gray skinned man with white hair that has a blade of light extending from his fingertips [https://i.imgur.com/0rXlwJh.png]

Desh woke up to a world of pain. Everything ached but the pain in his head was by far the worst. Opening his eyes made it worse but he needed to assess the situation.

It was worse than he expected. He’d been unconscious long enough that his attacker had been able to move him and bind his hands and feet behind his back. He struggled against the restraints to test them but it was no use. He was completely and thoroughly trapped.As much as it hurt to move his head, he looked around to take in his surroundings.

It looked like a canyon of some sort. Desh was unable to see the sky but there was a fire burning and he couldn’t smell any smoke. That meant somewhere in the darkness above them was an escape. The floor of the canyon was about thirty feet wide and only had one exit. Several strings of skulls hung from the walls. Lit by the fire they made for grim decorations. Looking harder, Desh could see a small disheveled pallet with leather skins, a few pots by the fire, and a large haunch of smoked meat hanging nearby. Desh assumed this was his home. Tucked away as it was he would be hard to see even when burning a fire. Perhaps he had even been in here when they sailed by.

The wind wagon captain was lying on his side beside the fire, his hands and feet bound behind him in the same manner as Desh’s. Their attacker was sitting cross legged beside him and muttering quietly. The words were too quiet to understand.

About time you woke up, said a familiar voice. It sounded impossibly close and loud. Desh's headache worsened. He recognized the voice. It belonged to Isak, the man whose spirit had been trapped deep inside of him since before the start of this journey. That meant the voice was in his head like his own internal thoughts. That also thankfully meant it was not audible to his captor.

Like all dreams, his nightmare had faded quickly on waking but he realized now that shadow man who had grabbed him also had Isak's voice. Had it been the actual Isak in his head, or had Desh been dreaming about him?

Oh, it was me. Normally I would have enjoyed the opportunity to rummage through your dreams and memories. Unfortunately, we have more pressing matters. His voice was clearer than it had been for some time. As long as Desh stayed awake and focused he could keep the man quietly locked away. Isak's thoughts and feelings could be heard like soft whispers but for the most part he had been silent since Desh commissioned the wing wagon. Desh preferred him that way. Silence meant Isak wasn't actively trying to take control of him or look through his memories.

Obviously being knocked unconscious had weakened his hold over the other man. This was precisely why Desh had quit sleeping. The bags that had grown under his eyes were a side effect of his continued deprivation.

That’s right, worry about me while this man-eater prepares you both for dinner.

The accusation grabbed Desh’s attention. He looked at the many strings of skulls around the makeshift home, then he looked at the hanging haunch of meat. The unusual shape was more recognizable now. It was definitely a human leg. Isak could only see what Desh's eyes saw. Seeing and understanding were two different things, however. Isak had understood the situation immediately.

Is food that scarce? Desh wondered silently. He knew that Idka could read most of his thoughts. For now it was a convenient way to converse silently.

It’s not about food. Did you think this man was a real windbringer?

Realization dawned on Desh. Now he understood how the man could control the wind without praying. In his studies into forbidden knowledge he'd learned about this very subject: ritualistic anthropophagy, or the eating of human flesh. There was a superstition that anthropophagy could transfer power from the consumed to the consumer.

It’s not a superstition. It’s a form of Ankee worship and the further we stray from the light the more we’ll see it. They eat believers and bringers alike to gain power. Isak’s tone was that of a bored teacher. Time was a valuable resource and teaching Desh the dirty truths of the world was not, in his opinion, using it wisely. It was hard to argue with that sentiment. He needed to act quickly. How could they escape though?

Let me take over.

Desh knew this was coming. Ever since Isak’s soul had been trapped in his body the man had been trying constantly to take control. When he couldn’t take it by force he’d resorted to arguing and bargaining. Desh knew that if he had his way he would be the owner of this physical form and Desh would be the one slumbering deep inside. Until today that arrangement had never seemed beneficial.

