Evacuee detected, a voice said somewhere in my mind. Initiating sub-protocol 002 of codename Apocalypse Denied, designation: Soul’s Shelter.
Clouds cleared as the ghostly dragon descended. She was still shedding Source energy at a speedy rate, still reversing her Advancement in the process. I had never even known such a thing was possible. But as I looked closely, I could find that she was not truly weakening herself. She was locking away the rest of her power, putting it somewhere she could not access for the time being.
It’s to keep it safe until I regain my physical body, Elder Mara advised me, speaking directly into my mind. And stop thinking so loud. It’s annoying.
Apologies, I thought back. I’m not used to having company over.
Uppity thing, she grumbled, but I suppose you’ve earned it. Thank you for this, young rider. I will uphold my oath and do everything I can to repay you. I suppose we can start by teaching you how to guard your thoughts. That can be a life-saver, especially for a young, red-blooded male at your age.
I... what? I asked, completely confused at the new direction our conversation had taken.
Ah, it’s been too long since I’ve worked with a young man your age. Never mind, darling. We’ll discuss that later. For now, we need to see if we should flee from here.
I turned my attention back to the body lying next to the blankets. It was limp, silent, and cold.
Old thing served me well all my life, Elder Mara said in my mind. I’ll build one just like it someday though. Or better, just to put that silly husband of mine in his place. But enough rambling from me. Let’s go, darling. Don’t forget your little mouse.
Nestor squeaked happily and leaped on my shoulder, bouncing up and down in excitement.
It-worked! he shouted into my mind. It-worked! Save-save!
Yes, little friend, I told him. You were the one right this time.
Did-good! Helped-helped! Glad-glad!
He was practically chasing his tail in excitement. I turned my attention from the adorable sight and began to reach for the teleportation link, but then Vessa’s script suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
Testing...Jasper? The words crawled across my vision awkwardly, probably due more to Vessa’s discomfort regarding our last fight than any technical difficulties.
I am here, Vessa, I wrote back in my mind. The mission was a success. The dragon-woman’s suffering has been stopped.
I was about to tell her more, but I realized I was still angry with her, despite the fact that everything had worked out better than I possibly could have hoped. I clamped down on the unreasonable emotion, and failed completely in the act of smothering it. She began to type more words, but I cut her off with my own message.
I would prefer to tell you the details when I return, I said carefully. It was getting hard to think with all the unprocessed Source energy rolling about in my body, and with the emotional earthquake today’s events had already been.
Actually, Vessa began typing back. I have to ask you to stay down there a little longer. Nova has almost finished getting the fleeing tribes to safety. You can move away from your current location for a bit, but after that I need you to stay in one place. I’m trying to create a focal point for the bloodbeast and his army, and they’re heading to your location. I think they noticed when the other Sourcebeast died. Nova’s going to arrive near you soon as well, to make sure all our enemies gather in one place and help me aim my attack. Would you be willing to do that? Just rest, or Draw, somewhere nearby?
That sounds fine, I admitted. I am not in any danger now.
It won’t be too long, Vessa assured me. I promise. She paused for a moment before she messaged me again. Are you sure you’re okay?
I finally managed to master my pettiness and give her more reassurance.
I am very well, I admitted. Too much happened for me to discuss now, but things went a bit better than I feared. It is too hard to write the details in my mind, but I look forward to speaking with you in person about it.
Good, she sent me, and I could guess the relief she felt through her script. Thank you, Jas. Thank you for everything. I’ll pull you back as soon as I can.
We stopped talking, and I began walking toward the cave’s exit.
My master wishes me to remain on this world for a little longer, I sent to Elder Mara. I have not told her of your presence yet.
An odd choice, she noted, but who am I to judge your relationship with your teacher? Just don’t keep too many secrets from her, and none for too long. We hate that kind of thing, dear.
I believe you, I answered, walking to the body of the practitioner I had killed earlier. I lingered over him, feeling a regret that had been absent for every one of the eaterling’s deaths.
I am sorry I had to kill him, I admitted as I stared at Elag’s corpse. He had a conscience. He wanted to do what he believed was right.
Incorrect, young rider, the old woman said gently. He did not wish to do the right actions. He wished for his actions to be right, so that he would not have to change. He is not the first would-be murderer to do such. Nor will he be the last.
I could not argue with her judgment. But the real reason I had stopped over my dead enemy was not to pay any last respects, but to take his weapon.
“I have no idea if stealing from your corpse is wrong,” I said as I unbelted the weapon. Unlike my recently destroyed daggers, the broad blade was too large to fit in my Soulscape, so I needed to take his belt and scabbard as well. “But I need it, and you no longer do. If you have another life, I hope you never believe that killing the weak is praiseworthy.”
He had nothing else of value on his body, so I fastened his belt to my own waist and walked toward the exit of the cave.
Where is the best location for me to Draw, that I can reach nearby? I asked my new spiritual passenger.
