Path of Dragons 16 - Chapter 20 - On the Nature of Souls (Patreon)

“Again?”

Elijah shrugged.  “I guess I’m a glutton for punishment,” he admitted.

“Do you ever actually learn anything in there?” asked the attendant.  Shalala, this time.  She was one of three people who worked rotating shifts in the Tutorial Chamber, and she was probably Elijah’s favorite of the trio.  She was always nice to him, and she didn’t look at him like he was one bad word away from destroying everything she loved.  So, that was definitely a step up from most people in the Vengeance.

There were a few other types represented among the population.  The most annoying were those who wanted to form a relationship with him because they saw an opportunity for exploitation.  For better or worse, Elijah didn’t have a reputation as the most politically savvy person, and some people interpreted that as him being a dumb brute ripe for manipulation.

Then there were the ones who saw his presence as a personal challenge.  Most of those kept their hands to themselves, but Elijah had been forced to beat a few of them in the training grounds before the others gave up.  Mostly.

He’d also received his fair share of romantic overtures, though after he’d mentioned it to Imal, they suspiciously stopped.  When he’d asked how she had managed it, she simply said that she had her ways.

Elijah assumed that she’d threatened every woman in the ship.

Some of the men, too, which, given Elijah’s preferences, had made some meetings a little awkward.

Either way, those were only a little more preferable than those who looked at him with outright hostility.  Or the ones who kept sneaking glances at him like he wouldn’t notice their attention. 

In short, Elijah was a lot of things among the dragons, but one thing he wasn’t was anonymous.  Everyone aboard the Vengeance had some type of opinion on him.

And he hated the notoriety.

So, someone like Shalala who treated him like a normal person was a nice departure. 

He smiled and said, “A little bit here and there.  I think he’s warming up to me.”

“You sure that isn’t just wishful thinking?” Shalala asked.

Elijah shrugged and laughed as he said, “You know me too well.  Always the optimist.”

At that point, the door opened and a smiling drake came striding out.  He looked as if he’d gotten everything he wanted out of the tutoring session – which must’ve been nice.  Elijah barely ever got any actionable information.

But then again, it was his own fault for continuing to see the same dragon.  His reasoning was that the old transcendent was almost certainly the highest level person in the ancestral world.  As such, he probably had the most insight into the things that interested Elijah.

In theory, that made him a perfect fit as a tutor.

However, just because it made logical sense didn’t mean it was a good idea.  Because the single variable – the dragon’s attitude – meant that getting anything of note out of the transcendent was like pulling teeth.

“Wish me luck?” Elijah asked as the drake wandered past, absorbed in his own thoughts.  He clearly had gotten something from his session.  Maybe that was a good sign for Elijah’s.

“I don’t think it matters,” Shalala said.

“Me neither,” Elijah admitted.

Then, at her gesture, he plucked the appropriate leaf from the nearby crystal sapling and stepped into the tutorial chamber.  The familiar image of an indoor garden surrounded by paper walls greeted him.  For once, the transcendent dragon wasn’t floating in the center.  Instead, he was leaning close to one of the bushes, a pair of tiny sheers in his hand.

Elijah didn’t say anything.  Of all people, he understood the need for concentration when dealing with living things.  So, he stood perfectly still, watching intently as the dragon did the same.  His sheers remained poised only a few inches away from the bush, which was green and white, with pale grey limbs that seemed to fade into the background. 

Finally, the dragon moved the sheers forward and snipped something only he could see. The blades passed a full two inches above the closest leaf. 

The dragon sighed in relief.

Elijah was about to ask what he’d done when he felt a dense wave of serenity pass through the indoor garden.  His mind went blank, and the world seemed to stand entirely still.  In that instant, he only wanted to leave his thoughts behind and exist within the calm of that singular moment.

Then, it passed.

“What was that?” he asked, finally breaking the silence of the garden.

“A failure, clearly.”

“I don’t understand.  I felt –”

“You felt the barest hint of peace,” the dragon interrupted, finally looking away from the bush.  His scissors shimmered for a brief second, then disappeared entirely.  “Persistence is the key to any cultivation session, I’m certain you understand.  Persistence and peace.”

