"Jasper," Nova asked, "did your grandmother just try to bite my head off?"
"No, she was eating ghosts," I clarified. "She'd never try to eat you, Nova. She likes you."
That was technically an understatement, but I had to turn my attention back to my surroundings.
Did we get them all, Grandmother? I asked, not seeing or feeling any new presences.
Yes, dear. Well done. And thank you. You and the saint's avatar could have driven them off or destroyed the spirits on your own, but it would have cost you energy. But I was able to strengthen my part-soul by consuming them.
Is that… healthy? I asked, in what was probably a stupid and confused tone.
For me? Yes, the dragon affirmed. It will give me more substance to maintain my part-soul. It will even help me recover my old form and power a tiny bit faster, though not by more than a few moments. I wouldn't recommend it for you though, dear. You don't have enough skill in soulcraft, or a dragon's constitution. Don't go around eating ghosts until I give you explicit permission.
Noted, I said, wondering just how many more times people were going to warn me about something I didn't have the slightest intention of doing.
"The room is clear of ghosts," I said to Nova, before dropping my voice to a whisper. "But I still don't see where the third occupant is, the one Vessa saw on her surveillance."
"Me neither," the golden-armored woman replied, her blue eyes scanning about the room.
CHAPTER NINE
I joined my friend in examining the area and saw that the large chamber was bare, with absolutely nothing in it but unlit tiles. There was a broken-down door on each wall, each leading into a smaller dark room of its own. Nova brightened the amount of light she produced until we could see into each room. The one on the right was completely bare, just like this one. The one on the left was bare as well, but the tile arrangement suggested that it was a small living quarters. The one just beyond us had a strange, column-like device along its farthest wall, with a bulky, powerful figure leaning against it. The figure was hunched over, sitting cross-legged, and with its hands on its knees, and shadows kept passing over its body, too quickly for me to make out any details of its form at this distance.
"Come in, ghost eater," a deep, tired voice rumbled from its throat. "I suppose it is my turn to speak with you."
"Not necessarily," I countered, as Nova raised her sword in a defensive position. "Conversations down here have gone badly enough for me to consider abandoning them altogether in favor of consistently more effective acts of violence. Please know I mean no disrespect with my choice."
The laughter tumbling out of the creature suggested my words had amused it.
"That's very practical of you to consider, young ghost eater. If more beings your age had such wisdom, this vessel might currently look rather different."
"Thank you," I said dryly. "Can you give me a reason not to immediately begin battle, stranger? Or should I take your stance as a polite offer for us to attack first?"
"Either is fine, young ghost eater," the muscular being rumbled. "I suspect your previous attempts of conversation have been rather unsatisfying, and I suspect conflict between us is inevitable. So I propose a deal: I swear by my Source and my Strength to answer any questions you ask, and as honestly as I can, as long as you choose to do the same. If you are more impatient than curious, then we can simply begin battle now. But I suspect that you want more answers as to what waits down here… and why it happened. Just as I wish to know how one as young as you came here, and survived as long as you did."
"We just fought two creatures who sought a way around their Sourceoaths," Nova retorted. "And you expect us to fall for the same trick?"
"I do not care what you think, boat-woman," the rumbling voice snorted. "I was making this offer to your protector. The one who drew ghosts into himself, and speaks to them."
"Blast it," I replied, as both heads turned to look at me. "He's already volunteering information. That means he's probably telling the truth. Which makes him more dangerous."
"What do you mean?" Nova asked, before shaking her head and thinking it through herself. "No, you're right… he wouldn't have specified that the offer didn't apply to me… which means he might actually want to talk, instead of fight."
"Oh, I suspect we will fight," the creature rumbled, sounding unconcerned. "And I suspect you will both die. And then, I will leave the ship-woman's main body to her hunters, and make my escape."
"How do you hope to get out of here?" I asked, watching the figure carefully. Nova nodded to show her support, and began quietly brightening her glow.
"You will both release Source energy when you die," the creature rumbled. "I have just enough knowledge in shipcraft to be able to harness that Source energy to power the device I am leaning against. It will take me to the outside of the ship, where I will then make my way to the boarding dock, and then escape, either through my own vessel, if it still remains, or through one of the boarding portals mounted elsewhere on the surface."
"Boarding portals?" I asked. "There is such a thing as a boarding portal?"
The shrouded figure chuckled at my ignorance.
"That was your second question in a row, but I will answer it. There are a myriad of ways to conduct combat in the space between stars, young ghost eater. Depending on what crafts are available on your world, one can create their own ships, design special suits of clothing or armor, or even glide on the backs of certain beasts. But the truly powerful can sail through the night sky with nothing but the Source energy within their bodies. But I suspect your master has taught you such things before, practitioner. Which leads me to the two questions I have earned: who are you, and who is your master?"
"Right," I conceded with a nod. "Basic conversational manners. My mother would be disappointed. I am Jasp—"
Grandmother, can he use my name against me?
No, dear. That's a very limited and complicated art.
"—Jasper Cloud," I finished, "of a lineage you've never heard of. My teacher is the very vessel you have likely attempted to destroy."
