Tendrils of Sledge’s soul whipped out, reaching to make a connection with Tero’gal. The world itself was ready to accept her without question, but the power of her soul wasn’t strong enough to establish a link unaided. Theo had pulled a chair up to the bed, smiling to himself as he saw the roaring fire burning in the fireplace. The interior of the house provided by Belgar was done to the preferences of a Broken Tusker.

“Her soul is weak,” Theo said, pressing a hand into Sledge’s forehead. “But Tero’gal is eager to accept her. The only question we have to answer is what happens to her mortal body.”

“Tero’gal shivers,” Belgar said, smiling to himself the entire time. “This is a big moment.”

It should’ve been simple. This was the same exact problem Xol’sa faced, even if it presented differently. When the space elf had come to the mortal plane, he had existed there for quite some time. His soul was attuned to the void island, and needed to be reforged. That process was lengthy, but Theo didn’t understand it as well as he did now. If he was more confident in his ability to manipulate soul energy, he would reach out and make the connection himself. But the Reforge Soul potion was a surefire way to make it happen.

“Ready to drink?” Theo asked, holding a 2-unit vial of the potion out.

“Sure I won’t die?” Sledge asked.

“Yup. I’m sure,” Theo said.

“Know what’ll happen to my body?” she asked.

“Not a clue,” Theo said. “But Tero’gal seems confident.”

“If the planet says so… Let’s do it.”

Theo shared a look with Belgar before they both nodded. The alchemist presented the vial to Sledge and watched as she brought the liquid to her lips. He didn’t want to mess this up, so just before she drank the potion, he cast his juiced-up version of Haste on himself. Then he watched the process unfold in slow motion.

The first stage of the transformation happened deep within Sledge’s soul. The center was a packed ball of energy, buzzing with her innate potential. After swallowing the potion, the change happened within that ball first. It flared out, encompassing her entire soul before snapping back inside. Then it spread out like a wildfire, consuming the thinner part of her soul and pulling those tendrils back in.

Sledge’s body burst into flames of soul energy. It raged out at an impossible speed, flooding force and heat throughout the building. With his absurd reaction time, Theo erected barriers, containing the blast. The marshling’s skin cracked and reformed, fissures forming and closing immediately.

Laying atop a charred bed, Sledge had only blinked once since the process started. From the moment she swallowed the potion to now, barely a second had passed. And it was done. Theo cut his Haste spell off, then watched as Belgar tumbled backward. Sledge’s eyes flicked open and she jumped to her feet on the bed, flexing.

“Oh, yeah!” she shouted. A moment later, she looked down. “Did the bed catch fire?”

“You caught fire,” Theo said, pressing down on her shoulder to force her into a seated position. “I see the connection between your soul and Tero’gal. I think the process worked.”

“It feels good to me,” Belgar said from his position on the floor. “I think the planet is singing.”

“Yeah, Tero’gal is excited to have more residents. And this is a method I can use to bring mortals here. I think this is a first, actually.”

“If you don’t count the ascendants,” Belgar said. “Then, yes.”

“Their connection was different. But this seems stable,” Theo said, examining the thread some more. It seemed pure, just like the one he spotted snaking its way out of Belgar. “I think we did it.”

“Thank the gods for that! Nah, screw them,” Sledge said, throwing Theo’s hand off of her and jumping off the bed. “Thank you!”

“There she is,” Theo said, watching as Sledge stomped off, exiting the building without saying another word. “That’s the Sledge I remember.”

“Where is she going?”

“No one knows,” Theo said. “Likely to find the nearest tree and chop it down. Although, her cores won’t be working yet. But that’s not going to stop her.”

“Really?” Belgar asked, the joy from his face dropping. “I must go. Just ask around for the baby cage when you need it. I have a team ready to care for the marshlings—old bantari and all that.”

Theo watched as Belgar rushed off. He doubted Sledge would find the nearest forest and chop it down. It was more likely that she just needed to stretch her legs for a while. She had been caring for those critters for a while now, and had only recently felt confident enough to leave them without biting someone. She needed to adjust to this new life.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Without Sledge or Belgar, Theo wandered out into the streets of Boar Hollow. He really should’ve been more familiar with the area, but he simply hadn’t spent much time there. Things had settled down. When the spirits first came to the newly formed middle realms, there was a lot of excitement and confusion. Now everyone was settled, and instead of worrying about adjusting to this new world, folks were now just living their lives.

“Might as well take stock,” Theo said, teleporting to a place of higher ground to get a better look. Tero’gal pushed back slightly, seeming not to care for that method of movement. Perhaps the world wanted everything to work by the book. “Got it. Can I use my void travel?”

Tero’gal confirmed.

“Thanks.”

The area around Boar Hollow had been the first to be generated for the world. It was originally a weird square floating in a void. But over time, it expanded. First, it was the power of the souls that came here. Then the power of the throne had overtaken those things, breaking the cycle of the ascendants for good and forging four new worlds by the end. Tero’gal had developed itself, creating regions and climate zones appropriate for the landscape.

