When Theo woke up, he felt so good he immediately became suspicious. No aches and pains through his body and his soul only felt slightly overstretched. He sat up and found that there wasn't even a scar on his shoulder. It was almost as if the fight hadn't even taken place.

No, he couldn't think that. Not when his awareness of souls was alive and well. He looked around him at the other patients and could instantly tell which of them were soulcrafters, all of them first tier. The only non-patient was a young man moving between the beds, and he had no real defensive wall, so Theo could immediately gain a sense for his soulhome.

It wasn't a vision, exactly, more like an instantaneous impression. The injured soulcrafters had small wooden huts of a few rooms, a few reduced to kindling after the battle. By contrast, the healer's soulhome was a fully crafted building of stone pressing up against the clouds. His soulhome might be focused toward healing instead of combat, but he was the most advanced person in the room.

By contrast, Theo had nothing. He closed his eyes and went to his soulhome, ready to examine it more carefully now that there was no urgent danger. It took only a moment to find the familiar path in his soul, then he was standing within himself.

At the moment, his soulhome was nothing but potential... not even a home, really, just a soul. In his first visit to the Nine, he had begun with only a simple plane of grass. He bent down and ran his fingers through the blades, wondering why they were shades of yellow and brown now. At first he thought it might be dying, but when he pulled some out of the ground, the blades resisted as if firmly rooted.

What did that mean, then? Perhaps his soul knew that he was an old man, even if his body was younger. So long as it didn't prevent him from building the soulhome he'd planned, it didn't matter. The grass extended further into the distance than before, giving him plenty of room to build a large first floor that could support those above it.

Eager to get started, Theo returned to his body and sat up. He found that his pack had been placed beneath his cot, so it was finally time to make use of all the sublime materials he'd collected. First he began to eat the flamefruit: they tasted good, but instead of filling his stomach, they passed directly into his soul. Then he began breaking apart the boards of hearthtree wood, the splinters dissolving into spiritual matter. Finally he grasped the spirit chisel and returned to his soulhome.

Within himself, the sublime materials had far more substance. The flamefruit lay on the grass, resonating with power. Just sitting in his soulhome, they would generate a little cantae for him, but not very effectively. Theo took one of them, removed the seeds, and planted them in the center of his soul. He'd need sublime materials to water and fertilize it, but once it grew into a tree, it would generate a steady stream of cantae. That would be enough to support him as a young soulcrafter.

Of course, it would all just dissipate into the air, leaving him with only a small stream. He needed a chamber to gather the raw power, and that was the reason he had the hearthtree wood. Within his soul, he had an entire pile of spiritual lumber. Perhaps enough to build a small log room, but that would be a weak soulhome. Not only could it only contain a little cantae, it wouldn't strengthen him very much.

No, he needed a sturdier sublime material to truly craft his soulhome. The wood was needed for trim and all the other details that made the chambers he soulcrafted do more than simply store cantae. Theo sat down and began trimming one of the branches with his spirit chisel. He had several different ideas, but it would take time to regain his old skills at soulcrafting.

His blueprint had a simple layout, brilliantly executed thanks to Brigana's designs. The central chamber would generate cantae, flooding it through doors in the cardinal directions into four technique chambers. Then he'd add four corner rooms dedicated to stable traits, mostly increasing his stamina and defenses. With more sublime materials placed within them, they'd reinforce both his soulhome structurally as well as his own power.

He wasn't sure how long he worked, but suddenly he felt the grass beneath him lurch. Without more than a second of warning, he tumbled back into the real world with a hand on his shoulder. While soulcrafting he had no defenses or awareness... that was something he needed to work on as soon as possible.

"Are you alright, lad? Soulcrafting is heady work." A kindly-looking old Tatian woman stood beside him, patting his shoulder. Theo instinctively smiled and nodded back.

"Yes, I'm more than fine. Thank you."

"No trouble with your body? No more aches and pains?"

Though he'd assumed she was a healer, when Theo looked at her, he realized that she was more than that. She instantly struck him as an Archcrafter, and when he looked further, he saw that her soulhome arched high in two floors. It was a peaceful building without any physical enhancement, so likely all her chambers had been soulcrafted for the sake of healing. That explained why his physical condition was perfect.

"I feel wonderful thanks to your healing," Theo said. He rolled his shoulders as if to demonstrate, but then frowned just a little. "Did the demons cause any damage to my soul?"

"To fully answer that question, you would need a greater expert than I." The healer smiled warmly and patted his shoulder again. "But I didn't see any sign of it. You're just a bit shaken up from awakening as a soulcrafter in such a violent way. They intend to help you young things with that, so never fear."

"Help us?"

