Ranvir withdrew his attention from the trapped egg. The ever changing storm residing within his soul shifted and stirred as the fermenting spirit resettled. Ranvir’s attention, his will, his anima had enforced a minor change to the structure of the being. It wouldn’t be noticeable, not even if the change had been ten times as big as this one.

Then again, he coming up on day forty of the process.

Returning to his body, Ranvir was reminded of the other work he’d abandoned. The papers sprawled out before him: his two original translations of Stratos’ Laws—the rules by which the locals gained their power—as well as a bunch of papers on local customs.

Unfortunately, they’d been unable to find someone who’d lost a limb before bonding, who’d then gained it back. Though there was a boy who’d grown a finger joint. Even if it wasn’t the entire digit, it was proof of concept.

He was sitting in the gardens towards the rear of the original ministry building they’d returned to. Frija and Vasso were playing with Menace not too far away, enjoying the sunlight and pleasant warmth. It was colder than Legea, but also a lot drier, like a step between what Ranvir had known as a child and what he knew as an adult.

He glanced at the children before returning to the papers. He caught just a glimpse of Menace pouncing on Vasso and flooring the older boy. When Ranvir’d bought the rascal, he’d not quite fit in his hand, yet he was now big enough to floor the twelve-year-old.

Smiling to himself, Ranvir tapped the first line of Stratos’ Laws: ‘They are not pets, but animal. Understand the difference.’

This one was self explanatory. Though he’d be bonding with a wild animal, not a pet domesticated over millennia.

He swiftly dismissed it and moved on to the next: ‘Compatibility over power.’ This one was harder to interpret. Maybe it was some resonance of anima or the spirit, or perhaps it was simply aligning natural affinity with mana to fit alongside the bonded animal. He’d need to experience the beginning of a bond himself before he could tell.

Of note, the newer translation suggested it was related to career and one’s future. While that made some sense, Ranvir didn’t think that was the original’s meaning. Otherwise it would’ve been worded like: ‘Think of your future when bonding.’ Or something like that, rather than the original’s vague wording.

‘Material Connection.’ Ranvir wasn’t sure how to interpret this one. He’d remarked on it when first examining the laws. He’d since witnessed Latresekt repurposing matter into makeshift flesh and there was a material connection in that, but was it the same connection Stratos spoke of?

Where would it even fit? Perhaps you had to turn mana of the appropriate types into feed for the animal. The locals interpreted it to mean finding foods that aligned with the animal’s mana-types.

Ranvir rubbed at his jaw. It seemed like a post-bonding exercise under any circumstance, but it would merit a closer look once he’d achieved a bond.

‘2 years and 2 days of bonding.’ The fourth rule, second-to-last. Why that specific time? It fit to be about six-hundred-and-fifty-four days. Completely arbitrary? It seemed so to Ranvir, though his common sense warned him against it. Unless the laws were designed to force the majority into servitude.

Ranvir might’ve considered it if the people close to the ‘Lord King’ were higher powered, but at this point Ranvir examined the bonded in the city. Except for their ruler, the strongest only barely beat out a second-stage tethered. And the Lord King himself wasn’t so overwhelmingly powerful either.

More likely, at least to Ranvir’s sensibilities, was that something had gotten lost over the ages. Something vital to Stratos’ original laws. Ranvir leaned back in his seat and surveyed the area.

A servant was approaching with glasses and a jug. “Refreshments?” he asked after bowing so low, Ranvir feared he’d drop the items he carried.

“Please,” Ranvir said, gesturing to a free spot on the table. He tried to fight off the blush at the servant’s religious undertones. That was an entire bag of worms Ranvir wasn’t ready to tackle. Instead, he called the children over.

Surprisingly or, considering the society they lived, not so surprising, the servant pulled out a bowl for Menace. The liquid was cool and flavored with some sort of berry. Both children drank from it like it was the nectar of gods and they’d been dying of dehydration.