In the first days Isak’s will had been strong enough that he had taken control for brief time periods. Desh worried that if he gave up control it would strengthen the other man’s foothold in his mind. Would he be able to take it back again? Would it make it harder to resist him in the future?

You don’t have many options. He’s already busy taking the captain’s soul. Who knows what he’ll do with you once he’s done?

Desh looked at the captain again and realized with dread what Rak was doing. There was a prayer circle drawn with chalk on the hard ground. The symbols were hard to see at this angle in the low light. However, Desh recognized them. It was a prayer of soul consumption.

Brings back memories doesn’t it? There was a sarcastic smile in those words even if Isak didn’t have a physical form.

Rak’s fingers were all cupped and the thumbs pointed at one another. It was the prayer sign of Ankee, meant to represent the fact that in death most creatures returned to the earth. How far into the ritual was he?

This is a true devotee of the death god. Isak said with some admiration. I have to imagine he’s done this numerous times before. It shouldn’t take him very long.

This was the very ritual Isak had tried to perform on Desh that had backfired. It ended with the older lightbringer bound inside of his intended victim. Already most of the captain’s soul would have been stripped away and absorbed by Rak. It would give him even more. Desh wondered just how many souls the man had taken this way?

You should’ve called on me earlier. This man is dangerous.

Isak was right. Desh hated when he was right. It was arrogant to think that he could have protected them. The desert was a lawless land. That’s why the lightbringers patrolled and protected the road of light. They had purposefully avoided the safer path at great expense because they didn’t want anybody to know what they were doing.

He was no lightbringer. Trying to handle the situation himself was going to end up costing the captain his soul. The guilt he felt spurred him to action.

Save him, Desh ordered.

I need you to be more specific than that. There was a hint of arrogant satisfaction in Isak’s voice.

Curse you, Isak. You can have control of my body for now, just save the man.

In the back of his mind, Desh felt a cold clawing sensation as Isak’s soultried to wrest control of his body. His mind resisted.

I’d like too, boy. I can’t do anything unless you let me.

Desh took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he calmed his mind he tried to relax. He’d spent so long fighting this hostile presence that now it was difficult to stop resisting. He was vaguely reminded of the difficulty he had urinating when other people were watching. It was just as difficult to willingly relax a part of himself that had become reflexive.

The clawing sensation at the back of his mind intensified and he began to lose control of himself. It was the involuntary functions first. His heart skipped a beat. The sound of his breathing hitched, enough to alarm Rak. Next his gastrointestinal system rioted and he felt hot acid in the back of his throat. Then the voluntary functions started. Muscles twitched and spasmed as control was transferred from one conscience to another.

Rak stopped praying. Desh’s convulsions had caught his attention. They stopped quickly, but the man sensed something was off. He paused his prayers.

“Wait here.” He patted the old, unconscious man’s forehead. It was warm and sweaty to the touch. That was common. A physical body went through significant trauma when its soul was being pulled out of it. Rak pushed himself up and began to walk across the enclosed area to the other body. He walked carefully, expecting his other captive to be asleep. Were they still breathing? His concern was that the blow to the head might be causing seizures.

Sensing he was being watched, Isak laid as still as he could. This was the first time he’d been in control of another and he wasn’t entirely sure how well it would work. He wished the stupid boy would’ve allowed him to practice this earlier.

I’m still here, you know. Desh’s thoughts in a voice that was loud and clear to Isak. This was a bad situation but he thought the lightbringer could get them out of it safely. However, a distracting thought at the wrong time could be dangerous so he tried to keep his own thoughts calm.

Rak frowned down at the body and gave it a nudge with his foot. There was no movement besides breathing. Perhaps he’d just been moving in his sleep? Despite Desh and Isak’s fears, Rak had no intention of consuming them. It was his belief that Desh was too young to have much power in him. Additionally, he’d focused his consumption on wind worshippers. Soul consumption was not well understood even by academics. Rak knew from experience that consuming people with different faiths was a mistake. He’d consumed an earth bringer once during a slow year and had found that it actually decreased his ability to summon the wind.