"Very well," the voice rumbled. "Those answers are sufficient."
"Do you need my name, too?" Nova asked calmly, fingering the handle on her sword. "Because I'm not sure I'm prepared to give it."
"I do not need it," the shrouded figure said dispassionately. "Nor have I any reason to be curious for it."
"You're making it rather hard to be civil, senior," I replied coolly, as Nova prepared to give him an angry reply. "What is your name, and who is your master?"
"I will treat that as one question," the figure rumbled, still sitting in the shadows. "I am Gray Long, or Long Gray, depending on which of your peoples' tongues you choose to speak. My old master was a fool who disowned me as a student. My new master is my sponsor, who I suspect still lives even after all these years, or at least the heir to his power does. I will only ask you one question in turn. How did you manage to wield a Source?"
"I'm not sure I understand the question, Senior Long," I replied carefully. "I began using Source energy as soon as I slew a creature in this place. Since then, my master began training me, much like any other student, I suppose." The shrouded figure let out a rumbling chuckle at that, and I paused before asking my next question. Nova, for her part, had continued to slowly brighten the nearby rooms, and I thought I could see a hint of scaled, lizard-like feet where Gray Long sat.
"Well-couched, Earthling. That is technically an answer to my question. But I rather feel it sets a bad precedent for our conversation, as I could simply be evasive on my next answer as well. Let me verify my confusion: I have been changing languages this whole time in my conversation with you, switching between tongues separated by half of the stars in the night sky. Yet your fluency in each suggests you have not even noticed my act, keeping up with me easily. The Beacon-girl has an excuse, but aside from the Soulships, the only people to have ever mastered that level of linguistics were the people from the arc
hive planet, the sages of Earth. Only few of them ever managed to wield Source energy, and those few lost that skill when they saw the Soulships burn in the night sky. Since then, they have lost their spark, as well as their minds. It is said all Earthlings are maddened husks now, and that it is a mercy for the planet to hang behind in time."
"I beg to differ, Senior Long," I replied, tightening my grip over my spear. "I am no madman, nor a broken husk. I contest your description of my people, and I did not lie to you earlier. I slew an eaterling in single combat, absorbed its Source energy, and followed my master's instruction in how to Draw—which I will not share with you, as even I know that Drawing techniques are a private matter among practitioners. Since then I have been slaying idiots who have underestimated me."
I could see the creature's shins now. He was definitely humanoid, and I decided to mark him as a masculine creature, judging by his build, voice, and mannerisms. He was also extremely muscular, perhaps even more burly than the sott-jotun had been, even though he was not nearly as tall as they were—no more than seven feet tall, I thought.
"It is my turn to ask a question," I replied. "Who is your sponsor, that they would pay for an attack on a Soulship, one already in combat with invaders beyond the night sky?"
"A question, combined with an astute observation," the deep voice chuckled again. "I look forward to our combat, Jasper Cloud. My sponsor kept his name hidden, and insisted that I only called him 'benefactor.' He would not even permit to call him 'master' because he refused to teach me any arts beyond that which he paid me to conduct this assignment. He paid for the attack because he and his people wished to create a new empire, one not governed by distant ships who had pretended to know how to conduct the lives of thousands upon thousands of different worlds."
Nova looked as if she was about to object harshly, but I spoke up first.
"I suspect his assessment was both pretentious, unfair, and made entirely to hide his own ambitions. But it is your turn to ask a question, Senior Long."
Nova growled softly, and kept slowly increasing her light. More and more of the being's skin seemed to resemble a lizard's scaled flesh, though so far he seemed clothed in simple brown trousers. But Gray Long only chuckled in amusement to my pronouncement.
"You are likely right on all counts," the creature rumbled. "He quickly abandoned his speech when he saw I was more interested in what he could do for me, rather than any disguise for his ambition. But I must comment on how I am glad there was someone to talk to here, that was smarter than the other two lackeys you have already killed. Now for my question, ghost eater. It will be made of two parts: why is your form different, and are your progenitors different as well, capable of collecting and wielding Source energy like yourself?"
"I suspect you are only asking me these questions to prepare a third," I noted. Nova had brightened his abdomen now, revealing a firm muscles coated in thick green reptilian scales. He nodded, still projecting amusement, and so I answered his questions. "I have no idea why I can Draw and wield Source energy, and my parents never displayed the skill while they were alive. If they could do so themselves, they never revealed it, nor did they teach me the existence of any Source. I was completely ignorant of its existence until I came here. As are the rest of my people and our planet, as far as I know."
"That answers my third question, then," the reptile-man rumbled. "Your people are still without souls."
"What?" I asked, even as Nova shouted in anger.
"That's xenophobic nonsense!" she snapped. "How dare you!"
"I suppose I dare in the same way I dared to join the attack on your primary bodies of ship and flesh," the bulky humanoid replied disinterestedly. "But it sounds like you have not explained the theories to your servant, hence his vague and surprised question. I will answer it anyway, as he has earned it." From the shadows, I saw his head swivel back to me. "It is commonly believed that Source energy, be it essence, mana, or qi, can only be wielded by the living or the once-living. Scholars have debated that idea in detail over the millennia, but the vast majority all agree that for one to wield Source energy, one must have some kind of soul."
