Icarus Awakens

There was a lot Daniel could ask Mavar about. Whether his worst fears about the Arcadian were right or not. The true origin of the Octyrrum. How to change someone's powers as he had, and if they could use this to help Bekali. The problem was how thin the ice he stood on was. It had to be something worth the risk, something the man himself wouldn't take offense from.

"Spirits," Mavar repeated, age entering his voice.

"I know the basics," Daniel assured. "Broken souls manifesting in monsters. Archetype gaps. The Illustrious working with the gods to help make spirits whole. You could've done anything to Hunter when we last met, but you helped him when you didn't have to. Some part of you still cares about the work you were doing, just like it cares about Grave."

"You presume much." Mavar replied tersely. "Whatever my feelings for the Astral god are, they are not yours to use to manipulate me. Hmm. But, you have a point." His eyes grew distant, bearing continuing to age until he seemed somehow older than his body. "I was curious how you managed to repeat your unwitting success. The first I was willing to mark as a fluke, but two marks a trend."

You're going to tell him about Willow? Hunter asked warily.

If he's letting me go then I don't see why not. On the off chance he does try and take her she has a better chance of getting him to back off than I do. Besides… Daniel looked at Mavar again and nodded internally. I think I'm right about him. Part of the guy's a jerk like Hammer, but this is one of his soft spots.

If you're sure.

"That wasn't me, not entirely." Quickly, Daniel gave an overview of Project Spinner, as well as details on Willow's class and bond without revealing anything about her personally. For what good that would do he wasn't sure. "I only need to know if we're doing anything wrong with Spinner, and if what the Spirit Master can do will let us Graft free spirits. Hunter and Spinner both spawned into their bodies, so would that make a difference?"

Mavar came out of the explanation with an odd look on his face. "The physical changes manifested by this Spinner, you are certain you didn't influence them?"

"Yes!" Daniel answered immediately, his cheeks reddening slightly. "She said she wanted to look attractive after hearing people say she was ugly, I didn't have anything to do with that. Still, I don't know what exact part of the process I'm fulfilling. Letting them in to the Octyrrum?"

"Your Spoke has certainly developed in odd ways. When you returned from the godsmeet I was curious what it being fully unleashed would change. But of course, Hammer had other plans." Mavar's tone was mostly conversational, darkening a bit toward the end. It was a stark contrast to his interrogation from before, as if he in some small way respected Daniel's question. "First, what you are doing is not Grafting. Even should you bind free spirits to a body it will not be the same, you are not introducing any artificial archetypes, and before you ask I will not share the knowledge behind our methods. You do not have the time or skill to learn them."

"Right, sorry." Cloak had told him as much, but Daniel didn't have a better way to describe it. He should have counted on Mavar being pedantic. "You don't have any ideas on what role my Spoke is playing, do you?"

"None I am willing to share," Mavar answered obtusely. "Perhaps if you shared more on how you can defeat sources of corruption… but I believe you don't know the answer to that either. Unfortunately I am left to take it on faith that once a spirit fulfills a certain set of conditions, you are somehow able to allow it to reform into a full soul. Would you agree?"

"Sounds about right. At first I thought it had something to do with the Spoke affecting a monster's Growth, that's when it happened for Hunter, but Spinner was still the same level when she recovered her soul."

And the beast himself has nothing to add there? Daniel jumped slightly as Mavar switched to telepathy.

…no, Hunter answered after a beat. I didn't know it had happened at first. Before then it felt like my mind was growing every day I was with Daniel. In bursts, as I Grew more than any other time. But I couldn't advance until you…

Daniel felt the conflict in Hunter's soul when he broached that topic. "What did you do?" he asked aloud, if only because having to bargain for his agency through telepathy had made him a little tired of it. "Spinner has the same problem and we haven't been able to fix her yet."

