“Soul binding?  SoulEaters?”

Chenoa’s mind felt as if it was already being weighed down by all the information. 

“In the other realm, there are many magical creatures.  While it really comes down to wills, their abilities vary so much that no one truly understands how it works.  Even I cannot claim to understand how their willpower over narration works.  Anyway, SoulEaters are a type of, let’s say magical for a lack of a better word, creatures.  They specialize in binding the souls of other creatures.  They do not actually eat the souls as their name suggests, but rather use the bound people to do their bidding.”

The dark gray figure put its hand in the air and then began making pulling motions as if it were pulling on a heavy rope.  The green Spellbinder shuddered then its green light broke free from its form and floated to the dark gray figure’s hand.  There the light flickered.

“That’s creepy…”

“You must remember when entering our realm that just because their culture is different doesn’t mean it’s wrong.  While you find binding someone’s soul as a crime against their freedom, SoulEaters do not see it that way.  According to their traditional custom, soul binding is only done for survival and protection.”

“What do you mean?”

“If your tribe is being threatened by someone or some group, you bind their soul so they can’t harm your family or yourself.  You are hunting and you come across an animal, so you bind its soul so that it can die peacefully and without harm to its physical body.  It is truly a more humane way of hunting than the way humans do.

“SoulEaters have also served the larger community by sealing the souls of great evils that would hurt the realm.  It is also common for SoulEaters parents to bind their children’s souls or for one of a couple to bind a partner’s soul.”

“What?  How could they do that?”

“To them, it is the ultimate way to protect those they love. When a soul is bound, it cannot leave its body, therefore it cannot die.  Now this is not a permanent solution, and their bindings can be broken, but, in their culture, it can be a true sign of love.”

“I guess I get that, but you were saying that SoulEaters have been used to control Spellbinders.”

Glancing at the dark gray figure, Chenoa felt deep revulsion at the sight of the green light in its hand.  The Spellbinder figure looked hollow and transparent now.

“Yes, back to that. No form of life is free of those who abuse their powers.  SoulEaters have been known to be hired to bind souls of creatures for slavery and then give the souls to the slave’s owners.  It was common to hire SoulEaters to bind Spellbinders.  Some SoulEaters have also been known to collect souls for they say each soul is unique.”

“They sound like serial killers.”

“Again I don’t think they see it that way, but collectors are not viewed well by the SoulEater communities. Of course, you should know that not everyone’s soul can be bound.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are some circumstances where no matter the strength of the SoulEaters, a soul cannot be bound.”

Ursa’s tail slashed through the figures and they instantly disintegrated.  The crystal circle dissolved more slowly until the earth returned to normal.  Walking around, Ursa rolled around her massive shoulders. 

“Let us walk for a bit,” Ursa sighed.  “I am still stiff from my stay in the tree. We can continue talking as we walk.”

Starting at her head, Ursa shook her whole body, all the way down to the tip of her tail.  Her form shrank to the size of a large dog and she waited for Chenoa to reach her.  Together they began walking.

“What are those circumstances?” Chenoa pushed.

“There are four possible reasons a soul cannot be bound, but realize, even if they sound easy, they aren’t.”

“Okay, but what are they?”

Flickering her tongue like a lizard, Ursa thought for a long moment.

“The first one is the most romantic,” Ursa said, sounding almost disgusted at the idea. “A soul cannot be bound if it is in deep love.  Not a love that just reaches the heart.  No, the person must love another with his/her whole soul. You humans have adopted this idea in your stories of true love’s kiss and other such nonsense.”

“So, it is possible then? To love someone that much?”

Guiltily, Chenoa’s mind flickered to Tristan.  Immediately, she scolded herself and forced herself to focus on Ursa.  Ursa smirked, her expression clearing stating that she did not truly believe what she was saying.

“Yes, but you must literally love with all your soul, meaning that your soul no longer belongs to you.  Whether you know it or not, you have given your soul to the one you love. Such love is very rare. I have never met anyone who truly achieved it.”

“But you met people who thought they had?”

“Oh yes. For a while, it was a popular way of testing your love for someone.  You and your lover would seek out a SoulEater to try and bind your soul.  If they couldn’t, then it supposedly proved you had found the ultimate love.  Of course, many people were disappointed in the results too.”

