It took two weeks before Ranvir’s tether-sense started appearing again. He would continue calling it tether-sense even if those around him insisted on soulsight, even if he could now plainly see that it was unrelated to his non-existent tether-space and was truly an extension of his soul.

Though the faculty had returned, it was still a much less potent version of what he’d grown used to. Ranvir was just thankful he wasn’t blind to the energies of the world anymore. A few days after, Kasos gave him the all clear to experiment with it, as he claimed it would serve as the best form of retraining for his Fundament that Ranvir currently had available to him.

However, with his tether-sense returning, his Fundament opened back up again. And though Ranvir had been told not to dig around in it too much, he couldn’t help himself exploring it a little.

At this point, he could only vaguely make out the storm clouds in the distance. They seemed to fade into the background instead of withdrawing further. His soul was an infinite space of black nothingness, reminding him most of all of looking into the night sky.

The egg remained solidly in place. He could move it, but decided he didn’t want to risk cracking it open and losing all that remained of his space powers. Especially as he suspected that would make any guides Kirs set up back home basically useless, even if he grabbed space powers from Amanaris.

The imprint of his Concept also remained visible within the stones of his Fundament. Ranvir was surprised to find little tiny bits of what seemed like soil growing between the lines of the bricks. When he asked Kasos about it he got a reprimand for going where he shouldn’t yet, but was also told that it was a normal part of his healing process.

The Fundament was the base foundation of his soul. Apparently, they weren’t supposed to be exposed. The spiritual equivalent of an open wound. Ranvir let the dirt be and refrained from picking too much at anything. Simply being there helped the time pass, though, certainly not as strongly as looking at his tether had.

A month after Ranvir’s Fundament was restored, and he was once more able to stand with a cane. And he still absolutely hated it, stupid ass stick. But it was better than being bedridden for over two months. Marginally. He still had to walk around like a man six times his age.

But he was standing, so maybe he had to give it a little credit. Or maybe not fuck the damn stick.

Ranvir was standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter talking with Elpir, and monitoring Frija, who was scooting around on her bum on the floor. She was playing some sort of game with Vasso that was way too complicated and involved for adults to understand, even borderline ones like Ranvir.

“So, how are you feeling today?” Elpir asked, idly handing a small tray of bowls with raisins to one of the elder children. Ranvir popped one of the wrinkly fruits? vegetables? Berries? He ate on as he considered. He was thrilled that much of his chronic pains had gone away with the restoration of his body, though he still occasionally suffered from aches in his hips and his eye was as sensitive as if he’d just recovered from the accident that blinded him.

Right now, his hips ached and he could feel the light through the windows giving him a headache. “Some days are better than others, but it’s curving upwards,” he chomped down on another raisin, the sweet flavor blossoming in his mouth. Wherever they came from, he really would have to bring some back to Vednar once he returned.

They surely beat apples by a fair margin, at least in taste. Not that they were all that filling. Even a child younger than Vasso could eat a bowl full.

“That’s good,” Elpir replied as she glanced out the window into the garden. The Rafting had cleared up for another bout of Writhing, the trees and bushes growing rapidly once more, though apparently a small period of Writhing after Rafting was common before a different season asserted itself.

Ranvir did not relish finding out what came next. He’d read a little up on it and most of them seemed decisively more worrisome than plants growing rapidly and water running along the ground.

He squinted, following Elpir’s gaze to see all the children sitting on the grass enjoying the sun and eating their raisins. There were only two times when that many children were quiet. They were either eating or trouble was brewing.

Frija bumped into Ranvir’s leg and she lifted her arm and babbled, repeating the movement multiple times. It warmed his heart that despite his recent infirmity, she still went to him first. He stifled a groan and pushed off the counter. He didn’t reach for his cane, instead he kept one hand on the table as he balanced himself for kneeling.

Apparently, Frija got impatient because she grabbed onto the leg of a chair and started pushing and pulling herself to standing. Ranvir hurried up, getting ready to catch her before she fell.

Except she didn’t; he realized with a start. Sure, she was about as surefooted as a blade of grass in the wind, wobbling and waving to and froq, but she remained standing, grabbing onto the chair with both arms.

“Do you want raisins?” Ranvir asked, gently pressing a hand on her back to steady her slightly. Of course, she didn’t reply, but when he reached for the bowl—Elpir shoving it into his reaching fingers as he didn’t want to straighten before necessary—Frija lightened up significantly and fell on her rear.

He placed the bowl between her legs, and she grabbed a chubby fistful to shove in the general direction of her mouth.

“Oh, be careful,” Ranvir remarked as he picked the dropped food. She giggled and threw another handful in the general direction of the floor. By the end, she’d eaten about as much as she’d thrown on the floor. Unfortunately, with as many kids going through the kitchen every day, keeping the tiles clean would take an inhuman effort. Even Elpir couldn’t manage that much.

