The Soul Refiner Bk. 01 Ch. 22-24

Chapter 22

I gazed over the training yard, where a dozen caravan guards were currently sparring. Former captain Tarun was standing beside me, while Myta lurked behind us. The thwack of wood on wood collisions was occasionally broken up by the softer sounds of wood hitting flesh. There were no cries or complaints though. These men and women were hardened warriors, if not the most skilled I'd seen.

"We'd be better off giving all the weapons you looted to my men," Tarun sighed. There was no heat to his voice, only dry resignation. "I can't say you didn't earn you spoils, but those arms are wasted on anything short of elite warriors. My guards can't match up Ramana's personal guard by any means, but they're better than that." He waved his hand at the scene before us, and I could only nod.

"True enough, but they will improve, once Myta has had a little time with them." I replied.

"What?" My slave and lover was surprised enough that she lost her usual, demure attitude. I grinned, happy to catch her a little off guard. But, it was Tarun who responded.

"Esur tells me that you are very skilled with polearms, and all our fighters need that training if we are to disrupt these bandits. My men are competent enough fighters, and I am trained in tactics and strategy, but most of our practical experience comes from drunken brawls or clearing dangerous beasts. Bani is the safest, and most isolated of the lesser Ramana cities. We need to be better than we are."

"Tarun has agreed to give you lessons in his skills; strategy, tactics, and leadership." I said. "I'm not sure how much time we truly have to work with, but hopefully enough that we won't fall over ourselves when the fighting does start."

"Master, I have never trained another to fight. Even if I had, these people have no reason to learn from me."

"The guards from our caravan already call you Mytan." I snorted. "They will beg to learn from you, and the rest of the civilians will follow their lead. Tarun's men trust him, and will follow his direction. They'll give you the chance to show your ability. And they'll fall in line once you do. This is what I need from you right now, my flame. You won't disappoint me."

"You won't be able to keep your secrets anymore Esur. Not after this." Tarun's voice was contemplative. "If she is as effective as you claim, the the rumors of a champion slave will spread. Not everyone understands the implications, of course, but it will reach the ears of those who do soon enough."

"I'll need to leave Ramana," I nodded. "And hope the king appreciates my actions here."

"Master, why are you so worried about Ramana's judgment?" Myta asked.

I exchanged a look with Tarun at her question. "He is a powerful sorcerer, and old. Old enough to know how to use that power well. He guards his power carefully, and doesn't suffer any challenges to it. Not that I wish to challenge him."

"Is he older than you?"

I barked a laugh. "How old do you think I am, Myta?"

"I'm not sure, master. You look no older than me, but sometimes the way you speak of things... I'm not sure."

"A wise response." I cast a glance at Tarun, who was carefully controlling his curiosity. I shrugged, it hardly mattered if the captain knew at this point. "I stopped keeping an exact count, and the calendar I was born under isn't really used anymore. Old enough to be your grandfather, maybe your great grandfather. Ramana's kingdom was old when I was a child, and he was already old when he founded it. He's not one of the ancients, but I understand why some people think he could be."

I thought my vas might be distressed by the revelation, but she felt happy, proud even. I wondered at that, but anything that built up her confidence was a win in my book. The final tie of her soul sickness was in the node at her root. Some wound to her confidence, and her very sense of self. It was why I still felt that niggling doubt. The fear that she might grow beyond me when fully healed.

"Go," I said, gesturing with a jerk of my head. "Take charge of this mess. The guards can't help but learn from you skill." I wouldn't kiss her in front of those she'd soon be commanding, but I indulged myself by gripping her shoulder, and scraping the nape of her neck with my nails. "I'm counting on you, my flame."

With a firm nod, she leapt over the rail we'd been standing behind, already rounding them up into a semblance of order. Her words might have been reluctant, but her mood was excited, and a glance at her spirit showed her mana was flowing vigorously.

"We need to keep an eye on anyone who trains with her," I noted to Tarun. "Her spirit is getting stronger all the time, and they might get exposure sickness."

"Can't you teach her how to prevent that?"

