I stared at the message in disbelief. How could that be Eliandra? She should be asleep, resting until her body was ready!

> Are you still there? Answer me already!

As the following message popped in, a wave of joy washed over me. I quickly replied.

> I'm here! Elli? How come you are awake? And how can you respond? Shouldn't Rathica be there?

> Rathica's not here! She created this clone of herself, a partition, she called it. After she didn't come back, it began searching for a way to gain... wait. You wouldn't know that. Dammit.

> Est, we are in trouble here. We are running out of a thing called karma. It's this energy source Deities use, like mana.

> Rathica's main self is locked or trapped. We don't know exactly how are why. But without it, her Realm is growing unstable

> Also, her partition is too weak to do much. That's why she...

There was a moment of pause, and I grit my teeth. What now?

> Well... don't freak out, but she woke me up so I can control the Realm as she searches for a way to gain karma to keep the Realm stable.

> There's some trouble because of this... but you don't have to worry about it now.

I stupidly gazed at the message, not sure what bothered me more. That Rathica's partition seemed not equipped to handle the situation, that they had Karma trouble, or that Eli told me not to worry. She never did that unless there was a reason. Not that she was going to tell me. Pushing back the lingering fear, I knew I might have a way to help with one of the problems.

> Give me a minute

I messaged back before turning to Par.

"Rathica's partition has made Eliandra the controller of her Realm, and they are running out of karma. She says the Realm is turning unstable. Can I send karma to her? Rathica should have had enough for now, with the thousands… that… I…"

I stopped talking as Raparion burst out in insane laughter. He slid down the tree, pointing at me while laughing. "Enough? You think that paltry amount of karma is-" he couldn't continue as another outburst of laughter made him double over.

My anger flared up! What was this fool laughing about now? What if Eli needed my direct help? I wasn't interested in his outburst of implied superiority! The clouds above swirled as crackling lightning appeared in sync with my quickly rising anger.

"Par!" I roared, my voice thundering around the world like that of a god.

The birds turned quiet, and even the wind stopped slightly as if the whole of my tiny mindscape world held its breath at my fury. It also helped to calm me down, as I suddenly wondered how much control I had over this world. And how to enforce it.

Par almost suffocated as he hung on the tree, staring up and waving his hand in denial while struggling with himself.

"Yes. Wait. I'm trying," he hiccoughed.

"Keep calm," he said in between bursts of coughed laughter. I managed to keep calm long enough for him to regain the ability to speak.

"Right," he said. "You have a temper issue. Do you know that? I guess I'll need to work on some more mental purity creatures."

"Par, how do I send Karma?" I growled, the clouds darkening some more.

"I can send the surplus to Rathica's realm instead of her-" he began.

"Wait, you can control that?" I snapped, surprised.

"Yes! What do you think I am doing here?" Par said, sounding slightly aggrieved.

"Annoy me," I said, slowly regaining my calm. "How much does a realm need to stay stable?"

"Without having seen it, and this is me guessing based on Rathica's age," Par said with a sharp-tipped little finger on his chin. "Probably a few thousand per day."

I blinked, then swallowed.

"How- How do Deities even get that much?" I asked.

"Yeah… I can't answer that, you know," Par said as he glanced at the sky and the walls, worry etched on his tiny muzzled face. "Let's just say that you can't do it that way."

I felt a headache pop up.

"Never mind. Every little bit should help. Keep my karma at one hundred and send all the rest to Rathica's Realm," I said while thinking about how to gain more karma.

I hadn't thought getting more was a priority, not after what I had thought were the large amounts I'd sent Rathica from before. However, now that I had an idea of how much a Deity required, I knew I was probably mistaken on that too.

With that realization, I took a look around my mindscape and felt something else well up; a deep desire to increase its size and scope. It wasn't something I'd thought about recently, primarily because of the pain of the practice. The last time I'd even practiced was before I reached Tenziran.

A ping came from status, and I saw a new message appear in the general status window.

> Raparion used 100 karma and sent it to the Realm of Rathica, the wrathguard

"Done," Par said.

"Good," I said absently as I noticed messages from Eliandra.

> Est? What are you doing?

> Are you alright?

A whole slew of similar messages followed, the tone rapidly going from worried to panicky. The last one was different.

> How did you do that?! No, how do you even have any karma to send?

I grinned and quickly sent a reply.

> I'll get you more, but that might take some planning. Tell me, how have you been? Do you have a new body?

> Don't you brush me off, Brewcanon! How did you just send that karma?

I grinned, somewhat surprised at her use of my old name. Then again, when we had started dating long ago, she'd used the name many times, especially when she was trying to make a point.

> Can't tell you over this line. It might be compromised.

> Compromise your ass! Explain!

I grinned, then mentally shook my head.

"Is this way of messaging safe?" I asked Par, who was staring at me while scratching his fur.