“I can get behind the former as an idea, but the latter?” Elijah mused, stepping forward.  “I don’t think I’ve ever had a peaceful cultivation session.  Mine are usually more like battles.”

“This does not surprise me.”

Elijah reached the dragon, but he ignored the transcendent.  Instead, he knelt close to the bush, extending his senses.  What he found was remarkable.  He gasped as he beheld the magnitude that was the plant’s design.

And it was designed.

Like the parks back in Ashakar.  Or the fungal colony on She’evoth.  It was a living thing, biologically speaking, but it had been built as surely and to as exacting of specifications as any building.  Elijah would’ve found it disappointing if he hadn’t recognized it as such a masterpiece.

The ethereal matrix was otherworldly and extended into dimensions he could scarcely perceive, much less understand.  And every single thread seemed bound to a single concept that he couldn’t quite pin down.

What’s more, it was connected to the space in ways he found difficult to comprehend. 

Then, Elijah began to understand.

“You’re a non-combatant.”

The dragon shook his head in disappointment.  “Those labels have no meaning to a transcendent,” he said.  “One day, you will learn that the only limits are time and your own mortality.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You wish to know more of who I am, do you?”

Elijah could only nod.  Not because he was overly interested, but rather because he felt like he’d been pinned to the ground.  When the dragon focused on him, he lost the ability to move.

“What would you say if I told you that I spent my youth as an Interior Decorator, hmm?” asked the dragon.  “I was an Entertainer by archetype.  A useless choice, according to my parents.  They imagined I would follow in my father’s footsteps and become a Swordmaster.  Or my mother’s, and become a Shieldbearer.  I had the talent.  Combat options were presented to me.  But when I looked upon the description of the Entertainer, my fate was sealed.”

He shook his head, and a tremble went through Elijah’s mind.  Then, he looked away, and Elijah’s mobility returned.  Still, he chose not to move as the dragon continued in a wistful tone, “I often wonder what would have happened, had I given credence to their wishes.  Would I have become like them?  Would my path have been cut short, just as theirs were?”

He turned back to Elijah, but the strength of his gaze remained absent.  “They were never more than high-deities.  They believed they were special.  That sort of power tends to engender that misconception.  But in the grand scheme of the multi-verse, they were insects.  We all are.  Even me.”

“You’re a transcendent.”

“Transcendence is only the end of the beginning, half-scale.  There is an entire galaxy of progression beyond that.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes.  Mano had described some of it, but it didn’t seem quite as expansive back then as what the tutor seemed to imply. 

“Let me get a look at you.  Remain still.”

Elijah froze again.  Even his thoughts were sluggish.  Meanwhile, the tutor stepped forward.  Without growing an inch, he loomed over Elijah like a mountain.  Then, his focus truly fell on Elijah.

It felt like he was being flayed alive by the transcendent’s mere attention.  His body was no impediment to the tutor’s vision.  Elijah could feel his entire cultivation being picked apart, one detail at a time.

“Hmm,” the dragon said at last.

When he turned away, Elijah suddenly felt the ability to breathe. He asked, “What?”

“Your cultivation system is interesting.  Where did you learn it?”

“Here and there.  Mostly, I just built it myself.  I could’ve sworn I’ve told you that before.”

“Perhaps you have, but that does not mean I believe you. Look deeper.  Tell me what inspired you,” the transcendent instructed, still staring in the other direction.

Elijah wanted to claim that he’d thought of it all himself, but that wasn’t true.  Not in all cases.  One stood out above all others, so he said, “The Trial of Primacy.”

“Yes, a routine part of integration.”

Elijah went on to describe his experiences, ending with their defeat of Yloa. 

“You faced a shackled transcendent?”

“Not alone.”

“You should be dead.”

