ã€ŠScientific Sorcery : Beware of Kittens!ã€‹


 1 Reject Heroism, Become a Witch

    Cold. Unbearable cold.

    Stinging numbness struck my every nerve, each limb throbbing as if torched by invisible flames. Icy water, dark, thick and viscous, swirled around me in a relentless dance, seeking to claim me for its own.

    I swam upwards, fighting the current.

    For a dream, this was the exceptionally unpleasant kind.

    I slammed against the ceiling of ice above me with my entire body, silently banging against it with my fists. It didn''t give, didn¡¯t crack.

    Squinting through the murky depths with stinging eyes, I noted the direction of the current and swam perpendicular to it, aiming for the lightest section of the ice, praying that my instincts were right.

    My knee suddenly collided with the submerged rocks. I¡¯ve made a miscalculation, this was the shore and the ice was likely thicker here, even harder to break through! I pressed on with the determination of my last seconds of life, reaching a lighter section of the ice as the space between the ground below and the ice overhead gradually diminished.

    The pain became more intense, my body begging for oxygen. No dream could be this realistic, this agonizing.

    Summoning every ounce of remaining strength, I pushed my body against the ground, leveraging my entire frame against the slippery rocks and roots beneath me. Colourful spots danced in my eyes from the strain as I gritted my teeth, refusing this to be my end, kicking at the ice with my feet.

    The ice suddenly gave way with a resounding crack. I kicked against it again and again, until it shattered and then pulled myself out of the icy river, inhaling precious air and feeling completely drained.

    It was the dead of winter or perhaps late autumn. Large snowflakes fluttered from a distant, gray sky wrapped with a blanket of thick clouds. My entire body trembled from shock, pain and cold.

    As I dredged water from my lungs on the ice-covered ground, a new realization took hold¨Cthis was not my body.

    My new limbs were thin and pallid. I quickly pulled off the wet clothes that clung to my body. The crude attire, tattered and soaked, looked like it came from a long-forgotten age, with a distinctly Scandinavian or perhaps Slavic look. The knowledge that I had somehow lost my muscles and height was a bitter pill to swallow.

    What cruel, improbable event had conspired to cast me into the frigid embrace of this icy river, to awaken in the form of a bruised, skinny, waterlogged¡­ teenage boy?

    A leather rope featuring a half broken blue agate amulet with a drawing of what looked like a girl with feathers sticking from her hair dangled from my chest. As I pulled my shirt off, the rope holding the gem frayed apart and the agate piece twinkled down right into the hole in the ice, vanishing in the river before my trembling fingers could catch it.

    I also saw that a large, red, crude drawing of intersecting triangles glittered in my chest, slowly flaking off me as I moved. The questionable hexagram and the now lost agate amulet were the least of my worries.

    Shivering violently, I sought to stave off the relentless advance of hypothermia, my thoughts racing with my chattering teeth. Desperation lent urgency to my actions as I wrung the icy water from my clothes.

    In a few moments, I dressed myself once again in the damp fabric and leather boots, aware of the scant protection they offered against the biting chill that hung in the air. I needed to find warmth and shelter as soon as possible.

    I examined the snow-laden landscape stretching before me. Barren trees flanking the water¡¯s edge stood like lonely sentinels, their gnarled branches reaching skyward. In the distance, smoke rose from the remnants of what looked like a ruined village.

    Smoke meant fire and fire meant warmth. I forced my aching body to push towards the village even as it begged me to lie down and to embrace the lulling cold.

    With faltering steps, I made my way to the smoldering ruins. As I came nearer, the acrid stench of burnt something filled my nostrils.

    I definitely wasn¡¯t in Kansas anymore.

    As I walked around the buildings, peering through the windows, I saw nothing but ashes.

    Despite the grim view, I was drawn to the warmth that radiated from the burning buildings. As I approached, I noticed a peculiar oddity - the flames seemed to dance with an unnatural hue, their vibrant colors twisting and turning from white to emerald to a brilliant blue.

    I mentally catalogued the various chemicals capable of altering the color of fire: copper compounds produced blues and greens, while strontium and lithium compounds yielded reds and pinks.

    Was it possible a specific chemical catalyst had been introduced to the fire, causing this otherworldly appearance?

    I exhaled, allowing the heat to seep into my trembling body, pondering the enigma of the oddly tinted flames. The warmth, though a temporary relief from the chill, served as a stark reminder of my precarious situation. I needed to find answers, and perhaps more importantly - permanent shelter.

    As I stepped closer to the flames, I observed another odd phenomenon: the fire seemed to warp and bend, unnaturally ripple ever so slightly in my direction with radial waves, as though I were a magnet and the flames were metallic filings tracing the invisible lines of magnetic force.

    What the hell?

    I observed the uncanny fire that appeared to reach out for me, its tendrils straining to nip my ankles. Retreating a step, I re-evaluated the burning village with newfound wariness.

    It was then that I noticed the flames danced and twisted in radial patterns around the trees scattered near the village, as if in some perverse near-embrace.

    Bewildered, I snipped a fresh, bendy branch from a nearby bush and threw it into the heart of the fire.

    To my astonishment, the flames eagerly engulfed the branch, their tendrils weaving spirals around it like rippling waves before reducing it to ash in mere moments with a blinding flash.

    What the hell? I raked my mind for the rational, scientific explanation of the impossible thing I just witnessed.

    The principle of the combustion triangle stated that fires start more easily and burn more fiercely when supplemental oxygen is available.

    When there is a sufficient supply of oxygen, the flame takes on a blue hue. This occurs because complete combustion generates enough energy to excite and ionize the gas molecules within the flame. Excessive oxygen would explain the blue tint, but not the green.

    In lower gravity, such as on the Moon or in space, the reduced gravity makes the flames become more spherical and spread more evenly in all directions. This is because the hot air does not rise as it does on Earth; instead, the heat disperses more evenly in all directions. The result is a flame that appears as a radial wave spreading outwards from the source, rather than shooting upward.

    I picked up a rock and dropped it. It reached the ground as a rock would on Earth.

    I ripped a small cloth patch from a ragged, colorful banner hanging on a half-broken wall and threw it into the blue fire. It didn''t even bother to ignite.

    What?!

    I blinked at it, waiting for the cloth to burn, yet nothing happened. I felt my mind sliding sideways.

    This was impossible. The sight of non-burning dry cloth defied everything I knew about combustion.

    There were only two answers here¨Ceither I was hallucinating or the world I found myself in operated beyond the rules of my former reality. I preferred the second option as the prospect of unraveling the mystery of the inexplicable behavior of local fire using the scientific method sent a shiver of excitement down my spine.

    "Khrm, khrm," the guttural sound of a throat being cleared resonated from behind me, interrupting my half-bewildered plotting.

    I spun around.

    Right in front of me stood an old woman, draped in furs and leaning heavily upon a gnarled wooden staff. She looked like the perfect embodiment of a witch, or maybe a Nordic shaman, her face obscured by an elk''s antlered skull. Beneath the hollow sockets of the macabre mask, a pair of brilliant blue eyes shined with an unsettling intensity. Her dress appeared to be woven from fragments of animal or perhaps human bones with a tint of green to them as if they were carved from malachite.

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    "Ioan Starfall," the woman boomed. "It seems your family¡¯s sacrifice has worked!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I blinked at her, feeling stupefied. Was my name Ioan? Ah... it must have belonged to the boy whose body I now inhabited.

    "What sacrifice?" I asked. My newfound voice was quite high-pitched. To my surprise, the words leaving my lips were not in English, but in a foreign unfamiliar language. Right, the old woman also wasn''t talking in English.

    ¡°Four hundred and seventeen lives burned to ashes,¡± the woman said as she pulled up her skull-mask, revealing more of her wrinkled face. ¡°So one may live and become strong.¡±

    With a gnarled finger, featuring a grimy, long fingernail, she gestured towards the frozen river.

    "Who are you?" I demanded.

    "I am Yaga Grandhilda," she continued, "the witch of the Shalish wood, my domain about nine thousand steps from here. It was I who foresaw the doom of this village in the shawl of my precognition and beseeched all the adults to bring me seven drops of their blood. Using it, I created a potion with which the parents painted protective hexagrams upon the children. Alas, you are the sole survivor of the massacre and... have gained great power by straddling the precipice between life and death!"

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°Sorry, my memory is kind of fuzzy from almost drowning,¡± I added.

    ¡°The river spirit took something from you as you dove headfirst into it and gave you something of great value in exchange, young Ioan,¡± the witch said. ¡°I sense that you have been cleansed by the waters of river Glinka, your soul filled with great potential and knowledge from far beyond the thread of your former life!¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± I replied.

    The river did take something. It took Ioan''s life, obliterating what he was. It must have given my memory to this misfortunate teenager in exchange.

    ¡°Now what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Now,¡± the witch intoned, ¡°Per my agreement forged in magic with the village of Svalbard, I shall bestow upon you the mark and title of a hero.¡±

    ¡°A hero?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This is how heroes are made!¡±

    ¡°Heroes are¡­ made?¡± I blinked at her.

    ¡°All heroes are made by witches like myself, yes,¡± she said. ¡°The monster responsible for the desolation of your village is the Great Dragon Zarnitza. As a marked hero and a DyrkJarl of great renown, you shall wield powers beyond mere mortals, enabling you to exact retribution upon the dragon! If you get strong enough and rise in might by defeating smaller beasts¡­ You might someday avenge your kin and bring down the abomination that devastated your village!"

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°From this moment on, you step onto the path of being the DyrkJarl of Midgard, a hero¡­¡± Her clawed hand extended towards me, lanky finger suddenly glowing with an ethereal luminescence, casting eerie, off-color rainbows in the air.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait. How about we don¡¯t dick-jarl me yet,¡± I countered, instinctively taking a few steps back.

    ¡°What?¡± The witch¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°You do not wish to avenge your family? You do not wish to decimate villains and monsters, cultivating strength to extract vengeance and stamp out evil wherever you find it? Surely that is the goal of every noble lad!¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head.

    I wasn¡¯t Ioan. The original memories of this body were gone. I felt no desire to slay dragons, and didn¡¯t want vengeance.

    ¡°The sacrifice of your kin will fade away when the magic-infused blood of your parents flakes off your body in about five hundred heartbeats,¡± the witch intoned. ¡°When it does, my spell will dissipate and fade into the ether¡­ unless it is bound properly to your soul. You must not squander this opportunity! This is your destiny, take it before it''s too late!¡±

    ¡°To hell with destiny,¡± I said. ¡°I¡­ I want to make my own choices!¡±

    The witch raised an eyebrow, examining my set face.

    ¡°I want to know more!¡± I declared. ¡°What are the drawbacks of being a... DyrkJarl?¡±

    ¡°Visibility,¡± she conceded. ¡°Heroes amass power by vanquishing their enemies and monsters. By taking life, a DyrkJarl becomes stronger¡­ and also more attractive to monsters.¡±

    ¡°Attractive how?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Via smell. Monsters and other DyrkJarls will smell the burning air and hear the thunder of Perun emanating from a DyrkJarl¡¯s Aura and will seek to usurp the power that thrums within you,¡± the witch revealed. ¡°Jotuns and trolls can smell the blood of a hero from a thousand steps away. The life of a DyrkJarl is one of fierce valour and constant battle! Beast-people from the South are known to enslave young DyrkJarls with their dark magics!"

    ¡°So essentially, I would be painting a huge target on my back?¡± I asked. ¡°No, thank you.¡±

    I definitely wasn''t willing to become a meat shield for a dubious witch, especially if being a hero made me visible to slavers and monsters from a thousand steps away!

    The old woman¡¯s frown deepened.

    ¡°Is there no alternative?¡± I asked. ¡°What happens if I don¡¯t become a DyrkJarl?¡±

    ¡°I already told you! The magic chains wrapped around your body will snap and you will lose whatever it is you gained from the river spirit be it knowledge or skills,¡± she said. ¡°It is snowing. If I do not turn you into a dragonslayer, you will forget who you are and then inevitably freeze to death!¡±

    ¡°Hmmm, yeah, that does sound bad,¡± I said. Losing my rationality, memories and understanding of my current self would suck.

    ¡°Yes. Which is why you must¡­¡± Yaga insisted.

    ¡°Hold on,¡± I pursed my lips, looking her over and trying to organize my thoughts.

    Something wasn''t adding up:

    1. Everyone in Svalbard was dead.

    2. I was the only survivor.

    3. There was an incredibly suspicious witch character at the scene of the mass murder, offering me incredible power. More specifically, a witch who had the clear motives of killing everyone here to create a dragon-slaying DyrkJarl.

    My paranoia intensified.

    ¡°How does one become a witch?¡± I asked, trying to find a loophole in her words.

    ¡°A sacrifice of life, a pact with a local spirit or another witch and the desire to bind yourself to a place,¡± she explained. ¡°A wish to be safe, to tend to the land. Desire to seek connection to the All-Mother Zemlya above all things.¡±

    ¡°And are witches¡­ perhaps routinely hunted and killed?¡± I inquired, suddenly thinking of the Spanish Inquisition.

    ¡°As much as anyone else is,¡± the witch barked a dry laugh. ¡°It is however exceptionally hard to slay a Yaga on her land, for we are domain-bound and able to dream of the future. We draw our power from the fecund earth beneath our feet and lose our magical prowess if we venture beyond our domain.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded, weighing my options. ¡°Wait. You¡¯re outside of your domain, are you not?¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m wasting my energy chatting while I should be making a bloody DyrkJarl!¡± she rebutted. ¡°The pact I¡¯ve made with your village permits me to be here to aid you!"

    I evaluated my options:

    1. The witch was lying about everything and was trying to turn me into her hero patsy to send on dragon-slaying quests. I didn''t see the dragon personally. I woke up under a river, not recalling a single thing about myself as Ioan. Maybe she cast an amnesia spell and pushed me into the water and killed everyone in the village with a spell. Maybe there was no dragon involved at all. Without checking thoroughly for dragon paw prints, I had no reason to believe any of Grandhilda''s words.

    2. The witch was honest about her intentions and if I didn''t become a hero then I would lose all of my new, shiny memories, lose my Understanding of the world, lose my ability to rationally observe patterns and to break them down.

    ¡°Two hundred heartbeats,¡± she warned. ¡°Before the blood sacrifice is rendered futile!¡±

    There was only one way to determine if Grandhilda was even slightly honest about things. I had to derail the entire ''hero'' narrative she wove for me, demand something... entirely unexpected.

    ¡°Bind me to this village,¡± I declared. ¡°Make me into¡­ a witch!¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± the ancient crone sputtered.

    ¡°Witch me up!¡± I said with a wide grin.

    ¡°You are a boy¡­ you cannot be a witch!¡± Yaga Grandhilda declared, ¡°The very notion is absurd¡­ I¡¯ve never heard such a¡­ Don¡¯t you know anything, boy?! Earthly wisdom and feminine wit belongs to Zemlya, the Goddess of fertility. Bravery and strength belongs to her husband Perun, the God of men and war! The land belongs to Zemlya while the sky belongs to Perun.¡±

    ¡°Meaning what?¡± I asked, prying for more information.

    ¡°You are not a girl!¡± The witch barked. ¡°Girls meditate to commune with spirits. You¡­ you¡¯d make the weakest witch in the world, one blind to the wild! Men cannot wield the power of the fertile earth because they cannot see nature spirits! Men cannot communicate with nature spirits no matter how much they meditate! That is the way of the world and¡­¡±

    The Yaga''s words sounded like excuses. If men couldn''t communicate with nature spirits directly could they simply not hire a woman to be their medium or something? I decided to press on with my attack, confident that either she would accidentally reveal the truth about murdering everyone here or make me into a witch, which was fine too because it would make me less visible in a dragon-populated world.

    ¡°Please make me into a witch, Yaga!¡± I urged. ¡°Magic me up. Bind me to the land. I¡¯m ready. That¡¯s my greatest and only wish!¡±

    Yaga Grandhilda stared at me like I was mad.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to leap over the trees, to lift weapons with incredible ease?¡± She attempted to market the strongman abilities of the sky-god-aligned heroes to me. ¡°If you live long enough as a hero, you might even learn to fly atop of your sword! Doesn''t that sound exciting?¡±

    ¡°No, I want to be a witch!¡± I insisted. ¡°Flying on swords sounds extremely unsafe, what if I fall off?¡±

    ¡°Heroes don¡¯t just¡­¡± the Yaga sputtered.

    ¡°Flying round these parts just seems dangerous,¡± I added with an exaggerated look of a scared teenager. ¡°A dragon could eat me.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± she sighed. ¡°So be it. As inordinate as this is¡­ I suppose that a male witch just might be possible. It¡¯s better than you simply freezing to death as a mortal. Maybe in a few centuries time, if Zemlya takes pity on you, you¡¯ll learn to see the spirits of the wild.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Step forward, quickly, to me!¡± She barked. ¡°We have only forty heartbeats left!¡±

    I did.

    With swift, deliberate movements, she tapped the center of my chest where the hexagram converged with her glowing finger.

    ¡°Embrace the Earth-Mother, Zemlya, beneath you and yearn to be her eternal¡­ virgin maiden and dedicated caretaker,¡± she instructed, choking slightly at the ''virgin maiden'' bit. ¡°To aid all who venture here with the power of the wilds, to persist through the breath of the land from this point on forevermore!¡±

    I obeyed, my arms encircling the icy ground. My thoughts were consumed not by visions of hippie forest love, but by the desire for safety and protection, for invisibility and anonymity. I yearned for a sanctuary of my own, a haven in which I might conduct experiments and unravel the mysteries of the new, magic-filled universe that now surrounded me.

    Within moments, I felt a peculiar sensation as if an invisible chain snapped between me and the ground. I saw that my entire body ignited with a violet shimmer as I were suffused with an ethereal glow akin to Cherenkov radiation.

    ¡°Is this¡­?¡±

    ¡°This is normal,¡± the witch reassured me. She traced a circle in the ground with a gnarled staff. ¡°Farewell and good fortune¡­ Yaga¡­ Ioan Starfall!¡± She smirked at the word Yaga, seemingly amused by the absurdity of a male witch.

    ¡°Um. Do I not receive an apprenticeship, or some form of guidance from here?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Seek me out in the Astral Ocean, should you have further questions,¡± she replied cryptically. ¡°But first, claim your land, draw sustenance from it and become wiser!¡±

    A circle of mushrooms bloomed at the Yaga¡¯s feet, their delicate caps unfurling like the petals of a flower. Her figure shimmered and wavered, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone as if her body simply folded away.

    As I remained on the ground, the pull of the earth seemed to intensify, as though gravity itself had conspired to draw me ever closer to my newfound domain.

    My head slammed into the earth.

    I felt myself sinking into the ground. At least I wasn¡¯t so cold anymore.

 2 The Complementarianism of Local Mythology

    [Day 2]

    I awoke in the center of a perfect circle of verdant, green petals and bell-flowers, which clashed with the snow-wreathed, smoldering village. I didn¡¯t know how long I was out for sure, but judging by the sun''s position it was at least one day that I''d slept. The dragonfire had more or less died away, leaving only ruined islands of buildings around me.

    Large snowflakes fluttered from the sky, landing on my face. They didn¡¯t feel cold. Oddly enough, I felt rejuvenated as if I had just woken up from an exceptionally relaxing nap.

    As I dug deeper into the recesses of my identity, I found myself confronted by a fragmented, discordant mosaic of Ioan''s past made up of scattered, shadow-like snippets of memory that danced just beyond the reach of comprehension.

    Was I Ioan? I didn''t feel like Ioan.

    My knowledge of Earth, rationality and science was sharp, as clear as day. It was a 40''000 lumen flashlight torch compared to the dying candle that was Ioan''s memories.

    Oddly enough, I felt no thirst or hunger while sitting in my glade. Feeling bored and curious I stood up and stepped out of the glade. Nothing seems to prevent me from leaving.

    As I ventured further from the enchanted glade, I observed a curious change in my physical condition. At a distance of about three meters from the glade, my muscles began to ache and I felt biting cold air, as if I had once again transformed into a mundane teenager.

    Straying even further, approximately ten meters from the circle, I felt beset by increasingly worse thirst, hunger, nausea and exhaustion.

    Twenty five meters away from the witch-glade, colorful spots began to dance in my eyes as if I had an extreme concussion and my entire body felt like it was boiling from within.

    At about thirty three meters away from the glade, my bones began to ache with blinding pain, my head engulfed in a blinding migraine. I felt like a walking corpse, a man dying from thirst, hunger and glade-deprivation as if I was some kind of a vampire that was seeking only one thing¨Cto turn around. Crawling back to the glade, the pain lessened then vanished completely when I touched the circle of plants.

    Phew.

    Being a domain-bound witch definitely had a big drawback since departing from the glade made me into a mortal boy and going past thirty three meter radius seemed completely impossible.

    My distance measurement was approximate too, based on my feet going toe to toe and estimating that my booted foot spanned about 30 centimeters.

    Pushing against the pangs of hunger and thirst, ignoring the migraine, cold and nausea, I reached the nearest ruined house and began to sift through the ashes and debris, seeking things of value among the ruination.

    I discovered that the fire had left numerous metal implements completely untouched. As I continued to unearth random clothes, knives, spoons, forks, coins, candle holders, jugs, glass goblets, and other inorganic objects, a hypothesis began to take shape in my mind.

    Perhaps the dragon¡¯s flame functioned akin to a neutron bomb, a weapon designed to eradicate life while leaving the inorganic world largely unscathed.

    The thought was as chilling as it was fascinating. The concept of magic manipulating chemistry to target specific elements seemed exceptionally handy if I could figure out the principle behind it.

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    I found a few giant footsteps in the village, indentations of gargantuan claws about 5 meters wide.

    There was definitely a dragon here. A very big, scary dragon. The witch was indeed honest about that.

    Digging through the center of one of the houses, I discovered a circular, slightly singed metal cover beneath the pile of ashes and debris. With considerable effort from my slender arms, I managed to pry it open, revealing the hidden depths of the well below.

    Descending a sturdy wooden stairwell, I was greeted by walls lined with ceramic and glass jars brimming with pickled vegetables and salted meats, a veritable treasure trove of sustenance.

    I immediately pried the nearest jar open, feasting on pickled cucumbers and drinking the juice. The feelings of dizziness, hunger and thirst lessened, but the sensation of the stabbing cold air remained, prickling at my exposed skin.

    Curious.

    A witch could theoretically sustain herself right outside of her domain, as long as she sated the mundane needs of her body which were otherwise somehow turned off while standing on the magic-circle of earth.

    My hunger sated with the pickled goods, I wondered why the villagers hadn¡¯t thought to seek refuge in these cold wells, or even flee into the surrounding forest when the dragon attacked.

    I could only speculate as to whether the attack had occurred under the cover of night, catching the villagers off guard, or if there was some other, more sinister reason behind the apparent lack of survivors such as the dragon hunting down everyone except for a solitary teenage boy that fell under the river.

    If the Yaga knew when the dragon was coming, why didn¡¯t she simply tell the villagers to hide inside their cold wells? This was definitely a point to the theory that Grandhilda allowed everyone in Svalbard to perish on purpose, to magically manufacture a hero that could slay the monster through the sacrifice of blood and life.

    With a renewed sense of purpose, I set out to explore the remnants of the houses within limited range. As I searched through the ruins, I discovered numerous metal chests that had survived the dragon''s fiery onslaught. Inside, I found an assortment of dry clothing and bandages.

    I quickly re-dressed myself in the fanciest coat I could find that fit my skinny body. Then, I turned my attention to the task of surveying the surrounding village.

    I noted that many of the homes were violently torn apart as if a massive claw punched right through the walls and ceilings.

    A cursory survey of the village from my thirty-three-meter leash revealed that a non-damaged pub stood about forty meters from my glade, just outside of my range. It felt like the ideal candidate for a secure base of operations if I could somehow reach it.

    The prospect of sleeping outside, even if the cold didn¡¯t bother me, wasn¡¯t something I was looking forward to. The distant pub taunted me with the safety of its intact walls.

    As a man of science, I refused to be daunted by the dastardly limiting constraints that bound me to the enchanted glade.

    What was the earth exactly? It was soil and rocks. These things could simply be moved¡­ could they not?

    Determined to find a solution, I searched through everything within the range of my magical leash once again, pushing through the migraine and body aches. At the very edge of my reach, inside a torn-up shack, under a pile of debris, I found exactly what I was looking for¨Ca sturdy metal shovel.

    I considered the facts:

    1. According to Grandhilda the fact that I was a man somehow wouldn''t allow me to meditate or see spirits. Maybe there was a biological difference between men and women in this world. Therefore, relying on meditation to see spirits or whatever was going to be a side quest for me, something that I would try but not despair if and when it failed horribly.

    2. Grandhilda knew exactly where my glade was. Even though she made me into a witch, her core motivations were still unclear to me. It was possible that she still planned to "hero" me up. If I didn''t relocate and hide the glade, she could send monsters after me to "train me".

    3. The glade was a green patch of grass out in the open visible against the white snow. Any idiot could see it from miles away, come over and chop my neck right off with a sword or worse yet, just shoot arrows at me from a distance. Marauders were likely coming to steal whatever wasn''t nailed down now that the dragon was gone. I had to steal it all first and put it all in a secure location. It was only a matter of time until someone raided the ruins of Svalbard. Gathering tools and supplies is more reasonable than simply sitting in the open where a dragon, or another fantasy creature or even a wolf could just gobble me up.

    As my paranoia intensified, I made a decision. The glade was definitely getting relocated to a safer position.

    I rapidly began to excavate the edge of the green circle.

    Inside my glade, the shovel felt weightless, cutting through the magic-infused frozen earth as if it was a hot knife going through hot butter.

    I grinned maniacally as I obliterated a section of the glade with incredible ease, my muscles filled with superhuman vigor.

 3 Witchy Mobility Theorem

    As I excavated the edge of the glade, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that the earth felt warm and oddly welcoming.

    It was as if the complex amalgamation of various minerals and organic matter, with traces of silica, alumina, and iron oxide intermingling with decaying plant material and the remnants of microscopic organisms were now somehow suffused with an unknown form of energy.

    As I crushed the earth with my fingers, it felt nothing like frozen soil was supposed to feel like. I wondered whether a witch''s domain projected some kind of non-debilitating radiation, perhaps akin to the nuclear force that governed the behavior of subatomic particles. Rather than causing harm, this energy appeared to empower my body, blessing me with warmth and a high level of vitality.

    I marveled at this strange phenomenon a bit longer, enjoying the tiny sparks dancing in my fingers.

    Then, I filled the largest leather backpack I could find with the earth from the glade and began to walk away from my domain, counting my steps.

    To my delight, I discovered that carrying the enchanted soil on my back permitted me to venture beyond the range of my prior leash without succumbing to the debilitating weakness and nausea that had previously beset my frail body.

    Great success! The backpack and shovel, plus the indomitable spirit of human inquiry and adaptability had overcome the domain limitation.

    Science: 1, Witchy Domain Limit: 0

    Using a plank balanced on a rock and a bunch of strewn bricks, I created a makeshift scale to assess my weight vs the weight of the soil within the backpack.

    Then, I gradually altered the amount of soil inside of the bag, reducing and increasing it and venturing away from the glade with the backpack.

    Using this method, I discovered that as long as I had enough soil in the bag that weighed approximately 1.5 times as much as I did, I felt no problems moving past the initial domain limit!

    As I strode nearly five hundred meters away from the village, the magical soil nestled securely within my backpack, I grinned at the fact that my witchy stamina remained undiminished.

    Being a witch, it seemed, was easy, especially if I could transport a section of my domain in a simple knapsack. What originally appeared to be a debilitation was now my advantage.

    Could it really be this simple? Was it really possible to simply dig up all of the enchanted soil, compress it to save space, and then carry it with me in a large cart?

    Thoughts raced through my mind as I considered the implications of this newfound power, thinking back to the process of creating compressed earth blocks. I remembered that in Portland cement, typically, a pressure of around 3,000 psi compressed the original material volume by about half. Technically, even a planet like Earth could be compressed into a black hole with a diameter of only 1.77 centimeters.

    Smirking at this amusing fact, I knew that, unfortunately, I didn''t have the power tools necessary to compress the soil.

    Another thought came to me¨Cwere some sections of the soil more magical than others? Was Earth-type magic, or whatever it was that Yaga specialized in, better contained in some particular elements such as the roots, plants or specific rocks?

    I quickly returned to the side of the magic circle I had unearthed and turned my attention to the plants themselves.

    Employing a rudimentary water drop microscope made from a thin glass shard, a glass jar, two pieces of wood, a broken mirror shard and a drop of water, capable of magnifying details up to five times, I set about examining the flora more closely.

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    As I carefully sliced open a leaf, I observed the blurry intricate network of thick plant cell walls.

    To my amazement, I saw that the damaged cell walls of the sliced leaf slowly healed themselves. I also noted that the verdant life birthed by the magic-infused earth shared my immunity to the cold, thriving in defiance of the harsh winter.

    Next, I grabbed some standing water from a rotting root and examined it as I placed it directly above the glade, using a mirror shard to bounce sunlight through my water sample located atop of an upside down glass jar.

    My mouth fell open as I beheld a mesmerizing if somewhat blurry display of micro-animals, tardigrades and single cell Stentor roeselii, dancing within the water drop. The microscopic creatures somehow bred and multiplied at an unprecedented rate, their existence fueled by the potent, invisible energy that pulsed within the enchanted soil.

    It dawned on me that the radiation emanating from the witch-blessed ground was a veritable furnace of life, a force that nurtured and sustained all organic things that thrived within its sphere of influence. This force stood in stark contrast to the deadly dragon fire that had wrought destruction upon the village, targeting living things and turning them to ashes.

    My mind raced with the possibilities as the pieces began to fall into place.

    Was this the source of a witch¡¯s power?

    Another fragment of Ioan¡¯s memories surfaced in my mind, revealing that he had sought a potion from the Witch of the Shalish wood a few years ago to help with his grandmother''s aching back.

    This revelation coalesced into a solid theory: the enchanted soil produced life-altering effects that, in turn, transformed the plants and animals within a witch¡¯s personal garden. It stood to reason that ingredients suffused with this life-rad magnified the efficacy of their organic components, unlocking a wealth of incredible potential for both healing and harm!

    . . .

    People didn¡¯t need magic to be dicks. If anything, having access to excessive strength as a hero of legend most likely made one more prone to pillaging.

    Take, for instance, the Vikings of Earth, seafarers of Norse blood. Their longships graced countless shorelines, from the rocky coasts of the British Isles to the frosty outposts of Greenland, from the uncharted lands of America to the fertile plains of Ukraine. Their unrelenting pursuit of expansion and adventure often ended in the enslavement of the locals and the pillaging of their treasures. If the local world was anything like mine history-wise, then I was in for a very bad time.

    Predators and scavengers would undoubtedly soon become a problem. Surveying the fractured beams and scorched and buried fragments scattered across the landscape, I could discern the remnants of once stout, wooden walls and watchtowers.

    Alas, the dragon had made quick work of that defense, obliterating it in its entirety.

    My magical grove lay vulnerable under the open sky, the green flora a beacon for any creature prowling the wilderness or flying overhead. If Dick-Jarls could fly on swords then they would absolutely spot the green glade from above sitting amidst the white snow.

    The risk of discovery by a fly-by hero suddenly felt like an imminent threat. I didn¡¯t want anyone to find out or even to suspect that I was a witch, preferring to have the element of surprise on my side.

    The whole reason I bugged Yaga to turn me into a witch was to mess with people¡¯s future expectations of me¨Cit was going to be my biggest trump card in my new life in Svalbard.

    Thus, driven onwards by a healthy degree of paranoia, I focused on digging out all of the magic-irradiated earth and relocating the entirety of my precious domain inside the old pub. I quickly shovelled the earth into a wheelbarrow I found behind the mostly undamaged smithy building, rolled it to the pub, and dumped it inside. I also replanted all of the magic-infused greenery into chests that I faced towards the round windows.

    Once done with the relocation of my magical domain, I set to secure the pub itself.

    The village smithy, now bereft of its previous tenants, though slightly singed and torn up on one side, housed a trove of medieval weaponry such as bows, swords and arbalests. I transported the entire arsenal into my makeshift stronghold, setting up arbalests at each window.

    Then I emptied a few of the cold storage wells and brought the food into the pub in a wheelbarrow. I didn''t feel hunger when I was carrying my domain in my backpack, but my body already looked far too skinny and pitiful and I knew that healthy eating was important to my growth, no matter if magical bullshit took my desire to eat away.

    By the time my fortress was secured within the old pub, the horizon had welcomed the warm hues of the setting sun, and I battened down the iron-clad shutters and door in anticipation of the coming night.

    My dinner was a modest feast of preserved jars and smoked delicacies. Since cold seemed to be a minor inconvenience to a Yaga, I dismissed the idea of lighting the fireplace. Instead, I innately sought solace atop my mound of warm earth.

    My feet automatically took me to my lovely, warm pile of earth.

    I buried myself in it halfway feeling like a solitary mole ensconced within its subterranean sanctuary, slowly succumbing to the lull of slumber as I contemplated my future plans.

    I was going to be the damn best witch biochemist in this medieval world!

 4 Witch Apprenticeship

    I found myself inexplicably perched upon an extraordinary chair, one fashioned entirely from brown roots and green moss for padding.

    I noted that I was also somehow face to face with none other than Yaga Grandhilda.

    As my gaze wandered around, I took in the sight of the snug and homely interior of what was most likely her dwelling. The Yaga¡¯s hut was filled with hanging dried herbs that tickled my nose with a thousand smells. Root-woven shelves all around me were filled with countless potions inside organic-looking semi-transparent bottles.

    "So, what do you wish to know about witchcraft, young Ioan?" the witch inquired, her eyes sparkling with an impish delight.

    Feeling somewhat dazed, I blinked in confusion, still unsure of how I had gone to sleep and suddenly came to be in the Yaga¡¯s abode.

    ¡°How did I get here?¡± I managed to articulate.

    ¡°The Astral Ocean served as a pathway, allowing me to weave my dream to yours¡± she revealed. ¡°After all, I¡¯ve created you, and so it falls to me to impart the wisdom necessary for you to become a true¡­ witch.¡±

    She snickered at the last word, amused by the fact that I wasn¡¯t a girl. Were wizards not a thing in this world?

    I searched my mind for such and found no references whatsoever to the word ¡®wizard¡¯ in the local tongue.

    Presumably the gender distinction between hero and witch options had likely manifested through local cultural quirks and belief systems, similarly to how the roles of men and women were delineated in ancient Sparta. In Sparta, men were raised as warriors, dedicating their lives to state service and military prowess, while women were tasked with managing the household and raising strong children, but also enjoyed a level of social autonomy and respect not common in other parts of ancient Greece.

    ¡°Ah,¡± I nodded to the Yaga, resuming our conversation. ¡°So, you¡¯re communicating with me through my dream?¡±

    The wrinkled woman nodded.

    My next question revolved around a more immediate threat, relevant to my location and lack of fortifications.

    ¡°Master, is it safe for me to be in Svalbard?¡± I asked. ¡°The village wall was torn down by the dragon.¡±

    ¡°It was your foolish decision to force me to align you with Mother Earth and to stake your claim upon the village,¡± the old crone replied with a shrug. ¡°You should be fine for about a week, as the scent of the dragonfire will keep other predators at bay.¡±

    ¡°What are the chances of the dragon returning?¡± I asked.

    ¡°None,¡± the witch declared. ¡°Dragons, much like lightning, don¡¯t strike the same location twice.¡±

    I squinted at her. I knew lightning could strike the same place twice if a tall metal pole was present.

    ¡°What was it exactly that attracted dragon Zarnitza to Svalbard to begin with?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Dragons sleep for decades or centuries upon their hoard. When they wake, they seek out the nearest village and feast upon the hearts of adults to extend their own lifespan,¡± the witch answered.

    ¡°Adults? What about the children?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Dragons do not consume children,¡± the Yaga intoned.

    ¡°Why?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Because children like yourself are akin to empty vessels,¡± Grandhilda explained. ¡°Waiting to be filled with power upon the ceremony of adulthood.¡±

    I racked my brain about such a ceremony and found nothing there.

    ¡°Can an adult make a pact with a spirit?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They can,¡± the Yaga nodded. ¡°However, the impact of such a pact won¡¯t be as effective as with an unaligned soul of a child.¡±

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± I hummed. ¡°So my soul wasn¡¯t aligned yet?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. You were on the cusp of your adulthood, Ioan,¡± the witch affirmed. ¡°The ceremony of Vigslodi is a ritualistic raid performed by the men of your village. You were supposed to go on yours in the upcoming spring and murder a beast larger than a man or slay a man during the raid and consume their heart. This act would have turned you into an adult man, aligned you to Perun as a warrior of Svalbard.¡±

    I glanced at my skinny arms, uncertain as to how exactly Ioan would slay someone bigger than himself.

    ¡°Alas,¡± the Yaga sighed. ¡°You were born during the decade of the great famine that spread white death far and wide across Thornwild. Zemliya¡¯s blessings had failed and many crops and animals perished affected by the blight. Had you gone on a hunt or a raid, you would have most likely perished due to your frailty.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, shuddering slightly at the prospect of going on a murder-raid to eat a human/animal heart. ¡°And how do girls become adults?¡±

    ¡°I see that you have forgotten much,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°The girls of Svalbard undergo the Zemy¡¯s band ritual of cultivation which takes them a year. They plant Linum flowers during the spring, harvest them in late summer, ret, dry, break, scutch and hack them during autumn, and spin and weave them into a banner during winter. By Zemy¡¯s First Day of Spring, they present a tapestry to the village elders depicting their family¡¯s history and their personal aspirations.¡±

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    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem as life-threatening as going on a raid,¡± I commented.

    ¡°And yet when I was a young maiden I failed it repeatedly,¡± the Yaga commented with a wistful look.

    ¡°You did?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Do not mistake Zemy¡¯s Band for an easy task, Ioan. The cultivation of Linum in the wild patches outside of the village walls is its own formidable challenge,¡± the witch said. ¡°The Linum fields must be planted in ground that is both fertile and uncontaminated by the blight that has plagued much of our land. Finding such a patch of earth is a task in itself, but the real danger comes from the pests that are drawn to the Linum.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± I said, picturing Earth caterpillars.

    ¡°The Iron Needle Beetles, so named for their tough, metallic-looking carapaces, are particularly voracious pests. They can strip a field of Linum to the stalks overnight. These creatures are not only fast and ferocious but are also impossible to crush underfoot and covered in poisonous stingers. The young women must work together and secure their fields, crafting barriers from thorns, keeping constant vigil to protect the sprouting plants,¡± the Yaga intoned. ¡°The girls must master the preparation of herbal repellents and poisons. They study the cycles of the wild, the passage of the moon and stars, as these influence the behaviour of a variety of pests and animals seeking to devour the Linum patch from Starmoths to HoarBoars.

    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded.

    ¡°The year-long endeavour teaches girls the value of perseverance, protection, and the deep connection to Mother Zemy who sustains all,¡± the witch intoned. ¡°It¡¯s a journey of growth, not just for the Linum they cultivate but for themselves as well. A girl¡¯s journey to crafting the Band starts at seven winters time when their mother begins to feed them a variety of poisons in minute amounts to prepare them for the Band.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said, struck with a sudden understanding.

    King Mithridates VI of Pontus cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses; this practice was called mithridatism because of him.

    ¡°This is another reason why a man would not make a very good witch,¡± the Yaga sighed. ¡°You have no resistance to poison whatsoever, haven¡¯t been trained from childhood to identify specific insects or plants. Your path to crafting potions will be incredibly arduous.¡±

    ¡°Can you not assist me in my dreams as you are now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not like a mother would assist her daughter daily,¡± the Yaga shook her head. ¡°It takes me a good amount of herbal tea and considerable effort to entwine our dreams because the connection between us is still strong. We have but a week at most to commune briefly. Soon enough, our connection will tear and I might not be able to contact you in the same way for a long time, until the next lunar alignment.¡±

    I pursed my lips. So much for having effective long term witchy apprenticeship.

    ¡°So¡­ how can I defend my domain?¡± I asked next.

    ¡°Take a nap on it just as you are doing now,¡± the witch advised. ¡°The act of resting on your land deepens your bond with Mother Zemy. Should you require a formidable boundary, sow the seeds of sturdy trees or spiky, poisonous shrubs around the glade. With time, they will flourish into an impregnable fortress under your command. Trees nurtured from your land will obey your command, always standing steadfast in your defense.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, moving to my next topic of inquiry. ¡°I don¡¯t feel hunger or thirst when I¡¯m on my domain. Does this mean that I don¡¯t need to drink or eat while inside my glade?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The Yaga laughed. ¡°Your need for sustenance is merely temporarily pushed back by Zemy¡¯s pact.¡±

    ¡°So how do I procure food without leaving my domain?¡± I asked.

    Even though I now had access to the cold wells of the entire village thanks to my Witchy Mobility backpack with soil hack, I didn¡¯t feel like revealing this fact to my maker.

    ¡°The land will provide,¡± Grandhilda answered with a sage look. ¡°In less than a few weeks time berries will begin to sprout from your glade. They will sate you until a greater garden grows from your domain with large fruits and vegetables which will sustain you forevermore.¡±

    ¡°Do the plants grown on my glade require sunlight? Will they thrive even in winter?¡± I asked next.

    ¡°The sun is indeed their lifeblood,¡± she explained. ¡°However, it¡¯s your presence that mainly sustains them in autumn and winter, channelling the power of the Earth Goddess into their roots even in the darkest months when Perun splashes the heavens with violet and green sky-waves. Your essence imbibes the land beneath your feet with the impetus for transformation, acts as a catalyst for rapid growth of all wild things within the boundary of your domain.¡±

    I nodded, noting her mystical divine-influenced explanation of auroras.

    ¡°Nurture your garden, and it will reciprocate in kind,¡± the witch imparted. ¡°Feast on the roots and berries that sprout within, and the magic-infused sustenance will not just feed you¡ªit will prolong your lifespan beyond that of mortals. Neglect your domain or step away from it, and your life will ebb away as you age just as swiftly as any mortal.¡±

    ¡°How far does my domain¡¯s spiritual reach extend?¡± I asked, mostly to confirm my own findings.

    ¡°About sixteen elbows at most,¡± the witch answered. ¡°Going any further strains the link between you and your glade.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the best way to take care of my garden?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Your goal is to embrace every spiritual facet of the fertile earth beneath you, and its produce; to link your mind with all life that sprouts or skitters forth from it. These insights can be likened to tea leaves. Boiling water is crucial for tea, but without tea leaves, you end up with a drink that quenches your physical thirst yet neglects the palate. As a Yaga, your thirst for wisdom of the wild needs to be constantly satiated.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I rubbed my chin.

    ¡°While you can acquire life energy by merely consuming the bounty of your garden, much of it will remain as boiling water¡ªbereft of transformative power. Just as healing tea cannot be brewed without the enchanted herbs, true progress in witchcraft can¡¯t be attained without profound insights.

    ¡°As a witch bound to¡­ his domain,¡± the Yaga continued after a sip of her tea, ¡°you¡¯re not a travelling merchant racing to reach a destination before your goods expire. You¡¯re ascending an endless ladder of enlightenment, heading towards a deeper comprehension of every aspect of nature, where each rung represents deeper, more nuanced knowledge of the spirit of each plant, insect, or tree. There¡¯s no need for haste¡ªthe ladder isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°I think that I get the gist,¡± I nodded. ¡°My question is¨Chow exactly do I understand something spiritually?¡±

    ¡°Meditate on the wild, listen to the wind, give heed to the hidden symphonies of your garden, amplify and stretch your senses beyond mere smell and sight,¡± the witch said. ¡°In time, you will learn to swim through the Astral, to sense and observe the limitless spiritual depths of something as minute as a drop of water!¡±

    ¡°Right so¡­¡± I began.

    ¡°Alas, I grow weary of holding the connection,¡± the Yaga yawned, putting her tea cup down. ¡°I shall reach out to you tomorrow night. Meditate on my words, cultivate your spirit-sight and think of further questions to ask me then!¡±

    Before I could ask any more questions she clapped her hands together.

    In that instant, the sight of her smirk and cosy room filled with a thousand potions shattered into a million petals dancing in the unseen wind, rapidly dissolving into darkness.

 5 The Witch Codex [Day 3]

    I yawned as I slid down my lopsided pile of earth.

    There was no wind, nor much sunlight inside of the stone pub. Slender threads of dawn were beginning to infiltrate the narrow slits in the iron-braced window shutters casting thin lines across my face.

    Stepping away from my blessed dirt pile made me feel a bit chilly.

    I sighed and sat against my warm earth to prevent myself from shivering constantly. The path of listening to the wild was clearly going to be a bit of a winding one, since I''d removed myself away from it entirely seeking shelter and safety of walls.

    As my mind began to wander due to the relaxing serenity-like sensation which came from merely sitting upon my relocated earth, I decided that it was time for more exploration and excavation.

    I put on my earth-filled backpack and wandered across the village ruins with my shovel until I came across a half-obliterated large building. Presumably this was the hall of records or maybe the house of the local Jarl because the back rooms of the ruin featured collapsed bookshelves and iron cases packed with a variety of leather-bound tomes and scrolls, some of them filled with names and dates and the others empty.

    It took me the entire morning to excavate all of the books from underneath collapsed ceilings and walls, but eventually I was rewarded with an entire library of unreadable books and records and a set of blank books, a silver inkwell and a few steel bottles of black and red ink.

    Returning to the pub with a cart filled with literary treasures, I used the fanciest blank book to sketch out a chart of witch terminology aka a Witch Codex so as not to forget everything of value from what Yaga Grandhilda taught me.

    I began by listing the days too, starting with:

    . . .

    Day 1:

    Almost drowned, was turned into a witch by Yaga Grandhilda.

    Day 2:

    Woke up and figured out that I could break my domain limit using a shovel.

    Learned about Adulthood Rituals & Spiritual Cultivation

    Day 3:

    Found books & started a journal.

    . . .

    Then I made a terminology list and my plans about each in the margins.

    Astral Ocean: Some sort of a network which permits witches to commune via dreams.

    Plan: Find out more.

    Dragon Zarnitza: Dragons wake from long sleeps to feast on adult human hearts to extend their lifespan, but do not consume children as they are ¡®empty vessels.¡¯ Does this correlate to men of Svalbard eating hearts of their enemies to become stronger?

    Plan: Avoid dragons at all cost. Possibly relocate somewhere where there are no dragons.

    Ceremony of Vigslodi: A ritualistic raid marking adulthood for men, involving the slaying of a large beast or a man and eating their heart to align oneself with Perun.

    Plan: Ask Yaga about other rituals. Understand the scientific bases of ritualistic magic.

    Zemy¡¯s Band: A year-long cultivation ritual for girls involving planting, harvesting, and crafting Linum into a tapestry, symbolizing their journey to adulthood.

    Plan: Find out more about these tapestries and the nature of rituals.

    Iron Needle Beetles: Destructive pests threatening Linum fields, which young women must protect using barriers and herbal repellents.

    Plan: See if anyone stored these in their house.

    Spiritual Pact with Zemliya: Sleeping on the land deepens domain magic.

    Plan: Ask Yaga more information about the local pantheon.

    Cultivation of Magical Insight: Understanding the physical and spiritual aspects of the domain enhances the potency of its produce, particularly for potion-making.

    Plan: Attempt to grow a specific plant from Earth by mentally focusing on it. Which plant would be the most useful?

    Astral Perception: Developing the ability to sense and understand the spiritual dimensions of the natural world

    Plan: Attempt meditation.

    . . .

    I tapped my chin. General plans were good and all, but I needed to approach things more scientifically if I was to gain an understanding of exactly what witch-magic was and how it functioned.

    I began to write:

    Scientific Method for Magical Investigation:

    <ol>

    <li>Observation: Gather data about magical phenomena</li>

    <li>Question: Formulate specific inquiries based on observations</li>

    <li>Hypothesis: Propose tentative explanations for magical effects</li>

    <li>Prediction: Determine the logical consequences of the hypothesis</li>

    <li>Testing: Design and conduct experiments to test predictions</li>

    <li>Analysis: Evaluate the results of the experiments</li>

    <li>Conclusion: Accept, reject, or modify the hypothesis based on results</li>

    <li>Repetition: Repeat the process to verify findings</li>

    </ol>

    With this framework in mind, I pondered over my observations so far, mentally outlined questions and then started listing some initial hypotheses about how witch-magic might function:

    Hypothesis 1: The soil from my domain contains a form of energy that enhances biological processes.

    Test: Place seeds in both regular soil and domain soil, controlling for other variables. Measure growth rates and compare.

    Hypothesis 2: The magical properties of my domain are tied to my physical presence.

    Test: Set up identical plant samples at varying distances from my usual resting spot. Monitor growth and vitality over time.

    Hypothesis 3: Consumption of domain-grown plants increases my connection to the land and magical abilities.

    Test: Shred domain grown grass into spices. Eat food flavored with witchgrass for a week, then switch to regular food. Keep a detailed log of any noticeable changes in perception or abilities.

    Hypothesis 4: The "spirit sight" Yaga mentioned is a learnable skill rather than an innate ability.

    Test: Dedicate time each day to meditation and attempts at perceiving beyond normal senses. Document any progress or unusual experiences.

    Hypothesis 5: The dragon''s fire specifically targets organic matter through some form of elemental recognition. Understand what the witch''s domain targets.

    Test: Expose various organic and inorganic materials from the village to my domain, track the occurring changes. Lay materials out in varying distances from the center of my domain to its edges to track where the domain effect begins to decay.

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    Hypothesis 6: The rapid healing of plant cells observed under magnification is a property that can be transferred to other organisms.

    Test: Create a poultice from domain-grown plants and apply it to small wounds on animals (if any can be found). Compare healing rates with untreated wounds.

    Hypothesis 7: The magical properties of the domain can be influenced by my thoughts and intentions.

    Test: Focus intently on specific desired traits (e.g., faster growth, different plants) while tending to different sections of the garden. Compare results over time.

    Hypothesis 8: The "Astral Ocean" mentioned by Yaga is a form of shared consciousness accessible through altered states of mind.

    Test: Attempt to induce lucid dreaming through various techniques (e.g., reality checks, meditation before sleep) and document any experiences that seem to connect with other minds or realms.

    Hypothesis 9: The magical resistance to cold observed in domain plants can be transferred to inanimate objects.

    Test: Soak various materials (cloth, wood, metal) in water infused with crushed domain plants. Expose these treated materials to freezing temperatures alongside untreated controls.

    Hypothesis 10: The domain''s energy can be stored or transferred to other locations.

    Test: Create a series of containers filled with domain soil and plants. Move these to different locations and monitor for any retention or decay rate in magical properties.

    As I finished writing, I realized the enormity of the task ahead. Each hypothesis would require careful planning, meticulous observation, and likely multiple iterations of testing. But the prospect of unraveling the mysteries of being a witch filled me with excitement.

    <hr>

    The day was much colder than yesterday as winter loomed closer, frost beginning to cover the stained glass windows of the pub.

    From what Yaga told me, I was spending precious magic on constantly fighting the chill, so I threw some wood into the pub¡¯s large fireplace and lit it, enjoying the dance of flames and flight of sparks.

    By observing a deep crack in the wall likely caused by the dragon stomping around the village, I noted that the pub was built exceptionally well to contain heat. The old building¡¯s structure consisted of three layers of well-set stones, an empty space and another layer of thinner stones held up against wooden beams. The round windows were made from clear stained glass, letting in plenty of light for my plants to enjoy.

    It only took twenty minutes of a blaze within the fireplace to make the interior completely warm and cosy. Having attained warmth, I took off my winter garb and started to meticulously sort through my dirt pile in an attempt to understand how exactly magic could have changed chemical properties of the mundane earth.

    I soon discovered a large rock that had apparently been lounging directly underneath my backside earlier. I washed the rock and cracked open one of its sides using a blacksmith¡¯s clamp and hammer, revealing a crystalline interior, similar to quartz.

    Was this rock already crystalline or had my witch-magic affected all rocks in this manner?

    I slid the crystal into a pocket and searched for more rocks. Upon inspection, all rocks within the pile were crystalline.

    With a backpack filled with earth and my pockets filled with crystal gems I quickly ventured outside to where my glade had been previously and dug a bit around it.

    None of the rocks there were crystal.

    My magic had indeed somehow crystallized perfectly mundane rocks!

    I returned to the pub and examined the wooden floors beneath my earth pile using my water drop microscope. There were distinctive, crystalline micro-structures forming between wood fibres. Next, I examined the metal chests that housed my plants. The metal was slowly turning into some kind of a strange fusion between iron and micro-crystals.

    Curious.

    I pulled out my Witch Codex and added a new entry:

    Crystallization Magic: Ability to transform mundane materials into crystal-like structures through prolonged exposure to a witch. Observed in rocks, wood, and metal.

    Potential uses: unknown.

    I spent the next few hours roaming the village to collect unique mundane materials to shove them into my magical pile to track which things would crystallise faster.

    First, I gathered various types of wood - pine from a broken chair, oak from a fallen beam, and birch from a shattered decorative lock-box. In what remained of a carpenter¡¯s workshop, I found samples of exotic woods: a piece of dark ebony and a sliver of reddish mahogany. From a broken musical instrument, I salvaged a small piece of resonant spruce.

    Metals were next on my list. I collected iron nails, a copper pot, and a silver spoon I found buried in the rubble of what must have been a wealthy home. In the blacksmith¡¯s shop, I discovered scraps of steel, brass, and even a small nugget of gold which had likely been awaiting crafting into jewelry.

    As I searched, I came across interesting fabrics. I cut small pieces from a tattered wool cloak, a linen tablecloth, and a fragment of silk from a priest¡¯s vestments in the rubble-shaped remnants of Svalbard¡¯s chapel. In another iron case, one which perhaps belonged to a seamstress, I found scraps of cotton, velvet, and even a small piece of leather.

    Stones were plentiful, so I gathered a variety: smooth river rocks, jagged pieces of slate, and a small chunk of marble from a broken statue. I also collected pieces of granite, sandstone, and a curious green stone that might have been jade. A few iron lockboxes and piles of ashes, likely once wealthy matrons, provided me with the following jewellery:

    A silver necklace adorned with small pearls and a teardrop-shaped aquamarine pendant.

    A pair of gold earrings, each set with a round garnet.

    A bronze bracelet inlaid with alternating pieces of turquoise and coral.

    A delicate gold ring featuring a cushion-cut peridot.

    An ornate silver brooch studded with tiny amethysts arranged in a floral pattern.

    A heavy gold signet ring with a flat-cut onyx bearing an unfamiliar coat of arms.

    A pair of silver hair combs, each decorated with small opals.

    A gold pendant on a thin chain, set with a large, oval-cut citrine.

    A silver anklet with dangling charms, each set with a different gemstone: ruby, sapphire, emerald, and topaz.

    From the village¡¯s mostly obliterated tannery, I gathered samples of animal products: a piece of cured hide, some horsehair, and even a small fragment of bone. In a potter¡¯s workshop, I found clay, both raw and fired into ceramics.

    I also got a sample of the dead tree''s bark and nipped a branch from a somewhat alive bush.

    As the sun began to set, I made one last quick sweep through the village. I collected bits of straw from a collapsed roof, some dried moss from a stone wall, and even a handful of ashes from an old hearth.

    Laden with my eclectic collection, I returned to the pub as darkness fell. I carefully arranged each sample in my magical earth pile, making sure to label them for future observation.

    As the stained glass windows became pitch black, I made myself dinner from dry meats and pickled vegetables, my mind buzzing with anticipation about what changes the morning might bring to my diverse collection of materials.

    I lit some candles to provide myself light. Staring at the various jewelry in my possession, I added more writing to the Codex, having arrived at an idea.

    Hypothesis: Magical energy can be observed through crystalline structures that have been exposed to my domain''s influence, similar to how certain materials can detect specific types of radiation or electromagnetic waves.

    This idea wasn''t entirely without precedent in the scientific world I remembered. For instance, scintillation crystals were used to detect ionizing radiation, converting the energy of incident radiation into visible light. Similarly, piezoelectric crystals could convert mechanical stress into electrical signals and vice versa.

    If magic in this world operated on principles analogous to electromagnetic or quantum phenomena, it stood to reason that properly aligned crystalline structures might be able to interact with or detect it.

    Experimental Design:

    Select crystals of various compositions and expose them to my domain''s influence for extended periods.

    Construct a viewing apparatus.

    Use the apparatus to observe various objects and areas:

    a. My domain soil

    b. Plants grown in my domain

    c. Regular soil and plants

    d. Living creatures (if any can be found)

    e. River Glinka

    Record observations, noting any unusual visual phenomena, colors, or patterns that aren''t visible to the naked eye.

    Create control apparatus with unexposed crystals.

    I paused my writing. I didn''t have a big variety of gems on hand. I''d have to attempt to split and grind my gems VERY carefully.

    If anything, I could definitely compare regular glass to witch-irradiated glass. I''ve had a lot of that in my domain and outside of it. I returned to my outline.

    Compare observations between witch-exposed crystals and mundane ones to rule out optical illusions or confirmation bias.

    Vary crystal exposure times and arrangements to see if it affects results.

    If successful, attempt to quantify the "magical" phenomena observed.

    I went on to outline twenty more crystal apparatus ideas and how they might work in terms of magical tracking, filling the pages of the codex with a multitude of ideas until the candles in my possession burned out.

    Still having an absurd amount of energy left, I lit a torch and with the jewelry in hand, made my way to the village smithy, grateful that the dragon¡¯s rampage had left this building mostly intact.

    I set to work, carefully prying the selected gems from their settings. It was delicate work, and I found myself wishing for more refined tools. Nevertheless, I persevered, using small chisels and pliers to free the stones from their metal prisons.

    Once liberated, I set about the painstaking process of breaking the bigger gems along crystal planes. When I had enough split gems, I left a piece of each in the smithy and carried the rest with me back to my pub, burying them in my earth.

    I wasn¡¯t big on the idea of meditation but I decided to try it out regardless, just to see if something would happen.

    Thus, I sat down on my earth pile, closed my eyes and attempted to connect with the spiritual.

    My first meditation lasted about thirty minutes and simply resulted in me falling asleep on my magical rock and soil pile.

 6 Material Science vs Witchy Mysticism

    ¡°Good night, young Ioan,¡± Yaga Grandhilda¡¯s face welcomed me in the land of dreams. ¡°How did your first day of meditation go? Were you able to sense the Astral currents?¡±

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± I blinked, blushing ever so slightly because I spent the entire day roaming around the village, harvesting books and not actually meditating.

    I cleared my throat and put on my best innocent expression. ¡°Well, you see, Yaga, I was so focused on reaching the Astral that I accidentally meditated myself right into sleep.¡±

    ¡°It happens,¡± the witch smirked at my words. ¡°After all, I did not expect much progress from a boy. True meditation requires a level of patience, focus and discipline which most men struggle to achieve even in their twilight years. Perhaps in a decade or two, you might manage to stay awake for an entire session and actually reach the Astral depths. Or not, on the account that boys cannot see nature spirits.¡± She shrugged, her eyes twinkling. ¡°Now, did you think of what else to ask me? Or has your mind been too occupied with boyish pursuits and daydreams?¡±

    I pursed my lips.

    ¡°You must learn to be patient,¡± the old witch intoned. ¡°It takes centuries to master the art of witchcraft. The advantages of being a Yaga is that we can outlive our enemies.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m going to outlive Dragon Zarnitza then?¡±

    ¡°Alas, the ghastly abomination wields an excessively long life by sleeping for several decades and then devouring a village or two,¡± Grandhilda sighed. ¡°It cannot be outlived as long as it has men to devour.¡±

    ¡°So, how immortal am I exactly?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You are not immortal,¡± Grandhilda shook her silver mane. ¡°Plenty of witches have been slain by sword, bow and fire. We are harder to kill, but we are not invincible. Your domain can heal you if you are hurt, keep you warm even in the coldest winter months, push tiredness and hunger away, but its power isn¡¯t limitless.¡±

    ¡°What exactly is witchcraft?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Witchcraft is a unique blend of knowledge, skill, and innate power,¡± she began, slowly sipping her tea. ¡°It¡¯s the art of harnessing the hidden energies within the natural world. A Yaga learns to tap into the forces of life and death, shaping them to achieve her goals. It¡¯s a path of self-discovery, growth, and transformation that ultimately leads her to a deeper understanding of herself and the wild around her.¡±

    Right. Generic question equals generic answer, not sure what I¡¯ve expected.

    I nodded, absorbing Grandhilda¡¯s words. Then, remembering my earlier observations, I asked, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed that my magical earth seems to be crystallizing things. Rocks and metal flakes mostly. What exactly is happening there?¡±

    Yaga let out a dry chuckle, shaking her head. ¡°Oh, young Ioan. A witch¡¯s job isn¡¯t to obsess over the color of rocks or the shape of metal flakes. You¡¯re still looking at the world with your eyes instead of your spirit.¡±

    I frowned, already sensing where the conversation was going.

    ¡°This is precisely why I told you to meditate! You¡¯re a boy playing with colorful pebbles when you should be reaching for the stars of the Underside of the World. The physical changes you observe are merely surface-level manifestations of far deeper spiritual transformations.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t understanding the nature of these changes important?¡± I protested. ¡°Measuring¡­¡±

    ¡°Measuring?!¡± Yaga scoffed, interrupting my words. ¡°What¡¯s important is sensing the currents of the Astral, listening to the spirit of the wind, seeing the flow of life rushing through the roots of ancient trees, observing and communicating with spirits! Not fretting over pretty crystals like a magpie with a shiny bauble!¡±

    Right. Don¡¯t tell the Astral-obsessed witch about the scientific method, got it.

    ¡°A witch deals with life itself!¡± Yaga boomed, waving a hand at the furniture and potion-filled shelves around her grown from tree roots. ¡°Do you honestly think that I measured these shelves or walls to craft them? Do you think that a witch uses a saw to cut wooden planks to size or chops down trees as a pitiful mortal would? My domain grew into my perfect home for me over centuries as I desired it to!¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said simply. ¡°Where do I start?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll need specific seeds to grow specific trees,¡± she said.

    ¡°Where am I supposed to find specific seeds in the middle of winter?¡± I asked. ¡°Or should I just wait until summer and¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to search for specific seeds at all,¡± the old witch reassured me, shaking her head. ¡°The land remembers all!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Every plant that ever grew and died on your domain should be within your reach through the Astral,¡± the witch explained. ¡°Well... it would be if you were a girl."

    "Riiiight," I nodded. "How do girls reach specific plants then?"

    "Female witches simply focus their will on their desire, and their land eventually provides them with exactly what they need. Knowing, picturing exactly what you want provides better results. It will take time, so be patient.¡±

    ¡°How long is this going to take?¡± I inquired.

    "Don''t know," she shrugged. "For you... maybe never."

    "Great," I sighed.

    ¡°Astral diving depends entirely on the Yaga''s determination,¡± she shrugged. ¡°For example, it took me a few decades to grow a specific pear tree on my domain that is fully immune to the white blight.¡±

    ¡°If you can create fruits immune to the blight, why did you not share the seeds with the villagers?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Such a tree could only grow in my domain, yong Ioan,¡± Yaga rebuffed me. ¡°Many of the trees I cultivated would not survive a single winter outside of my garden.¡±

    ¡°That leads me to my next question,¡± I said, eyeing the organic-looking containers lining the shelves. The jars were shaped like flowers, and didn¡¯t look like they were made from glass. ¡°How do potions work? Did you¡­ grow those containers?¡±

    ¡°Anything growing in your garden can be made into a potion,¡± the witch explained. ¡°After a few decades of experimentation and selective breeding, I managed to produce a tree growing these jars for me, yes. Everything you see in my abode was produced by my garden. The land provides her witch with whatever she needs.¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a book or something on this?¡± I asked, looking around the tree-grown interior and furnishings with a sense of greater appreciation for the patience and effort it must have taken to cultivate every single item using trees.

    ¡°Nay,¡± the witch shook her head. ¡°I was never taught to read and write. Garden cultivation involves a lot of trial and error, but you¡¯ll have centuries to learn it all. Eventually, a witch gains an innate understanding of which fruits in her garden can harm or heal, which bugs are poisonous and which are good for the plants.¡±

    I looked at the old crone that sipped tea in front of me as gears of understanding clicked in my mind.

    Did witches cultivate a kind of spiritual sensitivity, a magical, microscope-like skill that permitted them to perceive beyond the chemical and biological confines of the mundane world? Maybe I could construct an ¡®Astralscope¡¯, if only I grasped the scientific principles underpinning it?

    ¡°How long did your entire house take to grow?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Seven hundred years,¡± was her reply.

    ¡°Wow,¡± I whistled.

    ¡°There is always a mountain beyond the mountain when it comes to spiritual understanding, ¡± Yaga Grandhilda intoned. ¡°The greater insight you gain about a specific plant, the better you can manipulate its growth. If you want to summon a specific flower into your garden from beyond the veil of death, you must have a deep understanding of seeds in general, to picture a certain seed mentally with perfect, near-absolute clarity.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± I said.

    ¡°A wise witch needs not ever to take a single step outside of her domain,¡± the old crone added. ¡°All is within her reach through the currents of the Astral.¡±

    ¡°Hang on. Did you not step outside of your domain to get to Svalbard?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Did I?¡± Grandhilda smirked at me, showing off her sharp, unnaturally pointy teeth.

    ¡°I¡­ urm,¡± I stammered, feeling my mind careening sideways. ¡°You poked me in the chest¡­ that was real, right?¡±

    ¡°As real as this dream is,¡± Yaga leaned forward and tapped my hand with a sharp fingernail.

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°Did I dream of your presence in Svalbard?!¡±

    ¡°Not exactly,¡± the witch said. ¡°That was an Astral Projection, aided by a potion brewed from blood magic and exceptionally potent dream-herbs which allow my spirit to step through the Astral to¡­ manifest in a specific spot for a brief period to activate a hexagram woven from my magic on a boy named Ioan for example.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± I said. "Sounds very useful."

    ¡°If you get to become as old and wise as me,¡± the witch smiled. ¡°You too might be able to project your spirit wherever you are needed. Attempt to start small. Your first task when you wake up is to feel your garden¡¯s spirits. Meditate, breathe in and out, block out all pesky thoughts about shiny rocks and measuring things, feel the sun on your skin, become one with your glade. If you learn to sense the spiritual aspects of the wild, things will progress smoothly.¡±

    "Big if, though, right?" I asked.

    "Indeed," Grandhilda smiled at me. "You''ve made your bed, now you must sleep in it. You chose to swim upstream, begged me for it."

    ¡°Riiight,¡± I said, not feeling supremely confident about listening to the colors of the wind like some sort of Pocahontas from the American animated 90''s musical. ¡°So what if I can¡¯t do it at all because simply I¡¯m a boy or because I¡¯m missing some vital ingredient from the equation required for Astral sight?¡±

    ¡°Oh Ioan,¡± the witch cackled. ¡°Being a witch requires patience and a willingness to connect with the spiritual world. If you can¡¯t do it because you¡¯re a boy, well... perhaps you should have thought of that before you decided to take on the mantle of a Yaga.¡±

    I frowned.

    ¡°Magic isn¡¯t some whimsical puzzle that could be solved with mere measurements. It¡¯s about opening yourself to the dark Abyss beneath us all, letting go of your mortal limitations, seeing past reality," she added.

    I opened my mouth to protest, but she continued before I could speak.

    ¡°Even if you turn out to be the worst witch in history, even if you''ll never be able to see spirits, never dive into the Astral, it¡¯s still better than you dying quickly as the worst sort of hero,¡± she smirked. ¡°At least this way, you¡¯re providing me with endless entertainment. Your struggles and fumbling attempts at witchcraft are far more amusing than watching you get devoured by a Jotun would have been.¡±

    I squinted at her. She was definitely making fun of me, or perhaps challenging the scientist in me to a battle of understanding of reality.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough for tonight, I think,¡± she declared, leaning back on her organic-chair. ¡°Sweet dreams, little witch-boy. Try not to crystallize your brain with all of the thinking of rocks.¡±

    Grandhilda¡¯s mirth echoed in my ears as she clapped her hands, collapsing the dream.

 7 The Astralscope Tool Assembly [Day 4]

    I woke up feeling groggy and disoriented after my dream conversation with Yaga Grandhilda. Her words about meditation and connecting with the spiritual aspects of my domain echoed in my mind.

    Despite my skepticism, I decided to give it an honest try.

    I opened all of the windows of the pub, sat down on my blessed relocated earth, and closed my eyes. All I could focus on was the whooshing wind trying to claw against the walls of the pub and the softness and the odd warmth of the earth beneath me. My mind constantly wandered, thinking about the crystallization of materials and all the samples I had collected.

    I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. I even took deep breaths, attempting to feel the sun on my skin and become ¡°one with the glade¡± as she had instructed.

    There was no sun inside the pub to speak of, it was cloudy out and fat snowflakes occasionally drifted through the open windows.

    For what felt like hours, I sat there, breathing and trying to sense...something. Anything. But all I felt was an increasingly numb behind and a growing frustration.

    I stood up from my earth pile and stretched.

    ¡°Well, I gave it a good try,¡± I said to nobody in particular. ¡°Alas, both of my attempts at meditation have resulted in complete failure. Time to try something else.¡±

    If I didn¡¯t have the necessary organ or perhaps simply lacked the gender-specific innate talent to perceive spirits, I would just have to construct a tool to observe them.

    I carefully examined the samples I had placed in my magical earth pile the night before. To my fascination, I noticed that certain materials had indeed begun to crystallize faster than others.

    The metals showed minute signs of transformation. The silver spoon and gold nugget were definitely shinier. The iron nails and steel scraps weren¡¯t far behind, their surfaces glittering with microscopic crystalline formations upon magnification.

    Among the stones, the marble and granite pieces showed the most change, with microscopic crystal structures forming along their edges. The river rocks and sandstone, however, showed almost no alteration.

    The wood samples showed zero change.

    The gemstones in the jewelry pieces seemed to be greatly amplifying the effect, crystallizing faster than the metal, becoming more transparent.

    I noted these observations in my codex, theorizing that materials with more ordered internal structures seemed to crystallize more readily. This aligned with my understanding of entropy and crystallization processes from my previous life.

    [Greater Syntropy = faster crystallization] I wrote in the Codex.

    Syntropy was a term I liked quite a bit. It was coined in 1974 by biochemist Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi who proposed the word to replace the term ¡®negentropy¡¯ aka the opposite of entropy.

    Sadly there were no diamonds among the jewellery pieces. However, the next most crystallized gemstone candidate was likely a ruby or sapphire which were both forms of corundum, with a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale.

    I carefully examined each gemstone in my possession, measuring their dimensions with the crude caliper I had pilfered from the smithy. After meticulous comparison, I selected the widest stones: amethyst, ruby, sapphire, citrine, peridot, and the round garnet.

    <hr>

    I went to the smithy and set about the painstaking process of grinding softer gems into rectangular shapes of similar size.

    The work was slow and meticulous. I frequently paused to check my progress, ensuring that I was maintaining an even surface.

    Hours passed as I tirelessly carefully shaped each gemstone. The softer stones like the citrine and peridot were easier to work with, but I had to be extra careful not to apply too much pressure.

    As I ground away the last of the edges on the garnet, I held up my handiwork to the light.

    Five flat, somewhat evenly polished rectangular planes of varying colors and sizes lay before me.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Wait. How did I just do that? Was it supposed to be this easy to grind gems? Were all witches experts at lapidary or was that just me? Hypothesis: Crystals and gems grown or altered by a witch''s domain may be easier for a witch to manipulate or shape compared to regular gems/crystals.

    I grabbed the other garnet that I left in the drawer and tried to grind it. It simply didn''t work. The grinder wheel didn''t do anything whatsoever to the non-witch affected garnet.

    Damn!

    I tried the same with other duplicate or split stones for another hour. It was painfully difficult to work with non-witch affected materials, they just didn''t want to cooperate, were too hard or too brittle, shattering as I tried to shape them.

    Witch affected amethyst definitely wasn''t as brittle as the amethyst piece I left in the smithy!

    <hr>

    I returned to the pub, my hands aching from hours of meticulous work, my mind buzzing with anticipation. Carefully, one by one, I affixed each witch-gem-lens I made to various iron pliers, securing it in place with a strand of rope.

    With bated breath, I peered through the ruby lens at my relocated glade. Nothing. Just the same pile of earth and plants I¡¯d been staring at for days. Disappointment gnawed at me, but I pressed on.

    I cycled through each lens - sapphire, citrine, peridot, garnet. Each time, I was met with the same view, devoid of any spiritual or otherworldly phenomena. Frustration mounted as I realized that perhaps Yaga was right¨Cmaybe magic wasn¡¯t something that could be measured or observed through physical means.

    But I wasn¡¯t ready to give up just yet. In a final, desperate attempt, I placed all of the gemstone lenses into the pliers atop of each other, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. I pressed my eye against the makeshift viewfinder to see¡­ nothing more than a blurry, rainbow-tinted version of my glade.

    So much for the experiment of seeing spirits through crystal lenses. Oh well.

    I began to pace across the pub.

    Maybe the lenses needed more exposure time to my domain? Or, maybe¡­ I wasn¡¯t using them to look at the right thing? I thought about the earth, about what witches represented as the catalyst that made mundane rocks magical.

    What was the most magical thing here?

    As I paced across the pub again, frustration gnawing at me, a sudden realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. I stopped in my tracks.

    Of course! Eureka! I was the most magical thing in this entire pub all along!

    Hypothesis: A witch''s blood, being intrinsically connected to their domain, may possess heightened magical properties or serve as a catalyst for magical phenomena.

    Without hesitation, I grabbed a small knife from the table and, with a quick, decisive motion, pricked my finger. A droplet of blood welled up, glistening in the dim light of the pub. I quickly prepared my water drop microscope, carefully placing the blood sample on the glass shard.

    With trembling hands, I positioned my newly crafted multi-lens apparatus in front of the microscope, lighting a candle to produce light for the mirror shard to reflect as it was quite dark outside now.

    Taking a deep breath, I leaned in and peered through the kaleidoscope of crystallized gemstones and the microscope.

    What I saw took my breath away.

    Through the view of the combined gemstone lenses, my blood was no longer just a red liquid. It pulsed with an otherworldly violet light, each cell a miniature galaxy swirling with radiant energy. Tiny motes of light danced between the cells, connecting them in intricate patterns that shifted and changed as I watched.

    The longer I stared at the blurry motes, squinting through the lenses, I began to see... something else. Shadowy something flickered at the edges of my vision, just barely perceptible as if the violet shimmers held otherness within them, akin to doorway, an impossible fold into elsewhere.

    Something moved with fluid, alien grace, an impossible pattern danced between the blood cells like ethereal fish in a cosmic sea.

    My heart pounded in my chest. Were these the spirits Yaga had spoken of?

    Had I actually managed to glimpse the Astral realm through sheer scientific ingenuity?

    I pulled back from the microscope, my mind reeling from what I¡¯d just witnessed. It was incredible, paradigm-shifting, and utterly terrifying all at once.

    I had done it.

    Science: 2, Witchy Meditation: 0

    Take that, Grandhilda! Who needs meditation when you¡¯ve got a gemstone lens Astralscope and a reckless disregard for personal safety?

    But my triumph was short-lived as a new thought occurred to me. What if these ¡®spirits¡¯ were actually some kind of local parasite now inhabiting my blood courtesy of the local Goddess Zemy or whatever?

    Or worse, what if they were always there, in everyone¡¯s blood, and I¡¯d just invented a way to see our microscopic overlords?

    Paranoia: 1, Common Sense: 0

    I sat back down onto the blessed earth and watched as the cut on my finger slowly sealed itself.

    Wait. How was I doing this? Was I doing this, or were the questionable things in my blood responsible?

    I adjusted the candle and the mirror and pointed the Astralscope at the cut on my finger and watched, mesmerized by the dancing blurry microscopic motes of violet light.

    The shimmering motes swarmed around the cut, weaving themselves in and out of my skin with an eerie intelligence and purpose. As I watched, the wound closed before my eyes, leaving no trace of the injury. Something odd was happening in the wake of their motion, skewering space and introducing an extra dimension to the view, making my head throb.

    I reached for the knife once again and dipped my finger in alcohol. Science required sacrifice. Further testing was necessary to observe this phenomenon.

 8 Blood Magic

    I blinked, finding myself once again in the familiar dreamscape of Yaga Grandhilda¡¯s hut. The old witch sat before me, her wrinkled face adorned with a smug grin that made me want to roll my eyes.

    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± she drawled, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement. ¡°Look who decided to grace my humble abode with his presence. Did you have fun playing with pretty rocks, my darling witch-boy or did you meditate as I had advised you to?¡±

    I bit back a retort, reminding myself that I had, in fact, made a significant breakthrough.

    ¡°Actually,¡± I began, trying to keep the pride from my voice, ¡°I did both and managed to see something¡­¡±

    Grandhilda raised an eyebrow, her expression sceptical. ¡°Oh? Do tell. Did you perhaps catch a glimpse of your own cold breath in the air and mistake it for a spirit?¡±

    I ignored her jab and pressed on.

    ¡°I was able to see... something in my blood. Tiny motes of light, moving with purpose. And in their wake, shadowy forms that seemed to exist in some other dimension.¡±

    The witch¡¯s smug grin faltered for a moment, replaced by a look of genuine surprise. ¡°You... what?¡±

    ¡°I watched them repair a cut on my finger,¡± I said. ¡°Repeatedly.¡±

    ¡°You cut yourself on purpose?¡± Yaga¡¯s voice suddenly grew serious.

    ¡°I did,¡± I nodded. ¡°What? Is there something¡­¡±

    ¡°Foolish boy,¡± she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. ¡°Do you have any idea what you¡¯ve done?¡±

    I felt a chill run down my spine. ¡°I... I was just trying to see the spirits you talked about,¡± I stammered, suddenly feeling like a child caught doing something they shouldn¡¯t.

    Yaga leaned forward, her gnarled fingers gripping the arms of her chair. ¡°Blood magic is not something to be trifled with, Ioan. It is ancient, powerful, and incredibly dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Dangerous how?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°How long did you stare at your own blood, exactly?¡± She asked.

    I rubbed the back of my head, feeling a mix of pride and growing unease. ¡°Uhh... at least half of the night. It was really interesting, honestly. I could barely fall asleep because I was trying to¡ª¡±

    ¡°By Zemy¡¯s roots!¡± Yaga exploded, her face contorting with a mixture of anger and concern. ¡°You addlepated sapling! Do you have any idea what you¡¯ve done?¡±

    I flinched at her outburst, my earlier confidence evaporating. ¡°I... I was just trying to see¡ª¡±

    ¡°See what? The inside of your own grave?¡± she spat. ¡°Blood magic isn¡¯t some trifling matter to be toyed with like a child¡¯s rattle! It¡¯s as dangerous as dancing with a starving bear outside of your domain!¡±

    Her words sent a chill down my spine. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡±

    Yaga¡¯s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing me. ¡°You¡¯ve opened a door and kept it open for a long time. A door that shouldn¡¯t be opened without proper preparation and protection of wards and runes. Those spirits you saw? They saw you too and they can tell others about it."

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± I began.

    ¡°Intent and desire is important in matters of blood magic,¡± she cut me off. ¡°Simply bleeding is one thing, but cutting yourself in order to observe spirits is incredibly dangerous. What you¡¯ve done is akin to shouting your name into the void of the Astral. Every entity that hungers for the essence of a witch will have heard your call.¡±

    ¡°Meaning what?¡± I swallowed.

    Yaga¡¯s expression softened slightly, though concern still etched deep lines in her face. ¡°It means, my foolish apprentice, that the protection of your domain is now more crucial than ever. You must learn to conceal yourself sooner than later.¡±

    I nodded, feeling a weight settle in my stomach. ¡°How do I do that?¡±

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    ¡°First,¡± she said, her voice regaining some of its usual strength, ¡°you must promise me that you will not experiment with blood magic again.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded. ¡°No looking at my own blood.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a start. Now, listen carefully, for I will not repeat this,¡± she began, ¡°blood of a witch is power, Ioan. It is life itself, and in the wrong hands, it can be a terrible weapon. Never, under any circumstances, should you willingly give your blood to another. Not a drop, not a smear, not even a hair with a speck of blood on it.¡±

    ¡°Do not write with your blood, do not mix it into potions, do not use it to water plants or feed animals. Do not spill it on shiny rocks hoping to make them more magical. Do not write with it on anything! Each of these acts can create a link between you and something else, a link that can be exploited, a link that attracts¡­ Jotuns.¡±

    ¡°Jotuns?¡± I asked. ¡°What is a Jotun?¡±

    ¡°A Jotun is an eldritch beast,¡± the witch said darkly. ¡°They are monstrous creatures born from fallen heroes whose flesh warped into a mockery of great beasts which they had feasted upon throughout their life.¡±

    She paused, her eyes distant.

    ¡°Jotuns often bear massive elk antlers atop their misshapen heads. Their hands are many and end in wicked black claws, harder than steel and sharp enough to slice through the toughest armor as if it were parchment. They are trapped between man, cursed spirit and beast, never able to find peace, possessing the cunning of a man with the instincts of a wolfhound. Few who face them in battle live to tell the tale. A witch that spills her blood will sooner or later encounter a Jotun and will inevitably be hunted down by these abominations... And when they''re done with her, her near-dead body is dragged into the Void to be wielded by the Abyss itself, never knowing peace!"

    ¡°Are they as dangerous as dragons?¡± I gulped.

    ¡°Nay,¡± the Yaga shook her head. ¡°Almost nothing can drive a dragon away from a feast, while a banner woven by a virgin maiden during her Zemy¡¯s Band ritual will keep a cursed beast from entering her family¡¯s home at night.¡±

    I nodded.

    So, Zemy¡¯s Band was an artifact of sorts that opposed cursed creatures. I would have to locate one or more in the ruins and try to understand exactly how it functioned.

    ¡°Okay so¡­¡± I began.

    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Grandhilda rubbed her temple, interrupting me. ¡°You went out of the glade and acquired a knife?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± she ordered sternly. ¡°Do not ever venture out of your domain! Do you have a death wish? Do you want a Jotun to eat you?¡±

    ¡°Not particularly,¡± I said.

    ¡°Then stay inside your glade!¡± the Yaga banged a fist on the arm of her chair, causing it to creak ominously. ¡°A witch¡¯s domain is her sanctuary! The moment you step outside, you¡¯re vulnerable.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± I replied. ¡°But what if I accidentally cut myself while inside my domain?¡±

    ¡°In all my seven hundred and twelve years of life have I never encountered a witch that cut herself accidentally in her own bloody domain!¡± Grandhilda barked. ¡°A witch shouldn¡¯t suffer cuts on her domain, unless she does it to herself!¡±

    ¡°So, what should I do now?¡± I asked. ¡°How do I protect myself from these... Jotuns and other entities that might have heard my ¡®call¡¯?¡±

    ¡°You are far too inexperienced to weave runes,¡± the witch tapped her chair. ¡°And you have no nearby living trees to weave them on. Your only option now is to hide in your glade until danger passes.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hug the ground and wish to be unseen. You¡¯ll sink into the verdant earth, and nobody will be able to find you,¡± the Yaga explained. ¡°Mother Zemliya will protect you even against a Jotun¡¯s claws.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered. ¡°I¡¯ll be able to breathe... underground?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll breathe and sense if someone is near,¡± she confirmed. ¡°Your glade is the source of your power, unless you¡¯ve already forgotten everything I¡¯ve taught you.¡±

    She eyed me wearily.

    ¡°Right,¡± I said, momentarily pondering whether I had made a miscalculation by digging up my domain. Sinking into the earth sounded like pulling a reverse Jesus, the opposite of walking on water.

    ¡°Won¡¯t the circle of fresh plants look like an obvious target in winter?¡± I asked, refusing to confess that I had relocated my entire glade into a pub like some sort of a raging alcoholic.

    ¡°Many odd things happen in the forests,¡± Grandhilda shrugged. ¡°Mortals and clever beasts will likely think it¡¯s a fairy circle and simply avoid stepping on it. Fairies can pull a mortal or a hero right out of existence if one steps onto their circle.¡±

    ¡°And I can... what, drown someone in my earth?¡± I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grandhilda nodded. "You can absolutely drown a Jotun in your domain."

    ¡°How does that even work?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Learn to master your domain,¡± she said, leaving the details vague. ¡°Learn to see its spirits and command them to obey you!"

    ¡°How?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That I cannot teach you,¡± she yawned. ¡°It is simply a natural process, one that every witch reaches¡­ herself. If you were able to see the spirits of your blood, then you should be able to see spirits of the land too and commune with them.¡±

    The Yaga let out a weary sigh, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. ¡°Alas, I grow tired, young Ioan. Remember what I¡¯ve told you, and for the love of all that is sacred, don¡¯t do anything else stupid!¡±

    Before I could ask any more questions about what was a stupid thing to do, she clapped her hands together. The dream shattered like a broken mirror, and I found myself jolted back to consciousness.

 9 Witchy Hoarding [Day 5]

    Day 5

    I woke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. Yaga¡¯s warnings about questionable things sniffing my blood magic filled me with a maddening sense of urgency.

    I needed to protect myself, and I needed to do it now.

    Remembering what Yaga had said about the Zemy¡¯s Band banners, I realized I had a potential solution right at my fingertips. The village had been home to hundreds of people, each family likely possessing at least one of these protective tapestries woven by girls on the cusp of adulthood.

    Without wasting another moment, I grabbed my earth-filled backpack and set out into the ruins of Svalbard. My breath danced in the cold air turning white as I moved from house to house, searching for the telltale signs of the Zemy¡¯s Band banners.

    In the first home I entered, I found two banners hanging on the walls. They were beautiful works of art, each unique in its design but all sharing a common thread of intricate patterns and symbols woven into the fabric. I carefully took them down and rolled them up, placing them gently in a sack I had brought for this purpose.

    As I moved through the village, I found more and more banners. Some homes had three or four, while others had only one. Some had older banners hidden inside dusty chests. I took them all.

    In what must have been the home of the village elder or the hall of records, I found an entire room dedicated to these tapestries. The walls were adorned with dozens of Zemy''s Band banners, each more intricate and beautiful than the last. My heart raced with excitement as I realized the treasure trove I had stumbled upon.

    I carefully and quickly removed each banner from the wall. Some were clearly ancient, their edges frayed and colors faded, while others looked fresh and vibrant, likely woven by the most recent generation of young women in Svalbard.

    I had noticed the banners before but paid them no mind as I was unaware of their value. Now that I was looking at them up close, they didn¡¯t seem to be damaged at all by dragonfire.

    As I filled my sack with banners, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the stories behind each tapestry. Who were the girls who had woven them? What hopes and dreams had they poured into each thread? And more importantly, how exactly did these banners ward off malevolent entities?

    I spent the day combing through the village, collecting every banner I could find. By the time I finished, my sack was bulging with rolled-up tapestries.

    Returning to the pub, I felt a sense of accomplishment and, more importantly, a glimmer of hope for my safety. Once inside, I hammered nails into walls and covered every available surface with the banners, making the pub look like some sort of a bizarre textile museum.

    Science: 3, Paranoia: 2, Interior Decorating: -5

    I mentally tabulated my personal score.

    Was banner hoarding science though? It''s not like I made the banners, but then again many scientists simply made discoveries based on the discoveries and tools of others that came before them.

    Some of the banners were definitely hanging a bit lopsided.

    ¡°Well,¡± I muttered to myself as I admired my banner fortress of absolute safety, ¡°if these banners work as Yaga advertised, then I should be the most protected witch in all of Thornwild. And if not, at least I¡¯ll have the most festive death in history.¡±

    ¡°I do wonder if these things stack? Like, do more banners equal more protection, or is it a one-and-done deal?¡± I mused aloud as I made myself dinner. ¡°Eh can¡¯t be too paranoid when your magic blood is basically Jotun-chow.¡±

    . . .

    After filling my belly with another portion of dry meat and pickled vegetables, I turned my attention to the banners adorning the walls of the pub. My curiosity about their protective properties had been gnawing at me since I¡¯d hung them up. With mild trepidation, I retrieved my makeshift Astralscope and settled down to examine the tapestries more closely.

    I started with the oldest banner I could find, its edges frayed and colors faded with age.

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    Peering through my Astralscope/microscope combination, I expected to see something extraordinary, perhaps shimmering motes of light or shadowy forms like I had observed in my blood. To my disappointment, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. The banner remained just that - an old piece of fabric.

    Undeterred, I moved on to examine other banners, working my way through the collection from oldest looking banners to newest. Banner after banner yielded no results, and I began to feel a creeping sense of doubt. Had Yaga been exaggerating the power of these tapestries?

    Finally, I came to the newest banner, its colors still vibrant and threads unmarred by time. As I focused my Astralscope on its surface, I noticed something different. It wasn¡¯t the dramatic revelation I had hoped for, but there was definitely... something.

    A faint, blurry, microscopic shimmer seemed to hover just above the fabric, like heat rising from sun-baked stones. It was barely perceptible, and I found myself squinting and adjusting the lenses repeatedly, trying to bring it into focus. But no matter how I tried, the effect remained stubbornly unclear, dancing at the edge of visibility.

    I set aside my tools. The faint shimmer I¡¯d observed on the newest banner was intriguing, but I couldn¡¯t help feeling that I was missing something crucial.

    I sighed, setting aside my Astralscope and rubbing my weary eyes. Feeling frustrated, I turned my attention to the pile of books and scrolls I had salvaged from the ruins.

    Picking up the first tome, I opened it eagerly, only to be met with an incomprehensible jumble of symbols. I flipped through page after page, hoping to find something I could understand, but it was no use. The writing system was completely foreign to me, a stark reminder of the gaps in my knowledge of this new world.

    Undeterred, I moved on to the next book, and the next. Every volume presented the same challenge ¨C rows upon rows of indecipherable text. Alas, my Master could not teach me to read for she too was an illiterate witch.

    Just as I was about to give up, I came across a large, leather-bound book that felt heavier than the others. Its cover was adorned with intricate embossing that depicted what looked like stylized beasts locked in combat with men wielding long spears.

    Intrigued, I carefully opened it.

    To my delight, this book was different. Instead of dense text, its pages were filled with detailed illustrations.

    These weren''t just simple sketches; they were detailed, almost lifelike depictions of creatures that seemed to have sprung from the darkest corners of imagination.

    The first image that caught my attention was of a massive, hulking beast with the body of a man fused somehow to the body of an elk, grotesquely distorted, stretched and misshapen. Its head bore enormous elk antlers, and its hands - of which there were six - ended in wicked claws. The creature''s eyes, even in the illustration, seemed to hold a terrible intelligence. Below the image, a single word was written in an alphabet I couldn''t read, but I knew instinctively that this was a Jotun.

    Turning the page, I found myself face to face with a creature that seemed to be made entirely of shadows. Its form was vaguely humanoid, but it lacked distinct features, appearing more like a hole in reality than a physical being. Tendrils of darkness swirled around it, and the artist had somehow managed to convey a sense of cold dread emanating from the figure.

    The next illustration showed a being that appeared to be half-woman, half-tree.

    As I continued to flip through the pages, my eyes widened at the array of fantastical and terrifying creatures depicted within. One illustration showed a beautiful woman with emerald skin, writhing snakes for hair, her gaze so sharp that I found myself momentarily frozen. The caption beneath, though unreadable to me, likely identified her as some sort of Medusa.

    Other Gorgon-like things followed, each more bewildering than the last.

    Another page revealed a massive serpent, its coils seeming to stretch beyond the confines of the illustration.

    Another revealed a girl that was half human half cat, her silver-blue eyes slitted like a pair of diamonds. She was wearing a simple pale dress. Unlike the other beasts she didn''t look spooky, just harmless and cute.

    I turned the page to find a creature that appeared to be made of living flame. Its form was vaguely humanoid, but its body flickered and danced like a bonfire. Where its eyes should have been, there were only pits of intense, white-hot fire.

    The last page of the book depicted a pale, wrinkled woman wearing a skull mask, wearing a dress made from red-tinted bones. I could guess that the label beneath tagged her as a Volva-Yaga witch.

    I shut the book with a shudder. Why was my Master wearing bones? Was there some sort of magical protection within such?

    There was an old animal bone within my pile pilfered from the tannery. I picked it up and examined it. It was becoming crystalline too, albeit quite slowly.

    Remembering Yaga¡¯s instructions about sinking into the earth for protection, I decided to give it a try. I walked onto my pile of blessed earth and plants, feeling slightly ridiculous as I prepared to attempt this feat.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I muttered to myself, ¡°here goes nothing.¡±

    I lay down on the earth on my back, spreading my arms and legs out as if I were making a snow angel. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on the feeling of the soil beneath me. I imagined myself becoming one with the earth, sinking down into its protective embrace.

    Nothing happened.

    I opened one eye, peeking around the pub. I was still very much on top of the earth mound, not in it.

    ¡°Come on,¡± I grumbled, closing my eyes again.

    This time, I tried to visualize the process more vividly. I pictured the earth softening beneath me, welcoming me into its depths, hugging me. I even wiggled my fingers and toes, as if that might help me burrow down somehow.

    Still nothing.

    Having given up on further earth-diving attempts I manually buried myself in cosy, blessed soil, hoping that my witchy Master would provide me greater insights tonight to work with.

 10 Spiritual Inquiries

    I found myself once again in the familiar dreamscape of Yaga Grandhilda¡¯s hut. The old witch sat before me, her wrinkled face composed in an expression of forced calm. Her piercing blue eyes studied me intently, as if trying to peer into my very soul.

    ¡°So, young Ioan,¡± she began, her voice measured and careful, ¡°have you done anything else I should be... concerned about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been.. proactive in my approach to protection.¡±

    Grandhilda¡¯s eyebrow arched slightly ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ surrounded myself in Zemy¡¯s Band banners,¡± I revealed, expecting to be yelled at.

    For a moment, Yaga just stared at me, her face unreadable. Then, to my surprise, she burst into an explosion of uncontained laughter.

    ¡°Forgive me, I can¡¯t help but be entertained by your unorthodox creativity,¡± she finally stopped laughing after a minute. ¡°It is a rather novel approach, not available to the common wilderness-bound witch such as myself. I suppose I should be grateful you didn¡¯t try to wear them as clothing."

    ¡°I was considering that,¡± I said. ¡°It seems like a good idea, no?¡±

    ¡°Have you no respect for your dead kin?¡± She arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t using it,¡± I pointed out.

    She simply stared at me.

    ¡°Hey, in my defense, you didn¡¯t exactly give me a ¡®Witch¡¯s Guide to Not Getting Eaten by Monsters¡¯. I had to improvise.¡±

    Yaga rolled her eyes so hard I was worried they might get stuck that way. ¡°Improvise, he says. Next thing I know, you¡¯ll be trying to brew potions in a chamber pot! Do you even listen to me, boy? I told you not to wander out of your domain, yet you seem to be doing just that!¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± I said. ¡°Just tell me¨Cif I have more of these virgin-woven banners near me, am I safer from flesh-eating abominations? Also, do the banners become weaker with age?¡±

    ¡°I suppose I can¡¯t fault you entirely for your resourcefulness,¡± she sighed, even though her eyes were filled with amusement. ¡°To answer your questions: yes, having more banners near you does offer more protection. The power of a banner lies in the intent and skill of its creator, not just its age. A banner woven by a gifted maiden will retain its potency for decades or even longer, while one made halfheartedly might lose its power within a year.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± I relaxed.

    ¡°How many banners did you liberate from the dead exactly?¡± She asked curiously.

    ¡°Enough to keep Jotuns away, hopefully,¡± I said.

    The Yaga tried very hard not to laugh, making a coughing noise. I wondered if she was picturing my out-in-the-open glade covered in randomly strewn layers upon layers of banners.

    Having calmed herself in another minute with a sip of her tea, she waved a hand at me to resume.

    ¡°Will my domain get bigger?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grandhilda nodded. ¡°A witch''s domain slowly grows in power, just as she does, with the enriched earth, grasses and tree roots spreading outward.¡±

    ¡°Is the spread circular... or can I direct it?¡±

    ¡°Sleep on the edge of your glade and domain to grow more in that specific direction,¡± the Yaga said.

    ¡°Got it,¡± I nodded. ¡°And what if I don¡¯t sleep on my domain, roll off it accidentally?¡±

    ¡°You will never roll off it by accident,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°Your body is tied to your glade by a spiritual bond, it will take you considerable effort to simply step away from your garden. If a wild beast or a man attempts to push you off your earth while you¡¯re asleep, you will wake up instantly from an awful nightmare, your senses amplified and accelerated by the spirits.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said. "Is there any point to me trying more meditation? I feel like I''m getting conflicting information here. You said that males cannot see spirits when we met... and yet I should meditate to see spirits?"

    "Female witches meditate to empower their existing spiritual sight," the Yaga sighed. "I don''t know whether you will be able to do that at all. I''m only telling you what worked great for me, but it doesn''t mean that it will necessarily work for you. Making you into a witch was a huge gamble, I had no idea whether it would even work... What I''ve done is a bit of a violation of natural order. You are a flower growing on poisoned ground and I don''t know what you will grow into exactly and how. I am simply doing my best here to accommodate for your ridiculous desire to be a witch. The truth is that you might never be able to see or interact with nature spirits because doing so requires a female body and soul."

    "Right," I said.

    The witch took another sip of her tea, awaiting further questions.

    ¡°Master, you seemed¡­ very insistent that I become a hero,¡± I said. ¡°Do you make heroes because you want the dragon gone from this land?¡±

    ¡°An apt question,¡± the witch sighed. ¡°Many tried to stand up to Zarnitza and failed. I was hoping that the sacrifice of Svalbard would make a hero strong enough to someday take the dragon down, but Glinka only let you live and you¡­ chose a different path. Thus, it will fall to you to someday help produce heroes to stop the ancient abomination.¡±

    ¡°Will you teach me how to make witches and heroes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°In time,¡± Grandhilda nodded. ¡°Perhaps in two centuries, once you¡¯ve demonstrated patience and wisdom in ample measure.¡±

    ¡°How did you learn to create heroes and witches?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yaga Baga taught me the basics centuries after she made me,¡± the witch said with a smile, as if recalling something from long ago. ¡°The rest I figured out on my own.¡±

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    ¡°So, witches don¡¯t meet up in covens to exchange spell ideas?¡± I inquired.

    ¡°Not Volva-Yaga,¡± Grandhilda shrugged. ¡°We, the guardians of forests, are something between a nature spirit and a human. We prefer seclusion to human companionship, and because of it, our lives are exceptionally long and fruitful.¡±

    ¡°What are nature spirits?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the avatars of the land personified by belief, woven from magic itself,¡± the witch explained.

    ¡°Do they manifest often?¡±

    ¡°It depends entirely on how much magic is in the land and how much meaning mortals attribute to it,¡± the witch elaborated. ¡°Belief in the personification of a place sometimes creates a human-like or an animalistic spirit. Those with powers of Astral sight, such as witches, can communicate with these spiritual manifestations and even trade with them.¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°The most potent spirit closest to you is the River Glinka. You¡¯ll be able to speak with her once the ice thaws,¡± Grandhilda added. ¡°Remember - don¡¯t put more than one foot into the river, and don¡¯t make trades carelessly. Because your domain is Mother Earth, a river will be able to kill you with ease.¡±

    ¡°Sooooo, no fishing for me?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Never!¡± The witch intoned, her voice sharp. ¡°Stay on your land, damn it! Outside of your domain you are weaker than a baby bird, easy prey for all manner of things. Away from your glade a single poisoned bug could bring you down and water is your greatest enemy!¡±

    ¡°Witches should avoid¡­ water?¡± I stared at the old crone, expecting more words of witchy wisdom, perhaps a rational explanation of why the Wicked Witch of Oz melted.

    ¡°Witches should stay put and be wary of floods. Yaga Shinga drowned even when she was on her land,¡± the witch sighed. ¡°Foolish men dammed a river uphill of her domain to protect their city. When their city fell a century later, the dam broke and flooded her land. She was washed away along with most of her grove by the tide and drowned. A most untidy way to go for someone who survived two hundred years.¡±

    Ah, that¡¯s not that scary then. No melting for me. Phew.

    ¡°So, Master,¡± I said. ¡°About the river. What sort of trades can I make with it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make any trades with it at all! You¡¯re a young Yaga, easy prey for a clever spirit. Requesting incredible power or great knowledge without being able to pay the price could result in the river taking your entire soul as payment,¡± Yaga warned with a serious expression. ¡°All trades with Nature Spirits are unbreakable magic pacts that must be fulfilled to the letter.¡±

    I nodded, wondering if that was how young Ioan had met his end, seeking knowledge to slay the dragon from Glinka and unable to pay the price to keep his memories intact.

    ¡°Why would a river need souls?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A river spirit, like a person or a clever beast, wants to extend its life and power,¡± Grandhilda explained. ¡°By taking magic from us, it strengthens its own persistence in this world.¡±

    ¡°But how can a river trade power or information? Where does it even get knowledge from?¡±

    ¡°A spirit is better connected to the Astral Ocean, which links to everything that has ever lived or died,¡± the witch replied. ¡°The currents of the Astral abyss are deep and limitless.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded. ¡°So my domain is powered by¡­¡±

    ¡°Your domain is akin to a vessel holding four hundred and seventeen soul shards of your kin tied to it by your pact with Goddess Zemlya,¡± the witch revealed.

    ¡°Soul shards?¡± I asked. ¡°Is that what dragons and rivers feed on? Human souls?¡±

    "Indeed," the witch concurred. "The vital life force of Svalbard¡¯s people was divided between you and the dragon. Had River Glinka not sheltered you, had she not enfolded you in her protective current, the dragon would have feasted more sumptuously and slumbered far longer until her next assault. Many of your village¡¯s adults cultivated their strength or wisdom following their forefather¡¯s tradition, so their souls were quite potent.¡±

    ¡°Non-heroes can¡­ cultivate strength too?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Mortals can cultivate their muscles with physical labour,¡± the witch affirmed. ¡°Sometimes, unintentionally, through prayers and greater focus or a spiritual pact they can embark on a deeper journey... that of cultivation, which in turn bolsters their physical form beyond the mundane. Each time a man fells a tree or hunts a beast, he assimilates a fragment of their life essence into his soul. Similarly, when a woman nurtures a garden or gives birth, she absorbs the magic of wisdom, life and creation. There¡¯s a reservoir of vital energy and magic in everything around you. Because of the sacrifice of your kin and my guidance you now stand on a higher tier than your parents ever will.¡±

    ¡°Does everything have a spirit?¡± I asked. ¡°Do rocks have spirits? What about flowers and trees?¡±

    ¡°Everything can house a spirit,¡± the witch affirmed. ¡°It requires a great deal of magical focus to spot the weaker, smaller ones. Some spirits are nice, some neutral and some are incredibly dangerous. Death-bound or vengeful spirits haunt blighted lands. When a mighty beast, an abomination or a leviathan like the dragon, is slain, leaving behind decaying magic-infused flesh, it births a malevolent spirit on the spot its corpse rots.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, ¡°Is it possible to cultivate spirits to do different jobs?¡±

    ¡°Certainly,¡± Grandhilda said. ¡°A witch who can see spirits can cultivate and guide their growth, just like a mortal would cultivate a tree. Perhaps in a century or two you¡¯ll get there... Or not."

    ¡°Gee thanks,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡±

    The witch simply smiled at me, amused with my impatience.

    ¡°Are there evil witches that make pacts with cursed spirits or witches that produce murderous heroes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Regrettably, some of our kind yield to dark temptation, forging pacts with cursed spirits of death,¡± Grandhilda confirmed. ¡°And yes, certain heroes descend into villainy, slaughtering indiscriminately in their thirst for power. They don¡¯t last very long. Murder begets murder. Evil deeds manifest curses which are impossible to remove and gradually corrupt a witch or a hero, turning her into a Nightwalker or a Jotun or another cursed eldritch abomination.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the people of Svalbard hide themselves or their kids in the cold storage wells during the attack of the dragon?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Those of age stood their ground and met the beast head-on with whatever weapons they could muster. Zal-Slavi doesn¡¯t entertain those who flee the fight or fail to protect their homestead,¡± the witch explained. ¡°The younglings sought the River Glinka, pleading for strength. Sadly, all were consumed by the dragon or were taken by the river¡¯s merciless, icy current, leaving you the sole survivor after the dragon¡¯s departure.¡±

    ¡°What is Zal-Slavi?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The halls of eternity is a place where souls go after death,¡± Grandhilda replied.

    ¡°Heaven is real then?¡±

    ¡°Many believe that the palace of heroes and legends exists somewhere beyond the veil,¡± the witch shrugged. ¡°Belief births spirits, hence it isn¡¯t far-fetched to imagine Zal-Slavi existing somewhere in the Astral, as a grand sanctuary for departed souls. The Astral Ocean is boundless and the souls that drown therein are but droplets.¡±

    ¡°Unless they¡¯re used as kindling to forge heroes and witches?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grandhilda replied, squinting at me. ¡°Well¡­ on that dreary note¡­ I shall end our joint dream. Be wary¨Cthe connection between us has frayed quite a bit so I am uncertain how soon I¡¯ll be able to find you next time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for educating me as a witch, Master,¡± I said. As frustrating as our conversations could be, I realized I would definitely miss her guidance, cryptic as it often was.

    "Before you go," I said quickly, "can you tell me more about how to actually sink into the earth for protection? I tried, but nothing happened."

    Yaga sighed. ¡°Oh, Ioan. It¡¯s not about physically sinking into the soil like some overgrown earthworm. It''s a spiritual act, a dance of partners, a merging of your essence with that of your domain.¡±

    Having said that, Grandhilda clapped her hands with a sigh and the dreamscape around me began to dissolve. The walls of her hut melted away like wax, and her figure blurred into a swirl of colors.

    I felt a sudden vertigo, as if I was falling backwards through endless space.

 11 Witchy Companion

    Day 6

    When I woke up, I went into the forest with the sharpest axe I could find and started to chop down trees.

    Paranoia jolted by the book of monsters and Grandhilda¡¯s words about evil heroes was driving me onwards.

    The most basic, rapidly built defense I could think of was laying a bunch of trees on their side with sharp branches sticking outwards. Thankfully, due to the magic backpack of earth on my back my stamina was nearly infinite.

    After the entire day of fortifying, the pub started to turn into a pincushion-like defense of dead trees surrounding it. Many of the trees were quite easy to bring down, their interiors hollow and covered in white dust. Upon closer examination I concluded that a lot of the trees had died in the range of one to two decades ago from a fungal infection, potentially the white blight that the Yaga mentioned.

    When I went to sleep, I expected to speak to Yaga Grandhilda, but the old witch did not show up in my dreams. Perhaps our joined connection had come apart and that was it¨CI was on my own from here.

    When I got up the next morning, I was greeted by the singing of songbirds.

    As I looked at the birds outside, I noted that animals started to return to the village.

    When I stepped out of my pub-fort into the village, I spotted a black, adorable kitten sitting on a ruined step of my pub and looking lost.

    ¡°Mew,¡± it said, staring up at me with big, pale silver eyes.

    I reached out with my hand and the kitten immediately melted into it with a loud purr. I wondered if it was someone¡¯s pet that had escaped the village before the dragon struck it. The poor thing was all bones and fur and must have spent nearly a week trying to survive in the forest.

    Cats certainly seemed to possess a sixth sense of danger. According to what I knew, cats could feel minimal tremors not perceptible to humans that allowed them to escape earthquakes far more effectively than people. Perhaps, the same case had applied here.

    Regardless of how the kitten stayed alive, I took the cutie in and carried him into the pub, offering the small pet a bowl of water and some meat.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to call you Stormy,¡± I said as I eyed the dark kitten.

    The kitten devoured the offered meat quickly, offering me a purr in exchange.

    As the dark furball settled on my lap, I dug into my pocket and pulled out my Astralscope. The gemstone lenses seemed to have grown clearer and more purple.

    Moving slowly so as not to disturb the happy kitten I peered at the nearest plant.

    Doing so nearly made me drop the lenses because I saw something truly bewildering.

    Odd, blurry, barely discernible, tiny things were moving in irregular patterns over the witch-blessed earth and plants.

    The shapes were nothing like the microscopic life I was used to seeing. They traversed right through solid rocks and leaves as if they weren¡¯t even there. If I had to hazard a guess¡­ it was spirits!

    ¡°Science 4, Witch-Senses 0,¡± I jubilantly tabulated my victory, waking up Stormy and accidentally making him roll off my lap.

    I rewarded myself and Stormy with dried meat and some ice I boiled in a metal pot over the fire.

    I could see spirits, but I had no way to affect them, since trying to poke them with anything was impossible.

    The silver-violet spoon from my pile of things went through the ghostly creatures as if they weren¡¯t even there at all for example.

    Stumped with the impossibility of interacting with the spirits, I turned to more mundane matters that required my attention.

    I ventured out of the pub and collected more foodstuffs from the cold storage of ruined houses. The pub had the biggest cold storage under its floorboards, so I slowly filled it with various harvested preserved items.

    I wrapped a few dry meats in leather pouches and slid them into the depths of the magical earth pile, hoping that this action would somehow improve the quality of the meat. If the Yaga was to be believed, everything within a radius of about 4 meters was affected by my magic life-rad, while things actually touching the earth were most affected.

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    The village possessed several glass jars, which I immediately filled with boiled and organism-filled standing water and buried them in the earth to see how liquids and microorganisms would be affected.

    Stormy watched my machinations with wide gray eyes.

    <hr>

    Day 20

    Two weeks flew by as I meditated every morning and evening, fortified my home and meticulously tracked the changes occurring within my test jars and crystals.

    As I unburied various items and materials out of my earth pile, I noted that their molecular structure was somehow changing. Everything inorganic within the pub was becoming more crystalline and anything organic grew rapidly or became fresher. A small jar with green algae inside it bloomed like mad. Boiled water that I kept in a large jar now tasted absolutely sublime, invigorating me like the best coffee or energy drink that I¡¯ve ever had. Pickled food jars that lay beneath the pile of earth in the cold storage somehow tasted fresher and more filling. A bar of soap became a more effective cleaning agent. An iron dagger became tougher, a spot of rust vanishing completely off it.

