯ve made some progress in some of my other Skills, most notably Fire-Shaping which is now halfway through the Initiate ranks. I also note that the Energy for my debt has gone up by three percent ¨C a profitable kill for sure. Most importantly, my Willpower is close to reaching three digits, thanks to my recent level up and the bonuses to it I get. As I close my screen and eye the ball of off-white sparks whirling around Windy, I can only grimly hope that it will be enough. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty: Evolution Although time is ticking away, I don¡¯t dare send any of my Bound away to start investigating the carcass of the fellapodil ¨C those who would be most apt at finding and extracting its Core are exactly those I would want around me if the situation with Windy goes downhill. Which, honestly, seems to be the only way it can go, really. As it turns out, though, Lathani is the first to finish her Evolution. Natural, I suppose, since she started it first. The purple sparks are slowly sucked into her body, revealing a massive, dark shape. She¡¯s grown, is my first thought. It feels like an understatement as she uncurls, showing that she¡¯s grown even more than I had thought. Standing up on four paws, I see that she¡¯s more than doubled her previous size. Before, her shoulders had reached mid-thigh on me; now, they reach my own shoulder-height. Her head used to be a little smaller than mine; now she could probably bite it off if she opens her jaws wide. With her new height, she¡¯s also far longer ¨C she used to be about a metre and a half; now she¡¯s probably over three metres long. She still has a way to go to reach her mother¡¯s immense proportions, but she¡¯s certainly making inroads on catching up! There are more obvious changes. Her colouring for one. She used to be the typical sandy colour of a leopard with black spots. Now, she looks far more like a black leopard, her spots barely visible against the dark brown of her coat. Her eye colour has changed too, transforming to the bright gold of her mother¡¯s gaze; the darkness of her coat just makes her eyes shine even more obviously against it. Then I realise Lathani is looking a little anxiously at me and I rush to reassure her. ¡°You look amazing,¡± I tell her honestly. She and Kalanthia together will be a sight. And that reminds me that Kalanthia should be up to full strength. ¡°Let me see what¡¯s changed internally.¡± I pull up both Kalanthia and Lathani¡¯s entries to see the changes even as Lathani starts talking excitedly, that aspect of her clearly unchanged. Pack leader, I¡¯m so much bigger now! Did you see? And I feel so much stronger too! And I think I could run for days. And I¡¯ve got magic now, can you see?! ¡°I do, I see all of that,¡± I tell her, more than a little distracted by the information before my eyes.
Kalanthia nunda Tame T3 12300 HP 9135 MP 1460 SP 67% ~859y Earth-Shaping, Increased Cognition, Mana Sponge, Enhanced Stealth
Lathani nunda Companion T2 3820 HP 1830 MP 720 SP 0% ~1061y Shadow-Hop, Earth-Sense, Shadow-Shaping
Both nundas have made massive steps forward. Lathani has more than doubled her previous health points ¨C originally a thousand, seven hundred. She¡¯s also doubled her stamina points, going from three hundred and sixty to seven hundred and twenty. But it¡¯s her mana which has seriously increased ¨C going from two hundred and fifty, already reasonable for a Tier one, to a bit below two thousand. She¡¯s got almost three times as much as I do, and she rivals the Pathwalkers with the biggest mana pools. Which is insane since her health points beat out even Shrieks¡¯ and he¡¯s the one with the biggest health pool in the village. She¡¯s a beast, in all senses of the word. It¡¯s very clear that even if nundas aren¡¯t dragons, they¡¯re still a favoured species. That doesn¡¯t even take into account the fact that she has three abilities. Earth-Sense I¡¯m reasonably familiar with when it¡¯s part of Earth-Shaping, but she hasn¡¯t got Earth-Shaping at all. Instead she has Shadow-Shaping, something which I¡¯m going to have to ask her about since I have multiple ideas of what that could involve, but no real certainty. I guess I now know what that odd purplish Energy Heart that her system was so happy to absorb was aligned to. Maybe this is why she¡¯s so good at sneaking around too? However, it¡¯s the changes to Kalanthia¡¯s own values which really grab my attention. I shake my head in wonder as I contemplate how she¡¯s not only regained what she had temporarily given up, but she¡¯s also gained more. In fact¡­she¡¯s gained what Lathani has, I realise. Fortunately, my improved memory allows me to recall what her values were like before, and it¡¯s clear that she¡¯s increased her own health, mana, and stamina pools by the exact amount that Lathani has. In addition to that, she¡¯s naturally lost the reductions to her abilities which she¡¯d been suffering, and she¡¯s also managed to make some progress towards the next Tier ¨C more than I would have expected in the short time since I last looked at her details. Closing the screen, I look at Lathani again. She¡¯s currently basking in the approval of everyone around, even the samurans are offering heart-felt congratulations. Storm and Ninja are the most effusive, though I feel a hint of jealousy coming across the Bond from Storm. When she moves away from Lathani, I shift over to her and rub behind her ears in the way all the raptorcats seem to like. You¡¯ll get there too, in time, I tell her consolingly. She sends across a sense of helpless frustration, as if she¡¯s asking me ¡®when¡¯ or saying ¡®it¡¯s taking too long¡¯. I just send her a feeling of wry amusement. You were born less than a year ago. Lathani is already more than four years old. Patience. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She doesn¡¯t like that, grumbling at me wordlessly over the link. She doesn¡¯t pull away, though, so I keep stroking her. A moment later, a nudge to my other hand reveals that their matriarch wants her own due of caresses. I wait patiently for Lathani to finish receiving her felicitations ¨C then we can work out what all these new abilities are. Just as Poison, as the last of the group, finishes solemnly congratulating Lathani, I start walking towards her, mentally apologising to the two disgruntled raptorcats. Before I get to Lathani, however, the rapidly decreasing cloud of sparks around Windy diverts my attention. I tense, and notice several others doing the same. Clearly, I¡¯m not the only one dreading this confrontation as well as excited by the first Tier three samuran in living memory being transformed before our eyes. The off-white sparks disappear bit by bit, revealing the form beneath. As if watching a flower unfolding its petals, or mist being dissolved by the sun, our eyes are transfixed by the sight. With the sparks all but gone, we can see Windy¡¯s physical form. Her previously slim and delicate body has filled out a little, and she¡¯s grown by more than a head ¨C now she appears to be the same height as I am instead of considerably shorter. Most striking is that her scales are now covered with a softly-glowing pattern that enraptures those watching. Swirling lines cover the whole of her body, including twisting across her face and curving around her muzzle. Even as I watch, they start to fade, but they never fully disappear. As if she doesn¡¯t even realise that she has an audience, Windy holds her paws out in front of herself. Her claws are still short, but they look much harder and sharper than before ¨C like real weapons rather than the remnants of tools they had been as a Pathwalker. I know I should be checking if the Bond between us is intact, but I can¡¯t bring myself to break this moment. Like my other Bound, I¡¯m barely breathing as Windy stares into her cupped claws. And then, I see it. Between her paws, Windy is cupping a barely-visible distortion of air. The distortion increases, shown as a mini-tornado. The tornado grows until I start feeling the breeze tugging at my clothes. With a look of exaltation on her face, a pure white that I¡¯ve never seen before flashing through her spikes, Windy raises her hands above her head. The tornado grows more and more and more. No longer is it a small hand-sized cyclone ¨C it¡¯s rapidly approaching a real-sized tornado. Its funnel stretches up into the sky and is actually beginning to form real clouds above it. The clouds darken, and abruptly I see flashes of light created within the cloud above the tornado. I should have done this already, but I belatedly call up Windy¡¯s information.
Wind-whisperer (runs-over-a-branch, Windy) Samuran Dominate? T3 2150 HP 10030 MP 620 SP 0% ~287y Wind-Shaping, Storm-Control, Lighting-Generation, Temperature-Sensing
My eyes go wide at the new abilities Windy has gained. She¡¯s become a proper Storm-mage, not just a Wind-Shaper any more. Each of her new abilities is powerful, and her mana pool is almost as much as Kalanthia¡¯s, giving her a massive amount of mana to play with. Even her health pool, while small in comparison to the nunda¡¯s, is even bigger than Shrieks¡¯. I seriously hope that she either decides not to test my control over her or that the Bond holds ¨C I don¡¯t want to get into a proper fight with the new Windy. Though that question-mark next to Dominate in her information isn¡¯t heartening. By this point, the tornado has expanded to encircle our whole party in its eye. My clothes are only being gently tugged by the wind inside the storm¡¯s funnel, but anything outside its walls is impossible to see. Debris start being picked up by the wind ¨C grass, small pebbles, leaves, small detritus from our battle with the fellapodil. Meanwhile, the lightning flashes have been increasing in frequency, and are getting worrisomely close. I don¡¯t need to look around to see the concern on my companions¡¯ faces ¨C I can feel their growing fear over the Bond. Sister, starts Joy tentatively. Please stop? River is not so reticent. Wind-whisperer! You are endangering us. Stop! Yet Windy seems to be lost in her own magic, the sheer joy and triumph in her face is both beautiful and scary to be seen. Her eyes are open, but appear as unseeing as her ears are unhearing. ¡°Windy,¡± I say steadily, forcing my fears and concerns about what her next move will be out of my voice and my immediate thoughts. River is right; Windy¡¯s actions are beginning to endanger us. The wind might not be getting worse, but I see Yells and Dusty flinch as they¡¯re pelted with small pebbles, hard enough to dig into their scales a bit. The lightning, too, is getting ever closer, the flashes not only happening in the cloud above us, but beginning to strike the ground within the walls of the tornado. Raven is already crouching over his hatchlings to protect them from the flying objects, his wings pressed against his back to stop them from being ripped away by the wind. The rest of my Bound are either backing away or doing their best to make themselves smaller targets. She doesn¡¯t respond. ¡°Windy,¡± I say again, more urgently. ¡°Stop.¡± Throwing caution to the wind ¨C literally ¨C I reach out with the Bond and grip her firmly, echoing my order down it. I force away the creeping doubts that I might lose this battle of wills ¨C I know from experience that entering one with doubts eroding my confidence is a sure-fire way of guaranteeing my failure, whether a formal Battle of Wills or not. The wind hesitates for a moment, the storm losing its force for a moment. And then it surges back with renewed fury. Lightning strikes boom loudly enough to deafen us; the wind howls like a wild animal. I grip the Bond more firmly but my heart skips a beat when I feel my grasp slide off it like it¡¯s a greased pig twisting out of my grasp. My attempt seems to enrage the storm even more, the wind starting to rip at us as the eye narrows, the lightning barely leaving any gap between strikes as it turns our world into one of strobe lighting. All of my Bound are now cowering on the ground ¨C being so close to lightning is clearly an absolutely terrifying experience. I have to admit that I¡¯d probably be more scared if I took a moment to think about it. I don¡¯t dare to, though ¨C I¡¯m the leader here; if I lose my head, all is lost. I pull strongly on Meditation to keep myself calm and keep my mind working. We need cover. But there¡¯s nothing up here but bare earth and we¡¯re not close enough to the cavern for everyone to hide in there ¨C they¡¯d get ripped apart by the walls of the cyclone if they tried. But I have magic. Sinking my awareness into the ground, I pull hard on the mana pools of the Tier two Pathwalkers to make sure that I can do this as quickly as I need to. I send a quick sense of apology for not asking first, but speed is of the essence, and I need all my focus for my task. Digging a hole straight through the rock, I create a tunnel down to the cavern ¨C they¡¯ll be safe there. Taking inspiration from my actions, Raven chivvies his hatchlings towards the slope leading down into the cavern, backing up to tuck most of his own body over the edge too. I see him jerk as he¡¯s hit by one lightning bolt and then another, but they¡¯re clearly not enough to stop him as he keeps moving, a sense of pain coming over the Bond between us. I can¡¯t pay attention to him right now, though. Go through! I tell everyone speaking mentally to avoid my words being stolen by the howling, raging wind. Most don¡¯t stop to question me and run into the tunnel I¡¯ve made for them. Bastet does, of course, as do River and Catch. It¡¯s not safe out here, River says worriedly. I¡¯ll be fine, I answer her, though don¡¯t argue with her point. Go ¨C you¡¯ll only be a target here. So will you, Catch says with concern, the other two sending firm agreement. You need someone to keep you safe too. The best way to keep me safe is to get into the tunnel and then jump out to back me up if it¡¯s a good moment to do so, I tell him, admitting that I might need help later. We¡¯ll be watching, Bastet promises us. Stay alive, she warns me firmly. I¡¯ll do my best, I reply wryly. With that, the three tuck themselves into the earth, though they don¡¯t go far, watching me carefully even as they hunker down to avoid being pulled by the wind. I crouch myself, practically crawling as I move towards Windy ¨C the wind is strong enough to force me off-balance if I stay standing upright, even with my massively increased strength. Setting my eyes on the Pathwalker, I grit my teeth. I have too much riding on this. I refuse to allow Windy to slip my Bond. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty-One: Untamed My Bound now all sheltering from the growing storm, I need only be worried about my own safety. The lightning is of particular concern, the air already becoming filled with static. Focussing on the earth, I grow a spike of rock to act as a lightning rod. Interestingly, I find myself able to pull on my lava magic and generate a spike of granite far more easily than I would have when I only had earth magic at my disposal. I make a mental note to explore this further when I¡¯m not in the middle of a tornado full of lightning. As the spike grows past my waist, I decide to make it even more attractive to lightning ¨C I dump a large chunk of iron onto its top, then grow it to about three metres. It¡¯s quite thin at the top ¨C I don¡¯t have a huge amount of mana at my disposal right now, and I¡¯m prioritising speed over quality, though I do add what I can of my mana into strengthening the existing rock. Hopefully it will stop me from becoming a steaming corpse. Still staying down close to the ground, I wince as my lightning rod already starts attracting strikes, the aura of static the lightning gives off setting all my hair on end. Oddly enough, as I look at Windy, it seems like she¡¯s still completely unaware of everything going on. The wind howls, the lightning rages, the clouds are as dark as night, yet the expression on her face hasn¡¯t changed from the pure joy it was at the beginning. That¡¯s more than a little worrying ¨C can¡¯t she control her new powers without losing herself in them? Close to her now, I carefully reach out to touch one of her clawed paws, flinching as lightning strikes again ¨C drawn to my lightning rod. ¡°Windy!¡± I call, having to shout at the top of my lungs to even possibly be heard over the sound of the storm. ¡°Wind-whisperer! Pay attention to what you¡¯re doing!¡± It¡¯s worth a try. But apparently she doesn¡¯t hear me. Or if she hears me, she doesn¡¯t care. The wind continues to circle us at faster and faster speeds, the eye continues to shrink, and the lightning continues to strike. Not even my tentative touch seems to bring her back to awareness. Shaking my head, I focus again on the Bond between us, trying to grasp it with a firm hand. Once more, my mental grip slides away like I¡¯m trying to grab something smooth and covered in oil. I close my eyes and try again, putting my full force of Willpower behind my attempt. I manage to grip the Bond for a moment, then it slips out of my grasp again. This isn¡¯t working. Even being closer to her isn¡¯t helping. Maybe what I had been concerned about is coming true ¨C that having passed into the next tier, Windy¡¯s Willpower far out-strips my own. Fear crawls through me, worst-case scenarios spooling through my mind, unbidden. I push them away. The situation is not lost. Not yet. But if I give up, it will be. There has to be a way to succeed here. Windy isn¡¯t even paying attention! I run the description of Dominate and everything else I¡¯ve learned about the Skill through my mind, searching desperately for something that might help me. And then, like a drowning man, my mind latches onto one little aspect, something I haven¡¯t had to use in a long time. A way to bring a creature¡¯s effective Willpower down artificially: a trap. Barely has the plan formed in my head than I¡¯m putting it into practice. Once more tugging at my other Bonds, I pull the mana that they willingly cede to me, then immediately press it into the ground. I¡¯ve worked enough with this area of earth that my connection to it is already improving; the pit I dig beneath Windy¡¯s feet takes far less mana now than it would have at the start of all of this. It means that as soon as I¡¯ve dropped the Pathwalker into the pit, I¡¯m able to close it a moment later, trapping her physically inside with only her head above the earth. That makes her pay attention. Her eyes snap to focus on me; her mouth gapes open in angry threat. More of an actual concern is how the storm only gains more fury. Even pressed against the ground as I am, the wind threatens to lift me from the earth ¨C or rip the armour off my back at least. The lightning falls with a speed that even my lightning rod is struggling to cope with ¨C I sense that the rock is starting to warm; too much of this and even that will melt. The iron at the top has already melted and now coats the top section of granite like candle wax. I actually have to use Darkvision to be able to see ¨C despite being full day, it¡¯s become as dark as night inside the cyclone. Even large rocks are being whirled around the cyclone now, and I really hope that she isn¡¯t able to direct them to fall on me. Forcing myself forwards, I pull several wooden vials out of my Inventory. I don¡¯t need to check the symbols carved on their tops ¨C I know what they are. Mana inhibitors, both to prevent regeneration and to poison the current supply. From Windy¡¯s widening gaze, she does too. She clamps her jaws shut and twists her head as far away from me as she can. I just crawl closer. Give in to me and my Bond and I won¡¯t have to do this! I tell her over the Bond, preferring to save my breath ¨C the wind is whipping it away enough as it is. I am stronger than you! she responds, the first words she¡¯s said since her Evolution. Her mental voice is stronger, more resonant. But I can still hear Windy in there. I¡¯m going to have to make her submit. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Close enough now, I reach for her jaws. She twists her head to face me. Snapping at me. I ignore the attempt to bite me and instead grasp her bottom jaw in a way that keeps my fingers clear but gives me a decent hand-hold. She grunts angrily, and I see something forming in the back of her throat. Another cyclone? I duck as the attack fires at me, its passage ripping hairs from my head and scoring cuts along my scalp. More worryingly, the far more massive cyclone around us...wobbles. The wind takes on new ferocity, but also a sense of¡­wildness. Previously, it had a leash on it; now, it¡¯s untamed. That last attack must have been a step too far for Windy¡¯s control over her own creation, and she seems to realise it too ¨C fear starts to overtake the joy in her spikes. There¡¯s no choice now. Through my hand holding Windy¡¯s jaw, I send a bolt of Flesh-Shaping. Her flesh resists me far more than it should be able to with a Dominate Bond still in place, but less than if there was nothing. I¡¯m not trying to do anything complex, so I manage to brute-force it. Her jaw is now locked open and if she moves her neck, she¡¯ll cause herself damage. The wave of fury that crashes through the Bond reveals that she knows it. Freed to move both hands, I keep myself out of range of another wind attack if she tries one. However, even as I pick up the vials, she stays in place ¨C perhaps she can¡¯t produce another attack so soon; perhaps she realises that this is the only way forward. The storm around us is completely out of control ¨C boulders crash down near us; gusts of wind rip at both of us, feeling like knives in their strength. I grab two vials, thumbing off their tops, then tip them down Windy¡¯s throat. Not pausing, I drop the empty containers and grab the next two, repeating my actions. The wind falters. I look up carefully, then have to quickly roll to the side as a boulder lands just where my legs used to be. I then roll to the side again as another boulder the size of my head attempts to take its place. Curling up, I squish myself between the rocks, using them as shelter as much as I can. I soften the ground beneath myself, making a little more space. The lightning isn¡¯t striking as frequently, I notice next. There are still rumbles and thuds, but these sound more like the sound of heavy boulders hitting the ground. Abruptly, I realise that Windy might actually be at risk here. While tempted to let her be crushed by a boulder of her own making, I decide against it ¨C I still have hopes that she doesn¡¯t have to be an enemy and her sisters would definitely be angry with me if I let her die without good reason. Reaching out with my Earth-Shaping, I form a roof of protection over her head, angled to deflect the rocks away from her. Slowly, the wind dies down, light beginning to filter into the cracks between the rocks around. The lightning becomes less and less frequent and then eventually stops, the cloud which had been generating it now gone. I release Darkvision as the light is bright enough not to need its help anymore. Carefully unfolding myself, I move to stand up. Around me is a scene of devastation. Rocks litter the area around us, the surface scoured of any greenery. The destruction extends for about twenty metres, and includes the edge of the cavern beneath ¨C thinner sections of roof have simply been ripped away and dumped near us. Raven¡¯s wings are battered and beaten, blood spilling in many places from where he was struck while protecting his offspring, hopefully successfully. And yet, there is no sign in the sky above that the cyclone ever existed. No clouds, just blue sky and a bright sun approaching its zenith. I shake my head again in wonder. Turning my attention to the architect of all of this, I carefully ease the protecting roof back from above her head, making sure that she¡¯s not accidentally killed by a dislodged boulder after all of this. Windy glares at me from her trapped position in the earth. Release me! she sends angrily along the Bond, her emotions rippling through her spikes. ¡°Do you submit to me?¡± I ask her levelly. Of course not! she tells me angrily. I have Evolved. I am now Enlightened, worthy of being a Guardian in my own right. I am far stronger than you are. ¡°Perhaps,¡± I acknowledge. ¡°But do you really think you¡¯d do a better job leading the village than I have?¡± She looks like she¡¯s about to give an angry rejoinder, so I just continue relentlessly. ¡°How many more Pathwalkers would there be if you had taken leadership of the village before? How many more Warriors? Would the food situation of the village have improved or just continued with the old methods of hunting? Would you have shared metal-shaping and rune-carving with the village and made it the envy of so many others at the Festival? And I¡¯m not done yet bringing innovation.¡± Windy doesn¡¯t reply for a moment. I am still stronger, she tells me mulishly. I sigh mentally at her obstinance, then close my eyes and reach for the Bond. Instincts stemming from the Skill in question are insisting that this is what I must now do; I¡¯ve resolved to follow my instincts better these days. Trapped physically and with her magical capabilities restricted by the mana and mana regeneration inhibiting potions I gave her, she¡¯s helpless and she knows it. Tier three or not, that has a massive impact on my ability to Dominate her. With the Bond already in place, the endeavour is made even less difficult. My grip does not slide away this time. Instead, I¡¯m able to grasp the Bond between us firmly. Following an innate sense of what to do, I actually send some of my mana into the Bond itself. I didn¡¯t even realise that was possible before. Using the mana, I impress on the Bond the need to hold, to limit, to control, to Bind. It accepts the commands willingly: they are, after all, the basis of the Dominate-type Bond itself. The Bond between us solidifies in a way I have never experienced before. Somehow I know that even once I release her from her physical confinement, she won¡¯t be able to pull her way free of the soul Bond. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve replaced a cord leash with one woven with steel. If the gap between our Willpowers increases significantly again, she might be able to gain the strength to pull free again, but that¡¯s likely to be a way off. Opening my eyes, I meet her frustrated gaze ¨C she knows what I have done and she feels its strength even as I do. ¡°When I let you up, are you going to challenge me for leadership?¡± I ask her levelly. She glares at me, her spikes roiling with frustrated anger. No. I just look at her steadily. No, village leader, she grinds out. It¡¯s certainly not what I wanted to happen, and I don¡¯t fool myself to think that everything is well now. But the other options seem worse. I just hope that this doesn¡¯t blow up in my face later. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty-Two: Worth The Journey When we swoop into the clearing, Kalanthia is waiting for us. Not unexpected ¨C she must be impatient to see how Lathani has progressed. The young nunda is so excited that she doesn¡¯t even wait for Raven to set the capsule down; instead, she jumps out as the alcaoris circles slowly down towards the ground. Our journey has been far quicker this way down than going ¨C the sun has only just dipped below the horizon on the same day we killed the fellapodil. Having a Tier three¡¯s strength and mana pool to strengthen the wind current beneath Raven¡¯s wings has made it a far easier task for him to carry us. He did borrow Ptera¡¯s Lighten ability for the first hour of the journey, but Windy¡¯s contribution meant that even after that faded, we didn¡¯t lose much more time. Of course, that was only after we had all healed up from Windy¡¯s accidental attack. Most of the wounds were minor ¨C getting my Bound into the cavern was a key factor as they were able to avoid both the lightning strikes and the boulders. Raven was the worst injured ¨C not only had he been hit by several lightning strikes, but also by a number of the boulders which had fallen when Windy¡¯s cyclone failed. Although his large health pool had kept him out of danger, even he couldn¡¯t just shrug off a cracked wing. He hadn¡¯t been too keen to let my healing magic into his body but gave in when he realised that without it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fly for at least a couple of days, and that was only if I splinted it and he didn¡¯t put it under strain. When he discovered that he had to actively give permission for me to be able to intervene in his body, and that by withdrawing his permission he made it practically impossible for me to operate, he was heartened. Fortunately, due to his stalwart defence of them, the hatchlings were the least injured of the group. I left Windy until last ¨C she¡¯d caused the problems; she deserved to live with the consequences until everyone else was comfortable. I didn¡¯t even let her out of the earthen-trap until then, wanting to make a point. Only after her emotions settled to something more like resignation than rancour did I let her up and clear her system of the mana-inhibitors. I glance over at the samuran in question. She¡¯s been quite subdued ever since I released her. I¡¯ve continued keeping a close eye on her emotional state, wary about her starting something once everything has had a chance to sink in. Hours on, though, I¡¯m fairly sure that she¡¯s not going to cause trouble ¨C yet. Her emotions have been filled with frustration, resentment, and more than a few flickers of guilt, especially when she saw small injuries on her sisters caused by the uncontrolled wind and debris. Either way, there hasn¡¯t been any sense of scheming or an obvious mismatch between her exterior emotions and her internal ones. I know I¡¯ll need to keep my eye on her, but hopefully if I can find a way to give her more responsibility or a more important role in the village to suit her desires for influence and recognition, that will be enough to keep the lid on things until it¡¯s time for me to leave. Though I do worry about what might happen once I¡¯m gone ¨C I¡¯d rather not add her to the list of those coming with me. Still, the struggle with Windy has had at least one positive consequence which I will be taking with me. I can¡¯t remember how many times I¡¯ve looked at this notification, but I pull it up again, pleasure running through me once more.
Congratulations! You have advanced a Class Skill past Journeyman. Dominate is Master 1. You have achieved this feat by succeeding in Dominating a sapient being of a stage significantly above your level. You seized control of the very material of the Bond and strengthened it so that even a being with significantly greater Willpower than your own was unable to break free. Effect 1: Your Dominate Bonds are strengthened significantly; you are henceforth able to forcibly Bind those with a Willpower 20% higher than yours or less. You are also henceforth able to have a far greater effect on the nature of the Bonds between you and your Dominate Bound, and a limited effect on the Bonds between you and your Tame Bound. Effect 2: Due to your frequent tendency to voluntarily choose not to pursue a Battle of Wills to its end, you are now no longer subject to the penalty of paralysis if you have voluntarily left the Battle of Wills space. Exploration may enable you to affect the connections between you and those who are not Bound to you at all. However, your understanding is still limited and you must research and explore further to potentially unlock other effects of your new discoveries. The path to Sage is long and hard; do you have the will and inspiration to stay the course?
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My third Master Skill¡­and this one is a fundamental Class Skill. I have to spend time exploring these new effects, but they have the potential to be hugely important. I¡¯ve spent a good portion of this trip thinking over the implications of this new Skill and feeling the differences between how I connect to the Bonds between me and my various Bound, and yet I still feel like I¡¯ve only touched the surface. Right now, though, I need to redirect my thoughts to my next moves. We land with a small thump, Raven struggling as always to land without stepping on the capsule. I untie myself, and slide down his neck, thanking him on the way down and checking on his recent injuries with a concerned eye. They do not hurt, he reassures me, then he continues. It was a more productive trip than I thought it would be, he admits as my Bound all spill out of the capsule or slide down Raven¡¯s side themselves. The Cores you gave me were worth the journey, if nothing else. While I have the fellapodil¡¯s Core tucked safely in my Inventory ¨C Raven judged it as a reasonably powerful Tier three¡¯s Core, despite its lack of intelligence ¨C we managed to retrieve a little treasure trove with Dusty¡¯s help. Something, probably the fellapodil itself, had stored a small collection of Cores down in a small cave at the bottom of the tunnel, where it fed into the massive lake of water beneath. Most of them weren¡¯t particularly high quality ¨C almost all of them water-focussed, and all but three were Tier two. But two of the three higher-Tier ones were more interesting for my Tier three ally. One was poison-focussed, and the other was acid-aligned. For Raven, that made them even better for him than most of the Guardians around here would have yielded. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I¡¯ve handed out the other Cores to those in my party who wanted them. Dusty, of course, was very happy to have any water-focussed Cores, but only Sirocco and Bastet actively refused the Cores on offer. I guess because their paths are too different from the paths the beasts were taking, or something like that. There were two Cores left over which my Bound insisted I take. I¡¯m happy to do so ¨C maybe they can help me learn Water-Shaping. Heading over to greet Kalanthia, I see Lathani eagerly demonstrating her new abilities. And when I do this, I can do¡­this! Lathani exclaimed, dropping through the shadow of a tree to pop out of Kalanthia¡¯s own shadow with Shadow Hop. And I can even control it a bit, she adds, focussing hard on the shadow of Kalanthia¡¯s head. The shadow shifts a little, making Kalanthia grimace. That feels very odd, my cub, she says levelly. I know. I can¡¯t do much with it yet, and it¡¯s tiring, but everyone always says it feels funny, Lathani admits. That¡¯s true enough ¨C when she practised it on me, it felt like a mixture between a tingle and an ache. She also can¡¯t seem to do more than make the shadows twitch a bit ¨C at the moment. I have no doubt that with practice she will be able to show far more capabilities. That is always the case when you first gain your Shaping ability, Kalanthia consoles her. Continue practising and you will soon learn what it is capable of. Shadow-Shaping is a powerful ability, and it does not surprise me that my powerful cub has earned it. That you have gained two other complimentary abilities is an even greater advantage. She looks up and meets my eyes, moving over to meet me and rub her head against the top of mine. I reach up to stroke and scratch at her chin and she rumbles happily. You have given my cub the opportunity to grow and develop past what I could have, she tells me directly, almost emanating pleasure and approval. And in doing so, have allowed me to earn a significant benefit. ¡°I know,¡± I admit, eyeing her cautiously. She turns her head to fix me with a golden gaze, silently prompting me to say more. Why does it feel like I¡¯m standing in front of the headteacher of my school again? I shuffle my feet slightly. ¡°Since we have the temporary Tame Bond, I got access to the details of your health, mana, and stamina pools, and I saw both your abilities and how giving Lathani her¡­blueprint, affected you.¡± Kalanthia goes still, her previously approving aura transforming into something a lot more displeased. ¡°I brought you a gift to say sorry,¡± I hurriedly continue, pulling the Core from my Inventory that I saved for her. This was the third of the most powerful Cores in the fellapodil¡¯s collection and is earth-focussed ¨C seeing it I know that it would be a perfect way of admitting to invading Kalanthia¡¯s privacy and hopefully appeasing her. The massive nunda leans forwards and sniffs at the Core, then licks at it with a rough tongue. It is a suitable gift, she allows, then fixes me with her golden gaze again. However, next time, just ask. And if I choose not to answer, I expect you to respect that. ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t put myself or any of my Bound at risk, I will,¡± I promise. This couldn¡¯t be argued as having such philanthropic aims ¨C I looked because I was curious more than for any real reason. Then I will forgive you this time, she announces, taking the Core delicately from my hand. She tucks it into the earth, into the little hidden pocket that she apparently moves along with her wherever she goes on this little trip. I get the impression that normally she leaves it at her den, but that at the moment she¡¯s keeping it close at hand. Certainly, her concealment is good enough that I can¡¯t sense its presence even when I sink my awareness into the earth. It might be something I do later too, but my Inventory works pretty well for most things. I take it your trip was a success, she states, projecting her words to anyone present. ¡°It was,¡± I answer on everyone¡¯s behalf. ¡°A bit tricky at times,¡± I admit, ¡°but we succeeded with everyone¡¯s help. Even the smallest of us,¡± I continue with a smile, looking at the raptorcat cubs and the alcaoris hatchlings. Daphne and Ivor have both grown noticeably as a result of the Energy they earned at the fellapodil¡¯s death. Storm and Ninja haven¡¯t, but I can see that their progress towards Tier two has jumped by the same as that of the alcaoris hatchlings ¨C around fifteen percent for each of them. Noir, without the internal matrix of his siblings, unfortunately seems to have missed out on all that ¨C his progress remains at a stubborn zero percent. He¡¯s the only one of the whole group not to have made any gains. Though some members obviously jumped further than others, everyone made at least a little progress towards their next tier. I see that you have also gained a more powerful member of your group, Kalanthia continues a little warily, and I sense that this is directed to me personally. I respond in kind. Yes. Though I¡¯ll admit that I have concerns over that one, I sigh, sending across the memory of what happened directly after Windy Evolved. Kalanthia considers the memory carefully. Abilities fresh after an Evolution are always hard to control, Kalanthia warns, and I know from first-hand experience that storm-related abilities are harder than most. They are easy to generate and grow, but much harder to control in detail. Creating a lightning strike is easy; directing where it will strike and how many strikes will happen is far harder. Like fire, I realise. Eager to spark and consume, but hard to prevent from consuming everything. ¡°Thanks for the warning,¡± I say finally. ¡°How did your own hunting go?¡± Kalanthia looks very smug. Very well. I do not even need your aid anymore with the Guardian ¨C she has chosen to seek opportunities elsewhere. I eye the nunda, then decide not to ask for more details ¨C I¡¯m not sure I want to know. ¡°That¡¯s good, then,¡± I say instead, relieved that she doesn¡¯t need the help ¨C after dealing with the fellapodil, I¡¯m not eager to face another Tier three for a while. We all survived the fight, but it was close and that was even in a situation where we could set a trap and control most of the battle to some extent. It just shows me how much further we all still have to go ¨C training will be in all of our futures, I think. I look around at my group. Everyone is now on the ground, the harness has been taken off Raven, and the Warriors are beginning to take the capsule apart ¨C Catch checked with me just before we began to land if that was what I wanted them to do. I do want to experiment with the materials a bit, but I can¡¯t put the whole thing into my Inventory as it is. ¡°I guess we¡¯d better be off.¡± We¡¯re way ahead of the deadline ¨C it¡¯s actually been just over a day since the challenge was issued ¨C but I suspect that the sooner we get back, the better. ¡°Lathani, do you want to stay with your mother, or come with me?¡± Come with you, Lathani answers after a moment of hesitation. She quickly goes to press herself against her mother and rub heads with the massive nunda, then bounds over to me. I note with amusement how she¡¯s actually able to butt heads with Kalanthia without her mother needing to lean down much now ¨C it¡¯s amazing how quickly they change. And I was right ¨C the contrast between the black leopard and sandy-coloured leopard is beautiful. ¡°Thanks again, Raven,¡± I tell him, rubbing the alcaoris hatchlings¡¯ heads in silent goodbye. Noir in particular presses himself against me and whines plaintively, clearly not wanting me to go again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry little buddy,¡± I tell him apologetically. ¡°It¡¯s best for you to stay with your dad, OK? I¡¯ll try to come and visit tomorrow.¡± Then I look around at the party ¨C now including a Tier three samuran. ¡°Everyone ready to show off our wicked gains?¡± Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty-Three: Enlightened One ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Water-caller asks warily as she sees her sister and rival approach her camp, accompanied by two each of her strongest Pathwalkers and guards. With such few numbers, it¡¯s a casual visit. ¡°My Warriors returned from a hunt to tell me that they saw the leader of the green village of the twelfth mountain heading towards the Festival grounds. I suspect she¡¯ll return within a few clicks,¡± answers Air-shaper neutrally, though her spikes flicker with murky troubled browns. ¡°Already?¡± Water-caller replies in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s been less than two cycles since she left! Flying-blade is still scouting for something that she dares to attack or steal. Do you think Tamer could have failed and be coming to regroup?¡± Air-shaper scoffs at the suggestion. ¡°Do you think that that is likely considering how many People she took with her?¡± ¡°Mostly newly Evolved, and Wind-whisperer has never been known as a particularly competent fighter,¡± Water-caller points out, though she has to admit that her sister has a point. After all, although she won the battle against Tamer, that was without the other Pathwalker drawing on what seems to be her most powerful skill, if her name is anything to judge by. That said, beast-tamers are only as powerful as their beasts are ¨C the main reason why their strength is not considered highly by the People in general. But if she¡¯s capable of commanding People and not just beasts¡­. Still, facing a too-dangerous enemy without enough preparation could still be very costly. ¡°Did their numbers look much reduced?¡± Air-shaper sways her tail back and forth non-committedly. ¡°My Warriors couldn¡¯t say. But,¡± and here she looks beyond Water-caller, ¡°we¡¯ll soon find out.¡± Water-caller turns to look in the same direction, immediately seeing what her sister was getting at. Two Warriors are holding the curtain of poisonous vines to one side as Tamer leads her group in through the resulting gap. The first thing the Pathwalker notices is that the group doesn''t look significantly reduced. She¡¯d have to count them to be sure, but as her eyes dance over the People, she doesn¡¯t see any notable gaps. And then her eyes settle on something which grips and holds her gaze like a milakar¡¯s sticky sap. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± she clicks weakly. ¡°It¡­it looks like it is¡­¡± answers Air-shaper, clearly enraptured by the same thing that Water-caller is. Quiet grunts and clicks whisper out around them as more see the same thing they have. Air-shaper and Water-caller both walk towards Tamer¡¯s party, almost in a dream. Water-caller is vaguely aware of all her present Pathwalkers joining her in a delegation, almost all the Warriors joining too. She suspects it¡¯s less about ensuring her safety, and more about satisfying their own curiosity. After all, it¡¯s not every day that an Enlightened Pathwalker appears. The closer they get, the more Water-caller is convinced that they are right. Her eyes hungrily trace over the lines that mark the other Pathwalkers¡¯ scales, shining an off-white which must be her mana colour. The meaning of the designs has been lost to time ¨C it is such a long time since there were enough Enlightened Pathwalkers or Warriors around to make such things important. That the designs are always there, however, has been remembered. The Enlightened is big too, bigger than practically any of the Pathwalkers Water-caller knows of. Though, there is that oddity among Tamer¡¯s numbers ¨C the Pathwalker who looks far more like a Warrior than what she actually is. Smith, or something? It¡¯s an odd name for an odd Pathwalker ¨C well-worthy of being part of the village which is led by a Pathwalker who isn¡¯t even truly one of the People. Yet it seems that it¡¯s the village which had been the main topic of conversation during this Festival. And now it has proven to be this village which has been given the honour of bringing forth the first Enlightened samuran in living memory. And, oddly, it appears to still be led by the unusual Pathwalker, considering she stands in front of even the Enlightened. It seems inconceivable that one Water-caller herself defeated might be capable of in turn causing an Enlightened to submit. Unless the Enlightened graciously agreed to defer her challenge until later, that is. In which case, there might even be a ranking battle before the end of the Festival ¨C Water-caller finds herself rather anticipating the prospect. It might even give her some insights into why exactly her sister was able to Evolve where none others have in the last hundred great cycles. Water-caller is hit by a sudden wave of longing. She¡¯s felt stuck at a blockage for great cycles. Recently, she¡¯s felt her life trickling away like water through her claws, has felt fragility starting to take hold in her scales. Her decline is not far in the future. Yet if she could become Enlightened¡­. Taking another step forwards, she darts a look over at her friend and rival. Air-shaper, too, seems gripped by the same dream, the expression on her face and in her spikes one of hunger and desire. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. And then they are close enough to the other party that they must stop or risk invading their sisters¡¯ personal space without invitation. Water-caller looks over at Air-shaper and sees her still lost in her dream. Irritation sparks through her as Water-caller realises that she will have to lead the discussion since her sister clearly isn¡¯t fit to do so. ¡°The ancestors smile on your return, sisters,¡± Water-caller gives the traditional phrase, doing her best to smother her impatience ¨C she wants to speak with the Enlightened, find out if there are any secrets she can give which might help her sisters Evolve a second time too. ¡°The ancestors be in our meeting,¡± Tamer answers levelly. As always, it¡¯s hard to determine exactly what she¡¯s thinking ¨C without spikes or a tail, more than half of the indications are wiped away. Yet something tells Water-caller that she¡¯s pleased. Her expedition was a success? Or she is pleased because she has brought an Enlightened back with her? If that is the case, arguably, she might still be able to win it. Having an Enlightened to direct the Long Night celebrations would actually give as much of a boost to the ritual as a more powerful treasure might. It depends, of course, on what Flying-blade brings back ¨C assuming she returns at all ¨C but the other village is already a strong contender, just with the Enlightened in their ranks. ¡°We see that one of our sisters has breached the canopy and stepped into the sun of the Enlightened,¡± Air-shaper says, snapping out of her dream. ¡°Please, Honoured one, would you share a carcass with our village and relate your story to us?¡± Water-caller wasn¡¯t the only one looking in askance at the errant Pathwalker. Being the leader of the most powerful village in her tribe was the only reason no one was putting their thoughts into words ¨C Air-caller¡¯s greed had obviously got the best of her manners. She should be grateful the Enlightened Pathwalker didn¡¯t seem offended by her rudeness! ¡°What my sister means to say, Pathwalker Tamer,¡± Water-caller continues with a warning tone in her voice, her eyes on Air-shaper, ¡°is that we invite your party to join with both our villages to share a carcass to assuage your hunger and rest your bodies.¡± Air-shaper has the grace to look a little abashed at the implied rebuke. ¡°Fine,¡± Tamer replies casually with an odd movement of her shoulders. Then, as if remembering her own manners, she rephrases a moment later. ¡°We would accept your offer in gratitude, and offer the story of our hunt in return for your hospitality.¡± ¡°Then let us adjourn to our camp as it is the closest,¡± Water-caller suggests, hearing a hiss of dissatisfaction from her sister. She can¡¯t help feeling a moment of satisfaction at that. If Air-shaper hadn¡¯t let her greed get the better of her, it could have been her camp that the Enlightened would visit first. But as it is¡­. They start moving, Water-caller angling herself to walk next to Tamer. That that brought her close to the Enlightened was just happenstance. Air-shaper clearly didn¡¯t believe that it was accidental, though, from the grumbling Water-caller caught at the edge of her hearing. But with the rest of Tamer¡¯s party closing up ranks there was no space for her to come and join too. ¡°I must ask,¡± Water-caller starts seriously, doing her best to keep her eyes on Tamer¡¯s muzzle-less face, rather than hungrily tracing the lines over the Enlightened¡¯s scales, ¡°is the Honoured one¡¯s participation in the ritual of the Long Night your submission for the Hunt?¡± Water-caller¡¯s ability to recognise Tamer¡¯s emotions is limited, but even so she has a feeling that the odd Pathwalker is surprised and confused. Then the emotion vanishes, only to be replaced by a flurry of other facial twitches, the odd Pathwalker¡¯s face far more mobile than any of the People. The moment of silence elongates beyond what is comfortable. Water-caller is about to ask the question in a different way when Tamer finally responds. ¡°Windy ¨C Wind-whisperer,¡± she corrects herself, ¡°is willing to lead the ritual of the Long Night, but that is not our true submission for the Hunt. Instead, we have sought another item which we will present with Flying-blade¡¯s submission. Has she returned?¡± Water-caller is surprised enough that the participation of an Enlightened is not considered to be the biggest prize of their journey that she actually answers. ¡°She has been scouting for a suitable prize. I do not believe that she has yet found one, though she appears to be narrowing down the possibilities.¡± She clicks her jaws together with a snap ¨C that could technically be considered inside information. Then again, the other party appears to have finished her Hunt so it¡¯s probably excusable. At least she has an answer of her own. ¡°Wind-whisperer,¡± she murmurs thoughtfully, eyeing the Enlightened. Now that Tamer mentions it, she sees some similarities, even in her much-changed form. The Honoured one¡¯s eyes rise to meet hers, flashing imperiously. Water-caller feels a moment of connection to the other. And in that moment of connection, Water-caller feels something else. The fury of the storm: the ripping, howling wind and the flashes of ancestors¡¯ wrath. A sense of an angry tempest presses against Water-caller, stealing the breath from her lungs and pinning her in place for a moment. Flashes of ancestors¡¯ wrath flash in her eyes and their cries of fury rumble loudly in her ears. And then the moment passes and Water-caller is left rooted in place as the rest of the party passes her by. With a sinking feeling, she suspects that prying for secrets of Evolution might be harder than she was hoping. Then again, Water-caller already feels a sense of inspiration, snatched from the jaws of the beast which briefly threatened her with its power. That brief moment of contact spoke of wind pushed to the limits; of boundaries tested, stretched, and broken. Of abilities examined, questioned, and transformed. Whatever happened, Water-caller just knows that it demanded Wind-whisperer re-examine everything that she is and that she is capable of ¨C and find far more beneath the surface than she had ever anticipated. And now, Water-caller is eager to do the same. Perhaps she should go with her sisters to challenge a Great beast of their own after this Festival is over¡­. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty-Four: The Long Night It¡¯s the final day of the Festival. Tomorrow we¡¯ll be leaving to travel back to our village. I¡¯m definitely ready to go. This has been an interesting time, for sure. I¡¯ve had more experience with politics than I ever thought I would ¨C and I¡¯ve found that I definitely don¡¯t enjoy the careful double-speak or use of correct traditional phrases which it involves. I¡¯ve got better at it, though ¨C I¡¯ve had fewer foot-in-mouth moments in the last three days for sure. I¡¯m starting to perhaps understand why I never got higher in my department than I did ¨C only now looking back at it, I suspect that there was just as much politics there as here, and I didn¡¯t even realise it then. Besides, since her Evolution, all the villages we¡¯ve visited have been far more interested in Windy than in me. That¡¯s had two positive consequences: I¡¯ve been able to become more of an observer than a participant; and Windy has felt as important as she likes to be. The acclaim she¡¯s received from the other samurans ¨C of our village or not ¨C has done a lot to assuage her bruised feelings about the events immediately following her Evolution and the fact that I maintain leadership of the village ¨C to the bafflement of the other villages. I feel like we¡¯ve told the story of our Hunt a hundred times, but it¡¯s probably not that many ¨C there aren¡¯t enough villages at the festival to justify it. Then again, it¡¯s not only been at ¡®official¡¯ village meetings ¨C I¡¯ve come across Dusty animating the story of how she seized control of the water from the fellapodil, surrounded by a group of spell-bound Warriors, Yells explaining how she helped me make the earth move and melt beneath the fellapodil¡¯s feet to another newly-Evolved Earth-Shaper, and even River demonstrating with Catch¡¯s aid how they used poison to help take it down to a group of herbalists. Personally, I¡¯ve stayed out of most of it. I¡¯ve spent quite a lot of time outside the Festival grounds with my core non-samuran Bound, actually. I wanted to help Daphne and Ivor turn their gains from the fellapodil¡¯s death into healing for their internal matrices, with good results. It was interesting, too, joining Kalanthia in watching Lathani experiment with her new abilities. I¡¯ve also done my best to use the time wisely on my own behalf. I feel like I¡¯m almost there with Wind-Shaping, though I suspect Water-Shaping will take a while longer to grasp. Windy has been surprisingly obliging in demonstrating for me to observe ¨C I think it¡¯s mostly the opportunity to show-off which she¡¯s enjoyed. Maybe once I¡¯ve got Air-Shaping, I might be able to explore lightning magic¡­. Out of my weapons Skills, I¡¯ve managed to get Blunt Weapons up a level due to a few spars with Warriors I was able to convince to work with me. I¡¯ve also been testing my new Skills a bit ¨C Lava-Shaping is already up to Beginner three and Transformation is up by a single level to Beginner two. I¡¯m going to have to do a lot more work with both of those, though. Lava-Shaping is just so mana intensive that I can¡¯t do much with it before I run out with mana ¨C Yells¡¯ help with enhancing the effect of my mana and offering me hers really made all the difference in the battle with the fellapodil. Perhaps seeking too many new types of magic isn¡¯t such a good idea ¨C I won¡¯t get any of them up to higher levels if I¡¯m spread too thinly. On the other hand, I only got Lava-Shaping because I already had Fire- and Earth-Shaping. Who knows what else might be waiting as combinations? My experiments with Transformation have proven that it¡¯s definitely promising. All I¡¯ve managed to do with it so far is to transform the tips of my fingers into talons like on Bastet¡¯s feet, but that¡¯s already proven to be far easier to do with the Skill than without it. Best of all, I¡¯m correct that the Skill helps me keep a ¡®memory¡¯ of my true body, easing the transition back. Of all my Skills, this is the one I¡¯m most eager to explore more of. But even if all that could be done wherever I am¡­I miss home. I miss my den with its higher Energy density ¨C I¡¯ve only managed to make two percent progress to the next level in the last three days. I miss the rest of my Bound, Hades and Persephone in particular ¨C I¡¯m looking forward to hunting more with them again. I can¡¯t wait to see how the farming is getting on ¨C with Tarra and Flower both here at the Festival, those back at the village are charged with testing different techniques and trying different non-magical solutions. As a result, I greet the descent of the sun on the shortest day with relief, an emotion which I only seem to share with my non-samuran companions. The samurans are filled with a mixture of longing, disappointment, sadness, and excitement. As the sun slips towards the horizon, we all head down to the pools fed by the overflow of the crater-lake. Bastet and Lathani join me out of curiosity but the rest of my non-samuran Bound remain at the campsite, either wanting to guard it ¨C Fenrir ¨C or wanting to rest before tomorrow¡¯s journey ¨C everyone else. The occasion is a solemn one. Not a word is spoken, not even when we join other village groups. We end up surrounding the pools below the crater lake, looking up at the four Tribe leaders who are the only ones standing in the water. They¡¯re knee-deep in the main stream which runs out of the lake to feed the pools next to which we are standing. As usual, I realise that positioning is key as I see which villages are closest to the leaders, and which are furthest away. There¡¯s no squabbling over position ¨C all of that has already been worked out over the Festival. Our village ends up being about three-quarters of the way up, higher than I was expecting ¨C I have to guess that that is due to a combination of factors, but Windy¡¯s Evolution is probably a big one. I hope it¡¯s not arrogant to think that the superior gifts we¡¯ve offered other villages might play a part too. The eerie silence continues even as we are bathed in the blood-red light of the setting sun. Once in place, we turn to watch it go down over the other side of the valley, the position we¡¯re in with a good view of it setting in the v-shape between two mountains, due to disappear in the saddle between their peaks. Already, its lowest edge touches the earth. Little by little, it slips further down, its speed of descent deceptive. Almost, it seems not to move at all, but then I look away and return my gaze to see that another sliver has vanished. The orb is cut in half, and then into a quarter. A sliver rests above the earth, and then even that is gone, the last glimmering light of day vanishing below the mountains. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°The Great Egg has been eaten,¡± says one of the tribe leaders and we all turn to look at her. ¡°May the ancestors will it that it will be laid once more by the Long Night.¡± ¡°May the ancestors will it,¡± intones everyone around. ¡°We come together to celebrate the Long Night,¡± she continues. ¡°As individuals, as villages, as Pathwalkers and Warriors, as leaders¡­as a People. We have mated and made merry, shared carcasses and conversations, challenged and been challenged. As the Great Egg is laid once more by the Long Night, we ask the ancestors for their blessing on our own eggs, that many strong hatchlings may be born to our villages to support us and, perhaps, one day, to join our numbers.¡± ¡°May the ancestors will it,¡¯ rumbles around me again. ¡°To invoke their favour, we sacrifice an object of power which we have gathered in the great cycles preceding. Yet this Festival, we have also had a Hunt. Pathwalker Tamer, Pathwalker Flying-blade, you were challenged to each outdo the other in finding an object of power, but also to find something greater even than the one we had previously prepared for this ritual. Pathwalkers, bring forth your offerings.¡± That¡¯s obviously my cue. I head up through the mass of other samurans. On the other side of the pools, I can see movement as Flying-blade does the same. I¡¯ve been warned not to step into the water itself, even if that would be the quicker and easier route. In the end, we get there at much the same time. Flying-blade eyes me with resentment from across the separating stream. She strongly suspects that she¡¯s failed, that the blood and pain she¡¯s very obviously undergone have all been for nothing. Her face when she first saw Windy upon her return earlier today was a picture. Perhaps it¡¯s unsporting of me, but I wish I¡¯d had a camera which worked at the time. We each hand our object over to our closest Pathwalker. Mine is obviously the bright blue Core from the fellapodil; Flying-blade¡¯s appears to be a Core too, but it¡¯s smaller and its brown shade is darker. Flying-blade glares even more strongly, her teeth gaping open in threat. She¡¯s not happy at being so obviously out-classed. Though it still remains to be seen whether what we¡¯re offering is better than what the strongest villages had gathered previous to the Festival. The four Pathwalkers don¡¯t spend very long contemplating the Cores. That the leader of the red tribe looks disgruntled when they reach a decision is more evidence that Flying-blade¡¯s offering is deemed the ultimate loser. But since the blue and yellow tribe leaders are the true judges, her view is probably irrelevant. ¡°We have examined the three offerings,¡¯ announces Air-shaper. ¡®The offering of Flying-blade is impressive for the fact that this was a Single Hunt, yet it is the weakest of the three. Her village therefore bears the stain of this loss and loses reputation with all other villages. You are hereby required to move to the bottom-most pool.¡± The judgement is expected; the consequences and following outcry from her village are not. I half expect the other Pathwalker to leap across the gap between us or throw something at me as she snarls angrily across the water. She does not, instead pushing her way angrily through the crowd to go and join her village, who are now being forced to trickle down the slope by the samurans pushing upwards. Clearly, the consequences are worse than I thought they were for a loss. I wait, suddenly a little nervous about how our Core stacks up against the one gathered by the leaders. ¡°The offering of Tamer is significantly more powerful than that of Flying-blade¡¯s. It is also slightly more powerful than the object we had gathered to fuel this Long Night ritual,¡± she continues, and I relax in relief. I made the right decision to go for the fellapodil. ¡°We thereby proclaim Pathwalker Tamer as the winner of the Single Hunt. That said,¡± she continues contemplatively and my heart skips a beat, ¡°during your fight for this object of power, one of your village managed to break through the barrier and become Enlightened. We humbly ask that she might lend her power to the ritual to strengthen it. It would bring honour to your village if she does.¡± I don¡¯t even need to check with Windy ¨C the excitement and vindication which I feel go through her at the invitation is enough to know her response. Anyway, even without being asked she was going to offer to lead the ritual ¨C it¡¯s evidently a position of honour which she now feels she merits. A current of wind sweeps through the mass of samurans as Windy makes large bounds through the air to join us, the current of wind she¡¯s controlling giving her buoyancy and allowing her to travel further with each leap than she otherwise would have been capable of. It¡¯s also extremely flashy. I suspect she¡¯d have liked to fly, but hasn¡¯t had enough time to work that out yet. ¡°I offer my power to lead the ritual to seek the blessing of the ancestors,¡± Windy answers slightly pompously. The lead Pathwalkers look at each other, then tip their chins slightly to Windy. ¡°Enlightened one, we welcome your power and thank both you and the leader of your village for your offerings this night. Your village has gained significantly in reputation and are hereby invited to join our villages at the top pool.