Symbiotic: Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Tas shimmered beside her, and with a pulse of light Sara was sent down into the village. The tavern was lively, filled with the hum of voices and clatter of mugs. She stepped inside, scanning the room.

“Anyone know where Whistle might be found?” she asked, her voice carrying just enough authority to quiet a few conversations.

One of the locals, a broad shouldered man with a weathered face, pushed back his chair and stepped outside. He squinted up at the sky, shading his eyes with a hand. After a moment, he pointed.

“That’away,” he said simply, nodding toward a dot circling high above the valley, gliding effortlessly between currents, as others in the tavern chuckle.

Sara followed his gesture, her eyes narrowing. The dot shifted, wings catching the light. A bird. A hawk. And not a small one.

She set off into the valley, keeping the dot in sight whenever it dipped or wheeled. As she drew closer, faint whistles carried on the wind, answered by sharp cries from the hawk. The rhythm of call and response guided her, pulling her deeper until she stepped into a clearing.

A small lake shimmered in the center, and beside it sat a man with a fishing pole, line trailing lazily into the water. He didn’t turn as she approached.

“Sarah said someone was coming this way,” he remarked, voice calm, almost distracted.

Sara blinked. “What? I didn’t… Wait. Is the hawk’s name Sarah?”

The man gave a short whistle, and the hawk cried in answer. He nodded once.

Sara muttered under her breath, “Well that’s not going to cause confusion at all.”

Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Hi. I’m, well, also Sara.”

Above, the hawk’s glide shifted into a dive, wings folding tight as it plummeted toward her. Sara’s eyes widened. “I was told you were who I should talk to about Companion Bonds. I have an egg that…" Sara watched as the hawk, Sarah's, dive rocketed her downward at a startling speed straight towards where she stood. "Um... Listen. Is your hawk going to attack?!?”

The hawk screeched, the sound sharp and wild, closing the distance in a heartbeat. Sara remained still, Danger Sense silent, her instincts telling her to stand her ground.

At the last instant, the hawk veered, missing her by less than a foot. Its wings snapped open, slowing its descent as it landed neatly on the fisherman’s outstretched arm. The bird’s piercing eyes stayed locked on Sara, unblinking, assessing.

The man chuckled, low and amused. He whistled once, and with his free hand pulled a fish from a basket at his side. He tossed it into the air, and Sarah, hawk Sarah, not Sara Sara, 'Gods this is going to be a long day', snatched it out of the air almost before it left his fingers.

Sara exhaled, tension easing from her shoulders. The fisherman, Whistle, finally turned his head slightly, a faint grin tugging at his lips. The hawk still stared at her, feathers ruffling, as if weighing her worth.

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“I have an egg,” she said, “and I’m eager to try to bond with it. To raise it. To help defend Haven Valley.”

Sara shifted the egg carefully under her arm, the faint shimmer of her spores curling protectively around it. Her voice was steady, but there was an urgency beneath it.

Whistle didn’t turn, his eyes still on the lake, his hawk perched calmly on his arm. He gave a small nod, disinterested, as though he’d heard such requests before.

But when Sara tilted the egg forward, letting the light catch its crystalline veins, the air changed. The Greatworm egg pulsed faintly, alive with the Valley’s energy. Whistle’s head snapped toward it, and he let out a long, low whistle, not the sharp call he used for his hawk, but a human whistle, heavy with surprise.

His hawk, Sarah, ruffled her feathers and leaned closer, eyes narrowing at the egg.

Sara’s voice softened, but her words carried hope. “I know it’s not the same as a hawk. But could you offer me your guidance? I’m told I actually need a Skill if I want to succeed in this. And that you are the Valley’s foremost Companion Bond expert.”

She held the egg closer, spores shimmering faintly around it, her eyes locked on Whistle. “I want this, Mr. Whistle. The Valley needs this.”

Whistle studied her for a long moment, his hawk shifting restlessly on his arm. Then he gave a short, sharp whistle, and Sarah cried in response, launching into the air and circling once overhead before settling back down beside them.

Finally, Whistle spoke, his voice low and measured. “That’s no ordinary egg. Bonding with a Greatworm… I’ve never seen, or even heard of it happening. But, the System put this in your path and the System will decide if you’re a match. It is risky, to the Hatchling, and to you. But if you want to try, you’ll need the Novice Companion Bond skill. I can teach you that.”

He leaned back, fishing pole forgotten, his eyes still fixed on the egg. “Whether the bond takes… that’s between your Soul and the creature’s. But if you’re willing, I’ll show you the path.”

Sara’s breath caught, relief and determination mingling. She tightened her grip on the egg, spores swirling brighter.

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“I do. I'm 100% willing. Just tell me what I need to do. I've been letting it soak up the valley energy, to link it to this place. And I've been carefully feeding it my own energy to try to connect it to my soul as well."

