Victor jogged along the lakeshore, loping easily over the scattered rocks, driftwood, briar tangles, and other obstacles in his path. It was late afternoon on the day after his celebratory dinner with Dar, Lo’ro, and Lesh, and Victor was feeling good, though pleasantly weary after a long day of sparring in the circle with Lesh and Drobna, who’d come early after a last-minute invitation. Now, though, Victor was heading to a spot where Dar had instructed him to await his presence.

His mentor had refused to elaborate on the purpose of their meeting or why Victor had to make his way through the seldom-traveled parts of Dar’s property to meet in a secluded grove on the far side of the lake. The demand had come up when Victor asked about a regular training schedule. Dar had been drunk—as they all had been—and had put off the conversation, saying simply that Victor would have the day to exercise his weapon skills but that he must be in the “fath” grove across the lake at sundown. Luckily, when Victor asked Mr. Ruln what a fath tree was, the steward could point one out on the property—a tall, white-barked deciduous variety with hand-sized, fan-shaped leaves.

So, Victor ran along the lakeshore, eyes peeled for a cluster of similar trees, enjoying the light exercise in the cool, late-afternoon air. As he ran, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering, and, despite his efforts to the contrary, it often found its way to subjects he’d rather avoid; chief among them was Valla. He’d been doing well, he reckoned, considering his nearly two weeks of seclusion in the cultivation chamber, to avoid those melancholy musings, but now, for some reason, she kept coming to mind as he ran.

He had a strange, hollow feeling every time she came to mind. He felt a little like he’d done something wrong or that he’d lost something precious, even when he reminded himself of Valla’s words. He tried to keep in mind that she was just trying to see what she could accomplish outside his shadow, exploring her own interests and giving them both a chance to grow and learn and become the people they were meant to be. Still, every time he remembered that she wouldn’t be back at the house or ready to accompany him to dinner or whatever adventure came next when he finished with Dar’s business on Ruhn, it felt final.

The other half of the matter was that Valla hadn’t argued enough—for his tastes—about what would happen if either of them met someone they fell for. Victor, obviously, was more concerned about the idea of Valla loving someone else. The thought rankled something deep in his spirit and reminded him of how he used to feel when he couldn’t control his rage. He kept picturing Valla with a faceless man, someone holding her hand, kissing her—loving her. It made his gut twist, and he had to remind himself that he didn’t own Valla. If they were apart for years or decades or—God-forbid—centuries, how could he expect her to spend all her time alone?

As he spied the tops of tall, white-barked trees on a nearby hillside, he tried to conclude his ponderings on his relationship by telling himself that the answer to his unrest was to throw himself into training. The discipline would be good for him, and when he went to Ruhn, he knew he’d have plenty to keep him occupied—people to meet, the wonders of a distant world to see, and, best of all, duels to fight. He found a path meandering up the hillside and slowed to a walk as he ascended toward the grove.

His feet crunched on gravel, and birds by the dozen chirped in the nearby treetops, helping bring Victor back to the present as he grounded himself with slow, steady steps and deep breaths full of amazingly clear, rich air. As the sun dipped below the horizon and stars and moonlight guided his steps, he walked between the first of the white-barked trees. It felt like a curtain had been drawn—everything grew dimmer and quieter. A gentle breeze blew, rustling the leaves high overhead, and Victor felt peace like he hadn’t in a long while.

The glow of a lamp brought his eyes ahead and to his right, and he recognized Dar’s hulking shadow as he moved around in its circle of illumination. As he approached, he wanted to call out, but something told him it would be wrong to be noisy in that place, so he padded up the slope to the small clearing where his master sat on a patch of soft, rich loam. When he stepped into the clearing, Dar looked up and smiled and, as softly as he could with his rough, grating voice, said, “Welcome, Victor. Sit down here with me.”

The master Spirit Caster wore a loose, black, silken shirt over gray pants of a matching style. Looking at him as he sat down, Victor contemplated Dar’s habit of always wearing something loose and comfortable. “Do you ever wear armor?”

“Not these days. I have some—armor that could withstand the destruction of a mountain—but I’ve learned abilities that make it…redundant.” He gestured to the ground before him, and Victor saw that he had a few items arrayed there beside the softly glowing orb-shaped lamp. The first was a smooth, normal-looking river rock. Beside it was a carved ivory figurine that reminded Victor of a chess piece, and next to that was a small terracotta pot holding a delicate green plant with beautiful, star-shaped blue flowers. “Have you ever wondered why your Spirit Walk spell is still in the ‘basic’ stage?”

The question surprised Victor, as it seemed to have nothing to do with the three items arrayed on the ground. He blinked, thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“Spirit walking, at its most basic level, is the ability to project your conscious spirit onto the spirit plane. You’ve mastered this quite well—you’ve learned to find places you’ve seen or visited before, and you’ve also learned to visit other spirit walkers. What you don’t know is that, with practice, you can learn to bring physical objects onto the spirit plane with you. Once you’ve mastered that, you can also learn to bring your physical body there. It’s the first step to learning how to travel through the spirit plane from one location on the material plane to another.”

