Sean Brynor
The brisk, dry air scraped against my throat as I took in a large breath. The cold feeling flowed throughout my lungs, its sting lingering as I exhaled. I let a small amount of Nex flow through my Soul, trying desperately to warm myself up in any way I could, but the bitter winter that had set in over the last month wasn’t making it easy. It had covered Dousin in a blanket of snow, just like it did every year, but this was the first time I got a good look at the forests around the city at this time of year. Unlike Dousin, where stone and wood buildings would break through the frost, the forest was filled like an ocean of white. The trees that had shed their leaves turned into a light gray color, only able to be seen if they were focused on. If a person was in a rush, there was a good chance they’d slam directly into one like it appeared out of nowhere. The only color that stood out was a dull green, produced by the giant fir trees that occasionally dotted the forest. It was a bit disorienting, looking all around me and being unable to tell which way was which, but my father navigated the forest like an expert.
Father had nearly exploded with joy when I asked him if I could start joining his hunts, his only way of making money now that the city refused to employ him due to his outbursts. We had barely seen each other over the past few years, and I think he dreaded this fact. So, when I showed even the slightest interest in spending time with him, Father jumped at the opportunity. It felt good to make him happy, knowing what I know now. The fact that my mere presence improved his day was comforting. The bitter cold, however, was not.
I thought about what I would normally be doing on a day like this. I would have tried to stay inside by the fire, practicing my technique on the water sculptures I liked to make. Ever since Morrison had killed the Mathear that attacked us, I’ve been trying to recreate it with magic. The long, icicle-like fangs had been giving me trouble, though. I hated that I could never keep my creations, but that was never really the goal of working on them. The true boon was the increased control I had over my magic. The more detailed my sculptures became, the easier it was to control my spells. It was like an exercise for my Soul, training it to become stronger and more precise. My exercise likely would have been interrupted, though.
Hector would have come knocking on my door, begging me to come to his training with him. He liked to show off anytime he learned something new, almost like he was seeking my approval. A few minutes would pass with him bothering me. I would eventually give in, put on my warmest coat, and join him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lennox followed us as well. I didn’t hate joining Hector to see his training, as it was the only time I got to see Blair. All he did now was train, ignoring the magic I had helped give him. It annoyed me, seeing him discard such a gift so that he could swing around a stick all day. I knew he was pressured by Lady Mairead to continue his sword training over magic, but surely she wouldn’t be upset if he took a little time to exercise his other abilities.
I pulled the giant fur coat that draped over my body up and over the bottom of my face, trying to shield it from the gust of wind that started to blow past us. Part of me wished I could manipulate air just so I could keep the bitter chill at bay. Unfortunately, water was my magical affinity, and my father wasn’t a mage. The more I thought about it, I was incredibly fortunate to have this ability in the first place. According to Restivus, most people that could use magic were of noble descent, making my mother an enigma. Typically, genetics played a factor when it came to mages, as well as a bit of luck. With Father a non mage, it was incredibly lucky that I had inherited my mother’s abilities.
I still didn’t understand why there were people that couldn’t use magic. According to Restivus, magic was the Souls ability to manipulate the world around it, but if this was the case, then that meant non mages, like Father, didn’t have Souls. Or perhaps it meant their Souls were inactive, like they had never learned to open the barriers that prevent Nex from flowing into them. If this was the case, it was possible I could teach non mages how to use magic, like I had done to Blair.
“Father,” his head whipped around towards me the moment I spoke, “Have you ever tried to use magic?”
He reached for the scarf carefully wrapped around his mouth, pulling it down and revealing a grin, “If I was able to use magic, no one in the world would be able to beat me. I think of it as God’s way of balancing things out.”
I smiled at him, but my question remained unanswered, “But, you must’ve tried before? You wouldn’t know for sure if you hadn’t.”
Father began rubbing the scar that cut across the hole where his eye had once been, a sign that he was thinking. I had grown used to seeing the grotesque gash, and after learning how he got it, I began to respect it. I wondered why he didn’t cover it up. “Back when you were young, when Cori was teaching you as a toddler, she offered to try showing me as well. But when she tried, I felt nothing. As far as I know, no Brynor has ever been able to use magic. Well, except for you. You can thank your mother for that.”
