The axe was removed on Sara’s orders before they entered the room and to her word, she stuck close to him as he moved around the remaining tables. With the other spirit that had claimed him gone, there was a change in the air. It was almost like a murmur; a subtle conversation, a drone that was not quite loud enough to understand. It was coming from the artefacts, the weapons on the tables and with that strange sound that wasn’t really there, he could feel their pull.

But even though there was a new desire to talk with him, to connect, the other spirits still remained silent when he picked them up. The same heartbeat, the same pulse, with some quieter than others but none spoke out as the one that formed the axe had. He was starting to lose confidence as he reached the last tables and even Sara had become less vigilant in her watch.

“I have an idea,” she said before he reached the second last item. “Take a break, I’ll be back in a moment.”

She started to walk away but paused and then turned to say one last thing. “Don’t touch anything until I get back.”

She ran off towards the woman she had spoken to before. Finlay looked up at the man who previously guided him through this process but all he offered was a shrug suggesting he had no idea where she was going. He looked back over the items he had held. He could feel them, the spirit within and he wondered if he’d be able to detect them had he found them in a different place without knowing what they were.

He sat down on the ground near the last tables and watched as a group of people all dressed in the same white coats were preparing another area nearby. Tables and artefacts appeared from one of the doorways that he hadn’t been through—they were setting up for another candidate. He watched in curiosity while a few people collected items he had tried and added them to the collection that came from the other doorway.

He assumed his current level of Anam was too low for those items which made him feel even more rejected. A strange part of him was being competitive for no real reason, and he couldn’t help but feel envious of the other person he didn’t even know and hadn’t yet seen.

“It’s not just about level, it’s also related to the flow,” the man had come over to check on him and he had asked about the new area being set up.

“What does that mean?”

“If your level is like a lake, your Anam—the water, there is a certain potential amount you have available to you. But that potential won't do anything, the lake will sit there unless it has somewhere to go. The spirit in the artefact releases the water, gives it direction like a river that takes that potential and turns it into something new. But rivers can be wide and fast or nothing more than a trickling stream.”

“So even if you have a high level, you might not be able to use it efficiently because you can't channel it, or release it fast enough?”

“Yes, but the opposite can also be true.”

“So wouldn’t both being higher be better.”

“Theoretically yes, but you have to remember that you and the spirit of the artefact will grow together. We’ve found that when there is a significant mismatch in the circulation of Anam as well as level, it creates a bottleneck. One wants to give or take more than the other can and because of this, they grow in a dissonance. It causes problems so we try to match each component.”

“It still sounds like you just want more of both to me.”

“It's important to remember that we have to be careful how much we use, if you blow through everything you have you'll be at the mercy of your spirit. It’s a more complicated relationship than first appears but I’m sure you’ll come to understand that in time.”

He thought back to the experience with the spirit in the sanctuary and how it wanted to devour his soul to steal his body. It was clear from that experience it couldn’t have just been about his level versus the spirits, that would be too simple and the spirit had tried to weaken him. It had attacked his memories, his understanding of himself, there was something about that which protected him.

“How do our memories, our thoughts, our understanding of ourselves relate to our Anam levels? Or are they just, different and protective in their own way.”

“Keep in mind that we don’t know everything yet, actually, we’re not even close to knowing everything. We know level isn’t the only protective thing but it’s been reliable so far so we tend to use it. As far as the other stuff, I honestly don’t know enough about it to give you any real answer.”

The man turned away from him, he seemed melancholic as he continued. “But I did know someone who was devoured. The first thing that happened was they seemed to lose themselves, they started acting differently—almost on impulse as though they were just reacting to the world around them. No matter what was said, they didn’t respond, didn’t move or act like they normally would and then... they were gone.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“It’s not your fault and it’s important for you to understand the risks involved in all of this.”

Sara reappeared with her friend behind her and he felt thankful that she broke up the conversation and mood that had come from it. He didn’t know this man and to try and console him over his loss didn’t feel very authentic. So instead he thanked him once more for explaining everything and turned to the two women. She carried a small wooden chest, about the width of her shoulders and seemed overjoyed with herself.

