5 My Name Is Oz

Jessie felt her throat went dry as she sat on the bed with the orb in her lap. Nexx purred as he circled around from behind her, his feline head nestling into her thigh as he in turn contemplated on the orb.

"He-Hello?"

For a second, she felt like crying from the shock. Is she really talking to a core right now? Did the night really screw her up that much?

<<Hello.>> The orb glowed in time with the impatient syllables echoing in her head. The masculine voice a telling sign of its – his – gender.

Holy fuck. Surprise almost caused her to jump up and almost dislodging the core and Nexx from her lap. Maybe it wasn't a hallucination... But would she even know if it was? Jessie made a wry frown. Let's play along with it for now. Maybe she'll wake up in the morning tomorrow and it'll just be a weird dream from staying up the entire night trying to bind with the orb.

Still... Jessie thought as she stared at the orb dumbly. What should she say to a freaking orb?

<<... Where am I?>>

Cool. He's fielding the questions, Jessie internally sighed with relief. "We're in..." The words fell out of her lips, but she didn't know how to answer the orb accurately.

My friend's house? Off of Trangel street? The orb was clearly looking for a point of reference, but how much did he know about where he was at if he has been sitting on a shelf for as long as Jessie knew of him?

Off to the side, Nexx made no sound, but continued staring at the orb intently.

<<Well?>>

Jessie thought for a second longer and answered, "We're in New Brynheim... Do you know where that is?"

The orb was silent.

<<... No. Is it anywhere near the Vurghin Kingdom? I think I have heard of a city like that before in that area.>>

Jessie's mouth went wide.

Vurghin was a kingdom from back in the old continent of Raede! It had been dissolved shortly before the humans migrated to Tyraede!

Holy crap. This orb was old.

"Uh... We're on a whole different continent now. Tyraede," Jessie told the orb with all the reverence that she could offer to the orb. Respecting her elders has always been one of key things in life, after all. "From what I know, the old continent has all but destroyed and left uninhabitable after the war..." Then she added sheepishly, "Sorry."

The orb was silent once again.

Trying to change the subject, she asked, "What's your name?"

<<... I don't remember.>>

<<It feels like I'm still half-asleep which makes sense since I have just woken up, but there's a fog there. A haze that's keeping me from remembering more. I remember places. Things regarding... Beast engineering? Yes, that's what it is. Beast engineering. But I can't remember much else.>>

<<Not knowing where I am or who I am? This is serious cause for alarm.>> He said flatly.

Jessie wanted to chuckle with a tsukkomi. You sure don't sound alarmed!

But she resisted the urge and soon the orb was speaking again.

<<Maybe you can tell me more of your present time and it will help me refresh my memories. Help me remember who I am.>>

The suggestion sounded good.

"I can't tell you much about the old world since a lot of the history was lost when humans came over to Tyraede. As far as I know, Raede is lost. There has been no line of contact from over there, no matter how much our side has tried..."

She sensed the grief from the entity again and she quickly added, "But let me tell you about Tyraede! Humans have been over here for about four hundred years now and we're still in a marked stage of exploration!"

This was also something she was excited about and it tinged her tone with the same passion.

"They say only fifteen percent of this continent is charted and inhabited by humans! The rest! It's a wild frontier out here! Every day there are more and more cultivators making their way to the uncharted places to try to map and stake their claim for fortune and fame! It's a time of romance and adventure!

"Not only that, the number of nations that have migrated here have formed a treaty of peace! No wars here! It's a time of stability and unity! Everyone is relaxed and easygoing here compared to Raede! The standard of living here is good enough that most of the people can afford a beast of their own and cultivate!"

Jessie stopped for a breath before she even knew that she was running out of steam. She might have left out the minor conflicts still rolling about considering her own family issues, but she meant what she said. The time she lived in now was a good time period where everyone was entitled to their own peace of mind and still enjoy cultivating – not as part of a war-time situation, but as a personal endeavor of self-fulfillment.

"It's said to be the golden age of cultivators!" She boasted.

The orb was quiet as he digested the new information and Jessie decided to get comfortable. She took the orb off her lap and put it in front of her while she grabbed Nexx. The feline beast was caught by surprise and struggled for a bit before relaxing as she put him her lap and started petting him down his side.

<<That does sound... Quite Extraordinary.>>

<<I'm starting to recall a bit. There was a expedition sent out by one of the nations to confirm the existence of a new continent, but I do not remember what had happened to it. Are these the settlers that became your ancestors?>>

Jessie frowned as she knew exactly what the orb was talking about.

"No, the Marys expedition. It was a major expedition consisting of twenty-something ships, right? To ascertain the existence of the continent." She sighed. "Historians think that they might have been the reason why we have problems exploring the rest of Tyraede.

"When the ships containing the migration of the people into Tyraede were coming over here, it was considered a last-ditch effort to survive past the destruction of Raede since we were not sure that the continent even existed. We had never heard back from the Marys expedition, you see.

"However, when we got here, the settlers were surprised to see beasts resembling those from back in the old world!"

Jessie frowned as she continued, "We theorized that the original folks on the Marys made it to the continent, but were unable to return. The mana-enriched beasts that they brought mixed with bloodlines with the mundane animals here to give rise to a whole new set of beasts. Over generations, they have gotten strong enough that, well, even humans are having a hard time overcoming them to explore the rest of the continent."

<<I see.>>

Jessie shrugged as her hands continued stroking down the fur of her beast. "It's just the way things are right now. But I'm sure with time, the adventurers are going to break through them all and we can spread out from one corner to the next on this continent. We're constantly learning more about the bloodlines and beast engineers are improving the beasts we have domesticated. Adventuring cultivators, every day, are improving their strength and their beasts so that they have a greater edge out there in the frontier. I just wish..."

She had gotten too caught up in her story before she realized what she was saying. Jessie paused and pursed her lips, trying to keep that heartfelt sentiment in place. Maybe the orb didn't hear that last part.

<<Just wished what?>>

Jessie rolled her eyes before looking down at Nexx's relaxed face as she rubbed his fur. She sighed. She has never told anybody this, not even Mel. But she had gotten used to talking to the orb for some reason, spouting off like she had. It was like talking to an imaginary friend. Like talking to thin air without fear of repercussions or judgment. Not like she would know. She never had an imaginary friend.

"Sometimes," Jessie started off hesitantly. "Sometimes I wish I could be a part of that. I don't want to be an actual adventurer. No, fuck that."

She blushed as she found herself cursing in front of the four-hundred-year-old entity, but she kept going, "I want to help adventurers find their right partners."

She stared down at Nexx down in her lap. He was currently dozing off after being pampered as he was. "Some people discard their beasts as soon as they hit a higher tier in their cultivation. I don't think that's right. Beasts are our partners. We engineered them to become the way they are and they stand by our sides loyally. I want to help cultivators find their perfect beasts so that they can grow together, live together, be happy together. No one should be thrown away, you know?"

She tickled the nose ridge on Nexx and the cat beast just sneezed. Jessie chuckled.

"I know. Sounds kinda weak, huh?"

The orb was quiet as he had done whenever she was done speaking, still digesting her words.

<<No.>> He replied. <<I think that's an admirable goal.>>

Jessie laughed and flashed the orb a smile. It was strange to take comfort from the orb, but it lifted a weight off her chest all the same. "Thank you."

The entity in the orb just froze.

For a second. Just a second. The image of the girl in front of him merged with someone else. A flaxen-colored woman smiling at him. "Thank you, Oz."

Then it was gone, but the memory told him something new.

<<... My name is Oz.>>