Encountering a ley line in its raw form is unusual indeed; surviving bare skin contact is the stuff of myth. Though the odd explorer occasionally discovers an active ley line, the dangers of even being near it are well documented – for good reason. Though at first considered a boon as the area around a ley line offers a much higher Energy absorption rate, it soon became evident that the Energy produced by a ley line is poisonous in some way. Those who remained nearby for too long found their progress stunted, some even halted by an affliction that no healer could overcome.

  As for those who touched the concentrated Energy with their bare flesh…Nicholas remembers vividly reading an excerpt from a journal which detailed how the writer watched as the poor fool had writhed in what seemed to be unimaginable pain – shortly before he exploded into fragments of gore.

  So of course that was what Markus had done.

  “How are you even alive?!” he demands from his heir, incredulous. Is this why the Oracle had suggested that this man be his heir? Because she had seen that he was lucky enough to make it through these impossible trials? Did Nicholas have to look forward to such incredible circumstances repeating themselves, or was it just an effect of being in the other world? Markus seemed to have had a fair bit of bad luck in his original world, but he hadn’t seemed to be anything special there, so…maybe?

  Markus’ explanation of how he had once more nearly died – and the lingering consequences – left Nicholas’s eyes bulging again. He was abruptly glad that he hadn’t been able to monitor the candidate closely while he was in the other world – he’d have despaired if he’d realised that Markus’ Core and Soul had been damaged, not to mention these ‘Energy channels’.

  By this point, he’s almost unsurprised that Markus found a way to heal things that only the most powerful and specialised healers are capable of dealing with – if even them. Nicholas had an ancestor who cracked his Core due to using too much magic all at once – as a result, he was removed from the line of succession since his progression was crippled. As far as Nicholas knows, the availability, or lack thereof, of healers for Core injuries hasn’t changed since his ancestor’s time. Given that he has only recently learned of Energy channels, he suspects they’d be even harder to mend. Priests can at least heal the Soul, so perhaps they should visit a temple sooner rather than later to check on Markus’ work.

  “Well,” Nicholas remarks with what he feels is impressive composure. “Jerry certainly doesn’t know what he’s in for,” he reflects slightly gleefully. Maybe he can even arrange to be present when his healer hears the tale. It will be nice to see someone else being shocked by exactly what this man has managed to accomplish in a year.

  A little voice inside Nicholas wonders whether his heir might even find a way to cure his own affliction. Every healer Nicholas has spoken to – and he’s spoken to many – has declared it as incurable and degenerative, with the symptoms able to be managed to a certain point but an early death certain. But Markus seems to consider it a bad day if he hasn’t accomplished at least one impossible deed before breakfast. Why not this too?

  Markus shrugs slightly.

  “Healing those who aren’t Bound to me is far harder, sometimes impossible,” he remarks, which does dishearten Nicholas a little, but it doesn’t destroy that stubborn kernel of hope which has taken root. If a Bond is required to enable his healing, it is a small price to pay.

  He also thinks – though he keeps it to himself – that if Markus ever finds the heir’s role too burdensome, he’d be able to make an excellent living as a healer. But no need to give Markus any ideas about leaving at the end of the competition, especially when Nicholas has just been reminded of exactly why he wanted this man to be his heir in the first place. He might be rough and ill-mannered by noble standards, but he’s accomplished far more than heirs twice as personally influential or politically savvy.

  And as Markus continues to tell his tale, Nicholas sees even further signs that he was not mistaken in putting his trust in the Oracle.

  “You…that is how you Bonded with a fire elemental? You created it by somehow compressing an inferno which had destroyed a Tier four class threat?” Nicholas splutters at the next impossibility. He’d been amazed that Markus had managed to gain Fire-Shaping merely by thinking about it, but he’d assumed that the fire-aspected natural Cores had made the study easier.

  There’s a reason why Flameform is the biggest purchaser of fire-aspected Cores, whether natural or sourced from beasts. Cores which share elemental affinity with the consumer are always more beneficial than those which are neutral. And consuming oppositional Cores can be actively detrimental to those who are particularly strong in an element. Nicholas himself doesn’t need to worry too much – his House’s Class isn’t elemental based at all – but he’s had to learn the theory for the sake of his own Bonded. Most beasts become elementally-aspected at one point or another.

  Still, impressive as it is, there’s a gulf between gaining a coveted fire-mage Skill and somehow controlling an inferno consuming a Tier four carnivorous forest. Though, Nicholas supposes that the trees themselves weren’t especially powerful – it was the forest’s collective threat and rapid growth that likely earned it Tier four status in the Records of Ancestry. Still, an inferno is just as damaging and quick to spread, more so, even.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Well, technically I didn’t destroy the whole forest. Not at that time, anyway,” Markus qualifies. Nicholas levels him with an unamused look.

  “But the elemental was still formed by the compression of an inferno?”

  “Uh, yeah,” the other man admits, his eyes darting away from Nicholas’ as if he’s almost…ashamed of what he did.

  “That’s incredible,” Nicholas tells him before giving a breathy chuckle. “How much Willpower did you have at the time?”