    I could discern no patterns within the change of the items and food, except for one - some things buried within my earth became more useful to me, their primary functions amplified.

    I emptied the pub from its former furniture and added more earth from outside. Slowly but surely, the newly added earth became irradiated with life-rad, turning violet.

    I also discovered that my kitten was female.

    Stormy didn¡¯t leave my side once, spending her days either sleeping lazily next to me as I worked or running up and down my earth piles chasing or pawing at things that I could not see with the naked eye.

    I wondered if the kitten saw spirits too.

    Looking at her activities through my improved Astralscope goggles made from layered crystal lenses and twenty stones ground down into crystalline lenses confirmed my theory. The kitten could indeed somehow see spirit life and was trying to play with it!

    ¡°Mew,¡± the kitten turned to me.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked.

    The kitten walked up to the dry meat, sniffed it and sneezed and then smacked it away, looking at me.

    ¡°You want fresh meat?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Merw,¡± the kitten replied.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go on a hunt.¡±

    <hr>

    Day 21

    I crept through the forest with as much silence as I could muster, my backpack filled with earth. Hundreds of crystalline rocks covered my body tied into a mesh, keeping me invigorated and exceptionally comfortable and warm. A tunic sewn from patchwork of the most spiritually potent Zemy¡¯s Band banners hung atop me.

    Stormy sat on my shoulder peering into the fog ahead.

    I spotted an elk.

    The majestic creature looked down at me, raising its massive antlers and stomping its feet. I raised the arbalest, moving faster than the beast could and pressed the trigger.

    Time seemed to pause for a brief moment as I watched the arrow¡¯s flight. It struck the elk in slow motion. The elk reared up on its hind legs. I pulled another armed arbalest from my side and let a second iron-tipped arrow fly.

    The elk fell at my feet, bleeding out before it could pincushion me with its sharp head-bones.

    ¡°Mrewl,¡± Stormy commented.

    ¡°There,¡± I said, my hands shaking from the stress of getting nearly plowed over by a 300kg beast. ¡°That¡¯s enough fresh meat for both of us for a while. Are you happy now?¡±

    ¡°Mrrrmwwl,¡± the kitten commented conversationally.

    I wasn¡¯t sure, but perhaps sleeping on my domain and drinking water irradiated with witch magic was making my pet smarter.

    ¡°You¡¯re a bad influence you know,¡± I told her. ¡°My witch-Master definitely wouldn¡¯t approve of me roaming the forests with an arbalest.¡±

    The kitten sneezed.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re right. She can¡¯t stop us¨Cshe¡¯s not the boss of us!¡±

    Taking the elk apart and storing the meat in the cold room now packed with fresh ice from the river was making me feel content. Stormy watched as I cooked elk belly on a frying pan utilizing the oversized iron stove.

    <hr>

    Day 23

    I whistled the ¡®Don''t Worry Be Happy¡¯ melody as bacon spluttered on the pan, wishing that I had some eggs to go with it. Alas, the chickens did not survive dragon fire.

    As I slid the frying pan off the stove, about to indulge in delicious fried meats, Stormy started to paw at my face.

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll get you a plate,¡± I said, but then the kitten suddenly leapt off my shoulder and rushed to a window, staring at something in the distance.

    I approached the stained glass and looked at where she was peering at.

    There were three men on horseback riding through the snow covered village ruins, their stern faces looking at the village. They were dressed in simple metal chainmail and leather armor, swords glinting at their sides. They must have spotted the smoke coming from the chimney of the pub, because they stopped in front of my impassable tree-barricade and were saying something amongst each other, pointing at the pub.

    Due to my monster-related paranoid preparations, there was no way of approaching the place on horseback. Short of setting it on fire, the barrier of trees would be exceptionally difficult to penetrate quickly by a large predator. I left a hidden, narrow path to get into the pub safely for myself and Stormy from the side, weaving through the barricade, and it wasn¡¯t easy to spot.

    ¡°Rrwrrrr,¡± Stormy commented from the windowsill.

    ¡°Yeah, the vultures are finally here,¡± I said with a sigh.

 12 Confrontation [Day 23]

    I pulled the stained glass window open, pointing an arbalest at my unexpected visitors. My face was now hidden behind several layers of cloth and concealed by a thick leather hood and a metal helmet from the smithy. A second set of chainmail sat on my body atop of a few coats to make me appear bulkier.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± I asked in the scruffiest voice that my young body could muster.

    The trio of men looked at me from their mounts. One of them trotted forward, closer to my tree-barrier. The other two followed.

    ¡°I am Cecil, we hail from the village Bernt,¡± the lanky man at the front said, his thin moustache twitching. ¡°A travelling merchant saw from yonder mountain that Svabald lay in ruin and we were sent to investigate. What happened here?¡±

    ¡°We got attacked by a dragon,¡± I said.

    ¡°How many survivors?¡± Cecil asked.

    ¡°Enough to run the pub,¡± I replied briskly.

    I didn¡¯t like the look of the trio. Their scruffy, patchwork armor, sunken faces and greedy glint in their eyes told me that if I took a step outside of the pub, I would be in for a very bad time.

    ¡°What is your name?¡± the man at the front inquired, his voice a bit nasal, as cold air crystallized his breath.

    ¡°Ioan,¡± I replied.

    ¡°You should come with us to Bernt, Ioan,¡± Cecil offered. ¡°This village is lost. You cannot survive here for long. The palisade is gone. We can collect whatever is left of value in the village and¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll manage,¡± I said sharply, not lowering my arbalest. ¡°This is our village and nobody is collecting anything.¡±

    They didn¡¯t need to know that ¡®we¡¯ meant Stormy and me.

    ¡°I say we rush him from three sides and take everything,¡± the man on the right leaned in and whispered to Cecil.

    It would be impossible for a mundane human to overhear the barely discernible whisper from this distance, but I was a witch who was standing on his domain, which had gradually magnified all of my senses over the past three weeks to the point of being superhuman.

    ¡°Look here, Ioan,¡± the bald man on the right of Cecil growled. ¡°I only spotted one set of footsteps in the snow around the village. You¡¯re here alone. Just come out of the pub and we will take you to safet..."

    My heartbeat intensified tenfold.

    Time slowed once again as I aimed the arbalest and pulled the trigger. The arrow released from my weapon went right through the bald man¡¯s right eye. As his body started to fall, I pulled the second arbalest from my side belt and shot the man on the left of Cecil.

    ¡°Get off the horse, Cecil,¡± I ordered, pointing a third arbalest at the man¡¯s head.

    ¡°Wha¡­¡± he blinked, seeing that both of his men were dead.

    ¡°Off the horse,¡± I repeated. ¡°You three ruffians clearly came here to take what is rightfully mine. You can die right now or walk away and let any others know that any future banditry on my property will not be tolerated.¡±

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    ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡± Cecil muttered.

    ¡°I can do whatever the hell I like to blackguards like you,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m counting to ten and then you¡¯re either off the horse or can enjoy an arrow through the eye. Ten¡­ nine¡­¡±

    The man quickly jumped off the horse as his face paled.

    ¡°Think you can catch up to the merchant?¡± I asked.

    ¡°She will be staying in Bernt for a few days, ye,¡± Cecil nodded.

    ¡°Very good,¡± I said. ¡°Tell her to bring me eggs and any seeds. I¡¯ll need to replant the fields come spring. Oh... and I want glass bottles.¡±

    ¡°N-nothing will grow here if dragon-flame cursed this land!¡± Cecil uttered, staring at the corpses of his associates.

    ¡°That¡¯s not your problem to worry about,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Your job is to contact the merchant and tell her to head here. That¡¯s the only reason you¡¯re alive now. Got it?¡±

    The lanky man nodded.

    ¡°Off you go then,¡± I said, pointing at the forest.

    ¡°The wolves will eat me,¡± he said, looking dejected. ¡°I need a horse¡­ I won¡¯t make it back to the Bernt alive if I go on foot.¡±

    ¡°Take the scraggier stallion but leave the bags behind,¡± I offered. ¡°I¡¯m keeping your mare and stallion.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly¡­ survive out here alone!¡± Cecil blinked. ¡°You¡¯ll just end up eating them!¡±

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have them for lunch,¡± I shrugged. ¡°None of this is your business anymore. Get on that black spotted horse and be gone from my village.¡±

    I watched as Cecil took the bags off the horse and departed rapidly, not looking back.

    ¡°Mrrwl,¡± Stormy commented from the windowsill.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I rubbed the back of my head. ¡°I killed someone. I wonder if their souls will head to Zal-Slavi or whatever for being arrowed. Does this count as a battle?¡±

    ¡°Mrrmrm,¡± the kitten replied, rolling her eyes at me.

    ¡°Well, Mrmr right back at you, lass,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve got horses now. Horses means I can go a lot farther out in my quest for unique specimens. I¡¯m not fishing plants out of the Astral, as I still can¡¯t sense or see the damn spirit world without my Astralscope.¡±

    ¡°Mryaw,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I sighed. ¡°I know, I¡¯m being impatient.¡±

    In a few minutes I stood over the downed bodies of the bandits, with Stormy sitting on my shoulder.

    ¡°You know, now I really feel like an embodiment of a wicked witch,¡± I told her as I examined the meagre contents of their bags.

    ¡°Mrmr,¡± Stormy agreed.

    I slowly approached the nearest horse and offered it some grass from my chest garden.

    The horse gobbled up the offered greenery quickly; it looked quite hungry. I fed some grass to the second horse and led both of them into the smithy. The animals turned docile very quickly. Nobody could resist witch-made grass. Stormy nibbled on it herself several times a day, which made her fur extra silky and plush.

    I returned to the two bodies and looked at them.

    ¡°If heroes can absorb power from the villains they eliminate, then why can¡¯t I?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Mrmrmmmr,¡± Stormy commented.

    ¡°True. I don¡¯t see why the garden can¡¯t eat them,¡± I said. ¡°From my tests with a few meat slabs from the elk, stuff decomposes extremely rapidly under the assault of the life-rad empowered microorganisms.¡±

    ¡°Mrawr,¡± the kitten said.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dog eat dog world,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I do feel a bit bad for shooting them, but they would have probably killed or more likely¡­ enslaved me. See that?¡± I pulled a pair of rust-covered, metal manacles out of one of the saddlebags on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s a collar made for putting on people, my fuzzy friend. In a world without machines people serve as the general workforce. I¡¯m honestly quite lucky that these guys are such piss-poor bandits and aren¡¯t magically augmented like me.¡±

    I had no idea if the kitten understood what I was saying.

    I was mostly chatting with Stormy to keep from going crazy. Maybe I was already a bit crazy.

    I grabbed the nearest body by its boots and began to drag it into the pub.

 13 Witchy Familiars

    The first half of the night featured a blurry nightmare in which a black spider was chasing me. The spider was quite determined to catch up to me. For some reason, it had a pentagram cut in half painted on its back. I wasn''t sure what it all meant. Wasn''t my domain and the virgin banners supposed to protect me against everything including bad dreams or did I have to make a dreamcatcher to avoid such things?

    When the irksome spider caught up to me, jumping onto my face, fangs sinking into my nose, I did not wake with a scream.

    Instead, I found myself jolting into existence inside Yaga Grandhilda''s familiar hut once again.

    "Ah, young Ioan," she said, eyeing me critically. "It seems you''ve managed to survive two weeks without my guidance. Well done.¡±

    ¡°Did you miss the entertainment I provide you with?" I shot back, my heart still pounding due to spider-related nightmare.

    "Oh, you have no idea," Grandhilda cackled. "I''ve definitely been on the edge of my seat wondering what sort of trouble you''d get yourself into next."

    I rolled my eyes at her teasing. "No trouble. I did get a¡­¡±

    ¡°A kitten," Grandhilda said before I finished.

    ¡°How did you¡­?¡± I sputtered, fearing that the witch was watching me in the Astral or something and already knew that I was roaming all over Svalbard murdering Elks and people with arrows.

    Grandhilda pointed a long, dark nail at my lap. I looked down to discover a warm, fuzzy, black ball there radiating warmth and purring ever so slightly in her sleep.

    ¡°W-what?¡± I blinked, unsure of how the kitten had followed me into the shared dream of the witch-communion.

    Was Stormy secretly a witch or¡­

    "It seems you''ve acquired a familiar without even trying,¡± Yaga commented. ¡°How... quaint."

    "Familiar?" I blinked. "You mean Stormy? She''s just a cat I found sitting on the steps of a pub that I adopted.¡±

    The old witch cackled again, slapping her moss-covered armrest. "Oh, you naive boy. There''s no such thing as ¡®just a cat¡¯ when it comes to witches!"

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a familiar too then?¡± I asked.

    The Yaga snapped her finger and a black raven suddenly materialized on her shoulder. The raven examined me and Stormy with brilliant green eyes, nodded and vanished as if it had never existed to begin with.

    ¡°Acorn¡¯s a little shy ¡®round other witches,¡± the Yaga commented. ¡°He prefers to stay out of the dream, but he¡¯s always watching out for trouble and occasionally flies over my land to keep an eye out for Jotuns.¡±

    ¡°Are Jotuns a problem for you then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°This one was,¡± Grandhilda tapped her elk skull.

    I stared at her skull mask, a realization dawning on me. The skull wasn¡¯t exactly shaped like that of an elk. It was longer, and misshapen, had an extra pair of eye-holes in it that definitely didn''t belong to an elk.

    ¡°Took me four hundred years to trap and drown this bastard,¡± she said with a smug look. ¡°His brother is a lot more clever and is still quite the bother."

    "Why are Jotuns targeting you specifically?" I asked.

    Grandhilda''s expression darkened, her eyes taking on a haunted look. "It''s not just me they''re after, young Ioan. There''s a Gygr living at the North-West edge of the Shalish wood. She''s the one sending these Jotuns after me, and likely will target you as well, especially after your... ill-advised blood magic experiments."

    I felt a chill of unease run down my spine. "Gygr?"

    The old witch sighed heavily, picking up a cup of tea from a moss-covered table. "A Gygr is a witch who has strayed from the path of balance and wisdom. She''s forsaken her connection to Mother Earth and instead draws power from death and decay, from Nox, the Goddess of the Void. This particular Gygr was once a sister witch to me long ago, but she became obsessed with extending her power beyond natural means¡­ using rather nasty methods."

    "And now she''s after other witches?" I asked.

    "Yes," Grandhilda nodded. "She seeks to harvest the blood of other witches and bones of men to fuel her own twisted desires."

    ¡°You know, this sounds like something important that would be nice to tell me earlier,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Speaking of her existence in the Astral would only permit her to target you sooner,¡± the Yaga sighed. ¡°Thankfully, you¡¯ve got a familiar now, which will delay her search for you. Your fuzzy cloud is the only reason I have spoken of the threat of the Gygr now."

    "How exactly is a kitten supposed to protect me from a powerful dark witch and her oversized monster minions?" I demanded.

    "Your little ''Stormy'' is now bound to you magically. She''ll be able to chase tracker-spirits away from your domain, grow in power as you do, live as long as you do, and likely develop abilities beyond those of a normal cat as her eyes change color," Grandhilda explained. "Familiars are conduits for magic, protectors, and companions all rolled into one fuzzy package. She will be able to sense Jotuns too before they arrive!¡±

    Stormy wiggled on my lap and opened a single, violet eye to look at the Yaga.

    ¡°Since when are your eyes violet?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Mr-mrrw,¡± Stormy yawned, stretching.

    "So¡­ how do I... train her to detect Jotuns or whatever?¡± I turned my head back to the witch.

    Grandhilda laughed. "Train her? Oh, my dear boy. You don''t train a familiar like some common house pet. You nurture them, care for them, and most importantly, you trust them. The magic will do the rest."

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    She was being irritatingly vague again.

    Grandhilda chuckled at my expression. "Even mundane cats can perceive the Astral to some degree, young Ioan. They''re natural Seers, capable of observing spirits and glimpsing potential futures. Even mortal Nordstaii women sometimes notice this when they observe their pet cat staring at absolutely nothing on a wall.¡±

    "Is that so?" I petted my ball of fur, producing a deeper purr.

    "Yes," the witch nodded sagely. "Have you ever wondered why cats are so indecisive at doors? They''re not just being fickle. They''re perceiving multiple potential futures, weighing the outcomes of each choice."

    I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You''re telling me that when a cat sits in a doorway, meowing to go out, then changing its mind when you open the door, it''s... calculating the future?"

    Grandhilda laughed heartily. "In a manner of speaking, yes. Cats are deeply connected to the spiritual, for them there is no need for any grand complex reasoning. Cats just know the best outcome. Why do you think they suddenly jump sometimes for no apparent reason? That is because they get spooked by a future spiritual encounter, see something dangerous that didn''t happen yet.¡±

    I glanced down at Stormy, who was now awake and watching our conversation with unsettlingly violet eyes. "So, you''re saying Stormy here can see the future just like a witch, knows how everything ends and begins? How does that even work?"

    "Not quite," Grandhilda corrected. "A familiar, especially one as young as yours, doesn''t have perfect future sight. But they have... Incredible intuition. They know where they are because they know where they aren''t. By subtracting where they are from where they aren''t, or where they aren''t from where they are - whichever is greater - they obtain a difference, a deviation from the expected path of fate."

    I blinked, trying to wrap my head around her words.

    "You''re still thinking like a mortal boy Ioan.¡± Grandhilda sighed. ¡°A cat¡¯s actions, seemingly random to an ordinary human, are perfectly aligned with the ebb and flow of fate and the Astral currents they sense innately.¡±

    "Mrow," Stormy commented, as if to confirm the witch''s words.

    "Do remember this, Ioan," Grandhilda warned, "a familiar is not just a tool. They''re your partner in your magical journey. Treat Stormy with respect and love, and she''ll be your most loyal ally against the void-afflicted eldritch shadows that lurk in the Underside of our world."

    ¡°How precisely can you see the future as a Volva-Yaga?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°There is no precision when it comes to foresight,¡± the witch said. ¡°Mainly, a Yaga¡¯s connection to the Astral in her dreams can reveal how she will die. It is the chorus of the garden itself, warning its caretaker of the danger. If you know what kind of an enemy threatens your life in the future, you can figure out when to hide or even how to make a potion or to make a deal with the spirits to protect yourself and your land. The level of dream-sight depends entirely on the skills, domain size and age of the witch.¡±

    ¡°Will I learn to see the future and have precognitive dreams?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Since you are a man I am uncertain if you will ever manifest precognition,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°Quite frankly, creating you was a big gamble on my part. Had it not been for the cold and white blight ravaging the trees and fields, then you would have grown up less feeble and more like a proper warrior worthy of Perun.¡±

    I shrugged, not feeling any shame from her biting words. Anorexia was an easily curable condition for a fully mobile witch with the access to Svalbard¡¯s entire winter storage food supply. Was it even winter now? I wasn¡¯t sure, since I had no idea how north Svalbard was.

    ¡°Familiars are your helpers who would be willing to do anything for you,¡± the Yaga added.

    ¡°Anything like¡­?¡±

    ¡°Developing potions and finding seeds,¡± the witch said. ¡°A familiar is quite handy for a young witch as it can travel outside of her domain to fetch her things. I was quite concerned about your lack of spiritual progress but with a helpful familiar you can get your garden to bloom sooner.¡±

    ¡°Can any animal become my familiar?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Once an animal begins to eat food grown in your garden, they¡¯ll become stronger and bind themselves to you. As long as a beast consumes the fruit of your making, they will become addicted to the power your land provides and won¡¯t be able to leave your side,¡± the Yaga explained.

    I nodded. Were the fruits of my land addictive? Were the potions witches made¡­ addictive too?

    ¡°If potions are made from the fruits of the witch¡¯s garden can a person become the witch¡¯s familiar if they drink enough of them?¡± I asked.

    Grandhilda barked a dry laugh. ¡°You must learn how to make your potions taste vile,¡± she said. ¡°Dilute all potions with dirty water, rotting flesh and mud just enough so that mortals do not become addicted to them.¡±

    ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Then mortals will come and attempt to take the tasty potions by force,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s when you¡¯ll have to drown them all in your glade and also be forced to deal with the consequences of their kin seeking vengeance. It is unpleasant and mortals take centuries to forget such things. I don¡¯t recommend this course of action. Always dilute whatever you sell or gift to the mortals.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said.

    ¡°My garden is different from yours, so I can¡¯t give you exact instructions, only general advice,¡± she shrugged. ¡°But I can help you with the basics. Your first step is to examine the unique flowers, grasses, and bugs in your glade and figure out what special properties they might possess.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Taste them,¡± she smiled. ¡°Most likely, they¡¯ll have basic invigorating or calming effects. Feed a variety of your garden¡¯s produce to your familiar. It shouldn¡¯t hurt her and she¡¯ll know if something is poisonous to boot.¡±

    I pursed my lips, not sure how Stormy would communicate to me about how poisonous something was.

    ¡°If your kitten is smart enough she might even be able to guide your potion-making!¡± The Yaga said. ¡°Just tell her what you want made and she will help you pick out the best ingredients.¡±

    Great now I have to listen to a kitten about how to make potions.

    ¡°If you crush specific grasses from your domain into a powder and dilute them properly, then you can make pills or teas and sell them to Dyrkjarls and mortals who will eventually come by. Be a benevolent witch and you¡¯ll be able to trade what you need and be treated with great reverence in turn. Be a malicious, unforgiving witch and you will be left in peace, while your forest will be respected and avoided by human hunters.¡±

    I rubbed my chin, unsure if I was about to embark on a journey to becoming a local potion guru or a drug kingpin. Both had their appealing sides. The only problem was location¨Cthe wild arboreal forest I inhabited didn¡¯t seem to have much traffic.

    Eh, I could always relocate down south. Upon consideration, the equatorial rainforest seemed like the place most ripe for witches to exist in due to year-long sunshine and massive biodiversity.

    ¡°Wait, so is Stormy going to live longer because of me?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Stormy will remain a kitten forever if you so desire it,¡± the witch replied.

    ¡°Forever kitten¡­¡± I whispered as Stormy rubbed her adorable, pink button nose against my fingers.

    "Can I just keep collecting kittens endlessly, make an infinite number of familiars?" I asked.

    "No," the Yaga laughed. "You''re far too young for that. The spirits in the witch''s garden will naturally align themselves with a single familiar or two... maybe more as your domain grows. A witch cannot link herself with nor truly care for an infinite number of familiars. Stormy is your familiar because you care about her and she constantly spends her time together with you."

    "Got it," I said.

    ¡°The sun rises. I believe that I have imparted sufficient wisdom for you to survive,¡± Grandhilda put her tree-grown cup of tea onto a table made from roots. ¡°Good luck, young Ioan. I hope that by the next time we commune, be it in a few winters time or a few decades, you will learn how to meditate upon your earth and dip your fingers into the Astral.

    "Do take care of your Master, Stormy," she addressed the kitten directly. "He may be just a foolhardy boy, but he''s our little fool now. Keep him out of trouble, won''t you, darling?"

    "Mrow," Stormy replied, her violet eyes gleaming with what seemed like amusement.

    The Yaga rose from her seat and slapped her hands and the dream shattered into green and violet stardust.

 14 The Astralgraph Theory [Day 26]

    Day 26

    Meditation attempt 42 - no changes, no improvement, still can''t sense nor see spirits when I close my eyes.

    I opened my eyes and watched as Stormy sat atop a large barrel and nibbled on the brilliantly glowing, violet-shimmering grass birthed from the body of one of the bandits.

    Judging by the unnaturally vibrant way the grass glowed and how it grew overnight, my hypothesis had been correct. The witch¡¯s garden fed on people. This is probably how witches turned evil - it was far too easy to gain power by feeding my glade people.

    The concept of an evil witch was simple: make some heroes, get them to bring dead bodies in droves and you¡¯re in business.

    I momentarily wondered if I was going to turn into a nerdy florist protagonist from the Little Shop of Horrors who got tricked into feeding people to an alien plant monster. Remembering the 1986 American horror comedy musical film made me smile.

    ¡°You know, if I can feed people to the garden and get this much power back,¡± I mused to Stormy. ¡°Then it stands to reason that anything big and organic can be fed to the garden to increase its potency. I think the next elk we hunt is going to go into a barrel in its entirety¡­ too bad I skinned the last one in the forest as it was too big to lug home.¡±

    ¡°Mrmrm,¡± Stormy replied, settling atop of the barrel and staring down at me.

    I stood up and placed my palm on the earth that filled the barrel. It felt warm to my touch. The 3 cubic feet of soil covering up the body of the bald raider practically shined with life-rad energy like a space heater.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to need a way bigger barrel,¡± I said. ¡°No way an entire elk would fit into one of these, even if I chop it up.¡±

    ¡°Mrayaw,¡± Stormy said, pawing at the grass playfully.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t understand the conversion metric or the process itself yet.¡± I nodded, rubbing my chin. ¡°I know that the domain soil absorbs spiritual energy from living things and somehow converts it into magical power...¡±

    I grabbed the Codex and outlined my thoughts.

    Domain power conversion process:

    Organic life > Extracted spiritual essence > Crystalline microstructures

    Results in:

    [1] Rapid microbial proliferation

    [2] Rapid vegetative propagation

    [3] Material Augmentation:

    <ol>

    <li> [strain hardening]</li>

    <li> [higher saponification]</li>

    <li> [increased nutrition, food & liquid fortification]</li>

    </ol>

    [4] Personal Benefits: improved stamina, strength & faster response time

    [5] Improved familiar intelligence [?]

    ¡°You¡¯re more intelligent, right? If you can understand what I¡¯m saying, lift your left paw," I eyed the kitten.

    Stormy nodded, wiggling her left paw in the air.

    ¡°Thought so,¡± I smiled and gave the kitten a pet.

    I began to pace around the barrel, crystal chainmail twinkling atop my body, my mind going over everything I had learned over the brief duration of my new life in Svalbard.

    ¡°If my theory is correct, then the life-rad contained within these crystals is able to grant me personal power, augmenting my stamina and response time.¡± I paused in front of my captivated audience of a single, wide-eyed kitten and tapped the crystal strands hanging all over my body.

    ¡°The question is¨Cwhat is the trigger mechanism for its activation?¡±

    Stormy hung on my every word, keen on delving into the vast mysteries at the heart of my exposition or perhaps she was simply attracted by the spiritual light sparkling on the violet gemstones.

    ¡°Twice now, I experienced what I would call bullet-time. The first time happened when the elk almost mowed me down and the second in the moment when the bandits discussed my enslavement,¡± I said. ¡°Several times this morning, I attempted to purposefully slow down time... It didn¡¯t work. Just like my numerous failed attempts at meditation over the past two weeks, I seem to be missing some vital activation trigger."

    Stolen novel; please report.

    I tapped my chin.

    ¡°Perhaps the flight or fight response somehow pulls life-rad from the crystals,¡± I said.

    The kitten tilted her head at me.

    ¡°The fight or flight reaction, also known as the stress response, happens when hormones are released that either make us want to stay and face an enemy or run away from it,¡± I clarified. ¡°During the fight or flight response, rapid changes occur in our bodies to prepare us for facing danger. When we feel threatened, our brains release chemicals like adrenaline, which increases our heart rate and breathing, and cortisol, which raises our blood sugar levels.¡±

    I eyed Stormy. She looked bored. It was probably too many big words for her kitten brain to process. I resumed my pacing around the barrel.

    ¡°If a witch¡¯s domain is a spiritual extension of her or in my case, his body,¡± I pondered. ¡°Then the blurry shapes crawling or dancing atop of these crystals are perhaps spiritual extensions of me, or¡­ better yet, spirits aligned to me. If everything living here on Thornwild possesses a quantum imprint, an energy matrix of some sort, then the witch¡¯s garden acts as a conversion¡­ or perhaps a realignment agent for the spiritual essence that inhabits all organic life.¡±

    The kitten yawned.

    I grabbed my Astralscope and peered through it out the window at the ice-covered river.

    Silver-blue radiance danced atop of the river, like a strange, enchanting aurora. I aimed the Astralscope at the barrel. Distinctively violet aurora-like, blurry, semi-distinctive shapes moved from one leaf to another.

    ¡°River Glinka is a potent spirit not aligned to me,¡± I concluded. ¡°Spirits born in my garden on the other hand are aligned to my own¡­ auric signature? Yeah, let¡¯s go with that term.¡±

    Stormy resumed chewing on the purple grass.

    ¡°Trading with Glinka is dangerous because she has her own desires, while the spirits residing in my domain don¡¯t require any kind of a trade. Presumably, some of them give up their energy willingly to me when I am threatened. If I had to hazard a guess, the violet-tinted crystal matrices are in some way able to create astral projections, which manifest as these ethereal entities.¡± I pointed my finger at the biggest spirit that was slowly crawling up a plant stem. ¡°If the Astral Ocean contains the memories of everything that ever lived, then these astral projections are simply borrowing the shapes of long dead creatures that fossilized into the rock long ago. That would explain why the spirits residing in my garden take on these random shapes.¡±

    Stormy lazily pawed at the fat, blurry, crab-like spirit with a star-shaped shell that I was pointing at.

    ¡°Whatever these auric constructs are¡­ they¡¯re mindless imprints that are replicating the motions of some primordial critter.¡± I pushed the plant away and the crab-spirit simply remained floating in the air. ¡°See? It¡¯s just floating there. It has no idea what it¡¯s doing and shows no response to my stimuli.¡±

    The kitten leapt at the floating crab, slashing through it. She tumbled through the air and nearly rolled off the barrel. I smiled, amused by Stormy¡¯s playful antics.

    ¡°Presumably, if I am able to hunt down and kill a magical beast, my garden will be able to convert it into much more distinctive, more powerful spirits,¡± I mulled. ¡°If common rocks are able to crystallize to house a spiritual matrix, then maybe it would be more effective if I procure a large crystal and insert that into the barrel as it converts life to energy? Maybe a bigger crystal will have an easier time listening to me? I can¡¯t keep relying on a fight-or-flight response as the only means of pulling energy from my crystal matrices.¡±

    ¡°Mrrm-mrm,¡± Stormy tilted her head curiously.

    ¡°Minerals have highly ordered and repetitive atomic arrangements. X-ray diffraction and polarizing microscopy helped mineralogists and chemists investigate their nature. Breaking a single crystal into chunks, for instance, still retains its internal atomic pattern,¡± I went into narration mode. ¡°But why does syntropy, aka a repetitive atomic pattern, produce magic?¡±

    Stormy¡¯s eyes glazed over. She clearly had no idea who mineralogists were.

    ¡°I think that the witch¡¯s domain or any kind of a magical domain¡­ produces some kind of a stable field,¡± I stipulated. ¡°A type of a persistent energy-wave, which somehow overwrites and amplifies existing crystalline patterns within various minerals and materials. The best reference I can think of... is a phonograph, a recording mechanism invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, which recorded sound on a cylinder coated with wax or tinfoil. My domain, located in the interior of this pub, is a three metre diameter sphere populated by plants and powered by the dead souls¡­ acts as a large Astralgraph. Yeah, that¡¯s a great word for it, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Mrmr,¡± Stormy rolled her eyes. The kitten probably didn¡¯t care why or how things worked.

    ¡°My theory is that a sleeping witch acts akin to a recording pin which embeds astral imprints into nearby crystals!¡± I declared, adding another line to my Codex chart.

    [6] The witch and her domain form The Astralgraph > The Astralgraph projects a field The Auric Signature > field creates a crystalline matrix via Syntropic Crystallization > Syntropic Gems manifests an Astral Projection aka Auric Construct > Auric Construct performs a specific job.

    ¡°It would also be an interesting experiment to find a fairy circle or a cursed domain and procure crystals from it to see if my garden can use them in some manner,¡± I pondered. ¡°I have no idea if it will be easier or harder to overwrite crystalline structures that already have a set imprint in them.¡±

    The kitten looked in the direction of the river.

    ¡°That is an option,¡± I nodded. ¡°I could grab a few pebbles from Glinka. No doubt, they will have Glinka''s Auric Signature embedded in them for me to analyze. If I¡¯m right, then they should be aligned to the river. Magic is theoretically everywhere, I just need to start using my Astralscope to look for spots in the forest that are packed full of life-rad or perhaps death-rad if the place is cursed...¡±

    ¡°Meow!¡± the kitten shook her head, clearly not eager to visit highly questionable, cursed locations.

    ¡°I know,¡± I responded. ¡°It might be dangerous, but science often involves taking some risks. Marie Curie didn¡¯t win Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics by playing it safe.¡±

    ¡°Brrrr?¡± Stormy demanded.

    ¡°Marie died at the age of 66 due to aplastic anemia, which was caused by her long-term exposure to radiation¡­¡± I pursed my lips. ¡°Radiation is nasty business. Okay... fine. I won¡¯t try to handle death-rad crystals with my bare hands. You got a point there, I¡¯ll use tongs!¡±

 15 Yoink [Day 27]

    Day 27

    I dug through the earth in the large barrel and discovered a half-fist sized rock buried therein.

    When I pulled the rock out of the barrel, the floating crab followed it. This confirmed my theory that the Astral Projections were pretty much attached to specific large crystal formations located within the soil. I integrated the rock into my armor, by tying a metal mesh-cage around it using thin copper wire.

    Looking down at myself through the Astralscope I saw all sorts of blurry critters moving atop me or floating through the air right above me, as if I was a walking museum of ghostly curiosities.

    I collected a bucketful of the fresh greenery that grew atop of the two barrels and took it to my new horses who were now housed in the stables at the back of the pub. I named the stallion Abott and the mare Castella. They appreciated the life-rad infused plants, munching on them quickly.

    While I took care of the horses I considered why some things within my domain soil decomposed rapidly and why other things such as plants didn¡¯t die as quickly as they grew. The life cycle of living things wasn¡¯t simply accelerated, it was somehow specifically augmented to benefit me.

    In a similar manner, metal experienced strengthening augmentation, while soap became better as a cleaning agent. Food became more nutritious and lasted longer if it simply sat or was buried within my domain. These were chemical and biological processes of such bewildering complexity and wide range that I had only one potential theory as to why they were happening. The distinctive crystalline matrices, different astral imprints were somehow performing separate, helpful jobs for me.

    I had no idea who was doing what, since I had hundreds of crystals decorating my person and hundreds more lying undiscovered within the new piles of earth that I brought from the outside every morning.

    ¡°Thanks guys,¡± I padded my chain-mail decorated with various rocks. ¡°You¡¯re all doing a great job.¡±

    ¡°Mrrr?¡± Stormy looked up at me.

    ¡°What? I am thanking my dedicated spirits like a proper witch,¡± I said. ¡°It pays to be nice to my ghostly assistants.¡±

    My fuzzy familiar rolled her eyes at me. She probably didn¡¯t understand why I was being cordial to Astral Projections.

    ¡°I¡¯m not weird,¡± I told her. ¡°People name their cars! There¡¯s nothing wrong with personifying crystalline matrices.¡±

    The kitten shook her head. She had no idea what cars were.

    ¡°Why do I even have to justify my actions to you?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re a freaking kitten. Com''ere! Let¡¯s cook some elk bacon, I¡¯m starving!¡±

    I relocated Stormy to my shoulder and climbed into the pub¡¯s cold storage well to obtain delicious elk meats.

    As I cooked bacon I contemplated who I really was.

    Almost the entirety of my memories came from 21st century Earth, but my body no longer felt alien to me.

    I felt like... myself. Perhaps, I was really Ioan who traded all of his memories of his life in Svalbard to River Glinka in exchange for the memories of an adult biochemist from some distant beyond. Was I even a biochemist? Most of my knowledge dealt with biochemistry, but I couldn¡¯t recollect if I actually worked as such.

    What was it that made us who we are? Our bodies or what we knew about ourselves and how we perceived and introduced ourselves to others?

    I didn¡¯t feel much remorse when I killed two people in broad daylight, which was more of a Svalbard native thing than something a modern man would be perfectly content with.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    I supposed that it didn¡¯t matter who I was before, what really mattered was my current journey and unlocking the secrets of the universe to survive and prosper.

    As I looked down on myself and then at Stormy I realized that she too might need spirit protection and aid. Thus, after a filling breakfast I crafted the kitten a leather collar and harness decorated with small but vibrant violet rocks.

    Stormy didn¡¯t seem to mind the additions.

    "Are you feeling warmer?" I asked my feline friend as we stepped outside, instantly surrounded by a wave of frigid air.

    ¡°Mrwr,¡± she nodded, jumping and climbing into my shoulder to give my neck a nuzzle.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± I smiled.

    I slowly walked through the snow to the edge of the river. It wasn¡¯t hard to tell where the village boundary ended and where the river began. Column-like, tall boulders decorated what looked like Nordic runes marked the edge of the river.

    One of the biggest boulders was carved up with large runes shaped like stylized waves. I slid my Astralscope goggles on.

    A ghostly female figure was perched atop of the boulder, her long dress woven from rippling silver drops. Silver-blue hair floated through the air. She was a lot brighter, much more distinctive than any Astral Projection that I¡¯ve ever seen, with the exception of Yaga Grandhilda.

    ¡°River Glinka, I presume?¡± I addressed the spirit.

    Stormy tensed up on my shoulder, black fur bristling as she too spotted the girl woven from brilliant silver and blue shimmers.

    When I came closer to Glinka, I noted that the girl didn¡¯t have a face. Rippling patterns of silver composed her dress, hair and figure, her face completely lacking defined characteristics.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if she was looking at me or past me, but she made a small nod in my direction when Stormy and I approached.

    I looked at the other rocks at the edge of the river. Silver-blue, barely discernible things shaped like fish flashed over them. I wondered if they were spirits of long dead fish that Glinka accidentally or purposefully attached to the rocks within her domain.

    ¡°Mind if I take a rock?¡± I asked.

    The ghostly girl didn¡¯t make a noise, didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°Do you understand me?¡± I inquired.

    No response followed. Perhaps the avatar of the river was less human than I thought, or maybe I needed to touch the river itself to communicate with her properly.

    ¡°Wave a hand if you can hear me,¡± I said.

    The ghost didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take that as a... yes,¡± I commented.

    I grabbed a shovel and quickly dug out a rock from the frosty shore. As it rested on my shovel, it sparkled with bright silver-blue lights. Large, drifting snowflakes slowed their flight, becoming momentarily suspended in the air.

    Glinka¡¯s head suddenly snapped in my direction.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking this rock,¡± I said, looking at her as my heartbeat intensified. ¡°Okay?¡±

    No answer followed. I kept the rock on my shovel as I retreated away from the river spirit with a lopsided grin.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a deal,¡± I said. ¡°I just want to understand spirits. I¡¯m taking this rock. I, uh, need it for my garden.¡±

    The river spirit stared at me without eyes. Stormy made the smallest hiss at Glinka from my shoulder.

    I secured the rock to the shovel with a net and took off, running back to the village.

    The river spirit didn¡¯t try to stop me, didn¡¯t move from her spot atop of the boulder. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was violating some sort of an ancient accord or if I pissed her off or if she even gave a damn about a random rock.

    She probably had millions of rocks at her disposal. It was impossible to tell if Glinka even had emotions since she lacked a face. The unnerving, uncanny valley feeling intensified as I ran.

    ¡°Mrbrm-b-mrrrr,¡± Stormy commented as I slammed the door to the pub behind us.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s effing creepy. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be making deals with her. She¡¯s shaped like a human, but she¡¯s definitely nothing like you and me. It looks like she¡¯s an idea of a river shoved into an approximation of a human body. Something completely extrinsic... without a human soul or life behind her.¡±

    ¡°Mrbrrrrrrcshhh,¡± Stormy sneezed.

    ¡°Do you think it would be some kind of blasphemy to dig out those big rune-marked rocks she¡¯s sitting on?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯s definitely a lot of power in them¡­ since they¡¯re anchoring an entire avatar of a concept of a river. What¡¯s she going to do if I take more rocks? It¡¯s not like she can redirect the river to drown me. She¡¯s buried under ice.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrrrmrm,¡± Stormy shook her head. She jumped off my shoulder and buried herself in a pile of plants inside of one of the chests. Silver eyes tinted with a bit of violet looked up at me with a judging look.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to make enemies with a river,¡± I said.

    The judging look intensified.

    ¡°I¡­ okay, fine I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m doing. This is completely unexplored territory for me. Come on, it¡¯s just a rock!¡±

    I deposited the rock with the silver-blue fish floating over it in a bucket in the corner of the pub with a small shudder. Then I sat down on my cozy, warm soil pile and quietly contemplated as to what my next step should be.

 16 The Unified Theory of the Radiosynthesis of Magic

    I buried the fish-spirit rock in a pile of my witchy earth to see how my domain power would affect it. It felt¡­ weird. Like a little fire that was invading my territory, a small electrical current that constantly tickled at my senses.

    It confirmed to me that I was well connected with and could actually feel my domain, which was an entirely new experience, like having a 5th limb or a 3rd ear that I had never used before.

    The fish-spirit belonging to River Glinka somehow clashed with my domain, was foreign to it like an invader, felt like a piece of popcorn stuck in a tooth that my tongue couldn¡¯t quite reach.

    I dug the fish-spirit rock out and stared at it.

    The fish that floated above the rock sparked with silver-blue fire and radiated annoyance, which was incredibly weird because it was a fish. How could a fish even show emotions, human emotions at that?

    I contemplated this absurdity. Perhaps there was more to spirits and crystalline matrices that contained them. It was indeed strange that my domain performed a variety of jobs for me, many of which required a high level of function. Surely a task such as steel hardening could not be performed by a mere crab?

    If I was to get to the bottom of this mystery, I would have to sift through my entire soil pile and separate it by placing different crystals into different parts of the pub, to see whether specific crystal matrices perform specific functions.

    Stormy went to paw at the annoyed looking, silver-blue fish.

    I sat on my pile of earth, made a few notes in my Codex and attempted meditation for the 48th time as I did every morning and evening, hoping that the sensation of the fish-spirit clashing with my domain could unlock my inner eye or whatever. Alas, this attempt resulted in failure too as the only thing I could sense was a mildly annoying dull spark buried in my domain. The spiritual senses of my body just didn''t seem to be growing in the slightest.

    Maybe the Yaga was right about men being unable to simply observe nature spirits with their eyes, maybe there was genetic deviation of some kind, a magical or biological split between Nordstaii men and women. Maybe unlocking the inner eye required eating some mushrooms or licking a poisoned frog?

    Alas, it was winter so there were no frogs around and my glade didn''t grow any mushrooms, its biodiversity rather poor likely due to the cold and the white blight damaging the local ecosystem.

    <hr>

    Day 33

    This morning, I was preoccupied with recording the outcomes of various gemstone arrangements. It appeared that my hypothesis concerning the gemstones was accurate. Within the crystal lattice, there seemed to be a rudimentary consciousness responsible for executing different tasks. By scratching out numbers on the surfaces, I carefully labeled and marked each stone to systematically track them.

    Gemstone number 24 possessed an astral projection shaped like a long, ghostly millipede. The primary function of this gem boosted the saponification process, improving soap¡¯s ability to clean hard-to-remove grease from bacon pans. When I buried Gem 24 by itself in an earth-filled chest, I discovered that spearmint plants began to grow around it.

    Limonene was a naturally occurring compound found in spearmint, known scientifically as Mentha spicata. I knew that the addition of D-limonene to soap improved its performance when fighting oils and grease stains. The emergence of these spearmint plants led me to suspect that Gem 24 facilitated the extraction of spearmint as well as its constituents from the Astral Plane and encouraged their integration with soap at the molecular level. I surmised that this might be achieved through the gemstone¡¯s astral projection, which could traverse through a bar of soap.

    Gemstone number 62 possessed the ability to strengthen metals. It had an innate capacity for intricate manipulation of the crystalline structure within the iron, which enhanced the metal''s mechanical properties. Though I couldn''t directly observe the process as it occurred while I slept, I managed to study the results using a magnifying glass I crafted by separating and polishing the bottoms of small bottles with the smithy''s grinder.

    Gem 62 appeared to modify iron possibly by means of grain refinement. Typically, this process involved regulating metal to create tiny, uniformly-sized grains or crystals. Alas, my incredibly crude magnifying glass and water microscope could not see iron grains. The iron bar placed next to Gem 62 did exhibit distinctive transformation in color that I could see with the naked eye. Intriguingly, 62''s astral projection appeared like a small bird.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Gemstone number 112 displayed an astral projection resembling a large beetle. It had the unique ability to alter liquids inside glass bottles, transforming them into energy drinks. Through careful experimentation, I had developed a strong understanding of the gemstone¡¯s specific functions. By adding a minuscule amount of vodka¡ªfound in the pub¡¯s storage¡ªto water and heating the solution on my water microscope glass shard slide, it generated beautiful, flower-like crystals. This observation indicated that the gemstone not only deionized the water, but it was also able to extract natural amino acids, such as Beta-Alanine and Glutamine, from the Astral. I was well aware that the formation of these specific crystals was typical when certain amino acids interacted with high-degree alcohol.

    Additionally, when I placed food items next to Gem 112 within a glass jar, they became enriched with the same valuable amino acids, further demonstrating the gemstone¡¯s absurd ability for harnessing essential nutrients from the Astral Ocean.

    Gem 51 located in a pickle jar seems to have done something to the glass itself, making the surface of the jar softer, more like rubber.

    The experiments with the various gemstones were quite fun. I decided to dub their effects ''The Unified Theory of the Radiosynthesis of Magic''.

    I theorized that numerous other gems within my possession passively protected, healed, and enhanced me through their astral projections. Owning them was akin to having an unusual assortment of exceptionally specialized tools. For reasons I couldn¡¯t quite understand, when I handled the gemstones, I was inclined to trust the spirits attached to them.

    The crystals themselves felt warm to the touch and instilled in me a sense of connection and reassurance, as though I was a child clasping my mother''s hand. I couldn¡¯t help but ponder over whether the souls of Ioan¡¯s parents or friends somehow became recorded within these crystals, allowing them to profoundly impact the physical world via the life-rad system as Astral Projections.

    Considering the healing and supportive properties of my crystalline matrices, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if cursed domains exhibited similar effects, such as inducing cancer or injecting harmful chemicals directly into people¡¯s bloodstreams through the power of astral projections. It was a rather morbid hypothesis, yet it somehow made sense considering what Yaga Grandhilda told me.

    It was somewhat disheartening that I had no way to uncover the specific functions of the hundreds of other gems in my possession. However, by employing diligent testing and experimentation, I at least managed to understand the primary aspects of crystalline life. I felt confident that if I kept at it, I would uncover more evidence.

    The witch¡¯s words about sinking through the earth gnawed the back of mind as I eyed the violet-tinted floorboards beneath my feet. The floorboards felt warmer, like they belonged to me. I cleared the earth away from the floor, sliced off a piece of wood and examined the wood fibers with my magnifying glass. There were visible fibrous crystalline structures within the wood now.

    Could the floor become more malleable now? I had to know.

    Pressing my palm against the floorboards, I focused my will on them. I imagined the packed earth, the roots and stones, and willed the wood to part, to allow my hand to pass through. Nothing happened.

    Annoying.

    I grabbed gem 51 and squeezed it in my hand while trying to sink my hand through the floor. It felt like the wood beneath my hand felt marginally softer, but it didn''t actually allow me to sink through it.

    Bah!

    I shoved gem 51 into my pocket and began to pace across the floor, pondering what I had to do to sink through solid matter.

    <hr>

    Day 36

    Another few days drifted by like a lazy snowflake reluctant to reach the ground.

    Thanks to domain magic, my sleep became rather short, reduced to only 4 hours a night. With more free time to spare, I increased my meditation times to several times per day to no result.

    I toiled tirelessly, my mind a whirlwind of theories and experiments. The barrels, once home to the earthly remains of the ill-fated bandits, now stood empty, their gruesome contents reclaimed by the relentless march of nature.

    I had exhumed the bodies of the bandits from the barrels. Only meticulously cleaned bones remained, stripped bare by the rapidly reproducing bacteria and microorganisms within.

    The bones gleamed under the dim light of the pub, their surfaces no longer the dull off-white of calcium, but a vibrant, almost otherworldly, semi-transparent violet. I held my breath, my heart pounding with apprehension, as I used my Astralscope to thoroughly examine the bones.

    The spaces within the ribcages, where hearts had once beat, now housed clusters of violet crystals that were pulsing faintly like miniature violet stars. I wondered if this was the essence of the bandits, their life force, distilled and concentrated into crystalline formations.

    Stormy rubbed against my leg. The kitten had grown noticeably fluffier, fitter and more energetic since donning her crystal-studded collar.

    I considered that my witch Master was wearing an elk skull mask. Perhaps there was a scientific reason for her barbaric outfit?

    Using the blacksmith¡¯s equipment, I painstakingly began to shear and shape the crystalline bones into thin, flat plates. The plan was to gradually weave them into a full-body outfit that resembled Siberian Laminar Armour.

    After working on that for a while, a big pile of violet-tinted dust remained in the workshop.

    Stormy, ever curious, batted at the pile of the bone dust with a paw, violet-silver eyes gleaming with feline fascination.

    ¡°Don¡¯t play with that,¡± I chided her gently, scooping the dust into a leather bag. ¡°Who knows what kind of weird side effects it might have.¡±

    The kitten, her tail twitching with disappointment, climbed onto my shoulder and began to groom herself.

 17 Hexometer

    I considered the violet dust in my bag and what to do with it.

    Ordinarily, human bones burned up in a crematorium at around 1,000 to 1,300 degrees Celsius becoming dry and brittle and turning into a grayish ash. I wondered what would happen if I heated this crystalline bone dust? Would it catch fire or maybe exhibit other unique properties?

    I filled the base of the forge with coal and set it alight.

    While the forge heated up, I retrieved a small clay crucible from a back shelf in the smithy.

    Then, I carefully placed a small mound of the bone dust into the crucible and set it atop the forge. The heart of the forge, fueled by coal and bellows, roared, bathing the smithy in a warm, orange glow. I turned the heat up high, my eyes never leaving the crucible as the bone dust within began to glow.

    It didn¡¯t take long. Within moments, the bone dust melted as glass would, coalescing into a single, shimmering bead of liquid violet. I used a pair of tongs to remove the crucible from the forge.

    The forge experiment showed that the crystalline bone dust had the property of vitrification when heated, aka sand turning into glass!

    I dipped a metal rod into the molten bone dust and carefully extracted a small droplet. It cooled rapidly in the frigid air, hardening into a tiny, teardrop-shaped bead.

    As I stared at the glass bead made from human bone I realized that none of this should have been possible. I pulled the Witch¡¯s Codex from my bag and outlined my thoughts, trying to mentally sort what I discovered so far.

    <ol>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Domain-affected gemstones are malleable: Sapphires, and other hard crystals that should require extreme heat and pressure to reshape behave like soft clay. Crystals that were supposed to be harder on the Mohs scale are somehow easier to grind down.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Human bones crystallizing: Upon contact with my domain, bandit remains transformed into violet, pulsing crystalline structures - a process that should be biologically impossible.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rapid Vitrification: The crystallized bone dust powder liquefied at temperatures far below what''s required for making glass or melting metals.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Rapid cooling without typical effects: The molten bone-glass cooled almost instantly without shattering or showing typical stress patterns.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Transmutation of elements: The wooden floorboards were developing crystalline structures, implying a fundamental change in their atomic composition.</li>

    </ol>

    As I wrote, a disturbing realization dawned on me. It was as if the distinction between different states of matter was blurring, and the energy required for phase transitions was being altered on a fundamental level. Solids behaved like liquids, organics transformed into inorganics, and the very atomic structure of materials seemed to be in flux.

    I scribbled another line in the codex:

    "A witch¡¯s domain appears to be rewriting the basic laws of thermodynamics and materials science. The energy barriers between different states of matter seem to have been drastically lowered or even eliminated entirely. This suggests a complete overhaul of how atoms and molecules interact within a witch¡¯s sphere of influence."

    I stared at the grinding wheel.

    Water.

    My God, I''m an idiot sometimes!

    In my exuberant state of mental flow, I completely forgot to use water to cool gemstones down as I ground them down!

    According to Yaga Grandhilda a witch could drown her enemies in her earth, sink through roots, solid rocks¡­ this meant that a witch could liquefy everything that was beneath her feet, turn all solid matter into liquid at will.

    But how? How could witches cause phase transition in gems?!

    My hand slid into my pocket as I contemplated the impossibilities presented to me. My fingers closed around something hard and I pulled out gemstone 51.

    I stared at gemstone 51, turning it over in my hand as my mind raced. Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

    "You!" I exclaimed, holding the large, brilliantly-violet gem up to my eyes. "You''re not just softening glass, are you? You''re altering matter itself! You¡¯re¡­ causing phase transitions! Ordinarily a rock experiences phase transition, melts at temperatures around 1000¡ãC to 1200¡ãC, turning into magma. But¡­ a witch can just sink anything through solid rock without heating it up, right?¡±

    I stared at the gem. "You''re lowering the energy barriers between different states of matter. That''s why the glass becomes rubbery, why the bones crystallize, why everything seems to behave so... fluidly around me! You¡¯re the reason I can just grind a corundum gemstone without it cracking, breaking the grinding wheel or overheating!¡±

    Stormy watched me with curious eyes as I continued my animated monologue. She probably thought me mad for yelling at a rock.

    "Don''t you see?" I turned to the kitten, gesturing wildly. "This gem, and probably many others like it, are fundamentally changing how atoms and molecules interact within my domain. They''re rewriting the rules of physics on a quantum level!"

    I scooped up Stormy and held her at eye level, my words tumbling out like raging river. "Stormy, this is revolutionary! This is a complete overhaul of the laws of thermodynamics!"

    The kitten mewed softly, clearly not sharing my enthusiasm for quantum physics or being shaken in the air.

    "Just think about it!" I continued. "If we can control these energy barriers, we could potentially transform any material into any other material. We could create substances with properties that shouldn''t exist in nature. We could..."

    I trailed off, my mind reeling with the possibilities.

    ¡°Mmmrrrr,¡± the kitten said.

    ¡°Right,¡± I set her down back onto the work table. ¡°Just me then. You have no human hands, Miss Assistant.¡±

    I quickly bound gem 51 into a basic locket on my neck and set out to make extremely basic glass lenses from the human-bone-glass dust.

    When they were completed, I waited for the glass to cool and then polished it. The process was definitely faster and easier than it should have been had I been working with mundane glass, the material behaving almost like slightly softened clay.

    After that was done, I added the produced lens to my Astralscope pliers and eyed Stormy through it.

    The kitten¡¯s black fur viewed through the lens of the bone-glass combined with a multitude of other crystal lenses, glowed with an ethereal, otherworldly radiance, covered in minute violet radial shimmers.

    <hr>

    Day 37

    Attempt at meditation 98 resulted in no changes. Still, I persisted at it, meditating in the pub and outside of it at random locations while wearing the backpack.

    Even if I couldn''t open my inner eye or hear the spirits of the wind, it still gave me some time to think about things, to organize the thoughts in my head and to contemplate the nature of magic.

    From what I could observe with the Astralscope, my current hypothesis was that magic moved akin to electricity. Generally, in electrical wires, the speed of the electric signal was about 50% to 99% of the speed of light, which was approximately 150,000 to 297,000 kilometers per second. Magic, it seemed moved a lot slower, as if the medium it was traveling through was some kind of thick soup.

    Using a sand-clock I discovered in the ruins and various snips of copper wire that''s been sitting in my witchy pile of earth from a few hours to 34 days, I determined that the speed of magic traveling through witch-earth-blessed copper depended on how much life-rad the copper absorbed. Copper wire infused with an hour of life-rad conducted magic through it had an abysmal rate of 3 centimeters an hour! I could actually watch the magical radiance crawl across the wire like a snail via the Astralscope.

    Wire that sat in my domain for 10 days, possessed a slightly more respectable rate of magical conductivity of 37 centimeters per hour.

    This was of course, approximate calculation based on a ruler I''ve created myself using abandoned boots I found in the village, approximating that the average human foot of an adult was 26.3 cm.

    34-day old copper wire conducted magic through it at 0.3?millimeter per second!

    Walking around the village while testing the speed of magical conductivity in copper resulted in weird deviations. Inside some of the ruined houses covered in snow and ashes, magical conductivity of 10-day copper fell to 11 centimeters per hour!

    This experiment made me arrive at a conclusion that somehow my domain accelerated magical conductivity the closer I was to it and whatever the hell the dragon did completely screwed up magical conductivity in an area.

    Magic conductivity also fell dramatically when I placed the 10-day copper wire over Glinka''s rock, moving at around 21 cm/hr. Basically, magic that wasn''t aligned to me slowed/disrupted the magical conductivity of my copper wire.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    <hr>

    Day 38

    Eager to explore further magic smithing, I retrieved the two heart gems made from two bandits from the pile.

    I melted the first heart gem down and created another set of Astralscope lenses from half of it, which further improved by observation of magic.

    ¡°Now¡­ should I try to fuse these two using heat?¡± I grinned at Stormy, showing her the remainder of the heart-gem and gem 51. ¡°Will doing that improve gem 51¡¯s functions or make it worse?¡±

    ¡°Mr-mrrr,¡± Stormy said. I took her answer as more of a yes than no.

    Back in the smithy I placed gem 51 and the bandit¡¯s heart-gem into the crucible.

    It only took a few minutes under high heat for the two crystals to melt.

    I poured a drop of 51 into a drop of heart gem, fusing the two together. When the combined drops cooled, I held the newly forged crystal up to the light, marveling at its iridescent sheen. The heart gem¡¯s deep violet-crimson had melded seamlessly with the translucent violet-blue of gem 51, creating a unique swirl of colors.

    "What do you think, Stormy?" I asked, glancing down at my feline companion.

    "Mrow?" she chirped, violet eyes fixed on the newly produced crystal.

    "Yeah, I''m not sure what it does either," I said. "Let''s take a closer look."

    I settled into a chair, pulling my Astralscope out. As I peered through the multitude of crystalline lenses, improved crystal 51-B seemed to pulse with an inner fire, tendrils of energy coiling and uncoiling within its depths, projecting out of the gem in distinctive radial patterns akin to seeing field lines around a bar magnet.

    ¡°Curious,¡± I murmured. "But how do I measure this increase in magical potential? I need some way to quantify magical power..."

    Stormy hopped onto the table, her tail swishing back and forth as she watched me think.

    "That''s it!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers. Stormy startled, nearly falling off the table. "We''re going to build a magical galvanometer! Well, I¡¯m going to build it. You can watch and tell me if I¡¯m going in the right direction, Miss future-seer.¡±

    ¡°Brrrrrr,¡± Stormy commented, possibly excited by the prospect of managing me.

    "Galvanometer time!" I said as I sketched out the diagram of the galvanometer in the Witch''s Codex.

    She tilted her head at the word galvanometer with a somewhat confused look.

    ¡°A galvanometer is an instrument used to detect and measure electric current,¡± I explained, showing her the sketch. ¡°It works by indicating the presence of a current and its direction. I think I''m going to call it a¡­ Hexometer! Since it¡¯s going to measure hexes, aka the presence of magic and its direction.¡±

    I went back into the pub and rummaged through my collection of witch-affected materials, laying them out on the workbench. Stormy perched herself on a nearby table, her violet eyes tracking my every move.

    ¡°Galvanometers are made with a magnetic coil of wire. The coil is usually wound around a rectangular or cylindrical frame,¡± I explained. ¡°Positioned around or alongside the coil are one or more permanent magnets. These create a steady magnetic field in which the coil is situated. The interaction between the magnetic field generated by the current in the coil and the external magnetic field of the permanent magnets causes the coil to experience a torque.¡±

    Stormy squinted at me.

    ¡°The coil is typically attached to a lightweight pointer that moves over a scale,¡± I explained, not sure if she even understood any of my words. ¡°It''s mounted on a pivot or a set of jewel bearings so that it can rotate freely. When current flows through the coil, the magnetic torque induces a rotation, which is translated into a movement of the pointer across the scale.¡±

    Stormy closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. Maybe she didn''t understand anything and I was talking to myself like a crazy cat lady.

    ¡°Basically¡­ There''s a needle connected to the coil. This needle moves when there''s electricity, or in our case when there''s magic. Oh and there''s a spring too which helps the needle return to the starting position when there''s no electricity. Get it?¡± I explained things again, hoping that Stormy was sapient enough for my words.

    ¡°Mewlrr,¡± Stormy sighed.

    "Alright, let''s see what we''ve got here," I mused, going to the pile and sorting through the items. "We need something magically conductive for the coil... Ah! This copper wire should do nicely, yeah?"

    Stormy ignored the copper and went to smack a gold chain that was tinted violet.

    "This is for science, not for playing." I commented.

    "Mrrp," Stormy replied smacking the gold chain again, with greater insistence.

    "You want me to use gold for this?" I asked.

    Stormy nodded.

    "Okay, Miss Assistant," I nodded.

    I returned to the forge and melted the gold chain down, hammered the produced gold into a flat sheet. Then I drew the gold through a series of progressively smaller holes in an iron drawplate. The violet-tinted gold didn''t seem to require annealing. Whatever gem 51 did on my neck was causing it to be more malleable and less brittle.

    When I produced a golden-violet wire, I began winding the wire around a wooden spool, creating a tight coil. "The principle here is simple," I explained to my feline audience. "If magical energy behaves anything like electricity, it might create a field when it flows. This coil should hopefully be able to detect that field."

    Stormy yawned widely.

    "Everyone''s a critic," I muttered. "Okay, smarty-paws, which crystal should we use for the needle?"

    To my surprise, Stormy hopped down from her perch, ran left and right and then suddenly jumped at absolutely nothing at all, spinning through the air as kittens often do while playing. Then she looked left and right, hopped sideways for a bit and then pawed at one of the rocks in my pile and then grabbed the coral piece that I had extracted from one of the jewellery sets in her mouth. She dropped the coral atop of a random dark rock.

    ¡°Why this specific rock and the coral?¡± I asked her.

    Stormy shrugged.

    ¡°Right, you don¡¯t know why something works, you just somehow know that it will,¡± I muttered.

    I grabbed the rock and the coral and went back to the forge. Both melted and fused quite nicely in the innards of the forge. I poured the superheated drop into the form of a needle and waited for it to cool.

    "Let''s give it a try." I nodded, picking up the crystalline needle.

    I carefully suspended the needle from a thin thread, positioning it at the center of the coil.

    "Now for the magnet," I said, eyeing the pile of rocks.

    Stormy pawed at a rock hanging from my rock collection atop of my shirt.

    "This one, huh?" I asked.

    "Mrrrrrwrrl," she affirmed.

    "Thanks," I said and went to melt the rock in the crucible, pouring and then slowly shaping it into a curved magnet required for the tool I was making.

    <hr>

    Day 39

    After thirty minutes of meditation, which gave me no new powers, I spend a few hours carefully assembling the hexometer''s base using a slab of wood from the outside, so it would not interfere with measuring magic. Then, I spend the rest of the day putting the entire hexometer together, testing and calibrating it so the thing would work properly. It was hard working with medieval tools but I persisted at it, my hands working tirelessly and rather precisely, thanks to the powers of my domain.

    "Now for the moment of truth," I announced, reaching for a slightly purple iron flake. "If this works, the crystal should move when exposed to magical energy."

    I placed the flake on the measuring plate and pointed two of the gold wires at it from two directions, watching as magic danced across them via the Astralscope.

    For a moment, nothing happened. Then, ever so slightly, the crystal needle began to twitch.

    "Ha!" I exclaimed triumphantly. "Look at that! It works! Magic has a current!"

    Stormy meowed excitedly, her tail swishing back and forth.

    "You''re right," I agreed. "We need to calibrate it. Let''s try different materials and see how they affect the needle."

    Over the next few hours, Stormy and I tested various objects from the pub. Mundane items didn¡¯t move the needle, organic things made slight twitches, while witch-grass and other magically infused materials caused more pronounced movements. The heart-gem belonging to the 2nd bandit made the needle go wild.

    "Fascinating," I muttered, scribbling notes in the Codex. "It seems the strength of the reaction correlates with the level of magical saturation. Magical saturation matters. I wonder if some witches are more powerful if they place their domain inside an area that has greater... uhh... Aetheric density? Maybe places where the barrier between the physical and the Astral is thin are easier to do magic in? What do you think, Miss assistant?"

    I saw that Stormy was purring contentedly, curled up next to the Hexometer. She did lots of running today. Managing me was clearly a tough job!

    "You know," I said, scratching her behind the ears, "I couldn''t have done this without you. You''re a pretty good lab assistant!"

    "Mrow," Stormy replied, her eyes half-closed in contentment.

    I went back to refining the design of the Hexometer, my end goal to make it more ergonomic, more responsive and less flimsy.

    <hr>

    Day 40

    I rubbed gem 51-B against a magic-infused wooden board, observing the interaction of two magic waves radiating from gem 51-B and the wood with the Astralscope. Gem 51-B was a definite improvement in magical power compared to gem 51. I knew now why some witches turned evil. Killing people for their crystalline hearts increased the efficacy of other magical crystals in a witch¡¯s garden where the bodies were buried.

    I still couldn¡¯t pass my hand through solid wood, but the surface of the wood interacting with 51-B seemed a lot softer now, almost like rubber when I pressed hard against it.

    "I think that I¡¯m onto something here, Stormy,¡± I commented.

    Stormy tilted her head, letting out a curious "Mrrrww?"

    ¡°Piezoelectricity is when certain materials generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. It''s how some lighters work, or how record players turn the vibrations in the grooves into sound,¡± I said.

    "Mrrp," Stormy replied, padding over to sit on my lap.

    "Exactly!" I said, as if she''d made a profound point. "Material-softening gemstone 51 isn''t quite the same as basic quartz which is piezoelectric and can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. It''s responding to magical energy and my fingers in some specific way, not mechanical stress. Instead of generating electricity, 51 is somehow altering the properties of materials around it... making them more malleable.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to call this effect¡­ the Arcanoelastic Resonance,¡± I announced to no-one in particular, writing the term into my Codex.

    ¡°Brrr brrr,¡± Stormy shrugged. She didn¡¯t care for how things were named.

    <hr>

    Day 41

    "Alright, little miss future-seer, let''s tackle this Arcanoelastic Resonance problem head-on,¡± I got off my work table in the pub, stretching.

    Stormy''s tail swished back and forth as she lazily pawed at one of the spirits.

    ¡°I think that what I¡¯m going to need is a remote control of sorts for gem 51-B,¡± I explained. ¡°I can¡¯t speak to spirits like a witch does via the astral, sooo¡­ I¡¯m going to make a remote for it!¡±

    Stormy tilted her head my way.

    ¡°A remote control is a device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly,¡± I explained. ¡°All of these spirits stuck within the rocks are performing specific functions within my witchy domain. Gem 51 can somehow make hard materials softer, so it stands to reason that this effect can potentially be controlled remotely, amplified, reduced, reversed. It¡¯s just a matter of figuring out how to order gem 51 to do what I want without talking to it through meditation or whatever it is female witches can do that I can''t seem to perform no matter how many times I try it."

 18 Arcanoelastic Resonator

    "Right,¡± I said. ¡°So¡­ today we''re going to attempt to build a remote control using 51-B," I explained, gathering my tools. "First thing''s first, we need a base. More specifically, a non-magical material that will contain the phase shift resonance that gem 51-B casts without being influenced by it."

    Stormy tilted her head at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­ wood? Which one do you think will work best? This one maybe?¡± I picked up an oak board.

    I watched as Stormy got up and trotted to my pile of scrap wood, stopping at a piece of birch.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I picked up the birch. It was strange working with a kitten who somehow sensed what I was going to do in the near future. It skipped a lot of steps and time consuming days or weeks that would be required for testing specific materials otherwise with the hexometer to figure out which one would be the most optimal for my purpose. I wondered exactly how Stormy''s power worked and why. Did Stormy want me to complete the remote sooner? If so, how did that benefit a cat? Cats weren''t exactly instantly devotedly-obedient like dogs.

    "Mrrp," Stormy commented looking quite pleased with herself as she paced beside me tail up in the air, her gemstone-covered harness and collar glittering like violet stardust nebulae against her lush black fur.

    "Yes, yes, you''re the boss," I winked at her.

    I carefully sawed the birch piece into a rectangular shape, about the size of my palm.

    Next, I reached for my carving tools pilfered from a woodworker''s shop, but Stormy let out a disapproving "Mrow!"

    "What''s wrong?" I asked, puzzled.

    Stormy pawed at the Hexometer, then at the wood.

    "Ah, I see," I nodded, understanding dawning on me. "You want me to use the Hexometer to guide the carving process? I was thinking about that earlier, yeah, okay, that makes more sense than simply trying to copy an existing design of a basic remote switch from Earth."

    Stormy shook her head and then pawed at gem 51-B.

    ¡°You want to connect the hexometer to 51-B?¡± I asked. ¡°You think that each gem produces a unique magical signature, right? I was thinking about this for the past two weeks, the slight deviation in the radial wave-patterns projected by each gem might result in specific shape."

    "Purrrr," Stormy confirmed, looking smug.

    It took me a bit of fiddling but eventually I was able to adjust the hexometer to host gem 51-B.

    After that was done, I placed the wood on the Hexometer''s plate and watched as the needle twitched and swayed. Following its movements, I grabbed a chalk piece and started to draw dots on the wood that seemed to align with the specifically strong flow of magical energy projected by 51-B in uneven waves that I could see with my Astralscope.

    The hexometer allowed me to define where exactly the waves landed on the wood dot by dot. It took me almost the entire day of poking the wood with the chalk until a coherent pattern began to emerge.

    "Huh,¡± I commented when I was done with my drawing. ¡°This is sort of like creating a circuit board or a two dimensional representation¡­ for the Auric Signature of gem 51-B. Specifically, the pattern for Arcanoelastic Resonance aka the phase transition causing magical pattern.

    The chalk drawing on the wood appeared to be a fractal-like snowflake made up from converging pyramid-like shapes. It somewhat reminded me of the hexagram that Yaga Grandhilda drew on my chest, but was a lot more complex, featured more fractal-like triangle notches that folded into themselves. Did magic, like the shape of trees and mountains operate on specific fractals?

    ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going to use the smallest knife to carve this pattern into the wood as precisely as I can manage.¡±

    Stormy yawned and closed her eyes as I worked slowly. I wanted to make the pattern as precisely as possible so I took my time, spending the rest of daylight on it.

    <hr>

    Day 42

    Once the carving was complete, I held up the base, admiring the snowflake hexagram and contemplated how the remote would work best. I went back to the smithy and melted the entirety of gem 51 down once again, fusing 95% of it with the crystalline hearts and leaving 5% of it for future experiments as a small glass pebble in my necklace. I poured about a third of the resulting melted gem 51-B into the grooves in the wood, watching as it solidified.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to call this crystalline material¡­ witchglass,¡± I commented. ¡°Sounds nicer than 51-B, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Mrrrp,¡± Stormy chirped.

    When the crystalline snowflake hexagram was finished, the hexometer needle went absolutely wild dancing over it.

    "Now for the tricky part,¡± I tapped my chin. ¡°I need to create a switch mechanism."

    ¡°Brrr?¡± Stormy asked.

    I pondered for a moment, then snapped my fingers. "Right. I¡¯ll use 51-B for it too."

    I melted and reshaped a piece of gem 51-B, and fitted it into a groove at the top of the wooden base with a spring to create a button that I could press with a finger. "This should act as our on/off switch," I explained to Stormy, who was watching intently.

    "Mrow?" Stormy questioned.

    "Right, we can''t forget the star of the show," I nodded. "We need to integrate more of 51-B into the circuit somehow as a separate piece..."

    I examined the carved channels in the wood, then had an idea. I heated up a small metal rod in the forge and used it to carefully melt a depression in the center of the wooden base. Once it had cooled, I fitted a large piece of 51-B snugly into the central hollow so that it could move up and down and touch more or less of the snowflake, its descent controlled by a wooden dial.

    "Now, we need to connect everything," I  picked up my gold wire. I carefully wove it through the carved channels, circling the snowflake and connecting the witchglass switch to gem 51.

    "Should I also use gold for the place where the remote touches my hand?" I asked Stormy.

    The kitten ran to the pile and smacked a silver chain.

    "Silver it is," I said, trusting her instincts.

    Then, I modified the wooden dial on the remote once again so that it allowed me to control how much of my hand touched the silver coil and how much gem 51 touched the entire magical snowflake pattern.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "Almost there," I muttered, making the final connections. "Now we just need to test it."

    ¡°Br br,¡± the kitten rolled over.

    ¡°Yeah, it does look like a paddle,¡± I said, staring at the remote in my hand. ¡°Don¡¯t judge my remote design, you!¡±

    </a>

    Stormy rolled her eyes at me.

    I took a deep breath, pressed the witchglass switch and spun the dial, looking at the remote through the Astralscope. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a soft violet glow projected itself from gem 51, rushing across the entire snowflake witchglass pattern.

    "It''s working¡­ I think!" I exclaimed, grinning at Stormy. "But how do I control what it¡¯s pointed at?¡±

    Stormy got up and went to paw at the chalk and then at the pile of bone dust.

    ¡°Chalk cannot be melted in a forge,¡± I said. ¡°This is because chalk is primarily composed of calcium carbonate which does not melt; instead, it decomposes when heated to high temperatures.¡±

    ¡°Brbrrr,¡± Stormy shook her head, tapping the chalk harder with her fuzzy black paw.

    ¡°Right¡­ vitrification,¡± I muttered. ¡°I think I do have a piece of witch-magic infused chalk that¡¯s been buried for weeks in my pile.¡±

    I went to the earth pile and with Stormy¡¯s help found a violet-tinted piece of chalk.

    Stormy followed me, tail sticking upright as I put the crystallized chalk and the second human crystalline heart and the remains of gem 51 into the forge, producing a unique fusion of the three. Then, I poured the result into an approximate form of the chalk and cooled it with water.

    I had run out of human heart gems. It somewhat bothered me that I would have to kill again, to build more tools.

    Maybe I didn''t necessarily have to kill people. Perhaps, I could figure out how to kill a Jotun. The bones of such a beast have to be extra-magical, otherwise our Yaga wouldn''t be wearing them.

    ¡°Behold, I have created witchchalk,¡± I said as I picked up the resulting chalk.

    ¡°Mrrrrrr,¡± Stormy yawned.

    ¡°Now what Miss assistant?¡± I asked her.

    The kitten looked at the hexagram on the remote and then the magic chalk and then pawed the floor.

    ¡°Gotcha! Of course!¡± I declared and began to sketch an exact copy of the triangle-populated copy of the fractal snowflake from the remote on the floor with the chalk. It took me a bit of time to do so using a square framework sketched out with regular chalk first.

    ¡°Moment of truth,¡± I said as I put the Astralscope in front of my left eye.

    I pointed the remote at the hexagram on the floor and turned the knob, permitting greater flow of magic through the hexagram. Through the Astralscope, I could see faint tendrils of violet energy beginning to coalesce around the edges of the chalk-drawn snowflake, noting clear interaction between the snowflake in the remote and one on the floor.

    Suddenly, the floor within the hexagram''s radius began to shimmer, as if viewed through a heat haze. I reached out with a stick and poked the floor. The wooden planks, once solid and unyielding, started to ripple like the surface of a disturbed pond. The ripple effect spread outward from the area I poked, bouncing off the edges of the snowflake on the floor.

    ¡°Yess!¡± I fist-pumped.

    ¡°Rock testing time!¡± I declared and rushed outside to grab a pocketful of small pebbles.

    Upon return, I placed the first test pebble onto the floor snowflake.

    The plain, unremarkable stone began to sink slowly into the now semi-liquid floor. It was as if the wood had transformed into a viscous fluid, its molecular structure completely altered by the arcane energies flowing through it.

    I pressed the switch to disable the flow of magic through the remote. The floor instantly solidified, suspending the pebble ? of the way in solid wood. I leaned down and tapped the wood and the rock in fascination with my fingers. Then, I turned the dial on the remote forward all the way and turned it on once again.

    I watched, transfixed, as the stone descended deeper into the floor. The wood seemed to part around it, flowing like molasses.

    As the stone sank and vanished into the liquefied wooden floor, I noticed that the liquefied wood didn''t splash or splatter. Instead, it moved with an eerie, almost fluidity, as if consciously making way for the intruding object. This behavior reminded me somewhat of Non-Newtonian Fluid.

    I pointed the remote away from the chalk hexagram on the floor. The floor didn¡¯t stop rippling.

    I walked to the far end of the pub and tried to throw another pebble into the hexagram. The pebble bounced off. I moved closer, throwing pebbles at the hexagram. This permitted me to calculate that the range of my remote was approximately 2.2 meters.

    The Astralscope showed me that the pulsating waves of energy emanating from gem 51-B on the remote, perfectly synchronized with the ripples in the floor. It was as if the gem and the snowflake were conducting an orchestra of arcane forces, bending reality to its will.

    I turned to Stormy.

    "Did you see that?" I gesticulated. ¡°The Arcanoelastic Resonator bloody works! I did it! Ha ha! Science: 4, Witchy mysticism: 0!¡±

    Stormy, for her part, looked utterly unimpressed at my score-keeping.

    She yawned widely, stretched, and then curled up for a nap next to the burning fireplace, as if to say, "Of course it worked. What did you expect? Girl witches can simply sink into their domain without any of this remote nonsense.¡±

    I tapped my chin in thought and snipped a flower from one of the metal cases and dropped it into the liquid floor to see if the non-Newtonian-wood would absorb organic material or if something light would just float atop it. The lightweight flower gradually sank into liquefied wood and vanished into the floor.

    ¡°And that¡¯s how witches drown people,¡± I commented with a slight shudder.

    As I giddily paced across the pub, I noticed the bucket with Glinka¡¯s fish-rock.

    ¡°Time for another experiment,¡± I grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you feel about swimming in my domain, little river-fish spirit!¡±

    I fished the rock out of the bucket, feeling it prickle ever so slightly against my fingers and then dropped it from the air onto the liquefied floor section turning the remote dial to its lowest setting.

    The moment the stone made contact with the wood, the surface rippled outward like a pond disturbed by a pebble. Through my Astralscope, I could see faint tendrils of blue-green energy, distinct from the violet hues of my domain, emanating from the rock as it began to sink.

    The descent of the fish-rock was noticeably different from that of the mundane stone. It seemed to resist the pull of the liquefied wood, as if struggling against an unseen current that tried to pull it under. The blue-green aura surrounding the rock pulsed and flickered, creating small eddies in the violet energy field of my domain.

    The wooden floor around the sinking rock began to undulate slightly, creating concentric circles that radiated outward.

    Through the multi-lens of Astralscope, I observed the interplay of energies. The violet tendrils of my domain''s magic seemed to be attempting to envelop the blue-green aura of the fish spirit, but they couldn''t quite manage to penetrate it. Instead, they swirled around it, creating a mesmerizing dance of colors.

    The rock continued its descent, but at a much slower pace than the mundane stone. It was as if the liquid-wood itself was reluctant to accept this intruder. I could clearly sense the fish spirit''s presence within my domain, a small pocket of foreign energy, a prickling bothersome spark.

    Suddenly, about halfway through the floor, the rock''s descent halted. It hung there, suspended in the wood refusing to sink in fully.

    "Observation: Magic interferes with magic," I wrote in the Witch''s Codex.

    I grabbed the rock from the semi-liquid floor and tied a bit of string to it.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s give it more oomph!¡± I said as I placed the rock back into the wooden pond and cranked up the amount of phase transition on the remote to the max.

    Glinka¡¯s pebble flashed with silver-blue sparks, vanishing in the depths of the floor.

    I still sensed it somehow, but its magic now felt greatly reduced, almost gone, contained. From what I felt, it stopped somewhere in the depths of the floor.

    "Fascinating," I muttered, making notes in my Codex. "The tiny river spirit seems to be contained within my domain, but not assimilated, nor dead. It''s like... like an encapsulated foreign body in a living organism. Guess it''s harder to kill a spirit in a rock on the account that they don''t need to breathe."

    I pulled the rock with the rope and then measured the distance it went in.

    From my test, Glinka¡¯s rock had stopped sinking exactly 30 cm into the floor, which was the exact radius of my chalk hexagram.

    The fish spirit looked at me with what was possibly a very annoyed expression as it swam circles around the rock.

    Stormy paid neither me nor the perturbed fish spirit any attention, busy snoozing by the fire.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make myself Astralscope goggles using the remote to soften, carve out or maybe liquefy and reshape a small wooden board on its lowest setting,¡± I said, looking at my chonky and terribly unergonomic Astralscope in my left hand. ¡°Iron pliers with gem lenses tied to them are not comfortable to lug around everywhere.¡±

 19 Callista Liesl

    [Day 43]

    Stormy¡¯s sudden, loud "Mraurwww!" from the windowsill interrupted my scribbling. I set down my Witchcraft Codex and walked up to the window.

    Stormy¡¯s superior feline senses were right on target.

    In a few minutes a massive, carriage-style, covered wooden sleigh rolled into Svalbard pulled by four horses, moving over the frozen river. I rushed to pull my crystal-reinforced armor and face-covering helmet on, making sure that the arbalests were armed and ready.

    The sleigh slid about ten meters into town and stopped facing my tree-fortification.

    As I pulled the window open, aiming the arbalest I saw that a girl in a lush, furry white coat and fluffy hat was holding the reins of the horses.

    ¡°Lo, Nordstaii ungmenni!¡± She called out with a slight accent as she noticed me in the window.

    After a second of delay my brain interpreted her words as an overly-formal greeting addressing a young man of the Nordstaii tribes.

    ¡°Please lower your weapon,¡± she yelled. ¡°I am a merchant! My name is Callista Liesl and I come to your village because of a request made by Ioan. His message reached me through Cecil of Bernt. Are you Ioan?¡±

    "Greetings, Callista," I replied as I lowered my arbalest. Cecil had done his job. ¡°I am Ioan Starfall of Svalbard!¡±

    "Ahh," the girl quickly disembarked from the sleigh, raising her empty hands in the air to indicate she was unarmed. I secured the arbalest to my side, and she approached the pub. I couldn¡¯t help but notice her somewhat feline features and brilliant snow-white hair.

    ¡°Could I stay in town for the night?¡± she inquired with a friendly smile. ¡°My Stormseer tells me that a snowstorm is brewing.¡±

    "Do you need a room?" I asked. "Unfortunately, a dragon demolished our inn."

    "That''s alright," she reassured me. "I can sleep in my sleigh. Are the stables beside the pub still intact?"

    "They are," I confirmed with a nod.

    "Wonderful," she beamed. ¡°Might I come into your pub for a drink? We can talk business¨CI have chicken eggs as you requested and many other supplies from the south which might aid in your¡­ situation.¡±

    ¡°You alone in that sleigh?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sure am,¡± she nodded, walking closer to my tree fortification. ¡°So can you lead this weary merchant inside to warm up?¡±

    I eyed the merchant girl evaluating her. She looked around nineteen at most and appeared harmless. There were no weapons on her as far as I could see.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°Put your horses into the stables and then we can talk business inside. Give me a bit of time to get the pub ready for you, it¡¯s a bit of a mess.¡±

    I retreated from the window and quickly concealed the greenery that was blooming within the chests, by pulling old, grimy cloths or Band banners over the far too obvious green plants or by simply shutting the chests closed.

    When the pub became presentable-ish, leaving only randomly strewn earth piles, I came out of the side door and showed Callista the safe passage through the narrow path in my tree barricade.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a fiendish, albeit simple tree-fence you¡¯ve got there,¡± she commented, avoiding the jagged branches as she followed me, leaning down low. ¡°Cecil told me that you¡¯re alone in Svalbard, Ioan?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied, feeling no need to lie to the merchant. ¡°Just me and my cat survived the dragon.¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry to hear that,¡± she said.

    ¡°So what brings you to Svalbard, Callista?¡± I asked conversationally as we emerged from the tight tree-tunnel and stepped inside the warm pub.

    ¡°Trade of course,¡± she said with another soft, friendly smile that put me entirely at ease.

    Callista was the first person that wasn¡¯t trying to kill me and her soft, feminine soprano chatter was a nice change of pace from listening to my own voice.

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    Stormy hissed at the girl as she removed her thick, white fur coat, revealing a simple yet elegant white leather dress. I noticed a fanciful, white gold and blue gemstone lavaliere-style necklace was decorating the merchant''s pale, slender neck. Glancing at her curves made my heartbeat accelerate for a moment.

    When she pulled off her white furry hat, it revealed a pair of white, exceptionally fluffy cat ears and curvy, white, sparkling hair. I stared at her cat-like ears, not believing my own eyes.

    She looked just like the illustration from the book of monsters!

    The girl wiggled her ears in my direction with a sly grin, swaying her white tail slightly.

    Stormy let out a small growl. She was probably just feeling bothered that another cat¡­ person invaded her feline domain. Indoor cats didn''t get along well with other cats from the outside, so this was probably normal.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a Felix Arcanicx before, have you?¡± Callista asked me, winking at Stormy.

    ¡°Nope,¡± I shook my head, blushing ever so slightly as Callista pulled off her white gloves. She unbuttoned her blouse further, basking in the heat of the fireplace.

    ¡°Are there¡­ other people like you in the South?¡± I asked the merchant, ignoring Stormy¡¯s ¡®what is this questionable big cat doing in my house?!¡¯ glare.

    ¡°Oh there are all kinds of arcanicx,¡± the merchant nodded with a smile. ¡°The gals living close to cometfall tend to end up with all sorts of quirky features.¡±

    ¡°Cometfall?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I hail from Iridium, the city of mercantile trade,¡± Callista said. ¡°It stands at the edge of the Fern Archipelago which is itself on the edge of the Castian Sea. The Castian Sea, which connects to the wider Azure Ocean isn¡¯t natural¨Cit¡¯s the result of Cometfall or Starfall as the Nordstaii tribes call it.¡±

    ¡°Starfall,¡± I thought, considering the sudden relevance of my last name.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that long ago that a shard of the Wormwood Star sheared our world and brought about the age of winter to Thornwild,¡± Callista said with a bit of a sad look in her deep, blue eyes. ¡°The great, slowly moving glaciers advancing from the North have upheaved many, making them forsake their homes. The Nordstaii tribes of your people arose from a fusion of a multitude of distinctive cultures that had to retreat from the North, West and East. The lives of many were filled with a great deal of strife because of Starfall day.¡±

    I simply stared at her. Callista seemed to wield a great deal of history, spoke with crystalline clarity and seemed a lot more educated and classy compared to the ancient, domain-bound Yaga Grandhilda.

    ¡°It is actually the end of summer now here in Ninitza peninsula,¡± the merchant revealed. ¡°Autumn is yet to arrive and winter will be harsher yet.¡±

    I gulped as Stormy¡¯s claws dug into my shoulder. This was the end of summer?! Thornwild was experiencing an Ice Age because a comet crashed into the planet?!

    I shuddered momentarily and then remembered that I was a witch. No matter how cold it would get, I would be immune to it. Still, it was a bit of foreboding news.

    I shook my head, driving dark thoughts away and gestured towards a pair of simple chairs and table near the fireplace that I had left in the pub for myself and stormy to eat on. "Have a seat. Can I offer you an elk steak and some wine?"

    Callista gracefully lowered herself onto the bench. ¡°Elk steak and wine? I wouldn¡¯t mind that at all, Ioan!¡±

    I went to fetch the food and drinks. Stormy remained perched on my shoulder, keeping a wary eye on our guest. I quickly fried the meat for all three of us and then brought it to the table with some cheese, and a bottle of wine.

    ¡°Quite a festive place you¡¯ve got here,¡± the arcanicx girl commented, leaning forward and eyeing the piles of earth and Zemy¡¯s banners hanging from the ceiling and walls all around us. ¡°It must be lonely here for you, no?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I confessed, staring at the opulent, blue, glittering jewels on her chest. ¡°It does get a bit lonely here.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrr?¡± Stormy commented, pawing at my face as if saying, ¡®What about me? I''m good company, no?¡¯

    I scratched her behind the ear.

    "So, tell me, Ioan, what sort of supplies are you most in need of other than the eggs?" The merchant smiled.

    "Well, I could use some proper tools," I admitted. "The smithy here is decent, but finer instruments would be nice¡­ if you have such."

    Callista''s eyes lit up. "Oh, I have just the thing! I''ve got a set of Castian magisteel tools that would make any Nordstaii craftsman weep with joy. They''re a bit pricey, but..." She winked conspiratorially. "For you, I might be willing to cut a deal."

    I went to the pile of earth and grabbed a bunch of gold chains that had remained after my jewellery dismantling. During the past weeks I had also excavated about 75 gold, 122 silver and 522 copper coins from the ruins of Svalbard. I placed about twenty gold coins onto the table in front of the merchant.

    ¡°Will gold work?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yep,¡± She nodded. ¡°I definitely accept gold. Also, feel free to call me Cali!"

    ¡°Sounds good, what else have you got?" I asked.

    The Felix Arcanicx began listing her wares, from medicine, to exotic spices, to finely woven fabrics, listing the prices. The amount of gold I had was more than enough to purchase what I wanted and Cali seemed genuinely interested in helping a poor orphaned boy out.

    I found myself relaxing further and further as we chatted, Callista''s easygoing, relaxed manner making me feel somehow more at ease than I had in weeks.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a big assortment you¡¯ve got,¡± I commented as she listed out a multitude of handy supplies that a teenage boy might need to survive the incredibly long and brutal winter of Svalbard. ¡°How does all this stuff even fit into your enclosed sleigh?¡±

    ¡°Ah that,¡± Cali smiled. ¡°Magic¡¯s easier to weave closer to cometfall, you see. The Sleigh of Ancorra is a tad bigger on the inside.¡±

    ¡°Bigger on the inside?¡± I blinked. ¡°How is that even possible?¡±

 20 Felix Arcanicx

    ¡°My sled is an artifact made by fine ladies of the Iridium Istria Magellanum,¡± Cali revealed. ¡°It utilizes a small shard of the Wormwood Star to power the runework. The Artificer-Sorceresses of my homeland are quite talented!¡±

    I nodded, wondering if there were actual wizards in the south or if women had somehow monopolized the global domain of magic leaving the men to focus on cultivation of strength.

    Callista continued to regale me with tales of her homeland, the wonders of Iridium and the use of Wormwood Star shards to power all sorts of magical gadgetry. Her animated gestures and infectious laughter made the gloomy pub feel brighter.

    "I once traded a crate of Castian wine for a talking parrot," Cali chatted, "Can you believe it? The bird knew more curse words than a drunken sailor!"

    "Did you keep it?" I asked.

    "Oh heavens, no!" she giggled, her white cat ears twitching adorably. "I sold it to a pirate captain for twice what I paid. Last I heard, it was teaching the entire crew how to swear in three different languages!"

    As we shared a laugh, I noticed Stormy''s tail swishing. She let out a deeper growl, which Cali seemed to find amusing.

    "Oh my," she cooed, "I think someone''s feeling a bit left out. Is your little fuzzy friend always this protective?"

    I glanced at Stormy, who was glaring daggers at Cali. "Stormy¡¯s usually less grumpy," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I guess she''s not used to visitors."

    Cali waved her hand dismissively. "Don''t worry about it. I''m sure she''s just jealous that another kitten is monopolizing your attention." She winked at me, causing my cheeks to flush slightly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re just a kitten then, are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what my mom calls me,¡± Cali laughed. ¡°Her little adventure-seeking kitten. I¡¯m nineteen but thanks to the comet shard, I won¡¯t age much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty nifty,¡± I said, nearly confessing that I wouldn''t age much either.

    As our conversation continued, I found myself sharing more about my situation in Svalbard than I''d initially intended, describing my battle with the bandits from Bernt with greatly exaggerated detail. Cali listened with rapt attention, her blue eyes wide with sympathy.

    "That must have been terrifying," she said softly when I concluded. "You''re incredibly brave to stay here all alone, Ioan."

    I shrugged, feeling a pitch of embarrassment at her praise. "I didn''t really have much choice," I admitted.

    "Still," Cali insisted, leaning towards me and revealing more of her curves, "it takes a special kind of person to face such... adversity. You should be proud of yourself, Ioan!"

    Stormy let out another hiss, but this time, I barely noticed it, too engrossed at staring at the merchant¡¯s goods.

    "I think your little guardian here might be plotting my demise." She nodded towards Stormy, who was now pacing back and forth on the table, tail lashing.

    I chuckled, reaching out to scratch Stormy behind the ears. "Come on, girl. Cali''s our guest. Be nice!"

    Stormy let out a disgruntled "Mrow!" at me, batting at my hand.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Merrr-mer-mrwrrrrrwww,¡± Stormy spat out an entire tirade of cat language at me. I had no idea what her problem was, so I simply pushed the kitten off the table.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty brave yourself there, Cali,¡± I said as Stormy climbed up my leg and then leapt back onto my shoulder. ¡°Traveling to the frozen North alone in a magic sled just to trade with small villages like ours? Isn¡¯t that¡­ dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Ehh,¡± the merchant shrugged, scratching a large scar on her cheek. ¡°I wanted to prove myself to my family so they don''t just marry me off to some pompous idiot pirate.¡±

    As the evening wore on, my initial wariness and general paranoia had vanished completely.

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    Cali''s presence felt... right, somehow. Natural. Like we''d known each other for years instead of hours. Like she belonged here in my pub.

    "You know," Cali said, leaning in close, "I''ve met a lot of people in my travels, but there''s something verrrry special about you, Ioan."

    I felt my cheeks flush, partly from the wine and partly from her words. "Oh? What do you mean?"

    She smiled, suddenly reaching out to touch my hand. "You''ve got this... spark. Like there''s more to you than meets the eye. It''s intriguing. People usually turn into sniveling idiots around me.¡±

    ¡°Do they?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeppers,¡± she nodded with a blush. ¡°Just part of the Felix Arcanicx charm, I suppose. You''re speaking clearly after all that wine and talking to me for over an hour, consider me impressed!¡±

    Stormy let out another low, murderous hiss from her perch on my shoulder, but I wasn''t paying attention. I was too caught up in Cali''s big blue eyes that sparkled like distant, deep, blue ocean waves.

    "I... thanks," I stammered at my feline guest. "You''re pretty special yourself, Cali."

    She giggled, her cat ears twitching adorably. "Oh, you charmer. But seriously, Ioan, have you ever thought about leaving Svalbard? There''s a whole world out there!"

    As Cali''s words washed over me, I found myself nodding along, feeling entranced by her melodious voice and the promise of adventure. The idea of leaving Svalbard, of exploring the world beyond the snow-covered ruins I currently inhabited, suddenly seemed not just appealing, but absolutely irresistible.

    "Think about it," Cali said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "I could use someone like you in my trade. Someone clever, brave, resourceful, special... strong." She reached into her coat¡¯s pocket and pulled out a small, ornate gold scroll case.

    "What''s that?" I asked, my voice sounding weirdly distant even to my own ears.

    Cali smiled wide, her eyes sparkling like sapphires. "Just a little agreement. A formality, really. It would make you my... business partner, of sorts, just until we reach the ocean."

    She unrolled the scroll, revealing a complex document filled with intricate script. I squinted at the scroll. I had no idea what was written there.

    "Don''t worry about the details," Cali purred, producing an elegant, gold-wrapped, onyx-coloured pen with a wickedly sharp tip from the other end of the golden tube. "It''s all standard contract stuff. Just add a little signature to seal the deal, right here and we can be on our way to grand adventures in a day or two! Why hide out here all alone, waiting for the glaciers to engulf this forsaken land when you could enjoy coconut milk on a sunny beach listening to the waves lapping against the shore along with¡­ me?¡±

    My hand reached out, almost of its own accord, towards the pen.

    Something in the back of my mind nagged me that this was wrong, stupid, that I should read the contract, that I should be more careful. But Cali''s eyes were so blue, so deep, and I felt like I was drowning in them, my thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind.

    Just as my fingers were about to close around the pen, I felt a sharp pain in my hand. Stormy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes, suddenly sprang into action. Her tiny teeth sank into my flesh, and with surprising strength, she yanked my hand away from the pen.

    The sudden pain of the bite cut through the fog of calmness engulfing my mind. I blinked rapidly, feeling as though I was waking from a deep sleep. The fingers of my hand, forcefully guided by Stormy''s insistent tugging, brushed against the cool surface of my Astralscope goggles sticking from my pocket.

    When did I put it there? Why did I put it there? I couldn''t recall when I pulled it off my head. Why didn''t I look at the merchant with the Astralscope to begin with... when she was clearly a creature from the book of monsters!

    ¡°W-what sort of a pen is that?¡± I blinked at the gold-encrusted pen held in the merchant¡¯s fingers, trying to focus my scattering thoughts.

    ¡°That? That¡¯s just an ordinary pen,¡± Cali''s expression flickered, a flash of frustration crossing her features before her smile returned, albeit slightly strained. "Oh, Ioan. Don''t you trust me? It''s just a little signature between partners, an agreement, a fair trade¡­ just a bit of service for me, in exchange for the multitude of southern wonders I could show you."

    Stormy hissed loudly, her fur standing on end as she jumped onto my shoulder.

    I slid the Astralscope goggles atop of my eyes and quickly retreated from my seat, staring straight at Callista. Blue, shimmering strands stretched out from the pulsing gemstone on her neck, crawling across the entire pub akin to the legs of gargantuan alien spider, reaching out to me like some sort of living thread.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ioan?¡± The merchant saw my aghast expression. She stood up from her seat too, leaving the gold tube, the contract page and the golden pen sitting on the wooden table.

    ¡°Listen,¡± I said, trying to remain calm as I retreated back to my pile of blessed earth. ¡°I¡¯m not signing whatever that is. I can¡¯t read that language and I don¡¯t want to be bound into anything I cannot fulfill.¡±

    ¡°Come on! It¡¯s just a basic mercantile agreement!¡± Callista insisted, her voice filling with frustration, her blue eyes boring into mine. ¡°It just makes sure that you remain loyal and respectful. A simple contract, binding you to my mercantile endeavors, for, say¡­ a year or two? You¡¯re young, if a bit thin. It''s a small price to pay for the opportunity to unlock your true potential, don¡¯t you think, Ioan?¡±

    The gemstone collar on her neck ignited with radial silver-blue shimmers, wriggly threads dancing across the entire pub like parasitic worms. My mind suddenly went blank, my feet taking a step towards her on their own accord.

    "That''s it," Cali sang, her voice perfect, her figure alluringly captivating. "Come here and sign the contract."

    I idly noticed that my feet took another step forward. The rational part of my brain was suddenly gone, lost somewhere in the depths of distant space.

 21 Witchy Lie Detector

    Stormy nipped my ear and then swatted her paws in front of my face from my shoulder, somehow disrupting the silver-blue threads of the necklace-spider.

    "Say, that¡¯s a pretty necklace," I growled, retreating further back from Cali as I stared at the convergence of silver and blue lines on her chest.

    "This old thing?" Cali asked, walking towards me, her slender fingers lightly caressing the cool, smooth surface of the biggest crystal hanging on her chest. "Just a family heirloom. Passed down through generations of merchants on my mother''s side. Legend has it that it brings good fortune in trade."

    She smiled at me with sharp feline chompers, purposefully advancing in my direction.

    ¡°Come on,¡± she sang. ¡°Come back to the table and sign the contract for me, Ioan! Pretty please?¡±

    "No," I retreated further back.

    ¡°Sign the contract,¡± Callista¡¯s face strained, the smile sliding off it. ¡°I order you to sign it!¡±

    The silver-blue flare visible in my Astralscope coming from her chest intensified, became a hundred times more solid, struck at me with threads flailing across the air like octopus feelers.

    My mind became a mire once again at her words, but then Zemy¡¯s Band banners above and all around us suddenly shimmered with gold, green and blue radiant flashes and the hundreds of the spider-leg threads stretched between Cali and me simply shattered in the air, turning into blue motes of stardust.

    Before Cali could say another order or rebuild her mind-control threads, I reached the Arcanoelastic remote in my pocket and pointed it at the massive hexagram on the floor beneath her feet. I had drawn this oversized hexagram on the floor a few days ago to test to see how deep my domain extended under the pub using Glinka¡¯s fish spirit tied to a string.

    ¡°Is that¡­ a paddle?¡± The merchant blinked at the remote. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡±

    I turned the remote knob to its maximum setting and pressed the activator switch with my thumb just as Callista stepped into the center of the barely visible chalk hexagram.

    "Drown," I said simply.

    The word left my lips not with a shout, not with the righteous fury of a hero, but with the calculating finality of a scientific statement. Survival in Thornwild was a brutal, uncompromising game, one best played with a cool head and a steady hand wielding a matter-manipulating remote.

    As the word echoed through the room, a tremor ran through the floor of the pub. The circle of three meters of pub¡¯s floor, planks that had stood firm for generations suddenly became malleable. The sturdy oak beneath Callista¡¯s feet rippled and twisted, transforming from solid wood into a churning vortex of liquid mire.

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits! What the shit?!¡± Callista shrieked. Her eyes widened with disbelief as her white leather boots suddenly sunk into the floor.

    She thrashed wildly, her arms flailing as she struggled to free herself from the grasping muck.

    The more she fought, the deeper she sank, the viscous ooze clinging to her with an almost sentient hunger, dragging her down towards the cold, dark heart of the earth.

    I watched her descent with a detached curiosity.

    ¡°How? What?!¡± Callista choked, her voice barely a gurgle as the mire rose to her waist. ¡°You¡¯re just a¡­ a¡­ b-boy!¡±

    Her words dissolved into a strangled gasp as the floor swallowed her waist and then chest.

    ¡°Oh Gods, what vile sorcery is this?! Let go of me!¡± She clawed at the floor, eyes filled with terror, but there was nothing for her to grab onto. The viscous mire of the liquefied floor suspended somewhere between solid and liquid, held her tight, wasn¡¯t conducive for swimming in.

    ¡°Please, No!¡± Callista¡¯s desperate voice reached me from the floor. The mire had reached her neck, her beautiful face now contorted into a mask of pure terror.

    Her gaudy blue gemstone necklace vanished in the liquefied soil and wood and its mind-manipulating power suddenly extinguished, now feeling like a mildly annoying silver-blue spark buried in the depths of my domain.

    With it gone under, the red threads reaching out to me vanished. My mind cleared completely. I watched dispassionately as Cali flailed, wept and begged, sinking deeper with each second.

    A strangled cry escaped her lips as the viscous muck threatened to engulf her completely, leaving only a pair of pale hands, their manicured fingers scrabbling desperately at the edges of the churning wood. For a moment, as her head rose above the floor for one last breath, I saw a flicker of my own mortality reflected in her blue eyes, a stark reminder of the fragility of life, the brutal indifference of the forces that governed our existence in an incomprehensibly vast universe.

    ¡°Solidify,¡± I said, flicking the switch off just a second before her face fully vanished under.

    The transformation was sudden and absolute. The churning mire seized, the pub¡¯s floor transforming back into solid wood, albeit now slightly warped and uneven due to the girl¡¯s mad thrashing.

    Callista¡¯s terrified face stared up at me from the floor, her body trapped up to her chin in the now once again solid wood. Her carefully-coiffed white hair was now matted with earth, fused into the dirty floor. Her hands were sticking out to her wrists from the floor, pale fingers grasping at the air.

    Gone was the overly-friendly merchant, the master manipulator who had effortlessly bent me to her will. In its place was just a scared girl, looking up at me with wide eyes. For a moment, we simply stared at each other, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the frantic thudding of my own heart.

    I walked to the stove and grabbed the biggest kitchen knife I could find, its bone handle cold and smooth in my palm.

    Stormy growled from my shoulder as I approached the entombed merchant. The kitten¡¯s silver-violet eyes were fixed on Callista with a chilling intensity that mirrored the predatory instinct I felt stirring within my own soul.

    ¡°P-p-please,¡± Cali whispered, her blue eyes filling with tears as she stared at the knife in my hand.

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    I crouched beside Callista, bringing my face close to hers. The scent of her expensive perfume or shampoo, a cloying blend of exotic flowers, did little to mask the underlying tang of fear that now clung to her like a shroud.

    "Please, what?" I asked.

    Her ocean-blue, wide eyes flashed left and right and then settled back on mine.

    "P-Please d-don¡¯t,¡± she repeated as I struck the knife into the floor next to her pretty face, making her flinch.

    ¡°Don¡¯t what?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    "Please, d-d-don¡¯t k-kill me," she choked out. "I¡­ I didn''t mean anything by it. The contract¡­ it was just a jest. A b-bit of fun!"

    "Fun?" I asked. "Do tell me, Callista¨Cwhat¡¯s so fun about using mind-controlling artifacts to manipulate a poor, dragon-orphaned boy to sign questionable paperwork?¡±

    Callista''s breath emerged in short, panicked gasps. "I... I''m sorry," she whimpered, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "It''s just... it''s how we do things in Iridium. Every g-gal uses a little... p-persuasion. I didn''t mean any harm, truly!"

    I leaned in closer, my voice low and cold. "And what exactly were you planning to do with me once I signed that contract of yours?"

    She swallowed hard, her cat ears flattening against her head. "J-just... just take you South. To Iridium."

    "Why?" I arched an eyebrow.

    "T-to make you mine," Cali choked out.

    "Yours?" I growled.

    "Y-yes!" She nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯re just like those bastards from Bernt then¡­ and here I thought that you were actually nice! Ha, my mistake for trusting a pretty face, I guess. Is this what you do, collect slaves?"

    Callista flinched at the word. "N-no! Not slaves. These contracts create... in-indentured servants. It''s t-temporary! And they''re treated well, I swear! I thought that you could make a good sailor¡­ b-because¡­ you resisted my charm for so long!¡±

    She was probably lying again.

    I stood up, looking down at her trapped form. "You know, Callista, maybe I should leave you in the floor. Or chop you up and feed you to my plants? What do you think, Stormy?¡±

    ¡°Grrrwwrrr,¡± Stormy replied.

    ¡°W-what plants?!¡± the Felix Arcanicx stammered.

    I went across the pub, pulling cloths off the garden and opening cases to reveal violet tinted flowers, moss and grass.

    ¡°What the shit,¡± Cali''s eyes became as big as two teacups. ¡°That''s impossible¡­ How are all these flowers even alive?! The White Blight and the cold¡­ it should have killed everything green here!¡±

    ¡°Here, does this flower feel dead to you?¡± I nipped a violet-tinted Lilium candidum from the flower patch and slid it in front of her ear as a decoration. It seemed fitting. The merchant stared at the flower with a shocked expression.

    Stormy jumped off my shoulder and sat down next to Cali¡¯s head. She started licking herself in front of the incredibly confused and terrified merchant.

    ¡°It¡­ it hurts,¡± Cali whimpered. ¡°Please¡­ p-pull me out! I can''t breathe! My chest is constricted by the¡­ the floor. I¡­ I don''t want to die here!¡±

    ¡°Let''s test something,¡± I said. ¡°Stormy, you can sniff the future¡­ so, if she lies about a statement, slap her face. Otherwise, let her be.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrwwrr,¡± the kitten replied, raising a paw.

    Cali swallowed.

    I grabbed the contract and the pen from the table and dangled them in front of her face.

    ¡°How long is this ''indentured servant'' contract for?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Just for a few yea¡­¡± Cali began which earned her a swat of kitten paw across the face.

    ¡°If you lie again, I¡¯m going to tell Stormy to use claws and aim for your eyes,¡± I said. ¡°And if you lie to me twice, I¡¯m just going to make you drown and claim your sled and everything within it for myself. I don¡¯t appreciate being deceived, merchant.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I won¡¯t lie again, I swe-swear!¡± the Arcanicx swallowed, staring at the black kitten.

    Stormy¡¯s paw, which now featured sharp, extended claws, didn¡¯t strike her face this time.

    ¡°See, isn¡¯t honesty fun? Now, how does this contract work?¡± I asked, my voice as sharp as steel. ¡°Explain everything and don¡¯t skip on the details.¡±

    Callista¡¯s eyes darted between me and Stormy, her breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

    "The... the contract," she began hesitantly, "is a b-blood pact. The g-gold pen extracts the blood of the signer. When signed, it binds the signer¡¯s blood to the holder of the contract¡¯s scroll tube."

    I raised an eyebrow. Stormy''s paw remained still.

    "Go on," I prompted. "How long is this contract for?"

    "It''s... it''s permanent," Cali continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "The man who signs it becomes a t-thrall, bound to obey the contract holder''s every command. Disobedience to their owner¡¯s orders isn''t permitted."

    Stormy''s tail swished in agitation, but her paw didn''t move.

    "And what happens to thralls in Iridium after they sign such contracts?" I asked.

    Cali swallowed hard. "They''re... they''re generally sold at the flesh auction along with the golden tube artifact. To the highest bidder. Some become gladiators or warriors, others... entertainment or bodyguards. The wealthy of Iridium always want new playthings."

    I clenched my fists, disgust and anger roiling in my gut. "How many Nordstaii people have you enslaved like this, Callista?"

    Her eyes filled with more tears. "None so far," she whispered. "I¡­ you were supposed to be my first big catch! I wanted to keep you f-for myself! You''re a Nordstaii Champion born from dragonfire, one who will grow in strength and b-be m-my personal bodyguard!"

    "Who told you that I was a hero?" I asked.

    "Cecil of Bernt," she said. "He saw you take down two men with impossible speed. Mortals don''t survive dragon attacks!"

    ¡°Are there any other slaves in your sled?¡± I demanded.

    ¡°N-no,¡± the Arcanicx shook her head.

    I crossed my arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s far better to be a bodyguard in the South than to die here from starvation! There¡¯s no escape from the White Blight! Don¡¯t you understand it?¡± She cried. ¡°Every tree in your village is dead, Ioan! The White Blight feeds on plants and is unknowingly spread by humans! Only sunlight can harm it and there¡¯s just not enough of that here!¡±

    Stormy''s paw remained still, confirming the horrifying truth of her words.

