Tsr Bk 2 Ch 37 39

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Nothing erotic in this post, it's all plot and worldbuilding.

Thank you all for reading along with me so far.

I really appreciate feedback, both positive and critical. If you have feedback to share I encourage you to do so! I won't always agree with or follow your feedback, obviously, but I do read and consider it.

I've stopped responding to comments on Lit because of the delays in posting them. There's just such a long delay that I feel awkward attempting to offer replies. If you'd like a response then you can find me elsewhere, if not, just know that I see you.

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Chapter 37

The transition into Patala was remarkably seamless. Beyond the momentary feeling of disorientation and weightlessness, my mundane senses detected nothing. My spiritual senses were momentarily obscured by Nagana's thick presence, but after a few moments that veil of mana exploded outward. It became more diffuse, spilling outward to an impossible distance.

After a moment my mind caught up with what I was sensing. Her presence hadn't actually expanded so dramatically. Instead, the space we were in held the exact same mana, as though she had infused an entire realm. My own domain was a fraction of this size, and wasn't nearly as solid, as real.

"Your domain is impressive enough for one who has only barely touched the sea." The goddess's voice was amused, and I barely contained a wince at being so transparent in my envy. "But I did not bring you here just to lurk in a tent. Follow me, and I will show you wonders no human has laid eyes on in a thousand years."

With a wave of her hand the tent flap opened, and I couldn't help but notice that she used no sorcery. The oilcloth simply obeyed her desire, as though it were an extension of her body, or spirit. Ket had told me that I could exert that kind of control within my own domain, but until that moment I hadn't really understood what she meant. Everything here, including myself and my vas, was subject to Nagana's will.

We exited the tent, and I felt another wave of disorientation as we passed the threshold. For a moment I could feel the edge of the world. The tent existed both in the physical world, and in Patala. If I exerted myself I could try to escape this realm at the boundary, but my damaged spirit screamed at the very thought, so I restrained my sudden urge to try.

A moment later I was grateful for my restraint. My breath caught as I emerged into an enormous cavern, dimly lit in a dark blue glow, which shone from countless gems embedded in the ceiling far above. The gemstones bathed the pale walls in sapphire radiance, somehow clearly illuminating the space despite the cozy gloom.

I had exited the tent onto a raised stone platform, but despite my elevation I couldn't see the walls of this room. Instead I looked down over seemingly endless groves of dark green trees, fields of luminescent fungi, and lakes that glowed with a paler blue light than the sapphire stars above. It was an awe-inspiring, but somehow comforting vista, and I was only broken from my reverie by Myta's hand on my back as she tried to follow me out of the tent.

Nagana, looking pleased at our reactions, led us down into an impossible forest. A narrow path wove between trees that towered far higher than they had seemed to from above, bearing fruits the color of blood, stained a dark violet by the blue light. Even beneath the boughs of the trees I was able to see clearly, witnessing the host of vipers that slithered among the roots. Flocking to pay homage to their goddess.

We didn't walk for long before emerging on the shores of one of the lakes I had seen earlier. After the earlier gloom its pale radiance was jarring, and seemed unnatural, chilling the air. Again the light came from crystals, massive spikes of aquamarine that lurked beneath the placid surface of the water like hidden blades, their tips and edges nearly invisible within the liquid.

Producing two bottles, Nagana stared out over the lake. After a long moment of watching and waiting, I was about to ask her what I was meant to be doing, when the water began to churn. The surface of the lake rippled, and then began to swirl, rising up in the middle like an inverted whirlpool. I could see brilliantly colored serpents caught in the rising column of water, seemingly unperturbed by their abrupt ascent.

When the maelstrom was perhaps six times my height, it seemed to teach a tipping point. The top of the funnel formed into a stream, surging through the air towards us. It split into a dozen threads, some falling back into the lake, but two continued towards the goddess. Without a single lost drop, the streams poured themselves into the bottles she held until both vessels were full.

"These are for you," she handed me the bottles, producing stoppers for them both. "I hear that you are clever. If you examine them, and think on what I have shown you, then you should learn how you can heal your spirit."

