by Sarah Lin
"Like many of you," Nauda said as soon as the spirits arrived, "Jake is beginning construction on his soulhome. Can you tell us about what you're doing here?"
"There's not too much to explain. I've found the sublime materials I want, but I'm still preparing them. The wood is mostly ready, but the stone needs shaping before I can soulcraft anything, and that's hard spiritual work."
"Jake has made a good point: the best sublime materials require a great deal of time to process them. There are tales of soulcrafters spending months hammering stone or metal in the proper shape, and it is said that masters spend years preparing their materials before they begin to build a new chamber."
"What's this thing?" Trathis kicked at the pile of rubble, though his spiritual form couldn't touch it. Theo was still trying to decide whether or not to ignore this insult when one of the other men in the class spoke up.
"It's obviously a temporary cantae structure, Trathis. Don't be an idiot. What I want to know is... what's this door? I've never seen anything like it."
Nauda stepped beside her, her hand nearly touching the edge. "This is a door between the soulhome and the outer world, allowing a person to remain aware of their surroundings. It is... not a technique I would suggest trying before you have more experience." Her gaze shifted toward him, a cool curiosity that he simply met with a flat stare.
Soon enough they moved on, still in the order of the choosing. Kuber's soulhome was mostly empty except for a wide block of stone that would serve as a foundation. Theo had seen that much before, but actually standing inside, he could see that there was a temporary structure of wood to store cantae as well as more rocks being broken apart to one side. Clearly, Kuber was working toward something, but he refused to give any more information.
The remaining members of their class were even less notable, mostly single rooms to store cantae, or in one case, a tent surrounding a tree. For all his boasting, Trathis had nothing but a single stone chamber and a wooden lean-to against it. Enough to make him much stronger than a person who couldn't use cantae, but nothing remarkable.
Everyone emerged back into the physical world and most pulled their hands back, since they'd grown clammy while they drifted in spiritual realities. Nauda began to explain more basic lessons in a friendly, affirming tone that made Theo sick. He ignored her and instead considered how he would rank the entire class: they were all first tier soulcrafters, but that didn't make them equal.
Fiyu and Nauda were clearly at the top, though not directly comparable. It seemed that Fiyu was attempting to fully polish her first tier, while Nauda was building upward to reach the second. Both were valid strategies, though Fiyu would be more versatile while Nauda would be more powerful. They would need to shift their focuses as they became Archcrafters and moved beyond, of course.
Kuber was currently one of the weakest members of their group in terms of raw cantae, but had done more work than all the rest. If he had a good plan for his soulhome, all the foundation he'd laid could pay off, though Theo was still unclear on what blueprint would start in such a strange fashion.
After him came one of the other women, then Trathis, then the others. Theo himself would appear to be last, but only because the work he'd put in earned him little power. If everything came together, he would rapidly become far more dangerous.
At last the basic lecture finished, so he started paying attention again. Nauda gave all of them an overly broad smile and patted the knees of everyone within reach except Fiyu. "I see that you are a wonderful group of soulcrafters with great things ahead of you. Those of you without a heart chamber, your first task should be to construct one. Please ask me if you need different sublime materials or specific instructions, and if I cannot help you, I will find someone who can."
"When are classes?" one of the others asked. Nauda shook her head.
"I chose this group in the hopes that we could skip the simplest of classes, and I believe we can. So there is nothing to attend until tomorrow - I suggest you focus on your soulcrafting, particularly the most work-intensive parts. Meanwhile, I would like to speak to each of you individually. Fiyu?"
"I..." Fiyu shrank back and pulled her hood lower. "I would like some time alone."
"Of course. Come to me when you feel more comfortable." That meant her gaze turned to Theo next, since she was apparently going in choice order every time. "Jake?"
"Sure, we can talk." He rose to his feet, almost stumbling as pain shot through his knees. One of his legs was partially asleep, too, a consequence of having spent so long sitting and focusing on the spiritual. There were soulhome constructions that could avoid such things, often accessories in entrance chambers, but those were luxuries he couldn't afford yet.
The others departed, Fiyu fleeing to her room and most discussing what they had seen. Theo moved to the side, trying not to limp, and Nauda followed him. They walked from the courtyard, which was beginning to fill with other soulcrafters, and down one of the grassy stairways to a small ledge with a decent view. Once there, Nauda stood beside him, leaning on her staff and not making eye contact.
"I would like to be helpful to you, Jake. I hope you understand that. But to have soulcrafted a door first is... a strange decision. I would never dream of accusing you of anything harmful to community, but you do inspire great curiosity in me. I can only hope that is a forgivable sin."
There was something just a little off about her tone and Theo couldn't help but look at her, yet he saw nothing but Tatian earnestness. He opted for technical truth: "Let's just say I'm following a blueprint in my head."
"And what is that small foundation you're building beside the door? Surely if you intended to construct your first chamber, you would build something larger."
"It's going to be a vestibule."
