Scientific Sorcery : Beware of Kittens!

Time slowed to a crawl as I watched Cali’s hand reach for the runestone, trying to turn off the invisi-cloak.

The dragonglass sword was already in my right hand, free of its sheath.

I moved it forward, blocking Cali’s fingers from reaching the magic pearl. Cali’s fingernails stuck the Knell-blade instead of the pearl, fingers turning red, the skin peeling and bubbling.

My left hand wrapped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

Stormy rushed from my shoulder to Cali like a dark shadow, a small paw covered in white claws striking across Cali’s face, leaving a trail of red scratches.

Cali’s glassy gaze suddenly cleared. She blinked at me and stared at her burned hand.

“Where does the catling hide?” The Jotun boomed above us, making all of us wince. “Answer to us! Reveal yorr-self gazer-she!”

It stopped, looming right over us on monstrously tall elk legs. Rotting, foul smelling sacks bubbled, black gunk dripping down onto the invisi-cloak. I gritted my teeth, praying that Zemy’s banners were doing their job.

“We felt your Sorcerous gaze, witchling!” The Jotun howled. “It came from here… yes… this direction. We are certain…”

It took a few more steps forward, sniffing the air and gurgling. The organs draped across its body drew in and out, a multitude of hearts beating loudly.

I squeezed the Knell-blade in my fingers, ready to attack, ready to stab at one of the hearts hanging above me. Could a dragonglass sword bring down a Jotun?

Probably not, there were way too many hearts on this thing’s inverted body. Stabbing one would likely just make it mildly annoyed.

The Jotun didn't seem to operate on proper 3-dimensional space, its fetid form somehow constantly bubbling out of itself. Waves of blood-red, flesh constantly emerged from its insides, displaying a great variety of human and animal organs entwined into one phantasmagoric tapestry.

Cali trembled beside me, her eyes wide with terror. I kept my hand firmly over her mouth, silently willing her to stay quiet. Stormy crouched low, her fur standing on end.

The Jotun took another wide step, its grotesque body swaying left and right as it searched for us. "Come out, come out, wherever yorr are," it growled with a soup of animal howls and human words.

The void-abomination’s proximity was suffocating, its very presence seeming to twist reality around us, drawing magic energy out of me and making me feel as if I wasn’t carrying a huge backpack filled with my domain on my back anymore.

Seconds stretched into eternity as we lay motionless, the Jotun's massive form blocking out what little light filtered through the gray fog.

Just when I thought that I couldn't endure another moment, with a final, frustrated growl, the Jotun lumbered over us and away into the mist, heading into the direction from which it had noted me spotting it.

Hypothesis: Jotuns attack via line of sight, follow the direction from which they’ve been observed by a witch.

The analytical part of my mind produced a logical thought, carving through the shawl of paralyzing fear that clung to my every pore. I waited another minute until the howling and bubbling of the void-born ceased in the distance and pulled Cali up to her feet.

“Mrrrwrrrlll!” Stormy ordered and ran ahead of us.

“Forward,” I growled, turning on the pearls in my new boots.

Cali nodded, looking pale.

I followed the running black kitten, my footfall hushed by the magical boots. Cali stumbled beside me, making almost no noise due to her feline-nature, shaken from our close encounter with the Jotun. I kept a firm grip on her arm, forcefully pulling her along as Stormy led the way, the invisi-cloak flapping around us.

In about twenty more minutes of a run which gave me no trouble, but made Cali pant and wheeze, the opressive fog gradually vanished behind us, the sky gradually clearing up… to brilliant green-blue shade.

It was as if the saturation of the world had been cranked up all the way to technicolor.

I looked up, staring at the inexplicably cloudless sky. My eyes suddenly spotted a black crow gliding against the wind, starkly contrasting against the crystalline-azure backdrop.

“Hey, I know that bird!” I said, squinting at the crow as it vanished in the treetops.

“Mrrrrwrr,” Stormy paused her dash, looking up and nodding, agreeing that she too knew the Yaga's familiar.

“W-what?” Cali whispered between gasps.

"That was too close," I turned to her. "What the hell happened back there? You almost gave us away."

Cali shook her head. "I... I don't know. It was like something was pulling at my mind, urging me to reveal ourselves. I couldn't resist. It… it got into my head.”

