“Followers of the Straight Path are obsessed with their own power. They dress it up in talk of building better worlds, but those worlds are always about them and people like them, not about the many different people and ways of life that fill the human plane. Their Straight Path means taking the shortest route, not the best one, flattening the world out for their convenience. If anyone stands in their way, whether by purpose or by accident, then they will destroy them and everything that matters to them. For some, it is driven by indifference, for others by hatred of the other, but the end result is always the same—evil.”
“And the Wandering Path?”
“When we follow the Wandering Path, we follow the way of the world as it is. Like the road up this valley, we wind around the lives of others and the wonders of nature. We empower ourselves so that we can live lives of honor. That cannot be done by taking from the innocent or destroying the wonders of the world.”
“And the Path of Peace?”
Tahlis shrugged. “It is another path of good intention. It is not mine, but it at least does not rely on crushing the dreams of others.”
“And the Path of the Swordslinger?”
“I haven’t seen you flattening a lot of farmsteads. I think you’ll be all right.”
At last, we reached the top of the stairs winding up the rocky pillar. The Sunstone Temple stood before us, a great round tower of pale stone with a smaller tower protruding from one side. It hung out over a cliff edge, suspended above the void by some impressive feat of engineering, a reminder that in some ways, this world was as sophisticated as the one I’d left behind. Narrow arched windows dotted the walls, and crenelations ran around the rooftop. This was clearly as much a fortress as it was a place of worship.
At the top of the stairs, a pair of dog statues carved from dark stone flanked the approach to the temple. They towered over us, their mouths hanging wide to expose pointed teeth and big eyes staring down with piercing intensity, as if scrutinizing our very souls.
I paused on the top step and looked out across Gonki Province. At the eastern end of the valley, the sun was rising over the sea, a growing semicircle of warm, inviting light that made the temple’s fearsome guardians feel like familiar friends.
The core for this Vigorous Zone might have been stripped, but there was great magic here in the temple. If I had to guess, I would have said this place was where the core had been taken from. The residual Vigor flowed through the temple and made my skin crawl.
“I like this place,” I said. “I’m going to sit here for a while.”
“Shouldn’t you come and get some sleep?” Kumi asked. “It’s been a very long day.”
“I have something to do first.”
I pulled 20 golem cores out of my bag and set them on the ground beside me.
“If you think you’re up to it.” She leaned in toward me, eyebrows raised.
“I’ll be fine. But if you guys are making breakfast, save me some.”
“I will, I promise.”
Kumi leaned down and kissed me, then followed the others past the guardian dogs and into the temple.
I sat on the topmost of the worn stone steps, my mind focused and my robe open to the waist. One by one, I picked up the cores and pressed them against my chest. As each one touched my skin, a tingling ran through me, the sensation of raw Vigor cascading into my body. I was filled with a rush of energy, and my heart beat faster in anticipation of what was to come. With each new core, a warm glow in my chest grew stronger.
The power of earth was inside me. Now, I just had to forge new pathways so that I could unlock its uses.
I closed my eyes and opened the mystical channels that ran through me. Earth flooded along them, and I embraced it. I was at one with the element. As I took a deep, meditative breath, the world as I knew it faded away.
I found myself standing on the hard, cracked soil of a dried-up lake bed. Rocks protruded through the caked dirt, but there were no plants or animals, nor signs of the water that, in the human plane, would have given this place its shape. Every way I looked, the lake bed ended with tall, rocky banks that stretched like cliff faces to whatever world was waiting beyond.
There was a hiss like the sound of sand running through a timer, amplified a hundred times over. I turned to look and saw a towering figure, seven feet tall and made entirely of sand. Like the other elemental spirits I had met, this one was human-like, standing on two legs. His head was smooth and his face blank except for two pits where eyes would have been. Unlike the others, he had four arms, two on each side of his torso.
Grains of sand flowed as he flexed his arms and tilted his head from side to side, scrutinizing me. As he advanced, each thudding footstep left a little of the sand behind.
I swallowed and raised my hands, ready to face my opponent.
Chapter Six
The earth spirit walked slowly, steadily, with ponderous steps. His movements had a careful deliberation about them—no rushing, no hesitation. I watched every motion, trying to identify his vulnerabilities, whether weak points in his body or particularities in his movements I could exploit. But I saw nothing except for the oncoming sand and the blankly merciless pits of his eyes.
Here in the spirit realm, I
