-Veros-
[The Alten word for “Soul.”
Conversationally it can be used to mean both a person’s literal soul, as well as the spirit, or nature, of something.]
Ensaru led Kuro to a room on the second floor of his home. It was a library of sorts, with thick tomes and scroll cases crowding shelves along every wall. With no window, the room was lit by a large Rel crystal hanging from the ceiling. The light it cast was a close approximation to natural light, but had a soft blue cast.
“Oroske asked me to teach him more about his Aspect after learning about my own mentor.” Ensaru began his lesson. “My mentor was known as a master of the Aspect, indeed even known as the best there was. He was an instructor at the School of Towers for a time, as I believe I mentioned earlier, but he was also a researcher, as most teachers there are. Not only was Veros his own Aspect, he had near unlimited access to any and all research materials held by the school on the subject. From my understanding, even now, nearly half of the records on the matter are credited to him and his research.
“Naturally, he wanted to pass this information on down to me, his only true successor. Once Oroske caught wind of this, he pleaded for me to teach him more about it, as the Clan could only teach him so much. His emotions may have gotten the better of him, for it was at this time he let slip one detail about his circumstances for running away. He believed that if he had been more skilled with Veros, he could have saved his mother and his siblings. Their deaths were something I helped him come to terms with, but it wasn’t until this point I knew who it was he had lost. And so, we began.
“I taught him everything I knew, even the things I couldn’t do myself. I taught him to create bounding fields, how to ‘hit’ someone’s soul, even how to ‘view’ a person’s soul. Bounding fields seemed to be the main thing he was after. According to my teacher, it’s theoretically possible for anyone to create them with enough practice and focus, but the only recorded instances of them were created by people who had an affinity for the aspect. With them, one can hold a soul in place before it departs completely, and even help maintain its bond with the body and mind. I think he believes, or at least believed, that if he had the ability to make these bounding fields, he could have ensured the revival of his family. I don’t know enough about the details of the Tsumi’s revival techniques, but I personally doubt this theory. Not that I’d ever tell him that.”
As he spoke, he’d led Kuro to a round wooden table, which was surrounded by wooden chairs with plush, dark blue cushions, a few shades darker than Kuro’s cloak. They had floral designs that almost seemed arcane in nature embroidered into the fabric. He sat down, and gestured for Kuro to follow as he finished his short speech.
Kuro chewed on the information he’d been given so far, inspecting the books on the table. Ensaru picked up one, which had characters Kuro didn’t recognize. He thought they looked like the characters on his communication pendant, but he wasn’t sure.
He got the impression that the “bounding field” is something Oroske used after he lost against Kared in Ish’din to keep his soul nearby. He didn’t know for sure, of course. He did have questions regarding the other two specific things mentioned.
“What does ‘hitting’ someone’s soul entail?” He asked, leaning back in his chair, hands resting in his lap.
“The combat application of Veros magic,” Ensaru leaned back, setting the book down on his legs, “How effective this application is depends heavily on the caster. Most commonly, it is used to disorient a person by vibrating the soul, causing a sort of de-synchronization between it and the mind and body. If you’d like I can demonstrate, though I’d warn you it’s a very uncomfortable feeling.”
“I’ll pass,” Kuro said quickly.
Ensaru laughed, “A good choice.”
“How about viewing a soul? What does that mean?”
Ensaru smiled, putting the book back on the table before standing up. “This is one that’s easiest to explain when you see it. Would you like me to demonstrate it using your soul? This one doesn’t hurt, though some people reportedly feel a sort of instinctual discomfort when seeing it.”
Kuro stood as well, “Go for it, I’m curious enough.”
Ensaru stood next to Kuro, before placing a palm on Kuro’s chest. “Breath in, then exhale all of your breath.” Kuro did as told, and Ensaru began channeling aether into Kuro’s chest. Once Kuro’s breath was completely out, Ensaru pulled his hand away, a small line of blue light stretching between them. The line pulled away from the chest, forming a ball in Ensaru’s palm. The older man closed his eyes, focusing.
The ball began to disperse slightly, becoming like a cloud of dust. It also transitioned from a soft blue glow, to a mix of dark and light motes of aether. The light and dark were nearly equal, though there was more light than dark. There was also a small gap, that was more of a feeling than something you could see, separating one half from the other, though not separating the light and dark. There were also some additional objects seemingly floating around, though Kuro wasn’t sure what they were.
Ensaru opened his eyes as the manifestation finished forming, and met Kuro’s eyes. A kind smile spread across his face before he spoke. “Half-demon souls are always interesting to look at. What do you think? I’m always interested to hear what people inexperienced with soul-reading think they see.”
After Kuro was silent for a moment, Ensaru motioned, encouraging him to speak. “Well,” he finally began, “I’ve heard our souls have a dark or light aspect associated with them, which changes based on the individual. In this cloud I see there’s a near equal amount of what I’m guessing is a representation of this, with slightly more light than dark. I see this strange ‘gap,’ I guess, where the cloud seems disconnected from itself. The light of the soul is smooth everywhere except there, where the swirling pattern in the cloud shifts suddenly. I also see a few things that almost look like tangible objects, though I’m not sure what they are.”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
When his explanation finished, Ensaru was quick to give his own observations. “Very good, you saw and understood all of the basic information. For many it’s obvious what these things are, but there are some I’ve encountered who can’t even identify the light/dark relationship.”
