The next day was dull mountain travel, barely any plants as the party of three moved over the rocky earth. We barely stopped, just kept moving onward without end. Morgan was, surprisingly keeping pace, if not doing better than I was. By the end of it I felt exhausted, ready to be done but he wouldn’t be quiet.

[Al] “just a little more to go, make sure everyone else has fallen asleep and then we can go. Just a little more and you’ll finally see what I really gave you. It wasn’t just good health after all”

Eventually I was sure the other two were asleep and walked off quietly. Going on a bit of a journey to be out of sight and sound from my traveling companions.

“alright rocky little gorge found now what’s this gift al?”

[Al] “well first we gotta figure out what’s your core, most it’s in the chest. Heart or gut, for some it’s even lower”

“ok, how does that help me figure out what my core is al? I think you left out some connecting information”

[Al] “well it’s a question of what drives you the most. Your mind? Your emotions? Physical goals, wealth, strength, a good meal. Or well, that drive all life has to make more of itself?”

“oh, so sex, goals, feelings, or thought?”

[Al] sighs “close enough. Now which drives you is the question, oh and mind is a great rarity. Almost never happens that it’s the true driving force of their life”

I focus, trying to somehow draw energy from my mind. He might be wrong after all, I’m intelligent, I like to learn about things, I like to feed my understanding above all else. I spend minutes focusing working to draw from my mind and prove my rarity.

[Al] “you’re trying to make one source in particular work aren’t you?”

“and? What’s the issue there?”

[Al] “you can’t make it be what you’d like, not even I can do that. So just give a bit of time to each”

I pause, take a breath letting out a slight sigh then turn my focus down. Drawing from my chest, from around the heart. My heat, passion, fear, all of it set to one- I jump back as a burst of flame shot out from my hand, it’s orange light blinding my vision for a moment.

[Al] “YES! There it is. You found your core, now to harness it properly. So you can make some fire but that’s not the only thing you can do with it moon, you have options my friend. I know two you have right now, the rest you’ll have to experiment to find. Now go back to drawing from your core, then as you pull it out move the energy to your eyes. Once you’ve done that make your flame again”

my small arms move apart, a meaning similar to the soft-skins shrug. I resume my focus, draw the energy and look around. The night seems unchanged… almost, it’s like there are incredibly small glow bugs at just far enough to barely make out all around. Scattered and sparse as my eyes… tingle? Almost the sensation but smoother, difficult to describe. I go back to my, experiment and hold out a hand knowing what will come out. The flame gushes out and I see a web in it. The odd points of light blazing from my hand, sprouting out where the flame goes.

[Al] “now you can see the magic, all the bits and pieces of it. For yours it’s a bit chaotic in making this little flame. But you’ll be able to see other magic made into rigid structure, constructs of mind and will. Or faith, or… well it’s doubtful you’ll see that”

I cut the flow of power to my flame

“what kind of mage does this make me? Is it limited?”

[Al] “in some ways, in others you are unlimited. As for names of your magic, well there’s more than one. Pact mage, channeler, warlock. Just to name a popular few. So here’s the simple break down. You can use the magic you have as much as you want, there’s no end like other magic users. However, there’s another kind of limit. The amount of things you can, or specific effects you can create are… limited, very limited. And as I said you have one more effect to figure out. Oh and I almost forgot, it’s been too long a wait for you to do this, the more powerful you get in this magic the more bonuses you get. Little extra effects that will be handy. Things like changes, improvements to your senses. Ability to heal, well heal better than you can. Possibly knowledge you would otherwise be able to attain. Just keep working at it my friend, oh and best to get some sleep now I think”

“as if my loss of sleep isn’t your fault”

I walk back, getting into my bedding as morgan isn’t in hers. Likely relieving herself where none of us will have to smell it.

I wake to another day of traveling. Tired and slower than blade would like. Morgan keeping pace beside me, perhaps properly trained soft ones were like loyal pets? They would move at their masters pace whatever that was. Walking behind our guide and bodyguard I decided to make use of my new found powers, my vision enhanced by the flow of power. Blade’s blades were both filled with a magic energy, the source for each in the hilts. Gems that gave them the extra power. Augment gems, an old magic that belonged to our kind alone. I kept the magical sight going as we walked, it was different but not troublesome.

We arrived at our destination. A mountain camp. I went about finding out who I would be working with. The various other scholars and a couple lower end mages. All whole, some old souls and each had more than one guard that came with them and a pack beast to carry equipment. I was the least important of the group, the only one with a soft-skin that the others made no secret that they had noticed, and what it said about me.

Blade directed us to our assigned spot a cleared patch of ground with a tent that we set up. A circular like design with room and ropes to use cloth as dividing walls where we saw fit. Four rooms with an entrance way was our setup, blade on the left as we’d enter, work room on the right with me back right and morgan back left. Our guard set to be watching for us at all times, if he didn’t decide that I wasn’t worthy of his protection.