Eating light worshippers was also dangerous. There were stories of those who had tried and had successfully gained the ability to summon the light only to burn themselves in it. Lightbringers and firebringers were rare because it was all too easy to hurt yourself while bringing forth those powers. Also lightbringers were the most homogenous group of worshippers. A man with red skin using the powers of Arkatua would be sure to be noticed. Since lightbringers were the de facto peacekeepers in the world that meant having a target painted on you.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

No, there were just too many disadvantages to eating this one. However, he could sell the young man. It was rare to catch a young Arkatuan alone and so far away from the road of light. Just because Rak didn’t want to burn up chasing some ridiculous dream didn’t mean there weren’t others who were just dying to try.

Convinced that his captive was asleep, Rak turned and began to walk back to the fire. Isak waited for him to settle down before trying to escape. He recognized that it was possible he wouldn’t be able to summon any light. Lightbringers spent years attuning their bodies and souls to prepare them for Arkatu’s blessing. Being a lightbringer didn’t just mean you could summon the power of light at will, it also meant you could do it without being burnt. Transferring his soul didn’t mean that this body would be safe from the ravages of being burnt. It also didn’t mean he’d be able to summon light at all.

He focused his thoughts on summoning a small blade of light at the tip of his index finger. The intention was that he could cut loose his bindings quietly and without notice. Nothing happened. He focused harder, concentrating and imagining a much larger blade than was needed, thinking perhaps his ability to bring forth light was being hampered by this new body.

It wasn’t. The light came out unexpectedly and with more force than he’d anticipated. There was a loud pop followed by a hissing sound as a concentrated beam of yellow white plasma shot from the space in front of his fingertip. It lit up the enclosed area with a flash. Isak felt his heart begin pounding out of fear that he’d been seen.

He had. Rak’s saw the flash and whipped his head around. Within seconds he was on his feet and running back towards Isak. The time for discretion, it seemed, was over.

Isak cut his bindings. He could feel the heat of the plasma on his arm as he tried to carefully burn through the ropes without permanently injuring Desh’s body. He saw Rak running towards him and decided that a small burn would be a small price to pay. He moved the blade closer and growled as it seared his skin. The ropes popped loose.

He rolled onto his back and brought his feet up closer to himself before cutting the restraints around his feet. No skin was charred this time, but his pants were smoldering. That was a problem to deal with later. For now, he pushed himself up and turned his focus towards his attacker. The man would be on him soon and in his right hand he held a glowing green ball of growing wind energy. Isak didn’t trust himself to dispel the magic and there was no need to. Rak hadn’t been gathering energy for very long and it was weakly formed.

Rak rushed forward and tried to thrust the swirling green ball of energy into Isak. Isak calmly stepped to the side, grabbed the man’s wrist, and redirected the energy into the sandstone wall where it exploded futilely. He could feel his hair and parka whipping around as he held tightly to the man’s wrist.

For those whose power was stolen and not earned it was often the case that they overly depended on it. Lightbringers were expected to be able to bring forth other elements with prayer. Additionally, they practiced their own armed and unarmed combat extensively. Not every problem could be solved with light and so they strived to learn all of the solutions. In his prime, Isak had been both an adept swordsman and pugilist.

He turned the man’s wrist away, twisting the shoulder in its socket . Rak howled in pain, and squirmed in an attempt to relieve the pressure on his joints. That was all that Isak needed. He straightened the fingers on his other hand, keeping them straight, and allowed the small blade of light at his fingertip to expand and grow. The blade appeared just in front of his fingers and extended outward in alignment with his hand and arm. It was much brighter now, lighting the entire dark enclosure.

“A lightbringer?!” Rak gasped with dawning horror.

Isak brought the blade up through the man’s exposed armpit. It cut cleanly through flesh and ligaments with a sizzle. It would not cut bone as quickly, but there was no need to. With nothing to hold it in place the arm separated easily from the man’s body. There was no blood as the wound cauterized immediately.