¡± I feel the excitement and pleasure spill from all of my samuran Bound as they quickly make their way up to the top pool. Bastet and Lathani join them, both now practically invisible in the darkness. I do notice the leader of the green tribe sending them a sharp look, but she evidently decides not to raise it. Why is this such a good thing? I ask my Pathwalkers silently as they get closer. The closer to the ritual, the more benefits we get, explains Joy, the first to respond. Flying-blade¡¯s village probably won¡¯t get anything, down at the bottom pool as they are. I want to ask what the benefits are, but my attention is drawn back to the events as Windy wades into the water to join the lead Pathwalkers. She takes the fellapodil¡¯s Core from Water-caller and stands in front of the four leaders, excitement and joy dancing through her spikes. Brothers, sisters, we celebrate the Long Night, she says, her voice practically shaking in excitement. We bring our offering to give to the ancestors and ask for their favour. All step into the water with us. Take your foot-coverings off, advises Tarra as she follows the instruction. Or you will not absorb the benefits. Following her advice, I pull my boots off and then step into the edge of the pool, wincing at its heat. I¡¯m tempted to control the fire-magic within the water as I did before, but not knowing what¡¯s about to happen, I decide not to risk it. Instead, I just send flesh-magic down to my feet and ankles to keep healing the scalded flesh, using Sensation Management to dull the pain. Hopefully I won¡¯t have to stay here too long before the start of whatever is supposed to happen. Book Five: Diplomacy - Chapter Eighty-Five: Free There are no more words. Instead, I see Windy close her eyes and concentrate, lifting the fellapodil¡¯s Core into the sky. The cerulean crystal begins to glow. As the seconds tick by, its brightness only intensifies. The other lead Pathwalkers move forwards one by one to lay their own hands on the glowing orb, its luminosity increasing until it becomes impossible to look at directly. The brightness starts to pulse, each pulse extending a finger of bright sky-blue glow into the sky. Squinting at the developing pillar, I notice that wispy shapes from around are starting to drift towards it, pulled into the lengthening finger and helping it grow further. As the pillar grows longer, its attractive pull seems to increase as the nebulous shapes join it in greater numbers, faster every moment that passes. The finger reaches higher and higher, seeming to aim for the clouds themselves. The brightness from the Core is ever more intense; for a moment, the area around us is once more lit as if it were still day. I hear quiet clicks and grunts murmur around me, samurans exclaiming at how high the pillar is reaching this year ¨C apparently it is unusual. I look at the Pathwalkers ¨C all but Windy are starting to show significant strain. Water-caller¡¯s teeth are clenched tightly, her eyes squeezed shut. Air-shaper is beginning to look a little grey. Earth-mover, the leader of the red tribe, and Tree-whisperer, the leader of the green tribe are not much better off. The growth of the pillar slows and then stops. This close to the leaders, I can hear their quiet grunts of exertion. By this point, even Windy is starting to look a little drawn and I can sense the immense concentration she¡¯s applying to this task. Her arms start to shake. The pulsing of the pillar abruptly reverses. Instead of pushing higher, it now descends. Quicker and quicker, the sky-high finger compresses into the Core, the brightness of the blue crystal only increasing impossibly further. Windy¡¯s arms begin to fail; the other Pathwalkers are forced to help hold the Core up with her or risk her dropping it. But the pillar is almost entirely absorbed back into the Core, leaving an odd sort of reverse image. Where it was appears now to be a pillar of intense darkness, like every mote of light in the air has been stripped away. I frown as I see that it¡¯s remarkably similar to what part of my Core space once looked like, after my mishap with Pure Energy. As the last of the impossibly-bright light sinks into the Core, the five Pathwalkers move as one, thrusting the Core into the water. A tidal wave of light explodes from the Core and flows through the pool around them. The wave continues, lighting up every foot submerged in this pool and then continuing down with the flow of the water to the next pool and then the next. I immediately know why Flying-blade¡¯s village was so disappointed to be relegated to the bottom pool ¨C this wave of light isn¡¯t infinite and every samuran it touches absorbs a little of its power. The light creeps up my legs, its touch light and warm. I eye it with a hint of wariness ¨C I don¡¯t even know what this is. Then I look around at those who have been through this before. Joy, Tarra, Sticks, Flower, and Windy all look to be in a state of rapture, their heads tilted towards the sky, nothing but pleasure and excitement flowing down the links from them. I shrug as the light reaches my belly. Well, too late to be worried now. Instead, I turn my head to look at the sky too, the light creeping up in a warm wave to cover my chest, then my neck, and then finally my head. When my eyes are filled with nothing but brightness, I¡¯m swept away into a dream. I¡¯m back in my house, the house that I lived in when I was a child. We moved out when I was twelve ¨C I never knew why. I look around at the kitchen, an odd feeling of unfamiliar familiarity going through me. I still remember where everything is, yet there¡¯s also a sense that I don¡¯t belong here. Not anymore. I look down at myself, finding my body to be that of a child once more. I¡¯d half-expected it ¨C everything looks the size I remember it to be. I slowly walk around the kitchen, opening the cupboards to check their contents. Inside is the same china I remember us having. The cup that broke when I dropped it as I was drying up. The plate that my father never liked. The ugly glasses that my parents were given as a wedding present by my grandparents and that they never dared get rid of. Not until we moved house and they were ¡®accidentally¡¯ smashed. The wobbly little bowl that I made at school and was so proud of, still in its place of honour designated by my mother. I wonder what I¡¯m supposed to do here. I¡¯m fully aware that it¡¯s not real. But even dreams usually have things happening. And then I hear the creak of a door. I turn to look at the door and my breath catches in my throat. My mother is there, smiling widely at me. I take a moment to just drink in her features. Pictures and my memories really do not do her justice. Her smile is so much more beautiful when it¡¯s in motion, the way her lips pull back from her slightly-crooked teeth ¨C years on from orthodontist treatment which never fully set properly ¨C the twinkle in her eyes that shifts and glistens in the light. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Markus, my son,¡± she says quietly, yet the words resound in my head like a bell. I¡¯m moving before I realise it, my muscles shifting of their own accord to propel me around the table and into my mother¡¯s embrace. I breathe deeply. She even smells like my mother. I hadn¡¯t realised how much I ached to smell her scent until now. Her arms encircle me in a hold that¡¯s just on the wrong side of too-tight, yet after having lost her, they can never be tight enough. ¡°Mum,¡± I croak, tears rising in my own eyes. I bury my head into her shoulder to hide them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I hadn¡¯t realised what I was going to say until I said it. But I won¡¯t take the words back when I mean them so strongly. Despite all the therapy, despite all the times I told myself I wasn¡¯t at fault, it seems that at my heart, I still felt that I was. I¡¯ve been aching for thirteen years to say them and even if this is just a dream, it feels far more real than any other dream I¡¯ve had. ¡°I killed you. I¡¯m sorry!¡± Mum makes a small sound I instantly recognise as disapproval and I pull back, afraid that she¡¯s going to push me away and wanting to avoid that. Certainly when I¡¯ve confessed in dreams before, she¡¯s got angry with me at this point, or blamed me, or disavowed me as her son. This time, she just clings onto me tighter. I resist the pull for a long moment, and then give into it. If she¡¯s not going to push me away, I have no reason to want to escape this embrace ¨C I¡¯ve been yearning for it for too long. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill me,¡± she tells me sternly. ¡°No,¡± she says as I immediately try to interject. ¡°Listen to me now.¡± I subside ¨C instincts are hard-lost it appears. ¡°You were a child. You made a child¡¯s choices. The cause of my death was that drunk driver. No more, no less. And I want you to finally realise that,¡± she instructs me firmly. ¡°You have been sabotaging yourself and your relationships for years, never letting anyone too close for fear that they will leave you or that you will fail them as you believed you failed me. No more. Promise me, my son,¡± she commands. I pull away slightly so I can look up at her face. She¡¯s not angry, but she¡¯s definitely determined ¨C I recognise that expression. Even dad knew not to argue with her when she looked like that. ¡°I know that I should have made more of an effort with dad. And Lucy¡­I ran away from her emotionally,¡± I admit. And the reasons are probably exactly as mum is saying. ¡°But I¡¯ve been trying to get past that,¡± I add, recalling my relationships with Bastet, River, Lathani, Kalanthia, Sirocco, Fenrir, Catch, and the others. ¡°You have,¡± she agrees, ¡°and I¡¯m proud of you for that. I¡¯m proud too for how you are shaping yourself, and not only letting the world shape you. But I want you to put down the burden of my death, and your father¡¯s death ¨C you were not to blame for that either ¨C and finally start to live life to its fullest.¡± I gaze at her thoughtfully, my eyes tracing restlessly over every line on her face. She isn¡¯t exhausted ¨C that¡¯s a difference. I don¡¯t remember her ever not being exhausted. It makes her all the more beautiful. ¡°Mum, is this¡­real?¡± I dare to ask. Her face takes on an amused and mysterious air. ¡°Real¡­loses its meaning after a certain event. Everything is real which conversely means that nothing is.¡± I send her a look which makes her break out into laughter. I hadn¡¯t realised how much I¡¯d missed hearing her laugh either until now. It¡¯s not a beautiful sound, but it¡¯s one that immediately reminds me of evenings playing board games together, or a comedy on the television, or going out to the theatre and just having a good time together as a family. ¡°It¡¯s as real as you make it,¡± she says finally as her chuckles slow down. ¡°Internalise my words and it becomes real. Dismiss them and it is but a dream.¡± I close my eyes as I contemplate that. It makes sense, I realise. Even more in the world of magic which I now inhabit. Now I can form fire, move earth, battle souls, transform my body, and build Bonds just with my mind, thoughts becoming reality is far more realistic than I might have thought it on Earth. Maybe it¡¯s time to put down this burden once and for all. Opening my eyes, I find that I¡¯m now towering above my mother, at least a head taller than she is. I never saw her from this viewpoint ¨C she was long dead by the time I gained my full height. But now, having acknowledged her words, having accepted them, I find that I have a new viewpoint on¡­everything. ¡°Thank you,¡± I tell her, heartfelt. She looks up and unhesitantly gives me another almost-too-hard hug. ¡°You¡¯ll make me proud,¡± she tells me. ¡°You already have.¡± ¡°I love you,¡± I tell her as the dream falls apart. Her smile is the last thing to disappear. I don¡¯t wake up immediately. Instead, I seem to drift in a sea of glowing whiteness. I¡¯m not alarmed ¨C something tells me that this is expected, and that I will wake up soon. A voice resonates through me, feeling like it emerges from the mists themselves, its rumble that of an earthquake, its sound that of thunder. ¡°For releasing a long-held burden which chained your mind and shackled your willpower, you have received the following bonuses: six points in Wisdom and five points in Willpower. Beware: a burden once laid down can be picked up again, accidentally or intentionally.¡± I wake up. Although I know I still have so much responsibility ¨C the leader of a village, the controller of so many Bonds, and that I¡¯ve only made it halfway through this year of survival, with unknown expectations waiting for me in the next world¡­.for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel free. Book Five: Diplomacy - Interlude the Fifth ¡°Great Lord Titanbend, my deepest appreciation for your time,¡± Josiah says as he bows deeply. ¡°Lord Softrain. Welcome. Please take a seat.¡± The cold tone belies the words of welcome. Still, Josiah wasn¡¯t expecting anything else ¨C his House has never been at odds with Titanbend, but they haven¡¯t been allies either. Standing upright, he is momentarily transfixed by the gaze that snares his own. Dark purple, almost black eyes stare emotionlessly into him as if debating whether binding his soul is worth the effort. Shaken, Josiah drops his gaze, breaking eye contact. He¡¯d discounted the rumours that Lord Titanbend was capable of enslaving men with his eyes, but he suddenly gives them a little more credit. He abruptly doubts why he¡¯s here ¨C do they really want to ally with one such as House Titanbend, however honourable its lord is said to be? Lord Titanbend clears his throat, almost making Josiah jump. He looks up briefly, then colours as he sees the other lord gesture to the seat opposite him across the immense desk. Calling up the beginnings of his family¡¯s hallmark Skill, Josiah allows the calmness that always comes with drawing upon water to suffuse him. He doesn¡¯t actually make the rain manifest itself ¨C experience has taught him that most people don¡¯t like him calling a rainstorm inside, even when it¡¯s light, soft rain. But just touching it is enough to refresh his mind and settle his nerves. He steps forward and seats himself in the chair. It¡¯s less ornate than he thought it might be ¨C the whole mansion is. Not in a poverty-stricken way; if anything, the reverse ¨C Josiah has seen a couple of Houses low on coppers choosing to fill their mansions with ornate and lavish items just to conceal the true state of their financial affairs. Lord Titanbend¡¯s furniture and equipment are all well-made and serviceable, the kind of items which one with a less-keen eye might see as being mundane and dull. But Josiah can see the faint twists of runes in the bold carvings of the desk in front of him, and even in the arms of his own chair. He¡¯s no rune-smith, so can¡¯t tell what they would do, but he would guess that they¡¯re for durability and reinforcement. They¡¯re certainly not for comfort; Josiah has to fight the urge to shift on the hard chair. ¡°What brings you here, Lord Softrain?¡± Lord Titanbend asks, bringing Josiah¡¯s wandering mind back to the topic at hand. He guiltily drags his gaze back to look at the other lord, though he doesn¡¯t quite dare make contact with those unsettling eyes again. Instead, he uses a trick his mother taught him ¨C look at the bridge of the person¡¯s nose and no one can tell that you¡¯re not looking in their eyes. Well, Lord Titanbend probably can if he feels the lack of connection which Josiah does, but the young lord hopes that he won¡¯t hold it against Josiah. With his peripheral vision, he takes a quick observation of the lord, never having actually met the man in person. He has dark brown hair and tanned skin, the features quite unlike most of the kingdom lords who tend towards being fair-skinned and pale-haired. Josiah immediately feels a hint of connection as his own family is a bit of an outlier there too. He wonders if Lord Titanbend has had to deal with the whispers of more gossipy lords and ladies twittering that Lord Titanbend appears more like the labourers in the fields than one of the lords who owns them. Though, the fineness of the Great Lord¡¯s features, those purple eyes, and the slight pointedness of his ears spoke of a far more exotic heritage than Josiah¡¯s own. The Great Lord clears his throat again meaningfully. Josiah feels a wave of colour rise in his cheeks at getting caught staring. ¡°My apologies, Great Lord,¡± he says quickly. ¡°I was distracted by my thoughts.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± the lord answers, his tone announcing its disapproval with its sheer neutrality. Josiah feels the flush in his cheeks intensifying and he half-calls his Soft-Rain Skill once more just to cool the heat. ¡°It was an interesting announcement from the king yesterday, was it not?¡± the young lord starts, doing his best to be conversational. He wilts slightly as he receives no response other than a level stare. He clears his throat again, regretting that Layton had taken Lady Goldmine. That Great Lady is unsettling in that one always feels like one is being valued like an object, but at least she engages in the normal routine of conversation. Seeing as Lord Titanbend doesn¡¯t seem to want to be conversational, Josiah decides to throw the careful approach off the ramparts and just go for it. ¡°I was wondering what your intentions are for the King¡¯s challenge?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The other lord doesn¡¯t reply for a long moment, his eyes seeming to pin Josiah down in place. Many of the rumours talk about eye-contact, but is this lord able to see souls even without it? The young lord struggles not to shift in his seat and he reabsorbs the beads of sweat which emerge from his brow before they can catch the light and betray his nerves. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± inquires Lord Titanbend finally, the neutral rumble of his voice a relief after the excruciating wait. Not that his response was much of a relief in itself. Josiah carefully considered his words before speaking ¨C appearing too eager was a problem, but not appearing interested enough might mean that he left empty-handed. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, my House is far smaller and meaner than your own illustrious heritage. I was hoping that you could¡­guide us a little by explaining your own intentions.¡± There. That should be sufficient hint that they would perhaps be interested in an alliance without coming out and saying it outright. The lord stares silently at Josiah for another long, agonising moment. ¡°House Titanbend will take our proper place in the challenge,¡± Lord Titanbend answers with a note of finality in his voice. Josiah fights not to react to the confirmation that, despite the lack of heir, the House would truly not be abstaining. ¡°More may be revealed to trusted friends and allies in the proper time.¡± ¡°And might you be interested in expanding your circle of trusted friends and allies?¡± inquires Josiah carefully. ¡°Friends and allies can come from curious places,¡± Lord Titanbend answers offhandedly. ¡°From all walks of life, of all ages. We bind ourselves together with mutual benefit and mutual obligation, do we not?¡± he asks as if it¡¯s merely a throw-away comment, but Josiah knows far better than to take it as one. ¡°Indeed, friends and allies support and help each other, and benefit together as a result,¡± he agrees cautiously. ¡°Yet sometimes it¡¯s hard to know how each can help, especially when they come from such different walks of life,¡± he comments. ¡°Indeed,¡± Lord Titanbend answers, and then smiles. Josiah watches as his face practically transforms with the expression, no longer the forbidding, stern mien of before. ¡°But that is what makes life interesting, is it not?¡± They exchange a few more carefully couched words and then Josiah takes his leave politely. As he is guided by a servant from the room and to where his horse is waiting for him outside the front doors, his mind whirls. House Titanbend is not only going to take part, but is actively looking for allies, and doesn¡¯t much care if they are powerful or not. And in return, Lord Nicholas is willing to seek mutual benefit, not merely his own House¡¯s advantage. That¡¯s more than most Great Lords would offer ¨C the protection of being part of an alliance with a Great House is considered to be the greatest advantage to joining one. Layton needs to hear of this! ***** A lady dressed in ornately-embroidered clothing stands at the window, watching as Minor Lord Layton Heatwave rides off in his carriage. ¡°A mewling pup,¡± speaks a voice from the doorway disdainfully. The lady remains watching the carriage until it disappears around the corner of the massive wall around her estate. ¡°I do not tell you how to control water, Lord Torrent,¡± she tells him languidly, but with a hint of steel which makes no mistake that she means her words. ¡°Do not try to tell me how to value a potential product.¡± ¡°I thought I asked you to call me Roland, Clarissa.¡± At that she does turn to fix him with a look that makes him take a step back. ¡°We are allies only insofar as Titanbend is concerned, Lord Torrent,¡± she replies with emphasis. ¡°I would thank you to not claim more familiarity than I have allowed.¡± ¡°Fine, Lady Goldmine,¡± the lord answers with irritation replacing his previous friendliness. ¡°I have come for an update. Have your products found any information on whether Titanbend is intending on choosing an heir or going himself? We need to make plans for both. I was expecting him to just abstain and take the consequences for doing so ¨C isn¡¯t it just like him to throw the glabas among the chickens?¡± It was Lady Goldmine¡¯s turn to look disdainfully at her companion. ¡°If you had paid attention to my missives and our opponent¡¯s character, you would have realised that Titanbend choosing to take part in the competition was more likely than for him to abstain, however much we might have prodded things towards that outcome.¡± ¡°But he loses more if he goes himself and gets killed,¡± protests Lord Torrent. ¡°That will rip his House apart!¡± ¡°Which means he¡¯s unlikely to do that,¡± Lady Goldmine tells him with concealed irritation. ¡°I don¡¯t need information from my products to come to that conclusion. No,¡± she says, turning towards the window. ¡°The question is more about who he¡¯s going to select as heir ¨C and whether we can turn them to our interests first.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter One: Economy Tamer, there¡¯s a messenger from another village, Rolls-a-stone tells me over the Bond. He must be on gate duty. Which entrance? I ask. The lower gate. Alright, I¡¯ll come shortly, I say, then return my attention to the hatchlings in front of me. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go now, but remember the rules.¡± ¡°If my stones are either side of his stones, I ¡®capture¡¯ his stones,¡± chirps one of the hatchlings. ¡°And if I capture all of his stones, I win,¡± chirps the other. ¡°That¡¯s right, well done,¡± I praise them. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to continue until one of you has captured all of the stones of the other; just until the box we¡¯ve drawn on the ground is filled in. Then whoever has the most stones present in the box wins.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± they chime. ¡°Thank you Tamer Markus,¡± one of them says, the other following belatedly behind. ¡°No problem,¡± I smile. ¡°I look forward to hearing which one of you wins most often.¡± I actually do ¨C Othello might be relatively simple as a game to learn, but it takes a bit of strategy to master. Go would probably be better for training strategy, but I¡¯ve never learned to play it. As I walk through the village, I notice a few other groups huddling around games ¨C other ones I¡¯ve introduced like Home You Go and chess, though some of the games of the latter are being played at a level beyond me now. Sticks has been willing to create game pieces for Energy Heart fragments ¨C I seem to have accidentally created something of an economy. Inevitable, I suppose, when most samurans are earning a steady supply of the things through their farming, hunting, resource-gathering, or crafting. Even the Unevolved samurans are learning to craft things like utensils and weapons ¨C less durable and finished than what the Pathwalkers can create with magic, but ¡®cheaper¡¯ for the Unevolved. They can then be sold to other Unevolved for Energy Heart fragments. I see a trade happening right now ¨C Joy has discovered an artistic side of herself and her recent creations are more and more beautiful. The majority of the everyday weaving has been taken up by a number of Unevolved who no longer need to be hunters because of the increasing supply of meat from the farming efforts. As a result, Joy has more time to experiment and has begun weaving tapestries to beautify the village. Since Hunter found a combination of runes which, when engraved on a Core, offer a steady, self-replenishing, activatable and deactivatable light, more and more samurans have become keen on having the tapestries inside the huts too. Next to her side I see two of the danaris hatchlings. The danaris hatchlings came out of their cocoons not that long ago, and gave me a bit of a fright when one just started trying to climb up my legs out of the blue. They¡¯re fortunate that the baby samurans have already tried to do that a couple of times, so my automatic reaction wasn¡¯t just to start swinging. I did jump when I saw that instead of a cute baby samuran, it was an eight-legged horror, its six eyes glinting balefully at me. Not that it was actually trying to threaten me ¨C the impression I got from it over the Bond was that it was more innocently curious than anything else. A bit of questioning revealed that it had followed the sense of our Bond when it had hatched which explained why it was climbing up my leg. That one, named Courage when it became clear that she has lots of it, was the only one brave enough out of her sister and brother to approach me ¨C the other two hung back until they saw that I wasn¡¯t about to kill them. Clearly recently hatched, they looked like football-sized versions of their mother except with much softer shells. By this point their shells have hardened significantly, but are still nowhere near the thick, armoured chitin of the danaris I killed. They¡¯ve also grown a bit, about half again the size they started. Since their chitin hardened, though, they¡¯ve stopped growing. I wonder whether they will moult their shells in the way most creatures with carapaces seem to. They haven¡¯t yet, anyway. The two females have the venomous stinger of their mother; the male doesn¡¯t, though they can all three spin sticky webbing. Only the two females can spin non-sticky webbing, though ¨C I have to guess that the male isn¡¯t supposed to take any part in building the ¡®larder¡¯ for his offspring. Once Joy realised that they could spin the same kind of thread which I can ¨C but had been refusing to just for tapestries ¨C she immediately leaped on the opportunity to get on the danaris females¡¯ good sides. Bribing them with choice meats and beast Cores which she traded for with tapestries, she soon had them literally eating out of her hand and willing to produce as much silk as she wanted. The male hasn¡¯t been completely left out, though. His sticky web is greatly valued by Shrieks for the defence of the village ¨C everyone now knows to come into the village by the gates due to the sticky web that weaves in between each of the wooden stakes. It has to be replaced frequently as the stickiness reduces with time. The male, named Defender, doesn¡¯t seem to mind that, though. As long as he¡¯s kept happy with plenty of food and some Cores from time to time, he¡¯s willing to spend his waking hours recycling the old webbing to create the new sticky strands again. I have to admit that I watched the development with interest ¨C it seems like multiple partnerships have sprung up ¨C Catch and Pride, Joy with the female danarises, Thorn and one of the hunters, and the male danaris with Shrieks. Not to mention the more casual relationships like between Trinity and the village as a whole and Komodo with Tarra and River ¨C due to his ever-changing venom, they find him a very useful source of different poisons. Thorn still hasn¡¯t Evolved, and has chosen to refuse a deeper Bond with me even for the purpose of helping him with his damaged Energy channels. I find it a bit of a pity, but ultimately it¡¯s his choice. He seems happy enough going out with Bites-his-claws to hunt. The two apparently work well together as a team ¨C the samuran leads or drives their prey towards where Thorn is lying concealed in preparation for an ambush. I feel that in the last three months the village has leaped ahead in multiple ways. I don¡¯t know whether it has anything to do with the blessing from the end of the Festival or is simply that the Evolved, feeling that my different ways have been validated by the acceptance and admiration of their peers, have been more willing to open their minds to new ideas. Certainly, I¡¯ve felt the difference ¨C my suggestions in the regular councils have been met with less scepticism and some of the others have even started suggesting changes, something which had been rare before. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I was very happy when the Unevolved members of the council started taking a more involved role not long after, and by now the division of the Tiers is barely felt in the council at all even if it¡¯s still evident in every day life. I know that that¡¯s mostly due to my influence and maybe it will go back to the way it used to be after I leave. I hope that they¡¯ve seen enough benefit that it won¡¯t, though. Another positive change is that the village seems to have leaped ahead in culture ¨C the relief of the constant pressure to hunt and resulting exhaustion has allowed an explosion in creativity. I would never have imagined that they would be capable of everything I now see, but I¡¯m glad that they are. It seems that samurans, when not regularly on the edge of starvation, are indeed artists at heart. Instituting a ¡®rest day¡¯ was a good idea, too. The council resisted it at first ¨C they were worried that it might lead to trouble as bored samurans with nothing else to do might just start challenging their superiors. And yes, there was a bit of that, but the majority of the time the challenges ended up turning into educational sparring with no hard feelings remaining ¨C intentionally steered that way, of course. As they got used to the idea of having one day in ten free of obligations, the samurans found other things to do with their time. Of course, not everyone is able to rest even on a rest day. The guards still have to patrol around the village and watch over the gates; the broodmothers still have to care for the hatchlings. They were ecstatic when each of the Pathwalkers laid a clutch of eggs not long after we got back from the festival. In total, there were a hundred and thirty-two eggs laid and all but seventeen of those hatched. And due to the fact that I¡¯m determined to do things differently for this clutch and have forbidden them from going out into the forest until they¡¯re big enough to fight properly ¨C and then only after they¡¯ve trained and are accompanied by older samurans ¨C we¡¯ve only lost three more. So now, three months on, there are over a hundred half-grown baby samurans running around the place and getting in everyone¡¯s way. I have to dodge a small gaggle of five who run obliviously across my path with an air of mischief. There are too many for me to recognise them by sight, and they haven¡¯t yet got to their naming day so I¡¯ve got no chance of stopping them unless I want to chase after them and physically grab them. Since I¡¯ve got someone waiting for me at the gates, I decide not to do that. Instead, I send a message over the Bond to Elder Twig, warning him of the potential trouble-makers. Although I was unable to help him to Evolve because I can¡¯t figure out what the issue is with his channels, I decided that maintaining a Bond with one of the broodmothers would be a good idea. He promises to investigate what the hatchlings are up to with a faintly accusing air ¨C though the Elders are overall happy that fewer of their charges are dying in their infancy, they haven¡¯t been as pleased with how the changes have dramatically increased their workloads. I might have to find a way to keep the hatchlings occupied other than just with board games ¨C otherwise the mortality might creep up again as a result of the broodmothers strangling their charges. Walking through the village, I pull up my status screen, looking once more at the differences between where I was three months ago after I killed the fellapodil and re-Bound Windy after she Evolved.
Name: Markus Wolfe Race: Human Class: Tamer
Level: 20 -> 25 Energy to next level: 3% Energy absorption rate: 89u/hr Energy towards debt: 135% (61)
Intelligence 56+8 (+15%) Mana: 960/960 (15u/IP)
Wisdom 50+5 (+10%) Mana regeneration rate: 1375u/hr
Willpower 92+29 (+32%) Health regeneration rate: 121u/hr
Constitution 40+4 (+10%) Health: 650/650 (650) (15u/CP)
Strength 24+1 (+5%) Stamina regeneration rate: 140u/hr
Dexterity 32+3 (+10%) Stamina: 525/525 (15u/DP)
Special: Fire Affinity (25%)
Class skills Dominate ¨C Master 1 *Companion Bond Tame ¨C Journeyman 7 -> 9 * Alliance Fade ¨C Journeyman 1 -> Journeyman 5 * Darkvision Inspect ¨C Novice 6 -> Initiate 2 Elemental Bonding ¨C Beginner 2 -> 3 Management ¨C Novice 3 -> Initiate 6 Transformation ¨C Beginner 2 -> Beginner 9 Non-Class skills Flesh-Shaping ¨C Master 2 -> 3 Stealth ¨C Novice 9 -> Initiate 6 Animal Empathy ¨C Journeyman 7 -> 9 Meditation ¨C Journeyman 9 Energy Manipulation ¨C Master 6 Sensation Management ¨C Novice 4 -> Novice 8 Spearmanship ¨C Initiate 7 -> 9 Archery ¨C Novice 9 -> Initiate 5 Blunt Weaponry ¨C Initiate 5 -> 9 Short Blades ¨C Novice 5 -> Initiate 1 Fire-Shaping ¨C Initiate 9 -> Journeyman 4 Earth-Shaping ¨C Journeyman 2-> 6 Energy Crystallisation ¨C Beginner 5 -> Novice 9 Teaching ¨C Beginner 9 -> Novice 6 Rune-Carving ¨C Beginner 4 -> 6 Enchanting ¨C Beginner 8 -> 9 Lava-Shaping ¨C Beginner 3 -> 7 Alchemy ¨C Beginner 5 Metal-Shaping ¨C Beginner 7 Air-Shaping ¨C Beginner 4 Water-Shaping ¨C Beginner 2
The last few months haven¡¯t just been a period of growth for the village but for me as well. I¡¯ve managed to go up five levels which, honestly, is quite an achievement considering just how much Energy I need per percentage point now. I¡¯ve worked out that at level twenty-five, I need about one and a half thousand units of Energy per percentage. From what I remember, that¡¯s about the same amount per point as it took me to increase by a whole level from zero to one! And I thought that that was hard to achieve at the time. The fact is, though, that I¡¯m in a far better position now than I was when I arrived. I don¡¯t have to go hunting for my food ¨C in fact quite a few things are done for me now ¨C and magic helps me speed up other things that I still have to do for myself. Of course, those mundane tasks have been replaced by a number of others linked to running the village, but I¡¯ve managed to set aside a good few hours most days actively meditating in one of the high-density chambers in my den. I¡¯d love to do more than that, but even aside from my work load, I¡¯ve noticed that too much time spent in Meditation in that area starts corroding my internal matrix, starting with my exterior channels and moving inwards if I let it. Sure, I can heal the areas and I do if they corrode, but it seems like the healing takes some time to fully settle as corrosion happens more quickly if I return immediately to the area after I¡¯ve healed myself. It ends up better for me to withdraw from the high-density area after a period of time and avoid the corrosion at all. Besides, it¡¯s not as if I don¡¯t have enough to do. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Two: Gift The village mostly manages itself these days but I do need to touch base with the leaders from time to time, especially after I¡¯ve implemented something new. I have sparring with my Bound and weapons¡¯ practice, though I grimace as I see from my status screen that I haven¡¯t spent as much time doing those as I intended ¨C obvious when I see that even Archery, which has improved the most, only went from Novice nine to Initiate five. Considering that those Skills are still quite low level, they really should have increased more. Still, they¡¯ve increased enough for me to feel the difference when I go out with the hunters or spar with someone I haven¡¯t fought with in a while. Or when a new Pathwalker joins our ranks and we have a battle to establish their rank. And it does seem that my Skill improvement rate in the more combat-oriented Skills does slow down when I¡¯m not actively fighting. That¡¯s one reason I¡¯ve also tried to make time to go out into the forest with a group of my Bound. That, and the fear that if I don¡¯t experience life or death situations every so often, I¡¯ll lose my edge ¨C and the willingness to put myself in danger. I fear it would be all too easy to slip back into the civilised Markus whose greatest moment of danger was crossing the road ¨C or getting in a car. The two largest portions of my time over the last few months have been spent on stat-point acquisition and learning new Skills, Shaping ones, primarily. I now know how to increase all of my stats manually. It took quite a lot of exploration and experimentation, but eventually I worked out how to give myself my physical stat points as well as my mental and soul stats. The inspiration for my physical stats actually came from an unlikely source ¨C examining Warriors with physical enhancement Skills while they used their Skills. And that was purely by accident. I¡¯ve been trying to work on improving my distance healing, something I still haven¡¯t fully got a grip on, but have started being able to do with my Dominated Bound at least. Healing at a distance involves sending my flesh-magic through the Bonds instead of through my fingers, and then controlling it like I¡¯m using a mechanical hand rather than my own to solve a puzzle. I asked my Bound to fight together to simulate combat, trying to improve my ability to help them in that situation. While I was doing it with two Warriors, they started using their skills against each other so as to actually make use of the training session for themselves. Since my magic was inside the one who had a body enhancement, I was able to get a front-row seat to seeing exactly how Enhanced Speed works. That gave me the inspiration of how to enhance my own Dexterity, and it wasn¡¯t a big leap from there to actually managing to permanently increase my Dexterity stat. Learning how to increase Strength and then Constitution weren¡¯t far behind ¨C Enhanced Strength gave me inspiration for the former, and Constitution came from a new Warrior with Enhanced Vitality, a skill where he can essentially flood his body with Energy to increase his health pool for a short time. As was the case when I was just starting out, the lower the stat is to start with, the less Energy it takes to increase. My most recent point in my Constitution, bringing it up to forty points, cost me a little more than a sixth of my progress towards my next level ¨C which made it finally become more expensive than just levelling up. Dexterity, however, only costs me about twelve percent to raise it by another point, and Strength is even cheaper than that, seven percent last time. I¡¯ve been concentrating on Constitution, since as a health pool it¡¯s still pretty small in comparison to most of my Bound, but now that it¡¯s more expensive to increase that manually than with levelling up, I¡¯ll have to stop and choose another stat to focus on. With my attention these days on using magic, increasing my Strength really hasn¡¯t been top of my priority list. Dexterity is another matter ¨C my revelations on the way to the Festival about how stamina works indicated that Dexterity affects more than just my physical movement, so that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been working on since increasing my Constitution by eight points. I want to get Dexterity up to the same level, but so far have only been able to add four points in total. I don¡¯t want to forget entirely about Strength, though, so have been putting the odd point in that, three in total. I only recently learned how to enhance my Endurance rather than simply Power ¨C that was a lucky find in a Warrior who had an Endurance related skill. My stamina pool has only gone up slightly as a result. As for my level up points, I¡¯ve been focussing purely on my mental and soul stats, primarily Willpower and Intelligence. Willpower because it¡¯s my most useful stat for my Class; Intelligence because it increases my mana pool which is an essential part of pretty much everything I¡¯m doing these days. I¡¯ve watched it enough times during level-ups that I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ll know how to increase that manually now, though it would no doubt use a lot of Energy to do so. Next level up I¡¯ll put some points into Wisdom now that Intelligence has surpassed it. Again, there¡¯s not much point in doing that manually as it uses more Energy than it would take to level up and get six points for my troubles. But I¡¯ll only focus on that when I¡¯ve got Strength up to thirty, I think. I don¡¯t want that falling too far behind. I would have done another Willpower Challenge, but when I tried to take it, I wasn¡¯t allowed to do so. I¡¯ve tried a couple of times since then, but have had been met with the same refusal. Evidently, there¡¯s some sort of limitation to it. Whether it¡¯s time or some other event, I don¡¯t know; I¡¯ll have to just keep trying. In addition to my points, I¡¯ve also learned a few more Skills. Watching and helping River and Tarra has given me Alchemy ¨C the ability to infuse Energy or mana into an ingredient or concoction, and to control the Energy already within it. I¡¯m still very much a beginner and both River and Tarra could knock the socks off me without even trying, but at least I have an idea of where I could start if both of them decide to stay here when I leave this world. River¡¯s Fire Herbalism is fascinating to watch, especially with my magic sight ¨C her fire-affinity mana twines with whatever she¡¯s working with and carefully burns away everything that won¡¯t be useful for her intentions, allowing her to create incredibly pure potions, poisons, and various other alchemical products. Of course, that also requires an incredibly fine sense of control, and I¡¯ve seen her fully burn far too many things, destroying the desirable with the undesirable. But she¡¯s getting there. I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯ll ever be able to infuse mana into substances like Tarra, except fire-aspected ones, perhaps, but she¡¯s likely to surpass her teacher in the power of her brews as long as she has access to good quality ingredients. More immediately useful for me is that I¡¯ve finally completed the set of elemental Skills that I wanted. Happy helped me gain Metal-Shaping, Dusty taught me about Water-Shaping, and Windy, reluctantly, helped me with Air-Shaping. I¡¯m pretty sure that once they¡¯re all at the same rank, I¡¯ll be offered a combined Skill much as with Inspect, but that¡¯s likely to take a while since Earth-Shaping is already at Journeyman. Still, something to aim towards. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. My feet have continued walking even through my musings. Finally reaching the gates, I see the representative standing outside. It¡¯s a Warrior ¨C predictably. I think my village is probably the only one where Pathwalkers regularly go out with the hunting parties ¨C since reaching Tier three, Windy has been keen on using her new abilities to literally rain down destruction. Hunting has therefore been right up her street even if the forest has been a little worse for wear a few times. I¡¯ve actually been called out twice to deal with the forest fire she provoked with her indiscriminate lightning. Several of the others have also been keen on working on their combat capabilities in practice as well as theory and have been using the hunting trips to do that. It¡¯s amazing what happens when groups of Warriors or mixed Warriors and Unevolved are the ones to go out hunting. They¡¯re far more efficient and productive, not to mention safer than the Unevolved doing it before. Being able to trust each other and go out in groups is a major factor in that ¨C gone are the days when grouping up meant more chance of betrayal or needing to share the food tokens they received. Of course, they do have to share the Energy Heart fragments, but those are less necessary than food. ¡°Hi Stony, Rocky,¡± I say as I step into the gateway and glance at the two guards. Who do we have here? I continue over the Bond. We actually have proper gates now ¨C a project Joy, Sticks, and Flower worked on together. They¡¯re open for now, but they add an extra level of security. We¡¯ve improved the fence too ¨C hands willing to work for Energy Heart fragments can make a significant difference when directed in the right way. The strange Warrior seems to be rather startled at the improvements if his wide, roving eyes are anything to go by. I don¡¯t recognise him, Rolls-a-stone answers immediately ¨C unsurprising since he Evolved a month ago so didn¡¯t come with us to the festival. However, Rocky does. I don¡¯t look at the samuran in question, but I do the mental equivalent ¨C by this point, I¡¯m almost as comfortable communicating mentally as I am out loud. The samurans who have been part of my network for the longest are the same, often managing to keep their emotions out of their spikes, even. Something which the strange Warrior clearly isn¡¯t capable of ¨C his spikes are roiling with nervousness and tension. Does he think we¡¯ll attack him? He is Stabs-a-stone from the red tribe of the sixth mountain, Rocky tells me, his mental voice a deep rumble that matches his speaking tone. They didn¡¯t make it to the Festival this year. The red tribe? Is he from the same village who lost the Hunt at the festival? I ask, immediately wary. I send out a pulse of Inspect, looking for any other samurans in the local area. There are two more, hiding in the bushes, but I can¡¯t feel any more than that. It doesn¡¯t help that, even if my Inspect has increased in rank to Initiate two, its range still isn¡¯t quite big enough to cover the whole of the village. Not unless I want to use my whole mana pool, anyway. When I don¡¯t know if this is going to come to a fight, I¡¯d rather not do that. Instead, I decide to use other resources I have available. Samuran ones. Sorry to interrupt your rest day, I project to all my Bound ¨C it¡¯s easier to do that than to pick and choose when I want to send the message to a large number, but I need some patrols organised to investigate the area around the village for hidden threats. We have a visitor from the red tribe and at least two hidden observers. Heard and understood, Tamer, Shrieks answers grimly. I leave the matter in his capable claws. Rocky has patiently been waiting for me to finish my message before answering the question I¡¯d asked him. This is a different village from the same tribe, he tells me. It is one of our closest neighbours ¨C a village only about two days away. Less if we travel fast. They are small. I was not surprised to see them absent from the Festival. That reassures me a little, but not entirely. From what I¡¯ve come to understand, though the tribes do have plenty of in-fighting, they tend to pull together against an outsider, and I¡¯m definitely recognised as that. It¡¯s been peaceful in the three months since we returned, but I have a nagging feeling that it has been the calm before a storm. Maybe I¡¯m just being paranoid. I step forward cautiously towards the samuran waiting nervously outside our open gates. My Inspect didn¡¯t pick up any ranged weapons, but a rock thrown through the air is as good a weapon as any. I¡¯m not wearing my full armour ¨C I wasn¡¯t expecting to need it. So, instead of a helmet, I clumsily pull together a whirling disc of air. I won¡¯t be able to keep it contained for long, but hopefully long enough to determine if it¡¯s safe or if I need more protection than my disc of air can give me. The Warrior, seeing my approach, lifts his chin high into the air. Oddly enough, he doesn¡¯t seem too surprised at my presence. Did the Warriors have a conversation before I arrived? Did Rocky talk about me? He must have, I decide, a moment later when the new Warrior addresses me by name. ¡°Pathwalker Tamer, greetings from the village of the red tribe of the sixth mountain,¡± he says quickly. ¡°May the ancestors smile on our meeting.¡± ¡°May the ancestors be pleased at our meeting,¡± I return. ¡°And may our actions be in keeping with their values,¡± I finish. It¡¯s a warning, and the samuran knows it. He lowers his chin slowly, his spikes flashing with increased wariness. I don¡¯t invite him in to share a carcass either, which technically should be the next step. He will know from that he¡¯s not an honoured or even recognised guest ¨C and that should his words be displeasing, we could attack him without breaking any customs. ¡°My village is grateful that you would hear us out,¡± the Warrior continues formally. ¡°We have a boon to beg from our brethren and bring these gifts to offer you, in hopes that you will aid us.¡± So saying, he turns towards the forest and grunts wordlessly. The two samurans who had been hiding in the forest now stand up and walk forwards. They are Unevolved and one is leading two beasts by woven vine leashes. Both beasts walk forwards without struggle, obviously tamed in some way. They are the same as each other and look vaguely similar to Artemis¡¯ pack of wolf-like deris. Their legs are long and their bodies are slim ¨C built for running. Their heads are most similar to a canine¡¯s with long muzzles filled with sharp teeth. However, these ones have a set of wings like Bastet and something on the tips of their long whip-like tails ¨C I can¡¯t tell exactly what it is since it¡¯s been wrapped in vine bindings. The Warrior sees me looking. ¡°Venomous stingers,¡± he tells me casually, my reaction apparently having pleased him. ¡°We keep them wrapped unless they are being milked as they contain deadly venom. Deadly venom which I¡¯m sure your Herbalist could transform into either poison or healing potion if she has sufficient supply. If you will hear our request and consider it with due seriousness, we will give you both these beasts and their Unevolved handler. Though he is Unevolved, our beast tamer has been employing him as an assistant and deems him likely to Evolve. The other is also a gift for you, one of our best hunters.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Three: Of The Direst Importance I¡¯m caught by his implication, staring at him incredulously. ¡°You¡¯re giving our village some of your Unevolved? Your people? And what do they think about this?¡± I ask, glancing at the samurans in question. They are stone-faced, clearly doing their best to mute the emotions flicking through their spikes. But what I do manage to see isn¡¯t positive. ¡°Our request is of the direst importance, Pathwalker Tamer,¡± the Warrior answers seriously. ¡°Our gift is great because such is our need.¡± I feel like that¡¯s rather missing the point I was making ¨C that trading their own people to another village seems to be reaching a new low, even for the ruthless samurans. Then again, given that the previous leader of my village, the shaman, actually sacrificed all the hatchlings from that year in a ritual and was about to do the same to the Unevolved, I have to guess that trading away some of her villagers wouldn''t have been past her either. My own Evolved have slowly been changing their opinions ¨C the more they work with my non-samuran Bound, the less they can justify the idea that samurans are the only beings capable of thought or feelings ¨C and that even the Tier ones of their own species aren¡¯t much better. Some refuse to adjust their ideas, of course, but by and large, things have changed significantly in that area. Apart from generally feeling disgusted about the whole principle of the thing ¨C and tempted to just send them away immediately ¨C the actual ¡®gift¡¯ could be useful if the Unevolved with the beasts develops into a beast tamer. That would actually quite nicely fill the hole I will leave in less than three months time. And a good hunter is always welcome ¨C probably why he was chosen. But only if they are willing to be a full part of the village. Though if their village is willing to essentially throw them away just for the chance to have an audience with me, I have a feeling they will have a better life with us. ¡°I will hear you out,¡± I announce abruptly. ¡°Rocky, please go and retrieve a carcass for me to share with our guest here.¡± I purposefully make it that everyone around can understand my words. The visitor¡¯s spikes flash in satisfaction. Although I didn¡¯t offer him a carcass directly, the implication that we will eat together is sufficient to engage guest protocols. He is guaranteed that I will at least hear him out without attacking him. ¡°On behalf of my village, I thank you for your attention, Pathwalker Tamer,¡± the Warrior says, raising his chin briefly. ¡°Hmm,¡± I respond non-committedly, discreetly releasing the disc of air I¡¯ve been maintaining throughout the conversation so far. I doubt they¡¯re here to kill me now. ¡°Please step inside the gates and wait for me there. When my Warrior returns, we will speak on the matter you came here to tell me about.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± the Warrior answers, walking past me to stand on the opposite side of the gate from Stony. ¡°Not you,¡± I tell the two Unevolved as they turn to follow as well. I see fear intermingled with resignation flash through their spikes. The clawed hand of one of them tightens into a fist; the other just remains still as if he¡¯s carven in stone, but the way the beast he¡¯s controlling shifts, it¡¯s able to pick up on the tension radiating from him as well as I can. Before I can speak, I see a patrol come around the edge of the village. It¡¯s a mixed party with three Warriors, Storm, Lathani, and Fenrir all travelling together. Fenrir¡¯s nose along with Storm¡¯s eyes and Lathani¡¯s Earth-sense are a powerful combination for detecting intruders. ¡°One moment, please,¡± I say to the Unevolved politely. They exchange flickers of a glance, but I only see the movement in my peripheral vision as I look towards the patrol. Lathani shifts as she sees me, probably eager to bound over for a scratch behind the ears. But she controls herself, sticking with the party until they come over to join us. Then Lathani comes to press herself against me, demanding scratches. Now almost as tall as I am, her weight threatens to push me over. At least, she would if I hadn¡¯t increased my Strength to the point that it is now. I reach up to give her the desired caresses, reaching down to greet both Fenrir and Storm who are less effusive but no less eager for their own petting. The leader of the party ¨C Iandee ¨C glances at the two Unevolved standing before me with a hint of uncertainty. Then, evidently deciding that without knowing the situation, it¡¯s better to keep things quiet, he gives his report through the Bond. We have inspected almost an entire circle around the village. There is just this small section to check. We have found no traces of other People. Good, I say, not entirely surprised now that the hidden samurans have been revealed to be ¡®gifts¡¯. I need to speak with these two. Keep a watch over me and an eye on the other Warrior? Of course, Iandee answers. He probably would have guarded me anyway, but it¡¯s always best to be clear, in my experience. Which is exactly what I want to do with the strange Unevolved too. I hesitate before turning to speak with them. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Is it¡­normal to send Unevolved as¡­gifts to another village? I ask Iandee, opening the question to Bug and Leaf who make up the other two Warriors in the party. It¡¯s not normal, Leaf ventures, but it¡¯s not entirely unheard of either. Unevolved are considered as resources of the village, but important ones as they are the potential Evolved of the future. If these two are being given to our village, I would guess the other village¡¯s need to be great and that they fear you would not agree without a big enough gift. I see, I respond thoughtfully. Thanks. I will speak to them now. Lathani complains as I stop petting her, nudging at my shoulder, I send her a quelling glance and she grumbles but subsides. I turn back to the two Unevolved. One seems a little wide-eyed, glancing between the various beasts and the samurans incredulously. The other seems even more grimly resigned than before. It is he who I meet eyes with first. I no longer need to intone ¡®Dominate¡¯ audibly to activate the Skill ¨C it is a mere flex of my will. Heck, I probably don¡¯t even need to meet his gaze, though I sense that it makes things easier. The world around me fades into its usual grey. With my Willpower now significantly over a hundred and able to keep an Enlightened samuran under control, the pressure from an Unevolved one is barely noticeable. I stroll casually towards the samuran, stopping a little over an arm¡¯s length away from him. Close enough that he can¡¯t deny the fact that I could Bind him at any moment, but far enough away that it¡¯s clear I don¡¯t intend to ¨C yet. The same grim resignation is in his eyes and pressing in around me, even if his spikes are unable to change. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I ask. Bares-claws, Honoured Pathwalker. ¡°And why are you here?¡± I could have done this without using Dominate, but this way I can feel his emotions and can easily identify if he¡¯s lying or telling the truth. He answers my question readily enough. I am here because my leader ordered me to accompany Warrior Stabs-a-stone, Honoured Pathwalker. My eyes narrow. He was honest, but there¡¯s more to it. ¡°I¡¯d recommend you be as honest and informative as you can,¡± I comment almost idly. The flash of fear that I feel coming from around me indicates that he¡¯s taken it as a threat. I¡­thought I was here to hopefully Evolve and become your beast tamer ¨C I or my companion. ¡°You thought,¡± I repeat. ¡°Meaning that you do not think so now?¡± That same grim resignation strengthens around me. Your village appears to already be amply populated with tamed beasts, he says simply. I get it. He was expecting to be received as someone¡­valuable. Someone who might become a useful member of the community if he was able to Evolve. That someone would probably be taken in as an assistant to a Pathwalker, the way that he obviously had been before. With evidence before him of already-tamed beasts, he¡¯s obviously drawn the conclusion that we already have everything we need on that side of things. As a result, he probably suspects that he will just be relegated to becoming another of the Unevolved, nothing special. If his village is anything like this one used to be, that would return him to having to scramble for resources or carcasses in the dangerous forest just to be allowed to eat. I don¡¯t blame him for viewing that prospect with a grim sense of finality. ¡°We can always use more,¡± I tell him simply. I don¡¯t want to tell him too much before I know whether we¡¯ll be letting either of them stay, but equally I don¡¯t want to leave him more fearful about his future with us than he needs to be. ¡°Now, tell me ¨C why is your village so desperate that they¡¯re willing to lose a promising potential beast tamer and a good hunter?¡± Uncertainty creeps into the aura around him. There is a threat to our village, he answers slowly, but none of the Unevolved have been told what it is, to my knowledge. I asked my master but she refused to answer. All we have been told is that we must not go into an area in the forest. He seems to be honest and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s hiding anything. Not intentionally, anyway. Clearly the other village is playing things close to their chests. ¡°Thank you for being honest,¡± I tell him. From the startlement I feel from him, he wasn¡¯t expecting politeness. ¡°Now, about what to do with you.¡± I feel him tense, his emotions becoming almost sharp-edged. Fear roils in the background ¨C I get the sense that he¡¯s suddenly realised that things could actually be worse than what he was fearing before. I practically feel him wonder whether I might just choose to reject him completely, leaving him to wander the wilds, unwanted by anyone. Honoured Pathwalker, I promise, I will serve your village in whatever capacity you desire. I ¨C I have other skills too! I can¨C I cut him off by holding up a hand. He might not understand my body language, but he can surely feel my intentions. ¡°As long as you are willing to give the same level of commitment to this village as you did to your birth one, you will receive the same benefits and privileges as any who were born here,¡± I tell him. Faintly disbelieving relief comes from the samuran in front of me. ¡°However,¡± I continue, cutting through that relief, ¡°I¡¯m sure you feel that Bond hovering around you.¡± I do, he answers warily. I sense that he¡¯s more than passingly familiar with the concept ¨C he¡¯s probably been exposed to something similar from the beast tamer in his village. ¡°I would like you to accept it willingly. You are a newcomer and the Bond will give me more guarantee that you won¡¯t act against me or my village.¡± I sense him hesitating for a long moment. ¡°You don¡¯t have to, it is a choice,¡± I tell him, ¡°but if you don¡¯t, you will have to remain under guard until I can trust you fully. If you Evolve, you will be Bound in any case ¨C all of the Evolved are in this village.¡± I see, he says slowly and, more than most, I sense that he does indeed understand. Then I will accept the Bond and thank you for giving me the choice. There¡¯s a hint of bitterness to the last words ¨C it¡¯s not much of a choice and I realise that. But I won¡¯t let someone I don¡¯t trust just wander freely around our village. Stepping forwards a final time, I touch him on the forehead, on the section of bone between his eyes. The Bond snaps into place and the world fades back around us. ¡°Alright,¡± I say, looking at my newest Bound. ¡°Hold on a moment while I speak to your friend as well. Is there anything I need to know about him before I start?¡± Bares-claws considers it for a moment, but then sends a feeling of negation down the Bond. He seems to take to it better than any other I¡¯ve Bound. And I think I might know why ¨C in my Bond with him, I haven¡¯t only got a sense of him; I can feel the beasts he has on either side of him like faint echoes at the edge of my consciousness. Somehow, he has a Bond with each of them too. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Four: A Great Threat Though I¡¯m curious about Bares-claws¡¯ bonds ¨C or Bonds ¨C I have two other samurans waiting for me, one impatiently next to the carcass that Rocky has brought for us, the other almost vibrating next to me. I ignore the Warrior for a moment, though ¨C the other Unevolved samuran he¡¯s ¡®gifted¡¯ our village needs attention first. The impression I get from our Battle of Wills is that this one is significantly younger than Bares-claws. Called Kills-a-deer ¨C at least, that¡¯s the translation I get ¨C I get the distinct feeling that he¡¯s been a rather single-minded hunter since he was very young ¨C from what I can tell, he may have only just reached adulthood with the recent hatching the first since his own. I would also venture to guess that he hasn¡¯t experienced much of the negative side of samuran village life due to his success with bringing back carcasses. He¡¯s innocently excited about discovering a new village, though there¡¯s a distinct amount of apprehension too ¨C he has lived long enough to realise that not all changes are good. I do my best to reassure him and he accepts my Bond without much discussion. ¡°Welcome to the village,¡± I tell both of them, not smiling since I suspect that would be more likely taken as a threat, samuran body language being what it is. ¡°Iandee, can you take them into the main part of the village and get them settled, please.¡± Sure, no problem, Markus, he replies casually, though you will keep Finds-a-bug and Bites-a-leaf with you, won¡¯t you? Perhaps this other Warrior is on the level, but he¡¯s from the red tribe. I smile at him ¨C I know he won¡¯t misinterpret my gesture. