Andrew was bored. He was trying to get into his soul space so he could try out the new tier 1 core enhancement technique and was failing miserably. Why did it have to be so difficult. He tried to set himself again while laying back this time. He thought to himself “Where are you core?” simply because he could’t think of any other way to activate it. He tried regulating his breathing, taking deep breaths, and slow breaths out, but that just made him feel light headed, hence his reason for laying down on the sofa,

While doing this he closed his eyes and tried to take the journey inwards to find the ever elusive soul space where the egg throbbed encouragingly near his navel. He kept in mind the drawing he saw in the journal of the Vertruvian man, but found again how his thoughts became distracted. The sounds from the forest swished and chittered incessantly in the back of his mind.

He could imagine the wind as it sashayed through the branches creating the susurration and rustling noises that eked through the windows, and his heightened sense found no trouble in identifying each detail. He could see in his minds eye the wooden platted fence creaking as it steadfastly took up the slack and resisted the breeze.

Beyond that, the forest beckoned. The swaying branches creaking in a different smoother way, expressing a will to bend rather than resist. Waving with inviting movements. He heard the few insects and birds which called plaintively, expressing their desperation in the last days of autumn.

Andrew found himself wondering what kinds of birds they were, despite never caring about such things before. For him the forest had become something marvelous, and almost symbolic of freedom. The next bird call he heard was a tantalizing trilling that seemed to call to him on a deeper level, and he wondered where it would go to nest when the full burden of winter arrived.

Caught up in his imagination, Andrew found he could visualize the forest, even float above it. That he could guide his point of view as he flew incorporeal between the flittering leaves, dancing on the breeze. Below him, he saw not just the occasional bird, but deer too, munching on large leafy plants. Their liquid dark eyes seemed to pause in their rumination to take note of him, then acknowledge his presence as just another denizen of the forest before they continued with their browsing. He flew around them, like a buzzing fly, then soared up through the canopy once more to look down on the vastness of the forest. A shadow flitted past and he turned to see a bird of prey, perhaps an eagle, swooping down from where it had been gliding on the eddies above to soar down above the tree canopy, banking sharply to hone in on a clearing where no trees stood except for a very tall Oak tree slightly offset from the forest proper. As if it had forbidden other trees to grow too closely.

Recognition flared as Andrew willed himself after the majestic bird, its command of flying vastly superior to Andrews own inept ability to keep up. He lagged behind watching it steeple its a dive to the moss laden floor. He heard a petrified squeal emit from the clearing as two bodies collided in a ball of merciless feathers and fur. The eagle had its prey. It turned to look up, sharp beak open in warning giving Andrew a baleful glare. It’s talons entrenched possessively in the mass that had once been a cute and cuddly rabbit.

To Andrew the kill was extremely disturbing. In a way, he had been caught up in the hunt. Overtake by events. Enraptured by the speed and the thrill of it, following the eagle’s dive. But then to see the broken lifeless mess that the eagle had made of the rabbit left him feeling sick to his stomach.

He watched the eagle peck at the carcass, as if to ensure it was lifeless, or to get a taste of the flesh, then it spread its wings to take off again. The sight ungainly and enthralling in equal measure as the huge bird adjusted to the additional burden meshed in-between its talons.

It flew a circle around the clearing, gaining height then banked sharply as the Oak tree on the edge of the clearing obscured its path. Then with two great flaps of its wide wingspan it was gone. Over the canopy and beyond.

For Andrew the thrill had gone and all he could do was stare at the bloodstain on the ground. A blemish in his secret cove. It was a stark reminder that everything had consequences. He wondered abstractly why he had envisioned this? Why he had let his mind drift to something so gruesome? He was dreaming this wasn’t he?

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With the shift in focus, he felt a sharp wrench to his point of view. His whole perspective shifted and found himself breathing deeply, laying back on the sofa again, no closer to entering his soul space.