“I—” Victor paused, considering his words, ensuring he was right, then finished his thought, “I’ve brought Lifedrinker onto the spirit plane with me before.”

Dar nodded. “You’ve brought Lifedrinker’s spirit. She manifested as an axe there. It’s also possible that you’ve brought some small item with you before, subconsciously tapping into the spell’s greater potential. However, you won't evolve the spell until you learn to do it with intent.”

“Ah. All right.”

Dar gestured to the stone. “We’ll start with this simple rock I picked up from the shore on my way here. Pick it up.” Victor took the stone in his hand, weighing it in his large palm as Dar continued, “Bringing something with you on a spirit walk requires an effort of will. You must concentrate on the object and, just as you might move Energy about with your will, you must command the object to accompany you as you cast the spell.”

Victor frowned and looked up from the rock he’d been studying. “I’ve never tried to exert my will on something other than Energy or a spell or person using Energy.”

“Open your inner eye, Victor, and contemplate the stone in your hand.”

Victor did as instructed, closing his eyes and opening that inner sense that allowed him to see his Core, pathways, aura, and the Energy in the world around him. As he moved his gaze away from his Core and out of himself, he had a hard time even seeing the stone at first. As he concentrated, though, he began to see tiny swirls of dim, gray-brown Energy. He continued to focus and saw that the swirling loops of Energy were contained, and that’s when he realized they were bound by the shape of the stone. “I see it! It’s full of Energy!”

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“Good! And now you see how you will influence the stone; like all things, Energy is part of it. When you cast Spirit Walk, wrap that stone in your will and pull it with you. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I think so.” In theory, Victor thought it seemed simple and was eager to try. He began to gather his Energy into the pattern for Spirit Walk, but Dar leaned forward, and suddenly, he felt a knife-like fragment of Dar’s aura reaching out and erasing the pattern before he could complete it.

“Patience! Did I say to cast your spell?” Dar didn’t sound angry, but Victor couldn’t help scowling at the intrusion into his personal Energy space.

“Can any veil walker do that? It feels like bullshit. I mean, I’m helpless before you!”

Dar chuckled and leaned back, shaking his head as his broad smile demonstrated his good temper. “It’s a frustrating realization, isn’t it? I know what it’s like to think of the obstacles you’ve overcome, the trials you’ve faced, the hard work you’ve put in, and to know that there are those who can swat you like a bug.”

“Yeah, it’s not so much, you, Dar, but what if Lord Roil wanted me dead?”

“Yes. If he hadn’t been worried about the code of conduct for our kind here on Sojourn, he might have struck you down shortly after that challenge dungeon showing.” He sighed and shrugged. “Listen, Victor; the secret to resisting the likes of me is to build your aura to a point where it can resist my intrusion. You’ve learned to veil your Core, and that’s the first step. Your aura is heavy for someone at your tier, but you can make it heavier. Build your Core, continue to advance your bloodline, increase your attributes, and continue to win contests. Nothing can build an aura like deeds accomplished. They become part of your weight in the universe. No wallflower who learns every spell and swallows a thousand rare treasures will ever have the weight of one who’s entered hell and come out the other side.”

Victor liked the way that sounded. He clenched his fists as he asked, “Can someone who hasn’t passed their test of steel resist a veil walker?”

“Oh yes. There are steel-bound cultivators who would pose a serious threat to me. I’m not so sure it would be possible in the iron ranks, but there are prodigies of all sorts that I’ve yet to meet. In my many years, Victor, I’ve met few with the potential you show. Let’s focus on keeping you alive so you can reach further heights, though, shall we? Leave off your thoughts of challenging veil walkers for now.” Dar finished the last sentence with a chuckle and reached over the glow-lamp to jostle Victor’s shoulder.

“All right. I mean, honestly, that makes me feel better. It’s nice to know what I need to work on.”

“Oh, there is much you need to work on—”

“Yeah, about that, Dar. Can we please set up some kind of schedule until I leave for Ruhn? I’d like to be able to arrange for regular sparring partners and also spend time doing breath Core cultivation with Lesh and—”

“Enough!” Dar laughed, shaking his head. “You’re the first in centuries to demand so much! Fine, heed me well: The mornings shall be yours, but you must be prepared to receive my tutelage at half past noon each day. Further, there will be times when I’ll set a task before you that will require several days or weeks of effort—your ‘partners’ will need to make do without you during those times. Understood?”

“Yes! Thank you, Lord Dar.” Victor figured using the honorific might earn him a little leeway for being a demanding student.

“Good. Now, let’s see how well you listened. Cast Spirit Walk and bring that stone with you.”

“Right.” Victor reflexively clutched the stone, suddenly hyper-aware of his senses—the smooth, cool surface in his hand, the tickle of the soft breeze on his freshly shorn hair, the distant trill of a nightbird, and the mesmerizing rustle of the leaves high overhead. He took a deep breath, centering himself, then closed his eyes and saw the stone again, focusing on its shape containing the tiny swirls of earth-attuned Energy. He built the pattern for Spirit Walk and, as he sent Energy into it, willed the stone to come with him.

