by Jez Cajiao
“I had to do it! You were dying, or your mind was at least. I…I’ve been alone so long, Jax. I didn’t know what else to do, so I bonded you. Once we were bonded, I could access your mana pool and direct your healing. It was the only way. I didn’t know you’d learned so much from using Spellbooks. I should have checked before I gave you the book. I’m so sorry.”
She went on trying to explain how I’d been dying, how the excess knowledge I’d taken in had begun to override my memories, and that a human is only capable of learning a few new spells a year, usually learnt through painstakingly careful study. Even the strongest minds would be broken by excessive spellbook usage. I let it wash over me, a barrage of noise, as I thought back to the Baron’s actions, the way he had been very specific that I could only learn the lowest tiers of spells. I also remembered Xiao’s warnings that I could learn from spellbooks, but that they were dangerous, and could have side effects. One comment came back to mind straight away, “Any knowledge is useful…” She’d even said I could fail to learn spells, but that it would be okay. Either she’d known that this was a possible side effect and had deliberately left it out, or the Baron had never bothered to tell her.
I remembered conversations we’d had, and now oblique comments that I’d dismissed before came back to me, suddenly making more sense.
‘… only the Baron’s son could…’ And ‘a normal human can’t just…’ West’s shock as I told him the spells I’d learned, and the way he’d looked at me askance, asking if I was alright; his comment to Xiao about the Pearl, ‘You’d be dead, and you know it…’ They’d all known, and they’d either thought I had also known, or‒in the Baron’s case‒probably hadn’t cared.
“Am I human?” I asked Oracle, my voice cutting across whatever she’d been saying.
“Sort of…” she said. I looked back at her sharply. “The Great Houses are all descended from humans!” she defended quickly, holding her hands up to stop me. She patted the air placatingly as she went on. “The Great Houses started out as human. The First Emperor was a human, and he married a human as well, but their son married an elf, and there were other…species…. introduced to the bloodline over the years. By the time the last generation was born in the time of the cataclysm, they’d stopped marrying into the families by then, in favor of ‘splicing’ them into individuals. They used a particular brand of magic, called Alteration, which allowed them to choose a trait or ability. Using some… genetic material… they would absorb it into themselves with the abilities their Pearls gave them….”
“Why?” I asked leadenly. I wasn’t human, I was some sort of science experiment.
“You have the dormant genes of a hundred or more species that I can identify in you, Jax. Through them, you have the ability to improve on your previous limitations. You can adjust your body to accept the gifts of the other races, such as the wings of the T’ngu, allowing you the gift of flight, or the horns of the Minotaur, giving you the strength of the great warriors of the Southern Plains.”
“I’m a freak, a crossbreed!” I muttered, looking at my hands and feeling confused and uncomfortable. “I’m…”
“No, Jax! You are no freak. You are a different race to the humans you are used to, yes. I read your past as we bonded. I saw your memories, and I lived your life, if only for a second, so I know you now. I know what you are capable of, and what you can become. You are no ‘ordinary human,’ it’s true, but you already knew this. Your father came from this world, your mother is distantly descended from another transplanted noble. Your family is as different from the humans you surrounded yourself with as regular humans are from cavemen. A different species, but still one with the potential for good or ill. Jax, nothing has changed. You have always been this person, this being. You won’t start eating babies suddenly!” That last bit was delivered with a scathing bite to it as I started to sink into doubt again.
“Trust me, Jax, you’re still you, and there’s at least one other like you, don’t forget.”
“Tommy…” I whispered aloud, memories of him flooding my mind: sharing toys, food, and our lives. Fighting back to back and running from the police. Tommy crying over a bird with a broken wing and breaking a grown man’s leg when we’d seen him kicking a dog. A thousand memories flashed by, the rage, and the compassion. The happiness as he fell in love, the anger when she cheated on him, and the rage when we’d been crossed. The good and the bad. Oracle let me think, and as the memories passed, somehow bright and fresh after all these years, I came to the conclusion that I knew she’d been pushing me towards.
I might be a freak, regardless of what she said, but I wasn’t alone. I had a brother, and he was here somewhere. I didn’t care about anything else; I was going to find him. I sat up straighter and turned to Oracle, taking a deep breath and asked my last question.
“So, whaddaya mean, ‘bonded’?” I said, half afraid of the answer.
“Well, as I told you, I’m bound to the tower, and still am, but… the only way to save you was to direct your own magic to heal you, and I didn’t have the strength to do it alone. I bonded my soul to yours.” She went on hurriedly, her words tumbling over one another as she tried to get them out. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise, I promise! But you were dying. You’d torn a section of your brain and were bleeding heavily. The knowledge from the latest spellbook was trying to take up space you were already using; if it had been able to, you’d have lost memories, maybe more. I had to do it! I’m so sorry, Jax!” She was wringing her hands together, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment as she went on. “Wisps have healing abilities; it’s one of the reasons we are hunted, or were. Our bond gives more than a management facility to a building. To a sentient, we can aid them, draw on their mana, and heal them faster. I won’t be a burden; I promise I won’t! You won’t regret this. People almost wiped us out in their desire to bond with us in the past. I’ll be a good companion, I will!”
