“Now to determine Strength, we have to understand that it does not necessarily mean that a person is strong. This is due to there being many ways for a person to become defined as strong. For example, your father is able to lift a heavy log…. so therefor he is strong. But what if I were to do the same, but use some rope that is looped high into a tree and over a branch, that is tied to a big rock.. and then lift the same log. Now does that also make me strong?” asked Xerneg to the sound of Nosal furiously taking notes to the best of his abilities.

Nosal was in the middle of writing strong? but then he realized that he was actually being asked a question, due to the heavy silence that filled the room as his Xerneg waited on his reply.

Being put on the spot after he was furiously concentrating on taking notes left him slightly off-kilter and flustered, but then the boy calmed down before pondering the answer to the question asked of him.

Wait a moment… If strength means you are strong, and if Master is able to do the same thing as dad did and lift the log in this story, without strength...then it means he is also strong. But it then also means that being strong does not always necessarily mean you need strength to do so like he said. He reasoned before answering, “Yes but in a different way, because you are strong in your thinking.”

“Correct!” Xerneg shouted before breaking into a smile. For the Healer was glad to see that his student was able to comprehend simple reasoning and then apply his own logic. Looks like the boy will be fun to work with, lets just hope he doesn’t end up with a temperament like little-Reed, he added to himself.

“Good answer. But let us continue boy, so pencils up!” he demanded before waiting on Nosal. Then upon seeing the boy with his head down and pencil poised, he continued. “Now what Strength really boils down to, is how much force you are able to apply using your musculature systems. But it does not always have to be muscle and bones like you and me, for different Creatures; Constructs, Elementals, Monster or Beasts may have an different equivalents as a substitute for such systems. Also do take special note that this doesn’t mean how fast you can do it, because that would fall into the category of speed. Are you following me so far?” asked Xerneg patiently.

Nosal on the other hand was furiously noting down as fast as he could as he absorbed the information. The boy didn’t know how, but his mind was acting like a sponge that kept soaking in his Master’s words even if his handwriting and spelling didn’t quite catch up. How do I even know that musculature system was muscles and bones before Master even said it? He wondered even as he nodded for his master to continue.

“Great now to get into more detail, Strength is also the representation of how much force you can exert with your body which can also be affect by the cell count of your muscle fibers. So let’s say, you have a Strength stat of twenty and another identical copy of you has a Strength stat of thirty. This means your second copy is able to exert more force AND he has a higher muscle cell count.” Xerneg explained before coming to a stop as a dark thought occurred to him . He waited patiently for his student to take down his notes as he wondered how he was going to test his theory.

“So Nosal, did you understand what I just explained to you?” he asked.

“Yes Master,” replied the boy which came much to Xerneg’s surprise.

“Hmm is that so… so what is a muscle fiber and what is a cell?” asked the Hebdican as he hoped for the boy to make a mistake or admit that he had lied. For it wasn’t exactly common knowledge and only found in higher institutes of learning. More importantly to the Healer, was that you had to take into consideration that this knowledge was also gleamed from Grafters in the past.

Nosal wasn’t even fazed in the slightest as the usually rogue thoughts straightened up it’s act, as it jumped to the forefront of his mind with the answers.

“Muscle fibers is tiny strings of muscle and cells is what makes up your body Master.” the Boy replied proudly, but he then quickly regretted his words as Xerneg’s eyes sharpened.

For Xerneg was well aware of the Grafted, with their eccentricities and how they came to be in Delmathar. It would have been surprising if the aged Grandmaster Healer had not met any of them in his illustrious life he had lived thus far. He had his suspicions about Nosal and his new and wondrous class, but something just didn’t add up.

“Pray tell me boy, where did you find out about such things?” asked the Hebdican in a calm and measured tone as he straightened up in his chair. But the loaded question still came off like a well oiled trap to boy who was now panicking as he nervously flexed his free hand.

What do I say? I cant tell him I’ve got some weird thoughts since my class… but he’s going to find out sooner or later, Nosal quickly deliberated with his pulse racing and his musk of fear.

But then in his moment of fear, the memory of his mother’s words rung clearly back to the boy, “If you live an honest life, then you will one day die an honest Capyban my little Nose.”

The boy felt solace at the words as his worries faded away like small puddles of rain left out in the light of the twins. In the end he steeled himself as he decided it was best to come clean and answer truthfully.

“Honestly Master… I don’t know, I just.. I just sometimes get these weird thoughts in my head,” Nosal answered with his voice wavering near the end as he lifted his gaze to match his Master’s and in doing so, he felt more relief than he had ever done so since waking up from his calling.

This answer in turn left the Healer with quite the conundrum. Xerneg then looked away and towards the door and began to tap his fingers, lost in thought.

