Anchor Knight

by Nathan Thompson

  As it passed by the Source power I had gained, but not yet refined, from the sott-jotun, I felt the power of Vessa's giants sweep and direct it directly into my three Source energies, as if it wished to get the issue of processing lesser power hurried along and out of the way.

  As my body continued to surge and glow, my mosaic wailed again, more copper joined the tin in my mind, and my qi pool gained a third layer of depth in my soul.

  "We… go…now," one of the fading voices said. "To… beyond..."

  "Will… see her… again," another voice promised. "When she…grows…"

  "Until…then…" the voices said, as they became a disorganized, fading chorus.

  "Help…her…"

  "Protect…her…"

  "Love…her…"

  And with that, they finally faded away, to whatever life waited beyond the night sky I knew.

  The power in me settled down, though echoes of it remained. I felt I would have to Advance further to make use of them. But for the moment, it was done. I turned my attention back to the three shadows, the monsters who had been helpless to do anything but watch as I inherited the power of Vessa's past protectors.

  "Your turn, maddened seniors," I said quietly, looking at the looming, now-impotent shapes adorning the surfaces of this slowly brightening room.

  More floor lights flickered on. The spider on the barricade turned its human head.

  "Very well, little thief," it hissed. "You have ssssurvived a sssecond time against the faint brussh-strokesss of our will. We will let you keep your ssstolen meal for another day. But you come closser and closser to uss the further you dessscend. Sssoon you will reach a room beyond her wardsss, and then you will die, frightened and assshamed."

  "I will let you see yourselves out then," I replied, not batting an eye at my enemy's threats. Ten stages away, I reminded myself. Then I will avenge every righteous ghost that still haunts these halls.

  The maddened shadows faded away the moment before power rushed back into the massive room. The emergency lights dimmed as they were replaced by the blue light of Vessa's normal power, running through the tiles, walls, and even lighting the ceiling itself, crawling all the way to the massive doors and settling into a myriad of grooves etched into them. The entire bodies of the doors glowed, and before my eyes, all the dents and scratches over their surfaces vanished, looking as if the entryway had never been breached to begin with. I saw the lines of power leave the room and crawl into the exits behind me, including the hallway we had come from. The broken doors of those openings straightened back into shape as well, though they remained open, probably because Vessa's power was still pouring into the empty rooms we had also reclaimed.

  The light released a soothing warmth, and I just now realized how cold the massive, dark room had felt before now. The capsule behind me opened slowly, tilting forward slightly so that its occupants could more easily step out. I turned to meet Vessa's and Nova's anxious eyes.

  For a moment, they didn't say anything to me. Then Nestor leaped out of the gray woman's hands to climb onto my shoulder, rubbing his fluffy body onto my face and neck.

  Safe-safe! the little mouse said in desperate relief. You-are-safe!

  Yes, brother, I replied with a smile, opening an arm as Nova stepped forward and hugged me. I am fine. Stronger, now, in fact.

  I hugged Nova back, and turned to meet Vessa's gray eyes.

  "What about you, Teacher?" I asked, wanting to call the ship-woman some other term, and finding none I wanted to say that did not sound too intimate. "Are you well? Are you alright?"

  "I felt them," she said, lips trembling. "My dead jotun. They were here."

  "They were," I answered with a nod, as Nova gave me one last squeeze before letting go. "They helped me drive off the voices."

  "Where did they go?" she asked me in a quiet voice. "Did they say anything? Are they gone for good?"

  "I don't know where they went," I answered honestly. "But they said that they were ascending now, and that they would see you again."

  "So they went somewhere good?" she asked me in a quivering voice. "They're… they're happy now? They're not hurting?"

  "It seemed like they were missing you," I said as I shook my head, "but that they were heading to a well-deserved rest."

  "Good," she said, her lips still trembling. Then she just stood in her capsule, hesitating and looking uncertain.