"Ah. That is... another advanced construction." Nauda's eyebrows rose and he wondered if she knew its purpose. She and Fiyu had both soulcrafted doors, but neither had a vestibule. He didn't offer any information and eventually she continued. "If we are a family, I wish to be helpful to you, and I hope that you will help me. Do you intend to construct your central chambers soon?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. But I want to have the right materials first so that I don't repeat work unnecessarily, so I'm preparing everything else first."
"Though that is a reasonable choice, it is also a risky one, since you will be vulnerable to everyone who focuses on the short term. It is like the tale of the woman who stored up all her best food for a future drought and died without tasting any of it. Following a blueprint to become a perfect Ruler is wonderful in theory, but many of those with such aspirations die first."
His aspirations extended beyond the third tier, but Theo nodded in acceptance of her point. It was actually unusual for a Tatian to speak so directly of death, which made him think a little better of her. Maybe her excessive humility was partially defensive.
"So what can I do to help you, Jake? There will be no contests for at least a month, likely more, but I hope that you can reach your full potential, both in the far future and in time to assist the rest of us."
That was almost a reprimand, so he suppressed a smile and answered. "My blueprint is based on control of light - not light as a product of soulcrafting, but the light of the sun itself. Solarstone will form adequate walls, but I need a seed more potent than flamefruit. Perhaps better wood as well. I don't need legendary sublime materials, but I do need them to be suitable for the sun itself."
"An interesting plan." Nauda rolled her fingers along her staff thoughtfully, then nodded. "I will do what I can for you, then. Fiyu was quite insistent that you join our little family, so I hope that you will not disappoint her."
"What about you?" Theo reached out to brush Nauda's hand in a motion that would have been forward on most worlds, but was only friendly on Tatian. "What are your goals for all of this?"
Nauda hesitated just a moment, then gave him a bright smile. "You saw my soulhome, didn't you? I cannot become an Archcrafter i
n a month or even a year, but I hope to take steps forward. In the meantime, my only hope is to assist all of you so that we can move upward together. If we can win the central contests of this school, the sublime materials earned will allow me to ascend."
"That's a good plan." Theo smiled and remained where he was, looking over the city of Myufuru until Nauda left him.
Once she was gone, he glanced over his shoulder. He didn't think that he had a reason to mistrust her, and Nauda did seem dedicated to her task of leading the team. But at several times, both in her tour and in her goals, she had not been entirely honest.
Chapter 11
An entire month passed more quickly than Theo had expected. After stumbling from place to place, always concerned that he would be eliminated by someone targeting him, it was good to focus and make substantial progress. Though being directly attacked seemed unlikely, he remembered what Magnafor had said and threw himself into his work.
The students of the school had soon been separated into groups based on their experience soulcrafting: beginners, apprentices, experienced, and advanced. Everyone in his group had skipped the beginner group, since they'd mastered basic soulcrafting skills like entering a soulhome. Being in the apprentice group wasn't much better, learning dull construction techniques, and Theo had pushed hard to graduate out of it in the first week.
Though his instructors were shocked by his progress, Theo barely gave it a second thought. Being in the experienced group was no accomplishment at all, he needed to make it into the advanced group with Fiyu and Nauda. By knowledge alone, he easily could have joined that group - or taught it - but unfortunately he needed to rebuild his willpower and other spiritual skills first. He might have the advantage of his past life, but they had years of training over him.
His greatest success was finishing his vestibule, which was no small feat. It required redeveloping his skills enough to craft all the solarstone blocks perfectly, which took the majority of the time. Once he had them finished, Nauda was able to acquire a sublime clay to serve as spiritual mortar, so he put the structure together in only a few days. With his previous door affixed to the entrance and a little more trim of hearthtree wood, he had a chamber that would be useful for a long time.
Though primarily designed to transfer energy from his real chambers, it still did an adequate job of storing cantae: only the top students like Fiyu and Nauda had chambers that stored it more efficiently. Of course, it couldn't store as much as a fully sized chamber, but it allowed him to test letting cantae flow through his body again, making him stronger and more durable than a normal person.
It wasn't enough. If he faced highly concentrated cantae from an Archcrafter or advanced demon, they would tear through his defenses like wet tissue paper. Not to mention the even greater threats...
He was required to attend "experienced" classes, but they were less frustrating than they could have been. Nauda had a certain degree of authority over their training and allowed them to focus on the classes that might be helpful to them individually. They'd all been repetitive in terms of the intellectual content, but they'd allowed him to work on his old soulcrafting skills. The hours of practice during class had been essential in finally finishing the solarstone bricks.
Their single non-Tatian instructor seemed to teach irregular classes on irregular subjects. Theo had yet to attend a single one of the lectures, but hoped to potentially learn something new. Tatian was a good environment for early growth, yet also a suffocating one, free from too many concerns.
By far the worst thing in his life was the people. Most of the Tatians were just insipid, while the aggressive guests were equally bland. His years on Earth had slowly turned him into more and more of a misanthrope, but he realized that he'd long held out hope that when he returned to the Nine, he would stop finding people annoying. Now he wasn't sure if he had missed all the annoying tendencies of people there or if he was the one who had changed.
