Spirit Sight

Adam’s dreams started to churn with the song. As time passed, the song began to grow. It was like drums being added to Adam’s flute piece. It was then followed by maracas, and then even trumpets! More and more instruments seemed to add to the song, completely transforming it! And then the very fabric of the dream began to shift. Adam began to have an inexplicable feeling. It was as though each part that the instruments added were more than just music. Adam felt that if you could describe an object in the world with song instead of words, it would be done just like this!

As Adam completed that idea, colorful images began to form in the empty space of his dream. These images weren’t very well-defined; they were just a bunch of different colored silhouettes that seemed to form a room that had two beds in it. Someone was lying on one bed while another sat on a bed just beside the first. Looking around this colorful room that had formed around him, it reminded Adam a lot of the dormitory room he shared with Vivienne. But it was way too colorful. There even seemed to be a haze of colors hanging in the air that was mostly green. Quite frankly, it was all starting to make Adam feel nauseous!

Adam began to stir with a sick groan: “Ugh.”

The bed next to Adam creaked, as Vivienne got up and asked: “Are you awake, Adam?”

Within the colorful dream that was still in his mind, Adam saw the figure that was sitting on the bed stand up and move to the first bed. In Adam’s dream, he was on the other side of the room from where he was really laying on his bed. The sound of his mom getting up, coupled with the dream figure standing up from the bed at the same time led to a weird sense of vertigo. This, coupled with the nausea he already had, caused Adam’s stomach to lurch. Leaning over the edge of his bed and heaved the contents of his stomach out.

Vivienne quickly reached his side: “Adam!?”

As she rubbed his back to try and comfort him, Adam also reached out to her. Within his dream, he could see the figures in that room were reacting exactly how both he and Vivienne were. Realization dawned on Adam: ‘Could this really be!?’

Shakily, he said: “Mom, I… I think I can see!”

“Adam, what?”

Before he could say anything more, exhaustion once again overcame Adam. This time, his dreams slipped away from him. The orchestra of sound, and the odd dreamscape it had somehow created, faded away...

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Adam groaned in pain from a headache as he awoke. As he fought through the pain, he came to realize he could no longer hear the orchestra of sound, nor see that nauseating dreamscape. As nice as it was to no longer feel sick, he also couldn’t see!

Fear and confusion began to overcome Adam: ‘Was that all just a dream?’

Once again, Adam heard the creak of the bed next to him: “Are you feeling any better, Adam?”

Adam slowly nodded: “I think so, but… maybe it was just a dream. I thought I could somehow see again. It was really odd.”

“Maybe you should see Magister Catherine about this. Helen was quite scared when you collapsed after playing that song you heard from the book.”

Adam nodded as he then thought: “How did I get back?”

“Helen managed to find some help at the Hill Garden. I think you should thank her, but not before you rest some more.”

“Right.”

Now that he appeared better, Vivienne left Adam so he could rest on his own. With a sigh, Adam lied back down on his bed; ‘Helen really helped me out there. I don’t even know how I should thank her.’

Adam tried to go back to sleep, but his headache would throb at just the right times to keep him from falling asleep. Left with nothing else to do, Adam thought about that odd dreamscape and how it might tie into what had happened at the Hill Garden. He started to hum the song he had played before he lost consciousness. As he did so, a spike of pain assaulted his mind! A sea of sounds started to crash into him, each eagerly responding to the song he hummed. Adam yelled out: “Stop!”

But they didn’t stop! Each little song cried out to Adam, starting to once again form the odd dreamscape, but it was extremely chaotic! Unlike when he was dreaming, the sounds weren’t forming an orderly orchestra, it was more like tons of instruments blaring out notes however they pleased! The song, Adam had hummed moments ago, was drifting in the back of his mind, nearly drowned out by everything he was now hearing. A random desperate thought struck him, and he decided to act on it; Adam quickly began to hum a song similar to the one before, but totally out of tune! It was horrendous and caused all the sounds clamoring for his attention to suddenly scatter, as though they were frightened rabbits.

Adam sighed in relief. He was both excited and afraid of what just happened: ‘So, it wasn’t just a dream! I really need to see Catherine about this.’

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“That… is rather interesting,” Catherine said.

Adam had told Vivienne of what happened after she had left. They had made their way to SIH as soon as they could, but Adam had yet to try humming that song again. They had both deemed it too dangerous to try without Catherine to help figure out what was going on.

“Do you still have a headache, Adam?”

Adam shook his head. Nodding, Catherine said: “I think you’ve stumbled across something with this new song of yours. Somehow, the song kept going while you were asleep causing your soul to become overexposed to Spirit Essence. Let’s see what happens if you try it again.”