“Does that mean that you don’t have a Soul then?” I asked, though I felt like it was a stupid question.
Apparently it was, because my father paused, then bent over in a hearty laugh, bringing him to tears, “I know I can be a bit mean sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I’m soulless Sean! It sort of hurts that’d you think that! I know I look like a monster, but that doesn’t mean I am one!”
“No— I meant— Just—“ I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment.
Father laughed for a good while, finally speaking again when he found his composure, “I’m not sure how all your fancy magic works, but yes, even without it, I do have a Soul. Everyone does, I guess, and even without magic, they still don’t go unused,” my eyebrows lifted in confusion at his words, “Which actually is important for where we are going right now.”
“Wait, we’re actually headed somewhere? I thought we were hunting.”
“Not with all this noise we’re making. No, first I have something to do. Then I can show you how to use that bow of yours.”
Father pointed to the bow I had slung over my shoulder, then pulled his scarf back up and turned around, “Now let's get moving. I’ll explain a bit more when we get closer.”
I pushed the bow farther onto my shoulder, as it had begun to slip off, and started following him. The wooden weapon I had been given was far different from the old, slightly cracked bow that Father carried in his hands as we walked. When I voiced my desire to join his hunts, Father was ecstatic, but Mother was more practical. My magic was advanced thanks to Restivus teachings, but that hardly waned her worries. It was winter, which meant the Mathears had migrated south in search of food that they could fill their bellies with until spring came again. I assured her that I could deal with a Mathear myself, though I had a hard time believing my own words. I knew how fierce and dangerous the beasts were, having seen Morrison’s battle with one, which made it difficult to imagine myself fighting one without freezing up in terror. Still, I wanted to follow Father, to know more about him, to spend time with him.
Even with my insistence, Mother was still hesitant. That’s when Father offered to teach me to defend myself better, and how to use a bow. According to him, it was the perfect weapon to hunt with. A proper archer could kill a beast with one shot, keeping the pelt intact and the meat unscathed. With a little push from Father saying that I could use these skills for many things in the future, Mother finally conceded, and Father immediately went to get me my own bow. Baird didn’t craft wooden weapons, his skills were exclusively with the forge, but he knew an excellent craftsman from the inner city, who was willing to give a discount to us on account of our relationship with the grumpy dwarf. Within a week, I had a freshly carved bow, ready for use.
The bow itself was nothing remarkable. Just plain wood from a fir tree in the forest, and a regular old string. What made the weapon stand out were the intricate carvings in its wood. A snake-like beast slithered down the upper limb, its head coming right up to the grip. The only difference it had from a regular snake in my old life were the two wings that rested on its back, flowing halfway down the beast's body. The idea of a flying snake irked me slightly, but I had grown used to seeing the image. This was the symbol of the Frosta family, and it was a common sight in Dousin. The lower limb had clearly been given far less attention, but I think I liked its image far more than the serpents. It depicted a series of waves, flowing up and towards the grip. It was sort of like I was viewing the ocean from the sky, watching the waves tumble over one another as they traveled to the shore. I knew this carving was personalized, and that it had been specifically requested by Father. Though its detail was nowhere near that of the winged snake, it drew my eyes more.
A low, menacing growl filled the air around me, removing my focus from the bow. I stared in front of me, where Father had stopped dead in his tracks, but my eyes wandered past him. There was a break in the endless sea of white. A small cave, the opening only about half the height of Father, stuck out in front of us. Inside the darkness were two red eyes that blazed in anger, flickering like a fire, but their color was drowned out by the large ring of flames surrounding them.
“Sean, don’t move a muscle.”
