PSTH2: Chapter Three

Attempts to create magian classes, certification levels, or other measurements of magian’s skill have been attempted for as long as humans have had magic, and they all have flaws. Levels might indicate a magian’s power, but not their skill, so the obvious was right out. But other things, like applied testing, fail as well. Different people are experts in their chosen fields. You couldn’t expect a master electrician to match a master plumber in plumbing. In this same way, you couldn’t expect a master of teleportation magic to pass muster as a master telekinetic – even though both electricians and plumbers are trade jobs, or that teleportation and telekinesis are arcane magic.

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Treatise on the History of Magians, published circa 400 Modern-Era

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Though the essence heart was settled, there was still an utter mess of work going on around me as Mikayla rushed around, tech people began packing up, and the teleporters staggered off to one side in order to take a seat on the condensed steps. For my part, I took a few steps forward, until I was standing next to the heart, conjured my two remaining Primals, and fanned out, standing with the heart guardians while watching the crowd. 

The next few hours was arguably the most vital time for the heart to be guarded. Though we had only teleported about twenty people, all needed for the machinery, defense, and other jobs, that was still quite a few people in such an enclosed space. The heart was also still somewhat unstable, with its connective ‘veins’ still very new. If there were any malicious actors looking to kill the heart and get their hands on a buckload of essence all at once, in a solid, sellable form, then now would be the time. Lots of people, most of them distracted, and the heart already unstable? It might even be possible to make it look like an unfortunate accident. 

The seven other guards, who had taken up their spots at the other cardinal and ordinal directions, hadn’t even been trusted with this duty. They instead fanned out to the various entrances, keeping watch on anyone who might be going in or out right now. The only reason I had been was because of my existing report on the existence of an unknown essence heart, which Vince had filed, which proved my character to the organizers. After all, if I’d been after the heart for profit or personal power, then I could have broken it during the time Vince was gone, and I had free, unmitigated access. I might be the prime suspect, but if I talked about the heart around the village first, it would be hard to pin on me unless they found essence heart dust. 

Of course, the odds of anything happening was quite low. Nobody I knew of in the village would be willing to kill one, and the combination of their empathetic projection of emotion and their guardians made them hard targets for a lone individual. After a few months, there wouldn’t even be a guard on this anymore, since it was at least a mile of freehiking through marshy woodlands from the village. The move was just an especially vulnerable instance, worthy of keeping guard. 

I kept a wary watch on anyone who drew close to the heart, even if they were just walking past it to get to the other side of the room, and today I didn’t even cultivate. Being distracted was just asking for trouble. The team had all been well-vetted, though, and that proved its worth. Most of them packed up and left, while the teams there to monitor the heart stayed. As minutes turned into hours, the heart’s stability continued to creep up on a steady rise, and eventually Mikayla walked over to me. 

“Alright, Aiden. This was your last day with the team, wasn’t it?” 

“Yes ma’am,” I said. “I’m going down to Hornblende Village in two days, then I’m heading off.” 

“That’s right, you were going to challenge… Alyssa Ramos, was it?” 

“Nah, she’s in Calcite City. I’ll make my way there in time, but I’m just going to keep heading down the coast to Silica City. The Councillor there is Ash Johnson.”  

I had told her about my plans to go to Silica City already, and I wondered if this was part of the Oceanseed protocol. It probably did look a little suspicious that I was leaving the day after we teleported the heart. If I’d just gone along with her suggestion that I was going to challenge Councillor Ramos, then I’d probably look even more suspicious. 

“Right, right,” Mikayla said, nodding. “Well, you’ll like Silica, I’ve been there once or twice. It’s like your village, but bigger. Good food. Try the fish tacos.” 

“Anywhere specific I should try the fish tacos?” 

“Oh goodness, I haven’t the foggiest of where I went, but the fresh fish they catch and the peppers they grow there are always good,” she said. “Sweet corn too. Try some hominy, if you get the chance.” 

“Noted,” I said, smiling and typing it in my augpad, since I knew that if I just tried to remember, I’d absolutely wind up not thinking about it until I’d already left Silica, and feel horrible about it. Mikayla and I spoke a bit longer about Silica city, before she transferred my final paycheck. 

“If you ever decide to look for a job working in conservation or the like, feel free to reach out,” Mikayla said, shaking my hand. “There’s a limited amount I can do for you unless you get some certifications or a degree, but I can always get some temporary manual work while you take courses.” 

“Thank you,” I said seriously, nodding. “I’m still angling to become a tamer, but if things turn out to be a wash in that department, I’ve put some thought into the field. I’ll definitely keep you in mind.” 

With that, I turned and rubbed one of the essence heart’s guardians on the head, before addressing the heart itself. 

