Discussion and Pathways

The Spirit stopped instantly, an odd mix of nervousness, defensiveness and guilt flowing through their bond to the Golem.

“I understand your wish to repay me for your mistake, but you don't need to.” Wanderer began, hoping to stop this idea before it grew out of hand.

Yet their Spirit disagreed, it was their job to guide Wanderer and they failed when the solution was blatantly obvious, they had to make it up to them somehow.

“But it is not necessary, I forgive you.”

This only seemed to amplify the guide’s compulsion, as they seemed to be under the impression that Wanderer was only forgiving them because of their naivety and ignorance.

The Vessel could see now that this was no longer a point of logic, the Spirit had set a point in their mind and would justify it by any means necessary.

It was an odd thing to see, their Spirit became so illogical over something so minor, sure they had panicked a few times here and there but that was all quite reasonable, this was just stubbornness.

Now that Wanderer thought about it, why was their Spirit so logical, shouldn't a Spirit of exploration focus less upon advice and guidance, and more upon seeing the world.

At the Vessel’s thought, their Spirit froze up, Wanderer apparently having stumbled upon a sore spot they were unaware of.

The Golem thought back to when they had first exited the cave, how their Spirit had been pushing to see it all, how they danced at the light of the sun and in the shade of the trees.

Yet when Wanderer had insisted upon their first assertion, their first no, all that had changed, the Spirit still celebrated and explored, but as time went on they became more and more cautious and Wanderer became the driver of that exploration more and more.

It almost seemed like they had stopped enjoying exploration, something Wanderer wasn't sure a Spirit could do.

With every realisation the Vessel made, the Spirit sank deeper and deeper into despair, the Golem’s musings apparently digging up something the Guide had been trying to ignore.

Before Wanderer could get to ask, their Spirit replied to the unspoken question in an outburst, screaming that their duty was to protect Wanderer at all costs, that they would never get a chance like this again.

The Golem was taken aback, what chance had their Spirit been given and why didn't Wanderer know about it.

Soon, the dreadful truth was revealed.

The purpose of a Golem was to house a Spirit, to give them a way to experience the physical world, it was for this reason that Golem’s were created.

But there were far less Golems than there were Spirits, and so the ability to inhabit one of the Vessels was limited, only given to the most powerful of Spirits, Spirits of things like Anger or Revenge.

By luck, Wanderer’s Spirit had been around when their parent had called to the Spirit realm, and had been ready when the Spirits which had held a monopoly for so long rejected the deformed Vessel.

This opportunity was something the guide couldn't afford to lose, they snapped up the chance, eager to explore a new world while not quite realising the danger of the world they intended to enter.

With every day that passed, with every fight and attack Wanderer faced, the Spirit grew more and more attached to Wanderer and more and more scared that they would lose the chance they had gotten.

What choice did they have but to be overly cautious, afraid of what lay around every corner, when every corner revealed some new enemy intent on destroying the Golem’s life, and by extension, the Spirit’s adventure.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A long moment of silence purveyed through the link, as Wanderer absorbed what they had been told.

They hadn't even realised the extent of the problem, how much secret distress their Spirit had been in.

How many secrets had been held back.

They made to comfort their life long friend, when another realisation overtook them, one far darker than a mere reassurance.

“You said that Golems were created to house Spirits” Wanderer said, more to themself than to their Spirit.

Because the implications of that statement had just struck them, they had been created, not to live and explore but to house a Spirit, they had been created as a tool.

Their guide was using them as a way to explore the world.

The crisis hit them like a knife to the soul, as more and more implications were unravelled.

Their Spirit called out to them, insisting that they were taking it all the wrong way, but the spiral of truths had started and there was nothing that the traitor could do.

“Why do I find such joy in exploration?” they questioned.

It was something so fundamental to their being that they had never thought to question it, yet now that they did, the answer was so obvious.

They were created to serve the whims of their Spirit, they wished to adventure and so that same desire was impregnated into the Vessel’s very soul.

How do you escape something which is an integral part of your being, how do you escape your own soul?

But that wasn't the guide's only betrayal, they had revealed that they knew of Wanderer’s parent, that they had seen them in the final moments before their death and they had never told Wanderer.

How could they ever trust the Spirit again, when they had withheld something so important to them.

Again their Spirit pierced through the cloud of anger with apologies and regrets, yet they all felt hollow in light of the recent revelation.

“ENOUGH!” Wanderer screamed at the place next to their soul, such force accompanying the declaration that they felt their magic speed up within their veins.

The Spirit fell quiet.

The Vessel sprinted down one of the corridors at random, trying to run away from the whole situation.

But they couldn't, the Spirit was a part of them, followed wherever they went, always had free access to their thoughts and soul.

They sprinted faster, hoping to outpace something that could never leave them.

What chance was there, anyway, their Spirit provided them with magic, with life, if they disappeared for even a moment they would die.

They ran anyway, not even looking back to see if Emio was following.

The hallway they had decided upon, the one to the left, was in an even lesser state of completion than the rest of the building, closer to a natural cave than anything else, hardly wide enough for Wanderer’s body in some places and short enough that they had to duck in others.

That didn't stop the Golem though, they charged through with deft ease that they couldn't have dreamt of when they had first left the cave.

As they went, the tunnel slanted deeper and in the process left the steam behind, although it did little to help Wanderer’s vision as the darkness was vast.

They were forced to slow down, their panic diminishing with their speed as the glowing light of Emio’s eye caught up with them and revealed the way.

With the manic of their hurt forced away, they were instead left to stew in their anger, trudging down the hallway while ignoring the inquiries of the verdestry next to them.

“How could they do this?” the Vessel agonised.

Never in their life had they truly doubted the loyalty of their Spirit and they had always done their best to be a good friend.

As it turned out, the Spirit wasn't quite as loyal.

They tried to force the subject out of their mind, yet in a way quite unlike their previous traumas, it was persistent.

“Was it my fault, was I too unkind?” they soon found themself wondering, afterall, they had not always been perfect despite what their righteous anger insisted.

They had argued with the Spirit before, becoming angry over something that seemed almost pitiful.

They had gone against their direct wishes, pushed into dangerous territory that threatened both Spirit and Golem and put them in view of a god.

Wanderer knew that blaming themself was unreasonable, that the act had been committed long before they had any chance to clash with their guide, but a part of them insisted they were at fault.

An even smaller part insisted that this was all a misunderstanding, but they weren't ready to listen to that yet.

Irritated and stewing on emotions still raw, they trudged on through the tunnel, deeper and deeper into the earth.