“Sara, what are you planning? Those haven’t been checked against his measurements yet,” the man said when he saw the box.

“It’s fine, we checked them,” she waved a hand over her shoulder indicating towards the woman who trailed her.

The woman nodded as though to agree but her face was telling a different story.

“Now Finlay,” Sara continued. “There are other artefacts we don’t usually include in the selection.”

He could feel a lurch in his stomach, excitement over the idea there were other options. He had been feeling dismayed that none of the other artefacts had chosen him and Sara had made clear she wasn’t going to let him near the axe again. But now she brought hope once more, something new, something secret, something special for him alone.

“We have several,” she continued. “They’re not usually included because, well they’re not weapons and we primarily use artefacts for combat.”

“I thought the ancients made these for battle,” he was staring at the box.

“There’s no doubt that they are, at least the others. We aren’t entirely sure why they made these artefacts and any time we’ve tried investigating, they've been as unresponsive as those have for you,” she waved at the tables.

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“You think I might have more success with them?”

“There might be more to them than we realise and if you can talk to the spirits within them, well we might learn something new.”

“But if I chose one of these, I wouldn’t be able to fight, I’d have no weapon.”

“Not necessarily, remember the man who saved you as a child used an invocation spell. There’s more to contracting with a spirit than just a weapon, but yes, there is a risk you’d lose combat effectiveness if that’s your primary goal. The choice is still yours and you can wait and develop yourself in the hope of trying others later.”

“That’s what most people do who join the guild but don’t get selected?”

“Yes, if they fulfil all other criteria they train and wait to find an artefact that matches them. Either discovered by members exploring the realms or if they improve themselves enough to try others we have.”

It was a risk, his primary goal was becoming stronger and ever since his experience in the sanctuary had made him question his sister and past, he had wanted to find out the truth. To do that he’d need to be strong enough to travel through the miasma, to go into the realms and fight whatever was within them. But he didn’t have any other options here, he felt nothing from the last two weapons and nobody knew if he’d ever find another to contract with. Even if he did, would it be the same as the axe, something that would immediately distort him and how long would it take, he couldn't wait forever when she could be out there.

“I guess we should at least see if any align with me.”

She smiled at him. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

The group of four walked over to the last two tables, he had asked to at least check them first and to his slight dismay, they were both as silent as all the others. The man took the weapon from the last table away so that Sara could place the small chest on top of it. She opened it and inside was a wide array of jewellery, mostly silver and as with the weapons seemed simple in design. There were rings, necklaces, and bracelets and as with the other artefacts, he felt something within them.

There was one that stood out to him above the others, an amulet made from the same stone as the shrine and sanctuary. The opaque black glass-like stone was carved into three spirals that weaved around one another to create an overall triangular shape. He looked at Sara and she nodded, agreeing to let him pick it up.

It was warm—as warm as the sanctuary had been when he first touched it and though the heartbeat was quiet, it was stable and somehow felt comfortable in his hand. It felt good, as good as it had to hold the axe before but without the same intensity. He closed his eyes, this time intentionally and whispered in the back of his mind, hoping the spirit would respond.

“Hello.”

Silence and a pang of disappointment as he was sure this was the one. But then he felt something, not quite the same as any of the other spirits, yet another new experience. He felt it through his entire body rather than hearing it in his mind. The feeling of warmth, a welcoming greeting that said it wanted to communicate but there were no words to do so. It wasn’t about intention or desire, there was no forced communication in the way he had gotten used to. But he could feel its presence, that it was there and it was happy to be with him.

He opened his eyes and looked at the people around him, his smile was wide and something about the amulet made him feel safe. “I feel it, it’s different from the others but it feels good.”

“You can’t talk to it?” Sara asked.

“Not in the same way, but maybe in the future I will be able to. But right now, it’s more of a feeling. I never realised it before but the other spirits wanted something from me and I could feel it immediately but I was so caught up in what they said I never understood it. This one doesn’t want anything from me, it’s simply telling me that it’s here.”