"I can, but I don't want to, not yet. Those who can get through it will come out stronger, and I'll treat those who can't," I sighed. "We have an ugly task ahead, and I'm guessing not much time to do it in. Soon our enemies know that one of their squads was eliminated. The sorcerer who attacked Myta in Nesratin will be recovered enough to function soon as well. And word that the sick laborers of Kuru have been healed will probably already have hit the town. I've put my foot directly into their plans, and I expect them to lash out like a pack of angry raptors smelling blood."

"Most likely." Tarun nodded. "They probably think your intervention is a lot more informed and deliberate than it has been. And it's hardly a stretch to assume you'd come here. I'm surprised they haven't attacked me yet, but I suppose it just shows how ineffective I've been. Drummed out of the city, for trying to do my job. I hate politics."

"Whoever is whispering poison in Bani'kari's ear has both resources and influence. But we need to focus on surviving right now. I'm not the strategist here, Tarun. How can we survive this, resolve it."

"If I look at it that way... hmm." The guard captain pulled out his sword. A short, heavy steel blade, meant for close quarter city fighting. He inspected the weapon carefully, looking for any damage or blemish on the blade while he mused aloud. "If we assume the attackers will come for you, that's a strong advantage to us. We haven't been able to track them, so we have no idea where their camps are. If they attack here, they will do so in force. That's much more likely to leave signs of their passage."

"So we wait, prepare, and hope we can successfully defeat whoever comes. Then track them back to their source. Isn't that the opposite of what you want normally? Waiting to be surprised, rather than surprising the enemy?"

He made an ambivalent gesture with his hand, but didn't answer directly. The gesture didn't exactly fill me with confidence.

*Ket, are you there?* I sent the thought out based more on hope, than expectation. I hadn't heard the spirit's voice since before entering Nesratin.

*Yes. But I cannot track these enemies for you.*

Well, good to know she was still there. Her mental voice sounded bored, and annoyed, and I made a note to proactively ask her for more instruction. Then I realized that her response had not been what I was expecting.

*You can't? I expected you to say that you wouldn't.*

*Why wouldn't I? The more I help you, the faster my debt is paid. But no, I cannot. Even Kubek failed to find them, when questioning the forest.*

That just raised more questions.

*I thought that Kubek's territory ended north of here? Isn't he the god of Ramana's western forests only?*

*You hunt old scents.* her thoughts were chiding. *Nagana vanished from this area almost a year ago. Kubek assumed control after it became clear she was gone.*

*I didn't realize Kubek had the power to take that much territory.*

*He didn't, though he has since acquired additional vas here. They provide him the strength he needs to hold it. Kubek is on the rise. He found a patron among the divines to grant him the power.*

I choked on nothing, and then had to wave off Tarun's concern at my spontaneous impression of a death rattle.

*Kubek spoke with a divine?*

*Of course not.* Ket's thoughts bled amusement at my breathing malfunction. *Only one of their servants. But the assistance came directly from the Radiant Sea. I can only imagine the price.*

*A divine could have influenced my emotions. They could be responsible for my bonding with Myta. And in getting caught up with Kubek.*

*Yes.* I hadn't been asking a question, but the spirit answered me anyway. *Why would they though? Even Kubek is far beneath their notice.*

That, I had no answer for. The divines were too powerful, and too alien, to be predicted. At least by me.

*In any case, you've given me what I needed. Thank you Ket." A sense of acknowledgment was her only response.

If the spirits couldn't track our foes. They must be defended by wards. Wards left trails that a skilled sorcerer could follow, though that trail wouldn't last forever. Assuming that we were attacked, I could follow their trail back, no matter how carefully they covered their physical tracks.

Chapter 23

Our time at Tarun's estate became a frantic whirlwind of activity, and few were spared from the labor. We performed basic physical conditioning before breakfast, then Myta trained every fighter we could in the basic forms of Sun's Ray from breakfast until lunch. In the afternoon, Tarun drilled them in fighting as a unit. Not in formation fighting so much as how to communicate clearly in battle, give or take orders while under stress, and how to keep track of their fellows in adverse conditions. He gave Myta extra direction during this time, and began assigning her squads to lead.