“Did you see that?” Ranvir asked once Frija decided she was done eating and crawled away.

“Her standing on her own?” Elpir asked as he heaved himself above the kitchen island.

“Well, standing on her own is maybe a slight leap,” Ranvir admitted, “But she got up under her own power.”

“Just like her dad,” Elpir replied with a grin.

Ranvir snorted a laugh. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I shouldn’t do this,” Ranvir told himself. “It’s stupid,” he scoured his tether-sense across Ione’s manor once more. A maid was running around on the ground floor and the grandmother’s part-time gardener was taking care of the heavy lifting in her small field in the backyard, but otherwise the building was empty.

Pashar had left on another job a week ago and would be in a different country. Amalia had been with the Sentinels for the last three weeks and wasn’t due back for another three. Kasos had gone to Legea in the morning for some kind of business related to his actual job, and Ione had gone with him.

Ranvir was all alone. Just him and his research. His Fundament had grown a thick coating of hard packed soil. He’d been recovering for months. His senses had mostly returned to their usual sharpness, even if he lacked some reach. He’d walked all the way to the manor on his own without looking like an invalid, though he had to take a break in the middle to rest his legs a little.

He glanced down at his research notes again. Partially his own notes, partially quotes from books, and below all of those were the books he’d been reading all throughout the morning and into the late afternoon if the flares on the sun were anything to go by.

Frija was sleeping behind him, her snores little more than soft whistling.

There were so many factors that went into Amanaris. From Tiers, to Sets, to Stats, to Abilities, to elemental affinity. It was that last one that was a sticking point. Ranvir could begin creating half a dozen combinations, but he wouldn’t know the options available to him unless he knew his affinities.

And they couldn’t tell which elements he favored unless he had access to Amanaris. There were some Abilities that could do it, but in modern times they’d largely switched to mana-items. From what he’d found during his research—asking Pashar and Amalia—most of those devices used Amanaris as a shortcut to get the information.

There were multiple divining tools in Eriene alone, but none of them could do it for someone without access to Amanaris. And Ranvir would be surprised if the number of people without such access rated higher than five.

Ranvir rubbed his hands together. “This is so stupid,” he muttered in Elensk before turning his attention inwards. Awareness spread over his Fundament. Usually, he would then gather it onto one spot, since he found it easier to examine the area with a more human point of view. Right now, however, he didn’t need a normal perspective. He needed to take a larger sweeping view.

Ranvir reached for the fabric of his soul. He’d done so a few times, just to test it. It was no longer so tender as to leave him with a headache. In fact, he didn’t feel any strain from it all. So he moved on, gathering it into a sphere of condensed spirit. His Fundament obliged his request by increasing its production temporarily and quickly refilling his soul.

This he felt the strain of, like a thrum moving through his soul. A slight pinching as he kept gathering more. From his understanding of what Kasos had taught him, then his soul was a largely static entity that was only really affected by damage to his Fundament and attacks targeted specifically at it—especially those fueled by anima, rare as they are.

Actually manipulating the soul wasn’t that difficult, so long as it remained within the confines of his spirit. Taking it beyond those limits was completely beyond Ranvir to the point he suspected there were certain requirements he wasn’t meeting.

With his soul quivering, Ranvir started creating a hollow space in the center of the spiritual mass he’d gathered, expanding the orb. The symbol at the center of his Fundament started glowing through the clumps of dirt that obscured it as Ranvir drew on his Concept to hold the sphere as he drew out what he felt was a similar thickness wall as his tether-space had been, though this space was far smaller than said space had been before it disappeared. Not that he knew how big it had been before he’d first advanced.

Something ‘knocked’ on his soul, each touch sending a wave throughout his being. Ranvir hurried with constructing the infrastructure within the walls that would support the space. This wasn’t dissimilar from creating pocket-spaces and he moved fast, while giving himself space to expand later. By the time he’d finished, Ranvir could feel sweat was running down his face, his breathing coming ragged and torn through his lungs, but his Concept was holding strong.

The outside presence had grown more insistent, each knock moving like an avalanche through his soul. Sloppily but fast, Ranvir forged a path from the border of his soul to his newly fashioned space. The presence surged through his spirit like water spilling through a channel that’s too small.

The presence stilled for a moment as it reached his newly created space. He felt hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of probes extend from it. Moving with dexterity and speed through the area, before whipping back into the center of the presence and it started retreating.

It was only moments after it had left Ranvir shaking and dizzy that he realized it had left a little seed behind. He blinked as he felt it sprout a hundred tiny roots and settle into the space.

He left his soul, exhausted and coated in sweat, to feel a tingling sensation on the back of his neck and something appear before him.

Welcome to Amanaris.

***

Please visit someone with the Ability to Divine Affinity to get your elemental affinities read