Part 36
Knowledge of Seeker
“So, have I answered your questions about the truth of the existence of Living Souls to your satisfaction?” Seeker asked, beaming while talking about his field of expertise.
“I’m satisfied,” the Trapper said leaning back, and after a pause added, “So when can we leave?”
“I have already sent two of my Geodes to scout out the safest path leading westward to the surface that is not snowed shut. Hopefully they will return before the end of tomorrow. Then we will guide you to the surface. I would rather not be responsible for you being lost forever under these mountains,” Seeker said.
“So that means we’ll be staying here tonight?” the girl asked.
“That may be the best course of action,” the Trapper agreed.
“If that’s so, Mr. Seeker, would you mind teaching me about Kazans?” the girl asked.
“I have the feeling I will be having many discussions among the four of you, but for now let my Geodes show you where you will be staying,” Seeker said and, as he spoke, three Geodes entered the hut.
The girl, her uncle, and the Trapper rose and followed the Geodes. As she left, the girl curtsied as she spoke, “Thank you for the hospitality.”
“My pleasure,” Seeker said, before she left. With them gone, he continued, “Quite a responsible young lady. So tell me, what you wanted to ask me without her hearing?” Seeker inquired of the Kazan, still sitting in the corner.
“It is something very important to her,” Sworder said standing for the first time.
“If it is so important to her then why can she not hear it?” Seeker asked.
“That is not your concern,” Sworder said.
“Well, then, I personally think it is best not to interfere with matters I do not understand,” Seeker said. “So what is your question?”
“You spoke of a Dragon Kazan which passed through these mountains,” Sworder said.
“I do remember mentioning that.”
“Did he speak his name?”
“His voice echoed far as whispers of the mountain,” Seeker said as he poured himself another glass of tea. “He spoke the name Bargoth, King Under the Mountain. Is it his own? I do not know.”
“Did he have a child with him?”
“My Geodes kept me far away from him though the mountains carried two voices, I could not hear their words, and I could not tell the age of the second voice nor if it be a man, dragon, or nill.”
“Do you know where he went when he left?” Sworder asked.
“I know nothing for certain; but I remember one of the Duragard saying he flew northeast, when he left the mountains. What he did after, no one in these mountains could tell you.”
“Is that so,” Sworder said, contemplating the information.
“And what do you plan to do with this information, vital to your master?” Seeker asked Sworder as he sipped his tea.
“I will remember, and nothing more,” he said.
“And do you believe that is right?”
Sworder did not respond, but instead remained unmoving. Seeker did not press for an answer; rather he waited as if expecting a reply. Suddenly something grabbed seeker attention, as if called by an unseen voice.
“Enter,” he said, and a Geode entered.
It stood next to him not seeming to make a sound yet Seeker nodded before speaking, “Good, I am glad he wants to talk also. Please excuse me, assuming you have no more questions.”
There Seeker left Sworder in silence. Sworder, for his part, did not fill the void but simply sat as if to fade away.
“What will he do?” Ranin asked.
“Exactly as he said,” Namic explained. “The information he has acquired is useless to him. For now he has not the strength to challenge the King of the Ember Mountains.”
“But why would he come here?” Ranin continued.
“The Scarred Reef is only some distance off the coast of Calta,” Namic said, “It seems Bargoth was sealed away before the fall of the mountains and was seeking his ancestral home.”
“But still,” Ranin said, shaking his head, and turning towards Sworder, continued, “Is it not strange for a Kazan to keep such a secret from his Master?”
“Kazans are known to have their own opinion on what their masters should know.”
“And if she asks about it?”
“He has already taken care of that,” Namic reminded. “She will not bother anyone with questions about Bargoth for the foreseeable future. One day those memories will be thawed and she will remember, but until then…”
“He has covered his own tracks,” Ranin said.
“There is still one player who knows.”
“What?” Ranin exclaimed.
“This way,” Namic said, leading Ranin through the camp until they reached a small hovel that the Seeker was just now entering.
“It is kind enough for you to join me,” Uncle Ben said. “Would you like some tea?”
“I would rather not. I think I have had my fill today,” Seeker said.
“Is that so? Maybe I drink too much of it myself,” Uncle Ben said. “These days it seems to be the only thing keeping me going.”
“From my perspective it may be the only thing that keeps you going,” Seeker said.
“Really?” Uncle Ben said, pouring himself another glass. “I guess that is what happens to you when you get as old as I am.”
A weary smile came to Seeker’s face, “Yes, I think we are both too old to waste time with such idle chatter. What did you ask me here for?”
“You spoke of a Dragon Kazan in these mountains,” Uncle Ben said.
“I did,” Seeker agreed, “but is it that important that I must be questioned twice?”
“Twice?” Uncle Ben asked his brow furrowing.
“Indeed, you are not the first to ask me about the beast, the little one asked me as well.”
“Then I guess I had no need to call you.”
“You trust him that much?” Seeker asked surprised.
“He is certainly a strange one but I see he has her best interests in mind.”
“I see,” Seeker said. “He has his secrets but, I guess, so do you.”
Uncle Ben put his cup down. The dish clacked loudly in the silence that drifted between them, even as Ranin leaned in. “How did you figure it out? Not even Sworder has discovered it yet.”
“I am quite perceptive,” Seeker said. “But why do you keep it a secret?”
“I fear what she will think of me if she knew the whole truth,” Uncle Ben said.
“You can not keep this secret forever,” Seeker said. “The longer you resist telling her, the harder it will be for her to accept.”
