“Toi, can the Hindel form spirit contracts?” My question to seemingly no one had Alpha’s consort looking at me strangely. That was until Toi manifested. Then both consort and the male Hindel that hadn’t been introduced moved almost in tandem.

The consort moved in front of the Alpha, interposing her body so that she could meet any attack that Toi might launch. The male moved to attack, summoning a spear while summoning water to use as a shield, spinning it faster and faster. The spear vibrated with motion. It moved so fast that without my perception, I would never have been able to guard against an attack.

“What is the meaning of this?” The male Hindel thundered.

“This is my response to the Alpha’s question,” I replied nonchalantly. The shrug of my shoulders that accompanied my blasé reply accented my indifference. An indifference that was a front. There was a tightness to my arms and shoulders. My right foot had turned outward. I had flowed easily into the beginning position of a martial form. A technique that I would release if Toi were attacked.

“The Alpha asked if I was willing to share the knowledge I gained from the Mystic Realms. While I did gain some physical items: spirit plants, ores, and rare artifacts, the highlight of my exploration was a new path of enlightenment.

“Toi is a Spirit.

“One that was willing to form a contract with me. The terms of that contract mean she will be able to manifest on the physical plane. She can manifest in this dimension because she can absorb the waste byproduct from my astral body, waste that is shed like skin cells daily.

“Don’t think of her as a spirit in the same context you might find throughout the world. They are not like the natural spirits of this world. Think of her as an amalgam of knowledge, memories, and ideas.

“When I set the parameters for what I was looking for in a Spirit companion, I was greeted by dozens of spirits that met those criteria. Each with its own set of characteristics. Each was an individual and unique.

“Toi and I clicked. She has a breadth of knowledge one would expect in a Master Class Professional and the ability to control the Spiritual plane well enough to fight with me when needed.

“I know my people can form Spirit contracts, but before I can make any bargain with you, Alpha,” I said, addressing the woman and ignoring the man still playing with his spear. I had to admit, to some surprise, he had been playing with his spear for enough time; I’d have thought he would have been spent. “I need to know if your people have the ability to enter the Astral plane and form a contract.”

“Eerie, enough,” Alpha said to the man that was guarding her. She floated over to examine Toi once he’d retracted his spear and moved to the side.

“You are a construct of astral energies?” She asked after a few moments of examination. I’d felt her scanning Toi, but none of her scans seemed to be more than mental probes.

“I can say with some certainty that the Hindel will be able to form a Spirit contract,” Toi replied as Alpha moved back to claim her lounge. And no, I am not a construct of astral energy.

“I am a living, sentient being. One who is capable of accessing a trove of knowledge that exists as part of the Universal Dao. Think of my ability to commune with the [Dao] as if it is a library of sorts. The [Dao] contains a spiritual resonance, and Spirits can be used to filter for and withdraw information as long as you resonate with the knowledge you are searching for. Think of that resonance as credentials and permissions.

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“Jai was able to complete a [Ritual] that drew me to her. If I hadn’t had the credentials required to access that aspect of the [Universal Dao] she was searching for, I would not have manifested.

“I would have remained incorporeal. Still sentient, but ignorant of time and space as I waited.”

“How can you tell the Hindel are able to form these contracts?” Baamai asked her question containing enough hostility that I could tell I had made a mistake in allowing Toi to appear at the meeting without context and explanation.

But the Alpha’s admission of using spies had angered me, and at that moment, I didn’t care how benign her actions had been. Or the reason she had employed people to gather information. It had seemed like one more betrayal.

The male Hindel serving as a guard was honor bound to respond, him I could dismiss. I could understand the consort’s reaction. We hadn’t had a real chance to mingle and get to know each other, but she still moved to protect, not attack. She had been required to go into isolation for a few weeks after winning her position. With my own time spent in the Mystic Realm, this was the first time we’d had a chance to interact. And from her perspective, it would seem as if she and the other Hindel had been ambushed, that she showed enough constraint to wait and see spoke well of her.

I felt a twinge of guilt but brushed it aside as inconsequential. I had to remember that they were using agents to gather information about me and mine. Their purposes might have been altruistic, but what happens if our goals no longer align at some point in the future?

“When Alpha scanned me,” Toi replied, “I was able to scan her in return. Not completely, but enough to know she has an astral body. An astral body isn’t exactly the same as a Dharmic body, but the connection between the two exists, and that connection is the link needed to create a tether by which the Spirit world can respond.

“As long as you can forge a bridge between the Dharmic and the Astral, you can complete the [Ritual] to form a spirit contract.”

“Now that we know you can perform the [Ritual],” I interjected, “I think we come to the heart of the matter. The price.

“I am willing to perform the first Spirit contract [Ritual] to prove the validity of Toi’s claim as a test. If the person you select is able to form a contractual agreement, then I will share the secrets for creating the [Ritual], a supply of seedstock or cuttings from the spirit herbs needed, and a section of land in my territory where you can grow the plants.

“In exchange, I want the secrets, cultivation manuals, techniques, herbal knowledge, herb seeds, and samples of your people. Including the Cultivation techniques, the Hindel’s capable of glimpsing the future may use.”

“Further, I want access to seed stock for any spirit plants, herbs, and ore that any of the manuals, techniques, blueprints, arrays, and professional items require to be successful. I want those resources that are unable to be sourced on land.

I resented that anyone had a method to see what the future might hold, and I had no way of reproducing, learning, or sharing those skills. I had planned to discuss Spirit contracts with Alpha regardless, but instead of presenting my knowledge as a gift, I thought an equal swap of techniques and materials more equitable.

“We can agree to that,” Alpha replied earnestly.

“We won’t need land. We have our own spatial devices that allow us to farm spirit herbs, but we can agree to the rest. The only requirement we would need is also the reason I requested this meeting.

“We wanted to offer you the chance to become a Voice, but this offer would now become a requirement. That you want to cultivate the resources we can offer is serious enough. But you want the secrets of our precognitive techniques. In order to gain those techniques, you would have to agree to become a Voice.”

“What is a Voice?” I asked, never having heard the term before.

“A Voice is the equivalent of a land-based Alpha. You would gain access to the gestalt mind our people generate, access that you can share with those sworn to you or members of your House if you have enough control.”

“That seems easy and harmless enough,” I responded.

“It would seem so, but there are two conditions for becoming a Voice,” Alpha warned. “You would need to choose a Hindel to practice dual cultivation with. And you would have to proclaim your Sovereignty.

“Your Fief would become a Kingdom able to trade with the Empire but separate. A Kingdom that would have the full backing of the Hindel Empire.”