I stood in the middle of my room above the saloon. With Yotta’s help, I had lifted the bed and chair into the corner by the wall adjacent to the window to make more room. The floor shimmered with a glossy sheen in the midday light flowing through the window, courtesy of a minor formation done by Yotta. It wasn’t necessary, but because of the ritual that I had in mind, paranoia dictated several of the steps we took.
In this case, the formation would stop any organic matter from sticking to the wooden floorboards. Any hair, blood, or sweat would gather at the center of the room where it could be safely collected after the ritual.
“Patron?” Yotta said while we waited. Liberty had left to fetch her and Yotta’s bags which contained convenient tools for the current task.
“Yes?” I threw her a glance, not moving from my position.
Most of my focus centered on analyzing the structures of my soul. There was still a lot about the transformation that I didn’t know like the full capabilities of my modified Astral Gate or the nature of the black sun left by the Crawling Shadow. Thankfully, the shifter structure wasn’t a mystery to me, even if it had changed in a few minor ways since I created the original version thousands of years prior.
“Why do I…,” she trailed off as his face twisted with uncertainty. “When you claimed your Vessel, I instantly knew something had changed. I don’t know how I knew, but I felt you before you started screaming. Since then, I have had this feeling whenever you’re nearby and I don’t know what to make of it. At first, I thought the knowledge came from the Akashic Records, but I got the same feeling again today when I met Ricky”
“Can you describe the feeling?” I asked, diverting a bit more of my attention to the conversation once the subject became clear.
“It is as though I’ve known you for a long time. Like—.” She paused, seemingly searching for the right word. “Like, we are meant to be together. As I said before, I believed until today that the feeling was connected to you being the Patron and my arrangement with the Akashic Records to prepare your Vessel. But… the meeting with Ricky and now, the story you told Liberty have made me question my conclusion.”
She went quiet for a few minutes, but I let the silence sit since I could tell she had more to say. Briefly, I considered whether I would answer her questions truthfully. I had already decided not to interfere with whatever the Languid King’s machinations were for his chosen vessel. Would a bit of withheld information and misdirection be so different?
It would, I concluded quickly. I wasn’t interfering with the Languid King because the ancient soul was my covenant mate. By the same token, leading Yotta astray for my purposes would fly in the face of the covenant, something that I wouldn’t tolerate. I’m not sure whether the decision came from pride or my instincts as a former astral being; however, I couldn’t bring myself to consider the possibility for more than a moment. My covenant with the Languid King, the Mad Titan, the Sanguine Dream, and the Weeping Sun entwined our existences on a fundamental level. If I’m to master the Concepts and Truths of the Soul. then I must be genuine in my dealings on that front; otherwise, I might inadvertently sully my path.
While I was perfectly willing to lie, manipulate, or kill in the pursuit of my goals, I wouldn’t do so if it risked impeding my advancement.
I was, and in many ways, still am, a terrible entity by more than a few mortal metrics of morality. That said, I have always treated mana, and subsequently, my ascent through the Orders of Astral Power with sanctity and genuine intent. Speaking of it now, it pains me to say that not even Libbu attained that level of respect from me.
So, then and there, I resolved my covenant mates would receive the same authenticity. I couldn’t have known then that my decision would irrevocably change Earth’s fate.
“Why was I selected to prepare your Vessel?” Yotta asked breaking the silence. “I thought the Akashic Records chose me for my talent, but the more I think on it now, the more it seems like the reason is something deeper than that.”
I frowned as I considered her question. My eventful emergence into the Physical had kept my mind focused on other things, but at that moment, it struck me how convenient my situation was. I expected some convenience because of Akasha’s skill and the power of the Akashic Records, but even considering the unexpected attack on my would-be Vessel, I had landed in an advantageous situation and close to two of the four individuals whom I would’ve been obligated by a covenant to seek out. I learned again and again since my confrontation with the Crawling Shadow that I could not predict or handle the capabilities and machinations of the primordial predator. And, in my foolishness, I had let the nature of my relationship with the Akashic Records distract from the truth. It was as much of an Aspect as the Crawling Shadow and that meant it could be just as dangerous.