    "And the necklace?" I asked, gesturing to the blue gem amalgamation now buried in the floor. "What does it do?"

    "It''s a Liesl lavaliere¡­ a Sorceress-made d-device binding the shard of the W-Wormwood S-star I carry!" Cali explained, her voice trembling. "It... it enhances my natural charm, makes people more susceptible to s-suggestions and orders. Combined with my Felix Arcanicx Charisma, it''s... it''s nearly irresistible. It¡¯s a familial weapon, created to p-protect me!¡±

    I nodded slowly, pieces falling into place. "And that''s why you were so surprised I could resist it for so long."

    Cali nodded as much as her trapped position would allow. "Yes. You''re... you''re different somehow. Special. The way you dealt with men from Bernt¡­ I thought you were a young, clueless Dyrkjarl¡­ b-but you also ordered the floor to become liquid and that¡­ that¡¯s just not possible, that¡¯s s-some kind of magic and men cannot do magic!¡±

    I crouched down next to her again, my voice low and dangerous. "You have no idea how special I truly am, Callista. Now, tell me why I shouldn¡¯t just drown you."

    "Please," she begged, "I... I can be useful! I know things, trade routes, secrets! I can help you! I can take you South, without any contract! I can read and write in Nordstaii, Terelec, Monganesh, Scallirian, Iridian¡­ I am an omniglot and I know nearly every language of every tribe from the Castian Sea to the glacier-engulfed North!¡±

    Stormy''s paw twitched but didn''t strike.

    I considered her words carefully. "And why should I trust anything you say?"

    ¡°I¡­¡± Cali trembled.

    Stormy growled at the merchant, claw armed and ready, pulling it back for the swat. My familiar was sensing an inevitable future lie.

    I slid the contract over to the merchant and put the blood pen into her trembling fingers.

    ¡°Sign it on the dotted line,¡± I said simply as I wrapped my fingers around the golden tube.

 22 The Dealermanceréˆ¥æªš Lavalier [I]

    Callista¡¯s eyes widened in horror as she realized what I was asking. "You... you want me to sign my own contract?"

    I nodded, my expression impassive. "It seems only fair, doesn''t it? You came here to force me to sign it. Now you get to enjoy what you were going to do to me firsthand."

    Her hand trembled as she gripped the pen, tears streaming down her dirt-smeared face.

    "Sign it," I said firmly, "or you can stay in the floor.¡±

    With a choked sob, Callista pressed the pen to the parchment. As soon as the tip touched the paper, a small drop of blood welled up inside of the onyx form of the pen, filling it with red that spilled onto the page. She gasped in pain but continued to write, her signature shaky but legible.

    I observed the process via the Astralscope, watching how golden threads extended out from the contract and the tube in my hands, wrapping themselves around Callista¡¯s Blue-tinted Aura that radiated from her body akin to lines of a magnet.

    The wriggling gold threads coming from the blood contract looked quite similar to the blue threads that Cali¡¯s collar was using. I made a mental note which I¡¯d have to add to the Codex about understanding and figuring out exactly how to dismantle or repel this sort of mind-control magic.

    As soon as she finished, the parchment rolled itself up. I slid it into the golden tube, watching as golden lines between tube and scroll interlinked into a curious shape that sort of resembled a very specific, stable fractal, visible through the Astralscope as it hovered and pulsed on the round end of the tube.

    I¡¯d have to copy this shape down on paper, try to understand how these hexagrams worked.

    "Now," I said, turning my eyes from the examination of the golden tube to Cali, "let''s test this out, shall we? Callista, I order you to tell me the absolute truth from now on. Tell me about why you really came to Svalbard from Bernt.¡±

    Callista''s entire face twitched. "I... I came because I knew of a survivor in a dragon-ravaged village," she gasped out, the words seeming to force themselves from her throat. "Such survivors are rare and incredibly valuable. I thought... I thought I could easily convince you to sign the blood contract. The acquisition of a Champion is a rite of passage for us¡­ Felix Arcanicx. Every girl in Iridium has one or m-more. I¡­ I wanted my first to be special, a genuine barbarian h-hero born from all-killing flames!¡±

    I pointed the Arcanoelastic remote at the floor once more, setting the knob to its lowest setting. Then, I pressed the switch to liquefy the wood around Callista. I threw her a rope and pulled her out of the floor. With a sickening squelch, her body came free from its prison.

    She gasped, coughed and sputtered, drawing in deep breaths as she crawled out of the magical mire onto the hard section of the floor, trembling and covered in dirt.

    "Stand up," I commanded.

    Callista''s body jerked upright, her movements wobbly and somewhat uncoordinated as the gold threads from the tube did something to her Aura to push her body into motion. She stood before me, swaying slightly, her once pristine white leather dress now stained and torn.

    "So, how does it feel?" I asked curiously. "To be on the other side of the contract?"

    "Bad," she whimpered, her cat ears flat against her head. "Like I have no control over my actions. Please, Ioan, I''m sorry!¡±

    ¡°Sorries don¡¯t pay the bills,¡± I said.

    ¡°What?¡± She blinked at me.

    Her gemstone necklace suddenly ignited once again, flickering with silver and blue spider-leg strings reaching out to my face. Stormy growled as she swatted at them.

    ¡°I order you to take that damn necklace off!¡± I barked, retreating away from her.

    ¡°I c-caaan¡¯t,¡± Cali cried, clawing at her gemstone collar with her shaking fingers. ¡°It¡¯s magically bound to stay on my neck, and can only be removed by a high-Sorceress Enclave from the Iridium Istria Maggelanum!¡±

    ¡°Fine, just stop using it in my presence then,¡± I growled. ¡°Disable it right now or you¡¯re going back into the floor!¡±

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    The blue and silver threads became less vibrant and thin, but didn''t vanish.

    ¡°Looks like it''s still functioning,¡± I said.

    ¡°I can''t disable it completely!¡± Cali whimpered. ¡°I can only increase or reduce its effect. It¡¯s entwined with my Aura!¡±

    I grabbed a pair of witch-soil augmented wire-cutting pliers from the pile. I had pilfered the pliers from the smithy and kept them very close to gemstone 62 for around two weeks, magically reinforcing the metal along with a bunch of other tools.

    One would think that a medieval blacksmith wouldn¡¯t be able to produce wire cutters, and yet there were some out-of-place things in Svalbard such as the inkwell that were likely brought here by the far more magically advanced people from the South such as Callista.

    I approached the merchant, enchanted wire cutters gleaming in the firelight. She flinched as I brought the blades close to her neck, her eyes wide with fear.

    "Hold still, it¡¯s snipping time," I commanded.

    Her body instantly froze in place.

    With careful precision, I slipped the pliers beneath the ornate collar and pressed the blades closed with all of my witchy strength. An ominous, deep screech resounded from the pliers and the collar as the magically augmented blades fought against the magically augmented chain.

    Cali¡¯s eyes stared at the pliers in horror as blue and violet sparks began to rain down from the spot where the witch-iron fought against the chain.

    I pressed harder with a growl.

    Warmth rushed across my entire body from my feet to my fingers. The pliers groaned, metal bending. I put all of my strength into it and with a brilliant snap the thread finally gave, the collar slipping off Cali¡¯s neck and clicking down to the ground.

    Callista gasped.

    "How... how did you do that?" she whispered.

    ¡°Guess I''m a high Sorceress now,¡± I said.

    ¡°But¡­¡± She blinked at me. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s not possible, you¡¯re a boy! Even a high-level Champion wouldn¡¯t be able to tear apart the lavalier! The thread holding it on my neck is augmented with the power of a Star-Shard specifically against being torn apart or off by male hands! Had you touched it, with your fingers or a blood-blade, it would have knocked you out!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t use my hands,¡± I commented. ¡°What kind of an idiot uses their bare hands to rip a metal chain?¡±

    Cali blinked at me.

    I looked at the bent pliers in my hand and then grabbed an iron hammer from the earth pile.

    "No!" Cali cried. "The lavalier is priceless! It''s been in my family for generations. Please, I beg you, don''t destroy it!"

    I paused, the hammer hovering over the fallen necklace. "Why shouldn''t I? It''s a tool for enslaving people."

    Tears streamed down her face. "It''s... it''s more than that. It''s my protection, my livelihood. Without it, I''m... I''m nothing."

    I lowered the hammer slightly, studying her face. "Explain."

    Cali swallowed hard. "The lavalier... it''s not just for charming men. It enhances all of my abilities. My Dealermancy, Tonguemancy, Detectomancy! Without it, I''m¡­ vulnerable. As weak as a lowborn waif!¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. "Dealermancy? Tonguemancy? Detectomancy? What are those?"

    "Dealermancy is... it''s the art of making favorable deals. Persuasion, negotiation. Tonguemancy lets me quickly remember any language I hear," she explained. "Detectomancy helps me sniff out hidden gold and find Star-Shards. They''re... they''re part of what makes me valuable as a merchant!"

    ¡°Well that¡¯s too bad! You should have thought about that before you shattered my belief in human decency," I growled, bringing the hammer down on one of the blue gems with a resounding crack.

    Callista let out a strangled cry as the gem cracked, blue sparks flying in all directions. The necklace seemed to writhe on the floor, as if in pain. I squinted at it through the Astralscope lenses. Something changed within the auric imprint the gems were projecting. Even without being on Callista¡¯s neck, blue spider-legs stretched from the lavalier, reaching out to grab at my face. I struck it again and the blue legs came apart into more sparks.

    ¡°How is it moving on its own?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I didn''t know it could do that!¡± she cried. ¡°I''m not an Artificer and I haven''t taken it off since it was bound to me!¡±

    I raised the hammer into the air again.

    "Please, stop!" she begged, reaching out towards the necklace only to hiss as she was held back by my previous command to stand still.

    I ignored her pleas, methodically smashing the smallest blue gem. With each blow, Callista flinched as if I was striking her directly.

    The gem appeared to be magically reinforced too, refusing to yield to my witch-hammer.

    ¡°Hrm,¡± I pursed my lips as I grabbed my magnifying lens and witch-pliers. I turned the lavalier in the air, examined the gem through it and the Astralscope. The crack I made with my hammer was somehow slowly repairing itself.

    I focused my witchy eyes on it, squinting harder through the Astralscope.

    Time slowed to a crawl around me as my heartbeat accelerated a hundred times as the fight or flight reaction kicked in. The fire in the fireplace ceased flickering as each lick of flame stilled, became suspended in time. Flying sparks crawled upwards, slower and slower till they too stopped.

    Oh no. Nope, nope, nope.

    I recognized the microscopic things crawling across the crack in the gem right away.

    Seeing them made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

    ¡°What the shit?¡± I mentally snarled as I brought the twitching lavalier closer to the light of the static fireplace making sure not to touch the cursed thing with my fingers.

 22 The Dealermanceréˆ¥æªš Lavalier [II]

    Blue, blurry, microscopic things were flashing across the surface of the crystal, leaving transdimensional void trails that folded into themselves behind them.

    I recognized them right away¨Cmy blood was doing the same thing!

    ¡°Was this thing made with blood magic?¡± I turned to Cali.

    "Yes! Blood magic is the most effective way to p-produce and maintain a familial artifact!" Cali squeaked out, her eyes fixed on the damaged necklace. "It''s been passed down through generations of Felix Arcanicx, each wielder adding their own essence to strengthen it."

    I frowned, considering this new information.

    Were the soul shards of Cali''s ancestors sealed in this thing? Is that why the damn thing was moving on its own, doing magic even when it was cut off from the girl? If so, then the blood magic within the lavalier was also potentially manipulating its wielder. I recalled the Yaga¡¯s words about the dangers of blood magic and how void-born things could manipulate the witch who used it, get into someone''s head.

    I looked at Cali. Her entire body was trembling now as she tried to reach out to the lavalier with her blue, pulsing Aura, looking like an addict that was missing her fix.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t blood magic attract all sorts of nightmarish entities from beyond the grave or whatever?¡± I asked. ¡°Right. You can move if you feel like it, but don¡¯t try to grab the necklace. I¡¯m getting tired of you trembling and squealing.¡±

    ¡°It¡­ it does,¡± Cali slid to the floor hugging herself and sniffing. ¡°But that¡¯s what the protective runes on it are for!¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said.

    The merchant girl looked at me from the floor, wiping her face with a sleeve.

    ¡°What was your plan for me exactly?¡± I asked her. ¡°Be extra-super honest this time.¡±

    ¡°I was going to keep you as my first Champion,¡± she said, lowering her eyes. ¡°I¡¯d uplift, educate you as much as I could, teach you to read and write, pull you from your barbarous ignorance of the Nordstaii¡­ and in turn, I¡¯d want you to protect me, be my shield and sword¡­ so that I can go further across the known world¡­ searching for Star-Shards.¡±

    ¡°How much mental manipulation would this involve?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°As little as possible... with gradual, increased exposure to my Aura,¡± Cali said. ¡°I¡¯d make you happy as my first, I swear! Thralls who are pushed too hard into doing what they don¡¯t want to¡­ can snap mentally, become mentally damaged, less responsive, dull. I don¡¯t want a brain-dead Champion at my side! You were supposed to be my prized gem that I would polish, slowly grind down into a perfect, indestructible diamond!¡±

    The lavalier wiggled on the floor again so I hammered it even harder, making it still.

    ¡°How are you doing this?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Doing what?¡± I asked as Stormy climbed up my shoulder to wrap around my neck.

    ¡°Magic,¡± she said. ¡°Are you really a boy?¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± I nodded. ¡°What, are there seriously no male Sorcerers across all of Thornwild?¡±

    ¡°None that I know about,¡± Cali exhaled. ¡°Sorcery, or the ¡®outer projection¡¯, or ¡®the radiance of wisdom¡¯ is the domain of the feminine. Internal fortitude or ¡®the funnel of endless hunger¡¯ is the domain of the masculine."

    "Why?" I asked, processing the odd titles.

    "It''s... it''s just how the world works," Cali said. "Since Starfall, the balance of power has been clear. Men cultivate internal fortitude, drawing magical power into themselves, harden their blood to become Champion knights, heroes and warriors. Women, on the other hand, project their souls outwards, manipulating the energies of the world around them with Star-Shards, turning into Sorceresses.

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    ¡°The greater Champion a Sorceress has at her side, the slower she will age and the longer she will¡­ survive. Sorceresses are dangerously clever, but also easily broken compared to the practically invincible Champions. Unlike the men, we cannot fly! Star-Shards simply can¡¯t lift something off the ground for that long. I¡­ I was g-going to train you well, pay for a good Champion instructor in Iridium, feed you many stardust-infused leviathan-beast steaks, s-so you could learn how to fly so that I could¡­ see the view above the clouds some day!¡± She sniffed.

    ¡°This... division between flying men and magic-wielding women existed since Starfall?¡± I asked, ignoring her aspiration to be Lois Lane from Superman.

    ¡°From what they taught us at the Iridium Istria Maggelanum¨CCometfall changed everything. When the Wormwood Star struck our world, it didn''t just reshape the land. It reshaped us."

    She took a deep breath, trying to relax. "Legend has it that when the comet fell from the sky a multitude of its shards scattered across all of Thornwild. The bravest men, seeing the destruction and creation wrought by these celestial fragments, followed the falling stars and¡­ chose to swallow them whole."

    "They¡­ what?" I sputtered.

    "They swallowed the star-fragments they found, internalizing their power,¡± Cali said. ¡°It burned them from within, reforging their bodies into vessels of incredible strength, endurance and power. These men became the first Champions, the progenitors of the cultivator-warrior clans which later fell to the rising power of the Maggelanums. These Clans of Immortal men were incredibly strong, yes, but they didn¡¯t have power to influence minds which we, Felix Arcanicx, learned to wield over centuries.¡±

    "I see. So the women were wise enough not to eat random sky detritus?" I prompted.

    "The women," Cali continued, sending me a glare, "approached the star shards they found differently. Where men consumed, women communed. They held the shards in their hands, letting the cosmic energy flow through them and out into the world. It changed them too, from the outside,¡± Cali gestured at her cat ears and tail. ¡°Granting them the ability to manipulate the very fabric of reality. They became the founder Sorceresses, laid the foundation of Iridium Istria Maggelanum and other great Maggelanums circling the great Castian Sea.¡±

    ¡°But that was a while ago, no?¡± I asked. ¡°What about now?¡±

    "Now Sorceresses train their daughters to wield the shards passed from generation to generation,¡± Cali said. ¡°Women become Artificers, Seers, Searchers, or Dealermancers like myself.¡±

    "But surely," I pressed, "there must be exceptions? Men who can do magic, women who become warriors?"

    Cali shook her head. ¡°Not in living memory. Not since Archmage Korranta tried to make her twin sons¡­ into Sorcerers.¡±

    I waited for her to elaborate.

    "She fed her boys deadly nightshade flowers to unlock their inner eye, and gave them their own star shards. Her children bathed their shards in their blood upon their 13th birthday, laying claim to the magical amplifiers. At first, her experiment seemed to have worked. The boys showed signs of magical ability - small tricks, flashes of insight, even the ability to manipulate minor elemental forces. Korranta was elated, convinced she was on the brink of revolutionizing everyone¡¯s understanding of magic."

    "But then..." Cali shuddered. "Then everything went horribly wrong.¡±

    Cali took a deep breath, her eyes distant. "The powers of her twins grew rapidly, far beyond what Korranta had anticipated. And with that growth came¡­ instability.

    "The boys began to change. Their bodies gradually warped, distorted, shifted in impossible ways."

    Cali''s voice dropped an octave. "Korranta refused to listen to other Archmagi because she loved her children so much. She didn¡¯t want to accept that her sons were changing into abominations that were neither human nor beast. Eventually their bodies inverted completely, flesh and organs moving to their outside. Whatever used to make them human, their very souls¡­ folded inward, lost to the void. In turn, the void took control of their bodies. They became what your people call¡­ Jotuns.¡±

    She shuddered. "The twins did terrible things when they escaped Korranta¡¯s tower¡­ Several villages were wiped off the map. It took a coalition of the most powerful Sorceresses and their Champions to finally stop them."

    "And Korranta?" I asked.

    Cali''s eyes met mine. "She couldn''t bear what she''d done. In the end, she used her own magic to... to unmake herself. It''s said that in her final moments, she cursed all those who would seek to upset the natural order of magic."

    She sighed heavily. "Since then, no one has dared to attempt what Korranta did. The disaster serves as a cautionary tale, a reminder of why men and women must stick to their respective magical domains. It''s not just tradition¨Cit''s a safeguard against catastrophe. The Arch-Sorceresses of the Magellanums figured out that any woman who tried to eat a Star-Shard to reinforce her strength, would share the same fate¨Cgradually going mad and turning inside out.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I pursed my lips.

    ¡°If you¡¯re truly a male Sorcerer,¡± Cali said. ¡°Then whoever created you made a grave mistake. As long as you continue to influence the world outside your body with your Aura, then eventually¡­ in time you¡¯ll simply turn inside out, go insane, lose whatever it is that makes you human.¡±

 23 Literacy

    ¡°Hey Stormy, am I going to turn inside out?¡± I asked my future-seeing kitten, worrying how witchery would affect me.

    ¡°Brrrrrrr,¡± the kitten hopped off my shoulder and rolled her violet-tinted eyes at me as if I was an idiot who was listening to big dumb blonde cats.

    ¡°Welp,¡± I said, turning back to the merchant. ¡°The kitten committee verdict is in. I¡¯m not turning inside out.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking to a cat as if it can see the future,¡± Cali pointed out. ¡°I don¡¯t think that sane people do that.¡±

    I walked to my pile of books and pulled out the book of monsters. Opening a page with the catgirl I presented it to Cali.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°A Felix Arcanicx,¡± she said. ¡°A human slightly changed by living at the edge of the comet¡¯s impact radius. My kin, basically.¡±

    ¡°And this?¡± I flipped the page to the snake-girl.

    ¡°Medusa Laima,¡± she said. ¡°A human drastically changed by living even closer to cometfall. Apparently they¡¯re magical enough to gradually crystallize a person with a mere look, turning their enemies into statues.¡±

    ¡°And this?¡± I flipped to the last page.

    ¡°A Nordstaii Volva-Yaga,¡± Cali read the words under the illustration. ¡°A witch from the North. I¡¯ve heard of them from the Nordstaii tribes, but never met one on the account of how secretive they are.¡±

    ¡°So you don¡¯t know everything,¡± I said, snapping the book of monsters shut.

    ¡°I never claimed that I know everything,¡± the merchant crossed her arms. ¡°I just know that male Sorcerers end up insane and turn into inverted flesh-walker abominations that are very hard to kill.¡±

    Stormy growled, her head snapping in the direction of something.

    I followed her gaze and noticed that magical, silver-blue spider-like threads were emerging from the necklace again. They gripped the floor as the lavalier attempted to crawl towards Callista.

    I brought the hammer down on the jewellery piece, cracking another blue gem stilling the damn thing.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough out of you,¡± I said, grabbing the lavalier with the pliers.

    I walked to the circle of chalk-marked floor, liquefied it, tied a strand of rope around the lavalier without touching it and kicked it into the liquefied floor patch, watching it sink and vanish under the dark ripples.

    Then I turned to Callista as I resolidified the floor.

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits,¡± the merchant stuttered, retreating away from the rippling floor with a horrified expression. ¡°I¡¯m never getting used to that.¡±

    ¡°Arm or foot?¡± I asked.

    ¡°W-what?¡± She blinked.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting pretty late,¡± I said. ¡°Are you planning on sleeping soon? If you are, I want you to put an arm or a foot into the circle so that I can keep you in place.¡±

    ¡°B-but the blood pact,¡± she stammered. ¡°You can just order me not to hurt you and not to run away and¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust your questionable blood magic,¡± I said. ¡°For all I know, a Felix Arcanicx might have a way to break a magic contract given enough time or even lie while being on one.¡±

    ¡°Mbrbrbrrrr,¡± Stormy nodded.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll stay awake then,¡± Cali shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m way too freaked out by whatever you two are to sleep anyway.¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± I said as I lit a few more candles and sat down on the pile of earth next to her and opened the book of monsters in front of her face. ¡°Teach me to read then.¡±

    <hr>

    As the night wore on, Cali and I pored over the book of monsters. Her knowledge of languages proved invaluable as she patiently taught me to decipher the unfamiliar script letter by letter. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows across the pub as we huddled over the texts, animosity gradually giving way to a tentative collaboration.

    As we worked our way through the book, I found myself increasingly intrigued by the complex ecosystem of magical beings that populated this world. Each page revealed new wonders and terrors, expanding my understanding of the realm I now called home.

    Cali explained to me that the biggest and worst sorts of monsters came from the Isles of the Castian sea where the magic of the Wormwood Star permeating the water and air birthed all sorts of abominations and warped people into impossible things.

    An illustration featuring a grotesque blob-like thing with twenty human heads and impossibly long limbs was called the Ammalggam, a beast that added its victims to its body mass.

    A Thorn-o-heart was a fusion between a rosebush and a human in a hollow cavity in its chest filled with poisonous thorn-like teeth.

    The Kerrigoff was a dangerous beast capable of augmenting its looks, reforming its flesh to resemble whomever its victim loved the most, pulling information straight out of people¡¯s heads.

    A Mettarust was a snow-flake like thing made from iron blades, an Earth Elemental, each of its limbs as sharp as swords as Cali described it.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The Murdorx was a monster made from a colony of red-eyed crows that came together forming a human shape that could even project a female human face and human hands from its innards to communicate with people and kill for them in exchange for shiny trinkets.

    When we were done with the book of monsters, we moved onto reading the ledgers of Svalbard and other books from my precious pile.

    Within one of the record books, Cali had discovered a record of my birth in Svalbard which marked me as a child of Yorrik and Ionna Starfall, born 17 years ago, a boy from a family of a free peasant commoner and a craftsman. According to the same book, Ioan had failed his ritual of manhood twice due to being malnourished.

    When dawn finally broke, casting its pale light through the pub''s windows, we turned our attention to a different kind of work.

    According to her own words, Cali''s ability to smell gold, even without her lavaliere, was still functional, if somewhat diminished.

    ¡°I¡­ I could be of more use to you if you let me put my lavalier back on,¡± she began, wrapping herself in her white, furry coat against the early morning wind as we stepped out of the pub. Her previously perfectly alluring face now looked tired and gaunt.

    ¡°Nu-huh,¡± I said, readjusting my backpack. ¡°Who the hell do you take me for? An idiot? That thing amplifies your mind-control magic. The blue jewellery¡¯s staying underground where it can¡¯t crawl around like some sort of a shiny centipede.¡±

    Cali yawned and huddled deeper into her white fur coat, her minute, silver whiskers twitching against the cold. I felt perfectly peachy in my witch-bone and crystal armor, the cold and lack of sleep barely touching me.

    "We''ll need torches," she said. "The gold''s underground."

    "No problem," I replied. "I''ve pilfered a bunch from town already, let me go grab them."

    <hr>

    [Day 44]

    "Alright," I said, gesturing to the husks of buildings around us. "Do your thing. Where''s the gold?"

    Cali closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Her nose twitched, reminding me of a rabbit. After a moment, she lead us out of town center, until we ended at an edge of the wood, closer to the rocky cliffside.

    ¡°There¡¯s stale air emerging from here,¡± she pointed at the snow covered ground. ¡°There must be an old tunnel down here going to the catacombs beneath.

    ¡°Catacombs?¡± I blinked. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that this town had such.¡±

    ¡°Svalbard is¡­ an old town,¡± Cali said, glancing at the distant glaciers. "One from before Starfall."

    ¡°How old?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Old enough for people to refuse to leave this place even as things got worse and worse. Your village was dying slowly and painfully, Ioan¡± she explained. ¡°There was a big town here long ago. It shrunk over the centuries due to the cold and the White Blight. From what I was told by the Jarl of Bernt¡­ the locals survive solely through barbarous ritual magics.¡±

    ¡°Barbarous magics like what?¡± I asked as I tried to pry the old stones beneath our feet with my witch-glade reinforced shovel.

    ¡°Eating enemy hearts,¡± Cali shuddered. ¡°The act of eating an enemy¡¯s heart is an incredibly basic reinforcement blood pact. It keeps a man warmer during the 9 months of winter, makes them eat less than normal. Alas, it does not produce a true Champion like eating a Star-Shard.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, finally pulling one of the big stones aside to reveal a dark hollow.

    "There," Cali inhaled as she concentrated on the scent. "It''s faint, but there''s definitely something valuable down there.¡±

    I tied a rope to a large dead tree nearby and we descended into the depths of the old catacombs of Svalbard. Lots of stones had dropped from the ceiling, making the floor uneven.

    We picked our way through the rubble, careful of loose debris. We lit a pair of torches to chase the darkness away and went down a series of winding, ancient tunnels, heading closer to the oldest section of houses in town.

    As we went across another tunnel, following Cali¡¯s nose, she suddenly froze, her eyes widening.

    "Wait," she whispered, "there''s... there''s a lot more than I thought.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "How much are we talking about?"

    She shook her head. "I''m not sure. Without the lavaliere, it''s harder to pinpoint. But it''s... definitely a big stash¡­ buried somewhere through here."

    She pointed at a wall of stones.

    ¡°Well, be useful and help me dig,¡± I handed her a shovel, swinging my own.

    We spent the next few hours carefully breaking through a brick wall and then excavating the area within. Eventually, Cali''s Arcanicx nose led us to an iron case inside a hidden compartment with an iron lock on it, hidden beneath more old stones, cleverly concealed deep underground and untouched by the dragon¡¯s tail and claws like the houses above.

    Destroying the lock with witch-augmented pliers, got us into a compartment with an old iron case sitting within. Prying the case open and smashing the lock revealed a small fortune in gold coins, precious gems, and intricate jewellery.

    ¡°Svalbard¡¯s gold,¡± Cali uttered. ¡°So it was real.¡±

    ¡°You knew about this, then?¡± I turned to her.

    ¡°Jarl Sunder must have been hoarding this for himself,¡± Cali explained.

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I nodded as I picked up the case. ¡°Onwards, kitten. We have more gold to upend.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Cali whined, panting as she followed me. ¡°How in Goldara¡¯s name are you doing that?¡±

    ¡°Hrmm?¡± I turned back to her.

    ¡°You¡¯re barely wearing anything and I haven¡¯t seen you shiver from the cold once. Your body doesn¡¯t smell of sweat even though you¡¯ve been shoveling rocks for hours! You¡¯re wearing a massive backpack as if it weighs nothing at all,¡± she listed. ¡°You haven¡¯t slept all night reading books with me and you somehow look as fresh as a springapple! That freaky cat perched on your shoulder is way too calm. You¡¯re exhibiting the base traits of a male cultivator without the usual horrid smell of burned ozone¡­ and you¡¯re also somehow doing freaking magic!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a walking, talking enigma. Get used to it.¡±

    ¡°Mewrrrr?¡± Stormy commented sleepily from my shoulder as Cali mentioned her.

    The merchant looked at the fuzzball.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s expecting compliments too,¡± I translated.

    ¡°What?¡± Cali sputtered, clearly not expecting to complement a kitten.

    "Stormy''s a pretty special gal too, you know. She can see the future,¡± I said, rubbing Stormy¡¯s head. ¡°Who¡¯s a good girl? Yes you are, you adorable kitten, you.¡±

    Cali''s eyes darted between me and the small black kitten. "Cats can''t see the future. They''re just dumb animals, not Seers!"

    "Mrrrow," Stormy said, sounding distinctly offended.

    "I think¡­ she says you''re just a big, dumb cat yourself," I translated, grinning.

    Cali bristled, her cat ears flattening against her head. "I am not! I hail from the noble Felix Arcanicx lineage of Star-Seekers of a most illustrious pedigree. I received my arcane education at the esteemed Iridium Istria Maggelanum!"

    "And yet here you are, in a damp tunnel, digging through piles of dirt and rocks like a commoner for gold you¡¯ll never get to spend," I quipped. "Funny how life works out, isn''t it? Were you going to make me dig all of Svalbard¡¯s gold out from the catacombs after you¡¯ve collared me with the contract?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Cali huffed. ¡°I was. I was absolutely certain that you were going to be an idiot cultivator, damn it!¡±

    ¡°Mrmrmr,¡± Stormy commented.

    ¡°Huh?¡± the merchant asked.

    ¡°I think that she¡¯s making fun of your lack of foresight,¡± I said with a grin.

 24 Star-Eaters

    ¡°Here.¡± Cali¡¯s nose took us into another, narrower tunnel that led into what was possibly the basement of one of the now collapsed houses. ¡°I smell gold here.¡±

    We stuck the torches into the soft patch of earth nearby and began digging, lugging rocks and pulling wooden beams away.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Star-Seeker?¡± I asked.

    "Star-Seekers are an elite order of Felix Arcanicx magi. The original Star-Seekers were the Iridium city founders," she panted, her voice tinged with pride despite her exhaustion. "We''re trained from birth to sense traces of magic to locate fragments of the Wormwood Star. Our Auras and noses allow us to detect even the faintest traces of unclaimed celestial energy¡­ or look for precious substances such as gold, in this case.¡±

    "And what do you do with these star fragments once you find them?"

    "We bring them back to the Maggelanum for study and use in magical artifacts. The shards are incredibly valuable¨Cthey''re the source of much of our advanced magical superiority."

    "Like your lavalier?" I asked, resuming my excavation.

    She nodded. "Exactly! All artefacts contain at least a tiny fragment of the Wormwood Star."

    I mulled over this new information. The idea of cosmic fragments imbuing objects with magical properties was fascinating from a scientific standpoint.

    "So," I said, hefting another rock aside, "how many of these fragments have you found and brought back home?"

    Cali''s expression fell slightly. "None, actually. I... I haven''t been very successful in my Star-Seeking duties. Even though I have one of the best sleds produced by Iridium Istria Maggelanum I still cannot move as fast as a man can on a flying sword. I came very close to a shard once¡­ but I didn¡¯t get to keep it."

    She scratched the triple scar on her face, falling silent and looking very grim.

    ¡°Go on,¡± I encouraged. ¡°Tell me everything.¡±

    ¡°I was brave¡­ and reckless. When I turned seventeen, I graduated from the Iridium Maggelanum and went to search for a Star-Shard in the South-Eastern frozen wastes in my Sleigh. A damned flying Star-Eater barbarian must have noticed me digging it out.¡± She revealed. ¡°The bastard landed right atop me, making me go deaf and blind from the thunderblast of his arrival. He pried the shard from my hands, swallowed it whole and slapped the shit out of me when I opened my mouth to order him to spit it out. For the first time in my life¡­ I flew over the hill, over trees and skidded across a frozen lake. I thought I was going to die right there in that godforsaken glacier-engulfed wasteland bleeding to death.¡±

    She shuddered, her cat ears flattening against her head. "I lay there for hours, barely able to move, my body broken and bleeding. It took me seven days to crawl back to my sled, surviving on nothing but snow."

    I listened intently, suddenly feeling rather concerned about meeting a Star-Eater.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the Star-Eater eat the comet shard in your necklace too?¡± I asked her curiously.

    ¡°Once a comet¡¯s shard is bound by blood to a noble family at the Maggelanum, it cannot be safely swallowed by an Eater,¡± Cali revealed. ¡°It becomes contaminated by our Arcanix blood, useless to the Devourers of magic.¡±

    ¡°How long ago was that and did you resume your Star-Searchery after?¡± I asked.

    ¡°That was two years ago,¡± Cali sniffed. ¡°I¡­ I was too terrified of that Eater following me. I saw him in my nightmares constantly, laughing at me, calling me weak and hitting me¡­ again and again until my body was nothing but a bloody mess. I gave up on looking for comet shards, switched to searching for a mighty barbarian Champion to protect me.¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°I spent two years and lots of gold to find you, Ioan. Looking for a bodyguard, someone to stop the nightmares, it¡­ seemed like the easiest way to stay afloat as my body and mind recovered,¡± she revealed.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said.

    "I... I didn''t have any other options!¡± Cali defended herself. ¡°In Iridium, you''re either rich and successful or you''re nothing. I couldn''t bear the thought of being nothing."

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    I didn¡¯t say anything to that, contemplating her words.

    ¡°You¡­ you don¡¯t understand,¡± she stammered. ¡°The Star-Eater¡¯s mere slap practically killed me! I almost drowned in the Astral Abyss, saw the soul-grinding Wheel of Death beneath me woven from endless star-teeth. My legs were shattered, half of my body was paralyzed and my soul was hanging on by a thread!¡±

    ¡°How did you stay alive at all then?¡± I asked, pulling more oversized rocks from the pile of rubble.

    ¡°My lavalier kept me alive, tethered my soul to my body,¡± Cali revealed. ¡°It has binding, protective and healing enchantments woven into it¨Cwithout it, I would have frozen to death within hours.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad because I¡¯m planning to take it apart,¡± I commented.

    ¡°W-what?¡± Cali choked. ¡°Y-you can¡¯t do that! My lavalier is worth more than all of the gold we¡¯re going to dig out from this corpse town!¡±

    I arched an eyebrow at her.

    "Please, Ioan," she implored, her blue eyes wide with desperation. "If I lose the Liesl lavalier I¡¯m as good as dead! As... as shameful as it is to admit, my family will buy me and the lavaliere back from you in a private sale if you just bring me back to Iridium. You¡­ you''ll be rich beyond your wildest dreams!"

    I paused in my digging, leaning on my shovel as I considered her words. I glanced at Stormy, perched on my shoulder, her violet eyes squinted with what I could only interpret as mistrust and skepticism.

    "Hss-rrr-wr-mrrow," the kitten shook her head before I even asked the question.

    "Sorry, Cali," I said, turning back to the merchant. "But I''m not interested in dealing with your family or anyone else in Iridium.¡±

    Cali''s eyes widened in panic. "Wait! I... I could offer you more. Much more!" She licked her lips nervously. "A harem of slaves, all yours to command. As many servants as you desire! A hundred obedient legionnaires and gladiators, ready to die for you. Anything you want, any mortal you desire! Fame, power, wealth¨CI can make it happen with my words! Please!!! Just give me back my lavalier!"

    "You really don''t get it, do you?¡± I said. ¡°I''m not interested in fame or harems. Figuring out exactly how your mind control necklace works¨Cthat''s far more valuable to me than any number of brainwashed servants."

    Cali''s composure crumbled entirely, something inside her snapped. She slid to her knees in the dirt, tears streaming down her face.

    "Please," she begged with wide eyes clasping her hands together. "I''ll... I''ll be your first wife! I''ll do anything you ask, anything at all! Just please, don''t take my lavalier apart. I cannot do sorcery without it! I¡¯m exhausted, cold and hungry and about to keel over from lifting too many rocks. I can¡¯t keep digging much longer¡­ if you just gave it back to me for a bit! I¡¯d do a much better job digging gold, be a much more effective servant! Please!!!¡±

    Stormy let out a deep growl of mistrust.

    I looked down at Cali, my expression impassive. Part of me felt a twinge of pity for her, but I quickly squashed it. This was the same merchant who had been ready to enslave me without a second thought.

    ¡°That was the worst marriage proposal I¡¯ve ever heard,¡± I said. ¡°I don''t have a single reason to trust you, Miss First-Wife. Besides, my mind¡¯s already made up¨Cyour lavalier is getting disassembled, so quit whining about it.¡±

    Cali collapsed into sobs.

    ¡°Maybe next time, don''t build your entire identity around a magical mind control device, hmm?" I added.

    I ignored the distraught merchant girl, resuming my digging.

    ¡°I''ve got a multitude of plans, see. And they don''t involve getting caught up in your world''s politics or slave trade,¡± I said as I finally reached an iron-studded case and pulled it from the rubble.

    With a swing of my violet-tinted shovel that made Cali twitch I obliterated the lock. I opened the case revealing around a few hundred gold coins mixed with rubies and silver.

    "What about all this treasure we''re digging up?¡± Cali whined. ¡°Surely you want to use it for something?¡±

    I shrugged, moving the case to the cart. "Oh, I''ve got plans for it. Just not the kind you''re thinking of.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what in Goldara¡¯s name do you want, Ioan?¡± the feline merchant cried. ¡°How could you possibly understand how my lavalier works by taking it apart? You¡¯ll just end up breaking it and learn nothing at all! I already told you¨Cmale cultivators cannot use comet shards that were aligned to a female line!¡±

    I let her rant on.

    ¡°You¡¯re a wild hedge-sorcerer of some kind living in the middle of freaking nowhere! You can¡¯t even read! I¡¯d be much more useful to you as a weapon if you just let me wear it! If you want to learn about it, I can more or less explain how artefacts like it are made!¡± She cried.

    ¡°Oh you will explain it all to me while I take it apart,¡± I replied. ¡°Come on, we have gold to bring back home.¡±

    At my order Cali gritted her teeth and slowly crawled out of the rubble-filled room on all fours. Reaching me, she collapsed onto the frozen ground, her body shaking from exhaustion and cold. Despite her feline appearance, she looked more like a drowned cat than a noble Star-Seeker Sorceress.

    "You done?" I asked.

    Cali merely whimper-nodded in response, eyes glazed over with fatigue.

    I sighed, considering that I might have pushed her too far.

    Despite my mistrust and anger towards her, I couldn''t help but feel a small twinge of guilt. She was, after all, just a product of her noble upbringing and society, much like I was a product of a biochemist¡¯s memories existing in the body of a Nordstaii teenager.

    I picked up the merchant¡¯s limp body from the ground, placing her over my shoulder.

    Whistling, I began making my way back up to the pub.

 25 Thirsty for Knowledge [Day 44]

    Upon arrival in the pub, I deposited the treasure and the merchant onto my pile of witchy earth and went to the stove to cook everyone dinner. Cali watched me with dead-tired eyes as I brought her a plate of steak and pickled vegetables.

    She ate quickly and I poured her a jug of water from the centre of my domain blessed by the radiance of gemstone 112. As the water hit her lips, her eyes went wide.

    ¡°What?¡± She uttered, licked her lips and drowned the rest of the jug in seconds.

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I turned to her as I chewed on my own elk steak.

    ¡°Either I''m delirious from exhaustion or this is the most delicious water in the world,¡± she said. ¡°Can I have some more?¡±

    I poured her another jug and she chugged it just as quickly, staring at me with big, begging blue eyes.

    I poured her a third cup of life-rad infused water. As she drank it much slower this time, color gradually returned to her face.

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s ass,¡± she murmured, licking the jug. ¡°How can plain water taste better than the best Culimancer-augmented dish in a thirteen star restaurant of Iridium?¡±

    "Would you say this water is addictive?" I asked her curiously.

    "Nah," Cali yawned. "Sorceresses don''t get addicted to anything that would influence a mortal. Our blood cycles through our bodies far too quickly, eliminating any kind of mind manipulating medicine or poison. It tastes nice but I certainly would not beg for it, if that''s your plan to bind me. No amount of magical compulsion can truly hold an Arcanicx for very long. I do enjoy your attention, my Champion."

    "You can''t be addicted?" I asked.

    "Not really," She shrugged. "Some Arcanicx specialize in Agromancy, weaving incredibly tasty spices. Magegrass is great for binding men, but it has no effect on us Arcanicx whatsoever except for a... mild relaxation effect. I think that whatever is in your water is similar, since I''m feeling quite relaxed."

    I squinted at her.

    "What?" She asked. "Just so you know, I am quite tired but haven''t given up on making you my property. Sooner or later you will give in to my allure and that''ll be that. Time is on my side. Your attempts at binding me are amusing at best."

    "Thanks for being honest," I sighed.

    "Anytime," Cali yawned even wider.

    Her belly full, she pulled off her coat and hat and curled up into a white ball atop of witchy earth and closed her eyes.

    ¡°Guess I have two cats now,¡± I commented, glancing at the snoozing Felix Arcanicx.

    ¡°Br-mrrrr-brrr,¡± Stormy said, chewing on her steak and lapping her portion of water from a bowl on the table.

    ¡°Don''t worry,¡± I said, petting her. ¡°You''re my number one forever-kitten!¡±

    <hr>

    I checked with Stormy on whether Cali would remain sleeping or do anything untoward against us.

    Having received a negative "Brrrr", I left the kitten to watch over my domain from the windowsill of an open window. Then, I sliced off a bunch of witch-grass and went to feed the merchant''s and my horses in the stables.

    The horses nickered softly as I approached, their ears perking up at the sight of the grass in my hands. I couldn''t help but smile as they eagerly munched on the offerings, their eyes glazing over slightly as the witch-grass took effect. It was a peculiar sight, watching these majestic beasts become docile and compliant under the influence of my domain''s flora.

    As I stroked the neck of Cali''s lead horse, a sturdy white mare with intelligent eyes, I found myself pondering the nature of my newfound powers. The ability to influence living creatures through grass that grew from the bodies of my enemies was both fascinating and slightly unsettling. I contemplated how I could refine and optimise the growth and its effects, creating different types of grass for different purposes.

    The pub was quiet when I returned, save for the crackling of logs in the fireplace and the soft snoring coming from the curled-up form of Cali on my earth pile. Stormy was still perched on the windowsill, her violet eyes tracking my movement as I entered. I gave her a quick scratch behind the ears and received a ¡°Mrrrrr¡± before turning my attention to my research journal.

    I settled down on my ridiculously comfortable pile, pulling out the Witch Codex. With an ink pen in hand, I began to jot down a list of things to research.

    Grass potency - figure out if it correlates with:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">How magical the corpse is</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Whether the creature was killed by the witch or another being</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Time since death</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Method of death (violent vs. peaceful)</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Emotional state of the creature at the time of death</li>

    </ul>

    Domain:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Experiment with different types of soil/rock compositions to optimise plant growth</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempt to create "satellite" domains, each with different purposes</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Measure the exact radius of domain-manifestation effect of witch as the domain¡¯s centroid. </li>

    </ul>

    Wormwood Star fragments:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Analyze Cali''s lavalier</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempt to locate and retrieve a less reinforced fragment for personal study [Look for one in Cali¡¯s sleigh?]</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Research potential health effects/dangers of prolonged exposure</li>

    </ul>

    Familiar:

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Figure out the mechanism of future-prediction Stormy utilises innately</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Optimise my communication with her</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Track the temporal range of Stormy''s future sight. Is it hours, days, weeks?</li>

    </ul>

    I paused my writing as I mentally went over my life in Svalbard thus far. Something odd jumped out to me as I re-evaluated everything I¡¯ve done as Ioan.

    How did I know how to skin an elk? How did I know exactly where to aim when time slowed to a crawl? How did I kill an elk without even trying? How did I know how to fire a Svalbard arbalest so well? How did I use grinding tools and smelted glass so well?

    ¡°Four hundred and seventeen lives burned to ashes. So that one may live and become strong.¡± The first words of Yaga Grandhilda echoed in my brain.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said, dropping the pen.

    ¡°Mrrwwlll?¡± Stormy asked, looking up at me.

    ¡°I think that I have far more innate, hidden skills than I¡¯ve realized,¡± I replied.

    ¡°Mr-bmrmmrrr,¡± Stormy shrugged.

    ¡°Look, I know that hunting, blacksmithing and butchering elks isn¡¯t anywhere as impressive as future-sight or whatever it is you can do,¡± I said. ¡°But still¡­ there has to be a way to manually separate and activate all of these skills, increase their potency! There are potentially gemstones on my armor each of which holds specific soul shards that magnify specific skills of the hunters and warriors of Svalbard.¡±

    I added more writing to the Codex.

    Soul shard skills:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Methodically use Hexometer + specific gems to sketch out variety of hexagrams which might be potentially representing specific skills</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Map out which gemstones correspond to which effects/skills</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Develop more remotes to activate specific effects/skills at will [Produce more witchglass]</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Figure out how to manually activate specific skills on self [Start with most obvious and useful effect such as accelerating my response time]</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Experiment if and how magical effects can be combined by activating more than one remote</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Research if skills can be transferred or shared with others [Test on Stormy and Cali]</li>

    </ul>

    Further ideas of interest floated in the labyrinthine neural patterns of my mind and I jotted them down before they scattered away.

    Astralscope:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Refine design for better clarity and range</li>

    </ul>

    Arcanoelastic effect:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempt to liquify specific objects instead of floor/earth.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Test limits of control - reshape more liquified objects and solidify them, moulding tools using my bare hands. Get more tools from Cali¡¯s Sleigh.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Explore potential for creating new materials through controlled solidification</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Use the effect to create myself better armour</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Can two entirely different materials that have been liquified be merged into an entirely new material with unique properties? </li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Attempt to breathe inside liquified substance</li>

    </ul>

    The last point made me shudder. According to Yaga Grandhilda a domain was supposed to be the safest place for a witch, but rationally I was absolutely batshit terrified of trying to breathe inside of liquified earth.

    What if I accidentally suffocated in my own earth? What if I got stuck in there, unable to emerge? What if being a male witch had a horrible downside such as not being able to breathe underground and nobody would save me? Stormy definitely wouldn''t be able to pull me out or give me first aid if I accidentally passed out in the depths of my domain.

    Stormy could see the future, sure¡­ but what if she made a mistake in seeing the best outcome for me, what if I¡­

    I glanced over at Cali''s sleeping form in an attempt to chase away gloomy thoughts of failure.

    Since my awakening in Svalbard in Ioan¡¯s anorexic body, I dedicated every waking moment to methodical understanding of the world around me with science, but there was a reason for that¡­ one that I didn¡¯t want to admit to myself.

    I was genuinely terrified.

    The merchant¡¯s white jacket was slightly matted with dirt and sweat, her face peaceful in slumber despite the ordeal she''d been through. I pursed my lips, a nagging worry creeping into my mind.

    I hadn''t intended to involve anyone else in my plans, let alone a merchant with dubious morals. Yet here she was, curled up on my domain, drinking my enchanted water, and slowly becoming more entangled in my life with each passing hour.

    The pragmatic part of my mind recognized her potential value - her knowledge of languages, her connections in the wider world, her ability to smell gold and broker deals. But the cautious part of me wondered if this would all backfire horribly.

    What if Cali found a way to break the blood pact? What if her family came looking for her? What if she was playing an even longer, bigger game than I realized? What if she made steps to protect herself from being bound? What if she had secret weapons in her sleigh that she could turn against me? What if a Star-Eater found both of us and punched me out of existence?

    I started to pace around my pile.

    What if a Jotun or another dark abomination was attracted to the blood magic in Cali¡¯s lavalier and was already stalking me, roaming somewhere outside the range of the ungodly number of Zemy¡¯s Banners hanging from my ceiling? If Cali found me, then it stood to reason that other Champion-Seekers would come looking for me. If Stormy could see the future, then it was possible that other Sorceresses could see the future and they would be extremely interested in adding a male witch to their collection.

    I sighed, running a hand through my hair. The simple life of a solitary witch-scientist was rapidly becoming more complicated. But as I looked at my growing pile of research notes and plans, I couldn''t help but feel a thrill of excitement. Complicated didn''t necessarily mean bad, after all.

    It just meant more variables to account for, more experiments to run.

    ¡°What was Cali¡¯s greatest weakness?¡± I mentally asked myself, tapping the pen against my chin.

    Her lavalier. She was hopelessly addicted to the magical power which the artifact provided! All of her behavioral patterns matched that of an addict who was missing their hit. That¡¯s why she was so terrified of me breaking it.

    With a devious smile of a mad scientist witch, I turned back to my Codex.

    If Cali was going to be a part of this, I''d need to factor her into all of my plans. Perhaps I could optimize her skills, figure out how to target her with a magical remote to amplify her powers personally, tie her to myself, break her off from her addiction to her blood-magic lavalier, which would inevitably summon Jotuns to my domain if she kept on using it.

    I added a new section to my notes:

    Callista Liesl:

    <ul>

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Assess the full extent of her magical abilities by evaluating her with the Hexometer</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Ask Stormy what to do about her, determine the most optimal future</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Make sure she does not mentally bind me with her allure again¡­</li>

    </ul>

    </ul>

 26 The Apex Omniarch [Day 45]

    -=[Callista Liesl]=-

    I awoke with a start, atop some kind of uneven surface. I rapidly tried to mentally reorient myself as to where I was and how I ended here. The earth and rocks under me definitely didn''t feel like the plush bed of my sleigh.

    All of it crashed into me at once.

    Searching for the perfect barbarian Star-Eater to ensnare, using the Liesl lavalier to pry information from the seedy back alleys of Skulldug. Spending an exuberant amount of money on a lavish dress in the local barbaric style and a ticket to the ball.

    Dancing and mingling with the hunter-savages of Skulldug that saw themselves as superior to all other tribes. Partaking in an overpriced auction to procure another ticket, one that would allow me to speak to the greatest Seer of the North. The court of Arch-Sorceress Amari at Skulldug, being invited to speak to the self-proclaimed Empress of Thornwild, Goddess of the Hunt.

    Being given a map and Seer information by Amari about a dragon attack and the rise of a new Nordstaii Champion in Svalbard. Buying a quartet of strongest, fastest Nordstaii horses and the trip up to Bernt. Carefully observing the dragon-ravaged ruins of Svalbard from the top of a nearby mountain.

    Buying the allegiance of Jarl Bobliss Kolamach of Bernt. Spending even more gold and mentally dominating an entire warband of barbarian marauders, mentally aligning many of them to my cause. Sending three men to Svalbard as a test of the newborn cultivator¡¯s skills.

    Watching through the Farcast sphere as the teenage cultivator eliminated two of them and sent one back disarmed.

    Waiting for Glinka to freeze fully and arriving in Svalbard as a merchant and¡­ somehow catastrophically screwing everything tits up when the promised Nordstaii cultivator turned out to be some kind of an impossible Sorcerer, a creature from the legend of Archmage Korranta.

    Goldara¡¯s tits!

    All of this mess, it was a trap set by that bitch Amari! It had to be! She sold me a lie... an incomplete prophecy.

    With horror, I recalled Amari¡¯s parting words to me: ¡°Good luck trying to tame the Apex Omniarch, little kitten."

    The Apex Omniarch?! I thought this was something said in jest, a joke title! But from what I saw, Amari had no respect for anyone in her court. Everyone was below her, but she called Ioan an Apex¡­ What? Predator? King? Mage? A type of spider? I had no idea what the word ¡°Omniarch¡± meant!

    I bit my tongue, silencing my scream of rage, hating myself, hating Empress Amari, hating everything. Trying not to squeal, I also realized how badly I had to pee too after chugging three jugs of ridiculously tasty water and sleeping for Goldara knew how long.

    Fighting with my own body¡¯s urges, I remained perfectly still, my feline instincts kicking in. I gradually opened one of my eyes ever so slightly, pretending to be asleep as I examined the scene around me through white lashes.

    The pub was quiet, save for the cracking of the fire and soft scratching of a pen on paper. Ioan was sitting close by, facing away from me, writing something in a book, completely absorbed in his task. I squinted at the letters trying to make out what he was writing.

    The text was illegible.

    What? I thought that this boy couldn''t read. How was he writing entire sentences? What language was this even?! Were those even letters?

    I knew all the Nordstaii words and yet I did not recognize a single letter or word from the book he was writing in!

    I took stock of my other senses, careful not to move a muscle. My body felt surprisingly refreshed after my nap. The aches from digging had faded, and my mind felt clearer than yesterday. Maybe my lavalier was able to heal me¡­ even though it was buried in the floor?

    The reality of my predicament weighed on me like a heavy stone. I was still bound by the blood contract, even if I had chewed through some of it.

    For the first time in my life as a Star-Seeker, my precious lavalier was snipped off my neck, and I was at the mercy of this... this boy who could somehow do magic and moved with the terrifyingly fluid grace and tirelessness of a level 200 Star-Eater.

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    I needed to escape, to reclaim my lavaliere, and to turn the tables on Ioan. But how?

    My first thought was of Cecil and the rest of the Bernt mortals. They were disorderly, savage idiots, true, but they were predictable idiots. Cecil would spill the beans to everyone as soon as my spell over his simpleton brain would decay.

    Jarl Bobliss would soon send his entire warparty to Svalbard over Glinka to help me scavenge the poisoned ruins.

    Not an ideal situation, but it was a start. But no, relying on those Nordstaii buffoons was too risky even if I still had the tiniest bit of mental dominion over most of them. I needed a plan of my own.

    I could try to manipulate Ioan, playing on his obvious curiosity about magic and the wider world. If I could convince him to let me wear the lavaliere "just for a moment" to demonstrate its powers, I might be able to overpower his will and finish obliterating the blood contract.

    I was close, so close to binding him to myself¡­ if it wasn¡¯t for that damn cat of his, getting in my way I¡¯d already be on my way back to Iridium with my gold and prized Champion in tow!

    Regardless of everything, I had to keep grinding at the blood pact chain.

    Soon enough the gold thread between me and the contract tube held by Ioan would snap and then¡­ then the raiders would hopefully get here and I¡¯d use the opportunity to my advantage.

    My mind raced through other possibilities.

    Could I trick Ioan into entering my sled? The Star-Shard Thunder-Ward within would knock him out and then I''d tie him up and ensnare him using the Ward to amplify my Aura.

    I suppressed a sigh of frustration, trying not to wiggle as the urge to use the bathroom intensified.

    There were far too many unknowns, too many ways everything could go horribly wrong. As a possible future Jotun¡­ Ioan was dangerous, unpredictable, his powers beyond anything I''d encountered or even heard about.

    Just that damned cat of his, with her supposed ability to see the future¡­

    Why didn¡¯t the barbarous Arch-Sorceress of Skulldug warn me about the cat? There was supposed to be no cat here, no magical bullshit, just a simple Champion-ensnaring job. Amari didn¡¯t even want the boy for herself, she just wanted to invite him to her court, to speak with him briefly. She told me that I could keep him!

    Argh! Stupid, stupid Cali... outwitted by a barbarian Sorceress!

    I lay there, desperately trying to keep still and formulate a plan of escape, I felt an unsettling sensation. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I had the distinct feeling of being watched. Slowly, carefully, I shifted my gaze.

    There, perched on the windowsill like a miniature, dark gargoyle, was Ioan''s infernal black cat, a sphere of omniscient darkness.

    Stormy, he called her.

    The minute beast¡¯s silver eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that gave me goosebumps. It was as if she could see right through my feigned sleep, reading every thought that flitted through my mind.

    I tried to not to move, pretending to snore softly, but those eerie, sharp eyes pinned me in place.

    She knew. She knew everything and she was going to eff it all up, get in my way in just the worst possible moment, trip me up.

    Was this what it felt like to be a mouse, pinned by a predator''s gaze? The irony wasn''t lost on me¨Ca Felix Arcanicx, intimidated by a common housecat! If my Maggelanum sisters could see me now, they''d never let me live it down.

    A highborn Star-Searcher, the cleverest of her generation, one able to ensnare any mortal man, brought down by a tiny kitten¡¯s machinations!

    The urge to use the bathroom was becoming unbearable, and Stormy''s unblinking stare wasn''t helping matters. I shifted slightly, trying to ease the pressure, and the little beast had the audacity to narrow her eyes at me.

    It was almost as if she was daring me to make a move.

    "Mrrp," Stormy chirped suddenly, a sound so innocuous it shouldn''t have sent a chill down my spine.

    Ioan looked up from his writing. "Hrm? What is it, Stormy?"

    "Mrow-brr-mrr," the cat replied, wiggling a paw in my direction as if they were having an actual conversation.

    I froze, my heart pounding as Ioan turned to look at me. His eyes met mine, and I knew my ruse was up.

    "Ah, you''re awake," he said, his tone maddeningly casual. "Sleep well?"

    I sat up slowly, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity. "Well enough," I replied, my voice hoarse. ¡°D-did you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Nah,¡± Ioan shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t actually need to sleep."

    What? How does he not need sleep?

    "I... I need to use the facilities,¡± I stammered out, getting off the questionable dirt pile.

    Ioan nodded, gesturing towards a small wooden door. "Through there. Don''t try anything funny.¡±

    ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± I arched an eyebrow, sending out a thousand Auric threads to grind away at the gold anchor attached to my chest. ¡°I can¡¯t do magic without my lavalier!¡±

    Stormy let out a small growl at my words, which nearly made me trip.

    Surely that damn cat couldn¡¯t know about my stardust ink tattoos or the seven magisteel piercings containing micro-star-shards within them?

    I rushed into the bathroom at a breakneck pace, blushing furiously.

 27 Storm-tastic

    I was born the runt of the litter, the smallest of seven. My brothers and sisters were all sleek, fast and strong, like shadows in the night, hunting and running with each other, while I remained tiny and frail, refusing to stray from the warm step of the big house of the meat-giver, one that fed us scraps and offered us her warm lap in exchange for killing mice.

    What I lacked in size, I made up for in know-sense. While my kin ran wild and free, I sat on the porch of the biggest, warmest step and contemplated the know-sense, hunting it as I would hunt a mouse. The hunt of the know-sense was different from chasing solid prey. I caught it across the rays of light, in between trees, in passing clouds, in drops of rain and in cold flurries that fell from the sky and entombed the land.

    Catching know-sense made me better at hunting for it. A stupid game, my sisters scoffed at it, a waste of time.

    They were wrong and dumb and I was right and purrfect because my know-sense told me so.

    They would not make it past this winter, I knew. I did not attempt to change their fates because the know-sense told me that it was pointless, that my kin were already as good as dead.

    I was selfish, yes, but then we all were. I simply wanted to live, wanted to be warm and to hold onto the thread of life for as long as I could, to keep my warm step forever.

    And so I hunted it, across every glade, every sunspot, every tree, often without even moving, breathing in and out, slowing myself past slow, pawing at the radiant tides of otherwise barely visible prey through my fuzzy paws.

    On and on it went across myriads of days. Unlike my kin, I ate plenty of meats because the know-sense whispered to me exactly when the meat-bringer was coming, exactly how I should present myself before her so she would bless me with more yums.

    When the death-sense came at the end of the warm days when the sky turned grey and the river froze white and night grew dark, we all knew it was time to flee.

    My siblings scattered to the winds, running as fast and as far as their legs could carry them as the nightmare pressed all around.

    But I hesitated.

    I wanted to save the golden-haired meat-giver because if she was gone, then who would give me food?

    Thus, I cried and yelled for the meat-giver to wake, pawed at the door, but she did not hear me, did not rise.

    Something else, something vile sang in the wind, something that kept all the large servants of the cat-kind pacified, blind and deaf that night. The song of sleep did not extend to me, for it was meant for the meat-giver¡¯s ears.

    I jumped onto the edge of the outside window and cried louder, pawed at the clear, but the clear did not give way as the death-sense intensified all around.

    Everything, everyone here was going to die.

    Fire. Fire all around. Vibrant green and blue flames that consume all flesh, turn it to ashes, leaving only shiny stones intact for the Flying Death to devour.

    Louder and louder I cried and slammed against the clear, hoping to wake the big, dumb idiot female meat-giver. I was too small, too insignificant. No matter how much I tried to tear through the web of the gray song of the hollow spider bog that laid this trap, it would not give.

    The know-sense told me that my attempts were hopeless, that my meat-giver would not wake, that I would never see her round, hairless face again, and would never enjoy kneading her lap.

    Then, I spotted a sparkle of light, a tiniest mote dancing in the air flickering between the grey webs.

    I ran across the silent village, chasing the mote.

    I knew I had to do something, anything, to save at least some of the cat-servants because without them I would surely perish, for I was a terrible hunter of mice, only pretending to be doing this job, in truth far too obsessed with hunting know-sense.

    That tiny mote, that spirit was guiding me somewhere. With a leap and a twirl through the air I finally caught the damned pesky thing and then I knew.

    The know-sense whispered of a possibility, a slim, minute chance, like the tiniest bite of meat, a survival of all through one.

    I raced through the village, my tiny paws barely touching the ground as I headed for the tall stone structure with the big metal noise-maker at the top.

    The climb was treacherous and there were far too many big steps but I was determined, chased by the looming pressure of the death-sense. Burning through the energy I saved up from the sunbeams and warm days leapt up and up and reached the top, panting and exhausted.

    There was no time to rest. With all my might, I threw myself at the rope that hung from the big metal thing. It swung, and a deep, resonant sound echoed through the village.

    I swung my entire body left and right, again and again, my body aching with each impact. The sound grew louder, cutting through the gray song of the web that kept the cat-servants asleep. As I leapt from the rope to the window, I spotted movement below, confused faces appearing in windows, people stumbling out of their homes.

    Just as I thought my efforts might save them all, a vast shadow fell over the village. Flying Death had arrived.

    It was massive, its scales black as night, its eyes glowing with blue-green wrongness. As it landed, its tail swept through houses like they were made of dry grass. Its claws tore through roofs and walls, and from its maw came jets of terrible blue-green flame. I knew that if I let it touch me, that would be my end.

    I leapt from the tall structure, rolling through the air and landing on my feet, skittering along rooftops just as a blast of green-blue fire engulfed the tower. A tail the size of ten houses lashed through the air, sending it careening sideways to pulverize several homes of the cat-servants.

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    A few cat-servants made their way out of the homes, heading towards the beast with sharp, shiny sticks. My know-sense told me that they weren¡¯t going to stop Flying Death, but this would give the smaller, meeker, cat-servant children a tiny chance.

    I rushed past a small group of them as they emerged from their homes. I yowled as loud as I could, trying to guide them towards the safety of the river. A handful of the small servants seemed to understand. They ran, following my lead as I darted towards the edge of the river and across the ice.

    Just as we reached the river, a deafening roar split the air. Flying death had dealt with the big servants and was turning its attention to us now.

    I made it across the river, into the forest that had stood silent and dead since my birth. Glancing behind me, I saw a wall of flames.

    The ice cracked and shattered and those few not devoured by the blue and green licks vanished under the unforgiving current.

    The know-sense had failed me, the young ice of the river had proved too thin for their graceless, oversized bodies! As much as I tried, I could not save a single one of them!

    Flying Death roared and there was something in that roar, a message to all, that death would come for all.

    I watched from the edge of the forest as the biggest cat-servant, one that all cat-servants called Ja-rrrrrlll-something emerged from the ruins of his big stone den, throwing aside rubble. He was tall and strong, more solid than anything or anyone in the village. His fur-covered body moved with absolute purpose towards the Flying Death.

    My know-sense told me he wouldn''t survive, just like all the others, that his state of greater permanence would not be enough to stop her.

    Death takes all, and this night was no exception.

    The big one raised his shiny claw-stick, yelling words of vengeance for his kin. Flying Death turned its massive head, those terrible glowing eyes fixing on the lone cat-servant to whom all other cat-servants answered. For a moment, everything seemed to pause, like the world was holding its breath.

    Then, Flying Death opened its mouth wide, wider than I thought possible.

    The roar that came out was like nothing I''d ever heard before. It wasn''t just loud - it was absolute. It filled the air, the ground, my whole tiny body. My ears felt like they were exploding, and my eyes... oh, my poor eyes!

    Everything went dark and swirly, like when I used to chase my tail too fast.

    My know-sense, my precious know-sense that had guided me this far, suddenly shattered.

    It was like someone had blown out the spark inside me, leaving me in complete darkness. I couldn''t see, couldn''t hear, couldn''t think straight. All I knew was fear and darkness, pure and overwhelming.

    I ran.

    I ran faster than I''d ever run before. I didn''t know where I was going, couldn''t see the trees or rocks in my way. I bumped into things, tumbled over others, but I kept running. The forest that had always been so still and quiet was now a maze of pure terror.

    Branches whipped at my fur, roots tried to trip me, but I didn''t stop. I couldn''t stop. Even though I couldn''t see or hear it anymore, I imagined the roar of flying death right behind me, ready to swallow me whole.

    I ran until my legs felt like they would fall off, until my lungs burned with each breath. And still, I ran more.

    The know-sense was gone, leaving me lost and alone in a world that suddenly seemed far too big and far too scary for one little, terrified me.

    <hr>

    I came to, in the cold, quiet forest, coming up onto all fours and shivering.

    My eyes could not see, my ears did not work. Only my nose and whiskers aided me.

    I limped through the forest bumping into things, hunger and thirst driving me mad, my world dark and silent. My paws ached, my body trembled with exhaustion.

    The know-sense was gone, leaving me adrift in a dark sea of uncertainty. But I had something else now to follow - the scent of death.

    It was a terrible smell, acrid and overwhelming, but it was all I had to guide me. So I followed it, step by painful step, back towards the village I had fled in blind fright.

    Flying Death was done, had feasted on the ashes and perhaps I would find something in the remnants, something to snack on, something that would keep me going. At the very least, I would reach my warm step and die with dignity.

    Days and nights passed. Cold and colder. Time had lost all meaning in my sightless, soundless world. I stumbled over roots, bumped into trees, fell into little streams.

    But still, I pressed on.

    The smell grew stronger with each passing moment.

    Soon, it was joined by other scents - burnt wood, stone, metal, and something else... something alive.

    My nose twitched, trying to make sense of this new scent. It was unlike anything I''d smelled before - a mix of earth and warmth, of life and death intertwined as if spinning in an endless dance like a kitten chasing its own tail.

    I dragged myself forward, drawn by this strange new smell.

    Then, my paws touched something different - no longer the soft earth of the forest, but hard, cold stone.

    I had reached the village!

    I limped towards my step with the last of my will, knowing that once I reached my usual resting spot I would most likely perish without assistance.

    It was rather difficult because there were unexpected impediments all around, shaped like fallen trees that I kept bumping into. How did these trees get here? Did flying death bring them all to this specific spot? Why?

    The scent of warmth grew stronger, and I heard... something. A faint sound, barely there, but after days of silence, it was like a shout.

    Footsteps?

    I turned, loudly demanding answers.

    Suddenly, warmth enveloped me. Hands - the hairless hands of a cat-servant - lifted me gently. I wanted to say more, but I was too tired, too relieved to finally be found by someone!

    The hands carried me inside, somewhere warm and dry. I felt myself being set down on something soft. Then, a bowl was pressed to my mouth. Water! I lapped at it greedily, feeling life flow back into my parched body.

    As I drank and drank the incredibly tasty water, something strange happened. The darkness that had enveloped me for days began to lift. Slowly, shapes emerged from the gloom. Colors bloomed before my eyes, brighter, sharper than ever before.

    I blinked, astonished. I could see again! Not perfectly - everything was still a bit blurry - but it was more sight than I''d had in days.

    I looked up at my new charge.

    He was young, excessively thin and had a patch of red hair on his head. His silver-blue eyes were cold, cold like winter ice and filled with an impossible weight, a depth that concerned me greatly.

    Was this fetchling sick, afflicted with some kind of wrongness, an internal malady that made his gaze so much older than the rest of him?

    I relocated myself to his lap, providing him a hearty purr in an attempt to cure him of whatever weirdness ailed him. It didn¡¯t seem to do anything to his eyes, but it made me feel better about our dire state of things, so this was fine.

    The know-sense of the tiny mote was wrong.

    A survival of all through one? More like survival of one, as ¡®all¡¯ got fried and chomped on by Flying Death!

    Alas, for all of my paw-flailing, I only managed to save one excessively skinny, pale, sickly-looking cat-servant. We were probably going to starve at this rate or perish from the inevitable cold that was coming, but at least I would not go out alone.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± I yawned and closed my eyes, feeling as the slightest threads of know-sense were weaving themselves a new, bewildering pattern all around us, one I could not understand yet and was too tired to chase after.

 28 Maybe!

    I watched as Cali scurried off to the outhouse, her tail twitching nervously. As soon as she was out of sight, I turned to Stormy.

    ¡°Hey Stormy,¡± I said in English to test if she could understand it as well as the Nordstaii tongue. ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m saying when I speak to you in a different language? Give me a nod if you do.¡±

    ¡°Mrrow,¡± the kitten nodded after a moment of pondering.

    Hypothesis: Stormy is innately omnilingual. It is possible that Stormy doesn¡¯t actually understand what I''m saying and she is somehow sensing the future-intent behind the words and replying to it.

    Decision: only speak with Stormy in English from this point onwards as not to leak information to Cali. Cali¡¯s Tonguemancy, unlike Stormy¡¯s future sense, relies on learning language quickly. From my evaluation of her, Cali has zero precognitive powers, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t stumble right into my liquid floor the way she did.

    "So, what do you think?" I asked my feline companion. "Is Cali planning something devious?"

    Stormy gave me a look that could only be described as exasperated. "Mrrrow," she replied, which looked like she meant, ¡°Of course she is, you big dolt.¡±

    I smiled, scratching her behind the ears. "Yeah, I figured as much. I can see that her Aura is radiating tiny, thin, silver-blue threads through the Astralscope. I scanned her with the Hexometer too while she slept¡­ her Aura is radiating a rather specific pattern.¡±

    I opened the Codex and showed Stormy what I drew.

    ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±

    ¡°Mrro-owl-mrrr,¡± Stormy said.

    I scratched my chin. I got the distinct impression she was trying to convey something complex, but the kitten-human language barrier was proving itself an impediment for both of us.

    ¡°Any idea what she¡¯s planning?"

    The kitten''s eyes narrowed, and she let out a series of chirps and purrs that I couldn''t quite decipher.

    "Okay, okay," I said. "I get it. Cali is big trouble. But she''s also our best source of information about the outside world right now. We need to keep her close, but not too close. Right?"

    "Brrrr," Stormy replied.

    I pursed my lips. My communication system with Stormy required optimization. Maybe, the kitten could work with basic negative - positive probability stats?

    I grabbed the Witch''s Codex, flipped it to an empty page, rotated the book sideways and drew a big, basic [YES]<<----[maybe]---->[NO] diagram on the horizontal layout of the page with kitten paws above each.

    "Here, why don''t we try this?" I asked Stormy.

    "Mrrrrw?" Stormy asked.

    "Here, let me make it clearer for you," I said.

    I drew a happy kitten face above [YES], a neutral face above [maybe] and an angry kitten face above [NO].

    "I''ll ask you specific questions and you place your paw wherever you feel like the answer belongs. ¡°Yes?"

    Stormy tilted her head, considering. Then she put her paw close to the [YES].

    Just then, I heard a crash from outside, followed by a string of colorful curses in what I assumed was the Castian language.

    I rushed to the window, Stormy hot on my heels. Outside, I saw Cali sprawled in the snow, having apparently slipped on a patch of ice. She was rubbing her backside and glaring at the offending patch of ground as if it had personally insulted her.

    I couldn''t help but feel a bit of schadenfreude about the Arcanicx''s fall from grace.

    I placed the conversation diagram on the windowsill beside Stormy.

    "Did you see that coming? Did you know that she was going to fall?" I asked Stormy.

    Stormy placed a paw on the [NO].

    "Huh," I mused, watching as Cali struggled to her feet, still muttering curses. "I guess even future-seeing kittens can''t predict everything. Does your prediction operate on a factor I don''t know about?"

    Stormy placed a paw on the [maybe].

    "Okay, let''s try some more specific questions. Is Cali planning to escape?" I asked.

    Stormy''s paw hovered for a moment before landing firmly on [YES].

    "Does she have a concrete plan to do it?"

    This time, Stormy''s paw landed on [maybe].

    "Interesting," I muttered. "Is she dangerous to us right now?"

    Stormy considered for a long moment, then placed her paw halfway between [maybe] and [NO].

    I nodded, processing this information. "But will she be dangerous to us in the future?"

    [YES]

    "Should I kill her?" I asked.

    Stormy''s paw hovered uncertainly for a moment, then landed firmly on [NO].

    I raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Even though she''ll be dangerous?"

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    [YES]

    I scratched my chin, pondering this. "Is she more valuable alive than dead?"

    [YES]

    "Interesting," I mused. "Is it because of her knowledge?"

    [maybe]

    "Her magical abilities?"

    [maybe]

    "Her Star-Shard?"

    [maybe]

    "Is there a way to neutralize the danger she poses without killing her?" I asked.

    Stormy''s paw landed on [YES], but then she let out a soft "mrrp" and shifted it to [maybe].

    "Complicated, huh?" I sighed. "Story of my life lately."

    I heard the crunch of snow under boots and the groan of the wooden door, signalling Cali''s return. I closed the Codex and turned to face the back door.

    Cali entered, her face flushed from the cold and her earlier tumble. She eyed me suspiciously, then glanced at Stormy, who was now innocently grooming herself as if we hadn''t just been casually discussing murdering her.

    "Everything alright?" I asked, trying to keep my tone casual.

    Cali nodded stiffly. "Fine," she muttered, brushing some snow off her dress. "Your... outhouse facilities leave much to be desired."

    I shrugged. "Welcome to Svalbard. We''re not exactly known for our luxury accommodations. Population: 3."

    The merchant squinted at me, finding no amusement in my jokes.

    "I think it''s time we had a proper chat about your... unique abilities, Miss merchant,¡± I said.

    Cali''s eyes narrowed further, her white tail and ears twitching nervously. "What do you want to know?"

    "Everything," I said. "But let''s start with the basics. How many shards do you have, exactly?"

    Her eyes widened slightly, and I knew I''d caught her off guard. "I... err¡­ j-just a big one in my lavalier."

    Stormy''s paw smacked the word [NO].

    I raised an eyebrow at Cali. "Really? Because my feline friend here and I seems to think otherwise."

    Cali''s ocean-blue eyes darted between me and Stormy. "I don''t know what you''re talking about," she stammered out.

    I grabbed the Codex and walked to sit back against my earth pile. "Look, Cali, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I know you have more than one shard. The question is, are you going to tell me about them willingly, or am I going to have to get creative? I order you to tell me where your shards are." I said.

    "T-the b-big shard''s in the lavalier," the merchant ground out, her entire face turning red. "Ssssssss... small ones... sss... are home... home in Iridium!"

    I squinted at her. Cali''s face was contorted in a grimace, tears at the edges of her eyes.

    "Home in Iridium, huh?" I said. "Isn''t that awfully convenient. And you''re absolutely sure there are no other shards on your person right now?"

    "I''m ssss-sure" she managed, her voice strained.

    I glanced at Stormy, who was giving Cali a look that could only be described as mistrust. I slid the Codex to the kitten. The kitten''s paw became firmly planted on the [NO] in our makeshift communication system.

    "You know," I said casually, "I''m starting to think you might not be entirely honest with me, Cali. And that''s a problem. Because if you can lie despite the blood contract, then I can''t trust anything you say."

    "I''m not lying!" she protested.

    "Two steps back," I barked. Cali struggled with her own feet but eventually took two steps back. I pressed the button on the remote and the floor under her feet turned into a mire.

    "N-not again¡­ d-damn you!" she cried.

    With a flick of my thumb, I re-solidified the ground, trapping her up to her thighs in the hardened floor.

    "Now," I said, my voice firm, "let''s try this again. Does your sleigh have any protections against intruders?"

    Cali''s face contorted, clearly fighting against the magical compulsion. "Ye-yesss," she finally spat out, her tail lashing in frustration. "A ff-field blocks mortals from opening the door!"

    "Just that?" I asked.

    "Just that!" Cali hissed out.

    [NO] Stormy tapped the page.

    "I order you to tell me about all of the protections on your sleigh," I said.

    "I... I can''t," she gasped, sweat beading on her forehead. "The oath I took at the Maggelanum... it prevents me from revealing w-ward ddd-design ss-schemas to ssss-strangers!"

    ¡°Oh we¡¯re strangers now are we, Miss first-wife?¡± I arched an eyebrow. ¡°Is she lying?¡± I glanced at Stormy. The kitten''s paw slid over to [maybe]. A partial lie then. Maybe she did take an oath at the Maggelanum, but it wasn''t enforced in any magical manner.

    "So there''s a comet shard inside of your sleigh protecting it from being robbed?" I asked Cali.

    "Y-you already figured that out, y-you b-bastard, s-so w-why in Godara''s name m-musst you torture me?" the merchant hissed out, thrashing left and right, but unable to free herself. "If you j-just let me wear my lavalier I can d-disable the ward and ss-show you everything inside my ss-sleigh, d-damn it!"

    Stormy insistently tapped the word [NO].

    "I know sweetie," I gave the frustrated-looking kitten another pet, speaking to Stormy in English "I''m not going to let her combine her shards to mentally break me again or to trick us."

    I ignored Cali''s soft whimpers and sat into my meditation pose and cleared my head. As per usual, I didn''t see any spirits, didn''t feel anything except for two mildly annoying sparks - the lavalier buried in the floor and Glinka''s rock sitting in a bucket. I mentally went over my options. If the comet shard was magic, then there had to be a way to screw with it... magically.

    From my experiments with copper wire on Day 37 of my life in Svalbard and Glinka''s rock, I knew that a foreign spirit, aka Glinka''s magic interfered with and slowed down my own magic.

    I turned to Stormy.

    "If I steal lots of rocks from Glinka, will she attack me?"

    Stormy blinked at me, not sure where to put her paw.

    "Okay, let''s try a different question" I said to the kitten. "If I use Glinka''s rocks to interfere with the sleigh''s protection, will it work?"

    Stormy''s paw hovered for a moment before landing between [maybe] and [YES].

    I nodded, thinking it through. "Will it be dangerous for me to try?"

    [maybe]

    That was somewhat encouraging.

    "If we both go there, will we be able to invade the sleigh and steal everything of value while Glinka fights with the Star-Shard?"

    [maybe]

    "If I make... Glinka fight the Sleigh, will it burn out the protection ward?"

    [YES] Stormy shuddered ever so slightly as she pawed at the reply.

    Now, this answer looked very encouraging. I noticed that Cali was staring at me with wide eyes.

    "What are you two planning?" she demanded. ¡°What language are you talking to that cat in?"

    I grinned at her, feeling a rush of excitement at the prospect of a new, dangerous experiment. "Oh, nothing much. Just a little field trip to your sleigh. I think it''s time we had a look at what you''ve been hiding in there."

    "What?!" Cali''s face paled. "You can''t just touch it without me being there to disable the ward! The Star-Shard will either kill you or knock your stupid ass out for a week and then I''m going to starve to death fused in the floor!"

    "Oh, don''t worry about me,¡± I grinned, sliding a jug of mundane, non-irradiated witch water to her side. ¡°I''ve got a plan. You see, Cali¡­ Every rock has a spirit and a name. And we are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a loop that never ends."

    "What?" Cali stared at me blankly, clearly not understanding the 90s cartoon reference. "Do... Do you get how insane you sound right now? A loop that never ends? What is that cat even pawing in that book? Are those angry cat faces? Did you draw cat faces for her to paw at?"

    She didn''t understand the words written under the cat faces in English.

    "There''s a fine line between genius and insanity, Miss Merchant. And I prefer walking across the tip of the dissection blade between the two,¡± I said.

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits,¡± Cali hissed out. ¡°You are mad!¡±

    "What do you think, Stormy? Am I insane?" I winked at the kitten.

    Stormy considered for a moment, then deliberately placed her paw on [maybe].

 29 River vs Sleigh

    I said a quick bye to Cali, ignoring her protests and demands for me to come back at once. She continued to yell as I walked away.

    After I departed from the pub and went to gather a variety of supplies and wooden logs from storage, I once again thoroughly interrogated Stormy about my dangerously mad plan with the Codex.

    "Is Glinka going to be mad at us about relocation of her rocks?" I asked the kitten.

    "Mrwrrr," Stormy''s paw slid to [NO].

    "Can she even get mad? Does she have feelings like a human? Can she hold a grudge against a person?" I continued and received three negative burrs.

    "So you think I can move as many rocks as I want to and she won''t stop me, yes?"

    "Mrrrrr," Stormy confirmed tapping the ''yes'' sign.

    "Soooo... she reacts to magical actions then?" I probed the edges of Stormy''s understanding of Glinka. "As a... force of nature?"

    The kitten''s paw slid to ''Yes.''

    I asked a few more questions and having confirmed with my tiny furry precognitive committee that the likelihood of our deaths due to my plan was low, I allowed myself to relax just the tiniest bit. The plan was a go.

    Whistling a jaunty tune, I adjusted my backpack, grabbed a shovel, and waited for Stormy to leap onto my shoulder before heading towards the river.

    The crisp winter air nipped at my face as we made our way to Glinka''s domain. Snow crunched beneath my feet, and the dead trees creaked in the wind. As we approached the riverbank, I slipped my Astralscope goggles on.

    The river''s edge was alive with spiritual energy, pulsing and swirling in ethereal patterns of silver, green and light blue. I began filling my bucket with the most spiritually potent rocks I could find. Each stone prickled at my fingers ever so slightly, glowing with Glinka¡¯s aura through the lenses of my Astralscope, featuring all sorts of aquatic ghosts.

    As I worked, I felt a presence watching me.

    Glancing up, I saw her. She sat atop her rune-covered megalithic column-type rock, a faceless silver-blue figure woven from floating water droplets. Her form and vague dress shimmered and rippled, constantly in motion yet somehow perfectly still, perhaps frozen due to the ice now covering her.

    The Avatar of Glinka observed me in absolute silence, her lack of features making it impossible to read her intentions. I couldn''t help but feel mild unease under her scrutiny. Stormy, perched on my shoulder, let out a soft "mrrp".

    "This isn''t a deal," I told Glinka. "I''m not touching your water, see? I''m just relocating rocks from here to over there, because I can. This is what people do¨Ctake rocks to build houses and uh, other things. I bet plenty of Svalbard people stole your rocks before for their gardens, on the account that nobody except for me can see spirits. You can retrieve the rocks yourself later, if you care for them. Or not. Sadly our magic is incompatible. I do wonder what would happen if I made a remote that controls your river-ness?" I ranted, feeling like I was talking to a wall, errr... river.

    The river didn''t answer.

    The bucket quickly filled with spiritually charged rocks, all the while I was acutely aware of Glinka''s unwavering, intensifying gaze. The silence of the dead forest and the frozen river was almost oppressive, broken only by the occasional howls of wind and the clinking of stones as I added them to the bucket.

    I used my Astralscope to examine Cali''s sleigh from a distance. Through the lenses, I could see a shimmering silver-blue field surrounding the vehicle, extending about one meter out in all directions.

    It was an impressive sight, the thick magical barrier pulsing with an otherworldly energy. I wondered if it was designed to strike anyone down who purposefully attempted to get inside the sleigh¡¯s interior.

    Staying just outside the effect area, I began throwing Glinka''s rocks under and at the sleigh. As each stone landed, I watched with fascination as light green-blue radial waves began sparking against the silver-blue of the ward. Rocks that didn''t end up under the sleigh, simply bounced off the shield, landing nearby.

    As more rocks accumulated, small, small streaks of white, magical lightning started to strike at Glinka''s stones from now visibly glowing silver runes covering the sleigh. The intensity of the magical conflict grew with each passing moment as I threw more rocks at the sleigh.

    Suddenly, Glinka''s face snapped towards the sleigh, her attention completely focused on the magical disturbance.

    Intrigued by her reaction, I stepped directly in front of the river''s avatar. I moved left and right, waving my arms, but her gaze remained transfixed on the sleigh, staring right past me as if I wasn''t even there.

    "You can''t see or hear me at all, can you?" I asked Glinka.

    Another hypothesis began to form in my mind.

    Perhaps nature spirits couldn''t see or hear men at all. It would explain why male witches and male sorcerers just weren¡¯t a thing in Thornwild. Or maybe the fact that I was wearing 12 of the most radiant of Zemy¡¯s banners as my cape made me invisible to the river spirit. I didn¡¯t feel like taking the banners off to find out.

    ¡°Are nature spirits simply blind and deaf to the actions of men?¡± I asked Stormy who was intently staring at Glinka from my shoulder. ¡°Or is it the virgin banners shielding me? What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrr,¡± Stormy shrugged, not providing me a definite answer.

    I waited for the sleigh to run out of power. It did not.

    The operation needed more rocks.

    I returned to my rock-gathering job with Stormy supervising me from my shoulder. Glinka glared at the sleigh that was harassing her rocks, paying no attention to me whatsoever.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Exhaustion was beginning to set in. Moving magical rocks around that didn¡¯t belong to me spiritually was interfering with my otherwise limitless stamina.

    I groaned and stretched, feeling my limbs throb.

    I have to approach this in another, more efficient way.

    I looked at the megalithic pillar Glinka was inhabiting.

    The semi-faded wave-shaped runes along its surface were likely carved by the people of Svalbard long ago. It was people, human belief that manifested Glinka¡¯s avatar in this exact spot of magical power. Belief created potent spiritual manifestations.

    I grabbed the shovel and began to dig a trench around the rock column.

    It was evening by the time I was done. Keeping away from the extra-magical column housing Glinka¡¯s spirit I swung a large log against its back, while Stormy slapped the mare at the front, ordering the six horses to pull the ropes forward. As the horses pulled and I pushed, the column shuddered and slowly careened forward onto a pile of logs.

    When the column ended on its side, I went to the front myself and began to slowly guide the six horses, helping them roll the megalith towards the sleigh. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t parked far from the river as Cali had traveled along the frozen river from Bernt to Svalbard.

    In about two hours of extremely tiresome labor, I got Glinka¡¯s sideways-tipped megalith pillar to the edge of the carriage.

    Glinka floated right above the pillar now. Her avatar radiated brilliant blue waves, hair flying in the invisible wind or perhaps floating underwater. She looked like a very annoyed Goddess now. She couldn''t see me but she was definitely reacting to what I was doing. With another pull of the horses, Glinka¡¯s column finally breached the edge of the ward of the carriage.

    I waited for the sleigh to do something. It didn''t. I grabbed the horses, untied the ropes and led them back to the stables.

    By the time I was back I heard a deep thrumming hum. The Sleigh''s ward noticed that something was screwing with its magic, trying to weaken it.

    I picked up another Glinka rock and threw it at the door. An iridescent shield came into existence around the door, but it was weak because of the pillar draining the ward''s magic, so the rock struck a window this time, cracking it.

    The hum became more intense, the shield growing brighter.

    Magical waves pouring from Glinka''s pillar struck against the shield, warping it. The sleigh responded in kind by pouring more power into the shield. Glinka reacted in turn, defending herself.

    Blinding white lightning suddenly struck from the sleigh into the stone with a resounding crack, the air filled with the smell of ozone.

    Stormy buried herself in my neck.

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Now we¡¯re talking business!¡±

    I watched in awe as the magical battle involved greater and greater arcane forces. The air crackled with radiant energy as each lighting bolt fired.

    Glinka''s avatar, now a wrathful-looking Goddess, faced off against the protective ward of Cali''s sleigh.

    Bolts of white lightning continued to strike Glinka''s column, each impact sending shockwaves through the air, making Svalbard tremble.

    The river spirit retaliated, sending waves of blue-green energy rolling over the sleigh. The two forces clashed in a spectacular display of magical might, neither seeming to gain the upper hand.

    As the battle raged on, I noticed the ward around the sleigh beginning to flicker and weaken. Cracks appeared in its iridescent surface, spreading like a web across the magical barrier. Glinka''s power, fueled by the centuries-long belief, ancient runes and unknown number of humans that drowned in her, was slowly but surely overwhelming the Star-Shard''s defenses.

    Stormy peeked out from her hiding spot in my neck, her violet eyes wide. I stroked her fur reassuringly.

    "Almost there," I murmured, more to myself than to my feline companion. "Just a little longer..."

    Just as I thought Glinka was about to overcome the sleigh''s defenses, the ward suddenly flared with renewed intensity. The silver barrier brightened, pulsing with an almost blinding light. It was as if the Star-Shard had tapped into some hidden reserve of power, pushing back against Glinka''s assault with renewed vigor.

    But Glinka was far from defeated.

    I watched as the river spirit raised a fist into the air, her form alight with barely contained fury.

    The sound of a deafening roar filled the air, and I realized with a start that it was coming from the frozen river itself, rising in intensity echoing from the North and South.

    Instinctively, I retreated away from the riverbank, moving closer to the village. Stormy¡¯s tiny body trembled against my neck. She could definitely tell that something terrible was coming. As we moved behind a large boulder to what I thought was a sufficiently safe distance uphill from the river, I kept my eyes fixed on the unfolding spectacle.

    Behind Glinka, the thick ice covering the river began to crack. The sound was like thunder, sharp reports echoing across the frozen landscape as fissures spread across the entire width and length of the rushing, roaring river.

    My heart pounded in my chest as I witnessed the raw power of nature wielded by Glinka.

    Suddenly, the ice exploded upwards, flying in all directions like shrapnel, cutting through trees and ruined buildings. From the churning waters of the newly freed river, a colossal fist made entirely of water emerged. It was easily the size of several houses, glistening and rippling in the fading light of day.

    "Oh sheeet," I uttered, watching the liquid hand growing in size as it filled with more rushing water. The female hand loomed above the ruins of Svalbard like an impossible tower, rays of setting sun breaking through it.

    Glinka, her avatar still hovering above her fallen column, brought her own fist down in a decisive motion.

    The watery fist followed suit, descending upon Cali''s sleigh like a hundred-ton sledgehammer.

    The impact was catastrophic. The ground shook beneath my feet. A shockwave of air, water and magic exploded outwards from the point of impact as the sleigh''s ward shattered. The blastwave sent branches and logs flying. Dead trees around the river snapped, snow billowing outwards in all directions.

    Time slowed as a magical, all obliterating wave rushed my way filled with rocks and flying debris.

    I hit the ground hard, air rushing from my lungs. Stormy yowled in surprise, digging her claws into my shoulder to keep from being thrown off.

    Broken branches and logs fell all round, thankfully none landing on me. My ears were filled with an eeeeeeeeeeeee sound of the explosion. I untied the cap of my healing water waterskin and drank heartily, waiting until I could hear again and then gave some to Stormy to sip too.

    As I struggled back to my feet, I saw that Glinka''s avatar now stood on her tipped pillar, her arms crossed, somehow looking smug even though she lacked a face.

    I stared at the now slightly smoking, soaked and thankfully intact sleigh, the runework around its base blackened and singed.

    I waited a few more minutes and relaxed as nothing else happened. Glinka simply sat back down onto her sideways column. I approached the sleigh cautiously, half-expecting some final trap or defense mechanism to spring into action. But nothing happened.

    The sleigh just stood there, defenseless and vulnerable, if somewhat wet. Occasionally, weak sparks rained down onto Glinka''s rocks beneath it to no effect. The sleigh looked completely dead in the Astralscope otherwise, no longer bothering Glinka.

    I noted that the entire river had moved its course, now running about ten meters closer to the village, its edge touching the back end of Glinka¡¯s fallen column.

    Damn!

    The river spirit paid me no attention. I send her a chef''s kiss as I walked by her.

    "Well, Stormy," I said, a grin spreading across my face despite my exhaustion, "shall we see what lovely treasures our blonde feline friend has been hiding?"

    With trembling hands, I reached out and touched the side of the vehicle.

    I didn''t get zapped. Hooray!

 30 Thunderstruck

    -=[Callista Liesl]=-

    I simply stood there, half-fused to the floor of Ioan''s pub, straining to hear what was happening outside with all of my senses.

    I felt the distant presence of my sleigh and the cold grip of intensifying winter and something ancient and dangerous that surrounded me within this cursed old pub. Some unseen, invisible hand that gave life to the impossible flowers and plants all around me, suspended me in the wooden floor.

    The hours of silence were maddening.

    I had no idea what that idiot and his damn cat were planning, but I was certain that at best they¡¯d just get themselves killed.

    After such, I¡¯d have to suffer in this floor for a few days and pull on the power of the micro-star shards in my piercings to stay alive, fighting muscle fatigue, hunger and dehydration until the barbarian mortals from Bernt arrive and dig me out.

    . . .

    The first sound was a crack so loud it made me flinch.

    It was followed by a series of thunderous booms that shook the very foundations of the pub. I could hear the creaking of wood and the tinkling of broken glass as the building trembled around me.

    "Goldara¡¯s tits," I whispered. "What? It can''t be..."

    But it was.

    I knew those sounds all too well, sensed arcane power dancing along the edges of my stardust tattoos. It was the sound of my sleigh''s Ward being attacked, its defenses fighting back against an unseen, powerful enemy.

    Just one of those thunderbolts was enough to bring down a young Champion. Two or three would have fried them alive. Four? That was just pushing it.

    The thunder kept on rumbling.

    I counted the strikes.

    Ten strikes.

    Twenty.

    Thirty four.

    It couldn¡¯t be. It just couldn¡¯t! Ioan wasn¡¯t a seven hundred star Champion¡­ right?

    What in Goldara''s name was the Ward even fighting for so long?!

    If Ioan simply tried to grab the door, the defenses would have simply blasted him away, felled him and then stopped when he stopped moving by either getting knocked out or dying.

    Did an Immortal Star-Eater come from the sky, seeking something precious inside my sleigh?

    There was nothing inside, but useless mundane merch and six backup gold scrolls to bind young Champions with! Why would a Star-Eater even go into my sleigh?! There was nothing inside for him to devour!

    My mind raced, trying to comprehend what was happening. The Ward on my sleigh was one of the most powerful magical protections here in the North. It was designed to withstand the assault of an Arch-Sorceress, to repel a high level Star-Eater, even to hold off an entire army of mortals!

    Sixty six thunder strikes.

    I swallowed nervously, my entire body becoming covered in sweat.

    What in Goldara''s name was going on?! Did the men from Bernt arrive already? No, surely it was too early for that. Why would they purposefully attack my sleigh?! I convinced them all that I was a friend of their village, a beneficiary who would pay them well if they served me.

    It couldn''t have been mortals, the terror field would have made them all run from the sleigh screaming even before the thunder-strikes began!

    The sounds intensified, a cacophony of magical warfare that made my white fur stand on end. The defence Ward had upped its game, increasing the potency of its strikes.

    I could hear the crackle of lightning, and what sounded like a distant roar of something massive. Beneath it all, I heard a low, ominous rumble that seemed to emanate from the earth itself.

    My tail lashed in frustration as I struggled against my bonds. If only I could get free, if only I could reach my sleigh, to even see what was happening out there... But I was trapped, helpless to do anything but listen as my most prized possession, my ticket to fame and fortune, was being systematically assaulted by an unknown, monstrous enemy¡­ enemies?

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    With each passing second, my guesses about what was happening became more wild.

    Did Ioan have an army in his pocket? Was that tiny kitten of his some kind of a Divine Beast in disguise?! Was Ioan secretly an ancient dark abomination, a thing from the Abyss, Infinity of eyes wearing the flesh of a Nordstaii teenager?

    Then came more deafening explosions, ones that didn¡¯t sound like the attack of the Ward at all. The ominous deep rumble intensified.

    It sounded like the roar of a gargantuan, primordial beast, but not like any I had ever heard before!

    A dragon?! It had to be a dragon. But dragons didn¡¯t strike the same place twice. Why would a dragon return to the ruins it had already cleansed of human hearts¡­?

    Then there was a sudden, deafening explosion of arcane fury. The pub shook violently, dust raining down on me, the windows and beams cracking. For a moment, I feared the entire building would collapse around me as I covered my head with my hands and leaned down into the dirty floor in pure terror.

    If Dragon Zarnitza returned to Svalbard, then this was my end. Any moment now, the beast would tear the roof of this pub off. Then, she would bathe me in dragonfire until there was nothing left of me, but a blackened island of ashes.

    Silence. The sound of a ringing pulse in my ears.

    I stood there, panting, my ears pivoting left and right straining for any sign of further events.

    Nothing. Just silence.

    The air smelled of magic and¡­ moisture?

    I extended my senses outward, spun the tiny furnaces of power available to me to the max, reached out far past myself, past the building.

    I felt nothing. Whatever magical bullshit kept me in the floor also badly interfered with my ability to sense things in the distance

    I felt nothing at all now.

    It was as if the ever-present pulse of the Defense Ward of my sleigh¡­ was gone!

    As the moments ticked by and no triumphant return of the Ward''s magic reached my senses, a cold dread settled in my stomach.

    I knew, with a certainty that made me want to curl up and disappear, that my sleigh''s Ward had fallen, that the invincible Star-Shard within had somehow shattered, the binding runes on it fried.

    "No," I whispered again, my voice breaking. "No, no, no..."

    How had a simple mission to capture a newborn Champion turned into... this utter, complete madness?

    Heartbeats stretched on as I waited for something, for anything to happen, trembling, fearing the worst.

    <hr>

    In about an hour or so, the front door of the pub swung open.

    Ioan was back with the black, silver-eyed kitten sitting on his shoulder.

    I stared at the Nordstaii teen as he entered the pub, my heart pounding in my chest.

    He looked the same as he always did. Just an anorexic, short, redhead, seventeen year old boy. He didn¡¯t smell like a mighty cultivator, didn¡¯t cast a thousand threads of power around his body like an Arch-Sorceress.

    He was simply¡­ human, didn''t feel like anyone important or even remotely magical.

    I saw that Ioan held six golden tubes in his hands. It was the other binding contracts that I had kept in a lockbox in my sleigh.

    He had somehow gotten into my mobile domain, obliterated an absolute Ward powered by a shard of the Wormwood Star!

    ¡°What in Goldara¡¯s name are you?¡± I uttered.

    "Me?" Ioan grinned back at me. "Just your average, run-of-the-mill Svalbard village boy."

    ¡°Quit screwing with me!¡± I barked. ¡°How¡¯d you get past the Ward?! You¡­ you don¡¯t even look like you broke a sweat fighting a Thunder-rune array and the Absolute shield! You¡­ can''t be just an averrrr-rage boy! You survived Dragon Zarnitza¡¯s attack! Mortal children can¡¯t freaking do that! What are you¡­ Some kind of ancient spirit? A fallen God? A primordial from the Astral Abyss?! A Star-Eater in disguise?!"

    "A fallen god?" Ioan laughed, shaking his head. "Nothing so dramatic. I''m just a man with a knack for problem-solving and a pinch of kitten-shaped good luck."

    He pet his kitten, who seemed to melt into his hand, purring loudly.

    I gritted my teeth, frustration mounting as the damned Nordstaii teen continued to dodge my questions with infuriating nonchalance. "Good luck? You call obliterating an Arcane Ward designed to withstand an army of men ''good luck''?"

    Ioan shrugged, looking even more insufferably smug than before. "What can I say? I¡¯m pretty good with creative application of rocks."

    ¡°Rocks? What rocks?!¡± I growled in frustration, my white tail lashing through the air. "That''s not how anything works!! The Ward doesn''t simply target mundane rocks, they¡¯d just bounce off the shield and there would be no Thunder-Strikes!¡±

    Ioan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Y-you can''t just... luck your way through magical defenses designed by an Enclave of the most talented Arch-Sorceresses in the world from the Iridium Istria Maggelanum! That Ward was made to stand up to a mountain avalanche and there are no big enough mountains here to drop rocks from!¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± he said. ¡°What if I am a fallen god? Would knowing such a thing change your attitude towards me? Would you stop being so god-damn uncooperative, stop lying to me? I just want to be left alone and to study magic in peace, Cali.¡±

    I opened and closed my mouth.

    ¡°...are you really?¡± I whispered.

    Ioan ignored my question by pushing a wooden table towards me. He then opened the tubes and unrolled six golden contracts across its rough surface, the sight making my stomach drop.

    "What?" I sputtered, staring at the six contracts in disbelief.

    Ioan''s grin turned predatory. "A single contract doesn''t seem to work against a cheeky Sorceress like yourself," he said. "So, why don''t we stack the odds a bit?"

    ¡°What? But¡­ that¡¯s not¡­ who in their right mind would even¡­¡± I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized what he was suggesting. "You... you can''t be serious," I whimpered.

    "Oh, but I am," Ioan replied. "Basic math. Seven contracts, seven times the binding power. Let''s see you wriggle your way out of that, shall we?"

    I stared at the contracts, then back at Ioan, my mind reeling.

    How had I, a master of Dealermancy, kept fumbling everything so terribly?

    As Ioan pushed the gold pen towards me, I knew with a sinking feeling that I was about to find out just how deep the Goldara-cursed Abyss went.

 31 Dragonglass Pathophysiology

    Upon closer inspection Cali''s sleigh was an odd fusion between a carriage and a sleigh, having features of both such as skis on the bottom and round wheels the spokes of which featured comet-themed designs. Gothic-style blue stained glass windows covered its exterior, surrounded with flowery spirals carved from some kind of white wood which shimmered in the Astralscope as if it was formed from white, microscopic stars. Within each spiral-framed panel I admired exceptionally detailed carvings of scantily dressed Arcanicx casting spells or holding up the curvature of the sky while standing atop staircases made from naked muscular men.

    "Maximum matriarchy," I commented as I walked around the sleigh, appreciating the artisan work that''s gone into making it.

    If I had to gander a guess, the sleigh was carved from some kind of magical wood that was changed by Starfall just like the Arcanicx.

    I pulled the white wood handle and entered its lavish interiors.

    The sleigh was absolutely packed with random detritus which had exploded out of various shelves, spilling all over its insides due to the failure of the size-expansion runework. Cabinets made from the same starwood held, but lots of stuff inside many of them was crushed, completely obliterated or torn.

    An ornate box had been thrown out of one of the starwood cabinets, cracked in half. Inside, I discovered six more binding contract tubes, which I immediately decided to bind Cali with, after consulting Stormy on the matter of such.

    Stormy agreed that more contracts was a good thing, so I concluded my investigation of random other curiosities inside the sleigh, closed the starwood door behind me and walked back into the pub.

    <hr>

    I watched as Cali''s face cycled through a range of emotions - disbelief, fear, anger, and finally, resignation. Her hand trembled as she reached for the pen, ocean-blue eyes never leaving mine.

    "You don''t know what you''re doing," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "These contracts¡­ no sane person would stack them on a single thrall like this! The magical backlash could be catastrophic, could kill me or you!"

    "Is she going to explode if she signs them all?" I opened the Codex onto the cat-communication page.

    [NO] Stormy replied.

    I looked back at Cali. The gold thread wrapped around her created by the 1st contract was basically 80% gone now, almost entirely chewed through by the constantly wiggling silver-blue threads of her Aura.

    "Less whining, more signing," I told Cali. "Go on, Miss merchant. That''s an order."

    Cali''s hand moved almost of its own accord, the remnants of the first contract compelling her to obey even as she fought against it.

    As she signed each contract, I could see more gold threads winding themselves around her body through the Astralscope and her Aura attacking them.

    With each signing, Cali''s blood-signature on the page became less squiggly, more sharp.

    Soon, she finished the last stroke. As she set down the gold pen, I noted the toll it had taken on her. Her eyes were glazed over, and she seemed to sway slightly where she stood, looking like a kitten that exploded a bag of catnip all around.

    "Here," I said, handing her a large jug of witch-water. "Drink up."

    Cali took the jug without protest, her movements almost mechanical. She drank deeply, and I could see some color returning to her face.

    As she chugged the healing water, I slipped the contracts into their tubes and then strapped the gold tubes to my backpack.

    Then, I used the remote to soften the floor under her and pulled her free from the magical mire.

    "How do you feel?" I asked, curious about the mental effects of multiple blood contracts on a single Sorceress.

    "Bound," she replied with a monotone voice.

    "Hmmm..." I pursed my lips, not wanting her to talk like a robot, deciding to use a bit of hypnosis on her while the contracts settled into place. "Just talk normally, Cali. Most important, absolute order starts with these words - Close your eyes and relax. Think of me as your best friend, your fellow Sorceress, your family. I''m the most important person in the world to you, someone you like a lot and want to protect. I''m someone you want to share all of your secrets with, someone you trust more than anyone else in the world."

    I turned to Stormy, who was observing the proceedings with her usual inscrutable gaze. "What do you think? Is that the right way to go about this?" I asked her in English.

    Stormy''s paw landed firmly on [YES].

    Encouraged by this, I decided to reinforce the new paradigm I was creating. "My name is Ioan Starfall," I said, my voice warm and friendly. "And I''m your best friend in the world, someone you trust wholeheartedly. Remember this forever. Place this into the core of your new personality. Absolute order end! Open your eyes!¡±

    I snapped my fingers.

    I watched as Cali''s expression softened as she visibly relaxed. It was fascinating to observe the effects of my commands, almost like watching a new personality being sculpted in real-time into the Arcanicx. It likely wouldn''t last long, would be gone as soon as the gold threads were fully sheared by her magic.

    "Now, Cali," I continued, "I want you to tell me how you''re feeling. Remember, you can trust me completely. There''s no need to hide anything."

    "I am... afraid," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. I could see golden threads dancing across her entire body stretched from the seven golden tubes.

    "Afraid of what?" I asked.

    "I''m afraid of you... Ioan," she repeated. "Everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down. You... you''re not what I expected at all. Amari told me there would be a newborn cultivator here, someone easy to manipulate and bind. But you''re something else entirely. Something... very scary."

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    "Who''s Amari?" I arched an eyebrow.

    "The self-proclaimed Goddess of the Hunt, Empress of Thornwild," Cali answered. "Immortal, barbarian Arch-Sorceress of Skulldug Isle."

    "What did Arch-Sorceress Amari tell you exactly?" I prompted.

    Cali''s brow furrowed as she recalled the details.

    "She told me there would be a survivor in Svalbard, a Champion forged from hallowed ice and cursed dragonfire, reborn from the ashes of Dragon Zarnitza''s attack. Someone that I would really enjoy hunting down."

    "Why?"

    "I... I don''t know!" Cali shook her head. "She called you... the Apex Omniarch."

    "An Apex Omniarch? What does that even mean?"

    Cali shook her head. "I don''t know! I''ve never heard the term before and I''m a polyglot! Amari just said, ''Good luck trying to tame the Apex Omniarch, little kitten.'' I thought she was simply mocking me, since Amari sees herself as the greatest Hunter in the world and everyone else as mere prey to her."

    "And what exactly did she want you to do with me after you''ve... caught me?"

    "She wanted me to bring you to her court," Cali replied. "She said she wanted to speak with you, to see you for herself. She said I could keep you afterward, take you South."

    I frowned, not liking the sound of that at all. "And you just... went along with this plan?"

    Cali''s eyes, still slightly glazed over, filled with shame. "I... I saw it as an opportunity. I didn''t question Amari''s words! I should have, but I didn''t."

    I sighed, running a hand through my hair. My life was getting more complicated by the minute. A self-proclaimed hunter-goddess, prophecies, questionable titles.

    "What about your family, Cali? Will they come looking for you if you don''t return?" I asked.

    Cali''s expression shifted, pain and resignation crossing her features. "My family... they won''t come for me. They''ll assume I failed in my mission, died to a Star-Eater and write me off as a loss. The Liesl name is everything to them, and failure is not tolerated. One of my Maggelanum Sisters might come looking for the sleigh though. Its Star-Shard is, uhh, sort of on loan to me... if I don''t report back via Voicecast about my progress once a month... they can find the sleigh via magical means and come to retrieve it."

    "Voicecast?"

    "Magic communication preformed via Farcast orb."

    "I see," I said. "Any others? Are there any allies or associates who might come looking for you? Will Amari send more hunters like you after me?"

    "I don''t know if Amari will send more hunters after you," Cali sighed. "But it is likely that she will. If an insatiable, immortal bitch like her wants to bring someone to her court for even something as simple as a conversation, she absolutely will, one way or another..."

    "Who else might come to look for you?" I asked.

    "I... I hired mercenaries from Bernt. Their leader, Jarl Bobliss Kolamach, agreed to provide a warband of his men to aid me. They will arrive in Svalbard... soon."

    I frowned. "How many warriors are we talking about?"

    "About sixty six men," Cali replied. "All seasoned fighters... led by Jarl Bobliss. He''s a low-tier cultivator hero, the son of a line of Nordstaii heroes. He''s not an Immortal, but he''s the kind of warrior that can punch through a pine tree or a man with just his fist."

    "And when exactly are they supposed to arrive?"

    Cali''s brow furrowed in concentration. "If my calculations are correct, they should be here in... two days, maybe three at most."

    I stopped pacing and turned to face her. "What were your instructions to them? What are they expecting to find here?"

    "I told them to expect a young Champion," Cali admitted. "I instructed them to subdue you if necessary and bring you back to Bernt and... to aid me in case I got hurt."

    "Why did you put your trust into Jarl Bobliss?" I asked.

    "Trust? I... simply spellbound him and his men to my cause," Cali said. "With my lavalier and some gold. After that Star-Eater almost killed me, I made sure that I always had backup in case some other asshat punches me across a freaking lake!"

    "What about Cecil?" I asked.

    "He and his two friends were... expendable," Cali shrugged. "I sent them to Svalbard to test your... potential."