“Careful,” Ranvir reprimanded Frija, as she tipped her glass a little too far and spilled some onto her shirt. She grumbled, adjusted her grip.

The servant bowed again, first to Ranvir, then to the ‘holy children.’ “Before you go,” Ranvir said, tapping his notes. “I have a few questions you might be able to answer for me.”

“If- if his holiness thinks I am worthy,” the servant stuttered, finally broken out of his professional exterior.

“‘Remember the cycle. Prey becomes predator, becomes food, becomes prey.’ Am I right to infer that ‘food’ refers to something specific?”

“The divinity is wise and blessed,” the servant replied. “It refers to the meals of herbivores.”

Ranvir nodded and ran a hand over his beard. He’d kept it, if only because he knew there was a brooding reddish-purple scar underneath. So far, it had succeeded in hiding the injury from Frija. Though it was growing longer than he was comfortable with.

“Thank you,” Ranvir muttered. “And this period of bonding,” he tapped the fourth law. “It doesn’t specifically refer to the age of the partners. Was there once a time when people would bond at older ages?”

“Your divine knowledge knows no limits,” the servant replied, bowing again. “You are, of course, correct. When Stratos set his words into law as the first host of Gods, the bonding began with grown men and women, rather than children.”

“What changed?”

“The animals grew more dangerous. Stronger, faster, and more powerful. As such, people started targeting the young and weak. Finally, we figured that bonding with an animal from birth would secure a much easier connection. Especially, as our understanding of bond-initiation grew.”

Ranvir nodded as Frija and Vasso ran off, already bored with the grownup conversation. “Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”

The man flushed and quickly retreated. Ranvir sipped the flavored water and contemplated the fourth law. Perhaps there was a shift in the connection past the two years and two days mark? Knowing that it wasn’t related to the age of the child was interesting. Adults didn’t hold the bond for any longer, either.

He hated to do it, but dismissed it as something he could better examine once exposed to the bond. Perhaps he could shortcut it with some exercise in his spirit. Hopefully, he could shortcut it down to a couple of weeks.

The fifth law, he’d already gone over briefly. It plain old made no sense. To Ranvir’s eyes, it seemed like religious drivel. Ranvir glanced down at his remaining arm. Then again. The marks and lines of Loce’s habitat stood out on his tanned flesh. The law suggested a push and pull effect between bonded and animal. Ranvir’d petitioned for a bond. It had been granted. He’d given of his arm and been given a pet. Push and pull.

There’s gotta be a reason it’s last, Ranvir thought. First and last are always the ones that stick out the most. Ranvir couldn’t remember where he’d heard the saying before, but it stuck out to him as true. The first law suggested that though bonded the animal was still wild, he’d seen plenty of injuries from people who’d forgotten and gotten clawed for it. Prey and predator. But they were giving of their mana to the person, food?

So perhaps it was a full cycle. The person targets their animal, so the animal becomes prey. The prey fights back, but that doesn’t make it a predator? Ranvir shook his head. It was worth keeping in mind, but highly experimental. Hopefully, he could initiate a bond and get a true feeling for it.

“So to summarize,” Ranvir muttered to himself. “Don’t let the animal eat your face, even after it’s bonded. Chose your pet, not just for power but for how it fits in your spirit or life. Connect with it materialistically? Whatever that means,” Ranvir sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Don’t stay bonded with it for too long, otherwise it might be bad or maybe nothing will happen. And remember, the bond is a push and pull. The animal, despite how the bond starts, is a partner?”

Ranvir shook his head. Tomorrow, they were visiting pet shops, so maybe he could get a better idea then. For now, it was all things to consider in the back of his mind.

“Ranvir?” Vasso asked, standing next to him. “Can’t you come play with us?”

Ranvir looked up to see Vasso nervously fidgeting as he avoided direct eye contact. Frija stood on the grass holding Menace beneath the forelimbs. The kitten had grown such that its rear paws were fully touching the ground.

Ranvir smiled and deposited his papers into his general-space and stood up. “Of course, Vasso. What are we playing?”