“It’s too late for that. However, I don’t have long left,” Uncle Ben said. “My only hope is to find somewhere she can call home and a life worth living before I go.”
“Who is she to you?”
“She is the only thing that has given me a reason to continue going these last thirteen years,” Uncle Ben said, and then looking up at Seeker, he continued, “I trust you will not breathe a word of this conversation.”
“I prefer not to meddle with affairs I do not understand,” Seeker said standing, “I would love to ask you many questions but I assume you would refrain from answering most of them.”
“You know us well,” Uncle Ben said.
“Wait, but who is he?” Ranin exclaimed.
“Something is wrong; we are missing something,” Namic said, his countenance darkening. “There are too many unanswered questions. We are missing a key part of their history.”
“Namic, we can’t know everything about everyone, you know,” Ranin said.
“No, this feels more than just the personal matter of a single family,” Namic said. “But what if he does really die never divulging his secrets.”
“You’re upset because you may never know?”
“It is a vexing proposition,” Namic said, as Seeker left the confines of Uncle Ben’s shelter.
Uncle Ben simply finished his cup of tea before turning in for the night, not speaking another word. It was the middle of the night when Ranin realized Namic was no longer at the scene under the mountain. “What are you looking at?” Ranin called out to him.
“I am investigating,” Namic said.
The Morning found the girl and Seeker sitting around a small breakfast while Ranin casually listened.
“So what is it you want to learn?” Seeker asked.
“I want to know how to be a Master of a Kazan,” the girl said.
“You already have a Kazan.”
“Not how to become a Master, but to be one,” the girl insisted.
“Ah,” Seeker said, “That is a different question, there are many ways you can command a Kazan, none of which are technically wrong. Tell me, what do you know now?”
“I know you summon Kazans by sealing stones,” The girl began. “And I know Shadow Warriors can stage and activate Focus; when myself and Sworder are in agreement, he becomes stronger, but I can force him to take actions or stop them.”
“That is not much,” Seeker said when the girl finished.
“Much of what she has learned has been through trial and error,” Sworder said. “I, unfortunately, am unsuited for instruction.”
“Most Kazans are,” Seeker admitted. “Kazans seem to know frightfully little about themselves. Always the first memories they lose and the last they recall.”
“Why is that?” the girl said.
“No one knows why,” Seeker said. “Perhaps it is an effect of the Sealing Stones; or an attempt to retain as many memories of events and persons from previous lives. But enough of that, this has little to do with your origin question.”
“So the man is ignorant in some matters concerning Kazans,” Namic said.
“Everyone makes a mistake here and there,” Ranin said. “And when you can’t question your subject on the issue, drawing conclusions would be difficult.”
“Now, as your Kazan may have figured out, he can sense your location,” Seeker said, taking on the tone of a teacher. “However he can also hear you call his name and then know your exact position. Thus, by calling him, he can reach you from any distance much faster… Garnet.”
With that word Seeker fell silent and a moment later Garnet emerged from the wall near them and strode towards the group, “Thank you,” Garnet,” Seeker said. “Now as a Shadow Warrior, without a physical body, your Kazan should be able to reach you much faster.”
“Shadow Warriors have improved healing. Most Kazan’s have some form of this principle; Shadow Warriors heal much faster when near their Master. They also heal faster in lower stages or when released. This is because they do not need to spend effort maintaining their body,” Seeker said. “How many forms do you have?”
Sworder hesitated, glancing at the girl who nodded. “I have eight variants of the first stage.”
The girl nodded again, “The Vassals’ of Earth, Fire, Lighting, Wind, Ice, Water, Light, and Dark,” She said.
“As you can see, many Kazan’s follow patterns in their Staging Tree.” Seeker said, “Has he reached the next stage?”
“He has reached beyond the Vassal of Fire, to the Wielder of the Fire Claymore, once.”
“Keep those names close to you,” Seeker warned. “Names have both meaning and power. With just a name I can understand much of both the Kazan’s fighting style and abilities. Save his name for combat as giving one’s name allows a Kazan to unleash their full potential. This is one of the reasons speaking Kazans are superior as they can give their own name.
“This is important to understand when it is applicable,” Seeker continued, “When Your Kazan must give it his all, give your name.”
“Okay,” the girl said, nodding.
“The same principle applies to Focuses, however with a much lesser effect,” Seeker said. “And announcing your attacks has many more drawbacks. Now, Focuses deserve a discussion of their own.
“Focuses fall into a large group of effects Shadow Warriors can draw on: Focuses, being the first; Form, being the second; and third, Abilities. Abilities are effects the Shadow Warrior calls upon automatically without thinking. It would be like the ability to call up fire on one’s blade or control an object. They are not individual actions rather what the Shadow Warrior can do. Finally, the more powerful the ability the more strain it draws from the Shadow Warrior.
“Next is Form, these are all the effects that are visible. They are generated by the Shadow Warrior to interact with the world. In order to maintain those Forms it requires an amount of effort which also increases with each stage.
“Lastly are Focuses. A Focus is a single event where a Shadow Warrior channels a great deal of its strength into an attack. The Focus changes depending on the Stage of the Shadow Warrior and the effort expended.”
“So, everything a Kazan does consumes his strength?” the girl asked.
“That would be an accurate statement,” Seeker said. “This is why many Masters only call up their Kazans at the last possible moment and attempt to obtain victory at the lowest possible stage.
“Now,” Seeker continued, clapping his hands together. “Time for a demonstration.”
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