1. Esther #2
Slowly, the pain of a splitting headache recedes, and I force myself to gather the strength to look up at Master Kain, who has appeared beside me with a small crooked smile beneath his neatly trimmed gray beard.
He wipes at it, flicking off a few clinging water droplets, then offers me his hand.
“I’m proud of you, Esther, for conjuring a soulless beast. But heavy is the tax when you lose control.
With that said, most greers, even at the height of mastering an element, can’t summon one. ”
I accept his hand begrudgingly and wait for the lecture to come.
“But there is no point in mustering a soulless beast if you lose interest in the connection with it. When you create the beast, you are one with it. It’s not like contracting yourself to a real living creature that can think and act independently for itself.
A crafted soulless beast is completely dependent on your focus.
You must learn to persevere through the pain once you’ve been attacked, or just like that”—he clicks his fingers—“the connection is gone, and the enchantment is broken. Your defenses are good, but your attack is always too rash. If pitting yourself against someone who has a soulless beast, attempt to tire them first. At times, going for the kill shot immediately will put you in a similar outcome to this.”
“Understood,” I grumble in irritation as I accept his help to stand.
Another shaky breath escapes me as I finally meet his gaze.
My face feels numb from where I was hit with his water, and one side of my body itches annoyingly from the small cuts I acquired when thrown against the sand.
Yet somehow, he doesn’t have so much as a scratch.
“All in time,” Master Kain says with a warm smile as he extends my arm and assesses the sand grazes.
He hovers his hand over them and begins a heartwarming chant.
A few drops of water spring from the ground, and he uses them to heal the blemishes on my skin.
It itches as his magic glosses over me like a balm, but once it’s done, not even a blemish remains.
I’m yet again reminded why he’s the strongest greer on our continent, his female counterpart and second strongest greer most likely his cousin, Dahlia.
I still have a long way to go to claim that title.
“Is it easier to fight alongside real beasts?” I ask.
Master Kain doesn’t permit most greers in his kingdom to have binding contracts with magical beasts, which means I only know a few who do. He believes it’s cruel to magically bind and contract a beast for life.
Some beasts are mutually contracted, while others have been overpowered and forced.
Some greers even die trying to do so. Those who want to gain power often search for a magical beast that aligns with their element.
It’s different to manifesting soulless beasts.
The injuries the contracted beast receives are also inflicted on its master; it can be fatal for both.
However not every greer can contract with beasts, only those powerful enough and who are close to mastering their own talents can uphold the contract.
His gaze inadvertently drops to the center of my throat, where only he and a few others know of the small marking hidden from the time he found me as a young child and glamoured it.
As if the attention on my throat acts as an invitation to come forth, the marking at my throat burns, and my contracted beast materializes. His lightweight form shifts around my throat and comes to stand on my shoulder.
“Hello, Grimace,” Master Kain says, forcing a polite enough smile.
I smile as well, and bring my finger up to the disturbing little thing, which speaks gibberish, as if to say hello back.
“I really wish you’d called it something else,” Master Kain implores.
“Why? Every time someone looks at him, they grimace,” I say lovingly to the creature who is as useless as he is irreplaceable.
He sits no bigger than my palm, looking like a potbellied lizard, with warts on his reptilian blue-and-orange skin.
His citrine eyes are oddly large and round, and when he smiles, there are no teeth.
And he certainly has a knack for mischief, which makes our contract so fitting.
I can’t help but scratch him under the chin as he expectantly leans into the endearment.
“After all these years, I still have no idea what manner of beast you were contracted with as a child,” Master Kain says with that ever-present intrigue he has for Grimace as his head tilts slightly.
Grimace does the same, mirroring him, which brings a wry smile to the old man’s face.
“Contracts made between greers and beasts can be cruel. And if done recklessly and used in battle, they can cost not only the beast’s life, but yours as well. ”
“But it can also work to our advantage,” I challenge him. “I overheard men on our walls say we’re at a disadvantage letting our beasts roam free.”
He looks toward the sea, his sunken face of only fifty-five years beginning to show how weary he’s become.
I understand his reasoning, but I also hear the whispers and uncertainties from others that, because of the times we live in, perhaps such methods are outdated.
Then again, I can’t judge personally because I haven’t seen much beyond the walls—I’ve only ever known Caldom Kingdom since he brought me here when I was five.
An iridescent orange butterfly flutters between us, and Grimace immediately jumps from my shoulder and runs along the sand in an attempt to catch it.
“Just make sure he is never hurt,” my master says, watching after him, most likely considering the consequences if he is.
Because that’s the power of a beast contract—unified until death.
If a beast is killed during that contract, then it’s markings will burn like acid, often leading to permanent injury or worse for the greer.
The markings at my throat will erode if he dies in my care, causing my voice box to burn in the process, or worse, I could be killed. But I’ll never let anything happen to Grimace; he’s all I have left of a life before my clan was slaughtered.
“You’re like a daughter to me, Esther, which is why I’m so hard on you. You may think my methods are outdated and strict, but I do what is best for my people. There are many dark magics out there, and once one finds its way into a kingdom, it rots it from the inside out.”
“But what if we can learn from other kingdoms? What if we—”
“I understand your desire for adventure beyond the walls, my child. But if this morning we’re speaking so directly, what do you think you’ll find when you’re out there?
I can sense the shifts you’re experiencing as your twentieth birthday approaches, but neither of us knows the extent of your power.
You are Felia blessed, inclined toward dark magics, and if your identity as an omni greer is discovered, you will be hunted, just as your clan and ancestors were. ”