Vessa had been in a sorry state back when I had first found her. She had been confined to a capsule that granted life support to her flesh-body, while the other half of her, the ship itself, gradually suffered more and more damage. If that wasn’t enough, she had to somehow manage to hold everything together all while being hunted by monsters that were chasing her through space and even infesting the ship itself. The more damage her ship-body suffered, the more strength her flesh-body lost, until she was too weak to leave the capsule and walk over to the food cooler a short distance away, or to get a drink or a shower from the nearby water dispenser. She had been limited by necessity to clean herself with whatever qi she could occasionally spare. Her painfully thin body, an odd contrast to her enchanting face, was evidence of the scant trace nutrients she had been able to scavenge from her capsule, and both her hair and clothes had looked like tattered rags.
Now, she was glorious.
Her body had reacted quickly to finally receiving the proper nutrients, filling out her slight frame to healthier proportions, though I suspected she still had a long way to go before she recovered her original figure. Her hair had been cleaned and trimmed—how Nova had managed that, I had no idea—and was bound in a short, loose ponytail, pulled back into a flattering frame that complimented her cheeks and smile. Her threadbare garments had been replaced and probably thrown in whatever served as a trash bin around here, and in their place she wore a white, comfortable-looking robe tied in the front. It covered most of her figure, indicating that she still got cold outside her capsule.
But the most striking feature was how comfortable she looked now. She had very clearly hated every minute I had seen her in her frail, unwashed state. Now she looked as if a dozen boulders had dropped from her back, and her entire demeanor was now light, and free, and oh so radiantly happy. It lifted my own spirits to see her glow like this, especially after watching her as she mourned her failed efforts, wept over her slain crew, and begged me for death so that she could finally escape all the hungry things in this ship that incessantly menaced her.
Right now, in this moment, she had beaten all of those tragedies, and every language I knew failed to capture the magnificence of that sight.
“I...” I stammered uselessly, before giving up and just smiling. “Yes. Just yes, Vessa. Thank you. Fantastic. Marvelous. Well done.”
I realized how stupid I sounded, and awkwardly closed my mouth. But the ship-woman giggled inexplicably.
“Thank you, Jas,” she beamed. “That’s a perfect response. Alright, enough entertaining my vanity. Thank you again, Nova,” Vessa said as she paused to smile gratefully at her Beacon. “I owe you.”
“You’re welcome,” my childhood friend said with a bright grin of her own. Nova had also had a chance to change. Her outfit resembled a martial artist’s uniform, consisting of a jacket, slitted from hips to a hem that reached just above her knees, and loose trousers that freed her to move easily. Her transformation wasn’t as extreme, thanks to her body receiving appropriate care for some time, but the garments still suited her well, adding to the heroic and purposeful air she always wrapped herself in. “But you’re right,” the beautiful Beacon continued. “We’ve got work to do. Tell us what the plan is, Vessa.”
“We’re in range of a cluster of essence-dominant worlds,” the ship-woman said in a business-like tone. “It’s the farthest place away from our enemies that I could reach with the power I had. That jump drained most of my reserves again, but now that Nova’s here...” She gave her Beacon another glance. “I can start recovering faster, and more thoroughly. No offense, Jas,” Vessa added quickly as she glanced at me. “It’s just part of what she was designed to do. I still want your help, like we discussed. But anyway, you’re going to the essence world of Bemi. It’s a low-tech world, largely because of the fact that essence-rich worlds don’t normally need a lot of technology. The augmented bodies of essence practitioners solve most of their natural weaknesses. However, even a natal-stage practitioner armed with a blade or spear is at least as dangerous as a warrior from your world wielding an automatic firearm, and the later stages are even more powerful. Be careful. That goes for you too, Nova,” the ship-woman said as she looked back at my friend. “You’ll make short work of most novice practitioners, but you won’t recover your mana very quickly on this world. Don’t engage in any fights you don’t have to.”
