Somewhat refreshed, Myta mustered her troops after breakfast. She confirmed the willingness of each of our selected volunteers, and then organized everyone else. We needed guards to defend all the participants of our impromptu tempering ritual, and she selected one squad for the purpose. Everyone else was set to either foraging, or maintaining our gear. Enhanced materials like mana wood, river steel, and spirit leather might not care about the humidity; but we had plenty of other items and perishables that could be ruined. When everyone was settled, we gathered together for the main event.
"Now, this may be painful, or it might just feel strange," I said to the assembled group. "As I said before, Mytan will be putting pressure on your spirit. The more you can withstand it, the more benefit you will gain. You don't want to fight her, however. Think of this like resistance training, don't attack her, but try to push her back."
Everyone nodded. This wasn't the first time I'd said as much this morning, but I was struggling to contain my nervousness. Performing a new spell always carried risk, and my vas was a new sorcerer. I worried that if something went wrong she would blame herself. My worry did her no good, however. I took a few calming breaths, stilling my mind as Hati came forward. She sat on the tarp that we had prepared, kneeling on the oilcloth.
The sergeant was a brick of a woman; tall, broad, and muscular. I'd gotten the impression she was once a mercenary, and joined the guard looking for opportunities to improve her skills. Tarun had told me that she didn't have the temperament for strategy or tactics. As a sergeant however, she was ideal. With a rough-hewn charisma and her force of arms, she easily commanded respect from her men. Her stubborn and straightforward nature were so strong that I could detect a weak earth aspect even in her clouded anima.
As I'd instructed her, Myta extended her presence. She draped it over Haiti's much smaller presence like a shroud. Flaring in argent flame my vas began to squeeze, clamping down on the other woman, forcing her presence down. This caused the sergeant's mana to condense within her spirit body.
I made a small noise of satisfaction. The first step was complete, with no issues. Compressing another's spirit was normally quite difficult. Unless you shared the same aspect the differing types of mana would clash, with both presences dispersing. That was why my own aspect was so well suited to spirit work. I hadn't yet found a type of mana that I could not manipulate to at least some degree. While not exactly the same as mine, Myta's borrowed aspect fulfilled the same purpose.
Hati was sweating, and her expression was strained. With no experience in manipulating mana at all, I could only imagine how unnerving the sensation must be for her. Still, I sensed her mana begin to stir, pressing back against Myta's presence just a little. That meant it was time for the next stage.
My vas began to put a little extra pressure on the larger woman's anima, pushing against the node at her root. This was the node that most sorcerers focused on first, and I thought that enhancing a normal person in the same way would be wise. The root spoke to one's sense of self, and certainty in life. Enhancing it provided increased stamina, and willpower. Hati was slow to respond to the increased pressure, and when she did her response was erratic. Mana stuttered and flared erratically through her channels, and Myta struggled to maintain her even pressure in response. Too much pressure could crumple Hati's anima inward, warping it. Not enough, and the other woman might rupture her own spirit from within.
"Calm yourself, sergeant. Focus on where she's pressing against you. No need to panic like that." I put a little amusement in my voice, knowing it would annoy her. Better for her to be annoyed than afraid. My ploy worked, and her eyes opened enough to glare at me. Meanwhile the surges in her spirit began to smooth out. With a growl she visibly relaxed, forcing her muscles to unclench. Likewise, her spirit calmed, and her mana focused at her root. Soon, Hati's anima there began to condense and purify, throwing out bursts of waste. Anima that didn't quite match her core self dissolved into intensely aspected mana. It spurted away from her spirit body like juice bursting from a crushed orange, passing through Myta's presence as though it wasn't even there.
That was a surprise, although I supposed it shouldn't have been. Whenever I performed any similar work, I would take in that mana and store it. Converting it for my own use later. Myta had no practice doing that, and I hadn't been prepared to capture the wayward energy. I extended my own presence now, belatedly attempting to do just that. It took only a few moments before I was able to get a veil around the two women thick enough to catch the waste. By then however, it was already too late.