The best answer for that is usually the closest mountaintop, dear, she advised. Just go outside and climb over the cavern’s roof.
Very well, I replied, exiting the cave and climbing the rocky outcropping outside.
While we’re at it, we should probably stabilize your substages. It looks like your master was in the process of giving you a good foundation before you had to come rescue me, judging by what she had you do with your first qi drop. Why don’t we complete what she was doing with your mana and essence, while we have you Draw again?
I followed her advice as I reached the top of the rocky hill her cave had formed under. I sat down and instructed Nestor to keep watch while I assumed a meditative stance. Then I performed the one advantage that practitioners had over Sourcebeasts, the ability to augment, refine, and enlighten themselves through practice and sheer mental willpower.
Why don’t we try them one at a time for now, young rider? my new guest advised. Let’s go ahead and start with absorbing more qi, but don’t color your next drop yet. I’ll show you how to absorb one Source at a time properly.
It proved to not be too difficult, largely due to dedicating an entire drop to the art of wielding qi itself. I adjusted the qi shield around me to open up in small curved holes that were conducive to the river-like Source to enter. Essence and mana were trapped near the opening, unable to navigate such awkward openings. As the qi flew into me, I directed it into channels already established through my previous efforts. The new qi began circulating with my old, and my newly colored drop helped regulate and refine everything even further.
In the end, part of the qi began to lag behind, clumping together and showing signs that I was about to form a third drop.
Well done, well done, the old woman praised. Your master has done remarkably well in training a tri-practitioner. Reminds me of the great teachers of old, in fact.
I will share more information regarding her soon, I promised, trying not to sound uncomfortable.
Indeed, though that’s one part of your mind you guard surprisingly well. You are far more careful about some secrets than others. But we’ll touch on that later, young rid
er. For now, let’s move onto your mana, and stabilize that next. I’ll walk you through how to focus your first wisp.
I did as she said. This time, I opened up small holes in my qi barrier, too small for the flecks of essence to pass through but providing no obstacle for the clouds of mana trying to enter my body and soul. As they passed inside of me, they tried to disturb my carefully crafted balance between Source energies. But then Elder Mara nudged a talon against the ground of my spectral planet, and it slowly began to turn. She gave it a few more pokes, as if she was correcting its speed and balance, before giving a satisfied nod.
There we go, young rider. That should help you a great deal. Your process wasn’t bad before, just needed a little tuning by someone who had already seen it done. But you and your master have done an excellent job, despite not having a previous Anchor Knight for a reference. Now, listen to me as I explain how this will work...
As mana drifted into the proper locations, Elder Mara continued Vessa’s instructions on how to specialize my first substage of mana.
My Soulship mentor had already pounded into me that mana was about study and practice, more so than either of the other two Sources. Therefore, when I had focused my first wisp, I had begun asking myself questions about the very nature of mana itself. But Elder Mara urged me to immediately do more than that. Asking questions and stopping there might be suitable for cultivating qi, she said, but mana expects immediate action, and demands immediate results. But before that could alarm me, she next explained that mana never requires perfect results. One is immediately expected to provide an answer to the question mana brings, but never expected to provide the right answer, just an answer that provokes further research.
So I gave a dozen different answers to the question of what mana was, and did my best to narrow them down. But I found that each one was wrong in some way or another, and so I asked different ones, narrowing and refining my focus further and further, until I was more often providing answers explaining all the things mana was not.
It should have been meaningless; in fact most people on Earth would have argued that my actions were nothing but failure. Not true, my memories said. My father’s voice called out, paraphrasing an old inventor in Earth’s history.
You have not failed a hundred times, son. You have just found a hundred ways that will not work.
That was one of the things mana was.
It wasn’t just about knowing what was true. It was about knowing what wasn’t true. And had more of my people recognized our tyrant’s lies when they were spoken, we might have still been free today.
With that, the oldest wisp floating around the ore of tin gained a faint purple-gray color, soothing the rest of the mana inside my body.
Good work, young rider, Elder Mara’s voice said in my mind. We’re off to an excellent start. I suspect this will be the Source that interests you the most, given all the questions I hear your young mind throwing about. In fact, I daresay you have the makings of a great mage.
I would call that wonderful news, I replied carefully. But my master has said that my talent for Drawing Source energy is much lower than what she has seen in others.
Don’t learn the wrong lessons from her words, young rider. Potential is not a set thing. Every bit of practice you do now increases the amount you can grow in the future. Make the most of both your successes and your failures, and you will soar to heights beyond what your critics’ words can ever follow.
Those words were so encouraging that my mind clutched at them and pulled them close. As I did so, I examined further my ore of tin and found a third wisp beginning to coalesce.
See there, young one? the old dragon continued. Close to your third substage in both mana and qi. I daresay you are already out-pacing all the fearful little voices in your head. Keep moving forward. Now, we will work on your largest chunk, your essence. Be ready, dear, because right now this is your strongest, and wildest, Source. Fortunately, it is the one I happen to know best. Just follow my instructions and you’ll be fine. Now, go ahead and collapse your shielding...
