Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

Lusha woke from a restful night's sleep. They sat up in bed and stretched. The part of them that was Shada, and remembered being an old man back on Earth, marveled at the ease with which their body moved. The part of them that was Luca was more interested in what was for breakfast. They felt like they were always hungry anymore, but they remembered having felt the same at this age as John.

They hopped out of bed and did their morning ablutions while chuckling at the other problem Lusha remembered cropping up each morning when they had been John. Being young and being able to truly appreciate being young was a wonderful thing. After cleaning up they did a series of stretches before finally getting dressed in loose workout clothes for the day.

Luca normally left his room in disarray each morning, but Lusha turned to look at the mess and sighed. They thought it would be a good test of their manual Skills to deal with the room before breakfast and considered the best approach before raising a hand. They tried something simple first: basic psychokinesis. With a flick of their wrist a shirt jerked into the air and they grinned. It wasn't as smooth as they could do as Shada, at least at first, but they improved quickly. The gestures were unnecessary, but there was something satisfying about using them. Like directing an orchestra, Lusha's clothes were sorted by invisible forces in time to their hand motions. The bed seemingly made itself and puffs of dust were pulled up as if magnetised to form a ball in the center of the room before vanishing.

Manually using Material Mastery, which had swallowed his original Psychokinesis Skill, was practically second nature for Shada. So it wasn't surprising that they could still do it as Lusha, but it took some adjusting. Lusha's Essence channels were not the same as either Luca's or Shada's.

In only a few moments Lusha's room was neat and clean. They nodded in satisfaction, but worried that it wouldn't be so easy to figure out how to manually use Split Mind and Spirit Walking as those Skills were not something either had practiced.

As Lusha turned to leave the room they suddenly remembered that Shada was supposed to meet with Kariss for their weekly meeting today. How they were going to manage Shada's business interests and work at the clinic as Lusha had not occurred to them until just now, but they shrugged and went to meet Mina and Westlin for their morning run through the woods.

—

Lusha had an appreciation for their body that Luca had never experienced. They were fast, light on their feet, and seemingly tireless. Luca was naturally athletic thanks to his elven heritage and Physical Cultivation, but Lusha could use magic in a way that Luca couldn't. As they ran they Conjured bursts of force to launch themselves forward at greater speeds and turn on a dime. They could feel their stomach trying to rebel at the sudden changes in direction and laughed while marveling at the absurdity of it all. Gymnasts would look at their antics with envy and physicists would throw their hands up in frustation.

"Careful Lusha, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should!" Mina shouted in exasperation as Lusha made a particularly dangerous maneuver.

Mina and Westlin were mostly amused at Lusha's antics. Luca was energetic in the mornings, but Lusha was practically manic. Several times Mina's heart raced in fear as it looked like Lusha was going to run into a tree only to use it as a springboard instead. Westlin was more focused on just keeping up a steady pace like normal, but he was suitably impressed with some of the new moves Lusha could perform by adding magic into their normal routine.

Using familiar Skills manually was strange as Lusha. Their Essence felt stronger, it flowed easier, and the added physical sensations somehow enhanced the entire experience. However, Shada's Essence senses combined with his inherent Spirit senses were far superior to what Lusha could achieve. Despite having their Essence Perception dulled by their innate physicality, there was something about being whole and having all their Stats devoted to one person that allowed them to do things they couldn't when split.

Lusha ran at full speed into the clearing near the Mound only to Banish their momentum and come to a complete standstill as if they had been standing at rest the entire time. They didn't even really understand how they had done it. Somehow how the younger Luca's impulsivity and creativity combined with Shada's knowledge and abilities in strange and wonderful ways. How many other forces could they Conjure and Banish at will like this?

They tried Conjuring momentum and it worked, sort of; they ended up sliding across the clearing, tripping, and landing face first in a bush. Westlin laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. Mina was more concerned that Lusha had hurt themselves.