I sat down hard on the edge of a nearby seat as I tried to make sense of it all. I saw notifications flashing and distractedly brought them up.
You have learned the spell ‘Airblade.’ This spell creates a blade of air 5m long and razor sharp. This will project from the tip of your weapon and activate with the next slashing attack, doing up to 15 damage to any targets in the targeted area. Cost of 25 mana.
You have suffered catastrophic internal bleeding and are losing health at a rate of 10hp per second.
You have accepted a soul bond with the wisp ‘Oracle.’ You receive an increase of 10% to your health recovery and 1 point to your Charisma stat, losing 20 mana and 20 hp to your new bonded companion.
You have lost part of the knowledge gained by reading the spellbook ‘Airblade.’ This spell is no longer usable.
As I dismissed the last notification, I took my head in my hands and let out a deep breath. I’d almost erased my mind, then I’d lost the knowledge I’d gained, and somehow ended up bonded to Oracle. She was nice enough, even though she was suddenly bigger for some reason, but I didn’t really want to be sharing my frigging soul. There wasn’t much to go around…
“Why are you bigger suddenly? And what does it mean that you’re now bonded to me?” I asked.
“I’m bigger because I’m stronger. I… well, I take a portion of your mana and a portion of your health as a bonded familiar to form my physical body….but I’m pretty, aren’t I? Isn’t this what you like?” she asked, her face still red with embarrassment. I’d definitely noticed the changes to her body. She was pretty, and pretty voluptuous as well. She’d obviously rifled through my mind and found out exactly what my tastes were, as she’d made herself even hotter, if that was possible. She was still only twelve inches high, though, and I wasn’t sure if I was glad she was so small, or sad about it… when part of what she’d said rang a bell and I pulled up my character sheet to confirm it.
Name: Jax
Class: Spellsword
Renown: Unknown
Level: 4
Progres
s: 2200/2700
Patron: Jenae, Goddess of Fire and Exploration
Points to Distribute:
Meridian Points to Invest: 0
Stat
Current points
Description
Effect
Progress to next level
Agility
15
Governs dodge and movement
Average speed + 50%
88/100
Charisma
11
Governs likely success to charm, seduce, or threaten
Success chance +10%
17/100
Constitution
15
Governs health and health regeneration
HP+50, Regen 5pts per 600s (+10% regen due to soul bond, -20hp)
68/100
Dexterity
15
Governs ability with weapons and crafting
+ 50%
97/100
Endurance
17
Governs stamina and stamina regeneration
STM +70, Regen 7pts per 30s
14/100
Intelligence
15
Governs base mana and number of spells able to be learned
+50 Mana, Spell capacity: 7 spells (-20mp due to soul bond)
23/100
Luck
12
Governs overall chance of bonuses
+20%
19/100
Perception
13
Governs ranged damage and chance to spot traps/hidden items
+30% Ranged damage, +3% chance to spot traps/hidden items
38/100
Strength
19
Governs damage with melee weapons and carrying capacity
+9 Damage with melee weapons, +90% carrying capacity
23/100
Wisdom
20 (15)
Governs mana regeneration and memory
+100% Mana recovery, 2ppm, 100% more likely to remember things
79/100
“Shit!” I cursed. I’d missed it before, but she was right. I’d lost twenty mana and twenty health to her! I’d gained a ten percent increase to my health regeneration as well, but the loss of that health and mana was really going to suck, as I’d have to basically replace those by using four of my points the next chance I got to level. Dammit.
I sorted through my gear, taking out some food and drink and seeing to life’s necessities, including having a crap out of the window, which amused and horrified me in equal measure. Amused, because I had a vision of a bird flying past underneath and getting hit with instant karma from a thousand cars fresh from the carwash, and horrified by the fact that I had to explain what I was doing to a very curious Oracle, who wanted to watch.
I soon had myself cleaned up, thanks in part to the ability to create a spring of fresh, cold water literally anywhere by magic. It’d been a chilly, but refreshing experience, I had to admit, and made me realize what I had been missing all these years without a bidet.
I settled myself down with Oracle. As I ate, I got her to go through the details and drawbacks of having a bonded companion. I thought about it as logically as I could and came to the grudging conclusion by the end that I was lucky, really. After all, she could have just let me die.
From the positive side of things, there was the fact that I gained increased health regeneration, ten percent over and above my natural high regeneration. I essentially had a tiny healer with me at all times, unless I made her stay with the Tower. She could travel with me as an advisor, or stay behind and look after things as an overseer. I also had an extra set of eyes and ears, as well as more magical senses, so that was great.
