An entire month passed more quickly than Theo had expected. After stumbling from place to place, always concerned that he would be eliminated by someone targeting him, it was good to focus and make substantial progress. Though being directly attacked seemed unlikely, he remembered what Magnafor had said and threw himself into his work.

His greatest success was finishing his vestibule, which was no small feat. It required redeveloping his skills enough to craft all the solarstone blocks perfectly, which took the majority of the time. Once he had them finished, Nauda was able to acquire a sublime clay to serve as spiritual mortar, so he put the structure together in only a few days. With his previous door affixed to the entrance and a little more trim of hearthtree wood, he had a chamber that would be useful for a long time.

Though primarily designed to transfer energy from his real chambers, it still did an adequate job of storing cantae: only the top students like Fiyu and Nauda had chambers that stored it more efficiently. Of course, it couldn't store as much as a fully sized chamber, but it allowed him to test letting cantae flow through his body again, making him stronger and more durable than a normal person.

It wasn't enough. If he faced highly concentrated cantae from an Archcrafter or advanced demon, they would tear through his defenses like wet tissue paper. Not to mention the even greater threats...

He was required to attend classes, but they were less frustrating than they could have been. Nauda did a good job only requiring their presence at those that might be helpful to them individually. Many had been repetitive in terms of the intellectual content, but they'd allowed him to practice his old soulcrafting skills. The hours of practice under supervision had been essential in finally finishing the solarstone bricks.

Their single non-Tatian instructor seemed to teach irregular classes on irregular subjects. Theo had yet to attend a single one of the lectures, but hoped to potentially learn something new. Tatian was a good environment for early growth, yet also a suffocating one, free from too many concerns.

By far the worst thing in his life was the people. Most of the Tatians were just insipid, while the aggressive guests were equally bland. His years on Earth had slowly turned him into more and more of a misanthrope, but he realized that he'd long held out hope that when he returned to the Nine, he would stop finding people annoying. Now he wasn't sure if he had missed all the annoying tendencies of people there or if he was the one who had changed.

Maybe his ex-wife had been right, and he really was the one making himself miserable. The most frustrating thing about her was how often she'd made good points, but that was one of many things he'd put behind him.

A few exceptions kept him putting up with the rest. Fiyu had adjusted to the school, treating the friendly hallways as the hostile environment between safe camps, just like Ichil. Fortunately, he was one of her safe camps and they often trained outside at night when she didn't find the light so oppressive. Though she could obviously blow him away, she could practice holding back and aiming precisely with her light bursts while he adjusted to using cantae to move his body quickly again.

Otherwise, Fiyu only spent time with Nauda and Navim, though he wasn't sure what she was doing with either one. Perhaps she was seeking another mask: she could still use a defensive chamber, just as soon as they had the proper materials, but a better mask would be more comfortable than the one he'd thrown together.

Though the Mundhin was busy, Theo had managed to get some time with Navim on occasion. It was a relief to get an intelligent conversation, though Navim seemed to lack cynicism. He treated every aspect of Tatian culture with either mild amusement or intellectual curiosity. So there was no outlet for Theo's venom, but it was still good to have a friend.

As for Nauda herself, their group leader had proved capable, if frustratingly bland. What annoyed him most was that she was so spineless in every interaction, always giving way when someone challenged her. He noted that she often didn't change what she was going to do despite agreeing, which was an insufferably Tatian way of handling conflict.

The only other person he spent any time with was Famaj, who greeted him as if the snub during the choosing meant nothing at all. Maybe it didn't, but Theo was surprised how long the resentment simmered within him, despite the fact that his group had worked out fine. He needed to remember that Tatian loyalty only went so far.

Near the end of the month, Nauda began presenting their group with more valuable sublime materials that she said were rewards. For him, she had a set of grape-like fruits that glowed so brilliantly it was difficult to look at them. They would certainly work well for his light-based blueprint, so he planted them and began building a trellis. Ideally he could use sublime glass for windows, to further focus the light theme, but that would need to come later.

Still, it was starting to come together. There were two essential elements of his new blueprint: Brigana's brilliant insights about his foundation and his scientific knowledge of light. Tatian villagers trying to use light would probably create nothing except pleasant warmth, but he knew better.

Light was heat, the electromagnetic spectrum, and solar plasma all rolled into one. Because they were all unified in his mind, he was certain that within his soul he could use them as a single concept. From that, he could create countless applications without fragmenting his soulhome into too many different concepts. That had been a problem with his past life, building a new chamber for every skill that came along even if it didn't strengthen the overall structure.

First, he intended to use light as raw energy to defend himself and even regenerate wounds, if possible. His second priority was to tap the sun itself to release beams of pure plasma - he might not be able to do it properly as a first tier soulcrafter, but the skill would grow more deadly as he ascended. Finally, he hoped to be able to explore more varied effects via the electromagnetic spectrum.

All of that would come later: for now, he needed to create a glorious core chamber that would generate cantae and channel it as pure light, enough for all four chambers around it. He had light on his mind at practically all times, considering potential problems or variations, but always sticking to his core plan.

Still, light wasn't welcome when it was searing through his eyelids, waking him up in the middle of the night. Theo cursed under his breath as he sat up, shielding his eyes from the light coming through his window. He feared an attack for a moment before he saw that Fiyu was emitting the light from one hand, stopping once she saw him sit up.

"Fiyu? What's happening?"

"We must go, Jake. They have promised rewards for those who assist, but I do not trust the Tatians with locating appropriate sublime materials or with coordinating the battle. You must come with me."

"Right, okay." Theo shuffled to pull on his shoes and cloak, mind not yet fully engaged. "But where are we going? Why in the middle of the night?"