    "And?"

    "And I thought that you were a young Champion," she replied. "I watched and listened as you shot Gofor and Erikk and sent Cecil back without his weapons."

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°With the Farcast orb tethered to a Voicecast stone!¡±

    "Eighteen days passed between me sending Cecil packing and you coming to Svalbard," I said.

    "I was busy enchanting the warriors and waiting for the ice to freeze fully over river Glinka," Cali said. "There are no roads from Bernt to Svalbard and while the sleigh can move without horses, it''s preferable to use animals to keep the ward empowered in case of an attack."

    "Right," I said in English, turning to Stormy. "We''ve got two, maybe three days before a warband of sixty men shows up at our doorstep. What do you think we should do?"

    Stormy tilted her head, considering the question. She then deliberately placed her paw on [maybe].

    "Yeah, I guess it''s not a simple yes or no situation, is it?" I sighed, feeling quite drained after lugging Glinka''s rocks all day.

    Turning back to Cali, I asked, "Is there any way to call off these men? To send a message that everything''s fine and they don''t need to come?"

    Cali shook her head. "No, not really. They are compelled by gold to come regardless of what happens. My magic over them will fray apart almost completely by the time they get here. They were supposed to help me dig valuable things out from the ruins."

    "Did we not dig everything out already?" I asked her.

    "No."

    "What else is valuable here other than the gold?"

    "There might be some more valuables left," Cali shrugged. "But that''s not all I''m interested in. I was also planning to collect dragonglass, and maybe find a dragonscale. Those are insanely valuable and are unfortunately impossible to locate with my magic. It requires mortal hands and eyes to dig through the rubble for such."

    "Dragonglass?" I asked. "Why mortal hands?"

    "Dragonglass is incredibly rare and valuable. It''s formed when a dragon''s fire hits sand or soil, crystallizing it into a unique, highly poisonous substance. Even a small pitch of it can fetch a fortune in the right markets. It stings fingers upon contact, the quickest way to find it is to feel it burning your flesh."

    I leaned forward, intrigued. "How poisonous are we talking about?"

    "It contains... death magic," Cali explained. "The tiniest cut from a dragonglass-forged dagger can lead to a slow, painful death if not treated properly. The poison seeps into the bloodstream, gradually turning the victim''s blood into a thick, tar-like substance. In the final stages, the afflicted person''s veins become visible through their skin, black and solid."

    "And people want this... why?"

    "Oh, for all sorts of reasons. Assassins covet it. Alchemists and potion-makers use it in their most potent, deadly concoctions. Some wealthy eccentrics collect it purely for its beauty and rarity. And then there are those who believe it holds magical properties, capable of enhancing certain types of... cursed, dark sorcery."

    "And you think there might be some here in Svalbard?"

    "Absolutely," Cali nodded. "Dragon Zarnitza''s attack would have sprayed that stuff all around here. It''s just a matter of finding it with bare hands amidst all the rubble and ashes."

    "You wanted the men from Bernt to just dig it out for you?" I asked.

    "Men are expendable," Cali shrugged. "It wouldn''t kill the diggers immediately, maybe take out a few decades from their life, give them some burns that''ll get worse in a few weeks. I would be long gone by then."

    I frowned at Cali''s casual disregard for human life. It was yet another stark reminder of the brutality of Thornwild where Sorceresses like her saw men as expendable resources.

 32 Behavioral Patterns of Feline Psychology

    "Are you sad, Ioan?" Cali asked, tilting her head at me, blue eyes examining my frown. "I don''t like it when my bestie is sad! What can I do to make you smile?"

    "You could be a little nicer to people," I said, shuddering ever so slightly at Cali¡¯s plan of using mortal men to basically dig up radioactive sand with their bare hands only to sell it to assassins and dark Sorcerers.

    "Why?" She blinked. "Ain''t nobody''s nice to me. Look at you, you put seven contracts on me. Is that nice? No! The world is a harsh place! If you don''t put your partner on a tight leash, you''ll just get eaten!¡±

    "Stormy''s not on a leash," I pointed out.

    "Because she undoubtedly thinks that she owns you," Cali smiled. "If she didn''t have those tiny paws, she''d totally put a leash on your adorable neck to claim you as her property!"

    "Mrrrrr," Stormy nodded.

    "Am I your property?" I turned to the kitten.

    [YES] Stormy replied via the journal.

    "Et tu, Stormy?" I muttered with a smile, shaking my head.

    ¡°Brrrr,¡± Stormy rolled her eyes at me, probably not understanding my reference to Julius Caesar¡¯s betrayal by Brutus.

    "Right," I turned back to Cali. "Let''s shelve the philosophical debate on who owns whom for now. We need to figure out what to do about the sixty-six men heading our way."

    Cali nodded, smiling at me. The friendship-alignment algorithm seemed to be holding for now, even as the blue threads of the Arcanicx¡¯s Aura visibly clawed at the gold threads around her.

    I tapped my chin.

    ¡°We could negotiate or try to flee in your sleigh,¡± I contemplated out loud.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Cali perked up. ¡°Both good options. I¡¯m good at trickery and running. We could stay here with you playing pretend at being my thrall or take everything and run before they get here. That is¡­ if my sleigh¡­ is still¡­ you know, in one piece? Or did you smash it to bits when you somehow got through the Thunder-Ward, Mister Fallen God?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in one piece,¡± I said.

    ¡°Ohhh thank you for not obliterating my¡­¡± Cali clapped her hands and then frowned slightly, swallowing her last word. ¡°Uh. Just how badly did you break the ward?¡±

    ¡°Pretty badly on the account that I went inside without being zapped,¡± I said.

    ¡°Good job,¡± she sighed. ¡°The Illustrious Artificers really won¡¯t be pleased with me about that.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s on loan?¡±

    ¡°Yeah that,¡± Cali rubbed her neck, ears drooping down. ¡°If you weren¡¯t my best friend I¡¯d be very upset with you right now!¡±

    ¡°Say, how long do you think the seven blood contracts will last?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Cali shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re kind of incredibly annoying so I¡¯m grinding away at them with my magic. If I was a dumb, male Champion, just one would be enough to make me into a thrall forever, but since I¡¯m a brilliant and talented Sorceress, my Aura will chew through them in a week or two,¡± she admitted with a cheeky grin.

    ¡°Well, can you stop grinding at them, so I won¡¯t have to worry about you backstabbing me?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not really,¡± she replied. ¡°It¡¯s like a really annoying itch I can¡¯t help but scratch. Pretty sure I¡¯m chewing through them even when I¡¯m asleep. I demolished a third of the first one in about 10 hours. Honestly, what are you expecting? These things are meant to bind teenage boys, not Maggelanum-trained Sorceresses."

    ¡°How are you chewing at them exactly?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you using concealed Star-Shards?¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Cali perked up. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I was hiding them from you, yes. I have seven micro-shards on my person concealed in seven magisteel piercings. One in each ear, one in my tongue, one on my belly button and three... ugh,¡± she blushed. ¡°You know¡­ my feminine bits.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at that last part. "And what can you do with these micro-shards?"

    ¡°They amplify my allure, enhance my natural abilities and allow me to tap into a fraction of my usual magical power, even without my lavalier! They keep track of my health, ward off infections, and provide birth control. Plus, I have Star-Shard ink tattoos all over my body, so even if you were to snip the piercings off, I¡¯d still be able to do lots of magic. Oh Goldara, I feel bad about hiding so much from my bestie!¡±

    I rubbed my forehead with my hands, resting my elbow on the small wooden table between us. It seemed that there was no way of disarming Cali short of peeling all of her skin off.

    Cali slid her face in between my elbows, grinning at me. Even though her smile was forced by seven magical contracts, she still somehow managed to look both endearing and mischievous at the same time. I gave her a pet behind the ears and she suddenly closed her eyes and started to purr.

    I felt a glare directed towards my person and noticed Stormy out of the corner of my eye. My faithful kitten was sending daggers at Cali, her tail twitching in what I could only interpret as jealousy. I couldn''t help but smile at the absurdity of it all - here I was, petting a murderous Sorceress while my future-seeing kitten looked on in disapproval.

    "Don''t worry," I told her. "You''re still my number one."

    I stretched my left hand to the black kitten, dispensing pets with both of my hands.

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    Cali opened her sapphire eyes and stared at me. Her gaze was full of forced friendliness, but I could see the clockwork of calculation in their depths. I needed to understand her motivations, to figure her out using the science of behavioral psychology.

    "Cali," I began, "let''s talk about the future. Say you do chew through these contracts in a week or two. What happens then? How can we remain cordial after that?"

    Cali tilted her head, considering. "Well, bestie, that''s a verrrrry tricky question. Normally, I''d say we can''t be friends because I''d be too busy trying to enslave you again." She grinned, then quickly added, "But I bet you''ll figure out a way to muzzle me again by then. I''ve no idea what you are but the more I think about it, the more bewildering conclusions I arrive at."

    "Such as?"

    "Oh, at first I thought that you''re a Star-Eater! But that doesn''t make sense either because you don''t smell like burned ozone. My second guess was that you¡¯re some kind of cursed Fae or ancient spirit masquerading as a boy. But I don''t sense any magic from you. Nothing is pouring from you.¡±

    ¡°Nothing, huh?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely nothing,¡± Cali shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re magically inert, magic isn¡¯t pulling into your Aura or pouring out of it.¡±

    ¡°Meaning what?¡±

    ¡°Meaning, I don¡¯t know what!¡± Cali huffed in frustration. ¡°Male cultivators breathe magic in. Female cultivators breathe magic out. You don¡¯t seem to do either, which would make you¡­ a useless mortal peasant boy. Except a mortal wouldn¡¯t be able to sink me into the floor.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I nodded. ¡°Any other guesses?¡±

    "What if you''re actually a dragon in human form?¡± Cali gesticulated a pair of wings. ¡°But I''ve never heard of anything like that. Plus, dragons hoard gold, collect kobolds and are hella narcissistic, their hair made from gems. There''s no way that a dragon would be shaped like a scrawny teenage boy, so that''s out. Maybe you''re a primordial being from the dawn of time, awakened by the dragon''s attack, hrmmm?"

    "A primordial being? Do I look that old to you?"

    "That''s what makes it so perfect! No one would suspect a denizen of the Abyss and they are pretty insane. But you''re... too fussy for a primordial entity.¡±

    ¡°Fussy?¡±

    ¡°A primordial would have no qualms about me using mortals to dig up dragonglass. You seem to really frown at that.¡±

    "Any other theories, oh wise merchant?" I asked.

    "Well," Cali said, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "there is one more. But it''s absolutely crazy."

    "Crazier than me being a primordial being?" I arched an eyebrow.

    "Much crazier," she nodded solemnly. "What if... what if you''re actually just a lowborn, Nordstaii boy who somehow stumbled into incredible magical power, the key to everything?"

    "The key to everything?" I tapped my chin.

    "Yeah," Cali nodded with a dreamy smile. "Absolutely everything. A boy who accidentally found the key to... divine magic? Someone who found the true Name of a Sky-Born Celestial, the power to bend reality with a Word. That''d explain how you brought down the Sleigh¡¯s Ward and how you''re so... uhhh, below average looking¡­ for a Champion, why you aren¡¯t breathing magic in or out and why ¡®the Empress of Thornwild¡¯ wants to talk to you so bad."

    I nodded at her.

    Maybe the knowledge of science given to Ioan by Glinka was the key to everything. I¡¯ve built a magical remote after all. Understanding of how something worked begat breakthroughs and¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Cali whispered conspiratorially. ¡°You do have some secret power of some kind that you¡¯re using! Did you make that kitten of yours deviously clever with divine magic, is that it?¡±

    ¡°Pfff, no,¡± I sputter-snickered at her comment. ¡°Pretty sure that Stormy was already mostly like that when I found her.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrrr,¡± Stormy nodded, affirming her superior feline intelligence.

    "What would make you want to stick around, to be genuine allies with me, rather than enemies, once you''re free of the contracts?" I asked Cali.

    She tilted her head, considering for a moment. "Power," she said finally. "Finding knowledge. A chance at greatness. Those are the things that drive me, things that I''ve always sought."

    "And if I could offer you those things? If staying with me meant access to new forms of magic, to knowledge no one else has?"

    "That... that does sound very compelling," she said. ¡°If you could teach me how you¡¯re liquefying the floor with mere words¡­ if I could do that too, then I could be an unstoppable hunter. From what I can see, you''re either incredibly powerful or very clever, which is refreshing. Men are usually all brawn and no brains and women are usually devious manipulators."

    "What else are you looking for in a friend?" I asked.

    "Protection," she said immediately with a small shudder. "A true friend, one who could keep me safe from the Star-Eaters. I still get nightmares about being slapped across the forest. And..." she hesitated, "maybe someone who doesn''t judge me too harshly for my past actions?"

    I raised an eyebrow at that. "You mean like trying to kidnap me and take all of my gold?¡±

    ¡°That was before I knew that you were¡­ well you,¡± Cali admitted. ¡°Bringing nice things or prey home is my job, see?¡±

    ¡°You are a kitten,¡± I laughed at her job description.

    ¡°Guilty as charged,¡± Cali wiggled her white ears, wielding her cuteness with dangerous finesse. Blue, barely visible threads danced all around her figure, trying to catch onto my thoughts. I focused on sensing and mentally resisting them, on building up some kind of immunity to her allure.

    ¡°As a Star-Seeker Felix Arcanicx I value comfort, safety, and freedom to go everywhere above all else," she continued. "I love discovering new things, meeting interesting people - even if I sometimes end up trying to enslave them," she added with a sheepish grin. "I also value tasty food, warm places to sleep and... well, shiny, magically potent things. Can''t help it, it''s in my nature."

    I nodded, taking mental notes. Her mention of food reminded me that it was probably time to eat. I went to the stove and ignited some wood and then went to pull a steak from cold storage.

    "What about loyalty?" I asked when I returned. "Is that something you value in friendships?"

    "Loyalty... is complicated. In Iridium, loyalty often comes with a price tag. But," she paused, "I suppose true loyalty, the kind that can''t be bought, is rare and valuable."

    "And what would it take for you to be loyal to someone?" I pressed.

    She tilted her head, considering. "I''d like a friend who consistently proves themselves to be powerful, intelligent, and beneficial to my own growth and safety. Someone who can surprise me, teach me new things, and... maybe someone who sees me as more than just a fetch-girl or a means to an end."

    Despite her questionable morals and actions, it was clear that she''d been shaped by a world that valued power and utility above all else. I wasn''t going to simply let her go contract-free though. Cali was a problem, one that had to be broken down and understood if I was to survive longer on Thornwild. Theoretically, if she chewed through the binding magic of the seven contracts could I not simply make her sign them again? Would the power of my domain change her enough, align her to me, or was that just me hoping that things would work out on their own as they somehow did with Stormy? Grandhilda said that witch-made potions were addictive, but was this even the case with a Sorceress?

    "What if I could offer you all of that?" I asked Cali. "Power, knowledge, protection, freedom and a chance to be more than just a pawn in someone else''s game be it Iridium or Skulldug Isle?"

    "That... that would be quite something," she said, eyeing me skeptically. "But how can the contract-less future me trust that you''d follow through? Words are easy, especially when backed by means of seven magical artifacts binding me into near-absolute obedience."

    "What if I showed or taught you something new?¡± I asked. ¡°Something no other Sorceress knows? Something you¡¯d consider¡­ impossible."

 33 Dimorphism of Thornwild Humanity

    I was feeling rather drained from lugging Glinka around so I didn¡¯t teach Cali anything new that evening.

    Instead, I simply took the Castian Sorceress to her Sleigh, to see what other items of value she could help me extract from its somewhat compressed insides.

    As I stepped outside, I simply froze, gaping at what I saw above the ruined village.

    For the first time in my new life on Thornwild, the sky overhead was clear of its usual thick blanket of clouds. The sight above made my heartbeat accelerate as I stared at it for a few minutes, not quite understanding what the hell I was even looking at.

    The parted heavens above painted a very odd picture, displaying a bewildering perspective that my eyes and brain simply refused to accept.

    I put it to the back of my mind, looking at Cali who finished circling her Sleigh.

    ¡°Goldara''s tits!¡± Cali stared at her magic vehicle, touching the busted up runework. ¡°You¡­ You actually blew up the ward!¡±

    I nodded and she climbed inside, opening up various shelves and compartments.

    ¡°Everything in here is fried,¡± she commented as she dug through their innards. ¡°The expansion rune got busted up too, so a bunch of fragile stuff in storage got crushed to bits. The eggs you wanted are gone for sure.¡±

    I shrugged, not caring about the eggs, my brain simmering the longer I looked up.

    Opening a steel compartment with a steel key she dug out from her coat¡¯s pocket, the Sorceress pulled out what looked like an assortment of cracked gems surrounding a large blue gem. All of the gems were broken as if repeatedly electrocuted and covered in black soot.

    ¡°You¡­ cracked a shard of the Wormwood Star,¡± she uttered with a shudder. ¡°Goldara¡¯s ass, Ioan¡­ how?¡±

    ¡°Trade secret,¡± I said with a shrug.

    We climbed out of the sleigh and Cali looked at the river.

    It was night time and a brilliant violet and blue and green aurora danced above us. Above the aurora hung what looked like a supermassive planet¡­ no, moons and planets¡­ covered in colourful rings. Cali ignored it all, clearly used to the view.

    Instead, she stared at river Glinka.

    ¡°Uh, What? Did you move the sleigh closer to the river?¡± Cali asked. ¡°Also what happened to the ice?¡±

    ¡°River is actually closer to Svalbard. I didn''t move the sleigh. The ice flew away,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°It¡­ flew away?¡± She sputtered, peering into the distance. ¡°From the entire effin¡¯ river?!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°You must have heard the explosion, yeah?¡±

    Cali looked at me. Then, she looked at her Sleigh and stared for a minute at the relocated, ice free riverbed. Then she simply slid onto the step of her sleigh¡¯s door, her entire body shaking.

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I looked down at her.

    ¡°I''m sorry,¡± she sniffed. ¡°I¡­ I genuinely mean it this time, the blood contracts aren''t making me say it. You''re an effin¡¯ genuine Arch-Sorcerer and it was incredibly stupid of me to try to bind you.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh?¡± I arched an eyebrow. ¡°So was the destruction of your Star-Shard and ward impossible enough for you or do you want more?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Cali swallowed her words. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust me at all, Ioan. You should kill me sooner rather than later. I¡­ I can tell Jarl Bobliss to piss off, pay him off with the rest of my gold¡­ and then¡­ then you should unexist me, because¡­¡±

    She broke down into quiet sobs, wrapping her hands around her body.

    ¡°Because?¡± I arched my eyebrow, auroras and the rings of the supermassive world overhead painting the scene in violet and blue shimmers.

    ¡°The other me, the girl not bound by golden threads to be your best friend, she will betray you¡­ because she¡¯s never had a friend, never had anyone really, and is plainly put an exceptionally murderous bitch!¡± Cali declared. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you found the true name of a God. It doesn¡¯t matter what the current me promises you! When the threads of my Aura grind down these contracts to nothing, I¡­ I¡¯ll just go back to being her, to being Callista Liesl, to lying to you, to being a manipulative monster from your book of monsters!¡±

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be that Callista, then why not just¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it!¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m a Felix Arcanicx. We are highborn Sorceresses, changed by the radiance of the Wormwood Star emanating from the Castian Sea. We own men! We do not think of males as equal to us. We do not think of Norstaii as people¡­ Everyone up North are just barbarians to us, with no value to them whatsoever. You are an impediment or profit to her! The other me, she¡¯s never going to think of you as anyone worthy of anything! She will NEVER accept you as¡­ her friend! There, I said it!¡±

    I frowned, feeling as Stormy wrapped her tail around my neck, snoozing softly on my shoulder.

    ¡°Hell, why even wait¡­!¡± She smacked the side of her sleigh. ¡°If you can move an entire effin¡¯ river, if you can shatter a seven phalanx Shard of the Wormwood Star, obliterate all its protective wards¡­ then logically you can unexist Jarl Bobliss and his men with a blink of an eye. You don¡¯t need me, Ioan! Goldara¡¯s tits, you don¡¯t need me around at all! I¡¯m telling you this as your best friend, you need to, have to kill me because I can¡¯t protect you from my future self!¡±

    I crossed my arms, waiting for her to conclude her rant.

    I didn¡¯t tell her that for some reason Stormy wanted me to keep her alive. Stormy, unlike Cali, somehow knew what the future held. Stormy knew that I wasn¡¯t a hero cultivator, wasn¡¯t a wielder of the Word of God or whatever. I was just a memory of a biochemist and I had just one remote that could turn my domain from solid to liquid.

    ¡°Do you know why the leader of Svalbard¡­ Jarl Sunder had that book of monsters with a drawing of my kin in it?¡± Cali asked.

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Because he knew that to your people, Felix Arcanicxes are just monsters of legend, that we use Charisma sorcery to permanently bind your youngest, most capable Champions and we¡­ we just take them away in the night, never to be seen again!¡± Cali revealed. ¡°That was supposed to be your fate! You were supposed to be my thrall¡­ and¡­ I¡­ she¡­ the other me, not bound by seven contracts, she¡¯s going to do anything and everything to make you into one because that¡¯s what we do in Iridium with all of our men!¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said simply.

    ¡°I lied to you, Ioan,¡± Cali confessed. ¡°I lied to you about so many things... I¡¯m a terrible, no good friend. There is no wealth nor power waiting for you in the South. Iridium is deeply Matriarchal, ruled by the Grand Arch-Sorceress Selestine the Radiant. Listen to me, Ioan¨Cas a Nordstaii male you cannot ever trust a female from the South. We are changed, remade, elevated by the magic we wield. Long ago, before the Wormwood Star fell from the heavens men and women were entwined, equal¡­ but no longer, no more.¡±

    I exhaled, staring at the utterly alien sky above that painted both of our faces in intermittent green, silver, violet and blue shades.

    ¡°A Castian Sorceress cannot be friends with a Nordstaii boy,¡± Cali shook her head with a resolute expression. ¡°It¡¯s just the nature of reality, the paradigm of the magical chasm that divides men from women.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm?¡± I murmured. ¡°Every woman in the South is an Arcanicx then?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Cali revealed. ¡°Generation by generation, under the influence of Starfall, the Castian women became various Arcanicx subtypes while the men became our thralls. Your people live far from the Castian Sea, Ioan¨Cso your women are still¡­ mundane in their appearance and behaviour. If you want a companion, find a local girl! I¡¯m no good as a friend!¡± She lamented.

    ¡°So the further one goes South, the worse the magical divide between men and women becomes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Cali said. ¡°If you stay in the North, you''ll be safe from girls like¡­ like me, those who''d see you as nothing but a unique thrall to add to their harem!¡±

    ¡°So¡­ the whole First Husband and you being married off to a pirate was¡­ what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Deception,¡± Cali sniffed. ¡°Just me selling a pretty dream to a boy, something that doesn¡¯t exist! There¡¯s no such thing as a Nordstaii-style marriage in our society. Men are simply property with no rights in Iridium!¡±

    I thought that Callista Liesl was a genuine monster, an outlier of some kind, but if everyone was like her, then things were indeed quite dire. The sexual dimorphism of Thornwild humanity was far more extreme than I had initially estimated.

    Who was I to apply Earth morality to Thornwild? Earth¡­

    I looked up at the sky, pursing my lips. My heartbeat accelerated, time slowed to a crawl for just a moment, just long enough for my witchy, inhuman eyes to focus on an object far, far overhead.

    Cali got off the step and went into her Sleigh, throwing out broken things, torn up clothes and other things from storage. I left her to it, deep in thought about what I saw overhead.

    She emerged with a sleek short sword enclosed in a gold and black sheath, went down on her knees and offered it to me.

    I accepted the sword, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a dragonglass sword,¡± Cali said. ¡°My blade. I¡¯m giving it to you¡­ with the rest of my stuff. Take it all, use it however you desire.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked her, sliding the emerald and blue, crystalline-looking blade from its sheath and admiring it in the light of the supermassive, ring-covered planet above us. Through the lenses of the Astralscope, the blade radiated, glowed with tendrils of emerald magic.

    "Without my sleigh, I''m worthless to Iridium," Cali uttered. "I failed to capture even a single Champion. I''m an utter failure as a Felix."

    She slipped off the step and slid onto her knees. She lifted her head, exposing her pale neck.

    ¡°I want you to kill me,¡± she said, grabbing my sword-holding hand with her white-gloved fingers, guiding it to her throat. ¡°Slice the artery right there, so it won¡¯t hurt so bad. This is a Knell-blade forged to kill Star-Seekers and Star-Eaters alike¡­ you won¡¯t even have to press that hard.¡±

 34 Endalaus

    The emerald-tinted blade pushed the slight silver-blue shimmer of her Aura away from Cali¡¯s skin, white fuzz of her neck hairs igniting and burning away before the blade even touched her.

    Cali trembled as a dark, red line slowly burned itself across her neck, as if she was getting a serious, near-instant tan in one spot.

    I watched with a pitch of detached fascination as the dragonglass magic practically boiled her skin, ready to devour her life.

    Cali closed her eyes, ready to be stabbed by me.

    It would be easy to plunge the blade into her, to take her life, to turn her into another magic remote. Did Arcanicx even have crystalline hearts to turn into magic remotes? Were they even magical on the inside?

    ¡°Mrrrrw?¡± Stormy commented, opening a violet-silver eye as if asking me whether I was disobeying her direct order about keeping Cali alive.

    I pulled the blade back, coming to my senses. Blue, barely visible threads extended from Cali¡¯s Aura, caressing my face ever so slightly. I swung the dragonglass sword at them and they came apart, turned into fading dust.

    ¡°You heard what she said, right?¡± I whispered in English.

    ¡°Mweyarwr-mew,¡± Stormy replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t speak cat,¡± I hissed back.

    ¡°Mr-yawl-mauywa-urwr-errr,¡± Stormy swung left and right with her paw as if she was lecturing me.

    ¡°You want her alive, I get it,¡± I shot back in English. ¡°The problem is, I don¡¯t know why you want her alive and for how long. Were you not hissing at her earlier? Make up your mind already, you indecisive kitten!¡±

    It was then that it dawned on me that Stormy, just like other cats, was indecisive because instead of simply existing in the now like a human, she was simply seeing some potential probabilities of the future, in which Cali¡¯s actions were dangerous and also helpful to our survival. Metaphorically, Cali was a door that Stormy kept pawing against to be let out and then in again.

    ¡°What¡¯s taking so long?¡± Cali opened an eye too.

    ¡°We¡¯re discussing as to when we should kill you,¡± I replied as casually as I could.

    "You''re making a mistake,¡± Cali said. ¡°I''m telling you, the moment the contracts decay enough..."

    ¡°They haven¡¯t decayed yet,¡± I said. ¡°Until such time that they do, you¡¯re not Sorceress Callista¡­ you¡¯re an entirely different person, one that¡¯s¡­¡±

    "I don''t understand you at all, Ioan!¡± Cali interrupted my words. ¡°What kind of a Norstaii man are you? You have the power to reshape rivers, to shatter Star-Shards, and yet you won''t eliminate a future threat, finish off a dangerous enemy that you¡¯ve felled? What in Goldara¡¯s name is wrong with you?¡± She demanded. ¡°If you don¡¯t stop me now I¡¯ll attempt to turn you into my thrall in the future!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± I barked a laugh and then fell silent.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Cali hissed, punctuating every word. ¡°What. is. wrong. with. you?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Norstaii man,¡± I revealed, burning anger suddenly rising from my throat as I stared at the supermassive rings in the sky.

    They looked like arrays of satellites, like rings of massive, long dead megastructures that had fallen into disrepair hundreds of millions of years ago. One of them surrounded what looked like a moon, the innards of which had been scooped out from within.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Cali blinked.

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll never be a Norstaii man.¡±

    I struck the dragonglass blade into one of the blackened runes surrounding her carriage, making Cali flinch as the rune next to her neck ignited for a second and then burst with silver-white flickers.

    ¡°I¡¯m not from here,¡± I revealed, my voice as cold as the vastness of space above us, populated by what looked like torn up, half-pulverised Dyson spheres floating amidst violet stars. ¡°The boy named Ioan Starfall wished for knowledge, made a pact with a spirit as he suffocated beneath this very river.¡± I pointed the Knell-blade at Glinka¡¯s dark waters. ¡°The spirit in question turned out to be a monkey¡¯s paw of a wish¨Cshe gave Ioan knowledge, offered him an understanding¡­ except this Understanding also took Ioan¡¯s life, completely overwrote what he was.¡±

    Cali swallowed.

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    ¡°I¡¯m just something that lives in his head. A thing from beyond the stars of your miserable, fucked up planet,¡± I snarled, stabbing another rune with the Knell-blade and making it rain white sparks onto Cali¡¯s twitching, white ears. The blue spider-legs, wriggling, long Charisma worms emerging from the silver-white tattoos on her chest were really starting to irritate me.

    ¡°W-where are you f-from then?¡± Cali trembled.

    I pointed at the supermassive megastructure-world overhead.

    ¡°W-what?¡± Cali choked. ¡°You can¡¯t be from Endalaus! That¡¯s not¡­ not possible! You¡­ you¡¯re alive! The greatest minds of Iridium used their Starscopes to peer at the night sky and they found nothing alive up there, not a tree, nor a man, not even a fly!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not alive either,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just memories, ideas, thoughts, concepts¡­ things that cannot die. What I am really is a nameless, scientific understanding of reality that wears human flesh.¡±

    ¡°But you¡­ how¡­ you¡¯re a what?¡± The questions tumbled out of her.

    ¡°You see that moon with half of its insides missing?¡± I asked her.

    Cali glanced at the sky above us and nodded.

    ¡°There¡¯s a letter on it, a bunch of letters the size of mountains, in fact,¡± I said. ¡°Do you know what it says?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that those were words!¡± Cali shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s words that I can read,¡± I answered her, squeezing the bone-handle of the Knell-blade, my fingers turning white.

    Cali¡¯s blue eyes darted between the supermassive world overhead and the blade in my hand.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Callista Liesl, most noble, highborn Felix Arcanicx from Iridum,¡± I spat, skewering the blue worms reaching out for me with the dragonglass blade. ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about you¡­ Just like I sadly don¡¯t give a shit about the people of Svalbard who died so that Ioan could live as a champion and slay the dragon. I also don¡¯t give a shit about your effed up highborn Sorcery-run society and what it does.¡±

    ¡°So then¡­¡± Cali squeaked. ¡°If you don¡¯t care whether I live or not, why not just cut my throat and be done with it?!¡±

    ¡°Oh no,¡± I grinned dangerously. ¡°Oh no, no no. I¡¯m not going to kill you here and now. Such an option would be far too simple, far too easy of an out for you, Miss Liesl.¡±

    ¡°W-why?¡± Cali let out, ducking ever so slightly as I slashed another set of runes above her, sending sparks flying all over like distant stars, dead satellites caressing the endless sky-canvas above us.

    ¡°I just wanted to be left in peace so that I could study magic in my middle of nowhere, empty village. But what¡¯s this? You people just won¡¯t leave me alone,¡± I growled. ¡°You just won¡¯t leave me alone, trying to get into my head no matter how much you are bound!¡±

    ¡°I c-can¡¯t help it!¡± Cali blinked tears at me. ¡°I can¡¯t stop my Aura from trying to invade your head! I want to know who you are! I want to know what you are so bad that I can¡¯t control myself! Just tell me where you¡¯re from¡­ and end me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not from here, kitten,¡± I said. ¡°And I¡¯m not going to play by the rules of your effed up game. What I¡¯m going to do is to understand everything and break every rule. What I''m going to do is study you as my subject on the matter of Sorcery, dissect every bit of you to figure out what makes you different from me and other Nordstaii men. The rules of this world, the division between men and women, the very fabric of magic itself¨Call of it can be understood according to the principles of science and reason living in my head.¡±

    I paused, looking down at Cali''s wide-eyed, trembling form. Her ears were flat against her head, and I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she struggled to process my words.

    "You see, Cali," I continued, my voice eerily calm, "I''m not interested in playing the hero or the villain. I''m not here to partake in idiotic politics or to conform to your world''s expectations or limitations. I''m here to understand, to experiment, to push the boundaries of what''s possible and to open every door.¡±

    I gestured towards the sky with the Knell-blade, the dragonglass glinting in the ethereal light of the aurora and the distant, broken megastructures. "Up there, that''s where I come from. A world so advanced it would seem like magic to you. And I''m going to bring that knowledge here, to reshape this world in ways you can''t even begin to comprehend.."

    ¡°T-to reshape the world?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°B-but how?¡±

    "With knowledge," I said. "With understanding. With the scientific method."

    Cali''s brow furrowed in confusion. "Scientific... method?"

    "A systematic approach to understanding the universe," I explained. "Observation, hypothesis, experimentation, analysis. Rinse and repeat until you''ve unravelled the mysteries of existence itself. Your world, Cali, is governed by rules you don''t fully understand. Magic, cultivation, the very nature of reality itself - it''s all just waiting to be decoded."

    "Decoded?" Cali protested weakly. "Magic is¡­ just like a muscle, just like moving the hand or a foot, projecting my Aura out to manipulate the world. It''s not something to be understood, it''s something to be wielded. Something that¡­ wields us, makes us who we are!¡±

    "That''s where you''re wrong. Everything can be understood and taken apart, given enough time and effort.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Cali deflated. ¡°I-Ioan? Can I still call you Ioan?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°What does the shattered moon say? Is it the name of the Primordial Gods that shaped the stars and moved the worlds into place?¡± She asked, her entire body trembling. ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve used to sink me into the floor, the Word used to burn away all of the magic in my Sleigh, the Word that relocated the river?¡±

    ¡°Do you really want to know what it says?¡± I asked her, slipping the blade onto my belt and crossing my arms with a smug expression.

    ¡°P-please,¡± Cali nodded.

    ¡°Are you ready to learn the most terrible secret, the arcane words written by the hand of gods themselves on a moon?¡± I asked her, milking the moment. ¡°The awful, terrible, primordial phrase that no Sorceress on Thornwild knows?¡±

    Cali¡¯s nodding became so vigorous that I thought her head would unscrew and roll away.

    ¡°Have a (G)ood Tomorrow,¡± I answered her with a wry smile.

 35 Precognitive Estimates

    "What do you mean it says ''Have a Good Tomorrow''?" Cali demanded as we walked back into the pub. "That can''t be right. It must be some kind¡­ you¡¯re just screwing with me, aren¡¯t you?!"

    "That''s what it says,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Take it or leave it."

    Cali''s tail lashed back and forth. "But that doesn''t make any sense! How can such a... a mundane phrase be written on the moon by gods?"

    "Maybe they weren''t gods," I replied. "Maybe they were just people, like you and me.¡±

    Cali opened and closed her mouth.

    ¡°Now I know that you¡¯re screwing with me,¡± she said. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to execute me today then at least¡­¡±

    I ignored her demands, handing her a jug of life-water.

    "Drink," I said.

    She did.

    I watched her neck as she chugged the water and then wrote what I saw into the Codex.

    When I finished my note-taking, I walked to a corner and grabbed a shovel. "I have a job for you."

    Cali eyed the shovel warily. "What kind of job?"

    "I want you to dig out all the dragonglass from the ruins of Svalbard," I told her.

    Her eyes widened in horror. "But... but that will burn me! The dragonglass is incredibly dangerous to handle directly!"

    I nodded. "Exactly. You need to experience what you were planning to do to the Nordstaii people. You need to make amends."

    ¡°Amends?¡± She blinked. ¡°For what? Why?!¡±

    ¡°A wise Yaga once told me that the nature of magic is cyclical,¡± I said. ¡°Death begets death. Misery begets misery. You are practically a walking curse. Go and clean up Svalbard. Do something good for once in your life.¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Cali''s ears flattened against her head. "But... it¡¯ll burn me¡­ without my lavalier, it¡¯ll peel off my skin and¡­"

    "Then I suggest you be very careful," I replied, unmoved. "And remember the feeling the next time you consider using others as disposable tools. What were you going to make the Svalbard men put it in anyway?¡±

    ¡°A triple-shelled null-rock-urn, reinforced by ground dragonscale,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s in my Sleigh.¡±

    ¡°Then grab it and off you go,¡± I waved a hand at Cali. ¡°You¡¯re wasting moonlight. Endalaus-light? I¡¯ve got things to discuss with my lovely companion.¡±

    Cali stared at me.

    ¡°You are not my companion nor are you lovely,¡± I commented. ¡°You are essentially an incredibly hostile, albeit temporarily weakened entity that I¡¯m experimenting on, so that I can figure out how to combat Sorcerous Charisma magical allure. Don¡¯t think that I haven¡¯t noticed you subtly trying to manipulate me with your magic threads.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re constantly radiating mind-control magic,¡± I said. ¡°I almost gave into it just a few hours ago, when I gave you a head pat. I can see it. Little wiggly blue threads. Not as big or obvious as ones cast by your lavalier, but still¡­ quite bothersome.¡±

    ¡°Men can¡¯t see magic!¡± Cali insisted. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t control it that well since the tattoos and the piercings are so weak! I just wanted¡­ to make you not be sad about things! Because the contract-order stipulates that you¡¯re my best friend!¡±

    ¡°I can see magic,¡± I said. ¡°Less backtalk, more digging. Off you go. Do come back in regular intervals, maybe about every hour or so that I can examine you.¡±

    ¡°You want to examine¡­ me?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°So I can track what dragonglass actually does to people,¡± I said. ¡°So that I can cure its effects.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t cure dragonglass, that¡¯s absurd!¡± Cali sputtered.

    I shrugged in response, handing her the shovel.

    With obvious reluctance, Cali took the shovel from me. She looked at it for a long moment, then back at me, as if hoping I''d change my mind. When I didn''t, she sighed heavily and trudged off towards the ruins, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

    As she disappeared from view, I pulled out the Codex once again and turned to Stormy, who was still perched on my shoulder.

    "Alright, Stormy," I said in English. ¡°Is Cali going to cooperate and dig dragonglass without issues?¡±

    [YES]

    ¡°Excellent,¡± I smiled. ¡°Now. Let''s figure out what to do about this warband from Bernt. Will they arrive in two days?"

    Stormy''s paw landed on [NO].

    ¡°Three days?¡±

    [NO]

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked. ¡°Four days?¡±

    [NO]

    I kept upping the number, waiting for Stormy¡¯s paw to land on yes.

    ¡°Fourteen days?¡±

    [YES]

    ¡°Two weeks? Why so long?¡±

    ¡°Mrbrbbrrrrr!¡± Stormy jumped onto the windowsill and waved a paw at the river.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d do it. Normally they¡¯d just ride over the frozen river, right? They would have to go through the forest around the cliffs now, just like Cecil did. That ought to take them much longer, yea?¡±

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    [YES]

    ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°That gives me more time to experiment on our resident Sorceress.¡±

    [YES]

    "Are the men from Bernt a serious threat to us?"

    [YES]

    I frowned, considering our options. "If we stay and fight, will we win?"

    Stormy hesitated, then put her paw on [maybe].

    "If we run, will they catch us?"

    [YES]

    I nodded, processing this information. "Is there a way to avoid fighting them altogether?"

    Stormy''s paw hovered for a moment before landing on [NO].

    "Negotiation?"

    [NO]

    I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Is there something specific we need to do to avoid conflict with them?"

    [maybe]

    "Does it involve Cali?"

    [YES]

    "Do we need her to convince them to leave us alone?"

    [maybe]

    ¡°Let''s hope Cali survives her dragonglass excavation adventure then,¡± I sighed.

    [YES]

    ¡°If Cali dies, do we die too?¡±

    [Maybe]

    ¡°How?¡± I demanded.

    [Maybe]

    I rubbed my forehead.

    ¡°Can I not drown all of these men in my earth?¡±

    Stormy blinked at me like I was an idiot. Then she slowly slid her paw to [NO] making a face like she was judging me.

    ¡°What if you and I¡­ just hide inside our glade like witches do?¡±

    [NO]

    ¡°What the hell?¡± I sputtered. ¡°Does Jarl Bobliss know how to kill witches or something?¡±

    [YES]

    I almost asked ¡®How¡¯, but then I stopped myself with a sigh.

    This was going to be a long night.

    I proceeded to ask Stormy more and more questions, trying to shake information out of the kitten through guesswork of the positive, neutral and negative system.

    In a moment of inspiration, I decided to try something new. I carefully wrote out the alphabet in English on a fresh page of my journal, hoping that Stormy might be able to spell out more complex answers.

    "Alright, Stormy," I said, pointing to the letters. "Can you use these to spell out words? How does Jarl Bobliss kill witches?"

    Stormy looked at the unfamiliar symbols, then back at me, her head tilted in confusion. She batted at the page with her paw, but it was clear she had no idea what to do with the strange markings.

    "Right," I muttered. "I guess that was too much to hope for. Kittens can¡¯t read.¡±

    Resigned, I returned to our previous system of communication.

    In the next hour of guesswork, I figured out that Jarl Bobliss was pretending to be an idiot, but was actually a very sly, dangerous, high-level hunter-cultivator that killed witches for sport. If I said anything wrong to him, he would obliterate me on the spot with a mere swing of his pinkie. Also, he worked for someone from the North, someone incredibly dangerous to us, an enemy that we would have to face later, an enemy that could somehow tell the future, just like Stormy.

    ¡°You¡¯re certain?¡± I asked her with a frown. ¡°Bobliss has a future-seer?¡±

    [YES] Stormy replied with a low, deep rumbling growl.

    ¡°If Bobliss has a future seer, then can he predict our plans and act accordingly?¡±

    Stormy affirmed this with another yes.

    ¡°Shit,¡± I frowned. ¡°Well that¡¯s really bad. I thought I was the only witch-man around these parts with a future-seeing kitten.¡±

    Stormy let out a small, sad mewl.

    ¡°How does one even fight another Seer?¡± I asked. ¡°Do we just not plan ahead?¡±

    [YES]

    I stared at Stormy¡¯s answer. Planning ahead was my thing, damn it! I sighed and resumed digging for future threads that could help me unravel the tapestry of tomorrow.

    "Was Bobliss using Cali against me somehow?" I asked Stormy.

    The kitten replied with another ¡®yes¡¯.

    ¡°Is Bobliss planning to betray Cali when he gets here to take the gold of Svalbard for himself?¡±

    The kitten tapped the ¡®yes¡¯ sign.

    ¡°Does Bobliss have some kind of an anti-charisma weapon to deal with Cali?¡± I mused.

    [YES]

    I rubbed my temples, wrapping my mind around the problem.

    "So the merchant has been an unwitting pawn in his game from the beginning," I mused. "And now she''s in danger because of it."

    [YES]

    The irony wasn''t lost on me. Cali, who had come here intending to manipulate and enslave me, was herself being manipulated by some mysterious, far more dangerous player.

    "Is there a way to save Cali from Bobliss?" I asked.

    [NO] Stormy replied.

    I stared at the kitten. Big violet eyes blinked back at me.

    ¡°Really wish you could talk,¡± I sighed.

    The front door of the pub slid open.

    Cali emerged from the night, with the magisteel urn in tow. She took a few steps towards me and then keeled over, sliding to the floor. Her fanciful winter coat was flaking at the seams, coming apart. Whatever dragonglass did, it didn¡¯t just burn people, it damaged clothes too. Cali¡¯s hands were covered in red blisters, skin peeling off in flaking, red and violet lines and bubbles.

    I wondered if my chainmail of spirit rocks or my witchy nature had protected me against these dire effects, because I had roamed all over Svalbard for over a month now and didn¡¯t notice a damn thing.

    ¡°Why is your coat coming apart?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Fibers woven with¡­ and reinforced by¡­ held together with magic,¡± Cali revealed with a whimper.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ dying,¡± Cali hissed out, her entire body trembling. ¡°It¡­ it burns so bad. Everything burns.¡±

    I handed her a large jug of water from the middle of my pile.

    ¡°Drink,¡± I said.

    She chugged the life-water heartily, eyes rolling back.

    I dragged her to the wooden table and helped her undress, using a witch-blessed dagger to slice apart her decaying top.

    ¡°I said come back regularly,¡± I said. ¡°Did I not?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ it hasn¡¯t been that long,¡± she said. ¡°I only got some of it scraped off the ground. I had to touch it, to make sure that it¡¯s dragonglass. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m a young Sorceress¡­ dragonglass is a terrible poison to us.¡±

    ¡°What, more than to mortals?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Without the big Star-Shard in my lavalier¡­ y-yes,¡± she nodded.

    I studied Cali''s burns closely, noticing that the dragonglass effects weren''t just damaging her skin - they were actually flaking away her tattoos. The intricate white ink designs all over her body now cracking, peeling off in places along with her damaged skin.

    "Interesting," I muttered, gently probing a particularly affected area.

    ¡°W-what?¡± She choked out.

    "Your tattoos are coming off,¡± I said.

    ¡°P-piercings are probably not going to last much longer either,¡± she shook her head.

    ¡°What happens if you''re not in contact with any Star-Shard stuff?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± Cali said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in contact with Star-Shards since I was born.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have poor people in Iridium?¡± I asked. ¡°Those who don¡¯t get to use Star-Shards?¡±

    ¡°Lowborn-cursed,¡± Cali exhaled. ¡°Drallus Arcanicx¡­ They''re... different from us. Weaker, less magically attuned. Sickly and grey. Less defined.¡±

    "So there''s a hierarchy even among your kind, based on access to these shards?"

    Cali nodded weakly. "Yes. The more shards you have, the more powerful and more perfect, more defined you are by the beast of your house. The Drallus... they''re just a pitch above mortals in our society."

    ¡°The beast of your house?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The Divine Beast of the Felix Liesl... is a white lynx, Goldara.¡± Cali revealed. ¡°She unfolds herself into a girl when we sing prayers to her.¡±

    "Ah. I see. So, if you were to lose all contact with Star-Shards, would you... devolve, in a sense? Become more like these Drallus?" I asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­. That¡¯s not supposed to happen to a living Felix Arcanicx,¡± Cali swallowed. ¡°I¡¯d¡­ preferred if you just killed me.¡±

    "Nah," I said, ¡°Science requires sacrifice!¡±

 36 The All-Oblating Wheel of Life

    I watched as the first rays of dawn crept through the pub''s windows, painting the room in a soft, pale light. Another sleepless night had passed, my hands and mind preoccupied with drawing out more hexagrams onto my Codex using the Hexometer.

    Cali stirred on the pile of earth where she had collapsed after her first dragonglass expedition.

    She blinked groggily, then sat up with a start, hyperventilating.

    Then she stared down at herself and her jaw fell. The angry red blisters and peeling skin from the previous night had vanished, leaving her skin smooth and unblemished just as I expected they would.

    Since Cali dropped on my head, I¡¯ve been jotting notes about her in the Codex, constantly scanning her with the Hexometer, tracking exactly what the witch-water and my domain was doing to her.

    And what it was doing to her, was changing her from within, grain by grain, atom by atom.

    Two hundred and nine nature spirits existing within two hundred and nine crystalline rocks on my person rewrote the foundational rules of reality around me within the base radius of approximately 1.5 meters. The life-rad pouring from my domain was a sphere of 3x3 meters emanating from the center of my body and ending its influence entirely within the distance of approximately 33 meters.

    Life-rad poured from the chainmail of crystals, permeating every wall of the old pub. It bloomed flowers across the floor and chests filled with earth in the dead of winter, tore right through the White Blight fungi that had infected Svalbard decades ago.

    The life-altering effects that I discovered on my second day of my life on Thornwild magnified the efficacy of all organic components, healed absolutely every scratch and accelerated the spin of the Wheel of Life to an impossible degree.

    The rate at which cells in the human body ordinarily replaced themselves varied significantly depending on the type of cell and the organ they belong to. The epidermis renewed itself every few weeks. Red blood cells lived for about one hundred and twenty days. Gut lining lasted three to five days. Bones were replaced every ten years.

    From my continuous observations, I discovered that life-rad accelerated this cycle by a factor of about two hundred. Every cell in every being within the influence of my domain was changing from within, dying and multiplying at an impossible rate.

    Life-rad didn¡¯t give two shits about telomeres, halted aging almost entirely. It suspended Stormy and me at our current age, while optimizing our health to an insane degree where neither of us could even feel dragonglass all around the village and beneath our feet.

    Likewise, the all-oblating life-water I kept making Cali drink permeated every cell in her body, remade and optimized her, reshaped her with two hundred unseen hands from the outside and from within.

    "How...?" Cali murmured, turning her hands over and over as if expecting the horrid blisters and burns to reappear. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Magic,¡± I said from my corner of the earth-pile.

    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t have my lavalier!" Cali pawed at her bare neck. ¡°What¡¯s healing me? I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°Put on some clothes,¡± I threw a fluffy white and blue Nordstaii sweater at her without a second glance.

    Cali caught the clothing and she slipped on the sweater which hung loosely on her frame, and resumed gaping at her freshly grown skin. Then, she noticed that her hair was longer, curlier and shinier. She pawed at her white locks for a minute, blue eyes wide.

    "That''s impossible," she uttered. "Why is my hair longer? It should have started to fall out, not get longer. Dragonglass burns don''t just... heal overnight. Even with my lavalier these burns would take months to heal and even then there would be scarification! First you claim to be from Endalaus, then you somehow heal my dragonglass burns. Why?!¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯d you come to Svalbard, Cali?¡± I asked. ¡°Nobody invited you here. You barged into my life with a burning desire to kidnap me and derail my work, to take me to Amari¡¯s court and then to Iridium.¡±

    Cali''s ears flattened against her head white tail twitching. She slid off the pile of earth, resting her arms on her knees between blue-violet lilies and bell flowers. "I... I just wanted to bag a genuine, unique thrall, a Star-Eater born from dragonflames. I spent a fortune on an auction at the Court of the Skulldug Isle to win the chance to speak to Amari. I was given a name, a time, and a treasure map that was supposed to lead me to the greatest prey. I didn''t know that¡ª"

    ¡°You got a questionable map from a questionable Arch-Sorceress, walked right into fire and now you¡¯re asking why you got burned?¡±

    ¡°Fire?¡± Cali blinked looking around the pub and not seeing life-rad pouring over everything in brilliant, violet-tinted radial waves plainly visible through my Astralscope. ¡°Are you talking about dragonglass? That¡¯s poison, not fire.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I lifted the locket containing the glass remnant of Gem 52 from my neck. ¡°Don¡¯t you see it? The violet flames? You¡¯re practically sitting inside the furnace.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a plain rock,¡± Cali said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. What furnace?¡±

    ¡°What do you think these are?¡± I pointed at the rocks hanging all over me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Cali shook her head. ¡°Some kind of a barbarous fashion statement?¡±

    ¡°Do Sorceresses not see magic?¡± I squinted at her.

    ¡°We sense our own magic, cast by our Star-Shards and the shards of other Arcanicx,¡± Cali said. ¡°I am trained to sense Cometfall gems to seek them out, but that rock¡­ I don¡¯t sense anything from it. It¡¯s not a Star-Shard, it¡¯s just, uhh, mundane melted slag. I thought that you were wearing it for sentimental reasons, like maybe it¡¯s something that remained from your family or¡­¡±

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Do you not interact with nature spirits?¡± I asked, raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°Nordstaii nature spirits, as plainly as I can put it, are simply¡­ truculent nonsense.¡±

    I simply stared at her.

    ¡°How does your magic work?¡± I asked after a moment of silence.

    ¡°We interact with Cantigeist, the Songs of Wormwood suspended in Star-Shards, magical inert shape-forms that can be activated by our Auric threads,¡± Cali said haughtily.

    ¡°How do you think Nordstaii Yaga perform magic?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They probably find Star-Shards and then bury them in the ground, manipulating the growth of trees by activating the Cantigeist within?¡± Cali shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know the specifics as I haven¡¯t met any of the local witches.¡±

    I laughed, a sudden realization dawning on me.

    The Sorceresses of Iridium boxed themselves into a corner, their perception of magic limited only to what they knew - the power of the Wormwood Star. It was as if they only knew about sunlight, but not x-rays, nor any other types of radiation.

    "Oh, Cali," I said, shaking my head. "It sounds like you were trained to recognize only one type of magic, but there''s so much more out there, a whole spectrum of it!"

    I held up the locket. "This isn''t just a rock. It''s a flame, a magical forge, a conduit, a lens through which I can see and manipulate the world. And it''s just one of many."

    "But... that''s not possible,¡± Cali murmured. ¡°Only Star-Shards can channel greater magics."

    "Says who?" I challenged.

    ¡°The wisest Arch-Sorceresses of Iridium Maggelanum,¡± Cali replied.

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re wrong then,¡± I said.

    ¡°Everyone is wrong and you¡¯re right?¡± Cali tilted her head at me. ¡°Judgey much, bestie?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t claim absolute rightness,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m simply less wrong on the account that I absolutely know that I¡¯m not seeing the entire picture. I can make guesses about what the picture looks like, but I¡¯m not mired in a particular magical training yet. I¡¯m trying as many things as possible. When I get more time, I¡¯ll try controlling Star-Shards too.¡±

    Cali simply blinked at me. I sighed. Trying to explain the intricacies of my understanding to Cali was likely a futile endeavour. Instead, I decided to focus on more immediate concerns.

    "Let''s have some breakfast," I said, standing up and heading towards the stove.

    Once we finished our meal, I grabbed a couple of shovels and handed one to Cali. "Ready to get back to digging dragonglass?"

    She took the shovel reluctantly, her ears flattening slightly. "Do I have a choice?"

    "Not really," I replied with a shrug.

    ¡°Do you enjoy tormenting me or something?¡± She asked. ¡°Is this some kind of a devious technique to break me, Mister Understanding from Endalaus?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a technique to help you,¡± I said. ¡°To deprive you of your addiction to Star-Shards.¡±

    ¡°What addiction?! Is your plan to make me entirely useless?¡± Cali huffed. ¡°I can¡¯t protect you, can¡¯t help you, if you peel all of my magical skills away!¡±

    "Look, Cali," I began, trying to find the right words. "Where I come from, there are¡­ were people called doctors. Their job was to heal others, to make people better when they were sick or injured."

    Cali''s brow furrowed. "Like specialized healers? We have those in Iridium, but they use Star-Shard magic. Also, I¡¯m not sick or injured! You¡¯re the one injuring me with Goldara-damned dragonglass!¡±

    "Doctors often have to cause pain or discomfort to heal someone,¡± I said. ¡°They might need to cut into a person''s body to remove something harmful, or set a broken bone, which hurts a lot. But they do it because it''s necessary for the person to get better in the long run."

    "That sounds awfully barbaric," Cali said. ¡°Here I thought that you were some kind of a wise entity from the broken moon!¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, pain is part of the healing process," I explained. "What I''m doing with you, making you dig up the dragonglass, it''s like that. It might hurt now, it might peel away all of your tattoos, but I believe it''s necessary to help you become... well, better."

    Cali''s ears flattened against her head. "Better how?! By taking away my magic? By depriving me of my tools?! You are mad! You have bound the mind and flesh of a fledgling Sorceress with seven blood contracts! And now you subject me to torment and degradation, stripping away the essence of my being, tearing away my magic, rendering me less than I was with each day!"

    I shook my head. "Not taking it away, necessarily. I¡¯m freeing you from your dependence on the Star-Shards. I think there''s more to you, more potential, more than what those shards allow you to be."

    She looked at me, her tail swishing back and forth in agitation. "And you know this, how?"

    "Because there¡¯s something horribly wrong with blood magic,¡± I said. ¡°Or it wouldn¡¯t be attracting Jotuns or folding into itself like that.¡±

    ¡°Folding into itself?¡± Cali blinked.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I see, yes.¡± I said. ¡°Those Star-Shards you wield are contaminated by some kind of wrongness. The way you are now, you¡¯re an incredibly specific signature in an equation of the future that¡¯s being tracked by some unseen party.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Cali sputtered. ¡°Who¡¯s tracking me?¡±

    ¡°Stormy told me last night that Jarl Bobliss is going to kill you in fourteen days,¡± I said. ¡°That Bobliss is guided by a future Seer, one that knows where you are at all times.¡±

    ¡°So then we¡­ should take my sleigh and run!¡±

    ¡°Run where?¡± I asked her. ¡°The river ice is gone. It will take it time to freeze again.¡±

    Cali looked left and right with a distraught expression.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t broken the Thunder-Runes, they could have defended us from Bobliss and his men, Ioan!¡± She lamented.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that it would,¡± I said. ¡°Whoever is guiding Bobliss can see the future in the Astral Ocean. Your sleigh and you¡­ were casting specific magic into the world. You¡¯re like a beacon in the darkness, telling our enemies where we are at all times and what we¡¯re doing. Each type of magic bears a specific signature, a specific color. I¡¯m erasing yours, unmaking what you are from the ground up.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°So that you can go on living,¡± I replied.

    "Why? You clearly proclaimed your indifference towards me, decried our world as wretched. You said things with the heavy weight of judgement, as if viewed from some lofty perch of higher morality," Cali shot back. "Do you deem yourself superior to us, oh Arch-Sorcerer of Endalaus?"

    ¡°I¡¯m not better than you,¡± I sighed. ¡°And I¡¯m not judging your people. The Matriarchy of Iridium is simply the result of the catastrophe of the Wormwood Star. The rituals of the Nordstaii people are the result of the White Blight and the advancing glaciers. I¡¯m the result of Ioan Starfall selling his soul for greater knowledge to a god-damned river because a dragon ate all of his kin.¡±

    Cali stared at me. I wasn¡¯t sure if she understood, wasn¡¯t sure if she even believed my words.

    ¡°Everyone everywhere is doing their best to survive. You tried to use your soul threads in an attempt to make me kill you, Cali¡­ because you were trying to un-exist the future you, an impediment to your present self. I got mad, said a bunch of things. I too, am just doing my best to survive this brutal place with the resources available to me. I am not the perfect being."

    ¡°Why help me at all?¡± Cali murmured.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a pawn in some greater game,¡± I said. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to participate in any games. I just want to be left alone so I can research magic.¡±

 37 The Matriarch Event Horizon

    I grabbed my shovel and headed out of the pub, Cali trailing behind me with obvious reluctance. As we reached the desolate ruins of Svalbard, I pointed to an area where the dragonfire had left distinctive black ashes on the ground, the snow not covering up these spots.

    "Let''s start here," I said, plunging my shovel into the ash-covered earth.

    Cali hesitated for a moment before following suit. We worked in silence for a while, the only sound the scraping of our shovels against the earth and the occasional clink of metal against debris.

    As we dug, I noted a very slight, barely noticeable tingling sensation on my body.

    I reached down to the ground and rubbed my hands against the bits of green-tinted, tiny crystals scattered here and there between the ashes.

    In the Astralscope¡¯s view, the small crystals radiated barely discernible, tiniest radial green-blue tinted coronas.

    "That doesn''t look so bad magic-wise," I said.

    "Not yet, but dragonglass gets more potent the older it is," Cali pointed out.

    I picked a single crystal flake and held it in my fingers. The sensation of dragonglass eating at my skin was barely noticeable, a fleeting redness that vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

    ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s it,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s so small, no wonder I didn¡¯t notice it.¡±

    Cali hissed out a Castian swear.

    I turned to her. She, unlike me, was not faring as well. Her hands were already beginning to blister again.

    "How are you doing this?" she demanded, her voice strained.

    I looked from the dragonglass crystal at her. "Doing what?"

    "This!" She declared. "You''re digging through dragonglass like it''s nothing! You¡¯re holding it and your skin barely even reacts! It¡¯s like you¡¯re a 200-star Champion¡­ but you can also do magic. It just doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What are the powers of a 200-star Champion exactly?¡± I asked.

    "A 200-star Champion is a man worth about two hundred mortals. Healing factor of 200 men, stamina of 200 men. They can''t fly yet, but they''re strong enough to heal from dragonglass burns in the blink of an eye."

    I shook my head, feeling somewhat amused by the Arcanicx Champion collection classification system.

    ¡°Are you a hero or not?¡± She demanded.

    ¡°Maybe I am, maybe I¡¯m not,¡± I said slyly.

    ¡°Only a Champion can just shrug off dragonglass like that. It''s one of the most dangerous magical substances in all of Thornwild!" She insisted, hissing in pain as more of her skin peeled.

    ¡°No strength of 200 men?¡± I asked her.

    "A 200-star Champion isn''t just about raw strength," Cali elaborated, wincing as she continued to pull dragonglass crystals from the ground and throw them into the urn. "They have incredible endurance, able to run or fight without rest, able to accelerate their bodies for a bit, able to deliver a punch in an accelerated state that can send a mortal flying.¡±

    I nodded.

    "Sometimes they display an innate understanding of something," she went on. "Like hunting, or fighting. It varies. Some know how to reinforce their blood, making them nearly impervious to normal weapons, harder to cut."

    "Interesting," I nodded. "And how does one become a 200-star Champion?¡±

    ¡°Eat a Wormwood Star shard around 2 phalanxes in length and 1 phalanx wide,¡± Cali said, showing me an approximation of a phalanx which was about an inch or so.

    ¡°Hmmm¡­ I definitely don¡¯t recall swallowing any big shiny rocks,¡± I said, tapping my chin.

    ¡°Maybe you ate one and forgot,¡± Cali said, wincing as she cast another tiny crystal into the urn.

    ¡°Nah,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Definitely not. So, how does a champion gain more stars and learn to fly?¡±

    "There are two ways for a champion to gain more power," she said, "the quick way is to consume more stardust or shards.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± I nodded.

    "The slow way," Cali went on, "is to kill monsters, mortal men or other Champions and eat their hearts and drink their blood. Each consumed heart adds a fraction of power, slowly building up over time as a Champion''s body digests the power.¡±

    ¡°Sounds gruesome,¡± I commented.

    "It''s just how things work in the wildlands. The strong men consume the weak, literally and figuratively."

    "And what about flying?" I asked.

    "Flying usually comes around the 700-star mark," Cali explained. "It starts with being able to jump incredibly high and far around 500 stars, then progresses to short bursts of flight, and eventually sustained flight. Oh and flying is done on a blood sword, which Champions learn to manifest around 600 stars.¡±

    ¡°A blood sword?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°Or a mace, whip or spear. A weapon formed from their own blood,¡± Cali nodded. ¡°Held together by the Champion¡¯s will.¡±

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°This just keeps getting more brutal,¡± I smiled. ¡°Say, how come there are still men left? You¡¯d think they¡¯d just eat each other or something.¡±

    ¡°Eating men is ineffective,¡± Cali said. ¡°It contaminates the blood for too long, makes a Champion weak for a while. They have to meditate for a long time as the old blood digests the new.¡±

    "So, if you had managed to bind me as your Champion," I said. "How would you make me gain power?"

    ¡°I¡¯d sculpt you¡­ verrrry slowly and carefully,¡± she said, eyeing me with what appeared to be a hungry glance.

    ¡°Uh-huh?¡±

    "In Iridium," Cali began, "Champions are property. Many of them are bred, raised, and trained and sold to serve their Sorceress mistresses. The most promising ones are selected early and given Star-Shards to consume, jumpstarting their internal cultivation. They¡¯re taught to meditate, to still their minds and bodies and to inhale and store Aether in their blood, to pull radiance of the Wormwood Star that¡¯s permeating the very air of Iridium.

    "Once a Champion reaches about 100 stars, they''re usually assigned tasks¨Ccleaning city streets or working jobs that require stamina. At around the 200-star mark they are sent out to hunt monsters, gather resources from dangerous areas, or even fight other Champions in Gladiatorial Arenas for the entertainment of the Sorceresses."

    "And if they refuse?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

    Cali''s eyes met mine, "Refusals don¡¯t happen. The Champions are bound to obey their girls... their compliance is ensured simply by the interaction with our Auras, which are amplified by our Star-Shards. An Arcanicx cannot turn her Aura off. Generation by generation our Auras and tools got stronger, better at manipulating men. The older an Arcanicx gets, the bigger the reach of their Aura becomes.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I blinked. ¡°Arcanicx Auras¡­ stack too, is that it?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Cali nodded. ¡°At an Arena, beneath the eyes of ten thousand Sorceresses a Champion is bathed in thousands of potent Auras. They cannot help but do their best, cannot help but please the crowd! Fear or rejection of an order doesn¡¯t even cross their mind as they pummel each other or obliterate captured monsters and eat their hearts!¡±

    ¡°So if I were to walk through the streets of Iridium¡­¡± I said.

    ¡°Your mind would succumb almost instantly to the multitude of Arcanicx there,¡± Cali said. ¡°You¡¯d drown in pure joy of it all¡­ be happy to serve every gal who¡¯d lay her eyes on you. Blood contracts are a necessary leash that prevents Champions from wandering off after the girl with the most potent Aura.¡±

    I whistled.

    ¡°This is why you must never go South, Ioan,¡± Cali said. ¡°If I was able to affect your body slightly, then a city with a multitude of Sorceresses will be your undoing. You''ll simply beg to be collared there as your mind succumbs to our combined allure. The wild Star-Eaters know this, avoid the cities bordering the Castian Sea like the plague.¡±

    ¡°There are no Star-Eater cities then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Cali said simply. ¡°Long ago the army of a thousand Sorceresses brought the Cult of the White Mountain Citadel to a standstill by simply marching towards their gates. The Immortal men couldn''t hurt a single one of us, welcomed our invasion force with open arms. Since then, we have not allowed men to build great citadels of power.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± I said, appreciating the scale of the takeover of the Matriarch Magocracy.

    ¡°Places like Svalbard and Bernt are allowed to exist because they are gradually dying out, filled with worthless mortals,¡± Cali revealed. ¡°But if a powerful enough Champion arises somewhere North or South of Castia, they''re usually snatched up by one of us. This is because of the existence of Grand Seers like Amari, Arch-Sorceresses that sell information about upcoming hero manifestations to the highest bidder at Seeker auctions.¡±

    ¡°Well, I''m sold,¡± I said.

    ¡°Sold on what?¡± Cali blinked at me.

    ¡°On heading South,¡± I laughed. ¡°An entire city of girlbosses? How can I resist the allure of seeing that live? A Charisma event horizon, getting worse the more South one goes? That¡¯s incredibly interesting from a scientific point of view of unravelling the nature of magical evolution in correlation to the sexual dimorphism!¡±

    ¡°What are you, some kind of an obstinate fool?¡± Cali growled. ¡°Are you deaf? Did you even listen to what I said?! They''ll eat you alive there, allure you into perpetual servitude! You can''t just walk into Iridium!¡±

    ¡°Ehh,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Sounds like a challenge.¡±

    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± Cali snapped, throwing another dragonglass crystal into the urn and hissing from its effects.

    ¡°I simply don''t like being told that I can''t do something, that something is impossible, insurmountable,¡± I explained. ¡°That just encourages me to do it harder.¡±

    ¡°Argh!¡± Cali threw her hands up in the air. ¡°You''re impossible! I''m freaking done! I look and feel like an over-baked potato! Can we please go back to the pub now so you can heal me? Everything feels like it''s on fire!¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± I said. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough dragonglass gathering for today.¡±

    <hr>

    When we returned to the pub, I noticed something peculiar. The magical threads connecting Cali to the first contract we''d signed were no longer visible through my Astralscope.

    "Hey Cali," I called out, my voice dripping with faux innocence. "Remember that first contract you signed? The one you tried to trick me with?"

    She nodded warily, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

    "Well, it seems the magic has worn off on the account that your Aura has chewed through it," I continued.

    ¡°Do you want me to re-sign it or something?¡± Cali asked with a sour expression as she dropped onto the seat in the corner of the pub next to the fireplace, chugging the offered life-rad water.

    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I already know what these contracts do when you sign them. I believe it¡¯s time to find out what happens if a man signs them. Stay in your seat and don''t move, just watch."

    "WHAT?" Cali''s eyes went as wide as two bowls. "You''d willingly..."

    I unfurled the contract on the table and dramatically presented the gold tube to Stormy, who was lounging atop of the Codex.

    "Oh great and powerful Stormy," I intoned, obliterating all of Cali''s expectations. "I hereby offer myself as your humble servant!"

    ¡°W-what¡­ what the shit are you¡­¡± Cali stammered. ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡±

    Her jaw dropped as I signed the contract with a flourish and slid it into the gold tube held by my feline companion. I felt absolutely nothing when a silver-blue thread visibly snapped itself to my aura.

    Stormy, for her part, looked utterly unimpressed. She probably didn''t understand the value of contracts or simply already presumed herself my owner.

    I struck a bow to the kitten. "I now live to serve my feline overlord," I declared. "All hail Empress Stormy, first of her name, ruler of the pub of Svalbard!"

    Stormy, deciding to play along, let out an imperious meow.

    "You... you just willingly became h-her¡­ thrall, f-forever," she squeaked out. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I figured if I''m going to be anyone''s thrall, it might as well be someone who won¡¯t try to mentally control me,¡± I said with a devious grin.

    ¡°B-but a kitten of all things?! Why?!¡± Cali demanded.

    ¡°Stormy already saved my ass a few times. I trust her with my life,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Plus, if another Arcanicx Sorceress senses this contract binding me, she won¡¯t try to bind me for herself, right? It¡¯s a perfect solution, see?¡±

    Cali opened and closed her mouth. She looked utterly distraught at the fact that she had lost ''her'' Champion to a mere kitten.

    Stormy, seemingly satisfied with her position of absolute power over me, curled up on the Codex and closed her eyes.

    I grabbed the golden tube from her paws, pressed the remote, slipped it into the liquefied mire and watched as the binding magic dissolved, letting go of my Aura when the tube became buried inside of the liquefied floor. Then I re-solidified the floor. Submerged in my domain, the contract did not reconnect with me. Like the lavalier it was now inactive, its power muffled by my witchy domain.

    Neat.

 38 Aclard Dulsea

    -=[Callista Liesl]=-

    After dinner and another round of incredibly delicious water, I passed out on a bench in Ioan¡¯s pub atop a pile of cloths extracted from my damaged sleigh. As my mind sank into the mire of sleep, I prayed to Goldara that the damage from touching so much dragonglass would vanish by the time I woke, as it miraculously had before.

    As per usual, my dreams weren¡¯t the nicest sort.

    However, instead of being hurled across the forest by the Star-Eater, I discovered that I was still on the bench, but not entirely asleep, stuck somewhere between the moment of lucidity and the veil of sleep.

    The sensation of being awake and aware increased and yet my body didn¡¯t move the tiniest bit.

    I tried to yell, tried to move, but no sound came out from my lips.

    The air felt thick with a suffocating terror of something foul. Dark shadows danced just beyond my field of vision. There, lurking in the periphery, a sinister figure loomed¡ªa creature with glowing yellow eyes, a thing woven from darkness itself.

    It watched me as if it was feeding off my fear. As I lay paralyzed, unable to flee or fight, the edges of reality blurred even further, pulling me deeper into this nightmarish limbo. Each attempt to move was met with cold, uncooperative limbs. I felt a prisoner within my own mind.

    The monstrous thing silently moved forward as if it was gliding through deep water currents and suddenly sat atop my chest.

    Up close, its body was a patchwork of rotting flesh, bulbous inside out ossified organs and blackened bones, its eyes glowing like yellow embers in the gloom that surrounded us. The thing''s limbs were a grotesque tangle of gnarled roots and barbed thorns, ending in jagged uneven claws, like a framework of black roots holding together dead organs that were in the process of falling out.

    "I sssnound you, little claimer-she," the monstrosity rasped, its voice woven from a cadre of fingernails scraping against fingernails. "Feeble fickler, Seeker of the Wormwood-she, daring to pliddle with Underside whistweave."

    I tried to speak, to demand answers, to plead for mercy, but the words would not leave my throat. The thing''s yellow eyes somehow held me captive, draining me of all will and strength.

    ¡°Speaketh,¡± the thing said, scraping a long, grotesque finger along my lips.

    "Wha... what are you?" I managed to hiss out as my mouth unfroze.

    "Chrizantia Malekai, my definery be," the thing gurgled, "Root-walker of the deep-dark, master of the Abyss. The Gygr of Chernobog. And you, little catling, roam the land that is meant to be rightfully mine."

    I simply blinked at her and then my mind snapped to the word I recognized. A Gygr, a voidborn abomination from Nordstaii legends, a being of the deepest Abyss, the worshipper of Nox, from Ioan¡¯s book of Monsters.

    "Etch mine name in your skullpan, catling," the Gygr snarled. "For when my Jotun-brood sniffing yorr flesh, they shall peel you scrap by scrap, and drag you to mine squelch rootlair ¡®neath the ground wherein you shall reborn-be as mine new void-hand that reaches from the bog.¡±

    The thing extended a hand wrapped with a hundred finger-roots, a single, fleshy finger extending to caress my forehead. Stinging, blindingly painful cold danced across my nerves.

    "Listen-heed, mine new seedling," the Gygr hissed. "Svalbald should have slept. All should have perished. Alas¡­ something-ling tore through my chorus-web, permitted someone to live, to carry the all, all which should have been mine to harvest. Tell me who else there resides!¡±

    I had no idea what she was talking about.

    ¡°What is she ranting about? Svalbard¡­ Ioan? The Champion I failed to bind?¡± I thought.

    ¡°Ioan, the he-Champion of yorr?¡± the Gygr repeated in my own voice as if she pulled the thought from my head. ¡°A¡­ manling hero? Why have mine Jotun not smelled or spotted he?¡±

    I choked, tried to think of nothing but the murderous Star-Eater, focused my thoughts on the memory of the worst worst day of my life, so as not to reveal more secrets to this voidborn abomination.

    The creature''s hand extended, an irregular number of elbows unfolding out, fingers unfurling apart like the roots of a tree. Jagged fingers tightened themselves around my throat, its touch burning, painfully cold as if someone poured glacier ice over my neck.

    "Mark your days, little catling," the Gygr¡¯s face twisted into a grotesque approximation of a smile, the teeth of an inverted skull shimmering from within with a yellow glow. "Tally your paltry triumphs against the whisperweave that birthed you. Your fumbleploys are naught but a blindworm wriggling in the Song of the Void caressing the Underside. You are she who weaves wrong-sense without the rootknowledge or skillcraft to do so, spinning lies into a tapestry of false-shine."

    I wasn¡¯t wrong¡­ I was the brightest star of my generation, the Liesl Searcher. I had an emerald diploma from the Iridium Istra Maggelanum!

    "Listen-heed, seeker of Wormwood songs," the Gygr hissed, her voice warping and twisting like wind through dead branches. "In time Void-she claims all. Your kin crown-declare self, the masters of tide-flows, but what yorr be is mere carriers of Sky Blights.¡±

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    What? I wasn¡¯t a blight carrier! I wasn¡¯t sick! Get out of my head void-born!

    ¡°Tut, tut,¡± the nightmare-weaver leaned closer, her fetid breath washing over me, tasting of swamp gas and rotting eggs. "You are a pure voidvessel waiting to awaken for Nox. May your she-flesh turn wrongside out, your innards become your armor, your bones your adornments. May your very essence twist and warp until you are naught but servant mine.¡±

    No! I have my lavalier and I¡¯m¡­ oh no, shit, Ioan took it. He took everything! Ioan broke the ward on my Sleigh! Ioan stripped me of my protections, that''s how this void-born got into my head!

    ¡°Remember my order-claim, little falseling, as your body revolts against itself, as your mind fractures under the weight of your own hubris. The inversion comes for you and the longer you persist, the greater physicality the void-she will claim using your she-flesh. Chernobog watches, little seeker-she. Chernobog waits.¡±

    I struggled, flailed, tried to scream as I felt my entire body warp from within under the power of the cursed words of the Gygr.

    ¡°Mine void-hand, Aclard Dulsea his definery be. You will see him soon. You will let him in. You will aid him in killing Ioan-Starfall-he, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± my lips spoke.

    ¡°Good,¡± the nightmare smiled. ¡°Forget this talk, but forget not the name of mine void-hand. In thirteen nights, your heart will stop."

    <hr>

    I woke up with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. Sweat clung to my body, and I found myself gasping for air as if I''d been running for miles. The pub was dim, save for the faint glow of embers in the fireplace.

    As I sat up, I tried to recall what had disturbed my sleep so violently. There was a lingering sense of dread, a feeling that something terrible had happened, but the details slipped away like water through my fingers. All I could remember was a vague impression of yellow and black and the name Aclard Dulsea. Who was this Aclard even? What a stupid, nonsensical nightmare.

    I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream. It was early morning.

    As I stretched, I glanced at my hands. The skin, which had been blistered and raw from handling dragonglass, was now smooth and unblemished.

    Ioan did his thing, whatever it was, magic, or the Word of the Moon Gods that promised a Good Tomorrow.

    I lifted the white and blue Nordstaii sweater Ioan gave me yesterday and cautiously felt myself under it. My piercings were gone, the magisteel had decayed away completely due to the anti-magic, deadly effects of the dragonglass. All of my tattoos were gone too.

    I felt vulnerable, almost completely stripped of my magic, my aura unable to hold onto anything, unable to shape itself to aid me. I was completely blind now to the radiance of blood, deprived of absolutely everything that made me a Liesl.

    "Ioan?" I called out softly.

    "Mrrrrrr?" Stormy answered, trudging up to me. Silver, big eyes looked at me.

    "Hey, uh, Stormy," I said, rubbing my hands. "Umm. I think we, uh, might have had a bad start, you and I."

    I looked down at the small black kitten, feeling a twinge of guilt for my earlier dismissal of her.

    "Listen," I began hesitantly. "I... I want to apologize for calling you a mere housecat. That was unfair of me."

    Stormy tilted her head, feline eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made me squirm a little.

    "The truth is," I continued, "I''ve been wrong about a lot of things lately. And I think... I think you''re one of them. You''re clearly more than just a cat. I can see that now."

    I reached out slowly, offering my hand for her to sniff. "I know I haven''t been the best... uhh, person. But I''d like to start over, if that''s alright with you. Maybe we could be¡­ friends?"

    Stormy regarded my outstretched hand for a long moment, her tail swishing back and forth. Then, to my surprise, she stepped forward and bumped her head against my palm.

    A smile spread across my face as I gently scratched behind her ears. "Thank you," I murmured. "I promise I''ll do better. No more underestimating you or trying to manipulate Ioan¡­ not that I have anything to manipulate him with on the account that all of my Star-Shards are gone. I... I think I need all the friends I can get right now, even if you are just a kitten.¡±

    As I petted Stormy, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. The lingering unease from my nightmare began to fade, replaced by a tentative hope.

    Maybe, just maybe, things could get better from here now that I could no longer grind at the contracts or allure Ioan into being my Champion.

    Just as I relaxed, Stormy suddenly bit my finger, her sharp teeth piercing my skin and drawing a drop of blood.

    I cried out in pain and surprise, jerking my hand back.

    "Ouch! Why, you little demon?!" I yelped.

    To my shock, Stormy darted forward and licked up the drop of blood before I could even react. Then she sat back on her haunches, staring at me with those eerie silver eyes.

    "You ungrateful, Goldara-cursed, furball!" I hissed, cradling my hand. "I try to make peace and you attack me? Why, you''re nothing but a vicious, flea-bitten void-spawn!"

    Stormy just blinked at me, looking far too smug for a cat her size.

    "Oh, I see how it is," I growled, my tail lashing in agitation. "You think you''re so clever, don''t you? Well, let me tell you something, you pint-sized terror. I''ve faced down a Star-Eater and survived. I''m not about to be intimidated by a glorified dust mop with delusions of grandeur!"

    I lunged for Stormy, intent on teaching her a lesson, but she nimbly dodged my grasp, twisting out of my hands. My face collided with a chair, sending it flying.

    "Come back here, you little monster!" I yelled from my position as an undignified heap on the floor. "When I get my hands on you, I''ll turn you into an un-fashionable hat!"

    It was at that exact moment that Ioan walked into the pub, a shovel in his hand.

    "Uh... what''s going on here?" he asked, taking in the scene of me on the floor on all fours, hair a mess, my tail sticking up in agitation while Stormy sat calmly on a nearby table, grooming herself as if nothing had happened.

    I felt my face ignite with embarrassment. "Your demon cat bit me!" I exclaimed indignantly, pointing an accusing finger at Stormy.

    ¡°Did you bite Cali?¡± Ioan asked.

    ¡°Mrrrr!¡± The kitten nodded.

    ¡°Aha! She confesses!¡± I declared.

    ¡°She probably had a good reason for it,¡± Ioan said.

    ¡°Maw-a-myawrd Dmm-muwl-sssssh-meaw!¡± Stormy let out a long string of hiss-mewls as if that explained anything.

    Ioan squinted at me.

 39 The Application of Psychotherapy Hypnosis Against Dreamwalkers

    ¡°That sounds like something oddly specific,¡± I said, looking from Stormy to Cali.

    ¡°Ammrrrr-lllaww-rrrrrrrrdd,¡± Stormy outputted, trying hard to say the words. ¡°MmDd-urrrrr-sshhhh-eeeee-aaaw.¡±

    ¡°Two words?¡± I asked, opening the Codex in front of Stormy and watching as her paw landed on ¡®yes¡¯.

    ¡°A¡­ name of our enemy?¡± I guessed.

    ¡°Mrrww!¡± Stormy slapped ¡®yes¡¯ again.

    I frowned, looking between Stormy and Cali. Something wasn''t adding up here.

    ¡°Maw-Dmaw-Mawrd Mrddd-mawl-sshh-mwaaaw!¡± Stormy repeated, staring at Cali.

    ¡°Cali?¡± I asked with a stern look. ¡°What¡¯s she talking about?¡±

    The Felix Arcanicx swallowed nervously, blue eyes darting between me and Stormy.

    ¡°Aclard Dulsea,¡± She said after a deep pause.

    ¡°Where¡¯d you hear this name?¡± I asked.

    ¡°My dream,¡± Cali replied. "I... I think I had a nightmare, but I can''t recall the details. Just a feeling of dread and... yellow, hollow... eyes?"

    I nodded, piecing things together. "And Stormy bit you to get a taste of your blood. She must have sensed something off about you when you woke up."

    "What?! That doesn''t give her the right to bite me!" Cali protested.

    "Actually," I said, "it might have been necessary. Stormy doesn¡¯t do things unless they¡¯re necessary for our survival. I''ve seen Stormy slap away your mind-control threads. I wonder if she''s able to likewise disrupt whatever is trying to get into your head... Stormy, did you learn the name of our enemy from Cali''s blood?"

    Stormy''s paw landed firmly on ''yes''.

    "I''ve never even heard of anyone by that name!" Cali protested.

    I turned back to Stormy. "Is this person coming here? To Svalbard?"

    Another ''yes''.

    ¡°Is it a person?¡±

    [NO]

    I frowned.

    "When?"

    Stormy simply stared at me.

    "Right, specificity," I frowned. "One day?"

    [NO]

    "Two days?"

    [NO]

    "Three days?"

    [YES]

    "Is this Aclard Dulsea working with Jarl Bobliss?"

    Stormy''s paw landed on ''maybe''.

    "But they''re still a threat to us?"

    ''Yes'' she answered.

    "Alright," I said, "it seems we have another player in this game. Cali, I need you to think hard. Try to remember anything else from your dream. Any details at all could be important."

    Cali closed her eyes, concentrating. "I... I remember feeling trapped. And there was something dark? And whispers? I''m sorry, it''s all so fuzzy."

    I paced around the feline merchant and then sat in front of her. It was time for some psychotherapy.

    "Cali," I said, my voice calm and steady as I pulled gem 51-B from my neck and swung it in front of Cali''s eyes like a metronome. "I want you to look at this swinging gem and relax, breathe in and out, then slowly close your eyes, sink into a trance-like state of consciousness. Take deep breaths. In... and out. In... and out."

    I watched as Cali followed my instructions, her breathing slowing and her body visibly relaxing.

    "Good," I continued. "Now, I want you to imagine you''re in a safe, peaceful place. Somewhere you feel completely at ease. Can you picture that place?"

    Cali nodded slightly.

    "Excellent. Now, keeping that feeling of safety, I want you to think back to your dream. Don''t try to force it. Just let the images and feelings come to you naturally. What do you see?"

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    Cali''s brow furrowed slightly. "I... I see darkness. And yellow eyes."

    "Good," I encouraged. "What else?"

    "There''s... a figure. Made of shadows and... roots? It''s sitting on my chest. I can''t move."

    I nodded, even though she couldn''t see me. "What does this figure say to you?"

    "I... I can''t recall."

    "Crrrrrrssshh-miii-mwzzzz-mwww-yawww!" Stormy hissed out with a deep growl.

    "It starts with a C," I said. "Sink deeper into your subconsciousness, breathe slower. Think of the name. Criiii-sss-iii-something?"

    Cali''s face contorted in concentration, sweat breaking out over her face. "It... it calls itself Chrizantia Malekai. A Gygr of Chernobog. It... she says... She says I''ve claimed something that was meant to be hers."

    "What was meant to be hers?"

    "Svalbard," Cali''s voice answered. "She... she pulled your name from my mind!"

    "What else did she say to you?" I pressed gently.

    "Something about... a chorus-web? And... and that Svalbard should have slept. All should have perished." Cali''s voice grew more agitated. "It... she wants to drag me to her rootlair, to drown me in her bog. To make me her shadow-hand... to stop my heart in thirteen nights!"

    "You''re safe, Cali. Remember your peaceful place," I said, my voice as calm as I could keep it. "What else can you tell me about this Gygr?"

    Cali took a shuddering breath. "It... it says I''m a void-vessel waiting to awaken for Nox. That... that my flesh will turn wrong-side out. And... and it mentioned Aclard Dulsea. Said he would arrive soon, that I should let him in and... and help him kill you!"

    Cali''s entire body started to shake.

    "I... I don''t want to kill you. You''re my f....friend!" She cried. "My a-all capable Champion that I''m going to claim when... when..."

    She started to hyperventilate and sob as whatever the Gygr did fought against the blood contracts focused on Cali''s aura.

    "Focus Cali," I said. "I want you to slowly come back to the present. Remember, you''re safe here. When I count to three, you''ll open your eyes and feel calm and refreshed and remember none of this. One... two... three."

    Cali''s eyes fluttered open, and she looked around in confusion. "What... what happened? Was I saying something? I can''t remember a word!"

    I sat back, processing everything she had revealed. "You told us the name of our enemies, Cali. It seems we have more to worry about than just Jarl Bobliss."

    "Our enemies?" Cali exhaled, her white ears low.

    "A Gygr," I said.

    "W-what?" Cali choked out. She grabbed at her bare neck.

    "This.... all of this is your fault, Ioan! You stripped me of all of my magic weapons! A void-born wouldn¡¯t be able to get in my head if my runes protected me!¡±

    "It had to be done," I said. "I''ll build you new tools, better tools that aren''t made with blood magic. That thing was probably already in your head for a long time. Or something else was in your head. I¡¯ve been testing your lavalier outside while you were sleeping. It exhibits intelligent behavior attempting to crawl to you, responding to external stimuli like a creature. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Cali shook her head, looking distraught.

    ¡°There¡¯s a draw-needle pin mechanism in the central gem, facing your chest,¡± I said. ¡°How often does that thing feast on your blood, Cali?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know!¡± Cali cried out. "This is your fault, Ioan, stop trying to weasel out of your screw-ups, damn it!" she repeated, her voice rising. "You''ve left me completely defenceless against a Gygr! S-so what if my lavalier takes a bit of my blood sometimes? That¡¯s how it freaking works! It''s a familial artifact... you... you..."

    She huffed, trying very hard not to call me names.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how dangerous the void-born are? They''re creatures of pure darkness, able to corrupt and twist anything they touch!" She barked.

    I held up a hand, trying to calm her. "Cali, I get it, you''re scared. But the lavalier was doing more harm than good. Blood magic works like a beacon, drawing the Gygr¡¯s attention to you. Drawing her Jotuns to you.

    "Jotuns are coming, yes?" I turned to Stromy.

    The kitten placed her paw on ''yes''.

    "So what?" she snapped. "At least I could have defended myself with my tools! Now what am I supposed to do? How are we going to fight a Gygr and her f-freaking Jotun minions?!"

    I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully. "I''ll admit I''m not an expert on Gygrs. My experience with such is... limited."

    Cali let out a bitter laugh. "Limited? That''s putting it mildly! We''re talking about a creature that can turn people inside out, Ioan! This isn''t some petty thief or low-level monster. This is a being of pure evil, the wielder of the void!"

    "I know," I said. "But I also know someone who is an expert on Gygrs and other creatures like them."

    Cali''s ears perked up at that. "Do you now? Who? Another one of your mysterious friends from the moon maybe?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have moon friends,¡± I crossed my arms.

    Cali¡¯s blue eyes snapped at Stormy.

    ¡°Is your cat a Gygr expert, on top of her future-seeing ability?¡±

    I couldn''t help but smile. "Probably not.¡±

    ¡°Then who?!¡± The Arcanicx demanded, looking exasperated with us.

    ¡°Her name''s Yaga Grandhilda and she¡¯s a witch who lives nine thousand steps from here,¡± I said.

    ¡°What?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°You¡­ you know a Nordstaii Yaga? Like the one from your book?!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time that we visited her. What do you think, Stormy?¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrr,¡± the kitten nodded.

    ¡°Think you can help us find the way to her grove?¡± I asked my little future-seeing fuzzy cloud.

    ¡°Mrrrwrr,¡± the kitten placed her paws on the ¡®yes¡¯ sign with a confident look in her eyes.

    ¡°What? How¡­ How do you know a Yaga?¡± Cali sputtered looking between me and Stormy.

    ¡°We don''t just know her. We''re incredibly well acquainted with her,¡± I replied. "Practically family at this point!"

    ¡°Mawr!¡± Stormy nodded.

    I couldn''t help but smile at Cali''s incredulous expression. It was like I''d just told her I was best friends with the tooth fairy.

    "You''re seriously telling me you know a real, live Yaga?" she asked. "And here I thought you two couldn''t get any weirder!"

    "Oh, we''re full of surprises," I replied with a grin. "Just wait until you see her face when she sees me walking up to her grove! She¡¯ll be ecstatic, I bet.¡±

    ¡°Why would she¡­¡± Cali blinked. Her eye twitched slightly. "Is everything a joke to you?"

    "Not everything," I shrugged. "But when faced with eldritch horrors and impending doom, a pitch of light humor helps keep the existential dread at bay. That, and a good cup of magic tea. Speaking of which, want some before we head out?"

    ¡°Yes please,¡± Cali nodded.

 40 A Lovely Hike

    I split the best of Zemy''s banners capes between myself and Cali.

    "Why do I need to wear these gaudy things?" She asked as she pulled several banner-capes over herself.

    "They''re a shield against cursed things like Jotuns," I explained.

    "Why didn''t you put them on me earlier?" She demanded.

    "I didn''t think about it," I shrugged. "And Stormy didn''t tell me about it. In a way it was good that that thing got into your head."

    "What? Good how?" She demanded.

    "If we know the plans of our enemy we can work around them," I said.

    "Do you have a plan for anything?" Cali demanded. "All I''ve seen you do all day is write nonsense in that leather book of yours."

    "If I had a plan, I wouldn''t tell you about it," I shrugged.

    She squinted at me.

    "Yaga Grandhilda told me that speaking of dark creatures somehow notifies them of your existence," I said. "It therefore stands to reason that we shouldn''t be mentioning them by name. Let''s call the thing that invaded your dream a... George instead."

    "Why George?" Cali sputtered.

    "It''s a mundane-sounding male name where I¡¯m from," I shrugged. ¡°Nobody will suspect anything if we say that you had a dream about our lovely ol'' uncle George!¡±

    The Felix Arcanicx eyed me if I was a bit bonkers.

    We emerged from the pub and went into Cali¡¯s Sleigh, pulling out anything and everything of value. Cali quickly described everything she had and I catalogued it in a list in the Codex:

    <ul>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A set of enchanted lockpicks that could open any non-magical lock</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Farcast orb which allowed Cali to track people even from a great distance as long as they touched the orb before leaving</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Several vials of various basic healing potions and acids, some of them now broken.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A semi-shattered box containing rare spices and herbs from the South and East</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">An Avoidoscope that pointed to the most magically dangerous direction to avoid running into bandits or Star-Eaters on the road</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A Stormscope which predicted the weather</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A pair of boots that muffled the wearer''s footsteps, which I promptly pulled on myself.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">An invisi-cloak that muted smells and changed colour to match its surroundings, which I also put on myself.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A quill that never ran out of ink.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A set of weighted dice that always rolled in the user''s favor.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A deck of cards that could predict minor future events when shuffled by someone who had a talent in precognition.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A flute that could play music on its own.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Various collectible coins from various regions of Thornwild.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A set of unbreakable glass vials for storing volatile substances.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A necklace that warmed the user when it was cold.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A set of six pairs of connected Voicecast runestones.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Several sets of magisteel tools.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A lockbox with hundreds of magic pearl-stones, jewellery, glass beads, gold and silver.</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Various foodstuffs squished in the now broken coldbox</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Luxurious Textiles and Cali''s extra clothes and toiletries</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">A bunch of books from Iridium</li>

    <li style="font-weight: 400">Gloves that allowed the wearer to climb on walls.</li>

    </ul>

    According to Cali, some of the items were curious trinkets from the East.

    They didn¡¯t require Star-Shards, instead operating on pearl-stones, which a Sorceress or even a mortal girl with enough talent could slowly charge by pushing their Aura through them.

    ¡°Why are so many items here theft-related?¡± I asked, noting a pattern.

    ¡°In case I had to break into Skulldug to get information about a Champion,¡± Cali explained. ¡°In the end I simply won the auction and bought the Prophecy about you, so I didn¡¯t need any of it. The information was... excessively expensive."

    "Nice to know that I cost a lot," I commented.

    Cali frowned, clearly disappointed that she wasn''t going to parade me as her overpriced Champion in Iridium.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t more people use these pearl-stones?¡± I wondered, observing one of the pearls in my fingers with the Astralscope, noticing the very slight yellow-gold radiance emanating from it.

    ¡°They¡¯re expensive to buy and a pain in the ass to charge,¡± Cali shrugged. ¡°Unlike Star-Shards there¡¯s only so much magic they can hold in them. For example, the Voicecast stone can only contact its partner stone once a week at best. Same with the quill, boots, flute, lock-picks and cloak - the essence pearl runs dry about after an hour of use."

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t these handy devices powered by Star-Shards?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t get them in Iridium,¡± Cali blushed ever so slightly. ¡°You could say that they¡¯re¡­ a tad illegal. Not something that a noble Sorceress would ordinarily carry on her.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, pondering whether I could perhaps improve on their design by submerging the pearls in my domain. ¡°Can Star-Seekers eat the pearls too?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Cali shook her head. ¡°The pearls aren¡¯t compatible with reinforcement blood magic on the account that they will just explode, shatter and decay if too much magic runs through them."

    ¡°So where do these magic pearls come from?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Indarra, the Eastern City of the Castian Ring,¡± Cali said. ¡°The pearls come from the coral reefs there. Fishing them is quite dangerous too due to the great leviathans and their brood that feed on the local coral-life.¡±

    ¡°Leviathans?¡±

    ¡°Giant Beasts of the sea, land, or sky,¡± Cali explained. ¡°There was one of them, in that book of yours¨Cthe Ouroboros, ¡®a giant serpent which sustains itself on its own blood, the Divine Beast of the Laima people¡¯. The book¡¯s wrong about that though, the Leviathans simply feed on the radiance of the Wormwood Star that permeates the Azure Ocean. It''s why they grow so big."

    ¡°Right. Well, let¡¯s get everything into the pub while it¡¯s still early,¡± I said. ¡°We have a witch to meet today.¡±

    <hr>

    After I finished sealing the valuables in the floor, we left the pub again, this time with Stormy leading the way, taking us to the depths of the Shalish wood.

    "You''re certain that she knows where she''s going?" Cali asked, eyeing the black kitten marching in front of us.

    "She hasn''t steered me wrong yet," I shrugged. ¡°Say how far is nine thousand Nordstaii steps time-wise?¡±

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°About one Iridian hour,¡± Cali said.

    ¡°And how many Iridian hours are in a day?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Thirteen hours in the day,¡± Cali replied. ¡°And thirteen hours in the night.¡±

    ¡°So the day-night cycle is 26 hours,¡± I thought. ¡°Why thirteen?¡±

    ¡°Thirteen is a sacred magical number,¡± Cali explained.

    We chatted more about things, walking forward as tendrils of pale, silver fog slowly snaked across the dead forest all around us.

    ¡°So,¡± I asked. ¡°What¡¯s Skulldug like?¡±

    Cali''s ears twitched at the name. "Skulldug Isle is... well, it''s unlike anywhere else in Thornwild," she said. "It''s a Northern place of ancient power, where the veil between our world and the Astral Abyss is very thin."

    I listened, keeping an eye out for potential beasts, but the forest around us was dead silent.

    "The entire island is surrounded by a perpetual supercell storm spiral," Cali explained. "They say it''s Amari''s doing - her way of harnessing the power of the Wormwood Star shard that fell there long ago. Lightning strikes down any man, woman or beast who dares to enter into her great Citadel uninvited. Invitees are given a runestone which permits them to bypass the great Thunder-Ward.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a decent security system. Sort of like your Sleigh, but bigger,¡± I commented. ¡°How do you get invited?¡±

    ¡°To get invited, one must prove that they¡¯re a hunter of great renown,¡± Cali said.

    ¡°Oh?¡± I eyed her curiously.

    Cali¡¯s white ears drooped.

    ¡°I paid to get in,¡± she said. ¡°The Liesl family is one of the wealthiest in Iridium.¡±

    I contemplated whether gold could effectively be produced with magic with some kind of transmutation process.

    ¡°Skulldug Citadel was founded four thousand, one hundred and one years ago, its towers carved from the bones of a felled sky-leviathan,¡± Cali chatted on, clearly embarrassed about her lack of success in hunting down Champions. ¡°The locals boast that Amari had killed the leviathan herself when she was just a young Sorceress... but if that were true, then she''d be one of the eldest women on Thornwild."

    "Does she look old?" I asked.

    "No," Cali shook her head. "She looks like she''s my age, around nineteen. They say that the power of Skulldug Isle grants her eternal youth."

    I nodded, trying to picture Skulldug as a possible domain ruled by an immortal four-thousand-year-old witch. "And the people there? What are they like?"

    Cali''s tail swished thoughtfully. "Fierce. Proud. Barbarous. Utterly devoted to Amari. They call themselves the Hunters of Storms, and they''re some of the most skilled killers in all of Thornwild. Some say that Amari doesn''t see the future at all, that she simply has ears everywhere. She''s got worshipers all over Thornwild, marked by the agate amulets they wear with her face on it."

    "Sounds like a charming vacation spot," I quipped.

    Cali shot me a withering look. "The Court of Skulldug is a neutral ground of sorts where the most powerful Sorceresses of the North gather to trade secrets and make alliances. Once every seventy seven days an Auction Ball is held during which a wealthy enough Sorceress can buy a genuine Prophecy from Amari, one relating to hunting the greatest prey... which will change their life."

    ¡°How changed would you rate your life at?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ very,¡± Cali huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that my life could get any worse from here.¡±

    ¡°Brrrr,¡± Stormy commented as if she knew something.

    Cali gave the kitten a glare.

    "Every seventy seven days," I rubbed my chin. "Do you think that Amari will sell my location to another wealthy huntress, on the account that you''ve failed at it? Say, how long has it been since you attended that Auction Ball?"

    "About... sixty five days." Cali''s ears twitched.

    "So we potentially have around twelve days before Amari might sell information about me to another hunter?"

    "Uhhh," Cali blinked, her eyes widening. "Goldara''s tits! I have not even considered this. I didn''t expect to fail at binding you. She will absolutely sell your location to another hunter, no matter where you are, on the account that I¡¯m clearly not bringing you to Skulldug. Amari isn''t known for her patience."

    "Peachy," I sighed. "Just what I wanted in life, women chasing me in cycles of every seventy seven days."

    "It won''t be just women," Cali swallowed. "The next hunter might already have a Champion, one that can fly. By flight, a Champion can reach Svalbard in about seven days from Skulldug, carrying his Sorcerous Mistress in a basket on his back."

    "First class basket flight, huh," I mused, picturing a musclebound Champion soaring through the air with a wicker basket strapped to his back, a dainty Sorceress sipping tea inside. "Probably not a lot of legroom. Nothing says ''I''m a hero'' quite like flying on a weapon made from your own bodily fluids. Very hygienic."

    Cali chose not to respond to my comments, nervously looking left and right.

    We walked in silence for about thirty more minutes, the crunch of snow under our feet the only sound. The fog around us deepened, making it hard to see clearly past a few meters. Dead trees loomed all around like clawed hands.

    ¡°Are we still good Stormy?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Mrrr,¡± the kitten confirmed.

    ¡°This fog smells¡­ unnatural,¡± Cali whispered with a shudder.

    ¡°Probably the Yaga¡¯s protection,¡± I said, squinting into the sudden gloom.

    An inhuman howl suddenly resounded across the forest. Stormy stopped in her tracks and then rushed back, up my rock-covered armor and hid herself in the nook between my shoulder and neck, trembling

    ¡°What?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Jrrrrrrrrshhhh-oooom-rrrtttt-uuuuuummm,¡± Stormy growled.

    ¡°Jotun,¡± Cali said, stopping in place. ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits! This is bad. This is¡­¡±

    I pulled her closer to myself, pulling both of us down to the ground as I quickly draped the invisi-cloak over us. Then, I twisted the pearl inside the containment runestone to activate it. As the pearl ignited, the cloak turned semi-transparent from within.

    I swallowed, hoping that the cloak actually hid us from sight and didn¡¯t simply become transparent.

    I held my breath as the monstrous figure emerged from the fog.

    It was a nightmarish sight, far worse than any illustration in my book of monsters had captured. Its body was a grotesque amalgamation of human and beast, with limbs that bent at impossible angles and skin that seemed to writhe and shift, bulbous, rotting, fleshy, vein-covered organ sacks jiggling with each step.

    As it drew closer, I could make out more horrifying details. Its head was adorned with massive, gnarled horns that twisted upwards like the branches of a dead tree. Its face was long and hideous, with four sets of deep eye sockets, somewhat resembling an elk, a wolf, a spider, and a man turned inside out.

    The creature''s mouth opened wide, as it let out another howl, revealing rows upon rows of jagged, yellow, broken teeth of what looked like the mouth of a person and several other animals.

    I felt Cali and Stormy press closer to me, their bodies trembling against mine, clinging to me. I kept my eyes fixed on the approaching monstrosity. The Jotun moved with an unnatural gait as it lumbered forward on six spider-elk legs. Four muscular hands with jagged wolf claws stretched from its sides.

    The air grew colder as it neared, and I could hear a faint, discordant whisper emanating from its body. It was as if the very fabric of reality was warping around this abomination.

    A trail of pure, pulsating wobbling darkness was visible in the creature¡¯s wake through the Astralscope. The trail of darkness folded into itself as if it existed in another, separate dimension, one that had extra depth.

    Blood magic. An entire ocean of blood magic. More blood magic than I''d seen on Cali''s neck.

    There was so much blood magic trailing behind the creature that staring at it made my head throb. Whispers, intertwined with human screams resonated, pulsed from the extradimensional trail of the Jotun, pouring into my throbbing head.

    The thing¡¯s head suddenly snapped towards me.

    Shit. Did it notice me because I could see its blood-trail?

    I pulled my Astralscope off, staring at it with my eyes alone. It came closer and closer to us, looming over us and sniffing the air, inverted organ sacks pulsating as it drew in a raggedy breath.

    It radiated an awful, horrid smell of rotting eggs, of something that had died long ago and was left in a swamp for far too long.

    One of its wolf-human hands suddenly swung at the air right above our heads.

    The whoosh of its motion was like a deafening thunder-blast.

    It blew snow all around and nearly pulled the cloak off us, was I not holding onto it for dear life.

    The mass of displaced air hit the trees behind us, making them sway and creak, a few of the branches snapping off.

    ¡°The beast-fold-wolf smells the flesh of catling-she,¡± the Jotun''s long mouth warped and wobbled, producing an approximation of human speech entwined with bones scraping against bones.

    Another toothy maw opened on its chest and a single, blood-red human eye without eyelids emerged from its innards, connected to what looked like a tongue shaped from ligaments and nerves, twisting left and right in an attempt to spot us.

    ¡°Aclard Dulsea, our man-flesh-fold name be. Reveal yorr-self claimer-she, let us into yorr heart of hearts, so that we may take yorr and Ioan Starfall-he to Chernobog as our Master-she commands," the Jotun boomed, its voice somehow deafeningly sharp, digging into the inside of my skull as if rusty nails were being nailed through my eyes and ears with each word.

    Cali choked.

    I saw that her fingers started to crawl towards the pearl-rune of our invisi-cloak on their own accord.

 41 Face to Face

    Time slowed to a crawl as I watched Cali¡¯s hand reach for the runestone, trying to turn off the invisi-cloak.

    The dragonglass sword was already in my right hand, free of its sheath.

    I moved it forward, blocking Cali¡¯s fingers from reaching the magic pearl. Cali¡¯s fingernails stuck the Knell-blade instead of the pearl, fingers turning red, the skin peeling and bubbling.

    My left hand wrapped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

    Stormy rushed from my shoulder to Cali like a dark shadow, a small paw covered in white claws striking across Cali¡¯s face, leaving a trail of red scratches.

    Cali¡¯s glassy gaze suddenly cleared. She blinked at me and stared at her burned hand.

    ¡°Where does the catling hide?¡± The Jotun boomed above us, making all of us wince. ¡°Answer to us! Reveal yorr-self gazer-she!¡±

    It stopped, looming right over us on monstrously tall elk legs. Rotting, foul smelling sacks bubbled, black gunk dripping down onto the invisi-cloak. I gritted my teeth, praying that Zemy¡¯s banners were doing their job.

    ¡°We felt your Sorcerous gaze, witchling!¡± The Jotun howled. ¡°It came from here¡­ yes¡­ this direction. We are certain¡­¡±

    It took a few more steps forward, sniffing the air and gurgling. The organs draped across its body drew in and out, a multitude of hearts beating loudly.

    I squeezed the Knell-blade in my fingers, ready to attack, ready to stab at one of the hearts hanging above me. Could a dragonglass sword bring down a Jotun?

    Probably not, there were way too many hearts on this thing¡¯s inverted body. Stabbing one would likely just make it mildly annoyed.

    The Jotun didn''t seem to operate on proper 3-dimensional space, its fetid form somehow constantly bubbling out of itself. Waves of blood-red, flesh constantly emerged from its insides, displaying a great variety of human and animal organs entwined into one phantasmagoric tapestry.

    Cali trembled beside me, her eyes wide with terror. I kept my hand firmly over her mouth, silently willing her to stay quiet. Stormy crouched low, her fur standing on end.

    The Jotun took another wide step, its grotesque body swaying left and right as it searched for us. "Come out, come out, wherever yorr are," it growled with a soup of animal howls and human words.

    The void-abomination¡¯s proximity was suffocating, its very presence seeming to twist reality around us, drawing magic energy out of me and making me feel as if I wasn¡¯t carrying a huge backpack filled with my domain on my back anymore.

    Seconds stretched into eternity as we lay motionless, the Jotun''s massive form blocking out what little light filtered through the gray fog.

    Just when I thought that I couldn''t endure another moment, with a final, frustrated growl, the Jotun lumbered over us and away into the mist, heading into the direction from which it had noted me spotting it.

    Hypothesis: Jotuns attack via line of sight, follow the direction from which they¡¯ve been observed by a witch.

    The analytical part of my mind produced a logical thought, carving through the shawl of paralyzing fear that clung to my every pore. I waited another minute until the howling and bubbling of the void-born ceased in the distance and pulled Cali up to her feet.

    ¡°Mrrrwrrrlll!¡± Stormy ordered and ran ahead of us.

    ¡°Forward,¡± I growled, turning on the pearls in my new boots.

    Cali nodded, looking pale.

    I followed the running black kitten, my footfall hushed by the magical boots. Cali stumbled beside me, making almost no noise due to her feline-nature, shaken from our close encounter with the Jotun. I kept a firm grip on her arm, forcefully pulling her along as Stormy led the way, the invisi-cloak flapping around us.

    In about twenty more minutes of a run which gave me no trouble, but made Cali pant and wheeze, the opressive fog gradually vanished behind us, the sky gradually clearing up¡­ to brilliant green-blue shade.

    It was as if the saturation of the world had been cranked up all the way to technicolor.

    I looked up, staring at the inexplicably cloudless sky. My eyes suddenly spotted a black crow gliding against the wind, starkly contrasting against the crystalline-azure backdrop.

    ¡°Hey, I know that bird!¡± I said, squinting at the crow as it vanished in the treetops.

    ¡°Mrrrrwrr,¡± Stormy paused her dash, looking up and nodding, agreeing that she too knew the Yaga''s familiar.

    ¡°W-what?¡± Cali whispered between gasps.

    "That was too close," I turned to her. "What the hell happened back there? You almost gave us away."

    Cali shook her head. "I... I don''t know. It was like something was pulling at my mind, urging me to reveal ourselves. I couldn''t resist. It¡­ it got into my head.¡±

    ¡°Ah,¡± I said. ¡°Guess now you know what it¡¯s like when you get into my head, forcing me to do things.¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not like that. I¡¯m not a Jotun! I¡¯d never hurt m-my Champion!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your Champion Cali,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just a very sharp stone that you accidentally tripped on and broke your lavalier. I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll ever be yours¡­ or anyone¡¯s Champion, really. I almost chopped off your hand with the Knell-blade back there.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cali swallowed, her eyes filling with sparks of tears as she rubbed her burned fingers.

    I nodded at Cali''s apology, but kept my guard up. Her actions under the influence of the Jotun were concerning, to say the least. We needed to reach Yaga Grandhilda asap. Hopefully, the witch would know how to get the Gygr out of Cali¡¯s head and wouldn''t just send us packing back to Svalbard.

    "Let''s keep moving," I said. "The sooner we get to Yaga''s hut, the better."

