Heading back into my Core space, I take a moment to think about how to do this. I could feed mana directly to the areas which are aching – my shoulders, my core muscles, my arms, the muscles in my thighs – and essentially deal with one area at a time. However, I want to try something else.
With Lay-on-hands I was able to send a wave of healing magic through my system and deal with small aches and pains like these ones. It would be good to know if I can do the same thing, or something similar with Flesh-Shaping. It should be possible, I suppose; it’s just working out how to do it.
Perhaps I can learn from the way the stat points worked? They sort of flooded my whole body in a wave; maybe if I could do that with the intention of healing, it would work? I mentally shrug – it’s worth a try. I’m not using my mana for anything else right now.
Deciding to do it is one thing; actually doing it is another. It turns out that feeding mana evenly down all of my channels at once is just a little past the limits of my current capabilities. Even managing to feed mana relatively evenly down three channels at the same time stretches the limits of my control. Still, this exercise has to be good for my mana manipulation Skill; with any luck it will have increased a rank or two by the end.
Focussing entirely on the three channels I fed the energy down, I draw the mana carefully towards the aches in my right shoulder. Like before when I fixed the small self-inflicted injury, I have an instinct about where to go and I follow the sense without questioning it too much.
When I get to the area my instinct has led me to, I carefully push the mana to seep out of the channels. I remember this from using Flesh-Shaping before: it’s like the channels offer some direction to the mana – it will easily move towards the Core or down the channels to whatever is beyond, but it takes some effort to force them through the walls of the channels. In the process, I lose control of one of the beads of mana and I watch on, dismayed, as it goes flashing down the channel to escape out the end.
Still, I have two other beads of mana which are currently taking all my focus to feed through the walls of the channels, so I don’t spend too much time mourning the lost one. Feeding the mana through the walls of the channels is difficult; keeping control of it once it’s out of the Energy channels is even more of a struggle.
I sense that if I release the mana, at best it will just flash through my system and then leave; at worst, it might actually change things in a way I don’t want it to. Since that’s the last thing I want to happen, I call up the anatomical knowledge which I retain from Lay-on-hands, focussing on clearing out the lactic acid build up and repairing the micro-tears in the muscles.
It makes me wonder whether I could repair muscles to be stronger than they are currently without actually doing the exercise which tears them in the first place. I venture to say that it should be possible with Flesh-Shaping, but also admit that I might be too worried about causing myself further issues. After all, although I have a fair bit of knowledge about how the body works, thanks to Lay-on-hands, I’m still no expert.
As I return to the sense of my body, my right shoulder now feeling so much better, I feel a sense of pleasure at achieving my goal. At the same time, I realise how much more I’m going to have to learn if I’m going to use this new Skill properly. I’d thought about growing claws, but that’s more complicated than just growing my fingernails: claws are actually a digit by themselves. And if I want retractable claws, that’s even more complex.
What about if I want to fly? Well, magic is going to have to play at least some part of it since I don’t see any other way in which a body as heavy as mine will ever get off the ground, no matter how large the wings. But even with magic being involved – since there’s no way I’m going to attempt to make my bones hollow – I’d still need to be able to direct my magic to form all the underlying muscle and ligament connections, let alone the wings themselves.
It’s a daunting challenge, but at the same time I find myself almost looking forward to it. I’m going to have to explore different bodies, look at their functioning in more depth. Luckily for me – or my victims, rather – with magic, I shouldn’t need to cut them open like the scientists back on Earth had to before X-rays and the like were invented.
Still, right now I’m very much at the beginning of all this; my rank of ‘novice’ in the Skill is testament to that. Right now, I’m focussing on trying to heal more than one injury at once. To that end, I dive back into my Core space and continue working.
*****
By the time my body is feeling relaxed and pain-free, my head is the part of me that’s aching. Still, I feel like I’ve made steps forward: by the end of it, I was able to control four beads of mana at the same time and saturate an area about the size of my hand. It’s a far cry from what I was able to do automatically with Lay-on-hands, but I feel like I have a lot more control over exactly what I’m healing. Like I’d be able to heal four stab wounds at the same time as leaving one untouched because it has a foreign body in it which I need to remove first.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
My Flesh-Shaping Skill has levelled up too, offering me a satisfying sense of progress. From Novice five, it’s now Novice six. Also gratifying is the fact that my Energy Manipulation Skill has levelled up – from Initiate seven to Initiate eight.
I stretch, breathing deeply. I’m still tired, even if I’ve wiped away the actual injuries I did to myself. Perhaps more so now since I’ve spent a good hour or more stretching my understanding of my new Skill. While I wanted to test Flesh-Shaping on River, I’m not in the right state of mind to do so now, even if he was. One more thing left to do and then I’ll sleep.