I stiffened at my father’s words, doing my best to listen, but I could feel my hands shake as I held tightly onto my bow. The growl grew as the beast in the cave took a step, a slight sizzling noise breaking through the low hum. It kept its steps slow, casually walking out into the sunlight. As its foot came down on the snow, steam rose around its black leg. Its fur looked charred, as if it had been cooked. Its head slowly lurched out of the cave, and I finally understood what the ring of fire around the beast was. It was a mane, extremely similar to that of a lion, but its head looked much more like a wolf’s. Large canine teeth lined its gaped maw, a black smoke flowing out from its mouth. The size of the beast was daunting. It wasn’t as big as the mathear, maybe half the bear-like beast's size, but that was still larger than my father.
“Easy boy,” Father said, causing the beast's growl to grow louder.
The flame-maned wolf took a glance at him for a second, then its red eyes fixed on me. I flinched at its gaze, wondering why it chose to focus on me rather than the giant that was my father. Sure, I was tall for my age, but given the creature’s size I was barely a light snack for it. The warm sensation of Nex flowing through my Soul came into my focus, and I realized what was happening. It sensed my magic. With no time to even wonder how, I closed off my Soul, causing the Nex to flow out of me and the bite of the cold air to grow harsher. This did nothing to remove the beast's attention, though. It already knew what I could do, and it was wary of me.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
In any other circumstance, I would have felt cool. A giant beast was afraid of me. I could lord this over Blair, who enjoyed commenting on how weak I was compared to him. Sure, my muscles had gained definition over the years of training with Restivus, but compared to Blair I looked like a long stick. Without magic, I would’ve never beaten him in any kind of duel. Though I’d never admit it out loud, he was probably smarter than me as well. The only thing that I had over him was my magic, and that had just made this beast fearful of me. Of course, I’m sure I was more terrified of it than it was of me.
My breath came out in small, sharp gasps as it lurched forward. I had trained for a situation like this. A lot of Restivus’ teachings were on the principles and basics of magic, not about combat, but that didn’t mean he left us completely defenseless. There were a few techniques, such as the waterspout spell I used against Blair many times, that I could use, but my limbs remained frozen as the beast got closer and closer. Blair was far less intimidating than this creature, and I couldn’t bring myself to move under its gleaming red eyes. The only comfort I had was Father, who had told me to stay still. So I decided to listen to him.
“Hey boy, it's me. You remember, right?” Father said in a quiet voice.
Its attention remained fixed on me, not flinching at my father’s words. In response, he walked straight into the beast’s view, obscuring me from it.
“Hey now, I’m talking to you bud. It’s rude to ignore me.”
I peered from behind my father’s enormous back, and watched as the beast’s nose twitched. A loud sniffing could be heard as the growl subsided, then the creature walked up to my Father and sat down in the snow. The white powder under it began to sizzle and turn into vapor as it did so, and its fiery mane grew smaller until only a few lingering flames remained. A long tongue lolled out the side of the beast's mouth as it looked up at my Father, its eyes still red and flaming, but now much less intimidating than before.
“Took you long enough to recognize me bud! And I thought you were going to tear me to pieces for a second!” Father yelled, crouching down and wrapping the giant wolf in an embrace.
The beast’s head looked over my father’s shoulder, its eyes still stuck on me. With the sense of danger gone as Father flipped the flaming wolf over and began rubbing its belly, I let the smallest amount of Nex flow through my Soul, my curiosity getting the best of me. The second I did, the beast's mane burst into a frenzy, the flames licking at Father’s arms. It flipped off of its back and began to growl again, the flickering eyes staring so intently at me I thought I might burst into flames under its gaze.
“Woah! Woah! Calm down boy! He’s a friend too!”
I cut off the flow of Nex again, and my mind began to buzz as Father calmed the beast down. I kept a wide berth between it and me, despite my father waving for me to come closer, and thought. Somehow, someway, this beast could sense when I used magic. Did every beast have this ability, or was it special to this flaming wolf? Could I learn to do something like that? If I could, it would definitely give me another edge over Blair in a duel. He had to be coming up with some kind of plan to beat me next time he had free time, and if I could sense when he was going to strike before he even moved, I’d be unstoppable. Plus, it would make hunting so much easier if I could sense a beast with magic from far away. We could follow its trail that way rather than hope we come across some footprints or a random patch of excrement on the ground. We would be able to go home much quicker, and I could actually spend time with my father outside of freezing weather, wrapped up next to a fire.
