“Come, Tess, let’s leave.” Ket holds out a hand towards Tess, who was watching a dozen meters back. She nods and snuggles under his arm.
“I’m at core forming now, you know.” Tess whispers.
“I know.” Ket’s mouth curls into a small smile as he looks away from the carnage they are leaving behind.
⁂
I am holding Ferah by the scruff of her neck. This feels like the only way that I can be certain she won’t run away. She sprinted towards the forest the moment we crossed the river, her nose still twitching with something she must have smelled. Angeta fell face-first into the muddy riverbed, and is now washing out her fur.
“Nice disguise, should I change too?” I turn and see Rhea stretching as she yawns.
“Probably. I don't think that survivors of a slave raid will look kindly upon any type of human they meet. It’s taking half my thinking power to keep this form accurate, so you will have to transform on your own.”
Rhea shrugs and closes her eyes. I pre-emptively will some of my qi into a perfect absorber, catching the light of any wavelength, and cover her with it. The light escaping from the bottom is still bright enough for me to squint my eyes. The glow fades and I retract the perfectly black qi.
I am very conflicted by what I see. Her previously curvy but lean exterior is now fluffy, round and springy. Her slightly loose dress is now stretching under her bulging mammaries and her ass... Oh gods, that ass...
“Squeak?” Lola is staring at her with extremely rounded eyes. Re-Haan, mighty dragoness and member of the Flight is now a bunny. I am very conflicted. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a fur fetish, but my dick seems to disagree.
“Drew?” Her question shakes me from my stupor. But my hands feel something soft yet firm? Why am I groping her butt?
“APOLOGIES, PLEASE DON’T KILL US FOR NOT NOTICING!” Angeta’s shout wakes me from my daze entirely. I step back and see Angeta bowing, having forced Ferah to do the same with a hand on her neck.
“Oh, wow. Maybe save that form for later?” I wink at her with the most perverted smile I can put on my face. “And Angy, this is Rhea, what’s up?”
Angeta takes her still wet face from the grass and looks upwards. She explodes in anger. “FIRST THE TRASH PEOPLE, THEN ASSASSINS AND NOW ROYAL GUARDS? AAARRRGHGH!!” Pulling on her hair and tail, she flails around. Ferah looks at this scene with mouth agape.
“Okay Rhea, save that form for later.” I wink at her some more. She rolls her eyes and starts to shine again. I cover her with my black qi and moments later she looks similar to me and Ferah, reddish fur with a white belly.
Angeta stomps towards us, grass shuddering with every step. “For fuck’s sake, do not randomly change into castes without telling me first. You would have caused absolute chaos if you changed into the royal guards' caste somewhere populated.” She glares at Lola, refusing to look at Rhea, before stomping off again.
“Good to know which ones are high risk, then… Ferah, lead the way!” We follow a timid Ferah. I turn to Rhea. “Did you know what that caste was?”
She nods, a crooked grin on her furry face. “Yep. She reacted even better than I expected.”
I stare at her. “So, you knew all the things about teeth and fur and castes all along?”
She shrugs. “Not all of it. I do visit the beastkin once in a while, though.”
I interrogate her some more as we mount up and move towards the forest line, a kilometre or so from the river. Ferah gets more and more agitated the further into the forest we travel. Keeping half an eye on her, still chatting with Rhea, I see her freeze, nose twitching. She then bolts. I feel the qi raging through her entire body as she springs into action. Angeta is a fraction too slow to catch her.
Turning a bit of qi into potential heat and handing it over to a scanning process, I sense a collection of buildings in the distance, maybe a hundred houses or so. I check again for any corpses but find none. I kick my bear in the flanks and speed up.
Broken wooden huts, crumbling stone walls, and skeletal, burned-out frames come into view as the trees thin out. The entire place is surrounded by a thick band of tilled and trampled earth, signs of a hurried and premature harvest everywhere. The smell of old burned wood and death is in the air. I see dark spots that smell like old blood here and there, and a large swath of freshly dug soil covered by large rocks to the side. Ferah runs around frantically, whining as she speeds through all the buildings still standing.
