Nimh felt rather accomplished when he found himself surrounded by a vast expanse of spinning fragments of light. A familiar sensation made his head spin and his sight go white, but still, he had made it.

Blinded, Nimh floated, revelling in his success. Vaguely he was aware of his surroundings, but they felt insubstantial. Like mist catching the light.

Curiously, he tried reaching out, first with his hands which he could almost see. His fingers were transparent while his digits faded into mist before his fingertips. His limbs were likewise, insubstantial.

He stared transfixed at his hand as it wavered in the space before him. It took him a while before he realised, he wasn’t actually moving his limb, more like it drifted outside his control.

With an effort, he tried clenching a fist…and failed. He tried to twitch his fingers and failed again. Frantically, he tried moving anything, but it was like his body was frozen in place, unmoveable under his own will.

Yet, he floated, his hand and arm trailing like a leaf catching a breeze.

It was a chilling experience.

“Why can’t I control my limbs?” he pondered. He tried looking around, but again he could not perform the task.

He thought back to his previous visit here and was certain that he could at least look around, though he had no recollection of actually moving under his own will. Had Friend done something?

But all she had done was talk, maybe manipulate him, and float around. If anything, all he remembered was her, nothing else.

The thought made him wonder about that. He remembered nothing but the moments where she occupied his thoughts. Not even the time he had spent in the fragment. He had only focused on her.

Perhaps…

Working more on instinct, Nimh turned his attention to his hand, incorporeal and so faint that Nimh would have questioned it existed if he hadn’t known it was there. But what if it wasn’t?

This was the Realm of thoughtful Heights, a Realm where the Mind was supreme. His hand wasn’t there, it was just a memory or an illusion of what could have been there. Of something that was connected to Nimh.

So, if this was all in his head, then why couldn’t he be more solid?

The thought resonated through him, a sensation both alien and familiar pushing at…something he could neither see nor hear. Pain tore through him, filling his eyes with blazing red.

Nimh may have screamed, he did not know for sure. But when his vision returned, his hand did seem more real, though still transparent. And still out of his control.

“What was that?” Nimh pondered as he felt the sensation ebbing away. Instinctively, he reached out for it, but it slipped away, fading from him as if it had never existed.

“That was a good attempt.” A voice caught Nimh’s attention, making him turn. Before him, was Friend.

Or he thought it was her. He recognised her gargantuan size and feminine body, but her face was alien. It was only then that he realised he could not bring Friend’s face to mind. That was a disconcerting revelation.

“Thank you,” Nimh replied politely. “I was hoping to learn more about the arts of the mind, but I seem to be floundering.”

The woman nodded. “The cognitive arts are difficult to comprehend without guidance. But what have you discovered so far?”

Her question made Nimh wonder if this was the same woman he had met previously.

“My apologies.” Nimh said slowly, “But are you not the Transcendent that advised me to call you Friend?”

The woman blinked, and then a smile broadened her face. “The young Spirit Invader. I’m surprised you recognised me.”

“There are other Transcendents here?” Nimh asked.

“Many,” Friend replied. “This Realm can be visited by anyone with a connection, most who are too weak to enter on their own will slip in like a dream and spin their own fantastic dreams. Transcendents simply have an easier time slipping between the Realms. Did you enter on your own will?”

“No,” Nimh said, trying and failing to shake his head. “I reenacted a similar situation that allowed me to enter last time. Physical and mental exhaustion seemed to do the trick.”

Friend laughed. “That is an interesting approach. Many try it and fail for a myriad of reasons. You’re lucky to have succeeded. So, tell me, how much time has passed in your world since we last met.”

“A day?” Nimh said uncertainly. “I came across some realities of Uesonerah which did not sit well with me. I was hoping I could find some clues in this Realm to resolve my issue.”

“Oh?” Friend quirked an eyebrow. “That could be intriguing. Tell me about it.”

After a pause, Nimh decided to tell her. Not because he trusted her, but because he saw no harm in it. Besides, she may have some insights.

Upon finishing his recollection, Friend stared at him, eyes unreadable. After what seemed an eternity, she waved a hand and a small, three-coloured sphere appeared.

“What do you know about the three arts?” she asked.

“I know of the physical arts and spiritual arts. Physical arts reinforce and improve the body. The spiritual arts connect the spirit to other spirits. I know the spiritual arts connect to the Realm of Infinite Dreams and what I know is probably just the smallest taste of what they can do.”

Friend sighed. “You are not wrong; your ignorance is impressive. Well, to begin with, there is a third art that balances the physical and the spiritual. It is the cognitive arts. These three arts hold this universe in balance and form their own realities.”

From the three-coloured sphere, a green light stretched out, circling around the sphere in sweeping patterns.