Mavar shook his head. "You get ahead of yourself. That is a topic to discuss once we are past the initial stage, where most of the work needs to be done. Hmm." He gestured to Shuni, still frozen, making Daniel briefly tense. "Her ancestors came into being because of careful study across the world with assistance from every god in one way or another. After our initial failings with the gestalt races we were more careful, selecting monster species better predisposed for transition into something approaching humanity. In the case of avianoids there was a clear choice."

"Harpies."

Mavar gave an approving nod. "I suppose some would be spawning again with the Octyrrum's restrictions relaxed."

"That makes sense, but why did you start with the gestalt?" While Cloak had told him all he could likely get from Mavar, Daniel wasn't past fishing for anything the god had left out. He hadn't forgotten about his friend and still wanted to help Khare find what they had been searching for. If they had survived the battle, that was.

"Ease of acquiring test subjects." Daniel tilted his head slightly, not comprehending the answer. Mavar sighed. "The abilities of your Spirit Master friend are not entirely unique, whether they be from a bond or not. It was well within Grave's domain, so long as the spirit was willing to be placed within a body. The issue was scale, as well as the rarity of spirits. It is far more likely to find one manifested within a monster than free within the Astral. Rather than predicate our grand work on chance, we found a species of monster able to rapidly subdivide and fostered growth of its variants across several biomes in relatively safe regions. With these soon accounting for the majority of new monsters, we were almost guaranteed to find any spirits who had either been freshly generated or reincarnated from another monster."

Daniel absorbed what was beginning to sound like the methods section of a research paper. "I… that sounds like a huge undertaking. You were farming entire regions like that?"

"Yes," Mavar answered simply. "Interior regions of the Octyrrum can be made quite stable, especially with divine support. Once we had a suitable number there were experiments. As I said I will spare details, but we made an error in designing the first archetype. Once it had been introduced into a subject it would spread rapidly to every other subject in the region, regardless of the protections we put in place, converting them into the gestalt you know today. It was suggested that these creatures be… recycled, but Grave abjectly refused. We took more time with the latter species, decades before another attempt was made, and our diligence was rewarded."

"Why use artificial archetypes at all?" Daniel asked, that point beginning to bother him. "I know the Octyrrum used them for race-specific powers, but that feels like a backwards solution. Something that wasn't planned, unless they wanted the other races to be different from the start." Mavar just looked at him levelly. "Oh."

"In fairness, the intent was to create a distinct species. Your method is certainly haphazard. Imagine trying to align the biology of enough individuals to support an enduring population. This gave us a way to standardize them to some degree, such that even their progeny, who would not have archetypes bound to their souls upon birth, could continue their lineage." He noted Daniel's continued confusion, realized something, and then sighed again. "Ah. You are laboring under a false assumption. The Grafting was not the first time spirits were recovered into full souls."

Daniel went still, and then his head jerked up. "What?"

"Did you think yourself unique?" Mavar asked, almost pityingly. "No. The practice was uncommon, as I understand, but possible. This cycle is different as it lacked the astral domain, leaving spirits unguided. Consider this. Spirits cannot reincarnate as souls do, they do not pass to another world on death. If there hadn't been a way to restore them before us, wouldn't the world be inundated by them after so many eons?"

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The revelation rocked both Daniel and Hunter. In the ringcat's case it was personal. As for Daniel, he had truly believed what he and Willow could do together represented a new path forward for the Octyrrum. It doesn't matter, he thought, recovering. Even if that's true, we're planning on breaking the cycle. No one else has stopped spirits from being made. We can, and we can still save the ones still out there. He looked at Mavar with new understanding. "So the Grafting was never really about restoring spirits."

"Believe the words of the gods and you will inevitably despair," Mavar replied, without much sympathy. "Hammer only cared for the idea that new races would give them an edge in the cycles to come. Of course, he led us to believe they would be enough to stop another Collapse." He spat, and the result began to bend in a way liquid shouldn't after falling into the barrier between time frames. "Grave saw it as a way to help them in numbers he hadn't before. But yes, the primary intent was to create species adapted for environments that humans struggle in."