"What in the name of the Guide was that?" Mina exclaimed.

"I Banished my forward movement then tried Conjuring it again without considering the need to lift my feet in order to move properly. In other words I basically just threw myself into a bush." Lusha's laugh was self-deprecating and free. Mina helped them up and started pulling leaves from Lusha's snow white hair.

"Next time, maybe consider all the factors involved in a movement before trying it. You should know better than that from your training. Think, then act. You only act first when in combat and you don't have time to think…You aren't in combat so use that level 19 Mind Stat for Sierra's sake." Mina's admonishments were half-hearted at best. She couldn't blame Lusha for experimenting as she would be doing the same thing in their place.

"I'm sorry Mina, my head is just so full right now. So many different thoughts, so many new ideas, so many new possibilities…it is overwhelming at times. I will do better."

"Good, let's get to your combat lessons with Raelis before you are late. The old demon hates tardiness, you know."

Lusha and Westlin both shivered in remembrance of the last time they got distracted and were late for lessons with Raelis. They had both left very very sore that day.

—

"Master Westlin…Master…Lusha, my that is going to take some getting use to, I trust that you are both prepared to try your hands against the enhanced golems today?" Seeing a goat headed demon spirit quirking an eyebrow while appearing to be wearing formal attire was at times somewhat absurd.

"Yes, Instructor Raelis!" Lusha and Westlin chimed in at the same time.

"Good, choose your weapons and we will begin after you stretch, young masters."

For today's mock combat training Lusha chose to forgo any weapons. They needed more practice using manual Skills in order to prepare for triggering Split Mind and Spirit Walking. Despite their early success they still felt like their grasp of the Essence Skills was subpar compared to what it could be.

Luca knew physical combat as well as someone his age could, but Shada had a grasp of Essence and physics that Luca lacked. Combining the two resulted in confusion at first. Their moves were almost hesitant as they over thought each one.

"Master Lusha, do remember that the goal is to disable the golem not dance around it like an uncoordinated veck. Do better."

Lusha took a step back and glared at the demon and the golem in frustration before an odd glint came into his eyes. "You want me to disable the golem?"

"That is the goal, young master."

"Fine." Lusha suddenly rushed at the golem. Invisible hands of force gripped the golem's arms and prevented it from blocking Lusha's kinetic Essence backed palm strike to the golem's chest. The golem was launched back at speed before slamming into the hard stone wall. It slumped to the ground. Its enchantments cracked in a spiderweb pattern where Lusha had hit it.

"Master Lusha, one must control one's emotions during combat lest they be controlled by them. The goal was to disable and not break the golem. Your grandmother is going to be annoyed at needing to do repairs." As Raelis said this, all four of them gathered around the broken golem to examine Lusha's handy work.

"Damn Lusha, what was that?" Westlin asked in a confused, but impressed voice.

"Language Westlin!" Mina admonished before turning to Lusha. "What did you do?" It was clear that the enchantments weren't just broken, but that they were inert as well.

"Force Conjuring to push the golem. Essence Banishing to disrupt the enchantments. Psychokinesis to give me an opening." Lusha's response sounded simple and logical, but the older Mina and even older Raelis knew that what just happened was well outside the norm.

"I see," Raelis said as he straightened from his examination of the golem. "I believe you should focus on your katas for the rest of today's time, master Lusha. We will discuss incorporating your Essence Skills into your combat style in the future, but let's make sure you remember your fundamentals."

"I apologize. I know better, but there are so many possibilities now…" Lusha trailed off. They struggled to explain how overwhelming it was to be whole.

"I do understand, at least in part, what you must be going through. But control is of utmost importance in combat, in life, and especially in magic. I am confident you will master your new existence, but do remember it will take time and you don't have to try everything that comes to mind, young master Lusha." Raelis patted Lusha on the shoulder in a stiff manner.

