The sorcerer’s dream came into focus as I merged my consciousness with his soul. I took the form of the great spirit like I had in the dreams of the local lord and looked around.

A ravine trickled into a small pool that was ringed in by an uneven arrangement of stones. The end of the pool furthest from the mouth of the ravine bubbled hinting at airflow beneath. Birdsong echoed down from the mountain path just past the water and mixed with the rustle of leaves in the continuous but soft wind.

“Who are you?” I heard from behind me. I turned around to find the sorcerer sitting upon a rock, his expression wary.

“I am the spirit whose essence fills these lands,” I said while floating slightly above the ground.

His expression remained wary. “I am one blessed and cursed to peer into the beyond. There are no spirits within these lands. I ask again, who are you?”

His question had more force behind it this time and his eyes narrowed. With my connection to his soul, I sensed his agitation through my connection with his soul. Interestingly, I felt his Bridge siphoning mana from the Astral spurred on by his will.

He can manipulate his mana while sleeping… I had to admit, I was impressed. On top of that, he had successfully separated a piece of his soul without causing damage to the Bridge or inflicting permanent damage to his soul. I knew a fair bit about the manipulation of souls, knowledge accumulated from years of fleshcraft, and experimentation. Typically, it required a finely controlled stream of mana, or else the soul’s energy would disrupt the mana and either cause an unstable reaction or force to disperse outside of the target. I suspected this process was easier for creatures manipulating their own souls but I had yet to confirm my hypothesis. Hm, even if it is easier, his skill is far more than I would expect from someone his age.

“You have keen senses, young human. You are correct. I am no spirit. Merely an observer who had taken an interest in you,” I said, speaking plaining. “As for my identity, I have no name.”

“Young human? You have a funny perspective, stranger. If you truly have no name, then I suppose we are alike in that respect. I too am unnamed due to the circumstances of my birth but the locals call me Sage,” he said stroking his graying beard. He closed his eyes and summoned a clay pot, two cups, and a small table that sat close to the ground in the space between us. “Tea?”

“Of course,” I said. It was a local custom of hospitality to serve guests tea and it was considered rude to refuse tea once offered. I didn’t feel beholden to the tradition in the slightest but I wanted to humor the man. I shifted my form to that of my last human host before my self-imposed isolation and sat on the ground next to the table. The sipped the tea, my expression unchanging as I locked eyes with Sage. “You have not asked me why I am here.”

Taking a drink from his cup, he seemed to savor it for a moment before answering. “You are here because of the girl.”

“Was it my disguise that gave me away?” I asked, genuinely curious if there was more to it.

“Partially, yes. The lord claimed to have a dream sent by the “great spirit” of the land so the connection was a simple one to make. However, more telling is your presence. I felt it lingering over the child when I tended to her and I’ve felt it on me since I left the town.”

“You can sense my attention on you?” I knew instinctively that other astral creatures could sense my gaze if I weren’t careful but it had never occurred to me that humans might have the same capability. If true, it was yet another reason to find a way to mask my presence.

“I can. It is faint but I sensed great power in your gaze,” he said, regarding me for a moment. “From the feeling that you are giving off now, I know I was not mistaken. You have more energy within you than anyone or anything I have felt except for the Great Source.”

“The Great Source?” I tilted my head to indicate my curiosity. After so many years observing humans, it had come to my attention that I lacked a certain level of expressiveness when within my flesh puppets so I had started practicing.

“Indeed, it is the font through which my power flows and rests in the beyond. I know very little about it but I am thankful for its gift.”

I was certain the Great Source that he spoke of was my companion although the way he referred to her sparked my ire. She was not a source to be drawn from like one might draw water from a lake. I couldn’t necessarily blame him since I doubted his mother explained the situation to him. He’d have been lucky if he knew who she was. My companion raised a few of her children personally but most ended up in the care of their respective fathers, being gifted to temples, or left on the thresholds of seemingly random households. It was a very macro-oriented style of parenting I must admit.

“I see,” I said sipping again from my teacup. I decided to get back on topic to control my agitation. “About the girl, I was pleased when you healed her sickness.”

Odd as it was, my words were sincere. A bit of reflection revealed my intentions to follow through with a curse on the lord’s land had he failed to find aid for her. Sadly, I couldn’t identify why I felt that way. It added to my agitation and I wondered if somehow, my companion had afflicted my mind with her nonsensical ideas. Why should I care if a random child died of illness? It was merely a result of nature, no different than a rabbit meeting its end in a fox’s jaws. I cared not for the rabbit or the fox and I had watched countless cycles of death and rebirth up until then. Yet, I did care for the survival of the child.

“I merely did what I could,” Sage said.

“You speak lightly for one who gave so much,” I said. “Not only did you give up the reward but by removing a piece of your soul, you have crippled yourself and though you will recover, it will take a few years at least.”

I wanted to know the motivation behind his intervention. With so little information on the man, his actions made little sense when compared to my observations of other humans. Much of mankind’s actions were driven by self-interest and survival. Of course, I still saw instances of kindness and self-sacrifice but I could rationalize those actions with enough information. A father facing certain death against a group of bandits so his wife and children have a chance to escape? Understandable. A couple taking in a wayward traveler for the night for fear that turning him away will anger the gods? A bit nonsensical but still understandable given their perspective. Ultimately, my desire to know had driven me to enter his dream to find answers.

His lips curled into a smile. “I do not regret it.”

“But why?” I insisted. “What reasons did you have for doing what you did?”

