Chapter 11

Once more he was sitting in front of the Fire in his Soulscape. The grade of the Flames were much higher than before and the woodpile off to the side had grown to a half dozen logs. With a few tosses, two more logs joined the blaze.

Welcome back, dear. Did you have a nice day? His Master was still seated next to him and enjoying themselves.

Did you spend the whole day just sitting there? Seems like you have more important things to do Master. He turned to face the ethereal creature.

With my eyes, it doesn’t matter much where I am physically. I can be anywhere with my senses and being here pleases me. Is that not the entire point of this space? They folded their arms in disapproval at being questioned.

Jack laughed at that. It was true, that was the entire point of this place. Who was he to complain when another chose to avail themselves of its comfort. So what are you going to teach me today?

There is only one thing that I can teach you until you have decided on your path. That is your foundation sigil. The Edict by which you will base your future progression on. His master raised both hands as if holding a picture. A symbol appeared between them. It was a white diamond. At the bottom, two brown bars crossed each other at a slight angle before ending at the border. Above that was what he recognized to be the astrological symbol of Vesta with the lines being red than orange. On top of those was a yellow squiggle, kind of like an elongated S but not as curved. Overall it gave the impression of a fireplace.

This is the sigil of the Hearth. I figured it would be the sigil you would be most likely to bind with. A slightly different sigil without the brown on the bottom and a different whitish rune on top appeared. This is the sigil of Radiance. With this sigil as your foundation, you will have access to all powers that dwell under the light of day. You will become a beacon of hope and wellness. It is another powerful sigil for you to choose from, and there are more.

Jack held up a hand in the universal ‘hold up a minute’ gesture. First thing first, what is a sigil, and why do I even need it? Isn’t what I have good enough already?

The sigil, now with a blackish rune in it, disappeared. His Master's arms fell to the sides. Silly me, I guess I was getting ahead of myself there. A sigil like I told you before is the manifestation of all things in their simplest form. You could consider it the point where the realm of material meets the realm of Ideal. This place, your Soulscape, is the third realm, the realm of the soul. It is where all three realms connect. As such, when you bind a sigil to your soul, you are connecting your physical form to that concept in the realm of the Ideal. The Magi learned about the process of binding sigils from me and designed their entire Empire around this process. Binding a sigil will stabilize your soul and increase the efficiency of your abilities. You just need to pick one that suits the path you wish to take in life.

Jack nodded in understanding. Do I just pick out the one I like the most?

That and what you wish to accomplish most. Are you ready to begin?

He shrugged. I guess so.

An hour or so later they had gone through a good dozen variants with his master pointing out their strengths and how they would affect him once bound. The most important thing he had learned was that each had a minor compulsion to lead the user down a certain line of thinking. So choosing wisely was even more important than he initially believed. In the end, he chose the very first sigil he had been shown. The Hearth sigil would not alter him in any way since he already embodied it. Just make him more of what he already was.

Now you must focus on the sigil in your mind. Done? Okay, now you need to stick your hand in the Fire and will them to bind together. This step is different for everyone. Just use whatever method makes sense to you.

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This brought on a stutter-step in Jack’s thoughts, much like a stone skipping along a pond that lost its momentum. Having gotten to this step he realized that he had put no thought into how this was actually done, he had just focused on just picking the right sigil. Mind racing feverishly over the possibilities, an idea struck him. An insane plan began to crystallize.

Jack touched the crimson Flames and imagined the sigil being crafted from the Fire itself. The shape took a few minutes to form but when it did, it was rough and the flames were unstable, dancing back and forth. Okay, step one is complete. Now for the hard part.

He focused on the lines of the sigil. This took a second due to it squirming around so much. Once that was done he wrapped his will around those lines, covering all of it with his intent. Then… he squeezed it like a pneumatic press. The lines started to compress until they started to more resemble neon lights than the Flames from which they had been forged. The effort was excruciating, but Jack persevered. He fought the sigil into submission one tongue of Flame at a time.

After what felt like an eternity, the sigil stopped fighting his control and started to hold its shape. After the tension had lessened significantly, he started to loosen his grip slowly. Ever so slowly the last sections snapped into place and he stepped back to admire his creation.

There it was, floating over his Hearth and rotating ever so slightly. He even got the colors right. It was only now that he realized that the lighter colors were the ones that he had trouble stabilizing.

[Congratulations, Child, for binding your foundational Precept. You shall be hereby known by existence as One Who Tends The Hearth. Go forth on your path.]

Very good, this is far better than I expected you to create on your first attempt. The connection is about as efficient as you could make it. Though your method was a bit unorthodox.

One who tends the hearth?

Haha, all the good names were taken long ago, pay it no mind.

Woah! Wait for a second! I’ve heard that voice before. That was the voice that brought me to you.

Yes, I figured as much. Only father has the power to turn a normal human into a Preceptor.

Father? Jack started sputtering and fell into his chair limply. With a wave, Jack wiped the sweat off of his brow and responded.

That voice is your father?

Yes and no! He is the father of all that exists, the creator. We simply refer to him as Father because it is an easy comparison to wrap one's mind around.

God? Are you talking about God?

The silhouette figure of his master shrugged noncommittally. No one knows. All that matters is that he stands above all and watches over us. You will receive notices like that every time you make a notable achievement when you grasp a certain concept or natural phenomenon. That is enough of that for now. Tell me about your work, it looks marvelous.

Thanks, I actually got the idea from watching you. Each of the symbols on you seems to be made from a slightly different light. So, I figured that they must be made from the power they represent. When you directed me to make this, you didn’t tell me what to make it out of, so I just used what was on hand. He shrugged.

His master clapped politely in applause. Well done! It is rare for one starting their path to see to the heart of the matter. If you had simply willed the sigil into being then it would have just been made of mana that you would have had to refine later. Instead, you did that and compressed it to a more solid form. This will save you months of pointless work.

Jack was a little offended by that statement. If he had made a mistake then he would have been left with the mess. At the same time he preened at the praise he was being given so he let it go. So what now? You said that I have to choose ‘my path’. He added finger quotes to this last part.

You start school tomorrow do you not? Listen and follow directions. You will be able to perform most if not all of the techniques that they show you. What they have to teach you will be very crude and I recommend not using a mana draw technique from them until we can refine it to suit you.

An echo of nausea surfaced in his chest as if to warn him of the consequences. Is that the method they use to collect mana?

Yes, it is a reflection of their mentality. There is no attempt to purify or refine the mana they gather. To them, if it has power then it must be good. It leads to them having access to powerful bursts of magic yet suffer having very frail bodies, due to the vying powers inside wearing them down. It is the most wasteful of magical traditions.

Then how am I different? Should I even learn from these people if it is as bad as you say?

His master sighed and pointed to the hearth. The biggest difference between you and them is that your power is pure. When you cast a Fireball, it will be hotter, stabler, and cost much less for the same effect.

He stood up at that. Body rigid from the shock of realization. Can you teach me to do that? His head swirled with thoughts of becoming a great wizard straight out of a novel.

His master leaned back a bit at his sudden exuberance. Great Heavens above! I suppose you could if you wanted. Though Fireballs are not the most efficient of spells, all-flash, and have no substance. Casting the spell will quickly diminish your reserves. Do you still wish to continue?

The winning smile he returned was all the answer they needed.