After nearly a full day of traveling, tracking a single Graysoul as it meandered through the mountains, Marek found what he'd been looking for. A group of tracks converging with the one he’d been following, all partially faded now but still plenty bright enough to follow.

  Allon hissed in pleasure when Marek sprinted along the path. Weaving through trees, they reached a hilltop strewn with the spoor of dozens of beasts. The grass and wildflowers had been trampled completely, and even the smaller trees lay flat, cracked at the base by some clumsy Graysoul. "They were here," he said excitedly. "Not so long ago. Maybe as recently as last night."

  "Their smell is thick in the air," Allon said, teeth bared in disgust. "Why will they not stay put and fight us?"

  "I don't think we're a priority," Marek said, searching the far side of the hill for another trail. "It’s the beast kin they're hunting; at least, that's my guess. Ah, there it is. Come, maybe we'll find them today if we're lucky."

  Marek raced down the hill along the ever-widening trail of Graysoul tracks. Signs of their passage had become so obvious he no longer needed the aid of Empath's Gaze to track them. They crossed a narrow valley and leapt over the chill waters of a stream. Then, three hours after noon, he heard a distant cry ahead. More accompanied the first, and his heart began to race.

  "Battle," he said, as thrilled as the daemon beside him. "Come, Allon. They're close."

  Soon, he came to the edge of a clearing. Peering out from between the trees, Marek spied the site of a small battle. Bodies lay here and there among the boulders that paved the bank of a great river. From beyond them, concealed by a thick grove of cedars, came the shouts and screams of fighting.

  "Let us feast!" Allon hissed impatiently. "Quickly, before the battle ends!"

  Marek soothed the daemon through their link. "Patience. Let's see if they left anything we can use." Triggering Empath's Gaze once more, Marek scanned the dead. A smile crept to his lips when he found two Haikini spirits wandering among the bodies.

  They noticed him at once, and one cried out to him, "The crossing went badly! Ambushed when half our war party had crossed. We fought long for the others. Many make it over, but Tinrick don't know if kin survived! Spirit mage, let Tinrick fight! Let avenge the fallen!"

  The other spirit kept silent. Marek felt sick when he realized it was far younger than it should have been. Four feet tall at most, it trembled above a bloody corpse near the waterside.

  Marek acted quickly. If the fighting was still going on, he might yet have time to learn what was really going on with the Graysouls. "Young one, be at peace," he said, absorbing the spirit's ether and filling his core. When he'd finished, Marek used Command Spirit on the other. As power entered the being, the spirit bowed before him. "Thank you, spirit mage. My spear is yours.”

  "Your spear is welcome," Marek said before activating another Skill. For the first time in this world, he used Elevate Champion. Something strange and unexpected occurred. A prompt filled his vision, giving him the following option.

  ***

  Elevate Champion: Available Subtypes

  Tinrick: Haikini War Chief—Wielding a spear and hide buckler, this minor champion's strength lies in speed, stealth, and increased chances to land critical attacks. Few can withstand his spear when taken by surprise.

  Sir Rhinweld: Knight Executioner—Greatsword in hand and protected by full plate armor, this minor champion's strength lies in an implacable defense. His mighty blade remains capable of doling out justice, giving him the ability to execute enemies nearing death.

  ***

  "Sir Rhinweld! How in the Coherent Realm? All this time, I could have summoned you again?" Marek's head spun, and he couldn't help but wonder if the minor champion might remember their time together in the Crucible. But how could that be possible? He was only a construct, right?

  A horn ringing out beyond the cedar grove drew Marek back to the present. He'd have time to ponder it all when the fighting was done. For now, he needed to make a decision. "Ambush is the best chance we've got," Marek said. "I'm going with the war chief."

  He finalized the decision, and the Haikini spirit gasped as ether flooded its form. Brighter, taller, and with an imposing spear stretching at least a dozen feet above the ground, Tinrick stood proudly beside the river.

  "Let's go," Marek said as he backed up from the edge of the river. "Good thing I didn't bring Ember Shade." Summoning Spirit Body and augmenting the armor with ether, Marek dashed toward the water's edge. He jumped with all his strength and flew through the air, crashing atop a boulder over twenty feet away. Allon and his minor champion crossed far less dramatically, and then the trio raced toward the sounds of battle.

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  Marek came upon a scene of utter carnage. Dozens of Druskin and Haikini dead littered the ground. Their blood had soaked the pristine grass of what must have been a quaint glen. A force of Druskin warriors were engaged in the business of slaughter. Half their numbers were Graysouls, some beast kin and others wearing the bodies of forest animals. The glen stretched two hundred feet before the trees closed in again. And though the enemy blocked much of his view, Marek spotted a small band of Haikini warriors holding their ground. They'd taken cover behind a thicket of brambles—a wise decision, for it reduced the enemy's advantage by forcing them to engage on a narrower front line.

  Marek wondered why the Graysouls hadn't simply flanked the Haikini by going around the back of the choke point. Maybe the brambles cover their backs as well. Awfully convenient.

  Insight came as a patch of brambles suddenly grew several feet taller, wrapping around the frantic body of a Graysoul wolf that had tried to leap over the defense. The Haikini have a caster! Damn, I don't have time to waste.

  Marek counted the enemy. Over twenty strong, they presented a significant threat. Fortunately, none were compound. Three glowed with a powerful aura, however, giving away their status as greater Graysouls. Observing the battle with his specialized vision, Marek found a crop of souls, two Druskin and five Haikini, awaiting harvest. The spirits raged and howled in dismay. None were coherent in the slightest. Thinking quickly, he bound the five Haikini spirits and commanded them to join him and the others in the tree line.