He was breathing hard as if he had run a sprint. Desperate to distract his mind from the disturbing images, he changed his focus to something more mundane wanting to know how much mana he had gathered by now. More than an hour had passed since he had used it on the group identify spell, so he figured that his mana should be fully stacked. He still wanted to identify the rest of the items and had been distracting himself until he could identify the rest of his loot.

Upon checking his stats, he found only enough mana for one identify spell. What was going on? The last time he checked he had over eight mana in the tank. Did it cost mana to activate his soul space? No, that didn’t make sense. He hadn’t even accessed anything. What had he been doing?

Then it came to him. Somehow he had cast a spell. When he was soaring with the eagle, he must have been projecting and visualizing using mana. No wonder there wasn’t anything left in his reservoir. The spell had used up over ten mana to help him imagine flying over the…. wait, that wasn’t right?

Had that been real? Had he been flying? But surely he would still be in the forest if that was the case, because when he had stopped the projection, he had arrived right back here in his body. Oooh of course. His body hadn’t moved, only his perception. His consciousness had gone wandering. Holy smokes! He had sent his spirit out of his body. His first impulse was fear. How had he done that without knowing?

Couldn’t your body be taken over by evil spirits if your own spirit left your body empty? That was a terrifying thought. How had he done it? What triggered the spell?

He grabbed for the journal to see if it showed him the details. He was not disappointed this time. He found a page towards the end of the book which was clear to him. It was titled by his name, rank of Squire, and had the two previous spells he had learned already rewritten for him.

Seemingly this section of the book was reserved for him and his discoveries. The third spell was also listed under the Unbound magic spell list. It explained very clearly what he had done, and how to do it again. He supposed that would be useful in making sure he didn’t do it again anytime soon … but the freedom he had felt… really flying. Before Andrew could get more distracted he read from the journal.

Unbound spells

Identify (basic)

Look at a magical item with intent to know about the item and information will be revealed. Limited by mana and rarity of items identified.

Cost: 4 Mana

Group Identify (basic)

Look at a group of magical items with intent to know about them and a limited list from a basic basic surface scan will be revealed. Limited by mana and rarity of items identified.

Cost: Variable

Astral Projection (New spell discovery)

A spell used for the intentional out-of-body experience where consciousness travels outside the physical body. It is often associated with spirituality and meditation practices.

Enter into a state of meditation and focus acutely on the area/place you wish to travel to. Good methodology includes evoking the smells, taste, feel of the place you wish to explore and this helps to loosen the spirit to its new reality.

Beware to ward the body from nefarious incursions while untethered.

The spirit will return along the lifeline thread to the body at will, or alternatively when mana is depleted.

Cost: 7 mana (Maintenance 1 mana per 5 minute period)

Andrew noticed that the Tier one Core technique had also listed itself under his name and was once again frustrated by his failure to accomplish what he thought should be a basic thing. If only he had been awake when he had accessed his soul space the first time, then he could remember how to do it properly.

The thrill Andrew had experienced before with his first two spells wasn’t quite the same with this new spell. This one had too much danger attached and he was suddenly having second thoughts about things like “fireball”. What if he accidentally blew up his house? He felt like he really needed to get the hang of his powers soon before he became a danger, not just to himself but to others too. How could he forgive himself if he brought mom more grief.

He smiled to himself shrewdly, he suddenly knew why the forest had been in his mind. It wasn’t just the incessant noise leaking from the forest to his heightened awareness. In a way, he had taught himself to let that drone on in the background.

Nope, it certainly wasn’t that, that pulled him to the magical world that just happened to be behind his house in a forest full of intriguing mystery and no doubt more terrifying wonder’s.

The fact that mom had so expressly forbade him access to the forest had ignited this desire like nothing else could. A rebellious desire it seemed. He laughed at himself, still marveling at this sense of self awareness that he had now. It was like finding a whole new complexity to himself.

A whole new secret level in the game called life. That left him considering almost with a pang of sorrow, if he would ever be able to look at things the same way again?

Andrew didn’t think so.