Jack opened his eyes to see a familiar scene. Great, they put me back in the Barbie ward. He glanced around and found that several things were different. Arthur was in the bed on his left and Lillian was half-sitting/ half lying in that way of all that watch over a sick loved one. Virtus was still standing behind him but his Lorica was scratched and dented. It looked like the vigilant guardsman hadn’t taken the time to doff his armor and examine it.

“Jack! Jack, how are you feeling.” Virtus knelt next to the bed and took Jack’s hand. Worry and sorrow filled his eyes. This surprised Jack as he had braced himself for scorn and disappointment. Does he actually care for me? This man that only guards me on behalf of his princess.

He reached for his perception and was surprised when it actually responded. It scanned his body as he couldn’t trust his judgement without the ability to feel pain. The report surprised him. Not only was there no damage, he had gotten a significant increase to his muscle density and his mana reservoirs had gotten deeper. Next he turned his perception inward towards his soul. What he sensed both soothed and alarmed him. His soul had indeed been shattered like a single window pane. It had been reconstructed and ‘glued’ back together with some kind of magic. Now his soul resembled a stained glass mural. Was it even safe to attempt entering his Soulscape?

A shuffling at his feet brought his attention to the last difference he had noted. Two small, crimson animals were curled up at the foot of his bed. The cat was curled around the fox protectively. It opened a single pupil when it heard the commotion. A musical female voice entered his mind.

You have awoken kinsman. I am glad to see you well and thank you for assisting my brother in his Rekindling. It would have devastated him if he had been forced to take a life, even if he was mindless at the time.

Jack was a little startled at being in a mental conversation in reality but he quickly grabbed hold of the mental thread and responded. There was blood on your brother's mouth when we found him. He accused her.

Animal blood. It awakens the hunger but provides no spark. It is one of the methods the filthy ones use to control us. She responded, her voice filled with hate and disdain. My brother is a delicate soul. Even feeding on a chicken is giving him nightmares. We must thank the Earthborn and you companions for rescuing us from the dirty ones. Without them, our captors would have swarmed us.

“Felix!” Jack yelled out loud. “Where is Felix?”

The outburst awoke Lillian, who pulled out a knife and crouched over Arthur protectively. Virtus was the one to respond. He held a hand out to Lillian in a calming gesture. “Felix is reporting his actions last night to the senate. Casper tagged along since he is legally Felix’s ward and a prime witness. We did not have to report to the council because princess Laura declared that we were assigned to watch and protect you and were only performing our duties… She might have skipped over the fact that you led us to the ghoul.”

“The Senate? I thought this country was an Empire. Why is there a Senate now?” Wait, didn’t the Roman Empire have a senate? This place reminds me of Rome so it makes sense I suppose.

“The Emperor is not omnipotent yet, just immortal. He set up the Senate to handle the governing of his lands several hundred years ago. When a member of the Senate dies, there is usually a quorum to discuss what happened and appoint a replacement. This time one member killed another in cold blood. As such, Felix was called to testify.” Lillian explained. Answering all the questions Jack had yet to ask. He hated when she did that.

“What’s going to happen to him? He did kill someone after all.” Jack asked with no small amount of queasiness.

Virtus answered this time. “Legally he was exercising his right to pass judgment on someone that broke the second law. Murdering a child is unforgivable and there is no excuse. The problem isn’t the hearing. Lord Pomp had powerful backers in the Senate and they will retaliate using underhanded methods to retaliate for their losses. Their targets will be the weakest or most exposed among those that participated in last night's raid. Which means they will be coming after Arthur and you.”

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“What does that mean?”

Lillian answered. “It means that we need to get you out of the country. Felix has arranged for you to go to the Sorcerer’s Tower to train. It is the closest thing there is to a neutral location so you should be safe for a while. Long enough to come into your own.”

Jack’s knuckles whitened as his grip tightened on his hot pink blanket. Once again he was assaulted with morbid thoughts and his many perceived failures ran through his mind. Was he worth all the trouble the others were putting in on his behalf?

The cat-shaped Jann got up from her creating spot and approached the head of the bed. Kinsman, you have suffered greatly for one so young. Just know that suffering and failure are temporary. If you so desire, then victory and power are within your grasp. Forge your pain into a weapon to cut through all obstacles so that you can become more. You will grow despite your pain and the darkness will only serve as kindling to fuel your Fire. Take my brother with you when you leave. Even now, the filthy ones seek to regain control over us.

