Will Of The Fates

20.

Sidas finally woke up... with no sign of a hangover. Absolute monster. Also lucky because he didn't have to drink what Elikai made. Or at least didn't have to drink as much as I did.

The first sip left a weird aftertaste in my mouth that just worsened the rest of it. Elikai had a special talent in making weird herby drinks.

I mumbled encouragements to myself to finish the weird drink. It did help my stomach settle a little. As my mind settled, I felt something cross through my head. It was the mana spirit, an impatient mana spirit.

I sat up and frowned. My stomach twisted with worry and now the drink made me nauseous. "Hey, Elikai..."

"Throw up far away from here." He mumbled over his own cup.

"No, not that. You said you found something about the armband?"

He paused as remembrance crossed his eyes. "I did." His grey eyes met mine. "What does the mana spirit know about himself?"

"Nothing." I shrugged. "He's a blank page."

"Was he ever used after creation?"

"He..." I cocked my head as a reply came. "He doesn't know."

"His master?"

"He met them once, and then they never returned."

"Does he remember what they said to him?"

I paused again. It was another empty reply. "No."

Elikai sighed and reached up to rub his head. "That makes this a little tough... I found something, but I'm not sure it's relevant without anything from you."

By 'you', I assumed that was aimed at my spirit. It stirred restlessly. I grimaced as a suggestion formed in my mind. "It... wants to talk to you."

I felt eyes move to the armband. It was covered by my shirt and cloak. "How?" Elikai asked.

The reply made my grimace deepen. "He'll... take over me..."

Sidas looked up and I felt worry settle over the group. "That doesn't sound good."

"I agree." Hanna joined in. "You've barely recovered from last time."

I looked at her. She looked worried, and so did Pippa and Pyr beside her. Pippa reached out to grab the arm with the armband. "Please don't."

The mana spirit had listened. He was reluctant to back down, but he did. I sighed in relief. "He'll let me speak for him."

My emotions were reflected in everyone. Elikai relaxed a bit. He met my eyes purposefully. "Remind him that what I found might not necessarily be about him."

"He's aware." More than aware.

"Alright." I sipped my drink as Elikai took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Does he know how mana spirits are made?"

"He... has learnt it from me."

"I'll tell him the gist anyway." Elikai took a sip to stall. "Mana spirits are made from human sacrifices. More specifically, by sealing a life force in an arm band, and then mana." I nodded. "It doesn't always work out. It takes a lot of tries, and even then, it's rare to find a life force that's stable enough to stick around in an object."

He paused again. "Stable life forces come from... happy families, happy upbringings and an overall positive environment. There's a small piece I read somewhere about a prince who went into a coma the day after his succession. There was no evidence of poison, or attack. He just never... woke up the next day. His uncle took the throne instead, and the prince." Elikai closed his eyes. "He died in bed... eighty years later."