Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Thirty-Five - Gather

Scourge Thirty-Five - Gather

The first thing I do is clear out some of the mud and muck on the ground next to the dark pool. I dont mind getting a little dirty, but its going to be a pain to clean myself off while out in the middle of the woods.

Theres no cleaning service out here.

Felix helps by dragging a big rock over and setting it down right next to the water. Thanks, I say.

She nods once. No problem. Im gonna go get some logs or something to sit on.

Will it take long? Bianca asks.

A few hours, at least, I say. Its a bit tricky. Should be done before nightfall, so we can fly off for an hour or two, find a place to settle down before the sun sets and build our camp for the night a long ways from the city.

I see, Bianca says.

I brush off the surface of the rock Felix brought, then I sit on it and slip off a shoe. I need direct contact with the dark pool for this to work. Well, no, I dont need it, but it makes everything a lot easier, and Im not here to practise my monster-making skills, Im here to apply them.

Mom always instructed me by making things a challenge, but shes told me a few times that when it comes to the real thing, I should take every shortcut and use every trick that makes a task easier. Challenges are meant to help me grow, not to hamper me in the future.

I close my eyes and breathe out of my nose as I dip my foot into the dark pool, then I hiss.

Whats wrong? Esme asks.

The waters freezing! I complain. I pull my foot out and wiggle it about. This is going to suck if I need to spend hours with my foot in the pool.

We could warm your foot up after. Ill get a fire started if you want. Cant be too hard to find twigs around here.

That would be nice, I say.

Or we could warm the entire pool up. I dont know if Im angry enough for that though, Esme says.

Felix comes back, dragging an entire falling trunk with her. I can annoy you until youre angry enough, she says, entirely serious.

No thank you, Esme says.

No, Ill be fine. The waters not much colder than the air. I guess Im just used to the dark pools at home. The cavern under the castles really warm.

I dip my foot in again, and this time its not so bad. Expecting the cold takes away a lot of its bite. Okay, this isnt too bad once you get used to it.

Id rather not try, Esme says.

I heard that dark pools are dangerous, Bianca says.

Oh, they are, I reply. Well, like fires dangerous, but only if you dont respect it, or dont know what youre doing.

I see, Bianca says. She nods to Felix once the log is dropped, then searches through one of our bags and returns with a blanket which she lays down atop the log.

Esme aims at the ground with her hand and frowns in concentration for a long moment. Eventually the dirt moves up and around, forming a small depression with a few stones on the edges. A firepit of sorts.

Want to help me gather some branches? Esme asks Felix.

Sure.

Bianca watches my friends go, then snaps her fingers and creates a long stream of fire which spins and circles around her hand. Shes pretty talented with that, it seems. Or shes just secretly really angry.

Can... can I speak while you work? she asks.

Yeah, sure, I say. I havent actually started yet, not really. Just waiting for a few souls to gather up that are strong enough to work with.

Im curious, how does it work? Creating monsters, I mean.

Oh, well, when theyre being made naturally, then its not as complex as you might think. Lots of things die around dark pools, and their souls are gathered up in the waters here. Not actually water, but... yeah, close enough for laymen, I guess. I swirl my foot around. Dark pools are much deeper than they look.

How do souls know what form to take, as a monster, I mean, Bianca asks.

Oh, that mostly depends on what kinds of monsters are already around the pool, and if not that, then theyll take shapes similar to dead things that the soul is compatible with. Youve heard that thing where sinners make bigger monsters, or stronger cultivators do.

Ive heard both, Bianca says.

Right, well in reality, its more that the kind of monster a soul turns into is based on the souls strength and compatibility. Most monsters are tiny and weak, but then most people are small and weak too. The whole sin thing is a lie, but the more a person cultivates and grows strong, the stronger the monster they reincarnate as will be. Its a bit hard to guess what kind of monster someone might appear as.

I think I see, Bianca says.

I shrug. Im probably not doing a great job of explaining it. Mom knows better than I do. Its complicated. The magic to make a monster the way you want it to be is even more complicated, and its forbidden just about everywhere.

Oh? Bianca asks. That has her perking up.

Yeah. Soul magic. Its a pretty big crime to even try it.

I can see the confusion flit across her features. Ive never heard that before. Or even about soul magic.

Well yeah, if everyone knew it was illegal and wrong, then more people would try it, right? But if the fact that its illegal is kept hidden, and no one who does know about it talks about it because thats not allowed either, then whatever knowledge about it that exists fades away.

Oh, Bianca says. I suppose that sort of thing is somewhat common.

I mean, the problem with that kind of thing is that you never know how much stuff is hidden because its hidden, right? I ask. Grinning over at Bianca, I gesture to the dark pool. This is mostly soul-magic, like I said. Its... trickier than emotional magic, but also easier.

I never actually had a proper education when it comes to cultivation. I learned from reading and self-study, often on my own time, or in secret.

Oh, I say. Well, we can help you learn more! Esmes really good with proper lessons and the like. Felix is awful.

Hey! Felix says as she returns with an armful of dried branches and twigs. What am I awful at?

Cultivating. Or at least learning how.

Oh, yeah, Felix says. I just do what feels right. I mean, I can learn spells and stuff, but theyre troublesome.

I shrug. You do you. Youre a pretty good fighter, though you really need to work on your grief magic more.

Two opposites, Bianca says. Like my fire and water.

Yup, I say. Its good for balancing.

Bianca nods. Its why I chose both. Though to be fair, they both came naturally for me, so I suppose I was lucky in that regard. Could you tell me more about soul magic?

I nod along. Sure, but dont try it on your own? Its tricky. Unlike most emotional magics where you feed the magic into your core by feeling something really hard, soul magic is more about taking some of yourself and pushing it out. Its... less jittery, and more fuzzy.

Thats helpful, Felix says.

I stick my tongue out at her.

I dont think I quite understand, Bianca admits. She raises her hand and focuses, but all that happens is that fire bursts into the air before her, just a burp of flame that dies off.

No, thats cultivated magic, I say. Soul is more... deeper. More you. Your emotions arent who you are. Theyre... the state that youre in. You feel a certain way, but you are more than just the way you feel, right? You might be coloured by your emotions, but theres more to you than that.

I suppose that makes sense, Bianca says. But how do you reach for that and use it?

Well... I dont know, I say. Its always felt normal to me. I think most really strong cultivators will eventually feel the difference. Mom says that it's the very very first step towards becoming divine, but it takes a lot of work to get there.

Ive tried it, Felix says. Its... weird-feeling. Not easy either, and it doesnt do anything.

Thats the other problem, I guess, I say. Emotional magic reacts to the world. It moves the air, or lights things on fire. The best you can do with soul magic is give someones soul a hug.

I blush a bit. Thats something thats rather intimate to do with someone.

Anyway, I can show you more later, I kinda need to focus on this bit.

***