The idea had been planted months ago by Sam's casual speculation about clones and separate bodies. At the time, it had seemed like a cool idea that wouldn't be realised. Now, with Valentra's growing independence and his own desire to explore beyond its borders, the concept had evolved into a genuine goal.
If I could leave a portion of myself here, he thought, the settlement would still have access to my abilities and I could venture out without worrying.
He'd spent the past two days contemplating the idea. His entire body served as his cultivation system, every particle of his substance capable of holding and circulating mana. Theoretically, a separated portion should maintain that same capability.
Time to test the theory.
AJ extended his right hand, a small bump forming in it, slowly stretching away from him. The sensation was strange but not unpleasant, like pulling taffy. He concentrated on the extended portion, imagining it as a distinct entity rather than an extension of himself.
The mana within his form responded to his will, flowing towards the stretched section. He maintained the energy concentration while manipulating his substance, forming the extended portion into a rough sphere about the size of a pebble.
AJ focused on the connection point between his main body and the small sphere. His substance began to thin in the area, the physical link weakening as he willed the separation. The stretching sensation intensified, then suddenly released as the sphere detached completely.
For a brief moment, nausea washed through him along side unsettling sensation of wrongness that made his form ripple.
The small sphere dropped to the floor, AJ crouched beside it, studying the separated portion with intense focus. The sphere sat motionless, showing no signs of activity.
"Move," he commanded, trying to push some kind of mental order towards the sphere simultaneously.
Nothing happened.
He then attempted to manipulate the mana he'd left within the sphere. His awareness touched the condensed energy, confirming its presence, but he couldn't interact with it. The connection that should have existed simply wasn't there.
The sphere's surface began to lose its cohesion. Within seconds of its creation, it had dissolved into nothing, absorbed by the floorboards like water into dry soil.
He made a few more attempts, each time separating a pebble sized portion of himself to no avail. It would disappear in a handful of seconds, not only that but he couldn't establish any sort of connection with the separated mass.
AJ straightened his posture, processing the failure. The separation had worked, but something was missing.
I need another perspective.
---
Sam's new laboratory occupied a corner of the workshop complex, its interior cluttered with half-assembled projects and pages filled with technical diagrams. Sam sat at his workbench, carefully documenting observations about his latest electrical generator modifications.
"AJ," Sam looked up as the door opened. "What brings you here?"
"I need your input on something," AJ replied, closing the door behind him. "Remember months ago, when you mentioned the possibility of me creating a clone or separate body?"
Sam's eyebrows rose with interest. "I vaguely remember something like that. You've been thinking about it?"
"More than thinking. I've started attempting it."
"Show me," Sam said immediately, giving AJ his full attention.
AJ explained the concept as he'd been envisioning it, a sub-body that could remain at Valentra while his main form explored elsewhere. A way to maintain his connection to the settlement without limiting his ability to venture into the wider world.
"The idea seems straightforward," AJ continued. "Separate a portion of my substance, give it enough mana and control it from afar but the execution isn't working at all."
"Ok, show me what you've got," Sam requested.
AJ repeated the process, his arm stretching to form another pebble-sized sphere. The separation came easier this time, the nausea less intense as his body had adjusted to the strange sensation. The sphere dropped onto Sam's workbench, sitting motionless for several seconds before beginning its dissolution.
Sam leaned forward, his gaze tracking the sphere's deterioration. "Losing that mass, it's not too taxing on your mana right?"
"It's a small price to pay for the potential benefits," AJ replied.
Sam's expression shifted from slight concern to excitement, a familiar gleam appearing in his eyes. He stood, beginning to pace as his mind worked through the problem.
"Think of it like... building a machine. You can't just assemble random components and expect it to function. You need to understand the parameters first, things like minimum power requirements, structural tolerances, operational thresholds."
"I don't know what those parameters are yet," AJ admitted.
"Then that's where we start," Sam said, his tone taking on the focused quality he adopted during research. "Systematic testing to establish the limits. Let's begin with size, that pebble like portion is almost certainly too small. Let's figure out how large the sub-body needs to be to maintain stability."
Over the next hour, they worked through a series of controlled experiments. AJ created progressively larger spheres, each one slightly bigger than the last. Anything smaller than a closed fist dissolved within seconds, while a portion roughly the size of a large fist maintained its cohesion indefinitely.
"Good," Sam smiled. "That establishes your minimum viable size. Now let's consider other variables."
He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "The sub-body needs mana to function, but how much? Is it a one-time injection that sustains it, or does it require continuous input from your main body? And what about density, does a more compressed form offer better stability?"
AJ created another fist-sized sphere, this time experimenting with the mana concentration. He poured a moderate amount of energy into the separated portion before cutting it free, watching to see if the increased power made any difference to its responsiveness.
The sphere sat inert on the workbench.
"Try more even mana," Sam suggested.
AJ nodded, reabsorbing the previous attempt and forming another sphere. This time he flooded it with energy, concentrating a large amount of mana in the small form. The sphere's surface glowed faintly as he cut it free.
For a few seconds, it sat motionless on the workbench.
Then, it exploded.
Bits of slime splattered across Sam's face, chest, and notebook. Droplets decorated the workbench, scattered across his technical diagrams, and dripped from the various half-assembled projects surrounding them.
Sam's expression remained completely blank, his pen still held in mid-air where he'd been about to make a note.
AJ stared at the empty space where the sphere had been, then at Sam's slime-covered form. "I... think that was a bit too much mana."
"Really? What gave that away," Sam said, as he carefully set down his pen. A piece of slime dropped from his eyebrow onto the workbench with a soft plop.
"Let me clean that up," AJ offered quickly, already moving forward to reabsorb the scattered material.