“We are connected,” I said, pushing my concerns into a place for later consideration. Yotta’s brow furrowed, but she stepped closer with rapt attention. “You, Ricky, myself, and two others are connected by a vow, a covenant.”
“A covenant? With you?” she said in a tone dripping with disbelief. “Aren’t covenant only possible for higher-order entities and practitioners?”
“Nonsense,” I chuckled. “Any creature capable of manipulating mana and aware of its soul can form a covenant, although I’ll grant you that most lower order creatures lack the knowledge or awareness necessary for such a pact. No, a covenant at its core is merely an exchange between two or more individuals anchored into being by the existential fabric of their souls.”
Yotta closed her eyes as she listened to my explanation absorbing each word. For a few breaths, she said nothing, so I watched the shades of surprise, pensiveness, and anxiety flicker in her soul’s aura.
“What was our exchange?” she asked. Her expression lacked resolve as though she hadn’t quite decided if she wanted to ask the question before the words left her mouth.
“You helped me escape from the Crawling Shadow’s clutches and safeguard something very important to me,” I said. My lips slipped into a slight smirk. Although it may sound ridiculous, I wasn’t comfortable admitting Libbu’s worth to me out loud. Even worse, the thoughts spurred the infernal chemistry of the human brain to produce a now-familiar tightness in my chest that had nothing to do with my recent injuries. “In exchange, it is my charge to help you realize your true potential.”
“My true potential?” she asked.
“Yes, you have the potential to be one of the most powerful humans in the world,” I said with the confidence that one might have when recited a well-known fact.
For a moment, I wondered what kind of questions my covenant mate would ask since she no doubt had many; however, no questions came. Instead, her eyes clouded over and in my augmented sight, I watched the Languid King momentarily surface before immediately going dormant once more. Yotta’s eyes went back to normal and she nodded.
“I see,” was all she said, leaving me curious, but unwilling to pry into the matter.
We spoke a bit more, but eventually, I returned to my analysis of my structures.
About half an hour later, Liberty arrived with the tools and materials. She offered apologies for the wait citing a few talkative women of the Holston family attempting to make up for prior rudeness after Morgana’s public declaration of acceptance.
On the topic of the old woman, I returned downstairs in search of Morgana. I found her behind the bar chatting with her sister, Donna. I greeted my great-aunt with a reluctant, yet outwardly amiable, hug, then asked if the Holston matriarch had a moment.
“Can you ensure that I am undisturbed for the rest of the day?” I asked once we had stepped into the hallway and closed the door to the saloon proper. She favored me with a raised eyebrow.
“I can, but what are you up to?” she asked in turn.
“I am going to ascend to the Second Order of Astral Power,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “What? Already?”
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“Is there a problem?” I said, mirroring her earlier raised eyebrow.
She blinked a few times, then shook her head. “Forgive me. After watching you stumble through mingling with the family, I almost forgot your age and that the social awkwardness is from spending far too long in the Astral as opposed to being an inexperienced teenager.”
I nodded and responded, “Indeed, though I was never much of a people person even in my old life so keep that in mind when judging my social grace.”
“I suppose so,” she said. The small smile that I had become familiar with while meeting the members of the Holston family. “Is there anything you need?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Yotta and Liberty will be watching over me while I perform the advancement.”
“Very well. Will this affect your ability to attend the dinner tomorrow?”
“No, I will be in attendance and so will Liberty. I assure you.”
Her smile widened and she patted me on the cheek before leaving through the door. I sighed at the thought of the upcoming dinner but made my way back upstairs.
Liberty, Yotta, and I set about preparing the ritual for my ascension to the Second Order of Power. Of the three of us, Liberty had the least amount of skill with rituals, but her ancestral background in necromancy provided the experience needed to follow my instructions.