"Safe? What do you mean safe? It's not going to hurt you," he said, sounding surprised.

"What I mean is, can anyone else read these messages?"

Par blinked and looked at me in surprise. His mouth opened, then closed again as a frown grew on his face. Finally, after a few seconds, he looked up at me.

"Can't answer," he said with a shrug, but at the same time, he held my gaze. His body posture changed, and his demeanor screamed for me to be careful.

I wasn't sure if that meant someone could read them or if I shouldn't ask the question again, but I decided either would be a good reason to be careful.

> I'm serious. Be careful what you say here. I've got to get to making more karma, but before that. Tell me, how are you doing?

This time it took a while for a response to arrive.

> I just told Rathica's partition what you said, and she is acting very suspicious. She won't explain why you said what you did or what it means, but… whatever. You owe me an explanation when we see each other next!

More messages came as Eliandra told me how she had been awoken, out of her body and into a small shape. Her new body was still growing, and she said it was somewhat disturbing to look at it.

For ten minutes, we spoke, and I only stopped when Casiron very loudly expressed his annoyance at having to wait.

> I'll message you soon. Take care, love!

I sent, happy to be able to talk with her.

> Don't make me cringe! … love you too :)

I laughed at the old smiley. We learned it while playing a classic game on the original internet just before it was decommissioned, and I was sure that not many people our age knew it. I waited for a moment, but she didn't send any more messages, so I closed my status windows and looked at Casiron, who had been glaring at me.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll go and fix you up."

"About time," Casiron rumbled. "And Est? Ask Grem about the flying thing! He might know some way."

"Will do," I said as I stepped out of my mindscape.

"-is fine," Libidi said as I blinked around blurrily.

She and Grem stood before me, the first walking about as he looked at me.

"I am back," I said as I got up and stretched my limbs out of habit.

"What did you do for so long?" Grem asked, looking at me with wide-eyed interest. I saw a large patch of mud behind him, dark and glistening, showing he had done his part.

"Not much," I said as I moved towards the patch, knelt, and grabbed a handful of mud to inspect it.

"Now, I'm going to cast the spell, so pay attention," I said, trying to distract him.

I grabbed my pouch and rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for—a freshly harvested Torpel seed. I'd taken a dose from the Torpel trees I'd planted in the city. If we were going to the demon blooded sea, giving Casiron a body with demon blood resistance seemed like the best thing to do.

"That's one of those howling ones! A Torpel tree seed?" Grem asked.

"Yes. This will be useful for where we are heading," I said as I nodded.

I was about press the seed down when I thought of something. How large should I make it? I didn't need a full-grown one, but I wanted to get Casiron's new body as large as I could. I'd not forgotten I'd unlocked the 'huge' category, which reminded me of something else.

"Do you know of a way to give something the ability to fly?" I asked Grem.

The gray-haired, silvery-eyed mage looked surprised, then thoughtful as he began flicking his fingers in thought. Then he shrugged.

"Well, it depends on some things. Are we talking about a living thing? And how big? How long should it be able to fly? And how high?"

I hadn't expected the barrage of questions and thought for a moment.

"It would be an animated statue, so I'm not sure if that counts as living. I think not. Size? Probably as big as those statues I used before. At least big enough for all of us to sit on, and it should be able to fly as long as possible."

Grem gazed at me, his eyes flashing brighter. It seemed like he would say something, then he grinned and began pacing around. "I can think of two ways, and for both, the statue needs wings, big enough that it would be able to glide. So you can probably start and keep that in mind."

I thought for a bit, thinking about how Casiron looked in my mindscape. I presumed that was his original body and that he would like something similar. The problem was that I wanted something with legs that could move fast if the flight part didn't work out. That meant I'd need to make some adjustments. Still, seeing as the previous dragon-like shape hadn't posed any troubles, something similar should be fine.

"Alright, no other requirements?" I asked as I put the seed in the ground.

"Don't make the body too big compared to the wings. The larger the mass, the shorter it can fly," Grem said, sounding distracted as he continued passing around. He stopped every few moments, frowned, and shook his head while his fingers moved through partial gestures.

"Alright. I'll grow the tree and get started, as we need wood for a fire later," I said. "Do you want to see the spell?"

Grem didn't react but continued to mutter.

I followed him for a few more moments, shared another look with a curious Libidi, then shrugged. I put the seed in the earth, cast Sprout Life, and got ready to stop as soon as the tree was large enough.

"Get ready to close your eyes," I shouted belatedly, moments before the spell began draining karma.

The sudden flash came, echoed by a surprised cry from Grem.

Half a minute later, I withdrew my hand and took a few steps back. A tall tree dominated the area; its top, leaf-filled branches pressed flat against the roof. A few dozen torpels hung in it, looking around quietly. I knew what I had to do, and I grabbed my ax while mentally preparing.