“I was under the impression that you were one or the other, is that not correct?” Kuro interjected.
“The light and dark of a soul are a spectrum of sorts. In theory, it’s impossible to be entirely one or the other, though I have seen a handful of individuals with such strong leanings that the other side is barely visible. A case like yours is just as rare, or perhaps even more rare than that. Typically, a person’s leaning is very clear. The average ratio of light to dark is usually two-thirds in favor of their leaning, and one third towards the opposite. You on the other hand, are startlingly close to equal. The leaning is still apparent, however. In my limited experience of viewing Half-demon souls, I find they tend to have a more balanced soul, though even they have much clearer leanings than you.”
“Is it possible for someone to have a perfectly balanced soul? With equal parts light and dark?” Kuro asked, his interest in the subject growing with each word from Ensaru’s lecture.
Ensaru pondered for a second before answering, “In theory, yes. The likelihood of this occurring naturally is extremely slim, if at all possible. There were theories in work that asked if it was possible to force a soul to adopt this perfect balance, though experimentation was prohibited by the Guardians. I had asked my mentor about this once, and their thoughts on the matter. From what they told me, it seems the most likely way to achieve it would involve taking living souls, cutting them up, and combining them with other souls. I’m sure you can see the issue with this idea.”
Kuro nodded, intrigued that such a thing would be possible. “That’s all I had to ask about the light and dark stuff. Could you continue?”
“I’d be happy to.” Ensaru pointed towards the “gap.” “This is a result of your nature as a Half-demon. I’m sure you’ve heard how Half-demons came to be? Or at least, the legend about it?” Kuro shook his head. “Well, another thing Oroske neglected to teach you then. Well, long story short, there were two beings, a human and a demon known as True Dark and True Light respectively. The Guardians deemed them a threat to Spire, and through means we aren’t completely familiar with, split their souls, and mixed the halves together, forming the first Half-demons. For some reason, after this, Half-demons began being born naturally. It’s theorized that the reason the cut still shows up when manifesting a soul like this is because the World Soul mimics the process of splicing the souls when they are born. This also explains why Half-demons have Second Souls. Anyway, the point is, this gap is essentially a scar from when you and your Second Soul were split and rejoined.”
I think I understood some of that, Kuro thought to himself, stopping himself from interrupting for more information. He knew he’d keep them here forever if he was allowed to ask every question in his mind.
“Up next, we can identify your elemental affinity and aspect. This requires you to look closely, but you can often see traces of your element floating around. How the element manifests can differ. For example, I see in one half what seems like patterns of lightning, forming in the gaps between the dust particles of your soul. This indicates an affinity for selr. However, in the other half of your soul, I see small motes of a greenish light, zipping around. This indicates an affinity for sentem. Am I right that you have a dual affinity for these two?”
Kuro nodded, impressed. After they were pointed out he could see them, if only vaguely. “What about my aspect affinity? Is that something you can see?”
Ensaru shook his head, “Normally, yes. I do not see yours, which I’m guessing is because you yourself do not know what it is?”
“I do not. I was hoping you could see it and tell me what it is,” Kuro said, scratching the back of his head with a laugh.
“I see. Yes, unfortunately I can not. We’re not sure why, but a person’s awareness of their affinities is a prerequisite for them to appear in manifestations of their soul.”
Ensaru stepped closer to Kuro, and moved one of the objects up to Kuro’s eye level with one hand. Up close, it looked like a cube of a gray, almost metallic material. He felt as though he could see tiny engravings on all sides, though he couldn’t make them out. “This here is an interesting sight to see in someone as young as you. This appears to be a ‘lock.’ These often form naturally, as a result of some form of trauma or another. More interestingly, they can be placed by someone with the right abilities. Usually, these locks are temporary, and fade with time. If placed by someone else, they usually are unlocked through meeting certain conditions, or with a ‘key.’
“Speaking of,” Ensaru raised the other object, which looked like a small floating symbol of white light. It reminded Kuro of the emblem of balance, if it was broken at the top, not quite completing the circle. “This is especially interesting. This is a ‘key,’ and unlike locks, these do not form naturally, and must be deliberately placed by someone. That someone can be the person who holds it, or someone else. I’ve never seen this symbol before, though it seems like it probably has origins similar to the Tsumi’s emblem. As for what this key is for… I have no idea.”
Kuro put a hand on his chin, absorbing the information, considering the information. “What kinds of uses do locks have?”
“Well, I suppose the most common use is to lock certain magical abilities. I can see on your face you're about to ask, so let me explain. You would do this to effectively boost your strength. By limiting your options, you increase the power you can output with the options you have left. There are many ways to go about this, and in most cases, it’s fairly easy to reverse. The process of placing these restrictions isn’t terribly difficult in practice, though many struggle to learn it.
“As for other uses for these locks, I’d say the next most common is-”
Ensaru was suddenly cut off by the door to the study slamming open. Oroske stood in the doorframe, a serious look on his face. Kuro could sense they had some sort of non-verbal communication as Ensaru sighed.
“I need to speak with Kuro in private, I’ll catch you up to speed later, Ensaru.” Oroske said, turning from the room, motioning for his apprentice to follow.
Ensaru shrugged, “I suppose I’ll have to save these lectures for another time. Don’t keep him waiting.” He finished with a pat on the back, pushing Kuro towards the door.