“Well that’s not what I was expecting but then I should probably expect that with you,” she started rubbing her head again and twirled the lock of hair as she had done in the interview room.

He wasn’t sure what to think; he couldn’t use this to fight demons, and it wouldn’t help him against the guardians that attacked him at the mining station. But even then, even if it didn’t feel as though it aligned with his goals right now, this spirit felt right for him. Something about it, the familiarity and comfort it brought felt as though this was the right path.

“I know this is the one, but I’m sure you’d prefer it if I tried talking to the others first.”

“I would, if you don’t mind.”

He didn’t feel the same discomfort giving the amulet back to Sara as he had with the axe. It was happy to have him let it go and even that brought him greater confidence. He picked up the other artefacts in the box and while they felt different and had their own unique little heartbeats, none of them spoke to him, and none of them made him feel the way the amulet did.

“Nothing,” he said, putting the last one back in the small chest.

“Then I suppose the decision is made—as long as you’re happy with that decision?”

“I am, I’m very happy with it.”

“Well, I’m glad it worked out, and that you found a suitable partner. I’m not sure what this is going to mean for your future,” she laughed. “I should have known from the start you’d end up with something unusual, everything about you is just… Unusual.”

“I’m not sure how to take that.”

“It's a good thing, maybe... Ronan certainly thinks it is.”

“I do as well, though I’m a little worried how it's going to help me with demons.”

“Well the obvious next route for you is learning invocation, but that’s for another day, and who knows, there might be more to that little amulet than we realise.”

“So is it time to form the contract?”

“Easy now, you’ve been selected, you’ve passed the criteria but these are still important artefacts and so once everyone has completed the selection today, a committee has to review everything and confirm the final decisions.”

He hadn’t expected that.

“Don’t worry,” she continued when she saw his face. “No one else would have gotten this amulet, you really have nothing to worry about. But there can be some overlap with other candidates and there are people that need to have the final say before we give out the artefacts.”

It made sense, these weren't weapons created by the guild but precious artefacts that people had discovered while on dangerous missions in the realms. Items forged by the ancients that they now used to fight back against the demons of the world. But even as he knew that—it was still disappointing that he couldn't form the contract right away.

“I understand, I should have known there’d be red tape and paperwork to go through first.”

“Exactly, the joys of the adult world I’m afraid. But you should be thankful, this is a big decision, an important one that will impact the rest of your life. You have a week before the day you will take on the contract. Spend that time thinking this over, make sure you are certain.”

“I will. Everyone will do it on the same day?”

“Yes, the people that need to confirm things will do so today and tomorrow, then all the candidates will have confirmation sent to them. And a week from today, we’ll invite everyone back to form the contracts, from there, you’ll be a member of the guild.”

He was trying to keep the excitement from bubbling up inside as Sara put her arm over his shoulder and led him away from the tables. He waved to the man and woman who had helped as they left and walked through the various corridors back to the entrance. They spoke more about life in the guild and when he’d be moving to the city. She had told him they wouldn’t be there for long as they would leave to an area with low-level miasma for training. That was a little nerve-wracking but she picked up on his nervousness and reassured him that it would be safe. When they reached the main entranceway she turned him and looked him straight in the eyes one last time.

“Goodbye Finlay, it’s been an interesting day.”

“Thanks, Sara, you’ve been amazing. I don’t know what I’d have done if I had anyone else interviewing me today.”

She laughed. "Ronan would have intervened more had I not been there," she didn't let him ask any more about that and waved him off, returning back the way they had come.

When he left the building he immediately pulled out his phone. No messages from Keira which meant she had to still be going through her interview or selection. He decided that was a good thing, less likely some disaster had happened and so decided to go back to the cafe they were waiting in before going to the guild. As he walked along the street he sent her a message telling her where he'd be and to get back to him as soon as possible.

It was hours before she replied.

“I almost killed someone.”