  Markus scratches the back of his head, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

  “I’m not sure. Perhaps around seventy?”

  Nicholas shakes his head. Seventy points in Willpower is an impressive amount but he’s still surprised that it was enough – fire is notoriously difficult to control, especially when trying to rein it in. Turning it into a fire elemental, though not something Nicholas has ever heard happening exactly like that, is probably the only thing that Markus could have done to keep control. He hadn’t stopped the fire so much as redirected its purpose. It also makes Nicholas rather more wary of that little ball of sentient flames that dances around Markus’ head from time to time – all the power of an inferno confined into such a small space…. Hopefully he won’t return to a burnt-down manor.

  Suddenly he realises something.

  “Is that when you completed the Energy debt for the ritual?” he asks, remembering that night. It hadn’t been that far into the month, so it would tie up with how time passed faster in the other world….

  “Yes – I got enough Energy to level up, but I couldn’t do so in the middle of dealing with the fire, so it overflowed into the Energy debt,” Markus explains. “After that, any Energy that was more than I needed for a level up went to extend the amount of time the portal would stay open for.” Nicholas grunts in acknowledgement – that seems like it was a useful arrangement. And it explains why so much more of his own Energy and magic was required in the final accounting.

  Nicholas listens as Markus relates how he gained and held power in the samuran village. Thank you Oracle, he murmurs mentally as he realises that Markus has already had a decent amount of experience in leading and developing a group of people – since there is no way to deny that the samurans are people, uncivilised as they might have been. From what Markus is saying – and he doesn’t seem to be glossing over the negatives – he’s made plenty of mistakes, but learned from them.

  The lord isn’t surprised to intuit that Markus was idealistic and naive when he first took over – he’s seen enough of it in the younger man’s conduct since arriving in this world to have already been able to conclude that. But he is glad to hear that Markus is capable of making difficult decisions when he must, and even when he’s personally affected by them. The tale of how he sentenced the leader of an attacking force to death after the battle had ended earns Nicholas’ approval – as does the way he left his village stronger than he found it. Such evidence bodes well for his ability to establish a colony on the Lost Continent.

  It seems that Markus’ brush with politics was just as chaotic in the other world as it has been so far in this one – if he had been more adept at them, perhaps he would not have been challenged at that gathering with all the ‘Pathwalkers’ and most of the ‘Warriors’, which in turn would have potentially prevented the other two attacks from happening. At least Nicholas knows that his heir is no coward – he took on a Tier three beast without any fighter Classers of at least level thirty or a couple of Tier three beasts to aid him. Still, one thing continues to bother Nicholas.

  “You seem to rely rather over-much on your Bonds,” he remarks, eyeing Markus carefully. “As I’ve already explained to you, our Dominate Skill is more regulated in Moriax and Binding the wrong person at the wrong time could spell disaster both for you and our House. And yes,” he continues hastily, tapping the table twice in a gesture to indicate that he isn’t finished, “I know that you won’t technically be in Moriax for the competition and the rule of law only matters when it can be enforced, but you must return here eventually. I can assure you that the King won’t look kindly upon you or the Titanbends in general if it appears that you are taking too much inspiration from our long-ago ancestor. You will have to find ways to gain and keep loyalty without Bonds.”

  Markus pauses, pensive.

  “That’s a good point,” he admits finally. “I will certainly bear it in mind.”

  “Do so,” Nicholas accepts with a nod, leaning back into his chair. “I am willing to offer advice at any time.” Then he smiles a little wryly. “Though the distance that will soon be between us will make that a little difficult.”

  Markus continues his tale after a short pause, retelling how he ensured that his village would remain in a good state even after his departure, able to face the enemies which they had created with their heads held high.

  When he finishes, silence falls for a long moment as Nicholas reflects on what he’s learned about his heir. Studying the man, he realises he now sees Markus in a different light.

  It was one thing hearing the list of Skills Markus has, and the number of points he’s added to his attributes. It’s another to know exactly how all of it came to be. How a soft administrator from another world became a person who will no doubt go down in samuran legends. And possibly those of Moriax too, if Lady Luck ‘favours’ him as much here as she did in the other world.

  Markus is rough around the edges and has plenty to learn about politics – and how not to wear his heart on his face. Yet when forced to adapt or die in a world that was out to kill him, he not only adapted, but became someone who changed those he met – in many ways for the better, in Nicholas’ opinion.

  Magic-less before the transition, Markus still managed to gain Fire-Shaping and develop Lay-on-Hands into Flesh-Shaping, and then extrapolate them to gain all sorts of other elemental Shaping Skills. An administrator who had never held a weapon became an Initiate in several martial disciplines – without any formal instructors. A nobody fought his way to become the leader of a village, defending his territory against all comers.

  It gives Nicholas hope for the future. Because if Markus was able to do all that once, perhaps he will be able to do it again. And that’s not even taking into account what Markus implied he might be able to do. Still, Nicholas wonders whether even Markus could have learned how to add Attribute points past twenty without levelling – or how to create natural Cores.

  Surely Nicholas had to be reading too much into Markus’ vague comments there. Even he would find those to be impossible.

  Right?

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