He regarded me for a minute in silence before he shrugged. “I stood to gain much from answering the lord’s call. Healing the girl has improved my status with the lord which can be of use if I require his aid. I lose little by refusing the reward because wealth is of no use to me here in the mountains away from society. But by freeing the mother, she owes me for her life and her daughter’s life; life debts are no small things to one such as I. Word of my deed will likely spread through the region making my life easier when I choose to descend the mountain.” He paused to swirl the liquid in his cup, his eyes downcast and unfocused. “Now that the child’s connection with the beyond has been awakened, I could take her as my apprentice when she comes of age and pass on my knowledge to ensure the legacy of my life’s work. I could go on but I think I’ve made my point.”

It was true. Considered objectively, his actions made perfect sense. Even so, my blooming intuition on the nature of humans told a different story. I pressed the matter.

“You are obfuscating. I did not want plausible reasons. I asked for your reasons.” My voice left little room for discussion on the matter. My awareness pressed inward for a second applying pressure to his soul for effect. That bit of intimidation was crass on my part but I was hardly tactful in my social interactions back then.

“Fine,” he said, grimacing. “I saved her out of gratitude.”

“Gratitude to whom?” I asked, feeling vindicated. Likely a debt to the local lord or perhaps one of the parents.

“The Great Source,” he said, his lips set in a hard line.

My sense of vindication vanished leaving only confusion in its wake.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean it exactly as I say, I am grateful to the Great Source. It gives those of us blessed with a connection to the beyond the power to shape the world around us. This power is not our own and to treat it as such is folly,” Sage said. His dark eyes bored into me with the resolve of a man used to defending his ideals. I didn’t offer an argument so he continued, “Because I must pull the blessed energy which allows me to form my will into being from the Great Source, I believe it only natural to show my gratitude by using that energy to give it to those less fortunate or to use it to better the world when given the chance?”

“You’re joking,” I said shaking my head. His expression hardened and he crossed his arms remaining silent. Looking him up and down, I had an epiphany and diverted some of my awareness to scan his astral presence. I couldn’t believe what I saw. “You don’t even use the energy to strengthen yourself?”

“I don’t need to. My body is plenty strong enough and others are far more in need of the strength than I,” Sage said. He held my gaze for a moment. “As for my spirit… those who give to those in need will find their spirits filled in kind. I need nothing more than what I have.”

I laughed, unable to hold myself back. For one bearing the name Sage, the man was an utter fool. His idiocy brought to mind my companion and her words so many years ago. The thought of her at that moment dampened my laughter. For all my belief in my words that day, I missed her.

“Mock me all you’d like but I am secure in my path,” he said as I went silent. I saw the anger in the lines of his face but he hid it well.

“Did you know your mother?” I asked, completely derailing the topic of the conversation.

It took him a moment to answer but after he realized I had no intention of ridiculing his life choices, he obliged.

“No, I’ve never met her. My father was a hunter in a village to the southwest but he died when I was just a boy,” he said with little emotion. He eyed me suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

Right then and there, I came to a decision. My companion would later at my hypocrisy but I never regretted it. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my beliefs on the use of power were changing. Isolation gave much time for thought and as foolish as the man seemed, I gravitated toward him for that very same foolishness.

“I find your life of ‘gratitude’ interesting so I will offer you two choices and for healing the girl, I will reward you,” I said. I let the full breadth of my being show through my dreaming avatar to impress the gravity of my words.

His eyes widened and he fell backward.

“Your reward is simple. I will heal the damage to your soul,” I said. The look of shock plastered on his face amused me. “Your first choice is also simple: If you desire, I will tell you about your mother but be warned, it may change your perspective. The second choice is more severe and something that you cannot undo once it is done. Bind your soul to me and I will teach you how to maximize the use of the energy drawn from the Great Source and produce that very same energy with your soul. And, of course, you are free to deny either choice and my reward; I will not take offense.”

He sat there in silence with his eyes closed for a long time. Eventually, he sighed and made eye contact.

“I accept the healing but I am not sure I want to know about my mother. I also don’t know about your second offer. I know nothing about binding one’s soul but I have no doubt it is a serious thing.”

He was right to be wary. While he and my companion gave without expecting anything in return, I would ensure this arrangement benefited me or at the very least, couldn’t potentially backfire on me. A soul binding is eternal. He would be tied to me even in death. Only my death or his soul’s destruction would free him of the binding and neither was close to the realm of possibility. The binding placed his soul under my power, an authority I could use for better or worse.

I smiled, probably one of my first. “You don’t have to decide now. Think your choices over.”

With that, I released a short, controlled surge of mana into his soul repairing the damage in an instant. Sage gasped and the dreamscape flickered as his body began to wake.

“When you make your decision, call out to me before you sleep. I will hear you.” I said as the dream ended and my awareness was ejected from the depths of his soul.

***

Change is an insidious thing. During my encounter with Sage, I didn’t even notice my use of the native language rather than psychic impressions. In the same vein, I didn’t notice the subtle satisfaction I achieved by manipulating the events of men to fit my whim.

I had meddled with mortals before Sage but my meeting with him began the start of a new relationship between mankind and me. Throughout the next two millennia, I would visit the dreams of men and women who exemplified my ideal, a changing formation of qualities that exemplified the dream of my companion and the rationality I desired. These humans thought me a god offering providence or a demon seeking to tempt them but only a few ever learned the truth. Some of these individuals went on to do great things and others faded into obscurity. However, one thing remained constant among all of them.

I learned lessons from each one that I would carry through the ages.