2600 B.C.E, Earth

I dreamt for the first time in the same year that a human attempt to fly. He wasn’t a sorcerer or self-proclaimed god but a fool with a dream. I remember reflecting on his actions a short time before something clicked inside of my astral body. It was like I became aware of a new part of my consciousness. I explored this new piece of myself but I couldn’t be certain of its function.

I had grown immensely in the past few centuries surpassing even my expectations. The additional growth was owed entirely to my ever-evolving relationship with mana. In the early years, I had viewed it merely as a human might view crops grown by his hand, an important resource but ultimately, nothing more. When I discovered my ability to change organisms and the Physical, and later, magic, I began regarding it as a tool with nearly limitless functions, a precious thing to be treasured and understood. Yet, in recent years, my view had changed once again.

Mana pulsed with a life of its own. It wasn’t merely a resource or a precious tool. No, it was an existence unto itself. Mana reminded me of the simplistic organisms that still endured in the boiling pockets of the abyss within the ocean, too simple to be conscious, or even aware of itself, but living nonetheless. I changed my approach to handling it once I realized this. Instead of simply controlling it with my will, I put the whole of my being into the endeavor and guided the mana as though it were a part of me, the same way a human might move his arms or legs.

Admittedly, this new method did not come easy. I spent almost two centuries focused on just this aspect of my development. I spent much of that time in solitude and despite my best efforts, a new emotion sprouted within me.

Loneliness.

After the conversation in Ur with my companion, I separated myself from her in the Astral and she did the same. For the first time in our existence, we conceptualized the distance between us as far and our connection dulled. I sometimes received vague impressions from it but I ignored them because I didn’t like what I felt. Unfortunately, the alternative company offered no solace for my isolation.

At that point, hundreds of basic and semi-complex astral presences floated in our sector, the burgeoning efforts of my companion’s children and my fleshwarped. I considered interacting with them at times but they were never more than a source of anger for me. My agitation stemmed from the nature of their existence within the Astral.

As I’ve said before, the sector of the Astral that we inhabited had no mana before we arrived. So, the only mana of use within it came from us. A select few individuals, all of whom I was directly responsible for, could produce mana on their own; however, the rest were incapable of sustaining themselves. Naturally, they found the mana they needed by siphoning the ambient mana produced by my companion.

Unlike myself, she did not contain the mana that flowed passively from her astral form. To be fair, why would she? Her matter to mana method generated more than enough mana for her so she had the luxury. Meanwhile, I had needed to maximize every bit of mana I could.

Needless to say, my opinion of these humans didn’t improve much as I watched them siphoning mana from my companion after the separation. In my eyes, they were malignant parasites that needed to be removed before they caused too much harm. I did kill a few gods and sorcerers but I didn’t hunt them. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and served as outlets for my frustration. In the end, my devotion to advancement saved the ancient world from a blood-soaked crusade by my hand, not that the humans needed any help when it came to sowing death.

In fact, my first dream illustrated the violence of man in great detail. I watched a bloody battle ensue between warring nations. It seemed the advent of civilization awoke the slumbering bloodlust of man. They had always been violent but the scale had escalated significantly. It was not all war though. My dream encompassed many places across the continents from the icecaps far to the north to the tropical jungles further south. Some of these places were familiar and others I made a note to visit whether out of curiosity or interest in local flora and fauna. It was an intoxicating experience.

As my companion said, my awareness expanded. I saw the breadth of the Physical with senses sharper than I could’ve imagined. Perhaps it was because I never manifested a body with a conventional set of senses but I had never known the world to house such beauty. I drank in the world like never before. Sadly, my expanded senses were not limited to the Physical.

I only caught a brief flash of the Astral far beyond our sector but it was enough. I saw two astral entities clash, a flurry of mana too complex for my understanding. Fortune favored me because their battle masked my gaze as I withdrew it.

For the first time, I fully comprehended the fear in my companion at the prospect of others of our kind finding our sector and the Old World. And, while her fears may have centered around protecting others, mine were more practical. I had seen a conflict between two astral beings, proof that conflict between our kind was a possibility, maybe even an inevitability.

I couldn’t face beings like that as I was. I needed power and to get it, I would need to delve into the mysteries of mana. When the other astral beings arrived, I resolved to instill this same fear into them.