“The spiritual arts draw their power from the Realm of Spirits, as you call it, the Realm of Infinite Dreams. Every life ever formed has a spark of life from this realm, so it expands and grows with life born, and solidified as the souls of those lives return to it. You are correct in saying that it allows connections between spirits, buts its main function is the spiritual memory of this universe.”

A second coloured light emerged from the sphere, crimson red. It mimicked the green light, swirling around the sphere.

“The physical arts ground the physical in reality. The world you live in is an interconnected array of physical reality’s that combine into a scattered Realm of its own. As such, the physical arts reflect those realities. The worlds grow, refine and endure. The world overflows with energy, allowing life to develop and change in many different forms. It is the medium for which life exists.”

A third coloured light slowly crept from the sphere, sapphire blue. With agonising slowness, it twisted between the green and red lights, like a snake. Never touching, but so close that the colours bled together.

“The Realm of the Mind, or what you called the Realm of Thoughtful Heights, is akin to a resting place of all knowledge. Every living being is connected to this Realm and as such, it is a vast space of knowledge. Within its depths are secrets that could make your mind explode and leave you a gibbering mess. But you are nowhere near advanced enough to explore this Realm to such an extent.”

Nimh’s mind swam with the information, eyes transfixed to the three coloured lights. Friend smiled, tapping the sphere, making it spin, leaving arrays of red, blue, and green, like a kaleidoscope of colours. In some places, the green, red, and blue were vivid and clear, in others they bled together, leaving a rainbow-like display.

“The universe, with its many millions of worlds, is like this. A varying mix of body, mind, and spirit. In places like Mesovaar, the body and spirit are in perfect harmony, resulting in a void where the mind should thrive. It remains, untapped and under-utilised. But it remains, lending your people a terrifying ability to comprehend that which your people have no right to understand, and a will to forge your paths.”

“So, I am unable to use the cognitive arts?” Nimh queried.

Friend laughed. “Your people are unable to use the cognitive arts because they control worlds where their natural strengths are prevalent. Worlds with a strong balance of body and spirit give your people an advantage. Worlds with a powerful sensitivity to the Realm of Mind have a natural advantage over your people due to their developments in the cognitive arts. Very few of your people survive in such worlds.”

“That makes too much sense.” Nimh conceded. “So Uesonerah is also a world with a greater density of energy attuned to the physical and spiritual. But…” he traced the light, noting that the close to the sphere the lights were, the brighter they shone. “…the further from the centre, the weaker the density and the relative sensitivity the inhabits have to the arts.’

Friend clapped her hands. “You really are good. That is indeed right, though I will correct you on one point. Uesonerah is not particularly attuned to the physical nor the spiritual, but strongly attuned with the cognitive.”

Nimh stared at her, dumbfounded. “Then how do the slave contracts bind them? If they are so strongly attuned, then shouldn’t they be resistant to them?

“No,’ Friend shook her head sadly. “The people of Uesonerah are so strongly attuned with the cognitive that they are slaves to their own talent. You know little of the cognitive arts, but so you know, willpower is a foundational component of the art, much like vitality is a foundation to the physical arts.”

“They bind themselves…” Nimh could not comprehend how such a thing was possible.

“Indeed. What they sign is a simple piece of paper, but it is the internal agreement within themselves which triggers their willpower to bind them.” She paused, her face showing grief that Nimh felt deep within his heart. “Nothing binds more securely than the chains we forge upon ourselves.”

“So, there is no way to save them.’ Nimh said in despair. “What if I could learn this willpower thing, could I overpower their own willpower, stopping their will from binding them. Could I make them live their lives free?”

“A very noble idea,” Friend said, her tone sliding towards cold sarcasm. “Forcing people to live how you think they should live. Do you think their choice to submit to those contracts is a light one? Do you have any idea the damage you would do to them if you were to break their will over their selves?”

“You have seen it, haven’t you? The lives they lead after becoming slaves?” nimh tried to keep the accusation from his voice, but he knew he failed.

Friend paused before nodding. “I have seen. Much like your people have their customs and ways, they have theirs. I will not judge, nor pass a verdict on them. And neither should you.”

“I can’t turn a blind eye,” Nimh argued. “What is being done to them is wrong, even if they do it to themselves.”

“So, you would conquer them and break their way of life? Shatter their wills so you can feel better? You would take their choice from them?”

“They have no choices when they become slaves. It would be better to conquer them so there will be no need for those accursed slave contracts.”

“You are not strong enough.”

“Not yet,” Nimh admitted. “But I will be damned if I let that stop me!”

A subtle blue light shimmered around Nimh, and he found that he was as large as Friend, looking her in the eye, his form solid.

Friend looked at him, smiling. “Well, well, well. Aren't you a quick learner?”