"Please teach me what more I can do to successfully Bond with a companion creature.”

Sara held the Greatworm egg close, spores curling protectively around its surface as she stepped nearer to the fisherman. Her voice was steady, but there was a tremor of urgency beneath it.

“You’ve already done the first steps. Letting the egg soak in the Valley’s energy ties it to this place. Feeding it your own Soul energy gives it a taste of you. That’s good. That’s what you should be doing. Whoever has guided you thus far has done an adequate job.”

He set the fishing pole aside, his tone sharpening into instruction. “But bonding isn’t just feeding energy. It’s discipline. Resonance. You’ll need the Novice Companion Bond skill to even attempt it. Without that, the System won’t let you try.”

“I can teach you the Novice skill. That part’s easy. But the bond itself? That’s between your Soul and the creature’s. The System will judge if you’re a match. If it does, you’ll have a companion unlike any other. If it doesn’t…” He shrugged. “Then it’ll walk its own path or it will try to burn down yours. It’s not common, but a failed bond can enrage the creature, requiring that one of the tow of you die for the rage to end. Like I said, it’s not common. But, neither is trying to bond a Greatworm!”

Sara’s breath caught, relief and determination mingling. She looked down at the egg, then back at Whistle.

Whistle gave another sharp whistle, Sarah screeching in response, and added with a faint grin, “If you’re willing, knowing what you know now, I’ll start teaching you the basics now.”

Sara nodded, her voice firm. “I’m willing. More than willing. Let’s begin.”

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Whistle sat cross legged by the lake, Sarah the hawk perched nearby, watching silently. He gestured for Sara to sit opposite him, the Greatworm egg resting between them, spores curling faintly around its surface.

“First,” Whistle said, his voice calm and steady, “you learn to listen only inside yourself. My voice, and your own breath. Nothing else.”

Sara closed her eyes. The sounds of the valley, the wind, the water, even the hawk’s occasional cry, faded as Whistle guided her. His voice was low, rhythmic, pulling her focus inward. She breathed, slow and deliberate, until the noise of the world thinned into silence.

The System chimed faintly in her mind, but she ignored it, staying in the rhythm.

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*DING* [Skill Acquired: Basic Meditation]

Type: Common Skill (Utility)

Description: A foundational practice of focus and inner calm. Allows the user to filter external distractions and stabilize Soul energy flow.

• Passive Effect: Increases Body, Mind & Soul Energy recovery rate by 5% while meditating.

• Active Effect: Center (Triggered): Enter a meditative state, reducing external distractions and improving focus for 30 seconds.

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Whistle’s voice shifted, guiding her deeper. “Now, search. Find the spark inside the egg. That is the hatchling. Reach for it. Link to it. Feed it your Soul energy. And accept what it gives back.”

Sara reached inward, her Soul energy flowing toward the egg. She found it. A spark, small but burning. When she touched it, and fed her Soul energy into it, the energy that surged back into her was violent. Red hot, molten rage. Hostility. Killing intent. She flinched, remembering the System’s first Identification of Greatworms: Mindlessly Hostile.

Her chest burned as the Hatchlings hostility threatened to overwhelm her, but she steadied herself. She had work ahead of her.

The rage pressed against her, demanding, consuming. But beneath it, she felt something else: hunger. The desire to feast. That, she understood. Feeding was something she knew. She had nurtured her Valley, her networks, her spores. She could nurture this too.

She began feeding it with trickles of her Soul energy, constant and steady. Then she slowed. Stopping and feeding only when the spark demanded. Then ignoring demands and feeding only when it urged. Then only when it asked. Time blurred. She had no idea how long she sat there, locked in the exchange.

At last, the Soul energy that returned from the egg to her was no longer hostile. No longer raging. No longer demanding. It was still urgent, still needy, but it was cyclical. Give and take. Coordinated. Combined. Like a shared heartbeat.

Sara opened her eyes, sweat on her brow, the egg glowing faintly beneath her spores. She had not succeeded yet. The bond was not complete. But there was a connection. A starting line. And the System acknowledged it.

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*Ding* [Skill Acquired: Novice Companion Bond]

Type: Rare Skill (Utility)

Description: Grants the ability to attempt Soul bonding with juvenile creatures. Establishes a basic link of loyalty and resonance.

• Passive Effect: Enables Soul energy exchange between Challenger and bonded creature.

• Active Effect: Soul Bond (Triggered): Channel Soul energy into a creature to attempt forming a Companion Bond. Success depends on compatibility.

Slot: Utility

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Sara exhaled, her voice hoarse but steady. “There’s a connection now. Not solid, not yet. But something real.”

Whistle nodded once, his hawk shifting on his arm before launching into the sky at his whistle. “That’s the start. The rest is up to you. You, and the Hatchling.”

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