“So you still want us to run from any threat we find,” I said to clarify.
“No,” Vessa’s gray eyes flashed. “I want you to run from most threats, but there are specific ones I need you to engage, destroy, and harvest components from. Especially you, Jas,” she added firmly. “Since you have officially made me your master, I have a regimen for you. You’re going to work on your essence by hunting, killing, and eating certain creatures.”
I nodded confidently, still eager to try out my newfound strength. A moment later, I remembered that I hadn’t made refusing to eat certain foods as part of our bargain, and that Vessa could order me to eat literally anything as long as she could justify it as part of our training.
What have I done? I asked myself in consternation, as the ship-woman continued speaking.
“I need at least two handfuls of the red soil you’ll find on this world, preferably five. Don’t gather more than that, because you’ll need room for a lot of other items. Especially meat,” she sighed. “Good grief, I miss meat. Focus, Vessa, focus. I’ll also need three vials of water from any lake you can find—no stagnant water. You can bathe if you want, Jas,” she said to me, and I suddenly remembered how many monsters I had stabbed, burned, or brained in the days since my last bath, then immediately began wondering why I hadn’t had the chance to use the water dispenser myself. “But the water isn’t likely to provide you any new benefits, since you already used the pool on Lunei’s world. There are greater pools that can still contribute enhancements, but they’re going to be protected by powerful sects or tribes, and I want you to stay far, far away from them. Their champions can tear both of you in half at the same time. Anyway, get me five vials of water, then eight handfuls of grass, preferably some that is growing next to an essence lake.”
“Do you want whole blades, or should we shred it up?” I asked, for caution’s sake.
“Either is fine, but it sounds like you wish to ask if I am going to eat the grass itself,” Vessa said wryly. “The answer is no. You’re going to load it into my capsule the same way you loaded the soil and water.”
I had in fact been wondering that, but had no desire to open my mouth and admit it. Vessa’s smirk showed that she had probably guessed my next question as well.
“I have no current plans to make you eat grass either, Jasper. Unless you do something very stupid and require punishment,” she threatened teasingly. “Moving on. Once you get enough grass, you’re going to head for a patch of short, thorny trees that produce fuzzy-looking fruit. They’ll look like a spiky version of Earth’s kiwi fruits, but they will be the size of your fist. Nova should eat a couple, but Jasper, you will need to eat at least three. If you have time before a predator finds you, eat a total of five. More than that will be difficult to digest and leave you vulnerable to an inevitable attack. Now listen carefully: these are the animals I want you to kill, Jasper.” The serious edge in her voice punctuated her final criteria. “They will be similar to the wolves you have seen on Earth, though they will be far larger and stronger. Do not underestimate them, because they will be on a completely different level than the eaterlings you fought earlier. Nova will help you handle the pack, but I want you to fight one on your own. If the two of you face more than, say, nine or ten, or if a predator larger than these wolves come after you, I want you to run and head back to the ship. Otherwise, Jasper is going to kill at least one wolf and harvest its hide, bones, and meat. Keep the bones and hide, but cook and eat the meat over an open flame.”
“Will I need to clean my kill before I cook it?” I asked as I struggled to recall the proces
s. My parents had taken me camping, and even hunting, once before, but the only creatures I had caught and eaten since then were no bigger than my hands, and I frankly didn’t wish to remember any of the experience.
“Yes,” Vessa said simply. “Just empty the guts and other material as best as you can. Put it in another bag and bring it aboard my ship. My ship-body can decompose the material, much like it did with the eaterlings, except that I will get far more benefit from doing so. Once you are finished harvesting your kills, return to the ship. That will help me regain all the power I have spent over the last few days, and put me on track for reactivating a few new systems. Any further questions?”
“Yes,” I spoke up, as Nova shook her head. “If I find anything new, should I bring it back here? Like Nestor from Techne, or the qi plums from the world of the Sparkling Sky Sect?”