Chenoa couldn’t believe people would test their love like that.  It was a lot of pressure and just because you didn’t love someone with your whole soul didn’t mean you didn’t love them, right?

“The second reason a soul cannot be bound is because the soul is so large, it cannot be trapped or it cannot be trapped for long,” Ursa said.

She stopped and smelled some wildflowers that grew at the edge of the woods and the fields.  They had reached the end of the fields and stood momentarily as Ursa enjoyed the scents.  

“How can a soul be that large? Is it about the power level?” Chenoa asked.

“Oh no…it is about the age of the soul.  Souls have their own ages, separate to their bodies’ ages.  Think of reincarnation.  So, if a soul is very old, it could be too large to be contained. Again, this is very rare. At some point, most souls stop returning to the worlds. Only Luoja knows why.”

“Luoja?”

“That is what we call God or the Great Creator.”

“Is he the same God as we have?”

“I am not a theologist and I do not pretend to understand the ways of God or gods.  That is a subject that we best not discuss since I would be of no use in it.  And ultimately, it comes down to what you believe in, not what I believe in. Just know that there were gods, with a little g, for thousands of years. They claimed to serve Luoja, but they were far from perfect themselves.”

Bitterness edged Ursa’s voice as she spoke.  Chenoa saw a green and red tinge enter her dragon’s fur as her eyes darkened.

“Thankfully they are gone for now.”

Turning abruptly, Ursa began working her way back towards the Angel Oak’s remains.  Trotting to catch up, Chenoa wondered if Ursa had known the gods personally.  If she had, it was clear that Ursa did not have a good experience with them.

“The third reason a soul cannot be bound is because it has already been bound by someone or something else,” Ursa said, continuing their earlier discussion. “You cannot rebind a soul that someone else has bound.”

“Do you know when your soul is bound? Can you feel it or can they do it without you knowing?” Chenoa inquired worriedly.

“Yes, your soul can be bound and you know not it.  SoulEaters and the few that have acquired the ancient rituals can bind a soul but not have it submit.  They can allow the person to walk around and live normally.  Sometimes the bound soul doesn’t even know it’s bound until the sealer calls upon the seal.”

Tugging on her ear, as she did when she was nervous, Chenoa stared at the large dragon.  The idea that someone could do something so violating and she would never know scared Chenoa.  Maybe her father had been right. Maybe this was too dangerous and she didn’t have to do this. Sensing the change in Chenoa, Ursa stopped and looked at the girl.  Her eyes softened as she stepped close, placing her soft fur-lined muzzle against Chenoa’s nose.

“I know this is overwhelming, but it is important you understand all of this,” Ursa said calmly. “Just because you don’t know about it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen.  Ignorance is not power or a defense.  It is a vulnerability.  Do you understand that?”

“Y..yes…I think I do.”

“I know we are throwing a lot at you, but we wouldn’t if we didn’t think it was necessary.”

“I know.”

Snuffling Chenoa’s hair with her muzzle, Ursa breathed in the girl. Soft scents of fear, confusion, and worry wafted off her, but Ursa knew that was only natural. It hurt Ursa to force Chenoa back into this life, but Ursa knew better than most that a person couldn’t ignore his/her destiny.  That only called for terrible things.

“The fourth and final reason a soul cannot be bound is that the body does not have a soul,” Ursa said.

Her eyes wavered slightly as they gained pastel blue tones.  Chenoa, wrapped up in her own thoughts, missed the dragon’s expression. 

“Is that possible? To not have a soul?” Chenoa asked.

Chenoa knew that some people believed animals and plants didn’t have souls, but Chenoa had always thought that was human egotism. 

“Not all creatures have souls.  Well, they do but not on this plane of existence.  MagicTellers have souls that exist on the spiritual plane, which is one reason they are able to see that plane,” Ursa explained.

Holding her hands to her head, Chenoa felt a massive headache coming on.  Separate plane of existence?  Why did she feel like she was in some bizarre, highly advanced science class talking about the different planes of existence or like she was trying to understand time travel?

“Ursa, this little much for me. I don’t know if I can absorb all this at once.”

“I know. We will call it a day after this, okay?”

Groaning, Chenoa agreed.  

As patiently as she could Ursa explained how all creatures have some form of soul.  Some had their souls on separate planes of existence; others kept their souls in their bodies, like humans and dragons, but others housed their souls in elements, like nymphs, whose souls existed in plants. Only one creature possessed absolutely no soul, SecondDeaths. 

