What boon did Henry want?

  He peered out into the sea ahead, rolling the turtle shell in his arms before he stored it once again.

  Could he visit the settlement in the trees and have his safety guaranteed? It would be an amazing opportunity to learn about this world and to take a break from the Current’s relentless dangers. He was tempted to ask for his boon to basically be a guided visit, but while Henry had refrained from questioning Zerathstra on the actual restrictions of oaths earlier, he felt some details were needed if he were to commit to a visit.

  He knew the sea king was probably aware of his train of thoughts, but thankfully, the A-rank let him ask the question himself. “[What’s an oath? How could I do it myself, and what does it entail for someone to break it?]”

  The Earthtender ape listened and nodded, then reached over to his belt. There was a small leather pouch with green-tipped cord which seemed to be only there for decoration. The ape put his hand in the pouch, then frowned as he rummaged. Slowly, his arm sunk deeper and deeper until it was down all the way to his elbow.

  Then his face lit up, and he pulled a small, carved orb made out of wood. He peered at it for a second, and spoke to Henry’s mind. “[Divination is a peculiar magic. Most other other magics are simple and straightforward. The Aspect of fire burns. The Aspect of wind moves things around. But when we introduce our own emotional interpretation of them, we change the magic. Fundamentally. The fire Aspect can burn away impurities and heal. It could also hurt. Scar. Destroy until nothing is left when it’s fed by wrath instead of mercy and compassion.]”

  Henry had no clue where the conversation was going, but he was along for the ride. He was already learning a couple of things he’d so far only been able to theorize about.

  “[Divination likes connections. History. Weight. Not physical weight, but the importance of events. I carved this little orb out of the very first tree that me and my late tribe nurtured in this wonderful and unforgiving ocean. The very first tree, in which my hut now lies. On which the people of these settlements lived and died. This little ball is intimately tied to the history of this settlement, to me, and to the Earthtenders. To the humans above, it’s a badge of honor. Something they strive toward so they might earn one and proudly display it in their abode. To you, it would mean you’d be a welcome guest and no one would dare hurt or attack you, lest they’d be spitting in my face. But what most don’t know about this little orb, is that even though there isn’t an ounce of an enchantment on it, when used with a divination spell, you’ll always be able to find my home. Thalis. The Verdant Canopy. Whatever you used to sense my presence, I’m sure it is some form of divination, and you should be able to use it with this.”]

  Zerathstra handed over the orb, and Henry started it. He realized it was the same as the copper orb he’d found in the Trickster’s cave. Gingerly, he picked it up, and the ape continued speaking, though his tone changed a bit, and the air grew heavy. “[Keep it safe. If someone comes to my home holding it, both you and whomever they are would die before they see my trees.]”

  Henry gulped and nodded, at which point the aura of the ape relaxed.

  “[As for soul oaths, consider this: as you grow in strength and as you align yourself with the Aspects that make your spirit, you grow closer to the world around you. Your weight in this… reality increases. Your words matter more, especially when spoken with intent, such as is the case with soul oaths. Speaking such an oath and then breaking it is extremely damaging. To the world that witnessed your oath, and to your own soul. Because your connection to Aspects is truthful and intimate, and even if you were literally following the Aspect of Deceit, breaking an oath will still fray your connection to all your Aspects, and might even bar you from progressing further toward them.”

  Henry considered the ape’s words, and he felt like he sort of understood it. It was vague, but it made a bit of sense. Still, something tickled the back of his mind and he had to ask. “[You speak as if these Aspects are not in my soul already. Are there Aspects outside?]”

  The ape grinned. “[Naturally. The Aspects in your soul are but a fraction of the Aspects out there. What’s your highest Aspect? C-rank, I’m assuming? Comparing a C-rank Aspect to one of the fundamental building blocks of this reality is like comparing a candle to a bonfire.]”

  The scale was dizzying, but he couldn’t even really picture it. What could one do with such levels of Aspects? Rewrite reality?

  “[I’m a candle, what does it make you as an A-rank?]” Henry wasn’t being sassy. He was legitimately curious.