I breathe out more potential heat and increase my scanning range. I narrow the rotating beam, increasing my range. I sense moving figures much deeper into the forest, a few kilometres from our current position.
“Ferah, come!” Kicking my bear into motion again, I leave the ruined village behind. She half crawls back on Hotfeet, ears drooping, as she holds onto Angeta. We ride in silence.
Three kilometres later, my ears pick up a shrill sound. It is followed by rustling leaves. A small beastkin, nearly a hundred meters ahead of us, drops from the trees and bolts. Ferah is still clinging to Angeta, tears beading in her eyes.
My scanning process informs me that a small contingent of larger beastkin, carrying bows and staves, has split off from the larger group and is now marching towards us. I guide my bear to the side, picking a route that will avoid any scouts, while also avoiding those guys.
The shrill sound is accompanied by the sounds of hammering and chopping. I glance at Ferah, who doesn’t seem to hear anything, her ears still pointed downwards. Is it cruel to keep her in the dark? Maybe, but I really want to see the look on her face. I spin a small sound dampening construct around the sad beastkin.
Once again, the clearing ahead of us comes into view. This time, instead of the ravaged ruins, I see a town under construction. Beastkin are busily chopping down trees, tilling the soil, sawing planks, and preparing food. In the middle of it all, I see a grey-furred female beastkin with similar features to Ferah and a stern look on her face. The shrill sound was her voice, barking orders at everyone around her.
I dissolve the sound barrier. Seconds later, we are spotted and the clearing goes quiet. Ferah sits upright, looking over Angeta’s shoulder, her eyes wide open. She then bolts off toward the old female.
“GRAAAAANMAAAAAAAAAA!” The old woman freezes, turns around, sees Ferah sprinting in her direction with superhuman speed, clutches her chest and keels over. There is a mix of surprise, pain, and happiness on her face.
Ferah accelerates further and catches the woman before she hits the ground. “I’m back! I promised I would be back. You don't have to worry now! Gran? Gran?” The old woman looks at Ferah, smiles, and dramatically closes her eyes.
I sigh. Maybe this was a bad idea? Lightning already cracking around my fingers, I hurry towards the fallen woman.
chapter ten
Shocks
“Gran, stop sleeping! I’m back! It’s rude to just go to sleep, you know.” Every single person in the clearing is frozen, staring at Ferah as she shakes the fallen woman’s shoulders. I put my hand on her small shoulder, pushing her backwards. My hand crackling with small electric arcs, I put it on the laying woman’s chest.
She spasms and I press against her chest, making sure not to crack anything. Ferah struggles but is powerless against my heartcore-enhanced strength. Sinking some augur into the woman, I guide the electricity to her heart. A focussed shock later, it starts beating again.
She gasps for air as Ferah starts pulling on her shoulders again. The old woman opens her eyes, keeping them focussed on Ferah as soon as she sees her. She does quite a bit of gasping, sputtering, and coughing before getting herself under control again. A warm smile on her face, she starts talking. “Welcome back, my dear. Now help me up. I need to do some guiding.”
Ferah’s tail puffs up as she assists the ageing woman upright. She then covers her ears as she slinks away. The old woman takes a deep breath. “ALRIGHT YA NINNIES, BACK TO WORK. I AIN'T PAYING YA’LL TO STAND AROUND WITH YAR THUMBS UP YER ARSES!�
�
Yep, her voice is the shrillest, most penetrating voice I’ve ever heard. Even my enhanced ears hurt. The surrounding people all jump and start running again. The imposing air around the grey lady disappears as she turns to Ferah. “Come here sweetie, and tell me what happened to you. And then tell me who those nice people are.” She waves a hand at Rhea, Angeta and me.
“Ah, excuse me, miss. Greetings.” She does a stiff curtsey after taking a closer look at Angeta, who nods and looks away.
Ferah hurries over and presses herself against her grandmother. She starts talking, full of enthusiasm, but stops and looks at me. “I’m not sure if I can tell, but he saved me and took care of me.”