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them for protection, sure. Lathani, Fenrir, and Storm will stay with me too.¡± He seems satisfied, turning to the two newcomers. Come on then, he tells them, his tone more brusque with them than it had been with me, but not unkind. Bares-claws darts a look at me. Honoured Pathwalker, he says politely, lifting his chin into the air. He doesn¡¯t continue or drop his chin until I speak. ¡°Yes?¡± I invite. Hopefully he¡¯ll lose the formality fast. I¡¯ve only just got my own villagers to drop the ¡®manners¡¯ ¨C and even then, the Unevolved tend to still default to politer forms until I remind them. Habit, I guess. And the older Pathwalkers still like their respectful addresses, particularly Windy. What should I do with my beasts? They are not normally allowed into the village proper. Good question. ¡°Are you able to ensure their good behaviour, or do they present a risk to the beings they come into contact with?¡± Bares-claws looks down at them thoughtfully, as if he¡¯s never been asked the question before. My master is able to control their actions entirely, but I do not have the strength that she does. He looks back up at me. I cannot guarantee that they are not a danger, he admits reluctantly. ¡°Thank you for being honest.¡± I tell him. ¡°In which case, Iandee, you¡¯d better swing by the farm area first and get the beasts settled in an enclosure. Then take the two samurans into the village and get them something to eat.¡± Sure, Iandee acknowledges, then departs with the two samurans trailing behind. I walk towards the Warrior whose impatience is flickering through his spikes. The other five members of the patrol follow behind as my honour guard. The rapidity of the colour movement in the Warrior¡¯s spikes has increased in the last few minutes, showing his mounting frustration. I ignore it, though, sitting down on the opposite side of the carcass from him, proclaiming that I don¡¯t consider myself to be his ally ¨C yet. The ¡®gifts¡¯ have earned him this audience and no more. He eyes me and my escort, the colours slowing down again as he probably realises that impatience isn¡¯t going to get him anywhere. Flickers of apprehension and slight fear also creep into his spikes as he eyes Lathani, and Fenrir. He can probably recognise an Evolved beast when he sees one and Lathani is pretty intimidating with her new size, dark fur, and piercing intelligent eyes. Fenrir, built like a venomous tank, is not someone to take lightly either. The raptorcat and the two Warriors should just confirm that he would have no chance in a battle against my group. He¡¯s protected by the customs of hospitality as long as he doesn¡¯t breach them egregiously. But he will only be covered as long as the audience lasts and he surely knows it. He will have to be careful. Determined to show him that I¡¯m no pushover either, I use my Transformation Skill to copy Lathani¡¯s claws and combine them with Flesh-Shaping, my finger bones on one hand extending and sharpening. Using them to carve into the meat, I then hold the piece between my thumb and ring-finger claws, using Fire-Shaping to cook the meat. Aingeal would normally fly to catch the drops of fat that fall but it¡¯s currently absent ¨C helping Happy with an experiment by heating her furnace. The two of them have become good friends and have even developed a system of communication between themselves. It just means that I have to hold the piece of cooking meat over the dirt so that the hot fat doesn¡¯t land on my clothes. As soon as it¡¯s cooked, I slip the chunk of flesh into my mouth. A little too fast ¨C it¡¯s still hot enough to burn me. But Flesh-Shaping takes care of that too. I love magic. I look up at the Warrior questioningly even as I reach out for another piece of meat. He looks as shocked as any I¡¯ve done this little display with ¨C clearly he wasn¡¯t prepared sufficiently for it. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a reason to be here?¡± I prompt brusquely. The Warrior seems to shake himself out of his shocked stupor. ¡°I did, Honoured Pathwalker. I do. My village is facing a great threat.¡± By this point, he seems to have fully shaken off the shock and his own claws reach down to rip off a piece of meat and throw it in his mouth. It seems to be more out of desire to follow tradition than need, though, as he doesn¡¯t take any more after that. ¡°A Great beast has taken up residence near us and we have already lost several Unevolved to its predations. Your village proved itself to be accomplished at killing Great beasts with the Hunt during the last Festival of Tribes. And you currently have the only Enlightened Pathwalker among the Tribes. We were hoping to ask for your aid in freeing us from the fear of this beast.¡± I look at him with narrowed eyes for a long moment. ¡°A Great beast is a powerful threat, that¡¯s true, but surely you have the Warriors and Pathwalkers to drive it off yourself.¡± Something is nagging at me. The Warrior looks down at the carcass and busies himself by carefully selecting just the right cut of meat to take next. When he finally looks up again, his spikes are clear of emotion and he¡¯s schooled the slight facial changes which even samuran muzzles can express. ¡°We are a small village,¡± he tells me. ¡°Losing even one of our Pathwalkers would be a massive blow. And if we lost even a handful of Warriors, we would no longer be able to protect ourselves fully. It would be better for us to lose Unevolved who might never Evolve than suffer such reductions to our numbers.¡± Anger curdles inside me as I realise what he¡¯s saying. ¡°Meaning that you¡¯d much rather we lose Warriors or Pathwalkers than you do,¡± I accuse him. The Warrior looks away again, fiddling with the carcass before him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°You have an Enlightened Pathwalker,¡± he points out, ¡°and were able to bring back the Energy Heart of a Great beast without suffering any losses to your party. Our Pathwalkers hope that you will be able to repeat the feat.¡± I find it hard to argue with that. I still think that it¡¯s a bit rich for another village to come and basically say that they¡¯re not willing to risk their own lives, but that they¡¯d like us to risk ours. But it is true that the showing we gave during the Hunt might give them the impression that killing Tier threes is effortless for us. If they¡¯d actually seen the battle, they might think differently but we did succeed in killing the fellapodil without losing anyone, something that isn¡¯t common according to Shrieks. However, we had the advantage of preparation and knowing the terrain at least a little in addition to numbers including another Tier three. The fellapodil was also not the most intelligent of creatures ¨C although it was physically pretty powerful, it didn¡¯t have the intelligent strategy to properly use all of its Skills, for some reason. Facing Raven the dragon-like alcaoris was harder and there we did lose people. Though, thinking about it, would we actually have to kill this Tier three? ¡°Your problem is that the Great beast has come too close to your village and is starting to take some of your villagers, right?¡± I check. ¡°Yes, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± the Warrior replies respectfully, still avoiding my gaze, probably in shame. ¡°So as long as the Great beast stops hunting you, it should be fine, right?¡± The Warrior looks up at me in slight confusion. ¡°Of course, which is why we need to kill it. Or rather, would very much appreciate it if you could use your superior power to kill it,¡± he corrects, apparently deciding that flattery might get him further. I tap my jaw thoughtfully, then am reminded that I¡¯ve transformed my right hand into clawed fingers when I accidentally pierce my own skin. Trying not to show my embarrassment, I pull my hand away, using Flesh-Shaping to heal the small puncture mark and reabsorb the drop of blood which had emerged. The thing is that perhaps killing is not necessary here. I¡¯ve managed to broker a peace between Kalanthia and this village ¨C and that¡¯s despite her having hunted their village for a much longer time and them kidnapping and torturing her cub. Surely creating a mutual agreement to ignore each other will be easier between a village and Tier three without so much history? Though, to be fair, it only worked between Kalanthia and the village because she likes and trusts me and therefore is willing to tolerate the village as long as they leave her alone. If I agree to help this other village, I¡¯ll have to see it through, even if, in the end, I¡¯m unable to make an alliance. Which could mean a battle which puts my companions at risk. I decide to get some thoughts from the other Pathwalkers. Connecting with all the Pathwalkers and then adding Shrieks, Poison, and Catch in as the most powerful of the Warriors, I explain the situation. So, do you think that they are being honest here? The red tribe of the sixth mountain is indeed a small village, Tarra agrees thoughtfully. I believe they only have four or five Pathwalkers, and perhaps twenty Warriors. They managed to make it to the Festival last great cycle though they lost one of their Pathwalkers and a handful of Warriors while doing it. They probably know how vulnerable they are ¨C if they lose any more Pathwalkers and none of their current Unevolved are able to replace the losses, they will need to join another village just to survive. If they are too weak to solve their own problems without deaths and too cowardly to risk that, I say to let them suffer the consequences, Windy responds in her usual abrasive manner. And what if Markus had let our village suffer the consequences of being unable to deal with the Forest of Death? River demands. Shaman had a plan, Windy replies stubbornly. If you hadn¡¯t disrupted it, it might have worked. At what cost? demands Tarra. Can we stop chewing on old bones? groaned Flower, expressing exactly what I feel. It is impossible to argue that Shaman¡¯s solution would have been better than Markus¡¯. In fact, it would probably have been significantly worse. Reducer is right that his intervention here in this village has helped us immensely. How can we then deny that help to others? We risked our own lives for it, argues Catch. I am not against helping, but to risk losses to our own numbers when the other village is unwilling to do so does not sit right to me. I agree with Catches-leaves, replies Yells. I was not there for the fight with the Great Pride, but two of our Warriors didn¡¯t come back from it, nor did four others of the group I had travelled and fought with. I am not against danger, and testing our abilities against a more powerful opponent seems to be a good way to advance ¨C look at how Wind-whisperer was finally able to break through to Evolve for a second time after fighting the Great Many-armed. However, I do not like the idea that we will fight for people who will not fight for themselves. They continue speaking over the matter, but nothing new is brought up. I call an end to the discussion when my decision crystallises and explain my intentions. Most of them seem happy enough with my plan so I focus back on the conversation. The Warrior obviously thought that I was deep in thought ¨C which I suppose is technically true ¨C and has been busying himself by consuming his side of the carcass bit by bit ¨C evidently, he¡¯s hungry. ¡°Here is what I propose,¡± I start. Apparently it was unexpected as the Warrior flinches slightly. ¡°We will visit your village. We will go to speak with the Great beast. If we can resolve the situation peacefully, we will do so. If we cannot, we will fight on one condition.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± the Warrior asks with some apprehension. ¡°That your Warriors and Pathwalkers will fight with us.¡± The Warrior eyes me carefully. ¡°I¡­am not sure my Pathwalkwers will agree to this.¡± ¡°Then you can go to another village for help,¡± I say simply. The Warrior deflates ¨C he knows that that¡¯s not an option. Almost all the other villages are much further away so, if this is as time-sensitive as it seems, he will risk more of his village being consumed while he travels ¨C without gifts ¨C to visit another village. And that village might refuse him too, making it a waste of time. ¡°I¡­If the Honoured Pathwalker speaks to my leaders, I¡¯m sure that you can convince them,¡± he ventures, dodging the responsibility slightly. Though, to be fair to him, he probably can¡¯t make that decision. Really, the other village should have sent a Pathwalker with him to negotiate. ¡°We will come,¡± I agree. ¡°But we will not help for free, and if your Pathwalkers decide to turn us away because they aren¡¯t willing to put their own skin in the game, we will expect compensation for our time.¡± The Warrior eyes me, then grunts in his equivalent of a sigh. Resignation flashes through his spikes. It¡¯s the best deal he can hope for and he knows it. ¡°Then Pathwalker Tamer, the red tribe of the sixth mountain thanks you for your willingness to help. If I may ask, when can we leave?¡± I consider the matter. It shouldn¡¯t take too long to prepare, but I would like to make sure everyone is outfitted in as good armour and equipment as possible. ¡°Two days. Until then, you can either remain as a guest, or return to your village.¡± The Warrior seems to consider it. ¡°I thank the Honoured Pathwalker for your offer, but I do not wish to impose on your welcome. If you would permit me to make a camp nearby, and inform your Warriors of my presence so they do not attack, I would be grateful. I can then lead you to our village in two days¡¯ time, ensuring that you do not become lost. It¡¯s a fair compromise and honestly one I¡¯d prefer over him joining us in the village itself. I only offered out of politeness; perhaps he realises that, or perhaps he¡¯s as uneasy with me as I am with him. ¡°That works,¡± I agree casually, then return to the traditional formal goodbye. ¡°May the ancestors watch over you until we meet again.¡± ¡°Thank you Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he answers, raising his chin into the air briefly. ¡°May the ancestors smile on our next meeting.¡± With that, he heads into the forest without a backwards glance. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Five: Different Bares-claws walks further into the village, trailing silently behind the one the Pathwalker had called ¡®Iandee¡¯. It¡¯s a strange name for a Warrior, but he does his best to reserve judgement for now ¨C this is a new village and might easily have new rules. He doesn¡¯t want to run afoul of them on the first day ¨C now he doesn¡¯t have the protection of his master, he doesn¡¯t want to find out the consequences of that. He does feel rather vulnerable without his beasts at his heels ¨C ever since his master gave them to him they have been his shadows when outside his home village. And this is most certainly not his home. Kills-a-deer doesn¡¯t seem to be as nervous as Bares-claws is. He¡¯s staring around at everything with wide eyes, advertising the fact that he¡¯s a newcomer as well as if his spikes started talking and shouted it for all to hear. But what can be expected of one barely more than a hatchling? Bares-claws doesn¡¯t blame him for his curiosity, though he¡¯s personally trying to be a bit discreet about it ¨C everyone will already know he¡¯s new; he doesn¡¯t need to make it as obvious as the other Unevolved is. It¡¯s just so¡­different from what they¡¯re used to. This village is bigger for one thing, probably about double the number of huts around. Bares-claws¡¯ village used to be more populous ¨C the remains of huts proves that if nothing else. But at some point it reduced in size and the unused huts were not maintained, soon collapsing in on themselves and leaving only holes in the ground as a remnant of their presence. But it¡¯s not the size of the village which catches his attention. It¡¯s not even the number of People just sitting around and chatting with each other ¨C though that is surprising enough. Instead, it¡¯s the colour. Every hut seems to have at least one woven mat decorating its outside wall. Some have woven mats which depict creatures from the forest or other members of the People; others are just repeating patterns with bold colours. And then there are all the People sitting and talking. Most of them are doing something at the same time. Bares-claws sees some People using an oddly coloured knife to carve into wood. He seems to be making a bowl ¨C an Unevolved is making something! He¡¯s not just finding the resources for the Pathwalkers to make the object, paying in tokens for it. It seems to be a much slower process: Bares-claws has seen a Pathwalker make the same item within a few breaths where this Unevolved has to shave the wood away bit by bit. That he has the time to do such a thing is probably the most surprising thing. There¡¯s another, also using a knife on wood, who seems to be creating¡­shapes? Bares-claws sees something that looks rather like the big beast which had accompanied the Warrior leading them and then stayed behind with the Pathwalker. What purpose does that have? Is it controlling the beast somehow? Bares-claws wonders. But if so, does that make this Unevolved the Pathwalker¡¯s assistant or something? The number of hatchlings running around is surprising too. Given the number of Pathwalkers he knows that this village boasts, he supposes their actual number isn¡¯t surprising. That they¡¯re all running around the village, however, is. Either running or settling down together around shaped pieces of wood that seem to capture their concentration. It reminds Bares-claws of the game of tossing bones which he¡¯s occasionally joined in on. But those games were always held in shadowy corners, out of fear that if the Pathwalkers saw them wasting time playing, they would be given more tasks to complete. And most of the time he had been too tired to engage in it anyway, especially once his master had taken him as an assistant. They come to a stop. Bares-claws barely manages to catch himself before he runs straight into the Warrior. Kills-a-deer doesn¡¯t and walks right into the Warrior¡¯s back. Bares-claws winces as Kills-a-deer takes a hurried step back. Some Warriors would accept it as an accident. Others¡­. ¡°Warrior Iandee, I apologise,¡± Kills-a-deer says hurriedly. Young as he might be, he¡¯s learnt to be wary of upsetting the most physically powerful among them. ¡°I should have been looking where I was going. Is there anything I can do for you to make up for it?¡± Sometimes even the Warriors who wouldn¡¯t tolerate such disrespect would be willing to give a task instead of a physical punishment. As a hunter, Kills-a-deer must be particularly keen to avoid physical damage which might prevent him from hunting for days, in turn stopping him from earning his food tokens. Then again, Bares-claws thinks bitterly to himself, I¡¯m probably back to being in the same situation now. The Pathwalker promised to find a role for him, but it isn¡¯t likely to be as protected a role as he has been enjoying for the last three great cycles. Fortunately, Warrior Iandee appears to be the forgiving type. ¡°It¡¯s fine ¨C accidents happen,¡± he says, waving it off with a flick of his tail. His spikes don¡¯t show any anger, merely a hint of amusement. Bares-claws lets out a silent breath in relief ¨C Kills-a-deer might annoy him with his persistent optimism and innocent naivety, but that doesn¡¯t mean Bares-claws wishes him any harm. Indeed, as the only two here from their hatching-village, they must be allies of a sort. ¡°And my name is actually Eats-dirt,¡± the Warrior continues speaking. ¡°Use that ¨C and drop the ¡®Warrior¡¯ if you like.¡± That was an odd request ¨C and Bares-claws finds himself completely confused. This is a Warrior, not a Pathwalker ¨C why does he have two names? Though the one he gave at least sounds more normal, even if he must have annoyed his broodmother to be given a name like that. Or perhaps eating dirt was just something he regularly did as a hatchling. The Warrior must see his confusion as he grunts in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s the boss ¨C he gives names to everyone. ¡®Nicknames¡¯ he calls them.¡± Iandee ¨C Eats-dirt ¨C tells them. ¡°We don¡¯t mind ¨C it¡¯s a mark of his favour. Get close enough to him and he¡¯ll give you another name. It¡¯s just one of his oddities ¨C you get used to them after a while.¡± Bares-claws exchanges a look with Kills-a-deer. He¡¯s glad to see that the other Unevolved is just as uncertain as he is over the situation. Seeing as the Warrior appears to be more friendly than most, the older Unevolved dares to push for a little more information. ¡°The ¡®boss¡¯?¡± ¡°The being you just met ¨C and who you now have a Bond with,¡± Warrior Eats-dirt tells him knowingly. ¡®Being¡¯ is right ¨C the hairy creature is clearly not one of the People, though the scaled hide that covers most of his body is relatively similar. But Bares-claws remembers how it felt to be in that odd space, unable to move, watching him come closer and closer, pushing through Bares-claws¡¯ strongest resistance like it was nothing. It reminded him of what his master was able to do to beasts on the occasion she¡¯d allowed him to observe, even if he¡¯d felt oddly disconnected from the world around him in a way he wasn¡¯t familiar with. And then, inexplicably, the being hadn¡¯t forced the Bond on him ¨C he¡¯d given Bares-claws a choice. The Bond had snapped into place, feeling similar yet different to when Bares-claws was given the Bond to his beasts by his master. Rather than feeling a heady sense of control, he was instead almost overcome by the strong urge to protect the being in front of him ¨C and to obey. The force of the feelings faded only a few minutes later, but Bares-claws knows that they haven¡¯t gone. He could probably cause harm to or disobey the holder of his Bond, but it would be difficult. Is this how his beasts feel? Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Hey, listen,¡± Warrior Eats-dirt continues and Bares-claws snaps his attention back on the Evolved, cursing himself silently for getting distracted. ¡°This village is very different from what you¡¯re used to. Why don¡¯t we grab a carcass and I¡¯ll give you the organs of it all.¡± Bares-claws exchanges another look with Kills-a-deer, the only other one who seems to think that this situation is odd. No one is looking at them or seems to be talking about the fact that there are two Unevolved chatting with a Warrior. And when Eats-dirt goes to grab a carcass from inside a hut and dumps it in front of them, crouching beside it, only the two new Unevolved seem to think that it¡¯s odd. ¡°We don¡¯t have any food tokens,¡± Kills-a-deer ventures. Bares-claws had been debating whether to say anything or just enjoy the food and then deal with the consequences later ¨C he¡¯s hungry and the beast in front of him looks tasty. ¡°We don¡¯t use them,¡± the Warrior says nonchalantly, as if such a thing is completely normal rather than the earth-shattering idea that it is. No food tokens? How does this village work then? Is that why so many People are just sitting around? But then where does the food come from? How do the Pathwalkers get the resources they need? Far from being good news, the thought almost sends Bares-claws into a panic ¨C he doesn¡¯t want to starve or be kicked out to the forest when the food inevitably becomes scarce. The Warrior sees his panic and clicks calmingly. ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything. Just sit down and have something to eat. It¡¯s fine, I promise.¡± Not feeling much choice, Bares-claws hesitantly crouches next to the carcass and, upon urging from the Warrior, uses his claws to slice off a piece. Putting it in his mouth, he practically feels his spikes explode. It tastes so good! Before he knows it, he¡¯s stuffing his mouth with meat. Once the first edge of hunger is sated, he realises what he¡¯s doing and looks up cautiously, worried that the Warrior hadn¡¯t meant him to eat quite as voraciously as he was. But Eats-dirt seems calm, his spikes rippling with blue and green so Bares-claws just continues. Kills-a-deer is still filling his face, clearly enjoying the meat too. As he does so, Eats-dirt starts talking. Much of what he says is incomprehensible. People in this village are given fragments of Energy Hearts for just doing everyday things? Food is available to everyone, at any time? Everyone is required to take a day of rest every double-clawful? And today is apparently that rest day for most ¨C those who aren¡¯t getting it today will get it tomorrow instead. Hatchlings don¡¯t have to go out at all? Much of the rest of his words go over Bares-claws¡¯ head ¨C what¡¯s been revealed is just so difficult to comprehend. He mentions something about farming ¨C whatever that is ¨C something else about healing Energy channels, and a check-up which apparently everyone in the village has had and which the two of them will need to undergo with the leader. The leader, this ¡®boss¡¯ who is the odd-looking creature from the gates. In one way it now makes so much more sense that Warrior Stabs-a-stone had given the two of them to this ¡®boss¡¯. In another, it really doesn¡¯t ¨C apparently the ¡®boss¡¯, visibly not one of the People, incapable of bearing or sireing eggs, is capable of using multiple different types of magic, healing and destroying in equal measure. How he became the leader of the village Bares-claws has no idea and doesn¡¯t dare to ask. A Pathwalker comes by as Warrior Eats-dirt is talking. Inexplicably, she crouches down next to them and starts eating from the same carcass. A Pathwalker, sharing a carcass with lowly Unevolved? Even with all the other surprises Bares-claws has experienced so far this morning, this is enough to make him stare. When she meets his eyes, he quickly tips his chin up to the sky, hoping that she will not take offence at him staring at her. ¡°Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he greets respectfully. ¡°No need for all that,¡± she replies casually. ¡°You can look at me.¡± Bares-claws dares to lower his chin slowly until he¡¯s able to see her fully. Her scales are very pretty, darker ones making interesting patterns across her hide. ¡°Like what you see?¡± she asks with amusement. Bares-claws feels his spikes go pink at getting caught. ¡°My apologies, Honoured Pathwalker,¡± he stammers, lifting his chin again. He hears a grunting sound of exasperation. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± she assures him. ¡°Look at me, it¡¯s fine.¡± Slowly lowering his chin, Bares-claws dares to look at her, though keeps his gaze fixed on her muzzle and the sharp teeth it contains instead of letting it wander anywhere else. ¡°Eats-dirt, have you talked them through the formality ¨C or lack of it ¨C yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, Reducer,¡± Warrior Eats-dirt tells her. He makes a sound of amusement. ¡°You know, it¡¯s only now I¡¯m explaining everything to People from another village that I realise just how much has changed.¡± ¡°For the better,¡± Pathwalker Reducer says firmly. ¡°Of course, for the better,¡± Eats-dirt agrees. ¡°No one wants to go back to how things were.¡± They share a quick look. ¡°Well, almost no one. And even Wind-whisperer wouldn¡¯t want to go back to being a mere Evolved.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± the Pathwalker says with visible satisfaction before Bares-claws feels her focus return to him. ¡°Now, regarding formality, you¡¯ll notice that we don¡¯t use a lot of it. Markus ¨C our leader, and also known as Pathwalker Tamer ¨C prefers everyone to use his name. However, he realises that this is difficult for most of us who are used to being more formal with the leader of the village, especially one who can do and has done as much as he has. He¡¯ll accept ¡®Honoured Markus¡¯, ¡®Tamer¡¯, or ¡®Pathwalker Tamer¡¯, but he gets annoyed if too many ¡®Honoured¡¯s are thrown around and try not to combine those. I¡¯m happy to be referred to as Reducer or Pathwalker Reducer, and Markus calls me River.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already talked to them about his habit with nicknames,¡± Warrior Eats-dirt interrupts. ¡°He does have a tendency to give them,¡± the Pathwalker agrees. ¡°However, just to warn you, Pathwalkers Wind-whisperer, Wood-shaper, and Grower would prefer higher levels of formality ¨C what you¡¯d consider to be normal ¨C as would Warriors Runs-into-a-tree and Chews-a-bone.¡± It¡¯s the oddest sensation. As the Pathwalker speaks, images of the People in question enter Bares-claws¡¯ mind. From the way Kills-a-deer flinches, it¡¯s probably happening to him too. Reducer looks at them knowingly. ¡°The mental connection. It does take some getting used to, but it¡¯s invaluable once you have.¡± She looks up. ¡°Markus is coming over. He probably wants to talk to you.¡± Bares-claws twists his head, seeing the odd creature who had met them indeed walking towards them. With narrowed eyes, he watches the way this ¡®Markus¡¯ interacts with those around and once more he is left with nothing but questions. The other People ¨C bar the hatchlings ¨C seem to treat his passage with respect, but not fear. Those standing in the way move out of it unless they have something to ask. Markus is waylaid a few times by another villager, but never seems to get angry over it. At least, Bares-claws doesn¡¯t think he does ¨C without spikes it¡¯s hard to tell. Even with the delay, the odd creature joins them soon enough, exchanging friendly greetings with the two Evolved Pathwalkers. Bares-claws shuffles to the side to give space to this ¡®Markus¡¯. He feels exceedingly awkward, with no idea of how to behave. The Pathwalker said that he doesn¡¯t like too much formality, but Bares-claws doesn¡¯t want him to feel disrespected either. He tries to compromise. Raising his chin into the air, Bares-claws greets the apparent leader of the village. ¡°Greetings Pathwalker Tamer,¡± he offers, feeling like he¡¯s making a mistake in not adding the ¡®Honoured¡¯ onto the beginning. Kills-a-deer shoots him a glance and then echoes him, apparently throwing his lot in with his fellow Unevolved. ¡°Good to see you¡¯re both eating,¡± the leader says casually. His speech is¡­odd. What emerges from his mouth sounds nothing like the clicks and grunts it should be, yet Bares-claws understands it nonetheless. He lets out a silent breath. The strange Pathwalker doesn¡¯t seem angry. In fact¡­next to where he feels his two Bound beasts, Bares-claws feels something else. An odd, foreign sort of emotion. He easily identifies it: curiosity. The leader¡¯s emotion? The leader turns his head to look directly at Bares-claws. ¡°I was wondering about the Bonds I felt you had with the beasts. Can you tell me a bit about them?¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Six: Beast Tamer The samuran looks back at me thoughtfully. I sense over the Bond that he¡¯s feeling a little numb ¨C I know that our village takes a bit of getting used to. More than half a year since I took over as leader, it¡¯s practically unrecognisable from what it was. And the vast majority seem happier with it now than its original form. Even Windy has stopped complaining as much, though the relaxing of formality that has followed my lead seems to irritate her as much as it relieves me. She might be comfortable being treated almost as a god among mortals, but I¡¯m not. I would guess that Bares-claws has just been informed of this, based on his greeting ¨C though more formal than I would like, it¡¯s still less than would normally be required of an Unevolved to the lead Pathwalker of their village. It doesn¡¯t escape my notice that Kills-a-deer looks to him for guidance in this new situation for them both. What do you wish to know? Bares-claws responds after a pause. I sense more than hear him biting off the ¡®Honoured Pathwalker¡¯ at the end or something similar. ¡°Well, how did you form them?¡± I ask, figuring that starting at the beginning was best. We captured the two beasts in the forest, one first and then the other when it came looking for the first. They are a mated pair, Bares-claws informs me, speaking readily. My master wanted to know whether I was able to develop a Bond with them on my own so I was in charge of caring for the beasts. Feeding them, cleaning their cages, getting them used to my presence, to my voice. And after a while, to my touch. ¡°And?¡± I prompt with interest. That sounds very much non-magical taming to me. Yet there¡¯s clearly a magical component too. ¡°Did that cause you to develop the Bonds I now feel in you?¡± No, the samuran admits with an air of reluctance. My master was disappointed. But she was able to test something else. She created the Bond between herself and the two beasts and then attempted to pass the connections to me ¨C with success. She said that that wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d ever been able to do before. She theorised that it was my care of the beasts beforehand which had allowed the Bond to connect with me. ¡°Or perhaps the beasts needed to accept the transference and, due to the trust that you¡¯d developed, they did so with you in a way previous beasts hadn¡¯t done with others,¡± I muse. As the Pathwalker says, Bares-claws answers deferently. I ask him a few more questions both about the Bonds and about what he had observed of his previous master ¨C the beast tamer. He was hesitant about a few of the questions, sometimes not knowing the answer, sometimes not knowing whether he should respond. In the latter case, though, most of the time he did finally give me a complete sentence. Perhaps he realises that being part of this village and not that one means his allegiance needs to shift. Or perhaps it¡¯s the influence of the Dominate Bond. Either way, by the end of the conversation, I feel that I have a better idea of what beast tamers are like among samurans. The Bonds themselves sound like a hybrid between my Tame and Dominate ¨C he doesn¡¯t have the control that I do over my Dominate Bound, but he didn¡¯t need to do the same kind of negotiation that I do with Tame. It seems that the process he followed of taming the beasts in the non-magical way first wasn¡¯t necessary for his erstwhile master to do, but it apparently improves the chances of a Bond forming. Otherwise, from what he¡¯s observed, the tamer has to attempt to brute force it ¨C a bit like Dominate. Though it doesn¡¯t seem that the Pathwalker he assisted ever spoke to him about a space like the Battle of Wills. It¡¯s interesting to compare with my own Class ¨C though there are certainly similarities, we¡¯re certainly not the same. Of course, Bares-claws isn¡¯t a beast tamer himself and his answers may not be completely reliable. However, he has been the other Pathwalker¡¯s assistant for over two years so he must have gained a decent idea of how she does things. As long as I can be certain of his loyalty, he could solve a few potential problems for the village which have been worrying me. He could be even more beneficial if I can get him to Evolve into a beast tamer himself. But magic isn¡¯t necessary to accomplish what humans managed to do for millennia so if he never Evolves it¡¯s not the end of the world. The main thing that magic offers is the ability to communicate in a way that no non-magical solution allows. Hunter has been doing well with her runes, but she¡¯s got stuck at four-rune combinations ¨C experimentation is not a perfect replacement for instruction and we only have that one beginner¡¯s book available to us. She¡¯s been able to connect samuran and beast together, but only one at a time, and the connection doesn¡¯t offer the kind of benefits that my Bonds do. Although I can create Alliances, I don¡¯t know whether they will last if I¡¯m not even on this world. Having a beast tamer who can create and transfer Bonds once I¡¯m gone would definitely help with the farming. We¡¯ve also been experimenting a bit with mounted samurans ¨C each of them having a proper Bond with their mount might help. A grin creeps on my face at the thought ¨C perhaps this trip could be the first proper outing for our mounted cavalry. ¡°Alright, thanks for that information,¡± I say to Bares-claws. ¡°Now, both of you. What do you know about a Great beast moving into the area near your previous village?¡± The two samurans exchange confused looks. A Great beast? My master didn¡¯t say anything about that, Bares-claws answers uncertainly. There have been more deaths recently than usual, Kills-a-deer offers just as hesitantly. I haven¡¯t heard anyone say that it¡¯s because of a Great beast, though. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I frown. Is it just that they weren¡¯t told? I know that the Unevolved are traditionally kept in the dark about many things ¨C previous to my changes, the Pathwalkers would decide pretty much everything within their little group, perhaps giving some decision-making power over to the lead Warrior. But about a Great beast? Wouldn¡¯t they have at least been warned to keep out of certain part of the forest? Perhaps the Pathwalkers wanted to avoid panic, suggests River, correctly interpreting my confusion. I remember that it took a while for the Pathwalkers to tell us about Kalanthia¡¯s presence. In fact, they only told us when the Warriors went off to hunt her in her lair. I look at her sharply. ¡°When they came to kidnap Lathani? But I had the impression that you¡¯d known of her before that.¡± No, not then. Earlier than that. I knew of her because I came across the remains of a group of Unevolved who had been caught by her when I was barely more than a hatchling. When I told Herbalist about them, she ordered me to keep silent about it. It wasn¡¯t long after that that the Pathwalkers announced that a group of Warriors would be going to kill the Great beast which threatened us. I joined the pieces together. ¡°But¡­they didn¡¯t kill her,¡± I say slowly. ¡°They¡­drove her away?¡± Am I getting the timeline straight? Not even that, Poison answers, pausing as he passes by. We went to hunt the Great Predator in a great number, yet found her lair empty. We waited to try to ambush her when she returned, but she never did. We returned three days later, glad that we were alive yet fearful that she had merely found a different location to launch her attacks from. But no attacks came. She had gone. With that, he twitches his tail and then continues walking to wherever he was going before he was distracted by our conversation. I nod slowly. ¡°OK, I understand.¡± From what Kalanthia said, there had previously been various strikes made on the side of the samurans, but their war-party aiming straight for her den had been what made her give up on the area completely. Instead of risking her life ¨C and with it, Lathani¡¯s ¨C she had migrated further up the mountain-side. After a little more conversation with the four of them, the two new Unevolved start to relax the longer we speak without me snapping at them. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t spend all day chatting so I make my excuses and move on. If we¡¯re going to travel out in two days¡¯ time, we have some preparations to make. The first task is, of course, to decide who¡¯s going ¨C and who¡¯s staying. I don¡¯t want to leave the village defenceless in my absence after all. Fortunately, with the additions to our numbers, having enough in each party is easier than it would have been previously. I¡¯ve been continuing with my efforts to help Unevolved samurans to Evolve with good effect. In the last three months since the Festival, I¡¯ve managed to help nine more Warriors to break through the barriers which had been holding them back ¨C usually something that had gone wrong with the formation of the channels. Sometimes their channels were too narrow, sometimes too wide. Sometimes their design had a sense of incompleteness to it. Other times their internal matrix was just a hodgepodge of different styles ¨C something that can apparently happen if they consume too many Cores from vastly different creatures. This latter has proven to be the hardest to fix and I still haven¡¯t found a good method. Many of those haven¡¯t even got close to Evolution yet, but the process of trying to help them has taught me a lot. In addition to those nine Warriors, we have two new Pathwalkers ¨C and both seem to have been significantly influenced by the Energy Heart fragments I¡¯ve been giving out. Jumpy has become Earth-shaper. Flicks, interestingly, has become Fire-whisperer ¨C the first in living memory. Flicks doesn¡¯t do exactly what I do, and I should know ¨C I¡¯ve been working extensively with her. She can¡¯t just create fire from nothing. But once it¡¯s created, she can shape it, mould it, convince it to do what she wants, leading her to spend plenty of time with Happy near the forge. I would have called her Fire Tamer, but she chose not to take my suggestion. I don¡¯t blame her ¨C Fire-whisperer is pretty badass. And there¡¯s that whole prejudice against tamers which she was probably trying to avoid. Those two are definitely candidates for staying here. Though combining abilities can lead to more impressive effects, we haven¡¯t practised enough together to be able to meld magic in combat. Doubling up, therefore, on Skills I already possess isn¡¯t very logical. Having them back here to help the village in my absence makes far more sense. River will be coming with me; of that, I¡¯m sure. Similarly, Bastet, Lathani, Fenrir, Storm, Ninja, Catch, and Pride are definites. As much as I¡¯d rather not put up with her presence ¨C since becoming Tier three, she¡¯s been practically insufferably arrogant ¨C Windy¡¯s firepower will be needed if this comes down to a fight. I may have learned Air-Shaping two months ago, but she¡¯s far better at it than I am and she is a storm mage too. I wonder about whether to take Yells or not ¨C we¡¯ve been experimenting a lot with her reflecting and enhancing abilities. Not only useful for combat, she¡¯s become something of a multi-purpose tool, able to enhance any sort of magic. Tarra has made some incredibly powerful healing potions and poisons with her help, Happy has made her best pieces of armour and weapons with Yells there, and Hunter has created amazingly strong and durable runes with Yells present at their activation. I actually look forward to seeing how the equipment the last three have made together will hold up in combat ¨C maybe this Tier three will give us that opportunity. If Yells comes with us, she won¡¯t be able to help those I leave behind and I doubt that I¡¯ll take any of the more support-role Pathwalkers with me. Then again, it shouldn¡¯t be for that long. Happy and Hunter can do without her for a while ¨C it would be good to have Yells¡¯ enhancing magic available in a fight. Not to mention that she¡¯s discovered ways of using her opponents'' attacks against them ¨C with excellent results in our last ranking battle. Even I had to be a little careful with my fire attacks. I¡¯ll also take Dusty ¨C that way between us we¡¯ll cover all four elements since my Water-Shaping is still not particularly good. And Windy also covers lightning even if she¡¯s still not able to direct it particularly well. With a good complement of Warriors, that should be enough. Hades and Persephone will be able to join us this time without the hatchlings to look after. Honey and Komodo will probably be interested in joining us ¨C they¡¯re both usually happy for a fight. Thorn probably shouldn¡¯t ¨C he seems to have made fast friends with a group of Unevolved who he hunts with almost exclusively. I won¡¯t use a second favour from Raven ¨C I reckon that we should be able to take on a Tier three with that line-up, especially if we add some Warriors into the mix. I¡¯ll have to speak to Shrieks about that ¨C though I¡¯ve got some preferences, his input will definitely be valuable. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Seven: Primitive Vibe I said it would take two days, and I¡¯m true to my word. We assemble on the morning of the second day at first light so as to maximise our daylight hours. The days are lengthening again but the nights are still significantly longer than the days so we need to get moving as soon as possible. I¡¯m glad that the rainy season has mostly passed, though ¨C the weeks between the Festival and the hatching of the eggs were pretty miserable. As Kalanthia had predicted, there was a huge amount of rain, and it was cold besides. I was very grateful for my spider-silk leotard underclothes and even doubled its thickness and added in a layer of feathers to keep me warm enough. These days, I¡¯m considering taking off the leotard entirely as I¡¯m beginning to get a little hot. Thank heavens for magic which makes such adjustments so easy! At this time of the morning, though, I¡¯m still grateful for it which makes choosing when to take off the extra insulation a little difficult. I¡¯m also wearing my snazzy new armour ¨C as are my party members. In addition to River, Yells, Dusty, and Windy, Shrieks has assigned me a complement of seven Warriors, including Catch. He would have given me more but I insisted that he should keep the rest to guard those we¡¯ll be leaving behind. I pointed out that I would be taking most of my combat Bound with me too, which would both add firepower to my party and remove fighters from Shrieks¡¯ command. He didn¡¯t like it but subsided when he heard my logical arguments. Most of the last two days were spent preparing for the journey and the potential fight ahead. Fortunately, we¡¯ve been making preparations for an eventual battle for far longer than two days. The samuran members of my party are now outfitted in their own forms of armour and it stands as a testament to what our village is now capable of when we work together. Each samuran is covered from neck to knees with a tabard-like piece of armour which serves to protect their torso and the top of their legs, just like my own does. They refused to have trousers or boots of any sort, but they do each have greaves which protect their shins and their calves. Arms are unarmoured to allow for movement, but we managed to make a sort of helmet which protects the top of their heads and the backs of their necks. Letting their spikes through the helmet was a requirement to get any samuran to wear it, and it¡¯s only a piece of boiled and shaped leather, so it¡¯s not as protective as my own bone helmet, but it¡¯s better than nothing. We haven¡¯t been able to outfit everyone yet, but half of the Pathwalkers and a third of the Warriors have at least some armour ¨C those on guard duty get priority to the armour in the communal pool. The Unevolved either have nothing or just simple boiled leather, but we¡¯ll get to them soon enough. The hunting parties have obviously been prioritised and most of them have at least boiled leather tabards and helmets. The Warriors have metal plates made by Happy attached to the hide; the Pathwalkers only have light chitin or bone plates that were partly made by me, partly by other samurans the old fashioned way. The difference is because otherwise the Pathwalkers wouldn¡¯t be able to carry the weight for long with their minimal strength. The actual defence value of both types of armour is significantly more than the raw materials would permit: Hunter¡¯s work. Durability is obviously one of the main runes she used, but she¡¯s managed to create a combination which helps impacts to be diffused across the whole of the armour rather than just in that one spot ¨C it works with both crushing and piercing force though better with the first. For piercing force, it just serves to blunt the attack a bit, which usually stops the attack from getting through to the skin, but may leave a nasty bruise or crack a bone nonetheless. For the Pathwalkers, she¡¯s been experimenting with a rune array which is supposed to draw in Energy more quickly to increase mana regeneration. As far as I know, it¡¯s been somewhat successful ¨C mana regeneration is increased, but not very significantly. She¡¯s been more successful with incorporating a Core into the design to store the wearer¡¯s mana ¨C the limitations are that the Core must be touching the user¡¯s skin, and if it¡¯s cracked in any way, it tends to explode when mana is fed into it. Violently explodes. As a result, each Pathwalker has a modified Core as a bracelet on their off-hand which they know to tear off and throw away if it becomes cracked. Even if they don¡¯t manage to do that, the worst that will happen is that they lose a hand. With Flesh-Shaping, I can heal that later easily enough. I have one of them too ¨C so far they¡¯ve worked pretty well in hunts, able to hold about half my mana pool again. Looking at the group of eleven samurans arrayed before me, I can¡¯t help but whistle quietly in admiration. It all still has a very primitive vibe to it, but when I consider what my first set of armour looked like, this is practically professional in comparison. And the samurans aren¡¯t the only ones armoured. The raptorcats and Lathani don¡¯t like being encumbered and require flexibility, but they still have spider-silk protection over their backs and around their bellies and chests. The silk is also enhanced by the runes that Hunter used on the Pathwalkers¡¯ armour ¨C I had to carefully copy her design into the silk as a kind of embroidery. Hunter checked my work, told me to correct a few things, and then poured in magic and activated the runes when she was satisfied. It was difficult to get the runes as perfect as they needed to be, but far easier to magic them into being than try to sew them. It¡¯s a pity that Hunter hasn¡¯t been able to learn any Shaping Skill ¨C it would probably save her a lot of time. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Fenrir, Pride, Hades, and Persephone are also armoured and more heavily than the felines. Pride was too difficult because of the large sail projecting from his back which he refused to have pierced in any way. In the end, Collects-stones ¨C the lead tanner ¨C just used boiled leather to give him some head and neck protection and left the rest of him as nature intended it. The other three are another question, their backs, heads, necks, and chests all now armoured with boiled leather and bone plates in the most appropriate places. We¡¯re an impressive looking group and the Warrior envoy¡¯s reaction when he sees us walking towards the main gate is gratifying. He actually takes a couple of steps back and tightens his hand around his club handle. ¡°Ancestors smile on our meeting. This is your warband, Pathwalker Tamer?¡± the Warrior asks politely after the briefest of greetings. I¡¯ll forgive him for it ¨C I¡¯m sure it¡¯s out of surprise or amazement and not disrespect. ¡°Ancestors smile,¡± I respond, just as briefly. I see his moment of affront before he remembers that he was just as curt and looks slightly shame-faced instead. ¡°Yes, it is.¡± The Warrior doesn¡¯t seem to know what to say. His spikes flicker with a range of colours before he manages to think of his next words. ¡°Then, shall we start the journey?¡± he asks. I¡¯m slightly disappointed ¨C I was hoping for something a little more interesting than that. But I suppose it¡¯s a valid question. ¡°One moment,¡± I tell him, then look at the Pathwalkers. ¡°Better call them now.¡± Three of them tip their chins up briefly and pull out a token from the pouches attached just inside the flap of their armour. Windy just stands still, looking into the far distance in that pose I¡¯ve come to hate. She thinks it makes her look like she¡¯s contemplating matters far beyond the ken of mortals. I think it just makes her look like her head is empty of any thought at all. ¡°Not going to ride, Windy?¡± I ask with my eyebrow raised. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you would prefer to walk.¡± I intend to fly. As an Enlightened samuran, I am capable of such feats, Windy answers with such pomposity that I almost rethink bringing her along. She¡¯s useful, don¡¯t get me wrong, and damn powerful. But she¡¯s only become a bigger pain-in-my-arse as time has gone on ¨C her new powers really have gone to her head. The way so many of the village look at her as a god among mortals doesn¡¯t help either. Her ego definitely didn¡¯t need any more feeding. ¡°Sure,¡± I tell her a little caustically. ¡°You can fly. You can also walk when you run out of mana after a short journey. You¡¯re not riding anyone else¡¯s mount if you choose not to bring yours.¡± She contemplates this for a moment, then makes an irritated sound and pulls out a similar token to that used by the other three Pathwalkers, looking much put out. In the meantime, Hades comes up to stand next to me and I lean against him, scratching him just behind his wings ¨C he¡¯s told me before that it¡¯s a place which constantly itches and which he can never scratch to satisfaction. In response, he rubs the bottom of his jaw against the top of my head ¨C fortunately, I don¡¯t currently have my helmet on. Persephone has gone up to River and is nudging her for similar treatment. River grunts in amusement and starts scratching her under her jaw ¨C Persephone¡¯s preferred spot. I should have the Evolved mount, Windy mutters mutinously, sending fulminating glares River¡¯s way ¨C fortunately not literally. I sigh gustily. ¡°And we¡¯ve discussed this multiple times. Persephone likes River. Get your own mount to Tier two and you will have an Evolved mount. Keep neglecting to give her Cores or Energy Hearts as you have been and you¡¯ll be stuck with a Tier one mount forever.¡± I don¡¯t even need a mount ¨C I can fly. Windy argues. I shake my head and ignore her. It¡¯s the only way I keep my sanity sometimes. Dusty and Yells are already on their own mounts. The creatures are smaller and weaker than Hades and Persephone are but are otherwise very similar. For good reason ¨C they¡¯re from the kiinas¡¯ brood. Two months after being turned out of the den, half of the baby kiinas came back. Bigger than they were when they left, and wiser. Wise enough to know that they¡¯d had a good thing going and keen to regain it. Hades and Persephone would have driven them away ¨C they had no desire to be looking after their children any longer ¨C but I stepped in and offered them another option. They could become mounts for the Pathwalkers in the village and be rewarded by their chosen Pathwalker in Cores and Energy Hearts or they could take up another role as beasts of burden. Several chose to become mounts. In fact, Windy¡¯s went straight for her and warned off any of her siblings who dared to come close. I wonder whether the kiina is regretting it now ¨C Windy hasn¡¯t even given her a name. And where Dusty¡¯s and Yells¡¯ mounts are both bigger and stronger than they were when they arrived. Windy¡¯s seems a little¡­small. I make a mental note to check in with the kiina later ¨C I won¡¯t put up with abuse. For now, though, it¡¯s definitely time to go. ¡°We¡¯re ready,¡± I tell the messenger Warrior ¨C speaking of names, I should get his already. He goggles at us, apparently never having seen a samuran using a beast as a mount, and then turns to lead the way. Such is his distraction that he almost stumbles. Embarrassment flashes briefly through his spikes and he smartens up. I don¡¯t have a Bond with him, but I have to guess that he realised that he needed to get his head back in the game and proceeded to do so. I exchange an amused look with River and Catch, and then we¡¯re off at a cracking pace. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Eight: Welcome Though the young kiinas tire much faster than Hades or Persephone ¨C both size and stamina pools far smaller ¨C they¡¯re able to go faster and longer than the Pathwalkers would have on their own. As a result, we make much better time than the Warrior was expecting. We may even make it to the village before darkness falls! he remarks with surprise. Lays-on-leaves ¨C I¡¯ve finally got his name out of him ¨C has got used to the mounted Pathwalkers and actually now seems approving of the idea. I will have to suggest to Pathwalker Beast-tamer that we get mounts for our own Pathwalkers. It makes the journey quicker and, thereby, safer. He¡¯s not wrong. Although the encumbered kiinas definitely aren¡¯t as fast as they would be without their burdens, they¡¯re not exactly slow either. The Warriors have to work hard to keep up and we¡¯ve been able to avoid at least one issue just by running away. No one argued with avoiding the ambush of a group of predators which jumped at us ¨C and missed because we were moving too fast. Nor was there any argument about running around the herd of slow-moving herbivores ¨C though they didn¡¯t have horns, they did have nasty-looking tails. And considering their numbers, I for one didn¡¯t want to tangle with them. In the end, we only had to fight one pitched battle when we picked up a tail whose speed made it a risky prospect to try outrunning. The horse-sized predator was a leggy and toothy quadruped but it bit off more than it could chew when it followed us closely and snapped at Catch who was bringing up the rear. The Warrior turned around and gave it a mouthful of steel-tipped spear. One strike wasn¡¯t enough to completely kill it, but a few more strikes later and it lay dead. Since that happened around midday, its carcass served as lunch, reinvigorating the tired Warriors and kiinas. The Pathwalkers, of course, were largely fresh, not having been running. I offered the heart to Catch but he refused it, saying that I needed it more. He did willingly take the Core, though I suspect he might keep it for trading rather than using it from the way he nonchalantly dropped it into his own belt pouch. I wonder whether the other village will catch onto that trend ¨C now that fabric is becoming more common between Joy¡¯s increased production and the appearance of tanned hides from the group of Unevolved crafters, almost every one of my villagers has at least one pouch hanging somewhere on their body. I don¡¯t know why it hadn¡¯t caught on sooner ¨C everyone has been finding them so useful. No, I do know why ¨C too much reliance on the Pathwalkers to make things due to lack of time or inclination to develop other skills. And just using a leaf to hold small objects worked fine as a temporary measure, but they tend to be one-use transportation devices, not something which samurans would carry around everywhere. Maybe I should have brought a whole load of the premade hide pouches and woven belts with me as visiting gifts? Then again, we¡¯re coming in response to them practically begging for aid, so giving gifts is probably not expected. Certainly no one has indicated that they will be. True to Lays-on-leaves¡¯ words, we get to the village just before the sun completely disappears behind the horizon. It¡¯s already disappeared from view because of the thickness of the trees around, but I can see some of the effects of the light it¡¯s still sending up into the sky through the forest canopy. I bet it would have been a pretty sunset if I¡¯d been able to see it properly. The village almost seems to teleport into view. One moment all I can see is forest; the next moment it¡¯s there. After observing it through narrowed eyes, I realise why this is. Although the huts are made in a similar way to the ones in my village ¨C rounded mounds of earth with leaves over the holes in their tops ¨C this one is buried deeply in the forest. Our village only has a couple of trees within the village bounds and there¡¯s a cleared space around the edges of it ¨C that was true even before the vine-stranglers. It¡¯s also got a fence around it with two main entrances which are always guarded. This village has none of that. There doesn¡¯t appear to be much difference between the area inside the village and the area around it ¨C the trees are perhaps slightly less dense among the mounds than they are around it, but other than that, it blends in perfectly. As we get close, I realise that even if there isn¡¯t a fence, that doesn¡¯t mean the place is unprotected. ¡°Lays-on-leaves?¡± a voice calls just as its source steps out from behind a bush. The samuran¡¯s scales are coloured in a way that make him even harder to see than they generally are. Actually¡­I wonder, looking more closely, are those paints? If so, it can¡¯t be too popular among samurans ¨C I don¡¯t remember seeing any samurans with face paints on. Not a bad idea, though. ¡°Basks-in-the-sun, I have returned with the guests the Pathwalker sent for. Are they in the central hut?¡± ¡°They are. You have made better time than we expected. I shall announce you. To our guests, welcome. Please wait here until our Pathwalkers give instructions.¡± With that, he slips off into the bushes. I¡¯m left wondering if the brusque welcome is normal in this situation. I can understand the Warrior¡¯s desire to go fetch the Pathwalkers, but seeing as we were invited, why are we being left at what appears to be the equivalent of this village¡¯s gate? I exchange an uncertain look with River ¨C she seems slightly surprised too. Windy huffs. What rudeness! she complains. My shared look with River turns rueful. Trust Windy to choose the completely tactless route. ¡°My deepest apologies, Honoured Enlightened Pathwalker,¡± Lays-on-leaves says submissively, his chin raised almost to the sky. He¡¯s held the Tier three samuran in deep awe and some fear since he first saw her and realised exactly who ¨C or rather, what ¨C she is. In fact, he¡¯s been looking to her to give all the directions so far in this trip, only looking to me reluctantly when it became clear that even if she¡¯d be willing to do so, none but him would follow it. I get the feeling that he thinks it¡¯s a very odd sort of place where a Tier three isn¡¯t the automatic leader. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Still, to give credit where credit¡¯s due, though Windy has been happy to order Lays-on-leaves around a bit, she hasn¡¯t tried to do the same to the rest of the party. Well, apart from attempting to make Dusty give her the tastiest bits of the carcass at lunchtime, that is. It doesn¡¯t take very long before Basks-in-the-sun returns to give us the Pathwalkers¡¯ message. In the meantime, I¡¯ve Inspected the area and found out something interesting. I should probably have predicted it from the fact that one of the Pathwalkers here is a beast tamer, but the area is thick with various beasts, and not in a natural way. That is to say they¡¯re not exploring, foraging, or sleeping. Instead, they¡¯re just sitting there. Watchful. Waiting. I¡¯d bet everything I have that they¡¯re Bound to the Tamer here and form an invisible part of the defences. Maybe that¡¯s why the village has been allowed to be overgrown by trees and bushes ¨C it offers a battleground which the various beasts are very used to. Or maybe there¡¯s another reason. ¡°Honoured Pathwalker guests and guards, our Honoured Pathwalkers thought that you might be hungry and tired after such a long trip. They have directed the hunters to make available a carcass for you to refresh yourselves and will summon you forthwith.¡± With that, the two Unevolved following him walk forwards with their heads bowed low, and set the carcass in front of the party. It¡¯s relatively meagre for a gift meal ¨C even I can tell that. The feelings of disapproval and offence drifting across the Bonds from my companions are just more evidence that the instincts I¡¯ve picked up from the Festival haven¡¯t led me wrong. ¡°Please accept this poor token of our village,¡± one of the Unevolved says, his grunts and clicks stuttering. His spikes indicate that blatant fear is the cause. Seeing it there makes me feel more than a little uncomfortable. ¡°We have been unable to hunt in the way we would normally in recent times.¡± Lays-on-leaves looks at us meaningfully even as his spikes flicker with the pink of embarrassment. He was there at lunchtime and can easily see how this beast pales in comparison to that one ¨C and that was just a random predator. ¡°The reason why we asked for your help in the first place,¡± he informs us; I take his meaning. This issue with the Tier three beast is impacting their hunting to what seems like a large extent if this is the best carcass they can give a group of guests, especially one containing a Tier three samuran, much as I hate to toot Windy¡¯s horn. On the other hand, maybe I¡¯m being too unfair. I¡¯m used to my own villagers with their cooperative hunting, superior weaponry, and the groups that usually contain at least one Warrior. Catch killed our lunchtime meal easily enough, but he¡¯s a Warrior and was equipped with an enchanted metal weapon. An Unevolved would have struggled a lot more, especially if all he had was a wooden spear or club. ¡°This will suffice,¡± I tell the other village¡¯s samurans. ¡°We are here to help; we know that your situation is not ideal.