Catalyst Craft (Soulship Book 6), page 1
Soulship Book 6: Catalyst Craft
By Nathan Thompson
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Afterword
Chapter 1
"It's so beautiful," Aurora sighed as she stretched her iridescent hands toward the shimmering curtain high over our heads. "I haven't seen light like this in ages. Did you do this for us?"
"I confess we did not." I regarded her and the other Eosians as they stretched their hands toward the light within the Soulship. "I had never heard of your race before, and Vessa did not recall them until we discovered you all here. The light you see was the result of installing a corefire fragment within Vessa's environmental control systems. I have no idea why it illuminates in this fashion, or why it apparently benefits your people so much."
"Oh, right!" the multi-hued Beacon exclaimed. "My primary body mentioned how you had come here only a little less recently than the rest of us, and without any knowledge whatsoever regarding Source energies, space travel, or the multitude of diverse and dangerous monsters that roam through the night sky! I'm so impressed how you've managed to both survive and thrive, and I really appreciate that you've chosen to be so helpful and kind, instead of angry and resentful over the constant near-death experiences you've likely been forced to adapt right in the middle of!" Her hair glimmered as she tilted her head to regard me more curiously. "Actually, all of that sounds rather unprecedented, and it's possible I misunderstood something I only heard very recently. Were you truly so unprepared when you began slaying bloodthirsty beasts and repairing a broken starship?"
Her question caught me off-guard. I had done so much in my time here that I had still hadn't realized just how recent my arrival to Vessa's ship-body had been, even with my adopted grandmother pointing out how unprecedented my Advancement was.
"Yes," I hedged, still watching the Eosians bask under the light of the faux polar lights, "but in fairness, my accomplishments aren't as unprecedented as they seem. My race only exists because our earliest ancestors managed to learn how to survive in the face of a hostile and unforgiving world. I suppose a spark of that same survival exists in all of my people, if we can but tap into it."
"What a wonderful thing to believe!" the shimmering woman exclaimed with a smile. "To tell you the truth, I've felt rather unprepared myself, after sleeping inside that crystal for so many ages. I will believe I have a spark of my own I can tap into, and see if it helps me do my best! But I feel as if I've ignored your implied question." She looked up at the sparkling curtain hovering over our heads. "I'm sure you have noticed how much our skin has in common with this natural phenomenon. The main reason is that our skin has some of the same properties. Light curtains like this are created when solar particles collide with planetary gas particles—oxygen, usually. Our bodies can absorb light in a similar fashion, which creates our unique coloration and produces Source energy in the process, mainly mana. Historians used to argue all the time over what caused that effect in our race, and I wonder if they still do. For some reason, being in close proximity to the natural phenomenon benefits our people greatly. It especially helps smooth the mana absorption in our bodies and stabilizes our internal systems. In fact, you'll probably notice a change very soon!"
She was right. Moments later, the kaleidoscope of colors adorning the skin and hair of the Eosians softened and shifted into a more uniform appearance. Their skin mostly became an amethyst purple, though there were many with darker or lighter shades of the same color. Their hair settled on the color green, again with ranging hues.
"Oh, that does feel wonderful." Aurora spun about as the other Eosians sighed and stretched in relief. Her own skin and hair mirrored the majority's, except that it sparkled now, as if she was coated with gemstone dust. "I feel so much more settled down now! I can't explain why, but it feels so much better not to be so many different colors at once! And this will make it so much easier to Draw!"
I smiled.
"I'm glad to hear, but is there anything else your people need? Vessa has explained you have similar needs to other peoples, but I still feel as if I understand so little about your physiology. I also have been dealing primarily with only Sourcebeasts and essence Practitioners, so I wish to avoid assuming more than I actually know. Especially since I am constantly discovering new needs of my own."
"Right!" Aurora snapped her fingers in a way that reminded me of Nova. "We just talked about how new this place is for you as well! Maybe this thoughtful attitude of yours is why you have survived so well while still being nice and helpful!" She frowned as she finally regarded my question. "Actually, I think we are very much like you: we're all still so grateful to be alive after everything that's happened, and I don't think we've had time to process the future yet. It feels like only yesterday since we said goodbye to our homeworld and fled with the Bulwark to hide in his shell." Her face fell as sadness covered it. "We made our peace as best as we could, but I wish more of us had survived to flee with him."
So do I, the newest voice rumbled from within my soul. The ghostly turtle was the largest occupant within my Soulscape, resembling one of the newly developing hills within my spiritual planet. The next two largest beings, the ghostly dragon and phoenix I also called family, moved over to comfort him.
It is not your fault, Battle Master Pallas, Dawnpire said as her beak leaned toward him. The fact that you saved so many is forever your credit. And I know you did everything you could, to save as many as you could.