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  The ape gave him a toothy smile. “[I’m a torch!]”

  Henry stared at Zerathstra, disbelieving. He tried wrapping his mind around such a difference, but he couldn’t even picture the scale.

  “[Oh, don’t be surprised. This world is bigger than you or me. We were just talking about reality-hopping turtles. There’s a lot out there to figure out and discover. But that’s a problem for another time. Now, is there yet another oath you want me to make? Or are we saying our goodbyes? As much as this was fun, I sense a swarm of C- and B-ranks heading our way and I’d rather not have to dig them out of my trees.]”

  Henry quickly brainstormed what he needed to be guaranteed for the visit. Which mainly revolved around the safety of his companions. At the end of the day, they were all at the mercy of the A-rank, and considering he’d been nothing but friendly, Henry’s guts told him he didn’t need to worry too much. But as always, better safe than sorry.

  “[Please extend the oaths for my safety to my companions. Two of them, and they’re both awakened.]”

  The ape had been rolling his shoulder as he waited for Henry when he froze. His eyes widened. “[I got the companions part from your thoughts, but I didn’t realize they were awakened!]”

  The ape repeated his oath once more, and then he tapped the sandy soil with his hand. “[Done. Come one. Bring them out! Let me see.]” The ape was surprisingly excited.

  “[Wouldn’t it be better to do this above water?]”

  Zerathstra waived that off. “[Nah. They’ll get too ceremonial up there. It’ll freak them out to see me.]”

  Henry considered that, then had to nod. If a quasi-deity started walking around the city they’d founded, it made sense that folk would freak out, especially if their appearances weren’t common, which it didn’t seem like they were.

  Henry considered giving the ape—or his friends—a heads-up about the meeting he was about to drop them into, but he decided not to. Their safety was already guaranteed, so it would just be funnier to see their reactions. He started with Stormsong.

  The dolphin popped out of his Maw and water instantly surged around her. Her eyes fell on the grinning ape, and her magic guttered out. Henry didn’t think the dolphin could get pale, but just the sense of immense dread he felt coming off of her threatened to give him a heart attack through telepathic contract.

  “[It’s fine! He’s friendly,]” Henry quickly sent. He was already feeling bad about his little prank. “[Our safety is guaranteed by a soul oath.]”

  That seemed to calm her down a bit, but she still held still. Henry waved his arms between them. “[Zerathstra, this is Stormsong. A dolphin travelling with us. She wants to see the world. Stormsong, this is Sea King Zerathstra, the A-Rank who created and watches over the trees and their inhabitants.”

  Stormsong clicked once in her throat and bowed her head. She seemed to have sent something to the ape, but Henry didn’t hear it. The sea king nodded to her, then his mirthful eyes switched to Henry. He got a private message from the ape. “[That was very funny. Do it again.]”

  “[I doubt the next one will be as scared. Good luck.]”

  The ape frowned.“[What do you mean, good luck?]”

  The multi-colored crab popped out and quickly took in the scene. There was a silent beat, a twitch of a claw, then while an eye turned to Henry and gave him a silent ‘is this okay’ look, he waved at the ape. “[Hi! I’m Maurice. What’s your name?]”

  The crab went on to bombard the A-rank with questions, while the latter stared at the familiar shell. At the same time, Maurice mentally poked Henry to confirm that everything was fine, even though the crab already picked up on the mood. After a few small exchanges about the crab’s origins which, of course, Maurice didn’t remember much of, the ape turned to Henry.

  “[Crabs rarely awaken before A-rank. It’s the shell, isn’t it?]”

  Henry didn’t see a reason to lie.

  “[Yes. Through his skills, he found it while I’d been fighting a serpent and fused with it when he evolved to D-rank. Once the process was over, he was awakened.]”

  “[Fascinating. That the turtle shells could induce an awakening. To a chimeric hermit crab no less,]” Zerathstra breathed as he eyed the crab that came up to his waist. “[I thought these little buggers had been hunted to extinction.]”

  Henry looked away from the crab and to the ape.

  They what now?

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