The next day we were meeting with the old souls that would do the actual work and learning about the soul eater and it’s mysteries. In two days the fighters would move, setting up a night time ambush for these creatures. I was to retrieve herbs and other medical materials from the mountain environment, my soft-skin and guard assisting. While Rev had elevated me it could only do so much it seemed, I was here to observe and learn. Perhaps that’s what he wanted when he sent me, would make sense. He has lifetimes of experience so of course I’m just an apprentice that needs to learn, I sighed picking out a plant. “i’ll probably be an apprentice for my whole life”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[Al] “maybe, if you just let it happen to you”

I looked around, neither of my companions were close so I muttered as I kept searching and picking.

“what else would I do? It’s not as if I can just demand to be as good and knowledgeable as an old soul”

[Al] “you don’t have to know everything in as much detail as they do, you just need to know the right things. Do you believe that they know it all? After all this is the first life where they’re actually winning”

“ok, so what knowledge would be better than theirs? Where would I attain it? It’s not like I can go outside of my society”

[Al] “is that so, Without exception?”

“if you have an idea just say it”

[Al] “just something for you to think about my friend”

And then he was gone, sometimes he was truly the greatest annoyance I’d ever known.

We finished as the light was going down, gathered for the nights meal at the fire. I ate quickly, moved around before sliding off into the dark and away from the camp. Once far enough I focused my energy and started experimenting, sending it to my ears, mouth, arms, legs, torso, working through every part of my body. Nothing seemed to happen so after making sure I’d tried all I could think of I went back to camp, to sleep in my tent where an unhappy blade stood.

“yes?”

[blade] “don’t wander off, I’m to make sure you’re alive for all of this. The exact condition wasn’t specified”

I sigh, I wouldn’t be able to try anything tomorrow night. “right, I was occupied with my own thoughts and-”

[Blade] “I don’t care why, you won’t be going off on your own again”

“for this trip”

That seemed to work and we both went to our own beds.

The next day was much like the first, without being able to practice at night or have Al interrupt… whether that was bad or good was another debate. The night was misty, some moisture getting all over the ground as I went back to the tent after getting the nights meal. The well cooked meal consumed in occasional bites as I thought about way I might focus my energy in new attempts to reveal my next power.

I woke, collected some materials or picked over what wasn’t there more accurately. Returning back to camp where my older colleagues seemed to not care about me returning empty handed. It made sense they were more concerned about tonight's battle with soul eaters, why wouldn't they be.

I was to one side behind most everyone as we waited for the ambush to commence. Front line soldiers would fight where a soul-eater was and then fake a route, a panicked disorderly fleeing to our position. Our fresh soldiers were on the sides, up sheer rock walls ready to descend when the time was right and enclose the enemy. Once trapped they would be no match, their forces would be bottled up and unable to do anything about our trap. It seemed like a good plan to me so I just waited, sat in the dark.

Eventually I head the stomping of feet, rattle of metal as our retreating forces were arriving, to far away for me to see clearly. Then again I could gain another form of sight, just in case it might help me see more of the battle. As the second form of sight came in I thought I saw something for just a moment at the edge of the rock wall. I looked and there was nothing. Looking back to where the battle would be I could see the lights of their weapon crystals shining in the dark. It was good to be able to see something other than the occasional glint. They rushed in like a rolling boulder before stopping, just as they did I saw it, at the top of the rock wall. It’s form unmistakable as it’s body dimly glowed with the magic in it. I yelled out, my legs feeling as rigid as the stone they were on. “they’re above us!” my trilling and clicking cry went out as some of the old souls looked at me in anger and disbelief for half a second, the other half was split by the electric crack from a soul eaters magical blast. It’s maw unleashing sudden death to warriors as other of it’s kin leapt into the battle. Cries of terror and alarm filled my mind in sharp trills. My eyes seeing one such monster landing among my colleagues and biting into the throat of it’s closest prey. Blade ran up pushing me as morgan repeated something in her odd language. With the motion started and the word filling my mind I ran. I ran as my guard pulled out his blades, set to fight one of these beasts. I hoped he died before they could eat his soul, to live only once when the rest had lived lifetimes seemed far to cruel. I gave thanks to the great mother as I ran, that I had a devoted guard and a loyal soft-skin running beside me. We went across the hard ground at rapid speed, morgan seeming to barely get her feet in the right spots just before they landed.

An hour of running, of panic and fear like I’d never known then I heard something, falling rocks that I looked too. Seeing the hunched four legged evil chasing me, just as my own feet catch and I fall. Morgan stops to look back and then with wide eyes resumes running even faster. Now I knew I was a fool, she hadn’t been loyal. Her eyes were just worse, she could barely see where to run and now I was going to die and have my soul ripped to shreds.

[soul eater] It’s maw open and dripping as it spoke. It’s eyes gleaming in the dark, it didn’t seem to have much magic in it like it’s kin. But it wouldn’t help me that much now. “mhhh, I do love eating your kind, crunchy on the outside”