“Come on son, Ronan is all bark and no bite. Well, except for the time when we first met, but that was a month ago, so it will be fine,” Father said, petting the top of the wolf’s head, but very clearly avoiding the sparks of flame that occasionally erupted from its fur.
I didn’t move. Clearly the beast, Ronan, as Father called it, didn’t want me around. I didn’t want to take the risk of its smoking jaws clamping down on my hand, or my arm, or anywhere else.
“Sean,” Father said, his eyes scrunching, “Trust me.”
Sucking in a harsh breath, I moved slowly toward the great beast. It’s ear twitched when I took my first step, but other than that, and the flames licking off of its fur, Ronan stayed perfectly still. I held out my hand so that it rested a few centimeters from his snout and waited. I wasn’t going to walk up and just touch the burning beast. No, it would have to be Ronan’s choice if we were going to be friends. A loud snort came from the beast, and I could feel the burning heat of its breath on my hand, like I'd shoved it straight into a fire. Although it burned, I held my hand still, not daring to startle the beast. It sniffed my hand for a short while, then it slowly moved its snout against my palm. Its fur was rough and extremely warm, but the burning sensation had disappeared. I slowly ran my hand up its face to the top of its head, and pet. Ronan let out a tire yawn, and I heard its tail thumping as I rubbed its head.
“See! He’s pretty much harmless. A big softy.”
Ronan’s eyes shot over to Father, then rolled them like he was annoyed. The beast sat down on his haunches, still tall enough that his face was at the same height as mine. He leaned harder into my hand, accepting my pets further.
“Okay! Okay! That’s enough! It ain’t right to spoil him! C’mon Ronan let’s get to business!”
The wolf let out a whine that sounded like a groan, then stood and followed my father back to his cave. Father sat down just in front of the opening, then gestured to Ronan to take a seat across from him.
“This, Sean, is what my Soul can be used for. I can’t do magic, just like most people, but I can form a Soul Bind.”
I tilted my head to the side, curious, “What’s a Soul Bind.”
“I have a Soul, everyone does. It’s what makes me who I am and what I will always be, or perhaps I make my Soul what it is. I don’t know. I’m no mage, so I really don’t know a whole lot about Souls or magic or anything like that. What I do know is that beasts, such as this giant oaf in front of me, have Souls too.”
Ronan let out a grunt, then swiped his paw in Father’s direction. Father grabbed it, ignoring the flames that began dancing on his gloves, and threw the paw downwards, causing Ronan to lose his balance and fall head first into the snow. The snow melted as the beast's head fell, letting out a sizzling noise as it did so. Ronan growled and stood up in a flash, his mane bursting back to life and creating a heat that burned my face from several meters away.
“Alright, alright! I'm sorry, so just calm down already!” Father yelled.
Ronan kept his blazing mane up for a moment, then conceded and sat back down with a grunt, clearly still agitated.
“As I was saying,” Father continued, “Beasts have Souls, just like we do. They make decisions, choices, and have emotions. Some of them are smarter than others, and some of them are dumber,” Father pointed with his eyes towards Ronan, but the beast didn’t seem to notice, “When someone ends up befriending a beast, you can form a Soul Bind with them. It’s sort of like a contract, or agreement, but one where I share a piece of my Soul with Ronan, and he shares a piece of his with me.”
“Would you be able to use fire magic then? Since you’d have a piece of Ronan’s Soul?” I asked, my mind whirling with so many possibilities.
“No, I wouldn’t. My Soul would have to already be able to use magic for that to work, and I’d have to be a fire mage to actually use any of Ronan’s abilities. Which is why I brought you along to see this. I’m going to make a Soul Bind with Ronan today, so that we’ll be together and fight alongside one another whenever either of us is in danger. For me, it’s only an agreement, but if you were to make a Soul bind with a beast that used water magic, it would only make you stronger. I’m not sure what actually happens when a mage makes a Soul Bind, but if it’s with a compatible beast, then I’m sure it will come with many benefits.”
Again, my mind was rushing like a crashing tide. “How many beasts can I make a Bind with?” I asked, the idea of an army of beasts in my head.