“Ah,” I said. “Guess now you know what it’s like when you get into my head, forcing me to do things.”

“W-what?” Cali blinked. “I’m… I’m not like that. I’m not a Jotun! I’d never hurt m-my Champion!”

“I’m not your Champion Cali,” I said. “I’m just a very sharp stone that you accidentally tripped on and broke your lavalier. I don’t think that I’ll ever be yours… or anyone’s Champion, really. I almost chopped off your hand with the Knell-blade back there.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Cali swallowed, her eyes filling with sparks of tears as she rubbed her burned fingers.

I nodded at Cali's apology, but kept my guard up. Her actions under the influence of the Jotun were concerning, to say the least. We needed to reach Yaga Grandhilda asap. Hopefully, the witch would know how to get the Gygr out of Cali’s head and wouldn't just send us packing back to Svalbard.

"Let's keep moving," I said. "The sooner we get to Yaga's hut, the better."

As we resumed our journey, I cautiously examined our surroundings.

The forest around us was changing subtly - the trees seemed less dead, with hints of green visible on some branches. The air felt different too, cleaner, fresher… warmer.

"Ioan," Cali said hesitantly, between pants. "What you said about me getting into your head... is that really how it feels?"

"It's... not as painful as the Jotun’s words were, mind you, but your Aura feelers are definitely unsettling. Like there's something in my head that isn’t me, something trying to make decisions for me, fogging up the clarity of my actions, making me into someone else."

"I never thought about it that way before. In Iridium, it's just... how things are done,” Cali said. "I... I can't change what I am, Ioan."

I shrugged, not expecting her to change.

Even without her piercings and tattoos, holding onto Cali’s wrist and being so close to her made me feel off, as if a current of foreign urges was pouring right through me, trying to make me worship her, trying to make me see her as a perfect being, the one that I was meant to bow to, obey, belong to.

I gritted my teeth, shaking the sensation out of my head, mentally reminding myself that Arcanicx and humans were mentally incompatible species, that Cali could never be a trusted companion to me. That if I didn’t figure out how to block her innate magic, I’d have to kill her. I had no idea how long the six contracts would hold without her star-shards either.

On Earth, the Toxoplasma parasite made infected mice lose fear of cats permanently. Here on Thornwild, the Aura of the Arcanicx was a magic Astral parasite of sorts, one that made men fully subservient to the Star-Shard evolved women.

In another few minutes of a brisk pace, the snow beneath our feet gave way to soft, bare earth and then to islands of moss. The trees around us became healthier, taller. Then, monstrously wide trunks of sequoias rose all around us, reaching far into the clear sky.

Cali stared at the moss and the live, titanic evergreens towering around us.

“Huh," she uttered. “How are all of these trees alive? Why is it so warm here? Didn’t we walk North, towards the glaciers?!”

“Welcome to the Shalish wood,” I said simply.

“Goldara's locks,” Cali said. “I… I didn’t know that the Nordstaii Yaga were capable of creating something so vast... an entire forest like this.”

“Just one Yaga. Seven hundred years is a long time,” I said. "Enough to grow some giant trees, I suppose."

As we ventured deeper into the Shalish wood, I finally let go of Cali and felt another annoying sensation wash over me.

It was as if an invisible force was grating against my skin, not painful, but distinctly there. The feeling intensified with each step, like sandpaper that was ever-so-slightly rubbing against my entire body. The domain of Yaga Granhilda didn't have a sharp drop-off edge to it like mine, seemed to gradually peter off in a truly gargantuan circle of over a few kilometers or maybe more.

The ground beneath us became covered entirely in moss and evergreens now. A few bushes were visible here and there, covered in brilliantly red berries.

The air was crisp and tasty, inhaling it made me feel good. It was probably similar to the life-rad emanating from my domain, yet fundamentally different. Where my power felt like a gentle warmth, this was more like an entire ocean of forced vitality that washed over me in massive, somewhat grating waves, sparking against my body and tiny, backpack-held domain.

I pulled my Astralscope on. The ground, the forest, the trees, the bushes - everything glowed in brilliant, green radial auroras.

As we kept walking, the grating feeling grew stronger. It was as if the forest itself was trying to push me out, to reject my presence. I twitched, fighting the sensation, not willing to let mild magical discomfort stop me.

