Chapter 18: Ka’s intentions, the hope of many variant spirits

Olice awoke from a strange little dream where she was a silver fish in a lake of tea-like liquid, it had actually been quite a nice dream apart from one bit in it where a fisherman caught her, he tossed her back in the lake though.

Ka was still at the entrance of the cubbyhole, holding a fresh cup of Rivertears brew.

“Good Morning” Olice chirped at the red shadower.

Gander vanished into Olice’s shadow as she stood up, brushing her dress off, her tail wagging helping a bit in that regard.

“…morning?…” Ka questioned, confused.

Ka had lived all its life in the Red Crystal Realm, and spent a lot of time avoiding beings either stronger or more vicious than itself, as a consequence, its knowledge of the world outside of the Red Crystal Realm was mostly ‘it exists’. That being said, as a natural spirit, Ka did have the base ‘spirit knowledge’. An example of spirit knowledge would be that unlike most beings that grow from children into adults, natural spirits do not need to learn to speak. In general the extent of spirit knowledge is determined by location of origin and power.

“Nevermind” Olice said quickly.

She looked around the little cubbyhole. It was really quite homey.

“Did you make this place Ka?” She asked.

Ka shook its hood.

“…many…use…unknown…”

Olice frowned, she could ask Gander for help interpreting, but she was sure since it wasn’t something important, Gander would probably lie.

“Many people use this place?” Olice tried.

Ka nodded its hood.

“…many…use…many”

“A second many? There’s more than one of these places, then what was that unknown about?” Olice mused.

“…maker…” Ka offered.

Ka seemed quite pleased that Olice had tried to understand what it was saying, the spirit radiated satisfaction.

-Well, as… pleasant a conversation you are having, I assume that you want to eventually get home don’t you Mistress?- Susasov thought to Olice.

“Oh, yes, Ka, didn’t you say you’d lead us to an oracle? I’d be so pleased if you did”

Ka nodded, downing the last dregs of its cup, cleaning it out and hanging it up.

Olice clapped her hands. She had encountered quite a number of different types of mages, but she’d never actually personally met an oracle.

Just as Ka was about to lead Olice out of the cubbyhole, Gander rushed out of Olice’s shadow and barred their way.

“I believe that you need to explain your intentionsss, child” Gander said to Ka.

Ka looked at Olice.

“…mistress…”

Gander sighed, he had begun suspecting it a while before. Ka wanted to become a familiar to Olice. It wasn’t that unusual, for a spirit with no ambitions but with a desire to grow stronger, becoming a familiar was a very good option. It was especially attractive for spirit who had a poor pace of development. Ka was a variant spirit, a shadower turned red and given a few other quirks by being formed and living in the Red Crystal Realm so long.

Many variant spirits had a very hard time progressing in power and form. In general the flow of magic favours the established. If many fish spirits become pseudo-dragons, then it’ll be easier for more fish spirits to become so, it’ll be harder for a variant fish spirit to become a pseudo dragon because simply there’ll have been less of them, and less that progressed in power and form.

The Flow follows and makes patterns, but it’ll make a pattern that has been made before many times more often than one that only rarely appears. This principle is the salvation of mages not born with natural gifts like Olice’s. Indeed by exploiting the weight of repetition, someone with barely any ability in manipulation of magic can become a powerful witch or wizard.

It was really a miracle that Ka had survived as long has it had, among shadow spirits, shadower are supremely weak. It was no surprise that Ka would wish to become stronger, a strong spirit does not have to struggle to live, it does not have to fight to keep from being washed away by the flows of magic. As a shadower Ka would also have a strong urge to progress in form, as while shadowers are an extremely weak shadow spirit, they have some of the best paths of growth.

Their vagueness makes it possible for them to become quite a number of other shadow spirits.

“Thisss child wissshess to become your familiar my Missstresss” Gander said.

“Another one?”

-Another one?-

Olice and Susasov both blurted out at the same time.

“…good…mistress…”

Ka had decided that Olice would make a for a good mistress. Gander wanted to argue, but it wasn’t a bad deal for a spirit to serve Olice, while Olice would never become an outstanding mage without effort, she would manage average with little effort, pairing a weak spirit with a fledgling mage has distinct advantages. The growth of both is increased usually, that and the compatibility of both would usually rise.

That a young mageling with good future prospects had appeared before Ka was to the shadower, absurdly good fortune, it would have been a bit strange had Ka not had any interest.

“Gander, can I safely bind another spirit to me?”

Gander was at this stage fairly sure that Ka was quite harmless, a part of him wanted to be more paranoid, but sometimes a rabbit is not a mimic monster but a rabbit.

“With your quality of ssspirit and heartflame, you could bind at least three sssspiritss of that child’sss level, jussst one ssshouldn’t be an issssssue, but Missstresss, I advissse againsssst picking up any ssssstray ssssssspirit you find, you could catch ssssomething unpleasssant”

-Do you plan on becoming a Hostmage Mistress?- Susasov asked.

Olice shook her head, she didn’t know if that was at all something she wanted to do, but she did know that Ka had saved them. That Ka had been friendly. Though she was a child, she also understood that Ka was weak. To her mind, how could she not try to save someone that saved her?

Olice gripped her heartflame, and her eyes shone.

“Ka, shadower dyed in red of crystals, do you submit to my will, my power? To serve until such a time that I free you?”

Ka shuddered a bit in response to the calling of this ancient ritual, one that almost anyone could do, since it was so old and done so many times. Within its hood, the shadows split into a jagged mouth.

“I serve”

That was the first time that Ka had been able to refer to itself in that manner, as ‘I’.

A silvery chain of fire shot out from Olice, but the reaction this time was different than when Susasov had submitted. The chain entered into Ka’s cloak-like body, and looped around something, dragging it out. A sullen shadowy red stained heartflame.

The chain zipped back into Olice and she stumbled as Ka’s heartflame was nestled inside of her own. Ka seem to become little more than a tattered cloak, this began to flake off, like petals from a flower, and the petals floated around Olice. In moments, Ka had totally changed into these petals, then they began to form a hood over Olice’s head, the petals then swept out from the hood, forming a ragged red shadowy cloak.

-That was not submission, but devotion!- Susasov called out.

Indeed, Ka had offered itself up far more freely and completely than Susasov had, it was only natural Susasov, having once been worshipped as a deity, how could he be able to offer his service without a thought like ‘Now, I serve a mere child’. If Susasov had been that devoid of pride and filled with a serving heart, would he not have sacrificed himself for his followers all that time ago?

Ka however, greatly lacking in substance could more easily submit. In one sense less whole in one sense more pure, that was one possibility of a weak spirit with little identity!

-Thanks Mistress- Ka spoke to Olice, a faint whispering woman’s voice.

“I’ll work you hard!” Olice blustered, a bit unnerved by the way the ritual happened.

“Don’t forget to give your ressspectssss to me, I’m the firsssst familiar” Gander said.

The hood lifted up off Olice’s head and looked in Gander’s direction. Gander got the impression of a blank stare.

“Serve Mistress, not meanie” Ka said.

Gander spluttered.

Olice looked at Ka, as she was wrapped around her.

“Ka, how are you going to lead me to the oracle if I’m wearing you?”

“Easily” Ka quipped.

Olice felt Ka offer something up to her, she accepted it and knowledge flooded into her head, she knew just where she needed to go.

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