Ranvir focused intently on his tether, ignoring the loud Latresekt loudly ‘snoring’. His attention was less on the actual threads and rope of the tether, but on what ran beneath it, through it, and surrounded it. Things he wouldn’t have been able to detect just a few years ago.

Small hints of Anima, second order material, and something else, something more complex. Ranvir would almost describe it as alive, but there was a little too much rhythm to be true.

It was intent. Implacable and unalienable from tether-space. The very rules cemented into the power’s foundation, its Fundament. It was almost too big for him to perceive and way too big for him to handle. He doubted he’d ever get to a point where he could change the intent of the tether. Not without breaking the entire thing down first.

Latresekt yawned loudly. Somehow, the spirit managed to fuse the sound with such thick smugness Ranvir couldn’t help but let his attention wander. “What?”

“Just relaxing,” Latresekt replied, leaning back, hands behind its head. “Watching you struggle.”

“I’m beginning to understand,” Ranvir replied, and turned his attention back to the space. “Already, my knowledge is increasing.”

Latresekt let out a coughing laugh. “You did not just say that!” it continued laughing, rolling onto its side to curl into a ball.

Annoyed, Ranvir tried his best not to look in the creature’s direction. Returning to his tether instead, another breeze passed over him. The spiritual draft kicking up enough wind to ruffle his hair and clothes. He didn’t need to fully physically manifest in tether-space, but he found it easier to sense the more strongly he physically appeared inside himself.

Which was annoying. Tether-space was not equipped for a creature of his size to enter it, though without that context he’d never have realized how small Latresekt was. He’d imagined the spirit to be at least the size of a human, not a small dog.

Ranvir’s tether was approximately half again as long as he was tall and ran the length of the spherical space. While that seemed fine, it meant that he couldn’t stand on the curving walls, as the angle was pretty steep. In order to be comfortable, he had to float in the air, which broke part of the reason he appeared so strongly.

He let his form disappear entirely to take in the space in its entirety. Perhaps there was something he’d missed with his initial inspections. The space was much as it had always been, slightly smaller than normal, with a much thicker shell to help dissipate all the energy he could pull through his tether.

“Oooh,” Latresekt groaned, returning to its back. “That was good. Sometimes, I forget that you’re not much more than a kid. Why don’t you tell me what you know so far, then? I can’t wait to hear.”

Ranvir partially manifested, appearing like a see-through specter. “It’s just a work of intent. Something or someone has applied a strong enough will to the system, placing within the limitations.”

“That’s very good,” Latresekt muttered. “Do you think you could do that? Apply your will to Amanaris and change its behavior? Please say yes, that’s going to make it even funnier when you fail.”

Ranvir grit his teeth. “My initial thoughts indicate it’s an application of will, but both my powers work by putting in thought beforehand. Willing the space around me to create a pocket-space against pinching off a bit of the space to make a pocket-space. Something simply told the mana how to behave strongly enough that it only behaves like that, but I can sense the Anima behind it. More went into it than that.”

Latresekt let out another bark of laughter. “You’re talking about something that creating and affected the way entire planes of people were affected by mana as if they work in the same terms as you,” it raised a finger. “Let’s say you’re right. You’ve figured out how it works. How does that help you? Are you suddenly going to affect a similar change on the mana?”

Ranvir grit his teeth. “I don’t exactly have many other options.”

“Sure you do. You could advance Amanaris and pump a bunch of points into Mana: Control. Sure, it’ll kill your idea and likely sink your future, but you won’t die in the present.”

“Sink my future?”

“You could apply all of that devastating knowledge gathering potential towards your Concept and actually develop it, perhaps even find the perfect fit. The natural resonance should assist in your mana control as well.”

“What do you mean taking Mana: Control could ‘sink my future’?”

“You could develop a connection with the locusts outside of Amanaris. Sure, it’s a lot more difficult, but it’s not like you don’t have the tools to do it. That too would assist your combat potential.”

“Latresekt! Why would changing my build now affect my future potential?”

“You’re really stuck on that, huh?” The spirit rolled into a standing position. When it wasn’t resting its huge forelimbs on the ground instead of standing on its hind legs, the creature looked just human enough to freak Ranvir out a little. “You might think each step of Amanaris is a foundation, or at least that Kistios is. But it’s not. Power isn’t a foundation, your Fundament is, hence, the name. Amanaris is a ladder. If you suddenly start changing the material, the length of the rungs, and the width of the ladder, it will not continue supporting you.”