"Please do," Sam replied, wiping slime from his eyes.
AJ quickly swept through the lab, reabsorbing the mess.
"So," Sam said, "too much mana causes catastrophic destabilization. That's... useful information."
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't be, this is exactly what experimentation looks like." Sam glanced down at his still-damp shirt. "With that said, we should avoid pouring large quantities of mana into it from here on."
"Try varying the density," Sam suggested. "Compress it more tightly, see if structural integrity affects functionality."
They tested multiple variations, dense spheres that felt almost solid, looser formations that rippled at the slightest air current, and everything in between. None showed any signs of independent activity.
Sam leaned back against the workbench, his expression thoughtful. "I think you've moved beyond what I can help with directly. The fundamental question isn't about size, density, or quantity of mana, it's about consciousness and control. That's not a problem I can help you with."
"I can take it from here, thanks for the help." AJ's thought's were already wondering.
"Keep me updated on your progress," Sam said as AJ moved towards the door.
---
AJ returned to his house with renewed focus. The interaction with Sam had transformed his approach from blind trial-and-error into methodical exploration.
He spent the rest of the afternoon testing mana quantities. Minimum viable energy to maintain stability. Excess power to see if an abundance made a difference.
The fist-sized spheres were quite stable no matter the mana concentration, aside from extreme cases that caused it to collapse or explode, but none responded to his attempts at control. He also tried supplying the sub-bodies with mana after their formation which didn't work any better.
By evening, exhaustion settled into his form. He reabsorbed the latest failed attempt and allowed himself to rest, his substance spreading across the floor in a shapeless puddle as his consciousness drifted off to sleep.
---
The next day brought new approaches. AJ experimented with density variations as well as the quantity of mana, a denser body could handle more mana. He managed to figure out a rough outline of the quantity of mana to density ratio that avoided spontaneous collapses or explosions.
He then tried leaving specific instructions within the mana he left in the body, attempting to encode purpose or direction into the energy itself.
A commotion outside drew his attention during a break. Through his window, he could see residents moving about with baskets and carts. Another harvest was underway, the crops rapid growing cycle providing steady yields that kept Valentra's food stores full.
Three months since the last harvest, AJ thought. Time moves quickly when you're focused on other things.
He felt he had made enough progress that day, going out to help with the harvest efforts.
---
By the end of the first week, AJ had explored every variation of fist-sized sub-bodies he could conceive. The frustration was building, his failures were no longer bringing him closer to understanding what was missing.
Maybe larger is better, he thought. More mass means more room for complexity, meaning more capability for independent function.
He stretched his form further, creating a sphere not much larger than a football. The separation process came smoothly now, his body having adapted to the repeated practice. The nausea barely registering anymore.
The larger sphere sat on his floor, visibly more substantial than the fist-sized attempts. AJ poured his focus into it, attempting every method of control he'd tried before.
Nothing.
Then the sphere's surface began to ripple. The cohesion that had seemed stable started breaking down, the carefully maintained structure slowly losing integrity. After degrading sufficiently the sphere collapsed into a puddle that spread across the floorboards.
AJ rushed forward, pressing his hand into the liquid and reabsorbing it quickly. Most of the mass returned to him, but a noticeable portion had already been lost.
Larger isn't necessarily better, he realized. It's less stable.
---
The second week brought refinement to his understanding. AJ continued with the larger formations, trying to solve the instability issue. Increasing the density made a big difference, he could now just about maintain a sub-body around the size of a car tire.
However this increase in size didn't allow for control any more than the fist sized body. When attempting to go even larger the requirements for density increased and so did the cost in mana.
Outside his window one afternoon, he noticed Robert directing several workers as they loaded tools onto a cart. The metalwork gleamed in the sunlight, there were axes, hammers, saws, and various implements that would soon make their way to distant settlements through the River's Eye's trading network.
Their tool making skills are getting better and better, AJ thought. They've become fully self-sufficient.
The observation brought relief rather than concern. Valentra's growth had always been the goal, and their increasing independence validated their efforts. However now that AJ's current role was less important he needed to find new ways to contribute and not feel left behind.
He returned to his experiments with renewed determination.
---
By the third week, obsession had replaced methodical exploration. AJ knew he was close, the pieces were there and he could assemble them but there was still something missing.
He abandoned the larger formations entirely, returning to fist-sized spheres while varying every other parameter he could think of. Different mana circulation patterns within the separated portion. Creating specific internal structures before separation.
What am I missing? The question echoed through his thoughts during every waking moment.
One after another the spheres sat motionless. The size was good, the density was correct. Every parameter he could think of was calibrated to the best of his abilities.
And yet the sub-bodies remained as lifeless as stones.
A knock at his door pulled him from his train of thought.
"AJ?" Lily's voice called from outside. "You in there?"
He opened the door to find her standing there, her expression bright with excitement. "River's Eye caravan just arrived at the eastern gate and they've brought some special materials as promised."
"Already?" AJ asked, trying to pull his thoughts away from sub-body creation.
"It's been three weeks since the agreement," Lily replied. "Time flies when you're busy with... whatever you've been working on." Her curiosity was almost palpable.
"I'll be there shortly," AJ said with a small smile.
Lily nodded and jogged back towards the gate.
Three weeks. He'd been so absorbed in his experiments that he'd barely noticed the passage of time. The world had kept moving while he'd focused single-mindedly on solving his problem.
Maybe a break is what I need, he thought. Step away from it for a while, let my mind rest.
The materials Aldric had brought might include something useful. At minimum, examining them would give him something different to think about.
AJ closed his door behind him, heading towards the eastern gate, his human form steady despite his fatigue.
The answer he was seeking was close. He could feel it.