Bastet and the cubs are already curled up together near the fire, having crept in without me being aware. River has joined me on the bed – he did disturb me and was apologetic about it. I told him not to be stupid and just shifted so he had some space against the wall. With as much physical activity as he did earlier – hunting and then helping me take down a tree – I’m not surprised that he went out like a light.
That’s the other reason not to do Flesh-Shaping experimentation now: I’m not going to wake him up for it; neither am I going to experiment on him while he’s asleep even if he has basically given permission. Fenrir is lying at the entrance to the cave, his Bond indicating that he feels he’s ‘on guard’.
As he feels my attention, he lifts his head and a sense of pleasant expectation comes across the Bond, like he’s hoping that I’m going to be pleased with his actions. If he’d been a dog from Earth, I’d expect him to be wagging his tail. As it is, I can’t help but praise him, sending it down the Bond rather than risk waking one of my other companions.
Good boy, Fenrir. A sense of pleasure comes across the Bond, showing his happiness at my words. Laying his head back on his paws, he stills once more. I continue looking around the room, realising the presence of the last of my Bound, with a bit of shock. This is the first time Sirocco has decided to join us in the alcove.
I don’t blame her for not wanting to be trapped in a stone cave – she’s a creature of the sky, not the underground. But here she is – perched atop the drying rack I used for sinew, head tucked close to her chest, wings neatly folded. It doesn’t look very comfortable, but she’s chosen the roost, so it must be good enough.
Reminding myself that I have one more task to do before I sleep, I shuffle a little bit to get comfortable again, and then close my eyes once more. This time, I don’t drop into my Core space, instead trying to focus on ‘feeling the earth’.
I’ve been trying to do this every morning and afternoon to little effect. It’s more than a little frustrating. Maybe I’m going about this wrong? What if I use Meditation at the same time? I consider the idea but then just shrug: it’s not like it could cause any problems, right? And it might even lead to the breakthrough I’ve been searching for.
Focussing on my breaths, I slip into that calmer state where I become more aware of the world around me and the connections I have to it. The connections I have with my Bound are the most obvious, like fluorescent tubes leading from me to them. They’re not the only links, though. Two other strong connections lead off to the side; touching them, I know what – or rather ‘who’ – they lead to.
Those aren’t what I’m looking for. I remember the vine-stranglers and how they had connections which led down into the ground, heading for the Pure Energy. They also had other connections, ones to each other, ones to the earth, ones even to the air around. Looking back now, I realise that I saw a lot more at the time than I was capable of truly understanding.
And it makes sense that there would be connections: although the trees clearly fed off the Pure Energy, they had to also take sustenance from the earth below them, and from the air around too. Surely I will have similar connections? After all, although I don’t take nutrients from the soil, I do breathe the oxygen in the air. And I walk on the earth.
Trying to look beyond the strongest connections, I attempt to feel the slighter ones. Maybe if I start with the air or something, I’ll be able to get an idea of what to feel for with earth. Breathing in, I try to feel a connection with the air that enters my lungs. Breathing out, I try to somehow follow it out of my body.
Not knowing if I honestly have a decent idea here or if it’s a red herring, I continue trying, figuring it’s no worse than repeating the same thing which hadn’t been working before. At least I’m comfortable; the crackle of the fire is almost music to my ears and its warmth is pleasant on my skin.
I feel…something. I’m not sure if it's the earth or air, though. It feels…warm. Hungry. I’m drawn towards it, like a moth to a flame. I only realise how apt that analogy is when I start to burn, the crackle of the fire suddenly feeling like it’s all around me rather than a metre or so in front of me. Molten heat licks at my skin and sends a mixture of pleasure and pain through me.
Breathing in, I feel like it’s flames that enter my lungs rather than air. Coughing, I’m jolted out of my meditation, my eyes flying open. I haven’t moved, for all that I felt like I was sitting in the fire a moment ago.
Returning to settle back in my physical self, I breathe carefully, wanting to see if my lungs are actually burnt. A few painless breaths seem to indicate that it had just been in my imagination, fortunately. There are no burns on my skin either.
Checking done, I stare thoughtfully at the dancing flames. I mean, being able to control fire would actually be pretty amazing too. Fire-Shaping? Fire-Dancing? No, Fire-Taming! I smile at the thought – as if anyone could actually tame fire. I know that there are plenty of people in Nicholas’ world who can control fire to a certain extent, but they all seem to just use it for combat purposes.
I can think of so many other uses. Just considering the task I’d like to accomplish with making metal tools, it would be so much easier if I could somehow control the temperature of the flames. Let alone all the other jobs which would be simplified if I was able to shape and direct the fire. And yes, obviously there would be a combat use of it too: I’d never have to worry about walking through the vine-strangler grove again, for example.
Plus, if I can learn to control fire, perhaps it could give me an insight into how to control earth too? But those are thoughts for tomorrow. Fire is dangerous at the best of times; I’ll need to make some preparations in case things go wrong. Besides, my head is already aching and tired; I’ve learnt my lesson about making important decisions while exhausted.