Soul Transmigration Chapter 3 (original chapter Chapter 102)
In the cafeteria, Emma and I sat together as we ate. The food was really rather good; fresh warm bread, a soup and some kind of fish dish. I wonder if they had a way of removing the pungent fishy smell in the kitchens?
"What do you think of what the professor said, Taylor?" Emma said as she tore her bread into pieces.
"About what?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The whole war thing. And how we'd get forced to join the army if war was declared." My friend said in a small voice.
"Ah." I nodded. "Sadly, it's almost inevitable that it's going to happen."
"Huh?" Emma looked confused.
"Every twenty years or so, the Theocracy of Libra attempts to invade us." I reminded her. The Theocracy was one of those crusader-type religions that had to stuff their religion down your throat, according to my Mom. They had set their eyes on us for the past century. "The last invasion was fifteen years ago; that means the year after we graduate, we're almost certainly going to see combat."
"O-oh…" Emma's nervousness grew at my words.
I sighed. "Ems, you have the Spheres of Life and Water, right? I'd suggest you train as a Healer. That'll keep you out of the actual fighting if it comes to it."
That made her prick up in curiosity. "What about you?" she asked me, looking a bit relieved to have a way to contribute without fighting directly.
"Well, I do have access to all of the Primary Spheres barring Shadow, so I could be a Battlemage." I mused. "Then again, I have to admit that a Summoner sounds interesting. I suppose it all depends on how much magical power I have."
From skimming my little textbook, I could see that the amount of magical power you possessed was one way of narrowing down what niche you should enter as a mage. Emma wouldn't have very much in the way of magical power as she was the first one in her family to have any whatsoever, so a Support Mage was the best way to ensure that she survived whilst still being useful.
In my case though, I would likely have at least an above-average amount of magical power, as my family had been mages for over three centuries. The first Baron Hebert had been ennobled after he saved the life of the Founding King of Sirius during the final battle with the warlord who had control of Brockton Island. I had no idea what he had been skilled in though.
"Yeah…I don't want you to become a Battlemage, Taylor." Emma said seriously. "You're my best friend and I don't want you to be in danger."
My heart twisted at that. "Well, I won't be. Summoners fight with their summons, thus the name." I said lightly. "So we're good. So what's your room like?"
Nobles and commoners slept in separate areas for the first couple of days, and then we got to choose whoever we wanted to be our roommates, so long as they were the same gender as us. Oh, and we first years shared a room with three others in our year. That continued into second year, with us being shuffled into two person rooms in third year and the OPTION to be moved into a one-person room in fourth year.
"A bit boring, but nice." Emma replied. "You?"
"I'm sharing with a couple of girls who don't like 'Newbloods' very much." I grimaced. "They've basically been ignoring me though, so that's something."
A flicker of anger passed across Emma's face at that revelation. "Idiots." She muttered quietly as she viciously stabbed part of her fish.
"The nobility is full of them, myself and a few others exempted." I smirked before polishing off what was left of my meal. "Anyway, we'd better get back to class so we can claim our seats. I think the next part is actually measuring our magic and being told how spells work."
As it turns out, I was right.
"Now, all of you have magic, that cannot be denied." Master Clarke said as he once more paced at the front of the classroom once again. "But the remaining unknown aspect of you all is the amount of magical power that you possess. Magic is held within all living beings as the magic of their life-force. Mages have an extra well or reservoir of magic that they draw upon to cast spells. The size of this well differs from person to person and their heritage is in part what determines its size. Someone who is the first mage in their family will generally have a modestly sized pool of magic, while someone who has had mages in their family for hundreds of years will have an above average amount at least."
Yup, that jibes with what Mom said.
"As a mage grows older, so too does their pool of magic grow with them. Additionally, the more you use magic, the faster it will grow." The old mage stated. "Your choices in what manner of Mage Path that you take, the ones I discussed with you all before lunch, are in part determined by what Spheres you have talent in and in part determined by the amount of magical energy you can access. We would be most remiss if we allowed someone to become a Warblade who has only modest skill in the more combat orientated Spheres, for example."