"Oh yes. The attack ended with only a few sorrows, but it could have been much worse. They called me in to save some of the wounded, but I would have been too late if not for you young brave ones. Stepping up when you're just children yourself... well, it warms my old heart! So they wanted me to heal you right up, and they'll be helping you become strong Farmguards."

Theo smiled and nodded, though he had no intention of actually becoming a Farmguard. It seemed that things had worked out, despite the huge risks taken during the battle. The seeds he'd laid before must have sprouted, which meant he was likely to receive training from the Tatians. Exactly what he needed.

Though the healer seemed to have finished checking up on him, he knew he wouldn't get a chance to talk to many Archcrafters soon, so he stopped her with a question. "Have there been other demon attacks on Tatian lately?"

"Well, I don't know about the whole world, but our lives were peaceful enough until a month ago." The healer shook her head slowly. "They say there was a battle between soulcrafters of terrible power. I think they're just guessing, because anyone can tell that the rivers between worlds are disrupted. That leads to more guests coming through... and yes, more demons. If you help protect our villages from them, I'll keep you in good health!"

With another beaming smile, the healer shuffled off to check on another patient. Theo sat on his cot, trying to decide if that information should change his actions in any way. He'd never met soulcrafters capable of causing damage to the Nine themselves, but he also knew he hadn't reached the limits, so it was possible that the rumors were true.

Even if that were true, it was so far above him as to be irrelevant. He couldn't fight a full first tier soulcrafter, much less an Archcrafter, much less... whatever unfathomable power it took to damage worlds. More information was useful, but for the moment he needed to stay focused on immediate priorities.

Though he could put more time into soulcrafting, investigating the aftermath of the battle would be more important. Theo pulled on his cloak, noting that someone had restored the places where it had been damaged. Then he headed out into the village and ran his eyes over the cheerful rebuilding process.

Whatever else anyone might say about Tatian villagers, they were definitely resilient. Most went about their work ignoring him, but those who recognized him always came by to stroke his arms or shoulders and give thanks for his help. He wasn't really a hero to them, just an outsider they wanted to welcome into their community. Theo put up with their pawing and looked for other travelers.

Navim was immediately obvious, but he was also surrounded by workers, helping them to restore a building reduced to rubble. Theo focused on him further and saw that Navim's soulhome was a vast mound of stone, filling the first tier. Not close to ascending to Archcrafter, but his soulcrafting looked quite solid, explaining his skill as a stoneshaper.

Looking on, Theo hoped to find Magnafor, but there was no sign of him. Instead, in the shadow of the largest building in the village, he saw Fiyu huddling with a cloak over her head. When he tried to examine her soulhome, he could see only shifting shadows. Though she looked like she was desperately trying to hide from all the cheerfulness around her, he headed in her direction.

Shielded soulcrafting, an obscured soulhome, and powerful techniques... those were not the work of a naive first-tier soulcrafter. He presumed that her relative was mentoring her well, preparing her for the rigors of life in Ichil as well as future tiers. Even her unreliable bolts of light were likely only a temporary weakness that would be smoothed out when she became an Archcrafter. Truly powerful soulcrafters often allowed temporary weaknesses for the sake of long term strength.

When he approached, Fiyu's head perked up. "Hello, Jake. The Farmguards who came with us are kind, but there are too many new villagers who keep trying to touch me. And if I hide, they come looking for me."

"They're grateful to you for helping defend them, and you did play a huge role." Theo leaned against the wall beside her, not too close. "Unfortunately, you may not enjoy the thanks they try to give."

"It is very confusing how they seem to call all soulcrafters Farmguards. Even those of the second tier are rarely called Archcrafters. I have not seen anyone on the third tier, but are they Farmguards too?"

"That's right. Tatian isn't very concerned with ranks, so their lower tiers are scattered across the farms by family and custom instead of military tactics. But it's a safe world, so it doesn't do them much harm."

Fiyu was silent for a time, lowering her head so he couldn't see her, and eventually spoke quietly. "I am sorry that I burned you. I aimed as carefully as I could, but the technique is difficult to control..."

"There's no need to apologize. The demons would have done much worse to me."

"You are not angry?"

"It's fine, Fiyu. Honestly." Theo smiled at her, though it seemed unlikely that she could sense it. He realized that he wasn't sure about the finer details of conveying emotion on Ichil, not outside of the lit cavern communities. Hopefully his words would be enough.

After another silence, Fiyu spoke up in a lighter tone. "They say that they will take us to a great city called Myufuru. I... do not think I want to see what a Tatian city is like."

"Don't worry, you'll be able to find privacy. In some ways, it's easier than in these little villages where everyone knows everyone." Theo glanced over at her, noting how she chewed on her lower lip. "They told me that their plan is to train us, but did they give you any more details?"

