Chapter Twenty Four

The Path Ahead

For two weeks, Inerys had done little beyond walk, cycle and stretch. When she woke each evening, a mug was promptly shoved into her hand alongside her breakfast of venison, cheese and dried cherries. Unlike the distinct spice of Rhydian’s blood, the drake’s was more earthen and strangely floral. By no means was it unpleasant - it simply wasn’t his. She downed it without complaint, though it often took her more than an hour to finish all of it between cycles.

Rhydian had given her a new technique to practice while she drank, one she was to maintain and practice until it no longer required conscious thought. Which was far easier said than done. The technique had seemed simple enough in concept, but in practice, it was nigh on impossible for her.

Instead of circulating essence throughout her body in the clockwise pattern of her natural flow, she had been instructed to concentrate her essence in her physical core, before directing it up through the main meridian leading into her heart. From there, she had to split her essence in two, diverting one stream through each side of her body to create two smaller loops, rather than one large one. It had taken her several attempts to even gather all of her essence into her core. Even days later, she’d still had to monitor and coax her new rhythm in order to ensure it maintained its new course.

From there, she’d spent most of the night walking. Together, she and Rhydian would hike down from their campsite and trace a wide circle around the entire valley. By her estimate, the entire route was around sixteen or so kilometers. Which was manageable, even if she struggled to keep herself under control when the terrain grew too steep in places. Her enhanced muscles still propelled her too far on occasion. So, for the first week, all they did was walk. She’d been forbidden to do anything more. No brisk pace, no jogging and most importantly, no running.

During the second week, Rhydian slotted in a series of dynamic stretches. He instituted them at irregular intervals and in different variations to keep her on her toes, sometimes adding a set of pushups or other full-body exercise into the mix. It kept her alert and nimble both in mind and body, forcing her to concentrate on her coordination, lest she wind up on her backside or with a face full of mud. Bit by bit, she made steady, noticeable progress.

By the end of that second week, she had graduated to jogging. Some days, that was all they did during their route. Other days, she ran drills. Rhydian matched her pace with an ease that often made her jealous, but always insisted on carrying out their drills alongside her, as a means of keeping in shape himself, and offering her some much needed encouragement when her limbs strained and trembled. As such, he often left his brigandine uniform behind in favor of loose trousers, boots and a bare chest when they ventured out from camp.

She’d felt her cheeks burn every time she’d dare to spare him a glance. Though, mercifully, their sessions out in the woods occupied most of her attention. It was only during brief breaks to catch her breath, that she allowed herself to admire the slope of his broad shoulders and taper of his waist. In carefully timed glances, of course. He was by no means the first man she’d seen shirtless, but the power of his build held a unique appeal. She found herself drawn more to his shoulders, than the hard planes of his abdomen and the beast inside her apparently agreed with her taste.

That fact alone was enough for her to forcibly shove down any budding attraction before her thoughts had a chance to grow wayward.

With the increase of activity, her requirements rose to meet the new demands on her body. By week three, she was finishing off half a jar of drake blood in the evening and the remaining half in the morning before sunrise along with one of Ayduin’s sparkling, opalescent apples and a helping of venison that would have put Dravas to shame. Some days, she consumed more normal food than her two companions. Which had led to the hunting and foraging allotments that were slotted in every few days when their provisions grew low. Ayduin had plenty of other provisions in her Pocket, but she and Rhydian had been reluctant to dig into those if they didn’t have to. The supplies inside were reserved only for emergencies, which Inerys understood completely.

It was foolish not to take advantage of the wealth of food the forest provided. Of course, it also gave she and Ephaxus an excuse to fly together while Ayduin and Rhydian hunted from the backs of their own wyverns. His own body was in need of time and exercise, so their flights served a dual purpose.

Her body grew lithe, her limbs growing harder, more defined and routine stretching before, during and after her sessions kept her limber. Eventually, the new cycling technique had become as passive as the steady rhythm of her heart. It focused more of her essence into her meridians, rather than the adjoining, lesser channels, serving to reinforce her spine, limbs and vital organs while her body mended. A healing technique, Ayduin had called it.

Beyond the physical, her mental core had expanded in equal measure - a result of the daily meditation. Unlike the other two cores, the mental one relied on cultivating and building upon the essence that was already present. Either through meditation or other activities involving active use of the mind, such as reading, studying or art, from what her companions described.