It was more than that. Mavar blinked as Hunter broadcast his thoughts to the three.

"You disagree?" he asked, vexed. "I was there, young one. I'll give you that the gods at the very least misrepresented their intent, but I know exactly what they wanted now."

Spirits can't become human.

"Your point?" Mavar challenged. He had gotten aggravated by the topic turning to Hammer but wasn't back to the evil emperor forcing Daniel to barter for his future. No, that was still under the surface, but it was a more clinical man replying to Hunter. One who might be able to crush stars in his hands, but his dream cloak might as well be all white at the moment.

Belonging. Daniel already knew what Hunter meant and was surprised that Mavar only raised an eyebrow uncomprehendingly. Me. Spinner. What are we to this world? Where do we belong? If I ever… want a family, what do I do?

Mavar paused, then his raised eyebrow grew thoughtful as he stroked his beard. "One look at what Threst is evidence enough, but I had never considered the… emotional component." He nodded solemnly. "Not creating a species, but a people. Grave would think that way. Perhaps he had encountered the issue in the past."

"How could you not see that?" Daniel asked.

Mavar looked briefly uncomfortable as his hand reappeared from his beard. "I have only dealt with those that have been Grafted, and even then… Another matter I must refrain from expanding upon." They'd suddenly hit a wall in Mavar's willingness to share, reminding Daniel that for all the heat in their discussion had chilled, this was someone who could upend his existence on a whim. "It simply never occurred to me. Grave would have never allowed a reawakened spirit to suffer isolation. Perhaps they would need to wait weeks or months for the opportunity, but if they so wished they could be made human. Or given any other form. This cycle's treatment of spirits is far from the norm."

Because you killed him. That was an accusation which might have gotten Daniel vaporized if he'd made it again. Coming from Hunter, it only made Mavar freeze amidst his recollections. People still found out about us. But the gods wanted it to be a secret. Couldn't let people know what you took from them. So they became the Spiritualists instead.

Mavar glared at Daniel for lack of a better Proxy. "I won't relitigate this. It was our only option, and I have no…" The man who believed in truth above all else strained with himself, again. "This conversation has grown longer than I wished. Maintaining this effect is not as simple as I make it appear. Let us return to the topic at hand and stray no further from it."

Part of Daniel agreed with that, but most of him admired his brother for sneaking a knife through the armor of the pretentious bastard. If there was any chance for convincing Mavar to change sides someday, when they started waking gods up and fought for the system core, then he felt it had just gone up.

"Understood," Daniel replied diplomatically, feeling Hunter still lurking within him, staring at Mavar like a predator from the bushes. "You mentioned conditions we had to fulfill to allow spirits to become complete?"

There was a cold imperious way to how Mavar nodded stiffly, back fully erect as he peered down at Daniel. "Indeed. To put it briefly, the spirit must be bound to the body it claims, and find the inspiration to form a full set of archetypes. Bonds can be the source of this and hasten the process, but they aren't required. Given your means, I would expect this to take months to years depending on the degree of damage a spirit has sustained."

Daniel thought about how the sparrow was always watching his sister play whenever he had the chance and understood that point well enough not to need clarification. He doubted Mavar had the patience left for a longer lecture, and Lograve's injuries were in the back of his mind. The time distortion helped his anxiety there, though not fully. "Should we be committing a spirit to one body at all times, then?"

"Not necessarily," Mavar replied, still irked. "That is only important when the spirit is ready. Having them manifest in different bodies may assist in finding inspiration, or just one they prefer. As I have already said, the method you propose is far less controlled compared to ours. It will give any spirit you encounter hope for true life, or at the very least the means to leave this world when they pass on."

Well that's morbid, Daniel thought, starting to share Mavar's opinion that they should wrap this up. "We still have the problem with Spinner that she can't advance. The Spirit Healer power seems like a solution, but we have no way of knowing for sure. If you're willing to tell us, what exactly did you do to Hunter?"