With a few hundred more steps, the forest changed again. Wild flowers were blooming all around in brilliant colours, snaking up the massive sequoias. A multitude of fungi clung to the bases of the massive trees. Blue and green butterflies with wings that shimmered like stained glass fluttered past us, and in the distance, I could hear what sounded like songbirds.

Despite the stark beauty around us, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. The forest's magic seemed to press in on all sides, as if it was testing, probing, trying to understand what I was.

“Lo!” A voice I instantly recognized suddenly echoed all around us, dancing through the trees, multiplied a few times. “Who dares intrude upon my glade? Reveal yourself at once, lest I strike you down, uninvited visitors!"

I opened my mouth.

"Wait… Stormy?" The Yaga's voice lost all of its magically-augmented potency. "What are you doing here? Did Ioan send you here? How did you make it past the..."

“Mrrarwrr!” Stormy replied bossily, stopping right in front of two giant sequoias that were leaning towards each other as if they were forming a natural-looking wall of sorts made from jagged branches.

Two entwined sequoias in front of us suddenly unfolded sideways as if they were just an optical illusion, an extra dimension, a gate that was and wasn’t actually there.

Yaga Grandhilda appeared in the clearing between the trees, dressed in her crystal-green Jotun-skull and bone dress, silver, curly hair cascading down the sides of her head.

“Lo Yaga!” I declared, turning the invisi-cloak off with a flick of my wrist and pulling the oversized shawl from myself and Cali. "Quite a lovely forest you've got here!"

Yaga Grandhilda’s blue eyes went wide under the skull mask. For a second, there was silence between us. Then with a deep exhale, my Master was finally able to produce a sound from her lips.

“Ioan…” she uttered.

“That’s my name,” I grinned. “Don’t wear it out.”

I watched as the Yaga stepped forward and lifted her skull mask up as if refusing to believe what she was seeing through its eye-holes. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. It was almost comical, seeing the usually composed witch looking like she'd just seen a ghost. Or, well, me.

"Ioan?" she repeated. "How... What?”

"Oh, you know, I just decided to take a little stroll,” I winked at her. “We’re neighbours after all! Thought I'd pop by for a cup of tea and some advice on how to deal with a bothersome Jotun infestation. The usual Tuesday afternoon stuff."

Yaga's eyes darted between me, Cali, and Stormy, struggling to make sense of the situation. "But... but that's…”

“Impossible?” I grinned. “See, I’ve never been one for following the rules.”

“How in Zemy’s name are you here, Ioan?!” The Yaga demanded, taking a few more steps towards us. “You’re supposed to be in Svalbard!"

“Ah that. I got here with a simple application of a shovel and a backpack,” I said with a flourish. “Voila!”

Cali blinked at me. She had no idea what I was talking about.

Yaga's eyes fixated on my backpack, realization slowly dawning on her face. "You... you dug out and brought your…”

“That’s right!” I declared jubilantly, before she said the word ‘domain’, revealing the nature of my witchy powers to Cali.

“And who is…” Grandhilda’s blue eyes struck Cali.

“This is Callista Liesl,” I said. “She’s a Felix Arcanicx! She’s uhhh…”

I tried to think of what exactly Cali was to me. An experiment in understanding the local mind-manipulating species? A reluctant ally? A potential threat? In the end, I settled for the simplest explanation.

"She's my... second kitten," I said with a straight face. "She wandered into Svalbard looking for a DyrkJarl-shaped mouse to catch. I decided to keep her. She's on a, uh, a magic contract leash, so she’s somewhat house-trained."

Cali's blue eyes bore into my face. "I'm your what?!" Her expression screamed. "Somewhat house trained?!"

I patted her on the head. "There, there. Good kitty. Now, don’t do anything brash to agitate the Great and Powerful Witch of the Shalish wood.”

“Ioan… You are…” Yaga tried to fish her words out of the shock of our inexplicable encounter.

I arched an eyebrow waiting for her to finish.

"Absolutely insane," Yaga shook her head as her mouth spread in a wide smile of shark-like teeth. "You're either the cleverest… boy I've ever met or the most foolish."

"Why not both?" I supplied. "Now, about that tea..."

Yaga seemed to snap out of her surprise of my arrival, remembering her role as a host. "Right, yes, of course. Come in, all… three of you. It seems we have much to discuss."