What about you? Jack asked, realizing that the cat hadn’t said she was going with them.

I am bound to the Earthborn as a familiar. This is an unforgivable sin for our people but is a sacrifice that I feel necessary to save our young ones from being captured and used.

Why is it a sin?

We are Smokeless Fire. Our power is born from the heavens and we do not tap into the power of the Land. The Earthborn is our antithesis in every way, but as they say, opposites attract. The cat gave a very human-like shrug to accentuate her point.

Jack thought about that for a bit. Several things started to click and he felt that his understanding was finally starting to grow. So far, he had missed many key facts due to being overwhelmed by the ways of this world. If he understood correctly, this Jann was treating him as a member of her own race. Master has compared me to the Djinn on many occasions but my fire produces smoke and I have an earth component in my foundation. His conclusions only confused him. He needed someone to help him untangle this mess.

He sat up and found it easy enough that he decided just to get up entirely. Any progress out of this place was good progress in his book. A bubble gum pink-clad arm shot out from behind a curtain and pushed him back into the bed. A woman materialized from behind the veil and scowled at him. She was wearing what amounted to barbie camouflage, her pantsuit was a variety of pinks that blended into the room and made it hard to spot her. Her features were mousy and she had her raven hair up in a severe bun. In one hand she leaned on a cane with a faceted opal in the head. Ahh, it’s the dungeon master! Jack thought to himself as he tried to hold back a chuckle at her appearance.

“What do you think you are doing young man? You just woke up after suffering severe damage to your core. Do you want to cripple your development?” She turned on the other two next. “I thought better of both of you. Were you just going to sit there and let him walk away?” She accused in that way all powerful women of a certain age learn.

Lillian took the accusation like a physical blow but kept her mouth shut. Virus, on the other hand, was not as smart. Jack had no idea who this lady was and already saw that his friend was about to be eviscerated.

“My job is to protect him from external threats. I do not have the authority to order him about like a servant.” He responded.

The older woman's black eyes narrowed on the battered guardian before taking in his bedraggled appearance. “Protect him? You look like you need protecting yourself. Look at all that damage. I thought you Ferrum’s prided yourselves on your polished appearance. Go take off your armor over there and I will be over in a minute to examine you.” She pointed to a secrecy curtain that was being pulled closed by a figure in black.

Vera turned to glare at them and gestured to the curtain in a ‘happy now’ gesture. At first, Jack thought the lady was letting his friend off easy but changed his mind when he saw Virtus turn red like a tomato. Maybe not. I smell history here hehehe.

Both women surrounded the off balance guardsman and chivied him into the stall with devilish grins on their similar faces. The older woman returned to Jack’s bedside. “Child, my name is Mother Siobhan and I am mistress of the imperial medical ward.” She gestured to her side in emphasis. “Felix briefed me on what happened last night and instructed me to stop you from moving your body or manipulating your mana till your soul can… Set. Yes, that is the word he used. He said that he took hold of your mana to set your soul back into place and melted it together before gluing it. Your mana type, is it Spirit?”

Jack shook his head. “My foundation is the Hearth. It influences multiple aspects and Spirit is among them. Though, if what you said is accurate, he must have also used my Fire to melt my soul fragments together and Earth to bind them.” The words seemed to spill out before Jack could even think through the implications. A dawning horror was seeping in. His immortal soul had almost been destroyed. Game over, the end. Felix already said that he was unable to manipulate the soul. Master must have helped him take control of my mana. It seemed he had two people to thank for saving him.

Her face displayed an array of emotions ranging from wonder to shock to thoughtful contemplation. She finally settled on stern when she returned her attention to him. “You are going to stay in this bed and rest until after the senate hearing. Felix assured me that he would examine you as soon as he was free. Is there anything you need to be comfortable?”

Jack shook his head as he had already located his spatial bag on a small table attached to his bed. “How are the others? Arthur was blown several hundred meters by the explosion. Frankly, I thought the blast killed him so I am surprised to see him here.”

Siobhan laughed. “That child is sturdier than a legion shield wall. He broke a few bones and had some deep cuts but I already fixed those up. He is just sleeping off the fatigue of a mass Regrowth. This is far from the first time that child has been sent here to be patched up so do not worry yourself.” She patted Jack comfortingly and went to perform her check up on Virtus with an evil grin. Poor guy.