With a gesture from him, a box floated out from behind the lecturer's podium, landed atop of it and opened, revealing an orb of crystal. It was tinted green and was a perfect sphere.
"This is the magic power measuring crystal." Master Clarke informed us. "It is able to measure the magical reserves of the person who touches it with both hands. A powerful and rare item, as I am sure you will all agree. Now, do I have a volunteer to demonstrate?"
Nobody raised their hands for a moment before I sighed, rolled my eyes and stood up. Bloody sheeple. OK, perhaps that's a bit much; they are only kids right now.
"Ah, Miss Hebert." Master Clarke nodded with a smile. "Come forward then."
I advanced to the front of the room and awaited instructions.
"All you need do is to press your hands flat to the surface of the orb; the magic within it shall do the rest." Master Clarke informed me.
Nodding, I did as ordered. The surface of the orb was cool to the touch, but it warmed up slightly as both of my palms made contact with it. It started to glow green for a moment before unleashing an invisible wind that swept around my body, making my hair flutter.
"Oh my." Master Clarke muttered.
After a few moments of this, the wind died down and a number was projected in the air above me. 359.
"A magic power in the mid-three-hundreds at the age of twelve…yes, this proves that great things can be expected of you." The class professor said to me admiringly before turning to the class. "For most Commoners in your age group, getting a score above seventy-five is considered excellent. For the average noble in your age group, double that is the average. For Miss Hebert, it seems, getting over triple the amount of the average noble is her score."
Blushing at all the attention, I headed back to my seat, where Emma smirked at me. She knew that I hated people staring at me.
"Quiet you." I muttered as I fought to get my blush under control. The redheaded hellion just giggled at me. Grrr.
In the meantime, my other classmates started getting picked randomly and having their own magic power measured. Dean Stansfield weighed in at 210, while Vicky Dallon was 257. Wow. If I weren't here, those two would likely be the top two in the class.
Chris, the former Kid Win, was at 173, with Lily/ Flechette at 181 and Sophia/Shadow Stalker at 150 exactly. This was a surprise; perhaps her father was a noble in this world? Clockblocker was at 141, Weld was at 199 and the heavily muscled kid I recognised as being Browbeat from my last world was at 167.
When Emma was called, I crossed my fingers. The number floating above her head was a surprise; 149. She was almost double the average amount of a usually exceptional commoner. She even had more than Dennis, who was the son of a baron here.
"Nice." I commented as she came back, looking stunned.
"H-How…?" she said numbly.
"You hang around with me, and I'm all kinds of exceptional when it comes to magic, apparently." I teased. "Maybe part of me rubbed off on you."
She pulled a face and stuck her tongue out at me. How mature.
I generally ignored the magical power of the others who weren't figures I knew from my world, but one, who I hadn't noticed was a young girl called Teresa Richter, got magical power of 205. Fucking Dragon was here too?! And my age to boot?!
Who next? Armsmaster?
The last people that I recognised were Missy Biron, Vista, getting 175, and Amelia Lavere, Panacea, getting 193. A quite respectable pair of scores, given that most kids in the class, the Brocktonites aside, were usually a few digits above or below the averages of their respective social classes.
"Well then, you all know how strong you are right now." Master Clarke stated. "However, this is merely the raw power that you have. In a few moments, you will be dismissed from class and sent to your rooms. Once there, you will swallow this."
Reaching under his lectern again, he pulled out a crystal about the size of a pistol's bullet, maybe a couple of centimeters smaller.
"This is a precious resource that is the main reason the Commoners among you give military service without the backing of a Noble House." He stated. "These are called Magic Concentration Crystals; once you swallow them and start to meditate, they are absorbed into your body and become your Magic Core Crystal. While you can cast magic without a Core Crystal, it is almost impossible to direct it, so those who lack a Core Crystal are referred to as Wild Mages, as their results are wildly unpredictable."
He looked sternly at everyone in the class. "Let it be known that attempting to steal another person's Magic Concentration Crystal, or otherwise attempting to stop them from swallowing it, is a very serious matter here. Anyone who does this will be confined to their dorm room for a month. Understood?"