“Call me Teach. I saved Ferah and some others a while ago. Might I ask if anyone from the beastkin authorities has come to check on you?”
The old woman frowns. “Not from around here, eh? I’m GRANDMOTHER. Nobody checks on the border villages. You don’t end up here if you have good connections.”
Angeta frowns at this. “My dad got promoted to border village chief.”
“And I’m sure he had no powerful enemies. Was he happy about that promotion, at all?”
This is interesting! I like this kind of politics, the intrigue and backstabby kind. I’m afraid it will get boring pretty soon, though. Angeta frowns deeper as the grass and trees around her start to rustle. I see Ferah’s grandmother take all of this in, barely changing her expression as she observes the power flowing from Angeta.
“And your father told you everything that happened? STOP DAWDLING AND GET THAT ROOF COVERED BEFORE SUNSET! Excuse me for a bit, I need to sort some people out.” The old woman storms off while shouting more orders.
Angeta falters a bit. “But we were ordered by the Tooth himself. He showed me a marked writ.”
Man, her anger problems are already an issue, mostly thanks to the nature affinity she has. “Is this why you are so angry all the time? I don’t mind that you stand up for yourself, but those explosive rages have to come from somewhere?”
She looks at me incredulously. “I do NOT get angry easily! Why do people keep saying that!”
I feel a tugging at my sleeve. I look down and see Ferah, still slightly shaking. “What was that blue, loud light from your hands?”
“Lightning? That's just the loud stuff that happens when there is a high enough difference in electrical charge between two separate zones, like the clouds and the ground.”
“What’s lightning?” Ferah asks.
“That stuff only happens over the sea. And that’s this electricity thing Database is filled with? Ahh, that makes sense now...” Rhea immediately goes off into her own world, qi spinning through her brain.
I rub my temples. I got so used to the cultivation world that I forgot what a massive pain in the ass these kinds of differences are. I managed to get by pretty well so far, but there is literally zero reason why there would be any overlap - cultural or physical - between different worlds if there are higher and magical powers involved. I actually consider myself extremely lucky that I managed to land on a world that has human-like beings. That happened twice now...
No lightning over land? Self-regulating grass? Beastkin obviously inspired by animal archetypes who refuse to acknowledge this fact? Quantum dungeons?
I sigh, deciding not to think about that stuff for now. “Lightning is just free electrons moving around. Hold your hands forwards.” I do so and Ferah haltingly follows my lead.
“Now imagine that there is power that really wants to jump from one hand to the other. It would love to travel through metal, but there is none available. It would also love to travel through your body, but that could stop your heart, so you don't allow that. Now increase the power and encourage it to jump through the air.”
I observe the power running through her channels and the electrical charge that’s building in the air. “You’re doing pretty good so far, but instead of imaging that power like a big boulder that you throw slowly, think of it like a grain of sand going faster than you can see.”
“What nonsense are you spouting, red-fur?” Asks GRANDMOTHER.
“EEK!” shouts a startled Ferah.
*ZAP* Goes the lightning.
“HNNNG.” Cries GRANDMOTHER.
And grandma is falling down again, clutching her heart for the second time today, two black smoking spots indicating the place where the lightning running from Ferah’s hands entered her old, heart attack prone body.
I sigh, my own hands crackling with lightning. Again...
⁂
“You filled up your heartcore? With liquid-type qi?”
“Yes, hun! I feel like I could step into core forming any moment now.” Bassik is nodding to himself, his chest puffed out as he brags to his wife.
“But how can you be certain, did you even measure your qi levels? Come with me to the moon right this moment. We shall see how much power you’ve accumulated.” Frustration visible on her face, the purple-skinned woman starts pulling on the thin man’s arms.
“Leave me be for once, woman! I know this, I feel it. I could sit down and advance right this moment!”
“How can you be sure without empirical proof, you fool! That speech was just a lot of pomp and show, pretty words to-”
“No! He spoke what he saw as truth. This is his place, and it saw what he said as truth. Don’t you feel it? There is something more to this place now. A layer of… realness. Previously, this place felt too clean. Very busy, filled with energy, but without any real weight. Now, it’s… more.”
