"Most beasts have the physical layer, and I've seen necromancers make use of beast souls enough times that there is no question about whether they have souls or not. Most creatures, however, are not that intelligent, and I suspect that this is the reason they lack the second layer, the spirit body," She explained. "And how do I know they lack a spirit body, you may ask. Well..." The healer indicated the cores before her. "Because unlike mages who have their core and mana pathways entirely in their second layer, magical beasts that advance far enough, develop a physical locus of control for their mana," She stated "Why is all this important, you might be wondering. Well, for the beast-core to allow the beast access to and control over their mana, it would have to be not only in contact with their physical layer but also with their soul. A thing to keep in mind is that beast-cores don't form that quickly. They may take anywhere between tens to hundreds of cycles to fully form. All that

The last of Greg's interest in the formation went up in smoke even as the healer sat cross-legged before him. The robe she had on seemed to flow around her like water allowing her free motion without exposing anything that she didn't want seen. "Let's begin," She prompted reaching forward and placing her hand on the sigil. Given the fact that she'd already pushed herself past her limits the previous day, Greg was worried that the process would only exacerbate her situation. She, however, didn't seem any worse for wear even after the mana began to flow. "I strained my mana pathways by using more mana than they can handle in a short span of time. So long as I don't repeat that mistake, I should be okay within a week or so," She spoke, then looked up at him. "So you can stop looking at me like I'll fall over in the next second," She said calmly. Despite the bluntness of her words, Greg could tell that she was giving an honest assessment of her situation and not just putting on a brave fa

The words were delivered in a neutral tone. Greg could tell that the healer wasn't trying to scare him. She wasn't even trying to paint a worse picture of herself than was true. Instead, she was trying to be as honest with him as she could possibly be. In a way, she was reminding him not to be naïve. Just because someone was being nice to you today, didn't mean they couldn't turn nasty tomorrow. Just because they were friend today didn't mean they couldn't be foe tomorrow. Rather than leaving it up to chance and hoping that she would be a good person, the healer was ensuring that she'd have a powerful incentive to make the right decision if she was ever faced with the temptation.Unable to mount any argument against her, Greg took back the contract and asked. "What shall I sign it with?"A golden feather quill materialized in the healer's hand, which she held out to him. "It'll draw on your mana and add it to the contract marking you specifically as the other party in the contract," S

Elemental awareness doesn't just end at spell casting, I once knew an air mage with elemental awareness that could get the wind to replay in his ear sounds from far away. They could be across the city from where you are but so long as air could get in and out, then they could listen in on a conversation you are having in your most secret chamber. I once came across a fire mage who could immediately tell how many living beings were in a certain place based on body heat alone. I even once heard of a blood mage who could tell what was wrong with a person from a single drop of their blood. According to her, the drop of blood would just tell her what's wrong with it," The healer laid out. "As you can see, elemental awareness expresses itself in a myriad ways. So much so that it's almost impossible to pin it down with an exact definition. You say that your 'earth connection' just gives you an awareness of the ground below you. However, I suspect that it does a lot more than that, you just

Like a small drop in the ocean or a single flame in the middle of an inferno, Greg couldn't shake the feeling that if he wasn't careful, he would lose himself in the far larger soul that he was now exposed to. "Ta... Take it down a few notches," He struggled to keep his voice steady as he asked. With a nod of acknowledgment from the healer, the feeling faded gradually and Greg went from feeling like he was a hair's breadth away from being subsumed by something much bigger than himself to feeling like he was standing on the firmest possible ground. It felt as if no matter what came at him Greg would never be moved. With increasing confidence, Greg nodded to the healer to let her know that he was ready.Extending her hand towards him, the earth-brown beast core from the obsidian earthmover appeared on the healer's open palm. Greg didn't know if it was the healer's soul boosting his willpower or something else, but despite the deep longing he still felt for the core, he didn't swipe it o