“SecondDeaths are those who have been resurrected,” Ursa informed Chenoa.

“Zombies!”

“No, no…Zombies don’t exist.  That’s just a myth that was born out of fear of SecondDeaths. SecondDeaths are those who have passed away but have been called back by Pipers.  You have heard the story of the Pied Piper?”

“Yes?”

“The Pied Piper was an actual Piper.  Those children he stole or kidnapped from the village were already dead due to the Black Death.  He rose them up again for the village in exchange for payment.  Rats are the front guard of the gates of Death, so when a Piper raises someone from the dead, rats flee.  When the village refused to pay for the return of their children, the Piper merely took them with him.”

“But if SecondDeaths are people who already died, what happened to their souls?”

“I wish I could tell you, but very little is known about SecondDeaths.  Pipers generally don’t talk to anyone and they certainly do not share their secrets or methods.  Pipers are…they are different and often solitary.  They are almost as rare as Spellbinders.”

“Have you ever met one?”

Hesitating, Ursa looked up into the sky.  A breeze rubbed against Chenoa and Ursa, making Chenoa smile, but Ursa frown.  Clearing her throat, Ursa spoke again.

“I have met one, twice. It is not something I wish to do a third time.”

“Was he…she…it…uh…”

“He.”

“Was he scary or something?”

“No. Not scary.  Painful, soul-wrenchingly sad.”

Falling into deep contemplation, Ursa did not speak for a long moment.  A cold silence lay between them and Chenoa wondered how terrible a creature the Piper had to have been to affect Ursa that way. Maybe Chenoa didn’t want to meet a Piper.

“Have you lived a long time, Ursa? Is that why you have seen so many things? Pipers? Gods?” Chenoa whispered.

“For a human, I have lived a life longer than you can imagine.  Yet to my people, I am just a babe. I just have seen a lot more than I should have because of rash choices and deadly faults of my own.”

“Deadly faults?  What do you mean?”

Eyes hardening, Ursa grew to the size of a suburban and trotted away.  Stunned, Chenoa didn’t know if she should follow her or not.  It must have been rude to ask Ursa what her deadly faults were, but Ursa had been the one to bring it up. Deciding she should follow, Chenoa dashed after Ursa.  The conversation was clearly closed, but they enjoyed each other’s company for a while longer. 

When night came, Chenoa slept, having vivid dreams of everything she had learned.  Realizing that she could not hold off this information, Chenoa brought a notebook with her the next day after school, so she could write everything Ursa told her down.  It felt like a second school day, but the information seemed less overwhelming when written down and less seemed to plague her dreams at night.

Something things Ursa refused to talk about, specifically her past and how she came to be in the tree.  She also would not talk of the Piper, other dragons, or the gods.  Cor helped with some of the lessons, but mostly he appeared at bedtime to curl up at the foot of Chenoa’s bed as a large winged wolf.

After a week or two, Ursa deemed Chenoa ready with the basic history and understanding of Spellbinders to begin honing her skills. It was hard at first, because, as Chenoa learned, even inanimate objects had strong wills.  Ursa started Chenoa off easy by having Chenoa say her spells out loud to gain extra willpower.  It still took over a week to get anything to happen. 

“You are afraid of your powers and forcing your will on other things,” Ursa sighed on the fourth day of trying.  “That is not a bad thing because it means you aren’t likely to abuse your power, but you will never get it if you don’t accept that you have this power for a reason.  You are meant to use it.” 

Chenoa agreed but it felt wrong to force her will onto someone or something else. As a result, it took four more days until she was able to move rocks and leaves around her.  Once she started it became much easier. On the twelfth day, Chenoa had managed a neat trick where she gave life to a stick.  It had a stick body with thin twigs for its arms and legs, looking almost like a large stick bug, but without antennas and bug eyes.  Its eyes were two notches near the top of the stick.  A crack in the bark became a mouth, though it could only whistle.

“Giving a creation the ability to talk is extremely difficult,” Ursa explained to Chenoa when she asked why the stick whistled. “And even if you end up able to give a voice to a creation, I don’t recommend it.  Anything you create is infused with your power and giving it a real voice can backfire on you.  There is nothing more dangerous than your own creation.”