Seeing nods, Master Clarke continued. "Do not worry about being unable to mediate before now; this time if at no other time in your life, you will be able to do so. It is one of the functions of the crystals. It should take approximately four hours to create your magical core. For the four with the most power, Miss Hebert, Miss Dallon, Mr. Stansfield and Miss Richter; yours will likely take an extra hour to form, as that is common to all those with magical power of over 200. Miss Hebert especially is an unknown, because no one in the Kingdom in living memory has had as high a magical power score as she has without already possessing a Core Crystal. There have been several in other kingdoms, so I will endeavor to talk to my colleagues in the relevant locales, so kindly wait in class until I can tell you for certain how long your meditation session will be, Miss Hebert."
"Yes, Professor." I said.
"Very good." He looked around. "Now, I have a feeling that some of you know some magic, or at least a general idea about casting spells, from your parents. Do not attempt to cast any spells whatsoever until I or another Master have cleared you tomorrow, because while you may superficially know how to cast spells, the truth of the matter is far more complicated and intimate than you might imagine. Every year, at least one member of the class decides that he or she knows better than I do and ends up exploding their newly formed Core Crystals and most of the room they are in, to boot. I would like this year to be without that particular tradition, if you please."
Victoria Dallon put her hand up. "Is that deadly? An exploding Core Crystal, that is?"
"No, merely highly debilitating. It would force the staff to heal the subject and let them rest for a week before attempting to integrate yet another crystal." Master Clarke said dryly. "Just so you know, we only provide the nobles with one crystal for free. Any further crystals given as a result of stupidity and carelessness are charged to your Family's account. That would be two-hundred Golden Fangs, just so you know."
A gasp went up among the students. The Golden Fang was the highest denomination of currency inside the Kingdom of Sirius. One Golden Fang was worth one-hundred Silver Claws, and one Silver Claw was worth two-hundred Bronze Tails. For comparison, I received five Golden Fangs a month as pocket money. That's forty months, or just over three years' worth, of pocket money there!
No wonder everyone was pale!
"You may think it a steep price, but these crystals take three months to produce in highly strenuous circumstances. To be honest, they should be priced higher, but because of the good relationship between the Academy and the Kingdom of Sirius, we mark them down somewhat." Master Clarke smiled softly. "Now, class dismissed. Please take ONE crystal from the basket on my lectern as you leave."
Under Master Clarke's watchful eye, everyone filed in front of him and took a crystal. None were any bigger or smaller, so it was fair. I sat down once I had mine and shooed Emma away so she could hurry up and get to creating her Core Crystal.
After everyone left, including Master Clarke, I just sat and read the textbook for a while. I frowned when I read something in the section regarding the Nature Sphere.
'It should be noted that, up until the publication of this book, not a single human Mage has ever successfully gained so much as a single Circle in the Lesser Sphere of Insects. It has been deemed an impossible Sphere for humans, who lack the instinctive connection to Nature that the Elves possess.'
I checked the publication date, which was only five years ago. Was it really such a hard Sphere to master? I could see that I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to recreate Skitter here as a Summoner. Then again, I had no idea how Summoners worked here, so perhaps I should wait until I'd had an introduction to how Summoners functioned before making any decisions.
"Miss Hebert." Master Clarke said seriously as he came into the classroom. "I've just finished talking to a colleague of mine in the Divine Kingdom. He informed me that you will be meditating for at least seven hours, possibly as many as ten, before your Core Crystal is formed."
"That's…quite a long time." I said, somewhat stunned. That was over twice what everyone else was going to have to go through! What the hell?!
"As you will likely not be compos mentis afterwards, I'll be escorting you to your new room presently." He continued. "Do you have any preferences as to roommates?"
"Emma Barnes. She's my best friend." I said at once. "I, ah…don't really know anyone else here that well. But…Emma's a bit nervous about that Sophia Hess girl…"
"Yes, Miss Hess does have a somewhat intimidating character." Master Clarke said with a wince. "I shall note that she is not to be considered as one of your roommates. Would you have anything against Miss Lavere?"