Rityn stares at the man, mouth agape. “What kind of unverifiable nonsense are you spouting?”
“Let’s do as we always did. You handle the counting, thinking and scheming. I will hunt, stalk, and provide information.” He sighs while grabbing her soft hand in his slender fingers. “I miss those days, back when we knew what to do. Our little hut on the ocean cliff. You, thinking of how to best get one over on our neighbours. Me, listening in and asking innocent questions about how they were doing.”
Rityn’s eyes grow soft, her face losing its previously stern cast.
“You forced me to cultivate a braincore and I was miserable. I complained but didn't change. You forced me to pick something else, so I went for the heartcore. Heartcores are all about instinct and intuition - doing stuff without really thinking about it - right? You do the details; I do the big picture. It will be just like old times.”
Hearing his soft words, Rityn moves to hug her husband, only to stop after glancing around. The couple is still standing near Tree, on the grassy clearing surrounded by a wall. The entire place bustles with activity, the very air filled with a restless energy of excitement.
“I will trust you with your cultivation.” Rityn deflates after managing to get those words out.
Bas smiles, the expression reaching his eyes for once. “Thank you. What’s next?”
“Next?”
“What project are we tackling next. I need more points.”
“Where did those fifty thousand points go?” Eyes wide, Rityn’s face starts going red.
Bas nervously hides his ringed hand behind his back. “Stuff. Cultivation stuff. What’s our next project?”
“We will talk about the points later. We should study qi mutability, I think. Start mapping all possible permutations? Yes, that would be interesting. Teach’s endless neutrality would be the middle path. We’ll start there and then plan out a shifting tree of intents.”
Bas nods along sagely until his eyes get drawn to the moon. He points to a large object floating above it, towards a large group of figures who appeared near the small building housing all the portals. “Newcomers! That reminds me. I should hurry and advance to core forming quickly. That’s when we are allowed to go on recruitment missions.”
Rityn’s eyes start gleaming. “Then we could...”
Bas grins. “Oh yes! We could introduce the bastards to this strange environment. We will get to show them the ropes.”
> “You will advance in one week. I’m nearly at qi condensing, and that will allow me to leave with you as escort.” Fire in her eyes, Rityn starts thinking furiously.
“Did you spend any points? Most of them need to go towards a ring.” The duo huddles closer as they start planning and dividing tasks furiously.
Nearby, a large and well-muscled beastkin man is looking at the whispering duo with suspicion. Suppressing the shivers running down his spine, he looks at the moon again. His entire skull glows for a second, shining through his fur before the shine travels towards his eyes. He puts a large hand above his eyes to cover them from the sun, his irises shining brightly.
“Big round-ears, red pointy-ears, no black on orange and white, a few big eye jumpers, grey pointy-ears… Border village, which one though… No long-ears, no black-eyes, lots of horned mono’s… One of the northern border villages, then.”
“Talk clearly, you big oaf! What did all that mean?” A green-skinned woman kicks against his shin, interrupting his thoughtful monologue.
“Stop kicking me and see for yourself.” Rodrick points at the moon, indicating the large group of newcomers milling around.
“I can't bend light without a braincore, ho-”
“Pull the power in your skull to your eyes. Flight abandon you woman. Do you need to be told and shown everything?” Rodrick growls while his free hand fingers his axe.
Huffing in annoyance, the woman’s skull flashes green before her eyes start glowing. “How did a dumb-skull like you conclude that they are from a northern border village anyway?”
“They’re all castes that have fallen out of favour with the current Tooth, may the Flight eat him.”
“The Tooth is the big guy in the beastkin capital?”
“The closest one.”
“Why doesn’t he just have them killed?”
Rodrick chuckles a deep, rumbling laugh. “His assassins are already overworked. Why kill entire castes if you can ship them to the humans for political gains?”
The Dao of Magic: Book 3: A Western Cultivation Series Page 9