Ranvir worried at his lip. “How can I trust you?”

“I can’t lie to you,” Latresekt said. “At least not inside you. I don’t mind being trapped within you.”

Ranvir’s eyes narrowed as a tiny hole appeared within the spirit. A tiny gap of vulnerability. Because of the creature’s lack of second-order substance, even something so simple as Ranvir’s attention distressed the weakness. Within moments, a tiny fuzz of white lights rose from the spirit’s chest, even as the injury closed back up.

“See?”

Ranvir sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Unless you’re tricking me.”

Latresekt rolled his eyes. “Never mind. I’ll take another rest while you go play with yourself. That was a funny joke about you mucking about with your powers.”

“’Funny’.”

Ranvir attempted to return his focus back to the tether, but couldn’t. He had a path forwards, he thought, at least someway to proceed. He didn’t need to convince an entire plane of people and their mana that they should act differently, just himself. All he’d really need to do that was repetition. Unfortunately, repetition required a resource Ranvir was refused, time.

“What do you mean, bond with Loce outside Amanaris?”

“That caught your attention, huh? Not the others?”

“I don’t fancy getting pummeled by my own mind again.”

“Was it that bad?” Latresekt asked, sounding mildly amused.

Part of Ranvir didn’t want to give the spirit the answer it wanted. He wondered why the creature cared. It clearly had ulterior motives surrounding Ranvir, so he could fully trust it no matter how it acted. But perhaps he could give it a little something. They were sort of exchanging information. What person would know as much about mana, a first-order energy, as a first-order being?

“It was like I’d become the personal enemy of a storm. A hurricane with hate, directed only for me.”

“Your own personal little storm,” Latresekt commented. “You seem to get in a lot of those, don’t you?”

Ranvir sighed. “How could I circumvent Amanaris and bond with Loce?”

“Come on, Ranvir,” the gorilla-like creature replied. “You should know by now. Try thinking a little bit. I know it might be painful, but you’ll like the results.”

Ranvir frowned at him. Loce was bound to him through Amanaris, but bonds were limited by the braced’s element. Could it be through his Concept? Latresekt had brought it up earlier. But no, he’d given the pet something of himself. But their connection was still young and the creature not wholly transmuted into a second-order being. A direct connection to a Concept, something tied intrinsically to the second-order, could erode its existence.

“It has to be space mana, but Loce has no relation to anything other than sand mana.”

“Except?”

“Me. It has a connection to me and through me to space. That would explain why I haven’t heard of it before. Could that really work?”

Latresekt grinned predatorily. “Not only could it work, I think the arrangement could be wonderful for the both of you. I could even tell you exactly how to do it…”

“For a price?”

“Of course.”

“You want access to my Disciplines, still?”

“What else would there be to access within you?”

“But it hurt you, just touching them.”

Someone slapped Ranvir roughly enough across the face to knock him out of his cross-legged position. He blinked his eyes open to find Amalia striding away from him, bag in hand stuffing it full. Alexis stood above him, looking shocked.

“I take it you didn’t slap me?” Ranvir groaned, straightened, even as he scanned with tether-sense. Shock struck his soul like cold water down the neck. Something was squeezing its way into the tunnel, accessing the hideout.

“No, I trie—“

“She tried to get your attention, but you were in too deep,” Amalia cut her off. “We’ll need a new exit.”

“I can move us out,” Ranvir said, getting to his feet. “Do you know what it is?”

“It’s called a crussor. They’re big, tough, and amphibious. Near perfect trackers, their senses both physical and spiritual working in harmony.”

“How did it find us?” Ranvir asked, as he retrieved the axe.

“Probably been tracking that guy who's been bleeding into the water on every occasion he could get.”

Ranvir’s side set on fire as he hefted the axe, the wound not caring one bit for his arrogant assuming they might fight.

“Are we going to run?” Ranvir asked.

“Not going to help. That thing is going to find you wherever you go. Perfect tracker, remember?”

Had to fight, then.

“Average strength?”

“I don’t remember,” Amalia confessed. “Urityon, at least.”

“13 is the weakest I’ve read about,” Alexis said. “Most are around Tier 15, though.”

Amalia paused to look at her.

“I, uh… we’ve sold a lot of goods for the Sentinels. Neat facts are usually good for pumping a sale. Also, counting mana is good for memorization of any kind.”

“Good to know. Are you getting us out?”

Ranvir nodded. “In a minute.”