  "Vessa," I said, holding my arms. She still didn't move, but when I reached for her she didn't resist, and I slowly, gently pulled her in for a hug. She finally exhaled, wrapping her arms around me. Nova stepped forward to hug us as well, and Nestor climbed about to try and nuzzle all of our faces.

  "Thank you," Vessa said after a moment. "Thank you all."

  "You're welcome," I said gently. "Do you need another minute?"

  "Eventually, but not right now," Vessa said as she let go of me, patting Nova's hand and nuzzling Nestor with her cheek. "This room is back online. Power should be returning to the connected rooms as well, in a few moments. We need to consolidate our gains."

  The gray-skinned woman took a single step away from me and brushed her dark hair out of her face. Then she looked around, her eyes glowing with gray light.

  "Some lingering damage," she noted, "but nothing that my Source energy shouldn't be able to fix within a day at most, and probably much less."

  "Will that drain you?" I asked, curious. But the ship-woman shook her head.

  "I'm getting far more power from having this room online than I am losing from fixing the last of its systems," she said, and I noticed that she was standing right now, without any help at all. "I'll send one command, and the repairs should continue without supervision." She spared a quick glance behind her toward the other rooms that were beginning to brighten. "Those should come online soon as well. I'm going to give priority to the rooms that aren't just living space, but it shouldn't take long either way. As soon as any one of them come back online, it will give me another source of power, which means I'll be able to recover another room more quickly, which in turn will give me more power as well." She turned her gaze back to the massive chamber we were in. "Once I get them all online, I'll probably be able to breeze through fixing the rest of this place. For now, though, I can activate some of my surveillance systems and a few on-board weapon systems. This way, I'll be able to get a clearer picture of what's stalking my ship body at a greater range, and sometimes I'll even be able to do something about the boarders on my own. Like right now," she added grimly, as the echoing sounds returned.

  I heard bangs and roars sound out from behind the massive door, far closer than the ones I had heard from it earlier. I wondered if perhaps they had been driven over here, after the failed attempt of the maddened shadow to gain Vessa.

  "Bloodbeasts," she said calmly, "so corrupted that you can't tell what their original appearances were. Mostly in the third and fourth stages."

  "Can they get through the door?" I asked as I stepped next to Nova and readied my spear.

  "If they batter at it for multiple hours? Maybe," she answered with an unconcerned shrug. "But I'm not intending for them to have a chance," she said with a hard edge, as her eyes narrowed. "This is for my murdered crew, you pathetic pack of homicidal squatters."

  She bared her white teeth, and a cacophony of violence roared out from the other side of the massive door. Loud bangs and the whoosh of flame mixed with anguished shouts and howls that went quiet after a dozen seconds or so. The fire flickered for a few more moments before going silent as well. Source energy suddenly wafted up from the tiles around Vessa, the majority of it going to her, but a few strands detached and drifted in the rest of us.

  "There," Vessa said after inhaling deeply. "I feel much better. Getting more Source energy is good too, though. I can filter some of this and have my ship-body produce it naturally. That should help the two of you Draw, and give some ambient rewards for Nestor as well. Speaking of which, you two should probably take a moment to proc
ess the Source energy you just gained from your battle in here. When you're ready, Jasper, I'll take a look at you and help you with your changes. If you don't mind," she added hurriedly, as Nova went to another corner of the room and began Drawing.

  "I do not, Teacher," I said with a grin, turning my attention to the inside of my soul, now that Vessa was alright and no burning or killing was happening in any nearby rooms. Are you well, Grandmother? Are Dimali and Topa alright?

  Of course, dear one, my maternal Sourcebeast said from within. She was still curled protectively around her other grandchildren, who were mewing and playing their normal games. Next to her belly, though, were three small balls of Source energy that I had been unable to absorb from both groups of jotun. They would have to be able to reach you before they could reach us. And we were able to help prevent them from reaching you.