The area around Boar Hollow was idyllic. Low hills rolled far into the distance, with scattered forests here and there. Even the highest hill Theo could find wasn't that high, giving him only a limited view of the area as he considered a better way to see things. His vision shifted, and he was suddenly viewing it from the sky. It took him more than a few moments to realize that the world was helping him see itself.

“Thanks again,” Theo said, scanning the area and nodding with approval. “I can see a lot of lowland grass areas perfect for farming or ranching, and there's a decent sprawl of forests. They won't have any trouble with lumber, and then there are some rocky outcrops over there. That'll be perfect for a quarry. How about mining metal? Belgar mentioned something about that.”

The alchemist's vision shifted, locking onto a hillside with a tunnel dug into it. Wooden braces had been placed at the entrance, denoting a mine. So the locals had already taken it upon themselves to embark on such an endeavor. Theo couldn't help but feel a flash of pride in his chest. The fighting had mostly died down, and now people were just trying to live. Since the planet was large enough to house all of them, competition for resources shouldn't have been a problem.

"How big is the world, anyway?" he asked, awaiting the planet's response.

Theo's vision shifted again, pulling out until he was in the upper atmosphere and looking down. It was a disorienting experience, as his feet were still firmly planted on the ground. Below him, he saw the sprawl of continents and oceans. Tero’gal was larger than the mortal plane. It might have even been bigger than Earth, but it was hard to judge as he contemplated this idea. He felt a mental tingle in his mind, confirming his last thought. The planet was telling him it was larger than Earth.

“Much larger, huh?” Theo asked.

Of the land masses below, there were four large continents and two smaller ones. Each was its own self-contained island with sub-regions and climate zones. The alchemist could see a place in the north where the bear folk, the Toora, would enjoy staying. There were also tropical areas perfect for the lizards, and more temperate zones for the humans, elves, dwarves and so on. Then there were the scattered swamps near coastlines and in the lowland areas. Folks from Broken Tusk would love those places.

“If only Tresk hadn’t made an entire swamp world…”

But the way his own planet had developed told Theo one thing. Tresk might have liked the way her world looked, but he wondered if it would remain that way. He suspected it would develop on its own, changing the landscape to fit what it desired. Perhaps there was a wisp of that already, but he would leave it between them.

Eventually, the alchemist gathered as much information as he wanted about the world's structure. It would likely be interesting to study the migration habits of the people since all of them arrived on the main continent. There were now ships providing passage to places farther away. Although settlements had developed on several of the other continents, the main one was still home to most people.

Theo’s vision snapped back, causing him to sway on the spot before falling to a knee. “More warning, next time,” he said.

Tero’gal sent a feeling of amusement back at him.

Theo teleported himself back to the town and searched around until he found Belgar and Sledge. He was following behind her like a lost puppy, muttering something to himself. The marshling had found an axe and was making her way to one exit from the town. Jogging to catch up, the alchemist placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Could you listen to the man for one second?” he asked.

Belgar sighed, doubling over as he caught his breath. “The logging camp is that way,” he said, pointing behind them.

“I gotta chop something,” Sledge said, fidgeting with her axe. “Anything.”

Theo tightened his grip on her shoulder, surrounding them in his aura. He folded the void, arriving in a place a few miles outside of town. Before them stretched an expansive logging camp, complete with a sawmill and dorms for workers. Sledge licked her lips, her eyes dragging over the scene as though she wanted to take it all in.

“Look at them trees,” Sledge said, her grip tightening on the axe. “Ripe for chopping.”

"Speak with whoever's in charge first, Sledge," Theo said, still not releasing his grasp on her shoulder. "I don't want you to upset the locals before you've settled in. You know the way back to town, right?"

“Yeah, yeah, I can find my way back,” she responded, licking her lips as she sized up a particularly large tree. “Can I go now?”

Theo released his grip on her shoulder and watched as the eager marshling rushed off. But she didn't go for the tree first; instead, she approached one outbuilding and knocked on the door like a maniac. A moment later, she was speaking to somebody. Hopefully, the overwhelmed human was in charge of something.

A moment later, Theo was back in Boar Hollow.

"I hope she isn't too much for you," Theo said, causing Belgar to spin around and shriek. He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

"No, she'll be fine. I've dealt with far rowdier people than her. And I've got a team of people to sort this stuff out," Belgar said. "This is a big step, though, isn't it? She was a mortal only an hour ago, and now she's part of the middle realms. How does that work exactly?"

"The details are purposefully vague. I'm not certain if this is a technique I'm actually supposed to use, but here we are. And don’t think I don’t appreciate your work. You’ve done more for this world than anyone else,” Theo said, reaching a hand out for Belgar to shake.

“Not a problem,” Belgar said, giving Theo a firm handshake. “Just happy to give back to the world that saved me.”