Rak fell back onto the ground and began screaming. The cut had burned most of the nerves in the immediate area of the wound, but not all of them. Aside from the pain the man also realized he’d just lost his most valuable asset. Without the prayers he’d had tattooed onto his arm, he would be incapable of summoning forth the wind.

Isak swung the appendage playfully, teasing the other man with it. “That’s the problem with your kind. You learn one little trick and you think that makes you dangerous. Take it away and you’re nothing but a mewling little child.” The arm was tossed aside onto the hard packed earth.

Rak was whimpering and kicking at the ground as he tried to crawl away. Isak calmly walked with him, the blade of light held down at his side. His eyes were now filled with their own internal light and glowing. With every second he was growing more accustomed to his new form. To his surprise, this body was quite capable of being used as a conduit for his god’s great power. It felt good to wield the light again. He stood over the one eyed, one armed man and smirked pitiably down at him.

“Don’t kill me! I can give you whatever you want!” Rak begged. Such an offer was nothing more than the ridiculous bargaining of a dead man. It was obvious by his living condition that he had nothing to offer. Well, almost nothing.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re going to give me the one thing of value you have.” The blade of light was dispersed. Isak reached down and grabbed the man’s ankle and began to drag him. To his surprise the man felt heavy. Desh’s body was much weaker than his old one had been. Had it not been for the removal of the arm, he might not have been able to drag him at all.

What’re you going to do? Desh asked. Then he realized he didn’t have to ask. He probed around their shared brain, looking into Isak’s thoughts. Isak intended to take the man’s soul and extract it. Not into himself. Two people in one body was one too many in his opinion. However they would need the soul for use in future soul binding prayers. Desh had to admit it was a pragmatic idea.

Isak dragged Rak to the same circle where the captain laid unconscious. Some of the circle would be wiped out by dragging the body through it, but it would be easy enough to draw again. Isak was very familiar with the symbols. As he approached it he recognized that some of the prayer could be easily improved. The man was an amateur. Once Rak was beside the captain in the center of the circle, Isak dropped his foot. He needed to immobilize the man to prevent any future problems.

“I’d rather not cut your legs off. I recommend you stay still.” He threatened before searching the room. There was a pile of rope, some of which had been used on them. To Isak’s pleasant surprise, Rak stayed still while he went and fetched it.

“You won’t actually kill me, right? That’s against your code, isn’t it? You’ve already taken my power from me. I’m unarmed.” Rak pleaded.

Isak stifled a laugh at the unintended pun. “That is the lightbringer code.” He didn’t bother to tell the man that he wasn’t really bound by that code anymore. Their mission was more important than some code of conduct. Instead he silently tied the man’s ankles together and then bound them up to his one remaining wrist.

Satisfied, he set to work on moving the captain. The man was short but stocky. He proved too hard to move with his foot. Instead he had to squat down and roll him away. As he started, he could tell the older man was breathing raggedly.

Is he dead? Desh wondered in a way that Isak could feel the thought.

Isak reassured him that he was not. With his eyes infused with light he could see beyond the normal range of human vision. Like many lightbringers he was capable of seeing souls. It made combating other bringers easier as it allowed you to see prayers being formed. Veteran lightbringers could even determine which god a person followed by looking at their soul. Isak looked for the captain’s soul but it seemed to be missing.

“You’ve drained him already.” Isak said with no shock or sadness. He held no attachment to the man. The fact that the captain had lost his soul already was unfortunate but it didn’t really change anything. Isak looked back at Rak and noted just how incredibly patchy his soul was. It looked like a worn out quilt. Just how many people had he consumed? Tens? Hundreds?

“Y-yes. I can put him back though. If you let me.” There was hope in his voice. He thought that perhaps he could bargain for his own life.