I followed Elder Mara’s instructions and removed the last barrier to the energy waiting to enter my body, and the flakes of essence settled into and over my body like snow soaking and piling upon the ground. As it entered my flesh and bones, the old dragon gave my Soulscape another nudge, and it began to spin in place, ever so carefully, moving without traveling any distance at all. Every flake floated to a proper location, settling over me in a uniform pattern. Despite being the most ponderous of the three Source energies, its process was immediate and completely without hesitation.
Because it doesn’t think, I realized, not compared to mana or qi.
I felt Elder Mara give me an approving nod, so I pondered the matter a little further.
Essence follows innate patterns, automatic actions... instincts. Essence is about instinct, the knowledge I wield on a subconscious level.
At first glance, that would make this Source the most limiting, implying that I could never do anything new with it. But that was false, for the same reasons Elder Mara had pointed out in regards to my long-term potential. Instincts were not permanent things, but could be sharpened, dulled, or even gained or lost. The phrase “second-nature” came to mind, of individuals that had honed a skill so thoroughly they could perform it in their sleep. Rapid-fire cognition was another name for the effect, of making use of knowledge gained through sheer repetition, completely circumventing the conscious, worrying portions of my mind.
To my further surprise, it probably also represented a large portion of the knowledge my parents had drilled into me. I hadn’t studied combat in decades, but when I battled my first eaterling, my weakened muscles remembered just enough to put myself in a position to kill the wretched thing. And while I could sometimes hear my mother’s voice in my fights, my mind and body were already several steps ahead of the memory, often completing the suggested actions even before her ghost could finish recommending them.
That was it, then, I decided. Instinct was all the knowledge my mind didn’t realize it knew.
The first crack in the mosaic suddenly grew, tracing around the edge of the entire picture. It defined the artwork further, revealing it to be the crude form of a human body. The second crack trembled in place, and the third crack finally finished appearing in the center, present, but somehow unclear, and begging for definition.
Alright, young rider, Elder Mara told me. Now let’s go ahead and get both of these defined. Essence is actually the best of the three energies to get straightened out at the beginning, because it provides mostly long-term benefits.
How do you know so much about all three Sources? I asked the ancient Sourcebeast. Because to my knowledge, Sourcebeasts rarely had access to a second Source. Which was why Nestor’s use of my fire spell had alarmed me so much.
It’s rare, dear, but every now and then a Sourcebeast can comprehend a portion of one of the other two Sources. The Bloodfool actually did just that with qi, although he can’t Advance beyond the Heart-core stage. But I know of it from bonding with my old rider. Our kind gains a bit of the same Sources your kind does when you bond with us, in the rare event that an essence practitioner actually has a second Source.
That is seeming less and less rare every day, I noted dryly.
Yes, dear, you seem like you’ve had all manner of bad luck in choosing enemies. Probably because you’ve been sticking your nose in situations like this one, and helping old women like me. But our two races are probably the only two that both have access to all three Sources, and actually bother with developing them.
I still don’t understand that second point, I replied. They each provide different paths to power. Why wouldn’t anyone develop every scrap of power they could?
Some do, Elder Mara acknowledged. But most practitioners and Sourcebeasts see no need, for the same reason you don’t try to walk down more than one road to get to your destination. Every step you take on your second or third Source is a s
tep you’re not taking on your first and best Source, which means you’re putting off ascension and immortality. But I understand why you’re not racing to the top, dear. Your kind and mine didn’t want to.
No, I said with dawning realization. We tried to protect the Soulships.
Indeed, the dragon-woman said sadly. We couldn’t bring ourselves to charge headlong into immortality. We had to guard the guardians. Heal the healers. Rescue the heroes. We knew they couldn’t be strong forever, and that one day they would need care and aid themselves. Our goals baffled them, dear. They couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t just immediately ascend, and so they forbade it. Declared that we could not follow them, or join their crews. I rejoice every day my family and others chose to ignore that command. But in the end, we were too few, and so we failed to protect them in their greatest of battles. And now the vessel-saints are gone from the night-sky, and mad, angry things rule as they see fit.
What if they were not gone? I asked carefully. What if there was somehow one left?
Then I would not believe it, the old dragon-woman said simply. Too much hope is dangerous, young rider. I have already received a double portion of it today. I may invite a curse if I am ungrateful, and ask for more. So no, you could claim to have seen one of the vessel-saints yourself, that you have one hidden somewhere and are secretly nursing them back to health, and I still would not dare to believe you. Not even if you described their ship and flesh-body perfectly.
Noted, I said with a shrug.
Now, stop asking so many questions and listen to my next instructions, you curious young man. As a non-Soulship tri-practitioner, you’re going to need to make sure your essence at least complements your other two Sources. So your first two substages will be fleshing out the parts of you that mana and qi both rely the heaviest on.
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