The next few days were like the ones before, with the three of us spending all our time in the training room with our friends. Occasionally a sister would drop by to ensure we were being honorable with our duty and expectations as Anwar’s servants. If it wasn’t a senior monitoring us, it was a skirrat keeping watch from the rafters and disappearing to make their report.

Kalia and I were determined not to see our friends fail. So, we kept our focus to the task at hand. For every failed word, we redoubled the training for it in the first hour of the lesson. Then incorporated into new words they needed to learn. It wasn’t long before Khes and Zak could have a simple conversation with Quicksilver. But Troy was struggling with basic courtesies.

“Troy! Focus. Yah not learning because yah distracted.” I had observed of the man.

His eyes kept darting to Kalia who was glaring at him. She stepped up and bonked his head hard with a fist.

“Idiot! If you have the mental capacity to waste on daydreaming, then use it to learn how to speak with these!” She scolded him with her voice and hands.

Her expression softened to one of honest concern. “You do realize what will become of you if you can not grasp this skill?”

I sighed and helped Troy sit up. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why can’t yah speak?”

Edde and Quicksilver let out knowing sighs.

Troy glanced at Quicksilver, who gave him the nod. He carefully unhooked the clasps and ties holding the collar around his neck.

“What?” I gasped at the black starfish clinging to his Adam’s apple.

A flurry of images and faraway knowledge rushed to the forefront of my mind, making my eyes flutter and almost turn inward.

“Neven!” Troy signed my name.

“I’m okay,” I whispered when I was able to recover. My body was covered in sweat, and I felt my sore spot on my rib cage aching, but the pain soon eased.

He began to hastily refasten the collar to his neck, but I held his hand. I wanted to see what pesky critter held sway over my friend.

“Do you mind if I introduce myself?” I said, and signed.

Troy gulped and shook his head. I flinched when I touched the starfish, feeling its soft skin-like shell. It squirmed on the spot.

The parasite was certainly a creepy looking thing. If my instinctive knowledge served me well, my touch should have alerted my presence to it. Even the lower intelligent kind would respond with something other than squirming, so this concluded one thing about them to me.

“Neven, what are you doing?” Kalia asked worryingly.

“The starfish attached to Troy’s neck is dormant. But I know what they are. This one can’t speak yet, or rather it refuses to.”

Quicksilver yanked me away.

“Let me go, what’s gotten into yah? This thing will kill Troy if he doesn’t seed a pact with it. Just like the one on yah neck!” I firmly said.

He let go of my arms and stepped back with an expression of concern and shock.

“If I’m right, an unseeded pact with this thing will drain all yah chi down to the last drop. Yah have ten years, tops. That is, if yah don’t die on duty.”

“How do you know this?” His hands trembled as he signed it.

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“Because my being is filled with the feelings of knowing someone who shared a similar fate. But, of course, I don’t have any actual memories. Just feelings and text-book stuff in my head.” I sat before Troy again, who was doing his best to look strong.

“It’s okay, Troy. I want to save yah. All of yah. I won’t see yah suffer this fate.”

I sighed and gave him an honest and solid expression. “Let me help yah.”

Troy nodded and stared at me with teary eyes.

I gathered Kalia and Edde and told them my plans. Naturally, it had Edde fretting.

“Do yuh think it will not only save them but make them stronger?” Her eyes darted to Quicksilver, who gave her a weak and honest smile.

“I somehow have the knowledge in my head. But force magic is needed.”

Silence filled the room and lingered for a short while until Quicksilver stepped up to us and signed. “Our magis might have this knowledge, but.”

“I remember he has elemental magic. But force is something else.”

For whatever reason, I had the knowledge of magic in my head to explain this for everyone’s benefit. They listened to my explanation of the magic equation, which was fundamental knowledge for a magis practitioner.

Most people could apply some level of elemental magic that mirrored the output of the world. For most, this was magic. However, there were two more practices that completed the equation that only masters would be aware of and could tamper with. Force and semblance.

If elemental magic mirrored the world’s energies to cause a disruption. Force magic was used to create binding impacts such as the transmutation or transformation of objects and telekinesis. Semblance magic disrupted chi cognizance to allow telepathy, illusions, and entrapment at various levels.

“Force magic is needed to ensure binding contract negotiations occur. It keeps the dermaleeches grounded and protects the host.”

Everyone listened attentively as I explained my knowledge of this starfish. The starfish was an intelligent parasite family of the dermaleech genus known as Kretchin. Dermaleech were near-invisible organisms that thrived on the chi of larger-sized hosts. In return, they allowed their hosts to harness and use powerful magic. But a mutual contract was typically required, which was called a Seeded Pact. This ensured a host’s acceptance of the parasite, with limits set to ensure they didn’t take all of their life. Whenever the host borrowed magic, they paid for it with some of their chi, which could be regenerated. It was a given that the more magic used, the more chi was sacrificed.

One spec of Kretchin was like dust in the wind. Mindless and definitely harmless. Gather a cluster to form a school, and now there was an intelligent creature to deal with. The larger the cluster, the smarter these parasites were. At the cluster formation stage, it made dealing with them easy. All one needed to do was dispel the school using force or dark matter magic. Problem solved.

“The starfish on your neck is an early formation cluster. But it has the intelligence of a young adult. So it’s cunning and knows that all it needs to do is be lazy and look stupid while it enjoys an easy meal.”

The men shared nervous glances with each other. I further explained. Once the Kretchin had gathered enough power, it would drop off the host and transform into something non-animated, like a crystal. Should it succeed with its transformation, it was near indestructible and swelling with terra magic. It would continue to evolve until it could function on its own. At this point, it would be more or less immortal. The best option, if not to blast it into ash clouds using force magic during formation stages, was to seed a pact with it.

“Seeding a pact is when it swears on the chi of the host to work with and protect them for mutual benefits. It will be bound to a limited supply to keep the host alive, well, and kicking.”

“Could I use magic?” Khes signed.

I nodded. “Within the limits of yah chi, but yeah.”

Zak frowned.

“I’ll need to convince the master to help us. But…”

I sighed, feeling the weight of a heavy task. Anwar’s Order was already going out of their way to have the three of them learn sign language, and it was likely for some important work that needed them.

“Neven. Yuh’ll get in trouble. The Sisterhood and Henchmen Order won’t be kind to yuh for knowing this.” Edde’s voice was her usual deadpan, but she wasn’t hiding her concern on her face.

“The price for knowing things, right? But to save a life is worth the risk.”

Kalia’s face paled. “Can’t you use your…”

I cut off the rest of the words she was about to say. “No. I don’t want to use that. I’ll go find the master.”

I turned to Troy and tenderly placed my hand over his neck.

“Keep yah neck covered at all times until then. The leather keeps it inactive, so it won’t absorb chi unless yah use yah voice.”

I stepped back.

“We’ll keep training them, Neven.” Kalia turned to Edde who nodded.

I turned and left the room.