By the end of those weeks, her cores were near to bursting. Her meridians quivered with a newfound power that resonated through her cores and into her very bones. When her advancement began to build within her, Rhydian had held her back, for he had one last aspect left to train: her will. It was a test of the mind, to see how long she could hold herself back from the edge. How long she could control herself and the thing inside her that had finally eaten its way through the first Shackle containing her spirit. The longer she held out, the stronger her will would become.

For nine days, she lingered on the cusp of her third Ascension.

The discipline required to keep rein in her Soul had tested every bit of her resolve. Cold sweats wracked her body through what little sleep she’d attained, muscles straining, skin burning with fever. In those long hours spent hiding from the sun, she meditated between bouts of troubled sleep, using the steady rhythm of Ephaxus’ heart to anchor herself amid the tempest building inside her. With each passing feeding, her essence grew, padding out and gently stretching meridians.

She leaned on her bond with Ephaxus, often spending all day and night leant against his chest as they spoke. They shared stories of their lives prior to their meeting, recalling ill and fond memories in equal measure. Most nights, Rhydian and Ayudin joined in, supporting her simply by distracting her mind from the constant grappling of her Soul.

On the eve of the sixteenth day, she finally cracked.

Somehow, Ephaxus had been the first to sense the shift in her Soul.

With a sudden hiss, he warned the others and dropped his shoulder low. Inerys, dizzy and only vaguely registering his demeanor, instinctively reached toward his saddle. He brought his head around to nudge her up while the others rushed to her side. Rhydian caught hold of her middle just as her grip failed and she sagged in his arms. Her resolve cracked, her Soul slipping through her control like water through her fingers.

“I’ll meet you at the river,” Rhydian called, presumably to Ayduin.

Ephaxus growled with a frustrated urgency as the man settled on his back, Inerys tucked close to his chest. He surged into the air, wingbeats lulling her dizzied mind into an almost dreamlike state. Her consciousness remained, but only just. It would be all too easy to let the damn inside her burst.

“Keep strong a little longer,” Rhydian murmured in her ear, “we’re nearly there.”

She tried to speak, but if she did, she feared what little will she had would crumble. Her perception warped, seconds stretching into hours. Her meridians constricted, threatening to bear down upon the wellspring of essence pulsing inside her.

Gloved hands slapped lightly at her cheeks, drawing her from her thoughts. Her eyes fluttered open, hardly able to make out Rhydian’s face through the tears welling in her eyes. His brows were furrowed, though there was an excited, hopeful light to his strangely silver eyes. Silver like the edges of Ephaxus’ scales under a full moon.

“Inerys? Inerys, you’re ready,” he said.

“Ready?” She croaked.

His smile was shaky. “Draw your essence into your cores, the way we practiced. This time, let your meridians constrict.”

Part of her simply desired to let go, to let her cores advance as they pleased. However, she knew doing so would undo all the work and effort she’d carefully, painfully, cultivated. She needed to direct the essence. Brow scrunched and beading with sweat, she forced her spine straight where she sat, tucked her chin and willed her wrists to relax upon her knees.

Drawing a deep, slow breath, she isolated her mental core, bending the essence within to her will. She envisioned it being drawn into the pale golden sphere in her head, like water into a long-dried sponge. The core expanded to accommodate the swell, filled almost beyond capacity. Then, she forced the core down into itself. Pain lanced through her skull and she grit her teeth. However, the sensation dissolved in an instant as something snapped into place. Her focus sharpened, registering stronger, more durable channels. There were new ones as well, forming complex loops like the interconnected roots of a tree.

Weeks worth of muddled thoughts and fatigue were replaced with sudden, renewed vigor. Like she’d just woken up from the best sleep of her life. Focusing on the newly Ascended core, she found it had shrunk in size. Not drastically, but enough to take notice, having condensed down into a small, burning sun. Distantly, she felt her lips twitch into a smile, though she also registered warmth oozing from her nostrils, her ears.

More impurities, the thought.

She couldn’t focus on that now, not with her hold on her physical core slipping. With renewed determination, Inerys repeated the visualization technique on her physical core. Sliver, watery light was sucked down to a singular point, condensing, then compressing. The air was abruptly driven from her lungs in one powerful push as heat spread though her. Her limbs tingled, body shook and a familiar, compulsory response bent her over in the grass.

Her claws buried themselves in the earth as her body purged itself again and again. Spirits help her, she hated vomiting. If this happened every time she advanced, she wasn’t sure she could bear it.