“I’m already going to have you collect as much as you can carry,” Vessa answered. “If you can fit something into that Soulscape of yours, go for it, but I’m not expecting you to discover anything else. I know this world fairly well. However,” she said as she looked toward me. “We still need to stabilize the new substages you have gained. There are a number of ways we can do this, and several suggestions I’d like to offer you. But since you are so bent on traveling down your own special path,” she added, a grumpy note creeping into her voice, “I am going to need you to decide on what you wish to develop and specialize in, which is unfortunate, since you have literally never seen a practitioner or Sourcebeast before a few days ago.”
“That’s correct,” I admitted, shrugging helplessly. “I have no idea what to even ask you for.”
“Beyond emphatically refusing to spend the rest of your near-immortal life safe and comfortable, you mean,” Vessa amended needlessly.
“Also correct,” I said firmly. “Not while you, Nova, and the rest of the night sky are all in danger.”
“So you wish to be a protector,” Vessa attempted to clarify.
“If that’s what we need me to be.” I nodded. “And so far, that’s been part of the job.”
“It has,” Vessa admitted. “But is that what you want to specifically focus your Advancement on?”
Her question stumped me.
“Is that what you will need the most?” I asked helplessly. “Because otherwise, that would be a mistake.”
Vessa sighed as she covered her face with her palms.
“I swear, Jas, every time I try to talk to you about this, we wind up going in complete circles. I keep asking you what you want, you keep telling me that what you want depends on what I want, and then you reject everything you don’t believe is in my best interests, all while waiting for me to tell you what you should do...”
I opened my mouth to reply, then realized that she had just made a disturbingly valid criticism of my behavior.
“May I suggest something?” Nova interjected gently. She had been silently observing our exchange with her arms crossed, nodding as she listened, but not interrupting until now. “I think I know how to fix this.”
“Please,” Vessa begged, still covering her face.
“Jasper has spent the last ten years of his life without any opportunities whatsoever,” Nova explained, holding out her hands. “He has repeatedly been told that his basic needs were not valid, and that his very existence was shameful, all for reasons beyond his control. He has no basis for even comprehending anything beyond his own immediate needs, and I know this because every time those were even halfway met, he focused on taking care of me instead. He was like that for the rest of the younger kids as well. The best way to help him is to give him a flexible foundation that will give him the time he needs to figure out what he wants, in addition to something that will always allow him to survive and protect.”
“That’s...” Vessa said pensively, as she slowly lowered her hands. “A really good idea, actually. And it lines up with what I was already considering for him. Jasper, do you have any objections?”
“None at all,” I said gratefully as I shook my head. “And thank you, Nova.”
“You’re welcome,” the beautiful woman said with another smile. “I’ve had a couple years to figure you out.”
Then she turned her gaze back to Vessa and nodded for her to continue speaking.
“In that case, Jas, your first substages should each focus on the Source itself. I want your first wisp to be the study of mana, your first drop to contain pure qi, and your first crack to be the essence of a beast itself. If you’re ready, I can show you how to get started, and then you both can leave.” She waited for my nod, then continued. “Good, go ahead and sit down. This will actually help you make future decisions, because you’ll have a better understanding of how to best apply each Source. Now let’s start with qi, since that’s the most flexible and forgiving of the three energies...”
I sat cross-legged on the floor, assuming the same position Vessa had instructed me to use for Drawing. As she continued to speak, I focused on her lessons and tried to understand the very nature of qi itself.
Most of it eluded me, just as she said it would, and that was fine. I would have been disappointed if I could completely understand one of the three cornerstones of universal power in the same amount of time it took for a cigarette to burn out. But I was able to get a good grasp of the basics.