Adam nodded, a little scared of what might happen. Taking a deep breath, Adam briefly went over the song in his head. Adam suddenly hissed in pain as the sounds already began to clamor for Adam’s attention!

“Is it working?” Catherine asked.

Adam nodded: “I didn’t even need to hum the song this time. I just thought of it and it happened. It still hurts though.”

“Is it better or worse than last time?”

“Better, but still not pleasant.”

Catherine nodded, jotting down notes: “So, can you see?”

Adam concentrated on the dreamscape starting to form in his mind. He started to feel a little vertigo again as his position in the dreamscape was a little off: “It’s weird. It’s not so much like I can see, more like I simply know what is around me. By knowing that, I form this… dream full of silhouettes in my mind. I can even see myself!”

Catherine seemed impressed. In Adam’s mind, her form exuded an odd colored light. With a smile, she said: “I believe you have achieved what you wanted; you now have a form of Spirit Sight. Though, it is unlike what I have heard of before. The pain you are feeling is probably because your soul is not quite strong enough to keep up with the information it is trying to process. It will likely get better with time.”

Adam slowly nodded, trying to beat down the nauseous feelings that were starting to grow. Then, Adam began to hear something. He was hearing voices, but it was almost like they were muffled by something: “It looked like Catherine was meeting with Adam again.”

“Interesting kid, but I don’t know how his future will pan out. I’ve never heard of someone hearing Spirit Formations before.”

As Adam listened to the two voices, his ‘vision’ suddenly shifted! It was almost as though he were a ghost and he suddenly shifted through the wall into the office next to them! In there, there were two magisters talking to each other. As this happened, the vertigo Adam was feeling skyrocketed, and he quickly broke the song before he became so nauseous that he would throw up!

As he leaned over and groaned, both Catherine and Vivienne became concerned. Adam told them of what happened. Catherine shook her head: “You’re becoming more and more of an enigma to me, Adam. I simply cannot comprehend where your Path is taking you. It would be a little difficult, but I would recommend that you should go to the capital. SIH in Heider City is more advanced than here. I believe you have made the first initial step to becoming a Spiritualist, but we don’t have anything here that can help to continue your unique Path.”

Adam was slightly stunned: ‘Move? But…’

Vivienne said: “We don’t have the money for such a move.”

Catherine nodded: “I will still try to help Adam, but I feel even less confident in helping him than before. I can send a few letters out to see if anybody can help, but..”

Adam felt a little better when he heard they wouldn’t be moving. He said: “Well, I might finally be able to spar with the others now!”

Catherine gave a quizzical look: “Spar with others?”

Adam nodded: “I’m learning how to fight with a few friends. I can’t do much right now, but they are in the middle of sparring with each other. With this Spirit Sight, I might be able to spar with them now!”

Catherine frowned: “You need to be careful with this, Adam. Have you heard of Martial Artists before?”

Adam shook his head, so she elaborated: “Where Spiritualists control Spirit Essence outside their body, Martial Artists control Spirit Essence within their bodies. Be careful when you are sparring as you can only be one or the other. Much like becoming a Spiritualist, it is hard to become a Martial Artist without the proper knowledge. However, it is still possible. You don’t want to create a conflict between your body and soul fighting for control over Spirit Essence that would kill you!”

“So… I can’t continue with the others?”

“You can, but you just need to be aware of the possibility. For Martial Artists, it is said that you will feel a cool fluid circulate through your body. By controlling that circulation, you will begin your Path as a Martial Artist. Just pay attention to your body and immediately stop if you feel this.”

Adam nodded: “Okay.”

“If you think you’re up to it Adam, I think we should explore the limits of your Spirit Sight before you leave.”

After spending some more time, they figured Adam could see a space of about ten meters all around him. With intense vertigo, he could even see through walls! Though, Adam was finding some difficulty on walking around while seeing. Still, it was a start.

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Adam sat, watching the others spar. He started to notice something: living beings, such as humans, can change colors. This color change was centered mostly around the head and seemed to be based on what that person was thinking. If he focused, Adam could even see slight fluctuations as the others moved through their spar sets.

Before too long, they finished with their sparing. Adam stood up and tried to walk over and join them. After a few steps, Adam had to stop and break his Spirit Sight. Alfred waived over at Adam: “Still having trouble?”

Adam nodded as he started using his walking stick: “I can’t seem to get used to moving while using the Spirit Sight. I’ll get there, though.”

Alfred smiled: “I can’t wait to wipe the floor with you!”

Adam smiled back: “Just you wait!”