Isak had no intention of letting him try. He was more than capable of transferring souls on his own. Likely he was far more knowledgeable in the practice than this inept bandit. Such a procedure was doomed, however. Transferring souls between bodies was an imperfect practice even when performed at the best of practitioners. The problem was that some of the soul was lost during. He was more aware of this than most people. Not only had that been his field of study but he had also experienced it first hand. Trapped inside Desh he could tell that he was diminished. Even if he took over the body he would never be able to get rid of Desh’s soul. His own was not enough to sustain a body on its own.

The man’s obvious attempt to keep his life was ignored. He would take Rak’s patchwork soul and transfer it to a sheet of paper for storage. Desh’s devotions had other similar pages that contained people’s souls. They were on a mission. By his calculations they needed at least four souls in total to complete it. Desh had originally been slated as the fourth soul but obviously plans had changed. Isak reached for a chunk of chalk nearby to begin correcting the prayer circle.

No. Desh’s thought was loud and it caused a spike of pain in Isak’s head. Isak felt him taking back control of their body.

Idiot! What’re you doing? Haven’t you caused enough problems? Isak put a hand to his forehead and growled as he tried to resist losing control.

I’m going to transfer the captain’s soul back into his body.

It won’t work. He’s already been transferred and integrated into the other man’s soul. There’s not enough of him to sustain a body and there will be even less of him if you transfer him again. Isak thought of two men throwing a bucket full of water back and forth. Each time there would be less water left to transfer.

Nobody could live without a soul. A person missing part of theirs would eventually lose the will to live. Such victims often committed suicide or went comatose. The alternative was to patch the missing parts of the captain’s soul with pieces of Rak’s. However, that meant he would be haunted by the other man. Eventually Rak might even take control again. That was a possibility Desh had to understand. Weren’t the two of them engaged in the same struggle of two souls in a single body?

I don’t care. I can fix it. Desh pulled himself forward again and took control of the body. The light in his eyes faded and he felt his body begin to convulse. Isak refused to go lightly. He was trying his hardest to claw his way back. It was futile though. Desh was able to push him away. It was relieving to know that he could subdue him, even if it felt more difficult than it had before. Desh took a moment to catch his breath and compose his thoughts before going back to work.

There was a large piece of chalk nearby. Desh took it and crawled on his hands and knees around the circle, wiping away the old prayer and writing a new one. As he worked he tried to ignore the protests of the man inside him and the one who was tied up in the center of the circle. Isak thought this was a waste of time and a perfectly good soul. Rak tried to convince him that it would be better to let him return the soul himself.

Rak’s prayer circle had been simple enough. Desh recognized most of it from his studies. It beseeched Ankee to let you take on the soul of the other person. As the arbiter of this transaction, the death god was given a tribute that consisted of a small piece of the victim’s soul. All souls went to Ankee eventually. However, he was willing to barter for early return.

Desh realized that Rak had performed many of these rituals and had maintained his own sense of self because he had given so much to Ankee each time. In Isak’s case, most of the soul had been transferred with very little lost. Unfortunately a lot of the wind captain’s soul had already been taken. Once a person’s soul was turned over to Ankee there was no returning it.

Still, Desh thought he could return the captain to his body and give him enough of the other souls. Because so Rak’s soul was filled with so many people he thought that there would be less competition for control if he took all those other parts.

It felt a bit silly to put in so much effort for someone whose name he did not know. That had been the captain’s choice, not his. Isak had convinced him to charter the illegal wind wagon and bypass the road of light. What they sought to do was approved by the highest elders of his home but was also clandestine. As such, the captain didn’t want any names shared. Still, Desh had grown attached to him and felt responsible for his predicament. Had he listened to the captain then they would’ve killed Rak and been on their way.

The new prayer circle was finished. It begged Ankee to return to the captain what was his and also give him the souls of those who had been taken by Rak. In exchange, the death god could have what remained of Rak’s poor ragged soul. He dusted the chalk off of his hands and sat beside the circle, cupping his hands in his lap much as Rak had done. Then he began to invoke the god of death.

It was not his first time speaking with the god, but he tried not to think of the other time. That was a memory fraught with complicated emotions and it was best to approach the god of death with a clear mind. They could be hard to negotiate with.