"This is going to make some noise. Better close your ears," I said.

I put two hands over my ears and struck the tree. The torpels screamed on the first hit and continued even after the tree toppled over. I jumped forward and squished them, glad when the screaming stopped. By then, Grem sat in the far corner, hands across his hands, glaring at me.

"You could have warned me!" he shouted.

I removed my hands and shrugged. "I thought you had read so much about me? It's not like this was the first time!"

Grem sighed, shook his head, and laughed. "Yes, well. They must have left this part out," he said while walking towards a squashed torpel and examining it. "I've heard about these things, but I've never actually seen one up close! I had planned to inspect the one you had made in Tenziran, but you left too fast."

I shrugged and began chopping away the side branches. My ax effortlessly dug into the tough wood, and I wondered if it wouldn't be too soft for Casiron's body.

Still need to harden it, and this ax is much stronger, I thought to myself.

A few hours later, a small fire was crackling at the other side of our hide-out. I had stacked the thicker branches to one side, thrown the leaves to another, and placed the trunk on its side before me. The first, large swaths had been carved out, but it would be a while before it was finished.

"How long will it take for you to finish?" Grem asked as he swallowed a mouthful of rations.

"I could finish it in a day and a half," I said as I inspected the wood. "But I've decided to make it as good as I can. It needs to be as good as it can be for what I have in mind."

"Well, it's going to be big, that's for sure," Grem said as he continued chewing.

"Will that be a problem?" I asked. Grem had told me he had an idea to get it to fly, and that would undoubtedly expedite my plans. It would suck if the body's size ruined that.

"No," he said. "But it won't be able to fly non-stop."

I sighed, slightly saddened. Still, any flying was better than none, and I couldn't wait to see what Grem had planned. Not that I fully believed him. I didn't think he was lying, but to be sure, I had decided to make the wings useful for more than just flying. I was going to add barbs to the sides and make them strong enough to guard against things.

When we finished eating, and Grem was started drawing odd symbols on the wall, which he said helped him with his ideas, I moved towards Libidi. She looked at me with her intense blue eyes, showing no reaction.

"After Casiron is back, I will start practicing again," I said, not bothering to specify what I meant.

The blue eyes widened a fraction, and she nodded. Seeing her hungry smile made me slightly uncomfortable, but I knew I'd need her help if I was going to continue practicing. Otherwise, the pain would be too debilitating, and I would start postponing it, which I had already done even with her help.

Ten minutes later, I was lying on a bed made of leaves. Libidi would take the first watch, and Grem was still drawing, muttering softly to himself. As I closed my eyes, I called up the mindscape messenger window.

> Still awake?

I messaged.

The response was almost instant.

> Always. I don't sleep in this form. Will you send us more karma?

> Although it wasn't a lot, all the small bits help.

> I'm working on a plan

> Good! ... So what have you been up to since I last saw you? Rathica's partition told me what happened after I was knocked out, but beyond that... Keep your hands to yourself?

I grinned and curled up as I began telling her about the things that had happened after she fell asleep.

When I finally fell asleep, I felt happier and more carefree than I had in a long time.

--

The next few days flew by; my time spent carving away the shape of the massive winged dragon that I envisioned during the day. Still, I managed to find moments to teach the Sprout Life spell to Grem and chat with Eliandra many times until deep in the night.

I'd also restarted my idea of creating small, disposable bodies for Vengeful Spirits. To Grem's curious astonishment, I had begun making throwable chin and arm guards, practicing with them.

Three days after we had arrived, I was gouging out fine details around the face of the massive crouching dragon. A massive carpet of woodchips and curls lay all around the open space.

I finally stepped back from the statue, a big grin plastered on my face as I looked at the statue before me. Where Casiron's first form had been only a bit taller and longer than a large plow horse, this body dwarfed it. It also wouldn't fit into any dungeon, but by my estimate, it could fight most of what I had encountered so far.

Well, except for the deities and the demon lords. And some of the Primes.

I shrugged. It was still massively powerful.

Unfortunately, it also wasn't finished yet. The size was so massive that even with the wood being as soft as pottery clay, it took far longer than I had exped. In the end, I had stopped making individual scales. Still, the head especially had a tremendous amount of detail.

As I walked around to find any spots I might have missed, admiring the flow of the muscles and the details around the wings, I waited for some notification that I'd make some type of masterpiece. When I'd circled it twice, carving away a few tiny imperfections, I sighed wearily. Apparently, it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

Perhaps I should continue and add more detail, I thought with a frown. I hesitated for a moment, then decided against it. The incoming Karma from Tenziran had dried up, and Eliandra needed more. She still hadn't told me what would happen if they didn't get more soon, but something told me it wasn't good.