  Thank you for that, Grandmother, I said, though I was uncertain exactly how she and the other two dragons had helped me. But the pressure I felt while engaging the maddened shadows this time had been much less, and it had been far easier to think when I encountered them. And perhaps the atmospheric mist that killed the eaterlings had something to do with the use of their breath. Could you work with my teacher to help determine all the changes that went through my soul?

  Gladly, dear. And please summon your furry brother. He needs to meet his new brother and sister. And eat lunch.

  As Vessa and Nestor drew near, I opened my soul so that they could look inside.

  "Greetings, Holy Vessel," Mara said respectfully from outside my soul. "I am honored to be speaking with you."

  "I greet you as well, elder dragon," Vessa replied formally. "I hope you and your grandchildren are well inside my pupil."

  "We are wonderfully housed," the dragon assured her. "The only remaining problem is that my other grandchild still needs to come in for dinner. Young rider, would you mind opening a hole large enough for your little brother to join us?"

  Wait-what? my little mouse asked in a startled tone.

  "I can do that?" I asked, startled.

  "Of course, dear," grandmother said gently. "By now it should be easy to make a hole large enough for him. And yes," she added, "it is perfectly safe. Otherwise I would have never dared to let my other grandchildren hatch in this place. Nestor, dear? Why don't you come meet your brother and sister?"

  I-can? the fluffy mouse asked excitedly. I-can-I-can-I-can?

  In order to find out, I held out my hand and made the largest opening I could. Nestor scampered over to it, tentatively touched the edge with his paw, and then, after waiting one more moment, dove inside.

  I worried that he would fall from the very top of my little planet's atmosphere, but I suppose that if all my stored objects did that, they'd have broken in half, especially the little insects I absorbed before. Nestor landed softly on the grass next to Mara and her pile of treasure. He gave a curious squeak as he looked up at her.

  You-big-now, he said, apparently remembering how she looked back when we found her human form in that cave.

  I am, she said, her closed lips curling upward in a smile. But guess who isn't that much bigger than you?

  She pointed with her snout, over to where Topa and Dimali were playing.

  Nestor gave a shrill, excited squeak, and began jumping up and down. Then he tried to run forward, but he was still jumping. The result was a kind of scamper-trip that face-planted him into the grass, but he was up and running a moment later, shouting out with his mind to anyone who would listen.

  Have-pack! Have-pack! Have-pack-have-pack-have-pack!

  His speed increased, and he zoomed forward, turning around when he realized he had rushed past the two little dragons, then turning around again when he overshot them a second time. Eventually, he settled for just running circles around the little black-and-white lizards, still shouting about his new pack. Topa raised his tiny black head and squeaked a challenge at the nimble mouse, while Dimali just ignored him, until one of the coins she was stacking slipped and fell. Then she grabbed it, scooped her tail and other limbs protectively around her little pile, and mewed a complaint at everyone, until she caught sight of Nestor and began sniffing in earnest curiosity.

  Mara and I chuckled, and I looked back up when I heard Vessa giggle over the sight.

  "I didn't realize how much I needed to see something like that," she told me, "but back to you, Jas." Her eyes widened as she gazed at the changes in my Source energy. "Wow… three substages in each Source? You're practically a third of the way through the second stage of Advancement. And it looks like the transition was really smooth this time," she said, sighing in relief. "Can you tell me what happened?"

  "I just Drew while the shadows were taunting me," I answered with a helpless shrug. "The power from the jotun helped, but I reached the first substage before it became a factor."

  "Jotun?" she tilted her head. "Wait, let's not get into that yet. We need to figure this out. Jasper, you remember me gauging your potential before, right? How you had high gains from battle and items, but not from Drawing itself?"

  "I do remember you saying that," I answered slowly. "I also remember wracking my body by gaining so many substages when I last Drew, which is what prompted our trip to my new grandmother's Sourcepalace."

  "Yes," Vessa said with a frown. "I remember as well. Your last two Drawing attempts completely contradict my assessment of how your soul works. Meaning either I am just spectacularly bad at my job of being your master, or there are special circumstances that give you a different potential when you Draw. Which I should have taken into account," she added. "Because different people thrive under different circumstances, some even more drastically than you have."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, curious.