“Thanks to you as well,” I told it. “I’ve grown a lot thanks to you. I hope you can continue to grow and produce essence.” 

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the essence level emitting from the heart seemed to grow ever so slightly stronger at my words, before it dipped to its normal level. With a wave, I turned and began to walk back toward the village. I knew this area well, and even though I hadn’t been the one to suggest it to the survey team, I probably could have walked back to the village with a blindfold on. Well, maybe not literally. Tree roots and rocks could be treacherous on well-maintained hiking trails, let alone while free hiking. I could definitely do it with only my sight, and none of my other sensations, though. 

I pulled out my augpad and looked at it, flicking through my messages as I dodged a low-hanging branch and stepped out of the way of a patch of poison sumac, then clicked on Gawain’s messages. Whatever had been blocking him from getting my messages had broken about a day after I’d sent the message, and they’d moved from sending to delivered. They’d been stuck there for months, until about a week and a half ago, when it had mysteriously changed to read. But even though he’d finally read it, he hadn’t responded. I grimaced at the lack of response, then typed out a message.

> I’m headed out in two days. Stopping in a few villages before hitting Silica. Probably in a week. You could stand to actually respond this time. Jerk.

To my surprise, within moments of being delivered, the message shifted to read, and the little ellipses to indicate he was typing popped up. 

< I’m sorry. I meant to, but have not had the opportunity. I will be in Silica so we can have a post-training sabbatical fight.

I froze for a second as I read the message, honestly a little surprised that he’d responded, let alone so quickly. I debated how to respond for a few moments, then quickly typed out and sent my message. 

> Who even uses the word sabbatical anymore? 

I followed that up with an emoticon of someone sticking out their tongue. I could have used an emoji, but I was firmly in the camp of emoticon supremacy. As soon as I’d sent that message, I followed up with another. 

> And sure, I’ll fight you. I wanna make sure you’re okay, though. 

The message froze on sending, just like it had when I’d sent him the texts after he’d vanished, and I grumbled. Had he turned his augpad off literally the moment he’d sent his message? Stupid jerk. Scales must have felt my emotions through our connection, because bumped his nose against my calf. I reached down to scratch his head, tucking my augpad back in my pack with my other hand. 

“It’s fine, just… Gawain. Why is he like this?” 

I didn't expect an answer, and I didn’t receive one, but I made it back to the village in record time, burning off as much of the annoyance as I could by moving faster through the marshlands. My shift had ended just in time for me to swing by the fishmonger and the grocer. Though it was only two months after the winter solstice, spring had sprung, and I was able to pick up cherry tomatoes, a bundle of spring onions, redfish, and some assorted fresh herbage. Fitting all of it in my backpack was a bit of a struggle, since it was already mostly full, but I managed, and made it home, sticking the fish in the fridge as I began to cook. 

That was one thing I wouldn’t miss when I was on the road again. I was far from a professional chef, but like exercise, cooking was a good stress relief. Plus, after I was done, I got to eat the results. It was definitely possible to have more than cubes of dried food while on the move, but it was a lot more difficult, and I wouldn’t have access to a private kitchen. Maybe I should use the community ones that most hostels had? Something to think about, at least. 

I sliced the tomatoes in half, then chopped up the onion and herbs, separating the whites from the greens. Then I blistered the tomatoes in a pan with some oil until the skins were basically falling off, and added the onion in, tossing it together. A professional chef probably would have peeled the skins off and tossed them into the compost pile or something like that, but honestly, even though it was a bit chewy, I didn’t mind them. While they were sauteeing, I added some dried mustardseed and the coriander leaf, before placing the fish down and pouring in some water. I lidded up the pan and let it steam, while I fetched some rice and started boiling it. 

If I’d been thinking, I’d have pulled out the rice earlier and soaked it, but I’d still been working through some frustration. Oops. I rinsed the rice off under cool water, then dumped it in another pan, sauteeing the rice in a bit of butter with some onion and garlic powder, then once it was sizzling, poured in about an inch of water. As it started to bubble and boil, I unlidded the fish and poured a bit of cream in, thickening a sauce around the fish. 

My mom stepped into the kitchen then, and put her hand on my shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, just… Gawain.” 

“Ahhh. Do you want to cook in silence, or talk about it?” 

I glanced at my augpad before responding, and saw I’d gotten a message from Gawain. An audio file, it looked like, as well as some text. I sighed and shook my head. 

“I think I’m over it. Not much to say.” 

“Even so. You can talk about it if you’d like.” 

A mischievous look entered her eyes and she raised her eyebrows. 

“I know what it’s like to have boy troubles.” 

“Mom!”