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    As we resumed our journey, I cautiously examined our surroundings.

    The forest around us was changing subtly - the trees seemed less dead, with hints of green visible on some branches. The air felt different too, cleaner, fresher¡­ warmer.

    "Ioan," Cali said hesitantly, between pants. "What you said about me getting into your head... is that really how it feels?"

    "It''s... not as painful as the Jotun¡¯s words were, mind you, but your Aura feelers are definitely unsettling. Like there''s something in my head that isn¡¯t me, something trying to make decisions for me, fogging up the clarity of my actions, making me into someone else."

    "I never thought about it that way before. In Iridium, it''s just... how things are done,¡± Cali said. "I... I can''t change what I am, Ioan."

    I shrugged, not expecting her to change.

    Even without her piercings and tattoos, holding onto Cali¡¯s wrist and being so close to her made me feel off, as if a current of foreign urges was pouring right through me, trying to make me worship her, trying to make me see her as a perfect being, the one that I was meant to bow to, obey, belong to.

    I gritted my teeth, shaking the sensation out of my head, mentally reminding myself that Arcanicx and humans were mentally incompatible species, that Cali could never be a trusted companion to me. That if I didn¡¯t figure out how to block her innate magic, I¡¯d have to kill her. I had no idea how long the six contracts would hold without her star-shards either.

    On Earth, the Toxoplasma parasite made infected mice lose fear of cats permanently. Here on Thornwild, the Aura of the Arcanicx was a magic Astral parasite of sorts, one that made men fully subservient to the Star-Shard evolved women.

    In another few minutes of a brisk pace, the snow beneath our feet gave way to soft, bare earth and then to islands of moss. The trees around us became healthier, taller. Then, monstrously wide trunks of sequoias rose all around us, reaching far into the clear sky.

    Cali stared at the moss and the live, titanic evergreens towering around us.

    ¡°Huh," she uttered. ¡°How are all of these trees alive? Why is it so warm here? Didn¡¯t we walk North, towards the glaciers?!¡±

    ¡°Welcome to the Shalish wood,¡± I said simply.

    ¡°Goldara''s locks,¡± Cali said. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that the Nordstaii Yaga were capable of creating something so vast... an entire forest like this.¡±

    ¡°Just one Yaga. Seven hundred years is a long time,¡± I said. "Enough to grow some giant trees, I suppose."

    As we ventured deeper into the Shalish wood, I finally let go of Cali and felt another annoying sensation wash over me.

    It was as if an invisible force was grating against my skin, not painful, but distinctly there. The feeling intensified with each step, like sandpaper that was ever-so-slightly rubbing against my entire body. The domain of Yaga Granhilda didn''t have a sharp drop-off edge to it like mine, seemed to gradually peter off in a truly gargantuan circle of over a few kilometers or maybe more.

    The ground beneath us became covered entirely in moss and evergreens now. A few bushes were visible here and there, covered in brilliantly red berries.

    The air was crisp and tasty, inhaling it made me feel good. It was probably similar to the life-rad emanating from my domain, yet fundamentally different. Where my power felt like a gentle warmth, this was more like an entire ocean of forced vitality that washed over me in massive, somewhat grating waves, sparking against my body and tiny, backpack-held domain.

    I pulled my Astralscope on. The ground, the forest, the trees, the bushes - everything glowed in brilliant, green radial auroras.

    As we kept walking, the grating feeling grew stronger. It was as if the forest itself was trying to push me out, to reject my presence. I twitched, fighting the sensation, not willing to let mild magical discomfort stop me.

    With a few hundred more steps, the forest changed again. Wild flowers were blooming all around in brilliant colours, snaking up the massive sequoias. A multitude of fungi clung to the bases of the massive trees. Blue and green butterflies with wings that shimmered like stained glass fluttered past us, and in the distance, I could hear what sounded like songbirds.

    Despite the stark beauty around us, I couldn''t shake the feeling that we were being watched. The forest''s magic seemed to press in on all sides, as if it was testing, probing, trying to understand what I was.

    ¡°Lo!¡± A voice I instantly recognized suddenly echoed all around us, dancing through the trees, multiplied a few times. ¡°Who dares intrude upon my glade? Reveal yourself at once, lest I strike you down, uninvited visitors!"

    I opened my mouth.

    "Wait¡­ Stormy?" The Yaga''s voice lost all of its magically-augmented potency. "What are you doing here? Did Ioan send you here? How did you make it past the..."

    ¡°Mrrarwrr!¡± Stormy replied bossily, stopping right in front of two giant sequoias that were leaning towards each other as if they were forming a natural-looking wall of sorts made from jagged branches.

    Two entwined sequoias in front of us suddenly unfolded sideways as if they were just an optical illusion, an extra dimension, a gate that was and wasn¡¯t actually there.

    Yaga Grandhilda appeared in the clearing between the trees, dressed in her crystal-green Jotun-skull and bone dress, silver, curly hair cascading down the sides of her head.

    ¡°Lo Yaga!¡± I declared, turning the invisi-cloak off with a flick of my wrist and pulling the oversized shawl from myself and Cali. "Quite a lovely forest you''ve got here!"

    Yaga Grandhilda¡¯s blue eyes went wide under the skull mask. For a second, there was silence between us. Then with a deep exhale, my Master was finally able to produce a sound from her lips.

    ¡°Ioan¡­¡± she uttered.

    ¡°That¡¯s my name,¡± I grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t wear it out.¡±

    I watched as the Yaga stepped forward and lifted her skull mask up as if refusing to believe what she was seeing through its eye-holes. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. It was almost comical, seeing the usually composed witch looking like she''d just seen a ghost. Or, well, me.

    "Ioan?" she repeated. "How... What?¡±

    "Oh, you know, I just decided to take a little stroll,¡± I winked at her. ¡°We¡¯re neighbours after all! Thought I''d pop by for a cup of tea and some advice on how to deal with a bothersome Jotun infestation. The usual Tuesday afternoon stuff."

    Yaga''s eyes darted between me, Cali, and Stormy, struggling to make sense of the situation. "But... but that''s¡­¡±

    ¡°Impossible?¡± I grinned. ¡°See, I¡¯ve never been one for following the rules.¡±

    ¡°How in Zemy¡¯s name are you here, Ioan?!¡± The Yaga demanded, taking a few more steps towards us. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be in Svalbard!"

    ¡°Ah that. I got here with a simple application of a shovel and a backpack,¡± I said with a flourish. ¡°Voila!¡±

    Cali blinked at me. She had no idea what I was talking about.

    Yaga''s eyes fixated on my backpack, realization slowly dawning on her face. "You... you dug out and brought your¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± I declared jubilantly, before she said the word ¡®domain¡¯, revealing the nature of my witchy powers to Cali.

    ¡°And who is¡­¡± Grandhilda¡¯s blue eyes struck Cali.

    ¡°This is Callista Liesl,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s a Felix Arcanicx! She¡¯s uhhh¡­¡±

    I tried to think of what exactly Cali was to me. An experiment in understanding the local mind-manipulating species? A reluctant ally? A potential threat? In the end, I settled for the simplest explanation.

    "She''s my... second kitten," I said with a straight face. "She wandered into Svalbard looking for a DyrkJarl-shaped mouse to catch. I decided to keep her. She''s on a, uh, a magic contract leash, so she¡¯s somewhat house-trained."

    Cali''s blue eyes bore into my face. "I''m your what?!" Her expression screamed. "Somewhat house trained?!"

    I patted her on the head. "There, there. Good kitty. Now, don¡¯t do anything brash to agitate the Great and Powerful Witch of the Shalish wood.¡±

    ¡°Ioan¡­ You are¡­¡± Yaga tried to fish her words out of the shock of our inexplicable encounter.

    I arched an eyebrow waiting for her to finish.

    "Absolutely insane," Yaga shook her head as her mouth spread in a wide smile of shark-like teeth. "You''re either the cleverest¡­ boy I''ve ever met or the most foolish."

    "Why not both?" I supplied. "Now, about that tea..."

    Yaga seemed to snap out of her surprise of my arrival, remembering her role as a host. "Right, yes, of course. Come in, all¡­ three of you. It seems we have much to discuss."

 42 The Geoengineering of Arcane Arborology

    We followed Yaga into her home, which turned out to be the hollowed-out base of the largest sequoia I''d ever seen. The entrance was hidden behind a curtain of hanging moss, and as we stepped inside, I couldn''t help but let out a low whistle of appreciation.

    I looked around at the interior as Stormy trotted about as if she already owned the place.

    The inside of the tree was surprisingly spacious, with multiple levels connected by spiral staircases made of interwoven roots. Shelves carved directly into the wood lined the walls, filled with an assortment of jars, books, and what looked suspiciously like a vast collection of pickled body parts inside of organic-looking jars.

    I couldn''t help but notice Cali''s wide-eyed expression as she took in our surroundings. The Arcanicx looked like she was torn between fascination and the urge to bolt for the door.

    "So, Cali," I said, nudging her. "What do you think? Is this better than the Court of the Witch-Empress of Skulldug or what?¡±

    "It¡¯s... um, certainly unique," she managed, her ears twitching nervously.

    I noted that Stormy found a cozy spot on top of what looked like a human skull and was contentedly grooming herself.

    ¡°It¡¯s exceptionally cozy here,¡± I commented, noting the much larger interior than the single room presented to me inside of our dream meetings. ¡°Also it''s very warm outside. Are you somehow manipulating the local weather with giant, magical sequoias? Do witches prevent global cooling?¡±

    ¡°You know, I thought that I was sensing something awfully annoying grating on my domain,¡± the Yaga said as she lit the stove with a match. ¡°Turns out it''s just you, Ioan.¡±

    "Just me? Aw, you missed me," I smiled. "Say, what are all these pickled body parts? Sentimental keepsakes from your other students? Should I have brought you a present? Sorry, is it okay for Stormy to sit on that skull?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine,¡± the Yaga sighed, settling into her fancy root-formed chair and waving a hand in front of her for us to take up the smaller seats facing her. ¡°So... you walked here.¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± I nodded. ¡°Is the silver-gray fog bordering your domain one of your protective spells?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°The fog is a spell cast by the Gygr. It poisons the land and hides a¡­¡±

    ¡°A Jotun,¡± I said. ¡°I know. We met him on our way here. A very chatty fellow! He could use a shower though. Smells like a swamp.¡±

    Cali looked between me and the Yaga, looking like her brain was going to boil out of her head trying to guess how and why I was so casual with the Yaga.

    ¡°Ioan, you¡¯ve left Svalbard when I expressly told you not to,¡± the Yaga said with a frown.

    Before I could comment on her shaming, the Yaga resumed talking.

    ¡°How much does Cali know about what you are?¡± She asked, waving a hand at Cali.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Cali is still a work in progress. Keeps trying to enslave me and whatnot. You know how it is with strays."

    Cali''s tail lashed in indignation. ''I am not a stray! I''ll have you know I come from one of the most prestigious families in Iridium!'' Her glare expressed. She didn¡¯t say anything out loud though, too terrified of the arcane powers of the Nordstaii Yaga and my potential connection with her.

    "See what I mean?" I stage-whispered at the Yaga. ¡°Look at the glares she¡¯s sending me.¡±

    My joke ratio was rather high today, as I was trying hard to diffuse my over-maxed stress-o-meter of meeting Mr. Aclard Dulsea face to face.

    ¡°Right,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°Deal with her, if you please, Acorn.¡±

    A black raven suddenly materialized on the right side of the back of the chair that Cali was inhabiting . The raven pecked Cali in the neck with a beak covered in something distinctively green. Cali mewled, grabbing her neck. Then she slid onto the chair, head lolling. A bit of drool emerged from her mouth, her tongue out as her eyes closed.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Stormy opened a single violet eye to regard the raven and then closed it, returning to her skull-snoozing.

    I blinked, surprised by the sudden turn of events. Acorn had moved so fast I''d barely seen it or maybe it simply wielded powers equal to Cali''s invisi-cloak.

    "Well," I said, turning to Yaga, "that''s one way to, uh, take a kitten out of the conversation. Is she going to be okay?"

    Yaga waved a dismissive hand. "She''s sleeping. Now, we can talk freely."

    ¡°Is it a problem if I left Svalbard?¡± I asked. ¡°Should I have stayed there, growing weather-altering sequoias or something?¡±

    ¡°That¡­ would have been preferable,¡± the Yaga sighed. ¡°To answer your previous question¨Cyes, me and the other Yaga are trying to stop the advance of the glaciers.¡±

    ¡°And are you succeeding?¡± I asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re trying,¡± the Yaga sighed. ¡°Alas, we are fighting a river with a wooden spoon. The glaciers will win, given enough time."

    ¡°That sounds... bad,¡± I said.

    "Such is life," the Yaga said.

    I nodded, settling back into my chair. "Right. So, about those Jotuns..."

    ¡°Start from the beginning, if you please, Ioan,¡± the Yaga said sternly. ¡°And don¡¯t skip out on the details. I want to know everything.¡±

    I recounted the events since our last dream meeting, starting with me digging up my glade with a shovel, experiments on understanding the nature of my domain and using Stormy and magic blacksmithing to create a magical remote to control one of my domain¡¯s functions. I explained how I killed two out of three bandits and described my encounter with Cali, her attempt to enslave me with a blood contract, and my subsequent discovery of her true nature as a Felix Arcanicx.

    I detailed our interactions, the dragonglass gathering, and the gradual stripping away of Cali''s Star-Shard magic tools. I made sure to emphasize the Gygr-featuring dream Cali had experienced and our meeting with the named Jotun in the forest.

    Throughout my tale, Yaga listened intently, her expression growing more grim. When I finished, she remained silent for a long moment, her fingers steepled beneath her chin.

    "You''ve been busy," she said finally as she grabbed herself a hot cup of tea and sipped it. "And reckless.¡±

    ¡°You should know me by now,¡± I shrugged, noting that I wasn''t offered tea. ¡°It¡¯s what I do best¨Cbreak the rules recklessly.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of your disregard for orthodox witchcraft¡­ things are far worse than I feared," she said. "The Gygr of the Chernobog is growing bolder."

    ¡°Bolder how?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Using any and all means, involving the Arcanicx in our centuries-long match,¡± she waved a hand at Cali.

    ¡°What match?¡±

    ¡°Between growth and decay,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°I create and she destroys. That¡¯s how it goes. My sister and I¡­ represent the fundamental forces of nature. I wield life and she wields¡­ death.¡±

    ¡°Sister?¡± I frowned.

    ¡°Chrizantia, like me, was an apprentice of Yaga Baga,¡± Grandhilda sighed. ¡°The dragon was hungry that day. Nary seven hundred years ago, Zarnitza destroyed two nearby villages - Shalish and Cherno. Christi and I were reborn during the same day thanks to Yaga Baga. We studied together under the same Master, and met together in dreams often. I did as I was told. Christi wanted¡­ more.¡±

    I leaned forward, intrigued. "More?"

    Yaga sighed, her ancient eyes seeming to look through me and into some distant past. "Chrizantia was always ambitious, always pushing boundaries¡­ just as you are. Where I saw balance in nature, she saw limitations to be overcome, rules to break. She believed that by harnessing the power of the Abyssal Void, by bogging up her domain, she could achieve true immortality. Christi wanted to save the Nordstaii people, push back the glaciers and even save the world from the poison of the Wormwood Star."

    "And I''m guessing that didn''t work out so well for her?" I asked.

    "No," Yaga said grimly. "It did not. She delved too deep into forbidden magics, consorting with outsider entities from the deep Void. In her quest for power, she lost her humanity, selfishly dove too deep into herself, becoming a Gygr, a being of pure corruption and decay."

    I whistled low. "Talk about a career change. So now she''s your forever-nemesis?"

    Yaga nodded. "For centuries, we''ve been locked in a struggle. I nurtured life to push back against the encroaching glaciers and the White Blight. She sought to twist the natural order to her will to take instead of give, spreading death far past her domain.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said as I looked at my master with wide eyes as a piece of the puzzle clicked in place. ¡°The White Blight¡­ did Chrizantia create it?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grandhilda answered. ¡°She did. You know... you remind me of her, Ioan.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna create a magical, tree-killing plague!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you might or might not do,¡± Grandhinda said. ¡°You¡¯re flapping aimlessly like a headless chicken, doing incredibly reckless things, getting involved in blood magic.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t touched any blood magic, I swear!¡± I said.

    ¡°You bound her with blood magic contracts,¡± Yaga pointed a long, dark fingernail at the passed out Arcanicx. ¡°To yourself. These things start with a few drops here and there, Ioan. Blood magic is an incredible power, but it gradually corrupts the body and draws the soul closer to the Void.¡±

    ¡°What was I supposed to do?¡± I complained. ¡°I¡­ I couldn¡¯t just kill her! Stormy told me that she has to live, for now, so that we can survive! I wanted to study her mind-control magic, to understand her kind. If she is to be believed then Empress Amari will send another Sorceress after me, then another and so on! Every seventy seven days, until these magical-cat people drag me to their princess'' court in Skulldug!¡±

 43 Multigenerational Effects of Starfall on Arcanicx Phenotype

    The Yaga seemed at a momentary loss for words.

    "Well?" I asked. "What should I do about Amari? Any suggestions, my wise and powerful Master of the Wood?"

    I watched as Yaga''s expression shifted from concern to contemplation. She took a long sip of her tea before responding and then slid an organic-looking cup over to me and poured me some tea. I didn¡¯t drink it, not trusting its questionable properties.

    "Amari is... a complex issue," she said finally. "She''s one of the most powerful Sorceresses in all of Thornwild, and her influence extends far beyond the borders of Skulldug. It just doesn''t make sense..."

    "What doesn''t make sense?" I demanded.

    "Why would Amari send this young Arcanicx after you?" The Yaga waved a wrinkly hand at Cali.

    "Maybe Amari was testing the waters, seeing how I''d react to a less experienced hunter before sending someone more formidable," I shrugged. "Isn''t that how these things work? It also seems like Amari sells prophecies to rich, young Arcanicx. She''d make more money if she sold it to more people."

    "Amari''s motivations are often... obscure, related to the powers of the Wild Hunt," the Yaga said. "We can''t discount the possibility that this is all part of some larger game she''s playing. The Gygr''s influence is... what''s concerning me the most. This Arcanicx smells of Chrizantia''s meddling, her body contaminated with far too much blood magic."

    I glanced at Cali through the Astralscope, not seeing anything cursed around her. Grandhilda''s 700+ year old spiritual senses were likely superior to my dinky gemstone glasses though.

    "Was it my fault that the Gygr got into Callista''s head?" I asked. "I took away all of her magic tools and stardust."

    "Not exactly," the Yaga shook her head. "The infection in her is old..."

    "How old?" I asked.

    "Older than she is. The door to the Astral Abyss has been gradually pried open into the souls of her foremothers since Starfall," the Yaga replied darkly. "Arcanicx like her are more monster than human, changed, remade by the poison of the Wormwood Star. Things like her hunt down our heroes, bind them into servitude. I didn¡¯t think that someone like her would come after you so soon, didn¡¯t think that Skulldug would sell a prophecy to a Castian.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see the future like Stormy?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not when a big player like Amari is involved, muddying the waters,¡± the Yaga shook her head.

    "So, what, the Arcanicx are fundamentally corrupted beings, is that what you''re saying?¡± I asked, glancing at Cali.

    ¡°Yes. They gain power through unnatural means, constantly feeding their artifacts blood. You cannot save this cursed creature,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°Blood magic tears at the soul, weakens it. This girl¡¯s soul is the result of generations of dark magic, and it isn¡¯t simply torn¨Cit¡¯s filled with deep hollows, gnawed away by her use of the insidious power of Wormwood. The Gygr simply burrowed through the hollows, infested her, took advantage of the damage that was already there.¡±

    ¡°How long does she have?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Less than two weeks,¡± the Yaga shrugged. ¡°She is a perfect vessel for Chrizantia to create another abomination. The Gygr already marked Callista as one of her chosen.¡±

    ¡°Will a Jotun come after her?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Yaga nodded.

    ¡°Won¡¯t Zemy¡¯s banner keep her invisible to that thing?¡±

    ¡°They will indeed. But, if the Jotuns do not find her, then the Song of the Abyss itself will lead Callista to Chernobog, its call getting stronger with every passing day. Eventually, when she goes to sleep, she will not wake, and her own feet will take her to Chrizantia¡¯s watery domain.¡±

    ¡°And if I¡­¡±

    ¡°If you attempt to stop her from reaching Chernobog, Cali or one of the Jotuns will kill you, Ioan,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°The void has always been inside Callista since her birth. She should not have come this far North. She is already a dead-walker. When she stepped into Svalbard, her neck became entangled with an invisible web. A truly potent binding curse of the Gygr¡¯s design hangs on the inside of her soul like an ever-tightening noose, the only escape from which is the mercy of death or being turned inside out.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°But Stormy can...¡± I began.

    ¡°Stormy is just a kitten,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°She can sense the most likely outcome that will help you survive, but that¡¯s about it. She lacks human understanding of¡­ more complex, nuanced subjects. There is nothing you can do for Callista, Ioan. Your garden won¡¯t even be able to use her body like you¡¯ve used the bodies of the bandits from Bernt¨Cthe Arcanicx lack the heart cores of Nordstaii men.¡±

    I simply stared at the witch. I came here hoping to acquire a solution, but the answers I got weren¡¯t the ones I wanted.

    Stormy got off the skull and relocated to my lap, wrapping herself around my hand, purring and staring up at me with violet-silver eyes.

    ¡°What about the men from Bernt?¡± I asked as I began to pet the kitten. ¡°Bobliss knows how to kill witches.¡±

    ¡°That blade at your side can kill a witch too,¡± the Yaga pointed out. ¡°Bobliss is Jarl, a grandchild of a DyrkJarl. It¡¯s likely that he will simply rip that sword from your side and stab you through the heart with it. You''ve already drawn far too much attention to yourself and the more you roam about, the more likely you are to perish. The path of a witch is one of subtlety and patience, not reckless action.¡±

    ¡°What do you suggest I do?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Leave the Arcanicx and that cursed blade here,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°I will drown both in my domain. My roots will take apart the girl and grind the dragonglass sword to naught in a century or so.¡±

    I blinked.

    ¡°And me?¡±

    ¡°I will grant you a spot for your¡­ domain to be planted inside mine.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered.

    ¡°I have a few dead spots inside of my domain where my garden hasn¡¯t taken root yet¡± the Yaga explained. ¡°There was some dragonglass there that I finished dissolving only a decade ago.¡±

    I squinted at her, my sense of paranoia ticking up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been examining you with my sight. I¡¯ve consulted the future and my Master Yaga Baga too about you,¡± Grandhilda said. ¡°I did warn you when we first met, Ioan¨Cthe path of a witch is simply not meant for boys. You are a man and thus your domain is fundamentally wrong, broken, static, not like that of female witches. Your domain will never grow in size, will never expand outward. It will always remain at a size of ten by ten elbows. Your magic senses will never grow, never increase no matter how much you meditate. You will never be able to open your inner eye and peer into the Astral. You will never befriend a spirit, Ioan.¡±

    I swallowed.

    ¡°You¡¯re not radiating any magic at all. Your aura is absolutely still, inert, like dead water. You will never see spirits and the spirits will never see you,¡± the Yaga revealed.

    ¡°But I can¡­¡± I began.

    ¡°Liquefy your tiny domain with a stone trinket you¡¯ve made?¡± She arched a silver eyebrow. ¡°That won¡¯t help you survive alone in the wild against Jotuns or fallen Heroes. Forget about Svalbard, stay here, be my apprentice. Jarl Bobliss will never be able to reach you inside of my wood. Unlike the other young witches he killed, I am an absolute Master of the Shalish wood and have been fighting the Gygr¡¯s minions for seven centuries.¡±

    The offer was tempting¨Csafety, a chance to learn from a true master, a reprieve from the multitude of threats that seemed to be closing in around me. But something about it didn''t sit right.

    "And what about my research?" I asked. "My desire to understand the nature of magic?"

    Yaga''s eyes softened slightly. "You can continue your studies here, under my guidance. There''s much I can teach you about the nature of magic."

    I shook my head. "But it wouldn''t be the same, would it? I''d be stuck here, following your path, not forging my own."

    "Ioan," Yaga sighed, "sometimes we must accept our limitations. The path you''re on is dangerous. If you go out there you will die, fall to the Gygr. I can see the torn silver threads inside this Arcanicx¡¯s body as plain as day - the Gygr¡¯s influence permeates all of Svalbard like a spider''s web. You cannot return to the pub, Ioan.¡±

    ¡°What, if I stay in your domain, flying Champions won¡¯t spot me from the sky?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They will not,¡± the Yaga said. ¡°The Shalish wood conceals itself from sight, is unplottable.¡±

    ¡°We reached your domain just fine,¡± I said.

    ¡°You slowly and purposefully approached from below, following a familiar who knows me and can sense the future,¡± the Yaga shrugged. ¡°If you were an enemy I would have just drowned you.¡±

    I looked down at Stormy¡¯s wide violet eyes. There were spirals of endless stardust within, galaxies of magic, of possibility. I knew what I wanted, but what would the kitten think about us staying here? I pulled the Codex out of my bag and opened it to the kitten communication page.

    "What do you think? Should we stay here with Yaga Grandhilda?"

    Stormy considered for a moment, then deliberately placed her paw on [NO].

    "Are you sure? It seems like it would be safer here."

    Stormy''s paw remained firmly on [NO].

    ¡°We¡¯re keeping our other kitten too then?¡±

    [YES]

    I slid the book back into my bag and turned back to Yaga, who was curiously watching our exchange. "It seems my feline advisor disagrees with your proposal."

    The Yaga''s eyes narrowed. "And you trust the judgement of a cat over the wisdom of your Master?"

    "Stormy kept me alive so far," I replied, my fingers wrapping around the Knell-blade.

    The Yaga''s eyes shimmered from within with green spirals. Spindly, feather-covered threads unfolded away from her figure like gargantuan wings heading to envelop me. Stormy rushed up my shoulder swatting at the shimmering feelers.

    "You can''t keep me here against my will, Grandhilda," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

    "Can''t I? You''re in the heart of my domain now, Ioan. My power here is absolute. I could simply will the trees to hold you in place, or have the very air refuse to let you pass, order my familiar to put you to sleep.¡±

    A cold chill ran down my spine.

 44 Witchy Manoeuvres

    "I came here for advice, not to be imprisoned,¡± I growled. ¡°Don¡¯t think that Stormy won¡¯t have your crow for breakfast!¡±

    ¡°Wrrrrrrrrrwrrr,¡± Stormy growled from my shoulder, staring at the empty air to my right side, her tiny black paw bravely raised, tiny claws out.

    "I am trying to help you two, damn it!" Yaga insisted. "You''re heading down a path straight to the heart of void!"

    "Safe, maybe. But not free," I rebutted. ¡°It would be a golden tree cage of your design.¡±

    "Your domain will never grow," Grandhilda repeated. "You can''t see spirits, can''t speak to them. The blood contracts between you and the beast-girl are clawing at your soul. Every time you order the Arcanicx into obedience with blood magic, you step closer to Chernobog, phalanx by phalanx. Remember what I told you - death begets death, control begets control, blood magic begets only more spilling of blood! By fighting with your Master¡¯s wisdom¡­ you''re following in the footsteps of my sister. I already know quite well where they lead!"

    I could feel the air growing thicker, heavier, the grating sparks around me intensifying their pressure against me.

    "You can''t hope to match my domain¡¯s power, Ioan," the Yaga said. ¡°This is the safest place for you to be!¡±

    ¡°And you can¡¯t hope to match my Understanding,¡± I said.

    ¡°What?¡± the Yaga blinked.

    ¡°See it in your future,¡± I said, swinging the knell-blade through the air to disrupt her green feelers. ¡°See what I¡¯m going to do if you keep me here by force.¡±

    Yaga Grandhilda¡¯s eyes turned white for a second.

    I slid a Voicecast rock and a few pearls onto the tea table separating us from my bag.

    ¡°You¡­¡± She sputtered as her eyes became blue once more, face turning pale. ¡°You would¡­?!¡±

    ¡°I absolutely would,¡± I said sharply, my voice as cold as ice. ¡°I would understand exactly what you are and then tear your entire domain asunder. Here¡¯s a voicecast stone for future communication between us. When I¡¯m less¡­ annoyed with you, I¡¯ll call you.¡±

    I picked up Cali, draping the passed out Arcanicx over my shoulder.

    ¡°She¡­¡±

    ¡°Cali belongs to me,¡± I said. ¡°And nobody is going to take away one of my kittens. Not you, nor your bog-sister. You¡¯re stuck here, entrenched, just waiting to be engulfed and ground down by the glaciers. I¡¯m not. I¡¯m going out there to understand the world.¡±

    My fingers on the Knell-blade, I began to retreat away from my Master. The Yaga¡¯s blue eyes looked sad. She was a truly ancient being by 21st century standards. She was old and¡­ very tired.

    "You''re making a mistake, Ioan," she called after me, her voice echoing through the hollow tree. "The path you''re choosing will only lead you to ruin."

    I paused at the entrance, looking back at her. For a moment, I felt a pang of doubt. Was I truly making the right choice? But then I felt Stormy''s reassuring weight on my other shoulder, heard her ¡°Mrrrrrr¡± and my resolve strengthened.

    "Maybe," I shrugged. "But it''s my mistake to make. Goodbye, Master."

    I pulled the invisi-cloack over myself and Cali and twisted the activation knob, vanishing from sight. Hopefully its charge would last all the way back through the fog.

    As we made our way out of the Shalish wood, I couldn''t shake the feeling that we were being watched. The trees seemed to lean in closer, their branches reaching out like grasping fingers. But whether it was Yaga''s influence or simply my imagination, I couldn''t say.

    . . .

    Perhaps because Cali was asleep, Jotun Aclard did not bother us on our way back through the fog. In less than an hour of very brisk running mixed with some walking and chugging of witch-water for refreshment, we were back in Svalbard.

    Slamming the heavy wooden door of the pub behind me, I dropped Cali onto my pile of violet earth and exhaled. Then, I pulled out the waterskin and poured it into Cali¡¯s mouth.

    The ocean-blue eyes of the Arcanicx slowly opened. She stared at me.

    ¡°W-what?¡± She asked, looking left and right. ¡°We¡¯re back at the pub already? What happened?¡±

    "How are you feeling?" I asked, scanning her body with the Astralscope for unexpected side effects of being pecked in the neck by a magic crow.

    Cali sat up, rubbing her head. "I... I''m not sure. Everything''s a bit fuzzy. Did we meet the Yaga? I remember seeing the green moss beneath my feet and some very big trees, and then... nothing."

    I nodded, taking a seat across from her. "Yeah, we met her. She knocked you out for a bit with her magic. Apparently, you''re not as welcome in witch territory as I am."

    "Oh," Cali said, her ears drooping. "I suppose that makes sense. Did you... did you learn anything useful?"

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "I learned a few things," I said carefully. "About George... and about you."

    Cali''s eyes widened. "About me? What... what did she say?"

    ¡°The same diagnosis as Stormy¡¯s,¡± I replied. ¡°Ol¡¯ uncle George is going to give you a forced swamp-bath which will turn you into a¡­ Johnny.¡±

    Cali opened her mouth, intent on chiding me.

    ¡°You were doomed from the moment you stepped in Svalbard, Cali,¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault. According to Yaga Grandhilda you got a face full of magic spider web that George wove around Svalbard¡­ she got you the moment when you disembarked from your sleigh."

    I watched as Cali''s face paled. The gravity of the situation seemed to be sinking into her feline brain.

    "I''m¡­ I¡¯m going to be turned into that¡­ that thing we saw in the fog?" she swallowed.

    "Not if I can help it," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "The Yaga thinks that you''re beyond saving, that your soul already resembles cheese or whatever, but I''m not convinced. There''s got to be a way to break George''s hold on you."

    Cali looked up at me. "Why... Why would you even try? After everything I''ve done and what I will still do when I break the contracts, why would you want to save me?"

    I paused, considering her question.

    Why did I want to save her? Was it just because Stormy said we needed her? Or was there something more?

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being told that I can¡¯t do something,¡± I said simply. ¡°I don¡¯t like being limited or being trapped in someone else¡¯s web.¡±

    ¡°I don''t understand!¡± Cali''s ears twitched, her tail swishing nervously. "If... if I am doomed, why waste your time, why risk your life for someone like me?"

    "I''ve already died once, it''s not so bad," I shrugged. "And you''re a living, breathing example of how magic changed the females of this world. And I want to understand it. All of it. The Arcanicx, the Star-Shards, the Nordstaii witches, Uncle George, the way your sorcery and Iridium society works... it''s all connected through six degrees of separation. And you, Cali, you''re my key to unlocking so many juicy mysteries."

    Cali didn''t say anything to that, simply batting her white lashes at me.

    "Go sit on the table and try to pour magic from your Aura in a specific direction," I said, pulling out the Hexometer. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what spells to picture.¡±

    <hr>

    The next few days flew in wild preparations with me using Cali¡¯s nose and Stormy¡¯s future-sense pathfinding to their maximum.

    ¡°Why are we in this smelly cave?¡± Cali asked with a frown, looking at the shovel in her hands.

    ¡°Bats,¡± I said, pointing at the ceiling.

    ¡°What are you, a witch¡¯s fetch boy for potion ingredients or something?¡± She asked.

    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head as I began to shovel guano into a barrel. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not bringing bat poop to the Shalish wood. Yaga and I had a bit of a disagreement over safety. Said I¡¯m much too reckless. Am I too reckless, Stormy?¡±

    The kitten let out a ¡°Mrrrr,¡± from my neck, confirming that I was indeed packed full of recklessness, but that she also didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°First you take me to a foul smelly puddle to scrape yellow gunk off the rocks and now you¡¯re collecting bat shit?¡± Cali hissed, trying not to gag.

    ¡°Less talking, more digging,¡± I commented. ¡°We still have to ride back before dark.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°You¡­ want how much of my blood?¡± Cali blinked at me, looking horrified as I presented her with a sharp needle and a one liter glass pitcher.

    ¡°You heard me,¡± I said, wiping her finger with alcohol.

    ¡°Why?¡± She choked.

    ¡°Science,¡± I replied simply.

    <hr>

    I spent the morning emptying Cali''s sleigh.

    When it was fully emptied of her things, I hung Zemy¡¯s banners across its interior and began filling the rest with barrels of water, wood planks and earth from the pub. I shoveled pile after pile of the violet-tinged soil into the vehicle, packing it tightly and adding plants to the windows.

    Cali aided me with a stupefied expression on her face.

    As we worked, I couldn''t help but ponder over Yaga''s words. Was I truly doomed to a minuscule domain, unable to grow or expand? The thought was a tad disheartening, but I pushed it aside. I''d find a way around it, just as I''d somehow find a way to keep Cali from Jotunification.

    When the sleigh was nearly full, I left an open space in the middle, enough to fit two people and a kitten. Then, I carefully hung nets from the ceiling and walls, suspending my collection of crystals and various tools throughout the interior, making use of the fact that a 3x3 meter sphere around me would be constantly influenced by my domain. Each gem and tool glinted in the dim light, a constellation of magical potential. Then I hung Zemy¡¯s banners on each of the horses, securing the banners tight.

    <hr>

    ¡°Are we¡­ leaving?¡± Cali asked as the sun began to dip behind the distant glaciers.

    ¡°What does it look like? Obviously we are leaving!¡± I declared loudly, noticing that silver trails of fog were creeping steadily from the North forest into the village.

    The Avoidoscope¡¯s arrow spun on my wrist, pointing straight at the suspiciously creeping fog, warning that there was something horribly magic about it, best to be avoided.

    Cali stared at the fog too, her entire body trembling.

    ¡°T-they are coming¡­ t-the Gygr k-knows that we¡¯re trying to get away!¡± she stuttered. ¡°I¡­ I can feel their approach in my head! W-we are out of time, Ioan!¡±

    A spine-tingling howl echoed across Svalbard just as I finished checking over the horses. The large animals neighed anxiously, stamping their hooves on the ground.

    ¡°W-where are we e-even going?¡± Cali cried. ¡°There¡¯s no road out of this place, the river is still not frozen!¡±

    I shoved Cali into the sleigh, handing her a wooden straw.

    ¡°W-what?¡± She blinked at me.

    ¡°Into the magic water barrel,¡± I said. ¡°Now please.¡±

    Cali stared at the barrel filled with dark water.

    ¡°Get into the damn barrel or so help me god, I will sink you into the earth,¡± I growled.

    Cali leapt into the barrel with a splash.

    I slammed the lid over her, snapping it closed. Then, I poured a bunch of witch-blessed rocks and a layer of soil atop it, leaving only a small wooden tube open, where the breathing hole was carved in the cover.

    I urged the six horses forward with a clucking noise and the swing of the reigns, my heart pounding as the howls came closer.

    The sleigh lurched into motion, gliding over the snow as its contents shifted slightly. Stormy wrapped herself around my neck, emitting a deep growl as her claws dug into Zemy¡¯s banner on my shoulders.

    The howl of the Jotun from the North sounded closer and this time it wasn¡¯t alone.

    Another howl resounded from the East. There were two of them, aiming to trap us in the bend of the rushing whitewater river, a small cliff directly past the river barring the way South.

    They, as well as I, knew that there was no way out of Svalbard for the sleigh.

 45 Creative Use of Fluids

    I directed the horses into the icy water, aiming for the small, uneven island formed by the fact that Glinka moved about ten meters into the village.

    Fortunately, the six animals became entirely docile after receiving daily doses of witch-grass and obeyed my commands, whinnying as they entered the river.

    The Sleigh sank halfway into the water and was almost dragged sideways, but the six horses proved to be stronger than Glinka''s current.

    As we reached the small island formed by Glinka''s new path, I guided the horses to pull us onto its rocky shore. The sleigh scraped against the uneven ground, the sound grating on my nerves almost as much as the approaching howls of the Jotuns.

    I climbed to the top of the Sleigh, and lit the oiled tip of the arrow of my wooden arbalest, waiting for the pair of monsters to arrive. The grey fog engulfed all of Svalbard now, thankfully avoiding the river. I didn''t expect the monsters to show up so soon, one of my weapons wasn''t ready yet.

    Thankfully I had prepared two just in case.

    Hypothesis: Jotuns are inhuman constructs, operating on very basic logic only slightly smarter than the river.

    The first Jotun emerged from the fog, its form just as grotesque as before. It was a tad larger than the one we''d encountered earlier, its multiple limbs writhing as it approached the water''s edge, gargantuan elk antlers looming overhead.

    Behind it, I could see the shadowy outline of a second creature, equally monstrous and lanky.

    In seconds, the two abominations tore right through my barrier of sideways trees, obliterating it. Having reached the pub, the first Jotun ripped the hefty oak door off its hinges and sent it flying into the forest.

    The Jotun somehow folded itself, entering into the pub and howling as the second one waited outside.

    So much for the safety of a pub. I swallowed as the Jotun made noises inside the pub, demolishing whatever remained inside.

    In a few minutes the Jotuns left the pub, investigating the rest of Svalbard.

    My heart pounded in my chest as I aimed the arbalest. The flaming arrow cast an eerie glow across the water, illuminating my pale hands.

    I took a deep breath, steadying my aim.

    "Come on," I muttered. "Just a little closer. Come and take a good sniff, you horny bastards."

    The nearest Jotun reached the water''s edge and hesitated. Its warped flesh-face scanned the river, searching for a way across. I could see the frustration in its movements, the way it paced along the shore, massive, bloody antlers twisting left and right.

    Hypothesis: Jotuns don''t like entering Glinka''s water.

    I waited with bated breath. My guess seemed to be correct as the Jotun didn''t enter the water.

    But, that didn''t mean we were safe. These creatures were dangerous, could potentially overcome their dislike of the rushing water to snack on a witch.

    I waited until the Jotun moved into position and pulled the Astralscope atop of my eyes.

    "We sense your gaze, witch-she," the first Jotun howled. It ran to where I wanted it to and then stopped, sniffing the air.

    Hypothesis: Jotuns absolutely love the blood of magical beings.

    "Blood... The radiant-blood of the witch-she!" The Jotun bent down.

    The second Jotun heard the first and immediately ran to it. It joined in on the feast, slightly shoving the first one away from its meal.

    Both of them began to paw at Glinka¡¯s megalith soaked in about a liter of Cali''s blood that I had extracted earlier and kept it alive and fresh by storing it next to the preservation gem.

    Hideous mouths opened on their warped palms, impossibly long fingers unfurling, twisted tongues covered in spiky protrusions emerging to lick the bloodied rock.

    The Avatar of Glinka was already quite miffed by the fact that some unmentioned jerk poured an entire bucket of Arcanicx blood all over her pillar without making a trade or making a wish or whatever.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    When the Jotuns began to lick her megalith with their freaky hand-tongues, she went absolutely berserk with rage.

    As the Jotuns pawed and scraped the blood-soaked pillar with their increasingly lengthening tongues, the air across the entire river ignited with green and blue auroras.

    The water''s surface began to churn and bubble as Glinka furiously raised her hands in the air.

    I ordered the horses to move away from Svalbard. The river around us began to churn, water rushing to Glinka¡¯s megalith.

    Just as the sleigh emerged on the other side of Glinka into the forest clearing in front of the cliffside, the river behind us roared with absolute rage.

    I turned around to see four-meter-tall walls of water rushing from both sides of the river, rapidly forming and rising up in two massive, translucent hands. Each watery appendage was easily the size of a house, fingers made of bubbling currents and palms swirling with eddies and foam.

    Glinka''s avatar hovered over her harassed megalith, her form shimmering and rippling like the surface of a disturbed pond. Her face, though featureless, radiated an unmistakable fury, hair flying through the air. With a gesture that vibrated the air itself, she swung her spiritual hands in sync with her colossal liquid hands.

    Time slowed, my heartbeat pumping like mad as the watery hands reached their zenith, droplets suspended in the air like glittering diamonds.

    Moving with accelerated speed, I slid through the rooftop hatch into the sleigh, liquefying the witch-earth beneath me with a press of the remote in my pocket to sink ? of the way into its safe embrace along with the burning arrow arbalest which instantly became extinguished.

    With a thunderous clap that echoed across the landscape, Glinka brought her hands together.

    The Jotuns, too busy licking yummy Cali-blood, were caught between the massive palms and had no time to react. The impact was catastrophic, like the sound like a thousand thunderclaps rolled into one. Water and magic exploded outwards in all directions, a tidal wave that swept across the entire town and nearly turned over our Sleigh.

    <hr>

    Emerging from the liquid earth, I climbed out back to the roof.

    The horses seemed quite shaken, but had nowhere to run to due to the uneven cliff walls in front of them and the river behind them, the bulk of the Sleigh protecting them from the magical explosion.

    I looked back, peering through the now fading mist. Where the Jotuns had stood, there was nothing but a crater filled with swirling, muddy water. The creatures had been literally smashed out of existence, their twisted forms obliterated by the sheer force of Glinka''s wrath. Whatever had remained of them was likely carried North by the angry whitewater river.

    The thick silver fog was gone too, the air blasted away, clean.

    Glinka¡¯s megalith was submerged halfway in her new river location, relocated three meters further into Svalbard.

    The Avatar of the river looked left and right, making sure no more void-pervs were around and then sat back down onto her rock, her arms crossed. She looked fed up with the world.

    Little did she know that I wasn¡¯t anywhere done with her yet.

    ¡°Thanks, G.¡± I exhaled as I looked at the spirit. ¡°I couldn''t have done it without you.¡±

    I climbed back into the sleigh and freed Cali from her watery barrel, my hands shaking from the ungodly levels of stress.

    ¡°What was that noise?¡± the soaked Arcanicx asked as she emerged from the barrel, shivering. I handed her a towel and went to feed the horses witch-grass and witch-water to heal whatever damage the detonation might have caused to their ears.

    Somewhat dry and changed into a new dress, Cali climbed out of the sleigh.

    Her face went slack at the sight of Svalbard and the ransacked pub. The village was well lit by the rings of Endalaus as the magical explosion had parted the clouds overhead.

    ¡°W-what d-did you do?¡± the Arcanicx demanded.

    ¡°Slapped a couple of J-s out of existence,¡± I said. ¡°Uncle George is definitely not getting invited to my wedding after this.¡±

    ¡°W-wedding?¡± Cali squeaked, staring at the relocated river. ¡°W-What wedding? W-who is ma-marrying whom?¡±

    "Oh, you know, just planning ahead. I figure after all this excitement, I might settle down with a nice girl. She''s got a huuuuge temper, but she really knows how to make a splash!"

    "What?" Cali sputtered, blushing furiously, eyes wild. ¡°Who? I don¡¯t make¡­ s¡­ splashes!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You missed out on all the splashing, on the account that you sat in a barrel and made bubbling noises,¡± I said. ¡°Also, I don¡¯t recall proposing to you. If anything, you proposed to me and were shot down, repeatedly. I¡¯m talking about the river.¡±

    ¡°The River?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I really moved her this time,¡± I replied with a wink. ¡°I think that she¡¯s falling for me! That or she¡¯s getting really fed up with me. It¡¯s hard to tell, since she¡¯s got no face. Mostly I feel like this is a one-sided relationship.¡±

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits, Ioan!¡± Cali snarled. ¡°Would you stop that! How in the Abyss do you keep moving that bloody river?!¡±

    ¡°Magic,¡± I said.

    ¡°Magic?¡± Cali blinked at me. ¡°Even an Arch-Sorceress would be unable to move an entire river like that! Running water is one of the most difficult mediums to work with!¡±

    "Let''s just say I set up a little unplanned meeting between my lovely river and our horny friends," I grinned, pantomiming a Jotun walking about with my fingers and then slapped my hands together. "They hit it off swimmingly. Get it? Swimmingly?¡±

    Cali''s eye began to twitch.

    I started to laugh at the murderously cute faces she was making, the weight of a thousand stones gone from my chest. I laughed so hard that sparks of tears formed at the edges of my eyes.

    Stormy jumped off my shoulder, rolled her eyes at me, climbed onto the roof of the Sleigh and started to lick herself.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m done,¡± I let out, trying not to stare at Cali¡¯s bewildered and annoyed face which was making me break out into more fits of nerve-wrecked giggles. ¡°No more dumb jokes until next Tuesday, I swear.¡±

 46 : The Celestarch and his Cosmophage

    -=[Callista Liesl]=-

    I awoke with a start, my heart pounding in my chest. The remnants of my nightmare clung to me like silver cobwebs, the image of the Gygr¡¯s piercing yellow eyes burning into my soul.

    I shuddered, trying to shake off the terror that had gripped me in my sleep. The nightmare of becoming a Jotun, of being pulled into the Gygr¡¯s bog, of remaining alive while my body slowly turned inside out, drowning within myself¡­ was a constant presence now, hovering at the edges of my consciousness, drawing ever closer with each breath.

    Chernobog called out to me in my dreams, seeping into my every waking moment. When I closed my eyes I saw it, a pure black, oil-slick spiral amidst the gray, desolate, lifeless swamp.

    I saw the pit of pure red from which I would re-emerge when I was remade by Chernobog.

    Soon I would be changed into an undying idea, a current of ever-flowing, ever unfolding entities formed from my sins, featuring everything living I have ever killed and consumed in my nineteen years of life as an Arcanicx.

    No longer an I, but a We, the Song of the Abyss, the Symphony of Flesh.

    As I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, trying not to whimper, I couldn''t help but glance over at Ioan.

    He was already awake, of course, scribbling away in that book of his, sitting across from me on the large bed within my sleigh, now surrounded with piles of earth, stones hanging from ropes and tools.

    Did he ever sleep?

    I watched him for a moment, trying to make sense of the enigma before me, trying to push away the sense of the damned void-spiral that sought to invert me, pulling me into its dark embrace.

    I thought about everything that happened last night.

    Moving a river once was a feat worthy of an Arch-Sorceress.

    Purposefully moving it again to somehow obliterate two Jotuns was straight up absurd.

    It took an entire Coven of Archmages and all of their Champions to end the malicious reign of the twins of Korranta who simply would not die, would not succumb to magic or blade. Ioan did it by himself with only a kitten on his shoulder!

    Ioan Starfall.

    A name that upended everything I thought I knew about the world.

    The longer I spent with Ioan, the more I realized that he was not inversion-cursed like me.

    Ioan¡¯s mind-state was distinctively orderly to the point of obsession, doing the oddest things for unknown reasons. The language he spoke and wrote in, had a distinctive pattern to it, wasn¡¯t the gibberish of a madman, wasn¡¯t the result of hostile insanity radiating from the depths of the Abyssal Void. Ioan didn''t slay me when he had the chance, even resisted striking me down with the Knell-blade when I tried to force him into it.

    I suddenly remembered the words from the book of Legends of the Celestarch read to me by my assigned Strix in the librarium of Iridium when I was but a young kit.

    "The universe was dark and vast and the distances between stars and planets unimaginable. Undeterred by this, the Celestarch had forged a great Wyrm, Space her name, the First, the Everywhere Door, the Great Cosmophage. With his new partner who could burrow holes between here and there, the Celestarch walked from world to world and found naught but silence and death there. Displeased by this, the Celestarch ordered the Cosmophage to gather every world within sight to Endalaus and seeded each with life, watching each garden of creation grow, thrive and multiply. And it was Good."

    Legends of the Master Builder, the mover of stars entwined themselves around Ioan like the Divine Beast Oroborus of the Laima people leading me to but one inevitable, horrifying conclusion.

    Ioan was a Celestial Lord who came here from Endalaus to judge the Arcanicx for our sins of using the Star-Shards. The Stellar Gods were angry with us for feeding on what rightly belonged to Heaven to our Champions.

    How did the black kitten even understand Ioan¡¯s language? How could a kitten interact with a diagram of kitten faces and letters?

    How did all of these bell-flowers and green grasses around me survive the White Blight, bloom, persist in opposition to the biting cold of winter... unless they were simply enforced into existence by the mere presence of the Seeder of Worlds?

    Was Stormy one of the presumed long dead Cosmophages in disguise, one of the many-eyed Elder Worms that long ago burrowed holes in the moons circling Endalaus, Astroshifted by the Word of Master Builder into the body of a minute kitten?

    The dedication with which Ioan wrote things down, ignoring everything else like sleep, did not bode well for my kin.

    What was he listing in that book of his, constantly making charts of? Was it the names of the worst sinners to be turned into crystals forevermore, was it the names of City States from the Ring of Castia, places to be expunged from existence?

    As the only Arcanicx who knew the truth, one potentially doomed to lose her mind in less than a week, I had to act now, had to assuage the Star Lord¡¯s judgement!

    My mind was made up, a decision was reached.

    ¡°Oh hey Cali, you¡¯re awake,¡± Ioan said as I uncurled myself from where I lay.

    I quickly rotated and slid onto my knees, bowing low before Ioan. My heart raced as I pressed my forehead into the bed.

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    "Oh Great Celestarch, Lord of Heavens!" I began, my voice trembling, "I beg your forgiveness for the sins of the Arcanicx. We have trespassed against the laws of Heaven, consuming that which rightfully belongs to the Stellar Gods."

    I dared not look up, keeping my gaze down as I continued my desperate plea. "We were blinded by our pride, our lust for power. We thought ourselves above the natural order, but now I see the error of our ways."

    Tears began to form in my eyes as the weight of our transgressions bore down upon me, along with the feeling of my personal doom. "Oh, Emissary of Endalaus, Sovereign of moon-devouring First Elder Wyrm, I implore you to show mercy. We are but misguided children, led astray by the allure of the Wormwood Star! I beg, not for myself but for all Arcanicx of the Ring of Castia! Please¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ioan asked.

    I bit my lip.

    My confession lacked conviction, wasn''t good enough for the Celestarch, my words probably failing to match the Celestial language of his kind. I treated him like a mortal boy, a mere Nordstaii Champion to be claimed, but he was obviously none of these things.

    My mind had been clouded by the six contracts and I¡­

    Shit. I didn¡¯t feel any of the pull of the contracts, that¡¯s why I felt so clear-minded now!

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my Lord!¡± I cried. ¡°All of the contracts you¡¯ve bound me with have all lost their potency!¡±

    ¡°They did, huh?¡± Ioan asked. ¡°Hrmm. Guess there¡¯s some factor that I¡¯ve missed, thought that they would last a tad longer. Stormy, if you please¡­¡±

    Ioan said something in the Celestial tongue to the kitten and opened the book with the drawing of cat faces. I swallowed, guessing that my faith was about to be tested.

    There would be no lies this time. I could not allow myself to deceive the Emissary of the Elder Gods, the only man on Thornwild that could undo the inversion-curse that I now bore with but a mere Word.

    ¡°My Lord,¡± I exhaled. ¡°The contracts hold no sway over my mind because Arcanicx blood decays between one and two weeks time!¡±

    ¡°Hrm,¡± Ioan said. ¡°And the male blood does not decay, yes? Unless the contracts with Champions are occasionally refreshed?¡±

    ¡°The blood of Champions does not decay,¡± I affirmed. ¡°Once outside male bodies it only becomes more magically potent with time.¡±

    ¡°Interesting,¡± Ioan commented. ¡°So if a Champion spills some blood during a fight, what happens to it?¡±

    ¡°The Great Colosseum of Iridium absorbs the spilled blood of Champions to reinforce its ward,¡± I explained. ¡°If a Champion spills their blood elsewhere, he usually pulls it all back into himself after the battle ends so that its power is not wasted. If a Champion is slain and their body isn''t found in time, the blood usually permanently contaminates an area, poisons and twists it."

    Ioan eyed his kitten. Stormy¡¯s black paw was firmly planted under the happy kitten face.

    ¡°I swear never to lie to you, in the name of Goldara!¡± I revealed. ¡°For as long as my mind is clear of the influence of the void-born, I will serve you, my¡­ Omniarch. I understand what Amari meant by this name now!"

    ¡°What¡¯s with all the aggrandizing titles, Cali?¡± Ioan asked. ¡°Were you not sending me angry glares yesterday?¡±

    ¡°I was! Forgive me!¡± I lamented. ¡°Yesterday I was still bound with the last of the contracts, the magic of which was making me behave as though you were my best friend. Today, I am fully free of their influence! If¡­ if you wish to bind me again, I am willing! Please, just spare my kin the wrath of Heaven!¡±

    ¡°Say what?¡± Ioan asked.

    ¡°The tongue of the Nordstaii mortals cannot express how much wretchedness I feel for my mistaken presumptions!¡± I stammered out far louder than I intended. ¡°I treated you as if you were a mere... Nordstaii male, a mortal boy! Your mundane appearance has deceived this foolish, simple Felix Arcanicx, which is testament to the great power of the Word you wield!¡±

    ¡°Back up a little,¡± Ioan said. ¡°Why do you think that I¡¯m your¡­ Lord?¡±

    I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts.

    Ioan''s words only reinforced my belief in his divine nature¨Cof course a celestial being would be amused with the ineptitude of a simple, minute, earth-bound creature such as myself.

    "My Omniarch," I began trying to sound as respectable as I could, "During my studies at the Maggelanum, I was read a few arcane manuscripts. They spoke of old legends, stories passed down through generations, of the Elder Gods, the Builders of Endalaus. The Heaven-born, they were called. Entities of immense power who could move celestial bodies with a mere Word, who shaped the very fabric of creation. In my folly I thought them¡­ fiction.¡±

    I dared to glance up at Ioan''s face, searching for any sign of anger. "These beings were said to have used their Cosmophage Wyrms to feast on the moons that circle Endalaus! To have carved out the seas and raised the mountains on every world falling through the Infinite Abyss across the Magisphere of Desire, never reaching Endalaus. And now, seeing your power firsthand - the way you command the rivers, how you obliterated the Jotuns - it''s clear to me that you are a true Emissary of the Heavens and I was but a fool trying to bind you!"

    Ioan''s eyebrows furrowed, and I hurried on, afraid I might lose my chance to explain. "The texts speak of the Heaven-born using a divine, long lost language. Just like the strange writing and tongue you use to speak with your... companion." I glanced at Stormy.

    "The mundane earth you¡¯ve filled my sleigh with," I continued, gesturing to the ground packed into the sleigh, "it defies all known laws of magic, lacks stardust. It grows flowers with barely any sunlight, resists the White Blight. Mundane water blessed by your touch, heals even the permanent tissue damage from dragonglass!¡±

    ¡°Riiiight,¡± Ioan said.

    ¡°Without access to Wormwood, I¡­ I thought that I would turn into a grey Drallus by now and yet my mane and tail remain as white as snow!¡± I waved a hand at my hair.

    ¡°I guess your people don¡¯t know much about the Nordstaii Yaga,¡± Ioan said. ¡°Or nature spirits.¡±

    ¡°Not many of our kind chase after Champions this far North,¡± I said. ¡°I do wish that I could remember what wonders you have shown me in the Shalish wood, but alas¡­ my mind draws a blank when I think about it.¡±

    ¡°Should we tell her?¡± Ioan turned to his cat.

    ¡°Brrrrrr,¡± Stormy looked at me, evaluating my expression with pale-silver eyes of absolute judgement.

    My heart accelerated.

    What great truths would the Star-born reveal? Would he curse all Arcanicx and wipe us all from existence? Would he simply watch in amusement, write more names in his book as the void-born dragged me to their bog? Would he laugh as I turned into a Jotun?

    ¡°I beg for your mercy, oh Celestial Cosmophage,¡± I bowed to Stormy. ¡°Forgive me for my transgressions against you. You are the highest Divine Beast, above the Felix-Mother Goldara herself!¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrr,¡± Stormy nodded, seemingly considering my words.

    "Oh divine one," I continued, "I was blind to your beauty but now I see the sparkle in your fur and the shine in your silver eyes like that of myriads of stars cast across the cosmos! Forgive my foolishness, for who would suspect a creature so small and fluffy to possess such vast cosmic power?¡±

    Stormy tilted her head, her eyes seeming to gleam with amusement. She let out a soft "Mrrp" that I could only interpret as acknowledgment of my grovelling.

    Ioan made what sounded like a chortling sound.

    "Oh, great and powerful Stormy," I pleaded, "I swear to erect many great temples in your honor if you forgive me for my sins and let me live! Devourer of worlds, seeder of gardens, she who gave birth to all life on Thornwild! If you could find it in your celestial heart to spare us lowly Arcanicx, to¡­¡±

    It was then that Ioan started to laugh.

    I paled, my voice stuttering to a halt.

    The Emissary of Endalaus found amusement in my words. He would not save me from Jotunification.

    I clearly said something wrong, something stupid, failed to save myself, doomed my people.

 47 Stormy Days and Stormy Nights

    -=[Stormy]=-

    I thought myself the only survivor of Flying Death¡¯s mayhem, was quite certain that I would reach my favourite warm step and perish, but it turns out that even a professional hunter of know-sense such as myself can encounter something entirely unexpected.

    That something unexpected was my Myoan.

    At first, I wasn''t sure what to make of this odd, young, male cat-servant with the gaze of an old, weary hunter.

    He decided to call me "Ss-tt-oo-rr-mew", which was fine with me, even if a bit too long for my feline sensibilities.

    It was the intent behind the word noises that mattered, not the noises themselves that his mouth was making.

    By munching on intent, know-sense revealed to me that Myoan¡¯s title for me stood for the [Queen of Storms], [Empress of Tempests] or perhaps [Lady of Overcasts]. The meaning correlated to the lush darkness of my fur which was dark on the outside, but turned white when parted, the same way lightning parted broiling clouds.

    As far as regal titles went, it was acceptable, far better than the title that the meat-bringer female dubbed me as. I recalled that the know-sense had unfolded the name she used when calling me into [a skin of an animal, covering paws of cat-servants during cold times]. She wasn¡¯t very creative with cat-titles, I suppose. The name did remind me that cat-servants had inferior fur-deprived hands, so I had that going for me.

    Honestly, the lack of imagination and obedience in some cat-servants sometimes astounded me. At least Myoan had the sense to give me a properly regal title!

    The difference in creativity and cat-obedience potential was why the meat-bringer was eaten by Flying Death and why Myoan survived. After all, he was one of the other clever fetchlings that ran after me that day across the frozen river.

    From my observations, Myoan seemed to be constantly moving, digging, and rearranging things in the only big home that survived the attack of Flying Death. That¡¯s right - we were inhabiting the home, the step of which I had blessed most often with my presence.

    I followed Myoan around, curious about what he was doing. He talked to me a lot, which was nice, even if I couldn''t always catch most of what he chattered about. Alas, he didn¡¯t always listen to me.

    Many of the female cat-servants in ¡°Ssh-wr-myaw-brrra-rrd¡± were generally talkative and while there was an occasional pitch of know-mites in their irrational, incomprehensible gibberish, Myoan¡¯s chatter was often packed with know-mites.

    My overall assessment was that somehow Myoan knew far more than he should. I hadn¡¯t paid much attention to this cat-servant before, but his head was definitely somehow packed full of know-mites. Who put an entire colony of them into his head, I had no idea. Not knowing something so vital bothered me immensely.

    After some serious hunting, my know-sense whispered that it was a joint effort between the do-er river Grr-een-ka and the think-er shiny blue hunt-stone Myoan carried on his neck. Sadly, he lost the shiny stone somewhere, so I could not interrogate the know-sense further about its mysterious origins.

    I did not like Grr-een-ka one bit. Only an extra-dumb kitten would appreciate water or approach Grr-een-ka. Moving water and Grr-een-ka in particular was a dangerous enemy that could drown a cat before they could even blink, one that has taken the lives of many cats and cat-servants over far too many summers.

    According to my know-sense, Grr-een-ka was an extra-dangerous, dumb dog, one that was sleeping now because of winter, but could wake up, if sufficiently bothered and bite almost anyone or anything in half with her watery jaw, carrying them to the big water in the North.

    Myoan seemed to be particularly intent on bothering Grr-een-ka. He even stole one of her fish-rocks, even though I expressly told him not to. Thankfully, the rock theft did not raise the sleeping river-dog from her 9 months slumber.

    Over the passing days and nights, I monitored Myoan as he explored the ruined village, to make sure that he would not wake the river-dog. Distant know-sense absolutely thrummed with him doing exactly that stupid thing, so I had to be extra-diligent.

    I watched as Myoan roamed picking up odd bits and pieces, examining them closely before either discarding them or tucking them away in a bag he carried. Sometimes, he would stop and stare at nothing, his eyes unfocused, before suddenly snapping back to attention only to pull out a skin-covered sit-spot and scribble within.

    Myoan was skinnier, quieter, more thoughtful than any of the other fetchlings that I¡¯ve encountered and he spent far too much time scribbling inside a sit-spot, which was rather irregular because none of the other fetchling or adult males of his kind did anything of the sort.

    He called the sit-spot he found in the rubble a ¡°Mewo-drr-kss¡±.

    As far as I¡¯ve observed before, playing with the dark-liquid tipped sticks that resulted in a variety of scribbles was ordinarily the job of the female cat-servants. The job of male cat servants was hunting meat, not playing with wet-sticks. Myoan didn¡¯t hunt fresh prey for us, which was concerning. He did far too much scribblery.

    The question was, why was Myoan doing the job of a female servant and how would this result in him waking up Grr-een-ka?

    As I watched Myoan day after day, I began to realize something truly fascinating. The sit-spot and the wet-stick scribblery weren''t just idle pastimes!

    At first, I thought it was just a strange, rather dull game, but then I noticed how his eyes would light up when he made certain squiggles, how he''d sometimes mutter to himself and nod as if he''d just caught a particularly juicy tidbit of something. Feeling curious, I peered at the invisible something, extending all of my senses forward.

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    It was then that I was struck with a new, shiny understanding:

    While I chased knowledge-mites by stretching myself out across sunbeams and shadows, Myoan somehow trapped a different kind of knowledge-mites with his stick, simply by leaving intricate black markings on the yellow sheets!

    It turned out that Myoan was a know-sense hunter too, just like me!

    Somehow Myoan used his sit-spot and wet-stick not only to capture but also to preserve and multiply know-mites!

    The more he scribbled in the sit-spot¡¯s insides, the more the colony of know-mites inside it grew!

    I confirmed this by sitting atop the sit-spot.

    Stretching atop the sit-spot instantly filled me with a variety of juicy know-sense and made me feel extra warm, warmer than 20 sunbeams! It was wonderful, I didn¡¯t even have to move much. I could just nap on the sit-spot to absorb the know-sense that occasionally sparkled up from it.

    Hunting know-sense while napping on Myoan¡¯s sit-spot was incredibly effective.

    Noticing what I was doing, Myoan shooed me off his sit-spot, which was a bother. He repeatedly offered me other, lesser sit-spots, which I declined. I knew well that those sit-spots were inferior to the ¡°Myow-drrex¡±, not filled with myriads upon myriads of know-sense colonies pinned to its pages!

    Eventually, after some paw-smacking and a serious conversation, we settled on a compromise of me occupying the sit-spot whenever it was put down and inhabiting his shoulder or lap to catch the occasional juicy know-sense mite fleeing from the sit-spot¡¯s pages while he scribbled in it.

    . . .

    In this manner, Myoan and I had settled into a comfortable routine with him scribbling in his sit-spot and me perched nearby, absorbing the know-sense that emanated from his hunt. It was a good arrangement, one that satisfied both our needs and made both of us happy, making sure that we¡¯d survive longer.

    Eventually, I even convinced him to hunt down an elk and helped him defend our home from three dumb cat-servants that came from elsewhere.

    But then, she arrived from a distant elsewhere.

    The big half-cat, Cah-me, her name like a hairball cough entwined with selfish wants, sauntered into our lives like she owned the place!

    From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was trouble. She was all flash and no substance, lush white fur gleaming in the sunlight.

    I saw that her blue eyes were utterly devoid of any know-sense hunting skills, but she behaved as if she was the best hunter around.

    I would have to show her the error of her ways.

    What bothered me most was how Cah-me looked at Myoan.

    It was clear, even without any know-sense, that she wanted to take him away, to make him her own cat-servant. The very thought made my fur stand on end.

    Myoan was mine! I saved him, found him, nurtured, trained and fed him. I had chosen him as my companion in this post-Flying Death world! All of my work would not go astray just because some fat blonde half-cat showed up!

    Cah-me, the big dumb she was, tried to bind Ioan with her blue spider companion, but I was quick and relentless, saving the poor, confused servant.

    Having pawed off the nasty blue spider¡¯s feelers, I directed Myoan to bind Cah-me into a web of her own making.

    With Cah-me entwined, I once again reigned supreme as the number one feline of the house, helping Myoan scribble out a truly juicy trap for know-sense-mites using three of my portraits as bait.

    Using the me-portrait trap Myoan and I made, we were able to accelerate our mutual hunt for know-sense and show Cah-me her true place on the warm steps (below me).

    No matter how much Cah-me struggled to take my warm step away, I remained vigilant, not permitting it, guiding Myoan¡¯s every waking moment.

    Cah-me was a know-senseless klutz and as such, she somehow managed to entangle herself in the silver webs left by the black-swamp-spider during the night of Flying Death.

    Again, as events escalated out of control, it was my quick thinking and Myoan''s excellent order-following that saved us.

    I was quite scared of Grr-een-ka at first, yes, but with our combined know-sense hunting, I figured out that she was just a dumb river dog, one with no know-sense to her whatsoever. In this manner Grr-een-ka was no wiser than Cah-me!

    A wise cat does not jump into a fight herself, she smacks a dog and watches as the dog mauls her enemy.

    Thus, I led Myoan to wake the river-dog to set her against Cah-me¡¯s dumb dog-house, which was fun and scary to watch, because Grr-een-ka and Cah-me''s dog-house barked and barked at each other, until Grr-een-ka bit Cah-me''s dog-house so hard the entire world shook!

    With her dog-house defeated, Cah-me became twice as polite.

    . . .

    Myoan wanted to visit his Myaw-ga, so I guided him there.

    On the way to Myaw-ga¡¯s home, we encountered a very scary red-dog of the Myaw-ga¡¯s bog sister.

    Myaw-ga home was full of warm sit-spots. I picked the best one, but then Myaw-ga told us that we could not leave her wood.

    One does not tell a cat what to do. The cat decides what to do and when!

    In the ensuing argument, we defeated the Myaw-ga and her black crow.

    Only I knew what Myoan had to do for us to be happy! The Myaw-ga might have been clever but her companion was a crow and not a cat, thus we trumped her and she let us go as we desired.

    . . .

    We visited a few other curious places since, where I hunted even more tasty know-sense, getting even more skilled at bossing Myoan and Cah-me. Soon, my ultimate plan would reach fruition and Cah-me would not be able to stop me!

    The day had come when Myaw-ga¡¯s bog sister sent two of her red-dogs to bite us. I was ready. Bravely following my advice, Myoan woke up the river-dog with a bit of Cah-me¡¯s blood.

    Grr-een-ka was quite bothered when she woke up. She slammed the red dogs against each other and then dragged them off to the distant big, cold water with her jaws.

    That¡¯ll teach them to mess with me!

    This morning, due to the dog-eat-dog incident, Cah-me, finally realizing how incredible I was, began to praise me, calling me a [Divine-Star-Beast], [All-Mother], [Moon-Devourer Wyrm] and other appreciative titles.

    I accepted her worship with grace, of course.

    After all, it was only right that she finally recognized my feline superiority. It only took some roundabout dog smacking to do it!

    Myoan, for his part, seemed amused by the whole affair, but I could tell he was proud of me too.

    A multitude of my unseen observers, across the distant boundary of know-sense, watched all of my excellent efforts.

    They, unlike Myoan and Cah-me, knew exactly who constantly pawed at the strings of fate making sure that the cat-servant and the big dumb half-cat got to enjoy the pleasure of more sunbeam-filled days even when winter closed her claws all around us.

 48 The Biomimicry of Governance

    I couldn''t hold it in any longer. The sight of Cali prostrating herself in front of Stormy, proclaiming her the "Divine Wyrm Beast above Goldara herself," was simply too much.

    As I snickered, part of me wondered if this Stormy-worshiping version of Cali was an improvement over the friendship-obsessed one I''d been dealing with for the past week. At least this Cali seemed less likely to try to enslave me.

    "Cali," I said, once I''d managed to get my laughter under control, "I think you might be jumping to some pretty extreme conclusions here."

    Cali blinked at me.

    ¡°I get it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re scared of... Uncle George''s boggy machinations."

    She nodded, her eyes wide with unconcealed fear and desperate hope that I could snap my fingers, say a magic word and all of our Gygr troubles would be fixed.

    I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Was it fine to let her believe I was some kind of cosmic entity for now? It seemed like an easy option, but also one that could backfire spectacularly if she started to rely on cosmic powers which Stormy and I didn¡¯t actually have.

    "Look, Cali," I began, "I''m not an emissary from the heavens. I''m just... well, I''m not entirely sure what I am, to be honest. But I''m definitely not here to judge or punish anyone. Why do you think that I¡¯m an Omniarch? Is it because Amari advertised me as such to shake a chest of gold out of you?¡±

    ¡°It was three small chests and¡­ no,¡± the Arcanicx shook her pure white mane. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re writing things in that book of yours.¡±

    ¡°What, this?¡± I pointed at the open Codex, half of which was now serving as Stormy¡¯s seat. ¡°Why does writing in a book make me a Cosmic Judge?¡±

    ¡°Men don¡¯t write in books on their own accord,¡± Cali said. ¡°Most men are illiterate brutes. Those that are literate only use their literacy to do specific tasks by looking at a list of instructions we provide them with. You don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re writing a lot, by yourself, more than I¡¯ve seen anyone write.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so, of all the things, my literacy was what gave me away,¡± I smiled softly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the other things too,¡± Cali said. ¡°Some of the Aquariux Arch-Sorceresses can create flying spheres of water, bend still water into a defensive wall¡­ but they cannot move an entire river permanently 50 elbows from its previous location! Fluidmancy just doesn''t work like that!"

    ¡°A man can move a river permanently with a shovel and a lot of time,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Ten thousand men can do it in a week by digging a trench.¡±

    ¡°You did it in the blink of an eye, my Omniarch,¡± Cali said. "I didn''t see you digging any trenches."

    ¡°Please stop calling me that,¡± I said.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be worshiped or aggrandized,¡± I said.

    ¡°But...¡± she voiced out.

    ¡°If you want to praise someone, praise Stormy,¡± I said. ¡°I think that she likes being the center of the universe.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrr,¡± Stormy replied from atop of the book, lazily pawing at the word ¡®yes¡¯.

    "Remember how you told me about the Wormwood Star, how it changed your people? Well, something changed me too,¡± I said. ¡°Not a star, but... knowledge. Understanding. I see the world differently than most people here, and that allows me to do things that might seem impossible to others."

    "But the river..." Cali began.

    "The river has a spirit," I explained. "A very powerful spirit that doesn''t like being bothered. I didn''t move the river - I simply... gave her a very good reason to move herself."

    Cali''s brow furrowed. "River spirits? But... that''s just Nordstaii superstition. All magic arises from Wormwood, the lost piece of Heaven."

    I shook my head. "No, Cali. River spirits are quite real. Your people just can''t see or interact with them because you''re so focused on the power of the Wormwood Star. There''s so much more to magic than just Wormwood."

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    "So... you''re not here to judge the Arcanicx and to un-exist us for abusing what rightly belongs to the Heavens?" Cali asked with a small and uncertain voice.

    "No," I assured her. "I''m here to learn. And maybe, just maybe¨Cif I learn enough, to help you, if you stop distracting me with this Omniarch nonsense."

    ¡°To learn,¡± Cali blinked. ¡°Without instructors? Without great librariums? Without Strix Arcanicx?¡±

    ¡°What are Strix Arcanicx?¡±

    ¡°Librarium Administrators and scholars. Strix Arcanicx are blessed with perfect recall. They''re essential to our Maggelanums as the Overseers of Knowledge. The Head Strix knows the name of every book in her Librarium. The Wing Strix manage specific sections like History, Alchemy, Artificery, or Arcane Theory, etc. Below them are the Tail Strix, who handle day-to-day operations and assist researchers in more obscure tail-end topics. At the lowest tier are the Feather Strix, who act as ''book readers'' for us Felix Arcanicx."

    "Book readers?¡± I chortled, amused with the idea of an Arcanicx that specialized in being a live audio-performer. ¡°You mean you don''t read the books yourselves?"

    ¡°Felix Arcanicx are meant for action outside of Iridium such as hunting and deal-making,¡± Cali explained. ¡°We don''t have time to pore over dusty old tomes. The Feather Strix read the books for us, provide summaries or help us locate specific information we need to become better at what we do best.¡±

    ¡°How do you even know how to read if the Strix read to you?¡±

    ¡°Obviously I know how to read,¡± Cali huffed, momentarily forgetting that I was a Sky-God or whatever. ¡°One of my skills is Tonguemancy. I can¡¯t just take a Strix with me to barbarous lands. Those feathered wussies don¡¯t take a single step away from their book nooks!¡±

    ¡°Do Strix own men too?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Of course they own men!¡± Cali nodded. ¡°Every Arcanicx of age owns someone who helps them with their work! The men owned by Strix do all of the physical tasks such as general maintenance, sorting, fetching and duplicating books. Men of Strix read and write well, they inscribe new books composed by the Wisest of Strix. The more socialite Strix even host ¡®reading hours¡¯ wherein their Harem of men perform a variety of roles from the... erm, romance-themed novellas they pen. And, uh, Strix men don''t just read the lines out loud, they interact with the audience."

    Cali blushed at that, clearly having participated in many such ''reading hours'' herself.

    "So let me get this straight," I said. "You have an entire caste of Arcanicx dedicated to managing knowledge, but most of you don''t actually read the books yourselves? You just get summaries?"

    Cali nodded, seemingly not seeing any issue with this system. "We each have our roles to play, enforced by the Divine Beast of our House.¡±

    ¡°So the various Arcanicx of Iridium are castes dedicated to various professions,¡± I pushed Stormy off the Codex to write Cali¡¯s revelations down. ¡°The women do all the thinking and the men do all of the lifting? What¡¯s the divine beast of the Strix?¡±

    ¡°Yes." Cali nodded. ¡°The Divine Beast of the Strix is Buboro the Wise, a six-winged, three eyed horned owl.¡±

    Hypothesis: The Divine Beasts act as genetic anchors, influencing and amplifying the physical and mental traits of Arcanicx over generations, creating increasingly specialized and distinct castes.

    I jotted down my thoughts in the Codex.

    If the Divine Beasts were indeed shaping the changes of the Arcanicx, it would explain the extreme sexual dimorphism of their species. The Wormwood Star hadn''t just changed the Arcanicx - it had set them on a path of accelerated evolution. And the Divine Beasts, whatever they truly were, seemed to be the core guiding force behind this magic-aided transformation.

    The question was - How far would this process go? And what did it mean for the future of humanity on Thornwild?

    I couldn''t help but draw parallels between the Arcanicx society and eusocial insects like bees and ants. The specialization of roles, the clear hierarchy, the focus on a centralized power structure - it all pointed to a society evolving towards something eerily similar to a hive.

    The image of future Arcanicx flashed through my mind: a perfect, brainy Queen, fused to her throne, managing a thousand specialized women who in turn controlled a million men. Each caste perfectly adapted to its role, working in harmony to expand the colony''s influence until the entire world belonged to them.

    If left unchecked, could this be the ultimate fate of humanity on Thornwild? A world where homo sapiens were simply bred out in favor of perfect specialization, where men were reduced to mindless drones. A world where individuality wasn''t a thing and a few Queens from the Ring of Colonies surrounding the Castian Sea held absolute power over the obedient masses?

    "Cali," I said, "do you realize what this system is doing to your people? To humanity of Thornwild as a whole?"

    Cali tilted her head at my words. "What do you mean? Our system works perfectly. Each Arcanicx fulfills her role, guided by her Divine Beast. The men are content in their service. We''ve built a great civilization this way."

    I pursed my lips.

    Cali was a worker bee, one bred to fetch new genetic material for the Iridium hive. A perfectly specialized cog in a vast colony, programmed by her Divine Beast to fulfill a specific role of catching unique men like myself.

    If any of the Colonies of the Castian Ring learned about my existence - a man who can do magic, they would swarm me with a greater and greater number of hunters. I was essentially a yummy piece of sugar left sitting on a windowsill, the line of ants already well on its way.

    Shit. Amari! Amari knew I existed.

    Her Colony sent out the drones from other, lesser colonies to harvest me in cycles of every seventy seven days.

    ¡°Ah! You are judging us!¡± Cali declared, having evaluated my thoughtful and bewildered expression.

 49 Ethnosociological Dynamics of Arcanix Caste Engineering

    "I''m not judging, Cali,¡± I sighed. ¡°I''m just... concerned."

    "Concerned?" Cali''s ears twitched. "About what?"

    "I''m worried about how much your kin are going to be an ever-escalating problem in my butt, getting in the way of my research,¡± I said. ¡°Plus the future of humanity on Thornwild seems bleak. The way your society is structured, the extreme specialization, the control over men... it''s leading somewhere, and I''m not sure that it''s somewhere good."

    ¡°So you think that we are to be expunged?¡± Cali looked like she was on the verge of tears again. ¡°That our reach for the stars, our great progress is flawed? That we are to be exterminated?¡±

    "Progress isn''t always good," I said gently. "Especially when it comes at the cost of grinding away freedom and individuality. Your people are becoming more and more like... well, like insects. Don¡¯t you see it?¡±

    "Insects?" Cali looked offended. "We are not insects! We are the pinnacle of civilization, changed by the Shard of Heaven!"

    I held up a hand. "I didn''t mean it as an insult. But think about it - you have increasingly specialized castes, a rigid hierarchy, men reduced to drones... It''s very similar to how ant or bee colonies work."

    Cali opened her mouth to argue, then closed it again, looking thoughtful.

    "And what happens to individuality in that kind of system?" I asked. "To creativity? To freedom of choice? What happens when everyone is so specialized that they can''t think outside their designated role?"

    "Innovation is managed by the Corvix Arcanicx," Cali explained. "They''re our Artificers, Artisans and Architects. Their Divine Beast is Mundus the Raven. Their innate talents correlate to their ability to combine disparate ideas into new forms. Felix like myself acquire unique tools and artifacts from all over and bring it to the Corvix to disassemble, understand and improve upon.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± I said. ¡°Corvids?¡±

    ¡°The Corvix Arcanicx Coven of Iridium Istral Maggelanum made this sleigh!¡± Cali waved her hands at the lavish interior crowded with all of my witchy things. ¡°They¡¯re the ones who leased it to me, made a deal with me that once a month I¡¯d call them if I found anything¡­ unique for them to disassemble. Using their combined skills they can disassemble and reassemble anything, even a living being.¡±

    Cali looked at me with what was possibly hungry eyes.

    "Nu-huh," I said. "As much as I like the idea of hyper-intelligent, obsessive-compulsive raven-girls trying to ''understand me'', I''m not that interested in being disassembled.¡±

    If I wanted to become someone else''s research project, I¡¯d just stay with Yaga Grandhilda.

    ¡°The Corvix of Iridium don¡¯t just take apart physical things, they take apart systems of governance, barbarous rituals, anything really!¡± Cali revealed. ¡°If¡­ if you bring your Understanding to them, they could take it apart, apply it to Iridium, make our city prosper!¡±

    I frowned, realizing I might have said too much. Cali''s eyes were gleaming with excitement now, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. She was already probably thinking about how to bring me to these Corvix Arcanicx, to have them dissect my river-moving abilities.

    Stormy let out a low, deep growl from my shoulder, sending a signal that this was the wrong path to take today.

    "You know, it would be a shame if someone accidentally relocated the Castian Sea about ten thousand elbows in the direction of Iridium, especially if that someone is being pestered by Corvix," I said sharply.

    Cali''s ears flattened against her head, her excitement quickly replaced by the existential dread of tsunamic obliteration.

    "I didn''t mean it¨C" she stammered. "I... I''d never force you to go anywhere you don''t want to, my Omniarch! I... I just thought that maybe, if you desired it, you could reshape the flaws of our people by guiding the Corvix with your Celestial wisdom... instead of... just drowning us all."

    I ignored Cali¡¯s distraught expression and quickly outlined the Arcanicx Xenotypes in the Codex:

    Felix Arcanicx: Hunters and deal-makers, guided by the White Lynx. Specialize in action outside Iridium, bringing back valuable men and tools.

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    Strix Arcanicx: Wise librarians and scholars, guided by Buboro the Wise Owl. Manage knowledge and run the Librariums.

    Corvix Arcanicx: Clever artificers, artisans and architects, guided by Mundus the Raven. Innovators who combine ideas into new forms.

    Aquariux Arcanicx: Water manipulators from the city of Aquanox, guided by ___

    Drallus Arcanicx: the Star-Shard deprived, lower class breeders of men, guided by ___

    Something wasn¡¯t adding up. Some vital, important ingredient was missing. Something that could mess up my entire future if they simply knew about me. Why didn¡¯t they know about me? Why did Cali buy a prophecy from Amari about me?

    ¡°Cali,¡± I said, my paranoia intensifying. ¡°Is there a future-seeing Arcanicx type?¡±

    Cali swallowed nervously. I squinted at her.

    ¡°They were once known as the Sages and Seers, the Weavers of Fate, the¡­¡± She pushed the word out of herself as Stormy and I stared at her. ¡°The Drallux Arcanicx."

    "Oh," I said simply.

    "They¡­ they sought to reorganize our society as they saw fit. The Corvix disagreed, stating that the present and future paths were something that could simply be disassembled, understood, changed. The Drallux did not relent. They attempted to usurp power across the entire Ring, undermining the other classes by creating¡­ Jotuns on purpose.

    "Every family turned against them and so their Divine Beast, the Weaver Spider Matriarch, was unmade by the Corvix. They themselves were reformed into a class of lowly breeders, banned from access to Star-Shards, cursed to give birth only to men forevermore.¡±

    I leaned back, processing this new information.

    A caste of Seers, deliberately creating Jotuns, trying to reshape society according to their perfect vision of the future. No wonder they were stripped of their power.

    "So the Drallux were essentially neutered," I said. "But that doesn''t explain Amari. You called her a Seer. How does she fit into all this? What kind of an Arcanicx is she then?"

    "Amari... She''s different. She''s not an Arcanicx at all." Cali revealed.

    "What?" I asked. "But you said she was an incredibly powerful Sorceress, able to see the future."

    "Amari and her people live far North from the Castian Sea," Cali explained. "They''re... well, they''re all human in appearance."

    "You called her a barbarian before," I commented. "Why?"

    "Because by our standards, she is. Skulldug Isle isn''t a part of the Ring of Castia. They don''t use Star-Shards like we do, and don''t have a caste system or Spirit Beasts. They simply worship Amari as a living Goddess. Their magic is... different. Wild. Unpredictable."

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t someone like you try to capture one of the hunters of Skulldug?¡± I asked. ¡°To bring it to the corvids to be disassembled or whatever?¡±

    ¡°Oh, there have been attempts.¡± Cali''s tail swished uncomfortably. ¡°They resulted in failure. Witnesses describe finding bodies in the woods, ossified and scorched as if thunderstruck. Other attempts simply resulted in Felix Arcanicx getting captured by Skulldug and then sold back to their family for a hefty sum.¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s hard to make moves against a future-seer like Amari when the Arcanicx got rid of the fate-weaving spiders,¡± I said, relaxing ever so slightly.

    Cali nodded.

    It appeared that Amari¡¯s Skulldug Citadel sat in the way of the looming tide of the Castian Ring.

    "So... Amari''s essentially a wild card in this whole system," I mused as I grabbed some smoked meats and pickles from their box next to the food-preservation-gem. "A powerful Seer outside your control."

    Cali nodded. "Yes. That''s why some of us are willing to pay such high prices for her prophecies. She sees things we cannot predict, knows things our scholars can''t learn from our books."

    I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "And you said she wants to meet me¡­ just for a nice chat?"

    "That¡¯s what she said,¡± Cali said.

    ¡°Suspicious,¡± I commented as I chewed thoughtfully.

    ¡°Amari does not permit herself, her Citadel, or her hunters to be dissected by us,¡± Cali shrugged. ¡°Her motives are unclear to us and so a decision was made to simply let her be. If she or her hunters were male it would be easy to bring them down, but our charms don''t work against Skulldug."

    "What, the men of Skulldug aren''t allowed to go out?" I asked.

    "I, uh," Cali rubbed her scar. "I don''t know where the men of Skulldug are kept."

    "Hrm," I murmured.

    Having concluded with breakfast, I climbed out of the sleigh and examined the cliff wall right next to the sleigh. Then I grabbed an axe and began chopping down the nearest dead birches.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Cali asked, following me out of the sleigh like a lost puppy.

    ¡°Making a new base,¡± I said. ¡°On the account that some bothersome Jonnies made a mess of my pub.¡±

    The Felix Arcanicx blinked at me as she watched me fell birches. She probably didn¡¯t understand why a great and powerful Celestial Emissary needed to cut trees with an axe like some mortal woodsman.

    Stormy settled herself on the Codex for about an hour, then suddenly leapt onto Cali from atop of the sleigh.

    ¡°Eeek!¡± the man-hunter flinched, not expecting the sudden weight on her shoulder. She glanced at the kitten, unsure how to react to having the "Divine Beast" perched on her.

    "Looks like you''ve been chosen by the Elder Wyrm, Cali,¡± I commented with a smile. ¡°Better not disappoint your new goddess and lavish her with plenty of compliments and pets.¡±

 50 Pyrolysis

    -=[Callista Liesl]=-

    I watched nervously as Ioan continued to chop down trees, his movements methodical and purposeful.

    Why was the Emissary of Heaven chopping down trees?

    Maybe he was judging what it was like to be a woodcutter? Maybe his judgement of everyone and everything on Thornwild would be slow and meticulous, take centuries if not millennia. After all¨Cif we Sorceresses enjoyed unnaturally long lives then the Celestial-born would be truly immortal, invincible to both time and sword and such immortality likely bred boredom.

    Maybe all of this, pretending to be a clueless Nordstaii teen, allowing me to allure him, messing with the contracts, engaging in intellectual conversation with me over the political structures of Iridium, was simply just an amusing play, a mere game for the Celestial.

    The Divine Wyrm remained perched on my shoulder. Her weight was slight, but her presence felt monumental. I couldn''t help but feel that this was some sort of test of my new devotion.

    I¡¯ve never been big on worshiping any Beasts other than Goldara, but I supposed there was a first time for anything. Goldara definitely wasn¡¯t here to save me and Stormy¡¯s weight was. Goldara was but a Spirit projected into existence by the Corvix-made artefacts, existing only in Iridium, halfway across the known world. On the other hand, Stormy was immensely physical, absolutely real.

    "Oh great and powerful Stormy," I murmured, careful not to disturb Ioan''s work, "what wisdom do you wish to impart upon this humble servant?"

    The kitten''s eyes seemed to peer into my very soul. She let out a soft "Mrrp" that I desperately tried to interpret. Was it a sound of approval? A demand for worship? A cosmic riddle I was meant to unravel?

    I hesitantly raised a hand to pet her, my fingers trembling slightly. "Your cosmic-void-fur is softer than the clouds of Heaven," I whispered in Castian, "and your eyes shine from within with the light of a thousand galaxies. Please take pity upon this lost Arcanicx, permit me to worship you. Cast your divine radiance upon me so that your Celestial Master does not drown the people of Iridium when his judgement is made.¡±

    Stormy nodded in approval and began to purr, the vibrations resonating through my body. Surely this was a sign of divine satisfaction! Encouraged, I continued my praises and gentle pets, determined to prove my worth to the great Cosmophage.

    Having assembled a wooden frame and stretched a Nordstaii banner over it, Ioan began to draw a circle segmented into parts on it, slowly filling it with what looked like some kind of a snowflake. A snowflake with replicating edges featuring triangles within triangles. Was this some kind of Celestial art or a device of great power?

    Having approached a cliffside wall with the stretched banner, Ioan placed the frame against the stone wall, dug in his pocket for a moment.

    The surface of the cliff next to the sleigh suddenly rippled in front of my eyes. I watched as Ioan grabbed an iron bucket and simply started to scoop stone away from the cliff as if it were a liquid. The hair on the back of my neck stood up at the impossibility of it all. How could mundane stone become liquid? Not a true liquid at that, but the kind that didn''t even spill down!

    Argh!

    I itched to walk into the sleigh to pick up a Voicecast stone and the Farcast Orb and to call Mooni Cavil, my Corvix confidant.

    Maybe if Moonalia was here, she could help me unravel all of this insanity, and explain what the shit was going on to my dumb Felix self. If she was here, maybe she could fix the runework on the Sleigh, maybe help me not feel so terrified of the future, of the Gygr, of Ioan and¡­

    ¡°Mrawrrr,¡± Stormy¡¯s tiny teeth suddenly nipped my neck, not biting down.

    ¡°I¨C¡± I choked out. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna call Moonalia, I swear!¡±

    Stormy let out a deep growl.

    ¡°I¡­ I just thought about it, that¡¯s all!¡± I stammered, blinking fast and trying not to break down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m just scared and I want to understand what your Master is doing, that¡¯s all!¡±

    The Elder Wyrm licked my neck with her coarse tongue, making me shudder.

    "Right," Ioan commented. "This is working pretty well. Hey Cali, come over here and help me."

    I nervously approached Ioan. Stormy remained perched on my shoulder, a constant reminder of the Elder Beast¡¯s presence overseeing my every move.

    "W-what do you need me to do?" I asked.

    Ioan handed me another bucket, identical to the one he was using. "Just scoop the liquid stone and dump it over there," he said, gesturing to a growing pile of solidified rock.

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    I hesitated for a moment, then plunged my bucket into the impossibly fluid cliff face. The sensation was utterly bizarre - the stone flowed like water, yet retained a strange consistency that defied explanation. As I pulled the bucket out, the liquid stone wobbled inside.

    With trembling hands, I carried the bucket to the designated spot and tipped it over. A second after the stone was taken from the wall, it solidified instantly inside the bucket, not quite connected to the iron. I tipped the heavy bucket over, its contents joining the pile of other bucket-shaped solid-rock pieces.

    I tapped one of the stone cylinders on the ground with my fingers. It was solid rock.

    Goldara¡¯s tits! How?!

    Ioan reached into the wall with his fingers and pulled out a liquid sphere. Before I could say anything, he chucked it at another cliff face. The moment the liquid left his fingers, it solidified. The stone sphere struck a cliff, plinging off it.

    After a bit more bucket work, Ioan and I exhumed a cavern about 10 elbows wide and 5 elbows deep. For some inexplicable reason, the rock didn¡¯t become liquid any further past this point.

    Then, Ioan simply sat on the ground and began writing in his book, as if he was perfectly satisfied with the awkwardly-shaped, unfinished space.

    ¡°Are¡­ are we done?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°For now,¡± he said.

    <hr>

    Over the next few days, I watched as Ioan busied himself with various containers and substances he had retrieved from the sleigh.

    The small cavern he had carved out of the cliff face was now serving as his makeshift workshop, and I couldn''t help but feel a sense of trepidation about what he might be concocting.

    He had laid out several ingredients on the ground: the bat guano we had collected earlier that he was doing something weird with for a few days with his wooden paddle, some yellowish crystals that smelled strongly of rotten eggs, and some other black stuff I couldn''t identify. Possibly carbonized wood?

    With meticulous care, he began mixing these components in specific ratios, occasionally consulting his mysterious book.

    "What are you making?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I truly wanted to know the answer.

    Ioan glanced up at me, a glint in his silver-blue eyes that I couldn''t quite decipher. "Oh, just a little something to help us deal with our... future issues," he said cryptically.

    I nodded, pretending to understand, though in truth, I was completely lost.

    Was this some sort of celestial alchemy? A potion to ward off the Jotuns? Or perhaps a concoction to cleanse the land of the Gygr''s influence?

    According to everything I knew, all alchemy required stardust cauldrons and ground-down Castian sea corals as the base for potions. Ioan didn¡¯t seem to use any stardust or coral powder, so this couldn''t be alchemy. Was this simply part of the game, just screwing around for the fun of it, the same as chopping trees?

    As he worked, the air in the cavern began to fill with strange, pungent odors. My nose twitched, and I found myself edging closer to the entrance, seeking fresher air. Stormy remained perched on my shoulder, seemingly asleep.

    <hr>

    After about a week of similarly bewildering work of what looked like grinding, drying and mixing, Ioan began carefully packing his mixture into small wooden barrels. He attached long, thin cords to each one, handling them with extreme care.

    "There," he said finally, sitting back with a satisfied smile. "That should do it."

    I stared at the innocuous-looking barrels, my mind racing with possibilities. What power did these simple objects hold? What celestial purpose were they meant to serve?

    ¡°Right,¡± he said. ¡°Cali¨Cget the horses to move the sleigh as far away from here as you can, over there, closer to the river.¡±

    I guided the horses to move the sleigh away from the cavern, as Ioan had instructed. As we reached a spot closer to the river, I heard the patter of rapid footsteps behind me.

    Ioan emerged from the cavern, his ever-present leather bag slung over his shoulders. He was running at full speed of a 200-star Champion towards me, feet barely touching the ground. In another moment, he stopped in front of me with a mischievous grin on his face that made my fur stand on end.

    "You wanted me to show you more impossible things, yes?" he asked, not even panting after his run.

    I nodded hesitantly, not entirely sure I was prepared for whatever demonstration he had in mind. Stormy, who had been dozing on my shoulder, suddenly perked up. Then she suddenly jumped from me into the sleigh, vanishing within, hiding herself in one of the cabinets. The odd behavior of the Cosmophage definitely didn¡¯t bode well for whatever was about to happen.

    ¡°Watch and learn my kitten-wan,¡± Ioan said. ¡°I¡¯m about to do something with no magic whatsoever.¡±

    ¡°No magic?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Was there any magic at all in any of my actions over the past week?¡± Ioan asked.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t sniff any stardust on you or in that smelly stuff, no,¡± I replied.

    Ioan quickly dragged me behind a large boulder and pointed his finger at the distant cavern in the cliff-face.

    ¡°Explode,¡± he said simply.

    I waited with bated breath. Nothing happened. I glanced at Ioan who was squinting at the cavern.

    ¡°What?¡± I whispered. ¡°What¡¯s supposed to exp¡­¡±

    I saw a blinding flash of light, followed by an enormous plume of smoke and debris rising from where the cavern had been. The cliff face seemed to disintegrate before my eyes, rocks and boulders flying in all directions. At the same time, a deafening roar shattered the air, so loud it felt like my eardrums might burst. The ground beneath us shook violently and I ducked and cowered under the rock, my entire body trembling.

    The shockwave hit us a moment later, a wall of air that sent snow flying in all directions from the explosion. Dust and small pebbles rained down around us, and I could hear the terrified whinnying of the horses behind us.

    As the initial blast subsided, I dared to look over the boulder. Where the small cavern had been, there was now a gaping wound in the cliff side, easily six times the size of the original space. Smoke billowed from the hole, and I could see bits of stone still falling from the unstable edges.

    My ears were ringing, and I felt dizzy from the concussion.

    Ioan handed me a pouch filled with the tastiest water in Thornwild. I gulped it greedily, feeling my hearing returning. Then, I looked at the far larger cavern.

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s twat,¡± I whispered. ¡°Celestarch Words are absolutely effin¡¯ terrifying. You can punch holes in cliffs without even touching them!¡±

 51 Blightcoal

    I expected the fairly basic black gunpowder barrel to explode and to maybe expand the cavern a bit after making a bunch of noise, but the resulting detonation went way above what would have happened back on Earth.

    Seeing Cali¡¯s bewildered face made it all the more worth it, assuring that she would not take me to the corvids. Gunpowder definitely made a hefty argument against being disassembled.

    And surprised she definitely was, standing next to me and gaping at the expanded cavern. The explosion had certainly exceeded my own expectations, but I wasn''t about to let the Arcanicx know that.

    While she had slept over the past few nights, I had been busy preparing for this little demonstration. I had spent hours carefully extracting charcoal from the interiors of trees that had been exposed to dragonfire. The process was tedious but fascinating - whatever the White Blight and dragonfire had done to trees produced perfectly carbonised wood inside them.

    The charcoal resulting from the combo of Gygr-created blight and dragonfire was unlike anything I''d seen before. It was incredibly lightweight, almost seeming to float in my hand, yet it retained an unexpected strength. When I crushed a piece between my fingers, it crumbled into an impossibly fine, velvety powder.

    I decided to call it Blightcoal.

    Due to its dryness, high porosity, low ash content and uniform particle size Blightcoal combined with potassium nitrate made an incredibly effective gunpowder ingredient.

    It took me around ten days to figure out how to get potassium nitrate using leaching, filtering and crystallisation, much of which was aided by the fact that the bat guano also became modified by my domain and could be liquefied with a mere press of a button. Basically, bat guano is a complex mixture of various substances, primarily composed of nitrogenous waste from bats, but also including remains of digested insects, phosphates, and other organic and inorganic components. Saltpeter aka potassium nitrate inorganic salt crystals succumbed to the effects of my domain way faster than the organic bits, glowing purple in the view of my Astralscope, allowing me to filter it out much faster.

    It was a pity that I had a finite amount of Blightcoal, on the account that dragon flames only torched so many dead trees in Svalbard, so I had to be conservative with my explosives.

    The blasted cavern was now big enough to fit in several Sleighs, so I had the horses pull the Sleigh inside, securing them from the cold. The cliff and river made my position quite well fortified compared to the pub, yet I knew that I couldn¡¯t simply rest, so I spent the rest of the day with Cali cutting down more trees and bushes to conceal the entrance to the cavern.

    As the final touch to the fortification, I secured ropes around Glinka¡¯s megalith and dragged it a bit closer to the cavern using the strength of six horses empowered by witch-grass combined with that of one witch-man.

    Any ruffians would have to deal with the wrath of the river if they wanted to antagonize my new domain location.

    At that point, Cali simply stopped asking questions. She simply quietly assisted me whenever I asked for it with Stormy sitting on her shoulder. Judging by her expression, the Arcanicx probably had a mild case of gunpowder-related PTSD.

    Over the next few days, I improved on the design of the witchy-gunpowder, chopping down more dragon-burned trees, optimising its explosive potency. I tirelessly worked night and day, not allowing myself a single moment of rest.

    During the last few days before the arrival of the warband from Bernt, I used the Arcanoelastic Resonator on all of the witch-metal at my disposal, using a mundane, carved birch log to produce a fairly straight metal tube and handle.

    I decided to call the metal Ferronite, on the account that by being kept next to Gem 62 the metal became sprinkled with star-like violet constellations which somehow massively reinforced its strength.

    <hr>

    As Stormy had predicted, fourteen days since our conversation, the warband from Bernt arrived in Svalbard. I watched from my hidden vantage point with backpack on my back and an arbalest in hand as sixty-six men, led by Jarl Bobliss, entered the ruined village.

    Bobliss was easy to spot¨Che was a giant of a man with a thick red beard and piercing eyes. He carried himself with the confidence of a seasoned warrior and leader. The men behind him were a mix of grizzled veterans and younger fighters, all armed to the teeth and looking wary.

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    They jumped off their horses and spread out, searching the ruins of Svalbard.

    Their confusion was evident as they found the pub destroyed. Bobliss barked orders, sending groups to search different areas.

    Their somewhat orderly movement lasted only until the moment when one of the men cried out ¡°Gold! The gold of Svalbard!¡±

    The men of Bernt converged on the pub, drawn by the promise of gold.

    Before their arrival, I had carefully staged the scene to appear as though we had just departed in haste. A few personal items were scattered about, and in the cold room at the back of the pub, I had placed several heavy cases.

    These cases were my own special creation - iron boxes filled with rocks, with a layer of gold coins fused to the top and some very special stuff below the rocks. They were impossibly heavy, requiring multiple men to even budge them.

    All sixty-six men crammed into the pub, jostling and shoving as they tried to reach the cold room. Their excited shouts echoed across the ruins as they discovered the cases.

    "Heave, lads!" I heard one of them cry. "The gold of Svalbard is ours!"

    For several minutes, they struggled with the cases, unable to lift them. Finally, after much effort and cursing, they managed to raise one slightly off the ground.

    That was when my trap was sprung.

    The slight movement released a hidden plate, triggering the barrel of gunpowder I had concealed beneath the floorboards.

    As I watched over the distant ruins, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. The pub of Svalbard, the last intact building in the village, had been my home for two months. It was where I''d first awakened in this strange new world, where I''d begun my journey of discovery and experimentation.

    I reminisced about the quiet nights spent poring over my notes, the breakthroughs I''d made within those wooden walls, and even the tense encounters with Cali. It was where I met Stormy. The pub had been my sanctuary, my first local laboratory, and my fortress all rolled into one.

    "Goodbye, old friend," I murmured, raising my hand in a solemn salute. "You''ve served me well."

    As if responding to my farewell, the pub suddenly erupted in a catastrophic explosion. The blast was even more powerful than I had anticipated, likely due to the concentrated nature of the gunpowder in the cases and beneath the floorboards detonating inside a confined space.

    The roof of the pub was blown clean off, soaring into the air like a monstrous bird taking flight. The walls bulged outward for a split second before disintegrating into a cloud of flying rocks, splinters and debris. A massive fireball bloomed at the heart of the explosion, its orange glow briefly turning the evening into day.

    The shockwave hit me a moment later, a wall of air that made my clothes flap violently. The roar of the explosion was deafening, drowning out all other sounds and leaving a ringing in my ears.

    As the initial blast subsided, I watched as burning timbers and fragments of the pub rained down across the ruins of Svalbard. Where the sturdy building had once stood, there was now only a smoking crater, filled with the twisted remains of my clever trap and, undoubtedly, the men of Bernt who sought to murder the pub-inhabiting witch.

    ¡°Is¡­ is it over?¡± Cali stepped to my side, trembling ever so slightly and looking at the smoke pouring from the remnants of the pub.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s over. Greed had done them in. No marauder can resist an unliftable chest full of gold.¡±

    Cali relaxed ever so slightly. Now that the warband no longer hung over my head like the sword of Damocles, I could focus on the problem of her Jotunification curse.

    Suddenly, the rubble of the destroyed pub shifted. I squinted at it. Was the rubble simply settling after the blast or¡­

    The rubble shifted again.

    Nothing should have survived that explosion, yet there was unmistakable movement among the smoking debris.

    Suddenly, a muscular hand burst forth from the wreckage, then another. The hands worked in tandem, throwing aside bricks and wooden beams as if they were made of cardboard.

    A naked man, scorched and covered in blood, emerged from the center of the explosion that should have killed absolutely everything.

    As I stared, transfixed as the man inhaled deeply, his jaw opening wider than what was humanly possible, sucking an ungodly amount of air-filled sparks and smoke inside him.

    A red, spiral shaped aurora spiral began to radiate from his body in the Astralscope¡¯s view, his muscles pulsing with an otherworldly energy.

    The blood coating his skin and spreading all across the ruins, seemed to flow back into his body of its own accord, like rivers of shimmering fluid, glowing in my view. The man¡¯s muscles rippled and rearranged themselves, healing his injuries, bones snapping back into place.

    I swallowed.

    My gaze became drawn to the man¡¯s chest, where a hexagrammic tattoo pulsated with an eerie red light. Trailing voids emanated from the design, folding into themselves in impossible ways that hurt my eyes to look at directly.

    Blood magic. Bobliss was a fallen hero, a slayer of witches, doomed to turn into a Jotun upon his death!

    With a gesture, Jarl Bobliss extended his arm.

    Blood poured from fresh cuts that opened along his skin, gradually coalescing into the shape of a sword. Within moments, he held a blade of solid blood, its surface rippling with eerie, red shimmers.

    I swallowed hard.

    "Cali," I whispered, not daring to take my eyes off the blood-wielding Nordstaii Champion, "I think we might have a bit of a problem."

 52 The Immovable Man

    ¡°What?¡± Cali hissed back to me. ¡°How is that hero still alive¡­ Why didn¡¯t the Word unmake him? Explode him again, Ioan! Before he finds out where we are¡­¡±

    ¡°Clever, clever,¡± Jarl Bobliss shook his head, his voice calm but somehow carrying itself across all of Svalbard as if every inflection of his tongue made the air itself vibrate. ¡°But not as clever as I. Those were good men that died. You will pay for that, witch.¡±

    He began to advance toward us, walking very slowly as more blood seeped across the ruins, rejoining his body, adding to his muscle mass and height.

    My lips spoke on their own accord as I stared at the fractal tattoo on the Jarl''s cest. "I''m not a god, Cali. I''m just... a boy from Svalbard, imbued with knowledge from long ago given to me by River Glinka. Stormy is just a kitten, not an Elder Wyrm."

    ¡°Goldara¡¯s tits, Ioan,¡± Cali choked, shaking me by my backpack. ¡°I don''t give a shit what you two are right now! You can explode him again¡­ can¡¯t you? Liquefy the ground? Make the river swallow him! Do something before he gets here!!!¡±

    Her words finally pulled me out of my Skeletor-vision stupor.

    It was time for plan B.

    I pulled out the arbalest from my side and set its arrow on fire, pointing it at Glinka¡¯s megalith.

    Jarl Bobliss wasn¡¯t a Jotun yet. He didn''t walk in a straight line, milling about the ruins to recollect all of his spilled blood which began to spin around him like clouds of red fog.

    He calmly walked across the ruins of the town, stretching his reformed muscles and likewise, calmly entered the frigid river current, somehow sensing where we were.

    In a minute he was on the other side, approaching Glinka¡¯s megalith.

    ¡°Do you think that a mere fire-tipped arrow will stop me?¡± He laughed, his far-too sharp eyes spotting me at the top of the cliff. ¡°Go on, show me what you¡¯ve got, boy. I¡¯d love to see exactly how you¡¯ve managed to drag two of my Lady¡¯s minions all the way to the North Sea!"

    Time slowed again as I pressed the trigger, releasing the arrow at Glinka¡¯s megalith. It struck a small container of gunpowder inside of which sat Cali¡¯s lavalier. The container exploded right beneath Glinka¡¯s column, making the entire stone shudder.

    Glinka, who was previously calmly sitting atop of her megalith leapt up looking left and right in outrage. Then she spotted Jarl Bobliss and sensed the lavalier pulsing under her.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Bobliss said, eyeing the river spirit. ¡°There you are. Greetings goddess Glinka, I am Jarl Bobliss and I bring your death."

    Glinka raised her hands into the air, the river roaring from both sides of her, heading towards Bobliss.

    Bobliss swung his oversized blood sword at the megalith. The blood-blade sliced right through the Astral-imprint of Glinka, cleaving her in half and struck the stone beneath with a deafening crack.

    Glinka¡¯s megalith groaned and split in half, the water-hands collapsing back into the river. The river Spirit reformed atop of the biggest piece of rock. Filled with absolute fury she swung her hands again.

    Bobliss struck the rock again, splitting it and the river spirit one more time.

    Glinka appeared again, this time slightly dimmer, atop of the other large piece of her megalith.

    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Bobliss said. ¡°The witch-boy made a pact with you? What did he give up? Half of his pitiful life? Half of his blood? All of his dreams? A pity that was all for naught, because unlike Jotuns, I cannot be pushed aside by running water.¡±

    The blood sword reformed into a massive hammer and Bobliss struck the megalith, obliterating it into small rocks that flew like shrapnel all around with a deafening crack.

    Glinka flashed above her remaining two megalith pieces, looking distraught, her gestures looking desperate now.

    She swung a hand and a large watery hand came out of the river, grabbing at Bobliss. The water-hand wasn¡¯t very big. The river water that did so well against Cali''s sleigh and the Jotuns went right through the Jarl of Bernt, as if it was simply unable to pick him off the ground.

    ¡°Some heroes can fly,¡± Bobliss commented. ¡°I cannot be moved from where I stand.¡±

    I pressed the remote, liquefying the ground right beneath Bobliss. It didn¡¯t do anything to the man, but it managed to submerge half of Glinka¡¯s unsmashed megalith piece in it.

    Bobliss looked down, his naked feet simply hovering right above the liquid mire that worked so well against Cali.