A quick look showed that Grem was still staring at the statue with gleaming eyes. Behind him stood a row of person-sized trees that I'd made when showing him Sprout Life, his own attempts seemingly forgotten. His lower lip trembled a bit, an odd sight on the old wizardly-looking man. He'd been watching the statue the same way for a long time, although he had seemed highly surprised when I had created legs and arms.

It will have to do, I thought.

I turned back and moved closer to the statue, kicking away massive amounts of wood curls and splinters. The woods gleam started changing as I repeatedly cast Harden Wood on it until it gleamed like burnished metal. When a slight drain came, I reverted one Harden Wood with a Soften wood and put my hand on the cheek of the statue. It was as high as my face, and I wondered what Casiron would think of it.

I pulled up the status and sent a message to my mindscape.

> Tell Casiron the new vessel is ready

> About time! That damn lizard is all antsy.

> Here he comes! Good riddance!

The message had barely finished when there was a surge of energy, rippling away from an undefinable place and swirling around the statue. It felt slightly like when I summoned a vengeful spirit but more controlled and less like a mass call. As if through a funnel, it flooded into the statue.

The wood began glowing softly, rapidly darkening just like with Casiron's first vessel.

"Incredible!" Grem shouted.

The wood warped, the legs turning more muscular at some points while thinning at others, giving the slowly rising shape a more predatory feel. Innumerable scales appeared, filling out the spaces I'd not carved them at, their edges gleaming with an emerald hue. Within moments they covered the statue as it rose on its legs, towering above me and dominating the open area.

Large, heavily lidded serpent-eyes gazed at me as a soft came.

"You outdid yourself," Casiron said. His low, rumbling voice fit the dragon perfectly. "And I'm almost starting to get used to the legs."

I grinned as I turned around and looked at Grem, curious about his reaction. I was shocked to see tears rolling down the silvery-eyed mage's cheeks as he looked intensely at Casiron.

"Finally," he whispered, his voice drenched with relief.

A soft sigh came from Casiron, followed by a garbled flow of words in a language both fast and slow at the same time. The words almost hurt my head as I tried to understand them, which didn't work.

Grem shook, then shivered, and suddenly sat down on the ground as his hands flowed around in rapid patterns. If it was a spell, it was the most complex one I'd ever seen, and even with his insane casting rate, it lasted for minutes. Casiron quietly waited beside me, showing no worry.

Surges of silvery light appeared from between Grem's hands, and his fingers froze in bone-breaking positions creating a sort of light cage. A long and shiny snake-like dragon appeared between them, curling around as it slowly moved. Its eyes were gazing at Casiron.

"I am Gremarine lo Thiwick," a dry, feminine voice said, echoing out of the cage of light.

Casiron was quiet for a bit, then sighed again, but this time I heard the sadness in it.

"I, Casiron iru Fuargon, convey honor to you, Thiwick, queen of silver," he said as he lowered his head indifference.

A queen? I thought as I inspected the silvery Dracoserp as it slowly flew between Grem's hands. So did that mean Grem was a woman? I cast a glance at Libidi, who was quietly following the proceedings.

"I see," Thiwick said, and I could hear disappointment and resignation in her voice. "I had hoped…" she glanced at me before continuing in a stern, commanding voice." No matter. You are the first I have found, and this is cause for joy! Tell me your history!"

I grimaced. It wasn't a question but an order, and it annoyed me. There was also something surprisingly juvenile to her tone. Before I could stop myself, I stepped forward.

"So, you're another Dracoserp?" I said, inspecting her silvery form. "Did you take over Grem's body?"

Perhaps too forceful, I thought as I heard a sucked-in breath from Casiron.

Gremarine continued moving slowly, her eyes now focused on me.

"I've not heard about a mortal with a mindscape before," she said, sharp and with barely contained anger. "I'd hoped, somehow, someway, one of our elders had survived. It's a shame it is just a mortal Prime. How did you bind one of my kind to do your bidding?"

Any trepidation I might have felt before vanished as I listened to the cold, sharp, and girl-like voice. Thiwick sounded nothing like Grem, and I suddenly wondered what was happening.

"Casiron isn't bound," I snapped. "I count him as a friend, and if he wished to leave, I'd not stop him!"

It wasn't wholly accurate, as I didn't know if Casiron could go anywhere without me. Besides, I sorely needed his help.

"If this is true," Thiwick stated cooly as she turned to Casiron. "You will follow me from now on. Your new body will serve well as we try to find others of our kind."

I should have kept my bloody mouth shut, I thought as I clenched my jaw and glared at the small silvery, and highly annoying shape.

Casiron had been quiet, and as he turned to me, I almost expected him to say goodbye. Instead, I gasped as I heard him speak.

"My apologies Est. I had hoped to find an adult of my kind. I had never expected we would find the mind of a childling."