Normally, advancing to the Second Order of Astral Power would take more than a day, even for someone like me. Not because it was hard, but because the process, unlike reaching the First Order, required preparation and a decent amount of power for a First Order practitioner.
Reaching the First Order of Astral Power “awakened” an individual by making them aware of the Astral and establishing an Astral Domain. For sorcerers, this process happened naturally since their souls were inherently linked to the Astral; however, for ordinary mortals, their souls had to be pulled into the Astral by a sufficiently powerful astral being or practitioner, sorcerer or otherwise. This was the process that I walked Lucille through after making her a sorceress.
Once the Astral Domain was established, non-sorcerers could use special rituals to project their souls into their Astral Domains. From there, they could create mana through cultivation or conversion, gather created mana or mana from a patron into their soul for use in the Physical, or develop their Astral Domains by expending mana to build structures. In the days when Libbu and I walked among mortals, some mortals even used sacrificial rituals to imitate Libbu’s method of converting matter into mana through consumption. The practice led to an excessive amount of human and animal sacrifice by individuals pursuing power or worse, attempting to offer tribute to another entity, real or imagined, in exchange for boons.
Sorcerers avoided the need for rituals to access the Astral with their innate connection to it, and the presence of the Astral Bridge structure, or Astral Gate for myself and Lucille, allowed the body to slowly acclimate to the presence of mana and grant the ability for sorcerers to store more mana than ordinary practitioners for far longer.
Theoretically, a normal practitioner could overcome their limitations once they achieved a sufficient level of power, but that was unlikely unless they had a powerful patron.
Advancement to the Second Order of Astral Power required a practitioner or creature to shape their Astral Domain into an environment conducive to the production of quality mana. Most First Order Astral Domains resembled Lucille’s in that they were simple and contained very little. To grow in power, the individual needed to learn how to build astral structures with mana and populate their domains with complex structures. A complex structure simply referred to a structure composed of two or more simple structures. The number required for advancement to the Second Order varied depending on the individual, their particular type of mana, and the quality of the structures built.
Without the ritual, it would likely take me a few weeks to a month to reach the Second Order assuming I didn’t run into any complications or have a need to use a large amount of mana for other purposes. For an average sorcerer, the process would take much longer— ten to twenty years depending on their talent and dedication. Non-sorcerers easily took twice the time as sorcerers, although outside assistance could shorten both time frames significantly, primarily through providing additional mana.
“Isn’t this ritual too asynchronous?” Liberty said breaking the silence that had fallen over the room as we worked. She stood looking at the finished ritual circle that she had drawn around me. I opened my eyes at the question inspecting her work for a moment before answering.
“That is by design,” I said, nodding in satisfaction at the circle. “The two parts of the ritual aren’t meant to mirror each other in complexity or function. The circle you drew is just a containment formation with the ability to send a jolt of energy through the body of the creature inside of it.”
“Stop moving, please,” Yotta said from her place by my side. She was kneeling with a look of intense concentration on her face as she painted a complex formation on my bare skin.
Liberty favored me with a complex expression that morphed into a scowl when her eyes flicked to Yotta.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable with this, Eric?” she asked. For a moment, I wondered what she could be talking about, but a long look at the aura of her soul offered a clue. There was a strange emotion in the aura anchored in what I had only recently identified as the sexual spectrum of emotions. That said, it had nothing to do with attraction and resembled something like indirect embarrassment.
Ah, right. Humans aren’t fond of nudity and I’m naked in front of my mother and her young servant who helped raise me, I realized. I would’ve laughed, but I didn’t want to shatter the thin illusion of me that Liberty maintained. I suppose as a young male entering adulthood, I should have some modicum of embarrassment especially since Yotta is likely considered attractive by human standards.
“I…,” I trailed off as I failed to find a proper emotional response within my repertoire of manufactured feelings. Embarrassment was a foreign concept to me. Don’t misunderstand, I had felt something similar to it in the past, but I didn’t have the mortal lens of shame coloring my experience. As such, it would be more accurate to categorize my feelings as an aversion to inadequacy.