Lusha was startled by the seeming physical contract, but they knew that Raelis was just using force to mimic touch and had not suddenly gained physicality.

—

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Luca's normal tutoring lessons had been canceled for the day. Lusha needed time to adapt to their change in circumstances, but this left them rather bored. They still went into town with Mina and Westlin and spent part of the day in the nursery turned classroom at the Root Clinic. Unfortunately, Lusha was too restless and more than a little too bored to study. Shada was normally helping around the clinic at this time of day and the disruption to their routine was adding to Lusha's frustrations. At lunch they had had enough and asked Shinobin to shadow her during rounds.

"You want to follow me as I treat patients?" Shinobin asked in surprise. "Why?"

"I'm a bored and restless mom. I need something to distract me. Besides I think I might learn something now with Shada's knowledge of Essence and biology."

"Can you access Holy Essence like Shada could?" Shinobin was somewhat confused. Shada helped around the clinic, but it was always indirectly as a source of Holy Essence.

"I don't think so. I…I mean Shada depended on his Skills for that. It isn't something that he practiced manually." Lusha paused to gather their thoughts. "But I should be able to tap into Vital Essence. I have the attunement, but Shada couldn't use it as a spirit just like he couldn't Cultivate our Physical Stat."

An excited smile appeared on Shinobin's face. "You can finally learn Vitality based healing! I had planned to make you learn when you were older, but this is great! Oh wait, can you still cast spells?"

"Er, I haven't tried." Lusha held up their hands and focused on the space between them. Shaping the correct rune was harder than before, the Essence not flowing as smoothly as it did for Shada.

"Try adding the somatic components. Silent Spell Casting is an advanced Skill," Shinobin suggested as she watched Lusha attempt to cast Flash.

Lusha nodded. Shada didn't need the help of somatic casting. He could shape Essence on an almost instinctive level. It appeared that Lusha would need to work harder. They used their finger to trace the shape of the Flash rune in the air while guiding the Essence into the correct form. The added gesture helped stabilize the Spell form, but it hung there waiting for more. "Mico Luminous" Lusha spoke softly while thinking of everything they knew about light just like the first time Shada cast this most basic of spells. A brief flash of light appeared at the tip of Lusha's figure causing both them and their mother to smile.

"Yes, it seems I can. It is just harder," Lusha said cheerfully.

"Great! Let's go then. We will work on just channeling Vitality at first, but I can give you a primer on common healing Spells in the Lingua." Shinobin was excited to share her passion for the healing arts with her child.

—

Lusha and Shinobin walked into one of the patient rooms at the clinic. The bed was occupied by a rough looking man dressed in a simple pair of shorts tied at the waist. Shinobin picked up a clipboard with clinic notes from her assistants. Shada introduced the Clinic to the wonder of clipboards and Shinobin wondered how they ever managed without them.

"So Mr. Sasoo, it looks like you are pretty banged up. This is my child Lusha and they will be assisting me today while learning healing. I hope you don't mind," Shinobin said as she reviewed the notes.

"Never enough healers around so I am happy to help the youngn' learn." Mr. Sasoo had a deep gruff voice, but seemed friendly enough.

"Come Lusha, the first thing we do when assessing a client, as you should know, is ask them what is wrong. The intake assessments are rarely complete and it is always best to have the client repeat themselves to insure we don't miss anything. Get to it." Shinobin was smiling as she put Lusha on the spot.

"Uhmmm, yes let's see here. Mr Sasoo can you tell me how you, uhmm, received these injuries?" Lusha's voice was hesitant at first, but they quickly gathered their composure and switched to a professional voice.

Mr. Sasoo laughed at how cute the serious little child seemed, trying to act professional. "Got mauled by a vester cat during a delve. Tiny things, vester cat's, but their claws are sure sharp as you can see here," he said with a wave at his scratched up torso.