I blinked. "She's not her father, so why would I?"
"I see your father's sense of fair play at hand here." He chuckled. "If only others were as tolerant. Come now, we had better get you settled."
Standing up, I followed Master Clarke to the middle dorm building, which was the actual dormitory. The two buildings that my peers were sleeping in were just for the initial few days of term as the third, second and first years moved their stuff up to the next floor to become fourth, third and second years respectively.
"This room is reserved for the person with the highest magical power count at the start of term." Master Clarke said, pointing at the solid oak door before us. "That honour goes to you, Miss Hebert."
"Thank you, Professor." I said, my heart beating softly in my chest. "Do…do you have any advice? About making my Core Crystal, I mean?"
"Take your time; do not be impatient." He stated firmly as he opened the door for me. "The absolute worst thing that you can do is rush the construction of your core; doing so leaves it fragile and prone to breaking if you strain it. A solid mage has a solid Core Crystal. Just let things flow naturally and you will achieve the results you need."
"Thank you professor." I repeated. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
Swallowing, I entered the room and he shut it behind me, leaving me alone. Thankfully, the magical technology here was very useful; light globes cast their brilliance without flickering. I was glad for that, as without them, eye-strain would be a common affliction.
The room was modestly large, which made sense as it was designed to hold four girls for a year. There were four beds, lined up in a row, one of which had all of my stuff on it. Clambering atop it, I looked at the crystal in my hand; I had to wonder if this was anything like what those people back on Earth Bet, who had bought powers in a bottle, had felt like before taking the plunge? Granted, I already had the powers; this was simply a way of being able to use them properly, but the comparison was there.
"Please don't turn me back into that thing I was going to become." I said to the innocent-looking crystal sitting on my hand, feeling foolish. "I would rather truly die that become that monster again, so please…don't turn me into the puppet of the [Queen Administrator] again."
Prayer for no apparent reason to the inanimate stone in my hand complete, I opened my mouth and swallowed the crystal in one gulp before placing myself into a cross-legged sitting position and focused. For whatever reason, I somehow knew how to meditate and fell into it as easily as riding a bike. The world dropped away around me and I found myself floating above a pool of light.
Well, it was actually two pools, not one. They were so close together that they overlapped somewhat, so it was an easy mistake to make. Huh…wait a moment…I think I know why there's two; one was my pool, while the other was from the Taylor from this world. Hers was a little bigger than mine too, so my powerful magical power was as a result of me and my alternate sharing a body…
Wait a moment, how was that possible…unless…had my soul been attached to my alternate's own like a limpet? And when my alternate's soul had been…destroyed…mine had awakened to fill her place? Was that it? Was that even possible?
Driving the errant thought off, I focused on the task at hand. Building a Magic Core now, worry about Metaphysical bullshit later.
As I concentrated on the idea of a core, little motes of light emerged from the two pools and started dancing around before moving around two points. Wait, what?
It was too late to stop it though; more and more motes of light emerged from my pools and started to build up the two cores that I somehow had. Oh, wait…it was because I had two pools. One pool equals one core. I really had no idea about if it was a good idea to have two separate cores in one body. Would they cause dissonance?
As if responding to my thoughts, more specks of light rose up from the pools and started to form a lattice, a framework of sorts around the two cores, or rather, around the size the two cores would eventually become. Ok, so this would hopefully prevent any dissonance between the cores, harmonizing them. I'd better reinforce them, just to be certain that they wouldn't break if I had to push myself hard magically.
More flecks of light were added to the lattice around my growing cores. After that was done, I sat back (metaphorically speaking) and watched the cores grow. Each was the size of a grapefruit right now, while the harmonizing lattice was about the size of a pair of medicine balls, with a kind of connecting tunnel between the two globes. It kinda looked like a cartoon dumbbell, now I came to think of it. The kind you saw in The Pink Panther and the old Walt Disney cartoons.