  "I mean that there are people, both on Earth and other planets, who have found excellence, success, or happiness at points that others said were long past bothering to hope over. That applies to far more than learning or Advancing. But yes, some students thrive in completely unexpected circumstances. The best teachers are aware of that, and the best sects, tribes, and orders do their best to grant their teachers the tools and flexibility they need to bring out those students' potential." She looked back up at me, as if something had just occurred to her. "Wait. That's still practiced on Earth, right? My information isn't all that up to date for your world."

  "No," I answered flatly. "Excellence in the student is risk to the State. I suspect that was also the philosophy in many governments before the time of the Global Republic."

  And that was probably part of the reason the Glorious State was able to establish itself so quickly, I reflected, but did not say.

  "Oh," Vessa said awkwardly. "Right. Well. In any case, we've found the ideal conditions for you to gain power from: being surrounded by unnatural horrors that come from beyond the night sky… in defense of…" Her gray eyes widened with alertness, and her mouth took on a slightly horrified shape. "Me. In defense of me. Specifically."

  CHAPTER SIX

  "Holy Vessel," Mara interjected from within my soul, as the hatchlings and lifemouse continued to squeak, roar, and dance with each other. "Forgive him, I beg you, for he is innocent of this. Forgive his ancestors as well."

  "What?" Vessa asked, looking more and more horrified. "This… this is intentional? Someone did this to him? What?" She stepped backwards, shaking her head.

  "Holy Saint," Mara begged, lowering her draconic head submissively. "Please, I beg you. Please show them all mercy. It is not their fault."

  "What isn't their fault?" the ship-woman snapped, rounding on the dragon in my spirit. "Please explain, ancient dragon, because it sounds like you're implying someone found a way to modify or create Soulscapes, and then implanted one into Jasper!"

  "I know, Holy Vessel," Mara said as she lowered her head further. A quick glance showed that all the little ones in my soul were still oblivious to our fight, totally transfixed in the discovery of their new playmate. "I know," Mara repeated. "Th
e Holy Vessel is right to feel angry. Her honor and wisdom are absolute. But I beg to give you knowledge of them, Holy One, so that they may not bear the shame of being cursed by you. I beg permission to do so."

  "Explain, Senior," Vessa said with a deep breath, "and refrain from further unnecessary accolades. Please," she added.

  "I…" the normally proud dragon hesitated, then submitted. "I will do my best, Holy Vessel. Know this. His ancestors and mine were both present in the battle that saw your holy kin burn under the night sky. We fought to make our way to you, and we failed. Our races still bear the judgment for that failure."

  "Your races," Vessa replied with an edge, "were not supposed to be present for that battle at all. My people turned down every request for an honor guard. It was not our desire to own armies from the people of worlds. Every time we noticed your group following us, we commanded you to disperse."

  "I remember that refusal as well, Holy Vessel," Mara continued. "As well as the regret I felt when I realized we had not disobeyed that command more firmly, and more frequently. But I will continue my story, lest I offend you. I will be brief for the parts you already know: we followed you, we fought for you, we failed to save you. In the end, my kind, as well as the other races of Sourcebeast that flew by our side, met our bane in your people's destruction. I did not see the end of every fellow titan, but my own family roared in grief, and the grief changed us into something else. We became beings that could no longer bear to eat and breathe in a night sky clogged with the burning bodies of our greatest saints and heroes. My family's souls filled with so much rage that they inflated, and rose past the night sky to the next realm, hoping to either find help from whatever lords reigned there, or else punish them for allowing such evils to happen in the universe below. I despaired instead, and diminished, to the dying, broken beast you found me as those few days ago. But the young rider's kind…" Mara sighed. "They were not as fortunate. They were damned the harshest, for reasons unknown to me, and every drop of sanity was taken from them as penance. They sought to undo your defeat, Holy Vessel, and chose to wage war against natural law."