"Do you know of mana structures?" Mavar asked, in a way that suggested there was an answer he'd prefer. Daniel just nodded, and the mage took a breath that still didn't seem very relieved. "The strain of a newly-formed soul fully bonding with a body damages the mana structure, even for a spirit that only lives in the body they spawned in. To put it simply, I repaired the damage I sensed in that ringcat. As well as provide several subtle alterations that would enable speech. It was…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "Not important. Spirit Healer can do the same, but it is limited by the user. I assume your Spirit Master is still level 1? It is possible for them to restore a level 3's mana structure, but their progress will be slow. They would need to level to affect anyone stronger. With time and development of their mana control this will improve. I cannot give you specifics, however. That would require further examination I am not willing to provide, given you have what you need. I should not have to remind you that we are not allies, simply two agreeing not to interfere in each other's affairs."

Daniel thought all of that over, searching for any question he absolutely needed Mavar to answer. There was Khare, again, but he doubted there was anything new to learn. Best to not poke the archmage anymore. "That's good to know." Hunter, you're sure you can get out of the Arcadian in time?

Wouldn't want his help if we needed it, the ringcat replied, somewhat surly.

Daniel mostly agreed on that point. He had no interest in giving Mavar the identities of everyone he cared about. It was more than just because of his bad an idea that would be on face value. Either the man had forgotten what he'd given him the last time they'd met, or hadn't realized what it would mean for the future. The less they could use to scry those around him, the better. "Unless there's anything else you think we need to know, you've given us enough to know we're on the right track," Daniel continued after the brief pause. "Thank you, again, for giving us a chance to make things right."

"Your cause is still doomed," Mavar replied dismissively, but he looked away as he said it. "Yet, let it not be said that I blind myself to those who may prove me wrong. So long as they have the chance to. I will leave you with this advice. Should you be captured by my colleagues, do not attempt to bargain as you have here. Not all are as merciful or principled as I."

Daniel's vision shook, and when he recovered, Mavar was gone. Rather than immediately scream internally or continue to save Lograve, he activated Moment of Clarity once more. Hunter, are you ok?

Surprised you are. Wasn't me he tried to kidnap.

I guess part of me just saw him like a cart running out of control. He'd either hit me or not. Daniel knew Hunter could read the anxiety he was hiding and tell the lie, but he wasn't the only one dodging questions. Seriously, are you?

Hrmm. That man. He is not as good as you want him to be. The way he talked about what he had done in the past, with the spirits. It sounded like he enjoyed the control he had over everything, more than what he found from helping spirits. If it was the other way around, he would have asked before changing me.

That's… a good point. To be fair Daniel had never claimed Mavar was a saint, but Hunter's perspective made him realize they'd probably gotten closer to setting him off than he'd thought. Good thing his ego was so big he thought it wouldn't matter if he let us go.

Think he'll come for us after we free one of the gods? Tell his people who were are?

Daniel pondered the question while his mana burned away. He had more than he should because the first time freeze had been at Mavar's expense, but he knew he was also dragging things out to try and process what had just happened before flying into an active war zone. I don't think so. I still think I'm right that he wants to save Grave if he can. He may get a power trip from helping people, but at least that's a bad motivation to do good instead of the other way around. If we can do better than his plan, I don't think he's the kind to cut us out at the knees to avoid being proven wrong.

May just be him, though, Hunter pointed out.

That's why we're going to be careful. We can trust we'll have time to fully take over the Arcadian, but after that we'll have to get creative on how we get to the gods.

Aren't you forgetting something?

Am I?

The ship is falling. What if it breaks?

Daniel laughed in his head, thinking back to all the times he'd tried to damage the more fortified parts of the ship. That place has survived enough time to break down mountains. It'll be fine. Just stay safe, Hunter. We're almost through this.