When he opened his eyes, he and Dar sat in a dark, twilight forest. It was the spirit plane version of the grove where he’d left his body. Here, though, the trees were much taller, with vast trunks. They were limned with ethereal light, and the dense boles stretched away as far as he could see; it was a massive forest. Dar looked exactly as he did on the material plane, but he was no longer seated, and Victor could see that his feet hovered above the loamy soil. “Can you fly here?”

“Easily. Look to your hands, apprentice.”

Victor looked at his open palms resting on his knees, and when he saw they were both empty, he groaned. “Shit! I thought I had it, for sure!”

“It’s not as trivial as it seems. The stone wants to be in the ground on the material plane. You must overcome its primitive desire with your will. Next time, when you’ve wrapped your intent around it, try to hear its voice, its whispered desire. You have to have a closer connection to it than surface-level.”

“All right.” Victor reached into his pathways and severed his connection to the Spirit Walk spell, plunging himself back into the material plane. Once again, the stone sat heavy in his palm. “You want to be here, huh?” Victor chuckled and hefted the stone, peering at it as though he could see into it somehow. “Come on, hermano. Don’t be an asshole, all right? I’ll bring you back.” Victor closed his eyes and built the pattern for Spirit Walk. Then, before he filled it with Energy, he turned his inner eye on the stone again.

He stared at those tiny whorls of gray-brown Energy. They were dim and, in his estimation, weak; an Earth Elementalist would struggle to cultivate anything of note from this stone. Still, it was evident the stone had a will; it wanted to stay where it was. Victor tried to do what Dar said, staring hard at it, but he couldn’t see any indication of its primitive desire. Then he remembered Dar had said to listen for its “whispered desire.”

Victor inhaled deeply and willed himself to stop hearing the noises of the world around him. He shut out the bird’s trilling song, the leaves’ rustle, the breeze's whisper, and Dar’s slow, steady inhalations. When he’d imposed his will upon himself to the point where he sat in utter silence, he stared at the stone again, and this time, he caught it—the faintest, strangest sound he’d ever heard. It was like a distant, muffled conversation of which he couldn’t make out a single word. The muttered, droning sound was without intelligence, without design, but it held a definite intent. The stone wanted to be part of the earth—part of the world.

Victor wrapped his will around it, and this time, as he pulled it with him into the spirit plane, he ground out a single word, directed toward the stone, and pitched so it overwhelmed its strange intent-filled drone, “Come!” When he opened his eyes, he looked at his hand and was rewarded to see the gray stone there, solid and real, not limned with the weird phantom light of spirit things. Victor’s lips split in a wide grin, exposing his bright teeth.

“Congratulations, apprentice. You did well, though I feel compelled to inform you that I managed to pull a stone with me onto the spirit plane with my first attempt. Still, success on your second try is an admirable feat. I’ve taught apprentices who required weeks of constant effort to achieve the same.”

“Uh,” Victor chuckled, “thanks, I guess.”

“Back to the material plane, now.” Dar winked out of existence, and Victor quickly canceled his Spirit Walk spell. When he opened his eyes, Dar was hefting the ivory figurine.

“This was once a living thing. A piece of ivory from tavahawk’s horn. Because of its former existence as a piece of something powerful and alive, you’ll find its will somewhat more…tumultuous. For reference, Victor, it took me several hours and close to a hundred attempts to pull a similar object into the spirit plane with me. I was a child, however. Hopefully, you’ll prove yourself more capable.” He stood and held the figurine toward Victor.

Victor took it, and when Dar stepped away toward the lake, he raised an eyebrow. “Oh, are you leaving?”

“I won’t go far. I’ll feel it if you succeed because I’m quite certain it will rank up your Spirit Walk spell.” He pointed toward the lake. “I’ll just step over to the house for an early dinner. Pay attention, Victor; if you were wondering how a veil walker like me might move great distances quickly, this is one method. I’ll bring myself onto the spirit plane, walk quickly to my home, and then emerge back on the material plane.”

“Will I be able to do that?”

“Eventually. First, you must master these three objects. Then, Victor, the fun begins, and you will work to master yourself. You might not realize it, but your body—down to your very cells—has desires. Once you’ve learned to exert your will over yourself, many doors will open to you.” He gestured to the ivory figurine in Victor’s hand. “Focus on what’s before you, however. After you succeed with the piece of horn, move on to the plant—a complex, living thing. When you’ve emerged victorious, I will return, and we will speak of the next step.”

“Okay, but—” Victor snapped his mouth shut as Dar shimmered and disappeared with a potent swirl of brilliant golden Energy. Victor wanted to be annoyed, but he was too busy feeling excited. How incredible would it be to use the spirit plane to move around? He could walk from the lake house to Sojourn in seconds. Back on Fanwath, he’d covered a thousand miles on the spirit plane in minutes. Could he learn to travel between worlds? “Yes!” He laughed as he recalled Dar talking about “walking” to Ruhn. With a grin, excited to prove he could do it, Victor closed his eyes and turned his attention to the strange golden Energy swirls inside the figurine he held.