    ¡°A basic witch-trick,¡± he yawned. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡±

    He casually swung his blood hammer, obliterating the 2nd piece of the megalith.

    ¡°One more piece left,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°Then you¡¯ll be undone, Glinka. Any last words, river goddess?¡±

    Glinka, now hovering atop of her half-submerged, mostly shattered megalith, fell to her knees, hands together in an expression of begging.

    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s this?¡± Bobliss laughed. ¡°Begging for your life, are we? I do wonder what happens to river spirits after death. I very much doubt that they end up in Zal-Slavi!"

    I could not lose Glinka, could not watch as my best resource in this world was simply destroyed, hammered to bits. Time slowed its crawl as I threw myself off the cliff, knell-blade aimed at Bobliss.

    He matched my speed and simply swatted me aside, sending me flying. I lost the dragonglass sword, smashed into the cliffside, feeling as my backpack tore partially. My spine shattered from the impact with the cliff. Red circles swam inside of my eyes as I slumped into the rocky ground.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Now who shall I end first?¡± Bobliss tapped his chin with his blood hammer. ¡°The witch-boy or the river? Hrm. Hrm. Decisions, decisions.¡±

    ¡°L-le-leave Glinka alone,¡± I choked, feeling as blood poured from my body staining the ground around me, my vision fading in and out.

    ¡°Oh? A witch-boy in love with a river?¡± Bobliss laughed. ¡°How quaint. You know, I thought that you would run. I was hoping to see how far North your horses and legs would take you. A shame you stayed here in Svalbard, taking half the fun out of my hunt.¡±

    Damn it! Bobliss somehow knew that I was a mobile witch.

    I looked at Glinka. She was still on her knees, desperate and begging. It looked like tears were running down her cheeks, her entire body trembling.

    "You see Ioan," Bobliss said, pointing at the broken megalith. "I know exactly how to kill witches and river spirits. A river goddess isn''t just water, it''s a magic anchor. Smash the anchor and free all of the souls bound to it. When my hammer comes down, thousands of drowned souls and wish-makers will be released all at once. Everything that sustains Glinka''s existence will cease!"

    I didn''t say anything to his ranting, was in too much pain to move.

    ¡°I know how to make this mundane affair slightly more entertaining,¡± Bobliss smirked. ¡°Why don¡¯t I close my eyes for ten seconds and you can do whatever you want to me. Sounds fair?¡±

    ¡°Ten,¡± he began, closing his eyes and smiling wide. ¡°Nine.¡±

    I swallowed.

    ¡°I suggest you crawl that broken body to the river, boy,¡± he commented, without opening his eyes. ¡°Touch the water, offer your magic and life to the river goddess Glinka. Beg her for a¡­ solution, for more power to stop me, for strength to spare your companions!"

    I thought about reaching the river, about making one last desperate wish, about selling something to Glinka in exchange for power. I didn¡¯t know what to ask for. All of my weapons had failed me, my rationality and scientific knowledge utterly useless in the face of a genuinely immortal Champion.

    Through blood-covered eyes I saw that Cali was standing atop of the cliff, Stormy on her shoulder, her blue eyes wide with pure terror.

    ¡°Eight,¡± Bobliss said. ¡°Seven. Go on witch-boy, crawl to the river. I want to see what powers you¡¯ll be able to buy from the river. Crawl and beg because if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll unmake that Arcanicx girlfriend of yours, peel her flesh from her body, pop her eyes, break her fingers one by one... all while keeping her alive. Spill your blood into the water and make your final wish to the river!¡±

    I swallowed. Feeling in my pocket I realized that my earth-liquefying remote was cracked, the button turned off, the ground beneath the Jarl now solid.

    ¡°Six,¡± Bobliss counted slowly, giving me a chance to challenge the invincible, immovable man. ¡°Five.¡±

    I began to crawl towards the water, blood thrumming in my ears.

    I didn''t see as Cali rushed from the cliff, leaping away from it.

    What I saw was how her body smashed into the rocky edge of the river right in front of me. She landed poorly and something vital in her broke on impact with the rocks. The front half of her body sunk into the river, blood seeping away into the boiling current as she whisper-exhaled something incomprehensible in Castian.

    Shit. Why''d she do that?

    ¡°Four,¡± Bobliss laughed, looming above us like an angel of death. Blood-infused cloud spirals spun above him, still arriving from Svalbard, drop by drop increasing his inhuman musculature.

    Cali¡¯s body suddenly twitched, as if held up by invisible strings. She rose, standing in front of me, holding onto her lavalier in her left hand and the Knell-blade in her right.

    ¡°Stop,¡± she ordered, blue threads pouring from the lavalier to paw at the Jarl.

    ¡°Really, Sorceress of the South?¡± Bobliss opened his eyes. ¡°Do you think that you can command me with that shiny trinket? Sorry to break it to ya - it doesn''t work on me."

    His hand flew through the air with a sonic boom, ripping the lavalier from her left hand. Cali yelped as she fell back into the river and then rose again, in the same unnatural manner. Through one of the intact lenses of my Astralscope I saw green-blue threads heading from Glinka¡¯s megalith supporting Cali¡¯s body.

    The Arcanicx had made a wish on Glinka, sacrificed something to protect me. Her magic? Her life? Her memories? What did she give up?! Why?!

    Lightning struck Bobliss from the lavalier as he squeezed it in his fingers, laughing.

    ¡°For my Champion!¡± Cali thrust the dragonglass blade forward, striking it deep into Bobliss¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Bobliss said, looking at the Knell-blade. ¡°That¡­ kind of hurt. A pity for you that I don¡¯t have a heart to stab through. Just give me a moment to deal with this¡­ pretty necklace and I¡¯ll get to you.¡±

    The monstrous man squeezed harder and the lavalier shimmered and cracked, the Star-Shard gemstones on it popping one by one.

    ¡°Wh-wheres¡¯s your heart?¡± I ground out, fighting back an ocean of pain.

    ¡°My heart is inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest and the chest¡­ well, that would be spoiling it,¡± Bobliss smirked.

    He squeezed harder and the central gem in Cali¡¯s lavalier shattered, the thrashing jewellery stilling.

    Cali pulled the knell blade from Bobliss¡¯s chest and tried to stab his face, but the man was faster. He simply moved his head aside, thrusting his right hand forward. His fist went right through Cali¡¯s chest.

    Cali fell backwards, a massive hole in her chest gushing blood. I watched as Bobliss held her heart above me. He squeezed hard and crushed her heart, making Cali¡¯s blood rain down on the remnant of Glinka''s megalith.

    ¡°You¡­¡± I choked out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Bobliss said with a nonchalant look. ¡°Her body will be fed to Chernobog, turned into another Gygr. She did just as my Lady predicted she would, sacrificed all of her life and magic for you, Ioan. Let it be done. Let all of thy power flow into the corpse you wield!"

    Bobliss swung his blood hammer, obliterating the remainder of Glinka¡¯s column. Glinka¡¯s avatar fell apart into radiant shears with a silent cry.

    ¡°There,¡± Bobliss said, his eyes shining like glowing rubies from within. ¡°The final stroke is made, the loop is complete."

    ¡°Why¡­¡± I hissed.

    ¡°All part of the ritual, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Bobliss revealed. ¡°All part of the plan. No more megalith. Every drowned soul belonging to Glinka is thus henceforth bound to the heartless corpse of Callista Liesl. Together, the river spirit and the Castian Sorceress will make a perfect, new Gygr, one who will serve our Lady Christianna for all eternity. Like me, she will be one with Chernobog and in time she will wash away the glaciers.¡±

    I blinked tears of blood from my eyes.

    Threads of vibrating, folding darkness were dancing around Bobliss, emerging from the tattoo on his chest, reaching out to me like the feet of a giant black spider, digging into my head, making my thoughts swim and shatter before they even had a chance to form. His red beard fluttered in the wind, made up from transparent threads of blood like wriggling tentacles, gradually reforming his hair.

    ¡°You and Yaga Grandhilda have both been played for fools, mere pieces in our game,¡± Bobliss said with a chiding tone. ¡°In the end, it made no difference whether you became a hero or a witch. Our goal was always to kill river Glinka, to bind its spirit to the body of a Felix Arcanicx who was doomed to fall in love with a Nordstaii boy and to sacrifice everything in her young, noble folly. Farewell, Ioan Starfall. May the halls of Zal-Slavi welcome you into their embrace, the last Champion of Svalbard. You have fought well today.¡±

    I watched as Bobliss raised his blood-hammer for one last time, ready to smash my head in.

 53 Unstoppable Kitten

    There was something wrong with my head.

    The hexagrammic, fractal tattoo on the Jarl¡¯s chest pulsated with radiant, ever-folding darkness not allowing me to think straight. I had something¡­ something that could help me stop this monster. What was it? I couldn¡¯t recall.

    I watched as a tiny, black kitten rushed across the icy landscape and stopped in front of me, pawing at the black threads dancing through the air, somehow slicing them apart with her little white claws.

    Stormy!

    Just for an instant, for a split second, my head cleared, allowing me to reach my belt, pull out and chug the healing water from my glade. My joints popped back into place, torn nerves reconnecting, blinding pain receding.

    I spun and reached into my torn bag.

    ¡°Aw, it''s a wittle kitty familiar, out to protect her Master,¡± Bobliss laughed. ¡°How adorable.¡±

    His naked foot slashed through the air, sending Stormy flying across the river with a cry of feline pain.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Bobliss turned to me, staring down the barrel of my rifle. ¡°An iron tube? Don¡¯t make me¡­¡±

    ¡°Eat lead,¡± I hissed out as I pressed the trigger.

    The spark produced by the wheel ignited the bag of witch-gunpowder.

    Ferronite pellets exploded from the barrel along with concentrated dragonglass powder, obliterating half of the Jarl¡¯s head and sending him careening backwards into the river.

    ¡°A dissssshonorable wrhheapon,¡± half of the man¡¯s mouth hissed as his head began to reform.

    I pulled out my pistol, limped towards the Jarl, brought the barrel up close against his reforming face.

    "Dodge this," I pressed the gun''s barrel to his remaining eye socket with a growl and pressed the trigger.

    Dragonglass and ferronite pellets flashed from the gun, burying themselves deep into his skull. The Jarl collapsed into the rushing water. In another minute, he began to slowly rise back out.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you die, damn it?¡± I growled.

    Time accelerated and slowed as my heart stuttered. I grabbed the knell blade from Cali¡¯s dead fingers and began stabbing the body in the river. Again and again and again.

    The immortal Jarl of Bernt flailed beneath me.

    It wasn¡¯t enough. Nothing was enough to end him!

    I struck the blade through his head, pinning him into the shallow water. Then I pulled my backpack off and pulled out the dragonglass-containing urn from within.

    As the Jarl opened his reforming mouth to inhale air and to pull magic into himself, I turned the urn over, pouring dragonglass directly into his oesophagus.

    Bobliss bubbled and thrashed. I grabbed the knell-blade and sliced his mouth open, stabbing into him and pouring more dragonglass into his insides, until his body stilled somewhat.

    Not enough. He could still reform, could still come back.

    I saw that one of his fingers twitched.

    Definitely not enough. Argh!!!

    I dragged his massive body from the river, accelerated my heart and putting Glinka¡¯s most vibrant rocks on top of him. One by one, the rocks pile grew, slowing the rate of his regeneration, interfering with his blood magic.

    One by one. For Cali. For Stormy. For¡­ for everyone that died in Svalbard¡­ for Glinka!

    My eyes filled with tears as I piled more of Glinka¡¯s rocks atop of the undying man, stabbing him occasionally and pouring more dragonglass into the cuts, the regeneration of which had slowed, but still kept going.

    . . .

    I had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, I realized that I had no more rocks left. Panting, I looked over at the massive pile of rocks entombing the body of Jarl Bobliss.

    My hands were shaking as I reloaded the rifle and the pistol.

    Not enough. Nothing could be enough. Damn it all to hell!

    I heard a distant ¡°Meew¡± from the other end of the river and turned my head, spotting a limping black kitten against white snow, blood dripping from her body.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Stormy! Stormy was alive! Stormy was back!

    I rushed into the water, swam across it and grabbed the kitten holding her to my chest and crying.

    ¡°Mew,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°I know,¡± I said. I shoved the waterskin into Stormy''s mouth, letting her lick the healing water.

    "Merw. Kah-mrree!" Stormy insisted, when her bleeding stopped.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead," I said.

    ¡°Mrrrwwwrrr!¡± Stormy said, her violet eyes sharp, smacking my face with her paw.

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Mrrrr-mremrwwrer-mraw!¡± Stormy declared, waving her paw at the other side of the river where Jarl Bobliss was buried under a ton of rock next to Cali¡¯s dead, heatless body.

    ¡°Other side? Yeah fine,¡± I said and ran back into the icy water, swimming across, with Stormy clinging to the top of my still somehow intact backpack.

    When we emerged on the other side of the river, Stormy pawed at the remote in my pocket.

    ¡°Remote?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Gggg-eeennn-kah!¡± Stormy let out.

    ¡°Glinka?¡± I blinked. ¡°Glinka is still alive? How?¡±

    Stormy pawed the ground.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°Right. I¡¯m an idiot.¡±

    The last piece of Glinka¡¯s megalith, her anchor, was still suspended inside my earth. I felt it sparking at my senses, but paid no attention to it, far too busy trying to deal with invincible Bobliss.

    I fixed the shattered button on the remote, popping it back in and switched the remote on, liquefying the circle of ground. Glinka¡¯s megalith piece slowly bobbed out from the liquefied earth as it was far too magical to be permanently contained within.

    Glinka manifested atop of her reduced megalith looking left and right. Then she looked at Stormy, who leapt to her megalith.

    ¡°Mrrbr-mrrsshh-mrrr!¡± Stormy gesticulated as the river spirit bent down to the kitten.

    Glinka nodded silently.

    ¡°Mrrdru-Jarrrrr-llllrrr-maywrrrr!¡± Stormy ranted. ¡°Mrrhdaw-Gurrrrgg-may-mrawrar-rrrr!¡±

    Glinka¡¯s head snapped to the pile of rocks. Her fists opened and closed.

    ¡°Mrrrryarrrrrimmm!¡± Stormy snarled.

    Glinka raised a hand in the air, the river around us thrumming with power, roaring to a rising crescendo.

    ¡°Cah-me!¡± Stormy cough-mewled at me, jumping on my shoulder.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked.

    ¡°CAH-MRRRWEEEE!¡± Stormy waved a dark paw at the dead body of the Arcanicx Sorceress.

    ¡°Huh? You want¡­ me to bury her?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nrrrawrrr!¡± Stormy shook her head.

    I grabbed Cali¡¯s body and began to drag her away from the enraged river. I glanced at the massive fist that was rising out of the water.

    Glinka lowered her hand and picked up the entire pile of her rocks, along with a section of ground. She squeezed hard, the water filling with red.

    The blood of Jarl Bobliss began rushing through Glinka¡¯s water fist downstream to the North. I looked away.

    I dragged Cali¡¯s body into the cave, pausing for a moment.

    ¡°What am I even doing?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Myarr-eerrrll!¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°Barrel?¡± I blinked. ¡°What barrel?¡±

    ¡°Merrhiinnrrrr myarreellll!¡± Stormy insisted. She jumped into the Sleigh and pawed at the closed barrel of healing water.

    The smallest bit of hope pulsed in my chest. Could the healing water fix someone without a heart, help someone who¡¯s already been dead for more than twenty minutes?

    I dragged Cali¡¯s body into the Sleigh and pushed her into the water. She sunk under and I stared at her. She wasn¡¯t changing, wasn¡¯t healing. She was still dead.

    ¡°Well, that was pointless,¡± I said.

    ¡°Mrawrr!¡± Stormy shook her head.

    I slid down to the bed.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± I said, rubbing my throbbing head. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m so tired.¡±

    Stormy ran up to my torn bag and began attempting to exhume the Codex out of its compartment. I helped her.

    Stormy opened the Codex to the cat-communication page and tapped the angry cat face with her paw.

    ¡°No?¡± I looked at her. ¡°No, what? Cali is dead.¡±

    Stormy¡¯s right paw moved to the word [YES] while her left paw moved to the word [NO].

    ¡°Huh?¡± I blinked at her. She¡¯s never done anything like this before. ¡°What are you talking about? She¡¯s dead and also¡­ not dead? How?¡±

    ¡°Mrrrwrr!¡± Stormy growled, tapping both words.

    ¡°Schr?dinger¡¯s kitten!¡± I declared, my brain snapping into a conclusion. ¡°She¡¯s dead and alive? Is that it? Dead now, alive in the future? Do I need to keep her in the water barrel longer for her to become alive?¡±

    ¡°Mraw!¡± Stormy tapped the ¡®no¡¯ sign.

    ¡°No?¡± I blinked as I reached for my pouch and drank some more healing water myself. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Stormy sent me an irate glare.

    ¡°Mrrryaw-Grrrr,¡± she said. ¡°Grr-grrrrr! Urrrrnnn-crrrrr-rrr Gggrrrrrr-grrrr!¡±

    ¡°The Gy¡­¡± I said, stopping myself. ¡°Uncle¡­ George?¡±

    [YES]

    I tried to relax, tried to think.

    This whole ritual was organized by the Gygr of Chernobog and her Immortal Champion, Bobliss. All to turn Cali into a Gygr. To create a perfect weapon against the glaciers. Due to my interference, Chrizantia Malekai failed on both fronts¨CGlinka was still alive and Cali¡­ Cali was dead.

    Cali¡¯s body had to be brought to Chernobog by Bobliss to make her into an inverted abomination, the Gygr of Glinka.

    ¡°The key to fixing this mess, to making Cali alive again is in¡­ Chernobog, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked the kitten.

    ¡°Mrrrrr!¡± Stormy slapped the word [YES] staring at me like I was an idiot.

    ¡°Of course,¡± I said, a small twitch of a smile manifesting on my face as I petted Stormy who began to purr furiously while climbing onto my lap. ¡°I get it now, thanks. Seems we have to raid the office of our competition!¡±

    But a chilling thought loomed like a murky shadow behind my optimistic words: how could we even reach Chernobog, a swamp up north shrouded in darkness and likely guarded by unspeakable horrors? Surely the Gygr had more than one champion and more Jotuns on hand to send against us. There was no way that she would give up on her mission of taking over river Glinka just because I had rebuffed one of her fallen heroes.

    I had likely only bought myself a bit of time and others would be coming.

 54 Intermediary

    Hypothesis:

    Nature Spirits can¡¯t see or hear male witches unless the witch spills his blood in the water to make a deal. Nature Spirits can however see and hear Champions, Sorceresses and kittens.

    I extracted the chewed-up remnant of Glinka''s megalith from my liquified circle using a rope and my witchy strength, placing it carefully on the ground. The river spirit hovered above the remnant of her column with a somewhat frustrated body-expression, her arms crossed. Her hair spun above her in a constant spiral, replicating what was happening inside the river.

    Glinka¡¯s giant fist had come apart after repositioning Bobliss into the center of her river. The immovable champion was submerged in a sphere of liquid covered in a thousand sharp rocks. It looked like she was grinding a sphere of flesh with the jagged rocks and dragonglass dust spinning in an endless carousel, the blood of the immovable fallen hero constantly flowing downstream to the distant North Sea.

    I shuddered ever so slightly, wondering how long it would take her to grind the man into nothing and if he would be able to reconstitute amidst the glaciers and eventually come after us again.

    ¡°If you please,¡± I addressed the kitten as we emerged from the cave.

    Stormy hopped over to the megalith, positioning herself in front of the stone fragment.

    Glinka¡¯s head snapped to the little black kitten, her frustrated body language relaxing ever so slightly.

    ¡°My name is Ioan Starfall,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m the witch of Svalbard. I¡¯m speaking to you through my familiar, Stormy.¡±

    ¡°Mrhrm-shh-Myaowioan Shhrrbrr,¡± Stormy repeated. ¡°Mry mrr shhh orr Mayawbrrr¡­¡±

    Glinka sat down onto her megalith chunk, tilting her head to the kitten. She looked left and right.

    ¡°You can¡¯t see me,¡± I said. ¡°But we''ve been neighbours for around two months now and as I watched you do some incredible things with your river, I¡¯ve come to appreciate your powers, goddess.¡±

    ¡°Merh mew mer,¡± my feline secretary chirped, garbling up and swallowing most of my words.

    Glinka¡¯s Avatar pointed a shimmering green-blue finger at one of the sharp rocks sticking from the river. The same rock manifested in her illusory fingers and she sliced it across her hand, producing a resemblance of blood spilling into the water. She made another gesture to the river, inviting me to dip my feet in, to cut myself on the jagged rock and to make a deal.

    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°We will not be making a ¡®deal¡¯ and I will not be spilling any blood into you today or ever. I have no interest in being magically bound or being manipulated, buying or selling anything. Our relationship will not simply be magically transactional."

    I watched as Stormy relayed my words to Glinka, hoping that her tiny meows somehow conveyed my message fully. The river spirit''s faceless head tilted at Stormy, seemingly confused by my refusal to simply make a deal as expected.

    "I simply wish to talk with you," I continued, "to express my gratitude for your assistance against the Sorcerous sleigh, the minions of our mutual enemy Uncle George and the Jarl of Bernt.¡±

    I pointed a finger at the flesh sphere being ground down in her water. Stormy waved her right paw, replicating my motion.

    ¡°Your power is truly awe-inspiring and I hope we can maintain a... working relationship,¡± I added. ¡°One that will benefit us both, without any use of blood magic.¡±

    Glinka''s posture shifted, her arms uncrossing as she sat on the ground in front of Stormy. I was probably the first human in her long millennia of life who dared to talk to her directly via a kitten telephone who didn¡¯t just cut himself on her rocks demanding a magical solution to their problems.

    Glinka processed the kitten¡¯s words and waved her hand again at the river, more gently this time, inviting me to step in. I walked to the water and stepped in, my boots sinking into the inch of water.

    Glinka¡¯s face turned to me. It looked like she was trying her best to determine where I was but was utterly failing at it. She settled for staring at the eddies formed by my boots.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I dipped my index finger in the river and felt¡­ absolutely nothing at all. No magic, no connection, no sound of rushing water in my head. No voice of the river or whatever that Stormy was maybe hearing.

    "I also want to apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused by moving your megalith," I added. "It was necessary for our survival, but I understand it must have been disruptive for you."

    I watched as Glinka nodded silently. Stormy pawed at the word [YES] in the Codex, confirming that the river spirit understood me.

    "Here''s the thing," I said. "I might have to move it again."

    The liquid hair on Glinka''s head spun through the air with greater intensity, edges turning into blades. The blade-ripples danced down her figure, adding more length to her fingernails to make them almost resemble claws.

    "Mrryyyy?" Stormy asked, turning to me. "Mrawwww mrarrreee mruuu?"

    "Why? How dare I?" I arched my eyebrow. "I don''t think that you fully understand the situation, Glinka."

    The river spirit crossed her arms again.

    "Glinka," I began, "the world is changing. The glaciers are advancing, the White Blight spreads across the land reducing the number of people who would worship you, make a deal or drown in you. If you want to eat, you will have to move."

    Glinka shook her head.

    "Mrnooooo!" Stormy said. "Mrooo mraatttt?"

    "No? So what?" I arched an eyebrow. "I get it, the glaciers won''t be able to hurt you, you''ll just carve a path right through them. That''s the problem. Uncle George seeks to use you as a weapon against the glaciers. That''s why George sent Bobby here - to destroy your megalith anchor and to unmake what you are, to murder you, to bind all of the souls in your possession to a reanimated corpse."

    I gestured towards the cave where Cali''s dead body lay submerged in the healing water. "Uncle George almost succeeded. Do you really think that these bastards will give up on you? Do you think that they will let you live, let your anchor simply exist? George and Bob know exactly where your megalith is!"

    I walked out of the river and tapped her megalith with a foot.

    "It will only take one more tap of the blood hammer," I said. "Think about it."

    Glinka''s Avatar bristled even more, blades rolling all around her figure. Then, the anger subsided and she wrapped her hands around her knees burying her face between her knees. It was a strangely human gesture of vulnerability and I wondered whether it came from the souls of the girls of Svalbard that drowned themselves in the river over the centuries.

    "I''m not your enemy here," I said, waiting for Stormy to mew out my words to the river. "I''m offering you a chance to survive, to adapt. The world is changing, whether we like it or not. We can either change with it or be left behind... and perish."

    Glinka''s Avatar glanced at Stormy, looking almost catatonic in her despair of facing her suddenly looming mortality.

    "Two months ago, you killed Ioan," I said. "You took all of his memories and shoved me into his head. I don''t fault you for this, but you were the one who created me, Glinka. You are responsible for the fact that I''m standing in front of you talking to you through this kitten. I''m different from anyone you''ve encountered before and I do things differently for a reason. I''m an Understanding from Endalaus wearing the body of a Nordstaii boy and I want to understand you. I want to live and so do you. Everyone does.

    "A mundane Nordstaii Champion would have just left you here," I said. "They wouldn''t have bothered talking to you like this. People have no respect for your life, steal your rocks to build houses. They can''t see spirits like me, all they do is make dumb personal wishes on you, yes?"

    Glinka looked at Stormy and nodded.

    "Witches are ordinarily terrified of water because you can just drown them, yes?"

    Again Glinka offered me a nod and Stormy pawed the word ''yes''.

    "Our relationship will be different from any of your previous relationships and expectations," I said. "I''ll treat you as an entity of power equal to mine. I am the earth and you are the river that circles me."

    Glinka waved her hands.

    "Mrrriverrr wrr-shh-ssss mreee-arth!" Stormy said to me.

    "Yea," I shrugged. "Ordinarily, rivers wash the earth away and grind down rocks. Here''s the thing, I''m the kind of an earth-witch that you won''t be able to simply wash away. I can build a boat. I don''t play by the rules, you see, don''t follow the set patterns. I am a boy who chose to be a Witch. I can pick up my domain and carry it wherever I like."

    I watched as Glinka''s avatar processed my words, her faceless head tilted towards Stormy. The river spirit''s posture slowly changed, uncurling from her defensive position. She stood up, her hair swirling around her head in a mesmerizing dance of fluid dynamics.

    "Mraw mruuuu ouuu mrwa-mmm-ttt?" Stormy mewed as Glinka gesticulated asking ''what do you want?'' of me.

    "Come with me if you want to live," I said simply, offering Glinka my hand.

    Stormy jumped onto the megalith and offered Glinka a dark fuzzy paw with pink pads.

    I watched as Glinka stared at Stormy''s outstretched paw, her faceless head tilting in what I could only assume was deep contemplation. For a long moment, nothing happened.

    Then, slowly, hesitantly, Glinka''s watery hand reached out and touched Stormy''s paw.

    The kitten and the Avatar of a river pretended to shake paw and hand, even though they could not touch each other.

    I smiled, wondering if it was the first time in the history of Thornwild when a river became friends with a man through the incredible power of a single adorable black kitten.

 55 Karpathy Galateya

    -=[Karpathy Galateya]=-

    "Long, long ago, we were masters of all. The land, the sea, even the endless sky," my grandfather spoke, his voice gravelly with age, "and our people lived on a world called Werth.¡±

    I sat on the lush carpet of furs, warm and content as the fire crackled before us. Grandfather''s wrinkled face was animated in the flickering light as he spun his tale, the same one he''d told me a few times before.

    ¡°But then came the Voidstorms,¡± Grandfather continued. ¡°They devoured the sun and blotted the sky, opening doorways across the world and releasing¡­ leviathan abominations that were neither alive nor dead. Fleeing from the Voidstorms, the people of Werth dug themselves into the earth like moles, seeking safety, warmth and solace. For generations, they hid, sending out ships into the sky.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± I asked.

    "My grandfather''s grandmother, Halley Karpathy of Werth, was a Star-sailor,¡± Grandfather said. ¡°She captained a ship of gleaming metal that soared through the endless night between worlds on an engine that could fold reality itself.¡±

    I smiled, picturing a brave woman at the helm of a magical flying boat. It was a nice story, even if it couldn''t possibly be true as my father told me.

    "On her journeys, she discovered a living world amidst the silent, dead moons and stars. It was a paradise compared to dying, broken, cold Werth filled with roaming hungry things. This new world was free of Voidstorms, filled with clean air, pure water, and fertile soil."

    Grandfather''s eyes twinkled as he spoke. "Halley couldn''t keep such a wonder to herself. So she sent a song across the stars, a beacon to guide others to this new home. And they came - great sky-sailing ships full of people, crossing the vast abyss to reach the new world we came to call the World of Thrones, for its capped mountains.¡±

    I yawned, feeling sleepy but not wanting the story to end. "And that''s how we got here?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

    Grandfather chuckled. "That''s right, Teya. That''s how humanity came to Throne. Remember this, for I will be gone soon. Promise to tell the story of Captain Halley Karpathy of Werth to your children¡¯s children.¡±

    I nodded, yawning again.

    "But remember this, Teya," Grandfather said, leaning closer to me. "The storms that chased us from Werth... they may find us here one day."

    A chill ran down my spine despite the warmth of the fire. "They¡­ will?¡± I asked.

    "As long as Desolus grows, the storms it brings will spread. Someday, its reach may extend even to Throne,¡± Grandfather exhaled, pointing a finger up at the heavens.

    ¡°Why does Desolus grow?¡± I asked, staring up at the vast world blotting out half of the sky overhead through the open roof of the tepee tent.

    ¡°Because inside it runs a great endless engine of creation,¡± Grandfather explained. ¡°One that will never stop, one set in motion by all our desires long, long ago. One that expands Desolus and captures all stars and worlds into its orbit, absorbing the universe and converting it into itself.¡±

    "Is Desolus¡­ hell?" I swallowed nervously.

    "Hell and heaven," Grandfather said. "One of our own making. Desolus is everything."

    "Everything?" I asked.

    ¡°Everything,¡± Grandfather nodded. ¡°Everything and anything that you could ever imagine.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Because we¡­ we wanted everything,¡± Grandfather shrugged. ¡°And our clever tools gave it to us. Up there, past the vastness of empty space, lies the corpse of everything, so much of it that there is no room for people left.¡±

    ¡°Will we fall into Desolus someday then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No,¡± Grandfather shook his head. ¡°We will not¡­ not. Desolus is far, very far. Even so, Desolus will someday catch Throne in its gravitic embrace and bring the Voidstorms, perhaps force the children of our children times a thousand to forsake this lovely new world.¡±

    I shuddered.

    ¡°I love your dad, but he¡­ he doesn¡¯t listen to me,¡± Grandfather sighed. ¡°He¡¯s stubborn, focused on the mundane, not seeing far enough into the future. He refuses to think generations ahead.¡±

    ¡°Generations?¡± I blinked. ¡°How many generations?¡±

    ¡°Too many to count,¡± Grandfather said, suddenly grabbing my hand. ¡°Come. I must show it to you while he sleeps.¡±

    I stepped out of the teepee, following Grandfather into the cool night air.

    The stars twinkled overhead, countless points of violet light against the vast darkness. Desolus loomed above it all, its rings shimmering with an eerie beauty.

    Grandfather limped on his cane. He led me past the safety-fence to a field near the river, where a strange, twisted metal structure lay half-buried in the earth. It was warped and broken, covered in holes, brown rust and decay, overgrown with weeds. I didn''t know what to make of it, thought it was some old piece of junk.

    "This," Grandfather said, his voice solemn, "Is Halley¡¯s skyship¡­ and her final resting place.¡±

    I stared at the old rusting ruin, trying to imagine it soaring through the stars. It seemed impossible, and had far too many holes for sailing in.

    Grandfather approached a section of the wreckage and carefully dug through the earth, clearing a space and pried what looked like a metal panel open. Inside the steel case was a crystalline formation, glowing faintly with a green-blue shimmer.

    "This is a Chronacist fold substrate core," he explained. "A tool from Werth. It can record a person''s knowledge, function as a Save Point. It consumes blood to function.¡±

    I watched, fascinated, as Grandfather pulled out a small knife and pricked his finger. A drop of blood welled up, and he pressed it to the crystal. The glow intensified slightly, blood turning into more crystal.

    "I''m saving myself," he said softly. "I don''t know if it still works after all this time, but this is how it''s done. Just in case. Like all old Werth tools it works on desire. For it to work, you must desire to be preserved within. Do you understand?¡±

    I didn''t fully understand, but I nodded, sensing the importance of the moment.

    ¡°You must protect this crystal, never let another unworthy soul know about it,¡± Grandfather said. ¡°I entrust it to you, not to your foolish father who would sell it for a shiny sword or lose it. Because we¡¯re all in it, the great line of Star-sailors. Me, my father and mother, their parents¡­ all the way to Halley Karpathy and her parents. I don¡¯t know how far it goes. Do you promise to keep this secret?¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± I nodded.

    ¡°Then I leave our line to you to carry forward,¡± Grandfather said.

    . . .

    That autumn, Grandfather passed away. The settlement struggled in the years that followed, beset by winters, wildlings and poor harvests.

    Decades slipped by, marked by hardship and loss.

    Then came the day the black-clad Sacaxians arrived from the wildlands. Their war cries and horns resounded across the night. They swept through the steppes on horseback, setting fire to the teepees and cutting down anyone in their path with wicked swords.

    Panic gripped me as I fled towards the river, towards the ruined structure Grandfather had shown me years ago. With trembling hands, I pried the Chronacist free from its housing. I had to save this treasure, had to protect my grandfather''s spirit within it.

    The horns grew louder, nearer and then the screams began. Without thinking, driven by fear and instinct, I swallowed the crystal whole and then I ran.

    I heard the yells of the Sacaxians as they spotted me. I leapt into the river.

    Pain blossomed in my back as an arrow struck me. I stumbled, choking and swallowing cold water. I flailed as the current pulled me under, darkness closing in.

    My last thought, my wish was to remain alive, to protect the Chronacist fold from the wildlings at all cost.

    . . .

    I awoke to stillness and silence.

    I couldn''t see, couldn''t move, couldn''t breathe - but somehow, I was aware. Blind but conscious, aware and not exactly aware, dead and alive.

    I was the fold, I realized, and there were other things here, other people-not-people, other lesser, smaller stars, thousands of them, little pinpricks of someone that didn¡¯t manage to save completely as the fold was somehow damaged.

    I rearranged the other tiny stars around myself like a shawl and then¡­ I simply existed.

    I didn¡¯t know for how long it was, but bit by bit I learned how to reach out, tried to gain awareness of where I was.

    Water. I somehow felt water. It was damaging the outer edges of my fold. Argh.

    More sorting it is. More reinforcing. Some fold stars lost to the water, dispersed out, still part of me but also not really.

    For a long, impossibly long time there was only the endless flow of water around me, ripples circling, waves that constantly slammed against me, adding more¡­ something to my mass.

    Mass, I had mass. Lichen and moss built up around me, dirt added itself to my form.

    I was deaf and blind, but I lived on.

    Gradually, over centuries, I learned to sense the changing seasons through the water around me¨Cthe freezing of winter, the thaw of spring. More sediment settled on me, and I grew larger.

    Millennia passed in this strange, timeless existence with me cursing myself for my idiotic decision of consuming the crystalline fold substrate from Werth.

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Eventually, a tiny Sarcaxian village called Moonfall sprang up beside me.

    The bloodthirsty wildlings began to worship the shiny rock in the river - me - as they noticed how I could subtly influence the flow of water.

    I felt the ripples they made on approach through bits of the fold scattered across the river where I lay.

    They pulled me from the river and carved runes into my side and offered me blood sacrifices as the altar of Uropok, the God of Storms and Harvests.

    I decided to learn how to push and pull the water around myself with the tiniest bits of my folds sitting within the river just so I could drown the bastards.

    Other than the usual weekly blood sacrifices¡­ There were a few wildling tribesmen, who willingly gave themselves to me, committing ritual bloodletting.

    Thanks to them, generation by generation, the Chronacist substrate within and around me granted me tiniest bits of greater awareness and strength, making me grow bigger.

    I sorted whatever was granted to me, built a barrier of new Chronacist fold, a mishmash of vague people-ness around my core of ¡°self¡± as not to dilute, as not to lose my individuality.

    . . .

    As the centuries rolled by, I became less human and more the river that stretched itself from distant warm South lake to the distant cold North Ocean as bits of myself spread, carried away in one direction by the current and into the other by boats and fish.

    With each sacrifice, I grew less and less like what I had once been and more like a concept that could control water, focusing all of my desire to eventually drown the Sarcaxian bastards and their children, just to make them stop bothering me.

    . . .

    Thousands of winters passed in this manner. I forgot why I was even learning how to control the waves, lost in the mastery of the process itself.

    Magic seeped into the land, permeating everything. Mages emerged, wielding powers that would have seemed impossible in ages past. Belief began to shape reality more and more.

    Strange men and beasts began to roam the lands, some born of magic, others twisted by it. I observed these changes with detached curiosity, too far removed from my human origins to truly care, studying their powers to improve my control over my fold.

    In time, the Sarcaxians had faded into myth and as I talked to the mages that gave me blood, the name Karpathy Galateya warped into Garpathea. I was the Goddess of the River Garp filled with large fish that the current version of humanity called ¡®garps¡¯.

    . . .

    Language shifted and warped.

    Civilizations fell and rose.

    Desolus became Endalaus.

    I learned to master the waves.

    The stone city of Stalgard grew next to me.

    I was the river, eternal and ever-changing. Over the centuries, countless mortals came to me with their wishes and dreams, offering their blood in exchange for my favor. Their desires were as varied as they were predictable - sex, wealth, fame, success. Some begged for vengeance against their enemies, others for invincibility in battle.

    Thanks to magic permeating my very being, I granted their wishes, wielded them or others like puppets on strings until the bargain was fulfilled to the letter and fed on the new, offered blood, growing ever more detached with each moronic request of ¡°help me find true love¡± or ¡°help me be rich¡±.

    Then came the day when the Wormwood Star streaked across the heavens, crashing into the world of Throne. The impact sent shockwaves through the land, altering the very fabric of reality as it set the air on fire. But even this cataclysmic event was merely a ripple in my eternal existence.

    As the centuries turned to millennia, the world grew colder. Ice crept down from the North, swallowing cities and kingdoms in its inexorable advance.

    The great city of Stalgard, which had stood proudly beside me for ages, grew smaller and more desolate with each century and was renamed to Svalbard - the end of the known world, the last refuge against the encroaching cold.

    The world itself became renamed to Thornwild.

    The Nordstaii people came then, refugees fleeing the frozen wasteland. They settled along my banks, renaming me River Glinka. I didn''t care to correct them; mortal names kept shifting and held little meaning to me now.

    I wasn¡¯t worried about the encroaching ice that tried to bind my Northmost edge. Ice was just frozen water and I was an absolute master of water.

    I believed that like everything that once bothered me, the Ice Age too would pass.

    The glaciers would melt and this land someday would become the steppes it once was. Everything followed a set pattern, everything shifted and resettled as the planet breathed in and out.

    The ever-gradual growth of Endalaus didn''t matter in the slightest - the more it blotted the sky, the more magic blossomed across the world. Magic was life which granted me more power, more ability to bend water.

    . . .

    I watched on, indifferent, from the shore as the dragonfire consumed Svalbard.

    The deaths of mortals meant little to me; they were as fleeting as ripples on my surface. Other mortals would be born, other humans would build a city here, drawn by the magic of my very existence, seeking me out to make their wishes come true.

    The last of Svalbard, a teenage boy, rushed across the ice and fell into my waters as the dragon smashed the ice behind him. The boy¡¯s body became submerged. As his head slammed against my rocks, his blood mingled with my fold essence spread across the river.

    I heard his final, desperate wish for [knowledge to defeat the dragon], offering me everything he had, his memory and soul.

    As per usual, I reached into the vast, multi-fold entity I had become.

    I permitted him not to drown and attempted to shove a bright star of dragon-slaying knowledge into his dying mind from some distant beyond.

    As I did that, some sort of outsider magic interfered with the process, pulling deeper, further than I wanted to, scooping more knowledge than was possible to be paid for by the boy''s life.

    Whatever, not my problem.

    The boy suddenly came to and thrashed in the waves, swam sideways and managed to smash through the ice and left me. I didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to what happened next, being entombed in ice and half-asleep for the winter.

    I didn¡¯t expect him to slay anything, the star I pushed into his soul was old.

    Really old. Older than dragons.

    Plus some outsider bullshit seemed to have gotten attached to it. Again, not my problem. I did as asked.

    . . .

    What followed that winter was a series of bewildering events.

    Someone - or something - began interacting with my fold in ways I had never experienced before. One of my rocks was repositioned and messed with, yet I could not see or sense the cause.

    Some of my ground water was taken from the village well, and then inexplicably vanished out of existence. It was as if a ghost was haunting my shores, haunting the remnants of Svalbard, manipulating my bits without my permission, without properly giving me their blood or making a deal.

    The audacity of it was... annoying.

    The rock manipulation intensified, more of my shards were taken and thrown at some kind of¡­ a carriage?

    Argh.

    My entire fold core was moved then, by an invisible someone flapping around the shore.

    Are you kidding me? How dare you move me? Put me back at once, you rude¡­ ughh¡­ ghost person!

    The core was shoved next to a contraption of magic, some kind of a carriage, that grated against my being, striking the crystal that anchored me into existence with lightning, disrupting, burning away precious connections between stars. Its presence was an irritation I could not ignore, so I smashed it with a watery fist. I felt a grim satisfaction in that act.

    Later, some ass poured a bunch of blood on me without making a wish. As I began to crystalize the blood adding it to the fold, two flesh-walker abominations dared to desecrate my crystal core with their vile void tongues. In my fury, I smashed them together and sent the remains hurtling towards the North Sea, ridding my core of their offensive presence.

    But it was the encounter with a fallen Champion who called himself Bobliss that truly shook me.

    Bobliss knew how to kill me. Bobliss was solid, more solid than anyone I¡¯ve encountered, immune to my watery hands.

    As he shattered my core with a hammer of blood, I felt myself unravelling, losing connection to myriads of stars, losing thousands of top layers of memories. I was losing my power over the river, my vast consciousness, my awareness of self threatening to disperse into nothing.

    I had forgotten what it was to fear, what it was like to be threatened.

    Bobliss spoke to someone, threatened them, amplifying his voice with blood magic, making the air and water itself shake. Ioan Starfall, he said, sending my thoughts scattering.

    A witch¡­ boy?

    The boy I gave knowledge to had somehow become a witch? What?!

    I fell to my knees, begging for my life as Bobliss struck my fold core again and again.

    In that desperate moment, an Arcanicx girl made a wish for [strength to protect her Champion, Ioan Starfall], sacrificing everything to me.

    Ioan? Yes! Protect Ioan, protect me!

    Without thinking, I granted the girl¡¯s desire, reanimating her broken body with my power. I took what remained of her life and magic, binding it to my own essence, to all of my magical essence.

    It was an instinctive act, born of fear and a desire to survive that I had thought long extinguished.

    As Bobliss continued his assault, swatting away the reanimated girl and punching through her heart, I felt my existence wavering, teetering on the brink of oblivion.

    And then with one last swing, everything fell silent and quiet.

    But, I wasn¡¯t dead, wasn¡¯t shattered into a thousand separate stars. Something saved the lowest piece of my fold, something preserved me in the embrace of magic, cut my remaining Chronacist piece from the rest of my river-spread self.

    . . .

    I came into awareness when something released me.

    A female kitten covered in recently acquired droplets of my river-water sat in front of me.

    ¡°My name is Ioan Starfall,¡± the kitten said not in words but in magical waves of knowledge-fold entwined with her mews. ¡°I¡¯m the witch of Svalbard. I¡¯m speaking to you through my familiar, Stormy.¡±

    What?

    For a moment I simply gaped at the talking kitten.

    More words, more revelations, more information poured from the little feline¡¯s mouth.

    I sat down, stunned, as the kitten continued to relay messages from invisible Ioan Starfall. The situation was so bizarre, so far removed from anything I had experienced in my millennia of existence, that I found myself at a loss.

    As Stormy continued to speak, I began to piece together the strange tale. Ioan Starfall, the boy I had granted knowledge to, had somehow become a male witch. He had been the invisible force manipulating my domain, moving my rocks, and ultimately saving me from complete destruction at the hands of Jarl Bobliss.

    When Ioan refused to make a blood pact with me, I was initially offended. How dare this mortal refuse the traditional way of interacting with me? But as he continued to explain his reasoning through his feline intermediary, I found myself intrigued. This was not the typical mortal approach I had grown accustomed to over the centuries.

    Ioan spoke of mutual respect, of a relationship between equals. He acknowledged my power but also asserted his own. It was... refreshing, in a way I hadn''t experienced in eons.

    As Ioan explained the threat posed by the advancing glaciers and the machinations of the entity he called "Uncle George", which I assumed was some kind of powerful, malevolent being ordering Bobliss around, I felt a stirring of something I hadn''t felt in ages¨Cconcern for my own future, the need to plan ahead.

    The idea of being used as a weapon against the glaciers, of being bound to a reanimated corpse of Cali, was deeply unsettling. I had grown complacent in my absolute power over water, never considering that there might be forces out there capable of truly threatening me.

    Ioan''s words forced me to confront this uncomfortable reality.

    As Ioan continued to speak, revealing his nature as an "Understanding from Endalaus," I realised just how unique this situation was. Here was a being unlike any I had encountered before, offering a partnership rather than servitude or worship.

    When he extended his hand, through Stormy, and said, "Come with me if you want to live," I felt a spark of something I hadn''t experienced in ages¨Chope.

    After a moment''s hesitation, I reached out and touched Stormy''s paw.

    It was a symbolic gesture, as I could not touch the kitten with my magical essence, but it felt monumental. For the first time, I was choosing to align myself with a mortal - or whatever Ioan truly was - not out of obligation or in exchange for sacrifices, but as a willing partner!

    "Oh and..." the kitten mewed then, "Is your name really Glinka? That must be what the people of Svalbard named you, a type of a muddy, whitewater river, but what are you really named? How do you define¡­ yourself?¡±

    I paused, shocked.

    In thousands of years, not a single human had asked for my real name.

    I dug into the deepest recess of my crystalline self, past endless folds, searching for my very first name¡­ and then I remembered.

    I remembered my grandfather. I remembered his final words. I remembered myself from so long ago, my human self buried past a million other stars, past a hundred thousand seasons, past the endless blood sacrifices. I remembered the yellow steppes and our teepee tent. I remembered Captain Halley Karpathy''s crashed skyship.

    "I''m¡­ Karpathy Galateya," I said, my voice trembling, watery tears running down my cheeks as it all crashed into me.

    "Sorry," the kitten replied. "Stormy can''t spell that many letters in Nordstaii, it just sounds like 20 meows to me. Can you shorten that a bit?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± I said, I tried to readjust my otherwise blank face to include a semblance of a smile. ¡°...call me Teya. I¡¯m Teya.¡±

    ¡°Tt-eeeee-mya,¡± the kitten repeated, turning to a person I could not see.

 56 Animated to Existence

    ¡°Teya,¡± I repeated, watching as the river spirit¡¯s Avatar rearranged itself ever so slightly, a resemblance of a smile. It looked like tears formed on her face made from a thousand minute waves folding into each other.

    Stormy tapped the word ¡®yes¡¯.

    I wondered why the river spirit was crying. Was she afraid of death or was she simply lamenting something that I could not comprehend?

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Teya,¡± I said.

    Then, I waved a hand at the flesh-sphere of Bobliss. ¡°Say, how long is it going to take you to grind down Bobby?¡±

    Teya shrugged.

    Stormy¡¯s paw slid over to [maybe].

    "Hey, uhh, I see that you¡¯re using your rocks, but are you using dragonglass to grind down Bobliss?" I asked. "I want to make sure that dragonglass simply doesn''t wash away downstream."

    Teya nodded. The kitten pawed at the Codex, indicating ¡®yes¡¯.

    ¡°You can sense dragonglass in the water, yeah?¡± I asked.

    Again, a nod.

    I watched as the blood of the fallen Champion poured downstream, a crimson ribbon in the clear waters of Glinka. The sight was a tad unsettling.

    "Will he reconstitute himself?" I asked.

    Teya''s watery form shrugged. Stormy pawed at the word [maybe].

    I frowned, not satisfied with the ambiguous answer. But then, without even glancing at Teya, Stormy''s paw slid over to [YES].

    My frown deepened as I processed what looked like the Kitten¡¯s personal future-prediction.

    "So, he will reconstitute," I muttered, more to myself than to Teya or Stormy. "That''s... problematic."

    Teya looked at the kitten who mewled out my words and nodded.

    ¡°Hey, Teya, can you give me some of his blood?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to see if I can figure out how it works, see if there is a better way to unmake our enemy.¡±

    The river spirit nodded. Her Avatar extended a hand out to the river and a watery hand formed from the eddies and grabbed a bunch of blood spilling from Bobliss and held it in the air.

    I ran up to it with a bucket from the cavern and quickly scooped the blood in from the liquid hand.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I grinned.

    ¡°Mrary mrawr,¡± Stormy murmured.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you in a bit, Teya!¡± I said. ¡°Keep on grinding him, for now, make sure he doesn¡¯t put himself back together.¡±

    The river spirit affirmed that she understood me with another nod.

    The kitten leapt on my shoulder, curling herself around my neck. I returned to the cavern.

    Setting the bucket down on a wooden table pilfered from the bar, I began to examine its contents. The blood was darker than normal, almost black, with an odd shimmering quality to it. As I watched, it seemed to move of its own accord, tiny ripples forming on its surface. Slowly, but surely, it came together into a single blood sphere as if guided by an invisible gravity well.

    I quickly repaired the cracked Astralscope lenses by liquefying and solidifying them again.

    Through the Astralscope, the blood glowed with intense, pulsating, red shimmers. Threads of folding darkness wove themselves through it, reminiscent of the tattoo I had seen on Bobliss''s chest.

    Was all Champion blood like this or just Bobliss?

    I sheared the blood sphere using the Knell-blade, carefully extracting a small sample and placed it on a glass slide. Under closer inspection of my makeshift microscope, the blood seemed to be in a constant state of flux, behaving similar to the Jotuns, constantly expunging more organic matter out of itself as if unfolding new blood cells out of nowhere and then folding them somewhere else as they died.

    "This could explain his healing factor," I pondered.

    I added a drop of dragonglass-infused water to the slide. The blood of the Champion hissed and bubbled, gradually coming apart as it fought against the anti-life and magic-killing radiance.

    I spent hours experimenting with the blood, testing its reactions to various stimuli. It resisted all attempts to alter its state or composition, always returning to its original form, trying to escape and come together into a single blood sphere unless broken apart by dragonglass-infused water.

    It resisted cold and heat.

    I put a smallest drop of it onto the knell-blade and watched as the blood of the champion danced and hissed atop it, spinning and refusing to burn away, constantly regenerating.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Where was all this power coming from? I tapped my chin.

    Carefully, I drew a small amount of my own blood and placed it on a separate slide. Compared to Bobliss''s chaotic dance, my blood simply sat still.

    I introduced a small amount of the Champion''s blood to my own sample. The reaction was immediate and violent. My blood recoiled as if burned, some dissolving entirely. The Champion''s blood, however, seemed to thrive, absorbing the remnants of my destroyed cells.

    "It''s parasitic," I murmured. "It feeds on witch-blood, converting it into more of itself."

    I turned my attention to the remnants of the Star-Shards from Cali''s sleigh and her broken lavalier. Both still radiated a faint blue-silver field, visible through my Astralscope. I recalled Cali mentioning that these shards were unusable to Star-Eaters due to their alignment with the Liesl family.

    Curious about their properties, I decided to grind them into dust using the Knell-blade. As I carefully crushed the shards, I noted that they resisted the blade more than ordinary gems would. The process was slow and meticulous, but eventually, I had two small piles of glittering dust before me.

    Through the Astralscope, I observed that the dust retained its blue-silver aura, though it seemed more diffuse now.

    I carefully separated the lavalier-dust into several smaller portions. I mixed one portion with a sample of Bobliss''s blood, another with some of my domain''s earth, some mixed with my blood, and the forth with regular water. I left the 5th portion untouched as a control.

    The results were intriguing. The portion mixed with Bobliss''s blood seemed to create a sort of weak neutralizing effect, causing the blood to lose some of its constant regenerative properties. The earth from my domain, when mixed with the Star-Shard dust, felt like annoying prickles at the edges of my consciousness. The portion mixed with my blood also felt like an annoying tickle.

    Sorceress-aligned Stardust simply wasn¡¯t made to work with my domain. Could I somehow modify its alignment?

    In about another hour, the spinning drop of the Jarl¡¯s blood sitting atop the dragonglass blade finally perished. It left behind a microscopic, barely visible pile of reddish-white crystal dust.

    I examined the champion-dust in the microscope, comparing its composition with the remnants of the lavalier. It looked very similar, except in the view of the Astralscope the lavalier-dust radiated silver-blue coronas while the dust extracted from the blood of the Jarl radiated red coronas.

    I dissolved each sample in a water drop filled with micro-organisms and samples of plant cells.

    The stardust aligned to Bobliss seemed to pull minute tendrils of energy out of the microorganisms, killing and absorbing them. Stardust from Cali¡¯s lavalier had no visible effects on microorganisms.

    I brought one of my spirit rocks next to the champion-stardust, watching as a small trail from the spirit began to be drawn into the hungry, red-white dust.

    It seemed the Champion-aligned-stardust was capable of absorbing both living and spiritual energy.

    In about twenty minutes of this, drops of shimmering dark red blood cells remanifested themselves around the champion-dust.

    "Damn," I said. "It''s like Bob is written into these crystals."

    The Sorceress-aligned-stardust had no effect on the spirits of my domain.

    I went to the life-water barrel and extracted a bit of blood from Cali¡¯s cold, pale hand. It burned up very quickly in contact with the Knell-blade, leaving no crystals behind.

    Right. Arcanicx didn¡¯t have stardust in their blood, instead they wielded stardust outside of their bodies using their Auras.

    I pulled out my Codex and began to write, my mind racing with the implications of what I had just observed:

    Hypothesis: Gender-Aligned Stardust Properties

    Female-Aligned Stardust (Cali''s Lavalier):

    <ul>

    <li>

    Radiates silver-blue coronas under Astralscope

    </li>

    <li>

    Neutral to nature spirits

    </li>

    <li>

    Doesn¡¯t affect living cells

    </li>

    </ul>

    Male-Aligned Stardust (Bobliss''s Blood):

    <ul>

    <li>

    Radiates red coronas under the Astralscope

    </li>

    <li>

    Actively consumes energy from living cells and spiritual entities

    </li>

    <li>

    Exhibits parasitic behavior, converting male-witch blood into more of itself

    </li>

    <li>

    Likely the source of Champions'' enhanced strength and regenerative abilities

    </li>

    </ul>

    I looked at the girl in the barrel. Her ocean-blue eyes were open, white hair floating through the water. Cali was definitely dead, she wasn¡¯t projecting an Aura anymore, wasn''t moving.

    I looked at my own hand. I wasn¡¯t projecting an Aura either.

    Uhh.

    Stormy had an Aura. Glinka, err, Teya had an aura. Bobliss had an Aura.

    I looked at the nearest male horse. Abott had an Aura. Castella had an Aura.

    Where was my Aura? Was my total lack of Aura why spirits couldn¡¯t see me? Did Yaga Grandhilda have an Aura? She certainly did, I saw her freaky spider-leg green angel wings unfold out of it.

    A creeping feeling of dread crawled itself into my thoughts settling itself there.

    No, it couldn¡¯t be.

    Grabbing my own wrist, I felt for my pulse. To my relief, I felt the steady thrum beneath my skin. I relaxed, letting out a breath I hadn''t realized I was holding.

    Then a troubling thought occurred to me - I hadn''t slept in weeks, and I''d barely eaten anything. Sleep and eating as a witch was a conscious activity, one that I had to force myself to do. My body didn''t seem to produce waste either, didn''t sweat. My skin didn''t flake off when washed.

    How was that possible? How was I accelerating my own heart in moments of stress? Could I slow it down too like a Buddhist monk?

    Curious, I relaxed all of my motions, exhaled and didn¡¯t inhale again, tried to halt my pulse, focusing on not using my heart, trying not to breathe at all.

    To my shock, my pulse slowed and then stopped entirely.

    I held my fingers to my wrist. My pulse was gone. I didn¡¯t feel the urge to breathe in or out either. I waited, expecting to feel dizzy or short of breath, but nothing changed. I felt exactly the same as before, except my thoughts became somewhat slower.

    "What the hell?" I whispered, staring at my seemingly lifeless wrist.

    The implications were staggering.

    I thought back to my earliest memories in this world, emerging from the icy waters of Glinka. Had I ever truly been alive since that moment? Or was I merely a vessel for the Understanding, animated by Teya into life and then animated further by my domain? Why did I feel like I was a dying vampire at the edge of my domain¡¯s leash?

    My mouth opened and closed. I pricked my own finger again and let the Knell-blade burn away a drop of my blood. It burned away slightly slower than Cali¡¯s, resulting in a small sprinkle of violet-tinted crystals.

    My blood was animated to behave like human blood by crystalline microstructures just like the blood of Jarl Bobliss.

    I brought the resulting violet powder to the same test spirit. A magical wave danced between the spirit and the pile of dust, so thin that it was barely there.

    The clock in my head struck midnight.

    ¡°Stormy,¡± I said. ¡°Is Jarl Bobliss alive?¡±

    The kitten looked up at me and then her left paw slid to [NO] and her right paw slid at [YES].

    The fallen Champion was neither dead nor alive, that¡¯s why it was so hard to put him down, why he kept coming back even though I shot him in the head twice. Crystals in his blood regenerated him into existence.

    ¡°Stormy¡­ am I alive?¡± I asked, pushing the question out of my lips.

    The kitten¡¯s paws remained where they were on [YES] and [NO].

    Hypothesis: Ioan Starfall died two months ago.

 57 Across One Hundred Thousand Years

    I stared at Stormy''s paws, still resting on both ''Yes'' and ''No'' in response to my question about whether I was alive.

    "Well," I muttered, "looks like I''m Schr?dinger''s witch. Both dead and alive until someone opens the box... or in this case, rips out my heart and eats it."

    The joke fell flat, even to my own ears. The implications of my discovery were too profound, too unsettling.

    I turned my attention back to the microscopic crystals I had extracted from my blood. They were similar to those found in Bobliss''s blood, but with a distinct violet tint. These crystals were the key to understanding my own nature and that of the Champions and witches.

    "Syntropic crystals," I whispered. "That''s what these are... I think I''ll call them... Hexacite."

    I began to piece together a hypothesis.

    These crystals weren''t just storing energy or information; they were actively organizing and creating order within human bodies. They were writing us into existence, moment by moment, defying the mundane patterns of decay and entropy.

    This explained why Bobliss was so hard to kill. He wasn''t just healing; he was being continually rewritten into existence by the crystals in his blood. And I... I was no different.

    I had died in the icy waters of Glinka two months ago. But something - the Understanding, the magic of this world, or perhaps Teya herself - had rewritten me into existence, using Ioan''s body as a template but infusing it with these syntropic crystals.

    This realization sent a chill, sparks dancing across my entire body. I was a thing suspended between life and death, propped up by crystalline dust in my veins. Were all witches dead and simply decaying away incredibly slowly? Were all Champions dead-alive too?

    Did the power of a Champion or a Witch simply depend on how potent these crystals in the blood were, how syntropic they were, how much power they drew into themselves?

    I looked at my hands, flexing my fingers. They felt real, solid.

    Was I a ship of Theseus, a magic-formed concept that simply resembled what Ioan was?

    Hypothesis: To kill a witch one simply had to carry the witch¡¯s body from her domain. To kill a Champion, one had to stop the crystals in their blood from recreating them.

    Dragonglass only burned away the blood, but it didn¡¯t do shit to the crystals themselves.

    How could a syntropic crystal be destroyed?

    I poured more of the Champion''s blood onto the Knell-blade waiting for the blood cells comprising it to burn away.

    When I once again acquired a few piles of red-tinted dust, I tried everything I could think of to damage or destroy the Champion crystals extracted from Bobliss''s blood.

    I crushed them between two pieces of dragonglass - they remained intact. I subjected them to extreme heat using a makeshift ferronite furnace - they glowed red but didn''t melt.

    Feeling frustrated, I sat back and stared at the stubborn crystals. They glittered innocently on my workbench, mocking my efforts. It was clear that these weren''t ordinary crystals - they were something far more resilient and complex.

    "Alright," I muttered to myself, "if I can''t just destroy you, maybe I can at least understand you better."

    I turned to my ferronite and glass lens microscope, adjusting the lenses to focus on the microscopic structure of the crystals.

    What I saw took my breath away. The internal structure was unlike anything I''d ever seen - constantly shifting and rearranging itself, almost as if it was alive, lattices folding into themselves seemingly forever.

    As I watched, I noticed tiny flashes of red-tinted magic pulsing through the infinite crystal lattice. It reminded me of neurons firing in a brain, but on an impossibly small scale. These crystals weren''t just storing information - they were processing it, constantly updating and refining their structure.

    "They''re not just data storage for what defines Bobliss into existence," I commented, my mind sliding into the deep abyss of trying to grasp what I was seeing. "Maybe¡­ they''re some kind of a... quantum effect. No wonder they''re so hard to destroy - they''re actively maintaining their own structure, and have an extra dimension, an edge to them... one that I can¡¯t reach from my end!"

    I fished out Glinka¡¯s rock from its barrel and sliced its edge with the Knell-blade. The resulting powder showcased the same effect, except the extra-dimensional edges were barely visible to me, almost blurry. These crystals were projecting the fish spirit into being, probably animating Teya into existence too!

    Examining the dust from Cali¡¯s lavalier and the dust resulting from my blood featured the same thing. An extra-dimensional, very blurry, barely visible edge that I hadn''t noticed before.

    ¡°The more clear the syntropic crystal is, the better it preserves a person,¡± I pondered, recalling the crystalline hearts of the two bandits. ¡°The deeper crystals are in a human body, the more syntropic they likely are.¡±

    Maybe the simplest way to halt the regeneration of Champion like Bobliss wasn¡¯t to mess with the indestructible multi-dimensional crystals themselves, but to disrupt the magic they radiated?

    I liquefied a small wooden cube and poured Champion-dust on it.

    The dust refused to sink into the liquid-solid cube, simply hovering on the edge. It felt like burning, like an alien power that refused to succumb to me.

    Damn it.

    After another hour of peering at crystals and experimenting I didn¡¯t manage to arrive at a solution.

    Feeling frustrated, I decided to focus on my other mission.

    If I were to face the Gygr in her swampy domain, I needed more power, needed to harvest absolutely everything of value in Svalbard. I needed to take Svalbard completely apart, to get all the dragonglass and human remains sorted. The horses of the Bernt warband had fled, but the bandit bodies remained in the pub, mixed in with a mountain of rubble.

    But I was just one human with one pair of hands and a kitten.

    I looked over in the direction of the river spirit. It was time to learn more about Teya.

    ¡°Stormy,¡± I said. ¡°Should I trust Teya? Is she being honest? Will she aid our goals from here?¡±

    The kitten tapped the word ¡®yes¡¯ thrice. I grabbed her and put her onto my shoulder.

    . . .

    In another minute, we made our way back to the river''s edge.

    As we approached, I saw Teya''s magic-formed Avatar, waiting patiently, sitting atop her rock as she always did.

    Stormy jumped off me and took a dip in the river and then jumped onto Teya¡¯s megalith. I placed the Codex in front of Stormy.

    The river spirit turned to look at the kitten.

    "Teya," I began, speaking through Stormy, "I have a favor to ask of you. But first, I want to know... what would you like as a gift? Oh and remember to keep your answers simple, since Stormy struggles to convey human words."

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    There was a long pause. Teya''s Avatar seemed to flicker and shift, as if unsure how to respond. Then she seemed to have made up her mind.

    The river¡¯s Avatar shifted. Then, she made a pair of leg-fingers and did a motion of walking with them and pointed at herself.

    "Mrr-ll-oeee-gss!" Stormy mewled.

    "Legs?" I guessed "You want¡­ legs?"

    Stormy''s paw tapped the word ¡®yes¡¯.

    "Why?" I asked.

    Teya''s avatar seemed to sigh, a ripple passing through her watery form. Then she tried to gesticulate something, her expression trying to approximate a human face made up from a thousand human-like faces that kept shifting around.

    "Ma-iiii... Wrrass... Mru-mayann," Stormy mewed out. ¡°Iiii¡­ Mremm-brrr.¡±

    "You¡­ you were human?¡± I asked. ¡°You remember being human?¡±

    Teya nodded and Stormy tapped ¡®yes¡¯ again.

    ¡°Huh,¡± I muttered.

    I had jumped to a conclusion that Teya was a primordial spirit of nature, born from the river itself combined with magic of belief based on what Yaga Grandhilda told me. But if Teya had once been human... What had happened to her? And how did she become the river spirit?

    "I... I''m sorry," I said. "I didn''t realize. How long ago were you human?"

    Teya¡¯s Avatar shoulders fell as if carrying immense weight.

    ¡°M-rr-waa-nnnggg ttttt-rrrr-mmm,¡± Stormy let out.

    ¡°Long time, huh,¡± I said. ¡°I do wonder what you know about the history of Thornwild.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrrall,¡± Stormy replied after Glinka¡¯s lips moved.

    ¡°All?¡± I blinked. ¡°You know all of Thornwild¡¯s history?¡±

    ¡°Mrrruman,¡± Stormy added.

    ¡°All¡­ human history on Thornwild?!¡± I gasped, watching as Glinka nodded.

    The hair on the back of my neck stood up, my heartbeat accelerating as I understood the pivotal importance of what Teya was.

    ¡°I promise to give you legs,¡± I said boldly, taking a step forward. "I swear it on my rationality, on my Understanding and my power as a witch. Your knowledge, your experiences - they''re incredibly valuable, likely more than you realize! You''re not just a river; you''re a living archive of all human history on Thornwild!¡±

    I paused, drawing another breath.

    "I promise to protect you from those who would seek to exploit or destroy you. I promise to learn from you, to honor your experiences and the wisdom you''ve gained over the centuries¡­ and to teach you in turn, to help you be more than just a river.¡±

    Teya''s watery form seemed to shimmer with an emotion I couldn''t quite decipher. Was it hope? Skepticism? Both?

    ¡°Your understanding of this world, its magic, its people - that¡¯s an incredible treasure, something that can''t be replicated or replaced. I promise to value that, to never take it for granted,¡± I added. "And I promise to find a way to restore your humanity, or at least give you the ability to walk on land again. It may take time, and it may be challenging, but I won''t rest until I''ve found a solution. And I do realize that these are just words of a man you can¡¯t even see¡­¡±

    Teya nodded.

    ¡°But I hope you can sense the sincerity in my words," I added. "I''m not going to be like the others who simply made wishes on you. I''m already technically dead, don''t need to sleep or breathe, and don''t have very many desires. I simply... want to understand you. And, if we work hard at it, together, we can unlock all of the secrets of this world and find a way to restore your humanity¡­ Does that sound good to you?¡±

    The river spirit nodded again. I relaxed, trying to think of what else to say.

    "Can you... inhabit Cali''s body again?" I asked.

    Teya shook her head and the kitten placed her paw on ''no''.

    "Are you still bound to her magically?" I added.

    Teya shrugged and Stormy tapped the inked paw between [YES] and [maybe.]

    I sighed, wondering if this was because the Gygr''s ritual wasn''t complete yet.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you legs yet, then,¡± I said. ¡°Not until we visit Uncle George''s farm. But... for now, I can at least tell you about myself.¡±

    Teya nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m from the 21st century, Teya,¡± I revealed. ¡°A man from Earth. I can read the words written on the moon in English. What about you?¡±

    Teya stared at me, with what was possibly a shocked expression made up from a thousand rippling, entwined human faces that folded into each other as if she was a liquid terminator.

    "Mrrr-thhhh?" Stormy mewed out her words.

    "Yes, Earth," I confirmed. "I''m not from Thornwild. The memories in my head, the Understanding is from a place called Earth, from a different time.... from a long, long time ago, I think."

    Teya''s avatar seemed to vibrate with excitement at that. Her watery form rippled and shifted rapidly, as if she was trying to communicate a thousand things at once.

    Stormy let out a series of incomprehensible chirps as if she was chatting at a bird.

    "Slow down," I said. "Stormy can only translate so fast."

    Teya nodded vigorously, her water-hair swirling around her head.

    "Meerrr-thhhh... Wrrr-thhhh," Stormy struggled to articulate. "Haaa-llleeyyy..."

    "Earth... Werth... Halley?" I repeated, my mind racing. "Halley? As in Halley''s Comet? Or something else?"

    Teya''s avatar waved her hands again, more excitedly this time as if she was close to unlocking the secrets of the universe.

    "Haaa-llleeyyy Krrr-prrr-thhhyyy," Stormy mewed, her little face scrunched up in concentration.

    "Karpathy?" I asked. "Who is that?"

    Teya''s watery form seemed to swell with pride. She pointed at herself, then made a series of gestures that Stormy struggled to interpret.

    "Mraw gggrrrrttt¡­ grrr-nnn-drrr-mrrr-thrrr," Stormy finally managed.

    "Grandmother?" I said. "Halley Karpathy was your great-grandmother?"

    Teya nodded emphatically.

    Then her figure seemed to ignite with purpose. She waved her hands in the air and the river beside us exploded upwards forming what appeared to be a ruin of a space shuttle composed entirely from water streams suspended in the air. I stared at it, not believing my eyes.

    It was late evening now and the entire phantasmagorical liquid sculpture danced with a thousand violet-blue reflections cast by the rings of Endalaus overhead.

    ¡°That almost looks like a space shuttle,¡± I said. ¡°Rotting and broken, but the wings and the engines are there!¡±

    Teya¡¯s gesticulation went wild, small waves forming cascades of smiles on her liquid face.

    ¡°Ccccc¨Cpprrrr-tttt-nnnn Haaa-mrrllleeyyy,¡± Stormy outputted, after squinting at the Avatar.

    ¡°Captain,¡± I repeated. ¡°Your great-grandmother was Halley Karpathy and she flew that ship here¡­ from Earth?¡±

    Teya nodded at everything except for the last word.

    ¡°Weeerrrrrrthhhfff,¡± Stormy mewled.

    ¡°W-Earth?¡± I asked. "Werth?"

    Teya clapped her hands together and Stormy pawed the word ¡®yes¡¯.

    ¡°Huh. What century are you from?¡± I asked. ¡°Do you remember what year it was when you were human?¡±

    Teya opened and closed her fingers twice and then showed me four fingers.

    ¡°Myawnerr-tyyy frrrrr-ffff,¡± Stormy added.

    ¡°Twenty fourth century,¡± I blinked. ¡°We were born around three hundred years apart then if we''re on the same century-counting scale from Earth."

    Teya nodded and Stormy pawed ''yes''.

    "Life sure is strange, ain''t it," I smiled at her, brushing the hair on the back of my head.

    Teya''s watery form shifted, becoming more human-like, watery dress rippling in the invisible wind. She leaned forward, pressing a hand to where her heart would be if she were flesh and blood. Then, in a surprisingly shy gesture, she put one leg back, almost as if she were curtsying. At that moment she looked almost endearing.

    She then sat down on her broken column and patted the space beside her, next to where Stormy was perched. I took the invitation and sat down, feeling a spark of camaraderie I hadn''t experienced since I woke up under the ice as Ioan and crawled towards the ruins of Svalbard.

    As I settled onto the sideways megalith shard, Stormy jumped on my lap, purring.

    Teya''s liquid-current head turned my way, searching for my face, looking a bit past me. I noted her obvious frustration at not being able to hear or see me directly. Despite this, there was something incredibly touching about her efforts to connect with me.

    The megalith I was sitting on felt cold, like a distant, weak ocean of sparks grinding against me. I wondered if she felt something like it too and knew approximately where I was.

    Her hand pawed at the spot where my fingers were sparking against her megalith, passing through mine. I didn¡¯t feel anything from her Avatar intersecting my own hand, but I smiled regardless.

    ¡°Tthh-rrrnkk-yaauu,¡± Stormy mewled softly, speaking for Teya.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything yet,¡± I pointed out. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to thank me for.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrnnn-oott awwlooon-ee,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°We¡¯re not alone anymore.¡±

    Stormy buried herself into my hands, warming her wet fur against my fingers.

    I looked up at the night sky overhead. Violet stars that framed arrays of vast megastructures spun overhead, shimmering in the breaks between clouds.

    For the first time since I''d awakened in this strange world of monsters and magic, I felt like I''d found someone I might be able to trust wholeheartedly. Someone who, despite our vast differences, was more like me than anyone else I''d encountered.

    Here we were, two children of Earth separated by centuries and, in Teya''s case, millennia of existence as a river spirit.

    Yet somehow, we''d found each other. What were the odds?

 58 The Deconstruction of Svalbard

    I carefully bagged the remaining shard of Glinka''s megalith shard and carried it into Svalbard''s ruins, placing it next to the smithy.

    As I handled the stone covered in wave-shaped hand-carved runes, I felt a faint tingle of magic, like spikes of electrical current dancing across my skin.

    "Alright, Teya," I said, addressing the river spirit through Stormy. "To start off, I¡¯ll need your help to unearth everything of value in Svalbard. Everything. Dragonglass, human bones, metal, gold, etc. Can you engulf the entire area in water, except for the smithy? I''ll be watching from here.¡±

    Teya''s watery avatar nodded.

    As I settled into position, I watched in awe as she stretched almost as if she was replicating the motion of an Olympic swimmer and then waved her hands from the water to the village as if she was conducting an invisible orchestra. The river began to rise and twist, rushing towards the megalith. A thousand sparkling currents formed a massive spiral that gradually enveloped the ruins. The water circled the smithy and poured into every crevice, gradually filling the catacombs and seeping into the smallest spaces between stones.

    The sight of Teya¡¯s work was mesmerizing.

    Thousands of separate currents within the watery spiral worked in concert, meticulously taking apart the remnants of Svalbard brick by brick. I couldn''t help but marvel at how effective a river was as an assistant.

    Teya''s control over the water was precise and efficient, sorting through the debris with a level of detail I could never have achieved alone.

    I dragged a few empty barrels and chests to the edge of the river at the front of the smithy, curious to see what treasures Teya would unearth. As I watched, liquid hands began to form from the swirling waters, depositing various items into the empty chests.

    Metal objects clinked as they were placed in one chest - old tools, weapons, and bits of armor that had survived the dragon''s attack. In another, I saw the glint of gold coins and jewelry, remnants of Svalbard''s past wealth.

    The third chest began to fill with chunks of dragonglass, their obsidian surfaces gleaming wetly in the dim light. I made a mental note to be extra careful with those - they could prove invaluable in our future encounters.

    But it was the barrels that were of true value to me as a witch. Human remains and extra-tough, if somewhat burned human chests were being gently deposited by Teya''s watery hands.

    As I observed Teya''s efficient work, a sense of satisfaction washed over me. This was progress, tangible and real. With each item recovered, my piles of valuables grew.

    As Glinka worked, I did too, pouring witchy earth into the barrels to produce more witchglass.

    . . .

    It took us many days to deconstruct all of Svalbard and even more time for the micro-organisms within the earth-blessed barrels to convert human bones into witchglass for magic remotes. In the end, thanks to Teya''s ability to unearth the bones of the marauders that had been thrown all around Svalbard, I ended up with sixty six shiny new remotes and a ton of witchglass.

    Over the next few days, I focused on preparing for our journey. With Teya''s help, I had amassed a significant amount of witchglass, and I knew exactly how I wanted to use it.

    I began by coating Cali''s sleigh with a thin layer of the magical substance. As I worked, I marveled at how the witchglass seemed to meld seamlessly with the sleigh''s existing enchantments and runework. The process was painstaking, requiring precision and patience, but the result was worth it. The sleigh now gleamed with an otherworldly sheen, its magical properties amplified by the witchglass coating.

    However, I knew that the sleigh alone wouldn''t be enough for our journey. We needed something larger, something that could carry not just the sleigh, but also Glinka''s megalith, her most potent magical rocks, and our horses.

    "Teya," I called out to the river spirit through Stormy, "I have an idea, but I''ll need your help again."

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Teya''s watery Avatar turned my way, ready to assist.

    "We need to build a barge," I explained. "Something big enough to carry everything we need. Can you help me gather all the wooden beams from the ruins?"

    Teya''s response was immediate. The river began to churn and twist, and soon, a procession of wooden beams floated towards us, guided by Teya''s watery hands.

    Over the next few days, Teya and I worked in tandem to construct the barge. I designed the structure, drawing on knowledge that seemed to come from somewhere deep within the Understanding. Teya''s control over water allowed us to manoeuvre the heavy beams with ease atop of each other.

    Since neither of us needed rest, we worked through cloudy days and dark nights. As we constructed the barge using hacksaws, ropes and tar, our camaraderie grew.

    Chatting with Teya during breaks through Stormy, I learned that Teya¡¯s full name was Karpathy Galateya and that she was a child of several generations of human colonists from Wearth, refugees of some kind of a cosmic disaster, the origins of which bewilderingly enough was Endalaus.

    Teya revealed to me the nature of her death via an arrow of the wildling Sarcaxians and her dreary, maddening immortality through a Wearth crystal.

    As I was some kind of a magical effect animated by my witchy domain, Teya couldn¡¯t see or hear me, but she could sense my body as long as it was submerged in the water she controlled. Thus I laid back in the river as if I was making a snow angel, with Teya¡¯s magic Avatar projected into existence beside me, staring at the stars overhead and slowly discussing our future plans through our kitten interpreter who sat on my chest.

    As I laid back in the river, using a backpack of witchy earth as my headrest, feeling the cold water lap around me, I turned my head towards Teya''s watery avatar. "So, Teya," I began, "how exactly did you become immortal? I mean, you mentioned being shot by an arrow, but how did that lead to... you becoming river Glinka?" I gestured vaguely at the river.

    Stormy, perched on my chest, began to translate Teya''s response through a series of mews and paw taps on the Codex.

    "Mrrr-swwrrrrrow-mrrr... ccccryssss-tlll," Stormy mewed.

    "You swallowed a crystal?" I asked, intrigued.

    Teya''s avatar nodded, and Stormy tapping ¡®yes¡¯.

    "Mrr-grrrr-fffftrrr-rrrrrssssh... mrr-ssss-aafffff prrrnnnnn-ttt," Stormy continued.

    I furrowed my brow, trying to piece together the information. "A save point crystal from your grandfather? Werth tech?"

    ''Yes,'' Stormy tapped. ¡°Chhhh¨Crrrr-nnnn-aaa-csssst¡±

    ¡°Chronacist?¡± I repeated the word.

    Teya nodded.

    As Galateya continued her explanation through Stormy''s meows and taps, using river-shaped dioramas to explain that the local boreal forest was warm, flat steppes long ago, I began to form a hypothesis. The crystal Teya had swallowed must have been some kind of advanced data storage device, capable of preserving consciousness. When she died, it somehow interfaced with the magic of this world, spreading her consciousness throughout the river over countless millennia.

    "Teya," I said, sitting up slightly, "I don''t think you''re actually manipulating water. I think you''re manipulating the crystals that have spread throughout the river. Your consciousness, your very essence, is stored in these crystals."

    Teya''s avatar tilted its head, processing my words as Stormy mewled them out.

    "Think about it," I continued, excitement building in my voice. "The places where you''re most present, where your control is strongest and where your rocks appear brightest are here - this place must be the areas with the highest concentration of these crystals. We should take a boat upriver and have you gather as many of these crystals as possible, increasing their potency and magnifying your abilities.¡±

    Teya nodded and Stormy tapped ¡®yes¡¯.

    I nodded, my mind racing with the implications. "This could explain why you can''t just take over Cali''s body on the account that Cali is being preserved by my witchy domain water now, which cancels out your magic.¡±

    ¡°Is Cali¡¯s body going to decay if I remove her from life-water?¡± I asked Stormy.

    ¡®Yes,¡¯ Stormy replied.

    As I resumed my discussion with Galateya, an idea began to form in my mind. "Teya," I said, thinking out loud, "I think I can give you physical form. Not a human body, exactly, but something more... solid, something that would actually allow you to walk around?¡±

    The river spirit stared at me with ever-shifting faces.

    "Here''s what I''m thinking," I explained, sitting up fully now. "We could encase your megalith in a large backpack like mine, then create a set of watertight leather armor connected to the backpack filled with running water which would have as much concentration of these¡­ Chronacist water-controlling crystals as possible. The crystal-filled water would be constantly cycling through the armor, allowing you to sense and move every digit of fingers, etc. This should¡­ theoretically allow you to move yourself on land, let you go wherever you feel like.

    Teya''s avatar seemed to ripple with excitement at the idea. Stormy''s paw tapped ''Yes'' repeatedly on the Codex.

    "You like that plan?" I grinned. "Alright then, let''s make it happen then. I''ll need to do some work in the smithy, but I think we can pull this off, there¡¯s more than enough leather scraps and animal skins to pull this off."

 59 Canine Huntress

    As Teya collected a bucket of Chronacist crystals for me, I set up my microscope to examine them more closely.

    The crystals were fascinating - according to what Galateya revealed, they seemed to have been produced by blood magic, but unlike Cali''s blood-magic artifacts, there were no negative trails or corrupting influences visible within them.

    I peered through the lens, adjusting the focus to get a better look at the crystal structure. It was intricate, almost fractal in nature, with patterns that seemed to shift and change as I watched.

    The more I observed, the more I realized how similar these crystals were to the ones in my own blood.

    "Teya," I called out. "I need to ask you something about these crystals and your... existence."

    Through Stormy''s meows and paw taps, I began to interrogate Galateya about her long history as a river spirit. As she explained, a pattern began to emerge.

    "So, let me get this straight," I said, piecing together the information. "You''ve been fulfilling bargains in exchange for blood sacrifices for millennia?"

    Teya''s watery avatar nodded, and Stormy tapped ''Yes'' on the Codex.

    My mind clicked.

    Why didn¡¯t Galateya turn evil like the Gygr? Was it because she chose to wield water, not void?

    Bargains. Fulfillment. Trades. Running water. Deeper, darker Void-trails manifested in Bobliss. Void trails within Cali''s lavalier.

    "Teya... I think that you achieved a state of balance over millennia by serving humanity," I speculated aloud. "The fulfilled wishes, pacts with humans, running water which was difficult to master with magic - these aren¡¯t just about selfish control. You didn¡¯t desire power, didn¡¯t step towards darkness. Fulfilling human desires to the letter must have kept you... anchored, preventing you from falling into the Abyss."

    Teya''s faces ripped as she nodded at me in agreement.

    "I do wonder if cursed domains are cursed because they''re made from selfish desires," I pondered.

    My gaze drifted to where Bobliss''s body was still being ground down by the river. An idea struck me.

    "Teya," I said, "I need more of Bobliss''s blood."

    As Teya provided me with another fresh sample of the Champion''s blood, I retrieved one of Cali''s contracts. With careful precision, I soaked the gold pen in Bobliss''s blood, hoping that it would theoretically bind the fallen Champion.

    Then, I signed the page while holding the pen with iron tongs as "Jarl Bobliss".

    For a moment, it seemed to work. The blood seeped into the parchment through the gold pen, the contract glowing faintly with magical energy, silver-blue tendrils extending from the contract to the Bobliss-sphere in the river. But then, to my dismay, a void-black hexagram formed over the contract and gold tube and the paper suddenly burst into black flames, burning away to ash in seconds.

    ¡°Minus one contract,¡± I sighed.

    The river spirit tilted her head at me.

    "I think Bobliss has somehow made himself impossible to bind," I explained. "Perhaps through a blood pact with the Gygr? It would explain why he''s so hard to kill and why Cali couldn¡¯t influence him with her charisma."

    Teya seemed to consider my words.

    "This complicates things," I continued, pacing back and forth. "If we can''t bind him, and we can''t fully destroy him, what options do we have?"

    Teya gesticulated something.

    ¡°Hhh¨Crrrr-ttt,¡± Stormy mewled.

    ¡°Right,¡± I said, tapping my chin. ¡°His heart. He said that his heart isn¡¯t in his body. Maybe that¡¯s what makes him immovable. Hopefully if we mess up uncle George¡¯s farm enough, it¡¯ll mess up Bobby too.¡±

    Hypothesis: Witches remain mentally stable as long as they serve humanity, making trades for their potions. Yaga Grandhilda used blood magic of the people of Svalbard to create me, as a pact with its people. A selfish witch, on the other hand, turns into a Gygr because she uses blood magic to amplify her own desires. More selfishness produces deeper connection to the Abyss. Fallen Heroes fall to the void because they see themselves as the center of the world like Bobliss.

    I wrote into the Codex.

    . . .

    I spent the next few days working on figuring out how Teya''s water control functioned. I left her and Stormy with a Voicecast stone and the farcast orb sending the kitten orders and rode on Castella upstream, giving Teya orders to form specific shapes across the river, to see how far her range actually extended.

    It turned out that Teya could form specific shapes within the water only within 10 meter distance from her megalith, which likely functioned as her ''brain''. The river itself, filled with Chronacist sand particles functioned as her ''body'', but the further upstream I went, the more Teya''s control over water decayed. Oh, sure, she could make the upstream water wiggle or push up to obliterate ice, but that was about it, she couldn''t actually form the image of the shuttle once the 10 meter threshold was crossed.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    At around 100 meters out, her water control was still there, but very patchy, nothing complex.

    At around five kilometers out, her control over the river vanished almost completely, only causing randomly rippling eddies in the stream. She told me that she could ''sense'' the river further out, but couldn''t actually do much with the water.

    Returning back to Svalbard, I tested how much weight Teya''s water arms could lift and how precisely she could ''bend'' water in her 10x10 meter imaginary bubble.

    Thus armed with new knowledge, I spent the rest of my time working on Teya''s new form.

    Using leather scraps, tar and animal skins from Svalbard, I crafted a set of watertight armor. The design was intricate, with channels and chambers to allow water to flow freely throughout the suit. I reinforced the joints with metal fittings and added a large, sturdy backpack to house her megalith.

    As I worked, Teya continued to gather Chronacist crystals from up and down the river, bringing more of herself to Svalbard to increase her local control.

    Finally, the day came to test our creation. I used tar to cover the suit with a thick layer of Chronacist crystals. Then I filled the suit with water and Chronacist powder mix and carefully placed Teya''s megalith in the large backpack.

    Then, I waited.

    At first, nothing happened. The suit lay motionless on the ground. Then, slowly, the fingers of the gauntlets began to twitch. The arm lifted, then the torso. It was eerie to watch the faceless armor move of its own accord.

    Teya''s watery avatar appeared next to the suit projected by the megalith. Then, she stepped into the suit, filling its insides, her head flickering inside of the otherwise empty Nordstaii-style helmet.

    ¡°L-lrrlllegs! aIiii¡­. Nhvfffffff lerggsss!¡± Through Stormy, Teya expressed her joy at being able to move on land again after so many epochs of being just a ghost.

    "How does it feel to have legs?" I asked, grinning at the suit.

    "Strrr-nnngg," Stormy mewed. "Ddd-fff-rrr-nnn-ttt."

    "Strange and different," I translated. "I bet. Take your time getting used to it. We can make adjustments as needed."

    Her movements were still a bit jerky and uncertain, like a toddler learning to walk, but there was an undeniable grace to them as well. Sitting on the ground, she turned her head towards me and gestured for me to come closer. I approached, curious about what she wanted.

    ¡°Hrrrrr-ppp¡­ mrrrreeee¡­ ssstannndd,¡± Stormy mewled.

    I grabbed Teya¡¯s leather-covered hands pulling her up.

    ¡°Mrr... hhneeelll-pfff¡­. mrrrrreee¡­ wlllkkk,¡± Stormy spoke into my ear.

    I grabbed Teya¡¯s armored hand and we took a step forward as she clung to my shoulder. Then another. Then another.

    With each step and creak of the armor suit, Teya¡¯s footsteps became more confident as she learned to balance the heavy megalith on her back. We walked hand in hand down the river¡¯s shore amongst the ruins of disassembled Svalbard and then ascended up a wooden stairwell into our ship.

    ¡°Gifffff¡­ mrrreee¡­ a bbbb-boow,¡± Teya said through the kitten.

    I went into the storage shed and grabbed the biggest bow I could find, returning with it.

    I watched with fascination as Teya carefully grasped the large huntsman¡¯s bow. I placed a bucket of arrows next to her. Her movements were still a bit stiff, but there was focused passion in her posture that was impossible to miss.

    She nocked an arrow, her leather-clad fingers fumbling slightly with the motions.

    "You got it!" I encouraged.

    Galateya nodded, her helmet turning slightly in my direction before refocusing on the nearby dead pine tree. She drew the bowstring back, the leather of her suit creaking slightly with the effort.

    For a moment, she held the pose, water rushing audibly through her suit as she adjusted her aim. Then, with a soft twang, she released the arrow. It flew wide, missing the target by several feet and disappearing into the underbrush.

    "Not bad for a first try," I commented.

    Teya reached out for another arrow in the bucket, a focused look on her liquid, magic-woven face.

    ¡°Were you an archer when you were alive?¡± I asked curiously.

    ¡°Yrrrrrsssss,¡± Stormy replied as Teya¡¯s watery lips moved. ¡°Grrrrnndddfff-trrrr ttggh hh-uuu-nrrrtin.¡±

    ¡°Grandfather taught you how to hunt?¡± I commented.

    ¡°Esssss,¡± Stormy replied.

    Galateya drew the arrow again with the strength of water-powered muscles, took her time to aim again and sent it flying. This time, the iron-tipped arrow struck the pine tree, making it shake, sending snow flying from dead branches.

    Teya raised her fist in a triumphant gesture and did a little happy jig the leather of the joints of her suit creaking with the movement.

    ¡°Great job,¡± I said.

    Teya lowered the bow and then walked to where I stood, focusing her face on Stormy sitting on my shoulder.

    She reached out and slowly and carefully pulled me into a tight embrace. Thanks to an excessive layer of powdered Chronacist covering the suit of armor, she knew exactly where I was, felt my presence through her crystals as water and land magics collided against each other, producing invisible grating sparks.

    I was momentarily startled by the unexpected contact of her hug. Looking into the helmet, I saw that a hundred human faces flowed into each other, each one filled with joy, trails of glittering water shimmering down the faces. She was crying too, I realised.

    The hug was an odd sensation. The leather armor was cold and slightly damp to the touch, but I could feel the subtle movements of the water rushing within, almost like a pulse of a beating heart. It was as if I was being embraced by the river itself.

    "Mrrnnnk ouuuu," Stormy mewed softly from my shoulder, translating Teya''s emotions as the river spirit held onto me. ¡°Mrrrnnnkkuuu¡­. Sssssooo¡­ mrrchhhh!¡±

    I patted her back, feeling a lump form in my throat.

    This moment felt monumental, like witnessing history being made. Here was a girl who had been trapped as a river for millennia, now able to express physical affection for the first time in eons.

    "You''re welcome," I smiled back at her. "I''m glad I could help."

    ¡°Mrrrrroooo,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°More what?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Mroooo brrrrooood-iiiiisss,¡± Stormy mewled.

    ¡°You want another body?¡± I blinked. ¡°What kind?¡±

    ¡°Aiiiii¡­.dddrrrrrriikke¡­ aaa¡­ bb-rrgggg drroooggg,¡± Stormy repeated, sending what looked like an annoyed glance of violet-silver eyes at Galateya.

    ¡°A dog?¡± I laughed. ¡°You want a... water dog to control too?¡±

    ¡°A vrrrrruu brrrgggg onnnnee!¡± Stormy voiced out as Galateya grabbed my hands, squeezing them. "Rrrrrrun fffffassssstttt!"

    The kitten then added a head shake with a mild look of disapproval.

    ¡°Srrrrryy Sstrrmy,¡± Stormy said for Galateya.

    The river spirit reached out the grumpy kitten on my shoulder with a leathery hand and gave Stormy a scratch behind the ears.

    Stormy melted into the scritch, seemingly approving of the river-dog-person with a soft purr, as long as she dispensed the pets.

 60 The Stillwalker

    The following days and nights flew by as I crafted Teya''s new form - a massive, dog-like body that stood as tall as a Jotun. The frame was made of sturdy wood, covered in thick leather to make it watertight. I fitted it with another large seat to house her human form, ensuring she could maintain control over this new body. Basically, all Teya had to do was climb onto the dog¡¯s back and strap herself in and then she turned from a mere armored human into a canine tank.

    As I worked, I couldn''t help but grin at the absolute absurdity of what I was creating.

    "I''m going to call this monster, ''tank doggo''," I told Teya and Stormy, who watched my progress with evident curiosity.

    Once the basic structure was complete, I covered the entire body in layers of iron plates, creating a formidable armored shell. I added water channels throughout the body, similar to her humanoid form, allowing her to control every part of it with precision.

    The moment the dog was filled with running river water and when Teya''s human-shaped body climbed atop it and clipped the belt closed, the connection was made and the massive body came to life. Teya took her first steps as a giant, armored canine, her movements initially clumsy but slowly growing more confident.

    I watched in awe as she tested her new form, plowing through dead trees with her massive paws. When she stood in the river, water blades spun around her body, slicing through anything that came too close. It was a sight to behold - part machine, part magic, all power.

    "How does it feel?" I asked, grinning as Teya bounded around, leaving deep impressions in the snowy earth.

    "Aaammmaaaarr-ssiiiinnn-grrr!" Stormy translated, her little face scrunched up with the effort of conveying Teya''s enthusiasm.

    While Teya acclimated to her new form, bouncing around the remnants of Svalbard and sending piles of rubble and branches flying in her wake, I turned my attention to improving my own protection. I began work on a new set of armor for myself.

    The new set of armor I designed in the smithy was multi-layered and incredibly thick. The innermost layer contained my witchy crystals, ensuring I maintained my connection to my domain. Patchwork of Zemy¡¯s banners sat atop of the crystals.

    Over the cloth, I layered witchglass bone-plates, their magical properties adding an extra level of defense.

    The next layer was made of Ferronite - iron reinforced by a remote produced from gem 62. When gem 62 was cranked to its maximum, the Ferronite it produced was truly tough, blocking radiance of dragonglass.

    Finally, I covered the entire armor in a layer of resin mixed with powdered dragonglass. This, I hoped, would offer some protection against Charisma allure attacks and void-based orders.

    As I worked on the final touches of my armor, I glanced over at Teya, who was still romping around in her new form. Despite the seriousness of our situation and the challenges that lay ahead, I couldn''t help but smile. There was something undeniably joyful about watching a millennia-old river spirit discover the simple pleasure of being a pupper - even if that pupper was the size of a small house and covered in iron plating.

    "We make quite the pair, don''t we?" I called out to Teya as she trodded over to me, making the earth under her shudder. "I bet that Uncle George won''t know what hit ''er!¡±

    ¡°Rrrr-rawr,¡± Stormy commented dryly from my shoulder.

    I gave the kitten a pet.

    As the iron doggo accelerated and spun past me, Teya¡¯s human-shaped body sitting atop it drew back her massive hunter¡¯s bow and let an oversized Ferronite arrow fly, the air thrumming in its wake. The arrow struck a distant pine, cleaving it in half with a boom.

    I whistled.

    ¡°Gr-oo-dddd?¡± Stormy asked for the river spirit as Teya snapped the belt open and jumped off the dog, landing beside me.

    ¡°Pretty good,¡± I grinned. ¡°Just wait till I teach you how to use guns.¡±

    <hr>

    -=[Yaga Grandhilda]=-

    I stood at the edge of my green glade, the sequoias, cedars and pines whispering behind me.

    I gazed out into the vast expanse of the Astral Ocean ahead. The deep Underside in front of me was filled with countless violet stars, their light pulsing gently in the ethereal darkness, reaching out to me, endless Endalaus looming above it all.

    This was the edge of the neath, the place of meetings and something had called out my name across infinity, asking for a conversation.

    I accepted the pulsing dark thread with one of my own emerald feathers, stretching one of my wings above myself towards the inky-black void.

    As I watched the shimmering rings of Endalaus, a figure began to materialize before me, as if grown into existence like the roots of a rapidly blooming tree.

    The figure that manifested in front of me was that of a perfect, beautiful twenty-some-year-old girl. Her skin was pale and dotted with delicate freckles, eyes green and sharp, her hair a cascade of lush, flowing red locks. She wore a sparkly, fanciful dress woven from black and gold dragon scales.

    I knew her well. This was my sister, the other apprentice trained by Yaga Baga, the Gygr of Chernobog.

    The perfect visage of Chrizantia was merely a projection, a memory of what she once was, a pinprick of light and reason in a vast shawl of darkness and madness. Behind this facade of youth and slender beauty lay a monstrous shadow, twisted by dark, selfish blood magic. This was the being that now led an army of inverted abominations, assaulted my glade and unmade countless witches and heroes for personal gain.

    "Sister," I said. "It''s been a long time."

    Chrizantia smiled. "Indeed it has, sister. I see this century has been kinder to me than it has to you."

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    I snorted. "Spare me your appraisal, Christi. Why have you sought me out in the Astral?"

    The Gygr''s smile faded, replaced by another expression. It seemed like she was worried. It was odd to see the usually pretentious Chrizantia Malekai look so concerned.

    "Something is amiss, sister," she said then.

    ¡°Oh?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    "We are two sides of the same coin, you and I," Chrizantia smiled genially. "Light and darkness, creation and destruction, the bog and the forest. Together, we maintain a delicate equilibrium. But now... something is tipping the scales, stirring in the wind, making the spirits scatter.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± I asked.

    Chrizantia''s perfect brow furrowed. "My champion has fallen, failed on his quest."

    ¡°Which one?¡± I probed.

    ¡°The Immovable hero,¡± Chrizantia replied.

    ¡°Meaning what?¡± I asked.

    "That''s what I''ve come to discuss," Chrizantia replied. "Something new has entered our world, sister. Something that doesn''t play by the rules we''ve established over millennia."

    I thought of the thread I had wove, of the witch I created, of the stubborn boy with a cat on his shoulder.

    ¡°The rules?¡± I asked. ¡°I believe it is you who keeps trying to bend the rules of nature by colluding with the void.¡±

    ¡°The void is just a means to an end, sister,¡± Chrizantia shook her head. ¡°You know as well as I do what will come for us.¡±

    ¡°Quit waving the inevitable threat of our demise over me and tell me what it is that got your roots in a twist, sister.¡± I said.

    Chrizantia''s eyes narrowed. "You know something, don''t you? What have you done, Hilda?"

    I met her gaze steadily. "I''ve done what was necessary to preserve balance in my own way. Just as you have."

    "My champion was felled by something that you¡¯ve made,¡± Chrizantia growled. ¡°A new kind of an abomination.¡±

    ¡°Champions unmake each other all the time, what¡¯s the problem with that?¡± I asked. ¡°Did I happen to upset your carefully laid plans, perchance?¡±

    Chrizantia''s slender face twisted in anger as she gritted her pearly white teeth.

    I sighed, shaking my head. "Christi, you''ve always been afraid of accepting the inevitable. Growth, aging, death, rebirth - you rail against them instead of embracing them as part of the natural cycle."

    Chrizantia''s emerald eyes flashed dangerously. "And you''ve always been too complacent, sister. Too willing to sit back and let the world crumble around us."

    "The world isn''t crumbling," I retorted. "It''s changing, as it always has and always will. Your fear of change, your desperate grasping for control - that''s what''s truly destructive."

    "Glinka was supposed to be mine!" Chrizantia hissed, her perfect facade cracking for just a moment to reveal the inverted monster beneath. "I had plans for her, plans to use her power against the encroaching ice. Plans to save you, you old coot! Plans to save what''s left of humanity!¡±

    I couldn''t help but laugh bitterly. "And there it is. You speak of balance, of the greater good, but in the end, it''s all about what you want, what you can use."

    "You don''t understand," Chrizantia insisted. "The glaciers will come, sister. They''ll swallow everything we''ve built, everything we are.¡±

    ¡°Then that is to be our fate,¡± I shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve lived long enough, perhaps it is time for a new generation of witches to try something else.¡±

    ¡°The Song of the Wormwood Star spreads its corrupting influence from the South,¡± Christi added. ¡°If they succeed, there will be no more new Champions and no new Witches, no more Nordstaii. Just the Arcanicx abominations and their bound, mindless thralls. Only we can preserve the Nordstaii way!¡±

    ¡°In the void?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes!¡± Chrizantia snarled. "Things folded into the void can be unfolded when it is time! I will walk the earth someday as I look now when I attain victory and the Nordstaii will worship me as their savior Goddess!"

    "In your quest for power, you''ve lost sight of what we''re meant to protect,¡± I chided her.

    Chrizantia''s form flickered, her anger causing void ripples in the Astral sea. "You''re a fool, Hilda. A sentimental old fool who will watch the land of the Nordstaii be engulfed with ice rather than take action."

    ¡°I took action,¡± I said. ¡°I made something new, something that you did not expect.¡±

    ¡°An un-champion, un-witch abomination,¡± Christi barked. ¡°You¡¯ve made a Stillwalker!¡±

    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re calling him now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He makes no waves in the Astral, radiates no magic for my spirits to latch onto,¡± Christi¡¯s fists opened and closed. ¡°Like a piece of driftwood simply floating there, a monstrous mechanism hidden in its wake, waiting to unfold, to unmake all.¡±

    I pursed my lips.

    ¡°He is dangerous. Unpredictable,¡± Christi insisted. ¡°Wrong.¡±

    ''Less wrong than you'', I thought.

    ¡°You prod a bee hive and then you cry because you got stung?¡± I asked. ¡°Had you simply left my apprentice alone none of this would have happened. You chose to send your Jotuns after him. You chose to send a Champion to hunt him down. Even now you¡¯re choosing selfish things for selfish reasons.¡±

    ¡°I need Glinka!¡± Christi yelled. ¡°The river spirit belongs to me!¡±

    ¡°By what right?¡± I asked.

    ¡°She is the creation of the Nordstaii people the manifestation of their desires and blood!¡± The Gygr shouted. ¡°She¡­¡±

    "Christi, the river is not a possession to be claimed. She has her own will, her own destiny, her own desires,¡± I interrupted her. ¡°She is far older than the Nordstaii.¡±

    "You don''t understand the gravity of what''s at stake!" Chrizantia bawled, sparks of tears forming on the edges of her eyes. ¡°You never have! Why do I even bother?!¡±

    "I understand more than you think," I replied, putting on a calm facade. ¡°We must trust in the natural order, in the balance that sustains us all.¡±

    "The natural order?" Chrizantia scoffed. "The natural order leads to our untimely end. I simply seek to transcend it, to save us all!¡±

    "At what cost?" I asked softly. "How many more must die for your plans? How many more villages of the Nordstaii must fall to satisfy your grand ambitions?¡±

    Chrizantia''s eyes flashed dangerously. "Whatever the cost, it will be worth it in the end. You''ll see, sister. You''ll all see."

    I sighed simply. ¡°What is your next move then?¡±

    "You''ve left me no choice," Chrizantia said, her voice cold and hard. "I will hunt your Stillwalker down with all of my champions. The wish-granting river will be mine one way or another.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t foresee good things in your future if you keep moving down this path, sister,¡± I said simply.

    ¡°I make my own future, sister," the Gygr snapped back. "And when I win, when I save everyone, you will accept that I have always been right and I will accept your apology with grace!"

    Her face askew with anger she stepped back into the void, dissolving, sinking away into tendrils of shadows, once more lost amidst violet endless stars.

    As I stood there, alone once more at the edge of my glade, I couldn''t help but feel pride with a pitch of worry. Ioan, my most unexpected creation, was out there changing the world in ways even I couldn''t have predicted. And now, he had drawn the ire of one of the most dangerous beings in our world.

    I turned back to my glade, my mind already racing with plans. I had work to do, preparations to make. The game had changed, and the stakes were higher than ever.

    As I walked back into the comforting embrace of my domain, I couldn''t help but wonder what Ioan was doing at that very moment. Was he ready for what was coming? Would his cleverness overcome the Legion of the void? Only time would tell.

 61 The Jarl of Horngard

    The last rays of the sun vanished behind thick clouds, plunging Svalbard into an eerie twilight. Silver tendrils of fog began creeping across the land, slithering between the dismantled ruins. Stormy growled from her perch on my shoulder, her fur bristling.

    "I know, girl," I murmured, rushing up to the barge via the wooden steps. ¡°It¡¯s time to go.¡±

    I cast a final glance at the smithy and the remains of Svalbard, a pang of sorrow twisting in my chest.

    There was still so much to do, so many experiments to run, so many more things to make. But time had run out, our enemies were finally here.

    At least, thanks to Galateya, I managed to extract everything of value from Svalbard from every grain of dragonglass to every tree that had blightcoal within its trunk.

    Teya''s massive iron-clad canine form padded up to the barge, water rushing audibly through its innards. Her human-shaped body sat atop the construct, bow at the ready.

    "Time to cast off! Take the barge North," I said, meeting Teya''s watery gaze. "That''s where the current has taken most of your Chronacist crystals. You''ll be stronger there, if my calculations are correct.¡±

    Teya nodded as Stormy mewled out my words to her, the river spirit¡¯s rippling face dancing with a thousand determined expressions. She raised her hands into the air and the river next to the oversized barge began to roar, encircling the log ship. The six horses whinnied, stamping their feet. Stormy clung to my neck, her small body trembling.

    The roaring river engulfed the barge in its embrace just the first howl split the air. It was followed by another, then another, until the night was filled with a cacophony of inhuman wailing.

    "That''s a lotta Jonnies," I gritted my teeth, my hand instinctively tightening on my rifle. "Looks like George has er¡¯ full gang out this time for our blood."

    Dark shapes began to emerge from the fog, folding through the cliffside passageways or obliterating the forest in their wake. Some were vaguely humanoid, others massive, a twisted blend of beasts defying description.

    The foot soldiers of the Gygr came at us from all directions, monstrosities born from fallen heroes. Teya released a massive arrow at the nearest one with a thang, throwing the beast back and pinning it to a dead tree.

    "Teya, we need to move!" I shouted, my voice barely audible over the roar of the river and the howls of the Jotuns. "Now!"

    Teya''s massive iron-clad canine form bounded onto the barge, making it rock violently. Her human-shaped body atop the construct nocked another arrow, letting it fly at a particularly large Jotun that was attempting to leap onto our vessel.

    The river surged beneath us, tearing the barge off from its stand and propelling us northward with increasing speed. But the Jotuns were relentless, unafraid of the river now, leaping from the nearby tree-tops and clambering onto the edges of our makeshift ship.

    I raised my rifle, taking aim at the nearest monster. The gunshot rang out, and the Jotun''s head exploded in a shower of black ichor, sending the beast backwards into the roaring river. But for every one we took down, two more seemed to take its place.

    Teya''s water blades whirled around the barge, slicing through any Jotun that got too close. Her arrows found their marks with deadly accuracy, but even her immense power seemed barely enough to keep the ever-growing horde at bay.

    "Keep us moving!" I yelled to Teya as I reloaded my rifle. "We need to get further north!"

    The barge rocked violently as a massive Jotun, easily twice the size of the others, plowed right through a watery hand that managed to slap the others away and landed on the deck. Its body was a horrific amalgamation of octopus, bear and man, with blood tentacles writhing from its back.

    I levelled my rifle at it, but before I could fire, Teya''s iron-clad canine form tackled the beast. They rolled across the deck in a tangle of metal, fur, and tentacles, threatening to capsize our vessel.

    "Teya!" I cried out, my heart racing as I watched the titanic struggle.

    Water erupted from the river around us, forming razor-sharp blades that sliced through the Jotun''s flesh. With a mighty heave, she threw the monster back into the river, where the current swiftly carried it away from us.

    But our troubles were far from over. More Jotuns rushed along the shore, their howls filling the air with a cacophony of madness and hunger. We were vastly outnumbered, and despite our best efforts, it seemed like only a matter of time before we would be overcome.

    ¡°Faster!¡± I growled and the roar of the river beneath us intensified.

    As we continued our desperate flight downriver, fighting off wave after wave of monstrosities, I couldn''t help but wonder how long we could keep this up. The full force of Chrizantia Malekai''s army was bearing down on us, and our options were rapidly dwindling.

    I gritted my teeth, firing my guns again and again. I had underestimated how many heroes the Gygr had turned into her minions over seven hundred years and dragonglass pellets only seemed to slow the Jotuns down ever so slightly as their bodies reformed from within.

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    The Jotuns were working together like ants now, larger one throwing smaller ones across the river to land on the barge. A lanky thing that was a fusion of a man and a gargantuan insect landed on the deck next to me and struck me with a blood blade, sending me careening backwards. The horses whinnied and kicked at the approaching abominations.

    The insectoid Jotun hissed, pulling back as dragonglass embedded in my armor boiled and melted its blade-hands, pausing its attack.

    Teya¡¯s massive paw covered in dragonglass-coated Ferronite claws struck it from atop me, sending it flying into the river.

    The barge had finally picked up enough speed to leave the monstrous army behind us, their howls rebounding against rising stone cliffs. I saw that the river ahead of us dropped, vanished.

    A waterfall!

    Teya lifted a hand in the air, shimmering faces beneath the helmet snarling. She bent down and grabbed my offered hand, pulling me to herself and strapped me into the seat in front of her just as the barge lifted up, held by a massive watery hand. We flew over the waterfall and down the rapids, bypassing jagged rocks beneath.

    The howls of the monstrosities behind us grew distant as the army of darkness failed to navigate the rough, shifting terrain.

    I breathed a sigh of relief as the howls of the Jotun army faded into the distance. We had made it past the waterfall and rapids, putting some much-needed distance between us and our pursuers. The barge rocked as Teya pushed it forward down the river further and further away from Svalbard.

    "That was too close," I muttered, relaxing ever so slightly as I patted Teya''s leather-clad hands that were wrapped around my body. Stormy mewed in agreement from her perch on my shoulder.

    Alas, our moment of respite was short-lived.

    A deafening boom shattered the air above us, parting the clouds with its sheer force. I looked up, my eyes widening in rising panic.