"I see, would you like to report any other injuries?" As Lusha talked they looked at the wounds that had stopped bleeding and noticed multiple wet bandages soaking up blood from deeper wounds. "Any broken bones? Blows to the head? Or other concerns?"

Shinobin just smiled indulgently as her small child had to stand on tip toes to fully see over the bed. She stepped out to request a step stool.

"I did hit my head when I fell, but don't think it done more than shake me up a bit."

"Hmmm, best check for a concussion just in case," Lusha said more to themselves than to Mr. Sasoo. With a twist of their hand Lusha intoned a basic incantation, "parvum pertinax lux," and a small ball of light appeared at the tip of his finger much to Mr. Sasoo's surprise. "I am going to check your pupils, please try not to blink." Lusha was doing what they had seen numerous doctors do on Earth, but didn't realize it wasn't a known method for checking for concussions on Sierrallass.

"Lusha dear, what are you doing?" Shinobin asked curiously, but without concern. She knew that Lusha now had otherworldly knowledge so assumed they were using something from their past life.

"Checking pupil dilation. One of the signs of a brain injury like a concussion is light sensitivity and mismatched pupil dilation," Lusha explained as they waved the small light in front of Mr. Sasoo's eyes. They noted right away that the patient's eyes responded very quickly to the light, but the left eye was slower. "Mr. Sasoo are you feeling dizzy, confused, nauseous, or have a ringing in your ears?"

While Lusha asked more questions, Shinobin was quietly and intensively casting a diagnostic spell while carefully observing the client's reactions to the light.

"Now that you mention it, just a little nausea. Figured it was from blood loss ya know?" Mr. Sasoo said in a off hand manner as if blood loss was no big deal.

"Mom, er Healer Shinobin, I think the patient may have a mild concussion." Lusha looked up at his mother as he said this.

Shinobin nodded her head in confirmation. "My diagnostic spell agrees dear. Neat little trick with the light. I will have to add it into the assessment procedures. Mr. Sasoo please hold your head still while I heal your head injury. Watch with all your senses Lusha." With that last statement Shinobin placed her hands gently on the client's head.

"Watch as the Vitality flows from me into the patient. Note how I focus it around the skull and brain. The body knows how to heal itself and we Vital Healers just help it do its job faster."

Lusha focused their Essence Perception on their mother's hands and watched as the green and red of Vital Essence flowed into Mr. Sasoo's head. They could smell the scent of blood and freshly cut grass far more strongly than they could as Shada. The smell of the Essence was so strong that it was almost distracting them from watching how it flowed. They could see it tracing along veins and soaking into bone. Small tendrils seemed to drift through the patient's blood stream causing his vascular system to light up to Lusha's senses. However, the greatest concentration remained in Mr. Sasoo's head.

After several minutes Shinobin lifted her hands from the patient's head and recast her diagnostic spell. She nodded in satisfaction before looking at Lusha again. "Mr. Sasoo it looks like you had a minor brain bleed. Your Physical Cultivation would have likely taken care of it on its own, but you would have felt horrible for days and may have done something stupid like going drinking, which could have killed you." Shinobin continued to lecture on the dangers of head injuries for several minutes.

"Lusha let's look at these lacerations now, shall we?" Shinobin had a tray in her hands that she sat on a nearby table. "Mr. Sasoo do you have a pain blocking Skill? If so I suggest you use it as I can't give you a pain potion with a head injury."

"Yes ma'am, I have had it on since I got hurt so do what you got to do. I wouldn't be much of a Delver if I didn't know how to handle a bit oh pain."

"Look here Lusha, see this jar?" Shinobin said as she removed the wax seal around a jar of off white paste. "It contains an ointment I make myself. It stops bleeding, numbs the wound, and promotes healing. I grow the ingredients in the garden at the cottage." Shinobin pointed out a pitcher on the tray next. "This contains purified water to help clean the wounds. Go wash your hands in the basin then we will start treatment."

