by Sarah Lin
To his surprise, the second pick was a young Deuxan woman. She didn't feel exceptionally strong, but a glance at her soulhome revealed an intricate web of silver and glass. Perhaps access or familiarity with new sublime materials was being prioritized? Then again, he might not have taken the Deuxan woman's proper measure.
Famaj stepped up as the third instructor and Theo found himself waiting, irritated at his own anticipation. It might not make sense for Famaj to choose Theo first, but he had seen Fiyu in combat. That would shift the nature of the choosing, making him hope that he would be skipped until Famaj could choose him during the second selection.
Except Famaj didn't choose Fiyu.
Instead he picked a Tatian man who Theo hadn't even noticed until that moment and now reconsidered. It was true that he held a lot of cantae, but his soulhome was essentially just a large stone dome. Good for gathering cantae, but not much else. Comparing him to Fiyu's efficacy... Theo had to reconsider whether or not he was biased, and he was definitely too involved.
Next, an unassuming Tatian woman chose Magnafor. That was an odd choice, leaving him considering whether or not he had missed some essential element of the exercise. Perhaps Magnafor had further distinguished himself, or perhaps-
"The young Ichili woman, if she would be so kind."
Fiyu gasped aloud, while Theo quickly looked to find who had chosen her. It was one of the young Tatian women he'd noted earlier: relatively unremarkable, though her clothes were cut for easy movement and her short hair was a whiter blond than average. The most notable thing about her was the staff she carried, a wooden shaft studded with black stones at the bottom and along the forking top. It felt like a soulcrafter armament, though not one he knew.
At first he worried that he'd need to herd Fiyu in that direction, but she understood what they were doing and reluctantly went to stand with the other woman. The two of them spoke to each other too low to hear while other group leaders continued to choose their teammates.
Most of those were unremarkable, leaving Theo increasingly irritated as he wasn't chosen. He noticed that many of the leaders chose the Tatian soulcrafters, even though they weren't generally among the stronger candidates. Could it really be simple provincialism?
He realized that one of the team leaders actually wasn't Tatian, instead a Deuxan man wearing similar robes. In the warm sunlight his hair looked Tatian blond, but it was actually silver. Whatever the case, he broke the pattern by choosing a Fithan woman who Theo judged was probably the strongest person remaining, so that was logical enough.
As the second round began, Theo wondered just how long he would have to wait. When it was Famaj's second turn to pick, Theo tried to make eye contact with him... only for Famaj to choose one of the last Tatian Farmguards. Remaining with the others, Theo reflected on the inadequacies of Tatian culture. The downside of the all-encompassing warmth was that their loyalty was only skin deep.
Then he noticed that Fiyu was pointing directly at him. It seemed to be a disagreement between the two, though he still couldn't hear any of their words. Theo stayed still and tried not to respond in any way as the Tatian woman regarded him with a cool skepticism he didn't often see in that world.
"You, then." She wasn't as polite as before, but she did point at him. Theo nodded and rapidly moved to join them, trying to decide if this was really cause for irritation or if he was being childish. His ideal team would have included Famaj and Navim, but he'd have to make do.
Once he drew close, Fiyu smiled between them and the Tatian woman regarded him without expression. "She said that your name was Jake?"
"Yeah. And you are?"
"My name is Nauda. I trust that we can work together as a wholesome community despite the nature of this choosing."
Her statement was so generic he gave her a second glance, but he saw nothing but a bland Tatian smile on her face. Resolving to keep an open mind, Theo stepped behind her alongside Fiyu to let the choosing continue, though several others had chosen in the meantime.
Nauda continued to look through the candidates thoughtfully and Theo didn't have anyone to suggest. On her third opportunity, she chose a Tatian man named Kuber without hesitation. Though not the most polished soulcrafter, his soulhome had an unusually broad foundation that was worthy of note. Of all the instructors, only Nauda, the old man who went first, and a middle-aged woman made choices that Theo thought were rational.
After the third round, it was obvious they were down to less ideal candidates. Of course Tatian society couldn't allow anyone to be last, so the pattern changed and those remaining were scattered at once. Their group ended up with five more people: two Tatians, two Fithans of opposite coloration, and a Deuxan. None of them struck him as showing any particular potential as soulcrafters, though he had to admit that some people might think the same of him.
"You all have your new families, yes?" Nanjuma looked over them all with his hands on his hips and a smile of immense satisfaction on his face. "Wonderful! We will be providing instructors, classes, and materials at various times, as well as competitions later in the year. But your group leaders will decide which are most important for your family, so please take care of one another!"
Then part of his growth lay in the hands of Nauda - it was a small comfort that she was open to being swayed, given that she had listened to Fiyu. It was obvious that the Ichili woman considered their group much too large and shrank behind him... but also behind Nauda. Odd that the Tatian woman seemed to have earned a little trust so quickly.
With that, the ceremony was over and the groups began to split up. Theirs only made it a short distance away before the bluish Fithan regarded Nauda with a scornful look. "What gives you the right to decide how we soulcraft? I can't trust in your judgment, given how you chose me last."