“Probably a thousand times over,” Elijah admitted.  Then, he explained the inspiration he’d minimized in his mind.  Back then, he’d encountered another Druid who’d built her cultivation system based on a mycelial network.  At the time, he’d not given it much thought, but now, he could recognize how much it had inspired him.  He said as much, then admitted, “There are other things I’ve encountered along the way.”

Like the flesh tree, which was the most recent influence.  But there were many others, ranging from tiny bits of information to the knowledge he’d gained during his time in college.  It had all coalesced into something that, as a whole, felt unique. 

However, the individual pieces were recognizable.

“I guess it’s not so different from the rest of humanity,” he said.  “We all stand on the shoulders of giants.”

So it had always been.  Every scientific discover, every invention – they’d come on the heels of something else.  Why would his cultivation system be any different?

“It is primitive and unrefined.  Chaotic,” the transcendent stated.  “You are above average in all aspects.  But your soul – that is different.  Tell me, half-scale – when did the World Tree touch you?”

With that, he turned back to Elijah.  His presence wasn’t as domineering as before, but it was still intimidating enough to turn Elijah’s blood cold.

Elijah swallowed.  His first instinct was to resist.  To refuse to answer.  But then, he realized that there was no reason to do so.  He hadn’t broken any rules.  And perhaps his circumstances could be replicated.  So, he explained how he’d mistakenly extended his soul into the World Tree branch only to be overloaded with information. 

“Then, the World Tree stepped in and upgraded my ability to Soul of the Wild.  I think that pushed me forward further than anything else, but I also used one of my specializations on it.”

“Soul of the Wild.  That is not something offered to normal Druids.  Especially not an Animist.”

Elijah forced himself to shrug.  “It wasn’t really an offer. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Interesting.”

Elijah opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off.

“And stupid.”

“Ouch.”

“You should not have survived.  Why you did is a mystery.”

“Maybe I’m special.”

The transcendent cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps you are.  Your methods have certainly been effective, if chaotic.”

“Are you saying that my growth is out of control?” Elijah asked.

“It is, but it is also distinctly you.  You built it, piece by piece, and into something that you can’t hope to understand at your stage,” he explained.  “But you have come to me for advice, yes?  You wish to be tutored, do you not?”

“If you’re willing,” Elijah answered.  He didn’t particularly like the dragon, but he wouldn’t turn down a chance to learn from a real transcendent.  He’d gained some tutelage from Mano, but that had only been about combat.  With this dragon, he expected the subject to be much more useful for his overall development.

“Explore the possibilities of what you already have.  Your understanding is like a puddle when it needs to be an ocean,” the tutor stated.  “Push yourself.  And do not blindly take others’ advice.  You are unique, and they are likely to be small-minded fools who only understand what they have been told to believe. 

“You have the capacity to be more than that.  Right now, you are a crude but valuable stone.  With the right choices, you can carve yourself into something truly worthwhile.”

Elijah didn’t speak.  Instead, he thought about what the transcendent had said.  It echoed some of the things he’d already established.  At first, he had tried to lean on guides to teach him how to cultivate, but for the most part, he’d left those behind in favor of his own methods.  It was slower and required a lot more iteration, but in the end, it suited him much more fully than following someone else’s advice.

“Does that extend to your advice? Should I question it?”

“You should question everything, fool.  Including the World Tree upon which you so heavily lean.  It is a benevolent force, but it has its own goals.  Beware the day when your interests diverge.  Do not surrender your authority.”

“I won’t,” Elijah said.  But it wasn’t because of the dragon’s advice.  He’d already chosen to go his own way, most recently with his refusal of the Blightbloom evolution of Shape of the Scourge.  He would make that same choice a hundred times over, because he didn’t want to follow someone else’s path.

Not even the World Tree’s.

“Good.  Be better.  You have the potential.  Now, you only need to see it through.”

With that, Elijah felt himself being yanked backward.  He only went a step or two, but that was enough to send him back into the antechamber with Shalala. 

“You were there for longer this time,” she said.  “Good for you.”

Elijah just nodded, unable to answer.  It wasn’t the most productive of conversations.  He hadn’t learned a lot of new information.  But what he had been given was something even more valuable – clarity.