  Practically vibrating with excitement, Marek drained one of the Druskin spirits and used the ether to raise his first spectral squad. "Rogue. Rogue. Berserker. Berserker. Healer," he said, identifying and assigning each new spirit soldier to their specialized role. Then he selected the first Rogue and promoted the Haikini to the position of Squad Commander.

  As soon as the choice was made, the Rogue fell to a knee. “Give us orders and we will obey.”

  “I will cause a distraction to allow your squad to get close undetected. Approach the enemy in stealth. Focus your attacks on the rear of the enemy formation and attack the three strongest targets first. You can identify them by their auras. I want your healer to stay behind and support the group while they work, healing all allies, including the ones I raise after."

  Marek winced, worried his orders might be too complex. The Rogue only stood and pounded his chest in response. "It will be done."

  The squad left the cover of the trees, creeping quietly across the glen. The enemy raged on, unaware of the danger approaching. Marek walked beside Tinrick and used Ether Siphon to drain the final spirit. With his reserves topped off, he felt ready for anything.

  Allon, I need you to deceive the enemy. How about you test Dark Visions to see how useful it truly is?

  The daemon hissed in excitement and swam across the glade in a black streak. Marek issued a few directions but otherwise left the ruse to his familiar. Allon flitted wide around the attackers and descended atop a pile of brambles. As he did so, he suddenly grew in size. Wings sprouted from the daemon’s back, and he opened his mouth.

  A few of the Graysouls shrieked in fright while the strongest among them fought to maintain order. From their point of view, a ten-foot black dragon had just attacked, a plume of violet flames pouring out over their heads.

  A few tense moments later and the ambush was sprung. Both Rogues attacked first, the daggers they carried landing killing blows on a pair of Druskin warriors, both greater Graysouls. The Berserkers waded in after. Screaming their fury after stealth had been lost, they tore into the enemy and hacked away with heavy axes, each blow devastating. One of the Berserkers was killed almost immediately, the third greater Graysoul cutting the spirit in half with a mana-empowered slash. The other took critical damage simply by standing too close to the Ability’s radius. This prompted the squad's Healer to fling up her spectral hands and heal the Berserker, who in turn sank its ethereal axe into the monster’s neck.

  And thus the battle began anew.

  Marek raised the souls of the untainted Druskin as soon as they'd fallen. The Graysouls, however, couldn't be bound. In fact, a minute into the fighting Marek learned the importance of acting quickly. He delayed a second too long and a Graysoul possessed a fallen Druskin, rising to fight once more.

  After half a dozen enemies had been cleared away, a tall Druskin in the center of the formation came into view. He locked eyes with Marek's spirit soldiers before shouting commands. The warriors and their Graysoul allies quickly recovered from the surprise attack and countered aggressively.

  Marek pointed to the leader. "Tinrick, kill the leader and then withdraw. Try not to die."

  The war chief sprinted across the glen at full speed. Six and a half feet tall, the Haikini was relatively massive for his kind. And damn if he's not strong, Marek thought as he watched his champion leap over a tainted bore, spear flashing down into the chest of the Druskin he'd ordered dead. And as quick as that, the enemy had been deprived of leadership.

  Tinrick obeyed, retreating at once. It was Marek's turn now, and as his Haikini champion returned, he bound the emerging Druskin spirit, commanding it to attack its previous allies. Few of the enemy remained—less than ten, to be certain. Several clashed with the Haikini trapped within the brambles. The others fought Marek's forces with increasing desperation.

  When the mage entered the fray, all semblance of resistance shattered. Marek pelted the enemy with Phantom Bolt. As he'd thought, the blasts of dark energy caused little damage. Each the size of an apple, the projectiles scorched the fur and hide of their targets. The bolts weren’t deadly but provided perfect distractions at critical moments. More of the enemy fell each second.

  Wishing to test the Ability before the battle was over, Marek flung six Phantom Bolts into the backside of a Druskin. The wolf kin howled in pain and collapsed under the barrage. So they can kill, he thought with satisfaction. Good to know.

  Twice more, a Graysoul claimed one of the risen before Marek had a chance. Neither made much of a difference, however. Allon feasted on tainted souls. One Berserker fought on, injured but still standing thanks to the Healer. The rest had fallen but were replaced by half a dozen spirit soldiers. As the last of the enemy died, Marek ordered his troops to withdraw. He approached the brambles, hoping he might have spared at least one of the Haikini defenders. A few of the fallen were raised as spirit soldiers and sent back to stand with their fellows. Others had sadly been corrupted by Graysouls. Since they’d fallen beyond his sight, Marek hadn't been able to spare them.

  The smell of blood, fur, and innards would have once churned his stomach, but he now walked through the carnage cool as a shard of ice. He searched the defenders, hopeful he might find a survivor. Marek could likely question the spirits he'd bound, but he suspected they had limits the living did not. Few in his experience had displayed the same level of lucidity as Tinrick.

  He sighed in relief as he spotted the creature. On the far side of the ring of brambles, huddling behind a pile of its dead kin, cowered the small form of a Haikini. Its white fur was spattered with blood, yet Marek could tell it would survive. "You're okay," he said, kneeling a few paces from the terrified Haikini. "You're safe now, I promise.”

  The Haikini trembled, eyes wide with suspicion. It would take time, Marek knew, but eventually he'd earn its trust.