¡± I take the Warrior¡¯s lead to not give any specificities, River¡¯s words about how her village had kept the news about Kalanthia away from everyone until it had been dealt with goes through my mind. I¡¯m not sure I approve, but I haven¡¯t come here to mess around with another village¡¯s systems ¨C I¡¯m not looking to take them under my wing too. The Unevolved samurans lay the carcass before us with great care, and then back away hurriedly. They linger at the periphery, though, until Basks-in-the-sun sends them a look. They scarper. ¡°Lays-on-leaves, the Pathwalkers wish to speak to you,¡± Basks-in-the-sun next informs his fellow Warrior. The samuran in question was just moving to crouch next to the carcass ¨C I don¡¯t doubt he¡¯s as hungry as the rest of us ¨C but immediately stands up again. ¡°Pathwalkers, Warriors, please excuse my rudeness in leaving you so abruptly,¡± the Warrior says perfunctorily. ¡°I¡¯m sure Basks-in-the-sun will see to whatever needs you may have.¡± He tips his chin to us briefly before hurrying away too, heading towards a large mound of earth in the centre of the other huts. We¡¯re left with the carcass, eyeing each other. I take the lead, moving to sit next to the body. There doesn¡¯t seem to be much else we can do unless we want to follow Lay-on-leaves to demand the Pathwalkers come to speak with us. One by one, my other Bound follow my lead. Before too long, we¡¯re sharing the carcass, cutting pieces of meat off it and eating it. Or in my case, roasting it first. I miss home where I¡¯ve finally managed to convince my own villagers that rubbing a carcass with aromatic herbs improves the taste. Tarra¡¯s help has meant that the herb rub also often contains some beneficial quality as well as being tasty. Though I have a mix of them in my Inventory which I sprinkle on before cooking, they just don¡¯t have the same taste when they¡¯ve been drained of Energy. The conversation out loud is practically non-existent, but even our mental communications are limited ¨C we just don¡¯t have enough information to judge whether this carcass is a deliberate insult, or proof of a village fallen on hard times. I¡¯m not the only one who didn¡¯t like how fearful the Unevolved were who brought the food, but we don¡¯t know if that¡¯s fear of all Pathwalkers, or just strangers. And we still don¡¯t know any more about the issue at hand ¨C this Tier three that¡¯s bothering them. All we know is that Lays-on-leaves blames it for the meagreness of the carcass. Bastet is uneasy, though, and that¡¯s enough to set me on guard. Persephone doesn¡¯t like this place either, and is showing some rare maternal instincts by making sure that her almost-adult children stay together and don¡¯t wander off anywhere in search of more food. I help her in these efforts by pulling out some more meat from my Inventory ¨C not ideal for them, but I don¡¯t want to have hungry kiinas around in a new place. Our combined desire to know more makes the time feel like it¡¯s passing slowly ¨C by the time we receive the message to meet the Pathwalkers, it feels like half the night has gone past. The position of the moons, however, indicates that only perhaps half an hour has truly gone by. When Basks-in-the-sun finally directs us forward, we are led towards a mound which, though larger than most, still appears too small to hold all of us, let alone the local Pathwalkers as well. However, clearly we¡¯re expected to go inside. Only the Pathwalkers, however, Basks-in-the-sun says firmly. I exchange a look and a brief mental communication with the other Pathwalkers. They¡¯re not too happy about the idea of being separated from their protection, but on the other hand, we have Windy and me on our side. And Bastet, since she refuses to be parted from me, growling ferociously at the Warrior when he even makes the suggestion. Things finally settled, we head in through the dark hole into the cavern beyond. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Nine: Local Pathwalkers Grateful that a rank up in Fade gave me Darkvision which could be used independently of the original Skill, and enhanced it besides, I¡¯m not nearly as badly off as I would have been otherwise. The light inside is dim ¨C of course, they don¡¯t have Hunter¡¯s light sources here so it¡¯s only the little light from the entrance and the leaf-covered skylight which enters the half-underground space. It¡¯s bigger than I was expecting, much bigger. I have to wonder if all the huts have spaces underground like this one. The mound above the ground offers a vaulted ceiling over the space. The underground area is dug at a slope leading away from the entrance. It means that though the wide hole through which I entered only comes up to waist height on me, by the time the space reaches the edge of the dome of earth above it, there¡¯s just enough height between the floor and the surface to allow a Pathwalker to stand upright without brushing her head. The local Pathwalkers are already arrayed in the space beyond the dome, facing us. Were I not using my Darkvision, all I would probably see of them would be the faint gleam of scales when they shifted, out of the moonlight as they are. We, on the other hand, sit in the area with the best of light in this dim place. We must be pretty clear to local Pathwalkers¡¯ eyes which are accustomed to this dimness, while we can see little of them. It¡¯s not an auspicious beginning. Fortunately for me, and something the Pathwalkers haven''t been able to take into account, is the fact that I have Darkvision which nullifies the advantage the Pathwalkers have. Though I wouldn¡¯t say I could see them as well as I would in daylight, I can see them well enough to read their emotions in their spikes and small shifts of body language. And I can share all of those with my companions who could otherwise see more than my natural vision, but less than my Darkvision. As my other Pathwalkers come in to join me, I spend my time casting a quiet Inspect. There are only four local Pathwalkers which seems indeed to be a meagre number. No wonder that this was considered to be a small village. Even my own village at its lowest had had more than that. After River had killed the shaman it had still had five Pathwalkers. If the ratio between Pathwalkers and Warriors holds true in this Village there must only be around twenty Warriors in total. I can understand why they would hesitate to take on a Tier three with such low numbers, but at the same time I still refuse to put my own people at risk without any help from the people who the Tier three affects. My Inspect tells me that they have fairly typical samuran abilities. The furthest to the left is a telekinetic object-mover with an interesting stealth skill which appears to make her fade mostly from view ¨C probably a useful combination with her ability to move objects without touching them. The Pathwalker next to her is capable of shaping the Earth ¨C she could easily be the reason for the interesting construction of this cavern. The third Pathwalker is the one that interests me most: she''s the beast tamer. Finally, there''s another who seems to be similar to Tarra ¨C a type of herbalist, though her skills are slightly different; more healing-related than Tara''s alchemical type skills ¡°Welcome Honoured Pathwalkers, I am Pathwalker Earth-former. To my left is Pathwalker Ghost, and to my right are Pathwalkers Beast-tamer and Healer. We thank the ancestors for this meeting.¡± Thank the ancestors? What about thanking us? I think a little uncharitably since she¡¯s just following tradition. She could have followed up with something more appreciative of our presence, though. Giving us two Unevolved clearly signals that they want us here; their hints of rudeness since our arrival are at odds with that. I dismiss my thoughts ¨C I need to remember that my village has changed a lot since I arrived. And nothing says that every village has to be the same, either ¨C I certainly met with a whole range of reactions at the Festival a few months ago even if most were tentatively accepting, especially once I proved myself. The samurans¡¯ characteristic method of introduction indicates exactly who the leader is of the village and the rank of the other Pathwalkers according to the most recent ranking battle which is quite helpful. I have to admit to a little surprise that the beast tamer isn''t higher in the rankings than she is but I suppose that the usual restrictions of only having a single other beast with her would have disadvantaged her. And perhaps the beast tamer isn''t as strong in physical combat as I am. In fact, knowing samurans and the way Pathwalkers often disdain physical violence, I have to admit this is a strong possibility. ¡°We indeed thank the ancestors for this meeting and for our safe arrival at our sister village,¡± I reply politely. ¡°I am Pathwalker Tamer. To my right I wish to introduce Enlightened Pathwalker Wind-whisperer, and beyond her Pathwalker Water-shaper. To my left are Pathwalkers Reducer and Reflector. We have heard your tale of woe and we have come to offer what assistance we may. I trust that your messenger has communicated to you the conditions of our aid?¡± ¡°Warrior Lays-on-leaves has indeed spoken of your discussion, however I fear he must have misunderstood it: he seemed to think that you had refused to combat the Beast unless we fight with you,¡± the Pathwalker says with an air of disbelief. ¡°What I said to your messenger was that I''m willing to pursue a course of non-violence as far as possible to see if we can solve your issues through words alone. However if it does come to violence, yes, I do expect at least some of you and your Warriors to join us in the fight,¡± I tell them bluntly. They look uneasy at the thought. ¡°But Pathwalker Tamer,¡± objected the leader of the village with an ugly flash of yellow in her spikes, ¡°we are such a small village that the loss of even one of us would have a severe impact on our village and its ability to regain its numbers in the future.¡± ¡°And does that mean that we should put our own village''s future at risk just to protect yours?¡± I demand. ¡°I believe you didn''t even attend the Festival this year. While I can understand that being difficult for you in your present condition, I don''t think I need to tell you that no new hatchlings means that your numbers will not increase. Your choice has put your village¡¯s future more at risk than my condition ever would.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°We judged it to be too dangerous to take on the journey to the Festival,¡± bemoaned the samuran. ¡°And now this new crisis comes to threaten us, as if the ancestors have taken offence at our not attending it. But no handful of hatchlings would ever outweigh a single Pathwalker on the scale of the village¡¯s prosperity. Can you not see that we can''t afford to lose even a single one of our Evolved to this beast? You have strong Pathwalkers at your side; even the Honoured Enlightened Pathwalker Wind-whisperer! You cannot say that your village will be put at the same risk as ours if we go to face the beast alone.¡± ¡° I''m not asking you to go alone,¡± I argue with exasperation. ¡°You came to ask for our help? Well we''re here. But we refuse to take on the full risk without at least some of you working towards your own benefit. Your village is under threat; you need to be part of the solution to saving it. if we cannot agree to that now, we will leave by the morning''s light and you can find a different way of saving your village.¡± I''m unwilling to compromise on this point: if they¡¯re too cowardly to face the possibility of dying then there¡¯s no hope for the village. I do feel for the people they¡¯re supposed to be protecting, but I''d rather spread the message that any Unevolved who wish to come and join our own village will be welcome and then leave it at that. The Pathwalker looks plaintively at Windy. ¡°Do you agree with these harsh words sister?¡± she asks soulfully. ¡°Merely because we don''t want to put our village''s future at risk by fighting ourselves?¡± She''s looking in the wrong direction if she wants any sympathy. Wind-whisperer snaps back at her, ¡°If you¡¯re too weak to look after yourselves and your village then you shouldn''t be the leaders. You should take your village to another of your tribe¡¯s and seek their protection. Strength is the way of the forest ¨C you should know that.¡± Earth-former flinches back at her words and then her gaze scans across the rest of the Pathwalkers by my side, clearly hoping for a hint of sympathy. She finds none. We might have softened a bit as a village and become more cooperative but cooperation is different from becoming someone else''s tool, and taking all the risk on their behalf. ¡°You are cruel,¡± condemns the lead Pathwalker, ¡°but it seems like we have little choice. If it comes to violence I will send Pathwalker Ghost with you along with four or five of our Warriors.¡± ¡°Earth-former!¡± exclaims the Pathwalker in question. ¡°You can¡¯t send me!¡± ¡°Apart from myself, you are the strongest in combat,¡± Earth-former says. ¡°You can''t suggest sending Healer, surely?¡± They both turn to look at the samuran on the far right who looks petrified at the idea. ¡°I suppose not,¡± admits Ghost. ¡°But what about Beast-tamer?¡± ¡°You know she''s too involved in the defence of the village to go anywhere,¡± dismisses the lead Pathwalker. ¡° I wouldn''t mind going,¡± pipes up Beast-tamer, unexpectedly. ¡° it would be interesting to see another Tamer in action,¡± she explains. The three Pathwalkers exchange glances and then the leader looks at me. ¡°It seems as though we have come to an agreement that if it comes to combat, that one of our Pathwalkers will join you with a group of Warriors. Does that suffice?¡± ¡°Just,¡± I answer grimly. ¡°Now, tell me about this Beast, what you know of it. What are its powers? What does it look like? Is it alone or in company with others?¡± ¡°We have few accounts,¡± the samuran tells me. ¡°Unfortunately, most who saw it have fallen prey to it. We have forbidden everyone from going to the area where it can be found, in hopes of reducing our losses. What we know of it has caused it to earn the name the Great Leader as it has brought its pack with it. The beasts terrorise the forest, but only the Great Leader strikes terror into the hearts of all who see it.¡± Which seems to be poetic language to describe a Tier three with a pack of lower tier beasts. At least, I hope it¡¯s only Tier three. I''m reminded of the pack of raptorcats which we encountered on the way to the hunt: they were similar to what this sounds like it is. ¡°Beast-tamer will tell you what she can,¡± Earth-former continues. ¡°Her scouts have seen more of the beast and its followers than most.¡± The named samuran looks at me with oddly gleaming, greedy eyes. I feel discomfort at being the object of their gaze. ¡°Alright,¡± I agree reluctantly ¨C it¡¯s logical that the Beast-tamer would have sent some beasts to scout out this new threat, and that the beasts might be able to escape more easily than the samurans, especially if they were small and stealthy. ¡°Let us go outside,¡± Beast-tamer suggests. ¡°Inside it is so small and stuffy, do you not agree?¡± ¡°If you prefer,¡± I say with nonchalance, though honestly I would prefer to be out of this room. Just not in the company of Beast-tamer. ¡°Excellent,¡± Earth-former breaks in. ¡°Some of the Unevolved should be preparing a hut for your use this night. I presume you¡¯ll set off in the morning?¡± ¡°At first light,¡± I confirm, then push myself to my feet. My fellow Pathwalkers copy me, and our hosts do the same on the other side of the room. ¡°Ancestors smile on you,¡± I tell them perfunctorily. Earth-former replies in kind and then we climb back out, looking forward to being in the fresh air again. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Ten: Unease ¡°This way, if you please Honoured Pathwalkers,¡± an Unevolved prompts us shortly after we have exited and rejoined our party of Warriors and my other Bound. He leads us through the moonlit village to a hut off to the side. ¡°Do you think your sister Pathwalker will mind me making some changes?¡± I ask Beast-tamer who joined us in our departure. ¡°If they are easily reversible by her, I would imagine not,¡± Beast-tamer answers with a shrug of her tail. ¡°If they are reversed before she is even aware of them, I expect that she won¡¯t even complain about it.¡± I nod unconsciously. Good ¨C this hut might be suitable for samurans, but won¡¯t be comfortable for most of my Bound. The raptorcats would be fine, but Fenrir struggles with any sort of jump, and the entrance is too small for Lathani or the kiinas. Pride is a bit big too, especially with that sail on his back, though he can lower it if he chooses. Sinking my magic into the earth, I¡¯m surprised when there¡¯s more resistance than usual. I wasn''t expecting to have the same reaction as I do at home since I haven''t built a relationship with this area. Nonetheless it''s even more difficult than when I start a new area. I have to put it down to the fact that there is another Earth-Shaper here who has already built a relationship with the earth. It''s interesting that I didn''t experience that even where Kalanthia had connected with the earth, though. Perhaps it''s because of the better relationship between me and Kalanthia. I don''t know this Earth-Shaper and, honestly, I didn''t take to her in the discussion. Even if there is more resistance than I expected, I still manage to reshape the hut easily enough. I''ve barely used my magic all day so I''ve got plenty of mana reserves. I make a slope into the hut itself to help those of my Bound like Fenrir and then make the entrance far larger to allow the bigger creatures to enter. I make the hut itself far more extensive too because between the seven Warriors, five Pathwalkers, five kiinas, and the rest of our assorted force, the original size was far too small to be comfortable. Beast-tamer watches me in undeniable interest. When I finish my task, she wastes no time in asking me questions. ¡°Is that an ability of one of your beasts that you''re borrowing?¡± she asks. ¡°No,¡± I answer shortly. Curiosity obliges me to ask a follow-up question to her own. ¡°Can you borrow abilities from your Bound?¡± ¡°Within limits,¡± she admits. ¡°Though, I''ve never been able to copy a magical ability such as Earth-Shaping.¡± Which implies that she might be capable of something similar to what I can do with Transformation. I wonder if she could give me any tips. She seems to be thinking the same. ¡°Is it true what I''ve heard that you''re capable of taming even members of the People?¡± I don''t like the look in her eyes. The same greedy gleam that I had seen in them in the Pathwalker meeting hut has reappeared. ¡°It''s true,¡± I admit. I don''t see any reason why not to. It''s well known among those who went to the Festival that the reason I was able to take such a large party with me was because they were all Bound to me. Though, I do wonder how Beast-tamer knows about this as she wasn''t present at the Festival. And, thinking about it, how did they know we had killed a Tier 3 before? Perhaps samuran gossip chains are better than I thought they were. Are there inter-village trading routes? ¡°Would you be willing to teach me?¡± the samuran asks avariciously. ¡°I can''t,¡± I answer her truthfully. I don''t add that even if I could I wouldn''t: I have no desire for that particular ability to be used more widely. She looks disappointed. ¡°Perhaps if you show me how you do it I could learn,¡± she suggests. ¡°I doubt it,¡± I answer shortly. ¡°You may have noticed that I''m not a typical samuran.¡± She lets out a few grunting chuckles which almost make me reluctantly like her ¨C just a little, though. I finish the transformation of the hut and prompt my Bound to go inside. Windy, of course, takes the lead as she always insists on doing. The other samurans follow her and then are followed in my turn by my Bound. At that I hear an odd noise from Beast-tamer next to me. ¡°You let your beasts sleep inside with you?¡± she asks with incredulity in her voice. ¡°And with the other Pathwalkers? Like they are as good as one of us?¡± The questions are not terribly surprising given what I know about samuran culture, but at the same time they completely negate any hint of amicable feeling that I¡¯d felt blooming towards her. ¡°They''re my family,¡± I answer brusquely, ¡°and in my eyes they are as good as any of the samurans.¡± I want to say, but refrain from adding: in some cases better. Certainly I would take Bastet over ten of Windy. She might not have the same power as the Tier three samuran but she''s a good sight more reliable. And frankly if I''ve learned nothing else it''s that having someone at your side who you can rely on is far better than having someone powerful at your side who you can''t. Beast-tamer looks rather dubious so I don''t pursue that line of conversation any further. ¡°I believe your assistant was sent with the messenger to join us in our Village,¡± I say, segueing into a new topic. ¡°I hope his loss won''t tax you too much.¡± ¡°Bares-claws?¡± she responds, ¡°He was a good assistant and I will miss him but I can find another easily enough. Honestly I was considering replacing him anyway,¡± she continues, a little callously I have to think when I know what that would have meant for the samuran in question. ¡°I had high hopes for him but ultimately he was a little too soft with his beasts for my tastes.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask, frowning. ¡°He coddled the creatures a bit too much. I''m sure you would agree that a firm hand is needed to control beasts with different agendas and different desires than your own. The two beasts he brought with him? I gave him the chance to try to create a Bond with them himself. It was a bit of a test, you see. Even for an Unevolved with no magic of their own, it''s possible to create a nascent Bond with a beast who is handled correctly. The ability to do so is a good indicator that upon reaching Pathwalker status, that person may themselves become a Beast-tamer.¡± ¡°From what I saw, he succeeded,¡± I comment, choosing not to let on that I know that that isn¡¯t exactly true. The Pathwalker grunts briefly in amusement. No. His soft-handed handling failed to create any Bond more magical than anyone else could create. I had to create the Bond myself.¡± She looks up at the moon for a moment, scratching at her throat scales before she lowers her chin and looks at me again. That said, she continues thoughtfully, I was able to transfer the Bond to him which isn¡¯t something I¡¯ve ever succeeded in before. Have you ever transferred a Bond before? ¡°I haven¡¯t tried,¡± I admit. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it would work.¡± Beast-tamer grunts again. Well, you¡¯re welcome to try on my erstwhile assistant. He might be good for that if nothing else. She shrugs with her tail. Anyway, his failings meant that when Earth-former asked for volunteers to give up an assistant to offer as a gift for your village, I was willing to give up mine. There are no lack of Unevolved who wish to become a Pathwalker''s assistant after all.¡± I don''t like the implications of what Beast-tamer is saying and honestly, I think that Bares-claws has had a lucky escape. He will do far better in our village than he obviously would have in this one. ¡°Let us turn our attention to the threat facing your village,¡± I say, changing the topic again. ¡°Earth-former indicated that you would have a better idea of the Beast than she did.¡± ¡°My scouts have indicated that it is much like three of the creatures you have tamed.¡± I frown. ¡°Three of the creatures I have tamed? What? The beasts we rode in on?¡± ¡°No, not them. The beasts with wings and four taloned feet,¡± she describes. My eyebrows shoot up. ¡°Like Bastet?¡± I ask with incredulity. ¡°I know not what you call them,¡± she answers, ¡°and why you honour them with names I do not understand, but you have one Evolved of the species and two Unevolved from what I have seen. Similarly the pack which threatens us seems to consist of multiple Unevolved, a few Evolved, and the one Great beast.¡± It sounds more and more like this is a pack of raptorcats. I can''t help thinking about the raptorcat matriarch that we encountered four months ago. But that was at least one other mountain away. What would have brought her this close? Abruptly, I wonder if her pack has once more started suffering from some type of illness and that they are searching for me ¨C but perhaps that is a little egocentric. More likely this is not her at all and the pack is here for some completely unconnected business. Well, if it is raptorcats then we may find them easier to deal with than if it had been some completely unfamiliar beast. At least, the matriarch we encountered was easy enough to negotiate with when we realised that each of us had something the other wanted. Honestly, if we can resolve this issue without conflict I would prefer it. I feel great desire to be out of this place and back in our Village. ¡°Will you be joining us tomorrow when we go to scout?¡± I ask the other Pathwalker. ¡°Not precisely,¡± Beast-tamer answers. ¡°My sisters are correct in saying that I am necessary for the defence of my village. However, I will send a few of my beasts with you to keep an eye on things. In need, you can call to them for assistance. But I wouldn¡¯t suggest getting too close ¨C everything I have observed of this creature and its pack indicate that it¡¯s highly dangerous. Best to kill it quickly and from as far away as possible.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I answer dubiously. Frankly, I don''t mind the initial exploration being done without the presence of any of the local samurans. In fact, I¡¯d be happy to not even have her beasts along. I can''t shake off this sense that something is wrong and I would rather not have them where they could create trouble for me. I don''t know why they would choose to do so of course ¨C if they hadn''t wanted my help they wouldn''t have sent a messenger to ask for it. But all the same I''ll be glad not to have them there unless their presence really is necessary. I''m even second-guessing my resolution to have a party of their samurans take part in the fight, if it comes to that. But I decide not to borrow trouble. Tomorrow will tell us whether conflict is an inevitability or not. Because no matter what Beast-tamer says, I¡¯m not going to just attack first, ask questions later. After a few more words and a polite farewell, the other Pathwalker and I part company. I head into the hut and sit next to the small fire that one of my companions has created. It fills the hut with a welcome warmth and flickering light. ¡°What do you think about our illustrious hosts?¡± I ask my companions. They shift and look at each other as if none of them wishes to speak first. I''ve known Ghost for many great cycles, though I do not know her well, offers Windy after a long pause and without her usual pomposity. Instead she seemed more thoughtful than anything else. She appeared¡­uneasy. As if something was bothering her. They all did, adds Dusty quietly. ¡°Their village is faced with a threat,¡± I point out, playing Devil''s Advocate. ¡°Perhaps it is that which is bothering them.¡± Perhaps, agreed Dusty doubtfully. I don''t blame her. Although everything on the surface seems correct, it appears I''m not the only one with instincts which are screaming at me. Perhaps we can speak to the Warriors tomorrow, suggests Catch. Maybe they would know more about what could be the reason for the Pathwalkers¡¯ unease besides the obvious threat. ¡°It''s a good idea,¡± I agree. ¡°We don''t need to take everyone on the scouting mission anyway. I could take a smaller group with me ¨C most of the non-samuran Bound ¨C and the rest of you could investigate and find out what you can from our hosts. Pathwalkers, you can try to get the other Pathwalkers individually and try to squeeze them for information. Warriors, you try to talk to the other Warriors and any Unevolved who might be willing to communicate with you. They may know more than they should from overhearing or seeing something.¡± After a little more conversation in which the Warriors express their dissatisfaction with me going practically on my own into a dangerous situation, accompanied only by non-samuran Bound, we settle on our plan. I will take Catch and Poison with me of the samurans and the Pathwalkers and other Warriors will stay here. Plans made, it''s time for us to sleep. But whether it¡¯s the discussion or the unfamiliar surroundings, I find it takes me a long time to drop off. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Eleven: What Are You Doing Here? I travel through the forest with what feels like a party which could conquer the world. With Sirocco providing air cover, Komodo and Fenrir as our venomous tanks, quick damage dealers with Bastet, Lathani, Storm, and Ninja, Catch and Poison providing melee power, and magic from yours truly as well as windblades from Hades and Persephone, it feels like we could at least stand up to any threat below a Tier three which attacks us. And I¡¯d give us good odds at being able to at least escape from a Tier three too. I hesitate to say we could kill one since my experience has taught me how dangerous they are, but I reckon that we¡¯re a far more powerful group than the one I led against Raven. Perhaps we¡¯d stand a chance against a weak Tier three. I''m uneasily aware of the two creatures which are following us. One travels on the ground and is a sort of weasel much like Marty used to be, and the other swings through the trees similar to the reptilian monkey-like creatures I once killed on my way down to find Lathani. If they had been waiting to attack us, that would have been one thing. As it is, it''s clear that they¡¯re following us and I''m sure I know the reason why. I will have to be careful about what abilities I show and what I say out loud. Although, to be fair, it''s unlikely that either of them ¨C or, rather, the intelligence behind their eyes ¨C will understand what I''m saying. She might understand my samuran Bound if they speak aloud, however. We''ve recently entered the area of the forest which has been forbidden to the Unevolved, and we¡¯re now searching for any sign of the Beast or its pack. Sirocco is, of course, scouting ahead and the rest of my Bound are split between staying near me and fanning out to search for tracks. Catch and Poison refuse to leave my side, but the others continually move away and return to check in every few minutes. I found something, Fenrir tells me with eagerness in his voice. A scent like sister Bastet¡¯s. Everyone, converge on Fenrir, I command the group. We¡¯ll follow this together. On reflection, it seems inevitable that the other Tamer will realise that we have some sort of mental communication, but maybe she has that with her Bound as well. I don¡¯t intend to handicap myself just to conceal that one of my abilities. Not when dealing with a Tier three. It¡¯s not long before we are all following the trail, though we don¡¯t do so all as a big group. Obviously, Fenrir is leading us, but Sirocco is ranging ahead in whatever direction the scent takes, Pride and Komodo are travelling on the peripheries and the kiinas are travelling further behind. Lathani is staying as hidden as possible which, with Shadow Hop and Shadow Shaping, means that I barely catch sight of her ¨C and I actually know where she is thanks to our Bond. I decided to split us up like that because if we walk into an ambush or trap, hopefully those outside the group targeted might be able to turn it to our advantage. As we walk, moving slowly so as not to either spook our targets or run into a trap which we could have otherwise avoided, I start seeing small signs on the trees around. The scuffs and scratches are highlighted with the low-level Inspect I¡¯m keeping active. The Inspect doesn¡¯t do much, which means it doesn¡¯t use much mana ¨C in fact, I regenerate as much as I lose. What it does do is enhance my powers of observation in an area about ten metres in diameter. In this case, small scratches which I might otherwise have missed are now highlighted with a faint golden light. Equally, our two followers are far more easily observed as they are highlighted in a purplish colour ¨C I would guess my Inspect is unable to definitively identify them as either foe or friend. That¡¯s probably because I¡¯m not certain in my own mind whether they¡¯re there to signal that we need help, or to spy on us. Or it could be that the Skill itself knows better than I do that their presence offers a mixed blessing. The same low level of Inspect warns me when we approach a small group of beings, hidden in the trees around us. I see their forms outlined in faint reddish purple. The colour interests me ¨C I would have expected it to be purely red considering that this is our first contact with them and the hostility they¡¯ve apparently shown. Presuming these are linked to theTier three we¡¯re searching for, that is. The scent is very strong, Fenrir tells me earnestly. They are close. Thanks, Fenrir, I tell him as those of my Bound who have not yet detected the presence of the potential enemies stiffen. At the same time, I¡¯m now convinced that this is a group of raptorcats. Although the highlighting doesn¡¯t show me the form of the creature completely perfectly, there¡¯s enough hinting there to indicate the six limbs which I would expect from a raptorcat. Additionally, this particular ambush formation is probably exactly the same one Bastet¡¯s pack used on me when we first met ¨C and before they sent me running for my life through the forest. Switching to a slightly more mana-heavy Inspect, I send out a probe at the hidden beasts, still prioritising stealth over detail. I nod unconsciously as the information comes back. Raptorcats indeed ¨C three Tier ones with two Tier twos. Not an easy target if it comes to a fight, but as long as we¡¯re not stupid about it, we should all make it out alive. Alright, Bastet, Storm, Ninja, you¡¯re up, I say mentally to them. They send back an acknowledgement and then step forwards carefully. Shall I scout around a bit? Lathani asks. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sure, good idea, I tell her even as my eyes are focussed on my three raptorcats, alert to any movement from the potentially hostile raptorcats around. Bastet starts making a clicking sort of call, her bearing relaxed and easy. For a long moment, nothing happens. I find myself holding my breath and force myself to release it. And then, there¡¯s movement. I tense and feel the rest of my Bound tense around me. But the other raptorcats don¡¯t suddenly converge on my three vulnerable companions. Instead, I see one of the Tier twos carefully step out of the undergrowth around. For another long moment, the two raptorcats stand facing each other, communicating in the nonverbal way that they do. Tapping into Bastet¡¯s Bond doesn¡¯t tell me much more than my eyes do ¨C it¡¯s a language of tiny movements, of eyes, wings, and tail rather than the more fluent communication Bastet had had with the Tier three raptorcat matriarch. Bastet is calming, reassuring, and curious. The other raptorcat is wary, agitated, but also curious. And there is a sense of familiarity between them that surprises me. A thought which I had pushed away as unlikely to the point of impossibility rises once more within me. Of course, the familiarity could be that they both recognised each other as raptorcats, or perhaps it was that their packs had encountered each other in the past. But my instincts tell me that it isn¡¯t as simple as that. But if this is the pack we encountered on our way to the cave where we killed the fellapodil, why are they here, so far from home? I¡¯m sure they were on the mountain next to us, not this one. Bastet¡¯s conversation with the other raptorcat seems to be going well ¨C one by one, the other raptorcats all step out from the bushes too. Almost all ¨C one still remains behind, perhaps attempting to be an unseen watcher. It would work too, if not for my Inspect. Bastet? Care to update me? I ask, keeping even my mental voice quiet so it doesn¡¯t interrupt her too much if she¡¯s concentrating hard. She doesn¡¯t respond immediately, so I wait with as much patience as I can muster. Which, while more than it used to be, is far from limitless. Eventually, she responds. They are upset. They are missing members of the pack. Their matriarch is searching while they hunt for food. You seem to know them, I remark, my off-handedness concealing a keen curiosity. So do you, she tells me with surprise. Do you not recognise them by their scent? No, I tell her with amusement. My nose isn¡¯t as good as yours or Fenrir¡¯s. So this is the pack we encountered during our flight with Raven? It is, she confirms. I shake my head in disbelief. What are the chances? But then Bastet said something about them missing members of the pack. She didn¡¯t say they¡¯d died, though. Something tells me that there¡¯s more to this than first meets the eye. Can this group take us to see the matriarch? I ask Bastet. She doesn¡¯t answer immediately, but I see and feel her communicating with the other raptorcat. She will take us if we will promise to help, Bastet translates. Tell her that I promise to consider helping, but not to actually help necessarily. There¡¯s a pause as Bastet communicates with the raptorcat. She says that that¡¯s acceptable. She will lead us, Bastet informs me a moment later. Alright, good. Everyone, stay in formation ¨C this shouldn¡¯t be a trap, but you never know, I tell them. Anyway, even if it isn¡¯t a trap designed by the raptorcats, that¡¯s no guarantee that we won¡¯t accidentally run into trouble. Because something¡¯s telling me this is a trap for someone. With that, we take off through the forest, moving significantly quicker than previously. The raptorcats don¡¯t seem to be bothered by the idea of potentially running into an attack; they¡¯re apparently more concerned with covering as much ground as quickly as they can. But their apparent nonchalance isn¡¯t as unfounded as it seems at first ¨C it¡¯s not long before I realise that they¡¯re sending packmates one at a time to scout the path ahead, much like Bastet has done with me countless times even when I don¡¯t ask her to. I now see where she¡¯s got the strategy. I start to tire, my stamina bar entering its final quarter. Fortunately, we¡¯re at our destination as the raptorcats leading us abruptly slow down. I quickly check that all my Bound are together and in the positions they should be, and then look ahead into a small clearing that appears no different from any other we¡¯ve run through or around. A scouting Inspect reveals that this innocent-looking clearing is ringed by several raptorcats, all ready to pounce on us the moment we take a step into it. Needless to say, we wait for our guides to announce us. The small party of raptorcats we¡¯ve been following step into the centre of the clearing and begin making a similar kind of chirping noise to what Bastet first used. Animal Empathy tells me that it¡¯s a friendly greeting. Concentrating on the Tier two¡¯s body language and using Animal Empathy to filter what I see, I get the gist of what she¡¯s saying. Predictably, she¡¯s telling her other packmates the basics of why she brought a group of others here. Looking through the clearing with a sharper eye, I see evidence of where they¡¯ve made their beds in broken bushes and flattened ground-plants. I also see bones littering a certain area ¨C where they eat, I guess. This is obviously their base camp, temporarily, at least. Reassured, the raptorcats crouching around the clearing on guard emerge one by one to greet the pack members who have returned, empty-handed as they are ¨C or should that be empty-mouthed? Finally, another raptorcat emerges, and this one makes me flinch slightly in shock. Not because her appearance is so surprising, but because my Inspect didn¡¯t detect any trace of her presence. This one even I would recognise, and that¡¯s before she briefly releases her domain and a sensation of wildness washes over me. It¡¯s only released for a short time, feeling more like an identifying greeting than an attack. ¡°Hello again,¡± I say to the Tier three raptorcat matriarch, mistress of winds. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twelve: The Tendency To Annoy Tier Threes Healer-of-ills, we meet again, the matriarch answers, her gaze intent. Her demeanour, while not entirely friendly, is also not immediately aggressive. She raises her head and sniffs at me, her body shifting slightly to become even warier. You bring with you those we have been hunting. Did you take my pack members? It¡¯s not an accusation, exactly, but it¡¯s certainly a warning. I¡¯m very aware of the raptorcats arrayed before us. And, with a quick look backwards, I see that some have moved to surround us too. Fortunately, we¡¯re innocent. Hopefully they¡¯ll believe that. ¡°I did not take your pack members,¡± I declare, looking her in the eyes with a steady expression and willing her to be convinced. ¡°Neither did any of my Bound.¡± The matriarch looks at me for a long moment, and I feel her domain shifting around us, the hint of wildness caressing my senses. Very well, she accepts and everyone collectively relaxes a touch. Not entirely ¨C we¡¯re not allies, after all. Just because we haven¡¯t taken their packmates doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re safe from attack. And they have the same concern about us. ¡°What made you think that we had?¡± I ask curiously. And why do I feel a sense of foreboding as I ask the question? We tracked our packmates to a place where there had been a battle. There we found traces of creatures such as yours, even as our packmates¡¯ tracks disappeared, the matriarch answers, using her wing to indicate the two samurans with me. They tense; so do I. No wonder I¡¯ve been feeling uneasy about this whole thing ¨C it¡¯s the whole Kalanthia situation all over again. What is it with samuran villages and the tendency to annoy Tier threes by taking those precious to them? And I have a feeling I know just who is to blame. Who would benefit more than the beast tamer from catching multiple raptorcats? That she''s capable of trapping and taming such dangerous creatures is obvious from the ones she sent with her assistant to our village. What really annoys me is the fact that they didn''t tell me the real reason for this Tier three''s anger. If this wasn''t the matriarch who we had already established a good relationship with in the past, I could have brought my Bound into a situation where we were forced to fight for our lives against a creature who was just trying to get her family back. If I had known that Beast-tamer or one of the other samurans had captured the packmates of this matriarch, then I would have brought them with me and this could have been solved immediately. But then, perhaps that wasn''t what they wanted. Perhaps they were hoping that I would get into a battle with the Tier three and kill it. Our efforts during the hunt made it clear that we were capable of killing Tier three''s and that would have solved all of their problems very nicely. We would have borne the brunt of any losses and they would have got away with two powerful raptorcat guards for the village. No wonder they weren¡¯t keen on sending any of their Evolved into battle with us. My teeth grind and my fists clench at the thought. ¡°How many packmates are you missing?¡± I ask. As many as you have of my kind, she answers promptly. Three, then. I think quickly. I could go back to the village with my Bound and force the samurans to hand over the raptorcats. Or¡­. I grin at the thought. This will serve them right. ¡°Would you care to come with us to the village?¡± I ask with schadenfreude at the thought of the samurans¡¯ upcoming panic. ¡°If you promise not to attack any of the samurans as long as they do not attack you, then I will promise to fight with you if they do attack.¡± The matriarch considers the matter carefully. I will come with you, she answers finally. However, my pack will stay here. as will your three of my kind. If you betray me then they will become part of my pack. Several sounds of outrage and disagreement emerge from those around me ¨C I¡¯m not the only one who has come to love our raptorcat teammates. Lathani even crouches and starts growling as if to say that any attempt to take them will have to go through her first. Actually, the Bond tells me that¡¯s exactly what she¡¯s saying. I have to agree that I don''t like the idea of Bastet, Storm, and Ninja being held as hostages but at the same time I recognize that it''s difficult for the matriarch to trust me. I wouldn''t have blamed her if she had wanted to come with her whole pack in force. But perhaps because her focus is the protection of her pack, to bring them with her and put them in danger is against her nature. My guess is that she trusts in her own strength and if her pack is not nearby she will not feel any hesitation in unleashing her most powerful attacks. If they are anything like Raven¡¯s, they will be powerful indeed. Bastet, Ninja, Storm? I check with my three companions over the Bond. Is this okay with you? I have no intention of betraying the matriarch, so as long as she is willing to let you go afterwards, there should be no problem. Even if she wants to keep us in her pack, responds Bastet, we trust in you to come and bring us back to our family if we cannot escape ourselves. But I doubt that she will try to hold us against our will. If anything, she may be trying to protect us as well as bring three new hunters into her pack. If you betray her, she will do her best to see you dead. With your loss, she most likely recognises that we would have lost our greatest protector and would become vulnerable. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It¡¯s odd seeing it from that perspective, like the matriarch is actually being protective even of my own companions, simply because they¡¯re more of her kind. But I trust Bastet¡¯s interpretation, and it would certainly align with the protective nature of the matriarch. The fact that Bastet is already a Tier two and an experienced hunter probably makes the matriarch even more keen to keep her as part of her pack. Bastet hesitates for a long moment. I do not like the fact that you will be without my protection, she confesses. I don''t like the idea of being away from you either, I agree. But this seems to be the best option for solving the issue with minimal bloodshed. We said all along that if we could solve this issue without needing to fight, that would be the best solution. And we will protect our leader, adds in Catch. We will make sure that Markus survives this to come back to you, he promises. It seems like everyone is, if not happy about the idea, at least not completely against it. I agree with Bastet¡¯s assessment that it¡¯s doubtful the matriarch will forcibly keep my raptor cats as long as I¡¯m alive ¨C that''s against her whole nature of wildness. At the same time I believe that she is unlikely to betray me either, since her main objective is to retrieve her three raptorcats. Though that does raise a point ¨C I hope that she is not keen on getting revenge in the same way that Kalanthia was. ¡°Once you have your raptorcats back, what are your intentions after that?¡± I ask her. I wish to return to my territory with my pack. I do not want another predator moving in, she answers promptly. ¡°You do not want revenge on those who took your pack mates?" I ask bluntly. I wish to be sure that this will not happen again, but I will ensure that by patrolling my territory more frequently. Any of the same kind who enter my territory will meet their death at my jaws, she says firmly. Well, that''s a bit of a different approach than Kalanthia took but then perhaps this matriarch is younger than Kalanthia and less jaded. Or perhaps she is simply of a different mindset. Kalanthia clearly believed that the threat would not disappear until all the villagers were dead or Bound to me, who had vested interest in keeping Lathani safe. This matriarch seems forgiving in comparison. It makes me want to find a better solution to avoid this situation repeating itself. Because I know that the samurans will not necessarily stop when they have something they want. They are very like humans in that way. That said, they don¡¯t have the numbers and had to call on another village for help when the consequences of Beast-tamer¡¯s actions came home to roost. Perhaps they¡¯ve learned their lesson ¨C hope springs eternal. Anyway, the risk will be too high for them to repeat this situation exactly now that the matriarch is aware and on guard against their intrusion. I make a note to tell my village not to pass through the matriarch¡¯s territory in the future ¨C clearly she¡¯s going to be killing first and maybe asking questions later. ¡°We are agreed,¡± I tell the matriarch, returning to the matter at hand. Focusing on the Tier three, I reach out with a tendril of Alliance. I feel her surprise as we are connected but, like with the others I have done this with, she immediately grasps the idea. We quickly outline the terms of this short Alliance and then both agree to it. I feel the Alliance Bond snap into place, a faint awareness of the raptorcat matriarch settling into my mind. It''s time to go. I give Bastet a cuddle and a rub behind the ears in farewell. She has been my constant companion for so long that it feels wrong to leave her behind like this. But while she is also sad to leave me, I get the sense that she''s actually quite happy to spend some time with others of her kind. I suppose that Storm and Ninja are not proper replacements since they are so much younger than she is. When I move away, Lathani moves in close with an unhappy sound and crouches down to give all three of them a feline embrace by rubbing her jaw so firmly against each of them that even Bastet almost falls over. She¡¯s so much bigger than them now that it should look ridiculous. It doesn¡¯t; right now, it just looks sad. ¡°You swear they will be safe?¡± I check with the matriarch anxiously. While they are with my pack, they are my pack, the matriarch answers reassuringly. I guess I have to take it at that. "Let''s get going then,¡± I say to the group. The matriarch joins us as Bastet, Ninja, and Storm walk over to join the other raptorcats who receive them with a surprising amount of affection. It¡¯s not just me who¡¯s surprised ¨C Bastet is a little taken aback, but returns it with eagerness. Over the Bond, I feel the welcome from her own kind filling in a hole I didn¡¯t realise was there. With a final look back at them, I turn and lead the way into the forest. My first move upon leaving the clearing is to ask Windy to catch the two scouts following us. They have been watching the whole thing but I don''t know how much they have understood of it or been able to transmit back to their bond-holder. They try to run away, but Windy¡¯s magical grasp is inescapable. The two small creatures dangle in the air in front of me. They¡¯re scared, that''s clear, but at the same time there is an alien intelligence behind their eyes. ¡°Beast-tamer, I know you''re listening,¡± I say firmly. ¡°If you don''t want my Bound and I, along with the matriarch, to tear through the village upon our return, then you will make sure that the three missing raptorcats are outside and waiting for us.¡± The intelligence wavers and then disappears. I think she''s got my message. Now we''ll have to see what their response is. When I let the scouts go again, they immediately draw back to what they evidently consider to be a safe distance. I resign myself to them knowing exactly where we are. Hopefully that will ensure Beast-tamer has the raptorcats out when we arrive. We travel through the forest, keeping an eye out for potential dangers but not really expecting them ¨C travelling with a Tier three generally means that we are left unbothered. The journey passes quickly though there is little conversation between us as we move. We are all consumed by the need to close the distance between us and the village and I suspect that I''m not the only one considering what might happen on our arrival. Will the village do what I have instructed them to and surrender the raptorcats? Or will they decide to take a stand against us? And what if my guess is incorrect? What if it wasn''t Beast-tamer who took the raptorcats? Although we are the only two villages in this area, there are other villages not far from the matriarch''s territory. Perhaps it was one of them? Then again, if that had been the case then why would the matriarch and her pack have come over here, so far from their own territory? I hope I''ll soon find out the answers to my questions ¨C the village is just ahead of us now. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Thirteen: Traitor The raptorcats are not outside the village. Instead, there is a welcoming party of all four Pathwalkers accompanied by twelve Warriors. It''s a sizeable force. Of course, it could just be them showing their respect, but they didn¡¯t do so last night and I doubt that the presence of the raptorcat matriarch would be sufficient prompting to do so now. I have to wonder if they''re intending on resisting. Everyone get ready, I say in the Bond network. Since the matriarch is now part of an alliance with me, she is also included in the silent message. Both sides practically bristling, we approach each other slowly. Do you sense any trace of your packmates? I ask the matriarch. She sniffs at the air and then I feel her domain expand. The samurans facing us flinch and one of the Warriors even takes a step back. They are here, answers the matriarch grimly. I can sense them. They are changed ¨C they do not react to me in the way they should and they refuse to hear my call. I have a nasty feeling I know what that means. I step forward to face the samurans. They look at me with anger in their eyes and spikes. "Earth-former, did you receive my message? Or did Beast-tamer just tell you to come with your Warriors to meet us?" I ask. I want to know if this is just Beast-tamer''s idea or if they are all on it. Traitor, spits the Pathwalker. You said you were here to help us but you have turned against us and joined our enemy! "I haven''t turned against you in the slightest," I reply angrily. "I said that I would do my best to resolve the situation peacefully and I have. It is not my fault that your colleague decided that she wanted to have a few powerful tames and went and poked a hornets'' nest!" What are you talking about? snaps the Pathwalker. Perhaps she is not aware, or perhaps this is just a good front that she''s putting up. "So, Beast-tamer didn''t tell you about what she did then? About how she enraged this Great beast by taking some of her pack from her?" I know nothing of which you speak, declares the Pathwalker. Although I have no Bond with her, I get the sudden sensation that she''s lying. Perhaps this is my Wisdom or my Management Skill kicking in, but I know I''m being fed BS. And thinking about it, how would Beast-tamer have succeeded all by herself? The villagers here didn''t even come to the Festival because they were worried about travelling through the forest with so few numbers. How could Beast-tamer have snuck off to the matriarch''s territory with enough Warriors to capture the three raptorcats without losing anyone and without being noticed by the other Pathwalkers? No, the only explanation was that all of the Pathwalkers worked together. Which means they''re all trying to cover this up. That¡¯s exasperating and makes me more than a little angry. Was this whole thing just a way of trying to pit another village against one of their enemies? I regret getting involved, given the amount of deceit I realise I¡¯ve been subjected to. But I¡¯m here now and have a promise to the matriarch to fulfil. And then I¡¯m washing my hands of this matter. "Don''t bother lying," I tell them. "I know they''re here. Bring them out now, or we will go and get them." And you''ll kill us if we stand in the way will you? the Pathwalker asks with deep red flashing through her spikes to join the mustard yellow colour of fear. "I never talked about killing you," I say with more than a little exasperation. "All you have to do is bring out the three raptorcats, get Beast-tamer to release their Bonds, and then to let them go with a promise to never walk on the matriarch''s territory again. That''s it. Your village is safe. The Tier three is gone. And we''ll be happy to leave! Though I do expect some sort of gesture of apology for all the lies. But if you resist, if you refuse to bring the raptorcats out, then yes we will go through you to find them." The Pathwalkers look between each other with uncertainty in their spikes. But despite that, none of them steps forward. Instead, it''s one of the Warriors who takes a step forward, looking me firmly in the eye. Do you promise? That if we give you what you want, you will leave without extracting any further reparations from this situation or any linked to it, as long as we offer you a gesture of apology? About to agree, I hesitate. Some instinct, or perhaps Skill, is telling me that there is still something wrong. And considering how accurate it was when I felt it last night, I''m not inclined to ignore it. Scanning the crowd of samurans in front of me carefully, I see more signs to be cautious. The red of anger is fading a little but I can still see quite a lot of fear there. Among the fear is the deep blue of desperate hope. While those emotions are not necessarily inappropriate for the situation, I find their deep tones to be suspicious. This whole situation is odd. If they are so scared of the matriarch, why are they putting up such a fight about returning her packmates to her, when she is standing in front of them? But if they''re not scared of the matriarch, what are they scared about? I think through the words the Warrior used. He wasn''t just talking about this situation, I realise. He mentioned situations linked to it. Which means there''s more to this than I thought. And I''m determined to find out what. "I promise that there will be no further repercussions on your village from the matriarch as long as you bring out her packmates now and do not invade her territory again." And from you? asks the Warrior shrewdly. "I promise that as long as the raptorcats are restored to the matriarch in good condition and with no Bond remaining, I will not help her to seek revenge against you." And revenge for yourself? pursues the Warrior. My eyes narrow. "I want a gesture of apology due to having been lured here under false pretences, but otherwise I have no reason to pursue revenge for myself. Or do you think that I do?" I throw the ball back into his court. I see the Warrior wanting to say something but he doesn''t dare. My alarm bells are now ringing very strongly. This conversation is so strange, an air of desperation to it that doesn¡¯t match the measured tones the words are being spoken with. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I''m suddenly possessed of the desire to leave this village as quickly as I can. I don''t know what''s coming, but I am almost certain that something is. "You have until I count to ten to bring the raptorcats out," I order the villagers. I can''t forget that I have promised the matriarch to retrieve her packmates for her. If I don''t, then I will potentially lose Bastet, Storm, and Ninja ¨C or at least earn the enmity of a powerful Tier three since I know that my companions will do all they can to return to me. I start counting slowly. My Bound and the matriarch tense and crouch, ready to act. A flurry of clicks and grunts emerge from the group of samurans ahead of us. They''re too quiet for me to be able to understand everything they''re saying, but I understand enough to know that they are arguing over whether they should continue to ''carry out the plan'' or not. Tension coils in my stomach. I don''t like the sound of that. What plan are they talking about? I keep counting. As I get down to two, sudden movement from the village catches my attention. The matriarch tenses even further and growls in outrage as her three packmates approach. I can see in their body language that they are miserable. They are aware of who she is and who they are. But they are unable to go to her. I see the stiff, puppet-like movements of their limbs as they are pulled inexorably towards Beast-tamer. I am abruptly glad that I never took the puppet Skill that I was offered. I would never want any of my Bound to look like this. The three raptorcats, Tier ones all, stop right in front of Beast-tamer. They face us, their lips drawn back to reveal their bared teeth. They are ready to attack us. But I see in their eyes that they want nothing less. Let''s have a competition, suggests Beast-tamer. One tamer to another. If you can wrest my beasts away from me, then you can have them. I eye her warily. I stopped my counting when I saw the raptorcats coming towards us as I demanded. But I have a feeling that this is not going to be as simple as she wants me to believe it. "What''s the catch?" I ask her. No catch, she replies, then gapes her jaws open to reveal her teeth. But if you''re not quick enough then at least one of you will die. She hasn''t even finished speaking when the three raptorcats leap forward, their teeth ready to bite, their wings ready to buffet, and their talons ready to rend. I sigh. Of course. My own preparations for the fight have fortunately put me into a decent position to counter this move. While I wasn''t expecting exactly this, I was expecting something. I''ve therefore already been spending the last few minutes of conversation sending magic into the ground to prepare it for my commands. Though I sense that I can¡¯t push my influence much closer to the village due to Earth-former¡¯s presence already settled there, the couple of metres between me and the other Pathwalkers is fair game. The earth sinks underneath the raptorcats¡¯ feet. Robbed of their momentum they slow, their wings beating frantically forwards to help them keep their balance. Their pace reduced so significantly, they sink further. Soon, they are encased up to the top of their leg joints in thick, clinging soil. I don''t know how to ''wrest control of the beasts'', but I do know how to establish a Bond. I can only hope that one Bond replaces the other. I strongly suspect that if Beast-tamer is only capable of Binding Tier ones, or perhaps the odd Tier two, her powers will not be strong enough to resist my own which is capable of holding a Tier three. Ultimately I have to try. I''m savagely pleased by the disappointment in Beast-tamer''s spikes at the fact that I''m not having to fend off the raptorcats at the same time as trying to Bond with them. By this point, the claylike soil has wound its way further up each of their bodies and is now starting to impede their wings from moving too. After all, I don''t want them to be hurt by this. Watch my back, I ask my Bound. They agree willingly, all of them either outraged, disturbed, or a mixture of the two. Meeting the eyes of the raptorcat to the furthest right I invoke Dominate. I fall into the grey space as usual. However the differences are immediately obvious. The pressure against me is almost nil from the raptorcat itself. However there is a different kind of pressure. One which I recognise from the battles I had with my own Pathwalkers. It''s odd to think that species have a certain type of mental pressure, but they do. With the samurans there is a certain kind of sense of superiority, particularly among the Evolved. It''s a different sense of superiority than that I felt from Pride, for example, or the kiinas. One which perhaps stems from their sense of self or from their position in the community. Either way it''s very clear that the pressure I feel is not from the raptorcat but from the samuran who holds it bound. The Bond itself is actually visible, like chains that wrap around the raptorcat''s limbs, throat, wings, and head. They glow with a faintly ghostly light and are not entirely opaque. I push forwards, each step propelling me further towards the raptorcat. The pressure against me is stronger than my most recent battles with samurans, but it is far from the strongest. In fact, I would tentatively say that it is one of the weakest pressures I have felt from an Evolved samuran. I wonder how much of that is the Pathwalker herself and how much is because she''s working through a medium. I also idly wonder why this is the first time someone has challenged me. I hadn''t known that this was possible, but it surprises me that no one decided to challenge me for one of my Bound at the Festival. I dismiss the thought a moment later ¨C it''s irrelevant for now. Reaching the raptorcat doesn''t take very long, but when I''m within arms length of it, I wonder what exactly I''m supposed to do here. The only thing I can think of is to treat the chains like literal chains. I reach out and pull at the bindings. The raptorcat, who has been remarkably quiet with its emotions up until now, radiates both misery and hope. Unfortunately, it''s difficult to grasp the chains at all. My fingers slip right through them as if they do not exist. Then I remember. We are in some sort of soul space, so it''s logical that perhaps I can affect something which exists only in the soul when I am here. But maybe I have to treat it slightly differently from just reaching out for it. Remembering what I do when I am in my Challenge space, extending my soul outwards and increasing my willpower, I stop reaching out with my hands and instead reach out with my mind. Or perhaps mind is not the correct word to use. Perhaps it is indeed my soul. It''s hard, like using a muscle in a different way for the first time. But my practice in my Challenge space serves me well. This time, the chain reacts. I grip it with my will, and I pull. The chain is brittle. Not only is Beast-tamer not as strong as I am, but I sense that the raptorcat is working with me to destroy its bindings. It''s not long before I have burst through the chain around its neck and then even less time than that before the raptorcat is standing before me with no chains at all. With the release of the chains its emotions are released too. Her emotions. She is relieved, thankful, and ashamed. I send her a wordless feeling of comfort and of promise that she will rejoin her pack. The experience has not left her unscathed. Aside from the emotional damage, there are wounds on her representation here, something I suspect is her soul or a projection of it. Cuts and bruises where the chains have dug in, broken feathers on her wings. However, none of the injuries cripple her in any sort of way, not when the chains were so loose around her, perhaps because of the newness of the Bond. I think that that is the best we can hope for, and I hope that she will recover in time. I sense that I can establish a Bond here and now, but I don''t. Instead, I step backwards and let myself fall out of the Dominate space. The raptorcat has stopped fighting to free herself in the real world. I carefully pull the earth back from her and release her. She steps slowly out of the hole I have made for her and pads towards her matriarch. They reunite, the joy I can feel from the matriarch side of the Alliance Bond probably no less than the joy the evolved raptorcat displayed earlier. I''m grateful for the fact that in my upgrade to Master in Dominate, I was relieved of the paralysis penalty when failing a Battle of Wills ¨C when I do so willingly, that is. It allows me to immediately get started on getting the second raptorcat out of her entrapment. Within a relatively short space of time, the three raptorcats are once more with the matriarch. I look at the samurans of the other village who wisely didn¡¯t try anything while I was occupied even if their tension just seems to have increased. Beast-tamer looks a little put out but not nearly as much as I was expecting considering that I have just essentially stolen three of her Bound from her. Once more, I''m hit by an uneasy feeling. And as if in answer, alarm suddenly rings out from most of the Warriors who stayed behind in my home village. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Fourteen: Cornered Rat We¡¯re far enough away from our village that the emotions are blurred and there¡¯s no chance of me being able to actually communicate verbally with any of my Bound there. But something has clearly gone wrong ¨C and dramatically so. I can only determine one reason for that: that they have been attacked. Suddenly, I¡¯m seized by suspicion. The timing of this¡­and the odd behaviour of the Pathwalkers here. I glare at the Pathwalkers, meeting Earth-former¡¯s eyes. ¡°What is happening back at my village?¡± I demand. If I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯ll look a little foolish. But if I¡¯m right¡­. The samuran puts on a good front ¨C outrage flickers through her spikes even as she draws herself up to her full height. ¡°How should I know?¡± she questions angrily, then visibly tries to clear her emotions away from her spikes. ¡°We thank you for your service. Will you come and discuss with us what might constitute an appropriate apology gift?¡± I see through her attempt to change the topic. Despite her best efforts to hide her feelings, there¡¯s that hint of mustard yellow at the base of her spikes. She has good control of her emotional expression, but she¡¯s not perfect. Arguably, she could just be uneasy due to fearing that I will let the matriarch take out her anger on the village, but that seems unlikely. Her packmates restored to her, the matriarch is already turning to leave the area, appearing to pay not the slightest bit of attention to the samurans. In reality, I can feel that she¡¯s controlling the air around her ¨C no attack will get even close without her being aware of it. Either way, she¡¯s not being in the least aggressive. Which means that the unease comes from somewhere else. I stalk forwards, staring Earth-former in the eyes. ¡°What. Is. Happening. To. My village?¡± I demand once more when I am looming over the Pathwalker, less than a hand¡¯s width away. ¡°I¡­I¡­.¡± The Pathwalker stutters, her eyes wide, her spikes bright yellow in terror. She obviously feels completely cornered. And like a cornered rat, she bites back. I feel the earth move beneath my feet, the Pathwalker trying to drop me into it just as I did to the raptorcats. I reach into the earth myself, contesting her grip on it. She¡¯s a strong Earth-Former, but she¡¯s not an Earth-Shaper, and the differences have never been so obvious. The earth moves under her mental grip like it¡¯s putty in her hands, but by pouring in magic and thickening it, her putty becomes thick clay, and then immovable stone. My feet remain on top of the ground, and not within it as she would have liked. For a moment, she stares up at me, even more terrified than before. And then all hell breaks loose. Behind you! Catch shouts at me and I duck, a beast much like a reptilian squirrel flies through the space where my head had previously occupied. I jump back as another creature scurries forwards and swipes at my legs. More eyes appear in the forest and I hear the cracking of branches as bigger beasts move in. At the same time, I see the Warriors leap in, their weapons bared, aiming straight for me. I quickly retreat, dodging rocks and blades that fly at me. I¡¯m a key target here ¨C I need to return to the ranks of my Bound. My companions don¡¯t need my guidance to attack, though Catch and Poison hesitate to attack the Pathwalkers directly. That¡¯s fine ¨C they¡¯re more needed in the fight against the Warriors. We also need our full numbers ¨C twelve Warriors is too much to take on all at once if we¡¯re not actually aiming to kill, and who knows if the Unevolved in the village will come to help too. Everyone come here, we need you! We¡¯re fighting! I call to the Pathwalkers and Warriors who I left behind in the village. We¡¯re coming back as quickly as we can, answers River grimly. Coming back? I ask as I hurriedly deflect a wooden stake currently being controlled by Ghost, feverishly working to reinforce the soil into stone before Earth-former can challenge my control and upset the footing for all of us. Where did you go? Two Warriors said they had something to show us in the forest. Our four Warriors came with us to protect us, she answers quickly. I curse at the realisation ¨C this was planned. Hades, Persephone, shield me, I snap at them. Heavy bodies and wide, powerful wings instantly move to shield my body from the hail of telekinetic attacks from Ghost. I double down on my efforts. All my magic is focused into the earth beneath us, coating the impromptu arena with resilient stone. I¡¯m not only protecting myself now ¨C I¡¯m protecting all of my Bound who need reliable ground beneath their feet to fight. Slowly, I feel Earth-former yield, sensing her tiring. As the battle eases, I find I have a moment of breathing space. Immediately, I dive into Sirocco¡¯s viewpoint to see the battle. A sharp, mental sting makes me realise that she too is fighting ¨C a creature has snuck up on her where she was perched in the tree and wrapped around her. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Feeling like my blood is boiling at the attack, I pour my magic into her. She cries out in pain at the sensation, but fire explodes from her body, her Fire Wing extending far further than it ever has before. The serpent-like creature hisses and rears back, its nasty mandibles clicking along with its insect-like front legs. I see it battle with itself as it is driven forwards by the commands of its Binder, even as it seeks to retreat from the painful fire. It¡¯s enough leeway for Sirocco to leap off the branch and escape its clutches. She soars over the battlefield and I see what a mess it has become. Lathani is the biggest presence, using her Shadow Hop to excellent effect as she leaps out of samurans¡¯ shadows to rip at their bodies. Hades and Persephone are positioned defensively near me, as are Catch and Poison. Our main tanks, Fenrir and Komodo, are our first line of defence, their armoured bodies proving to be resistant to the Warriors¡¯ weapons. As for the matriarch, she has disappeared with her three packmates ¨C no help from that quarter, apparently. I don¡¯t have time to be disappointed ¨C the situation is too desperate. We are definitely outnumbered. I count seventeen Warriors here now ¨C it must be all of their contingent except for the ones with my own samurans who will hopefully be here soon. In addition, there are the four Pathwalkers. Though Healer is clearly a non-combatant, crouched next to one of the the three Warriors already down, Earth-former, Ghost, and Beast-tamer are doing their best to make up for that. Beast-tamer is off to the side, her frustration visible. I can¡¯t quite get a count on the number of beasts she¡¯s throwing at me and my Bound, but I can see that, apart from two exceptions, they¡¯re mostly creatures weaker in combat than my own companions ¨C fortunately. And she¡¯s clearly having to force them to fight, the effort clear in her drawn expression. The two exceptions ¨C beasts similar to the two Bares-claws brought with him to my village ¨C seem more willing to fight but I¡¯m not worried. The two Evolved kiinas and two Warriors are very happy to take out their anger at this attack on anything that comes close enough to snap. I don¡¯t fear for my own safety. Earth-former is also off to the side having evidently given up the contest for my created stone platform. Now, she¡¯s trying to pull soil in from beyond it to snare my Bound¡¯s legs. Meanwhile, Ghost seems to have disappeared. I send out an Inspect to find her and she flickers into view, her attention fixed on Lathani, clearly about to throw something at the nunda¡¯s head. Lathani! Shadow Hop now! I shout mentally and she immediately obeys. The blade glinting with some sort of poison slams into a Warrior instead. He hisses in pain and then collapses. I think quickly. It¡¯s clearly time to take the kid-gloves off ¨C if they¡¯re trying so hard to kill us, we need to do the same for them. Lathani, go for Ghost. Take her out. I send her a feeling of where the samuran is since the nunda can¡¯t see her and smelling her is too inexact. Lathani agrees, diving into the closest shadow and emerging from another near Ghost¡¯s. The samuran tries to dive away, but Lathani uses her own shadow to grip the Pathwalker¡¯s, limiting her movement. Then, like a cat playing with a mouse, she starts to have a little fun. I¡¯d tell her off for playing but I have my own concerns. My small honour-guard and I rush towards the battle, a stampede of bulk and magic as I direct my companions forward to help Fenrir and Komodo. They have big health pools and their venomous teeth ¨C and in Fenrir¡¯s case, tail ¨C are harrying the Warriors. But although they have already downed two more and another two are looking rather ill, my Bound are looking worse for wear too. That opens me up to attack from Beast-tamer¡¯s own beasts. Pulling my mace and shield out of my Inventory, I fix my eyes on Beast-tamer herself, using my weapon to clear my way through to her. I know from experience that the Tamer is more important to subdue than her beasts ¨C I highly doubt that they will continue to fight if she¡¯s dead. Not that many of them are able to fight well with the broken ribs and broken legs I leave them with. Her eyes filled with fear, Beast-tamer backs away, but a sudden scream and burst of fire from behind her makes her jump forwards instinctively. My mace clouts her in her side, sending her tumbling in a broken mess to the ground. Despite clearly broken ribs, she wriggles away from me as I stalk towards her, her eyes wide in terror. ¡°I yield! I yield!¡± she yells as I prepare to bring my mace down on her head. I hesitate for a moment, then twist quickly to intercept one of the exceptions ¨C a lithe killing machine. Its teeth attempt to tear out my throat. I roar, set both hands on either side of the beast¡¯s neck, and send a vicious pulse of flesh-magic into it, piercing its spinal cord at the base of its skull. It goes limp, not dead, but not long for the living world as its lungs and internal organs stop working. I glare at Beast-tamer as she claws her way backwards. She fetches up against the base of one of the huts and there she¡¯s trapped, her limbs gone unresponsive with pain and fear. I storm towards her, my anger at her duplicity adding to the fury I¡¯d previously been feeling. Just as I¡¯m about to crush her skull, a body flings itself before my feet, almost tripping me. I raise my mace to kill whatever creature decided to attack me, only to stop when I see that it¡¯s Earth-former, lying on her back, her arms outstretched in a desperate plea for me to stop. We yield! We yield! she cries, perhaps unconsciously copying her sister¡¯s plea. I snarl ¨C I¡¯ve already heard that once. Please! You¡¯ve already killed one of us! Please don¡¯t kill the rest! she continues. We surrender! Do what you like with us and our village! Just¡­let us live! Wary of this being another trick, I don¡¯t lower my mace, but send quick glances around the battle. Everyone is frozen, some in mid-strike. I might imagine that one of the Pathwalkers has revealed a previously unknown talent for freezing time, except for the fact that I can see everyone breathing, their heads turned towards me and Earth-former, their spikes flickering with mixed emotions. Even my own Bound have paused and I see why Earth-former had said that one of them had died. She wasn¡¯t talking about the Warriors, but one of the Pathwalkers ¨C Ghost¡¯s head is currently rolling on the disturbed earth. Lathani looks remarkably smug, I notice. Glancing back at Beast-tamer, I see something in her eyes and spikes that wasn¡¯t there the first time around ¨C resignation. This time, I can believe the surrender is real. ¡°If you want to live, put all your weapons down and sit on the ground. Slowly,¡± I growl angrily at the infuriating pack of samurans. Tempted as I am to just dash off now to go to the rescue of my village, I decide that perhaps getting more information would be a better option. ¡°If a single one of them looks like they¡¯re about to attack, take them down immediately,¡± I instruct my Bound, purposefully making it so that everyone can understand me. The Warriors and remaining Pathwalkers are just following my instructions when I see movement through the trees. I tense and my people with me, only to relax a moment later. Running towards us are the rest of my group, trailed by three of the local Warriors and clearly prepared for battle. They slow as they get close, eyeing the scene. Are we too late? asks Yells, sounding disappointed of all things. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Fifteen: The Clean-up ¡°You¡¯ve missed the fighting, but you¡¯re just in time for the clean-up,¡± I direct at Yells, but my gaze is fixed warningly on the Pathwalkers and Warriors who have frozen temporarily at the arrival of others. I suspect that at least some of them are wondering if they can use the distraction to make a run for it. Honestly, if I was in their position, that¡¯s what I¡¯d be thinking. ¡°Keep moving slowly and putting your weapons down,¡± I instruct them, making sure that they realise I haven¡¯t in the least forgotten about what they should be doing. ¡°You too,¡± I instruct, my eyes flicking to the three local Warriors trailing behind my Pathwalkers. They look like they were debating between attacking and retreating, but my instruction and the hard looks my Pathwalkers give them are enough to send them shuffling forwards. A gust of wind slams into their backs and makes them double their speed to avoid being knocked down. As they get to the edge of their comrades, that same gust intensifies around their hands, ripping their weapons away, and then yanking them to the ground to join their fellow villagers. With Windy¡¯s intervention, I see the last of hope leave my prisoners¡¯ hearts, their spikes flickering with defeat and their shoulders slumping. If they couldn¡¯t beat my party as it was before, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat my party and an Enlightened samuran. Meanwhile, I quickly catch the Pathwalkers up to speed and share my suspicions. I feel fear and even the hints of panic begin among my samurans ¨C the village is their family, and their duty is to protect it. Knowing that something is happening without them being there to prevent it is hard on them. The problem is that we don¡¯t know what. But I know how to find out. ¡°Earth-former, look at me,¡± I tell her. She keeps her eyes trained on the ground, fear rushing through her spikes. Does she know what¡¯s going to come? It doesn¡¯t matter; that she¡¯s refusing my command just proves that this is even more necessary. I crouch down suddenly, trusting my Bound to watch my back, grab her muzzle with both hands and force her to look up at me. As soon as our eyes meet, I trigger Dominate, the command no longer needing to be vocalised since its rank up to Master. I¡¯ve been wondering whether I could remove the requirement to make eye contact too, but I haven¡¯t had much success in my few experiments. I don¡¯t waste much time striding through the grey space. The pressure I feel against me is almost laughable, not even as much as I felt when trying to free the raptorcats. Then again, I suppose that this is a different situation. Earth-former has been defeated, her will half-broken already. I hesitate for a moment and pause at arm¡¯s length away from the representation of the samuran. Should I speak to her now? If not, this will be the first time since Spike that I haven¡¯t communicated in some way before Binding a creature. But what does extensive conversation do except waste time? I¡¯m going to Bind her ¨C I need the information. And ultimately, they attacked me. And given that Beast-tamer asked about whether it was true that I had Bound samurans, they clearly know at least vaguely what I¡¯m capable of. Though how they know that is another question since they weren¡¯t at the Festival. The point is that the members of this village decided to attack me for no apparent reason but groundless fear after they lured us here under false pretences. There have to be consequences for that. And if it turns out that whatever is happening to my village right now is also their fault, then those consequences will only get worse: I can¡¯t have a village so close to mine which is willing to act against us like that. Asking for Earth-former¡¯s ¡®permission¡¯ to do Bind her isn¡¯t being reasonable or kind; it¡¯s being indecisive. It¡¯s not wanting to make the hard decisions myself. So I don¡¯t ask her permission. But I do speak to her briefly. ¡°You brought this upon yourself,¡± I say sternly. ¡°Cooperate, give me the information I want, and perhaps you will be released ¨C after a period of penance, of course. Depending on what you tell me of your crimes against me and my village, of course.¡± I feel the dismay emanating from her, overlying the terror which has been there since I entered the space. Reaching forwards, I touch the space between her eyes. The Bond snaps into place, though this definitely feels slightly different from the other Bonds I¡¯ve made. Was I wrong in not seeking her understanding and acceptance? Well, if I was, I will have to live with the consequences. For now, there are more important things to consider. Standing up from my crouched position, I see that little has changed around me. Not that I was expecting it to ¨C the Battle of Wills didn¡¯t take very long. ¡°Stand up,¡± I order my newest Bound with a hard note in my voice. She obeys slowly even without me needing to use the Bond. Her head is hanging low and she appears unwilling to make eye contact with any others from her village. ¡°Why did you just attack us? Tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.¡± If it works in a court of law, it should work here. Especially when I can use the Bond to back up my command. We had to, she answers mournfully. And we hoped that in your reduced numbers we would be able to stop you. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Why did you have to?¡± I demand, crossing my arms. You took far less time than you should have. You arrived here in half the time it should have taken you, and then on your first outing into the forest, you both found the Great beast and somehow managed to have discourse with it. And then, somehow, you discovered of the trouble back at your village. If we let you go now, it would all have been lost. ¡°What would have been lost?¡± It¡¯s hard to keep my patience but I hold onto it through a sheer force of will. This will take far longer than it should if I allow my temper free rein. The plan. ¡°Explain the plan. What was it? Who made it? Who was involved?¡± Here Earth-former hesitates, fighting against the Bond which urges her to answer. I narrow my eyes and press a little more of my Willpower against her, forcing her to talk. Hisses of protest rise from several of the samurans sitting on the ground, but reprimanding grunts ringing out from my own Pathwalkers put a stop to audible forms of protest quickly enough. It was another village of our tribe, she says finally, her tone exhausted and completely defeated. Maybe she¡¯s realised that she lost all ability to make a choice when she chose to fight us and lost. ¡°Which one?¡± Of the twelfth lower mountain. I nod slowly. That figures. I had wondered if we hadn¡¯t seen the last of them. Backed by two Pathwalkers from the lead village of our tribe. That makes my eyebrows rise slightly. Sympathetic Pathwalkers acting of their own accord, or an attempt of the lead village to damage an up-and-coming village of another tribe? Such tactics aren¡¯t exactly unknown to me ¨C the corporate world can be cutthroat at times. ¡°Continue explaining about the plan,¡± I command. We were to be the distraction, one way or another, Earth-former tells me. We needed to lure you down here for a valid reason. Given your performance in the Hunt that our tribe-members described to us, we decided that a Great beast might be the best option to attract your attention. So that was how they¡¯d known information which had been revealed at the Festival despite not being there themselves ¨C these other samurans had told them. Beast-tamer suggested kidnapping the pack members of a Great beast whose protective nature is well known. This worked as intended. ¡°And the members of your own village who died? Were those as intended? Or was that a lie too?¡± I ask, cold fury settling into my stomach. I feel a hint of remorse coming across the Bond from Earth-former¡¯s side. Necessary sacrifices to make sure that you were fully convinced. By this point, it¡¯s easy to see who was aware of the plan and who wasn¡¯t; the admission that the Pathwalkers are ultimately at fault for the deaths which apparently were real has several Warriors staring at their lead Pathwalker with horror. Not all of them are surprised, though, and all of the Pathwalkers were clearly aware. The Unevolved, however, who have started gathering discreetly among the trees around us and between the huts, set up a susurration of discontentment. They clearly don¡¯t like the idea that they¡¯ve been fed to a meat-grinder as part of some big plot by those who are supposed to lead and protect them. I don¡¯t blame them, though I wonder about why exactly it always comes down to the sacrificial play among the Evolved samurans. First the shaman of my village sacrificing the hatchlings and planning to sacrifice the Unevolved; now this one who considers the inevitable deaths of luring an angry Tier three into their area of the forest to be ¡®necessary sacrifices¡¯. Is there an actual cultural reason, or is it just that they consider the non-Evolved to be so replaceable that they don¡¯t care? I have a nasty feeling it¡¯s more likely to be the latter than the former. You were never supposed to know! Earth-former says frantically, clearly aware of the disapproval being directed her way. None of you were supposed to know! That¡¯s why we did our best to convince you, even sending you two of our own to prove our desperation for your help. You were supposed to come, deal with the Great beast, and then leave, none the wiser. But you were too fast, too suspicious. You forced our hand! ¡°Sucks to be you,¡± I growl. ¡°And now we¡¯re back onto the topic, why exactly did you need to lure me down here in the first place? And why did the length of time I stay here matter?¡± I don¡¯t know, she answers. Narrowing my eyes at her, I touch the Bond between us, then huff in annoyance. She¡¯s telling the truth. She doesn¡¯t know. But¡­ ¡°You have suspicions, though, don¡¯t you?¡± Earth-former hesitates, once more trying to resist the Bond which urges her to speak. This time, though, I don¡¯t have to apply any additional pressure before she gives in. Pathwalker Flying-blade was angry, she confesses. Very angry. She said that you had cheated in the Hunt and that the rest of the leaders supported you because they wanted the red tribe to fail. I think that a simple attack to sow destruction but cause little permanent damage would be too tame for her. She wants you to hurt and she wants to destroy the threat of your village for a long time to come, without attracting the wrath of the other villages by killing too many Pathwalkers. She had some sort of object with her. I don¡¯t know what it was, but she wouldn¡¯t let it out of her sight. I¡­she hesitates again. I think that her plan centres around that object. I consider the information, but not for very long. It¡¯s clearer than ever that my village is under threat and that we need to get back there as soon as we can to stop whatever dastardly plan Flying-blade intends to perpetrate in revenge for losing the Hunt fair and square. Please, she pleads with me, interrupting my thoughts. We had to do this. Flying-blade refused to hear any argument. She¡­she threatened that if we didn¡¯t go along with her¡­she¡¯d show us what she was going to do to your village firsthand. I want to say so much to that but I force my tongue to stillness. Perhaps the glare I send at the Pathwalker says enough ¨C Earth-former takes one look and then shuts her jaws with a snap, averting her gaze from mine. I sigh. We¡¯re on the clock here but we can¡¯t leave a mess of vipers behind us like this or we¡¯ll pay for it later. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Sixteen: Solution The solution to the nest of vipers is unfortunately obvious, though I¡¯m not entirely comfortable with it. Nonetheless, I champ at the bit to get going ¨C our people need us! Perhaps I can multitask here. After all, the quicker we can get back home, the more likely it is that we¡¯ll be able to impact whatever it is Flying-blade is doing. ¡°Windy, Hades, Persephone, Earth-former stay with me and make sure not a single one of these samurans sets a foot out of line.¡± I look at Earth-former with a hard look in my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s in your best interest to make sure that they don¡¯t because any sign of resistance and we¡¯ll kill them.¡± I¡¯m not cruel enough to make her do the distasteful task herself, but I¡¯m being completely honest here and she feels it. I hear, Pathwalker Tamer. My village will be calm and obedient, I promise you that, she replies with a shudder. "See that they are," I tell her, turning to Sirocco. "I need you to fly ahead as quickly as possible. Borrow Ptera''s Lighten ability to make yourself go faster. Be careful not to be seen by anyone who may be in our village. I will need your report as soon as I come within range." The bird quickly takes to the air, a fierce agreement flowing down the Bond between us. Next, I turn to the rest of my Bound. "I need you to fetch materials that we could use to make this." I send them a package of images of what I''m imagining will be possible to make. It''s a pity that we didn''t bring Joy with us as she could have quite easily finished the job for us without my input, but unfortunately that''s not the case. Still, we can at least get the materials collection started, which will speed up the process when I''ve finished doling out judgement to these samurans who set themselves against me and mine. My party members quickly stride off, none of them having the remotest desire to linger longer than necessary. They have just as much motivation to return to the village as quickly as possible as I do. Just as I am turning to the samurans we have captured, I hear the sound of something approaching very quickly from behind me. I turned to see a gratifying sight meet my eyes. "Bastet, Storm, Ninja! You''re back." They are just as happy to see me as I am to see them, coming to greet me enthusiastically, though Bastet immediately expresses remorse that she was not with me for the recent battle. I sent her wordless forgiveness, not that I think it¡¯s needed as it wasn''t her fault that she wasn''t present. "You''ll be able to help keep these samurans in line while I work on making sure that they won''t do us any further harm." With the raptorcats joining us, I feel less concerned about some of the samurans potentially taking advantage of my divided attention to try to escape or to kill me. "Right," I say, turning to the samurans on the ground with my arms crossed. "Some of you probably know what I am capable of," I venture levelly. "The last time a village of samurans crossed me, I took over. I''m going to do the same to you. From this point on, thanks to your leaders¡¯ decision to plot against me, your village no longer exists as a separate entity. I''m going to Bind each Evolved, and absorb the Unevolved under the wing of my village." The reactions to my words range between the horrified and the relieved. I suspect that some were expecting me to kill at least a portion of the village while others were hoping that they would get away practically scot-free. It''s going to be a difficult transition, I think. Especially since everyone will know that these samurans are part of the reason for whatever is happening in my village. But I don''t want to kill them, and I equally don''t want to leave them as a threat so close to my people. "You can''t do that," shouts one of the Warriors who looks the most horrified. "We-we are a different Tribe, a different village. We''ve always lived here. You can''t just...absorb us." "Well, there is an alternative," I inform him casually. He looks vaguely hopeful for a moment, though others around him, I think, suspect what my ''other option'' is going to be. "The Unevolved don¡¯t have to join if there¡¯s another village they¡¯d rather go to for shelter ¨C I doubt they had any part in the decision-making so I¡¯m not going to punish them directly for it. But for you who did have choices, I¡¯m not letting you remain a threat. Either you take my Bond or you can join your friends.¡± I look pointedly at the three Warriors lying dead on the ground to make it clear what I mean. The objecting Warrior pales and looks down. However, it seems like there are a few actually seriously considering that option. And ultimately, I find myself unable to feel too much sympathy for them if they do. They are the ones who made the choice to come into conflict with me and my village, so if they wish to die as a consequence of their choice, that''s up to them. "I will accept your Bond," says a quiet voice from the side. I look over to see Healer speaking. "I don''t want to die. I didn''t agree with it to begin with, but I will accept the consequences of not putting up enough of a fight." "I''m glad to see that someone has sense," I say with grim satisfaction. Moving over to her, it''s not long before I''ve added someone else to my Bond network. Healer''s choice sparks a number of others offering themselves up to be the next to take the Bond. Some then try to fight back when we are in the Battle of Wills space, as if they are hoping that by defeating me here, they will hurt me in the real world. Their resistance doesn''t even approach what is necessary to overcome my Willpower, however, and it ends with them Bound to me nonetheless. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Once I have finished Binding those who volunteer for it, I move onto those who do not. Each time, I give them a choice: submit to my Bond or die. The one who puts up the most fight is, predictably, Beast-tamer. Her own willpower is nothing to sniff at. It''s not surprising, as out of all the samurans here, she probably has the most occasion to use it. And as I have experienced myself, use is quickly followed by growth. It''s quite interesting to experience a Battle of Wills with another Tamer. Not only is it a question of her own Willpower, but I sense that it''s also affected by her Bonds. In this case, she is disadvantaged. I feel that the unwilling Bonds she holds actually sap some of her Willpower from her. I have few truly unwilling Bonds now, in fact only the most recent ones can be classed that way, and even among them not all of them unconsciously put up a constant fight. Beast-tamer clearly has quite a different approach to Taming. It gets to the point where I sense her making the choice between maintaining the Bonds and handicapping herself, and releasing the Bonds to free up the Willpower involved. Perhaps in the sense of mutually assured destruction, she abruptly releases all of the Bonds at once. This frees a significant chunk of her willpower to then attack me. I fight through it and force the Bond on her not long after, but when we emerge from the Battle of Wills, I realise that it''s had another consequence. Namely, that there are suddenly a whole group of beasts running free and desperate to escape from the place that has been their prison for who knows how long. Fortunately by this point, I have thirteen Warriors, and all three of the local Pathwalkers Bound to me. Doing damage control is therefore quite simple, though I call Beast-tamer back, when it appears that her presence is an active negative. Either the beasts turn to attack her, or they become even more frenzied in their attempts to escape. Once the beasts have been dealt with, Healer proves herself helpful, quickly going to those injured to mend their wounds. She prioritises the Warriors, but I¡¯m pleased when she also moves to heal the Unevolved caught in the crossfire without being asked. By the time I Bind the last of the living Warriors to me, even my much higher Willpower is starting to feel the strain. I still sense that I could add another ten or so if necessary, but I doubt much more than that. Without knowing what''s going on in my village, I don''t know whether that will be sufficient. At least my companions have been making good progress with collecting the materials I asked them to. Once I''ve finished bringing the rest of the local samurans under control ¨C only one chose death over a Bond, in the end ¨C I send them off to corral their Unevolved and prepare them to make the journey up to my village. I deputise three of my Warriors to stay behind as party leaders since I can¡¯t afford the time to travel with a whole village of slow-moving samurans. I¡¯m tempted to leave Poison behind but decide against it in the end ¨C I know he¡¯s very sensible and practical, but since I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening back in my village, I want to take everyone I can with me. While they¡¯re getting organised, I take a piece of spider silk out of my Inventory and start feeding my magic into it. Using Flesh-magic to extend the piece of silk, I create a cord which will hopefully hold my contraption together. I also pull out the lengths of camo-spider silk fabric which I created months ago when we flew with Raven to kill the fellapodil. Fortunately, the mana infusion which made the mana fabric able to change colours seems to have become part of the fabric ¨C storing it in my Inventory doesn¡¯t suck the mana out of it. With the materials all collected, it doesn''t take me too long to complete my task. I really wish that I had both Sticks and Joy here, but if wishes were fishes, there''d be no such thing as hunger. It''s not pretty, but I hope that the hot air balloon will be sufficient for the task. After all, past experience has shown that flying in the air is far faster than running on the ground. A hot air balloon is not exactly the best device for quick motion, but we have one big advantage: Windy. If the wind works in our favour, then we will be able to go far faster than we would normally. I would prefer to make some sort of zeppelin, for aerodynamic properties, but I simply don''t have enough fabric. Making more cloth from spider silk will take too much time for me to consider it for more than a few moments. I¡¯ll just have to manage with what I have. The balloon part of my contraption is rather small; I hope that it will be big enough ¨C and that its lift will be enough to carry as many with us as I want. I consider who the priorities are to take with me if the balloon can¡¯t carry everyone. My Pathwalkers are obviously essential, and in terms of weight they are not too heavy. I intend to take Healer with me too as having another being capable of healing may be a great boon. I also definitely want to take Poison and the other two Warriors who aren¡¯t staying behind to organise the village here as they will be instrumental in helping to defend the village if it comes to a fight. The juvenile kiinas are obvious choices to leave behind. Although their combat potential is significant, it''s not enough to make up for their relatively large weight. Hades and Persephone too. Upon being told that, River goes over to Persephone and starts making much of her ¨C and warning Beast-tamer that if there¡¯s even a single scratch on the kiina when they meet again, she¡¯ll take it out of the other Pathwalker¡¯s hide. Bastet and the raptorcats are shoo-ins for coming with us. Not only are they good fighters, but they are remarkably light for their size. Lathani is one I struggle with deciding one way or the other. She''s big and heavy, but at the same time if I leave her behind and she''s hurt, I''ll have hell to pay from her mother. I decide to see how the weight allowance is going before making a decision. Fenrir may unfortunately be one of those left behind. He''s just so big and heavy. I¡¯d rather have him with me if I can, though ¨C he¡¯s an essential part of my party. If so, I¡¯ll need to wrap something around his tail so he doesn¡¯t accidentally poison us during the journey. Komodo is probably a bit too large and heavy to take with us, though. Eventually, I finish constructing both the balloon, and the basket that will dangle beneath. It would have been much easier with Sticks around, but I''ve managed to use bone to create the majority of the basic structure and link in the branches which my Bound brought to me. The advantage of using bone is that I''m able to hollow it as much as possible to reduce the weight of the basket itself ¨C I couldn¡¯t have done that with wood. Hopefully Windy will be able to get us there in good time with her Tier three abilities. My own Wind-Shaping is still at a very low level, but I will offer what aid I can as well, though I suspect that I will be limited to heating and controlling the air within the balloon itself. To that end, I ask Windy to direct air into the balloon, filling it quickly. Once it''s full, I start raising the temperature of the air with an application of my fire-magic. I decided it wasn''t necessary to have a fire when I could just heat it up myself. The balloon rises in the air, and I have to quickly tie the basket down with a spare rope to avoid it being lifted into the air prematurely. "Right everyone, first test. Get into the basket one by one starting with the Pathwalkers from my village, then Healer, and then we can see who else is able to fit." Putting action to my words, I step into the basket myself to prove that it''s safe. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Seventeen: Destruction We sail through the air, an airship blown on the wind. Tension tightens in my belly both from what I fear might be happening back home and from my struggle to keep the rickety structure around us together ¨C the only thing stopping us from plunging to the forest floor tens of metres below our feet. Magic, more than physics, is holding it together. Thankfully, nothing has seen us as a juicy target to attack as I doubt it would take much to overwhelm our pitiful defences. The basket is overcrowded, our surprising ability to carry more than expected meaning that I¡¯ve brought almost everyone with me who I took down to the village in the first place, bar the kiinas, Komodo, and three of the Warriors. Nonetheless it¡¯s been a quiet, subdued journey, everyone as anxious as I am to see what¡¯s become of our friends. I¡¯ve had to get involved a few times to calm the discussion when it got too heated or fearful, but since there¡¯s little I can say to reassure them or deal with the root symptoms of their anxiety, the conversation lapsed into silence each time. The village isn¡¯t quite in sight. I know where it is ¨C the wasteland where the vine-stranglers used to have their demesne is rather obvious from the air, even now that it¡¯s covered in green instead of grey. The developed areas for my village¡¯s farming are just as easy to see by how different they are from the rest of the wasteland. The only reason I can¡¯t see the village itself is because at our angle it¡¯s concealed by the canopy. A dot soars towards me; my Bond tells me exactly who it is. What did you see? I send to Sirocco, figuring that since we''re in visual range, we should be able to communicate too. Instead of responding verbally, she sends me a series of images. My fist clenches involuntarily and my teeth grit together as I see what¡¯s been done to my village. It¡¯s a battleground even if there are no living beings immediately in view. It looks more like the ground after the battle of the Somme than the village I remember it being, massive gouges made in the earth and hills where once it was smooth. The huts have been destroyed, not a single one left intact. Roots spike through the remnants I see, as if they were torn apart from below. Worse than the destruction to the huts are the bodies I see lying scattered around them. My gorge rises and my blood boils as I see people, villagers I recognise just lying abandoned there among the bodies of even more that I don¡¯t. Dead. The basket beneath my feet shudders and we start drifting downwards as I lose focus. I force myself to push away the revulsion I feel and refocus on keeping us in the air. Using Meditation to give myself a cooler head, I review the images Sirocco sent me again, this time trying to avoid getting caught up in the deaths of the samurans. Ones I recognise, ones I¡¯ve fought for ¨C I pull back again. Come on, Markus. The more we can work out now, the more time we can save later. And maybe that means we¡¯ll be able to help more of those who are still¡­alive. To try to keep my cool, I start narrating what I see in a monotone, hoping that my companions might be able to help me think through what we might be walking into. Dusty and River both exclaim at the news, distress pouring through the Bonds I have with them. Yells is silent but I feel the same from her side of the Bond. Windy also doesn¡¯t say anything but I feel the wind propelling us strengthen even further as our speed increases. The rest of my Bound are more removed, but even they are horrified about what¡¯s happened to those they¡¯ve come to know and work with, the same as I. I sense panic beginning to claw at them. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± I tell them, my tone unintentionally harsh. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± I repeat, doing my best to soften my voice. ¡°The only way we can help is to save as many as we can. So please. Help me work out what we¡¯re facing here,¡± I practically plead. I need them. Emotionally and probably in the fight too. If they lose themselves to fear and panic, it will be all the harder for me to resist my own negative spiral. Determination comes through the Bond even as River tilts her chin up slightly in apology. Please continue, Markus, she said apologetically. Speak on and we will help where we can. I nod in thanks and continue my grim recital. Are the bodies mostly Unevolved or Evolved? Yells breaks in, her spikes flickering with upset. It¡¯s a good question. I review the images. ¡°Of those I recognise, they¡¯re mostly Unevolved with a few¡­hatchlings.¡± I swallow thickly. ¡°I see a few Warriors I recognise scattered around the central area, but the greatest number are mostly towards the top end of the village. They¡¯re surrounded with others new to me.¡± My brief flame of satisfaction at my people selling their lives dearly is quickly extinguished as I see another body wearing armour. I swallow dryly. ¡°And there¡¯s one¡­one Pathwalker.¡± Who? rips out of several throats, the grunts harsh. ¡°It¡¯s hard for me to tell, but I think it¡¯s Flicks ¨C Fire-whisperer,¡± I say, feeling sick. Ancestor¡¯s have mercy, Dusty murmurs miserably. She only just Evolved a few cycles ago, adds River, horror flickering through her spikes. I nod, swallowing again. ¡°She fought hard, three Warriors and at least five Unevolved of our village lie dead next to her. They¡¯re surrounded by at least that number of dead Warriors who all bear the signs of flame and weapon attacks, a testament to our people¡¯s willingness to fight to the death,¡± I tell my companions with grim pride for my people. ¡°Warriors who aren¡¯t wearing armour and who I don¡¯t recognise. And they¡¯re not only there ¨C wherever there is a concentration of our people¡¯s bodies there are bodies of strange Warriors lying around them.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. It truly was an attack, then, breathes Windy, the first words she¡¯s spoken in a while. And it¡¯s your fault! she accuses me wildly, her eyes lighting with rage as the wind around us starts becoming unpredictable. You picked a fight with Flying-blade ¨C Shaman knew to be careful of her and never went as far as you did. And now she¡¯s come to punish us all for your actions! ¡°Control yourself!¡± I order her sharply. ¡°Or do you want to be responsible for the deaths of all of us?¡± She clicks her teeth and then gapes her jaws in threat but does as I bade her without arguing. Perhaps even she sees the point in getting us to the ground safely. It¡¯s only when our flight has steadied that I respond, my voice forcibly calm even as my insides churn with emotions. ¡°Flying-blade is the one who started things at the Hunt. You had no complaints about my strategy there!¡± You should have known that she wouldn¡¯t have left it at that! argues Windy. She was humiliated, but not defeated. You should have known she would pursue it further! And now she¡¯s attacked our village and killed our sister! I feel the words like daggers to the heart. I find it hard to argue with her. I saw how humiliated Flying-blade was, and should have guessed that she wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with her defeat. That¡¯s unfair, Wind-whisperer! River exclaims, her eyes flashing with heat. Who could have predicted that she would have chosen to attack our village? It¡¯s shameful the way she has chosen to act! It¡¯s only shameful if she fails, Yells interrupts, her quiet voice somehow drawing everyone¡¯s attention. If she succeeds, her actions are validated. But succeeds with what? What is her aim? Dusty frets. Is she aiming for destruction or is this a full takeover bid? Her people have already killed one of our honoured Pathwalkers, Catch contributes angrily. Those are the actions of destruction, nothing else. Yet only one Pathwalker has fallen, Poison reminds him. Where are the others? And where were our brothers? Why were there only three Warriors defending Fire-whisperer? ¡°I recognise eleven Warriors lying among the fallen,¡± I offer heavily, continuing to review Sirocco¡¯s images even as the argument took place. ¡°As for Warriors I don¡¯t recognise¡­there are at least twenty-seven,¡± I say with grim satisfaction. ¡°There¡¯s another big group dead near the mountainside gate ¨C laying alongside the biggest group of our Warriors. The others are clumped together around other fighters ¨C mostly Unevolved samurans.¡± Unevolved took down Warriors? demands Poison sharply. Incredulity spikes through the Bond between us. I shrug. ¡°So it appears. I¡¯m only telling you what I can see. You¡¯ll see it for yourself soon enough.¡± Disbelief comes from several of the samurans around me including the quiet addition of Healer from the other village who apparently doesn¡¯t realise that her emotions are no longer private; that keeping quiet is no longer a way of hiding. We land shortly afterwards, the rickety balloon collapsing into pieces as soon as I release my mental hold over it. I hope we won¡¯t need it for a quick getaway. I doubt it, though ¨C Sirocco has been monitoring the area and hasn¡¯t seen any sign of movement nearby. River, Healer, and I go out to inspect the bodies, looking for anyone who might still be alive. I feel my jaw tensing as I see the devastation up close. The village which I left not that long ago is now practically unrecognisable. So many of those I¡¯ve come to know, if only by sight, are lying around me, the stench of death thick in the air. Even the gentle breeze stroking the battlefield isn¡¯t enough to rid it of the nauseating odor of blood and body parts exposed which should be kept hidden. Samurans are no different from any other creature in death. Insects have come and are buzzing around the fallen, though no scavengers appear to have appeared yet. Though I don¡¯t know why they have been reluctant to approach, I¡¯m grateful. Not only do I not wish to see my people¡¯s bodies desecrated, but it gives me a better view of the battlefield. The damage is worst in the central area of the village, though it seems that almost every hut has been targeted by one attack or another. The most intact still has its roof caved in. As I saw from the air, the bodies are thickest towards the mountainside gate, which is where most of my Warriors fell. Even after walking around the whole village, I have found only the one Pathwalker body. Not that I wished to find more Pathwalker bodies, but where are the rest? Happy¡¯s forge is deserted, though I can still feel a hint of residual heat in it. Hunter¡¯s work area is destroyed, her tools scattered everywhere, two of her Unevolved assistants lying dead not far from it. My frown deepens. What does it mean? Markus! Come over here! River shouts urgently, disrupting my thoughts. I run over to where she¡¯s crouched next to the body of an Unevolved ¨C one of the lucky ones with hide armour. She¡¯s tipping a vial into his mouth. A healing potion, I guess, since her actions make it very clear that he¡¯s still alive. Dropping to my knees next to him, I stare into his eyes and quickly drop us into a Battle of Wills. Practically running across the space between my starting point and the flickering representation of the Unevolved, I slam the Bond into place then immediately start pouring in healing magic. He¡¯s hurt badly, multiple stab wounds perforating his torso. The only reason why he¡¯s still alive is because, though they managed to pierce his gut through the hide armour, they somehow avoided hitting any arteries or any other major organs and the stab wound was cushioned slightly by his layer of protection. He shows some hint of healing ¨C perhaps he¡¯d had a healing potion which managed to partially close his worst wounds. But he¡¯s still been lying here for hours with his digestive juices and contamination leaking into the rest of his body and giving him a slow, excruciatingly painful, lingering death. Not on my watch. I close up the holes in his gut and then draw the contamination out of the wounds in his skin. Healer arrives shortly after and pours her own magic into the samuran¡¯s body. I feel her jerk in surprise next to me when I grab her magic and co-opt it, directing it into my tasks ¨C it was too undirected for my preference, going to heal the non-lethal cuts in his skin as much as the far more serious wounds to his internal flesh. Only once I¡¯ve dealt with the gut wound fully and have made some inroads on some of the other deeper stab wounds do I pull out and let Healer work alone. The samuran by this point is awake and looking at me wonderingly. I vaguely recognise him from seeing him walk around ¨C I probably checked out his body and Energy channels at some point, but without making an effort to retrieve the memory, I can¡¯t recall it. You saved me! he says somewhat deliriously. I might have healed the wounds, but he¡¯s still lost a lot of blood and will need time to recover. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Ask anything and I will give it, he promises, sounding almost high. He probably is ¨C on the chemicals his body¡¯s generating due to his sudden relief from recent lethal injury. ¡°What can you tell me about the recent attack?¡± I ask him briskly, at the same time instructing River and Healer to continue searching the bodies around us for any more survivors. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Eighteen: No Warning There was no warning, the Unevolved samuran tells me. Stung-by-a-bug, if our Bond is anything to go by. Fortunately it clarified for me ¨C I would have called him Throws-a-bone. Our patrols were silent, our guards gave no warning. The earth shuddered beneath our feet, a wave of water following and knocking those of us still standing off our feet. The wave started freezing the water remaining on us, the cold sinking into our limbs and making us feel sleepy and wooden. And then they were there, already pouring through the gates. I saw our guards laid on the ground, still. Their armour did not protect them from objects sticking out of their eyes. Seven foreign Pathwalkers and many times that number in Warriors invading our village. In disarray, we fought back fiercely, besieged by blades of water and of ice, by objects that flew from unexpected directions and the earth that moved beneath our feet. We defended the huts and those within. Our Warriors were easily the match of the enemy Warriors, their armour protecting them from so many blows that the invaders were not expecting to be turned. The four of our Honoured Pathwalkers present fought fiercely too. Honoured Weaver turned the roots at their feet against them, Honoured Fire-whisperer blew great gouts of flame towards any who dared to approach her hut, Honoured Enchanter threw things at them which exploded on contact, and Honoured Smith wielded a large, red-hot metal hammer with the power of any Warrior. With every swing, its head sizzled flesh and crushed bone. But then they turned our shelters against us. One of the invading Pathwalkers had control over plants ¨C as she moved under guard, she destroyed the huts, killing hatchlings and forcing out all those sheltering within. Honoured Weaver did not seem able to combat roots under the ground. Our Honoured Pathwalkers were left without shelter and were quickly surrounded by Warriors. We did our best to break them free of the encirclement but we could only wrest three of them free. I was struck by a blow which ripped my stomach apart, their spear piercing my extra skin layer as if it wasn¡¯t there. One of my companions pushed me off to the side, out of risk of being trampled by the ongoing battle. Perhaps he knew that I had traded for a healing potion from Honoured Herbalist and wished to give me the opportunity to use it. His mental feel is bitter. It was not enough to allow me to join the battle again, though my vantage point was excellent ¨C for a while. I watched as a large group of our Warriors surrounded Honoured Enchanter and Smith and retreated with them. Honoured Fire-whisperer and Weaver, however, were too surrounded by the enemies. As they saw that the other Pathwalkers were pulling out of their grip the enemy Warriors fought even more fiercely than before. I saw as their defenders fell one by one. Honoured Weaver was the first to fall. The Unevolved is full of grief. The focus of three of the enemy Pathwalkers as well as a large number of Warriors, she was overwhelmed. I heard her cry out, and then saw her body being dragged away. Honoured Fire-whisperer was next. Her flames countered by ice and water, they ran out far too soon. But she didn¡¯t give up. Here, his tones shift to clear admiration despite his grief. I feel the knot in my throat swell even bigger. I couldn¡¯t speak now even if I wanted to. Even though it was clear she could no longer fight with magic, she refused to go down without taking more of them with her. Using her bladed staff, she attacked the Warriors with all her might. She fought more fiercely than any of us and took down several Warriors before she fell. He lowers his head, shame coming across the Bond. But it was for naught. Though invasions usually aim to capture Pathwalkers, or leave them alone if seeking only destruction, they killed Honoured Fire-whisperer. Perhaps it was by accident; perhaps they feared her power too much. Her dying scream was the signal for those remaining to retreat after our living Honoured Pathwalkers. The village was lost. I watched as my brothers disappeared towards the mountainside gate. Perhaps they thought I was dead; perhaps they couldn¡¯t spare the time to take me with them. His voice is mournful. I do not know what happened to them after that. As the attention turned towards the mountainside gate, I saw the broodmothers make a break for it, driving their charges ahead of them, vanishing into the forest. I feel a hint of relief at his words ¨C at least some of the hatchlings survived the collapse of the huts. Stung-by-a-bug looks both fearful and full of grief. I don¡¯t know any more than that, only pain and a seemingly endless age of waiting to die. I¡¯m sorry, Honoured Pathwalker Tamer. We failed you. I rest my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Frankly, I think you did far more than anyone expected,¡± I tell him bluntly even as grief about the loss of Flicks and Joy rips at my insides and makes my eyes prickle with tears. ¡°From the sounds of it, everyone here was a hero, who put the safety of the Pathwalkers above their own, and succeeded in delaying the attackers so much that Happy and Hunter got away and so did as many hatchlings as possible. And looking at this battlefield, I see far more Warriors dead than anyone would expect considering how so few Warriors were here to defend all of you.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Probably-Stung-by-a-bug looks up at me with gratitude coming through our link. I thank you, Honoured Pathwalker. I only wish we could have done more. I¡¯m prevented from answering when River and Healer both shout aloud, indicating that they¡¯ve each found someone else still alive. I pat the prone samuran on the shoulder again. ¡°Rest. Recover your strength. And then when we¡¯ve made sure that any still living here stay living, we¡¯ll go and make sure that these invaders realise how stupid they were to mess with us.¡± The expression that he gives me is very much a crocodile grin, sharp teeth gleaming in the daylight. We spend the next hour doing as much triage as possible. Finding survivors spread across the battlefield, samurans holding onto life by the barest thread. But the barest thread is all I need to pull them back from the edge. I¡¯m no necromancer ¨C I can¡¯t bring people back from the dead. But I can heal them from almost-dead. In the meantime, I send out scouts to work out exactly where the Pathwalkers and Warriors went, followed by the invaders. Sirocco, of course, and Ptera who is grumpy at being disturbed during the daytime, but isn¡¯t given much choice about the matter. I also send Catch and Poison ¨C they¡¯re both scout-types and fast when they want to be. Plus, Poison in particular is experienced and knowledgeable ¨C he should be able to identify who the Pathwalkers are exactly and therefore what they¡¯re capable of doing. While searching for those still alive, we carefully move the bodies to the central area ¨C three of the samurans who were still alive were underneath those who were dead. When we move yet another pile of dead Warriors ¨C invaders ¨C a cry rings out into the air. It¡¯s only when I feel my throat tearing that I realise it came from me. Her fur so bloody that its original colours are almost impossible to determine, Honey lies still. The Warriors around her show that her passing was not made easy for those seeking her death ¨C I always knew she was a fighter, and this proves it ¨C five Warriors fell before she did. It¡¯s with shaking hands that I reach down to pick her up. I¡¯ve been doing my best to hold things together, to be the strong pillar that my companions can cling to as they see their village devastated, their brothers and sisters murdered. Yet this, the death of one of my Companions, someone who trusted me so much that she transitioned to a Companion Bond¡­. It¡¯s too much. Another cry of devastation tears itself from my throat as I clutch at Honey, my tears flowing easily down my cheeks. And then, I feel a heartbeat. At first, I think that it¡¯s my imagination, but then I feel it again. Could it be¡­? I push my healing magic into the body held between my hands, feeling Honey¡¯s body soak it up like a sponge. She¡¯s alive! Knocking back a mana potion, I don¡¯t hesitate to pour what I need to into Honey to heal the wounds that should have killed her. Would have killed her if she hadn¡¯t been such a fighter that she refused to give into death¡¯s clutches until the last drop of blood stopped circulating in her body. And just like her, I won¡¯t give up until she¡¯s whole. It takes my mana pool and then more despite all the advantages ¨C our Bond, my familiarity with her body, the fact that I helped her heal her Energy channels ¨C but when I see her push herself to her feet whole once more, it¡¯s all worth it. ¡°You¡¯re alive,¡± I breathe, only daring to say it when she¡¯s standing before me, the light of life in her eyes replacing the glassiness of death. She steps forwards and touches her nose to mine, exchanging breaths with me. I don¡¯t even care that her breath stinks of rotten meat. I won¡¯t die that easily, she tells me, the rare words from her like music to my mental ears. I embrace her, relief tearing into me almost as savagely as my grief had before. And there I stay until I¡¯m summoned to the side of another almost-dead villager. Sirocco comes back as I¡¯m finishing up with the fifth and last samuran ¨C the others have all sadly been identified as dead, their corpses moved to the destroyed central area between the ruins of the huts. I¡¯m pleased by the amount of care everyone has given to all the bodies of our own, including those of the Unevolved. Even Windy, her face and spikes an emotionless mask that only covers the tumultuous emotion within. I sense that she¡¯s on the edge of her control. I hope she can calm down before we go into battle or she¡¯ll be more of a liability than an asset. Everyone is angry, though. I am too, my fury matching my grief. To see the ruins of everything we¡¯ve built, the torn bodies of those we¡¯ve nurtured¡­it¡¯s heartbreaking. Toys, scattered all over and so covered in detritus that they will have to be burned or buried with the bodies. Huts so ripped apart by roots that they will have to be completely rebuilt. Joy¡¯s tapestries, woven with creative inspiration, ripped and dipped in the blood of those they were meant to amaze. We never found her body, but several of the survivors report seeing her limp form taken away by the invaders. There¡¯s actually some hope in that ¨C she may have been captured rather than killed. And worse, the confirmed deaths of seventeen hatchlings, fifty-three Unevolved, twelve Warriors, and one Pathwalker of our village whose corpses lie broken on the floor. It would have been fifty-seven Unevolved and thirteen Warriors if we had taken any longer to get here. They sold their lives dearly ¨C twenty-nine enemy Warriors are dead, their bodies carelessly tossed together into a single pile. I¡¯m determined not to lose any more and sense the same resolve among my people. ¡°What did you find out?