Father stared at me, his voice a bit more serious, “To take more than one would be a huge risk. You're not the first person to ask a question like that, and you certainly won’t be the last. A Soul Bind requires you to remove a piece of your Soul and replace it with a beast’s. Depending on the beast's strength, that piece will either be big or small. If you end up cutting your Soul into too many pieces, you’ll lose yourself. It’s a horrifying thing, Sean. The person’s body starts to deform as magic fills them to the brim. The beasts they contracted with, and the one’s around them, go insane. Eventually, the person’s Soul becomes filled with so much magic that they explode, but not before they wreak havoc on the surrounding area, and the stronger they are, the longer they take to die. Stories of wild Bind Fiends are what kept me up at night as a child. Do not form more than one Soul Bind Sean.”
I nodded furiously, trying not to imagine myself literally blowing up from taking in too much Nex. I’d never felt a boundary or like I’d taken in too much Nex before, but now I wasn’t going to try and find my limit if the risk was exploding myself.
“Okay then. Good. Now, watch. Ronan, you ready?”
The giant flaming wolf grunted, then looked Father directly in the eyes. Nothing happened. The two simply stared at each other, the only thing breaking through the silence was the wind and the flickering flames on Ronan's fur.
“Um… Did you start?” I asked, but neither of them made a noise.
Both of them sat perfectly still, not moving an inch. I wished I could sense what was happening, like Ronan had sensed me using magic earlier, but how would I? I let the Nex flow through me, a little more than I had been using to warm myself up. I could feel the snow all around us, the sensation still hazy compared to regular water. I felt the snow around Father and Ronan, but I couldn’t tell if they were using any kind of magic.
I let more Nex flow into my Soul, and changed my focus. I wasn’t trying to feel for the snow around me, but rather for the Nex itself. If my connection to the snow was hazy, trying to feel for the Nex was like looking for a needle in complete blackness. There was a faint, thin stream of Nex that I could feel flowing towards my body, and I followed it. I pumped even more nex through my Soul, and the stream of Nex grew thicker, and I could feel hundreds of other streams all around me, flowing into one another. They were all dull, except for two, one that was only slightly active, pouring out of my father, and one that felt like burning hot coals, pouring out of Ronan. I could feel them transferring a pic of their Souls to one another. It was amazing, being able to feel the power in the world all around me, but also being able to feel the magic of another being.
That’s when I noticed the two other streams of Nex, and I turned my head to the right. Far into the trees and the ocean of white, stood a girl. Her hair was long brown, flowing down to her waist and filled with dirt and snow. Her eyes were a dull brown as well, and her clothes were loose gray rags that looked much too small for her. Above her right shoulder was the source of the second stream of Nex. It was a wisp of air, barely noticeable to the naked eye. I probably would have missed it if I hadn’t sensed its magic. When she realized I was staring at her, the girl’s face flashed in surprise, then she frowned. The girl turned and took off running, the wisp quickly following behind her.
“Wait!” I yelled, but before I could run Father placed a hand on my shoulder, his Soul Bind clearly finished forming.
“It’s no use Sean, she’s already long gone.”
“You know her?” I asked.
“Four years ago a woman came running to the city guards, crying that her daughter was missing. At first they thought it was a kidnapping, but it turned out the woman was a caretaker for orphans, and they learned many disturbing things about how she ran her home. The girl had run away, and guards were immediately dispatched to find her. She was spotted a few days later outside the city walls, but she always ran when she was seen. As you know, I was typically stationed at the city gates, and she’s appeared a few times in front of me, but I was never able to catch her. She just wanted to be left alone, but I felt that wasn’t right. Even if she’s survived this long, she still needs a reliable home, not a life in the wilderness. I kind of made it a personal mission of mine, to see that she found a family and was safe. Especially after I learned she was born on the same day as you. Crazy huh? What are the chances? Even during these hunts I try to rescue–”
My hearing was cut off and Father’s words were nothing but mumbles now. What had he just said? She was born on the same day as me. The same day as Blair. Does that mean she was reincarnated too?