After the evening meal, I kept her for myself. She advanced her practice of my path far enough that I began drilling opposite her with the Inner Harmony forms.

"Master, is this path really for the purpose of strengthening your anima?" We were taking a breather between bouts. "If that's all this path was for, it seems like wasted time to have a full range of attacks and defenses. But some of the moves feel off for combat. Inefficient, or even dangerous."

"I never said that was its only purpose." I defended, smiling a little. "Just that it would. And it has strengthened your anima. You are almost ready to widen your meridians. But, you're right. Inner Harmony has two main purposes. Strengthening your spirit is only one. The other is what we are practicing. If you can learn to match you presence against that of another, you can disrupt their sorcery."

She frowned. "Wouldn't it be easier to simply overwhelm the opponent's mana, rather than trying to match it?"

"In a fight where you outmatch your opponent significantly, absolutely. But life is rarely so simple. When you disperse the opponent's presence, you will lose an equivalent amount, and to disperse it cleanly, you must maintain the equivalent pressure within you channels. In effect, you must utilize at least twice as much mana as your enemy, and will lose roughly the same amount as they do. Being as efficient as possible is essential."

She thought for a moment, and then nodded. "So the strange moves are designed to disrupt different shapes of presence. Is all sorcery performed like that? Projected presence?"

"No. But it is the easiest kind. And what you are most likely to face in battle. Balls of fire, spikes of ice and earth, and so forth." I paused. "Keep in mind that when you face some of these, you must still deal with a physical object, even when the mana is dispersed."

She nodded again, and our training resumed.

For the first few days, I watched Myta training her warriors. I wanted to ensure that she wouldn't imitate the brutal methods of her own Pure instructors. She did fall back to those examples a few times, but with me watching she could feel it whenever I thought she'd gone to far. With only a few adjustments, she settled into a manner of teaching that was strict, but fair.

"Reminds me of someone who's been teaching for decades." Tarun commented to me, after observing her progress. He shot me a pointed glance, which I ignored.

Once Myta was settled into her role, I joined those who weren't skilled in combat, in trying to make the area more defensible. The manor

and its courtyards were far too small to shelter all the noncombatants and beasts. Thus the large, makeshift camp, surrounded by traps. As it turned out, Mutil had been a grove tender, before he became a woodworker. As someone responsible for defending the extremely valuable mana wood trees, he had a wealth of knowledge about making forested terrain impassable.

"Demon bramble," the craftsman grunted, hooking an ominous looking, thorny bush with his pruning hook. "I'd plant these all around the grove. One scratch will have a grown man weeping, trying to cut his skin off, it hurts so bad. Not like we have time for all that, but we can spread some around. String it between trees at face and shoulder height. It'll stay potent for a week or two."

I could sense the mana of the bramble, significantly stronger than an average plant, with a hint of vitriolic fire. The woodworker's idea was sound, but I might be able to enhance it. After Mutil has moved on, I returned to one of the traps. Drawing on my my mana, as well as Myta's. I threaded the severed vine together with the tree we'd attached it to.

If Myta had not been training the different properties of fire under my instruction, this would have been much more difficult, and costly. But, the warmth of her life giving fire and my encouragement quickly grafted the vine to the tree. With a little extra push, the vicious plant put in a burst of growth, drawing nutrients and mana both from the tree. It formed a new, dense bramble attached to the trunk, which nearly filled the space between the trees. I wouldn't normally have created such a thing, however such magical hybrids couldn't generally reproduce. I doubted this would have long term consequences for the forest, and we could destroy the plants later. In the short term, we urgently needed solid defenses for the camp.

That evening, I brought Myta with me to repeat the process with the other vines. It gave her a chance to practice her aspect control. I had her shift her mana into life giving warmth for me, saving me a little effort, and allowing her to feel the fiery pain the vines naturally produced. It wasn't difficult for her to learn. Myta had suffered more than enough pain to understand it immediately. Her mind was not on the training and practice, however.

"Tell me what's bothering you." I said to her.

She paused to examine her weapon, not that mana wood and river steel needed much maintenance. I smiled a little, wondering if she'd picked up the habit from Tarun.