That I did, as much as my heart argues otherwise, the gigantic testudine admitted. I traveled to their world as quickly as I could, because I had every reason to believe that the Eosians' homeworld would be among the first to suffer in the Vessel-Saint's absence. But they were already under attack by monsters and various other beasts, all of which had seemingly decided to attack that same world in a random coincidence. The ancient beast's rumble turned into a growl. It would have been a perfect cover for any raider willing to pillage, butcher, and enslave in their wake without ever being discovered. Had I not arrived when I did, and had I placed no contingencies there beforehand, their entire race would not even be a memory by now. But though they forced me to flee, I learned the ones responsible. It has always been my hope that one day I would have a chance to bring them to justice.
Rest assured, battle brother, Mara interjected with a growl of her own. We will join you in obtaining that justice on the Eosians' behalf. Theirs as well as the murdered Vessel-Saints'. Her azure snout lifted as she regarded the sky over their heads. Add to that our rider's murdered ancestors as well. In fact, given all the harm the traitors have caused, a proper punishment might be more challenging than surviving long enough to defeat them. But we will accomplish it all the same.
A small multitude of chirps and puppy-like growls accompanied her declaration, as the Sourcebeast children scampered over to add their agreement.
I smiled at the sight, and realized that Aurora was staring at me curiously.
"Oh!" she suddenly said. "I get it now! I thought you were staring into space because you were daydreaming like I sometimes do, but I forgot that you have so many invisible people to talk to! Please tell them all hi for me!"
"I will do so," I said as I smiled at the woman. "And I apologize if I ignored anything you said while I was distracted."
But Aurora shook her head.
"You didn't! In fact I was thinking of what to say next, because the Hayans have been very friendly to us! Their elders have been speaking with our elders. Apparently they had to leave their world behind as well, and will be building a new life with us."
"Yes. How is that going?"
I reminded myself that Vessa and her Beacons had been working hard on integrating the two groups. Ideally, they'd each have more space to themselves, but conditions were becoming cramped now that an extra two hundred occupants had joined the ship. I had offered to do the same, but Vessa had quietly explained that since Aurora didn't have the same leadership position Mota had within her tribe, it would be better for me to quietly help her become accustomed to her ship-body during the negotiations.
I had agreed, even as I suspected that Vessa was terrified over discovering just how naive her newest body was, and what such naivety said about herself. I wondered whether she had assigned Aurora to me because she wanted me to keep her out of the way or because she wanted her Beacon to learn hard truths as quickly as possible. I found myself hating either possibility.
"Oh, I don't know all of the details, but it seems to be going wonderful!" the cheerful woman announced, her skin and hair shimmering as she smiled again. "Our leaders apparently want us all to get along, because both the Hayans and Eosians are going out of their way to greet and speak with each other. The good news is that both peoples really appreciate each other. Our people admire all the wonderful things Mota's people have made, while the Hayans are fascinated with our mastery of mana, and our ability to enchant the relics they make! Some of our smiths have already gotten together with them and are planning on making new inventions so
That earned a raised eyebrow from me. Perhaps Aurora was far more observant than anyone realized.
"Do they offer you gifts or services, in exchange for you not revealing the details of their meetings?"
"Not really!" the purple-haired woman said brightly. "Well, the Hayans did at first, but then the Eosians said it wouldn't work, because I'd still talk about what I saw! So now they give me gifts for no reason, and they tell me all sorts of things! Most of the time, they change what they're talking about as soon as they see me. Mota says it's because I'm nosy, but Nova insists that they're just trying to talk about things I'll find interesting. Isn't that nice? She always gives Mota a funny look when she says that, though, and it makes Mota grumpy. Hey, did I show you this bracelet one of the Hayans gave me?"
"That..." My words tangled together, as she shook her wrist in front of my face. I struggled internally over whether to praise or condemn their deception. "Is there any other part of the ship you'd like to see?" I asked instead.
"Why yes!" She clapped. "If you don't mind, I would love to see the navigation room again! After becoming healthier, I feel like I can update the chart again!"
"Very well," I replied as I led her through the ship's halls. For some reason, Aurora could recall far more complex navigational information than what a Beacon could normally provide. Vessa had explained that a Soulship's Beacon normally only helped their ship-body navigate to the systems closest to their homeworld. This was supposedly why Vessa had such an easy time traveling to the worlds near Mota’s and Lunei's locations. Yet she had been able to memorize numerous other star systems, originally believing that she had only been able to memorize them due to her desperate flight after the defeat of her people. Especially since Nova and Mota had no inherent knowledge of these worlds.
But Aurora had knowledge of many worlds and stars, and had also left her homeworld long ago, something Vessa had originally believed to be impossible. She had absentmindedly volunteered information about every single world we had traveled to, whether it was Techne, Qarm Prime, or the birthplace of the Sparkling Sky Sect. When she first saw Vessa's navigational room, she could immediately recall the locations, names, and details of several other star systems. Ever since then she had randomly recalled more stars and frequently requested someone to take her back to the navigational room.