After an indeterminate time, the motes of light finally stopped coming and my cores changed from light to solid pieces of crystal, each the size of a basketball and as solid as a piece of granite. I looked them over from every angle to try and see and perceivable flaw or crack and I was lucky enough to find none.
Abruptly, I was ripped from my mental world and thrust back into my body with a complete lack of warning. I gasped, then coughed as my eyes snapped open and my body started registering protesting limbs, a dry throat and an empty stomach.
"Taylor! Thank the gods!" Emma leapt at me out of nowhere. Thankfully, I was able to unfurl my legs in time to avoid her squashing them while they were crossed. "What the hells have you been doing?!"
"Ems? What time is it?" I asked hoarsely. "Also, water please?"
"You've been meditating for close on twelve hours straight." Another voice said. Blinking to see who was talking, my vision cleared.
"You're…?" I said as someone (not Emma, as she was still hugging me) pressed a cup to my lips. I drank greedily.
"The name's Lily." The person I now recognised as my former (reluctant) Undersider teammate on Earth Bet, Flechette/Foil. "Got no last name."
"Nice to meet you." I said once I swallowed the water. "Ems, I'm fine now. Tired, but fine. Do you think you could let me up?"
Reluctantly, Emma detached herself from me and I sat up, my body protesting the movement after so long stationary.
"Twelve hours? I must've taken Professor Clarke's words too much to heart." I mused. "I spent a long time making my core."
"Is that normal?" Emma asked in concern.
"I haven't the faintest idea. Professor Clarke said I would take at least seven to ten hours to form my core, so twelve might not be out of the question." I shrugged.
"You are entirely too sanguine about this." A quiet voice said. I looked up to see Amelia Lavere looking at me severely. "You have an idea as to why you might have taken so long, don't you?"
"A hunch." I shrugged. "About six months ago, I was attacked by someone magically. I overheard my parents say that it was Soul Magic that was used. I think that might have something to do with it."
Not entirely a lie, but also not the truth either.
"Soul Magic…? It's entirely possible that it may have interfered with you creating a core." Amelia frowned. "Soul is a very rare Sphere though. Just off the top of my head, I know of only five or so Mages who use it. All of them are high-ranking members of enemy kingdoms, so that doesn't do much to narrow down your enemies."
"Why attack a twelve-year old girl though?" Lily asked with a frown.
"To attack my father." I said with a sigh. "His ability to maintain his spells would have taken a major hit if I had been killed or put into a coma. Not for long, mind, as my mother would have first kicked him into gear and then gone to His Majesty to find out who attacked me."
"And the King would have listened to her?" Amelia asked with an eyebrow raised in query.
"Yes. Dad's one of the members of the nobility who are most loyal to the crown." I answered firmly. "An attack on the family of a loyal retainer would get His Majesty to investigate who killed me. As I survived though, I don't know if Dad or Mom did anything."
"Hmm." The Pirate Marquis' daughter nodded. "Attacking the kingdom's food sources as a precursor…perhaps it was a gambit by the Libra Theocracy?"
"Possibly." I yawned. "Do I have to go to class? I'm kind of tired."
"Master Clarke said no." Emma said as she stood up. "I'll copy notes for you from all the classes I have today, so you can look them over tomorrow. Get some shuteye, Tay."
I blinked. In this world, Emma hadn't called me that since we were little kids. "Thanks, Ems."
As the other three left the room, I noticed Amelia eying me appraisingly. Great, she was definitely her father's daughter in this world. She was probably thinking how to turn this situation to her best advantage or something like that. Urgh, I'm too tired for this crap. Sleep now, worry about the politicking of twelve-year-old daughters of Pirate Lords later.
Writing Taylor from anything other than first person is very hard, so I'm going to make an effort to write all of my Worm ficlets in first person from here on out, unless the perspective comes from characters other than Taylor.
And yes, I am aware that these initial chapters are way too info-dump heavy. As I said back at chapter 102, I would normally space these things out over a couple of chapters rather than a single one like I'm doing here. The point that a lot of people forget is that these chapters are a way of introducing people to the world I am crafting here, so the infodumping is kinda necessary.