"You didn't hear? Demons are attacking."

~ ~ ~

Though Theo had seen a lot of things in his time among the Nine Worlds, he hadn't ever seen an acorn the size of a house. Much less one carved into seats, or one that could fly, or... not many weaponized acorns at all, really. Yet somehow now he was clinging to the side of one as they soared toward the sky, bright with the Tatian moons.

Even hurrying, he had barely joined Fiyu in time to grab onto the vessel before it lifted into the air. Nanjuma had been standing at the top near the stem, more serious than he had ever looked before. Apparently time was so of the essence that he really would have left behind anyone who didn't arrive in time, even Fiyu. Nauda and a few of the Farmguards didn't seem to approve of Theo's presence, but there was no time to argue.

Apparently there had been a serious demon attack on a town some distance from Myufuru. The local Farmguards had repelled the first attack, but failed to realize that the demons were sacrificing themselves. Once a second stage demon stepped onto the battlefield, everything turned and there had already been losses. Worse, reports suggested that more second stage demons were being summoned.

Going against a force like that, Theo had to admit that he felt a little outgunned. All he had was a small amount of cantae and the spear Navim had crafted for him. It wasn't his ideal weapon, but he wasn't nearly confident enough in his raw strength to fight without one. As a soulcrafter, now he could use the armament without harming himself, so it would work well enough against base demons.

But if he had to fight anything worse... the thought trailed away as Nanjuma suddenly stepped over to the edge of the acorn's top, beaming down at them. Now that they were moving, his tension seemed to have gone.

"Hello, students! This is not the sort of lesson you should be learning, but there is no choice. Consider this a special lesson in advanced battle tactics. We're already moving to the battle as quickly as we can, so take this as an opportunity to prepare yourselves. Tell me: why are we bringing you along?"

At first everyone was taken aback by the ambush of good cheer, then one of the Fithan students ventured a guess. "The demons are so overwhelming you need every soulcrafter you can find?"

"Heavens forbid! No, barring a terrible surprise, I should be able to defeat all the demons that stand before me. But you are not being brought along simply to watch. Why?"

Though Theo knew the likely answer, he decided to stay quiet and avoid drawing any attention, just in case. The fact that the attack occurred so far away suggested it couldn't have anything to do with him, but it was always possible. That thought made him search for Magnafor, but the other human was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, several other obviously wrong answers were given. Finally Nauda ventured a better guess: "Has the battle spread out so far that you can't be everywhere at once?"

"Exactly!" Nanjuma leapt over the side, alarmingly in the air for a moment, before catching his feet in unused handholds and keeping himself horizontal. "When locked in battle with an opponent of a higher tier, the only logical strategy is to spread out and target weaknesses. I cannot duplicate myself or raise barriers over entire towns, so I can only do so much. Demons are generally unintelligent, but they will instinctively scatter. I cannot afford to waste time protecting the outskirts and chasing after every errant demon."

"Then what is our strategy?" Nauda asked.

"The local Farmguards said they evacuated the townspeople into a fortified region on a hill. I can see it from here... hmm. I will handle the western approach, while Farmguards will divide into groups to guard the north and eliminate flying demons. We'll first drop you students near the southern approach. There are not so many demons there, but repelling them is essential."

Though Theo couldn't see the town, judging from Nanjuma's fading cheer, the situation was serious. A weak area lacking soulcrafters combined with demons in higher concentrations than normal made for a deadly combination, though hopefully not for them.

As they drew closer, fires visible in the distance, everyone riding the acorn grew tenser. Eventually Theo decided to cut the tension by resolving an idle curiosity. He waved to catch Nanjuma's attention and then spoke up loudly enough for the others to hear. "How did you grow an acorn this big?"

"What makes you think I grew it?" Nanjuma spun to face him with a bit of his usual smile again. "No, I plucked it off the ground in my travels. If you have never visited the Heartgrowth, you will find it... grandiose."

Some laughed as if it was a joke, but Theo thought that the claim was probably serious. He'd never seen a tree large enough to have an acorn this big, not even in the forests of Aathal. The size likely defied physical laws of biology, so the enormous tree must either naturally use cantae or fundamentally break physics. Each possibility was a bit troubling; neither was impossible in the Nine.

All chuckling died as they floated nearer and realized the extent of the demon attacks. Theo saw several second stage demons striding over the others, head and shoulders taller than most men. That was bad enough, but if all the demons sacrificed themselves... it took a great many to summon a third stage demon, but a titan would be the death of them all.

"The acorn will take the students to their destination, and I trust the rest of you to find your way. I must go." With that, Nanjuma leapt off the side of the floating vessel and plummeted toward the heart of the demon horde.

He struck as a meteor, a shell of neon green cantae erupting in the center of the mass. All of the demons at the point of impact were instantly vaporized and fragments of the shell tore through the other forces. Nanjuma began striding toward the demons attacking the nearest Farmguards, limiting his power to avoid collateral damage, but that simply meant that he snuffed out lesser demons with his aura while he tracked down the second stage demons and killed them with overwhelming bursts of flame.

Definitely a Ruler, then, and a powerful one. Most of the others stared in awe, so Theo instead focused toward the dimly lit path below. A winding path around the side of the village had served as a road for wagons and now offered the demons another way to the fortified area. There weren't many demons there, but it wouldn't be easy to defend.

"There!" Theo had been focused on the ground, but Nauda was looking up, jabbing a finger out into the night sky. "It sees us, take it down!"

Theo didn't understand until a moment later, when he saw the demon flit across one of the moons, spiraling toward them.