"My thanks," I bowed my head to her, utterly confused but unwilling to show it. I could feel the infused liquids seething in their bottles, with two wildly different types of mana in them. One had an aspect of venomous lassitude, and the other felt as though a violent storm were raging inside, barely contained within the walls of glass. Attempting to harness either would surely destroy me right now.

"Don't worry," the goddess laughed lightly at my confusion. "Give it some time, and you'll see the answer. But until you do, be very careful in putting any strain on your spirit. I don't need to tell you the consequences of even one wrong move, do I?"

"Dissolution." I grimaced at the thought. "An incredibly painful moment of suffering before my spirit shatters."

"And an end to both of your vas as well," she agreed. "You're close enough that your suffering would torture their last moments. So I expect you want to avoid that."

*We should just kill them all now.* The voice that battered my mind was rumbling and harsh, like thunder shaking my brain. *The human is too slow and weak to learn your lessons. His court will die anyway. It would be a mercy to end them now.*

A head rose from the lake, like a beaked lizard formed from stormclouds. Another spirit, probably another god, whose aspect resonated with one of the vials I held.

"I will decide what is mercy here." Nagana seemed utterly casual in the face of the other spirit's aggression, shielding me from their overwhelming presence. With a wave of her hand she banished the whole threatening apparition, who dispersed with a grumble. The encounter had left me panting with existential fear, as a mere fraction of that spirit's direct attention could have destroyed me, but something about the interaction felt forced, as though the brief exchange had been staged.

Myta and Sati were at my sides, wrapping their presences around me protectively. Too late to have mattered had the storm spirit been aggressive, but I appreciated the sentiment. If nothing else, the veil they put up around me helped soften the raw sensitivity of my perceptions.

Nagana led us back to the tent via a much more circuitous route, showing us the wonders of her realm. An entire cavern carved into an emerald of incredible size, a glade filled with awakened beasts who lounged about eating fruits and debating philosophy, a vertical shaft of seemingly infinite depth, with liquid like molten gold falling from above. As she had mentioned we saw no other humans, but stranger awakened creatures abounded.

I even saw a group of elementals, rarest of awakened beings. It took a very long time steeping in concentrated mana for an inanimate object to become so infused as to awaken, and it was seldom that they could then survive the greed and hunger of others. I spoke with one particular being, a collection of crystalline shards that drifted about like a cloud of prismatic razors, who had once been an enchanted item. Bound within a geode by a sorcerer their awakening had been deliberately engineered, but they were forgotten when the sorcerer never returned, presumably having died.

Ariel, as they were known, was the only elemental willing to speak with me. They had a soft spot for humans, but I quickly found conversing with them to be incomprehensible. Fascinating, but ultimately fruitless. Perhaps if I had a few years to spend on it, I might begin to understand their talk of branching light vibrations and resonant fracture planes.

By the time we returned to the tent, I was glad to see it. My mind was swimming with far more questions and ideas than I had received answers. Nagana issued us back to the physical world with little fanfare, and I was shocked to see that the bottles of infused liquid had returned with us, entirely physical. I thought this must be similar to the way that shifters manifested their forms, just as Myta could conjure her blade, and Ket could manifest a physical body. What that might have to do with healing my spirit, I couldn't say.

I was highly motivated to find out, however. Aside from just ensuring my survival, the goddess had promised that I could use this opportunity to become even stronger. And I was eager to push my limits forward. I would need to, if I wanted to continue challenging the Pure. And while Myta and Sati hadn't yet plateaued in their growth, if I could push myself farther, I might be able to push them along as well.

"What do you think?" I asked my vas when we were alone again. Myta shrugged noncommittally, but Sati was practically vibrating.

"It was beautiful!" She squealed with excitement, bouncing in place as she grabbed our hands. Myta and I each gave her a fond smile, unable to resist her enthusiasm entirely.

"It was," I acknowledged. "But it didn't really tell me how to heal myself. Not that I've figured out, in any case. Her control of her domain was impressive, as was her command of such different aspects, but even if I could do both of those things, I don't see how it would help. My real problem is that if I exert enough pressure to forge anima right now, my spirit won't be able to handle the strain."

"Well," Sati mused. "People can't really have entirely different aspects. Not even spirits. You can't even manipulate mana you can't find a connection with."