¡± I ask Sirocco, standing up from my patient. Instead of answering with words, she sends me a series of images. My mouth sets into a grim line as I review them. ¡°Everyone strong enough to fight, come with me. We need to get moving.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Nineteen: Inter-Tribal Conflict I¡¯m unsurprised when no one chooses to stay, even my newly healed patients electing to join us. I don¡¯t argue ¨C they might not be fully healed, but I can keep feeding magic into them as we travel as long as they stay close by. Honey, of course, is keen on joining the fight, her usual eagerness enhanced by her close call with death. Curiously enough, since healing her, more jagged honey-coloured lines have appeared in her fur, almost like scars. Or perhaps they¡¯re badges of achievement in her eyes. Certainly her Flurry ability had a good effect on her enemies ¨C attacks with her claws and teeth ripped open their legs and then their throats when they fell to the earth in pain. Still being quite low to the ground, despite Honey¡¯s increase in size during Evolution, the samurans may not have even realised she was there until they were being attacked. The number of different people in our party, some of them not entirely healed, does mean that we¡¯re a little slow-going. I keep my new Bonds with the Unevolved survivors so I can keep feeding them healing magic, but I¡¯ll have to cut those sooner rather than later ¨C unless we kill all of the invaders, I¡¯ll need to Bind them. Since I have limited Dominate capacity, the three survivors who I was forced to Dominate because they weren¡¯t conscious enough to consent to a Tame Bond are currently taking up slots on my soul which I might not be able to afford later. But that assumes that I leave any of the invading force alive, which I¡¯m feeling less and less inclined to do the more destruction I see around me. We don¡¯t even need Sirocco¡¯s guidance to follow the trail of the invaders ¨C they¡¯ve left enough traces of their presence that even a blind man could see them. My people evidently retreated to the den as Sirocco confirms that the trail leads straight to the vine-strangler grove. I¡¯m glad they made that decision ¨C it''s our most defensible area. They couldn¡¯t have known that the invading samurans would be so spitefully destructive to everything enroute. Our enemies, clearly not satisfied with simply killing my people, must have decided to destroy as much of our livelihood as they could. Though they don¡¯t seem to have spent much time on it, I see dead farm animals everywhere, killed while they fled. Holes in their bellies or heads, sometimes still occupied by a spike of rock prove what killed them. The fields of growing plants have been ruined too, what looks like a tidal wave followed by an earthquake having crashed through them. The fences are falling apart, few pieces still fully intact. Even the little huts my people had created close to the farm animals and fields for those in charge of their care have been ripped apart by the same roots that the huts in the village were. Even as my heart aches and my fury mounts at the wanton, malicious destruction that I see before me, another part of me is taking a careful note of the abilities I see being used. Earth-Shaping, Water-Shaping, Plant-Shaping, and Flying-blade¡¯s telekinesis are definites. From the reports of the survivors, Ice-Shaping seems to be in evidence too. Well, they might have been able to quench Flicks¡¯ flames, but I wonder what they¡¯ll think of mine. I moan like a wounded animal when a hulking lump of flesh comes into view. Trinity¡¯s bloodied and ripped body lies to one side of the path. The platform on her back is cracked and damaged and her belly is ripped open, her entrails spread around her. But her bloody and damaged horns, and the dead body at her hooves, tell the tale of just how hard she fought the invaders into the territory she had claimed as her own. I can¡¯t help but hope ¨C Honey had looked almost as bad, but she¡¯d survived. Running forwards, I lay my hands on Trinity¡¯s side, forcing in healing magic. But it¡¯s useless, I know that immediately. My Flesh-Shaping is happy to saturate the flesh, willing to reform and change it regardless of the state of life of the being it belonged to. But a spark is missing. I cannot bring back the dead, and Trinity has been gone for hours. My tears drip from my cheeks as I lower my head, sorrow ripping through me at losing the happy-go-lucky beast who had become beloved of so many of the village. When not transporting Pathwalkers to and from the den, she had become a favourite playmate of the hatchlings, rarely to be seen in the village without at least five of them hanging off her at all times. She hadn¡¯t achieved Evolution ¨C I wonder now whether she might have survived if she had. Her horns show that she fought for her life with the same ferocity I¡¯ve seen in many battles. Regret spools through me, tying its chains around my heart. If only I¡¯d got here sooner¡­if only I hadn¡¯t gone away at all. Despite our hurry, we take a moment to pay our respects to the beast who had embraced her role as conveyance with enthusiasm which never waned, no matter how many times she trod the path between the village and the den. Friend to hatchlings and any who treated her kindly. Our battle-sister. River mirrors my own anguish as she gently touches the bloodied and broken central horn on Trinity¡¯s skull. Rest well with the ancestors, brave one, she says to the downed beast gently. We will avenge you. We continue moving, seeing scavengers already starting to collect at the furthest carcasses, those closest to the forest¡¯s edge. Scavenger birds are circling in the air and have landed in several places, tearing at the bodies. I yearn to chase them all away but I don¡¯t want to spare the time or mana ¨C I have far better uses for both of those precious resources: saving the living and avenging the dead. After all the death I¡¯ve seen so far, encountering Artemis¡¯ bloodied body with her pack ripped apart around her just sends another subdued pang through me, like I¡¯ve been stabbed in a place already numbed to its impact. This time, it¡¯s me who crouches by Artemis¡¯ head, resting my hand on her skull, prepared to say goodbye. How could she be alive with the wounds she¡¯s sustained? Her packmates are clearly already departed from this world, their eyes glassy, their chests completely still. I almost can¡¯t believe it when I feel the faintest flicker of life. My eyes go wide and I stare at her more intently, seeing the almost infinitesimal movement of her chest. Diving straight into her body with my flesh-magic, I grab onto that sense of life, feeling the faintest pulses of her heart as well as the almost-unnoticeable movement of her lungs. While stimulating those further, I open my eyes to practically glare at the healer we brought with us. ¡°Help her!¡± I order firmly. Healer hurries to obey and River brings her own concoctions to help too, her hope joining mine as we fight for Artemis¡¯ life. I know that our enemies are already through the vine-stranglers, crouched around the entrance to my den like the hungry fox waiting for the rabbit to emerge. But I trust in the defences of my den to hold them back for at least a time. Artemis doesn¡¯t have that time and I¡¯m damned if I let the invaders have a single more life than they¡¯ve already forcibly taken. The combination of three of us working on her gets Artemis on her feet more quickly than we managed with anyone else, despite her huge number of critical injuries ¨C right now I¡¯m not sure who has the greatest desire to live between her and Honey. We don¡¯t dare take the time to fully heal her, though, just patching her up enough that she can keep up with us. Her life is worth the time to save, but we can¡¯t afford to spare more of it than absolutely necessary. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She noses at her packmates with a plaintive whine, but she¡¯s smart enough to know that they are beyond saving and quickly moves to join us. While I feel her desire to watch over her packmates¡¯ bodies and keep the scavengers away from them, she is smart enough to know that, alone, she isn¡¯t yet strong enough to defend them and will end up being prey herself if she stays. As we run as fast as we can with the injured in our group, I take the time to look through Sirocco¡¯s eyes to find out what lies ahead of us. The party of seven Pathwalkers and about twenty-five Warriors have cut a path through the vine-stranglers straight to the den. The forest is not at all happy with their actions and has shifted closer to the party, doing its best to strike at them from behind. As I watch through Sirocco¡¯s eyes, the party grows tired of having to watch their backs and evidently decides to destroy the trees before concentrating again on their targets hidden underground. Blades of water spiral out, slicing away spearing roots and cutting their way through to the trunks of the trees themselves. They¡¯re aided by fist-sized rocks that whirl through the air and strike at the trees. At the same time, the earth shifts beneath the trees, trying to knock them over even as ice crackles around the roots themselves. But these are not normal trees ¨C attacks which would have quickly cut back any other forest have limited effect here. The vine-stranglers are clearly not nearly as weak against water as they are against fire and their bark resists the striking water blades. It does less well against rocks, bark flying in all directions at each impact, but most of the trees stabilise themselves quite well against the shifting earth, their roots shifting and replacing themselves. The ice is what causes the most problems here, though ¨C it freezes the ground which roots were about to pull out of and withers vulnerable roots in the air. The trail of toppled trees that mark the path they took through the forest speaks to the inevitability of the trees¡¯ ultimate failure. But every minute that the trees¡¯ attempts gain us is a victory of its own. While they¡¯re focussing on the trees, they¡¯re not digging my people out of their underground burrow with their Earth-Shaping or flooding them out with their Water-Shaping. In my physical body, we¡¯re still a little distance away from the vine-stranglers, far enough that I am still unable to reach out mentally to contact those of my Bound in the den. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m unable to get even more information than Sirocco can already offer me. Catch and Poison slide out of stealth right to me, making several of my companions jump and curse ¨C or growl in Bastet¡¯s case. Lathani doesn¡¯t appear surprised, though ¨C perhaps she¡¯d detected their approach. I¡¯d already known they were there, even their stealth skills not allowing them able to escape my gaze thanks to the Bonds I hold with them. So? I prompt them mentally even as we continue running forwards. I pull back mentally from Sirocco, needing to use my focus for this conversation. It¡¯s Flying-blade for sure, Poison confirms. She¡¯s got four of her own sisters with her ¨C Water-shaper, Earth-shaper, Plant-shaper, and Ice-shaper. As expected. She¡¯s also got two Pathwalkers from another village, he continues, the flickering of dark purple through his spikes an indication of his seriousness. Water-former and Healer ¨C I recognise them as being from the lead village of the red tribe. Healer has Weaver tied up next to her. She¡¯s alive then? I ask him, biting my lip. She is, Poison answers and I sense the relief easing a weight on my Pathwalkers¡¯ shoulders. Mine too. But since she¡¯s not fighting back, I have to guess that she¡¯s either unconscious or that her mana has been inhibited. At least she¡¯s alive, I tell him. Then the rest of what he said registers. This is an official inter-tribal conflict then? I ask him seriously. Thanks to the weeks spent travelling with a group of Evolved samurans, I¡¯ve been able to get a much better picture of how inter-village conflicts tend to work. Their aims, the way they proceed, and their consequences. Starting an inter-Tribe conflict is honestly more serious than I was expecting this to be ¨C I wouldn¡¯t have thought that either Flying-blade or the leader of the red tribe would want to risk the whole of the green tribe attacking them in retribution. But then, perhaps they were counting on there not being anyone who could testify against them ¨C if they killed or captured all the Pathwalkers and Warriors, they would be unable to testify to the presence of Pathwalkers from two villages, one being the lead village of the red Tribe. And, unsurprisingly, none of the Unevolved would be permitted to testify even if they tried. Not necessarily, Windy breaks in, her mental voice as stormy as I sense the magic building around her is. They might argue that Water-former and Healer were here of their own accord ¨C not you, idiot, she snaps at the healer near us as the Pathwalker looks like she¡¯s about to speak. I briefly reflect on the fact that the samuran naming system for Pathwalkers can be a little confusing at times before Healer ¨C the one from the small village ¨C starts speaking with a wounded tone to her mental voice. I didn¡¯t think you were speaking of me. I merely wanted to say that I know Healer ¨C the other one ¨C of old. She is not one to take part in village raids unless instructed. Water-former is another matter, of course. That doesn¡¯t mean Healer wouldn¡¯t do it, or that she wouldn¡¯t say she came of her own accord, I point out cynically. Healer looks a little affronted. We are the People! No self-respecting Pathwalker would lie about such things. Like your people didn¡¯t lie about a Tier three? I question pointedly. Her spikes blush pink. That¡­that was different. We didn¡¯t lie. No, I chuckle humorlessly. Merely played hard and fast with the truth. And why wouldn¡¯t Healer ¨C the one with Flying-blade ¨C do anything differently? Anyway, this is irrelevant ¨C we¡¯re not letting any of them escape. Not considering what they most likely plan to do to my people. After a little more discussion over the known strengths and weaknesses of the identified Pathwalkers, I tune back into Sirocco¡¯s eyesight, the bird circling the clearing in the centre of the vine-stranglers. Ptera is circling around with her, present in case I need air support. The Pathwalkers and Warriors have beaten back the vine-stranglers sufficiently that they no longer have to worry about attacks from behind. They now surround the entrance to the den, clearly having a conversation. Some of the Warriors look rather worse for wear, sporting burns, cuts, and in two cases significant injuries which Healer is looking at. They look rather disgruntled and not too keen to once more brave the tunnel depths. I feel satisfaction at the thought that they might have got caught by some of the traps I left behind. My paranoia seems to be paying off right now. There¡¯s no sign of my own people which I approve of ¨C why leave a defensible area for no reason? I am a little surprised not to see any damage to the tunnel itself considering that one of the Pathwalkers is an Earth-Shaper. I would have thought that that was a perfect strategy ¨C if the tunnel is trapped, make another one. But perhaps that¡¯s what they¡¯re going to try next. In my physical body, we¡¯re quickly approaching the edge of the vine-strangler grove, the reduced distance between me and my Bound currently in the den allowing us to communicate in more than the most obvious of emotions. We¡¯re back, I tell them, projecting my words to everyone in the den. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty: Fires Of My Wrath I¡¯m hit by a tsunami of responses and a tumult of emotions. Relief. Anger. Sorrow. Black fury. Hope. Most of the anger is directed at the invaders, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m imagining the hints of recrimination that I wasn¡¯t here when they needed me. Or perhaps I¡¯m projecting. It takes a while to catch up with the others ¨C telling them a quick summary of our trip down to the village which turned out to be a distraction drawing the most combat-capable away from the village, and hearing about the attack from their perspective. Flying-blade definitely timed the attack well ¨C most of the Pathwalkers were meditating in the den at the time of the attack, as were a good third of our Warriors. I can only think that Flying-blade was intending on sweeping through the village with little resistance, killing or capturing the samurans there and then perhaps ambushing the others when they returned. The accounts shared by my people indicate that she wasn¡¯t expecting as much resistance from the Unevolved as the invaders encountered. Whether she knew of the den or not, I don¡¯t know. She shouldn¡¯t have, but her attack seems to be disturbingly well-timed ¨C observation or inside information? I hate to consider that latter, but when even Kalanthia is apparently missing, what can I think? It¡¯s not unusual for Kalanthia to go on a hunt, but that it¡¯s happening now? Suspicious. Raven also hasn¡¯t shown himself despite the attack on my den ¨C much good our Alliance has proven to be in this case! Though, with all these ¡®coincidences¡¯ I can¡¯t help but fear for the worst. But if Flying-blade was capable of taking out two Tier threes, then we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. The village would already be lost. That this clearly isn¡¯t the case indicates that Flying-blade might not have a hand in Kalanthia and Raven¡¯s absences. Not directly, anyway. It doesn¡¯t stop me worrying. They¡¯re here for a total village takeover, Hunter tells me grimly. Flying-blade told us when she had the four of us trapped ¨C myself, Smith¡­Weaver and Fire-whisperer. Markus¡­she¡¯s¡­they¡¯re¡­. I know, I respond grimly. I saw Flicks¡¯ body. Grief sparks over the Bonds between me and several of the samurans at the thought. She might not have been a Pathwalker long, but she¡¯d been a villager all her life. But Joy is alive, I think. She¡¯s tied up near Healer. From what survivors said in the village, Flicks wouldn¡¯t give up until the last. I think they killed her because they couldn¡¯t stop her any other way. She was always determined, Happy tells me, the feelings pouring over the Bond from her direction the opposite of my nickname for her. She refused to give up. Ever. Nor did so many others, I remind them gently. Flicks might be the most impactful of the deaths, but she certainly wasn¡¯t the only one. We saw how hard the Warriors and Unevolved both resisted the invaders. They did, Hunter agrees soberly. They defended us to the last, never begrudging us their lives as long as we got away. And we did, only to be stuck in this little hole like click-grunt-flash-of-yellow in their burrows. But we know that it¡¯s better to force them to us than to go to them. Her tone is frustrated. You won¡¯t be stuck for long, I vow to them. We¡¯re coming for them ¨C Flying-blade has underestimated us for the last time. Flying-blade thinks that she can run a total takeover in my village? Thinks that she can completely destroy my village by capturing my Pathwalkers, killing my Warriors, and scattering any Unevolved or hatchlings that they don¡¯t kill outright? She thinks that she can remove the threat that my village poses to her own by striking first? She¡¯s going to learn that she¡¯s made a big mistake. Anticipation coils with rage as we cross the final metres and enter the vine-stranglers properly. Already, the forest is picking itself up again, fallen trees being pulled into the earth by roots that break up the still half-frozen ground, their positions replaced by new shoots that practically grow before my eyes. It meets me with a sense of indignation as we come into range. ¡®They attacked me!¡¯ it exclaims as soon as I reach out to make contact. ¡®I know,¡¯ I assure it, sharing my own sense of pure rage. ¡®And we¡¯re going to attack them. Make sure you don¡¯t hurt any of my companions ¡®accidentally¡¯ now,¡¯ I warn it as we choose to walk through the upright trees rather than being obvious on the path which has been blasted apart by the enemy¡¯s attacks. While we travel, I send tendrils of magic through the earth, finally discovering an explanation for why the Earth-Shaper among Flying-blade¡¯s number hasn¡¯t just collapsed the whole thing on my Bound¡¯s heads ¨C even though Kalanthia doesn¡¯t seem to be physically present, she¡¯s left an imprint which a Tier two would find hard to counter, bolstered by the recently-Evolved Earth-Shaper among our number. Though I can feel that her control over the earth is far weaker than the invading Earth-Shaper ¨C Earth is one of those elements where time really is an important factor ¨C her familiarity with the area and Kalanthia¡¯s imprint allow her to protect our people from the most obvious attacks of the invaders. The roots which are probably trying to do the same to the cavern below as they did to the huts in the village are also being stymied by countermeasures from Flower. But Jumpy ¨C since her original name was Jumps-over-a-branch ¨C is young and so her use of mana is less than efficient; she¡¯s tiring quickly. Can you hold on for a few more minutes? I check with Jumpy. Yes, she answers shortly, her mental voice strained. I gave her a mana regeneration potion, Tarra informs me. Good idea, I praise her. I¡¯ll need your help. Have you got your darts ready? Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Ready and waiting, she confirms grimly. I smile humourlessly. The enemy now coming into view, my party spreads apart, everyone slowing down and engaging whatever stealth ¨C or Stealth ¨C abilities we have so our movement doesn¡¯t attract any attention. While River, Yells, Healer, Catch, and Poison stay with me, the others spread out sideways ¨C we don¡¯t want to let a single enemy escape. They might think that they have my Bound trapped, but I¡¯ll show them that the reverse is true. After all, the risk of a takeover goes both ways. The target village can be wiped out and subsumed into the invading force, and usually is. But equally, if the invading force bites off more than they can chew, they can themselves be conquered. Especially when the village they¡¯ve attacked has a Tamer who can Bind even samurans. We are as stealthy as we can be, creeping up on the band of enemies now fully in view. The trees are actually helping us ¨C multiple times I notice the earth shifting in front of my feet, allowing me to step on bare earth rather than a twig or leaf. We¡¯re also fortunate that the samurans seem to be entirely focussed on the den in front of them, and why not? They know that the village they invaded first has been swept clean of defenders, and that any samurans coming in from the forest would be more likely to run and hide rather than pursue the attackers. And they think that I¡¯m long gone, a day¡¯s journey away, hunting for or fighting a Tier three that their allies had lured in close. Those who do look back are watching in case the trees try to attack them from behind again rather than for pursuers. Alright everyone, I say once we¡¯re close enough. On three. One. Two. Three. A crushing wave of water bulldozes into the samurans from one side just as a tempest of wind strikes them from the other. As they¡¯re sent reeling and off balance, I strike myself. Using the tempest of wind from Windy as fuel for my power, I create an inferno of flame. I have to fight briefly for control ¨C the wind came from Windy, the fire from me, and her magic is stronger than mine is. But, a moment of wordless communication later, she gives in to me, quickly whipping up another tempest to terrorise the invaders with. Unimpeded, I direct the immense fireball that the inferno has become into the biggest group of Warriors. I hear their screams and smell the odor of cooking meat as my fire burns through their scales and sears the flesh below. Disgust and satisfaction war for dominance within my belly as I feed ever more magic into the fireball, its centre lightening to a pale yellow as its temperature rises. Tendrils strike out, lighting two of the Pathwalkers on fire too, their decorative necklaces and chest-strings becoming paths for my flames to follow. And then a cry rings out through my mind. Tamer! You¡¯re burning me! Joy. A wave of guilt crashes through me ¨C for a moment I had forgotten that she was present. I¡¯ve got her, Markus, Catch cries, but I sense his pain as my flames lick at his scales. I also become aware of my people underground ¨C they¡¯re feeling weaker and weaker as every moment passes. And I know why ¨C the flames must be drawing oxygen from them too. The fires of my wrath die, the actual flames vanishing too. Destroying my enemies isn¡¯t worth hurting my allies. I need to take another approach. Putting the fear of the life-devourer into the invaders is one thing, but I actually want to end this fight. Fortunately, I have more than one element to play with. Reaching out, I link with Yells. Wordlessly communicating my idea to her, I feel her agreement. Before the singed or outright burnt Warriors can react to the disappearance of the fires which had been consuming them, I pour magic into the earth beneath their feet. Opening up rifts beneath each of the samurans, I drop them into pits just deep enough to trap them up to their necks. I don¡¯t aim to kill them, but I don¡¯t bother taking the time to be really careful with them. Injury is almost definite, deaths of at least a few are probably likely. My Inspect tells me that at least seven of them are already dead, so I leave those as bodies on the ground, not wasting the mana to entomb them. Once the group of fifteen Warriors who were hit by my initial strike are neutralised, I take a moment to see what else has happened on the battlefield. The invaders, taken off-guard, burnt and battered by water and wind have still reacted with almost-admirable speed. The Warriors who I didn¡¯t attack are battling fiercely with my Bound. The samurans who survived the fight in the village, Bastet, Lathani, the other raptorcats, Fenrir, Artemis, Poison, and the third Warrior I brought back with me, they¡¯re stopping the Warriors from attacking the Pathwalkers who are themselves locked in battle with the enemy Pathwalkers. I feel Dusty struggle: the other Water-Shaper is older and more practised in their shared element than she is. Still, she has the edge because she summoned the water in the first place. That advantage is lost a moment later when Water-former joins in on the attack. When Ice-shaper also gangs up on my lone Pathwalker, she becomes hopelessly outmatched. Yells, help her, I order brusquely seeing that Dusty needs the help more than I do. The Pathwalker wordlessly agrees, and I sense her using the Bond network to offer that help even before she physically starts moving towards Dusty. At the same time, I grit my teeth and push through the resistance in the earth caused by the enemy Earth-Shaper to reach the ground beneath the fighting Pathwalkers. It¡¯s far enough away from where I¡¯m standing and there¡¯s enough resistance that I can¡¯t just drop the lot of them into the earth, but I can at least intervene in some way. Seizing the moment, I soften the ground beneath the enemy Water-Shaper¡¯s feet, making her sink in to her ankles. She was moving at the time, so she falls forwards, unable to catch herself. Based on her angle of falling, I force my way through the enemy Earth-Shaper¡¯s magic to extend a spike from the earth with a determined cry. My calculations are perfect. The Pathwalker doesn¡¯t even see the spike before it¡¯s piercing through the roof of her mouth. She jerks several times and then goes still. I bend over and lean on my knees, temporarily mentally spent, even if I still have mana available. When I¡¯ve caught my breath, I push myself back upright. With one of the enemy Pathwalkers down, most likely already dead, and Yells on her team, Dusty is holding her own now. I¡¯m confident that she¡¯ll be fine, at least until the others join the fight. I tiredly look at the other battles that are going on. Although the invaders don¡¯t have any Wind-Shaper to counter Windy, they¡¯re doing their best to counter her in otherways. Plants are rapidly sprouting from the ground to act as a windbreak and their Earth-Shaper has given up on her attempts of actively attacking the den in order to raise walls to deflect the howling gale which threatens to throw them all off balance. It¡¯s a good strategy, though when Windy just changes the angle of attack, her gale becoming more like a tornado which swirls around the windbreak and deflecting walls, it¡¯s proven rather inadequate. No lightning, remember, I warn Windy as I see some ominous flashing at the top of the tornado. She sends me a wordless, and disgruntled acknowledgement and the flashing dies away. Not that I care about flash-frying the invaders but Windy still hasn¡¯t gained pin-point accuracy with her strikes. With so many of our own people around, I don¡¯t want to risk her accidentally hitting one of us. Seeing that the Pathwalkers are at least managing to hold their own even if victory definitely isn¡¯t assured, I continue to focus my attention on the Warriors, finishing the job of dropping them into the earth where they¡¯ll be out of trouble. And if someone accidentally steps on them while they¡¯re trapped, I won¡¯t be too upset. Without Yells¡¯ enhancement, I¡¯m a little slower, but not enough to change things by much. As the numbers of enemy Warriors dwindle, my Bound are able to do more than just prevent them from attacking our Pathwalkers. Sharp blades of air shoot out, knocking the remaining Warriors to the ground where it¡¯s easy for me to drop them into a prison. We work together as a seamless team, the battle seeming increasingly in our favour. And then I see Catch go down, a wooden blade through his eye even as similar ones slice at several more of my Bound, though none create wounds anywhere near as serious as his. I shout in fury, tiredness forgotten as I rush forwards to immediately get my hands on him. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-One: Screwed The Pooch He¡¯s alive. A wave of relief goes through me and weakens my knees. The blade has destroyed his eye and damaged his brain, but his nervous system hasn¡¯t yet shut down. Working furiously and not stinting on mana, I gently pull the blade out, my magic using the blueprint of his body to restore his brain and then his eye to the way it was a moment ago. Only then do I look up, realising that my distraction could have meant dire things for the greater battle at hand. Fortunately for me, I have capable companions. Not only have they continued doing what they had been doing before, weathering the storm of blades with grim endurance, but the perpetrator has been dealt with too. Emerging from the den are my other Pathwalkers and Warriors, magic and weapons already engaged as the Warriors charge those of their counterparts who are still fighting. Metal strands have wrapped around Flying-blade¡¯s feet, tripping her and sending her to the ground. Tarra is currently crouched over her with jaws gaping open, her clawed fingers wrapped around a thin blade dripping with one of her potions and Flying-blade¡¯s blood. As for the rest of the battle, almost all of the invaders are now down. I see darts sticking out of Plant-shaper and Earth-shaper¡¯s necks, their eyes half-closed in exhaustion as they lie sprawled on the ground, metal bonds binding them too. Plant bindings have taken Ice-shaper, and Water-former down, but the first is still fighting. A moment later, I sense a current of air propel three darts to strike at her vulnerable neck, Windy and Tarra working together to take down our enemies. It isn¡¯t long before her control over her ice spears becomes weak as the darts stuck in her neck feed her their poison. The other two are already lying limply on the ground. I see the enemy Healer backing away, her clawed hands raised in the air, only to be surprised from behind as River, her jaws gaping, grips her around the neck, her claws piercing the other Pathwalker¡¯s skin. The Pathwalker soon drops to the ground, whatever River chose to coat her claws with this time quickly overcoming the healer¡¯s resistance. As for the Warriors, it seems that free of needing to counter the invading Earth-Shaper¡¯s powers, Jumpy decided to take up my task in my absence, opening rifts below the battling Warriors and dropping them into it. That frees up those who were fighting them to hem the others in even more. Being far less practised at Earth-Shaping than even I am, she¡¯s only managed to do a few in the time it took me to heal Catch, but even that has taken some of the Warriors out of the battle. The others have either been killed, taken down and bound to the ground with bindings of root, branch, or woven fibre, or have actually surrendered. The last small group of three Warriors, seeing that all their brethren have already been defeated, have chosen to stop fighting. Their weapons thrown to the floor, they¡¯ve sunk to their knees, their clawed paws lifted in front of them with open palms facing the sun. Even as I watch, Joy returns out of the forest, the Warrior who had grabbed her at her side. She¡¯s limping a little, but otherwise looks alright. More of my people pour out of my den, and I sense the relief among them all at both escaping from the small space and seeing that the invaders have been dealt with. It isn¡¯t long before the chances of any of these attacking samurans getting away are practically nil, though several of my fighters remain vigilantly on watch for any signs of renewed resistance. We¡¯ve won, though my heart aches at our losses, a fire still burning in my belly. Even the still-smoking group of charred carcasses isn¡¯t enough to make up for them. Fortunately, Catch isn¡¯t one of our dead, though I castigate myself for not making a plan for Flying-blade specifically ¨C I was hoping that she would be caught off-guard from the waves of wind and water, but evidently she was still able to create some mischief with her telekinesis. Our enemies definitely came out worse from this fight, though. I cast my eyes over the battlefield ¨C three Warriors surrendered, seventeen are trapped in one way or another, six Pathwalkers are alive, and I can make out enough of those I killed with my intense fire attack to see that at least seven Warriors and one Pathwalker were caught in the blast. A number of other Warriors lie bleeding on the ground from battles with my own fighters ¨C not dead yet, they might be able to be healed. From her groggy yet apprehensive look, Flying-blade knows that she really screwed the pooch here. ¡°Tarra, what are they all being affected by?¡± I check. Mana inhibition potion ¨C my extra-powerful one. I didn¡¯t want to take any chances, she tells me succinctly. Her extra-powerful one? That must mean the one she managed to infuse a drop of Pure Energy into after blowing up far too many other trials. ¡°Good call,¡± I confirm, though make a note that I need to clear their bloodstreams if I want any of them to be able to use magic within a week. Though given this unprovoked attack, I¡¯m not at all sure I¡¯ll let them have it. Maybe not ever. And it was unprovoked, no matter what Flying-blade might say ¨C she¡¯s the one who challenged me to a Hunt; she¡¯s the one who lost because she didn¡¯t do her homework properly. ¡°River?¡± A paralytic, she tells me, looking down at Healer at her feet with disdain. She can still use her powers, but will be unable to move for a while. I nod in response, sending her a sense of appreciation which she returns. ¡°Alright, is anyone injured?¡± My question is met by silence for a moment as they all let anyone seriously injured speak first. When no one does, the rest of them chime in with reports of minor injuries ¨C cuts and bruises for the most part, though one Warrior does report a sprained arm. Apparently he deflected an attack from another Warrior badly. All the wounds which they might have suffered previous to this battle seem to have been healed already by Tarra and her potions. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I order Healer ¨C from the small red village ¨C to heal our people and then once she¡¯s done, she may heal the invaders who are close to death. Cuts and bruises among my own people take more precedence over even critical injuries among those who attacked them. Still, I¡¯m merciful enough to ask River and the Warrior closest to her to pick up the invading Healer and drop her next to some of her own Warriors. ¡°Heal your people or not, I don¡¯t care,¡± I tell her callously. ¡°I¡¯m not wasting potions or my own mana on them, not considering what they¡¯ve done to us this day.¡± The situation under control, I eye the group of seventeen Warriors and six Pathwalkers who are still in a decent enough condition, even if more than half of them are currently neck-deep in the ground. And there they will stay until I¡¯m convinced that it¡¯s safe enough to let them up. They, at least, are alive ¨C unlike so many of my own People. The thought gives me an almost irresistible urge to just stomp through the battleground and use my Strength to destroy their skulls in retribution for the pain they¡¯ve caused my village. It would be practically a merciful kill, certainly better than th one poor Flicks suffered. But I do resist it. Not only would that be killing them in cold blood and crossing a line that I have set for myself but¡­that would be too easy. For them. Pain, and then to whatever awaits the soul after death. Nothing more. And nothing for us save a momentary sense of satisfaction. No, I want them to pay for what they¡¯ve done with their lives, though not in the traditional sense. They came to destroy our village? They will be responsible for rebuilding it. I¡¯ve only got two months left in this world. I¡¯m determined that by the end of that, these samurans won¡¯t be a threat to my village ¨C one way or another. But first, I need some information. And I know exactly who I¡¯m going to start with. Striding forwards to the Pathwalker lying bound in roots at Tarra¡¯s feet, I roughly grab her lower jaw and send a sharp prod of flesh-magic into her. Not intended to do anything other than give her a painful jolt to bring her to full awareness, it¡¯s easy enough to do. It doesn¡¯t matter that there¡¯s no Bond between us and our status as enemies no doubt causes her to resist me as thoroughly as she can. With anger still burning in my veins at her attack, even though we¡¯ve been able to repulse it with no further casualties on our side, I easily overcome her resistance for such an undirected and blunt attack. ¡°You!¡± she spits with an angry grunt. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± ¡°And it¡¯s no thanks to you that I am,¡± I reply grimly. ¡°Though I suspect that your allies are cursing ever cooperating with you.¡± Her eyes widen. ¡°You killed them?!¡± I grin at her, a toothy, humourless grimace which is very much the threat that samurans take it as. ¡°And if I did, it would have been your fault. You chose them to be sacrifices, don¡¯t deny it! A delaying tactic so that you could invade my village with impunity!¡± I throw the words at her like the knives she threw at Catch. Like the spears that pierced through Trinity. ¡°I did not think that you would kill them!¡± she spits in return. ¡°But perhaps I should have ¨C a monster like you!¡± ¡°As opposed to a monster like you?¡± I demand, my fury flaring again at her sheer hypocrisy. I clench my fists at my side so as not to reach out and strangle her. ¡°You invaded my village, killed some, tried to capture others, and yet you dare call me a monster?! I killed even fewer than you did in that village which tried to stop me coming to my village¡¯s aid. A Pathwalker, and no more. Yet you¡¯ve killed close on a hundred of those who called this village and its surrounding area home!¡± ¡°We did not kill that many!¡± Flying-blade spits. ¡°A single Pathwalker and a handful of Warriors. And those only because they refused to surrender!¡± ¡°Unlike you,¡± I tell her savagely, ¡°I consider all those who live in my village to be people, Evolved or not. Samuran or not. Now tell me, exactly why did you come here to kill my people and destroy my village? And if you dare tell me that it was just because you didn¡¯t like it that we won the Hunt, I swear to God that I will end you right here and now!¡± Flying-blade looks at me with both fear and contempt in her eyes. And then she turns her head away, remaining silent. ¡°Tell me!¡± I roar, gripping her jaw again hard enough to tear the skin between a few of her scales. I wrench her jaw around to face me. ¡°Tell me!¡± The fear flares brighter in her eyes and spikes, but she still remains silent. Realising that I¡¯m practically panting, the speed of my breathing far too high for the situation, I take a moment to breathe in slowly, controlling the release just as much as the inhale. My anger cools a little, making me realise just how close I am to losing control; just how easy it would be to create an inferno inside her, blowing her to pieces ¨C and losing her secrets with her life. There¡¯s more than one way to skin a cat ¨C or get information out of a samuran. But my tried and tested method requires me to be far calmer than I am. I therefore take another long moment just to breathe, imagining the heat of my anger emerging with my breath. I wonder if it¡¯s just my imagination that the air wavers a little before my eyes. ¡°Fine, have it your way,¡± I tell her with a shrug when my anger has cooled sufficiently. Flying-blade even dares to look slightly hopeful, fear leaving her eyes to be replaced by more of that contempt from earlier. Clearly, she doesn¡¯t realise what¡¯s coming. ¡°Dominate.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Two: Dark Device As soon as the grey space forms around us, I start striding forwards. Much like I did with the Pathwalkers in the small village, I push straight through her resistance, batting away the angry blades of will that fly at me just as her physical blades did. Crossing the halfway line between us, I begin feeling her emotions. In particular, the rage which she uses as a shield against my intrusion, and which I pierce with the hotter blade of my own. And when I do, I make a discovery that puts everything else into context ¨C underneath her anger is a cloying flow of fear, an overpowering vortex that sucks in all other sensations. And somehow, I know that this is at the root of her attack on my village: fear. Pure fear. Whether it¡¯s that I¡¯m close enough to her that my connection allows me some sort of access into her thoughts as well as her emotions, or that her emotions are pointed enough for me to sense her thoughts as well, I understand why she brought all the forces she could convince to attack us. She thought that if we were not stopped now, our village would become too powerful to stop in the future. And I smile. Because that¡¯s exactly what I hope will happen. No! Stay away from me! Flying-blade cries as I bat more of her psychic blades away, each step bringing me nearer to her unmoving form.Abomination! You shall not have my soul! she accuses, her voice tinged with desperation. An odd way of putting it, I think, but disregard the thought a moment later. What do I care about her opinion? A wise person once said to never take criticism from someone who wouldn¡¯t be approached to give advice. After what she has done, Flying-blade is definitely not someone I would go to for counsel! So her words are meaningless. I do feel a frisson of hesitation at the reminder that I¡¯m crossing my own line here ¨C again. Binding someone without even trying to convince them to accept it willingly. But once more, I dismiss my reticence. Flying-blade has already made her choices ¨C she led an attack on my people and killed far too many of them. A Bond is the least of what she deserves! Here and now, I have all the consent I need from the bodies of my murdered people. Now close enough to touch, I do just that. Reaching forwards, I feel Flying-blade''s final desperate attempts to resist me, to escape. She can no doubt feel the Binding hovering around her, ready to wind chains around her body, much like I saw of the captured raptorcats. To no avail. I push through the clinging molasses of those final inches and my fingertips connect with the skull between her eyes. The Bond snaps into place and no matter how much I feel Flying-blade fighting it, I can sense how little chance she has of slipping free. Not when my Bonds are capable of holding a Tier three against her will. Perhaps I should feel guilty, or ashamed. I think that I would have when I first came to this world. But I don¡¯t. Instead, I feel only a grim sense of satisfaction that a threat has been converted to an asset, even if forcibly. The world resolving itself into colour again, I push myself to my feet, looking down at my newest Bound. She¡¯s glaring at me, but the contempt I had seen in her eyes is now replaced with horror. She strains against her bindings and I sense her doing her best to grasp her magic. Both attempts fail. That doesn¡¯t stop her from trying again. ¡°Be still!¡± I snap, wanting, needing to have some answers and without patience for this architect of so much death and destruction. Flying-blade is forced to freeze, the Bond holding her tightly. At my nod, Flower relaxes her grip on the roots binding Flying-blade into place. She¡¯s held tightly enough by my Bond that she no longer needs the physical bindings. And that allows Flower to conserve a little of the mana she needs for maintaining the binds around other targets. ¡°Now,¡± I say, focussing on everyone present being able to understand my words. ¡°Why the hell did you attack us?¡± I demand, unable to stop my fiery fury from rising inside me once again. I grip the Bond between us with my mind, commanding honesty and a full explanation. Flying-blade glares again, furious clicks emerging from her mouth as it is allowed to move in accordance with my wish that she speak. But, now I¡¯m paying attention, I can tell that her anger is still a thin veneer over her bone-deep fear below. I refuse to think about that too much, though ¨C anger, I can deal with. Fear¡­fear is far more likely to make me feel pity and I don¡¯t want to feel anything but rage for this particular samuran. And I do not yet hear answers to my questions, so press my will into the Bond, demanding that she answer me. Clearly, even the resetting of her priorities isn¡¯t enough to remove her mental resistance when she is this set against me. You were so ancestors-damned smug! she exclaims, her eyes and spikes flashing furiously. Suddenly, the words practically pour from her. You were insufferably smug when you walked out of the Festival grounds with half your village with you ¨C somehow able to call on them even for the Single Hunt which should have seen you dead or humiliated ¨C and you were even worse when you won it! You cheated, and yet even my own leader agreed that a tamer is allowed to bring her tamed beings with her to any Hunt, Single, Pathwalker, or Warband. But even if no one else agreed that there was something unnatural about your ability to tame our own kind, I knew that there was! And some even had the audacity to whisper that you might be a new kind of Evolution of our own people? Flying-blade grunts in a way that is almost laughter, her spikes practically solid with a dark, yet still vibrant red. And then I found it. She looks at me triumphantly, as daring me to ask what. I decide to bite. ¡°Fine, what did you find?¡± She eyes me and then looks around pointedly at all of the samurans crowding in around us ¨C my own and the invaders. I notice absently that both healers are working on the injured invading Warriors and that several of them appear to be stable. One appears to have died, though. I can¡¯t bring myself to care much. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Do you wish everyone to know your secret? she asks mockingly. I cross my arms and glare at her stonily. ¡°Since I highly doubt that you have truly discovered my ¡®secret¡¯, go ahead.¡± And frankly, if that artifact Earth-former was talking about was a Tamer Class stone that she¡¯d discovered, I¡¯d actually be pleased ¨C it would certainly solve several problems. On your head be it, she tells me with a hint of vengeful triumph. Then do you deny that this is the source of your warping, corrupting power? On the final word, she shifts to a kneeling position and then pulls free an item from her belt. As she holds it up in a white-knuckled fist, the leaf-covering drops away to reveal exactly what she is brandishing so triumphantly before us. For a wild moment, I wonder whether it is indeed a Class stone ¨C the fist-sized rock glimmers in the same way as I remember the one I held did all that time ago. Then the moment passes and I realise it cannot be the same. This one is faceted, for one thing, and a deep black that almost seems to suck in my gaze. It¡¯s held by a woven cradle of fibres which lead up to a handle gripped in Flying-blade¡¯s claws. At the sight of it, several of my Pathwalkers hiss loudly. Tarra even stumbles back a pace from where she¡¯s standing, clearly not wanting to get anywhere near it. Obvious recognition runs through them. ¡°Drop it!¡± I snap at Flying-blade, alarmed by my Pathwalker¡¯s reactions. Is it a bomb or something? But no ¨C if it was, those who seem to recognise it would surely back away instead of just flinching. It¡¯s clear that it¡¯s not good news, though. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch it!¡± I order, focussing on the Bond to make sure that Flying-blade can¡¯t even get within a hand¡¯s width of it, wary that she might activate it in some way. Whatever it is. I thought those were all destroyed! Tarra grunts, lurid-yellow horror playing through her spikes. I didn¡¯t realise they were even real, adds Flower, the same horrified unease obvious in her too. Meanwhile, several of the Pathwalkers in Flying-blade¡¯s group, those who are still sufficiently aware, seem to be the same mix of horror and confusion ¨C evidently Flying-blade hadn¡¯t shown it to them either. Interestingly, the Warriors in both of our groups seem to be as confused as I am. ¡°Would someone care to let me in on whatever this is?¡± I ask, a little impatient at being out of the loop. Don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know! spits Flying-blade. I silence her without even needing to look in her direction. And who could blame me if I take a bit of malicious pleasure in the strangled sound that comes from her direction as her attempts to speak die in her throat? An awful artifact of an older time, Tarra explains without taking her eyes off the object, as if it were a snake that might bite. Flower, clearly sensing that Tarra¡¯s explanation hasn¡¯t the least satisfied me, hesitantly expands. It is a tale which only those of us Pathwalkers who survive more than six great cycles in the sisterhood are told. She hesitates, but then sees my hard gaze on her and feels the impatience in the link. But I¡¯m sure that since one of the control stones has survived what we thought was complete destruction, no one will mind me revealing it to others. ¡°Who else knew of this story before today?¡± I ask first. I did, answers simultaneously three of my Pathwalkers ¨C Tarra, Flower, and Windy. I nod slowly. That makes sense if the Pathwalkers have to survive for six years before they are let in on the secret. And why such a long time? Given what I¡¯ve heard so far ¨C Flying-blade¡¯s accusations, ¡®control stone¡¯, I have to guess that it¡¯s capable of controlling samurans. Perhaps the delay is to discover whether the Pathwalker has any tendency for domination before giving them ideas of what their forebearers did. I wonder whether the shaman knew about it. Probably ¨C I think she was older even than Windy, from what I¡¯ve heard. Is that where she got her idea about controlling spirits and using them to defend the village from? It surprises me that Sticks doesn¡¯t know, but perhaps she hasn¡¯t been a Pathwalker for long enough. I think this was her fifth Festival. Either way, my curiosity has been piqued sufficiently to want to know more. And from the looks of those around me, almost everyone wants Flower to continue too. Whether it¡¯s because they¡¯re genuinely interested, because they are eager to know why this attack happened at all, or they want to buy time to recover, no one objects to Flower relating the tale. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I prompt her. With a final look at her sisters, Flower swallows and then continues speaking. Long, long ago there was apparently a samuran who rose to power. Not much is known about her after her first Evolution, but the tales say that she was particularly weak, and the lowest of all her sisters. Some even say that she was treated barely better than an Unevolved because she was forced to fight as one. But she managed to Evolve a second time, taking everyone by surprise. And her power transformed into something previously unseen ¨C the power to control other samurans by touching their souls. She stops, looking at me with a grim air. And if the tales are anything to go by she was by no means as gentle as you are about it. I look away, Flying-blade¡¯s odd accusation of me wanting to ¡®have her soul¡¯ coming back to mind. Is this why? The tales tell that she took complete control in the cycle after she Evolved, and then she led her village through the forest on a rampage. The once-powerless Pathwalker became a bloodthirsty leader, rivalling one of the Great beasts in both her urge to conquer and her ability to do so. Entering another village, her soul-bound creatures would rip through them and convert their strongest to her, soul-binding them in their turn. There are records of it feeling like a¡­taint spreading across their souls, and focussing the attention of her soul-bound on her needs and desires alone. Records also state that many of her followers apparently dropped dead of no obvious cause, their deaths the result of their souls being eaten, never to go back to the ancestors. The way her soul-bound were able to soul-bind others was due to something she created: these control stones, Flower said, pointing at the item which sits on the earth between Flying-blade and me. The product of her evil power and the Cores of Great beasts. An extension of her power which could ensnare any being it came into physical contact with, forcing them to obey whoever held the braid of roots which wrap the soul-binder in a net. A nasty thought suddenly comes to mind. I pin Flying-blade with a fiery glare. She quails back for a moment before catching herself and meeting my eyes with a furious anger that almost matches my own. ¡°Tell me honestly: was this your plan? To use this dark device to enslave those who you did not kill? Was that your ultimate plan?¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Three: Abomination Flying-blade cannot meet my eyes, though I sense how that fact frustrates her immensely. Only those who refused to surrender to me! And as if you have done no less! she accuses me in a wild attempt to justify her own intentions, her head whipping from one side to another. As if you have not done worse! You have bound so many of my sisters to yourself with evil soul bonds! I can feel one wrapped around me right now! She shivers, her deep fear given a moment to briefly emerge before it¡¯s wrapped in fiery anger and suppressed once more. You have found one of the artifacts, admit it! It must be hidden beneath your false scales even now! I don¡¯t answer immediately, taking a moment to breathe through the wave of horror followed by almost incandescent rage that goes through me at the realisation of what might have happened if I had been delayed any longer. Flying-blade has abruptly taken an equal position with the shaman in my ¡®most hated people¡¯ list. It¡¯s hard to know just what punishment to levy on her ¨C death is too quick, and I¡¯m not going to torture her ¨C that would hurt me more than her. Well, no, probably not, but it¡¯s a line I refuse to cross just for her. Yet can I afford to keep her around to work for the village she tried to enslave when this was her plan? I know that my Bonds are not infallible. Still trying to calm myself, I take a look around me to see how others have taken the accusation Flying-blade has thrown at me. I¡¯m not entirely reassured by the expressions on the faces of the samurans around me, the fear in their spikes. Even some of those who have one of my Bonds are emanating a sense of tentative doubt, though thankfully those closest to me don¡¯t seem to be wavering in the slightest. Several are glaring at Flying-blade and River is actually scoffing. Markus? An evil soul-binder? Her mind has already joined the ancestors ¨C great cycles too early. And I can say for certain that he has no hidden artifact on him. I have seen him without his armour often enough to say that for sure. Out of everyone, she should know best, and it seems that enough people realise that to be reassured. Her immediate defence of me warms me in a different way from rage. I decide not to mention the fact that as a Flesh-Shaper, I could probably easily conceal a number of things within my body, indetectable to anything but x-rays or a healer¡¯s magic. It¡¯s irrelevant to the situation and would just serve to muddy the waters. It¡¯s true, I use no artifact to create my Bonds, I confirm, ostensibly speaking to Flying-blade, judging that it¡¯s a decent time to speak and that I¡¯m finally capable of doing so relatively calmly. The Pathwalker looks briefly uncertain, and then anger clouds her expression once more. Then, even worse, you are a new abomination which must be wiped out before you can reach the next Evolution! Sisters, brothers, I cannot act with this evil binding holding me so tightly, but those of you who can, destroy this thing before it seeks to destroy us all! I tense, outrage going through me, but no one moves. The invaders are the first I look at, but apart from a few members who are under the watchful gaze of some of my closest Bound, they¡¯re still either bound with plant roots, or mostly buried underground. And the Pathwalkers are still under the influence of mana inhibitors. So they aren¡¯t likely to be able to do anything. As for my own people, I notice some shifting uneasily, but no one moves to do anything drastic. My Bonds don¡¯t reveal any build up of intention, and among the Unevolved, those who are technically free to act, I see nothing that might indicate an imminent revolution. I suppose this is a testament to my efforts over the last few months ¨C almost everyone has benefited from something in my new set-up. And that appears to have earned me some loyalty. And hearing that Flying-blade intended on using the artifact on anyone who didn¡¯t bow to her probably helps them reject her call to action too. The almost-complete silence which has followed her demand for action seems to have discomforted Flying-blade, if the increasingly desperate turns of her head are anything to go by. My remaining anger ebbs as my satisfaction at Flying-blade¡¯s failure to drum up support among my people replaces it. Sisters! she beseeches, looking particularly at the older Pathwalkers, the ones she¡¯s probably more familiar with. Do our histories not warn of the dangers of such a power? Can you not feel the taint spreading across your souls, consuming you little by little? And can¡¯t you see that this is the fate which awaits all of the People unless we act now? I stay silent, willing to let my Bound consider the matter freely ¨C now that I¡¯m calmer, it would only play into Flying-blade¡¯s claws if I appear to be trying to shut down reasonable discussion. I hadn¡¯t known about this story before now ¨C in fact, I¡¯m a little surprised that no one has raised it until now. I would have thought Windy would be the first to try to accuse me of being a second-coming of this apparent bogeyman. Then again, she¡¯s always erred on the side of downplaying my capabilities ¨C to her detriment. Perhaps drawing similarities between me and this long-dead Enlightened samuran would have been giving me too much credit in her eyes. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a good thing that this whole story has been brought out into the open in such a¡­dramatic way. Then again, I suppose that this way any concerns will be dealt with and then dismissed openly, not becoming gossip whispered about in dark corners without the opportunity of rebuttal. Especially since there¡¯s no basis to Flying-blade¡¯s accusations. At least, I hope not. I mean, like this long-dead samuran, I am capable of binding sapient beings with Bonds which hold their souls. Does that mean there are any other similarities? I push the doubt away. I¡¯m pretty sure that I¡¯m not somehow¡­tainting, or consuming their souls as a result. If that had been the case, I reckon that Kalanthia wouldn¡¯t have accepted the Bond I have with Lathani even to the extent that she has. And since she¡¯s personally familiar with human tamers and the effects we have on those we Bind, I have to guess that her knowledge about the long-term consequences of such are more accurate than a story passed through oral tradition might be. My Pathwalkers and Warriors exchange glances with each other. No one seems to want to be the first to break the silence. I do not feel any sort of taint, Yells offers doubtfully, turning her head to one side and then the other, looking carefully at each of her clawed hands as if they would show some sort of sign if a taint was present. Of course not, River scoffs. It is a ridiculous notion. To think that Markus is some sort of¡­soul-eater? I can¡¯t believe that any of you are even considering it. I send her a flicker of gratitude down our link. She responds with a fierce appreciation. You¡¯ve done too much good for our village for me to ever see you like that monster of legend, she tells me forcefully and I sense that she¡¯s projecting the words only to me. It happened once before; it could happen again, responds Tarra to River¡¯s defence, though she seems doubtful. The Warriors appear willing to let the Pathwalkers talk it out amongst themselves ¨C old habits die hard and traditionally the Pathwalkers are the ones to decide the village¡¯s ideological directions. A few months of being part of a council is clearly not enough time to break the habits of a lifetime. Well, I for one do not believe it, Happy states, crossing arms and glaring at the Pathwalker lying at my feet. Especially not coming from a red tribe member who brought her army to invade our village and kill our people! This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The story is true as far as we know it, Flower counsels cautiously. Flying-blade is right to be wary. I¡¯m not debating the truth of the story you have retold, Happy argues. I am disagreeing that Markus could be a second coming of its source. Just look at what he¡¯s done for our village; for us! She gestures at all those who have Evolved since I arrived. Tell me that you would have all become Pathwalkers without his Bond? Yells and Dusty look away from her in shame while River and Hunter hold her gaze boldly. Not to mention that the source of this accusation is a Pathwalker who has admitted that she would herself have used the awful device we know is a threat to our very souls ¨C if we refused to surrender, Hunter breaks in, her voice very matter-of-fact. For all we know, she would have used Weaver as a hostage to force us out of our shelter if our leader had been much longer in coming to our aid. We don¡¯t know that, Sticks ventures hesitantly. Of course we do, River scoffs. She admitted that she intended to use it on us herself! Flying-blade doesn¡¯t have a leg to stand on with her so-called attempt to save us all from one who has brought nothing but good to our village as a whole ¨C no matter how many scales he has disordered in doing so. If you think that her stated motivations are truly the reason for her invasion, you are a fool, Grower. Surprisingly, it¡¯s Windy who speaks next, pulling the discussion back to the previous point. I didn¡¯t say that¨C Flower tries to interject but Windy just keeps talking straight over her. Anyone who isn¡¯t an idiot can see that Flying-blade has come for me! Silence falls abruptly and I notice that I¡¯m not the only one looking askance at Windy for that particular suggestion. I¡¯m almost amused by the fact that Flying-blade is among that number, shocked out of her own rage by the simply ridiculous assertion. Obliviously, the samuran in question continues her explanation. The loss in the Hunt and shame which followed it should have been enough to have sent Flying-blade running with her tail flat behind her. Not only did the village she attempted to shame win, but it was due to her own ignorance in agreeing with terms which advantaged her opponent. That she lost to a ¨C she catches my eye and I sense her modulate what she was about to say ¨C honorary member of the People rather than a true member makes the situation even more humiliating. We shouldn¡¯t have seen spike nor tail tip of her for several Festivals yet ¨C long enough for this shameful defeat to be forgotten. But instead, she has attacked us. And why? Because I managed to turn the fight which netted us the winning prize into an Evolution which sets me far above any other member of the People. It is unsurprising that she felt threatened by my ascension and sought to destroy my home base. Perhaps she even hoped that by capturing my sisters, she would be able to force my surrender as well, netting herself an Enlightened samuran as a secondary member of her village. This story of her trying to ¡®save¡¯ us all from the ¡®evil soul-eater¡¯ is clearly just a cover for her real reason! Silence ensues after this passionate declaration. Wow, I can¡¯t help commenting to River. I never realised that someone could be that self-absorbed. I hate to say it, the Pathwalker replies a moment later, but her theory actually wouldn¡¯t be that unbelievable, if not for how much Flying-blade has focussed only on you ever since the battle ended. I focus again on the situation, more thoughtful than I was before. I hadn¡¯t considered how suddenly having a Tier three samuran as part of my village might attract negative attention as well as the positive it¡¯s had so far. I should have ¨C thinking about it, everything I¡¯ve heard about interactions between samuran villages and tribes indicates that no single village is allowed to get too big for its boots. Even the lead villages are kept in check by each other. Though I agree with River that it¡¯s unlikely Flying-blade¡¯s clear passion-fueled attack is to do with Windy, it¡¯s clear that I¡¯ll need to be aware that the next one might be. Deciding that now is a good time to pull this conversation back on track, I cross my arms and look around the group of my Bound samurans. ¡°So, just to be clear, none of you are worried that I¡¯m actually consuming your souls in any sort of way.