"Prepare for an attack!" I snapped out. The guards, and those who were still waiting, all became focused and alert. They looked around in confusion, not knowing what they were looking for. Unfortunately our need for a stable area meant that trees crowded thickly around us, impeding our sight lines. I waved over the squad leader, a tall man that I thought was named Jeto. He came over to me without question, for which I was grateful. I was well aware that some of these men barely knew me. Fortunately the respect they had for Myta seemed to carry over.
"Jeto, we may be attacked by awakened beasts." I said without preamble. "It's impossible to say for sure, but if there are any such predators or scavengers near, they will come. And none of us," I gestured to include myself, Myta, and Hati "are in a position to help."
He smiled briefly. "It's Jito, sir. I'll organize our defense. Not wasting any more time on me, he moved off to alert the other warriors. They were nervous at first, but when nothing actually happened we all began to relax, and I turned my attention back to the ritual.
Hati was grimacing now, and soaked in sweat. Myta had finished purifying her root, and had moved on to the sacral node. I examined the sergeant's root carefully, or tried to at least. I wasn't able to see much of anything through Myta's presence, and I didn't want to risk disrupting her concentration by borrowing her senses. I'd just need to wait to see the results. I'd guessed that Hati would only have enough mana to last through two nodes anyway, anima was forged from mana, after all. When Hati ran too low to press back against Myta's spirit, the ritual would be complete.
Against my expectations, Myta progressed to a third node, but as she did so I was distracted by the bleating of my goats. They were letting out harsh warning cries, putting everyone on edge. I had begun to think that we had escaped attention from my earlier mistake, but there were clearly predators approaching our position. With a mental whisper, I commanded Myta to focus, as her attention had begun to waver. Disrupting her spell mid-node would be disastrous for Hati.
Turning my spiritual gaze outward, I quickly found the issue.
"Jito!" I called. "Above us, in the canopy. A swarm of beasts, coming from the west." Beyond my warning, I couldn't currently do too much. I absolutely needed to contain any further releases of decaying anima, and their unpredictability required my full attention. We certainly couldn't afford to attract even more awakened beasts. Under the squad leader's direction the available fighters pulled in close. With enemies in the canopy, they could drop right on top of Myta and Hati.
Jito assigned two of his men to stand over us, and try to keep any leaping enemies from landing directly on us. Denu also stayed as close as possible, rapidly stringing her bow. The remaining fighters formed a ring around us. Fortunately, between Jito's squad and the remaining men who were waiting for their turn at the ritual, there were spaced closely enough to cover one another.
There was little I could do but hold to my task, as guttural shrieks began to echo from the canopy.
Chapter 33
The beasts came on suddenly, leaping from the canopy as we'd feared. Some kind of lizard, each roughly the size of a smaller dog, each was perhaps five to ten pounds in weight. Individually they would be no threat, of course, but there were dozens flying from the branches above. Whatever aspect they had developed allowed them to share their mana, which made the swarm highly dangerous. Fortunately they didn't seem terribly intelligent, or focused.
Had the creatures launched themselves at our vulnerable en masse, we wouldn't have stood a chance. Myta's concentration would have broken, potentially shattering Hati's spirit. As it was, five came leaping directly at us. Three were intercepted by our dedicated protectors. Their bodies falling in pieces around me, showering us in blood and rent flesh. A severed head bounced off my shoulder, smaller than my clenched fist. It was colored brilliant orange, frilled, and with protruding eyes like those of a chameleon. Its mouth gaped open in death, with multiple rows of jagged teeth gleaming wetly in the emerald light of the forest. Jaws like that would make for brutal wounds, prone to infection and scarring.
Denu shot another of our attackers out of the air, either an incredible shot or an incredible stroke of luck. The last landed on Myta, and immediately latched onto her arm. Fortunately her armor resisted its fangs, but it scrabbled at her with its claws. Climbing up toward her neck and looking for a softer target. The other warriors wouldn't be able to easily dispose of the creature, so I seized control of her mana, freeing her to defend herself.