"Please forgive me." Nauda clasped both her hands and bowed deeply. "I was judging not your considerable strength, but your flexibility in soulcrafting. I admired how you showed great facility with stone but I was deeply troubled that we could not provide you with better natural materials."
Her abject apology seemed to mollify the man, but Theo found himself considering. Despite what she said, the Fithan wasn't particularly strong, so he couldn't decide if that was poor judgment or simply Tatian flattery. But her other statement, if accurate, was a sign of a clear strategy: she wanted a group that would be capable of rapidly soulcrafting the sublime materials available to them. A perfectly sound strategy, if a bit boring.
"The remainder of the day will be devoted to introducing instructors, organizing classes, and familiarizing ourselves with one another." Nauda smiled warmly at all of them. "I hope that we can work well together, but I will not impose on you tonight. Please restrain your celebrations so that we can begin in the courtyard tomorrow at dawn."
So all he needed to do was suffer though one more night of Tatian hospitality, then the training could begin. Theo told himself that he could master even this challenge.
Chapter 10
The next morning, Theo was soulcrafting in the courtyard before the sun had risen. He'd hoped to have some time to analyze Nauda, but as she didn't arrive until exactly sunrise, all he accomplished was further breaking up his solarstone. Soon enough he would need to begin crafting bricks, hopefully aided by all of the classes instead of hindered.
Fiyu emerged on time and sat soulcrafting in the corner nearest him, and the others arrived not long after. Soon they were only missing Kuber, who wasn't on time in typical Tatian fashion, so the Fithan man who had made trouble the previous day was sent into the men's quarters to retrieve him. In the meantime, Theo learned that his name was Trathis, just in case he turned out to be a problem.
Actually, he was introduced to all of them - Nauda had them sit in a circle and give their names and origins - but Theo let most of the names run through his mind like water. Most likely none of them would interfere or assist with his goals in any way. Still, he paid attention as Nauda began what seemed to be a lesson.
"You can't enter a soulhome." Trathis didn't bother to hide a sneer. "Not unless you're a legendary king in some kind of children's story."
Nauda lowered her gaze in an apologetic bow. "This is true. I meant something slightly different, so thank you for your essential correction. Though I am certain that you have seen thousands of techniques superior to mine, please bear with it. Now, link hands and relax any cantae defenses."
Of course Tatian training was going to involve sitting in a circle and holding hands. Theo held his tongue, as he was curious just what Nauda intended, and extended his hands to either side. Kuber immediately grasped his wrist on his left, but his right hung in the air... Fiyu had been holding back from the circle. She reluctantly shifted closer and laid a finger on his hand as if it would bite her. That put her between him and Nauda... and then a rush of cantae sent him spiraling.
Not into his soulhome, but somewhere else. Theo pushed against it, and realized he could easily resist the effect, but instead allowed himself to be swept away. His soul and body remained motionless, it was as if his mind was being given a new vantage point.
He floated just above the ground of a soulhome, yet it felt insubstantial instead of deeply grounded in himself. When he tried to shift his weight, he saw that his feet didn't truly touch the ground - he was a blur of blue light as if he was soulcrafting. Around him, he saw the others as spirits, many of them spinning in confusion. Fiyu was a perfectly calm shadow, as if having her mind transported into another soulhome was less distressing than holding hands.
Nauda stood in front of them, the only person who remained fully concrete, so this was clearly her soulhome. The field surrounding the main structure was bright Tatian grass and the clouds overhead glowed as if an orange sun lay behind them. Her soulhome itself was impressively built, with sturdy stone walls covered in artfully growing vines.
Somewhat smaller than he had expected, given her status as a group leader. His gaze slid upward and he noted a structure like the base of a pyramid under construction atop the building. It pressed into the clouds overhead, which pressed back, the occasional chip of paint flaking away. So she was attempting to push past her first floor to ascend to Archcrafter as quickly as possible.
"This is my soulhome, such as it is." Nauda smiled at all of them and swept a hand to encompass it. "Since you are not truly within my soul, you should be able to float simply by willing it. Please follow me as I show you my soulcrafting."
Though a few had trouble, Theo found that floating came naturally and he flowed after her. Nauda checked to make sure everyone was following, then opened her ornate wooden door. The first room was spare, but the air hummed with stored cantae.
"This first chamber is a humble room with no special purpose," Nauda explained as she continued onward. "But it is essential for your soulhome to have balance for stability. I have three chambers that serve an essential purpose, so creating a fourth gives me symmetry."
Perfectly logical, though he wondered how she intended to expand in the future. Unless she had some truly exotic sublime materials, her second floor couldn't be broader than her first, and having only four chambers per tier would be very limiting, no matter how stable it was.
"The most important room in my soulhome is this: my heart chamber." Nauda led them into the second room, which was dominated by a large tree - though it looked Tatian, it was a variety that he hadn't seen before. She didn't explain that, instead telling the others basics about how the tree generated cantae and she used the chamber to channel the majority of it.