"True," I drew out the word, speaking slowly. "I can't think of any link between these two aspects, Nagana might have an aspect that lies somewhere in between of course. But if she's trying to hint at something she can't say..."

Wanting to test my inkling, I pulled on Myta's mana drawing her presence around me, i kept my attention turned inward though, watching the strain my spirit was under, and there was nothing. A tiny shiver through my anima, a tremor that was nothing compared to what it should have been. I cautiously tried match the effect with my own mana, and nearly blacked out from the immediate pain.

"Master!" Myta shouted at me, half in concern and half in anger, even as she caught me from falling. The pain didn't bother me however, as it confirmed my suspicion. Nagana had in fact given me a great gift, a gift of knowledge. I just needed to strengthen our bonds to use it.

Chapter 38

I wanted to begin strengthening my domain immediately, but we couldn't afford to linger. I wasn't sure how solid my nascent realm had to become for my idea to function, but I knew I wanted to deepen my connection with Sati as well. Both tasks would take time, and the Pure would not wait.

We had received emissaries from clan Nagana, clan Math, and clan Finnag. The clans didn't really believe in the value of purely political positions, so each of these diplomats had other skills to use on our behalf. Peta and Sati took charge of them immediately, talking to them about their skills and learning their temperaments, while Siobhan looked on in amusement. Technically they were meant to aid clan Ket, not our company, but she seemed just as happy to leave the diplomacy to us.

The trip to Clan Ket's lands would take us about three weeks, time that I would spend meditating with my vas, reinforcing my domain, and learning the basics of runeworking with Riona. The druid wasn't the most powerful, but as she explained to me, that was exactly what made her a better teacher.

"You've touched the sea now, have you felt the laws restrict you yet?" She asked the question almost idly, but I could tell the druid was fishing for some specific information.

"Only a little." I shrugged, not seeing any real reason to hide it. "I've felt bound in matters of debt and obligation. But if I don't think about it, it's not obvious."

"It gets worse the more connected to the sea you are. Honoring debts is the most fundamental law, but the restrictions on knowledge follow soon after. The most skilled rune crafters would not be able to speak to you about how they function at all."

"So runes are directly related to the Radiant Sea," I muttered. She smiled, and I nodded in acknowledgement. "You can't outright tell me as much, but you can lead me straight to the knowledge. I suppose someone who is stronger would be more restricted. They'd have a harder time even implying the information."

"Aye," she grinned. "Much of a druid's work is talking around their point. Makes us hard to talk to, as we get in the habit even when there's nae reason."

"I already find it frustrating, and I'm not even really bound by it yet." I snorted. "Well, what can you tell me about this?"

I held out my hand, to better display the seal on my palm. It was traced in gold lines on my skin, that reflected a metallic, iridescent sheen. With a noise of intrigue, Riona grabbed my hand, only to scoff a moment later.

"It's butcher's work, plain as sunshine. These runes here are ours, used by the druids, I mean. But they're not used the way we would. See here."

She retrieved a rod from her bag, showing me a row of runes carved on its length. All of the symbols were joined by a single line, carved down the whole length of the rod. I compared that to the similar runes on my palm, which were arranged in a sort of circular mandala. The runes all separated out, rather than joined.

"What about these then?" I pointed to several of the runes on my hand that looked significantly different than the Metic runes, including the one that was most prominently displayed at the center of the design.

"I can tell you the meanings of our runes." Riona had a sly smile on her face that told me she was skirting her restrictions again. "I can tell you the meanings of runes from sorcerers as well. But those I can't talk about at all."

"So the meanings of the Metic runes have a mundane origin," I mused. "But the other runes are tied directly to the sea somehow."

Running my fingers over the rod she had handed me, I examined its mana. It was deeply infused, and I could feel not just the mana of the wood itself, but traces of mana that had been pushed through the object time and again. I resisted the urge to push mana through it myself, my arm aching from the restrained impulse. Instead, I tried to chase down a different sensation that was nagging at me. The runes themselves didn't have any extra concentration of mana, something that confused me, but they did have... something.