“Miss, Eric said earlier that he was cognizant for much of his life despite his inability to communicate or move,” Yotta said, coming to my rescue. “He’s no doubt used to this since I’ve worked on his body countless times over the years. It could even be comforting for him.”
Both Liberty and I furrowed our brows at her last remark. I wondered, Is she teasing me?
The room lapsed into a heavy silence. I closed my eyes again to resume my work while Yotta finished and Liberty fretted over the finished circle. The ritual actually had three layers: one anchored to the Physical, one anchored to the Vessel, and one anchored to the Soul. Liberty’s ritual circle was the Physical component, and Yotta was responsible for inscribing the necessary formation lines on my Vessel. Both of these aspects used a mixture of blood from Yotta and I combined with fresh soil and a few other ingredients.
They utilized simple sympathetic magic that would ground part of my consciousness in the Physical and grant Yotta a limited amount of awareness and control over it. If she knew how to tap into the covenant link, the sympathy wouldn’t be necessary, but sadly, teaching her said skill would take time especially as long as the Languid King remained dormant. I designed Yotta’s role for safety purposes. This was a necessary step due to the third layer of the ritual.
The initial idea for the ritual came from my realization about my soul’s “youth” and its progress toward maturation through the formation of connections with other mortals. After the establishment of the pack link, I was certain my plan would work.
What was the plan?
I intended to leech the energy necessary for the Second Order of Astral Power from the souls of every individual with whom I had formed a connection since my arrival in the Physical. If everything worked correctly, the most anyone would notice was mild to moderate fatigue tomorrow. Regis and Morgana might notice something more, but they lacked their unique form of sorcery worked against them in this situation. Since they didn’t interact with the Astral and obtained their power from ley lines, they were inherently less aware of their souls compared to other practitioners of similar strength on the Orders of Astral Power.
The issue became whether or not the Crawling Shadow would interfere. I feared that its incessant reminders of my need for power might end up taking on a more forceful approach. Therefore, I needed Yotta. Since she, like the Crawling Shadow, was my covenant mate, she could have a certain amount of power over me by tapping into the connection. Doing so was dangerous and could easily lead to the nasty ramifications that came from violating a covenant, but my knowledge of souls and willing participation let her circumvent some of those dangers.
During the ritual, Yotta would pay close attention to the energy output of the ritual and terminate the process if she sensed any abnormalities. I knew the Shadow could hide its actions from my senses, but Yotta, or more accurately, the Languid King, had spent an untold amount of time within the Aspect and developed a much more accurate feel for its influence. Since Yotta numbered among those I would siphon during the ritual, I knew any foul play would not go unnoticed by my covenant mate.
Another hour passed before I finished my portion of the ritual. Yotta had finished shortly after Liberty and immediately set about familiarizing herself with the ritual’s effects. I could feel her presence hovering within my soul space, watching and analyzing.
I looked at the two women. “I am ready.”
Liberty stopped pacing for the first time in half an hour once I opened my eyes. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Yes, actually,” I lied. I nodded at Yotta as a signal and she blinked her eyes as her bodily senses returned. Taking a few hair ties from her wrist, she fashioned my hair into a quick top knot exposing the back of my neck. Once she was done, I continued, “While Yotta is maintaining the ritual, I need you to watch my Stigmata and inform Yotta if it begins to metastasize.”
I hadn’t found my Stigmata during my initial evaluation of my body, but Yotta had pointed it out while we waited for Liberty. A perfunctory analysis of the mark, a symbol representing infinity according to Yotta, revealed that it was a purely physical manifestation. In other words, it wasn’t a significant worry in a soul-based ritual like this which meant Liberty’s task was just busywork to prevent her from interfering with the ritual.
However, since the body and soul mirrored each other, I would need to monitor how the Stigmata developed as the synchronicity between myself and my Vessel increased.
“Let’s begin,” I said. Yotta and Liberty took their positions and began to channel mana into the ritual as I activated the third layer within my soul.