Maybe his ex-wife had been right, and he really was the one making himself miserable. The most frustrating thing about her was how often she'd made good points, but that was one of many issues he'd put behind him.
A few exceptions kept him putting up with the rest. Fiyu had adjusted to the school, treating the friendly hallways as the hostile environment between safe camps, just like Ichil. Fortunately, he was one of her safe camps and they often trained outside at night when she didn't find the light so oppressive. Though she could obviously blow him away, she could practice holding back and aiming precisely with her light bursts while he adjusted to using cantae to move his body quickly again.
Otherwise, Fiyu only spent time with Nauda and Navim, though he wasn't sure what she was doing with either one. Perhaps she was seeking another mask: she could still use a defensive chamber, just as soon as they had the proper materials, but a better mask would be more comfortable than the one he'd thrown together.
Though the Mundhin was busy, Theo had managed to get some time with Navim on occasion. It was a relief to get an intelligent conversation, though Navim seemed to lack cynicism. He treated every aspect of Tatian culture with either mild amusement or intellectual curiosity. So there was no outlet for Theo's venom, but it was still good to have respite from the endless Tatian babbling.
As for Nauda herself, their group leader had proved capable, if frustratingly bland. What annoyed him most was that she was so spineless in every interaction, always giving way when someone challenged her. He noted that she often didn't change what she was going to do despite agreeing, which was an insufferably Tatian way of handling conflict.
The only other person he spent any time with was Famaj, who greeted him as if the snub during the choosing meant nothing at all. Maybe it didn't, but Theo was surprised how long the resentment simmered within him, despite the fact that his group had worked out fine. He needed to remember that Tatian loyalty only went so far.
Near the end of the month, Nauda began presenting their group with more valuable sublime materials that she said were rewards. For him, she had a set of grape-like fruits that glowed so brilliantly it was difficult to look at them. They would certainly work well for his light-based blueprint, so he planted them and began building a trellis. Ideally he could use sublime glass for windows, to further focus the light theme, but that would need to come later.
Still, it was starting to come together. There were two essential elements of his new blueprint: Brigana's brilliant insights about his foundation and his scientific knowledge of light. Tatian villagers trying to use light would probably create nothing except pleasant warmth, but he knew better.
Light was heat, the electromagnetic spectrum, and solar plasma all rolled into one. Because they were all unified in his mind, he was certain that within his soul he could use them as a single concept. From that, he could create countless applications without fragmenting his soulhome into too many different concepts. That had been a problem with his past life, building a new chamber for every skill that came along even if it didn't strengthen the overall structure.
First, he intended to use light as raw energy to defend himself and even regenerate wounds, if possible. His second priority was to tap the sun itself to release beams of pure plasma - he might not be able to do it properly as a first tier soulcrafter, but the skill would grow more deadly as he ascended. Finally, he hoped to be able to explore more varied effects via the electromagnetic spectrum.
All of that would come later: for now, he needed to create a glorious core chamber that would generate cantae and channel it as pure light, enough for all eight chambers around it. He had light on his mind at practically all times, considering potential problems or variations, but always sticking to his core plan.
Still, light wasn't welcome when it was searing through his eyelids, waking him up in the middle of the night. Theo cursed under his breath as he sat up, shielding his eyes from the light coming through his window. He feared an attack for a moment before he saw that Fiyu was emitting the light from one hand, stoppi
ng once she saw him sit up.
"Fiyu? What's happening?"
"We must go, Jake. They have promised rewards for those who assist, but I do not trust the Tatians with locating appropriate sublime materials or with coordinating the battle. You must come with me."
"Right, okay." Theo shuffled to pull on his shoes and cloak, mind not yet fully engaged. "But where are we going? Why in the middle of the night?"
"You didn't hear? Demons are attacking."
~ ~ ~
Though Theo had seen a lot of things in his time among the Nine Worlds, he hadn't ever seen an acorn the size of a house. Much less one carved into seats, or one that could fly, or... not many weaponized acorns at all, really. Yet somehow now he was clinging to the side of one as they soared toward the sky, bright with the Tatian moons.
Even hurrying, he had barely joined Fiyu in time to grab onto the vessel before it lifted into the air. Nanjuma had been standing at the top near the stem, more serious than he had ever looked before. Apparently time was so of the essence that he really would have left behind anyone who didn't arrive in time, even Fiyu. Nauda and a few of the Farmguards didn't seem to approve of Theo's presence, since it was meant for advanced soulcrafters only, but there was no time to argue.
Apparently there had been a serious demon attack on a town some distance from Myufuru. The local Farmguards had repelled the first attack, but failed to realize that the demons were sacrificing themselves. Once a second stage demon stepped onto the battlefield, the tide of battle turned and there had already been losses. Worse, reports suggested that more second stage demons were being summoned.
Going against a force like that, Theo had to admit that he felt a little outgunned. All he had was a small amount of cantae and the spear Navim had crafted for him. It wasn't his ideal weapon, but he wasn't nearly confident enough in his raw strength to fight without one. As a soulcrafter, now he could use the armament without harming himself, so it would work well enough against base demons.