For practitioners, each Source dealt with the limitations found in human, or human-like, bodies. Essence increased the amount of raw potential one had, letting them permanently improve farther before hitting limitations. Mana revealed clever new ways to circumvent mortal constraints, although the solutions were often temporary. Qi refined the existing restrictions, gradually making them less prevalent until they were almost completely erased, giving the practitioner a mix of raw potential as well as clever ways to circumvent the few barriers they still had. With all three Sources, the process was done in stages and substages. Where mana substages relied on careful study, and essence relied on developing an instinctive level of understanding, qi substages treated their discoveries as arts, nebulous ideas that were equal parts study and innate comprehension.
Which, as Vessa had pointed out, was the very nature of qi itself: understanding combined with refinement and practice. Transcendence through the navigation of hazy boundaries.
By the time I was finished, the first drop of qi in my soul had stabilized. It was now a murky, milky liquid bead of unfiltered power, like a foggy beam of refracted light that had been trapped inside a raindrop. It followed the rest of the qi through my body, settling and calming each area it traveled through.
“Excellent,” Vessa smiled as she spoke. “Well done, Jas. Focusing on a Source itself is an often underestimated path to power on many worlds. Most practitioners find it to be demeaning, largely because they are already aware of what they one day hope to achieve, and can get there by only focusing on the traits they want most. You will have to work far harder for your power, but if you are consistent, you will achieve that which even sages have never dared to dream.”
I could hear the excitement in her voice, and it warmed me. At first, her words made me feel as if I had made a mistake. My Soulscape already made it difficult for me to Advance unless I was constantly finding new opportunities, and Vessa had clearly outlined the dangers of seeking power that way. But she no longer seemed nervous about my condition. Instead, she sounded confident and determined. She believes in me, I suddenly realized. And not only that, she’s determined to help me achieve my goals, now that she finally knows what they are.
It’s called honor, my father’s voice said in my mind. Honor is where respect and aid meet. Remember that, son. Especially when you get older.
The wound I had felt Vessa give my pride earlier dissolved as it was smothered by intense gratitude. I shifted my knees so that I could bow on the floor before Vessa, dipping my head low as I spoke.
“The disciple greets and thanks his master,” I said, just as my mother had taught me to do, back when she had given me
my first lesson in martial arts. “I am profoundly grateful for this, Vessa. What words cannot say, I hope for my actions to one day show.”
“I...” the ship-woman stammered in surprise. “That’s unnecessary, Jasper. Especially after all you’ve done for me. But I’m glad you are happy with what I tried to do. We’ll work on the rest of the substages later, so that we can give this one time to balance your body a little more.” She shifted her attention back to Nova. “Do you have any questions?”
“Not really.” The blonde woman shook her head. “I should stick to my own plan, though? Like we talked about?”
“Heal, lead, and fight,” Vessa confirmed with a nod. “That’s exactly what we all need from you.”
“Not a problem.” Nova squared her shoulders confidently. “Are you ready to go, Jas?”
“As far as I know,” I replied as I grabbed the satchel and a few more pouches from the cooler. A random thought occurred to me as I lifted the strap to my shoulder. “Vessa, this will probably sound like a foolish question, but do you need any air from that world?”
The gray ship-woman nodded as she looked at me.
“That sounded like a very foolish question, Jas,” she confirmed. “Your instincts were spot-on. I’d make fun of you even more for asking it, but you might actually have a way to contain the air with your Soulscape, so yes. Grab a couple lungfuls if you can somehow carry it. And no, I don’t have anything like your planet’s oxygen tanks on my ship-body, because my systems produce oxygen automatically. It’s one of the hardest parts of me to destroy, harder even than the engines, so if it’s broken, I’m likely already dead and so is everyone else on board.”
“Fair enough,” I said, realizing that trying to import air with said tanks would probably be a complicated process anyway.
“Besides,” Vessa added. “At the later stages, practitioners have all sorts of ways to use Source energy to help themselves breathe. Alright, that’s enough random questions. Remember, the sooner you both get what I need, the sooner you can come back. That keeps me safe as well,” the ship-woman said solemnly.
Soul Shelter Page 4