Divines, either he’s a really wicked and crafty Grafted pretending to be Nosal… or else it’s just the wee Capyban pup I’m dealing with. I’m more inclined to believe it is the boy even with the unaccountable knowledge he has, because of his terrible spelling. For if this person in front of me is a Grafted, then they would have nothing to gain from looking incompetent in front of me…. Divines what a headache! Either ways, even if it is Nosal or the Grafted in the guise of Nosal in front of me, they pose no danger to me. The issue is that if it is Nosal…. Then it is unprecedented that the original host soul would be the one who subsumes the Grafted soul!

On the other hand, Nosal watched on as his Master deliberated whilst twitching and humming and ha’ing to himself. He had already giving his honest and truthful answer, no matter how weird it seemed. Out of the whole of the village, if there was anyone who could help the boy with these rouge thoughts it could only be the old and wise Hebdican in front of him.

Xerneg continued to debate to himself the pros and cons of whether it was Nosal or Grafted in the guise of the boy internally to himself. But then the Healer casted a quick glance back at the small Capyban boy who sat in the white chair in the corner of the room and all of his doubts vanished.

It was unreputable that this was the same Nosal he had seen growing up in the village. For the boy was trying to hold a brave façade as he waited on the healer’s reply. But Xerneg could easily see the shaking knees and the tensing of the forearms even from where he sat. But the final truth lay in the eyes, for it shone with the bright, innocent and inquisitive truth of a child.

Xerneg was reminded of the same shine behind Flowing-Reed’s eyes when she was but a young pup who had spilled his ink everywhere. That was before the glow was hardened through hard work and puberty.

At the back of his mind, he knew he could still be getting lied to by a very, very cunning Grafter. But nevertheless the Grandmaster Healer choose to ignore those thoughts, for he preferred to live his life believing in a potion half full.

“Boy explain to me about these thoughts you have, and spare no detail,” he demanded, but gently before standing up.

To this question Nosal hesitated at first, but only briefly for the worst was already behind him. The boy was feeling the relief of patients everywhere who was able to admit that there was something wrong and seek help. So he recounted to his Master everything that had happened to him since waking up.

…..

Time flew by as Nosal told his story. He recalled of how the thoughts kept giving him weird new words, or explained knowledge of things he had never heard of before in his life, but before long a faint knocking could be heard at the door that interrupted the two in the room.

“Ignore it Nosal, it’s just the Golem coming to fetch us for lunch boy,” spoke Xerneg as he explained to the boy that was looking pointedly at the closed entrance to his study.

“Now, what’s more important here is are you compelled to do anything by these thoughts? Or does it just provide supposition?” asked the Healer with his quill waiting to note down Nosal’s answer.

“I don’t know master,” answered Nosal nervously.

“What do you not know?” asked Xerneg as he raised up his sight from the paper before him to lock onto the boy.

“I don’t know what you said meant Master,” explained Nosal with a musk of shame.

“OHH! Pardon me boy, I didn’t mean to put you in a position of discomfort with my erudite or brainy words! Hohoho!” laughed Xerneg as he had forgotten himself. “What I meant to ask you, is if these weird thoughts you have been having…. have they compelled you, which means that they made you want to do anything. Or do provide supposition, which means they just tell you things without your understanding?” explained Xerneg with a gentle smile even as his stomach rumbled like a small avalanche.

“They just tell me things that I don’t understand,” answered Nosal in a quiet little voice.

“Hrmmmm, well looks like I can deduct, or come up with an answer, as to what is going on with you Nosal,” exclaimed to Healer as he rose himself out of his chair and strode towards the Capyban boy.

“What’s wrong with me?” asked Nosal nervously as the Hedican approached him and lifted the portable table off his lap. He then walked over to the stand it was originally found upon and replaced it back to its original spot before coming back over to Nosal.

“Well boy… in this case it looks like you are the first ever individual who has subsumed and taken over a Grafted soul, as crazy as it sounds,” explained Xerneg as he leaned down before proffering a hand to the Capyban boy. Either ways, I will have to keep a close eye on him and observe my new student, the old Healer added to himself.

“What does that mean?” asked Nosal in a nervous whisper as he took the offered hand with his own and was lifted gently out of his chair.

“Boy, it means that your soul ate another soul that invaded your body from another world, but as crazy at it sounds, I reckon both you and me have had enough of learning new things for one day,” spoke the Healer as he proceeded to turn and head towards the door with the boy in tow.

But halfway there, he paused in his steps before rounding back to the tiny Nosal who was trialing in his shadow behind him.

“But don’t forget your papers boy, and remember to grab some more because I want you to write out my copy of the stats with the correct spelling ten times for homework,” he asked with a grin breaking through his beard.

“And hurry boy! I’m starving!” Xernet added in a booming shout the little scurrying Nosal, before turning round with thoughts of lunch and Grafters at the forefront of his mind.