¡± There are a few more glances, but no one steps forward to contradict me. ¡°And none of you are worried that I¡¯m about to embark on a journey of slaughter, conquering every village I encounter and forcing them to feed their souls to me?¡± That one makes more than a handful of samurans chuckle, and not just my Bound either ¨C even a couple of the Unevolved who I¡¯ve had more contact with seem to find that idea amusing. Of course not, Hunter answers immediately. No one who knows you would consider you being some sort of¡­conquerer. Well, he conquered our village, Yells points out. And the other one we¡¯ve just visited. So in a way he is a kind of conqueror. He only did that because of what Shaman was doing, River responds heatedly. And he only took over the other village because they had taken part in this attempt to invade us. That¡¯s hardly the same as someone sweeping through the forest and killing or converting every village she encountered. Reducer has a point, Tarra acknowledges briskly. I, for one, have not been displeased with Tamer¡¯s guidance. We are very different from the village we used to be, but we need only look at how many more Warriors and Pathwalkers we have to know that the changes have been positive. Even if we do keep tripping over the hatchlings at all times of the day and night, grumbles Windy, though the fact that she doesn¡¯t say anything more indicates her tacit agreement with Tarra¡¯s words. I agree with my sisters, Flower says, her eyes fixed on mine, her spikes flickering with several different colours, though I see the bronze of determination strongly present. You are not the conqueror of legend, even if there are similarities. Your commands do not consume our souls; your orders are of growing things and healing people, not of conquest. We have expanded our understandings of ourselves and the world and are better for it. I feel for my sister who is so deluded, but hope that by spending time in our village she will be brought to understand reality: that what she feared would never have come to pass. And that because of her fear, she hurt her own brothers and sisters, even killing one of her sisters, snaps Happy, not showing any signs of her namesake right now. Her spikes are flush with the red of anger and the black of grief. I¡¯m not surprised ¨C out of all the Pathwalkers, she was the closest with Flicks. It¡¯s unsurprising given that the samuran who Evolved to become Fire-whisperer had started as one of her assistants in the forge. You can¡¯t honestly expect Markus to allow Flying-blade to live, let alone join us in our village. She¡¯s our sister! argues Flower, anger creeping into her spikes too. She killed our sister! Happy fires back. Everyone, stop, I interrupt firmly as the two Pathwalkers seem likely to come to blows. I will decide what to do with Flying-blade later. For now, any fighting amongst ourselves only plays to her advantage. The two Pathwalkers subside at my reminder and all attention returns to the samurans who have invaded our village. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Four: Penalty ¡°So there you have it, Flying-blade,¡± I tell the Pathwalker still glaring up at me from where my Bond is keeping her pinned in place. ¡°None of those who know me far better than you do are remotely concerned about either the Bond or my future intentions towards your People.¡± My words are not only directed at the lead Pathwalker, but at all those she brought with her too. And they seem to be having an effect. I don¡¯t know what she told this group of samurans who came with her, but they clearly seem to be feeling far more uncertain about it all now. I guess that it¡¯s sobering enough to be defeated in battle and realise that their lives are in my hands; it¡¯s even more so to recognise that the attack might have been based on a lie. Or an overreaction at least. Because, despite what Windy says, I can feel the sincerity with which Flying-blade speaks ¨C she genuinely believes that I pose a threat to her people, even if she¡¯s propelled more by rage and humiliation than rationality. You¡¯re an abomination! she spits, apparently not creative enough to think of anything else to say. ¡°I¡¯m a Tamer,¡± I correct. ¡°As I said before. Just because my Taming Skills happen to be different from those samuran beast tamers generally have access to doesn¡¯t change the fact that my own Skills have the same roots. My Bindings touch the soul, yes, but they do not consume it. And only forcible breaking of a Bond does more than leave a light mark which will only take as long to fade as the longing for the person in question.¡± I¡¯m guessing a little bit here, but I¡¯m fairly sure that I¡¯m right, based on what I¡¯ve seen when I¡¯ve released Bonds with my various Bound. Out of them all, River had the most damage when I released her from her Dominate Bond, which makes sense when Kalanthia¡¯s concerns about leaving the Bond on Lathani are taken into account. Flying-blade doesn¡¯t seem to be convinced. In fact, despite everything we¡¯ve said, I¡¯m pretty sure that she is still at least halfway certain that I¡¯m somehow concealing and using one of these artifacts rather than my own Skills. I decide not to push it. I don¡¯t need to. The fact is that as my anger cools, I¡¯m unable to push away that pity I did my best to avoid earlier. In seeking to destroy me, Flying-blade has instead led to her own downfall. Because sure as anything, I¡¯m not going to be letting her go back to her village and plot behind my back. Instead, even if I decide to let her live, she¡¯ll be here, working for the good of my village to pay for the damage she¡¯s done. And one day, whether or not I¡¯m here to see it, she¡¯ll come to realise how stupid she was to let her fear and anger rule her on this day. In fact, arguably, if I truly was the monster that she thought I was, she has just given me even more power ¨C over twenty more Warriors and six more Pathwalkers for my ranks. Fortunately for her, I¡¯m not a soul-stealing demon, planning on sweeping across the valley in a wave of conquest. But if I had been, her bungled plan would have just given me power. Perhaps she sees something of that in my eyes or feels it in the Bond between us as she¡¯s unable to meet my eyes, no matter how much I feel that she wants to. Deciding that I¡¯ve dug into her motivations as much as I need to, I redirect the interrogation down a different route. ¡°Tell me, what exactly was your plan? Who helped you? And is there anyone else likely to attack us in the near future to your knowledge or best guess? And don¡¯t even think about leaving anything out.¡± After all, time is marching on and my den isn¡¯t the most comfortable of places for a whole village¡¯s worth of people. But before I send anyone back down to the village, I want to be sure that it¡¯s safe to do so. There is no one else, she replies, her tone an odd mixture of angry and mournful. You flaunted what you were at the Festival, daring to claim under tamer privileges a warband party where the Hunt should have been limited to you alone. Yet no one else was able to see that a humble tamer with an oddly-evolved ability was the last thing that you were. Only myself and my tribe¡¯s leader. And, I will admit, only when I showed her what I had found in the Great beast¡¯s lair. I frown and she seems to sense my confusion, flashing me an unreadable look. Yes, the ancestors which had blessed my search and led me to a lair which contained another Great beast¡¯s Core, also led me to a clue which warned me of the threat that you posed to us all. I might not have thought of it myself had my leader not reminded me of that old, almost-forgotten tale ¨C shared upon our sixth Festival and then never spoken of again. But when I realised, I knew I had to prevent you from becoming a threat who could sweep across the valley like the very life-devourer you dare to use. ¡°And so what did you do?¡± I ask sharply, not wanting her to dissolve into pointless insults again or start ranting about me being a monster again. ¡°Who did you tell? Did you show the artifact to anyone else?¡± Flying-blade laughs mirthlessly. Show it to anyone else, and risk them becoming corrupted by it in the way that you have corrupted others? No. Others may have caught a glimpse ¨C that is inevitable ¨C and I did discuss it in general terms with our allies in the village you attacked, but I did not show it to any more than my tribe¡¯s leader. It was advice that was unnecessary for her to give ¨C I already knew the importance of secrecy. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°I didn¡¯t attack any village,¡± I remind her icily. ¡°They attacked me on your orders!¡± I remind her. I calm myself. ¡°Continue. What did you do next?¡± She clamps her teeth angrily together and then gives in when the Bond forces her to. I suddenly wonder if her previous jab was an intentional attempt to derail my questioning with anger. If so, I wonder what she¡¯s trying to hide. My leader couldn¡¯t openly attack you ¨C doing so would have caused an inter-tribal war, something that neither of us wanted. It thus fell on me to somehow destroy your power base, discover the source of your corrupting power, and kill you without the outward support of my leader. A frown presses a line between my eyes. The actions of the leader of the red tribe all seem very¡­reasonable. And her desire not to instigate an inter-tribal war makes sense ¨C my Pathwalkers all seemed very wary of that possibility. But I can¡¯t help feeling that the red leader has come up far too many times in this tale so far for comfort. Maybe she truly was just an advisor. But then again, maybe not. Perhaps I need to think on this later when I¡¯ve had some time to rest and get to a better mindset ¨C now that my anger has cooled, I realise just how compromised by rage, grief, and fatigue my judgement has become. I suppose I should just be glad that I didn¡¯t kill Flying-blade as I was very tempted to do earlier. I need to sleep on it before I can make such potentially vital decisions such as whether to risk keeping her alive so she can work to make up for her crimes, or be rid of her and the danger she poses. Flying-blade hasn¡¯t realised that I was distracted and has continued talking, but I tune in quickly enough that I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve missed anything important. Despite my efforts I wasn¡¯t able to convince anyone at the Festival to ally with me ¨C the shame your efforts brought on me was too great. She glares at me again. I grin toothily back at her. I had to change my plans and settle for a village too weak to even make it to the Festival, their only advantages being that they were close to your village and weak enough that you might be willing to go to its aid ¨C if they offered enough of a boon on the asking. And despite the fact that you fell for the trap, despite the scouts who watched every move your villagers made for cycles, despite the timing of our attack planned for when your village was at its weakest with almost all of its protectors far from home, despite our perfect slaughter of your scouts so that your village would have no warning¡­still, we were only able to take one hostage, and you reappeared before we could negotiate the rest of them into submission! She looks on the point of exploding to her feet from sheer spite until I twist the Bond wordlessly to keep her on the ground. I think grimly that at least I now know why the alarm wasn¡¯t given ¨C more deaths to add to Flying-blade¡¯s tally. And to my conscience since it¡¯s been very clear that this invasion is in direct response to my choices. But for now, I need to find out as much information as I can. ¡°And in the event of your failure, what were the intentions? Did you leave any of your¡­warband in the forest to take word of the battle to your village? Or to your leader?¡± Flying-blade scoffs. I did not have the numbers for that. There were only a limited number of Warriors I could take from my village without leaving it completely defenceless ¨C especially when I took almost half of my Pathwalkers, and the most combat-capable at that. My leader didn¡¯t dare offer me Warriors either, for fear that they might be used to declare an inter-tribal war, though she allowed me to persuade two of her own Pathwalkers to join me. The red leader again. And looking at Healer, I wonder how much of it truly was persuasion ¨C from Flying-blade¡¯s side at least. ¡°Then there are none waiting to take the word back to anyone about the failure of the battle?¡± No, she answers, her eyes flashing defiantly. Fortunately, the Bond tells me that she¡¯s being honest. ¡°And any backup plans?¡± I check, though I suspect I know her answer ¨C for all the apparent scouting she did ahead of her attack, this seems to be almost as badly thought-out as her attempt to shame my village by calling for a Hunt was. I did not think they were necessary, she tells me, sounding almost proud of the fact. Either we would succeed, or we would die in the attempt. I shake my head, my remaining anger fading to a dull sort of disbelief that so many could have died to such an inconsistent sort of tactician. Had she not even considered the thought that she might be taken prisoner? Considering that she thought I used one of these control stones, she should have been aware of the possibility at the least. Still, I¡¯m glad that we¡¯re not facing an imminent attack. At least, not one of Flying-blade¡¯s making. Something is telling me that this isn¡¯t all over yet, though. Perhaps that¡¯s just my desire not to draw a line under those who died and say that it¡¯s finished, though, as if that would make them truly dead. As if it makes any difference. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get much more out of Flying-blade and I have others to deal with ¨C all my people crowded around the group; all the captured Warriors and Pathwalkers. ¡°Stay there. Don¡¯t move,¡± I order Flying-blade, using the Bond to enforce my order, pressing my intentions into it. If I didn¡¯t do that, I might accidentally stop her from breathing. As it is, she will be able to shift a little bit, especially for necessary movements like breathing, but not stand up or move in the way of anyone else. I¡¯ll figure out what to do with her later. ¡°Pathwalkers,¡± I say to those subdued and on the ground, their mana still inhibited by the poisons they have been injected with. ¡°I will give you the same choice I gave those of your sisters who your leader convinced to aid her in her schemes. You may surrender right now to me, and accept my Bond, swearing to work towards the benefit of the village you attacked.. Or you can die, the penalty your crimes against me and mine deserve.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Five: Too Dangerous I give them a few moments to think about it and then head straight for the enemy Earth-Shaper ¨C out of everyone here, she¡¯s probably the most dangerous if she somehow gets access to her magic again. After all, it¡¯s the earth that holds the enemy Warriors captive and helpless. ¡°What is your choice?¡± I ask her, my voice cold and merciless. Purposefully so ¨C this is not a time for them to see me as weak. And now, I find that I no longer necessarily want to kill them. Not when doing so won¡¯t bring back my own people. I find that I¡¯m abruptly tired of pointless death. They clearly followed Flying-blade blindly, just as the Pathwalkers of my own village followed the shaman blindly even when it meant sacrificing their own people. If I¡¯d killed them all immediately for what they did to the hatchlings, or let Kalanthia kill them for what they did to Lathani, I wouldn¡¯t have got to know them as they are. And they¡¯d never have been able to change the way they have. That¡¯s not to say that I¡¯m just going to let them get off scot-free. Their choices did kill too many of my people to let it go without any sort of consequence. But surely it¡¯s better for everyone if they are willing to rebuild what they have broken and maybe re-earn the position of respect they have taken for granted. To become true members of the village rather than just prisoners held by my Bonds. It wouldn¡¯t make up for the losses, but it would strengthen my village to a point beyond what it was before the attack. And if Windy¡¯s self-centred assertions are not entirely her usual hot air, I will need to leave the village in as powerful a position as I can when I leave. Considering that we still don¡¯t have a proper replacement for my Bonds, true conversion is far more important than temporary Binding. By the time I leave, everyone who remains in the village needs to be a true member of it, or they need to be removed one way or another. With that in mind, I focus on my task again ¨C setting the foundation in place for what I hope will become a sturdy structure by the time I leave. Earth-Shaper doesn¡¯t take long to decide that she wants to live, nor do the other Pathwalkers when I put the same question to them. Samurans in general have a strong desire to live, no matter what they have to go through to ensure it. Even Flying-blade¡¯s fanaticism wasn¡¯t enough to overcome that primitive urge. When it comes to Water-former, though, I find there¡¯s a complication. ¡°If you kill or chain us, you will have to face the leader of the whole red tribe,¡± threatens Water-former. ¡°We are her sisters and she will defend us.¡± Apparently, this is the second of the Pathwalkers Flying-blade was able to ¡®convince¡¯ to join her party. ¡°Will she, though?¡± I ask her, almost idly. ¡°I got the impression that this was off the books, so to speak.¡± Though I doubt my expression translates directly, Water-former gets the message. ¡°She will never let her sisters languish in the hands of another Pathwalker, especially one who is not even a true member of the People,¡± she spits at me definitely despite her mana-deprived fatigue. ¡°Then she can ransom you back,¡± I tell her, crossing my arms in front of my chest. ¡°If you wish to live past the next few minutes, you must accept my Bond. I can always choose to release you if your leader offers me sufficient for your ransom. Otherwise you¡¯re a liability and I might as well just kill you now.¡± Water-former looks at me in horror as my own Pathwalkers receive my words with a mixture of emotions. Tarra seems approving; Flower seems disturbed. Happy is dissatisfied ¨C I know she''d prefer it if I just killed everyone here. River is supportive as usual. As for the others, they feel less strongly about it, either similar to Tarra or Flower. ¡°Fine.¡± Water-former spits. ¡°I surrender. But if you break a scale on me, my leader will make you and your village pay!¡± ¡°I will treat you exactly as I treat the others who came with you and who have also surrendered,¡± I answer levelly. The Battle of Wills goes quickly, the verbal surrender helping just as much as the yielding of the three Pathwalkers at the other village did. Finding I have the Willpower for four more Bonds after I release the Unevolved I Bound earlier for healing purposes, I get my new Bound to identify the most dangerous and influential among the Warriors and Bind them too. With their Pathwalkers and top Warriors all under my control, the rest of them surrender too, and I get their word that they will obey my commands and those of the Pathwalkers and Warriors originally from my village. I resolve to keep an eye on them ¨C or rather delegate some of my people to do so. I¡¯d better keep them out of positions where they could cause more damage than I would prefer, but thanks to their actions today, there are plenty of things for them to do which don¡¯t require them being around too many of my people. Until I manage to accrue enough Willpower stat points to Bind them properly, of course. That sorted, I decide to send my people back to my village. And since I need enough firepower to deal with the new additions to our ranks, I keep about half of my Warriors with me, sending the rest to go with the Unevolved back to the village. It takes a while as well over a hundred samurans stream past our group to funnel through the gap still present in the vine strangler forest. But finally we¡¯re down to my closest non-samuran Bound, my Pathwalkers, half of my Warriors, and the new Pathwalkers and Warriors. With fewer eyes watching, I decide that we have one more task to do before we can move on. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s see what the big deal is about this crystal.¡± Be careful, warns River. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I intend to be,¡± I reassure her, approaching the black crystal which seems to gleam malevolently from within its weave of rough fibres. Everyone is watching closely, and I sense a mixture of concern and anticipation running through the Bonds. But I¡¯m not intending on putting on a show. Closing my eyes, I look at the crystal with my magic sight. I probably shouldn¡¯t be surprised to see just how brightly it glows there, despite its colour to my physical eyes ¨C it appears even more powerful than a normal Energy Heart. In fact¡­. I frown as I see the complex Energy patterns within it ¨C the last time I saw something like that was when I held the fellapodil¡¯s Core. Could this be formed from a Tier three¡¯s Core? Perhaps. The Core is definitely still powerful, but its patterns appear¡­inactive. That is, until I reach out to grasp the handle of the cords woven around it. The Core shines brighter and the patterns start moving more quickly. Within a few moments, I see little threads of connection extending up from the Core itself, reaching towards my hand. I immediately let it go ¨C unwilling to let those connections touch me. As soon as I release the handle, the threads of connection are pulled back into the Core. I¡¯m glad that touching the handle is the trigger and relinquishing it was enough to stop the threads: I¡¯m getting flashbacks to the Pure Energy stream right now. Opening my eyes, I eye Flying-blade. Maybe there¡¯s a way that she can immediately start paying back the massive debt that she owes all of us. And it¡¯s rather poetic justice that she might be the means by which I learn more about the device that she was intending on using to subdue my allies. ¡°I want to test something,¡± I tell her calmly. ¡°Touch the crystal.¡± What? she asks, immediately horrified. ¡°You heard me,¡± I respond, not giving an inch as I cross my arms. ¡°You were so keen on subjecting my Pathwalkers to it; it¡¯s only fair that you should be the test subject. Touch the crystal. Now.¡± I see her fighting against the order, but my Willpower is far beyond hers and she has no choice. I¡¯d feel bad except that this is the merest fraction of what she owes us. Owes me. We all watch as Flying-blade¡¯s body drags her to the artifact, the Bond forcing her hand to reach towards the crystal, trembling with her effort to prevent herself from moving. I close my eyes to once more engage my magic sight. When the samuran¡¯s clawtips touch the crystal with a faint chink, it¡¯s a little anticlimatic. The crystal is inert, the slow movement of Energy within not changing one iota. Not like when I held the handle. Interesting. ¡°Now hold the handle.¡± I order her, not opening my eyes. I watch as her mana-infused flesh moves, only able to see when she¡¯s actually gripped the handle because the Core brightens and the patterns within it start shifting faster again. The same connections that I saw before start emerging from the Core and twisting their way up the handle. Making contact with Flying-blade¡¯s paw, they enter her body, but don¡¯t seem to do anything more than that. The Core itself, however, starts almost sparking, looking a little like a tesla coil as flickers of connections start lashing out at the air around it. And then the whole thing moves, jerking away from me as alarm spikes through several of my Bonds. I roll backwards over my shoulder and use the motion to get back on my feet, standing fluidly. The movement while using my magical sight rather than my physical eyes makes me feel horribly nauseous. ¡°Stop moving!¡± I order coldly, snapping my eyes open and glaring at the reason for the alarm. The connections and mana that I can see with my magical sight lingers for a moment like an overlay over my normal vision. But when it fades, I see exactly what I had already known had happened. Oddly, it¡¯s not anger but disappointment that spikes through me. Flying-blade is frozen, her body barely even allowing her to breathe. Her arm is extended backwards, the glinting black Core dangling from the handle of woven fibres in her hand ¨C ready to be brought down onto my head like a flail, I have no doubt. What did you want to do? I snarl down the Bond between Flying-blade and myself. Now there¡¯s that furious rage I was expecting. Kill me? Bind me? Destroy my soul? All of the above? You¡­you are a monster, she cries at me, desperation and fear transforming into fury. Any of those options would have been acceptable. I saw my chance and I took it! And I would do it again! Diving into her memories of the moment that¡¯s just happened, I see that it¡¯s exactly what she said. She didn¡¯t even have any real intention when she prepared to swing the Core into my head; she just hoped that I would be hurt by it, preferably destroyed in some way. Pulling out of the Bond, I feel a sense of inevitability settling heavily on my shoulders. I should have known from just how much resistance she¡¯s offered me even after the usual readjusting of priorities which happens when I use Dominate that she was a lost cause. That she would take advantage of any mercy I offered her. But I didn¡¯t realise that she would be capable of actually trying to attack me ¨C that¡¯s more than a little worrying considering that being unable to attack the Binder should be hardwired into Dominate Bonds. Perhaps I should be grateful that I haven¡¯t discovered that the hard way. I must remember that the Bonds are not infallible. Maybe it¡¯s that strong enough emotions can overcome even the anathema with which the Bond curtails thoughts of hurting me? Though to have such hatred towards me seems rather over the top considering it¡¯s from someone who doesn¡¯t even really know me. But it¡¯s reality I have to deal with, not what should be. ¡°Drop the handle,¡± I order, clamping down on my emotions with a force of will. Flying-blade¡¯s nerveless hand obeys. I don¡¯t even know if she tried to fight it this time. ¡°You just tried to kill me. Do you deny it?¡± Why would I deny something I would happily do again? Flying-blade throws back at me. I know it, she knows it, everyone around us knows it. But I just want to make it absolutely clear why I¡¯m doing this. ¡°And if anyone had stood in your way, regardless of who they were, would you have spared them?¡± She makes a wild hiss that¡¯s almost a laugh, almost a scream. I would go through the whole of my village, let alone yours, to ensure that a threat as dangerous as you are is eliminated. From the horrified looks that several of the Pathwalkers and Warriors she brought with her are now giving her, even they didn¡¯t realise just how deeply she felt about this. ¡°I judge you as too dangerous to have near me and too dangerous to send away,¡± I tell her heavily, regretting that I have to do this at all, even if I don¡¯t regret that I have to do this to her. Flying-blade doesn¡¯t seem to understand the implications of my words if the way she glares at me hotly is anything to go by. From the sudden distress which spikes along the Bonds of Ice-shaper and Plant-shaper, however, they do. ¡°May the ancestors have mercy on your soul.¡± What? Flying-blade asks, faltering at last as confusion cuts through her molten hatred. It¡¯s her last word: I send a surge of flesh-magic down the Bond between us. This close to her, it¡¯s easy enough to manipulate. Not wanting to draw it out ¨C for my own mental health more than for her sake ¨C I make her death as painless as I can, sending spikes of bone shooting through her brain to shred the fragile flesh. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Six: What You Have Destroyed We all feel it the moment she dies, the faint sensation of her presence in the network of Bonds vanishing like a light has been turned off. Her body crumples to the ground, even the Bond¡¯s commands failing to keep her frozen in place now that there is no subconscious to control. Her eyes are bloodshot and vacant, but there¡¯s otherwise little indication of what has just happened to end her life. The rest of my Bound are frozen, the newest members of the network unconsciously sending feelings of shock, fear, disbelief, and confusion across the Bond. My villagers aren¡¯t much better, though I do sense hints of satisfaction and relief joining the emotional melting-pot with a flicker of sorrow coming from Flower. I don¡¯t blame them. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually killed one of my Bound, let alone in such an¡­intimate way. I have to swallow hard a few times to keep the contents of my stomach where they should be. It¡¯s not that I had any close emotional connection to Flying-blade, but we were connected, soul to soul, and I killed her. I don¡¯t regret it. Or rather, I regret the necessity, but not the actual action. Her attack on my village was enough justification for her death, though I¡¯d hoped she could serve her sentence in a more useful way. Something which offered the opportunity for redemption as well as justice. But in the end¡­she was just too much of a danger. Not just to me, but to everyone else. I¡¯m lucky that she was under the influence of the mana inhibitor and couldn¡¯t use her powers to attack me. Unless I kept her wrapped so tightly in the chains of the Bond that she could barely even breathe without my permission, she would have multiple opportunities to kill me, and clearly her will was strong enough to push past the Bond¡¯s limitations enough to carry it out. And even if she didn¡¯t succeed with that, she had made it clear that she didn¡¯t care who else she would go through to seek my death. What if she put poison in every carcass in the hope that I would eat one of them and die? Or upon getting access to her magic again, what if she exploded into a storm of flying sharp-edged objects which might rip through my people as much as it might slice my own throat? No, she was too dangerous to keep around. But that doesn''t take away the fact that I was deeply in the Bond at the time of her death and felt far too much of it to be good for my mental health. Stepping forward breaks the spell that seems to have been cast over us since Flying-blade¡¯s attempt to kill me. Eyes flash towards me as I approach the fallen samuran, many fearful. I try to ignore that even though it hurts with a dull pang inside my chest. I suppose it¡¯s inevitable. I¡¯ve just demonstrated how easily the combination of the Bond with my healing arts can kill, after all, something that perhaps even my own people hadn¡¯t realised. They¡¯re used to me using my abilities to heal, not hurt. I¡¯m abruptly not interested in exploring the secrets of the black crystal. Not wanting to touch it for now, I use a piece of spider silk fabric I pull out of my Inventory to wrap it up so none of it is touching my skin. Checking with my magic sight, I nod in satisfaction when the crystal remains inert even as I pick it up ¨C apparently the cloth barrier is sufficient. I thought it might be since Flying-blade had been using a leaf wrap to hide it before. Standing up, I look around at the people surrounding me, mostly samurans from four different villages. We¡¯ll have to deal with the samurans from the small village we went to help when they arrive too. It abruptly feels like too much to manage, the weight on my shoulders too heavy to bear. And then someone steps next to me, her claws digging into the dirt. I know who it is before I turn my head to look at her. I smile humorlessly, grateful for her presence despite my sudden black mood. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the village. We have a lot to do before nightfall,¡± I say ostensibly to her, but loudly enough that everyone can hear me. We do, River agrees quietly even as the samurans around me start bustling into motion, perhaps fearing that if they don¡¯t move fast enough, they¡¯ll be the next corpse on the ground, nothing but bloodshot, vacant eyes to show that they¡¯re dead. But our people are safe and free thanks to your actions today Markus, remember that. Flying-blade came to kill our villagers and capture our Pathwalkers. Without your insistence about training the Unevolved, more Warriors would have died. Without your den, there wouldn¡¯t have been a defensible location to retreat to. Without you, the death toll would have been far higher. ¡°Without me, there wouldn¡¯t have been any attack in the first place,¡± I tell her bitterly, though quietly. River clicks in annoyance. There are always reasons to attack. Any village which succeeds in growing faces those who don¡¯t want them to grow too much. If it hadn¡¯t been this reason, it would have been because of Wind-whisperer. Or our greater numbers of Pathwalkers. Flying-blade perhaps believed in her cause, but I doubt that everyone did. Most of them probably saw an opportunity to grow their own village at the expense of another. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right,¡± I admit with a sigh, ¡°I just wish¡­¡± I just wish Flying-blade hadn¡¯t forced my hand. I didn¡¯t want to kill her, I say plaintively, switching to sending the message to River privately. I don¡¯t want anyone else around me hearing my regrets. My weakness. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. River looks at me, compassion flowing across the Bond between us. You already gave her more than she deserved, she answers gently, also privately, her spikes tightly controlled and giving nothing away to any onlookers. Anyone else would have killed Flying-blade to begin with. You tried to give her a chance. It¡¯s not your fault she refused to take it. You are our leader; you acted on our behalf. That¡¯s all that matters. It doesn¡¯t lift the weight off my shoulders completely, but it does lighten it enough. I give River a small smile, sending my gratitude down the Bond to her. Then, focussing my attention, I take control of the situation ¨C as a leader should. We return to the village en masse, my Pathwalkers and Warriors keeping a careful eye on those who have most recently been our attackers. The newly Bound are less of a concern than those who have merely been obliged to give their word to not attack, but they all appear docile and subdued. The frightened glances sent at me speak volumes as to why. I try to ignore them, focussing on what needs to be done next. River¡¯s right. Flying-blade was offered more mercy than anyone else would have granted her and still she spat in my face. I shouldn¡¯t feel guilty for executing her, yet I do. Judge, jury, and executioner¡­I¡¯ve come a long way from the HR drone who had to pass any serious disciplinary option over to my superiors for approval. Seeing the corpses of too many of my people, samuran and not, is enough to relight the flame of outrage in my chest. I might have appointed myself as executioner, carrying out a sentence which I set, but the samurans now held as prisoners within the encirclement of my people have already proven themselves to be willing to murder those who never offered them any harm or insult. ¡°Your first task will be to return what you have destroyed to good condition,¡± I tell the group of samurans, seeing both fear and defiance in their eyes. ¡°What you can, anyway. Nothing will return the lives we¡¯ve lost.¡± A flicker of regret pulses across a Bond, but it¡¯s too quick for me to be able to identify who it came from. I turn my head to look at my own Pathwalkers and Warriors. ¡°Each of you guide one of them. Make sure they work hard to put right as much as they can. Perhaps then they¡¯ll see the cost of their power-hungry actions.¡± How can we do anything with this poison running through us? demands Water-former spitefully, glaring at me. So sure that I won¡¯t do anything to hurt her because of her village leader, the leader of the whole red tribe, her eyes are free of the fear which flickers through her sisters¡¯. I glare back at her. ¡°Use your hands, your backs. You¡¯re not getting your magic back. Not now. Not for this.¡± Several of the Pathwalkers take a step back in horror. You would deny us our magic? exclaims Plant-shaper in horror. You can¡¯t do that to us! We¡¯re Pathwalkers; your equals! My teeth grind together, fire starting to flicker unbidden between my fingers even as the earth groans softly beneath my feet. The Pathwalkers who are the focus of my intense glare take another couple of steps back. The yellow that flickers through multiple spikes suggest that they might be recalling what so recently happened to the last of their sisters who crossed me. ¡°Until you have earned the right to be treated differently,¡± I say softly, doing my best to maintain control over the magic which yearns to explode forth and destroy those who have hurt my people, ¡°you are lower in the rankings than even the Unevolved who you killed so easily. You will obey any of my village who gives you an order, whether it be Evolved, Unevolved, or non-samuran.¡± Several of the Pathwalkers appear cowed by my anger, the other healer among them. But Water-former still seems to have a sense of invulnerability as she continues to push. Barbaric! Just what we might expect of one not truly of the People, no matter how graciously you¡¯ve been received by my sisters! Even Pathwalkers taken in a raid are treated better than that, given the honour our Evolution has earned us! Not treated like¡­like¡­. ¡°Unevolved?¡± I suggest, the white-hot fire within me abruptly turning into liquid nitrogen. My fingers itch to just rid myself of her ungrateful, murderous presence. But I hold back. She¡¯s done no more than she had when I made my decision to spare her not long ago. She doesn¡¯t deserve death. Not yet. But if she continues pushing me, there are other options. Yes! Exactly! It¡¯s an insult my village leader will not countenance. She¡¯ll bring Warriors and Pathwalkers from all the villages of my tribe and sweep your pitiful village away! I¡¯ve had enough. My glare is replaced by a teeth-filled grin. Though my teeth are blunt, by the way Water-former takes a step back and those around her show a deeper yellow in their spikes, they recognise it as the threat it very much is. I stride forwards, my speed of movement easily covering the ground between us before my target can stumble back more than another pace. Those around her draw back further. Perhaps they sense the ice-cold fury within me which is only held in check by the shreds of my willpower, already sorely tested today. I reach out and grab the Pathwalker by the back of her neck, sliding my fingers between her spikes and gripping tightly enough that I feel the vertebrae groan slightly in protest. Water-former cries out and several of the captured Warriors near us step forwards, their hands going to where weapons would normally be. Right now they¡¯re unarmed, of course, but I don¡¯t feel like getting into a fight right now with those I haven¡¯t been able to Bind. ¡°Stay back or die,¡± I snap at them, flashing them that ghastly, toothy grin. All but one steps back immediately; the last stays in place, but at least he doesn¡¯t step forwards when I start pulling Water-former towards the edge of the trees near the village. What¡­what are you doing? Water-former demands, her mental tone abruptly ringing with uncertainty. Where are you taking me? She tries to resist but her strength is nowhere near a match for mine. On the edge of the trees, I release her, practically throwing her forwards. She stumbles a few steps, catches herself on a tree, and then turns to look back at me, fear finally trickling into the Bond. ¡°You want to be treated better? Fine. Go and find your tribe leader.¡± Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Seven: Without Complaint Water-former gazes at me uncomprehendingly. Though I don¡¯t turn around, I sense the other Pathwalkers and small group of Warriors I¡¯ve Bound all watching intently. Several of them have understood ¨C I feel it in their sorrow and pity for Water-former. I don¡¯t understand, Water-former says almost plaintively. ¡°It should be pretty clear,¡± I tell her scornfully. ¡°You don¡¯t want to play by my rules? Then you get out of my territory. Go back to your village, run somewhere else, I don¡¯t care. Just never come back to my village on pain of death.¡± But¡­but¡­without Warriors¡­I¡¯ll die! Clearly she¡¯s intelligent enough to realise that I¡¯m not offering her any sort of escort. I flash her that toothy smile again. ¡°Quite likely. But if you refuse my mercy, then you¡¯ll face the forest¡¯s judgement. Good luck,¡± I wish her offhandedly, then start walking back to the rest of the group. Wait! Water-former calls before I¡¯m more than five steps away from her. I pause without turning around. Please! I¡¯ll help. Just¡­don¡¯t abandon me to the forest and its beasts. It¡¯s too far to my village¡­I¡¯ll never survive it, she admits, her grunts and clicks becoming almost inaudible. Fortunately, the Bond makes up for that. I half-turn back to her. ¡°You¡¯ll obey any in the village, regardless of what you might think of them or their stations? You¡¯ll work to repair the damage you created without complaint?¡± I¡­. Yes. I will. The Pathwalker¡¯s agreement is more than a little grudging, but I sense that it¡¯s sincere. Finally, she¡¯s been brought to realise that her spoiled attitude isn¡¯t going to be tolerated, and that there are worse fates than having to do the scut work for a bit. Good. I have to deal with Windy¡¯s attitude because she¡¯s smart enough not to push it further than her position justifies, and I¡¯m already changing so much about samuran culture that I don¡¯t want to push at the very bedrock of their society. But I refuse to deal with another arrogant Pathwalker who thinks that just because she Evolved to be able to use magic, she¡¯s worlds better than anyone else around. ¡°Then you may rejoin your sisters,¡± I tell her with a hard look, ¡°and get on with your work. There¡¯s a lot to do before nightfall, thanks to your unprovoked attack.¡± I fix each of the other Pathwalkers with that same hard gaze. ¡°Do any of you want to take the forest¡¯s mercy over mine?¡± There¡¯s a chorus of disagreement, none of the Pathwalkers seeming to entertain the possibility for more than a moment. Is that option open to us? asks one of the Warriors I Bound, the one I think was the leader. His gaze is calculating. I meet his eyes with my own hard gaze, anger still simmering just below the surface, having thawed back into heat. I consider it carefully. A Pathwalker in the forest is one thing; a Warrior is quite another. That said, the whole reason I gave Water-former the choice ¨C and it was a genuine choice even if I was pretty certain of what her response would be before I presented it to her ¨C was because I didn¡¯t want to have to use the Bond to force her. Of course, I could have. I could even have assigned one of my loyal Bound as her party leader, deputising the ability to force her to comply. But all that would do is build resentment which would enable her to fight ever harder against the chains which bind her. Letting her choose her chains, even if the other option is practically unthinkable, gives her the slightest sense of control and may weaken her resistance. What happens after that, only time will tell. The same will be true of these Warriors, and particularly so of those who are only bound by their word to obey. Perhaps giving them a choice isn¡¯t a bad idea. But a choice of my choosing, not theirs. ¡°I want work from you first,¡± I tell them, making sure that even those not Bound to me will understand. ¡°You attacked my village for no good reason, destroying our houses, and killing valuable members of our community. You can never make up for the deaths you¡¯ve caused, but you can at least work to help our community reestablish itself. So, work hard for the next two moon cycles. If by the end of that I feel that you¡¯ve honestly applied yourself and have shown remorse for your attack, I will give you the option to leave. If you choose to take me up on it, you must leave my territory immediately. Any attempts to remain or to hurt my people will be met with lethal reprisal.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Of course, I don¡¯t tell them that I will ensure that they¡¯re out of my part of the forest by having them followed, but if they are true to their word, I will be too. ¡°Any uncooperative behaviour, attempt to escape, or attempt to help others to escape in the meantime will significantly reduce the chances of me releasing you. And if any of my people spot you in the wrong place, believe me that they will be authorised to use lethal force if they need to.¡± I glare at them, making sure that my message has been fully understood. The Warriors accept that, several of them gaining a slight brightness to their gaze which had been missing. Hopefully that will stop any attempts to escape or cause problems ¨C hope is a powerful thing. Perhaps I¡¯m being more merciful to them than I should be ¨C again ¨C but I have another reason for my decision. The fact is, it¡¯s not much more than two moon cycles before I am due to leave. Since I¡¯m not planning on taking the whole village with me, that means I¡¯ll be leaving a mass of samurans behind me who won¡¯t be Bound with Dominate any more. If the Warriors at that point are still determined to attack or leave, it will be much harder to stop them. Better that they¡¯ve had the opportunity to leave ahead of that, I figure. It doesn¡¯t take too much longer before there are work groups spread around the village, rebuilding the huts, unearthing everything buried beneath ¨C and finding more bodies. I watch carefully to make sure that all of the invaders are fully applying themselves. Without their magic, the Pathwalkers aren¡¯t as effective as even the Unevolved, but I don¡¯t care about that ¨C ultimately, that¡¯s not the point here. If I have an objective at all beyond punishing them, it¡¯s to bring home to them exactly what their actions have done, the destruction and deaths they¡¯ve caused. And when the heart-breaking sight of a hatchling¡¯s body mangled by the falling lumps of earth of the hut it was sheltering inside is pulled out from the wreckage of the hut, Sticks and Jumpy ¨C our Earth-Shaper ¨C stabilising its walls, I see that I¡¯m not the only one affected. Flickers of true remorse make their way through the new Bonds I hold with several of the Evolved before me. Not enough. Not enough when who knows how many more are buried under there. I can only hope that some might still be alive ¨C with Tarra and the two healers present, anyone who¡¯s still drawing breath can be saved. But my earth-sense tells me that it¡¯s a vain hope. ¡°Come on,¡± I say to my core group, unable to take just watching the miserable task any longer. Better to go and actually help someone. ¡°Let¡¯s go and find those who escaped into the forest and tell them that it¡¯s safe to return.¡± They agree and I enter the forest surrounded by my closest Bound. Sirocco soars overhead, lending me her eyes when I ask for it, Fenrir sets his powerful senses to the task, the three raptorcats scout around, leaping nimbly through the undergrowth, Lathani jumps from shadow to shadow and uses her Earth Sense to detect any creatures around, and I use Inspect. Catch and River stay by my side, Pride guarding our backs. I probably should have insisted that the two Evolved samurans stayed with our prisoners ¨C at this point, the more of my loyal Bound are keeping them in check, the better. But I don¡¯t ¨C I don¡¯t have the heart to do so. I value their steady support far too much. At least the task forces me to focus, taking my attention away from the warring emotions within me. We move through the forest silently, none of us in the mood to talk. Thanks to all our advantages, it¡¯s not long before we find our first group, the Bond I have with Elder Twig helping more than anything to pinpoint their location. He¡¯s surrounded by a group of hatchlings, sheltering in a large bush. They¡¯re utterly silent, even the normally-rambunctious hatchlings understanding how to be still when a predator draws near. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± I tell them, doing my best to project calm. ¡°The village is safe again.¡± ¡°Thank the ancestors!¡± I hear sighed from within the bush. ¡°Come on little ones,¡± he orders gently, and the bush starts to sway. One by one the hatchlings pop out. One, two, three¡­twenty-one. And then Elder Twig himself. He looks at me with a searching gaze. ¡°The village is truly safe again?¡° ¡°It is,¡± I say, looking down at the fearful, yet trusting eyes peering up at me from the baby samurans clustered around their brood-mother. ¡°The attackers are either dead or currently working to put our village back together, so don¡¯t be surprised when you see them there. Come on, let¡¯s escort you back. Then we¡¯ll try to find everyone else.¡± ¡°They will all return eventually,¡± the elder samuran says, eyeing me. ¡°They will not expect our honoured leader to go searching through the forest for them. They will return to check whether it¡¯s safe to reveal themselves. If not, they will find an alternative.¡± ¡°And if they see their attackers still present, putting the village back together? What are the chances that they will just run away again?¡± I ask him gently. He looks away from my gaze which is enough answer. ¡°No, we¡¯re going to do our best to make sure everyone gets back to the village before nightfall.¡± The elder looks at me and then tilts his chin high in the air. ¡°You honour us with your care, Pathwalker Tamer.¡± My heart tugs at his words, the image of the broken hatchling body I saw flashing before my eyes again. If anything, I don¡¯t feel like I care enough. But at least if I can make sure that no more are lost to the forest than have already been lost to the raid, perhaps I¡¯ll be able to sleep tonight. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Eight: We Will Never Forget Their Sacrifice Most of the hatchlings ran away with the brood-mothers, instinctively seeking the adults who had cared most for them in their short lives. Those who didn¡¯t manage to escape with the broodmothers or find them afterwards mostly went to ground, hiding in whatever small hole or protective bush that they could find. Even if they don¡¯t have any experience in the forest themselves, instinct is still strong among them and they knew what to do. A couple of groups even managed to come across Unevolved in the forest, some who had run away from the same attacks as the hatchlings themselves, others who were hunting and had no idea about the events in the village. Unfortunately, not everyone who entered the forest made it out again. We came across several bodies of villagers who had sought refuge among the trees only to find other predators there. The most heart-breaking was when we came across a small pack of vicious-looking creatures all crouched around the corpse of one of the village¡¯s Unevolved, two hatchlings¡¯ bodies already eaten down to the bone. Although the reptilian creatures hadn¡¯t escaped unscathed and more than seven of their number were lying dead in the area too, numbers had clearly overwhelmed the Unevolved who the evidence showed sought only to protect the two hatchlings who had come to him for refuge. We took revenge, none of the large lizards escaping the claws and teeth of my Bound, but that didn¡¯t bring our lost villagers back to life. Finding the bodies of my scouts was another solemn experience. I investigated each of their bodies, finding the same every time ¨C a compound in their blood that River is able to identify as a paralytic, and some other wound which shows how they died. Several of them were already surrounded by scavengers eating the readily available meat ¨C those we either chased away or killed outright, for all that logically I know they were just fulfilling their function in the forest. In some ways I¡¯m glad that the invaders took the time to kill the downed samurans ¨C if they had been alive when the scavengers had descended, their deaths would have been horrific. On the other hand, maybe we could then have saved some of them. When we find bodies of the dead of our village, I put them in my Inventory, taking them back to the village for a final goodbye. As nightfall approaches, we do a last circuit around the village, looking for any traces of hiding samurans who we might have missed. Returning to the village, I gaze at the newly-restored huts, my jaw clenched. It¡¯s good to see ¨C at least my people won¡¯t have to sleep outside, exposed to the elements ¨C but in another way it feels¡­wrong for the damage to have been so quickly erased. That impression is swiftly corrected as I lead my group back into the village itself, our last rescuees following on our heels. The beautiful tapestries which Joy creates have been taken down, the huts sober in their plain earthen designs. The ground of the village still shows evidence of the battle which had happened, the scars in the ground of both magical and mundane weapons present. Intentionally so, I would guess, considering how pristine the huts look. Our own Earth-shaper would have been easily capable of wiping away all the traces even if the invading Earth-shaper is still being affected by the mana inhibitor. My group heads towards the centre of the village, the large area where I was once held in a cage, fought to become leader, developed a council which holds all samurans in the village as equally important, and then returned to find it covered in the blood of my people. Now, it serves as the collection ground for all the bodies of my people, far too many added to the rows since I¡¯ve been away. The extensive rows of corpses and the stench of death in the air are a reminder to everyone of the day¡¯s events as one by one all the samurans assemble, no orders necessary. Everyone is silent, sensing the solemnity of the event as I pull more and more bodies out of my Inventory to add to the rows. In total, I count the bodies of five Warriors, sixty-three Unevolved, and thirty-two hatchlings. Perhaps more bodies lie in the forest, but if so I have not been able to find them. I¡¯m grimly pleased to see that the samurans have collected even the bodies of Artemis¡¯ pack ¨C they, too, were defenders and I¡¯m glad they¡¯ve been recognised as such. I spot Artemis herself lingering at the edges of the crowd still gathering around us. These bodies are in addition to the twelve Warriors and the Pathwalker who I had previously counted. I bite my lip as my eyes linger on the vacant features of Flicks, the village¡¯s first true Fire-Shaper ¨C and my personal student. All at once I have the urge to explode and send a wave of unquenchable fire burning in all directions, and then to fall crumpled upon the ground. Too many of my people. Far too many. Someone has to pay for this. I turn on my heel, fixing my gazes on the perpetrators. They stand apart, none of the samurans from my village willing to even be in arm¡¯s length of them. Not with this obvious display of their actions in front of us. ¡°Do you see what you¡¯ve done here?¡± I demand from them hotly. ¡°Do you see what your senseless quest for power and the baseless fears of your leader have done?¡± My fury is given no excuse to descend on them: they all have the grace to dip their heads, regret and remorse flickering through the Bonds between us. Not one gives me an excuse to attack; even Water-former doesn¡¯t dare to meet my eyes with defiance. With frustration, I turn to face the bodies once more. I abruptly regret giving the Warriors an out earlier today, even though I know that at the time it felt right to do so. And ultimately, they were only following the orders of their Pathwalkers, in particular, their leader. Suddenly, I feel savagely glad that I killed Flying-blade, and almost regretful at how quick it was. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. At the same time, I have to recognise just how much of my anger is directed at myself. For leaving my people so unprotected. For letting another village¡¯s good trump that of my own. For being so predictable that my enemies knew just how to ensure that I wouldn¡¯t be there for my own villagers. For not realising that the issue with Flying-blade wasn¡¯t dealt with and preparing. For not even realising that we were being watched for weeks. Regret turns the heat of my rage to ashes. ¡°Too many of our people were killed today,¡± I intone, my eyes glancing from one still body to the next. ¡°But the majority of them died doing what they felt was right ¨C defending our home. We will never forget their sacrifice. They chose to put the lives of our Pathwalkers above their own, holding the good of the village to be greater than themselves. We will never forget their sacrifice.¡± We will never forget their sacrifice. I glance back to see River standing beside her sisters, the Bond between us flashing with furious sorrow. Her grief calls to my own, pulling up a wellspring of sorrow that almost chokes me. We will never forget their sacrifice. This time it¡¯s not River, it¡¯s Happy, not resembling her nickname in the slightest, her face transformed by the odd shadows cast by the fire elemental bobbing over her shoulder. I¡¯m relieved that she was able to save Aingeal and feel ashamed for not thinking of it earlier. As my acknowledgement, the brightly glowing orb of light flies towards me, emanating such joy at our rejoining that I can barely bear it, as consumed by grief as I am. I send it a greeting, but can do no more than that. Not right now. The refrain echoes around the crowd, more and more of my people taking it up, their eyes fixed on the bodies of the heroes who fought and died this day. ¡°Among this number are those who didn¡¯t choose to fight. Those who couldn¡¯t choose, their lives taken before they had the option to stand and fight or run. The hatchlings who had only just started their lives. Who knows what they might have become? These, too, we will never forget. May the ancestors have mercy on all of their souls.¡± May the ancestors have mercy on all of their souls. I must be becoming more samuran than I thought ¨C it¡¯s only when the crowd behind me repeats my words in a rolling rumble of grunts that I realise what I¡¯d said. Holding out my hand, I concentrate. A moment later, there are several cries from behind me as every single body ignites at the same moment. Perhaps the Pathwalkers and Warriors are finally realising just how merciful I was to them earlier. Maybe they see how much easier it would have been for me to wrap them in a tornado of fire, burning them to ashes for daring to attack my people. The explosion I caused among them was far less than I could have done ¨C if I didn¡¯t have to worry about suffocating those of my village sheltering in the den below. It remains to be seen whether I will regret my mercy. Aingeal flies into the flames that consume the bodies of my people, its simple joy caring little for the source of the fire, only that the flames exist and are intense enough for it to delight in. Though normally I find its simple emotions to be freeing, reminding me that life doesn¡¯t have to be as serious as I usually see it, this time, its enjoyment grates. I do my best to shut the emotions off. Aingeal¡¯s innocently hurt confusion would normally be enough for me to release the barrier I¡¯ve just put up, but not right now. I can¡¯t deal with it at this moment. Instead, I just focus on controlling the inferno consuming the corpses with iron-clad precision. By the time I¡¯m done, nothing but ashes remain, even the bones transformed into dust by the intense heat that I kept contained within each of the bodies. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Sleep well, my people, I can¡¯t help praying even as two solitary tears trace their way down my cheeks. Stepping away from the ashes when the last embers of the fire have gone out, I retrieve from my Inventory the carcasses of the beasts we killed in the forest while searching for those who had run away from the village. There are already a number of bodies present ¨C the beasts we were farming who clearly didn¡¯t run away from the invading samurans fast enough. Fortunately, it¡¯s only the slowest and weakest of our beasts. ¡°Feel free to eat,¡± I mutter to those around. ¡°It¡¯s been a long day.¡± I can¡¯t bear to follow my own advice. Instead, I stride towards the mountainside gate. The barest whisper of fur and talons on the ground reveal that I¡¯m not travelling alone. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come with me,¡± I tell my little band. ¡°You need to rest.¡± We¡¯ve done this dance before, Bastet reproves me, Storm and Ninja padding at her side this time around. Yeah. I told you then and I¡¯ll say it again now ¨C you were there for me when I was hurt. I¡¯m here for you now, agrees Lathani, her tone far more solemn than it was the last time this situation came up. ¡°Even if I¡¯m going to demand answers from your mother if she¡¯s back at the den by now?¡± Even then. She was not here. I want to know why. Her voice is more plaintive than I can bear and I look away from her. ¡°Alright,¡± I agree, unable to say anything else. I look at the two Evolved samurans who have followed me too. ¡°I guess that you two don¡¯t want to stay for the post-funeral wake?¡± Pride and Fenrir decided that their bellies were empty, Catch replies with a shrug. But I would prefer to join you. As would I, agrees River, sending me something down the Bond which I can only name as love. Not an intense romantic love, but a soothing, supportive familial love. Something I¡¯ve sorely missed. I can¡¯t help but give her a small, weak smile in response despite the grief and self-condemnation which still rips at my insides. A familiar lump lands on my shoulder. I¡¯m coming too, Sirocco tells me as if it should be obvious. Once more, I feel gratitude for the friends I¡¯ve made, the family I¡¯ve discovered. Together, we cover the ground between the village and my den as quickly as we can. Even before we reach the vine-stranglers, I sense Kalanthia¡¯s unmistakable presence. She¡¯s back. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Twenty-Nine: Brittle I run through the vine-stranglers, slowing down only as I hit the entrance to the den with its switchbacks and obstacles. I see the evidence of the samurans attempts to gain entry ¨C the traps opened in the ceiling, poison and acid making puddles on the floor, spiky bits of metal and rock providing uncertain footing, and even strands of sticky danaris web shoved to the side from where they had been hanging to block the tunnel. Kalanthia heaves into view, a massive lump of fur and flesh, lying on the floor of the den. Markus Wolfe, she greets me, but I¡¯m in no mood for soft words. ¡°Where were you?¡± I demand with a hard note in my voice. She stiffens a little. I pay no attention to the warning signs. ¡°When my people were dying. When they retreated here for shelter and their enemies followed. Where were you?¡± When we agreed to a mutual defence pact, I did not agree to defend all of your people too, Kalanthia responds coldly. ¡°And I thought we were past all that!¡± I almost yell at her. ¡°After everything, I thought that we had got past an attitude of tit for tat. I thought that while I was away, you would help protect my people. Or do you still hold what they did to Lathani against them? Is that why you vanished?¡± I accuse, my vision becoming slightly blurry. Vaguely, I¡¯m aware of my Bound near me, Bastet urging caution over the Bond, but I¡¯m too angry and full of grief to accept her wisdom. ¡°Are we even allies?¡± I demand, feeling more scalding hot tears roll down my cheeks as I see once more the broken bodies of our most vulnerable members, now nothing but ash. When I blink and clear my sight, I see that Kalanthia has shifted into a crouched position, her lips drawn back slightly from her teeth. She releases her domain and I¡¯m temporarily pinned in place by the certainty that there¡¯s a powerful predator before me, waiting to pounce. You doubt that we are allies? After everything? Kalanthia demands, her mental voice a threatening rumble. Perhaps you are right. If you require me to fight your battles for you, perhaps you are too weak to ally with. The power in her domain increases, its pressure pushing down on me even as its predatory edge makes me feel like no more than a scared rabbit hiding from a lion. And in my grief, in my rage, that is suddenly intolerable. I¡¯ve lost so much today and yet Kalanthia doesn¡¯t even seem apologetic about it. Like those lives meant nothing; were meaningless. I cross my arms and refuse to back down. Setting my teeth, I glare back at her, the pressure between us almost tangible. It¡¯s oddly reminiscent of a Battle of Wills, if the pressure resisting me was charged with Kalanthia¡¯s domain rather than her emotions. The familiarity is reassuring, a pole to cling onto as the ground moves beneath my feet, and I find myself reacting in the same way as I would do there. Unable to move forwards, I still refuse to step back, leaning into the pressure and pushing against it with my own force of Will. Kalanthia snarls and redoubles her effort. I get the sense that she is trying to either make me cut and run, proving herself the superior predator, or crumple to the ground and declare my inferiority. I refuse to do either, sensing abruptly that it¡¯s not only my pride at stake. But if I had been just about able to stand my ground before, now I¡¯m barely holding on. It reminds me very much of when we returned to Kalanthia after Lathani triggered a Companion Bond and I had to pull her mother into a Battle of Wills just to stop her from tearing me to pieces. Then, I had barely held onto the space with my fingertips. Here, I¡¯m not crouching to the ground, but the sensation is remarkably similar. And if I don¡¯t find a way to counter her pressure, this is going to end up just like that one did. My adrenaline spikes through my system as I sense the danger that I¡¯ve somehow got myself into. Grief and rage are temporarily pushed aside as my survival instinct forces itself to the fore. I have to find another way to resist. And maybe my observations of the similarity between this and the Battles of Wills I¡¯ve engaged in hold the clue of how I can do just that. I¡¯m convinced that my Battles of Wills, just like my Challenges, take place in some sort of soul realm. And if I can touch and use my soul then, why can¡¯t I do it now? The Pure Energy I touched so long ago proved that it could be injured by substances in this real world; why can¡¯t I then use it to defend myself from Kalanthia¡¯s attempt to cow me? Remembering how it felt to grip my soul with my Willpower and push it outwards, the way by which I¡¯ve gained two points to Willpower outside of levelling up, I force it to extend beyond my skin. Not far ¨C even if I have somehow managed to work out how to hold it at all, it¡¯s still far harder to manipulate it than in the Challenge space. But even forcing it to go a few millimetres away from my skin eases the pressure of Kalanthia¡¯s domain significantly. The tone of Kalanthia¡¯s snarl gains a deeper, reverberating edge to it and she takes a step forward, looking precisely like she¡¯s stalking prey in the forest. Her golden eyes are cold and intent, their predatory gleam sending shivers down my spine. I begin wondering if she¡¯s actually going to attack me. Is she treating me like another Tier three? Am I proving weak enough that she¡¯s about to attack me directly? But she knows that my strength is not entirely as an individual, but as a group. Is she going to force a challenge nonetheless? I was a fool to have come here with only a few of my Bound. Without Windy, we have little chance against Kalanthia¡¯s power. Heck, even with Windy, we would probably struggle, especially here, surrounded by Kalanthia¡¯s element. But with enough of us, we might have stood a chance. With only River and me as true magic-users, I don¡¯t see this ending well. I won¡¯t ask Lathani to fight her mother. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My control over my soul grows brittle as I prepare to transition into a physical fight. I don¡¯t want to go there, and fear that I¡¯ll lose everything by doing so, but with Kalanthia looking like she is, I can only see it as inevitable. As she takes another step forwards, I send a message to my Bound to be ready, already feeding Aingeal with fire-magic. The only way we have a chance is to take Kalanthia by surprise is by going full out at the beginning. Perhaps a sufficient showing of power at the start will be enough to jolt Kalanthia out of this mindset and end the battle before it truly begins. I feel Lathani recoiling mentally at the thought of a fight breaking out between us and her mother. And then that horror turns into resolve. Mother! Stop this! I hear echo through my Bond with Lathani as the shoulder-high black leopard-like nunda steps forward, standing between Kalanthia and me. Unable to see Kalanthia¡¯s eyes, the pressure eases slightly, but her domain doesn¡¯t require eye contact to continue working. Move aside, my cub, Kalanthia tells her harshly. I only hear her words through the Bond with Lathani. This is between Markus and me. Why should it be? They were my friends too! I liked playing with the little hatchlings and now so many of them are gone, dead as a result of an invasion which you could have helped deal with! You¡¯re so powerful mother, why didn¡¯t you intervene? Lathani¡¯s words have the plaintive lilt of a child desperately hoping that there is a better explanation for what they have seen than that their parent is flawed. Abruptly, I feel an aching sort of sympathy with her. I learned that my father was flawed at the same time as I lost my mother, and the experience nearly killed me ¨C emotionally speaking, that is. I could never look at him the same way after he let his grief drive him to accuse me of killing my mother. Not when he knew that I would believe him, idolising him as I did. Lathani¡¯s words make Kalanthia pause in a way that I doubt anything else could have. I don¡¯t move. Not to relax; not to attack. Jolted out of the haze that angry grief and fear had cast over my mind, I recognise just how out of hand it¡¯s all got. Kalanthia and I were only a short distance away from actually attacking each other; I¡¯m certain of that. And I feel abruptly ashamed at letting my emotions get the better of me. I¡¯m no better than my father ¨C blaming someone else for my own failings. Why should I have? It was not my responsibility to care for the lizard-folk. At no time did I agree to that. Kalanthia¡¯s right ¨C there was never any expectation that she¡¯d defend the villagers. The den, yes ¨C if she had been here at the time and not done anything to repulse those who attempted to gain entry, that would have been one thing. But expecting her to¡­I don¡¯t even know what I was expecting her to have done. Not go to the village to defend them there ¨C she never goes to the village. Ultimately I realise what¡¯s happened. In my grief, I sought a scapegoat, so I could avoid the responsibility that lies on my shoulders alone. I left my village without the defences it needed because I wanted to go and help someone else. It doesn¡¯t matter that it was a trap designed for me ¨C even if there hadn¡¯t been a force of samurans waiting for me to leave to invade, it could have been a natural disaster, or another Tier three deciding to take my village as its territory. Unfortunate coincidences happen. I have a responsibility to the most vulnerable members of my people and I failed them. But mother! How could you just let them die? Lathani wails. The pressure of Kalanthia¡¯s domain has all but vanished, our battle interrupted by the only one who could have done so without being harmed. I step forward and put a hand on the young nunda¡¯s shoulder, stroking the fur soothingly. ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± I say gently. ¡°It was not her responsibility to take care of them. She didn¡¯t let them die. I did.¡± But¡­you were not there, Lathani says with confusion. ¡°Neither was your mother,¡± I point out. ¡°And she had no obligation to be so, unlike me. I was wrong to point fingers at her.¡± I look at Kalanthia, meeting her gaze and trying to project my sincerity and my regret. ¡°She agreed only to help protect the den, and she did. Even though she wasn¡¯t here, I felt the imprint of her presence in the Earth which aided our Earth-Shaper in preventing the enemy Earth-Shaper from being able to manipulate it. It was I who took the most combat-capable Pathwalkers of the village and didn¡¯t ensure that there were contingency plans in place in case of an emergency. An oversight I¡¯m definitely going to rectify.¡± Patting Lathani¡¯s shoulder with a wordless wave of gratitude through the Bond for her intervention, I step past her, revealing myself fully to Kalanthia. Her gaze is slightly mollified, without the predatory gleam that it had held only minutes ago. Her lips have lowered too, but I can still see that her hackles are up and her body is stiff. ¡°I apologise to you, Kalanthia, known as the Great Predator. I accused you unfairly. You have been an excellent ally and¡­friend.¡± I pull out several Earth-aligned Energy Hearts. ¡°I know that these are poor offerings in comparison to what you already have access to, but hope that the token of my regret will help smooth over any bad feelings which remain.¡± I¡¯ve been given a reprieve here thanks to Lathani¡¯s intervention. My poorly-considered lashing out put a relationship under strain, a relationship which I¡¯ve had in one form or another since my first days in this world. Hopefully Kalanthia will take these as intended ¨C a heartfelt apology. Kalanthia¡¯s gaze is deeply searching for a long moment, feeling like it¡¯s scouring the very depths of my being. And perhaps it is ¨C I haven¡¯t fully released the grip on my soul so maybe it¡¯s easier to see than normal. I accept your apology in the spirit it was made, Kalanthia replies, her hackles finally descending and her body relaxing, as long as it is acknowledged that any further such insult will not be tolerated. ¡°Nor should it be,¡± I agree, relieved. Kalanthia eyes me with a hint of amusement. However, I will say congratulations in developing the beginning of your domain. Maybe one day you¡¯ll be able to give me a proper domain battle. ¡°Maybe,¡± I agree, the thought sending both excitement and fear through me. Maybe I¡¯ll ask her to help me learn how to develop it. But I don¡¯t think right now would be a good idea. ¡°So I don¡¯t accidentally make the same mistake with Raven and offend him too, do you know where he¡¯s got to? After all, I actually do have a defence pact with him that covers the village,¡± I remark wryly. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Thirty: Well-timed As it turns out, our enemies timed their attack extremely well. Better, in fact, than they had probably intended. Raven is off on a hunting trip with the hatchlings. That¡¯s not unusual; he had actually left on it before I did, but I was expecting him back before now. Normally he doesn¡¯t go away for more than three days, but this time it¡¯s approaching five. Daphne and Ivor are entirely healed physically and their internal matrices are almost there. I thought I was going to have to use Raven¡¯s internal matrix as a guide to reforming the mess of golden lines within the alcaoris hatchlings like Lathani and I used following Kalanthia¡¯s ¡®blueprint¡¯. However, it turned out to be easier than that. It seems that enough Energy from hunting and absorbing Cores from beasts is actually reforming Daphne and Ivor¡¯s internal matrices into something more natural-looking where absorbing Pure Energy deforms the golden lines even if it does help them to grow. I now see exactly why Kalanthia wanted to be careful of Lathani after we brought her back from the village for the first time, making sure that she didn¡¯t absorb too many of the Energy Hearts. Noir, unfortunately, still shows no sign of advancing no matter how many beasts he kills or Energy Hearts he absorbs. He has grown in both size and strength, his agility and ease of flight and killing significantly improved, but it¡¯s not magical, merely the result of all the practice he¡¯s had. I¡¯ve felt a camaraderie with him that I haven¡¯t felt with anyone else in this world so far ¨C Noir knows what it¡¯s like to work hard for hours on end and see minor improvements if any. He¡¯s the one non-magical creature in a world of magic. If it wasn¡¯t that he looked so much like a fantasy dragon, he¡¯d do well back on Earth. I¡¯m still trying to find a way of reactivating the internal matrix that he should have, but so far haven¡¯t met with any success. I know it bothers him, though he does his best to dismiss it. But how can it do otherwise when he¡¯s almost always the one to lose the battles with his siblings? Or the last to learn how to do something? The last to achieve something? But he¡¯s smart. He¡¯s had to learn to be ¨C when brute force is out of the question, other options have to be pursued. Honestly, I¡¯m rooting for the little fellow. Or rather, not so little. Not anymore. I hope that they¡¯ll come back soon ¨C I find myself anxious to see how all three of them are doing, though Noir in particular. If Raven¡¯s absence is easily explicable, Kalanthia¡¯s was less so. I sensed not one but two other Guardian beasts entering my territory, she explains, lying comfortably on the ground, her head tilted slightly to indicate exactly where I should scratch her. I have a feeling that the petting has done at least as much to smooth away the recent contretemps between us as the Energy Hearts I gave her. It was unexpected, so I decided I should go to investigate to find out why they were here. ¡°And were they here to challenge you or to visit?¡± Neither, Kalanthia answers with hints of unease. Both seemed to think that I had been in their territories. Fortunately, Unstoppable was willing to listen to reason when I quickly collapsed his domain on him ¨C he wasn¡¯t expecting the boost that Lathani¡¯s Evolution gave me. She gives off a sense of intense smugness that only a feline can express. The other ran away with his tail straight behind him as soon as he felt the strength of my domain. ¡°Well done,¡± I tell her, privately wondering whether Kalanthia will be able to teach me to have a domain which can stop even that massive Evolved cyran in his tracks. And it just shows how much Kalanthia was being held back by lending a ¡®blueprint¡¯ of her internal matrix to Lathani ¨C I remember them meeting on the way to the Festival and seeming pretty evenly matched. ¡°Why did they think you¡¯d been in their territories? Had you?¡± No. I¡¯ve patrolled my own borders to ensure that none can be mistaken about where they start, but I have not sought to expand them. Yet Unstoppable indicated that he¡¯d found my spoor, fresh spoor, in various places in his territory. The other Guardian didn¡¯t wait long enough for me to ask whether the same was true for him. Odd. Very odd. A sense of unease grows within me as I realise that I might know why this happened. Kalanthia nudges my hand and I realise I¡¯ve stopped moving. I quickly begin scratching again, feeling her faint rumble of contentment under my finger tips. You seem very thoughtful. Anything to share? ¡°I¡¯m just wondering whether it might have something to do with the invasion,¡± I say slowly, considering my words carefully, my mind turning over the idea even as I voice it. But they cannot produce my spoor, only their own, Kalanthia points out. ¡°Sure, but they have hands,¡± I offer in rebuttal. ¡±And they¡¯re capable of carrying things on leaves too. What if they collected some of your spoor, and took it deep into the other territories?¡± For what purpose? She seems baffled. I¡¯m not. In fact, I¡¯m more and more convinced of my thoughts as I consider them further. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°To lure you away.¡± But why? I would not have contested their attack on their own folk. She sends me a warning look as if to say that any further accusations on that topic wouldn¡¯t be tolerated. I don¡¯t intend to do so ¨C I try not to repeat mistakes these days. Kalanthia isn¡¯t arguing that it isn¡¯t possible, but she is obviously struggling to see the motivation. Which I understand ¨C it¡¯s not the kind of strategy a predator would use. A human, however¡­. ¡°Because they didn¡¯t know that.¡± She looks at me with her head slightly tilted to one side, a gesture which her daughter has picked up on and uses when she¡¯s confused. ¡°Look at it this way. We went down to the Festival. A samuran village saw you even if you didn¡¯t come into the Festival itself. I¡¯m sure that the news that I had been friendly with a ¡®Great beast¡¯ made the rounds even if I didn¡¯t hear any whispers of it. But maybe Flying-blade or one of the other samurans in her village did. ¡°And so when it came to formulating the plan to attack us, they had to first check out whether the rumours were true. I know that they watched the village for days; I wouldn¡¯t be at all surprised if they investigated this area too. It¡¯s possible that they weren''t able to make it close to the den since there are the vine-stranglers and your own senses, but you go out hunting regularly so they probably saw you at some point. Heck, they might even have got close to the den ¨C we have Warriors coming and going all the time. Could you say for sure if it was an intruder or a newly-Evolved member of the village? I could probably tell if I was paying attention, Kalanthia offered thoughtfully. They would mostly likely be more fearful than those who know of my presence, and a newly-Evolved is relatively easy to spot. Not to mention that their exterior thoughts would probably give them away. But if I wasn¡¯t here or was asleep¡­. ¡°Then it¡¯s possible they scouted even this area,¡± I concluded, feeling suddenly tired at the thought. ¡°So, maybe they saw that there was a Great beast around ¨C living not far from the village. Maybe they thought that you would come to defend the village, or maybe they just didn¡¯t want to take the chances of encountering you when you would definitely know they were invaders ¨C I don¡¯t blame them for that, honestly.¡± Kalanthia gives an amused huff, unselfconsciously proud of her own prowess. ¡°And so they thought of a way to lure you out of your territory.¡± My satisfaction at perhaps seeing through another ploy of my enemies cools as I realise something. ¡°If they knew how powerful Unstoppable is, maybe they were hoping that you¡¯d fight and at least one of you would die.¡± Then the corner of my mouth quirks up slightly. ¡°But they didn''t take into account that you were already familiar with each other. Still, they succeeded in keeping you away from the battle so if it was indeed their plan, it worked.¡± And if my theory is correct and the enemy samurans orchestrated this situation where not only I was out of range until almost too late but that my allies were all absent too, they are significantly more strategically-competent than I thought they were. After all, the only failures in their strategy were that I dealt with the other Tier three beast faster than they thought, and that we were able to get back to the village unexpectedly quickly. And that was only because Windy and I were able to create a means of transport to get most of us back to the village far faster than we could have made it on foot. I¡¯m suddenly hit by a fear that Raven might have been caught in their web somehow. Is that the reason for why he¡¯s taken almost two days longer on this hunting trip than he usually does? I resolve to question my captives in the morning. Perhaps one of them will know something about this. For now, while I¡¯m here, I decide to get Kalanthia¡¯s advice on something else. Pulling the spider-silk wrapped package from where it is tied onto my belt, half-hidden by my armour, I carefully unwrap it. I didn¡¯t want to put it in my Inventory in case the Energy-sapping qualities of the extra-dimensional space caused a problem, but at the same time there was no way I was leaving it anywhere other people could touch it. So I just made sure to wrap it up thoroughly and tie it securely to my person. ¡°Kalanthia,¡± I say, unfolding the last of the spider-silk layers. ¡°Do you have any idea what this is? And what it does?¡± The nunda eyes the black Core that seems to glint even in the low light level of the underground cavern. She sniffs at it and then pulls back sharply, her domain reappearing briefly with a sense of a predator disturbed in the hunt by something that might just become the new prey. This is what you took from the enemy leader? she asks ¨C I¡¯ve already told her my story of exactly what happened while she was away. ¡°It is. It seemed to be central to her intentions of destroying my village and capturing any Pathwalkers she could. So do you know anything about it?¡± It is a thing which should not exist, Kalanthia says darkly. I strongly recommend that you destroy it. My eyebrows rise practically into my browline at her blunt statement and advice. ¡°It¡¯s really that bad?¡± I sense that it links one soul to another. And there is a¡­hunger to it. Something which will never be satisfied. It will prefer to sup at the souls of those Bound to it, but if there are none, it will drink from its wielder instead. I shiver, abruptly glad that I didn¡¯t let those connections touch me earlier. ¡°You can sense all of that? Impressive,¡± I say to Kalanthia, keeping my hands well-away from the object in question. The medium is familiar to me ¨C the Core of an Enlightened beast. Feeling the additions to it is simple enough. You should be capable of doing so with your domain too. I look up at Kalanthia, but she just gazes steadily back at me. She¡¯s not joking. I hesitate, but then decide that I might as well. Despite how horrifying the object actually is, it¡¯s still the first time I¡¯ve come across anything like this. Before I destroy it ¨C because I agree with Kalanthia on that ¨C I would like to at least find out as much about it as I can. Because a beast Core that¡¯s able to be used by anyone to mimic an ability? That¡¯s a pretty powerful tool. As long as I can change it so that it doesn¡¯t require people¡¯s souls to be the fuel, of course. Holding out my hand, I¡¯m careful not to touch the Core even as I once again do my best to extend my soul beyond my skin. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Thirty-One: Back on the Battlefield By the time I finish examining the Core, I have a lot to think about. My thoughts whirl even as I soak luxuriously in my hot bath for a while, automatically absorbing the highest ambient Energy concentration that collects in that room. Although I didn¡¯t dare touch the Core at any time, I was able to confirm a few things. It indeed creates a soul link to the user ¨C that was obvious when it reached out for my soul as soon as I brought my ¡®domain¡¯ within a few centimetres of the Core¡¯s surface. It¡¯s eagerness to reach out with a connection even without anyone holding the handle was a little chilling. Though, repeating the experiment once I got over my instinctive distaste for connections reaching out for me without my instigation, I realised that the threads looked rather similar to the Bonds I create with Dominate. Understandable, I suppose, considering the story that Flower told us. Inspect was both informative and not. Evidently, the Core is not classed as ¡®living¡¯ which is good to know. As a result, I didn¡¯t get any of the usual information I would receive from creatures or plants. At the same time, it was unable to identify whether the Core was dangerous or not, shading it in a bright silver colour that I haven¡¯t seen before. But the feeling I got from the return of the pulse I sent out was that it is powerful and as potentially useful as it is dangerous. Which, honestly, is not much I didn¡¯t already know. I was also able to confirm that the Core has its own power source, and is probably somehow able to replenish it given that it¡¯s still there despite however much time since it was last used. Whether it replenishes it by drawing on its users or it¡¯s able to absorb ambient Energy, I can¡¯t tell. However, it¡¯s evident to my eyes that the slow shifting of movement within is indeed Energy. The Energy is held inside by an interesting matrix of golden lines, almost like an internal matrix except far less complex. The lines are very faint, even to my magic sight, and I think it¡¯s only the familiarity I have with internal matrices that allows me to see it at all. But its presence makes me wonder about something. When I first arrived in this world, I was given several magical stones. One that gave me my Tamer Class and access to the system of improvement thanks to which I¡¯ve advanced to the point I have. Another gave me my Lay-on-Hands Skill. Several others gave me knowledge about a variety of concepts which have helped me survive this long. Obviously, when I absorbed those stones, I didn¡¯t have access to the same senses as I do now. I couldn¡¯t examine them with my magical sight, nor had I any idea about matrices, internal or otherwise. But I now wonder whether if I had, I¡¯d see any similarities to this Core that¡¯s now lying in the corner of the room, away from where I might accidentally brush against it when getting out of my bath. Even if I did, it¡¯s wrapped again in silk so hopefully it wouldn¡¯t do anything to me even if I touched it. The memories I received all that time ago about the System, and was fortunately able to preserve thanks to my increased Intelligence stat, don¡¯t carry much information about Skill or Class stones. They indicate that they exist ¨C which I already knew from the fact that I¡¯d held examples in my hands ¨C and that they are an imprint of the original Class or Skill from an experienced user. A Master, in fact, at the very least. This Core is far rougher than any in my memories ¨C both from the stone and of my own experience ¨C and it seems to have a slightly different function, but I can¡¯t help thinking that maybe I can learn something from it which will enable my village to progress, even in my absence. After all, I now have three Skills in the Master ranks. And a nunda friend who ¨C if I bribe her enough to forgive my rudeness earlier ¨C might be willing to help me learn how to print my internal matrix on something. That thought makes me pause. Kalanthia did imprint her blueprint on Lathani, but it led to significant implications for herself and her capabilities. To the tune of one of her Skills being reduced by ninety percent, the only ways of regaining it being Lathani Evolving or dying. It¡¯s a sobering thought. After all, my three Skills at Master are only there because I use them so frequently. Dominate, Energy Manipulation, and Flesh-Shaping are really the backbone of my capabilities. Losing access to one or having it severely impacted could be a disaster for me ¨C and for all those who depend on me. But at the same time, having a Skill which can be used by anyone who holds the Core¡­that¡¯s something which doesn¡¯t exist in my memories of Nicholas¡¯ world, so whether it¡¯s something they don¡¯t do or simply something not included in the stone, I don¡¯t know. Or perhaps it¡¯s that others have tried and discovered that the attempt is too dangerous ¨C for the creator or user. Or both. I¡¯ll have to be careful about it, I decide. I have a feeling that destroying the Core will be easy enough; I can probably just crush it to pieces and be done with it. I doubt that the delicate matrix held within the Core would continue to exist when it¡¯s in shards. But whether I want to do that immediately is another question. I¡¯m wary about using it ¨C the story about the souls being sucked out of those Bound by the Core is chilling. But at the same time, maybe I could learn something about its construction before destroying it. I decide to head to bed and consider all of this in the morning. Stepping out of the bath and onto the soft hide that covers the cold stone floor, I take a moment to dry myself. Magic makes life so much easier. Instead of needing a towel, I just focus on infusing the water on my skin and puddling around my feet with my magic. Water-Shaping then makes it easy to pull away a ball of liquid from my body and the floor, drying me better than the softest, most absorbent towel ever. The water returns into the bath and I pull the fire magic out of it to retrieve the heat. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Aingeal isn¡¯t with me so I can¡¯t feed it the magic. Instead, I absorb it myself, sensing that I lose something in the transfer, but at least regaining a portion of what I committed to heating my bath. I don¡¯t bemoan not having Aingeal around, though, considering where it is right now. The fire elemental decided to stay with Happy in the forge ¨C I think the samuran is planning on taking out her feelings about Flicks¡¯ death on some poor lumps of metal and she needs Aingeal to help control the temperature of the fire. I hope that she doesn¡¯t keep the whole village awake, but I wouldn¡¯t blame her if she did. The two of them were close friends due to Flicks having been one of her apprentices before Happy sent the Unevolved to me when he proved to be more interested in fire than smithing. After Flicks Evolved to become Fire-whisperer, she returned to Happy, the two of them working and experimenting together. Before her life was cut short by an invading band of samurans. Happy may even have seen her die. I breathe in and then out deeply and slowly, not wanting to undo all the good that my bath has granted me in relaxation after the long and fraught day. Two fights, too many deaths, and a headache in terms of the two Pathwalkers who belong to the red tribe leader¡¯s village rather than Flying-blade¡¯s. I decide to sleep in this room even if I have a room of my own ¨C the trickling of the water is soothing, and it¡¯s one of the best spaces for Energy in my den, apart from next to the Pure Energy stream itself. It¡¯s a little small and confined for my tastes, but at least I don¡¯t need to worry about suffocation ¨C the small ventilation holes I built into the structure when working with Kalanthia to create the den ensure a steady supply of air while not letting too much Energy out. Pulling out my mattress, I lay it on the ground. I¡¯m tempted to call for Bastet ¨C see if she wants to cuddle up to me while I sleep. I have to admit that I¡¯ve got used to sleeping with at least one of my Bound nearby all the time. I dismiss the idea after a moment, though, eyeing the Core tucked into the corner of the room. Even wrapped in silk, it seems to have a malevolent presence ¨C or perhaps that¡¯s just my imagination. Either way, I don¡¯t want to risk one of them to accidentally come into contact with it. Even when I¡¯m lying down, I find my brain refuses to shut down. Images of my villagers lying dead on the ground intrude without my permission. Blood soaking into the earth, entrails exposed to the air, throats slashed, scales cut or crushed, bones broken¡­. My people didn¡¯t die easily or cleanly. They weren¡¯t animals led to the slaughter, but warriors, whether Evolved or not. They fought for their home; for their people. And they made their enemies pay for their victory, pay for every metre of the village they advanced. Even if that meant that their own deaths were far harder than they might have been. I suddenly realise, in the dark of the room, even the torch extinguished, that I¡¯ve been unconsciously focussing on the puzzle of the Core for a reason: distraction. And now that that target of my focus has been put aside, my thoughts circle me like hounds, each lunging in for an attack when my back is turned. Despite my exhaustion, sleep takes a long time to come. ***** I¡¯m back on the battlefield. My people are dying around me, the enemy Warriors and Pathwalkers we face are far too strong for me. I grip my spear and yell encouragement, my voice sounding like it¡¯s coming from underwater. My people call back at me, sounds emerging from their throats which I¡¯ve never heard before, yet don¡¯t question. We run towards the enemy, our weapons held before us, but roots rip up through the ground, impaling those around me. I see River, a root emerging from her eye socket, her eye hanging by its stalk. Shrieks too, fixed in place by roots wound around his legs ¨C before they grow sideways and pull him in two, blood showering them and making them grow ever faster. Everywhere I look, I see people I recognise as members of my village dead or dying, torn apart before they can even face those attacking them. Catch is ahead of me, his spear held in a strong grip. I try to yell a warning but my voice won¡¯t cooperate. A massive root shoots up at him from below, throwing him into the air. He never returns to the earth ¨C the root grows through him and holds him lifted in the air, a gruesome decoration on a mockery of a Christmas tree. Bastet is suddenly in front of me, Lathani at her side. My eyes widening in fear, I know what¡¯s about to happen. Screaming, I stumble forwards, but my steps feel like I¡¯m moving through mud and they don¡¯t seem to hear my voice. A faceless samuran steps forwards. And then I realise that she¡¯s not faceless ¨C it¡¯s Flying-blade! With a mocking sneer on her face, her mouth twisting in ways that I¡¯ve never seen a samuran capable of before now, she flicks her hands towards my companions. Abruptly, spears zoom in from all angles, piercing my friends before they can take a single step more ¨C or before I can save them. Then Flying-blade lifts a familiar object into the air ¨C the black Core. I feel paralysed with terror. She¡¯s going to rip them away from me, turn them against me. I just know it. ¡°You can save them, you know,¡± a quiet voice says in my ear, almost whispering. ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± I groan. ¡°I can¡¯t save anyone.¡± ¡°Yes you can. When they¡¯re all yours, no one will be able to hurt those who are precious to you.¡± I turn my head but I see no one. Instead, I suddenly realise that there¡¯s something in my hand which wasn¡¯t there before. The Core, held by the handle of woven roots that wrap around it. I look back at Flying-blade ¨C she¡¯s not holding the Core any more. Instead, she¡¯s moving almost in slow motion, spears lifted in the air by her telekinesis and ready to slam into Lathani and Bastets¡¯ heads. And then I suddenly realise something that I should have noticed before. Too many odd things that I hadn¡¯t questioned. Like Flying-blade¡¯s presence when I know I killed her. Or the fact that I haven¡¯t even considered using magic. ¡°I¡¯m dreaming aren¡¯t I?¡± I question the air. Everything goes quiet, the movement around me slowing to almost a standstill. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re dreaming,¡± that voice says again. ¡°So win your victory, convert your opponents into your allies, and take back your destiny. For what appears in dreams will appear in reality too.¡± I frown at that, a sudden sense of foreboding clawing at me. After my experience in the last few days, I know better than to dismiss that. Something isn¡¯t right here, and it¡¯s not just the gruesome corpses fading in and out of existence. I look around me carefully but see no signs of whoever has been speaking. ¡°Show yourself!¡± I order the voice. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Thirty-Two: Suffer the Doom ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you rather take control of your destiny and ensure that none of these will ever hurt you again?¡± The voice tempts me, but I push it away. I¡¯m feeling clearer-minded than I¡¯ve been since this battle started. Except it isn¡¯t really a battle, is it? This is a dream, a figment of my imagination. Prompted by my experiences today, no doubt, but no more than that. Although I don¡¯t make a habit of lucid dreaming, this isn¡¯t my first time doing it either. And I know that whatever I can convince myself is true will be reflected in my surroundings. Looking up at the sky which is sure to be blue, I focus on remembering that River, Catch, Shrieks, Bastet, and Lathani are all fine and probably sleeping. As is everyone else. Flying-blade is dead ¨C I remember forcing a spike to grow in her brain, her Bond rendering her helpless against me. As for the other faceless samurans around her, they¡¯re either captured or dead. None are left to threaten me. ¡°But that isn¡¯t true, is it?¡± the voice asks with a hint of bitterness. ¡°There are always those who threaten us.¡± I look down, finding myself still in the middle of my village, but now it looks like it did before I left with my Bound to help the small red village, my philanthropic desires leading to horror for my own people. I flinch back as bodies start reappearing on the ground, unnoticed by any of the living samurans around. I school my thoughts ¨C I mustn¡¯t forget that this is a dream and my thoughts shape my reality. Here, at least. ¡°And in the other world too. I sense that you have a similar gift to me. Which makes your continued reluctance all the more surprising.¡± The musing tone intensifies that feeling of the world being slightly askew. After all, if this is my dream, and I am in control of all of it¡­who the hell is speaking to me? ¡°Show yourself,¡± I order, focussing on my deep desire for the source of the voice to appear. Turning a slow circle, I see no one. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± the voice whispers right into my ear. I jerk away, turning to look at its source. There, I find an unfamiliar Pathwalker standing close enough that she could have bitten a hole in my throat while barely even moving her jaws. A moment later, there¡¯s a couple of metres of distance between us, my desire to be away from her reflected in my dream. I keep my eyes fixed on her, determined not to lose sight of the Pathwalker now that I¡¯ve got her to appear. Around me, the world goes blurry, my lack of attention meaning that it ceases to be. But I don¡¯t care too much about that ¨C I have a feeling that the Pathwalker before me is far more real than anything else. I¡¯m not taking my eyes off her. She¡¯s even shorter and more delicate than normal for a Pathwalker. That only makes me warier ¨C I know that when samurans Evolve, they have to balance physical strength and magical resources. That this one is so small indicates that she¡¯s probably got a lot more in magical reserves than most. And that shouldn¡¯t be an issue in my own dream except for one thing ¨C I¡¯ve never seen this Pathwalker before and the way she¡¯s been behaving indicates that she¡¯s not a product of my imagination either. Which means that somehow she¡¯s also able to affect my dream. ¡°Who are you?¡± I demand. Because even if she isn¡¯t a product of my imagination, she¡¯s still in my dream. And that means her environment is under my control. As I demonstrate by growing stone around her body far more quickly and easily than I could ever do in real life. She doesn¡¯t dodge, doesn¡¯t even look concerned. She just tilts her head to one side, amusement flashing through her spikes. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± She looks pointedly at me. No, not at me, I realise as I follow her gaze. At the Core which I realise is still in my hand. I curse, trying to drop the thing. But it won¡¯t budge, like it¡¯s stuck to my hand with glue. Panic starts to rise within me, my dream reflecting my emotions as it destabilises, flashes of red blood- and torn flesh intruding once more. Off to the side, I see Flying-blade plunging a massive tree-like spear right into Lathani and I have to quickly look away and remind myself that it¡¯s not real. Realising that the only way to move forward is to calm myself to the point that my dream resettles, I breathe deeply. How that works in a dream, I don¡¯t know ¨C maybe my body is actually breathing deeply, or perhaps it¡¯s just a psychosomatic technique. Either way, I feel like it helps. The Core is still fixed to my hand, which, while disturbing, tells me something that I probably should have already worked out: this isn¡¯t a normal dream, not even a normal lucid dream. And the Core is at the centre of it all. I¡¯m tempted to wake myself up ¨C I sense that I can. But I¡¯m now determined to get to the bottom of all of this. ¡°Are you the last user of the Core?¡± I ask, testing the waters. The Pathwalker just looks even more amused, still completely unbothered by the unfashionable dress of granite she¡¯s still wearing, the brief instability of my dream not removing that, thankfully. Though whether it will actually help in any way is still in question. ¡°No.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°Then are you the creator of the Core? The Pathwalker who went mad with power a long time ago and tried to conquer all her people?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t go mad with power!¡± she hisses, anger flashing through her spikes. ¡°Then you are her?¡± I pounce on her implicit admission. ¡°No,¡± she responds. Then, as she sees the look I¡¯m giving her, she sighs and continues. ¡°I am but a memory of her. The real Soul-binder died long ago. I am the last remnant, trapped within the Core you hold.¡± I feel suddenly more than a little icky. So the Core isn¡¯t just a container of a portion of a Skill matrix; it¡¯s actually a part of someone? And my name isn¡¯t even Harry, I remark inanely to myself as a distraction from the very idea which sends revulsion through me. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m reacting to it so strongly, but something about the idea just strikes me as¡­.wrong. Stolen story; please report. And now I¡¯m suddenly hoping that this Core can¡¯t act in the same way as the diary a certain boy wizard stabbed with a fang. I could generate extremely potent venom and stab the Core myself if necessary, but not if I somehow get possessed. But for now I need more information. And I know just how to approach that since I doubt that this cagey soul remnant of a long-dead Pathwalker will just answer questions directly. ¡°So, if you didn¡¯t go mad with power, what happened?¡± Everyone likes to talk about themselves, right? Especially if they feel like they¡¯ve been misunderstood. And this Pathwalker practically screams that particular quality. ¡°I was on a quest! To save everyone.¡± True to my predictions, she¡¯s more than eager to ¡®set the record straight¡¯. ¡°How did you want to save everyone? And save them from what?¡± ¡°From themselves!¡± she practically screams. It¡¯s odd that her sounds are actually coming out as words rather than the usual grunts and clicks. I put it down to this being a dream. ¡°Everyone was so busy trying to get to the top of the pile, become the strongest in their group, that no one was willing to help each other. I went from being the lowest ranking Unevolved to the lowest ranking Evolved, despite the fact that I had a gift so much stronger than my sisters, only because I was unable to use it in combat. Our system was broken¡­and I wanted to fix it.¡± ¡°What was your gift?¡± I reply, though I admit to being slightly disturbed at how her words hint at a thought process not all that dissimilar to my own. The Pathwalker hesitates for a moment, eying me. ¡°Can you not guess?¡± ¡°Well,¡± I prevaricate, my thoughts racing. ¡°From your name, and from what history says of you, you were able to bind the souls of your opponents, something like my own talents as a Tamer. And I know that ranking battles tend to limit tamers unfairly. But even then they¡¯re able to bring at least one of their companions with them.¡± ¡°Not in my time,¡± she replies bitterly, her features twisting in a way that samurans aren¡¯t usually capable of. ¡°Oh,¡± I reply intelligently. Then my eyes narrow. ¡°Wait. Was it because of you that tamers started being able to bring some of their Bound into the fight?¡± Because they didn¡¯t want another disaster in the making? ¡°Perhaps. But even the one time I was allowed to bring my spirits into the fight after begging and pleading for far too long, it did me no good,¡± she confides with that same bitterness in her voice and spikes. ¡°Before I became Enlightened, I was only able to control free spirits, and weak ones at that. They could do little to help me in a ranking fight. Their information capacity was useless when I could already see my opponent clearly; their physical strength was limited. Perhaps I could trip one of my sisters or snag their footing for a moment, but without an ability to force them to concede, I still lost in the end.¡± I frown. What she¡¯s saying here is in juxtaposition with what I know about the Pathwalker who used to be in control of my village ¨C before River killed her. Shaman was also a controller of spirits, as far as I know, and more ¨C a ritualist if her sacrifice of the hatchlings was anything to go by. Was the latter the reason why she managed to win enough battles to become leader? And stay as leader for several years? Had her rituals increased the power of the spirits under her command? Certainly, from River¡¯s description of that final fight, she was able to use the spirits to hold River in place, despite River being a physically more powerful Unevolved at the time. Or was this Pathwalker just not imaginative enough to realise how she could use her spirits to best effect? It¡¯s probably irrelevant ¨C this spirit is long dead, after all. Unless the Core can act as a sort of soul-jar, that is. Or a lich¡¯s phylactery. I quickly move my thoughts away from that, for fear that my dream will respond to them. ¡°So when you Evolved a second time, you found yourself able to control the spirits of the living?¡± I check, seeing a brief confirmation flash through Soul-binder¡¯s spikes. ¡°Much like you,¡± she comments, her eyes glittering. I wince a little at the hit, accurate as it might be. ¡°And somehow you found a way of embedding that ability into a beast Core?¡± I ask, cutting to the heart of what I¡¯m really interested in. ¡°Was putting a bit of soul into it intentional or accidental?¡± The Pathwalker looks at me for a long moment before responding. I note flashes of colour in her spikes indicating surprise and hints that she might be impressed with my guess. ¡°The first time was accidental. But when I found that it was necessary for the ability to be used by others, I did it intentionally. It was not a problem ¨C souls grow back.¡± That, I already knew, having had to heal my own soul before. Which makes me wonder something ¨C did Kalanthia put a bit of her soul into Lathani when she lent her the ¡®blueprint¡¯? Is that why she suffered such massive reductions to her abilities and resource pools until Lathani Evolved and gave it back with interest? I also have to question how often Soul-binder did it ¨C from what I can tell, unless the soul is actively healed, it will take a long time to replenish. But I keep those questions to myself. ¡°Impressive,¡± I say to her genuinely and see a hint of pride enter her spikes. ¡°I hear that it tended to drain those Bound to it until they were lifeless husks, though. Was that part of your original ability?¡± Soul-binder looks at me steadily. ¡°It was not.¡± I frown at her short answer, my mind ticking over what I already know to try to work out what lies behind it. Why would an ability have a draining effect when used through a Core when not used by the original Pathwalker? Suddenly, the answer strikes me. Energy. All my Skills use some form of Energy, whether mana or stamina. I don¡¯t doubt that there are Skills which use health too. What if this, divorced from the Pathwalker who developed it, is one of them? I know from my own experience that Willpower is strongly linked to the soul ¨C and is also the determiner for health regeneration, which implies that it¡¯s also strongly linked to health. What if when Soul-binder used her ability, it just used mana, but when others used it, it took their health instead? I¡¯ll need to be aware of that if I try copying this process in any way ¨C I don¡¯t want to create more artifacts which kill the people who use it. And the fact that this samuran obviously knew what the cost was to her artifacts and yet continued using them and even making more doesn¡¯t speak well of her character. ¡°So, in short, you wanted to make things better for samurans who weren¡¯t blessed with combat-capable gifts, yet you ended up killing far more than you perhaps intended, both allies and enemies,¡± I remark, pinning her with a hard look. ¡°And you say you didn¡¯t go mad from power.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± she protests, though after everything I¡¯ve learned it feels weak. ¡°I wanted to change things! The strongest sets the rules so I needed to be the strongest.¡± ¡°Ruling over a battlefield of blood and tears,¡± I tell her bitterly, the dream around us dissolving into flashes of the battles I was in today ¨C and the blood I saw spilled. ¡°Perhaps you can help me. With your ability and mine combined, we will be unstoppable. I sense that you are a strong Pathwalker. You will not suffer the doom that too many of my people did. And do not tell me you do not also desire change, for the weak to be given the opportunity to become strong.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t deny it,¡± I say carefully. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to just go out and kill others just because they disagree with me. If they attack me or mine, I¡¯ll fight back. But I¡¯m not taking the fight to them. Not to those who have never done anything to me.¡± ¡°You say that now, but you don¡¯t know how far they will push you,¡± she tells me with a sad expression. ¡°Just remember, I am here to help you ¨C when you¡¯re ready.¡± With those vaguely ominous words, I¡¯m thrust back into the waking world, waking up with a gasp. I summon a small ball of fire into my left hand to reveal the familiar sights of my bathroom-bedroom. Somehow, my restlessness has moved me off the mattress completely, and clear over to the other side of the room. I feel something clenched tightly in my right hand. I look down and ice grips my heart even as it confirms what I unconsciously already knew. It¡¯s the black Core. Book Six: Competition - Chapter Thirty-Three: I Regret That I Was Not Here I drop the thing like it¡¯s a snake, eyeing the malevolently glinting black object with wariness. I¡¯m sure that it was in the corner when I went to sleep ¨C more than a metre away. Yet somehow it got to my hand? Creepy as hell. Quickly activating my magic sight, I see connections between the stone and me only now starting to pull away. I shudder with revulsion, suddenly feeling like I need another bath. Thinking about that thing extending tendrils into me¡­? Not caring any more about the potential consequences, I use a rag to shield my skin while I pick the Core up between my thumb and forefinger and drop it into my Inventory. Considering that I¡¯ve already been clutching it for who knows how long, I doubt that it¡¯s going to do any more damage than it already has and I want the thing gone. If it can travel across the room to my hand, or somehow compel me from a distance to pick it up, it¡¯s not something I want anywhere near me ¨C or my Bound. I don¡¯t even want to risk hitting it with a rock in case the shards somehow manage to stab me. If it¡¯s ruined by being put in my Inventory, I won¡¯t cry over it. For a moment I wonder if Flying-blade was being affected by the Core ¨C were her actions truly her own? I try to push the doubt away ¨C she¡¯s dead all the same. And besides, she was antagonistic to me even at the Festival before she found the Core. At worst, it prompted her to attack where maybe she wouldn¡¯t have, but she would have remained an enemy nonetheless. Though what if the other samurans who followed her were being affected in some way? Either intentionally or unintentionally? I shiver at the thought. Before I went to sleep, I would have said that I doubted any influencing would happen accidentally since the Core only put tendrils out when I held its woven handle. But now¡­. I decide that the captured samurans¡¯ future actions will show me whether I¡¯m being unjustifiably paranoid, or not. For now, though, I drop into my Core space, determined to discover if it did anything to me while I was connected to it. By the time morning comes around, I¡¯ve gone over my internal matrix with a fine-toothed comb. Relief runs through me as I have found no signs of alterations, nor any hint of a Bond or something like that being formed. I can¡¯t be certain that it hasn¡¯t done anything ¨C I¡¯m no expert in soul-magic. But when I dropped into my Challenge space, I couldn¡¯t see any signs of anything there either. The only thing I found ¨C and healed ¨C were the beginnings of corrosion to the tips of my absorption channels. That was nothing to do with Soul-binder¡¯s artifact, though ¨C I know it¡¯s from spending too many hours in this room. Although it¡¯s only half the density of Energy as it would be next to the Pure Energy stream, it¡¯s still too dense for me to withstand for an elongated period. And I did spend a while soaking in my bath before I even went to sleep. At least I¡¯ve earned a good amount of Energy towards my next level, though. I¡¯ve decided that once I get to level twenty-six, I¡¯ll work on increasing the length of the time the portal will be open. With only sixty days to go, I need to really turn my attention towards preparations to leave. Top among my priorities is making sure that the village is in a good place to leave behind ¨C and dealing with the repercussions of yesterday¡¯s attack is a part of that. I sigh, push myself upright and stretch, letting out a hiss of satisfaction as the tension in my muscles releases. Tidying up my mattress, I take a good drink of the fresh water coming in from the underground spring. Then, pushing the door open, I go to find the rest of my Bound. Outside it¡¯s barely dawn, the sun¡¯s rays beginning to light up the sky above my head even as the ground remains dark. Yet I¡¯m not the only one awake ¨C the three raptorcats and Lathani come to join me as I sit down. I pull out a carcass from my Inventory for my companions to enjoy, River, Fenrir, and Catch soon coming to join us. As we eat breakfast, I watch the play of colours across the sky. So familiar to a dawn on Earth, yet still completely alien: the increasing light reveals the massive trees which never existed on my home world; the dawn is heralded by calls of creatures which have greeted me every morning I¡¯ve been on this world, and never before then. My attention is drawn to a massive body silhouetted against the brightening sky, wings stretched out as if to embrace the dawn. Raven is followed by his three children, the baby alcaorises not so little anymore, though Noir is only half the size of his siblings even now. Relief goes through me at seeing that nothing has happened to them. Whether or not their extended absence was also the hand of Flying-blade at work, they¡¯re back now. ¡®Raven!¡¯ I call and the massive shape above me banks very slightly. ¡®Would you come down here, please?¡¯ The adult alcaoris banks properly, but instead of descending, he starts gliding in a circle over the den. ¡®I am tired. My children are tired. What do you want?¡¯ he demands grumpily. His children have a completely different reaction. Letting out high cries which sound like an eagle on the hunt, they dive down towards me, flaring their wings at the last moment to pull up and drop lightly to the ground. Daphne and Ivor jockey with each other over who should be first to greet me. While they¡¯re arguing, nipping and buffeting each other, Noir sneaks in past them and presses himself against me. ¡°Hi little guy,¡± I say affectionately, scratching his face behind his eye-ridges and under his chin. He almost vibrates in pleasure, letting out an adorable faint squeak. Daphne and Ivor, realising that their sibling has beaten them to the chase, his small size giving him an edge of speed, let out protesting squawks and leave off arguing with each other to hurry over to me. Daphne hisses at Noir, using her greater size to push him away from me, despite his protests. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Daphne,¡± I reprimand sternly. ¡°Be nice to your brother.¡± I push her away from Noir, my eyebrows lifting as I feel her strength. She¡¯s clearly made progress over the last few days ¨C it won¡¯t be long before she¡¯s stronger than I am. The female alcaoris chirps in protest, dipping her head and side-eyeing me with her neck arched. Plaintive apology comes over the Bond from her and she grudgingly gives way so that her smallest brother can still press against me. I scratch her in her favourite spot at the base of her head in reward. Ivor nudges at me demandingly, so I focus for a moment and manifest a third arm made of earth to scratch at him. He grumbles a little in response, the Bond making it clear that he¡¯d rather have my real hand scratching him, but subsides when I remind him wordlessly that he could have no scratches if he prefers. And since I¡¯ve only managed to do this with earth and fire, I don¡¯t have much choice since I don¡¯t want to singe his scales. I do add a touch of fire to the third arm of combined rock and soil, though, giving it a little bit of warmth. Ivor sighs in pleasure at the change. A massive gust of air blows my hair back as Raven lands not far from where I¡¯m surrounded by his offspring. ¡®Apparently my hatchlings have decided for me,¡¯ he sighs resignedly. ¡®Was there a reason you hailed us when we are only just returning from an exhausting hunt?¡¯ ¡°I mostly wanted to check that you were all fine, and that the hunt wasn¡¯t anything you weren¡¯t expecting.¡± Raven eyes me curiously. ¡®That is an odd thing to ask. Many hunts do not go as expected.¡¯ ¡°I know, but what I mean is that it wasn¡¯t out of the ordinarily¡­unexpected.¡± I give a wry smile at my inability to put things into words. But I don¡¯t want to risk putting ideas into his head about it potentially having been rigged if it wasn¡¯t. Flying-blade might not necessarily have known about Raven since I don¡¯t usually visit him over-ground but tend to take the route beside the Pure Energy stream. Less because I¡¯m trying to avoid demonstrating our association, and more because it¡¯s a far shorter distance. ¡®It was a difficult hunt, both in finding our prey to begin with, and then in taking it down as I wanted my hatchlings to do the work. But not unusually so.¡¯ Raven evidently decides to oblige my oddness. ¡°Well, good,¡± I tell him with even more relief. I then relate what¡¯s been happening in his absence. ¡®It appears that you have had an exciting time,¡¯ he observes when I¡¯m finished. I laugh humorlessly. ¡°That¡¯s one way of putting it,¡± I respond, my mind replaying images of the village when we first arrived with all its destruction and death. ¡°Would you have helped if you¡¯d been here?¡± I can¡¯t stop the question from slipping out. The alcaoris looks at me levelly. ¡®You have helped my hatchlings beyond what I thought would be possible. Once so deformed that my brothers denied them access to the hatching grounds, they are now growing and developing the way hatchlings should. Two of them, anyway. And the third is still alive, against all odds. Yes, if what you hold dear to you is threatened, I would defend it. I regret that I was not here at the time. I did not know you were gone.¡¯ Warmth spills inside me, affection that I hold for Raven¡¯s three children expanding to include the alcaoris who once was an enemy I feared would be our end. ¡°Thanks,¡± I say, my voice thick. I avoid his gaze and focus on giving the three young alcaorises the best scratches I can. I even add a little more heat and softness into my earthen arm to more closely mimic my flesh fingers, even if that takes more concentration. I regret approaching Kalanthia the way I did yesterday, for all that I had good reasons to ask the question. If I hadn¡¯t started firing accusations at her, would she have reacted like this? After all, she and I have far more history than I have with Raven. The only reason I felt safe enough to be angry at her, I realise. That she didn¡¯t strike me down for it is probably her own declaration of affection. Then I frown to myself. Didn¡¯t I tell Raven that we were going? I¡¯m sure that I intended to do so and I know I told Kalanthia¡­but perhaps with everything that we needed to do to prepare, it slipped my mind. Regret settles cold inside me. If only I¡¯d remembered¡­! But that way lies madness ¨C and I was warned at the end of the festival not to pick up old burdens once more. Blaming myself for things I can¡¯t change is definitely an old burden. ¡°Alright,¡± I sigh once I¡¯ve finished battling with my emotions. ¡°It¡¯s good to hear that you¡¯re all fine. I guess we¡¯d better go and see how things are in the village.¡± I pull away from the hatchlings and dematerialise my third arm. The alcaorises chirp in protest. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, guys, but I have to go.¡± The chirps increase in volume from Ivor and Daphne, but Noir nudges me with his head and lifts it so he can look me directly in the eyes. He pushes an impression over the Bond. I frown. ¡°You want to come with me?¡± Noir nods definitely in a very human gesture that he must have picked up from me. Daphne and Ivor, suddenly paying attention, start clamouring too for the same thing. I look at Raven. He just appears tired. After a long moment of thought during which Daphne starts chirping at him too, followed swiftly by Ivor and then Noir, he answers. ¡®I wish to sleep and they are clearly not nearly as tired as I am. If they want to join you, I will permit it,¡¯ he agrees. The hatchlings begin crying in triumph, the sound loud enough to make my ears hurt. I glare at them until they quieten down, their outside appearances subdued. I know better, though ¨C I¡¯ve got Bonds with them that reveal the glee and excitement bubbling inside them. Though it¡¯s not the first time they¡¯ve visited the village, I can probably count the number of times they have done so on one hand. Maybe taking hatchlings into the village when I¡¯ve just absorbed a whole load of new Pathwalkers and Warriors ¨C not all of whom are Bound ¨C isn¡¯t the best of ideas, but they can take care of themselves. They¡¯ve grown massively ¨C from the size of greyhounds, they¡¯re now the sizes of a pony in Noir¡¯s case, and horses for Daphne and Ivor. Equipped with sharp teeth, claws, and able to leap into the air at a moment¡¯s notice, they should be fine against the Warriors if any attempt to hurt them. ¡°Alright, you can come with us,¡± I tell them, wincing at the increased volume that earns me. ¡°As long as you¡¯re careful and stick close to me. Not everyone there will be friendly to you, OK?¡± Daphne gives me the impression that my warning has mostly gone in one ear and out the other, but Ivor and Noir both send me solemn assurance that they have paid close attention. Looks like we¡¯ve got three young alcaorises along for the ride.