"I have held Sourceweapons," I countered, "And seen lanterns float in midair. Are you about to tell me that swords and lanterns have souls?"
"Of course swords and lanterns have souls," Gray Long rumbled, sounding almost surprised. "Scholars have detected them. They are simple things, even more simple than that of a mindless, mortal beast, but they are souls nonetheless. Even rocks and trees have souls."
"I find myself extremely skeptical of your answer, Senior Long," I replied, my face deadpan.
"Jasper," Nova whispered. "He's… kind of right. Part of the process of making a Sourcerelic is to draw out the item's soul, to help meet its goals. A lot of craftsfolk that wield essence are especially good with that step."
"But you have never seen a soul, or spirits, until you began to Draw, have you, ghost eater? Not anywhere back on your old world?"
"The existence of a soul has been debated on my world for thousands of years," I replied dryly. "Which, given how time passes on my world, is probably a much longer time for the rest of the night sky."
"That sounds as it should be," Gray Long said confidently. "The blind can only speculate whether sight is real, or what it must be like. The deaf do the same with hearing, and all but the birds, bats, and immortals of the night sky do the same with the concept of flight."
"Except that my people still learned to fly," I replied calmly. "We have been doing so for centuries."
"Exceptions to every rule," the scaled and hulking figure said with a shrug. "I commend your people on being an exception for flight, if operating a machine or mount still counts. But I commend you further on managing to Advance, whether or not you truly have a soul. It is an accomplishment your family, clan, or guild should take great pride in, should they ever have an opportunity to find out. Which brings me to my next question. What is your background, beyond that of your master? I can see clearly that your lineage is mixed. Are your parents monarchs? Did they work to bring out this potential of yours? Shelter you carefully? Feed you a special diet? Send you to a special academy, where you could be trained in the art of acquiring a soul?"
"I think it was my turn to ask a question," I said, and I surprised myself by growling softly.
"Then I apologize," Long replied, in a way that did not suggest he felt any remorse. "You can ask your next question before you answer me, or ask several of your own in a row, should you choose to answer first."
"How generous," I replied, hiding most of my sarcasm. I could see that he was slowly, carefully steering the conversation to get as much information as he could before the battle began. But I could also see that, since he was planning on killing me afterwards, he had no issue with telling me whatever I wanted to know.
I could work with that, since I was planning on killing him after our battle as well.
"I will go ahead and answer your question first, so that you can understand my irritation better. I have no backing beyond that of my master. My parents were among the greatest sages of my time, and the monarchs of my world murdered them for it. I have been living off the kindness of strangers and the garbage of streets for the past ten Earth-years, until I was taken in by my master, this ship-woman who has been fleeing her own murderers and struggling to repair her own damage. If my parents did anything at all to allow me to harness Source energy, then I am both unaware of what they did and uncertain anything they could do would even be possible. All I remember is their teaching me knowledge and war." Then, before he could spend too much time with this knowledge, I continued. "Now it is time for my questions, Senior Long. Why are you so curious about souls? What do you know of your benefactor's scheme for conquering the Soulships? And what manner of being are you, that sits in the shadows to be interested in my people specifically?"
"Three rather diverse, and exhaustive questions," the burly scaled humanoid rumbled.
"
I assure you that your own questions about my soul and heritage have been extremely exhaustive as well," I retorted in a level tone.
"True," Long agreed with an unconcerned nod. "I suppose having to contemplate your very existence so thoroughly must be quite an exercise for you. And I would find the wondering whether or not I had a soul to be an extremely uncomfortable experience. You have reminded me of my fortune, ghost eater. There are much worse things than being locked in the dark with only two strangers too weak to murder me, and the wailing of the ghosts of their companions. I agree to answer your questions, young ghost eater, but it will be easier for me to answer them, and easier for you to digest their disparate facts, if I answer them in reverse order. If you have no objections, I will do so now."
I did not, and so he continued speaking.
"I am kin to the race that once flew across the night sky in partnership with your kind, back before they all lost their souls. In fact, a few of my kind joined them in serving as mounts for Anchor Knights, as well. My old master considered such a goal to be among the highest of honors, and he was gravely disappointed when he learned that I had no desire to serve the ship-tyrants of the night sky." I could feel him gaze at me in consideration. "I do not wish to be accused of being vague, so I will elaborate. The Anchor Knights were sages, born of your world, who disagreed with the concept that they should remain locked away on their record-planet. While the rest of your race looked on in horror, they Drew and Advanced, and raced after the ship-tyrants, thinking that the mighty vessel would burn somehow if they were not there to protect them. My distant kin, those who flew directly between the stars, and thought themselves the mightier for it, shared their concern, and became their mounts. Then the madness swept among other Sourcebeasts, all willing to bear a deranged, armed and armored sage into the night sky and come to the aid of beings that had been unrivaled for thousands of years, who did not even have a known foe at the time."
Anchor Knight Page 13