Which may have been the real reason Vessa had assigned me to look after her full-time, now that I thought about it.
"Thank you for taking me, by the way," the purple-skinned woman said as she held my hand. "I would go myself, but I get distracted so easily. I spend far too long looking at all the wonderful walls and ceilings and lights of this beautiful place when I walk alone. Not to mention how wonderful it is to be able to sleep soundly without hearing any strange whispers from tentacled bugs that want to hunt down and devour me!"
I frowned again as I considered all the myriad changes Aurora was likely processing after waking up for the first time in untold ages. Then I forced myself to relax as I realized I was gripping her hand more tightly.
"I am sorry that you experienced so much," I said as I continued to lead her down the ship's halls. "I will do my best to look after you. Especially since this place has dangers of its own." But the bright and beautiful woman shook her emerald hair, and tightened her own grip on my hand.
"Oh, it wasn't like that at all! I really didn't experience much at all, aside from those frightful whispers! Well, that and some dim sensations from that sweet old turtle doing everything he could to keep me and everyone else alive! Thank you for giving a place he can finally rest in, by the way." Her smile broadened as she gave my hand an extra squeeze. "But now there are so many wonderful new things! I get to stand up now! Or spin in a circle! Or walk down hallways while a nice man my own age talks to me and holds my hand! And that only scratches the surface! I could probably go on for hours and hours! But I think we are almost to the room, so I should concentrate on all those stars and planets I just remembered!"
We stepped into the room a few moments later. Aurora skipped a little as we walked to the terminal and activated it. A large, holographic map containing a multitude of stars rose before us. The purple-skinned Beacon's eyes glowed with blue mana as she pointed a finger at different spots on the map. As she did so, the darkness was replaced by new stars, and new planets.
"This is the Beta system," she mumbled absently, "which has four planets, three gas giants, and two dwarf planets, both of which had a large amount of different ore people used to be very interested in, back when the Soulships were sponsoring the study of some really interesting engineering disciplines. And over here is the Ceta-Vila system, which had three planets with some unique flora that I really hope has survived over all these years. Then there's this lovely little star system here..." The map lit up as she pointed to another spot. "And here..." The map lit up again. "And these were discovered right around my birth, so I don't have very much information on them. I'm not even sure we got around to naming them before the great battle. That's all for now, though. But I promise to let you and my other bodies know the moment I remember anything else!"
"Thank you," I replied as I led her back through the halls. "Do you need to rest now? Or is there some other place you would like to visit? Perhaps you would like to see the gardens and animals again?"
"I do love those!" Aurora clasped my hand excitedly. "And I especially love your little mouse, even if he always seems to be sneaking around on some sort of mission that seems to terrify my primary body for some reason! But I was actually wondering if perhaps you could help me train some more!"
"That would be very helpful for both of us," I admitted gratefully. "I've grown accustomed to my new power, but I would like more practice using it. Especially since I have somehow started attracting rivals."
I sighed. I had spent my entire childhood being as mild and unassuming as I could appear to be. But the moment I left my world behind and dared to do anything more, foolish young men brimming with talent and resources practically materialized out of thin air and decided on the spot that I was somehow a dire threat to whatever opportunities they were pursuing. Defeating them had somehow summoned even more dire threats, champions among men and monsters who saw the most dangerous aspects of themselves reflected in my simple desire to protect and survive.
Two weeks ago, my growth had been explosive enough to convince me that I could now protect Vessa from the majority of the dangers seeking to devour her flesh-body. Now though, I spent my nights considering that Culve or Draven could be Advancing even as I slept, or perhaps uncovering some powerful Sourerelic that would let them solidify their power base and send an army pounding toward our un-prepared shelter. It was likely a foolish worry, as neither champion currently knew our exact whereabouts or how to reach us, but it still motivated me to spend every spare opportunity I had training.
"Yes, I can see how that might happen!" the green-haired woman said as we walked toward one of the empty storage rooms. "I find you quite safe and pleasant to be around, but I can see how I might think differently if I wanted to hurt a whole bunch of people or rule over them with an iron fist! I'd probably find you immensely dangerous then! In fact, I think I'd consider you my greatest enemy and try to get rid of you however I could! Now if you don't mind, I'd like to practice my new lightning mana on you, and see if I can make it a little deadlier!"
"I will agree," I hedged as I moved away from her, "provided your request had absolutely no relation at all to your previous hypothetical scenario."
"Oh." Aurora tilted her head absentmindedly, smiling as prismatic sparks danced along her fingers. "I didn't make that connection at all, but your response was quite humorous and practical. I think I will start with my green lightning as soon as you are ready!"
Her Soulscape flared behind her as we began combat, a shimmering, multicolored curtain of light that very much resembled her namesake, save that stars, planets, and nebulae drifted through it, with tiny script etched under each object. I had an instant to realize that the scripts were the heavenly bodies' names, and that thin lines ran around and about to mark ideal routes and system boundaries.