Ignoring that, Theo looked into the next room. It was another spare chamber, but there was a large window to the outside... and a telescope of golden brass. His eyes widened and he had to resist drifting closer: it was a finely crafted object for a soulhome, and almost certainly the source of this technique to let people view other soulhomes directly.
"Why's your staff here?" Kuber's question broke through his own thoughts and Theo looked back as he realized that he'd missed a detail. There was an exact copy of Nauda's staff standing in the chamber beside the tree, easy to miss because the trunk had partially grown over it.
"This is the spiritual reflection of my weapon in reality." Nauda walked beside the tree and ran her finger along one of the forked prongs. "Anyone can pick up a weapon and use it, of course, and even make it powerful by forcing cantae into it. But by including my personal weapon here, it can naturally hold cantae and I can use it more effectively."
"If it's a soulcrafter weapon, doesn't it need its own chamber?"
"Ah... my staff is a weapon used by a soulcrafter, but it is not a 'soulcrafter weapon' if you mean an armament with great power of its own. It is only a tool. If I held a powerful armament, yes, it would require a dedicated chamber for its full use, but that is beyond my current needs."
Kuber floated back, apparently satisfied, but Trathis spoke up before Nauda could continue her tour. "What's that telescope thing?"
"That is the spiritual construct that allows all of you to tour my soulhome." Nauda smiled over all of them. "I am quite proud of it, so I hope-"
"But what's it made out of? I haven't seen sublime materials like that on Tatian, so did you get them from somewhere else?"
Nauda frowned slightly, though she still responded. "I have lived my entire life on Tatian and I do not believe those materials were taken from another world. They are simply less common, especially in this region. Now, if there are no other questions, perhaps we can move on?"
The soulhome around him began to fade and this time there was nothing he could do to resist the process. Theo couldn't help but take a final glance around, noting two critical omissions. First, he doubted that such an elaborate telescope existed solely for the sake of pleasant little tours - most likely it allowed her to examine the soulhomes of others far beyond what the unaided spirit could see.
Second: Nauda had a fourth chamber that she kept locked tight.
"Fiyu, would you be willing to show us your soulhome?" Nauda asked the question rhetorically, but Fiyu's spirit flinched in surprise. After a very long pause, she sighed and nodded, her finger back on the physical plane digging into his palm.
Several of the other students let out cries of surprise as darkness engulfed them, but it was just the environment of Ichil. They stood on dark rocky ground, shadows encroaching on all sides, the only light a soft blue glow from the clouds overhead. As others struggled to see, Theo let his vision adjust and then examined Fiyu's soulhome.
While Nauda's structure could have been a quaint home on Tatian, Fiyu's defied any ordinary blueprint. There were walls of black stone, yes, but one chamber appeared to be a solid chunk of ice, directly beside walls of lava that flowed thick and dark. Theo hadn't explored Ichil enough to know anything about that and suspected that Fiyu's mentor had given her sublime materials from far away.
"Well!" The spiritual blur of Nauda put her hands on her hips and regarded the structure with what looked like pleasant, if hazy, surprise. "I hoped that Fiyu would show us variety, but this is better than I expected. Fiyu? You must be here, this is your soul..."
"I am here." Fiyu poked her head from out of the door, almost entirely cast in shadow. "But I do not wish to give a tour."
"That's fine, it can still help everyone understand. The rest of you... note the environment around the building. The shadows and the sky are nothing, just reflecting Fiyu's world of origin, but note how firm the ground is. This is Fiyu's foundation, which renders it effective for some things and less so for others. For example... I imagine that you do not have a tree growing in your heart chamber, do you?"
Though Fiyu paused for a time, eventually she bobbed her head. "No. I acquired a type of sublime wood and a s
ublime spark in order to create a fire. Its burning generates the cantae I need."
"Wonderful!" Nauda looked like she wanted to pat Fiyu reassuringly, but held back and instead turned to the group. "You see? There are as many types of soulhome as there are people. Look here, where the ice and stone merge so beautifully..."
Theo ignored the lecture and analyzed the structure for himself. Overall, Fiyu's soulhome was more specialized, not merely storing cantae but using it with great efficiency for specific techniques. He couldn't figure out which chamber generated all those bolts of light from the outside, but suspected that her fire lay in the central chamber.
If he understood the structure correctly, she was actually planning her outer wall to be a circle, not a square. It looked blocky because several chambers were still in progress: the ice had further to grow, and there was an area on the opposite side that appeared to be canvas strapped over a gap. Clearly a temporary sublime material as she finished her first floor.
Seeing Fiyu's discomfort, Nauda didn't keep them there long. Instead her eyes turned toward Theo and he felt a penetrating focus on his soul. Though she hesitated, waiting for an invitation, he had a feeling that she could have taken a look even if he tried to refuse her. He wished that he had a shielding wall, but building one would be a huge waste of resources while he was still a first tier soulcrafter, if it was even possible.
Instead he eased his soul and allowed her to guide everyone else in. Immediately he felt firm and grounded, the air itself resonating with him. Of course, his soul was nothing compared to the previous two, and he ignored the snickers from a few of the others.