Once her body began to relax, she realized her hair had been pulled back from her face. A warm, steady hand held her shoulder, the other gently holding her haphazard braid away from danger. Inerys wavered on all fours for a heartbeat, refreshed yet exhausted all at once. She took a moment to gather herself, then shift her weight back onto her knees and into a sitting position. She rolled her neck, breathing deep, only to gag.

The bile was even worse the second time around.

“Are you all right?” Rhydian asked.

“I- yes, but–” she scrambled away from the stench.

His arm reached out, quick as an asp, and caught her wrist just before she was about to accidentally throw herself into the river. She gasped, one foot slipping into the water. Her weight shifted and she tried to plant her back foot to keep herself upright. However, all she managed to do was pull Rhydian back with her. She had half a moment to register the realization on his face, to curse her Spirit-forsaken strength, before she was engulfed by the cold embrace of the river.

When she found her footing and broke the surface, Ayduin’s howl of laughter greeted her. Rhydian, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Panicked, she wiped at her eyes, searching the bank, the waters ahead of her, only to have him burst up from behind her, chuckling as he shook his wet hair like a hound. He was soaked to the bone, hair, armor and all. Guilt practically radiated from her.

“I’m sorry!” She squeaked.

“For what?” He asked, playfully splashing her, then throwing his arms wide, “you did it!”

Inerys paused, looking down at her bare hands. A good portion of her fracturing had mended, replaced by smooth, ivory skin. Instead of reaching past her elbows, what fractals remained went no further than her mid forearm. They were thinner, like hairline fractures and threw off far less light than before. She beamed down at her hands, relief flooding her chest.

“I did it! Spirits, I - I can’t believe it,” she breathed.

“Welcome to your third Ascension, Red,” Ayduin said, smirking from where she stood along the bank, “it looks good on you.”

“Agreed,” Rhydian said quietly.

Were her ears not as sensitive as they were, she might have missed the whisper.

Heat bloomed in her cheeks.

“Thank you,” Inerys said, reaching to run her hand through her wet hair, barely brushing one of her ears with her wrist.

Her brow furrowed, hand frozen along her scalp.

Hesitantly, she ran her fingertips along her ear, tracing the longer, sharper cartilage. She’d always possessed the tell-tale stamp of her Adai heritage, but her ears had never protruded so far from her hairline. They felt as though they were near as long as Ayduins. She glanced down into the water to see for certain, but it was a moonless night. Fear bubbled up inside her, but reason quickly overcame the unwelcomed wave of emotion.

She was no longer in the Seven Cities. She was among her people. No one here would hold her down as they cut off her ears and threw them in the street if she turned down a back alley. She was safe.

Easy, little one, Ephaxus soothed.

“How do they look?” She dared to ask, though to no one in particular.

Rhydian walked a slow circle around her, wading through the waist-deep water while he stroked his chin in a particularly exaggerated fashion.

“Hmm, if I didn’t know any better, I’d be convinced you were born Adai,” he said.

“I think they’re an improvement,” Ayduin said appreciatively, “now, you actually look like you have ears.”

Inerys chuckled, lips parting into a smile that actually showed teeth. “Thanks. Glad to know my earlessness won’t keep you up at night anymore.”

Ayduin’s eyes narrowed and she leaned out over the water, arms crossed. “Do that again.”

“What?”

“Open your mouth. Your fangs are different.”

Inerys reached a hand to her lips, hesitant to open her jaw under the sudden scrutiny.

Rhydian inclined his head.

“How bad are they?” She asked after reluctantly pulling back her lips to reveal the offending teeth.

“Not . . . as bad as I thought,” he admitted. “Your canines are considerably sharper and - can you retract them?”

Feeling a new set of ligaments flex along the roof of her mouth, she tested the theory. The fangs slid out and retracted, much like her claws. In her mouth, it was rather disturbing. The sensation alone made her dizzy.

The mouse has teeth, Ephaxus purred.

“All right, now that’s actually impressive,” Ayduin said.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Rhydian said, “I’ve seen plenty of strange things over the years, those fangs of yours are something else. Looks like your advancement restructured your jaw. Your canines are longer and sharper, but the smaller set next to your main incisors are about the same as they were before.”

She shivered, “Is that normal?”

“Each Ascension comes with a few changes. Most of the physical ones occur during your foundation,” he replied.

“Oh, good,” she said, voice faint.

She was still trying to comprehend how good she felt, fangs or no.