"I think they intend to create a... school, of a sort."

For a moment Theo's mind split between two realities: he had heard the word "school" but what Fiyu had actually said was something closer to "learningplace". Did schools not exist in her language? Usually the soul translation between worlds was perfect, but it did create strange words at times. If the new languages he'd learned let him hear both, that might improve his understanding, but it could also be confusing unless he could adapt to it.

"I am... coming to accept that my relative will not arrive soon." Fiyu toyed with the edges of her mask uncomfortably. "You are a soulcrafter now, Jake. Will you help me create the chamber you spoke of? I am tired of being blinded by this horrible light."

"No need!" The loud voice made both of them jump, then the tall Farmguard from the battle was striding up to them. He clapped Theo on the shoulder and raised a hand toward Fiyu before he remembered and pulled it back. "I've learned of this idea to have you travelers help us against demons, and I think it's a wonderful idea! You will have every sublime material you need to to adapt to our world, and we can give you more. For those who contribute most to the community, we even have some Archcrafter sublime materials to offer."

Theo tried to suppress any reaction, forcing his tone to mild interest. "Oh? How will you decide who contributes most?"

"I don't think that it has been decided, or at least it won't be by me. But other guests from far off worlds have already gathered at Myufuru, so I believe there is to be a good-natured competition. All for the sake of working better together, of course."

As much as the cultures of Tatian wanted to share everything, higher tier sublime materials simply weren't common enough to be given out freely. In his previous travels, Theo had mostly seen them given to Farmguards who defended less harmless regions, but apparently they could hold contests too. Even if the competition wasn't cutthroat, the chance to receive superior materials couldn't be ignored.

"Now, I already know the two of you, both your identities and your true natures." The man lowered his head to them with a broad smile. "My name is Famaj, and I am happy to meet two young soulcrafters who would risk their lives to save communities far from home."

"Hello, Famaj." Fiyu dutifully reflected the greeting, while Theo just nodded. "Will you go with us to Myufuru?"

"Yes. I have felt my own limits, so if I am to better serve my community, perhaps I must ascend." Famaj waved a hand as if it was no concern. "Never mind such things! Please, enjoy yourselves tonight. I have arranged a faster method of transportation for us to reach the city, so you will not have long with your new friends."

With that, he departed cheerfully. Fiyu sighed and pulled her cloak lower. "If I will be traveling with everyone, I need some time to reflect alone. We can discuss soulcrafting when we arrive at this school."

"Of course, Fiyu." She couldn't have given a more obvious cue to leave, so Theo nodded and pushed off the wall. "I'll see you there."

In the community, however, he wasn't sure what his highest priority should be. Navim was still busy and Theo didn't want to waste time with empty offers of food and drink. He spent a while looking for sublime materials, but the village's hearthtree had apparently been destroyed in the battle, so all they could give him were more flamefruit and some lumpy green vegetables that weren't a very strong material.

Eventually he found a quiet enough place - not occupied by Fiyu - and sat down to think. It was too noisy to soulcraft, but he could consider his next step. Before building too much, he needed to develop his foundation as he'd been planning for so many years. That limited his options in the short term.

Perhaps the first thing he should create was a door. He could carve the frame out of hearthtree wood and attach it to whatever he created later. More importantly, that door would allow him to remain conscious of the real world while he was inside his soulhome. No matter what steps he would take, that was an essential precaution.

Before he could step into his soulhome, however, Magnafor showed up in front of him. It looked as though he had become a soulcrafter as well, and his soulhome was already obscured, nothing but a blank wall. The other human gave him an odd glance as soon as they were alone.

"That was worse than usual. Much worse. I think the two of us being together is causing some sort of reaction. So from now on, I'm staying as far away as I can."

"Are they taking you to the school too?" Theo asked. Magnafor immediately winced.

"Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't go. I don't like it, but we'll just have to keep our distance. Those sublime materials they're offering are too good to pass up... and don't expect any mercy in the competition for them."

"Fine with me." Theo pushed his mind against the blank wall again, but couldn't get anything except that his opponent was a first tier soulcrafter. "I guess the battle awakened you too, huh?"

Magnafor immediately snorted. "Battle? More like an opportunity to take the sublime materials they were wasting. Don't be so soft, Jake. This world may seem harmless, but it's the softest trap of all: coddling you into stagnation. Never forget that we have targets on our backs."

With that, he moved away, not looking back once. Theo remained seated, just thinking instead of soulcrafting. The competition would be difficult enough without another experienced person from Earth. Magnafor had gotten even further in his first life, he had plenty of knowledge, and more importantly, he was ruthless.

Theo took a deep breath and decided to find out how ruthless he could be.