On the other side, though, I automatically lost twenty health and mana to her, had a curious presence in the back of my mind at all times, and any healing she provided was from my mana pool, which could be awkward if I was trying to use all of it in a fight and she decided to use some for healing a minor injury, leaving me with an unexpected deficit.
We continued talking as I stripped off my armor, examining the damage done by the spear and the various other blows. I was surprised to find that the spear had been either insanely lucky, or unlucky, depending on the point of view. It had somehow pierced between interlocking leather bands below the main cuirass of my armored chest plate, literally hitting the weakest place on my upper body armor, beyond the armpit. I really hoped that it had been dumb luck, as otherwise, there was going to be a shitty fight to come.
Oracle and I established some ground rules. Using healing spells on me without asking was never okay, unless I was under 30 percent health. However, when I asked her to, she needed to jump straight in. We also spent time covering such important topics as not flying around to hover beneath me, staring in fascination while I was ‘doing my business’ out of the window. I also found out that the glowing stones in the walls were, indeed, Memory Stones. They held selected memories of hundreds of people, stored ready for a master of the Tower to use or bestow. They worked similarly to the skill books, but they held a lot more information. A single stone every year was the maximum I could use, while most humans would only be able to accept a few stones in their entire lifetime. As far as I could tell, I’d been given all the knowledge in the world, but thanks to a combination of no useful explanation by those who guided me, and my own choices, I couldn’t use them. Oracle was adamant that, from now on, I could learn one spell every few months if I chose to learn by spellbook, and only in very controlled and planned circumstances. She also made it very clear that I was only allowed another spell once she said I was ready. No skill books, no memory stones. Not until I’d had a proper chance to heal. I eventually pulled two of the loungers together and curled up on them, dropping off to sleep in reasonable comfort for the first time in days. I was almost convinced that Oracle was going to be a blessing in disguise. Almost.
I woke up the next morning rather quickly, due to the feeling of a tiny hand prodding at my manhood.
“What the hell, Oracle!” I cried out, reflexively hunching myself up around my ‘morning glory.’
“What is it?” she asked curiously, climbing onto my legs and trying to push my hands apart. “Do you want to mate? Is that why it’s….”
“NO!” I half screamed, my voice becoming an unmanly squeal as I pushed her off and straightened up. My mind raced as it shot from sleep to trying to calm myself down. Oracle was a strange creature. She’d basically scanned my mind for a ‘pleasing form’ when we’d first met and decided an even more voluptuous version of Kelly Brook was the way to go. It was great and all, but she combined that body with only a vague understanding of what sex was beyond ‘fun.’ At one point during conversation the previous night, she’d said she wanted to try it. Her species didn’t have it, but she’d taken great care in trying to explain all the adjustments she’d made to her body to ensure she could attempt it, even going so far as to dismiss her conjured clothes, asking if she’d formed things correctly…With all of that to contend with, it wasn’t a surprise that a certain part of my anatomy had awoken first, as it often did. She’d noticed the…rise….and had decided to have a look. Thankfully, I’d been in a light sleep at that point and had awoken as soon as she’d touched me. She was a combination of a sexual goddess and an inquisitive child, and she was twelve inches tall.
“Why can’t I have a look at it? Don’t you want to mate with me?” she asked, hovering in front of me with forlorn eyes.
“It’s not that simple, Oracle. You’re… well for a start, you’re twelve inches tall. I’d kill you with it. Besides that, you’re a child in a lot of ways, so no, you can’t see it or play with it. Please, for the love of god, stop asking, okay?” I begged.
“I’m not a child, Jax. I’ve been a wisp of this tower for centuries! And I can change my size!” she complained, trying to stamp one tiny foot while hovering in midair, which only served to cause her to wobble midflight.
“Yeah,
and you were sexless and just took on a form. You act like a child, and think like one, so no. Besides, it’s not physically possible, okay? Just leave it, please, Oracle. We need to concentrate; we’re going to fight together for the first time today, remember!” And just that easily, she was distracted. I let loose a sigh of relief and took a long swig from my waterskin.
“Yes! We’re gonna kick some undead butt today! We’ll take back the Tower! Then we’ll wake up the other wisps and start getting things sorted out around here, find Torry and have so much fun!”
“Torry?” I asked in confusion, before it clicked. Tommy! “My brother, yeah? Tommy, not Torry.”
“Oh, okay, him as well!” she called out cheerfully as she shot back across the room, spinning around the walls in the light of the glowing stones. I couldn’t help but smile at her happiness and excitement. She alternated between concerned seriousness and childlike wonder and grace. She flew around me again, then zipped through the room back to the door that led out. She landed on the floor next to the body of the skeleton mage, and kicking him in the remaining shin, shouted out, “Take that!”