Lusha was happy to note that handwashing and wound cleaning were so well known. Shada had talked with Shinobin about germ theory and while the concept existed on Sierrallas that wasn't why hand washing and purified water was used. Instead it was part of the rituals taught across many religions that clean water, clean hands, and clean wounds prevented infection, but not why.

While cleaning their hands Lusha had a thought. "Mom, have you heard of saline solution for wound cleaning?"

"I am not familiar with the term 'saline' what is it. Something one of your tutors told you about?" Shinobin asked this last part to help cover any oddities that came from Lusha's past life's knowledge.

"Basically it is salt water, but in precise amounts. I can't quite remember why it was used instead of plain water, but there was a reason for it." Lusha had to remind themselves not to touch their face right after washing their hands or would be tapping their lips in thought.

"Something to explore later, then. Let's start with the smaller scratches first." Shinobin instructed Lusha on proper wound care. They worked together cleaning each cut and scratch with clean water, checking for debris, then applying a liberal amount of healing ointment on each one. "Now the really nice thing about this ointment is what happens when you apply a bit of Vital Essence to it. Watch."

Essence Perception lit up as Shinobin channeled Vital Essence into the ointment and the wound underneath. Lusha was surprised as the ointment soaked into the skin suddenly and disappeared. The treated scratch closed immediately. Shinobin then used a wet cloth to wipe the wound, which had been reduced to nothing more than a thin pink scar that would likely fade in time.

"Want to try it for yourself?" Shinobin's smile was both indulgent and proud as she watched Lusha repeat what she did. She could tell that Lusha's control was spotty and that they used too much Essence, but it was impressive for someone without System access.

The mother and child duo worked together to clean, clear, and seal each wound. Lusha was fascinated to watch the healing process while Shinobin was bursting with maternal pride.

After treating the minor injuries Shinobin turned to the more heavily bandaged wounds. "Now, these deeper cuts require a bit more effort to treat. The bandages are stopping the worst of the bleeding otherwise we would treat the worst wounds first. I could stitch them with clean gut thread, but that is only necessary if you are too low on Essence or lack the right supplies."

"What do we do instead?" Lusha asked curiously.

Shinobin was pleased to note how little concern Lusha showed at bloody wounds, but then remembered part of them had been delving and seen worse.

"Basic care is the same, but there is a spell to seal the wound so it heals properly. I will teach it to you later, but watch for now." After cleaning the deeper wounds Shinobin applied ointment to each and held them shut with her hands while she intoned an incantation.

Lusha could see faint stitch-like lines of Essence pulling the wound closed and holding it together. They knew it would fade fairly quickly, but it would last long enough for more focused healing.

"What's that spell called mom?" Lusha asked.

An amused smile appeared on Shinobin's face. "Stitch Wound," she answered with a laugh.

"That seems a bit obvious doesn't it? I thought it might be something crazy, some of the more flowery spell names I have read about." Lusha remembered reading about a spell called Raingod's Divine Misting. Despite the grandiose name the spell was little more than a magical watering can for gardens.

"Simple is best when you are talking about healing spells," Shinobin remarked as she applied the spell to the larger wounds.

"Mr. Sasoo, I will wrap these up to help keep the wounds closed. They will heal up completely in a day or two unless you want to spring for a full healing?"

"Naw, an excuse to rest and have my girl pamper me for a few days will be nice ya know. No need to waste the Essence on all that."

"I am confused, why not just do a full healing? I have seen you purify and heal a gut wound in less time than this took." Lusha was genuinely curious, but they also figured that the answer had to do with Essence Efficiency.

"Multiple reasons really. None of Mr. Sasoo's injuries are as life threatening as a gut wound. It takes far more Essence and more complex spells to heal like that. Finally Essence is money as they say. The more I do, the more it costs Mr. Sasoo here. Besides, this was a great way to teach you about Vitality based wound care." Shinobin smiled and had to stop herself from patting Lusha's hair with her soiled hands.