Noble Arcana

Homunculi and their potential uses are as varied as one’s imagination. With enough time and effort one could populate a town with their creations, or man a ship alone. Or one could focus on quality, the creation of a perfect life.

Unnamed Grimoire

Solomon awoke late the following morning. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Melissa standing directly next to the bed with an unsettling smile on her face.

He very slowly sat himself up and looked at her.

“Melissa, are you okay?”

Melissa’s smile stayed steady. “This one is simply inhabiting Melissa for the moment. This one is The World, here to assist in the completion of your transactions.”

“And the one you’re possessing currently?” asked Solomon.

“She is unharmed and unaware. This is the time she had intended to awaken you anyway.”

“Is there a way for you to do this that does not involve possessing someone near me?”

“This one has no physical form and so is required to possess others in order to perform his duties.”

“How does one lose their physical form?”

“They sacrifice it in the pursuit of ethereal knowledge and power. This one was once the greatest soulamancer in existence. I attempted to use my powers to assume control of the Arcana and as punishment I am now bound in service to it for eternity.”

“If I were to ask you to teach me about Soulamancy, would you?”

“I am unable to do so. Before I was bound in service I hid my knowledge within the infinite astral realm. None shall have what I had.”

Solomon let that thought sit for a moment before beginning to move out of his bed.

“Excuse me,” he said and The World moved out of his way. He moved to his desk and reviewed the short list he made. Then he carefully opened the lockbox in the corner of his desk and counted out sixty gold draks and one silver drak. He then turned to the World.

“Do you need a pouch or box?”

“There is no need,” it responded in Melissa’s voice.

Solomon looked back and saw that the gold and silver were gone. In their place was a book with a tan leather cover and a yellowed scroll bound with twine.

“Thank you.”

The World bowed, then looked around.

“The wards around this place are strange. Many to keep away prying eyes and evil spirits, but nothing to discourage possession.”

Solomon opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but Melissa was blinking and in a daze, seemingly indicating that The World had left her.

She looked around for a moment. “Did you have a preference for breakfast, lord?”

“Spiced eggs and bread with honey spread on top.”

“I’ll inform Claire.”

“Thank you, Melissa.”

He watched her leave and only then did he carefully slip the grimoire and scroll into his desk. He was concerned that grabbing them any sooner would draw unnecessary attention to them. Melissa was an observant person, he needed to be wary of her.

He was uncomfortable with The World possessing his people. It was true that Melissa seemed fine, but she’d still been under control of something she’d been unaware of. For now he had little choice, but in the future he’d look for ways around the possession.

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Melissa brought his food in and he locked the door. He then pulled the grimoire and scroll back out from his desk. He untied the scroll first and flattened each of its corners beneath a paperweight, reviewing it as he carefully ate. The spell was written in Drakthic dialect and in a neat and orderly script. The spell was similar to Mental Fortification, focusing on an image and fortifying it with mana, but had an additional layer of complexity. One had to focus on what they wanted to memorize, tie it to an image that was clear within their mind, and then fortify that image constantly with mana. If the trickle of mana ended, then they would lose their perfect recall of it. This didn’t stop one from memorizing it in the traditional way in the meantime though.

Solomon pulled out the ledger he used to monitor his servants’ pay and focused on it, then he thought of the statue that sat in his old garden at the Morrow Estate. He imagined the two things tied together and poured mana into it.

He felt a sharp pain stabbing at him behind his eyes and the image of the ledger seemed to float in front of his vision even as he clenched his eyes shut. He tried to pull back the amount of mana he had been pushing into it and it stabilized for a moment before increasing again and causing the searing pain to return. He dismissed the spell, feeling instant relief as the pressure in his skull ceased.

He turned his focus to his mana, feeling that the ocean of it was once again churning and sloshing as if it was a lake beneath a storm. He frowned, whatever had stabilized it before had worn off. He’d need to attempt to stabilize it again, he hoped his theory about forcefully draining his mana with rapid spellcasting was accurate.

He carefully folded the scroll and placed it to the side to give his full attention to the grimoire. He passed his hand carefully over the cover, it seemed as if it was made of an inferior leather. He opened it and was gratified to see Drakthic script again, though this time it was a much older dialect. Alongside the script were a number of diagrams and charts as well.

Solomon spent the rest of his breakfast and an hour afterward going through the grimoire. He found much of it to be beyond his understanding, but at the same time learning what he didn’t know gave him more avenues to pursue. A homunculus was a creature formed with artificial life. That life could come from many places, mana being the most common, but there were hints that fragments of a soul could be used, or the lifeforce of other creatures, or even the powers of the natural world. They had as many uses as one could imagine, but often they were used as assistants or guardians to a mage.They could be formed as mindless automatons, or given some degree of autonomy. There were many ways to form them, some favored the flesh and blood of animals, others human remains, and some used clay mixed with their own blood or the blood of others. A homunculus differed from a golem in that they required an organic element to be created and they required less mana. They also tended to develop at least minor character traits and personalities on their own.

It was all tremendously fascinating, but the foremost thing on his mind was that it potentially answered his question of what Threen was. He appeared human, but had mana flowing throughout his body. He was also capable of maintaining an entire manor by himself and had a distinctly inhuman air about him. Knowing what he was was helpful, but Solomon found himself wishing he knew why he had been left behind by his uncle while all of the other servants had vanished.

Solomon sighed as he stood and went to his closet to dress. It seemed that Felicity had finished taking in his uncle’s old clothes so he selected one of his green vests to pair with one of his own dark purple jackets. He wanted to show his gratitude for her hard work and wearing it seemed the best way to do so.

The idea of a homunculus was very interesting to him. He didn’t want to risk any of his servants by exposing them to his studies, but a homunculus would be another story. He could also have it act for him when there was something that needed to be done he couldn’t act on publicly. Certainly he could hire someone to act for him on certain matters, but the wider a circle the more likely someone would talk.

He sighed and pushed those thoughts to the side. He didn’t have time to consider something so advanced. Now that he had survived joining the Arcana he needed to focus on confronting the Lord of the Black Wood. Had the creature attacked him with its full strength he and the trapper would’ve been killed. He couldn’t ignore it, he had too many plans that involved those woods. He also hoped that he’d be able to free the Lord’s ‘brides’. He knew that was less likely, but those women were his responsibility as residents of Moonfallow. He’d at least like to be able to return their bodies to their families.

The problem was he lacked the offensive strength to deal with such a creature. He couldn’t simply cast enhanced Spark spells until he killed such a creature. Perhaps with a true fireball spell he could do some real damage. The other option was to find spells or methods to perfectly hide his new nature and then call in the Union or even the military. He would start searching through the Repository for something to use, but he didn’t have terribly high hopes that he’d find exactly what he needed easily.

He finished buttoning his coat, pausing as he finished. He didn’t know of a way to kill the spirit, but he had seen a god subdued before. Perhaps the chains on the dead god in the basement warranted more immediate study. He walked out of his bedroom and moved toward the Atrium. He was due to attend church within the hour. After he was done worshipping some gods, then he could turn his attention to killing one.