I’d learned some of the local culture already in my time working the prison camp, but such places weren’t bastions of civility. When Corin and I finally neared a town, we were caked in mud and sweat, our mana was almost drained from an encounter with an alligator, and I still couldn’t stop asking questions about everything I saw.

Why the silvery script etched into the walls? Enchantments? Could I do those? Why not? What if I wanted to be Awakened and an Aelon? Well what if I just practiced really hard? Well, maybe they just didn’t try hard enough.

After that little discussion I felt kind of upset. Aelons were what I thought of as wizards. They shaped magic and made it do whatever they wanted, while Awakened were just magical muscle. Any training I managed to get as an Aelon would destroy my abilities as Awakened and retard growth as either one. So I sulked for a bit while Corin persuaded the guards to open the gates, and then I was once again flooded with questions.

I pointed out the giant egg rippling with flames. It stood on a pillar in the center of town, covered in silver wire. The silver wire was for a spell, but what spell?

“Teleportation. Any village with a phoenix egg can teleport anyone to any other. I didn’t know Acherage had one, but it will make our travel much easier.”

“But how does it work?”

“No idea. You’d have to ask the Aelon who enchanted it. It uses the phoenix’s ability, that’s all I know. Anyone who touches the egg dissolves to ash and can feel every other enchanted egg. Then they can pick one to reform at.”

We got a few curious glances as we walked through the town, but arrived at the egg without incident.

“We’ll be going to Fornel,” Corin said. “Hold on to my hand; I’ll guide us there. After that you’ll be able to take the route between here and Fornel on your own.”

I stopped. “Wait, hang on. It dissolves people to ash. I don’t feel like dying and then being recreated somewhere else.”

He seemed stumped at that. “Are you Soulless?” he eventually asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You can tell me if you are. I’m not the most law-abiding citizen out there.”

“Can you tell if I am?”

“Not without an Aelon. We can’t travel through the egg if you are—your soul is required for navigation. Without one you’ll just turn to ash and stay that way.”

Yikes. The blue dragon had said he’d be able to tell how powerful I was through my soul, so I assumed I had one, but it was best not to take the chance that I didn’t, or that mine was different enough from everyone else’s here that I died anyway.

“Probably not, but let’s check to make sure there isn’t anything too strange about it,” I said.

We went to a shop that apparently said ‘Aera’s Enchantments.’ I had to get Corin to tell me because I couldn’t read the language.

The Aelon was interesting. She was nothing like that old guy who’d zapped me. Her eyes were half-lidded and she had a diadem with mana crystals dangling from it. They were individually smaller than anything I could draw mana from.

“What ails you?” she said as she glided over to me.

“I might’ve been cursed, but I’m not sure,” I told her.

We’d discussed what I’d say beforehand, and apparently curses and geasa were most often targeted at the soul, since the memory could be erased and inscriptions on the body were expensive, time-consuming, and easy enough to erase with surgery.

“I see, I see. What terrible creature could have done it?”

Corin stepped forward. “We think it might’ve been a wraith. We were in a cave when we heard the whispers. We got out quickly, but we don’t know if we were fast enough.”

She nodded. “I shall take a look, if I can, but mana is expensive. I shall settle for—”

Corin plunked one of the crystalline copper coins down in front of her. She raised an eyebrow, which made me jealous.

“This will do, for now.” The coin vanished. “This will take some time. Do not move.”

Aera slumped into a chair that was almost overflowing with stuffing and started mumbling.

“It’s just for show,” Corin whispered, noticing my discomfort.

Her eyes flew open, but all she said was, “Interesting.”

“I’m sure,” Corin said.

“There is no curse, only a … connection. I regret that I cannot follow it. It warps through space as soon as it leaves the soul. A lesser Aelon would not even notice its presence.”

I frowned. “And is there anything else that seems unusual about my soul?”

“It’s not that kind of connection. Whoever or whatever is on the other end can read everything about you, but cannot make any sort of change to your soul. It is safe.”

That seemed clear enough. But just to make sure, I asked, “And the phoenix egg, I can use that without problems?”

She smiled. “It is rare that one so young is wise enough to take proper caution. But yes, you may use the egg. If you wish to rid yourself of the connection, travel to the Lunate Isles. Their magic is strange, but there is no doubt that their Soulsmiths are the best at their craft.”

We nodded and left, and I could barely contain my excitement. Soulsmith. I rolled that idea around in my head. I wondered what they could do. The soulstone knew how to float. Maybe it would be cool with the idea of going to those Lunate Isles. It could replicate their magic, and I could see if I could learn multiple abilities.

For now, we’d grow in power and resources in the Azure Empire. Corin wanted his place in the court back, the soulstone wanted … well, I wasn’t sure about what it ultimately wanted, but right now it had told us to bring back unique and magical items so it could replicate them, and I wanted magic.

Corin and I stepped up to the phoenix egg, hand in hand. He touched it, and everything changed.