Returning to Sarvas Part 5 - Experiments on the Road

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A sense of anticipation followed Ahsch onto the road, as his knowledge that Phashim was present - and may very well be watching at any moment - meshed with his memories of the last time he traveled in a group any real distance. The paranoid part of his brain kept a weather eye on his bond with the Mystical Calamity, anxiously awaiting the sensation of it moving, that Phashim was approaching. Logically, he knew the likelihood of her coming the test him again so soon after training him was low - and he suspected that she was still nursing a grudge against him from both summoning her and teasing her about her sexual escapades (or lack thereof).

Still, reason and instinct rarely cooperated when it came to things like worry, so Ahsch made do with his background tension as the group traveled. Mahat, ever-privy to his mind, tried to engage him in conversation regularly, and he suspected that she was behind the rotation of his companions as they rode alongside him to talk. Of course, she denied it, insisting that he was nervous enough that the others must have noticed on their own.

At dusk the party set up camp, and then resumed a debate that had been started before they had even set out; whether or not to speed their journey by resting inside of Ahsch’s demi-plane and gaining several hours of travel time. Ahsch, Ariin, and Mahat were in favor of the idea, pointing out that the sooner they arrived in Sarvas the longer they could stay before they had to return to the Capital; meanwhile Dorin and Kirasiel were against it, as it would require them to travel in the dark, and could easily upset their sleep rhythms as they would be rested many hours earlier than they normally would, which could cause them to become tired earlier in the day; Rwnil had abstained from the conversation, and Aena watched impassively.

Ahsch eventually suggested a compromise: they try sleeping within the demi-plane, at least for several days, and if they found that it disrupted their sleep cycles too much, they could revert to sleeping normally. After a little hemming and hawing, the rest of the group agreed, and Ahsch pulled them all - mounts and camp included - into the forest section of his personal demi-plane.

It was less than an hour later that they emerged, rested and ready to carry on. A simple expenditure of Mana provided light to guide their way along the road, and they were on the way. As dawn broke, Dorin sighed and looked over at Ahsch. “Even if we do get tired, the view might just be worth it,” he said with a small smile.

Some of Ahsch’s anticipation had drained away by the second day, and his mind instead turned to his projects. Numerous spell concepts littered his mind, and he’d not forgotten his need to develop his domain of bodies, both to repay Krutune (or, potentially, place her into his debt, should he decide to provide the War Goddess with a Ley Spring), and for his own ends. There was also the adaptation of Shapeshift that he had never managed to figure out.

He eventually settled on progressing his domain, which turned into a study - specifically, of the bodies available to him. Getting permission from everyone aside from Rwnil - who he didn’t dare ask - he began to ‘scan,’ using all the senses and spells available to him. Building up a basis of knowledge was a simple first step, if somewhat aimless. Unlike with bonds, Ahsch didn’t have a mentor to walk him through what was possible, to push him to progress or lead him near enough to revelations for him to discover them on his own. However, Rwnil’s example at the very least gave him a sort of roadmap.

Developing some sort of ‘body-sense’ was his first goal, though what, precisely, that entailed was beyond him. Unlike bonds, bodies had a physical existence, and could be sensed with anyone’s mundane senses. However, like bonds, there was a vast assortment of details and specifics that eluded the unaided eye, as it were. To Ahsch’s thinking, a ‘body-sense’ would fulfill the same purpose as his bond-sense, namely being able to ‘see’ and identify the makeup of a body on instinct. The problem, of course, was that he was already somewhat capable of that on his own, without such an esoteric ability. He could look at a face and identify the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, skin, and so on - it was all already cataloged in his mind.

But hold on, he reconsidered. My bond-sense accomplished essentially the same thing, at least where, say, relationships are concerned. To some degree, I’m able to look at two people interacting and guess their relationship to each other. The bond-sense just confirms it magically. So, hypothetically, a body-sense should do the same… except I don’t guess that someone’s eye is their eye. He thought for a few more moments before an idea occurred to him. He turned his attention on himself, his own body. A body that, while he could identify the stomach and heart and lungs and brain of, he wasn’t able to identify literally every structure in the body. Nor explain the purpose of each of those structures. The basic, easy things, like an eye or mouth, I can identify, but what about… he examined his own organs, quickly finding several he was unfamiliar with. Chuckling to himself, he even narrowed his attention within what he was familiar with - how many of the pieces that made up his eye could he name? Or explain the function of?

_Instinctive knowledge is probably a bit much to ask for one of my minor domains, _Ahsch reasoned to himself. But at the very least, familiarity is important. And, beyond that, being able to do something with what I sense is the real goal. Though to some extent, doing something with a body that I don’t fully understand is probably a recipe for disaster. Bodies are in a delicate balance, and even just a little upset could kill someone. So, let’s learn to look before we even try walking.

His investigations lasted the rest of that day, and into the days beyond. Without a mentor to shield him from catastrophic consequences, he forced himself to accept modest progress in return for the safety of himself and his friends. Developing the sense - and potential understanding - was critical to avoiding the sort of fuck-ups that he was afraid of.