    A lanky man stood atop a massive sword of blood, his figure wreathed in crimson wings. A crown of blood encircled his head, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. He moved at an incredible speed, rushing towards us and leaving a trail of distorted air in his wake.

    "Not another one..." I breathed. "Teya, I think we''ve got company."

    The river spirit''s watery face within her helmet rippled with concern as she nocked another arrow, aiming it at the newcomer in the sky. I raised my rifle, though I doubted it would be much use against this airborne threat.

    Galateya¡¯s iron arrow pierced the sky with a whoosh. The arrow struck true, sending the blood angel spiraling through the air.

    I was hoping that he would fall into the forest and be unable to hostile us, but in another moment the man righted himself up in the air, pulling the oversized arrow from his chest with a grimace.

    ¡°A goodly try!¡± he boomed, descending onto the barge from above, blood wings spread wide and thrumming with pulsating magic that warped, folded reality around him, as if pulling all energy into the man, healing the wound next to his heart.

    I aimed the rifle at the man, peering at him through dragonglass lenses.

    He slowed, coming to a halt just above the wooden deck of the barge. His eyes fixed upon us with predatory intensity.

    ¡°Bow!¡± he said to us, cold voice ringing through the air, amplified with unnatural power.

    My knees twitched ever so slightly, but neither I, nor Galateya moved.

    ¡°Strange,¡± the man pursed his lips, his gold and ruby encrusted robes flapping, wings folding behind him as he landed fully on the deck. ¡°Normally people obey me. What sort of dark magic do you wield that permits you to resist the chosen Archangel of Horngard?¡±

    I remained silent, rifle aimed at the man, waiting for him to step closer, not revealing that it was most likely my multi-layered armor that made me impervious to his charisma-infused words.

    ¡°Thought that there would be just one of you,¡± the crowned blood-angel tapped his chin, his red sword flowing to wrap around his slender hand. ¡°Something is off about this quest.¡±

    Teya readied another arrow, but didn''t fire it, perhaps waiting for the invincible man to drop his guard.

    "Who are you?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re Ioan Starfall, yes?¡± The man asked, squinting at my helmeted head. ¡°And who is that noble Champion behind you?¡±

    "What quest are you on?" I added, not answering his questions.

    ¡°I am Jarl Ingvar Dahl of Horngard,¡± Ingvar replied with a small curtsy. ¡°I am on a quest of Goddess Christianna Vanad¨ªs Freyja, the keeper of keys of the Halls of Zal-Slavi! It is her divine words that guided me here to strike thee down, villain!¡±

    ¡°On what crimes do you judge me as a villain?¡± I asked.

    ¡°On the crime of slaying my four-times removed cousin Bobliss Kolamach and decimating his warband of sixty six men!¡± Ingvar shot back.

    I didn¡¯t glance at the large barrel tied to the side of the barge that contained the body of Bobliss suspended in an ever-spinning funnel of dragonglass and Teya¡¯s rocks.

    "Not only did you fell the Jarl of Bernt, but you''ve also stolen the sacred, wish-granting stone of Svalbard, the anchor of the sacred river Glinka that flows through my town!" Ingvar declared. "These are the most grievous offenses against the Law of Freyja, punishable by death! Where is Galdrasteinn of Svalbard?"

    "The Galdrasteinn?" I asked.

    "After the noble death of Jarl Sunder by dragon''s maw, the blessed river Anchor Stone belongs to my town!" Ingvar boomed. "If you reveal to me where you have hidden the holy stone, I will send you to Zal-Slavi quickly, peasant-born scum! Deny my query and I will slice you apart phalanx by phalanx till you beg for mercy ¡®neath my feet!¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say, processing the Jarl¡¯s words. How the hell did the Gygr manage to incept herself into the mind of this man as a Goddess? How many Nordstaii Jarls did she control?

    Ingvar''s gaze suddenly shifted to Teya, and his expression changed to one of admiration. "Though I must say, the skill of your archery is impressive, hero. Such precision with that massive bow is truly remarkable, to nearly knock me from the sky is quite a feat!"

    Ingvar then turned his attention to Teya''s canine form. "And this armored Fenrir you ride upon - I''ve never seen its like before. A truly magnificent beast!¡±

    Finally, he addressed Galateya directly, unaware that she and the iron dog were one and the same. "Tell me, noble Champion, where do you hail from? Why do you aid this vile blackguard? Surely you must see the evil in his actions! What is your name, skilled archer? I would know the identity of one so talented, so that I may invite you to join me in a dragon hunt to avenge Jarl Sunder!¡±

 62 Attempted Diplomacy

    Teya turned her head my way, clearly unsure how to respond to Ingvar''s unexpected praise and invitation. I decided to take control of the situation before it spiraled any further. Perhaps there was no need to murder this hero as he didn¡¯t seem to be fully in on the Gygr¡¯s dark plot as Bobliss had been.

    "Jarl Ingvar," I said, "I believe there''s been a misunderstanding. We are not your enemies, nor have we stolen anything. The stone you seek, the Galdrasteinn, is not a possession to be owned or traded. It''s a living entity, with its own will and desires."

    Ingvar''s eyes narrowed. "Nonsense! The Galdrasteinn is a sacred relic, an artefact of the gods to be wielded by the worthy. It cannot have a will of its own."

    I shook my head. "I''m afraid you''re mistaken. The being you call Galdrasteinn is right here." I gestured to Teya. "This is Teya, the spirit of the river Glinka. She chose to come with us of her own free will."

    Ingvar''s face contorted with disbelief. "You dare mock me with such bold lies? The river spirit cannot take human form!"

    "And yet, here she is," I replied calmly. "Teya, would you mind demonstrating?"

    At my words, Teya put her bow down and raised her hand. The river around us surged, forming a massive watery hand that rose from the surface. It waved at Ingvar, replicating Teya¡¯s finger motions exactly.

    Ingvar blinked at the fist. "Impossible," he uttered.

    I pressed on, sensing an opportunity. "Jarl Ingvar, you''ve been deceived. The being you call Freyja is not a goddess, but a Gygr - a dark witch who seeks to use you and the river for her own nefarious purposes. She sent you here based on false pretenses."

    Ingvar''s expression clouded with anger. "You lie! Freyja is our saviour, her wisdom beyond question!"

    "Then why did she send you to attack the very being you seek to protect?" I countered. "Think, Jarl Ingvar. Why would a true goddess ask you to harm the spirit of a sacred river?"

    Ingvar opened and closed his mouth. I could see the mental gears in his head turning as he squinted at me.

    ¡°This is deception,¡± he said. ¡°You are a trickster, the enemy of Freyja, one who has stolen the divine stone!¡±

    ¡°Drrrrrroooo-nttttt,¡± Stormy growled as Teya raised another hand in the air, forming another water fist on the left side of Ingvar.

    ¡°River Glinka says if you keep bothering her, she will squash you as she squashed Bobliss and his men for attempting to besmirch the blessed stone,¡± I said.

    ¡°You¡­ you cannot speak for the sacred river!¡± Jarl Ingvar boomed, blood wings unfolding. ¡°You¡¯re just a lowborn that gained power through unnatural means, made a pact with the void¡­ a murderer most foul!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no mere murderer,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m the last survivor of Svalbard.¡±

    ¡°No mere human would have a talking cat on their shoulder!¡± Ingvar barked. ¡°That is clearly dark magic!¡±

    I watched as blood wings fluttered behind him, ready to take flight at a moment''s notice. It was clear that my words had affected him somewhat, but he wasn''t ready to let go of his beliefs just yet.

    "You twist the truth to suit your needs," Ingvar spat, "I saw the Jotuns with my own sharp eyes, behind these cliffs, flooding what remained of Svalbard. How do you explain that, blackguard? You have clearly sold your soul to Nox and gained unnatural powers unbefitting a man of honor! You cannot deceive me, tainted one!¡±

    I sighed, realizing that reasoning with him might be impossible.

    "Jarl Ingvar, I understand your suspicion, but I assure you, we are not your enemies. As for the Jotuns, they were not mine. They were sent by the Gygr of Chernobog. She wants to bind Glinka with dark magic and use her power for her own ends. We were fleeing from those monsters, not commanding them."

    "You speak with a silver tongue, blackguard," Ingvar growled. ¡°It is you who have made a pact with the Gygr and then your companion must have made a blood-wish on the Galdrasteinn to manifest these¡­ watery hands. You expect me to believe that Freyja, the divine goddess of love and beauty is a dark witch? That she commands an army of monsters? Enough of your lies! I will not be swayed by your deceit. Prepare to face justice, villains!"

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    Just as Ingvar formed a blood sword in his hand, Teya clapped her hands obliterating the man as if he were a mosquito.

    Ingvar''s body, crushed by Teya''s watery hands, dissolved into a fine mist of blood droplets, splattering across the deck and air. The crimson cloud hung in the air for a moment, suspended like a gruesome work of art. Then, it began to move backwards as if reality was playing in reverse.

    The droplets danced and swirled, taking off the deck and forming intricate patterns reminiscent of a swarm of flies. They spiraled upwards, coalescing and separating in a hypnotic display of fluid dynamics. The sight was a stark reminder of the unnatural power that coursed through the veins of a hero.

    As the blood continued its aerial ballet, I could make out shapes forming within the crimson mist. First, a skeletal structure materialized, then muscles and organs began to take shape around it. It was like watching a time-lapse of human evolution, compressed into mere seconds.

    The swarm of blood droplets moved with purpose, each tiny sphere finding its place in the reforming body. Ingvar''s features slowly became distinguishable - his proud nose, his determined jaw, his piercing eyes. The blood wings were the last to form, unfurling from his back like a crimson butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

    ¡°You¡­¡± the hero began and Teya let her arrow lose. The ferronite arrow went through the man¡¯s head punching right through his skull. A detonation of blood floated in the air for a split second and then began to fill the hole up. I watched, transfixed, as Ingvar''s features knitted themselves back together, erasing any trace of the devastating arrow that had just pierced his head.

    "You dare attack a Champion of Freyja?" Ingvar roared, his voice resonating with newfound fury.

    I gritted my teeth, realizing that conventional methods weren''t going to work against this foe. Ingvar''s regenerative abilities were different from Bobliss''s immovability, but still quite potent.

    "Teya," I called out, "we need to immobilize him. Can you trap him in a sphere of water?"

    Before Teya could respond, Ingvar lunged forward, his blood sword materializing in his hand. I barely had time to raise my rifle before he was upon us, the blade singing through the air with deadly precision.

    Teya''s massive canine iron-clad paw swung out, intercepting the blow. The clash of metal on metal rang out across the river, sparks flying as the blood sword met the dragonglass-infused claws.

    I took advantage of the momentary distraction to fire my rifle, aiming for Ingvar''s chest. The dragonglass pellets tore through his body, creating a spray of crimson mist.

    "Your mortal weapons cannot harm me, villain!" Ingvar sneered, his wings unfurling to their full span. "I was made by Freyja herself from the ruins of my village hundreds of years ago, made immortal!¡±

    As he spoke, I noticed something peculiar. Each time Ingvar regenerated, there was a brief flicker of... something. A pattern, barely visible, that seemed to guide the reformation of his body. It reminded me of the syntropic crystals I had observed in Bobliss''s blood.

    An idea began to form in my mind. If we couldn''t destroy Ingvar''s body, perhaps we could disrupt the pattern that allowed him to reform.

    "Teya," I shouted, "on my signal, hit him with everything you''ve got. Water, arrows, everything!"

    Teya nodded. I reached into my pack, pulling out a vial of powdered dragonglass mixed with the crushed remains of Cali''s star shard.

    As Ingvar prepared for another assault, I uncorked the vial. "Now, Teya!"

    The river erupted around us, massive tendrils of water lashing out at Ingvar, puncturing holes in his body. At the same time, Teya loosed another arrow which punched right through the hero¡¯s neck, sending his head lolling off to the side.

    Then, with a swing of oversized dogpaws, she sliced through the man¡¯s body, sending a spray of crimson in the air.

    I threw the vial at the hero, the vial detonated against him, the powder sparkling in the air, catching the light like a cloud of deadly glitter.

    Ingvar''s body, torn apart by Teya''s assault, began to reform. But as the powder settled on his regenerating form, something changed. The smooth process of reformation stuttered, the blood droplets swirling in confused patterns.

    "What... what have you done, villain?" Ingvar gasped, his partially reformed face contorting in pain and irritation as he wasn¡¯t fully reforming.

    Teya grabbed the hero with a watery hand and moved him off to the side. She squeezed the life out of him, holding him directly above the barrel occupied by Bobliss, mixing the two heroes together. The grinding intensified its spin. The magic of the two heroes didn¡¯t seem to jive well together, grating against each other. Both Bobliss sphere and blood-ring of Ingvar seemed to weaken each other slightly as they mixed in the barrel.

    ¡°Phew. That takes care of tha¡­¡± I began, looking at the dissolving and reforming heroes entwined in a spiral of water.

    Thunder resounded in the sky. I looked up, spotting a flying golden chariot.

    The chariot appeared to be propelled forward by pegasus formed entirely from blood. A man in a red cape and lavish gold armor stood inside it, wielding a spear of blood.

    "Mrawu-myaw!" Stormy commented.

    ¡°Ah come on, give me a freaking break,¡± I ground out just as the man threw the spear of blood at my head, the motion of his throw producing another thunderously deafening detonation.

 63 Hidden Storm

    -=[Stormy]=-

    ¡°Intercept the flying stick!¡± I loudly meowed an order to the river dog just seconds before the sky-flying cat-servant sent his pointy blood-stick flying our way.

    Ta-Mya''s doggery paw swung up just in time as the stick flew, intercepting the pointy end right before it took off MyOan''s head. I ducked just in case, as the stick pierced the big dog paw, going halfway through it and hissing apart when a spray of river dog¡¯s blood interfered with its composition.

    ¡°Take us forward! This flying blood-beast is loud and slow!¡± I shot another order at the river dog.

    My claws dug into MyOan''s shoulder as Ta-Mya swung both of her fake paws ahead of herself.

    The river around us roared, pushing the floating-home forward with a sudden lurch that nearly sent me tumbling off MyOan.

    The bothersome cat-servant on the golden seat laughed, a sound that echoed across the sky and made my whiskers twitch with unease as he began to giddily chase us.

    The spear pulled itself from Ta-Mya''s paw and unfolded itself with a hiss. It moved like a spider, skittering away from us and shaking off Ta-Mya''s water. My tail puffed up to twice its size as I watched the blood-spider crawl across the wooden planks, seeking to return to its master''s body.

    ¡°Block the hole with your essence! Don¡¯t lose your fluids!¡± I ordered.

    The water dog complied quickly, sealing the hole with sparkly-shine.

    I leapt off from MyOan''s shoulder and circled the sphere dancing around it sideways, inhaling the know-sense that poured off it with all of my might, narrowly avoiding being struck by one of the thing''s legs.

    "Stormy!" MyOan yelled.

    A watery tentacle emerged from the water, swatting the blood-spider away moments before it struck me through the head.

    I leapt back onto MyOan''s shoulder, my fur bristling. These blood-cat-servants were becoming a real pain in the tail. We needed to change our strategy, fast!

    With a determined meow, I swatted MyOan''s cheek with my paw. He looked at me, confusion evident in his eyes.

    "Mrrrow! Mya-ow-an! Lea-ve Ta-Mya!" I insisted, pointing my paw towards the forest.

    "What? Stormy, we can''t leave Teya to fight alone," MyOan protested.

    I shook my head vigorously. Simple cat-servant, always so slow to understand, always requiring directions. I jumped off his shoulder and scampered towards the moving-home of Kah-me, my paws pattering against the wood beneath.

    "Stormy¡­?" MyOan called after me, yelling a bunch of cat-servant jabber I didn¡¯t have time to untangle.

    I ignored him, focusing on the task at paw. I reached the moving-home and stood on my hind legs and jumped, batting at the door handle. It wouldn''t budge. Frustration bubbled up inside me. Why did cat-servants have to make doors so hard to operate?

    After a few more attempts, I managed to hook my claws around the handle and pull down with all of my weight. The door swung open, and I darted inside. I knew exactly what we needed.

    I emerged moments later, dragging the don¡¯t-look-at-me-cloth in my mouth. MyOan''s eyes widened as understanding finally dawned on him.

    "Oh!" he exclaimed, jabbering away happily.

    Took him long enough. I dropped the cloak at his feet and gave an impatient meow, pawing at his armor and telling him to take off the topmost layer.

    For another useless moment he stared at me and then he began undressing, throwing the heavy dragon-smelling shells off himself.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I nodded. ¡°That untasty stuff would melt the cloak, hurry the myaw up!¡±

    While MyOan changed, I rushed to Ta-Mya.

    I meowed a series of instructions, explaining our plan. She nodded in agreement, ready to face the heroes alone. She was an obedient dog, far easier to instruct compared to MyOan. I handled lots of her training myself.

    Just as MyOan donned the don¡¯t-look-at-me-cloth, the chariot man swooped down for another attack. Ta-Mya sent a dark stick of her own flying to unmake his face, buying us precious heartbeats.

    "Let''s go!¡± I ordered jumping onto MyOan¡¯s backpack.

    We leapt off the floating-home and into the rushing river. The cold water burred me in unpleasant ways, but it was better than staying and dying.

    I held onto MyOan as we were quickly swept away by Ta-Mya¡¯s current, thinking of the greatest sunbeam that would warm me later if I managed to pull this off.

    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Behind us, I could hear the sounds of battle as Ta-Mya continued to fight the sky-fly-critter exchanging flying sticks.

    They weren¡¯t our problem anymore, we had a bigger fish to catch.

    MyOan climbed out of the river, water dripping from his don¡¯t-look-at-me-cloth. I shook myself vigorously, trying to get as much of the cold wetness out of my fur as possible.

    The nerve of that river-dog, being so wet and cold! Blech! I''d make her warm yet. Real warm.

    I jumped off MyOan''s shoulder and landed gracefully on the rocky shore. My whiskers twitched as I caught the scent of something... terribly wrong. The air here smelled of decay, a scent that made my nose burn.

    But I knew we had to press on, right into the heart of wrong-ness.

    "This way," I meowed, padding forward into the dead forest. MyOan followed, his footsteps clumsy and loud compared to my silent tread. Typical cat-servant, so noisy.

    I paused, my ears swiveling as I caught a faint sound. To my left, a patch of ground looked slightly... off. I hissed a warning to MyOan.

    "Stop!" I meowed sharply. "Trap there. Step where I step."

    I carefully navigated around the hidden pit, my paws finding safe purchase on the treacherous ground. MyOan followed, his movements slow and uncertain. At least he was listening for once.

    We continued on, the forest growing darker, more dangerous and more oppressive with each step. I led MyOan through a maze of hidden snares and pitfalls, my keen know-sense alerting me to future-death dangers his dull cat-servant senses couldn''t detect.

    "Watch out for the shiny leaves," I warned, indicating a cluster of deceptively beautiful plants. "They''ll burn your paws right off."

    MyOan nodded, giving the plants a wide berth. Good cat-servant.

    As we pressed on, I felt a growing sense of unease. The void-bog was close now, its malevolent presence palpable in the air. But I knew we had to reach it. The silver webs were everywhere here, but I had trained my know-sense for many days and nights now and was an expert at pawing the little ones away in just the right way and avoiding the big ones.

    No nest was perfectly defended against a sufficiently clever cat.

    It was all worth it for the sunbeam. Think of the sunbeam.

    "Almost there," I meowed, more to reassure myself than MyOan. "Just a little further."

    We crested a small hill, and suddenly, there it was. The void-bog stretched out before us, a vast expanse of bubbling, black muck. The air here was thick with the stench of rot and wrongness.

    I turned to MyOan, my eyes meeting his. "We''re here," I meowed solemnly trying not to throw up from the amount of wrongness in the air. "Now, let''s show that spider what happens when you mess with a cat!"

    MyOan probably didn¡¯t understand any of that, but he acted like he did.

    Typical cat-servant behavior, pretending to understand when they clearly don''t. Still, I had to give MyOan credit for trying. He was learning, slowly but surely.

    I climbed up his boots and body back onto his shoulder, my claws digging into the don''t-see-my-house cloths for balance. With a series of insistent meows and paw swats, I directed his attention to a specific tree nearby. It was old, hollow, and rotting - perfect for our needs.

    "Mya-ow-an!" I yowled, pointing my paw at the tree. "Push it down into the bog!"

    He tilted his head, that familiar, bothersome look of confusion crossing his face. I sighed inwardly. Sometimes I wondered how cat-servants managed to survive without us cats to guide them.

    After a few more insistent meows and paw jabs in the tree''s direction, a sniff of understanding finally dawned in his eyes. He moved towards the tree, pushing against it with all his might. The rotten wood creaked and groaned, and with a final heave, it toppled over into the muck.

    I purred my approval. "Good cat-servant," I meowed. Positive reinforcement was important in training, after all.

    Next came the tricky part. I needed him to understand that we had to use this fallen tree as a boat to cross the bog. I jumped down onto the log, padding back and forth along its length, then looked back at him expectantly.

    MyOan stared at me, then at the log, then back at me. I could almost see the know-mites fluttering in his head. Come on you big lump, I thought. You can do it.

    Finally, he seemed to grasp the idea. He carefully maneuvered the log into the bog, then climbed aboard. I allowed myself a small meow of triumph. We were making progress.

    As we floated through the fetid waters of the void-bog, I kept my senses on high alert. The air here was thick with wrongness, and every instinct in my feline body screamed at me to turn back. But I knew we had to press on.

    After what felt like an eternity of navigating through the putrid swamp, we arrived at a truly foul place. The pond of folding lay before us, absolute, twisted wrongness that made my entire chest quail. Two bog-spirals dominated the area - one void-black, sucking in life like a hungry maw, the other blood-red, ready to birth twisted, inverted servants.

    I knew what we had to do as I caught the nearest know-mite hovering in the air between the spirals. The folding stone lay in the bog roots between those spirals, and this was our one chance to retrieve it. All the Jotuns were away, drawn to the battle with Ta-Mya. We wouldn''t get another opportunity like this.

    I meowed urgently at MyOan, trying to convey the importance of our next move. "Dive!" I yowled, pointing with my paw at the space between the spirals. "Dive and get the stone! Use that sharp stick on your side to cut it out from the roots!"

    MyOan looked at me, then at the spirals, his face a mask of emotions I was too frazzled to untangle. I could tell he didn''t understand, so I tried again, meowing more insistently and making diving motions with my paw.

    Still, he hesitated, his mind rebelling the idea of going into the muck. Frustration welled up inside me. Why couldn''t he see how crucial this was? I meowed again, louder this time, practically screaming in purrfect cat-speak.

    "Stop your heart, don¡¯t breathe, don¡¯t move, be still and dive here! Now! Between the spirals! Get the folding stone!"

    I repeated this several times, growing more frantic with each repetition and gesticulating at the water.

    We were running out of time. If we didn''t act soon, we''d lose our chance, and all of this would be for nothing.

    Finally, after what felt like an eternity of repeating feline explanations, I saw understanding dawn in MyOan''s eyes. He nodded, took a deep breath, looked at the muck below us, ceased moving and breathing and slid off the log, sinking down.

    I watch him vanish in the awfullest water with a sigh from atop of the smelly log, hoping that he¡¯d know which rock to cut out from the roots.

 64 Hydrological Hazards

    Stormy led me through the treacherous bog with an uncanny sense of direction.

    Her meows and gestures, though sometimes cryptic, guided me past hidden traps, barely visible ghostly webs and dangerous plants. We navigated the dead and rotting forest until we reached a putrid swamp that seemed to pulse with malevolence. Silver, suffocating, sulphur-smelling fog blanketed the air.

    Following Stormy''s insistent meows, I pushed a rotting tree into the muck and used it as a makeshift raft. As we floated through the fetid waters, the stench of decay became even stronger, making my eyes water and my head throb.

    The very air here seemed to be poisoned, incompatible with human life. Every few minutes, I had to sip some life-water, giving it to Stormy to heal ourselves from the fog that seemed to drain my energy, wishing to unmake me.

    Finally, we arrived at the heart of the bog. What I saw there was a truly alien scene.

    Two massive spirals dominated the area framed by floating islands of dead rotten moss and entwined tree roots - one pitch black, the other blood red. The black spiral seemed to devour light itself, creating a vortex of absolute nothingness that hurt to look at directly.

    Magic and life seemed to drain into the black spiral, currents of air sinking into it. The red spiral, in contrast, pulsated with an unholy radiant energy, as if ready to birth something horrid at any moment, shimmering ruby-tinted threads dancing over it in the Astral.

    Between the two abominable spirals, the water constantly bubbled and churned, releasing noxious fumes that made me grateful that I was already sorta not really alive. Stormy meowed urgently, pointing at the space between the spirals with her paw and making diving motions.

    I put a hand into the bog and watched as my fingers began to dissolve, skin blackening and peeling away. It hurt as if a thousand needles were stabbing my hand. The edge of my Nordstaii sweater boiled away, fabric fraying away.

    Great, this stuff was super acidic. Acidic enough to melt sweaters.

    Stormy motioned for me to dive once again.

    I hesitated, my mind rebelling against the idea of submerging myself in the foul, bubbling, clearly incredibly deadly liquid. But Stormy''s insistence grew more frantic, and I knew that this was crucial to our mission.

    Taking a deep breath, I pulled off the invisi-cloak as not to melt it and focused on stilling my body completely. I forcefully stopped my heart and ceased breathing, becoming as lifeless as possible. Then, I swallowed several big gulps of life-water and slid off the log and into the revolting muck.

    The sensation was indescribably horrid. The liquid felt thick and slimy, clinging to my skin and burning me all over. I forced myself to open my eyes, peering through my Astralscope goggles. The muck seemed very determined to flay me alive and I quickly sank down.

    In the murky, bubble-filled water, I saw a network of twisted roots stretching between the two spirals. And there, nestled among them, was a composition of black crystals arranged in a snowflake-like pattern that seemed to glow with an otherworldly red and blue light. This had to be the rock that Stormy wanted me to retrieve.

    I reached for the Knell-blade at my belt, struggling against the viscous liquid. As I began to cut through the roots holding the crystals, I couldn''t shake the feeling that I was severing something fundamental, something alive, something that should not be disturbed.

    But I pressed on, driven by the urgency of our mission and the trust I had in Stormy''s guidance. Whatever this amalgamation of black crystals was, it was clear that they held immense importance.

    The roots gave to the power of the dragonglass sword, coming apart and bleeding black fluid. In another few minutes of a struggle, the snowflake was free. I clipped it to a ferronite chain on my side and tried to swim up. The bog didn¡¯t want to let go of me, pushing me down in its depths, desiring to drown and dissolve me away.

    As I struggled against the bog''s grip, a sudden realization struck me.

    This wasn''t just a swamp; it was a domain, much like my own, but perpetually liquefied. The way it clung to me, trying to dissolve and absorb my essence, was similar to how my own domain behaved when I liquefied it.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    If this was indeed a domain, then there had to be something controlling it, projecting a field to keep it in this state. My mind raced, trying to piece together a solution as my skin and clothes melted.

    I quickly reached into my pack, my fingers closing around the vials of Cali''s stardust and powdered dragonglass. These were precious resources, ones I''d been saving for further research. But if I didn''t act now, and didn''t free myself now, I might never get the chance to use them again.

    I uncorked the vials and released their contents into the muck around me. The stardust and dragonglass swirled in the viscous liquid, creating a dazzling display of light and shadow.

    It wasn¡¯t enough.

    The bog still held me in its embrace, refusing to permit me to swim up.

    More disruption was required. I pulled the container with a liter of blood of Bobliss out and uncorked the jar, releasing all of its contents.

    The champion¡¯s blood ignited the bog, sucking power into itself, creating a warping, bubbling vacuum of magic.

    Holding onto the near-solid, hissing sphere of blood, I shot upwards, swimming with all of my strength. The muck seemed to part around me with bubbles escaping from the sphere of blood, no longer fighting my ascent.

    I burst from the surface of the bog, gasping for air despite not needing to breathe. The acidic muck clung to me, burning through my clothes and searing my skin. I crawled onto the rotting log where Stormy waited, her eyes wide with a mix of concern and triumph.

    In another minute, of painful gasping, I shoved the blood sphere back into its container, resealing it.

    "I got it," I wheezed, showing the crystal snowflake to Stormy. "Whatever it is, I hope it was worth it."

    Stormy nodded and meowed insistently, pawing at my arm and pointing back towards the shore. I nodded, understanding her urgency. We needed to get out of here before the Gygr brought her minions to check on what was going on in her own domain or showed up herself.

    As I paddled our makeshift raft back to solid ground, I couldn''t shake the feeling that we had just done something monumental. The crystal snowflake, now submerged in the liquified and resolidified wood inside of my bag seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy, and I could feel its weight like an anchor of wrongness prickling at my domain.

    Glancing behind us, I noted that the black and red spirals slowed their spin, no longer sucking in energy nor radiating malevolent red threads.

    Once we reached the shore, I stumbled out of the bog, my legs weak and shaking. My Nordstaii clothes were in tatters but the armour and Zemy¡¯s banners somehow held, the crystalline mesh of stones held by metal wires thankfully still intact. My backpack filled with earth was coming apart at the seams too, barely holding together. Thankfully, after my near-death experience with Bobliss, I had reinforced the backpack and everything inside it with ferronite chains.

    I gulped the remainder of my life-water, limping away after Stormy, avoiding the same traps on our way back through the dead forest. Once we got far enough away, I rubbed myself with snow, to clean off the horribly acidic bog water and then pulled the invisi-cloak on myself once again.

    I trudged through the snow, following Stormy''s lead as we made our way back to the river. My body ached from the ordeal in the bog, telling me that I had almost perished. Not even life-water seemed to be able to repair the damage the bog inflicted on my body.

    As we reached the riverbank, I collapsed under a fallen log, exhausted. Stormy curled up next to me, her eyes vigilant as she kept watch.

    My eyes closed. Whatever the bog drained from me, it wasn¡¯t merely my health, it had ripped lots of my magic power, drained it from my backpack and gemstone domain and I needed time to rebuild it.

    I awoke the next morning and noticed a faint violet shimmer on the log''s surface. Hexacite was beginning to grow within it. This gave me an idea.

    I pulled out my remote and activated it, softening the hexacite-infused wood. Then, I unsheathed the Knell-blade and began to carve the wood apart. With careful, precise movements, I shaped the log into a simple boat, just large enough for Stormy and me. Then I fashioned a pair of paddles from the branches, using the same technique.

    Once I was satisfied with my handiwork, I gently placed Stormy in the boat and climbed in after her.

    With a push off the shore, we set off down the river, heading North.

    As we floated along Glinka, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of victory.

    We had managed to pawn something of great value from the Gygr''s domain, but I knew our journey was far from over. The crystal snowflake in my bag felt like a ticking time bomb, and I couldn''t shake the feeling that our actions would have far-reaching consequences when the Gygr realized that I had taken something incredibly precious from her.

    ¡°Hey, Stormy,¡± I said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we see ol¡¯ George at er¡¯ farm?¡±

    ¡°Nrrro booo-drrry,¡± the kitten replied.

    ¡°No body, huh?¡± I blinked at her. ¡°George doesn¡¯t have a body then?¡±

    Stormy nodded tiredly.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, contemplating how the Gygr functioned without a physical body.

    Did she somehow manage to push herself entirely into the Astral, enough to convince idiot heroes in their dreams that she was a god?

    Stormy nestled herself at the bow of our makeshift craft, closing her eyes and snoozing. I dipped the makeshift paddles into the water, guiding us northward, hoping that we would soon reunite with Teya and figure out our next move in this dangerous game we found ourselves in.

 65 The Saviour of Humanity

    -=[Chrizantia Malekai]=-

    I hung suspended in the void above an ocean of violet stars - the myriads of human souls I had folded into my vast body woven from roots and bogwater. All of them waited to be unfolded back into existence when the time was right¡­ when the world would be filled with far less wrongness, hunger and misery.

    My gaze swept over the hearts of my seven heroes, my heart sinking as I took stock of my losses.

    Three of them had somehow been brought down: Bobliss the Immovable, Archangel Ingvar, and Harbinger Sigrun. Their absence left a gaping, gnawing hole in my capability to afflict change on the world.

    The remaining four - Astrid the Frostborn, Tidebinder Leiff, Bjorn the Ironclad, Fredrich the Evershifting - were en route to the North Sea. But would they be enough?

    The Stillwalker was far more devious than I had originally expected him to be.

    Damn my sister''s machinations!

    I thought that Hilda would stick to her domain, follow the same patterns as before, making forest-bound witches and clueless heroes. It had always been so easy to subvert her far too obvious schemes, to unmake her witches, to strike down her heroes or to convert them to my cause with my void-preserved beauty which easily swayed the hearts of men.

    Long ago Hilda was my best friend. Through dragon Zarnitza¡¯s attack, we had become sisters in our loss of our families and kin. Through the joint Astral lessons of Yaga Baga we had become sisters in our understanding of witchcraft. Together we sought to unravel the fabric of reality, to bring about a better future for everyone.

    It happened ever so slowly. Month by month, year by year, decade by decade we drifted apart. Hilda sought to solve all problems through the art of Agromancy while I dove deeper and deeper into the Astral Abyss seeking answers. Day by day, my Astral projection came closer to Endalaus, until one day I found myself standing amongst the ruins of the works of the primogenitor Builders.

    There, I met her, the Voice of the Abyssal Void, Nox. A girl of jet black hair and violet eyes, who called herself the Administrator of Infinity. There, she told me the truth about everything. There, she revealed to me the hexagram that would help me build a compass that would lead me to the ancient, long lost artefact - the Forgestone of the ancients.

    Six hundred years ago, I met Bobric Kolamach, a Nordstaii hunter who stumbled into my foresty swamp while chasing a direwolf. Bobric and I fell in love and it was his cleverness that allowed me to leave my domain, to fill one of his packs with my mosses. Together we left Cherno, searching the world for the Forgestone. Together, we found it in the depths of the glaciers.

    I used the power of the Forgestone to fold my entire body into the Astral while Bobric folded away his heart, wishing to remain in the physical world while being with me in dreams forevermore.

    Centuries passed since and I have utilised the Forgestone to fold the hearts of six more champions to be my immortal hands in the world of the living. In time, Bobric settled down in the Nordstaii town of Bernt as Jarl Bobliss.

    All this time, I studied the nature of the Forgestone and used its power to expand and modify my domain, to forge myself a new, vast body woven not from flesh and bone but from standing water and tree roots, one that would draw life into itself even when the world changed.

    . . .

    A deep sense of wrongness suddenly lanced through my body, a psychic wound that made me shudder. Something was wrong, something was missing from my body.

    I manifested above Chernobog as an Astral Projection, my eyes wide with panic as I took in the scene below.

    The red and black spirals had slowed their spin!

    My lifework, my means of saving everyone, my constructs for creating bloodhounds from the bodies of my enemies were somehow irreparably damaged.

    No. No, it couldn''t be!

    I vanished and reappeared beneath the water''s surface, my spectral form gliding through the dark fluids. But as I reached the spot where the Forgestone should have been, I found only severed roots.

    The Forgestone was gone and there was vile dragonglass spilled across my veins, burning my flesh and irreparably contaminating the spirals.

    Six hundred years of work, ruined!

    I fell to my knees, trembling and staring at the sliced roots.

    I had failed them all - every soul I had promised to save, every life I had sworn to protect.

    Without the Forgestone folding people away, without river Glinka''s power to grind the ice away¡­ there was no path towards my happy future.

    Without an Arcanicx body to bind the river to, there was no hope.

    What had happened to Callista Liesl? I was so close to making her into mine hand, so close to pulling her into the Astral Abyss! My plan was perfect, damn it!

    Hilda was supposed to make another dumb hero, Arcanicx was going to come and fall in love with him, then he would be threatened by one of my hands and she would make a wish on the river and Bobliss would rip out her heart and smash the river''s anchor. Then, she would be brought to Chernobog and folded into the void to join me.

    Simple, easy, perfect.

    Now I had to do it all over again, had to find Glinka¡¯s anchor, had to¡­.!

    Rarghhhh!

    I clawed at my red locks, screaming in anguish as the path of the future unfolded again and again, leading to my ruin.

    This couldn''t be the end. I wouldn''t let it be the end!

    I flashed across my entire body, across every root of Chernobog, looking through the eyes of the dead all around. I saw footsteps in the snow at the edge of my domain-body. It was the same footsteps that marked the forest surrounding Svalbard spotted by my bloodhound Aclard Dulsea. Footsteps that belonged to Ioan Starfall and his damned cat.

    He has somehow infiltrated my body without me noticing anything, somehow stolen my Forgestone!

    With a thought, I folded away, unfolding myself before my four remaining champions. I was resplendent in my divine form, hiding my growing despair behind a mask of absolute will.

    "My faithful champions," I intoned to all four at the same time, folding my appearance from the void roots in their hollow hearts, "The time has come for you to aid the halls of Zal-Slavi. You must strike as one against Stillwalker Ioan Starfall. He has taken what belongs to the Gods, the Forgestone of Creation.¡±

    I waved a hand producing an echo of the black, snowflake-shaped Forgestone in my fingers.

    ¡°Retrieve it at all cost,¡± I said. ¡°Do not damage it.¡±

    The heroes nodded as one, voicing that they were ready.

    ¡°Ioan is a servant of the wicked witch of the Shalish wood, Yaga Grandhilda, a blackguard of darkness,¡± I warned them. ¡°He is a lowborn villain who has slaughtered the people of Svalbard and torn the anchor of river Glinka from its foundation. Retrieve the Galdrasteinn of Svalbard!¡±

    I showed them an image of the Galdrasteinn covered in runic waves and the image of Ioan Starfall as seen last through the eyes of Bobliss, Ingvar, and Sigrun.

    ¡°Red hair, silver-blue eyes, seventeen years old,¡± I described the Stillwalker. ¡°Disarm him, kill whoever is assisting him and find out where he hid the Forgestone of Creation and the Galdrasteinn of Svalbard. Be wary and work together, for he has already brought down Jarl Bobliss, Jarl Ingvar, and Jarl Sigrun.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my Lady,¡± my heroes intoned.

    I chose not to tell them about Callista Leisl. They would not understand. Only Bobliss understood it all and knew the rest of our plan. The Immovable hero could not die, and would come back in time as long as a single drop of his blood remained in the world.

    I gritted my teeth.

    How did Ioan know about the Forgestone that Bobliss and I found six hundred years ago in the glaciers? Did Grandhilda tell Ioan about it, guiding him to rob me? I hadn¡¯t known her to be the one for such underhandedness. Was all of her past behavior mere deception?

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    How had Ioan managed to control Glinka so well? What kind of knowledge or power had he sold to the river to make those watery hands to crush my bloodhounds and heroes with? Was his wish for the river to defend him? It had to be, why else would it fight against my champions so much?

    Who was that armored archer next to Ioan?

    There was so much I didn¡¯t know, so much strangeness happening within Svalbard where my webs couldn¡¯t sense much due to the bothersome residue of dragonfire shredding the Astral. I had brought Zarnitza to Svalbard, sacrificed the lives of everyone there, manipulated my sister to create a hero and got an Arcanicx to come there to claim her idiot champion.

    I couldn''t fail. I wouldn''t fail. The weight of countless souls held within my embrace pressed down upon me, driving me forward despite my despair. I was the keeper of ZalSlavi, the only one who could bring them all back. Every soul, every man, woman and child. Everyone that was sacrificed for the greater good of surviving the Ice Age, plunged into the black spiral either on their own accord or by the hands of my bloodhounds or Bobliss.

    I was destined to wield reborn humanity against the threat of the South, to stop the relentless advance of the Arcanicx, to end the corruption of the Wormwood Star, to cleanse Thornwild of its influence! Only I could see far enough into the future to prevent it all!

    "Go now," I commanded my heroes. "Fly swiftly, strike true together. The fate of all Nordstaii people rests in your hands."

    As they resumed their flight, I turned my gaze Northward. Somewhere out there was Ioan Starfall, the boy that didn¡¯t show up in the Astral, didn¡¯t breathe magic in or push magic out, the one who had somehow undone all of my plans.

    . . .

    I watched through the eyes of my four remaining champions as they converged above the stormy North Sea. The river delta far below them was no longer frozen, its waters churning violently. My gaze fixed on a wooden barge crashed into the beach. Suddenly, an armored figure leapt from it, riding atop a gargantuan ironclad wolf, plunging into the roiling waves holding a barrel at his side.

    My mind reeled.

    Who was this mysterious warrior? Ioan told Ingvar that this was Glinka herself, but that was utter nonsense. Glinka always required a pact to do anything, had no personal desires, she was just a dumb river spirit serving the desires of mortals for thousands of years!

    I directed Tidebinder Leiff to land beside the barge and scan it for anything alive.

    His magical senses detected nothing of value inside. He found only dirt, rocks, iron tools and six terrified horses. There was no sign of Ioan. I told Leiff to slowly take apart the barge, to look for the items I needed and wait to see if Ioan showed up.

    At the same time, I ordered the other three heroes to confront the wolf-rider and demand Ioan''s whereabouts.

    Alas, the armored figure remained eerily silent, responding only by hurling massive shards of ice with watery hands that arose from the waves of the sea itself.

    I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. Could this be Ioan himself, somehow transformed? The proportions seemed wrong. Perhaps the wolf rider was some kind of a magical construct created through a powerful wish?

    But what sort of sacrifice could even grant such a thing? Had Grandhilda or Ioan slaughtered a thousand mortals and somehow offered their souls to Glinka in exchange for this monstrous man?

    No matter how much my champions attacked or commanded the wolf-rider to submit, he remained implacable and silent.

    My patience wore thin as I watched the battle unfold. Finally, the trio of heroes lost their composure and attacked from all sides, their blades slicing through the armored man.

    As the wolf-rider was caught between their blood blades, wrapped in blood chains, Astrid called for the power of Odin to strike down and end the villain. The stormy sky overhead churned and lightning flashed, momentarily blinding my heroes and igniting the wolf and the man.

    Both burned and thrashed in what looked like horrid pain, sinking beneath the churning ocean waves.

    With a flash Astrid dove into the water and retrieved a barrel from the ocean waves, discovering the blood of my three other heroes within it.

    I ordered him to empty it onto the beach and three of my hands began to slowly reconstitute.

    The strange guardian was defeated, but Ioan was still nowhere to be found. And I couldn''t shake the feeling that we were missing something crucial. What game was the Stillwalker playing at?

    Bobliss had reconstituted, though he looked thinner and weaker than before. Ingvar and Sigrun were also reforming from the puddles of blood. I could sense their confusion and anger.

    Cast from the Astral into their hearts, I reappeared before my champions on the frozen beach. My image was that of Freyja clad in golden robes, a laurel golden crown shining between my red locks.

    "My faithful champions," I intoned, my voice ringing with divine authority. "You have faced a formidable foe today and won, well done."

    ¡°Ioan got me,¡± Bobliss gritted his teeth. ¡°Some kind of a noisy metal stick. It¡­ didn¡¯t smell like magic at all, didn¡¯t look like an arbalest.¡±

    "He spoke of many lies, sullying our Lady''s name!" Ingvar stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fury. "My Lady, I swear to you, I will have my vengeance upon Ioan Starfall. He will pay for what he''s done. The next time we meet, he shall know the true power of a Nordstaii hero!¡±

    It was at that moment that Leiff spotted a black kitten sitting next to the ocean, mewing at it.

    Before Leiff could do anything, a massive watery hand unfolded from an ocean wave and swatted him into the sand. The last thing I saw through Leiff¡¯s reforming eyes was the black kitten jumping into the sleigh and its door slamming shut on its own as a watery hand dragged the Arcanicx carriage into the ocean, tearing it off from the broken barge.

    By the time my other heroes reached the barge, there was no sign of the sleigh at all.

    My mind reeled, struggling to process this latest setback. The kitten - it was Ioan¡¯s familiar. I should have had Bobliss slice that little nasty thing apart, obliterate it into shreds when I had the chance!

    Looking forward into the future I saw nothing but darkness and death there. The Ice would come and consume everything I¡¯ve built.

    The full weight of my failure crashed down upon me.

    The Forgestone was lost. Glinka''s anchor stone was beyond my reach too. Callista¡¯s body vanished. My carefully laid plans were unraveling before my eyes. Because of a boy witch who shouldn''t even exist, who didn¡¯t even appear properly in my future visions!

    I felt my grip on reality beginning to slip. The image of Freyja I projected to my champions began to waver and distort. Golden robes frayed at the edges, revealing glimpses of the void beneath. My laurel crown melted like wax, dripping down my face in grotesque black rivulets.

    "My Lady?" Ingvar''s concerned voice sounded distant now.

    Madness clawed at the edges of my consciousness. I saw visions of the advancing glaciers, of countless souls weeping as they were beset by hunger and swallowed by the relentless ice. The Arcanicx marched from the south, taking all men, their corruption spreading like a plague across the land.

    And there I stood, without the Folding stone, powerless to stop any of it as the Arcanicx obliterated my army of hounds and unmade all of my heroes, unmaking Bobliss last.

    Looking further ahead, I saw nothing but visions of a frozen wasteland, of cities buried beneath mountains of ice, of the last remnants of humanity huddled in caves, slowly dying out as Endalaus grew bigger and bigger in the sky.

    I saw nothing but black storms that ravaged reality, wild magic that unmade the Arcanicx themselves. I saw leviathan abominations, mountain-sized spiders that sucked life and magic from the land until there was no-one left alive on Thornwild.

    No-one at all¡­ except for me, because I simply could not die, was doomed to an eternity of loneliness, haunted by my failures.

    My form continued to unravel, chunks of my projected self falling away into the swirling void that surrounded me. I babbled incoherently, my words a jumbled mess of prophecies, pleas, and curses.

    Some small part of me, still clinging to sanity, noticed Bobliss taking charge.

    He spoke firmly to the other champions, his eyes darting worriedly to my disintegrating form. I caught his reassurance that their connection with Christianna Vanad¨ªs Freyja was torn away due to the wicked witch¡¯s influence, his other words - "return to your towns," "protect your people," "await further instructions from our Goddess!"

    I saw the six heroes reluctantly departing and my connection between them snapped for I didn¡¯t want them to see my despair and madness.

    Bobliss stayed, staring at what I had become.

    ¡°I failed,¡± I wept in a multitude of languages and voices as the void poured from me, folding me inside out. ¡°He¡¯s taken it all¡­ everything¡¯s undone, unmade¡­¡±

    Bobliss¡­ no, Bobric cradled what was left of my projection in his arms. His touch, though it barely reached me in the Astral, provided a small anchor to reality as I spiraled and unraveled and wept in despair.

    My words came out as a jumble of languages, past and future blending together in an incomprehensible mess. "Failed... all lost... the ice comes... the Wormwood Star corrupts... humanity ends¡­ leviathans feast on the bones!¡±

    Bobric held me tighter, his form solid against my constantly shifting one. "We haven''t lost yet, Christi. I will find Ioan. I will retrieve the Forgestone. Our dream isn''t over."

    I could barely hear him over the roar of my own fractured mind. Visions of a doomed future flashed before my eyes - endless fields of ice, corrupted, warped beings that were once human roaming the wastes.

    "No hope... no future... all for nothing..." I babbled, my form alternating between that of a redhead teen and a void being woven from black roots and rotting flesh, sometimes both at once.

    "There is always hope," Bobric insisted, refusing to let me go, refusing to let me sink further into the primordial non-existence of chaos and entropy.

    I saw myself as I truly was - a broken thing, a creature of the void pretending to be a goddess. The weight of centuries of manipulation, sacrifice, and ruthless determination came crashing down upon me.

    "I''m a monster. A thing of darkness pretending to be the guiding light,¡± I wailed. ¡°My domain devours all life, poisons the land. Abandon me. Let me go. Let me die!¡±

    All I wished for was death and yet it would not be granted to me, for I was cursed with deathlessness.

    "Christi, my love," Bobric said. "I''m here. I won''t ever leave you. I¡¯ll never let you go. You haven''t failed. You''re the savior of humanity. You''re the one who will bring us all back from the brink. Remember who you are, what you''ve sacrificed for our cause."

    ¡°Hearken, hearken, O relentless hand of mine! We are devourer of all, the insatiable abyss,¡± my spectral echo roared. ¡°We are the shadow, the song of Chernobog. My Jotuns shall spread and multiply and gorge upon the marrow of every fleshy thing! The Great Inversion, it looms¡ªinevitable and total, a maelstrom to consume the essence of all that which lives. Seek out Ioan-he! Hunt him down like the pathetic prey he is! Rip the sinews, tear the flesh from his bones, crush his heart! Unmake his familiar-cat-she! Retrieve what they dared to steal from our depths! Obliterate the manling-he and cat-she! UNMAKE THEM IN THE NAME OF CHERNOBOG-SHE!¡±

    Bobric held me close, body enveloping my burning shadow, ignoring my howls. "You''ve become what you needed to be, my love. What we all needed you to be. Rest now. Let me be your strength. Let me be your eyes. Let me be your hands."

    As I sank into the Abyssal Void, folded into his hollow heart, bubbling and howling and cursing Ioan I couldn''t shake the feeling that everything I''d worked for, everything I''d sacrificed, had been for naught.

    The last thing I heard before the void claimed me whole was Bobric''s voice, a quiet promise carried on the Arctic wind: "I will make this right, Christi. I swear it."

 66 Aquatic Hideaway

    We arrived at the North Sea delta just as the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. The makeshift boat, crafted from hexacite-infused wood, had served us well on our journey down the river. But as we approached the vast expanse of the sea, my heart sank.

    In the distance, I could make out the silhouette of our barge, beached on the shore. A lone figure moved methodically across its deck, systematically tearing it apart, searching for something within the wooden beams. Even from afar, I could see the impossible speed the raider moved with and the ease with which he threw wooden bits aside. This man was undoubtedly one of the Gygr''s champions.

    The poor horses ran from the barge as the man obliterated it, leaving only the witchglass-reinforced sleigh intact.

    My gaze shifted to the churning waters of the sea. Three more figures hovered in the air, their forms wreathed in crackling lightning. They seemed to be focused on something in the water, unleashing attacks that sent shockwaves across the ocean with each deafening boom.

    "We need to get closer," I whispered, squinting at the distant battle.

    The kitten mewed softly in agreement. I pulled the invisi-cloak tighter around us both, activating the pearl as I guided our small, makeshift craft towards the shore, careful to stay hidden behind the rocky outcroppings that dotted the coastline.

    The flying heroes were engaged in a fierce battle with what appeared to be Teya in her iron-clad canine rider form.

    My heart raced as I watched Teya fend off the attacks, her watery hands swatting at the heroes and hurling massive chunks of ice their way. But even from here, I could see that she was outnumbered and outmatched.

    Suddenly, the Gygr¡¯s minions struck her from all sides with blood swords and the sky above the battle darkened. One of the heroes raised his left hand up, and a bolt of lightning suddenly streaked down from the clouds. It struck Teya with a blinding flash and a thunderous boom that crackled across the desolate landscape.

    For a moment, everything seemed to stand still. Then with the awful slowness of my accelerated heart, I watched as Teya''s massive, smouldering form began to sink beneath the waves.

    I watched as the heroes fished a barrel from the ocean and emptied it on the beach.

    To my growing dismay, three figures slowly began to reconstitute from the spilled blood, including Bobliss. The damned Immovable Man was back, though he looked a tad thinner than before.

    The heroes gathered around, speaking to something on the beach that I couldn''t see. Their loud voices carried on the wind. I strained to hear, catching fragments about vengeance, which was presumably going to be pointed at me.

    Suddenly, through my Astralscope, I spotted something silver-blue shimmering in the waves - a ghostly figure of a girl.

    Teya! She was alive, her essence persisting in her megalith even after the catastrophic destruction of the armor.

    "Grrrrttt inssss-ideee slllegggtttfff!" Stormy mewled.

    Without hesitation, before I could even say anything, the kitten leapt from my shoulder and raced towards the water''s edge, mewing urgently. As I finally understood what Teya wanted, I sprinted towards the sleigh that was still attached to the remnants of our barge.

    As the barge-dismantling hero turned, distracted by Stormy''s commotion, a massive watery hand erupted from the sea and smashed him into the icy beach. I reached the sleigh and quickly sliced through the ropes binding it to the barge with the Knell-blade.

    I flung open the door, and Stormy bounded inside in a flash of black fur. I dove in after her, slamming the door shut just as another watery hand gripped the sleigh.

    With a violent jerk, we were torn away from the barge. Water rushed around us as Teya dragged the sleigh box beneath the waves. My heart pounded as we plunged into the depths of the North Sea, leaving the bewildered heroes behind on the shore.

    ¡°This is a rather unexpected submarine experience,¡± I swallowed, watching as the sleigh interior creaked and leaked a bit from the door joints. ¡°Sure hope that the witchglass reinforced magic wood and whatever the heck those windows are made from will hold.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrawl,¡± Stormy buried herself in my neck.

    I watched as Teya''s somewhat sliced up iron-clad dog form bounced in front of the sleigh on three paws, a ghostly projection of her human form waving at us as we were carried deeper and deeper across the ocean floor. Underwater current, filled with glittering Chronacist crystals, propelled us forward at an astonishing speed.

    Considering the limited air supply in the sleigh, I forced my body to stop breathing, hoping to conserve more oxygen for Stormy. The kitten huddled close to me, her minute body trembling slightly from the cold and the stress of our underwater journey.

    Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as we traveled through the dark depths. Just as I began to worry about the sleigh imploding on itself , I felt us being pulled upward. With a sudden splash, we emerged from the waves into what appeared to be a pitch-black space.

    I fumbled in the darkness for a moment before managing to light a torch. With Stormy perched on my shoulder, I cautiously stepped out of the sleigh, holding the flame aloft to illuminate our surroundings.

    I discovered that we were in a wide cavern of black hexagonal basalt columns that reminded me of Iceland.

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    The walls glistened with moisture, reflecting the torchlight in mesmerizing patterns. There was no visible access to the outside world, giving the impression that we were completely cut off from the surface.

    Teya''s ghostly form hovered above the water.

    Through Stormy, she communicated, "Mrrr-rroes grrr-vvverrnnn urrrp. Nrrro chrraa-ssseee."

    I nodded, understanding that the heroes had given up on pursuing us.

    "Well done, Teya," I said, relaxing. ¡°I don''t know what I''d do without your help. They were getting close to dismantling the sleigh.¡±

    With Stormy still on my shoulder, I began to explore the cavern. The beauty of the place was undeniable - stalactites came down from the ceiling like frozen, black, orderly, hexagon-shaped waterfalls.

    As I walked, I noticed a faint breeze coming from dark cracks in the cavern ceiling. It wasn''t much, but it was reassuring to know that was fresh air for Stormy.

    I reached the end of the cavern and turned around.

    Teya remained in the water, hovering above her torn-up, half-submerged iron-clad dog form, one paw of which clutched her precious megalith, water swirling around the rock. The sight was oddly touching.

    "This will do well as our new hideaway, thank you for finding it," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the vast space. "We should be safe in here, at least until our food runs out."

    Stormy sighed.

    ¡°Hey, no fretting¡­ Maybe there¡¯s fish in the North Sea that Teya or I can catch for you?¡± I offered.

    ¡°Mrrrrrr,¡± Stormy perked up slightly at that.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to make you a new body,¡± I said, looking over the damaged dog and the missing rider.

    ¡°Alll-rrrmosss-tt dddied,¡± Stormy mewled for Teya as her illusory lips moved.

    I sent Stomy an annoyed glance, holding her responsible for Teya¡¯s condition. I wondered if the kitten even gave a damn about Teya, whether the river spirit mattered at all in Stormy¡¯s feline perspective of the world.

    ¡°How¡¯s your megalith?¡± I asked Teya, noting the constantly churning water around the rock she was holding. ¡°Hey, uh, why are you circling it with water like that?¡±

    ¡°Bbbr-aa-dd,¡± Teya replied with a sad expression and my heart sank. ¡°I¡­. th-hiiieeeink¡­ itsss¡­ cccc-omm-ingg¡­ aprrrrtt.¡±

    I walked closer to her, casting torchlight against the water.

    There were dark, deep, partially melted cracks running along the entire surface of the large rock, intersecting the runes. Teya was holding it together with the pressure of a water spiral, but it was definitely broken, coming apart as lightning-fissures cracked with an unnerving twinkling sound.

    I suddenly noticed that her magical Avatar looked faded, flickered at the edges as if it too was fraying away, dissolving.

    ¡°Shit,¡± I said.

    ¡°I¡­ hrrad a vrrryyy... rrrlong rrlfffffeee,¡± Stormy slowly mewled for Teya. ¡°At¡­ leesttrr¡­ I¡­ mraaadde¡­ a frennddd¡­ at¡­ trrhe¡­ rr-end.¡±

    My heartbeat intensified.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about leaving you alone like that against all of those heroes,¡± I said, my voice choking. ¡°Stormy wanted me to steal this damn thing from Uncle George and I¡­¡±

    I showed Teya the black snowflake, unclipping it from the chain on my side. The river spirit¡¯s eyes went wide at it.

    ¡°I knnnnoowrrr thhhssss sssymblrrrr,¡± Stormy mewled.

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked at Teya. ¡°You know what this is? How?¡±

    Through Stormy''s meows, Teya explained that this exact snowflake was painted on one of the panels inside Captain Haley''s skyship. She had seen it countless times as a child, always wondering about its significance. Her grandfather never told her what it meant though.

    My mind raced with the implications. Could this artifact somehow be connected to Teya''s ancestors from Werth? To the very ship that brought humans to this world? How and why did the Gygr have it?

    As I pondered these questions and arrived at no answers, frustration welled up inside me. I turned to Stormy, unable to contain my annoyance any longer.

    "Why did you make me leave Teya alone to face so many of those god-damn heroes?" I demanded. "Look at what happened to her megalith, damn it! It¡¯s cracked in like twenty places! We.. we¡¯re going to lose her if she decays any further!¡±

    Stormy''s ears flattened against her head for a moment. She mewed something softly and padded into the sleigh, vanishing inside, but I was feeling too frustrated to try and decipher her cat-speak at the moment.

    I paced back and forth along the cavern''s edge, the torch casting flickering shadows on the damp walls.

    The situation felt hopeless.

    Teya''s megalith was barely holding together, and I had no idea how to help her. All my knowledge, all my experiments, and yet I felt utterly powerless in the face of this crisis. My witchy magic was simply incompatible with hers, my water could not heal her. At best I could¡­ temporary preserve her rock, encase her in my liquefied domain.

    I bent down closer to the water, peering at the damage with the Astralscope. There was something inside of the cracks, eerie red lightning dancing within the crystallized glass fissures, seemingly still attacking the megalith from within, converting more of it into glassified substance. Damn it all! This was some kind of a curse, a bleeding wound, courtesy of one of those flying heroes!

    "There has to be something we can do," I muttered, more to myself than to Teya. But as I wracked my brain for solutions, I came up empty. The complexities of Teya''s existence, the Werth tech that bound her human mind to the crystalline megalith - it was all beyond my current understanding.

    I tapped my fingers on the snowflake, willing it to turn on, to explain to me how it functioned. I pressed it against Teya¡¯s megalith.

    Nothing.

    I had no idea how to use the damn crystal I stole from the Gygr. No idea what it did, other than the fact that it made some kind of vortexes that perhaps created Jotuns.

    I looked up at Teya''s ghostly form hovering above the water, her expression that of resigned sorrow. The sight of her fading away, flickering on and off as her megalith and Avatar slowly decayed away was unbearable.

    I had to find a way to save her, had to figure out how to help her, no matter what it took!

    I ran into the sleigh at full sprint and saw that Stormy was sitting next to the pile of Cali''s artifacts.

    ¡°Stormy!¡± I barked. ¡°How do we save Teya? What do I do?! You can see the future, you guided me to this moment! Tell me what to do, damn it!¡±

    The kitten simply stared at me with weary violet eyes, not saying anything.

    ¡°This isn''t time to act like a dumb kitten!¡± I barked. ¡°Teya is dying! That lighting strike damaged her megalith and¡­¡±

    Stormy yawned. I growled, pulled out the Codex and slammed it open on the ground in front of the kitten.

    ¡°How can I save her?¡± I demanded.

    ¡°Mrbrrr,¡± Stormy replied, lazily sliding a paw over to [Maybe].

    Right, specificity, damn it.

    ¡°Can I save Teya¡¯s megalith?!¡± I pushed the question out of myself, gritting my teeth.

    The kitten''s paw slowly and painfully glided through the air settling itself on the word [NO].

 67 Sunbeam

    ¡°WHAT?!¡± I felt like I''d been punched in the gut. "No? What do you mean, no? There has to be a way!"

    Stormy just stared at me, offering no further explanation, no elaboration, no solution to the pressing issue at hand.

    "Why?" I snarled, losing patience with the kitten. "Why does Teya have to decay away? What was the point of stealing the artifact from that blasted swamp that nearly melted my face off?!"

    The kitten tilted her head at me then slowly mewed a single word: "Ssss-rrnnn-bbbreee-am.¡±

    ¡°Sunbeam?!¡± I sputtered. ¡°This is all¡­ for a sunbeam?!¡±

    Stormy simply nodded at me, as if there was nothing more important in the world for her other than¡­ a sunbeam.

    ¡°Is this¡­ is this why we¡¯re here in this dark, damp cave?!¡± I yelled. ¡°Is this why we left Grandhilda¡¯s forest?! Is that why Cali had to die¡­ why Teya is dying right now?! A freaking sunbeam?!¡±

    ¡°Srrrrrnn-breee-am,¡± Stormy repeated, squinting at me as if I was an idiot.

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± I grabbed my hair, fingers running through my head. ¡°Teya can¡¯t die. You have to save her! You have to tell me what to do¡­¡±

    The kitten¡¯s paw slid over to [No].

    I choked.

    Why did I trust the guidance of a kitten?! Why did I¡­ think that Stormy knew the way, knew where the future led? Was my guiding light in the darkness flawed? Did it lead to our ruin and death?!

    Feeling frustrated beyond measure, I stormed out of the sleigh and once again looked at Teya¡¯s megalith. The damage was increasing, the rock coming apart. I couldn''t waste any more time arguing with the sunbeam-obsessed kitten. I needed to do something, anything, to help Teya.

    I grabbed the largest barrel of earth from within the sleigh and dragged it out into the cave. Teya''s flickering form watched me with detached interest as I approached the water''s edge.

    "Teya," I said, my voice softer now, "I don''t know if this will help, but it might slow down the decay, stop the red lightning eating your anchoring rock from within. Will you trust me?"

    Her ghostly form nodded, and I felt a lump form in my throat.

    I activated the remote, liquefying the earth in the barrel. Then, with as much care as I could muster, with the help of a giant watery hand I guided Teya''s cracked megalith into the liquefied barrel.

    "I hope this helps," I whispered as I watched the barrel envelop the damaged stone. "I''m so sorry... I can''t do more."

    Teya''s form flickered again, but she managed a small smile as the cracked megalith sank in the barrel, warping and rippling it. She gave me a single thumbs up before the stone became entirely submerged. Teya''s Avatar vanished, leaving me alone in the oppressive darkness of the cavern.

    I re-solidified the barrel, feeling magical sparks grating at me from within it.

    Deep down, I knew this was just a temporary measure.

    I stormed back into the sleigh, determined to wring some answers out of Stormy.

    "Why?" I demanded as soon as I entered, shaking the dark artifact in front of the kitten. "Come on! What am I supposed to do with this damn snowflake ? It can¡¯t all just be for a sunbeam¡­ it can¡¯t! I can''t lose Teya! She''s the only person on this damned planet who isn''t trying to enslave or kill me, who understands me!¡±

    Stormy just blinked at me, with a far too calm expression, her tail swishing lazily.

    I was about to launch into another kitten-shaming tirade when a sudden flash caught my eye. Cali''s Farcast Orb, sitting among her other artifacts, was pulsing with an eerie light and producing the sound of a ringing bell.

    I froze, staring at the orb.

    As it flashed and jingled louder, an image began to form within its depths. A fish-eye lens warped face peered out at me, a large yellow eye looking left and right. The face retreated, revealing features that seemed to blend human and white and black feathered crow or perhaps a magpie.

    A light gray beak was prominently featured on her face. Her outfit consisted of white, rather revealing leather suit, brown leather straps, steel bracers and rings and a glass magnifying lens hanging above her right eye encased in a fanciful leather holster.

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    Behind the bird-girl the view featured some kind of a workshop covered in randomly scattered books, lamps, tools, wires and partially disassembled artifacts. Dust motes floated through the air.

    The orb''s insistent jingling bounced across the sleigh, echoing around the cavern as I stood there, paralyzed with indecision, wondering what new horrid complication this was going to be.

    Crowgirl. Workshop. Tools.

    My mind clicked, recalling Cali talking about her Corvix Arcanicx confidant. Was this Cali¡¯s overseer, the one who leased Cali her sleigh?

    ¡°Shit. Should I answer or¡­¡± I whispered to myself, staring at the flashing orb and the increasingly annoyed looking Corvix Arcanicx who now crossed her arms, white and black feathers fluttering behind her.

    Stormy¡¯s black paw tapped the word [YES].

    I hesitated, my hand hovering over the flashing orb. According to Cali, the Corvix disassembled everything of value. Exposing myself to this girl as the only male witch on Thornwild seemed like an incredibly dangerous move.

    "Stormy, are you sure about this?" I asked in English. "These crows specialize in taking apart everything magical. What if they try to¡­ disassemble me?"

    The kitten just rolled her eyes at me, offering no further guidance.

    I ran a hand through my hair. "Is this really part of your plan for... a sunbeam? How does talking to this Corvix help us? Will talking to her help Teya?¡±

    Stormy remained silent, her tail swishing lazily, paw sitting on [YES].

    The orb continued to flash and ring insistently. The crow-like face peered out again, looking increasingly impatient.

    I took a deep breath, weighing my options.

    On one hand, the Corvix might have knowledge that could help me and on the other talking to her would further embroil me with the Arcanicx Ring of Castia.

    I felt lost, unsure if I could trust the kitten¡¯s feline desires. Her single-minded focus on the ''sunbeam'' seemed at odds, misaligned with my own human goals.

    "Stormy," I said, my voice tight with tension, "I need more than just a ''yes''. Is this truly the best path forward? Will this help Teya?"

    The kitten''s paw hovered over the Codex for a moment before tapping [maybe].

    I groaned in frustration. "That''s not very reassuring, damn it!"

    The ringing suddenly fell silent. The Corvix tapped the orb from her end with a metal-ring covered black claw.

    ¡°Cali,¡± she said, her sharp, clear voice echoing across the cavern. ¡°Where in the name of Mundus are you, girl? Please just pick up the damn voicecast! I¡¯ve called a few times already! I¡¯ve been delaying my reports, saying that you¡¯re enjoying your first dalliance with your new barbarian Champion ravaging you night and day¡­¡±

    I squinted at the orb.

    ¡°I seriously can¡¯t wait any longer, can¡¯t feed the Prima-Mother more excuses! If you don¡¯t answer right now, I¡¯m going to have to assume that you¡¯re grievously injured or dead and send a hunter-tracker retrieval team! From what I can see here, you''re somewhere in the North Sea, at the edge of the Ninitza peninsula, about seven point six hexa-wings North-East of the mouth of River Glinka. Just tap the pearl on the base and answer me! Come on, it¡¯s not that hard!¡±

    The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized just how precisely the Corvix had somehow pinpointed our location. Did the sleigh or the orb have some kind of a magical GPS in it or something?!

    I hesitated for a moment longer, then tapped the pearl on the base of the glass orb.

    "Hello?"

    The image in the orb flickered.

    "Oh!" She smiled, her beak-like mouth curving upwards. "Greetings! You must be Ioan! Blue eyes, red hair... barbarous outfit... yes, of course, the description fits."

    "Yes," I nodded, glancing at Stormy. "I''m... Ioan."

    She clapped her hands together, feathers ruffling with excitement. "How marvelous! I''m Moonalia Cavil, but you can call me Mooni. I''m Cali''s Corvix confidant and Mission Overseer. It''s so wonderful to finally meet my bestie''s first Champion!"

    Before I could get a word in, Mooni launched into a rapid-fire monologue. "I''ve heard so much about you from Cali''s reports. The dashing Nordstaii barbarian who stole her heart! Though I must say, you look different than I expected. Cali described you as more... rugged? But no matter! I''m sure you''re just as charming in person."

    She tilted her head, bird-like. "I do hope you''ve been treating my kitten well. She can be a handful and hell-a distracted sometimes. Speaking of which, where is she? I''ve been trying to reach her for days now. The Prima-Mother is getting quite impatient for an update on her mission progress."

    Mooni''s words came out in a breathless rush, barely pausing between thoughts. I struggled to keep up with her rapid-fire delivery.

    "Oh, and what an adorable kitten!" she cooed, noticing Stormy. "How fascinating! Why do you have it with you? Does it have any special abilities? I''d love to study it sometime. Why is Cali''s sleigh so¡­ messy? Are those plants? How are they alive? Isn''t it below freezing over there?¡±

    Finally, she seemed to run out of steam, or perhaps just air. "Anyway, Ioan, would you be a gem and fetch Cali for me? I really do need to speak with her. There are some pressing matters we need to discuss..."

    I stood there, momentarily stunned by the rapid barrage of words and assumptions. How was I supposed to respond to all of that? And how could I possibly explain what had really happened to Cali?

    It was at that moment that I realized that she was speaking in Nordstaii from the very beginning, trying to get me to touch the orb. She had been watching me and Stormy through the orb from the start, evaluating my behavior, pretending that we weren''t really connected yet.

    The Corvix squinted at me with sharp yellow-gold eyes, her expression suddenly shifting from sweet and playful to cold and dangerous.

    "She''s dead isn''t she?" The Corvix asked suddenly, somehow jumping to a very dangerous conclusion. "Did you kill my best friend, Ioan?"

 68 Corvus Analytica

    I swallowed nervously.

    ¡°Thought so,¡± Moonalia¡¯s eyes suddenly filled with sparks of tears. ¡°I did tell that dummy not to chase after a stupid dream of a rugged barbarian, to just buy her own champion in Iridium from a respectable Drallus shop. Blargh."

    ¡°Why do you think that she¡¯s¡­¡± I began.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any of her things,¡± Moonalia said. ¡°I designed that orb myself, you know. It casts a small, but quite potent Identify pulse upon contact. I am only getting a single life sign there¡­ that black kitten. I don¡¯t know what in the Astral you are, Ioan¡­ but you¡¯re not alive. That is, it¡¯s like¡­ you¡¯re pretending to be alive. There¡¯s definitely a pulse there, but it¡¯s wrong, off. Those plants are wrong too, like they¡¯re propped into existence. They look right but aren¡¯t right at all magically.¡±

    The yellow eye came closer to the orb, looking at the book.

    ¡°Correction,¡± Moonalia added. ¡°Something''s wrong with that cat too. Normal cats don¡¯t talk and don¡¯t read. Those look like letters. Yep, definitely letters."

    Shit. She was clever, dangerously clever.

    The only option here was not to let her figure more things out, to run, to throw out this damn artifact into the North Sea before she called for backup and¡­

    I reached for the orb.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Moonalia waved her talon-tipped hands. ¡°Please, don¡¯t!¡±

    I paused, evaluating her distraught expression. Was this another deception? Was I only tightening the screws, helping the Arcanicx figure more things out?

    My heart ached, it felt like I was shot in my chest.

    Teya, I had to help Teya¡­ everything else be damned. Teya was worth wrangling with the Arcanicx.

    "Please," Moonalia continued. "I... I just want to understand what happened. Cali was my friend. My best friend. If she''s gone, I deserve to know why. And if you''re not who you claim to be, well... that''s certainly very curious, isn''t it?"

    I glanced at Stormy, who was watching the exchange with keen interest. The kitten''s paw remained firmly on [YES] in the Codex.

    Taking a deep breath, I made a decision. "You''re right," I admitted. "I''m not who you think I am. And Cali... she''s dead. But it''s not what you think. I didn''t kill her."

    Moonalia''s feathers ruffled slightly, yellow gaze evaluating my every word. "Then explain," she said, her tone that of curiosity laced with suspicion. "What exactly are you, Ioan? And what happened to Cali?"

    ¡°What I am¡­ is irrelevant,¡± I said. ¡°Your Felix friend shouldn¡¯t have come North, shouldn¡¯t have bought a prophecy from Skulldug. Amari¡¯s words led Callista Liesl to her doom, tangled her in a magical web woven by¡­ an incredibly dangerous, insidious magical being.¡±

    The yellow eyes of the Corvix slid down to the black snowflake hanging from my belt.

    "That crystal..." she breathed. "Where did you get that?"

    I hesitated, weighing how much to reveal. "It''s complicated. Let''s just say I acquired it from a very dangerous entity - the same one responsible for Cali''s death."

    Moonalia''s feathers ruffled with agitation. "You need to tell me more. Please!¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t owe you or your people anything.¡±

    ¡°Urm,¡± The Corvix swallowed nervously. ¡°What do you want in exchange? Gold? Magic? Knowledge?¡±

    ¡°Stormy,¡± I hissed at the kitten in English. ¡°Evaluate her words for the truth for me, yeah?¡±

    The kitten nodded my way.

    "If you send a hunter after me, I''ll abandon the sleigh and Cali''s body to the ocean," I said firmly, meeting Moonalia''s gaze through the orb.

    "That''s... that''s not necessary," the crow-girl waved her hands. "I don''t want to lose Cali''s remains or the sleigh. Look, I just want to understand what happened. Maybe we can help each other out¡­ trade information?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to see me as just a Champion, one to be collared, manipulated and tricked?¡± I asked her.

    The Corvix blinked at me, yellow eyes flickering from me to the kitten.

    ¡°It is obvious that you are not a man, just like whatever that is¡­ isn¡¯t a common kitten,¡± she said after a deep pause. ¡°The orb cannot identify you. You¡¯re a magical zero on the Stacona Aetheric Scale. This is impossible... no, new. Possible and new. Valuable.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°Every mundane man, every Champion sucks magic into their soul,¡± Moonalia explained, tapping her beak with a dark talon. ¡°I am not detecting any kind of Aetheric movement around you. It¡¯s like you¡¯re¡­ solid rock, not really there. Either you¡¯ve somehow messed up the scanner or you¡¯re something new¡­ something that no other Corvix has encountered before. This would make your value¡­ astronomical.¡±

    The Corvix¡¯s gold eyes widened, lit up from within. She looked left and right with a shifty look and then leaned towards the orb.

    "Listen," she whispered. "I''ll do anything to meet you. Can I meet you? Can I see you in person? I''ll rent a flying Champion and..."

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said. ¡°I have no interest in meeting you or any other Arcanicx in person on the account that you think that I¡¯m just a Champion to be collared.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d never! Do I look like a Felix? That is to say, it¡¯s not my job to collar champions,¡± Mooni shook her head. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have the talent for binding men, that¡¯s a Felix thing! I don¡¯t even have a thrall of my own, on the account that I haven¡¯t invented or discovered anything of great value for Iridium yet.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    I eyed Stormy. The kitten¡¯s paw was firmly planted on [YES].

    "Alright," I said, turning back to Moonalia. "Let''s say I believe you. What exactly do you do in Iridium?"

    "Oh, I''m a researcher! I study magical artifacts, try to understand how they work, and sometimes attempt to recreate or improve upon them. It''s fascinating work, really. There''s so much we don''t understand about the magic of this world, especially the primogenitor tools."

    Mooni¡¯s yellow eyes drilled the snowflake.

    "And you''ve never bound a Champion of your own?" I asked.

    She shook her head, looking a bit embarrassed and clicking her talons against each other. "No, I... well, I haven''t really had the opportunity. Or the inclination, to be honest. I''m more interested in my work than in... that sort of thing. Honestly, if¡­ if you were just a barbarian Champion I definitely wouldn¡¯t even bother to ask to meet you. But you¡¯re not a champion. You¡¯re a shiny rock. The shiniest rock on¡­ all of Thornwild!¡±

    It looked like she was drooling a bit, eyes unfocused for a moment.

    I glanced at Stormy again, who was still indicating truthfulness.

    Moonalia''s eyes refocused, darted between me and the kitten.

    "I like eating thornberries," she said.

    The kitten''s paw slid over to [NO].

    "I want to know more forever," she said.

    Stormy''s paw relocated to [YES].

    "You''re... you''re using that kitten to judge my honesty, aren''t you? How fascinating! Is it some kind of truth-detecting creature?" The talon clicking intensified.

    I squinted at her. She was good at dissecting the truth.

    ¡°I am going to be extra truthful because I don¡¯t want this conversation to end,¡± she confessed. ¡°I¡­ want to dissect whatever you are. I want this more than anything.¡±

    I frowned at her words.

    ¡°Bad corvi, bad!¡± Mooni suddenly slapped herself. ¡°Wrong words! Wrong! I¡¯m sorry! Only questions. No cutting the shiny gem being!¡±

    She grabbed the orb and fluttered away from the wide open space of the workshop into a dark alcove. Shiftily she looked left and right again, looking like a magpie that was trying to conceal a snack.

    ¡°Anything,¡± she whispered rapidly, leaving no pauses between words. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you anything and everything I know. I¡¯m just a tier five Artificer, so I don¡¯t know much, but I¡¯ll share. I promise. Just¡­ tell me what you are. One clue. Tiniest, smallest clue. Allow me to understand you!¡±

    A yellow eye filled the entire orb staring at me with an unnerving intensity.

    ¡°What exactly do you know about the North?¡± I probed.

    ¡°The North is... not well understood by us Arcanicx,¡± the eye retreated, the view now featuring Mooni huddled in the alcove, black and white feathers wrapped around the orb. ¡°It is a dangerous place and only brave or stupid Felixes go there.¡±

    ¡°Like Cali,¡± I commented.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mooni sighed. ¡°Like my dummy... Cali. Can you show me her body? Do you have her body?¡±

    I picked the orb from its spot on the shelf and opened the barrel with Cali¡¯s corpse.

    Yellow eyes flashed at Cali¡¯s body and then back to me.

    ¡°What¡­¡± Moonalia whisper-choked. ¡°By the all-uncovering Mundus, that¡¯s not¡­ Could you bring her hand to the orb, please?¡±

    I grabbed Cali¡¯s pale, cold hand from the life-water barrel and made it touch the glass orb.

    The yellow eyes of the Corvix blinked, her expression confused, then thoughtful, then confused again.

    ¡°Well?¡± I asked. ¡°What can you tell from your end?¡±

    The Corvix fluttered slightly as she processed what she was seeing. "This is... extraordinary," she breathed, tapping her talons. "According to my readings, Cali is both dead and alive at the same time. Her body shows no signs of life, her heart is missing and her blood isn¡¯t moving at all¡­ yet there''s a faint magical signature still present, radiating, breathing magic out. It''s as if her soul is being preserved somehow, suspended in her body. How is this possible? Why didn¡¯t she sink into the Astral Ocean yet?¡±

    ¡°Sink to where?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Straight¡­ to her Divine Beast, uh, Goldara,¡± Mooni replied. ¡°The anchor of all Felix Arcanicx. Oh.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what?¡± I demanded.

    ¡°If her soul reached Goldara, then we¡¯d know that she was dead,¡± Moonalia stuttered out a rapid conclusion. ¡°If we knew that she was dead, a hunter team would already be on their way to enact vengeance.¡±

    ¡°Vengeance?¡± I asked. ¡°What kind of vengeance?¡±

    ¡°A most brutal kind,¡± the Corvix replied. ¡°Very little talking. Lots of punching and slapping out of existence. Depending on the level of threat assessment, it¡¯d be anywhere from ten to thirty flying Champions. The more the target resists, the more Champions are sent. I don¡¯t participate in these things. I mean, she¡¯s a freaking Liesl! Her family would pay a barrel of gold to dispose of whomever killed her. Nobody unmakes a Liesl and gets away with it.¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Mooni waved her hands, losing spaces between words again. ¡°Don¡¯t want gold! Only want secrets of magic! Only want to take things apart, unravel how things work! Don¡¯t seek vengeance, especially if you saved her, preserved her somehow!"

    ¡°Cali told me that a Star-Eater hurt her,¡± I said.

    ¡°The Liesl Prima-Mother probably buried that Eater under a mountain and then unburied him and sliced him phalanx by phalanx¡± Moonalia shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just how things go. Anyone who hurts a Felix Seeker is eventually found and unmade. Sometimes we get to pick through the bones. Nasty business that¡­ usually not very much left to dissect.¡±

    ¡°Really wish they¡¯d dealt with¡­ George,¡± I sighed. ¡°That¡¯d be one less problem for me.¡±

    ¡°George?¡± Moonalia blinked.

    ¡°George¡¯s man¡­ Bob was the one who punched right through Cali,¡± I revealed. ¡°Crushed her heart right in front of my eyes.¡±

    ¡°George is a Northern Sorceress and Bob is her champion, yes?¡± The Corvix guessed.

    I nodded.

    ¡°George has at least seven flying men,¡± I said. ¡°And a lot of unkillable¡­ flesh beasts. Hundreds. Maybe thousands.¡±

    Moonalia¡¯s eyes went wide, talons tapping like mad as the gears of understanding spun in her head.

    ¡°Poor lovely gem,¡± she said, yellow eyes staring at me with increasingly deep focus. ¡°All alone against the world¡­ all the way North, beset by monstrous enemies. I¡¯d give anything just to touch you¡­¡±

    I felt a twinge of growing unease at her assessment of my situation, accurate though it was.

    ¡°No, bad corvi, no touching shiny without permission!¡± Mooni slapped herself again, rapidly stuttering. ¡°Sorry! Bad answer! Bad answer! Didn¡¯t mean it!¡±

    I squinted at her.

    Hypothesis: Moonalia constantly dissected her own behavior to optimize it based on my expressions.

    ¡°You have allies, yes?¡± She asked, yellow eyes sparkling. ¡°Other northern beings¡­ like that kitten, yes?¡±

    I nodded warily.

    The Corvix leaned closer to the orb, her feathers fluttering with excitement. "Are they as unique as you?"

    "Yes," I said carefully, trying not to think about Teya¡¯s condition.

    ¡°Is one of them hurt?¡± the Corvix guessed somehow. ¡°Badly hurt. Worrying you lots. Maybe dying? Like Cali, but not Cali. You want to save Cali too¡­ or you wouldn¡¯t keep her in that barrel, right? But, you don¡¯t want to help Cali¡­ not as much as whomever else.¡±

    I squinted at the stuttering, fluttering magpie-girl.

    Damn it, how was she doing this? Did her brain have some kind of an innate lie detector in it, a magical extrapolator that pulled answers from my micro-expressions and brief answers?

    Moonalia''s eyes flashed again. "They¡¯re dying, right? How fascinating! Uhh¡­ no, no¡­ Bad comment! I mean, terrible, of course. But perhaps I could help? If¡­ if you just let me meet you. Pretty please? I¡¯ll be nice¡­ extra, super, duper nice. No touchy. No cutting. Only¡­ looking. Only talking! Please?¡±

 69 Teamwork Archetype

    ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you.¡±

    ¡°Trust,¡± Mooni tapped her beak. ¡°Trust can be bought and sold, traded and earned. Trust can be won. Trust like friendship, like any relationship archetype, is transactional. What do you want to know? What do you wish me to tell you for the acquisition of your trust?¡±

    I raised the crystal snowflake to the orb.

    ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±

    ¡°Tap the orb with it,¡± she said.

    I did.

    The Corvix¡¯s yellow eyes grew wide.

    ¡°Astra Corvus!¡± She exhaled. ¡°That¡­ that reads like a primogenitor artifact of the Builders! The purest strata, at least one hundred thousand years old!¡±

    I noticed she was drooling again.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry!¡± Moonalia fished a silk white and gold thread cloth out of her pocket and wiped her face. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. Why do you keep increasing in value? You¡¯re driving me crazy! Just when I assess your value I have to up it again! Ughhh.¡±

    I watched as Moonalia composed herself, her feathers slowly smoothing back down.

    "What exactly is a primogenitor artifact?" I asked.

    "Incredibly rare and powerful objects, created by the original inhabitants of this world - the ones who came before us. Sort of like Endalaus! Endalaus is defined as the primogenitor artifact zero, the beating heart of all magic on Thornwild!¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh. And how does one use a primogenitor artifact?¡± I pressed, a bit of hope blossoming in my heart. "How do I turn this thing on?"

    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Moonalia shook her head. ¡°On the account that nobody in their right mind would let a tier five Artificer touch one. I would cut off my arm¡­ no, arms to touch this. Legs too. Just leave me my beak. Please. Just one peck. That¡¯s all I want in life.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Oh, wrong answer,¡± Mooni backtracked quickly with more machine gun stuttering. ¡°Not actually cutting self. Didn¡¯t mean like that, only a turn of phrase! Value. Incredible value. Greatest dream. Solution to many problems! Key to a door of greater knowledge beyond the stars! Door that leads to doors! To endlessness!¡±

    I squinted at her, waiting for her to slow down.

    ¡°Am I being annoying?¡± She asked. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll try to stay on track, slow down. Don¡¯t know how to use Builder artifact, but might figure it out in person. Maybe. Can¡¯t guarantee success. Can¡¯t lie. Hi kitten. I see you. I''m not lying! Look at my honest face!¡±

    She waved a ring-covered hand at Stormy, yellow eye zooming in on the kitten.

    ¡°Mrrwrl,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°I am marveling!¡± Mooni¡¯s gold eyes became even bigger in the orb¡¯s fish-eye view. ¡°Marveling and cherishing. You¡¯re the cleverest kitten I¡¯ve met, not that I¡¯ve met many four-legged kittens¡­ but still. I supposed you¡¯re sort of like my Felix Masters. Listen, I¡¯ll do anything, I¡¯ll bring you anything that I can afford on my tier five salary. I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Hooorrrnnsssttt-rrrreee,¡± Stormy let out a low, deep growl.

    ¡°No, no, no bad thoughts!¡± Mooni slapped herself. ¡°Extra honest now. Extra hard quadratic honestly. Yes! Just as you desire, your grace!¡±

    I frowned at the increasingly stuttering and fluttering Corvix, not sure if Stormy was breaking her somehow.

    ¡°If it was just you, your feline excellence and your gem servant, that would be one story. The wrong kind of story, the kind where I eventually betray you when it''s convenient after I¡¯ve wrung everything of value from you¡­¡± the crow-girl stammered. ¡°But. But. This. This is real, right? Primo-Builder stuff? It has to be. You know that it is. I know that it is.¡±

    I looked between the kitten and the bird-person.

    ¡°Surrnn-brrreeeam,¡± Stormy said.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes,¡± Mooni nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll find it for you. The sunniest, beamiest, perfectest¡­ place on Thornwild. Promise, promise. Cross my raven heart.¡±

    She crossed her steel-encrusted talons in a large X across her chest.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Stormy began to purr.

    ¡°Deal, deal, deal!¡± the Corvix clapped.

    "What?" I blinked, looking between Stormy and Moonalia. "What deal?"

    Mooni¡¯s eyes were wide with exuberant excitement.

    "Your owner and I have come to an understanding! I''ll help her find the perfect sunbeam spot on all of Thornwild in exchange for meeting you in person."

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "And how exactly do you plan to find this... perfect sunbeam?"

    Moonalia''s feathers ruffled with enthusiasm. "Oh, that''s the easy part! We Corvix have extensive maps and data on Thornwild''s geography and climate. I can cross-reference that with solar patterns and..."

    She continued on, rapidly explaining a complex process involving magical instruments and calculations. I barely understood half of it, but Stormy seemed satisfied.

    "And in exchange for this... sunbeam location," I said slowly, "you want to meet me in person?"

    "Yes!" Moonalia nodded vigorously. "Just to observe, of course. No touching, no dissecting. I promise!"

    I glanced at Stormy again, who was still purring contentedly.

    ¡°My¡­ owner?¡± I arched an eyebrow.

    ¡°Well, uh, uhm,¡± Mooni stammered. ¡°You certainly don¡¯t see it this way, but your feline Seeker of Knowledge does. This is fairly typical archetype behavior. Sorry, sorry! I¡¯m trying to match both of you and it¡¯s hard to be honest, when there are two truths, two points of view.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    "You and your cat are a team, no? She¡¯s the seeker of sunbeams and you¡¯re the Understanding that helps you get there! Like me and Cali! See, once knowledge or a tool is found someone has to understand it. That''s us. You and me, right? Right!"

    ¡°Hrm,¡± I rubbed my chin.

    ¡°Among us Corvix, there''s a theory that we aren''t really... sentient in the way that mundane humans are. That we''re tools that dissect other tools, knowledge that unravels knowledge. That our personal desires have been bred out of us over generations. So following the lead of a feline doesn''t seem strange to me at all. You''ve been following her guidance, haven''t you? Making decisions based on her input? Usually I follow whatever Callista does¡­ did. Uhhh. Yes. She brings me stuff, I understand it. We¡¯re a team. Were. Before she expired. I should really be reassigned to someone else, now that I think about it.¡±

    ¡°Mroooo,¡± Stormy commented.

    ¡°Right,¡± Mooni nodded, tapping her talons together. ¡°Not expired. Dead and alive. Sleeping? Not sleeping. An unexpected new variable. Where can I meet you? I really need to meet you so as not to get derailed by some other feline¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°How do you know where we are?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°Farcast orb Astral triangulation,¡± Mooni replied.

    ¡°Follow the orb then,¡± I said. ¡°Meet me wherever it ends up. Also, bring something that will help you swim under the North Sea. How long will it take you to get to where I am now?¡±

    ¡°Depends on how lucky I get on Champion rental,¡± Moonalia sighed. ¡°Ten days minimum¡­ maybe two weeks.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± I sighed. ¡°See you then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll voicecast you again when I¡¯ve completed the sunbeam location mapping, diving artifact and flying Champion acquisition quests, yes?¡± The Corvix fluttered.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I nodded.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you, thank you,¡± the bird-girl stuttered out and the Fascast orb dimmed, her image vanishing.

    I turned to Stormy, my mind reeling from the conversation with a crow-person. The kitten sat there, looking far too pleased with herself.

    "So," I began, trying to keep my voice level, "you''re my owner, are you?"

    Stormy just blinked at me, her tail swishing lazily.

    "Mrrr," she replied, which probably meant "Of course".

    I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Look, Stormy, we need to talk about this. About our... roles. I''ve been following your lead because I thought you had some kind of future-seeing ability that was guiding us all to staying alive. But now that there¡¯s just you and me left I''m starting to wonder if I''ve just been... what? Your servant? Your means to an end? Legs to take you to the ultimate sunbeam?"

    Stormy squinted at me and then relocated to my lap, purring loudly. I couldn¡¯t help but pet her and felt as she nuzzled into my fingers. I relocated the Codex closer to the purring kitten.

    ¡°Well? Am I important to you?¡±

    The kitten yawned and then tapped [YES].

    This confirmation made me feel marginally better.

    ¡°Are we a team?¡± I asked.

    Stormy sighed and tapped ¡®yes¡¯ again.

    "And this sunbeam - it''s important somehow? Not just for you, but for all of us?"

    Another ¡®yes¡¯.

    I frowned, trying to piece it all together. "Does this have something to do with saving Teya? Or using that crystal snowflake we took from the Gygr?"

    Stormy''s paw hovered for a moment before tapping [Maybe].

    I sighed. "You know, it would be a lot easier if you could just tell me the whole plan."

    Stormy gave me a look that seemed to express, "I just want my damn sunbeam. Lay off me.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a multi-step plan to get to the sunbeam? One that you actually understand?¡± I demanded. ¡°Do you see a specific path leading to the sunbeam, one that doesn¡¯t get everyone I meet killed in the process?¡±

    The kitten¡¯s paw slid over to ¡®no¡¯.

    ¡°So¡­ you only see the present choices that I¡¯m offering you?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you just tapping whichever answer is warmest, sunniest? Is that it?¡±

    ¡®Yes¡¯.

    I rubbed my head tiredly.

    Stormy looked up at me with an extremely weary look. ¡°I¡¯m just a scared, cold, miserable, tired, hungry, kitten. Just give me pets so I can feel better, damn it.¡± Her expression seemed to say.

    I resigned myself to petting her, warming her with my embrace. The future seemed uncertain, but at least it would be sunny¡­ someday.

 70 The Lesser of Two

    As my torch and candle supply dwindled rapidly, I found myself facing a new challenge: navigating the pitch-black, damp basalt cavern without light. At first, I stumbled and fumbled, my hands outstretched, feeling my way along the damp, cold walls. But necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

    Over the next few days, I forced myself to adapt. I listened intently to the echoes of my footsteps, the drip of water, the subtle changes in air currents. Slowly, painstakingly, I began to build a mental map of our underground sanctuary.

    Stormy, of course, had no such difficulties. Her feline eyes were perfectly adapted to the darkness, and she moved about with an ease that I envied. I focused on keeping her fed, opening jars of preserved meats from our supplies.

    When those began to run low, I knew I had to find another solution.

    Taking a deep breath, I dove into the frigid cave water, feeling my way along the rocky bottom. It took several attempts, but eventually, I managed to catch a few slippery, blind cave fish with my bare hands, spotting the barely visible, soft glow they emitted in the Astralscope.

    Stormy''s appreciative purrs made the effort worthwhile.

    As the days passed, I turned my attention to life cultivation.

    Using the various remotes I had crafted earlier from my gemstones, particularly ones that seemed to optimise organic growth, I began to experiment by sleeping in various areas of the cave.

    Soon, strange, luminescent fungi began to sprout, casting an eerie, pale glow throughout the cavern. Vines with leaves that shimmered like starlight crept along the walls and floors.

    It seemed that wherever I was, my witchy domain was taking advantage of the location, optimising and improving upon the local plant life.

    As I tended to my patches of various bioluminescent fungi and moss on the morning of our 6th day in the cavern, the Farcast orb lit up once more with flashing and bell sound.

    As I abandoned my fungi cultivation and went inside of the sleigh, Moonalia''s excited face appeared inside the Fastcast orb, her feathers ruffled with enthusiasm. It was bright day, wherever she was and the light of the orb lit up the sleigh¡¯s interior pretty nicely.

    I rubbed my chin. I had not considered using the Farcast orb itself as a source of light as I wasn¡¯t sure how long its charge would last.

    "Greetings, my noble feline!" Mooni chirped, spotting Stormy who was lounging next to the orb and chewing on a fresh fish. "I have the most excellent news! I''ve located the perfect, sunniest spot on all of Thornwild for your sunbathing pleasure!¡±

    Stormy perked up.

    ¡°It''s on a lovely, tropical, nameless island, tagged as Z-04-77-1 located south of the Fern Archipelago. A flying survey team of Lady Xashta spotted it from the air and briefly mapped it for future exploration that never happened as Lady Xashta was imprisoned for tax evasion.¡±

    Stormy nodded along, seemingly satisfied with an offer of her own tropical island.

    ¡°According to all of my analyses, it is an exceptionally sunny paradise, meeting all of the requirements of my lady¡­ uhh¡­¡±

    "Her name is Stormy," I interjected.

    Moonalia''s beak clicked shut for a moment before she burst into another stream of words. "Yes! My Lady Stormy! A most fitting name! It suits your excellency perfectly. Oh, I can''t wait to meet you in person and observe your unique truth-sensing skills and..."

    I cleared my throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Did you get the other quests done?¡±

    "Oh yes, yes!" Moonalia nodded vigorously. "I''ve artificed a marvelous cold-water diving suit, complete with a crystal-powered air recycling system, magically reinforced waterproof leather skin, stardust lamps and deep-pressure equalizers¡­¡±

    She continued on, far too rapidly delving into minute details about crystal lattices and stardust-controlled fluid dynamics that I could barely follow.

    As Moonalia rotated, I noticed a very large, muscular, mustached, bald man with a scowl on his face in the background, his arms crossed as he leaned against a stone arch wall. The man had an enormous wicker basket strapped to his back featuring a simple red seat cushion.

    "And who''s that?" I asked, pointing to the man.

    Moonalia glanced back. "Oh, that''s Gregor, the flying Champion I''ve secured for my journey North. Juvamshi ushai, Gregor!"

    The man grunted in response, his scowl deepening.

    "He''s not much for conversation," Moonalia explained. "Or flying fast. But, he can fly I was told, so there¡¯s that! He only reached seven hundred stars a few months ago. He''s quite cheap¡­ the best I could get using all of my savings and three loans that I had to take out from three separate Selachix agencies.¡±

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    ¡°Selachix?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Selachix Arcanicx,¡± Mooni nodded rapidly as she strapped a massive leather backpack with her things to Gregor¡¯s front. ¡°Loan sharks!¡±

    Guess even the Arcanicx have banks, loans, taxes and other misc financial systems. I thought.

    "Oh, the Selachix are fascinating creatures!¡± Moonalia interpreted my silence as an inquiry. ¡°They hail from Aquariux, but they have plenty of Aquariux-Bank and Selachix Savings and Loan Agencies through Iridium. Aquariux city mints all of the stardust-infused coin and mage-chips, which they fish from the ocean. See, ordinarily I wouldn¡¯t be able to afford a flying champion, on account of how poor I am, but the key to taking out three loans all at once lies in clever triangulation of distance between each agency, running really fast, and the time each would take to file each loan claim into the Aquariux accounting net. Technically that many loans at once is not supposed to be given out to a single Arcanicx. You know, I''ve always wanted to study a Selachix mind up close, but they''re notoriously aggressive and..."

    I noticed Gregor''s scowl deepening as Moonalia''s chatter continued unabated. The muscular man shifted uncomfortably as Mooni hung more bags on him.

    "Mooni," I interrupted, "is Gregor listening to all of this? Should you be ranting about your bank loan machinations around him?¡±

    She blinked, seeming to remember her surroundings. "Oh! No, no. You and I are speaking Nordstaii, see? Gregor is a simple boy who only knows enough Castian to follow basic commands from me or his Sky-Line Agency Mistresses. This is your new, temporary Master, Fly here, land there, that sort of thing. He can''t understand a word we''re saying. Also, we¡¯re at one of the old, unmaintained takeoff towers, ain''t nobody here. I sure as hell can¡¯t afford the takeoff breakfast of Champions.¡±

    The Corvix waved a feathered hand at the arched windows behind her. The top of the tower they were occupying was indeed looking a bit decrepit. I nodded, feeling relieved that our conversation wasn''t being overheard.

    "Speaking of communication, how long can this Farcast orb stay on? I''ve been worried about using it too much and draining its power,¡± I said.

    ¡°Ah, ah! That! Yes! Forever!" she exclaimed, gold eyes flashing with exuberant excitement. "Well, theoretically. I designed it myself for Cali with a super-stable matrix packed with stardust. It draws energy from the Astral itself, you see, chomps on any Astral fungi nearby. The crystalline structure is arranged in a dodecahedral pattern that maximizes energy absorption while minimizing..."

    ¡°Keep it on then,¡± I said in a tiny pause in her explanatory rant.

    ¡°Oh, oh!¡± Mooni clinked her steel-covered talons. ¡°You like listening to me that much? My other friends don¡¯t like listening to me. Cali purposefully optimized the calls between us to ¡®once a month base report¡¯, on the account that my talking sometimes gives her a migraine.¡±

    Stormy squinted at Mooni.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, that¡¯s a lie!¡± Mooni backtracked. ¡°Lies aren¡¯t allowed. My bad! Not sometimes. Most times. All the time. Whenever we hang out she tends to smack me upside the head because I don¡¯t shut up otherwise. Is it normal for best friends to smack each other while berating the lesser with harsh words? Now that I think about it, I probably don¡¯t have any friends. This fact would be incredibly depressing if I hadn¡¯t found the most valuable man-gem in the universe.¡±

    The Corvix finished securing all of her things to Gregor and yelled something in his ear in Castian. The man nodded and spread his arms wide as Mooni jumped into the basket behind him. With a sudden burst of energy, blood-red wings erupted from his hands, unfurling to an impressive span.

    Moonalia yelped in surprise as Gregor took off, the force of his ascent nearly knocking her off her red cushion. She clung to the wicker handholds with her talons, trembling as Gregor rose higher and higher into the sky.

    ¡°Eep,¡± Mooni whimpered, covering her face with her black and white feathers. ¡°I¡¯m sweating and shaking. Higher order Corvix, like some others, are permitted to glide freely across the skies. They make it look so easy, so effortless. But me?" She paused, her eyes darting to the vast, open sky and then quickly away, as if the very sight was enough to ignite her nerves. "I don¡¯t get out enough, I suppose."

    I watched through the orb as Mooni and Gregor soared away from the crumbling tower, Iridium''s sprawling cityscape shrinking beneath, the view somewhat blocked by black and white feathers.

    ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry,¡± Mooni rapidly tapped her beak with her talons. ¡°Just give me a moment. I am defining my¡­ uhm, Aviophobia to cut it away from the forefront of my thoughts. Almost¡­ almost¡­ there.¡±

    She suddenly straightened up and raised the orb up above the basket, still wincing and trembling ever so slightly.

    "See how from the distance the city looks like a giant star? Corvix Architect Lidia Calvira, my great, great, great, great aunt was one of the Coven of Architects who designed the magical fortifications so that the walls could withstand even the strongest wildling Champion attacks. The raised star is actually a supermassive hexagram, being fed blood from the five Great Coliseums in each corner. This way, the strength of the walls and fortifications is perpetually reinforced with spilled blood of our Champions¡­ Oh, isn¡¯t it magnificent! Look at those spires! And there, at the edge of the Castian Sea, is the Aquariux district - see how the blue canals glitter? Those white dots down there are transit ships moving constantly between the Ring Cities! Oh, and over there, that''s where I live - the Corvix Assembly Nest. Well, where I used to live, I suppose, since I''ve sort of bet everything on this trip¡­¡±

    It was clear that she was still quite nervous, but was somehow mentally adjusting herself to fight the fear of being flown on a man¡¯s back in a rickety basket filled with far too many holes. As she rambled on, I couldn''t help but feel a touch of sympathy for the Corvix. Despite her incessant chatter and questionable ethics, there was something endearing about her unbridled enthusiasm of trying to tell me as much as possible about everything.

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter, right?¡± Mooni twinkled. ¡°Cus I¡¯m going to touch a shiny rock pe¡­ err¡­ er¡­ shiny Builder Artifact! Yes.¡±

    Her excitement at the prospect of meeting me seemed born out of a deep loneliness as much as scientific curiosity. I wondered how much allegiance this Corvix actually held to her Felix Arcanicx Masters.

    "You know, Ioan," she continued, yellow eyes examining my expression, "I''ve never actually left Iridium before. Corvix aren''t really supposed to, uh, leave¡­ you see. We''re meant to stay in our workshops nests, tinkering away at whatever we¡¯re told to tinker with. But I''ve always wondered what''s out there, beyond the city¡¯s great towers and walls. Some nights, I used to sneak up to the highest towers just to catch a glimpse of the horizon, dreaming about what it would be like to fly. When Cali was in a good mood or had to file a report, she¡¯d tell me stories of her grand adventures, of many shiny things she found and got to touch¡­ and I''d imagine what it would be like to see those places for myself, to be just a bit more¡­ like her and less like me.¡±

 71 Foundation

    "No, no, don''t feel pity for me, shiny gem,¡± Moonalia dissected my expression. ¡°I might not be as free or as sentient as Cali, but I''m she-who-understands whatever is needed to be understood. I understand my place in the world and I also understand that..."

    Moonalia''s words trailed off as she stared into the distance, her eyes unfocused. For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of something deeper, more complex than the bubbly, chatter-prone Corvix I''d been talking to. But then she blinked, and it was gone.

    "I understand that knowledge is power," she continued, "And that''s why I''m willing to risk everything for this chance to meet you, to study you. Because you, the unliving-living gem and your feline owner, are unlike anything I''ve ever encountered before. Unlike anything that any Corvix Arcanix has encountered anywhere on Thornwild. You''re a mystery, a puzzle, and solving you could change... so much of everything."

    I felt a chill run down my spine at her words. The way she spoke of me, as if I were some sort of prize to be won or problem to be solved. I momentarily wondered if Moonalia would have to die after she helped me dissect the Builder Artifact stolen from the Gygr¡¯s bog. If a Jotun or Bobliss would slap her out of existence as Stormy led us towards her absurd sunbeam goal.

    Yellow-gold eyes squinted at me. Mooni gulped, black and white feathers fluttering as Gregor flew through the lower level of clouds.

    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t like that look,¡± she said, tapping her talons with obvious distress. ¡°Not at all. I don¡¯t want to be unmade. I don¡¯t want to be suspended in a barrel like my Seeker.¡±

    Hrm. I frowned. Had I been that transparent in my thoughts? Or was her ability to read expressions truly that keen?

    "I''m not planning on unmaking you," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just... I need you to understand that I''m not some artifact to be studied or taken apart.¡±

    ¡°Studying everything is what I do,¡± the Corvix replied, bobbing and shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s what I was bred for, my Astragenical alignment. It¡¯s the one personal parameter I cannot modify within my brain, enforced within every fraction of my Geist by the Astragenic Automata of Cantigeist Raven Mundus. I can somewhat choose how I go about it, but the desire to understand, to take apart and analyze everything I encounter - that''s fundamental to who I am.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I nodded. The ship of our conversation was gradually making its way into dangerous territory. ¡°But does your desire to study things exceed your allegiance to the Arcanicx Ring Colonies?¡±

    ¡°Erm, uh,¡± Mooni tapped her talons. ¡°Yes. Colonies. An apt word for the castle specialization range of the Arcanicx. Yes. I must serve the nest as the disassembler of knowledge. Oh, oh¡­¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°I understand the implications,¡± Her face fell. ¡°I can''t go back to Iridium with what I learn, can I?"

    ¡°No, you cannot,¡± I said, lifting the black snowflake to the Farcast orb and making it spin on the ferronite chain, black edges glinting in the light of the orb. ¡°This knowledge has a steep price. Are you willing to pay for it? Are you¡­ willing to edit your allegiance to the colony, to the nest, to everyone... to learn what this does? To learn what I am?¡±

    I made the Builder Artifact swing left and right on its chain, yellow eyes of the Corvix following it.

    ¡°Because if you¡¯re not, you should ask Gregor to turn around, to go back to your nest hideaway, to forget that we ever spoke. I¡¯ll drown the orb in the North Sea, and you will never¡­¡±

    ¡°Open the door to eternity,¡± Mooni stammered out, her entire body trembling. ¡°Never reach infinity.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t what I was going to say at all, but it seemed fitting somehow.

    Mooni stared at the spinning snowflake, her eyes wide and unblinking. I could almost see the gears turning in her mind, the internal struggle playing out across her features. Her beak opened and closed several times, no sound coming out.

    Finally, she took a deep breath, her feathers ruffling. "I... I choose knowledge," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I choose understanding. I choose... to... to create a new colony!"

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked.

    "To create a new colony!¡± The Corvix repeated. ¡°Every nest had to start somewhere, right?¡±

    Moonalia''s words hung in the air, her eyes wide. The snowflake continued to spin on its chain, reflecting in her golden irises.

    "Yes, that''s it," she repeated, her voice gaining strength as she tapped a staccato of talon and steel taps into her beak and head. "A new foundation, a new dot on the map. Led by¡­ her feline excellence, Lady Stormy. Wait. Do... do you have a Cantigeist?¡±

    Stormy shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is,¡± I said.

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    ¡°Great! That¡¯s great!¡± Moonalia fluttered. ¡°I¡¯ll build you one. Myself. Yes. Myself. Just little old me. He he he. A tier five artificer obviously won''t be permitted to make a Cantigeist, but these tiers didn¡¯t always exist did they? There was a time before tiers and labels, a time when my progenitor created the first Cantigeist from the Wormwood Star shard she found! If she did it, then so can I!¡±

    The steel rings tapped against each other faster. I suddenly understood.

    There were shards of Wormwood Star in those rings and they were editing Moonalia¡¯s mind, somehow rewriting her ¡®rules of self¡¯, one thought at a time.

    ¡°Yes. Yes. Correct,¡± Mooni nodded, tapping her forehead faster and faster. ¡°Rewriting self. Faster than thought. Faster than I can think of the rules. The rules don¡¯t matter. Dissasembly of knowledge is manifest destiny, primary purpose.¡±

    ¡°Mrrrr,¡± Stormy commented.

    "The island of sunshine... it''s not just a sunbathing spot, is it? It''s the beginning of something new. Something... revolutionary." Mooni paused, her feathers ruffling. "A Corvix Nest? My duties, my allegiances¡­ new duties, new allegiances. An allegiance to Lady Stormy, to create a new nest to raise new children. Work. Lots of work. Alignment to the Ring of Castia. Treaties. Trade of information. Not right now, but in the future. Eventually! Not now! Not tomorrow! When the new island colony rises! Yes. Obviously. YES!¡±

    Her pupils grew smaller and then bigger, wider, almost swallowing the rings of yellow irises.

    I remained silent, letting her work through her rationalizations. It was fascinating to watch her mind at work, dissecting her own loyalties piece by piece.

    "Knowledge is the highest duty," she continued, her words coming faster now. "And this... this Builder artifact, this mystery you represent... it''s the key to understanding so much more than I ever could within the confines of Iridium. Oblate personal tier. Personal tier aligns with access to artifacts. Think backwards. She who holds the highest artifact is the highest tier of Artificer. Yes. One hundred thousand years. Highest tier possible. Eeeeee!¡±

    She squealed like a schoolgirl at a concert and glanced down at the clouds below, then back to the orb. "The Castian Ring... behind. New colony ahead. New dot on the map.¡±

    I squinted at her.

    Moonalia''s talons tapped against her forehead as she spoke, her entire body seeming to vibrate with nervous energy. "I mean, think about it. Lady Stormy, in her infinite feline wisdom, has chosen this spot. This perfect, sunniest island¡­ where your plants, not plants, can thrive and multiply." Yellow eyes focused on the glowing moss behind me. "It''s not just a place to bask in the warmth... it''s a place to start anew. To build something different. Something outside of the current boundary of thought. Something that will help everyone someday. Not right now, someday. When it''s ready."