I let my sight dip into the Radiant Sea, an act that was becoming increasingly reflexive for me. There, I found the source of the sensation I'd been pursuing. The carved markings were reflected in the sea, they resonated there. I stared at the runes, which were small and faint, but somehow imposing. As though I were not looking at weak reflections, but enormous icons seen from very far away. One, in particular, drew my gaze.

"Fire." My fingers traced the rune feeling the warmth and playful dance of a flame under my fingers.

"You've a strong desire to burn things then?" My teacher pulled my attention back with her words, making me realize belatedly that I had spoken aloud. "It takes most of my students much longer to feel the meaning of a rune, especially without having been told first."

"Myta's aspect is fire," I shifted uncomfortably. "It felt like her, is all."

"I was only teasing," she answered with a smile in her voice. "It's good that you felt it so quickly."

She held out her hand for the rod, and when I handed it back to her she pointed it into the air. I could feel the mana around her begin to swirl and shift, not the way a sorcerer might gather their presence, but as though a natural eddy had formed in the ambient energy of the world. It wasn't the first time I had felt a druid's magic, but I was still fascinated.

My attention was grabbed by the rod, however. The seemingly simple wand was the target of the flow of mana, and as I watched it filtered the incoming energy. Fire mana was retained in the rod, while other aspects of mana flowed away. When some tipping point was reached, the fire mana was released in a spear of flame, which Riona shot harmlessly off into the sky. Goats bleated in annoyance, while numerous people shouted questions, but I was deaf to it all.

"It's intention," I whispered the words, my mind racing. "The runes somehow carry enough intention to shape the mana you feed to it. And somehow, that intention is held, recorded, in the sea."

"What is the sea?" The druid hadn't corrected me, and her broad grin told me I was closing in on what she wanted to teach me.

"It's a place, a state of being, where the world's excess mana flows." I responded as much to work through my thoughts as to actually answer her. "It's the realm of gods, who are empowered by belief. It's the realm of belief? A realm where belief shapes mana. Where intention lingers." I dragged my nails down my face, wanting to scream at how obvious the answer was. Riona spoke it aloud for me, her lips unsealed by my own understanding.

"Runes carry intention from every being who agrees on their meaning." She laughed. "Like any other language, they've no meaning but what we assign to them. The stronger the will behind them, the better they work. If every druid died tomorrow, this little toy would become useless not long after." She waved the rod idly by way of emphasis.

"So you can explain most runes. They were simply made up by people with enough influence, or long enough ago, that their meaning has spread. But the runes you can't explain are somehow tied intrinsically to the sea." I could only think of one way that could be true, and the thought made me feel ill. "Were the remaining runes created by the divines?"

Riona nodded, her smile turning a little crooked. "Aye. Someone among the Pure is tapping into primordial forces to warp the souls of others. It's nae wonder their victims are becoming demons."

"So if I want to alter these seals, I need to learn all the runes that form them, as well as understand how they interact. Then, I should be able to rewrite them." I laughed, a little bitterly. "Well I did need a new challenge."

Riona taught me how to feel out the meanings of the runes, and their meanings did need to be felt, rather than explained. Feeling the runes resonate turned out to be far more important than having some abstract understanding of them, they were like mastering an aspect of mana, in that way. Fortunately I turned out to be quite proficient at understanding the runes, or at least my teacher assured me that I was, multiple times. Each rune had multiple layers of meaning however, and I could spend days studying the nuances of a single one.

At least the trip itself was pleasant, even glorious. I loved the cool spaces beneath the redwood canopy, redolent with the crisp scents of pine, fresh greenery, and rich damp earth. Our path wasn't difficult, but it was winding and circuitous. The Metic clans didn't maintain paved roads on their lands, but the open nature of the forest made our passage easy enough.

Myta avoided me during my lessons and meditations on runes. The process bored her immensely, not because she didn't understand the concepts and their potential value, they simply didn't interest her. She preferred training and work that had a more visceral impact, and so she spent her spare time training with her warriors. They practiced their combat sorcery, discussed strategy, and generally got to know one another better. The Metic warriors folded into our company's dynamic with surprising ease, their respect for mercenaries and martial prowess easing the misunderstandings that arose.