***

2300 B.C.E, Earth

I spent the next few centuries gaining strength. From my mana manipulation to my rate of mana generation, I flourished with the newfound drive. For the first time, it wasn’t merely an innate directive pushing me to advance but a need to survive in the face of a greater threat. Personal survival turned out to be a fantastic motivator. Along with my new approach to mana, it drove my progression to heights I hadn’t believed possible.

My focus wasn’t completely occupied by my growth as much as I was loathed to admit. Even in my isolation, I devoted time to dreaming, and through those dreams, I observed humans. I developed a sort of hate-fascination with them. I cataloged their behaviors from the great kings to the lowly slaves. Besides furthering my understanding of humans, my research turned up something interesting

Some humans had small amounts of mana within their bodies but not like the gods and sorcerers. Upon investigating, I found two things. First, these humans had the Bridge structure like those birthed by my companion; however, the structure was incomplete like it hadn’t properly formed. Secondly, the majority of them didn’t even realize they carried mana within them and thus, had no idea how to wield it. They lived among mundane humans, unlike the gods and sorcerers who typically elevated themselves to positions of great importance. It took me several decades to track down the source of these humans. I finally found the answer when I observed the conception of one such child.

She was born to a slave and a wandering god in the lands in the east. The self-proclaimed god stayed with the local lord for a short time when passing through his town and helped himself to all the lord could offer including his women. The god showed little interest in the slave who became pregnant with his child and naturally, once he left, the lord disregarded her. Several months later, the child was born with an incomplete Bridge and a frail constitution.

It seemed obvious in hindsight. My companion had shown that mana could be inherited through one’s lineage. However, she expended a great deal of energy during the birth of each child. It made sense that the normal human reproductive process couldn’t match her efforts yet it also spoke volumes of her prowess to have her structures passed on even in an incomplete state.

I wondered how long these irregular humans had existed. Given that they were born from the union of mundane humans and those birth by my companion, they likely were under my nose for several thousand years. It was a wake-up call as to how limited my frame of reference had been until then.

After solving the mystery, I continued to observe the unfortunate child hoping to learn more. Watching her grow up, I was reminded of how wretched existence was for the weak among mankind. The ancient world was ofttimes a cruel and unforgiving place.

She caught a disease in her lungs at the age of two reducing her chances of growing to adulthood to almost nothing. Her mother did what she could to save the child but a slave had no hope in such matters. At best, the child had a few years until the sickness claimed her.

For reasons I didn’t understand at the time, I intervened in the face of her inevitable death.

Through my connection with mana, I discovered the ability to interact with the souls of creatures in a unique way while I dreamt. If I delved into their soul while they slept, I could invade their dreams. I had very little control over the dream itself but I could control my appearance. I used this ability to appear within the dream of the local ruler disguised as the great spirit worshiped by his people. I claimed the sickly girl was blessed to accomplished great things if she lived and if she died, a foul curse would befall the land.

The lord couldn’t heal the child so he offered a reward to anyone capable of curing her sickness. Word spread of this dream and soon the entire town knew of the child. There were several attempts by would-be medicine men yet none proved successful and one almost resulted in her death.

The child’s condition worsened and an angry visit from me prompted an increase in the offered reward from the local lord. This increase led to the story of the child’s plight spreading further and further until it caught the attention of a hermit who lived on a nearby mountain. I immediately identified the man as a sorcerer though he was relatively young based on the density of mana in his body.

I watched through my dream’s eye as he wove his sorcery into the child. He expended nearly all of his mana to cure the damage wrought by the sickness but he surprised me by going a step further.

He sacrificed a piece of his soul to complete the Bridge structure within the child. Only then did he pronounce the child healed.

The court rejoiced; the child was saved and the threat of the curse finally lifted. The lord offered the sorcerer the reward for his service yet he did not take it. Instead, he asked the lord to secure the mother’s freedom and bring both mother and child into his household under his care. He argued only the lord could be trusted to secure the future of a child blessed by a great spirit.

His appeal went over well with the people and the lord obliged vowing to treat the child as his daughter. The sorcerer left with a promise to return and check on the child in several years.

That night, I decided to enter the sorcerer’s dreams. I had never attempted it with a sorcerer or god but I expected no issues to arise. After all, although they were mighty in comparison to other humans, they were of no threat to me.