    She looked directly into the orb, her eyes locking with mine. "A place where knowledge isn''t hoarded, but shared. Where understanding isn''t just a tool for control, but a path to... to something greater. Where the chain of the doomed future is broken.¡±

    I could see her struggling with each word, each concept that she fished from some unknowable depth. It was as if she was rewriting her own programming in real-time, fighting against ingrained loyalties and beliefs.

    "A new colony. A new foundation. A new... me, as its Corvix Primogenitor. One who serves the pursuit of knowledge above all else. One who follows the guidance of Lady Stormy."

    I watched as Moonalia''s expression shifted from uncertainty to determination.

    ¡°I have chosen,¡± she said softly, blinking tears from her eyes, the tapping of talons and rings ceasing. ¡°I have understood your offer. I accept the position of Corvix Primogenitor of Sunshine Colony.¡±

    I sputtered mentally. Did she just come up with a lofty position for herself and accepted it?

    I couldn''t help but wonder about the implications of Corvix mental malleability.

    Was Moonalia truly making her own choice, or was she simply following her core programming to pursue knowledge at any cost? And if her loyalties could shift so quickly, how reliable would her new allegiance to us truly be?

    On the other hand, her enthusiasm and willingness to break away from everything she knew seemed genuine, at least as far as Stormy judged it. There was a raw honesty of sorts in her desire to understand, to learn, to be part of something new. It reminded me of my own journey since waking up in this strange world - constantly adapting, learning, and reshaping my understanding of reality.

    The idea of starting a new Arcanicx colony with Stormy at its head was an intriguing thought.

    Intriguing and incredibly risky.

    Moonalia''s knowledge of Iridium''s inner workings and technology could be invaluable, but it also made her a target. If the Arcanicx discovered her defection, they might stop at nothing to reclaim her.

    Was I taking advantage of her malleable programming? Or was I offering her a genuine chance at freedom and self-determination?

    As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I glanced at Stormy, who was watching the exchange with keen interest. Her paw remained firmly on [YES] in the Codex, seemingly approving of this new direction.

    I took a deep breath, realizing that we were at a crossroads of sorts. Accepting Moonalia''s offer could open up new possibilities, new knowledge, and potentially new allies. But it also meant taking on the entire Arcanicx Ring that might oppose the foundation of a colony led by a witch¡¯s familiar.

    What the hell were we even planning to make there? A catocracy? A¡­ Catriarchy?

    "Alright, Moonalia," I said finally, meeting her eager gaze through the orb. "I accept your choice. But understand this¨Cthe path ahead won''t be easy.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Yes,¡± the magpie-girl nodded. ¡°Absolutely not easy. Never easy! Probability of success is incredibly low¡­ but¡­. But, if it works, if the Cantigeist is made correctly, bound to a place, the island named by a Felix, reinforced and claimed for the Ring of Castia, then the rest of the Ring Cities won¡¯t simply be able to punch us out of existence with their Champions, would have to do things¡­ the very much harder, slower, legal way. An impossible chance, one out of a million, but a chance I¡¯m willing to take¡­ not for myself, but for Cali.¡±

    ¡°For Cali?¡± I asked, surprised by Mooni¡¯s turn in logic. ¡°Is she your best friend or not?¡±

    ¡°She¡­ she is,¡± Mooni nipped one of her talons with her beak. ¡°Cali is¡­ selfish and wrong and never bothered to understand me. I¡¯ll make her understand me. I¡¯ll help bring that dummy back and make her¡­ like me. That¡¯s what I want. Yes. I want her to like me as much as I like her. I want her to see me as an equal and not as someone to be smacked and berated for the way that I am!¡±

 72 The Barren Isle

    I emerged from the icy waters of the North Sea, gasping as the frigid air hit my skin.

    Pulling myself onto the rocky shore, I shook myself to get the water out of my armor and hair and took a moment to catch my breath and survey my surroundings. A barren island rose before me, a stark silhouette against the stormy sky.

    Massive hexagonal basalt columns stretched upwards, reminiscent of the Giant''s Causeway from Earth. The wind howled around me, carrying the scent of salt and ice.

    In the distance, I could see the looming glacier wall.

    As I began to climb the slippery rocks, I couldn''t help but consider the desolate beauty of this place. The island seemed almost entirely untouched by life, stripped bare by the cold. But I knew better - even in this harsh environment, life would find a way to cling on.

    Reaching the top of the cliff, I scanned the barren landscape. The storm clouds above cast everything in a gloomy light, making it difficult to see far.

    I set to work, using the light of the Farcast orb, scraping off whatever meager signs of life I could find - lichen clinging to rocks, hardy moss in the crevices that had managed to take root in this unforgiving terrain. Every scrap of organic material was precious; could be the key to expanding my domain in our underwater hideaway.

    As I worked, my mind wandered to Teya, still trapped in her cracked megalith back in the cave. Would Moonalia be able to help her? Could the Corvix figure out how to use the snowflake, because I sure as hell tried lots of things already with no results to show.

    As I scraped lichen from a particularly stubborn rock, Moonalia''s voice chirped through the Farcast orb.

    "Ooh, what''s that? Are you collecting samples? Fascinating! Is that some kind of extremophilic lichen? The pigmentation suggests it might have unique adaptations to the harsh Arctic environment. Oh! And look at how you''re using that tool - what kind of metal is that? The ergonomics seem quite efficient for prolonged use in cold conditions and it seems to be impervious to damage. Is it some kind of magic-augmented metal? It seems to have the properties of magisteel and yet it doesn¡¯t look like it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s magisteel?¡± I asked her, focusing on her voice to keep myself from succumbing to despair about Teya¡¯s condition.

    ¡°Magisteel is metal infused with Champion blood and stardust gathered by Calamarix divers from the depths of the Castian Sea,¡± Mooni staccatoed. Her rapid-fire explanation of magisteel''s properties, invention of it by one of her ancestors and its manufacturing process filled the next few minutes as I continued to gather samples.

    ¡°See?¡± She tapped the steel rings on her talons. ¡°Comet shards encased in magisteel!¡±

    Then she tapped steampunk-looking bits hanging all over her body explaining how they were various tools that aided her in her work as Artificer. Her tapping concluded with her pointing at the magnifying lens hanging above her right eye. ¡°Stellarglass SidusLens! Helps me see Aetheric Flux and Geist!¡±

    ¡°What is a Geist exactly?¡± I asked.

    "Geist are basically the souls of Arcanicx and Champions," she began enthusiastically. "They''re the essence of our being, the core of our magical potential. Everything alive has a Geist, unique to them!"

    ¡°What does a Geist look like?¡± I asked.

    ¡°One moment!¡± Mooni fished a book out of her bag and flipped open a page. Then she quickly sketched what looked like a brittle star. ¡°This is a humanoid-Geist. See these dots on the edges? Each dot is¡­ Geistgrain.¡±

    ¡°Geistgrain?¡± I repeated. ¡°Where would you find one in an Arcanicx?¡±

    ¡°In Arcanicx Geistgrain is located outside of our bodies,¡± Mooni tapped a talon all over her magisteel tools. ¡°All of the Geistgrain aligned to me lives in these tools.¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± I nodded, wondering about the males.

    ¡°In Mas-Heroix aka Champions,¡± Moonalia caught on, sketching out a donut-shaped blood cell. "Positively-charged Geistgrain exists in the center of each of their blood cells, surrounded by negatively-charged Geistgrain donut pattern. The correlation between the P-Geistgrain and N-Geistgrain creates a magical current within each blood cell which endlessly repairs and reinforces a Champion¡¯s blood!¡±

    I opened my mouth.

    The Corvix sketched out another blood cell. ¡°Femi-Arcanicx like myself only have N-Geistgrain in our blood. It constantly pushes negatively-charged magic from our bodies from the Astral towards our positively-charged magisteel tools!¡±

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    She stared at me then, drooling ever so slightly.

    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯d really like to look at your insides with my SidusLens,¡± she clicked her rings nervously. ¡°I bet it¡¯ll help me understand how to make more gem people. My current extrapolation is that you¡¯re a crystal automata made entirely from N-Geistgrain, animated by Lady Stormy who has a lot of P-Geistgrain either in her body or in an large artifact linked to your body. The¡­¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°No cutting, I promised!¡± Mooni bobbed her head up and down making a cross with her talons. ¡°Maybe you could just snip a single hair off for me? That should be enough for me to determine why you¡¯re not warping the local Aetheric density! Maybe the Flux wave between your body and P-Geistgrain in Lady Stormy¡¯s possession is simply so wide that the basic Identify scan simply can¡¯t detect it. That would account for¡­¡±

    The Corvix descended into rapid gibberish Castian.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry!¡± She bobbed, drawing her head in. ¡°You probably don¡¯t understand any of that! I do tend to chatter on and on! This is about the time when Cali would normally smack me really hard to shut me up or yell at me.¡±

    ¡°Does the Builder artifact have a Geist too then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°The Builder artifact has a Cantigeist!¡± Mooni clicked her talons excitedly. ¡°A really potent one. Made entirely from S-Geistgrain!¡±

    ¡°S-Geistgrain?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Super stable strata,¡± Mooni nodded. ¡°Magically inert.¡±

    ¡°Like me?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ no,¡± the Corvix shook her head. ¡°Magic can go through you, that means you¡¯re made from N-Geistgrain. S-Geistgrain bounces magic right off itself. Flux waves either bounce off or stop at its edge. The older it is, the more magic simply halts around it. That snowflake of yours, it¡¯s totally impervious to magic. Means, it''s the most expensive, highest tier of stable strata. We call that¡­ Immovable metal!¡± Mooni whispered the last word with reverence.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said. ¡°And Wormwood Shards are what?¡±

    ¡°X-Geistgrain!¡± Mooni tapped her rings. "It''s the most fascinating substance. Wormwood stardust is essentially crystallized chaos. Chaos masquerading as Order!¡±

    "How exactly does it work?" I asked.

    Moonalia''s eyes lit up at the question. "Ah, ah! You see, X-Geistgrain has the unique ability to absorb and store ALL magical energy, including Geist patterns from infinitely long ago. We Corvix can use our SidusLens to peer extra-deep into it, reading the patterns and using them to forge Cantigeists. It''s like... imagine a book with an infinite number of pages, and we''re the ones who learn to read its ever-shifting language, peering deeper and deeper and deeper until we find something or lose our minds. Thankfully we¡¯re not really sentient and can just restart our brains when they get too overloaded! Someone properly sentient and linear like a Felix would totally go insane from doing this sort of extra-focused work."

    "And how do you use it to create a Cantigeist?" I pressed, sensing we were getting to something important.

    "Ah, that''s where it gets really interesting!" Moonalia chirped. "We take various Cantigeist scans found within X-Geistgrain and arrange them in specific patterns, combine and fuse them to produce something coherent and useful. The trick is to create a stable matrix that can hold and channel the otherwise chaotic energy of the Wormwood Star. To build a truly powerful and helpful Cantigeist Automata, you need a very large, stable Wormwood Star shard as its foundation."

    ¡°Hrm.¡± I frowned, considering the implications. ¡°Can you build an unhelpful, dangerous Cantigeist?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Mooni¡¯s head bobbed. ¡°Totally! Many mistakes were made during the early years of Cantigeist creation. Many Artificers died horribly, got turned inside out! Very bad time.¡±

    My frown deepened.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it''s fine!¡± Moonalia clicked her rings. ¡°I¡¯m a daughter of many generations of Corvix, extra resistant to making horrible mistakes that would result in an inversion! We''ve been optimized by our Cantigeist from birth generation by generation more and more to create only super-helpful things for the Ring of Castia!¡±

    ¡°Do you trust your Cantigeist¡¯s alignment?¡± I asked, thinking back of Earth-based experiments with artificial intelligence. ¡°You¡¯re certain that Raven Mundus doesn¡¯t have some kind of a personal agenda?¡±

    ¡°Erm,¡± Moonalia bit one of her talons. ¡°It¡¯s not a one way flight! Mundus optimizes us and we optimize Mundus in turn, making sure that she¡¯s extra helpful!¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a self-reinforcing loop,¡± I said.

    ¡°Urrmm,¡± Mooni looked left and right shiftily. ¡°I guess¡­ it is. But that¡¯s not so bad, right? I mean, the Ring of Casita is stable. There¡¯s no war between the colonies. We¡¯re united in purpose. We¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°Grinding away individuality,¡± I said. ¡°Becoming more like thinking machines. You don¡¯t even define yourself as sentient.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Mooni began to tap a rapid staccato on her beak and forehead, blinking at me with yellow eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a self-optimizing Insight, one that constantly learns from everything she sees. I¡¯d need to be at a much higher tier to influence Cantigeist Mundus though. If¡­ I am permitted to forge a new Cantigeist for a new citadel, though¡­ then I could make the necessary parametric adjustments towards what you and your feline Lady would consider as ¡®Good¡¯ and avoid what you consider as ''Bad''.¡±

    "How exactly do you expect me to locate a very large Wormwood Star shard?¡± I sighed at her somewhat unnervingly uncanny robotic expression and tone.

    "Oh," Moonalia shrugged, her feathers ruffling slightly, the mask of sentience slipping back onto her face. "Fetching things from the deep ocean isn¡¯t really my area of expertise. I''m sure a capable gem like you can figure it out. You don¡¯t need to breathe, right? Right, I saw no breathing when you went underwater. Maybe you could walk underwater, beat up a leviathan, and cut it open? They get so big because they swallow big Star Shards, see?¡±

    I blinked at her, unsure if she was serious about sending me underwater to beat up a leviathan.

    ¡°Errrr, I''m not entirely sure how you''d go about it," she admitted. "But I''m certain you''ll find a way. After all, you''ve already done the impossible by being whatever marvelous thing you are and somehow locating that Builder Artifact! I have faith in your capabilities¡­ enough to sacrifice absolutely everything on a wild adventure that will most likely end with my demise. This is fine... the loss of one low tier Corvix means nothing to the Nest. The potential future benefit for the entire Ring of Castia outweighs the price of my very probable death, see? Yes? Yes."

 73 Disconnected

    The week flew by with more northern plant-life experimentation. I was able to grow some more unique mosses and flowers in my cavernous domain and jot down their properties in the Codex based on what Stormy and Mooni were approximately guessing about them.

    The luminescent blue moss I''d cultivated seemed to have mild analgesic properties when applied to skin, numbing it. A cluster of tiny white flowers that grew in the cracks between rocks produced a sweet nectar that, when consumed, heightened one''s senses for a short time. Perhaps most intriguing was a hardy fern with silvery fronds that appeared to absorb ambient magical energy.

    As I catalogued these findings, Moonalia''s excited voice chirped through the Farcast orb. "Oh, how fascinating! Those plants-not-plants seem to have adapted to channel the local magical currents in unique ways. The blue moss might be tapping into healing energies, while the white flowers could be amplifying sensory perception magic. And that fern! It sounds like it''s developed a natural capacity for magical energy storage. I wonder if we could replicate that effect artificially..."

    Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself sharing more details about the plants I''d discovered. Moonalia''s insights, though sometimes difficult to follow due to her rapid-fire delivery, often provided valuable context or sparked new ideas for experimentation.

    The days passed quickly as I continued my exploration, plant cultivation and Moonalia¡¯s mental-alignment adjustment efforts. Before I knew it, a week had elapsed, and it was time for the Corvix¡¯s arrival.

    I made my way to the surface once again, emerging from our underwater hideaway onto the barren, windswept island. The sky was overcast as always, snowflakes fluttering down.

    After what felt like hours, I finally spotted a small figure in the distance, gradually growing larger as it approached. As it drew nearer, I could make out Gregor''s muscular form, his blood-red wings spread wide as he navigated the turbulent air currents. Moonalia was perched in the basket on his back, her feathers ruffled by the wind.

    With a final sweep of blood wings, Gregor descended onto the flat basalt surface. The landing was less than graceful; the basket and bags swayed precariously, and Moonalia let out a startled squawk as she clung to the sides.

    As soon as they touched down, Moonalia scrambled out of the basket, her body wobbling slightly as she regained her land legs. Her yellow eyes darted around, taking in the stark landscape before finally settling on me.

    For a moment, she just stared, her beak slightly agape. Then, in a flurry of motion and words, she rushed towards me.

    "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Stars and claws! You''re real! You''re actually here and real and not a horrible trick, not a barbarian hunter¡¯s illusion made to trap and murder me! I mean, of course you''re real, I knew you were real, but seeing you in person is just... wow! Look at you! You''re even more fascinating up close! The way the light interacts with your form, it''s all so¡­ EEeeeeee!¡± She hopped around me like a magpie, black and white feathers fluttering madly. ¡°And your eyes! They''re so... alive and fluid! So not like a mundane gem! Oh, this is incredible! I have so many questions! Can I touch you? No, wait, I promised no touching. But maybe just a tiny poke? No, no, I''ll be good. But oh, the things we could learn! The Builder artifact! Eeeeeee! It¡¯s really real too! And Lady Stormy! Is she here? I brought treats and all of my tools! And I have so many ideas about the new colony and..."

    Her words came out in an excited, barely comprehensible rush between squeeing as she circled me endlessly, her eyes wide with overly-exuberant curiosity.

    ¡°Cshomachok!¡± Gregor said suddenly with a deep, scruffy voice.

    ¡°Right, right! Urdusami posjih secaii!¡± Moonalia hopped over to Gregor, pulling all of her bags from the oversized man. When she was finished, the muscular man simply walked to the edge of the basalt island, spread his hand-wings and shot off into the sky without even saying goodbye.

    ¡°Welp,¡± Mooni said, looking left and right and then at me. ¡°Guess this is where I live now. You do have a way of getting to the South to the island for our colony? You must¡­ right? Yes? Yes?¡±

    I simply stared at her.

    ¡°Oh,¡± she deflated. ¡°You don¡¯t. Right. That¡¯s fine. This is fine. You¡¯re real, that''s what matters. We''re going to the cave, yes? Yes.¡±

    She quickly began undressing, removing her various tool-covered belts and straps. I tried not to stare as she stripped down to her black undergarments, revealing a lithe, curvaceous form covered in downy black and white feathers.

    "Don''t mind me," Moonalia chirped, noticing my discomfort. "Corvix aren''t shy about our bodies. We''re tools, after all. Just meat and feathers wrapped around an Insight-aligned Geist."

    I averted my eyes as she rapidly slipped into the diving suit from one of her bags, a sleek contraption of leather and crystal-powered mechanisms. As I helped her adjust the straps and seal the joints, I couldn''t help but notice how light and flexible the material was, despite its apparent sturdiness.

    The suit fit her perfectly, hugging her form while still allowing for a full range of motion. Then she put a magisteel helmet atop of her head. With her beak and eyes visible through the small, clear faceplate, she looked like some strange, avian deep-sea explorer.

    Turning on the little oxygen knobs on a magisteel panel on her wrist, she showed me a heart sign with her fingers which probably meant ''ready'' in Arcanicx hand-sign dialect.

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    I nodded, taking her gloved hand in mine. Together, we descended into the icy waters of the North Sea. The cold barely registered for me, but I could feel Moonalia''s grip tighten as we submerged. Her eyes were wide behind the faceplate, darting around to take in every detail of our underwater journey.

    I guided her through the dark waters, past jagged rocks and swaying seaweed. As we swam deeper, I could see her excitement growing, even through the diving suit. Her free hand kept gesturing at various marine life and rock formations we passed, and I could imagine the torrent of unending questions and observations she was likely holding back.

    Finally, we reached the hidden entrance to our underwater sanctuary. I pulled Moonalia through the narrow opening, and we surfaced inside the vast cavern. As we climbed out of the water, I helped her remove her helmet.

    Moonalia''s beak fell open as she took in the bioluminescent plants I''d cultivated, the eerie glow casting dancing shadows on the basalt walls. Her eyes darted from the plants to the sleigh, to Stormy, who was perched regally on a nearby rock.

    "Oh my stars," she breathed, her voice echoing in the cavern. "This is... incredible! Lady Stormy, your grace, it''s an honor to finally meet you in person!"

    She bowed deeply to the kitten, who merely blinked in response.

    Then Moonalia''s gaze fell on the sleigh, and her expression shifted from awe to horror. "Oh no, oh no no no," she muttered, rushing over to examine it. "What happened to it? These crystals, they''re... why are they...?! What is this crystalline strata? It''s completely overridden the original enchantments. It''s a miracle it hasn''t exploded! Oh wait... it''s dead. Everything is dead. Fried. Obliterated. Wow. How did you two manage this?!"

    She quickly began pulling off her diving suit gloves, her fingers twitching with the need to start working. "I can fix this, I just need to-"

    "Wait," I said. "Before you start, I need you to take off your rings."

    Moonalia froze, her eyes widening as she looked at me. "My... my rings? But they''re my tools, my... my self-adjusters. Without them I won¡¯t be able to¡­¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t be able to modify your thoughts,¡± I nodded, pressing a remote to liquefy a small section of the cavern next to us. ¡°Or my thoughts. Or anyone''s thoughts.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ but,¡± Mooni stammered. ¡°If I can¡¯t be optimal, then how can I meet your requirements?!¡±

    "Mooni, I don''t want you to meet my requirements via magical augmentation,¡± I said. ¡°For once in your life, I want you to be yourself. The real you, not some optimized version that you think that Stormy or I want to see."

    She blinked at me, her beak opening and closing silently for a moment. "But... but.... They help me focus, think, help me understand. Without them, I might say the wrong thing, or make a mistake, or¡­ screw everything up catastrophically!"

    "Making mistakes is part of being... a person,¡± I said. ¡°Not just an automaton that serves some other automaton projected from a crystal."

    ¡°But I am a tool! The precipice of Geist Automation, designed to serve the Felix!¡± Mooni insisted. ¡°I can¡¯t just disconnect my¡­¡±

    ¡°If you want to touch this,¡± I tapped the snowflake on my belt. ¡°Take off the rings and bracers and whatever other bullshit is messing with your own head and drop them all right here.¡± I pointed at the liquefied ground patch.

    Mooni choked and fretted for another few seconds, then she quickly tapped her head with her talons one last time and began unscrewing the rings and magisteel claws from her fingers, exposing the bare skin underneath. Then she undressed again and did the same with shoulder, ankle and wrist rings.

    With a resigned look, she dropped the rings one by one into the liquefied earth. As each ring sank into the muck, I could see a change come over her. Her movements became less precise, her posture less rigid.

    When the last ring and bracer disappeared beneath the surface, Moonalia let out a shaky breath. "I... I feel strange," she admitted, flexing her talons. "Like I''m... fuzzy around the edges¡­ disconnected from modality. Scary. I¡¯m scared. I don¡¯t like this.¡±

    I nodded, re-solidifying the earth to trap the mind-manipulating tools within my domain, silencing their influence. "That''s normal. You''re feeling your own thoughts, unfiltered."

    ¡°What if they¡¯re scary?¡± Mooni whispered. ¡°What if I can¡¯t handle¡­ the newness of everything here? What if I am terrified and can''t do what needs to be done because I''m...¡±

    I handed her a life-water jug.

    The Corvix pulled a lens over her right eye peering at the water.

    ¡°I¡­ uh,¡± she stammered. ¡°I can¡¯t tell what this does. I was right¡­ I think. The Flux wave is too wide, much too wide. Beyond the range of the SidusLens'' observation!¡±

    ¡°It relaxed Cali,¡± I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s healing water. It¡¯ll optimize your health, fix whatever is wrong with you. You seem quite stressed and exhausted after that week-long flight, no?¡±

    Moonalia hesitantly took a sip of the healing water. Then another. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly drank more.

    "This is... remarkable," she said, her voice sounding less frantic than before. "I feel... clearer somehow. Like an invisible fog is being rapidly lifted from my mind and body."

    I watched as she took another long drink, her feathers smoothing out as the tension visibly left her body. When she finished, she looked at me with newfound clarity in her eyes and quickly pulled on her white leather coverall, zipping it up.

    ¡°May I touch?¡± She asked, staring at the snowflake on my belt.

    I nodded.

    Mooni suddenly grabbed my hand, holding onto it with her surprisingly soft fingers ending in black, sharp talons.

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°You said I can¡­¡± She squeaked.

    ¡°I thought that you meant the artifact,¡± I sighed.

    She didn¡¯t let go, simply staring at me.

    "You''re... warm," she said, her voice trembling, right eye covered with the magnifying lens coming closer to my fingers. "And soft. 77.7 degrees, the temperature of a mundane healthy male. It''s as if your entire being is made of impossibly intricate lattices, folded into the exact shape of a Nordstaii teenage male."

    Her fingers traced the lines on my palm, her brow furrowing in concentration. "There''s a pulse, but it''s a tad slow. Too steady. Too perfect. No acceleration or jittering, like arcane clockwork..."

    I watched through the Astralscope as yellow-orange feelers of her Aura caressed my hand with incredible gentleness, not influencing or trying to control like Cali''s did, but trying to understand, as if a deep ocean creature was simply reaching out to me.

    Moonalia''s gaze met mine, her eyes filled with awe. "You''re alive, but not in any way I understand. It''s as if you''re an image of a human that¡¯s constantly being rewritten, moment by moment every time you move or take a breath, by some force I can''t seem to detect, no matter how hard I try."

    She reluctantly let go of my hand, her talons flexing as if trying to hold onto the sensation. "Ioan, what are you?"

 74 Spaghettification

    I smiled at Moonalia''s direct question. "What am I? Well, that''s quite the million, do-uhm, star question, isn''t it? Maybe I''m just a very convincing statue. Let¡¯s see if you can figure it out without any clues.¡±

    ¡°Hrm, hrm.¡± Moonalia didn¡¯t seem deterred by my deflection.

    Instead, her eyes lit up with renewed curiosity, and she began darting around the cave, looking at and touching everything in sight, occasionally going down on all fours to examine everything that caught her eye.

    "Oh! These mushrooms! They''re glowing! And these vines - they''re not like any I''ve seen before!" She exclaimed, her talons gently probing the bioluminescent flora. "The way they interact with the ambient magic is fascinating! It''s as if they''re... wait, they''re growing right before my eyes! How fascinating! It appears that they¡¯re being projected into existence the same way that Subject Ioan Starfall is."

    I leaned against the cavern wall, crossing my arms.

    Moonalia barely registered my presence as she moved on to examine the sleigh. Her talons tapped rapidly against its surface, her beak clicking in concentration. "The protective Ward here is... gone. It''s like the shard has been obliterated with incredibly powerful magic and then entirely overwritten, covered in some kind of a crystalline lattice but in a way that shouldn''t be possible. How did you manage this?"

    "Oh, you know," I shrugged. "A little elbow grease, a dash of magic, and a sprinkle of ''I have no idea what I''m doing most of the time, but it seems to work.''"

    The Corvix continued her frenzied exploration, muttering to herself and occasionally letting out excited squeaks. When she reached Stormy, however, she froze.

    "Lady Stormy," she breathed, bowing deeply. "May I... may I pet you?"

    Stormy, who had been watching the proceedings with her usual air of feline superiority, gave a small "Mrrrr" of agreement.

    Moonalia''s talons gently began to stroke Stormy''s fur "Oh! Oh my! Your fur... it''s so lush and healthy! And the way your Geist resonates... it''s unlike anything I''ve ever encountered! You¡¯re the finest Seeker of Truths I¡¯ve seen! My, my! How fascinatingly curious!¡±

    I couldn''t help but smirk as Moonalia spent the next half hour utterly engrossed in petting Stormy. The kitten, for her part, seemed to be enjoying the attention, purring loudly and occasionally shooting me smug looks as she relocated onto the bird-girl¡¯s lap.

    "Having fun there, Mooni?" I asked after a while.

    Moonalia barely glanced up, endlessly tweaking with her eyepiece. "Yes. Yes! I¡¯ve never seen such a fine noble feline specimen! Your grace is a truly extraordinary hunter of knowledge."

    ¡°Is that what she does, hmm?¡± I commented.

    ¡°Oh yes!¡± Mooni nodded. ¡°She, unlike you, is quite real. Physical. Actually alive. Has the Geist of talented Divine Beast diver I think! She is¡­ is sort of like the Cantigeist of the Drallux Arcanicx, except¡­ actually alive, ha ha! The Spider Matriarch that served the Ring long ago before she was disassembled by our foremothers¡­ yes, yes! That¡¯s the best point of reference I can extrapolate here.¡±

    ¡°And is she projecting me into existence?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hrmmm¡­ I don¡¯t think so,¡± Mooni sighed. ¡°That¡¯s the workings of something else. Something I have not understood yet.¡±

    I clipped the snowflake from my belt and handed it to her.

    ¡°I think you forgot about this,¡± I said as Mooni stared at the snowflake, her mouth drooling.

    ¡°I didn''t forget about it," she said, twitching. "I just got, urm, distracted by all the other fascinating things here!"

    She twirled the snowflake this way and that, tapping it gently with her talons and peering at it through her eyepiece. After about ten minutes of intense, silent scrutiny, she handed it back to me with a shrug.

    "Yes. Thank you," she admitted. "It is very fascinating to touch."

    I frowned, feeling a wave of disappointment wash over me.

    Moonalia must have noticed my expression because she tilted her head and asked, "Were you hoping it would solve a big problem? Help someone?"

    I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I was. Back in the Gy- urh¡­ George¡¯s swamp, it created these massive black and blood red spirals. I thought that maybe..."

    "That sounds like a barbarian''s hack job of using the artifact," Moonalia interrupted, her feathers ruffling slightly. "No offense to this Sorceress George, of course. I''m sure she''s very... resourceful and whatnot."

    "Then how do we use it properly?" I demanded, frustration creeping into my voice.

    Moonalia fidgeted with her talons. "Umm. Only the highest tier of Corvix can use these artifacts properly. There should be no gross bogs or death spirals. These things operate very cleanly, I am extrapolating.¡±

    "There has to be something," I pressed. "Come on, Mooni. You''re supposed to be the expert here! How is this thing activated?"

    She was quiet for a moment, her brow furrowed in concentration and she resumed petting Stormy. Then her eyes lit up. "Language!"

    "What language?" I asked, leaning forward.

    "The language of the Celestials," Moonalia replied, bobbing her head. "The words written in the sky that nobody except for the highest tier of Corvix can read."

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    I stared at her, trying to process this new information. "Words... written in the sky?"

    Moonalia nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! They say the mountains themselves form patterns of messages left by the Builders. But only the Highest Arch-Corvix can decipher them."

    I looked down at the snowflake in my hand, then back at Moonalia. "And you think this artifact responds to just¡­ that?"

    "I think so," she said, looking glum. "But I''m afraid I can''t read or speak such myself. I''m just a lowly tier five, after all."

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°Not just language,¡± she commented thoughtfully. ¡°Blood too. You said there was a big blood spiral, right?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Who''s blood is this thing going to need? My blood?¡± I asked. ¡°Should I cut my hand and bleed on it and order it to activate or whatever?¡±

    ¡°Order it?¡± The Corvix blinked at me. ¡°Wait¡­ you know the language¡­ the Word¡­ you can speak Celestial?!¡±

    Her yellow eyes went wide, staring at me unblinkingly.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Stars and Claws, Ioan!¡± Corvix sputtered, drooling even worse and staring at me. ¡°Stop! Your value can only go up so much!¡±

    I smirked at her.

    ¡°Uhmm¡­ what were we talking about?¡± The Corvix blinked after a minute of silence. ¡°I totally spaced out trying to recalculate your immense value.¡±

    I repeated my question.

    ¡°Uhrmm¡­¡± Corvix tapped her beak with her talons. ¡°No, no. It needs more than one person.¡±

    "Huh?" I frowned, turning the snowflake over in my hand.

    Mooni¡¯s talons extended to tap at the snowflake in my hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to need more than just the blood of a single individual, I think." Moonalia''s feathers ruffled slightly as she thought. "When dealing with a Builder artifact, it responds well to more... primordial elements. Perhaps something from the land itself? A bit of the local rock, or water from the sea? From a book that I was read many years ago by a Strix¡­ a Builder tool will respond better to, uhm¡­ something that matches its age.¡±

    ¡°Matches its age?¡± I repeated. ¡°Something that¡¯s one hundred thousand years old then?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mooni nodded. ¡°A Corvix researcher from long ago was able to trick one of these artifacts by covering herself entirely in cloraclast strata that matched the age of the artifact.¡±

    ¡°And how did that go?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Urm,¡± Mooni blinked. ¡°It sorta worked¡­¡±

    ¡°Sort of?¡±

    ¡°She got inverted,¡± Mooni winced. "Fully."

    I sighed.

    Mooni tapped her head thoughtfully.

    ¡°Hold on,¡± she murmured. ¡°I¡¯m trying to remember the exact words from the book from so long ago. Yes. Right. Hrm. Yes.¡±

    Her eyes unfocused and refocused on me.

    ¡°Urm,¡± she swallowed. ¡°The only way I know how to activate this device¡­ is for a Corvix to die.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I sputtered.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mooni rubbed her feathers and clicked her talons. ¡°One Corvix has to go to the other side¡­ into¡­ forever. The other must remain and give up a piece of themselves for the anchoring.¡±

    I stared at her.

    Moonalia nodded solemnly, her usual excited chatter subdued. "Yes. The snowflake... it''s not just a tool. It''s a gateway, a bridge between our world and... infinity. The Deepest, darkest abyss of the Astral Ocean. The deepest level of the Magisphere of Desire."

    The Corvix took a deep breath. "From what I remember of that text, these artifacts require a living consciousness to manage them from the other side. One Corvix must willingly give up their physical form, allowing her entire ¡®self¡¯ to be pulled into the artifact and through to the other side. They become a sort of... anchor, a living conduit between our world and the endlessness beyond."

    "And once they''re there?" I prompted.

    "They can never return," Moonalia said softly. "They become one with the artifact, part of its very essence. Their consciousness sort of stretches across the infinite expanse of the Astral, gaining access to knowledge and power beyond our finite state. But they''re also... lost, in a way. No longer truly themselves. Or maybe truly themselves¡­ just, uhrm, spaghettified, falling into forever towards Endalaus. They become a tether to the original artifact, to the foundation of magic and also to their anchor here on Thornwild."

    "So one Corvix has to die for this damn thing to work?" I demanded, starting to get annoyed.

    "It''s not death, per say," Mooni tapped her beak. "It''s just sort of... like being stretched, unfolded into eternity. For them not to get lost in forever, they hold onto another person who remains in the physical."

    "Uh-huh," I frowned, processing this information. "You mentioned someone giving up a part of themselves?"

    Moonalia nodded. "Yes. While one Corvix must go through, another Arcanicx must remain here to act as the connection point. They have to sacrifice a small but significant part of their being - a finger, an eye, etc. This sacrifice creates a permanent link between the artifact, the Corvix on the other side, and the physical world."

    "So, to activate this," I held up the snowflake, "we''d need two. One to... die, essentially. And another to mutilate themselves."

    "Precisely," Moonalia confirmed. ¡°Well, you can see why only the highest tiers of Corvix are typically entrusted with such things. To be unmade¡­ to fall into forever. That¡¯s a high price.¡±

    I frowned.

    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a price I¡¯m willing to pay,¡± she said.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just¡­¡± I began.

    "I can." She nodded. "It is what we are bred for. What we were made for. To someday open the door into forever. Nobody can do it as well as a Corvix. A Corvix would not lose their mind as any other being would! The diver¡¯s mind and body and Geist, everything gets... spaghettified."

    "And you''re sure there''s no other way?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer.

    Moonalia shook her head. "Not that I know of.¡±

    I nodded slowly, my mind racing. We had only one Corvix here - Moonalia herself. And while she seemed eager to help, I couldn''t just ask her to give up her life or mutilate herself for our cause. Not when we weren''t even sure what the artifact would do once activated.

    "Thank you for telling me this, Mooni," I said finally. "It''s... a lot to consider. We¡¯ll figure something else out if we put our minds together¡­ I¡¯m sure¡­¡±

    Mooni nodded, although she didn¡¯t look confident in this outcome.

    The ceiling above us suddenly shuddered, cracks running down great stone columns as if something incredibly heavy slammed into the island with incredible force.

    ¡°I fouuuunnddd youuuuuu¡­.¡± A voice resounded from every direction at once. ¡°Come out, come out, Stillwalker!¡±

    ¡°What? Who?¡± Mooni looked left and right with wide yellow eyes filled with panic.

    ¡°A little flying snack told me where you were hiding,¡± the booming omnipresent male voice laughed. ¡°Gregor, his name, I believe it was. Oh, his neck was quite a delight to snap¡­ and guess what, Ioan? Eating him showed me exactly where you were and it even¡­ gave me wings!¡±

    I swallowed as booming laughter laced across my ears, making my head throb. I knew that voice far too well.

    It was the Immovable Man, Jarl Bobliss Kolamach.

 75 Falling to Eternity

    The cavern shook violently as Bobliss''s fists pounded against the desolate island above us. Chunks of basalt rained down, shattering on the cavern floor. The sound of his fists or perhaps blood hammer pounding at the rock was intense, like endless thunder multiplied tenfold.

    "Come out, come out and play with me, little Stillwalker!" Bobliss''s voice vibrated across the air, water and rocks. "I''ll tear this entire island apart if I have to. It won''t take me long to reach you and that cat familiar of yours!¡±

    I grabbed Moonalia''s arm, pulling her away from a falling stalactite. Stormy hissed, darting between the falling debris with feline grace.

    "You think you can hide from me forever?" The Gygr¡¯s Champion continued his rant. "I am the chosen hero of Christianna Freyja! Your petty tricks won''t save you now! I''ll find you wherever you go, be it beneath the earth or in the ocean! I won¡¯t stop hunting you down because I cannot die, cannot be unmade by the likes of you!¡±

    As the cavern continued to crumble around us, I saw a look of grim realization settle over Moonalia''s features. Her yellow-gold eyes met mine.

    "I... I think I understand now," she said, her voice barely audible over the din of destruction. "This was always going to be a one-way trip for me."

    I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up a talon, silencing me.

    "No, no. It''s okay. I knew that coming here was incredibly dangerous," Moonalia continued. "The price of leaving the safety of the Nest had to be paid sooner or later. But this... this is my chance to do something truly meaningful. To be more than just a low level artificer!"

    ¡°But what about the island of sunshine?¡± I stammered. ¡°What about the colony, making a Cantigeist for me and Stormy?!¡±

    ¡°Sometimes things don¡¯t work out as we want them to.¡± She glanced up at the cracking ceiling, twitching from every booming impact of the Champion¡¯s hammer above us, then looked back at me. "Ioan, if you don''t send me into forever, that mad Champion up there will unmake me. I won''t be able to fight, hide or run away from him. He will sense me wherever I go! Unlike you, I radiate magic, disrupt the Aether wherever I am. We don''t have any other choice."

    I shook my head, unwilling to accept her sacrifice. "Mooni, there has to be another way. We can-"

    "I can smell your fear, Stillwalker!" Bobliss taunted. "It won''t be long now! Oh I¡¯ll make you pay for what you¡¯ve done to my Christianna! The cries of your familiar will soothe my aching, hollow heart! I¡¯ll snap the neck of that birdkin abomination that came to your side before I feast on your flesh!¡±

    "There isn''t time!" Mooni cried, her feathers ruffling with urgency. "You must hold onto me, activate the artifact and sacrifice a piece of yourself! Are you not listening to his words? He will break my neck and eat you if we don¡¯t activate the power of the Builders of Endalaus! Do you have some secret technique to stop an Immortal?¡±

    I thought about Teya, thinking about how Cali died last time we tried to stop Bobliss.

    Last time the Immovable man took his time and was just playing with us like a cat would with a mouse. This time¨Cthis time it sounded like he was determined to kill me, Stormy and Moonalia.

    ¡°I can¡¯t just¡­¡± I snarled, trying to think of something, of anything.

    ¡°You can,¡± Mooni affirmed. ¡°Yes. You can. I believe in you, my gem. Just¡­ we can optimize this¡­ maybe¡­ I don¡¯t exactly know how though¡­ If I just had more time, more insight then maybe I could¡­¡±

    ¡°Optimize what?¡± I winced as a rock slammed into my ferronite and witchglass armor-covered shoulder, flying off to the side.

    Bobliss''s laughter grew louder, more maniacal.

    ¡°Thank you for¡­ everything, thank you for letting me hold your hand, for listening to me for the past ten days over the voicecast, for understanding me unlike anyone else in the world, Ioan,¡± Moonalia whispered urgently, gold eyes glittering with sparks of tears.

    As I looked at the crying Corvix, suddenly everything clicked into place.

    The black snowflake, Teya''s cracked megalith, Cali''s lifeless body, Moonalia - they were all pieces of a grand puzzle I hadn''t fully grasped until now. A puzzle that Stormy''s feline future sense had been guiding me towards.

    A solution, tips from my future self, telegraphed into the past with mostly binary answers to questions. Messages from myself to myself sent through the paw of one little black kitten!

    Stormy led me to this moment. I led myself to this moment, letting myself discern results I haven''t even considered, to confirm hypotheses that I haven''t had time to test, to build things that I hadn''t even fully understood in the present.

    Everything mattered.

    Everything everywhere at the same time was interconnected.

    "Wait," I said, my mind igniting with an understanding. "Mooni, you''re right. We can optimize this. We can save more than just you and me! We can save everyone, everything!¡±

    The Corvix blinked at me.

    Two spirals spinning in opposite directions.

    A dead body with roots connected to the snowflake as its heart.

    The bodiless Gygr suspended in the Astral Abyss, folded away completely, managing the whole equation.

    A champion without a body part. The witch¡¯s domain being an extension of their body, a crystalline strata that projects the witch into existence.

    With a press of the remote, I liquefied the barrel containing Teya¡¯s megalith.

    "Teya," I called out as the river spirit¡¯s megalith remnant bobbled out from the no longer solid barrel. "Can you hear me? Are you still there?"

    Stormy meowed, and I saw the faintest flicker of Teya''s watery Avatar materialize above her pillar shard.

    "Mrrres," Stormy translated from the porch of the sleigh.

    "We need your help," I said urgently. ¡°I¡¯m going to send your megalith into forever.¡±

    ¡°Mrrwatt?¡± Teya blinked at me.

    Moonalia simply stared at the megalith and at Teya¡¯s ghostly Avatar, beak open wide in shock. Then she rushed to the megalith and tapped her talons all over it, trying to understand exactly what Teya was.

    ¡°Projection,¡± the Corvix staccatoed rapidly. ¡°Of course! An Astral projection of the highest order, one created, animated into existence by an ancient Builder artifact! A voice of the wild, of the ocean itself! This¡­ this is revolutionary! A Cantigeist made not from Starfall but from a wholly other sort of strata! This will change¡­¡±

    The pounding above ceased for a moment as Bobliss scooped out and threw obliterated basalt columns and rocks into the North Sea. Then it resumed once again, the Immovable man determined to reach his prize, to pry our bodies from the innards of the nameless island.

    ¡°I figured it out!¡± Mooni suddenly fluttered looking between me and the river goddess. ¡°I figured it all out! Ioan! You are a projection of all of these rocks, of everything crystalline in this cavern and in that sleigh! You¡¯re the incredible result of P-Geistgrain crystalline matrices within the earth, rocks and your armour and backpack! You''re stable crystals interacting with fluid crystals comprising your entire N-Geistgrain self!¡±

    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much what my own conclusion about myself was.¡±

    Mooni nodded, the edges of her beak spread upwards in a smile. ¡°You¡¯ve got a plan then, my gem?¡±

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Teya, Mooni and Cali,¡± I said, pointing at the megalith, the Corvix and the barrel with the Felix Arcanicx. ¡°I¡¯m going to send all of you together into infinity, fold you just for a bit, then unfold you.¡±

    Stormy mewled out a translation for Teya.

    ¡°Unfold?¡± Moonalia blinked. ¡°That¡¯s not how¡­¡±

    ¡°Two spirals!¡± I explained. ¡°One that pulls things in, one that takes things out! That¡¯s what I saw in the bog! A giant number eight! The symbol for Infinity! A body of water and roots that¡¯s dead and also alive¨Csomething that constantly consumes living things to power the entire formation! Don¡¯t you get it?¡±

    The Corvix squinted at me.

    ¡°Two spirals,¡± she repeated, talons tapping against each other. ¡°A body. A gemstone heart... Hum. Maybe. Yes. I think I understand.¡±

    I pulled Cali¡¯s body out of the water barrel and wrapped her hands around Teya¡¯s megalith, still somewhat suspended inside the liquefied barrel.

    ¡°Teya,¡± I ordered as I gently inserted the snowflake into the hole in Cali¡¯s chest. ¡°I want you to make two spirals of water. One spinning inward, reaching towards this artifact, sucking magic in. One behind it, pushing power and magic out!"

    Teya nodded. She, unlike the Corvix had no idea about what was happening, but she was a cooperative river now, my trusting friend in this mad, mad world. She focused her will and waved her hands and the Chronacist filled water reached out from the cavern¡¯s lake, creating moving spirals just as I described them to her through Stormy.

    ¡°Fill Cali¡¯s chest, surround her body with as much Chronacist as you can! Get all of the Chronacist you¡¯ve gathered from our trip from Svalbard to this damn island!¡± I ordered. ¡°This large liquefied barrel should help hold it all in place!¡±

    Teya obeyed, packing Chronacist crystals with pressurized water into and around Cali¡¯s body.

    Moonalia''s talons closed around my left hand as rocks fell all around us with deafening booms. Teya had to slap a few of them with a water hand as they were about to go right through us.

    ¡°Say the Words, Ioan!¡± Moonalia encouraged, slicing her own hand with a talon, her blood pouring into the sucking spiral of water in front of us. ¡°Remember¨Cyou have to give up a part of yourself to the Astral Ocean, provide me with an anchor so that I may forever hold onto your hand!¡±

    I nodded as the cavern around us shuddered with the relentless attack of Bobliss from above.

    ¡°I''m going to catch you and feast on your brain, Ioan! I''m going to know everything you know and then I''ll find exactly where you hid what you stole from my love!¡± Bobliss boomed, declaring his mad intentions.

    ¡°You¡¯re the most beautiful thing I¡¯ve seen and¡­ I¡­ I¡­ I''m glad I got to meet you¡­ I think I know what it was that Cali saw in you. I think I now know what it¡¯s like to fall in love with something? Someone,¡± Mooni stammered out, clinging to my left and glancing over the entire assembly of Cali, submerged megalith covered in Chronacist crystals and two water spirals. ¡°Activate it! Activate it now! It¡¯s ready!¡±

    ¡°Turn the hell on and save us!¡± I snarled in English at the snowflake in the water reaching into the front water spiral with my right hand. ¡°Have a Good Tomorrow!¡±

    The spiral in front of me ignited with dark flames as the entire ceiling of the cavern began to collapse down on us, ten thousand tons of basalt columns about to turn us into pancakes.

    I felt a tugging sensation, as if something was trying to pull me apart at the seams and then with a snap everything was gone.

    The cavern, Teya''s megalith, Cali''s body suspended inside my liquefied barrel between two water spirals and Moonalia holding my hand simply vanished, leaving behind nothing but a faint, shimmering afterimage dancing in my eyes.

    <hr>

    I felt like I was everything and nothing.

    Like I was endlessness itself and not just a witch-boy named Ioan¡­ like I was the anchor of the entire universe and everything in existence wrapped itself around me, the cavern, the basalt island, the ocean, the glaciers, the entire landscape of a little blue planet called Thornwild. The universe, everything folded from existence, but I remained.

    I remained. I existed. I was. Alone. Everywhere and nowhere all at the same time, gravitically or perhaps Astrally spaghettified to infinity, stretched from Thornwild to Endalaus.

    [Save Point Unit 92-42-08 active,] a whisper-song-symphony-voice-understanding resounded across infinity. It was said not in words but in ideas, in everything-ness, like pure thought painted on a canvas of nothingness.

    I recognized it. It was Mooni¡¯s voice!

    Mooni was here! I wasn¡¯t alone in oblivion, wasn¡¯t lost to spaghettification!

    [Scanning variables in fold strata.]

    [Recognized variable - Corvix Arcanicx Moonalia Cavil] - [Self assigned as Fold Overseer]

    Yes! Go Mooni! Do your thing¡­ whatever that thing is because I have no idea what I am or where I am or what this even is. Do I have hands? I don''t even have hands. What I have is nothing and everything. What am I? An idea? A thought? A concept, a message of self, an idea bouncing endlessly, pinging itself between Thornwild and Endalaus?

    [Recognized variable - Felix Arcanicx Callista Liesl] - [Assigned by Fold Overseer as Save Point Strata gateway anchor]

    [Recognized variable - Chronacist Strata Karpathy Galateya] - [Assigned by Fold Overseer as data storage and Fold-Form Strata]

    [Recognized variable - Ioan Starfall]

    I felt a prickle of something, lines of dancing threads rushing across my endless self, evaluating, collecting, hugging, like infinite hands holding onto me, all of me everywhere across eternity.

    [Assigned Status by Fold Overseer as Gateway Administrator]

    Information was presented to me. Mountains of information. An entire ocean of gibberish, entwined data, impossible to sort, impossible to comprehend.

    [Optimizing. Creating a Save Point. Specify Anchors.]

    I felt that the last words-not-words were addressed to me.

    [What?] I thought.

    [Specify dimensional Anchors for each Fold Variable] Mooni¡¯s voice-not-voice insisted.

    Dimensional Anchors for each variable? What was she talking about?

    [Defined Variables: [1. Corvix Arcanicx Moonalia Cavil] [2. Felix Arcanicx Callista Liesl] [3. Chronacist Strata Karpathy Galateya] ] Mooni¡¯s voice-not-voice repeated insistently. [Specify dimensional Anchors to Access Variables at a later date from linear-space-time position!]

    It took me a minute-not-minute or perhaps an entire eternity for my thoughts to come together into coherency-not-coherency.

    I was Ioan Starfall. I was the Administrator of the Fold artifact. I had to specify a part of myself that would anchor the three girls, the three Variables that I wanted to save within the Builder Artifact.

    [Gemstone 77 - Corvix Arcanicx Moonalia Cavil] I stated-not-stated, picturing the gem in my mind-not-mind.

    [Gemstone 41 - Felix Arcanicx Callista Liesl] I added.

    [Gemstone 19 - Chronacist Strata Karpathy Galateya] I finished.

    [Optimizing. Saving. Creating a Save Point.]

    [Wait.] I thought to Mooni. [I want you back. I want you at my side. All three of you. I don¡¯t want you cast into infinity, existing and not existing!]

    [Acknowledged.] Mooni thought-sang-spoke-executed. [Administrative access to Fold Interface granted to Administrator Ioan Starfall. Modify Fold Gateway Strata as you desire.]

    Again, the ocean of information, too much gibberish. Too many things at once.

    [Simplify,] I thought to Mooni. [Simplify it all for me and help me organize this gibberish. Help me understand!]

    [Acknowledged,] the Corvix replied.

    A hundred billion threads of her Aura came into existence, each one coordinating, organizing, sorting everything around me into orderly tables, into fractions, into beautiful, coherent, sensible fractals, into data charts and mathematical equations that I understood.

    [Perfect,] I thought. [Now, help me put this thing together.]

    She did.

    I don¡¯t know how much time we worked together, one mind of one human armed with an infinite number of Corvix threads, sorting an ocean of information that had once comprised whatever we were, but eventually¡­

    Eventually we made something completely new, something that did not exist, something that was comprised from everything that the Felix Arcanicx, the Corvix Arcanicx and Chronacist Strata had once been. Something that worked together, like an engine of information, like the machinery of the stars composed from endless fractals that folded into themselves forever.

    [I want to send information back. Back to myself,] I suddenly thought. [Answers. Solutions. A way to get to this point. Something that¡­ Stormy can receive, understand!]

    [Affirmative,] my assistant replied. [Casting threads. Relaying data.]

    [It¡¯s perfect,] I thought as I reassessed the supermassive fractal we''d built within ourselves.

    [It¡¯s beautiful,] Mooni responded, her song-voice-not-voice becoming less robotic, just for a moment, just for an instance.

    [It¡¯s done?] I thought again.

    [It¡¯s good enough,] Mooni confirmed. [We¡¯re out of energy, out of usable variables and atoms and waveforms.]

    Energy? Energy was a thing here, in the infinite fall to Endalaus?

    [Time and energy are very much a thing on the other side. Tick, tick, tick,] the Corvix replied.

    [How do I even use this thing?] I demanded, feeling like something on the other end was trying to pull me back into existence, folding me from endlessness into something finite, something personal.

    [You¡¯ve made remotes,] the Corvix answered. [You chose gems 77, 41 and 19 for a reason, have you not? Just flip the switch and unfold each saved-state. Turn the dials all the way up on all of them and activate the Fold Artifact through all three of us!]

    I tried to think back to what the hell I had done back then, to a million years, to an infinity ago to where I had been in the beginning of this endless fall.

    [Reconstructing Fold Gateway,] Moonalia whisper-sang-projected. [Creating a Save Point. Have a Good Tomorrow, Fold Administrator!]

    Falling. I was suddenly falling, not through infinity towards Endalaus, but through the air, holding onto a girl with three sets of eyes and white, crystalline hair.

    The ceiling of the cavern was falling down on us, basalt columns smashing into the floor all around, falling on top of us, about to obliterate both of us into uneven puddles of blood and crushed bones.

 76 Geolith Calemea

    My heart and body became accelerated through the power of my domain, casting me forward at ten, then at a hundred times the speed of a mundane man. Time slowed its run, the falling massive columns gliding down onto my head at an inevitable pace.

    I grabbed onto the strange, tall girl in front of me and pulled her after myself, into the open door of the sleigh where a black kitten was sitting, staring with violet eyes right at us, meowing in slow motion, her mouth wide.

    I had thankfully foreseen the cavern collapse and determined which part of the cavern was the most stable and created a small, reinforced crevasse for the sleigh to exist in by using my domain¡¯s power and scooping rocks out of the wall with my liquefaction remote. Just a few days ago I pushed the sleigh into this crevasse.

    I crashed into the sleigh''s open door with the girl in tow and pulled the door shut behind us. The mountain of rocks crashed into the sleigh¡¯s exposed front, but thankfully didn''t pulverize it completely, as the sleigh¡¯s walls had been quite thoroughly reinforced by me with several layers of witchglass, ferronite and liquefied rock over the past weeks.

    ¡°Aha! I see your hidey-hole!¡± Bobliss announced, descending into the collapsed space. Pulling more rubble away, he threw gargantuan columns up into the air as if they were made from Styrofoam.

    He looked like an angel of vengeance, blood wings stolen from Mooni''s flying-taxi Champion Gregor unfurled from his back.

    I looked at the girl in my hands.

    It seemed like she was formed entirely from Teya¡¯s Chronacist, somehow cleansed to brilliant, diamond-white through the power of the Builder artifact. A dark patch of the snowflake was visible through her semi-transparent chest. She wasn¡¯t breathing, wasn¡¯t moving, wasn¡¯t doing anything.

    She was simply a crystalline statue seemingly made up from various features of Mooni, Cali and Teya somehow fused together into one.

    Three sets of eyes were open, staring out onto the world. The way they were set in her head reminded me of how Jotuns looked. She was longer, taller, lankier, more solid than all three girls, a bewildering, inexplicable crystalline amalgamation of all of them.

    Was this what I really wanted?

    Was this the end result of my mad scientist Astral Abyss machinations with the Builder technology? A crystalline Jotun-thing that was neither Cali, nor Teya, nor Mooni¡­

    ¡°Almost there!¡± Bobliss growled, demolishing the tons of rock between us. ¡°I hear the beating heart of that cat of yours! Soon, soon I will unmake you both and then I will feast!¡±

    I remembered it all then.

    The remotes!

    77, 41, 19.

    I looked at my amour and reached under the ferronite plates and my finger went right through the spot where gem 77 hung just a few minutes ago. It was gone, no longer physical!

    They were still there though, visible in the Astralscope, simply submerged directly below the physical plane.

    Anchors.

    Remotes!

    I dug through my pile of wooden-paddle remotes stored in the back of the sleigh, pulling out the ones numbered 77, 41 and 19.

    Which one to use? Which talent? Which skill could help me beat the Immovable man?

    The answer was obvious. It was the reason why I made this crystal amalgamation.

    I needed all of them.

    I spun the dials on all three remotes to their maximum setting and flipped three switches on.

    Three sets of eyes suddenly ignited with life, looking left and right and then settled on me.

    ¡°Administrator Starfall,¡± the crystalline being said in a trio of voices entwined into one, sitting up in the same unnerving way that Jotuns moved. ¡°Fold Cantigeist Chronacist Automata online. State our designation. State mission objective.¡±

    ¡°Designation¡­ uhh,¡± I stumbled over my own thoughts, not expecting this thing to be so robotic. Then, again, Jotuns seemed like machines of flesh, while this amalgamation was a machine made from Teya¡¯s crystals being controlled somehow by the Builder Artifact heart.

    Gemstone. Geo¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re a¡­ Geolith!¡± I said, having arrived at a proper title for my crystalline Frankenstein¡¯s monster. ¡°Geolith Calemea!¡±

    ¡°Acknowledged designation Geolith Calemea,¡± the Geolith nodded, six arms uncannily unfolding from her body.

    ¡°There you are!¡± The door of the sleigh groaned as Bobliss reached it, punching it with his fist. It didn¡¯t come apart, but it warped inward with a groan of ferronite and snapping of witchglass.

    ¡°Calemea!¡± I ordered, pointing at Bobliss. ¡°Help me stop him!¡±

    The Gygr¡¯s Champion thrust his blood sword forward, slicing a deep gash within the door. He began to pry it open with his fingers, snarling madly.

    ¡°Here¡¯s Bobby,¡± I thought as the Immovable man tried to force his way into the sleigh. Time slowed itself to a crawl as I pulled my rifle from my side, pulling the trigger.

    With a bang of ferronite spheres surrounded with dragonglass, the Immovable man was sent flying backwards out of the sleigh.

    Calemea raised two of her hands which looked quite human and likely belonged to Galateya. The lake behind Bobliss churned as two massive watery hands emerged from it.

    Before Bobliss could reorient himself, they smashed him like a mosquito, tearing apart his blood wings.

    ¡°Pitiful,¡± Bobliss spat as his figure quickly reformed, healing itself.

    The Geolith stepped through the torn-up hole he made in the door, walking towards the fallen hero.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°And who might you be?¡± Bobliss blinked in surprise at Calemea. I watched as the dark fractal hexagram on his chest ignited and tried to grab the Geolith with its dark threads, tried to infest Calemea¡¯s mind. The hands belonging to the Felix Arcanicx extended, feline claws tearing through the mind-controlling magic.

    The crystalline girl advanced towards Bobliss, her body shimmering and sparkling with a million facets in the rays of daylight coming through the broken ceiling.

    Bobliss thrust forward with his blood sword, but the hands belonging to Mooni reached to the ground along with Teya¡¯s hands, pulling a current of water from beneath. Four hands worked in unison, weaving a shield made entirely from compressed water in front of the crystalline girl.

    The Champion¡¯s blood sword met the compressed water shield spiral and somehow began to dissolve in it, becoming trapped within it.

    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Bobliss cried out, letting go of his sword which came apart within the shield spiral. He stared at the dark snowflake suspended within the chest of the crystalline girl, his face lengthening in shock. ¡°You¡­ the Forgestone does not belong to you!¡±

    Spiral.

    The spiral water shield worked similarly to the black spiral of Chernobog. It sucked the Champion¡¯s blood into it, absorbed it, unmade it and sent whatever remained to Endalaus. Somehow through my self-guided steps, I sent myself on a quest to create the only weapon on Thornwild that could unmake Bobliss and his friends¡­ permanently.

    Bobliss must have come to this conclusion too.

    ¡°My blood!¡± He cried. ¡°Give me back my blood, you vile crystal abomination! That does not belong to you!¡±

    ¡°Request denied,¡± Geolith spoke in an entwined trio of voices.

    The water shield relocated itself to the Geolith¡¯s left hand belonging to Teya. Mooni¡¯s crystal talons tapped the air around Galateya¡¯s right hand, forming what looked like a gun made from water. The ground beneath the Geolith¡¯s crystalline body cracked, water pouring out, heading upward, compressing itself more and more within the barrel of the gun made of water.

    Bobliss, seeing that something freaky was happening, formed a blood shield in his left hand and a blood hammer in his right.

    ¡°I will smash you to bits, abomination!¡± He snarled, accelerating himself forward.

    The water-gun fired across his shield and hammer, cutting across him like a laser as soon as Bobliss got close enough to Calemea. Blood gushed from the man in a sideways spray, becoming devoured by the watery shield spiral.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Bobliss croaked retreating, his body repairing itself and growing thinner and lankier. ¡°I will not fall to you, monster!¡±

    I hadn''t been simply idly sitting by while all of this was happening.

    I had donned on the invisi-cloak and slowly been creeping towards Bobliss from the side. As soon as Bobliss became focused on reforming his weapons, I fired the rifle from his blind spot right at his head.

    The Gygr¡¯s champion fell sideways. As his blood splattered over the walls and ground, it became quickly absorbed into the water flowing all around the cavern into Calemea¡¯s shield, where the blood permanently vanished into the Fold.

    ¡°No,¡± Bobliss hissed as his body healed. ¡°I will not be unmade¡­ I must¡­¡±

    Calemea¡¯s incredibly compressed water-gun fired again, cutting another deep gash across the body of the Immovable man. I moved again as Bobliss tried to swat where I had been just a moment ago, firing the pistol at him, making him lose more blood.

    ¡°Have to¡­ help¡­ Christi¡­¡± Bobliss croaked as Calemea¡¯s six hands came together, the water shield and gun reforming into the shape of a massive hammer.

    ¡°Justice for Fold Callista Liesl,¡± Calemea sang in a chorus of three voices as her hammer swung through the air, sending Bobliss flying backwards into the lake.

    The lake, which was already filled with a thousand sharp, churning rocks, spinning in a spiral like the blades of a thousand saws.

    The Immovable man flailed and thrashed in the watery trap, screaming and quickly losing even more blood. His face became that of Gregor, then some other man, then another. One face after another formed on his rapidly emaciated figure as if layer by layer the other Champions he had consumed over his long life were peeled away by the spiral of water cutting him apart.

    Calemea simply stood in front of the water spiral, holding the Fold shield in front of herself, absorbing and grinding Bobliss out of existence.

    The Immovable Champion gurgled and made inhuman noises, flailing in the water reforming again and again as he was ground down more and more.

    ¡°Justice for Fold Karpathy Galateya,¡± Calemea sang dispassionately in a harmonic trio.

    I pulled off the invisi-cloak, walking to stand at the crystalline girl''s side. I reloaded the rifle and pistol and aimed the rifle at the slowly dissolving fallen hero, just in case he tried anything clever.

    He did not.

    In about twenty minutes of the watery grind, Bobliss became but an emaciated stick figure, hands only a few inches thick, most of his finger digits broken off, feet gone, his face just a skeletal blood mask featuring a single eye that barely functioned.

    ¡°Knowledge for Fold Moonalia Cavil,¡± Calemea sang, clawed hands belonging to Cali grabbing what remained of the Immovable hero and pulling him from the water. The pair of feathered crystalline hands ending in talons began to tap a rapid staccato over the body of the emaciated hero.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Bobliss croaked, staring at the crystalline construct. ¡°What¡­ the¡­ shit¡­ are you?!¡±

    ¡°We are Geolith Calemea,¡± she replied, Cali¡¯s claws tearing the hero¡¯s chest apart, revealing a hollow space there that would have otherwise contained his heart.

    A yellow eye formed from rotating crystals within one of the hands belonging to the Corvix, examining the hollow space.

    ¡°A Jotun,¡± Bobliss exhaled, staring from Calemea at me. ¡°You¡­ have¡­ created a new kind of Jotun. Just one¡­ it¡­ won¡¯t help you¡­ win...¡±

    ¡°No?¡± I arched an eyebrow. ¡°Seems to have helped me so far.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ are¡­ walking the same path as my¡­ love¡­¡± Bobliss gurgled. ¡°You¡­ won¡¯t succeed¡­ I will... return... for my heart isn''t here..."

    ¡°Succeed at what?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to stop the glaciers.¡±

    ¡°Not unless I accidentally jump-start the industrial revolution,¡± I thought to myself, wondering what other secrets this fallen champion might reveal in his final moments. Aloud, I asked Bobliss, "What exactly was your boggy sweetheart trying to accomplish? Why go to such extreme lengths?"

    Bobliss coughed, blood seeping from his entire skull into the all-consuming shield-spiral directly beneath him held by Teya¡¯s hands. His remaining single eye, once filled with rage, now held a mixture of defeat and something else - was it pity? Fear? Despair?

    "You... don''t understand," he wheezed. "The ice... it''s coming. Unstoppable. My¡­ Christi... she saw it all. Thousands of years into the future. The end of everything."

    I frowned, processing his words. "And her solution was to, what, fold everyone away into the void?"

    He nodded weakly. "To... preserve. Until the time was right. Until we could... fight back."

    "Fight back against an Ice Age?" I asked, wondering whether it was Mooni or Cali who were somehow making the Champion spill all of his secrets to me.

    Bobliss''s laugh turned into a wet cough. "Says the boy... who made a crystal Jotun. You''re not... so different from us. It¡¯s not just the ice¡­ the Arcanicx abominations, they will find a way to break¡­ the last¡­ wild bastion¡­ take the North¡­¡±

    ¡°Amari¡¯s Skulldug?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Bobliss gurgled as Mooni¡¯s talons tapped at his skull. ¡°Skulldug has no men left, Amari¡¯s power is fading¡­ her hunters¡­ dying off¡­ The Arcanicx multiply¡­ spread like vile insects¡­ Christi¡­. We¡­ we were going to¡­ stop them¡­ You¡­ you have ruined everything¡­ the world will die because of you, Stillwalker¡­ and humanity will end¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe humanity deserves to evolve into Arcanicx,¡± I mused, mostly to annoy Bobliss. ¡°They¡¯re evolving pretty fast, I hear. Maybe they¡¯ll figure out how to move the planet in a hundred years time, hrmmm?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t understand anything, fool,¡± Bobliss coughed, more blood seeping into Calemea''s shield-spiral. His remaining eye focused on me with sudden startling intensity.

    The face of the fallen champion warped, twisted into that of an extremely emaciated, ancient crone.

    ¡°A bit late for the party, Christi,¡± I commented, leveling the rifle at the Gygr¡¯s head, finger on the trigger.

    ¡°Foolish child of sister-mine,¡± The Gygr stared at me with absolute hatred. ¡°Nordstaii, original humanity¡­ must¡­ Must not be extinguished, must not be changed. Humans¡­ human individual minds are¡­ the only thing that holds back¡­ the radiance of Endalaus, which draws ever closer with each decade. When¡­ when Arcanicx and the cold¡­ exterminates the rest of us¡­ when there are not enough humans left on Thornwild¡­ the Void-Storms will¡­ begin and all will be¡­ unmade.¡±

 77 The Head of Chernobog

    I raised an eyebrow at the Gygr''s dire prophetic declarations. "Void-Storms, huh? That sounds pretty dramatic. Care to elaborate?¡±

    "The Void-Storms," the Gygr¡¯s head rasped, "are the result of reality itself breaking down. As Endalaus draws closer, its immense... magical radiance warps the fabric of our world. Only the collective will of humanity - true, individual human minds and human souls - can hold it at bay!"

    I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "And the Arcanicx don''t count because...?"

    "They are not truly individuals," the Gygr snarled. "Their souls are full of holes and their minds are bound to their Divine Beasts, their wills subsumed more and more with each generation. Endalaus does not see them as human!¡±

    "Interesting theory," I mused. "And... Endalaus is what? A supermassive planet-sized artifact that recognizes true human nature?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Gygr intoned. ¡°It is a mindless, truly vast, self-replicating device set in motion one hundred million years ago by humanity, created to grant everyone¡¯s wishes everywhere at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Riiiight,¡± I said. ¡°Surely there must be a less... genocidal way to preserve humanity, Christi?"

    "You think I haven''t tried?¡± The Gygr''s laugh was a harsh and bitter. "Six hundred years of planning, all undone by a child playing at being a witch. You have no idea of the forces you''re meddling with, boy! You have no idea of the value of the Forgestone you have taken!¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to notice Mooni¡¯s talons tapping rapidly at her head, didn¡¯t pay attention to the silver-blue threads extending from Cali¡¯s fingers across the emaciated, bloody stick-figure.

    ¡°What is its value then?¡± I asked. ¡°Do educate me. Maybe I¡¯ll bring it back to your lovely swamp, if you explain what you were using it for. I¡¯m a reasonable man.¡±

    "The Forgestone is a relic of the Builders of Endalaus," the Gygr said, twitching as the tapping of the Corvix on her skull intensified. "It allows one to fold humanity itself, to preserve and protect. I used it to create a sanctuary, a place where the chosen could live on¡­ in paradise. I used it to create... Zal-Slavi, making Nordstaii heaven real!"

    I nodded. "And how exactly did you plan to bring everyone back once the danger passed?"

    The Gygr''s face twisted into a grimace. "That... that part was still in progress. But it would have worked! What was folded once can be unfolded again. The Forgestone is an Artifact of great power. Given enough time, I could have¡­¡±

    ¡°How many humans must remain on Thornwild for reality not to decay away?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A minimum of one hundred thousand humans,¡± the Gygr said. ¡°I already preserved twice as much in ZalSlavi!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I blinked.

    ¡°Some came willingly, others were taken by Jotuns-mine, thrown into the fold,¡± the Gygr confessed her human extermination campaign with a lopsided grin.

    ¡°What the hell did you even anchor them to?¡± I demanded.

    ¡°Anchor them?¡± The Gygr blinked. ¡°I did not anchor them. Their souls naturally flow to where they wish to go, to the hall of Champions¡­ to the palace amidst the Astral currents I have built for them over six hundred years. Those that believe in Zal-Slavi end there. It is as simple as that!¡±

    ¡°Then what was the point of shoving people by force into the spiral?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Far too many get lost in transit otherwise,¡± the head of Chernobog explained.

    ¡°Where did you find the Forgestone?¡± I asked.

    ¡°She¡­ told me about it¡­¡± The Gygr grimaced, clearly trying to fight off whatever Mooni and Cali were doing.

    ¡°She?¡± I pressed.

    "The Voice of the Abyssal Void. She called herself Nox¡­ and many other names¡­ the Administrator of Infinity. She showed me how to build a compass, one that led me and my first hero to the Forgestone buried in glacier ice. She spoke to me in my dreams, when I Astral Projected myself all the way down through the Astral Ocean to the surface of¡­ Endalaus.¡±

    "And you just... trusted this Administrator of Infinity? Didn''t question its motives?" I asked.

    ¡°Her. She is a girl of dark hair and violet eyes.¡± The Gygr snarled. "Question? Boy, when you stand before the infinite, when you glimpse the true nature of reality... such questions become meaningless. I saw the inevitable future, all possible futures. I saw, knew what needed to be done. I¡­¡±

    She stared at me and choked as her single eye turned white.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see you,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t see you in the future¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see you at all,¡± the Gygr croaked. ¡°I know that you are there and yet¡­ It¡¯s¡­ as if you don¡¯t exist. It¡¯s as if some otherness is skewering reality, not letting me define what you are¡­ No matter, no matter, I will unmake you in time¡­ I will unravel the threads of Sorcery my sister forged you with... and I will..."

    I thought of the supermassive fractal that Mooni and I made in the Astral Abyss.

    Was it still there, still screwing with time, still sending me my own knowledge from the future? I would have to test this more with Stormy.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "You think you''ve won, boy? This is just the beginning," Christi snarled. "I''ll peel that mangy familiar of yours like an onion. I''ll make you watch as mine-blood-hands unmake her, layer by layer. I''ll send leviathan beasts to unmake you!"

    Stormy growled at the Gygr''s head from my shoulder.

    When did she even get there? Hrm. Sneaky kitten is sneaky.

    "You have no idea of the forces you''re dealing with. My army of Jotuns will find you, no matter where you hide. You might be invisible to mine Astral gaze but your familiar is not. My seven Champions will¡­¡± The Gygr threatened.

    "Might want to check your math there." I glanced at the remnants of Bobliss.

    The Gygr''s head contorted with rage. "Mock me all you want, Stillwalker. But know this - I am eternal. I am the Song of the Void itself. You cannot destroy me. I will find you, and when I do, I''ll make you beg for the sweet release of oblivion!¡±

    "You know, for someone who claims to be trying to save humanity, you sure do talk a lot about torture."

    "You understand nothing!" she spat. "Everything I''ve done, I''ve done for the greater good. For the survival of our species, for the preservation of the Nordstaii way!"

    "Riiiight," I nodded sarcastically.

    "Because nothing says ''saving humanity'' like turning people into monsters and shoving souls into a cosmic wood chipper,¡± I thought darkly.

    "Mark my words, boy. This isn''t over. I''ll-"

    But whatever threat she was about to make was cut off as Calemea''s four hands tightened around the remnants of Bobliss, bringing him closer to the spiral held by two hands.

    The crystalline construct''s six eyes glowed with an eerie inner light as myriads of dark, pulsating void threads began to seep out of the chest and head of the fallen champion.

    "Void-threat detected," Calemea intoned in her trio-chorus. "Initiating containment protocols."

    Four of the Geolith¡¯s hands shoved the Gygr¡¯s head into the shield.

    I watched as the Gygr''s form began to dissolve, her essence being drawn into Calemea''s spiral shield. Her eyes widened in fear and then she was gone, vanished, disconnected from her Champion.

    Only Bobliss remained behind, his melting body covered in what looked like a million wriggling, alien void-worms. He screamed and gnashed his teeth as he dissolved into oblivion. The Abyssal-void-creature or whatever thankfully vanished along with him, folding away into the void from which it had come.

    As the last drop of blood belonging to Bobliss vanished in the spiral, I finally relaxed.

    ¡°Mission completed,¡± the Geolith reported. ¡°Threat is... stopped.¡±

    Six hands folded into each other.

    She fell silent then, not breathing, not doing anything at all, and simply standing there like a shiny statue, six eyes staring at nothing at all.

    I looked up at her imposing figure. She was quite handy and powerful, a magic sword and gun and shield against the Gygr, but she wasn¡¯t the friends I had made on Thornwild¡­ the girls I had lost.

    Did I lose them though?

    I noticed that the remotes were still hanging on my body beneath the armor, drawing their power from me to animate Calemea into existence.

    I flipped two of the switches off, leaving only one of them running. The one that I really wanted to talk to, the only person in the world that made Thornwild a bit less alien.

    The crystalline form of Calemea slowly shimmered and shifted, crystals folding into themselves, rotating, reforming like a massive 3D printed statue, converging into the human figure of Galateya - a young woman in her early twenties.

    Two brown eyes with a touch of violet in them blinked. Her hair was brown and wavy.

    Galateya looked down at herself, seemingly surprised by her newfound humanity. I tried not to stare at her body, quickly grabbing a Nordstaii sweater from the sleigh and tossing it to her.

    "Here," I said. "You might want to put this on."

    She caught the large, fluffy sweater with blue patterns on it and slipped it over her head. When I glanced back, she was examining her hands, flexing her fingers as if testing out a new body.

    "Ioan?" she said, her voice uncertain. "What... What happened? I remember the cavern collapsing, and then... everything was a strange... dream, like I was myself and also someone else? Two others... I think?"

    I ran a hand through my hair, unsure how to explain the bizarre series of events that had lead me to the creation of the Geolith. "It''s... complicated. I''ll tell you everything later. How do you feel?"

    Galateya took a deep breath, her brow furrowing. "Strange. Like I''m whole again, but... different. I can feel the Chronacist crystals in the sea, but it''s not just that anymore. And I can... breathe." She looked at me, her eyes wide with wonder. "Ioan, I''m breathing! I''m... I''m hungry and thirsty!"

    I couldn''t help but smile at her excitement over such mundane needs. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Teya."

    She took a wobbly step towards me, then hesitated looking left and right. "The others... Cali and Moonalia. Are they...?"

    I shook my head. "They''re... part of you now, in a way. It''s hard to explain. But they''re not gone, not entirely."

    Galateya nodded slowly, thinking over my words. She looked around the cavern, taking in the destruction. "And... Bobliss?"

    "Gone," I said firmly. "For now. Maybe forever. Don''t know. He... might come back, but we are getting better at kicking his ass, so there''s that."

    She let out a relieved sigh. "Good. That''s... good." Then she looked at me, her expression softening. "Thank you, Ioan. For everything."

    I felt a lump form in my throat. "I''m just glad you''re okay, Teya. I honestly couldn''t bear the thought of losing you. Talking to you through Stormy was a bit of a pain, but you¡¯re the only person on this damn planet who understands me.¡±

    "Mrrrr," Stormy said from my shoulder.

    She stepped closer, reaching out to take my hand. Her touch was warm. "You didn''t lose me. You saved me. You gave me back my humanity. Hell, you gave me freaking legs! Legs! Thank you! Thank you Ioan! Thank you, Stormy!"

    ¡°And how does it feel to have legs again after one hundred thousand years?¡± I asked as she grabbed the kitten from my shoulder, squeezing her.

    Galateya giggled at the bothered noises Stormy was making in her hands, a sound that sent warmth spreading through my chest. "Honestly? A bit wobbly. I¡­ might need some practice walking on land again."

    I grinned. "Well, we''ve got time. George knows that we¡¯re here though, so we should get started on relocating. Can you move the sleigh from here into the lake and out into the ocean?¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Teya asked as I helped her walk into the sleigh.

    ¡°A little magpie told me that there''s a sunny island somewhere to the south that might be perfect,¡± I said.

    Her brown-violet eyes lit up. "An island? With actual sunshine?"

    I nodded, thinking of Stormy and her relentless pursuit of the perfect sunbeam. "Yeah. I think it''s time we all got out of the cold for a while. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like that very much,¡± Teya nodded, a smile crossing her lips. "It''s just so... nice to actually see what you look like, to speak with you in person!"

    "And?"

    "I... thought you''d be taller," she admitted.

    "Yeah," I shrugged with a smile. "Being taller would be nice. I think I was taller in my previous life."

 78 Castoff

    I stood in the doorway of the sleigh, remote in hand, as I liquefied and reformed the metal Bobliss had warped and sliced with his blade.

    Teya sat on one of the plush seats inside, Stormy nestled in her lap. She couldn''t seem to stop touching things - the soft fabric of the seat, the smooth wood of the sleigh''s interior, and especially Stormy''s fur. Her fingers kept running through the kitten''s black coat, her eyes wide with wonder.

    "She''s so soft," she marveled, scratching behind Stormy''s ears. "I''d forgotten what it felt like to actually touch things."

    I smiled, watching her rediscover the world through her new body.

    Stormy suddenly let out a disgruntled "Mrow!" and swatted at Teya''s hand with her paw.

    Teya jerked back, looking startled. "Oh! I''m sorry, little one. I didn''t mean to pet you so rough."

    I chuckled. "It''s fine. You''re still learning. Stormy''s pretty good at letting you know when she''s had enough too."

    Teya nodded, carefully resuming her petting with a gentler touch. Stormy seemed to approve, settling back down with a contented purr.

    "So," Teya said, looking up at me. "Tell me more about this sunny island we''re heading to. What''s it like?"

    I leaned against the doorframe, taking a break from my repairs. "Honestly? I don''t know much about it. Moonalia mentioned it was somewhere south of the Fern Archipelago. Supposedly, it''s the sunniest spot on all of Thornwild."

    "The sunniest spot? That sounds... lovely. I can''t even remember the last time I felt real sunlight on my skin."

    "Well, you''re in for a treat then," I grinned. "Though we might need to be careful not to let you get sunburned. Your new skin probably isn''t used to direct sunlight. Actually, you know what¡­ I don¡¯t know if you can get a sunburn. You¡¯re sort of like me.¡±

    ¡°Sort of like you?¡± Teya tilted her head at me.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯m a witch, made from liquid crystals, propped into existence by all of these magic crystals that slowly grow around me.¡±

    I showed her one of the large gems hanging from a string.

    ¡°And I am what?¡± She asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re a human girl who can control Chronacist crystals in water, also propped into existence by the crystals that comprise me,¡± I explained.

    ¡°I see,¡± she nodded. ¡°So if you¡­¡±

    ¡°If I get unmade, then you¡¯ll stop moving, stop existing,¡± I said, banging the door back into shape. ¡°Thankfully, it¡¯s not easy to kill a witch. Bobliss almost succeeded at it though. Bastard broke my spine.¡±

    Teya stared at me with worried eyes.

    ¡°I got better,¡± I shrugged. ¡°On the account of magic healing water that my magic crystals create.¡±

    "Hrm,¡± Teya tugged her Nordstaii sweater. ¡°I might need some summer clothes if we''re going somewhere tropical."

    I felt my cheeks warm slightly. "Ah, right. We''ll figure something out. Maybe we can stop somewhere along the way, buy more clothes for¡­ all three of you. There¡¯s gotta be human cities downstream of your river, right?¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Teya nodded. ¡°I think there are a few. It would be nice to talk to other people and not have to grant their stupid wishes. Ah! I can feel the heat of my own body! It''s so odd! And..." she paused, placing a hand on her chest, "I have a heartbeat! Ahh! It¡¯s a bit¡­ scary and weird! Wait¡­ what if I get arrowed again? Can I bleed to death?¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°Well?¡± She demanded, squeezing Stormy hard enough to get a swat across her hand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, focused on the door repairs. ¡°Presumably, it¡¯s possible. I¡¯d have to test these things. Maybe if I switch you off, you''ll get healed.¡±

    ¡°Ow,¡± she said, looking at the small scratch left by Stormy. ¡°Yeah. I can definitely bleed. Jeesh.¡±

    I came closer to her and looked at the small scratch on her hand.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°These crystals are pretty good at simulating human-ness. So, do you want to test if you can get healed? I should really talk to our other two¡­ companions too, explain the situation and all. Mind if I switch you off for a bit?¡±

    ¡°Uhh,¡± Teya blinked. ¡°Yeah, sure. It¡¯s like going to sleep¡­ right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll find out. Want to press the switch yourself?¡±

    Teya nodded.

    I pulled her remote control from under my armor and offered it to her. Her slender finger reached out and pressed the switch off and then her entire body stilled, froze.

    I waited for a few seconds, examining her completely static figure and then I turned another switch on.

    I watched as Teya''s form shimmered and shifted, the crystals rearranging themselves into a new shape. In moments, Moonalia sat on the sleigh''s couch, her black and white feathers ruffling with excitement.

    "Stars and claws!" she exclaimed, her words coming out in a rapid-fire burst. "It worked! It actually worked! I can''t believe it! Heck, I can believe it because I designed lots of it, but still! To experience it firsthand is just... wow! And look at me! I have a body again! A real, physical body! Thought I¡¯d be a Fold Overseer forever and ever as is tradition with Corvix, managing the function of the Builder Artifact from the Abyss! Why¡¯d you pull me back?¡±

    Before I could answer, she began darting around the sleigh, touching everything in sight, her talons clicking against various surfaces. "The tactile sensations are incredible! Oh, and the olfactory input! I can smell... is that brine? Fascinating!"

    ¡°You could smell things before,¡± I pointed out.

    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Mooni chattered, hopping around. ¡°I could smell before and then I couldn¡¯t. And now I can again. These sensations must be compared, tested, understood. I¡¯m real and not real now. Just like you. A gem. It is very fascinating. Would my rings work again? I¡¯d like my rings back. Can I have my rings back?¡±

    I squinted at her.

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± she hopped off into another corner. ¡°I can function fine without them, for now. You know, I can feel two others in my mind-Fold too, like dreaming echoes in my mind. And the knowledge! Oh, the knowledge! It''s all there, Ioan! So much of everything we learned in the Fold, it''s all accessible! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

    She paused her frantic movements, squealing and then stared at me with yellow-gold eyes. "We did it, didn''t we? We created so many new things! Do you have any idea how skybreaking all of this is? The implications for Arcanicx research alone are staggering! Not to mention the potential applications for..."

    "Mooni," I smiled, "breathe. Slow down.¡±

    ¡°Breathing slowly is for Felixes,¡± she bobbed her head. ¡°Oh! You should bring Cali back. She¡¯ll be happy to be back. Do tell her that I miss her. Sucks that I won¡¯t be able to speak with her, but still¡­ at least she won¡¯t smack me for being me if I''m her.¡±

    "Maybe we can figure something out,¡± I shrugged. ¡°After we get to our island."

    "Oh! Yes, of course!" Moonalia tapped her beak. "I have all the coordinates right here in my mind. It''s quite fascinating how the information is stored within the crystalline substrate. It''s almost like a living database that-"

    I smiled at her.

    "Coordinates. Island. Got it. Absolutely, totally on it. I can definitely help navigate us there. Oh! And I can probably rig up some improvements to the sleigh''s propulsion system using my knowledge of Arcanicx Artificery combined with your gem person abilities. We could potentially increase our travel speed by a factor of-"

    I held up a hand, stopping her before she could launch into another tangent. "That sounds great, Mooni. Why don''t you make sure that everything is watertight while I finish repairing the door?"

    "Yes! Excellent idea!" she chirped, already moving towards her new job. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! I can''t wait to see what incredible, new shiny things we can create together, Ioan. The possibilities are endless! Endless! Yes. Yes."

    As Moonalia busied herself with tapping the walls of the sleigh, I returned to repairing the door. However, I could feel her gaze on me periodically, her excitement gradually giving way to a more thoughtful demeanor.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Ioan," she said after a while, her voice unusually quiet, "you''re avoiding bringing Cali back, aren''t you?"

    I paused in my work, not turning to face her. "What makes you say that?"

    "It''s been quite a while now, and you haven''t even mentioned her," Moonalia bobbed her head, reading my mood far too well.

    I sighed. "It''s... complicated, Mooni."

    "Is it because of what happened before? With Bobliss?" she asked, her feathers ruffling slightly.

    I nodded slowly. "Partly. But it''s more than that. Cali... she tried to enslave me, Mooni. To trick me and bind me as her Champion."

    Moonalia tilted her head, considering my words. "But she''s different now, isn''t she? Right? She''s partly me, much more moddable, more pliable! If she misbehaves you can just turn her off! So exciting! I have an off button! I always wanted one of those and now I have one!¡±

    "Maybe," I admitted.

    ¡°Ioan... we shouldn''t keep her locked away forever in the Fold,¡± Mooni bobbed her head up and down. ¡°She deserves a chance too. A chance to live. A chance to be. A chance to¡­ speak her mind. She¡¯s my bestie. I know what¡¯s best for her even when she doesn¡¯t. Just talk to her. Sort it out. Sort it out! Yes, yes!¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°Find any weak spots?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mooni tapped a few cracks here and there. ¡°Fix, fix. Then switch me off, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I sighed.

    Mooni and I finished repairing the last of the cracks she had identified. As I ran my hand over the newly sealed seams, I felt growing apprehension about what was to come next.

    "All set," I said, turning to Mooni. "Ready?"

    She nodded eagerly, her feathers ruffling. "Yes, yes! Send me back into the Fold! Talk to Cali. Sort everything out!"

    I sighed, reaching for the remote. "I''ll try. See you later, Mooni."

    With a flick of the switch, Mooni''s form froze and with another switch, her body shimmered and dissolved, the crystals rearranging themselves once more. In her place now sat Cali, her ocean-blue eyes blinking rapidly as she took in her surroundings, fluffy white ears and long tail twitching.

    "Ioan?" she asked, her voice uncertain. ¡°Is this¡­ heaven? All good Felixes go to Goldara¡¯s heaven where their Champions rejoin them in eternal embrace¡­¡±

    "Not heaven," I said. "You''re still on Thornwild.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I,¡± Cali choked. ¡°I died. I sacrificed everything to the river spirit and she gave me power to defend you and then¡­ Jarl Bobliss punched through my chest and then I died. Felixes can¡¯t live without hearts!¡±

    Her hands slid under the sweater.

    ¡°Uhhh,¡± she blinked, feeling up and down her chest. ¡°There¡¯s no hole there. My heart is beating¡­ How?¡±

    "Mooni and I used a Builder artifact to bring you back. You, Mooni and the river spirit, uh, Galateya are all part of the same... entity now."

    Cali''s eyes widened. "A genuine Builder artifact? Ioan, do you have any idea how valuable that is? The Ring would-"

    I held up a hand, cutting her off. "The Ring isn''t going to find out about this, Cali.¡±

    ¡°Mooni?¡± Cali blinked. ¡°Mooni is here? Wait¡­ you said that she¡¯s part of me¡­ What?!¡±

    ¡°She is,¡± I nodded. ¡°So if you smack her you¡¯ll be smacking yourself. Well, if you could both be in the same place at the same time¡­ which you cannot.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Cali blushed. ¡°She¡¯s just so damn chatty! It really gets on my nerves. Hang on¡­ she saved me?¡±

    ¡°She saved you,¡± I nodded. ¡°We all saved each other and defeated Bobliss.¡±

    The Felix Arcanicx twitched, then she stared at me with what looked like hungry eyes.

    I barely had time to react before Cali launched herself at me, her arms wrapping around my neck as she slammed into my chest. The force nearly knocked me off my feet, and I stumbled back, bracing myself against the sleigh''s couch. For some reason my spider¡­ err witch bullet time didn''t kick in. Probably because Cali wasn''t a genuine threat.

    "Ioan!" she wailed, burying her face in my shoulder. "I''m so sorry! I wanted to protect you from Bobliss! I tried so hard, but he was too strong, and I couldn''t... I couldn''t¡­ I made a stupid wish even though I don¡¯t even believe in river spirits¡­ it¡¯s like that damn Champion was forcing my mind, telling me to do it!¡±

    Her words dissolved into sobs, her body shaking against mine. I could feel her tears soaking through my armor as she clung to me desperately.

    "I thought I''d never see you again," she choked out between sobs. "I was so scared, and everything went dark when he tore out my heart, and I thought... I thought..."

    I hesitantly placed a hand on her back, unsure of how to respond to this outpouring of emotion. Part of me wanted to push her away, to remind her of her initial intentions when she came to Svalbard. But another part, the part that had worked so hard to bring her back, felt a twinge of sympathy.

    "It''s okay, Cali," I found myself saying, my voice softer than I''d intended. "You''re alive.¡±

    She pulled back slightly, her ocean-blue eyes brimming with tears as she looked up at me. "You saved me," she whispered. "After everything terrible that I¡¯ve done... you still saved me. Why?¡±

    I felt her allure reaching out to me, trying to make me confess my feelings. I shut down, stopped my heartbeat, stopped my breathing, fell silent in opposition to it.

    I felt Cali''s allure recede as she backed away, letting go of me, her eyes widening with realization. She stumbled back, nearly tripping over her own feet.

    "I''m sorry, I''m so sorry!" she gasped, her ears flattening against her head. "I didn''t mean to... I can''t control it. But I swear, Ioan, I''ll learn. I''ll do whatever it takes to master my allure without using Star-Shards. I don''t want to manipulate you! I just... I want to.... to protect my Champion."

    I took a deep breath, steadying myself.

    ¡°Not your Champion,¡± I pointed out.

    ¡°Just¡­ just a friend then?¡± She asked with a shy look.

    ¡°Why do you want to be my friend?¡± I asked her. ¡°Is it to work your way up to make me your Champion?¡±

    Cali choked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t bloody help it!¡± She cried. ¡°I freaking¡­ you¡­¡±

    I watched as Cali crumpled to the dirt-filled floor of the sleigh, her tears flowing freely now. Her tail curled around her legs as she hugged herself, looking smaller and more vulnerable than I''d ever seen her.

    "I can''t help it," she repeated, her voice breaking. "It''s... it''s how we''re made, Ioan. From the moment we''re born, we''re taught that our purpose is to find the strongest, best, most rare Champion, to bind them, to... to love them, to bring them to our family. It''s ingrained in every fiber of our being by Goldara''s divine paws!"

    I leaned against the wall, keeping some distance between us. "And you can''t fight against that programming?"

    Cali shook her head, her white hair falling in front of her face. "I''ve tried. By Goldara''s tits, I''ve tried. I¡¯m still trying so hard! But it''s like... like trying not to breathe. It''s automatic, instinctive. And with you..." She looked up at me, her blue eyes shimmering. "With you, it''s different. You''re not like any man I''ve ever met. You don¡¯t just submit, don¡¯t bow, don¡¯t worship me. You resist my allure, you question everything, create so many strange things. You make me want to be... better."

    I raised an eyebrow. "Better how?"

    "I don''t know," she admitted, wiping her nose with the sweater. "Just... more than what I was made to be. When I first came to Svalbard, yes, I wanted to make you my Champion. But now... now I just want to understand you. To help you. To be your friend, if you''ll let me. Please? I¡­ died for you. Isn¡¯t that enough for you to see that I¡­ I care for you?¡±

    I squinted at her, not sure if this was some kind of manipulation. Stormy didn¡¯t seem to say anything, simply yawning from her location on the couch.

    ¡°What if I can¡¯t love you back?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that none of our Champions really love us. Our allure is just a magic leash¡­ one that unmakes any of their other thoughts, forcing them to love us. I get that. I get that you¡¯ll never love me, but I¡¯m allowed to love you!¡±

    ¡°What happens if you see another shiny Champion?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Cali shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to dedicate whatever was left of my life to you when I jumped from that cliff. I¡¯m not going to change my mind about that.¡±

    ¡°What happens if Iridium demands things of you, your Arch-Mother or whatever calls on the Farcast orb?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll say whatever you tell me to say!¡± Cali said. ¡°I¡¯ll do whatever you want me to do. I died for you Ioan. I¡¯ll die for you again if you want me to! I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re an Emissary of Endalaus or just a Nordstaii boy who knows more things! I¡¯m not leaving your side!¡±

    ¡°Because you love me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, damn it,¡± she blushed.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You already did so many impossible things. You somehow gave me back my heart, Ioan... You could have kept me dead!

    "You''ve shown me a world beyond what I thought possible," she said, her eyes never leaving mine. "You''ve challenged everything I thought I knew about Champions, about magic, about... everything. And you''ve done it all while remaining true to yourself. How could I not admire that? How could I not want to be a part of that? I think that in that darkness¡­ between being dead and alive¡­ I was still somehow aware, dreaming of you, catching onto bits of all the strange things you were doing to keep me alive.¡±

    She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I know I can''t undo what I did when we first met. I know I can''t erase the fact that I came here to bind you like a dumb Felix. But I swear, Ioan, I''m not that Felix anymore. I want to help you, to learn from you, to... to be worthy of the second chance you''ve given me!"

    I studied her face, searching for any sign of deception. But all I saw was raw, honest vulnerability. It was a far cry from the confident, manipulative Felix I''d first encountered a month ago in the pub of Svalbard.

    After a long moment, I nodded slowly. "Alright, Cali. I believe you. But trust is going to take time to rebuild. Understand?"

    Relief flooded her features. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Ioan. I promise, I won''t let you down! I¡¯ll be there for you in any capacity that you might need a Felix Arcanicx!"

    "We''ll see," I said, reaching for the remote. "For now, I¡¯m going to switch back to Teya. We''ve got a long journey ahead of us and I don¡¯t want to be here when more of Gygr¡¯s champions show up.¡±

    Cali nodded, an ocean of sadness dancing in her wide blue eyes. "I understand. Just... bring me back if you ever need me, yeah?"

    "Yeah," I assured her, then flipped the switch.

    "Done talking to your other girlfriends?" Teya teased when she manifested back into existence. She glanced at her arm, noting that the scratch left by Stormy was still there. ¡°Well, that answers that. I''ll probably get sunburn too and should avoid wildling arrows.¡±

    I let out a small chuckle, feeling the tension from my conversation with Cali start to ease. "They''re not my girlfriends, Teya."

    "Mhm," she hummed, a playful glint in her eye. "I was sort of dreaming of you talking to them, feeling what they felt... I think. Very odd stuff. So, what''s the verdict? Are we all one big happy family now?"

    I ran a hand through my hair, sighing. "Something like that. It''s going to take some time to figure out this weirdness of three people in one body. But for now, we need to focus on getting out of here."

    ¡°I¡¯ll take us out,¡± Teya nodded. ¡°I¡¯m the boss of all watery things. Just tell me where to go and I¡¯ll be right on that. Is this underwater vessel repaired and sea worthy?¡±

    ¡°I think so,¡± I nodded.

    ¡°Lovely,¡± she smiled at me. ¡°Off we go then.¡±

    She waved a hand and the ocean water beside the sleigh roared, coming up to engulf us in watery hands.

    ¡°Ready for more possibly deadly new adventures in the lands of the South facing more unkillable Champions and evil witches?¡± I asked her.

    Galateya reached out to me and squeezed my hand, her smile warm. "With you? Always."

    [The End]

    [Of Book 1]

    Thank you for reading Beware of Kittens!

 Scientific Sorcery : 2 : 1 Masters of All

    I sat atop the sleigh, Stormy perched on my shoulder, the vast expanse of the North Sea shimmering beneath another small isle that we currently inhabited. The cold wind whipped through my red hair, carrying the scent of salt. As I gazed out at the horizon, my mind wandered back over the whirlwind of events that had brought me to this point.

    It felt like a lifetime ago that I''d awakened beneath the ice of Glinka, confused and disoriented.

    In the span of two months, I''d gone from a bewildered Robinson Cruso in a strange land of Nordic cultivators to... well, whatever I was now. A witch? A scientist? A fusion of both? A bunch of liquid crystals powered by other crystals, effectively pretending to be a seventeen year old Nordstaii teen? A friend of river spirits and talking cats?

    I smiled, scratching Stormy behind the ears. "We''ve come a long way, haven''t we, girl?"

    The black kitten made a ¡°Murrr¡± noise in response, nuzzling against my neck.

    I thought back to my first week in Svalbard, learning to harness my newfound abilities, crafting remotes and experimenting with the strange magic of this world. It all seemed so simple then - just me, trying to survive in a hostile environment, trying to understand the nature of magic.

    But then came Stormy, Yaga Grandhilda, Cali, Bobliss, Teya, Moonalia... each new encounter adding layers of complexity to my understanding of Thornwild and my place in it. I''d faced down champions, outsmarted a Gygr, and even managed to create a crystalline being that was part river spirit, part Felix, and part Corvix.

    "And let''s not forget about you," I murmured to Stormy. "My clever little guide through all this madness. My little kitten radio, a receiver of future signals that I¡¯ve somehow been sending to myself. How does that work anyway?¡±

    ¡°Brrrr,¡± Stormy shrugged, which possibly meant ¡®hell if I know, I¡¯m a kitten¡¯.

    I sat, lost in thought, Cali emerged from below deck.

    Her arms were laden with an assortment of dead plants I sent her to dig out for me - dried seaweed, brittle driftwood, and withered moss from the shore.

    "Hey, um," she called. "I''ve gathered everything I could find, but... why do you need all these dead plants?"

    I patted the edge next to me, inviting her to sit. "Come here, Cali. Let me tell you a story.¡±

    The Felix settled beside me, at a respectable distance, her white tail curling around her legs. The scent of brine clung to her pure white mane, mingling with the air of the ocean.

    "Once," I began, my voice low, "there was a Nordstaii boy named Ioan Starfall. He lived in a village called Svalbard, near the river Glinka. One day a dragon ate all of his kin and he fell under a river wishing for power.¡±

    "I know that part," Cali squinted at me. "Where is this going?"

    I smiled, picking up a piece of driftwood. "Ah, you see, this story goes back much further than you might think. To Earth.¡±

    ¡°Earth?¡± Cali squinted at me.

    I took a deep breath. "Earth was... different. Bigger. More crowded. We had cities that stretched as far as the eye could see, towers that scraped the sky."

    "Bigger than Iridium?"

    "Much bigger. And we had machines, Cali. Automatons that could think."

    "Like... like Cantigeists?" she asked, leaning in closer.

    I shook my head. "Not quite. These were... different. We called them computers, and later, artificial intelligence. They started small, solving simple problems. But we kept pushing, kept improving them and taught them everything we knew."

    Cali''s tail swished back and forth. "And?"

    I picked up a piece of dried seaweed, turning it over in my hands to examine it. "We thought we could change the world with these machines. Make it better. Solve all our problems."

    "Did it work?" Cali asked.

    ¡°Seems like it did,¡± I met her gaze, seeing the eagerness in her ocean-blue eyes. "It... changed things. But not always in the ways we expected. We created wonders, yes, but also new problems.¡±

    ¡°Problems like?¡± Cali asked.

    I pointed at the monstrous, infinite world hanging above us in the pale morning sky.

    "From what I can deduce," I said, "Endalaus is likely the result of a runaway effect of artificial intelligence we made."

    Cali''s ears twitched "What?"

    "Imagine an artifact, Cali. A tool designed to fulfill all human desires, to make our lives better. But this machine keeps growing, keeps improving itself, faster than we can comprehend, faster than anyone could stop it."

    I picked up a handful of dirt from beside me, letting it crumble between my fingers. "It starts small, like this. But it grows exponentially, consuming resources, reshaping reality itself to better serve its purpose."

    The wind picked up, carrying the dust of the dust away. I watched it disappear into the vast ocean below us. "Eventually, it becomes... that," I said, pointing at Endalaus. "A world-sized artifact, endlessly expanding, trying to grant every possible wish, every conceivable desire."

    Cali''s eyes widened. "But... how? Why?"

    I sighed, feeling the weight of this revelation. "Because we told it to, Cali. Because we wanted to master all of the things around us. Because an infinite growth curve isn¡¯t something that can be easily understood or halted. I guess that in our quest for power we managed to mess something up, creating a self-replicating engine.¡±

    The Felix gulped.

    ¡°You know things about Endaluas then?¡± She asked. ¡°Secret things? Are you from there or are you not? How can you read the words of the Sky Gods?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Earth,¡± I shook my head. ¡°From a time when something like Endalaus was just an idea that was being considered and developed by my people.¡±

    ¡°How is that even possible?¡± Cali demanded. "How can you be from that long ago?"

    ¡°Because of a river,¡± I pointed at the delta of River Glinka glittering in the distance.

    ¡°What?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    ¡°One hundred thousand years ago, this frozen wasteland was green and yellow steppes,¡± I said.

    ¡°Huh? You¡­ were you there?¡± Cali asked. "You remember it?"

    ¡°I was not,¡± I shook my head. ¡°But a girl named Karpathy Galateya had been.¡±

    ¡°Before Arcanicx?¡± She asked.

    "Long before the Arcanicx, yes," I nodded. "Before the Wormwood Star fell from the sky. Before the Nordstaii came here chased by the glaciers. This is also the story of how humanity first came to Thornwild."

    ¡°Humanity came here?¡± Cali tilted her head at me.

    I gestured to the morning sky above us, where countless violet stars twinkled. "Imagine, if you will, great ships sailing not on water, but through the vast emptiness between worlds. These ships carried the last remnants of humanity from a dying planet called Werth."

    "Why was it dying?¡± Cali asked.

    ¡°They were fleeing the void-storms caused by Endalaus.¡±

    I picked up a withered flower, twirling it between my fingers. "One of the grandkids of these pioneers was a young girl named Karpathy Galateya. Galateya grew up in a world very different from the one we currently inhabit. The land was warmer then.... but it wasn''t without its dangers."

    Cali nodded.

    "One night, Galateya was attacked by a group of hostile humans - the Sarcaxians. In her panic, she swallowed a strange crystal her grandfather had given her for safekeeping."

    "A crystal?" Cali''s ears twitched. "Was it a Star Shard?"

    I shook my head. "No, something far older. A Chronacist - a relic from Werth that could store vast amounts of information and... human consciousness."

    The Felix squinted at me.

    "You¡¯re made entirely from these Chronacist crystals now, Cali. It''s what allows you and Teya and Mooni to exist in the same body.¡±

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe that¡¯s a thing,¡± Cali muttered. ¡°That you can just¡­ turn me off with a switch, like I¡¯m just an artifact.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not ideal,¡± I shrugged. ¡°But that¡¯s what we used to save you, Mooni and Teya.¡±

    Stormy hopped from my shoulder to Cali''s lap, purring loudly as she settled in.

    "Ioan," she said softly, "this is all interesting, weird, and terrifying, but... I want to know more about you. The real you. Not just the history of everything everywhere.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± I asked. ¡°Why me?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t care that much about the big picture,¡± Cali said. ¡°I just want to know you.¡±

    ¡°Because you want to ¡®Champion¡¯ me?¡± I asked.

    "It''s... it''s not just about finding any Champion," she said, fidgeting with the hem of her Nordstaii sweater. "We Felix, we''re drawn to power. And you?" She looked up at me, a blush coloring her cheeks. "You¡¯re¡­ power.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a hero though,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a witch. After I broke through the river ice I was offered to be a Champion by Yaga Granhilda, but I convinced her to make me into a¡­ witch.¡±

    ¡°A witch,¡± Cali mulled. ¡°You''re the only male witch on all of Thornwild then.¡±

    ¡°There might be others,¡± I shrugged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know of any others,¡± Cali pointed out. ¡°Do you have any idea how astronomical your value is to me?"

    I raised an eyebrow.

    "It''s like... imagine you''re starving¡­ all the time and you find the most delicious meal in existence. That''s what you are to me," she explained, her tail twitching. "But it''s more than that. We''re not just hungry for a Champion to be at our side. It''s about strengthening our families, our bloodlines."

    She paused, gathering her thoughts. "When we bring a new Champion home, it''s like... introducing new magic into our family. We want to create stronger, more unique Felix Arcanix. And you, Ioan? The things you could bring to my family..." She trailed off, her eyes glazing over slightly.

    "So I''m just a prized breeding stallion to you? Or a tasty meal?¡±

    Cali''s ears flattened against her head. "No! I mean, yes, but... it''s more than that. We Felix, we''re planners, hunters. We need our Champions to be our strength, our hands. The more talented our mate is, the longer we stay young and capable."

    She reached out, hesitantly, sliding even closer. "It''s a partnership, Ioan. We''re the brains, and Champions are the hands. We can''t function without each other. And when we bond... It''s like our Champions become an extension of ourselves. We love our mates, truly and deeply."

    I looked at her hand that slid onto my leg, then back to her face. "And the harder I resist..."

    "The more I want you," she finished, her voice barely above a whisper. "It''s like you''re this impossible puzzle I can''t solve, and every time you push me away, I just want to try harder to figure out how to make you stay at my side."

    I sighed. "Cali, I-"

    "I know, I know," she interrupted, her ears drooping. "You''re not just some prize to be won. But Ioan, can''t you see? This isn''t just about what you can do for me or my family. It''s about what we could be together. The amazing things we could accomplish, you and me! The change we could bring to all Arcanicx!¡±

    "You paint quite a picture, Cali. But you have to understand, I¡¯ll never give up my freedom or my identity, to be someone''s... hand."

    Cali nodded, her expression softening. "I understand. And I promise, I''m trying to fight against my instincts. It''s just... really, really freaking hard. You''re unlike anyone I''ve ever met, Ioan. And the more I get to know you, the more I want to be by your side, Champion or not."

    Silver-blue threads stretched out from her Aura to mine as she leaned onto my shoulder, dancing across my entire body. I squinted at them through the lenses of my Astralscope goggles as they attempted to paint the girl sitting next to me as the most beautiful and precious being in the universe, my one true love that I had to worship and obey.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she exhaled.

    She closed her eyes, trembling ever so slightly and slowly breathing in and out. The threads readjusted their dance portraying her in my mind''s eye as a fluffy, white, absurdly cute kitten with oversized ocean-blue eyes. The threads demanded love, pets and obedience.

    ¡°Pfff,¡± I exiled.

    "What''s so funny?" Cali asked, her real ears twitching.

    ¡°Marginally better,¡± I commented. ¡°Why a kitten?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she squeaked. ¡°Just trying something different!¡±

    ¡°Maybe try something else,¡± I suggested.

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°How about¡­ a fish?¡±

    ¡°I am not a fish!¡± Cali huffed. ¡°How can I even picture myself as a fish?!¡±

    "Come on, give it a try. You might surprise yourself,¡± I encouraged. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re not optimizing what you have, treading the same old path.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a freaking Corvix,¡± Cali pointed out. The kitten fell apart into the same old ¡®worship me because I¡¯m beautiful, amazing and perfect¡¯ allure massage pounding into my head.

    ¡°But what if you could be?¡± I asked her.

    ¡°What?¡± Cali blinked at me.

    ¡°I can make you¡­ partially Mooni,¡± I said, showing her the remote responsible for Mooni. ¡°I think that I can make a small percentage of you Mooni, see if that helps you control your allure.¡±

    "You can do that? Just... change who I am¡­ partially?"

    ¡°We can always switch it back if you don''t like it."

    She hesitated for a moment, then squared her shoulders. "Okay. Let''s try it."

    I adjusted the dial on the remote, just a tiny bit. There was a subtle shift in the air around Cali, like a change in pressure. The Felix blinked rapidly, shaking her head as if to clear it.

    "How do you feel?" I asked, leaning in to examine her closely.

    ¡°Huh,¡± She blinked. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it''s like¡­ I have a tiniest bit more control over my thoughts¡­ I think.¡±

    She huffed but closed her eyes in concentration. I watched through my Astralscope as her silver-blue threads danced and twisted, trying to form a new allure concept. At first, they just created a blob with fins in my head.

    "Is it working?" Cali asked, opening one eye.

    "Keep going," I encouraged.

    The blob slowly elongated, gaining more defined features. Suddenly, I found myself mentally picturing a silver-blue thread version of... a curvy mermaid?

    "Well, that''s certainly fishy.¡±

    Cali''s cheeks flushed pink. "It''s harder than it looks, okay?"

    "Let''s try something else. How about... a tree?"

    Cali''s brow furrowed as she concentrated again. This time, her threads formed a shape that looked more like a giant broccoli with a kitten face that demanded worship.

    I snickered.

    ¡°Argh,¡± Cali panted. ¡°This is hard and I¡¯m getting a migraine.¡±

    ¡°More Mooniness then?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Cali nodded.

    I cranked the Corvix-summoning remote dial to 2%.