"The people here... they all call me Mytan now. I've asked them to stop but they just keep doing it."

"I know." I nodded. "It's a sign of respect. You are a leader to them now."

"But they still call you Esur." She replied, with some heat in her voice. "You are my master. It's not right that you receive less respect." I could feel that her outrage was genuine, but there was also a hint of fear beneath it as well.

"I've worked long and hard, to keep people from attaching a suffix to my name. I'm not going to be angry if they show you more respect than me. You're doing me a service, keeping their attention."

"I know, master. But they look to me now not to you. All my life I have failed those around me, but these people have decided they can depend on me!" She ran a hand through her hair, giving it a tug. "I can't be what they want, do what they expect of me."

I pulled her to a stop, and pushed her arms down, replacing her hand in her hair with mine. For the first time I wished that I were taller, physically larger than her. So that she could take more support from me as I pulled her into my embrace. She had to slouch, to bury her face in my shoulder.

"You can be what they need, my flame. Just because people told you that you were less than you are, doesn't make them right. You make mistakes, have moments of weakness, as everyone does. But those do not define you.

"Do you think you would be worthy of my affection, if you were anything less than extraordinary?" She shook her head against my shoulder. "Then trust in my judgment, if you don't believe theirs. And you know that I am here to support you when you need it, yes? Just like when you began training them, I will guide you."

Myta nodded her head agains my shoulder this time, and nuzzled the crook of my neck. She took a deep breath through her nose. That, and my words, seemed to ground her. After a little while I pulled my hand from her hair. Laying a little kiss on her temple, before giving her a little push away from me.

"Come on, we need to finish this. And it can't be comfortable to stand like that." Aside from her needing to slouch, Myta had also been angling her glaive, pointing it up and away from us with the arm that wasn't wrapped around me. I knew the position had been awkward, but she had a little smile on her face as we separated. We continued on our path for a few minutes more, before she spoke again.

"Affection, master?"

"You have proven yourself to be capable, and useful to me. I value your service Myta." I flushed a little as I pushed out the words.

"That's not really what affection means, master."

"Take the compliment, woman. Don't push your luck."

Chapter 24

We spent two weeks preparing Tarun's estate for an assault, and I was second guessing our plan. The estate provided some food, and the various traders had added to that, not to mention our efforts to forage. But despite all that, we couldn't sustain ourselves indefinitely. I had surmised that the enemy would attack before this point. A new caravan would soon leave from Nesratin, making a far more tempting target for the raiders. Despite my growing concern though, we needed to stay the course. If we went seeking the enemy, we would give up our advantage. None of our fighters were particularly woodwise, or stealthy. Locating the enemy without opening up ourselves to ambush was unlikely.

I'd hoped that I could teach Ket how to spot wards, but it was difficult. Spirits viewed the world in terms of mana. Everything possessed some base level of mana, and that mana joined together in a complex web of interactions. Spirit 'sight' perceived the excess mana that every object, being, or even action gave off. Wards were intended to protect against sorcery, insulating against the flow of mana. It made whatever was inside invisible to spirits, and to spiritual sight. And the effect wasn't like seeing a shadow, where the lack of light was obvious. It was more like something being just out of your field of vision. You might know that you couldn't see through the back of your head, but you didn't perceive a great black wall there. Your mind just ignored the space.

But wards did leave a trail, as they pushed away outside mana, and contained what was within. They left a wake like a ship passing through water, one that would last for a short period of time. The effect proved too difficult to explain however, or at least she found no traces of what I'd described.

So we had prepared our defenses for two weeks. Until I was unwilling to put off Myta's advancement any longer.

"Master, please calm down. Are you really so worried that I will fail you?" Myta's tone was lighthearted, but I knew her words were rooted in her very real insecurities. For her sake, I tried to tamp down my nerves.

"Never, my flame. I just worry that I have not properly conveyed the amount of pain you might experience. You have reacted differently than expeted when I adjust your anima but... fracturing your meridians is an excruciating process." My mind went back to the expansion of my own spirit. Even now I shied away from that faded memory. I shook my head.