"What do you think Faluel's next lesson will be about?" Phloria had still mixed feelings about both Solus and Lith so she preferred to move back to neutral grounds.
"Not Light Mastery for sure." Nalrond said. "I've agreed to teach it only to Lith, Solus, and Faluel. No offense, but it's the legacy of my people and I don't plan on sharing it with strangers."
"None taken, but wow! Did you take rudeness classes or it's just natural talent?" Friya said.
"I'm just being honest." Nalrond would have liked more beer, but he was starting to feel sleepy and the lesson could start at any moment.
"You were bound to find out and there was no way to sugarcoat the news. I thought it was better to put my cards on the table rather than act all mushy now and then drop them out of the blue."
"From a fellow Healer to another, you're kind of a jerk." Quylla said.
"Thanks." Nalrond replied with a smile as if she had complimented him.
The group kept chatting until Lith's Council amulet lit up.
"Playtime is over, kids. Get back here." Faluel was still in her Hydra form and her snake head spoke with a hissing voice that creeped them out.
The stark contrast between her human and Emperor Beast appearance only made her look like a monster out of a fairy tale. By the time they Warped inside Faluel's lair, the lab counters were gone and she was back in her human form.
"I hope you had a good time and a pleasant meal because I sure did." She was wearing blue overalls with several silvery tools coming out of its front pocket and a black shirt underneath.
Her outfit and the sawdust amid her hair made Faluel look more like a carpenter than a mage.
"Do you have any quick questions before we start the lesson? Any doubts that came to your mind during lunch?" She asked.
"I have a few." Phloria said. "How does one become a Guardian and why do they turn into beasts after being appointed? Is there a meaning behind it?"
"You become a Guardian if Mogar chooses you." Faluel shrugged. "As for the rest, you got it wrong. They didn't turn into beasts, they were all beasts to start with."
"What?" The Ernas sisters said in unison.
"Two continents and no human Guardian? How is that possible?" Friya's question made Faluel chuckle.
"Good gods, you girls would fit perfectly in the Council right now. There is no human Guardian on the whole Mogar, just like there isn't a plant Guardian nor an undead Guardian. Only beasts have ever managed to become one."
"What does this mean?" Friya said.
"Does Mogar discriminate?" Quylla asked.
"Are beasts the chosen race or what?" Phloria asked.
"I said quick questions, whereas those lead only to a philosophical debate that to this day has no answer. No one knows, sorry." Faluel said.
"I've got a quick one." Lith said. "Why there are only lesser Dragons? Are the other Guardians' bloodlines purer, more stable, or what?"
"There aren't just lesser Dragons. Do you remember Feela the Behemoth? Well, she's a lesser Griffon. All Guardians' bloodline can experience mutations that usually lead to a new and weaker species.
"Guardians are apex predators, improving their bodies is something that I think even Mogar would find it difficult to achieve. Anyone else?" Faluel waited a few seconds before resuming to talk.
"Excellent. Since you are all accomplished Healers, I will now proceed to explain to you one of the most common arts that Awakened use while most other creatures don't. Shapeshifting.
"It allows us to change their physical appearance and blend in more easily in a different society or to create us fake identities when we don't want to be recognized. Before starting, let's make a quick recap.
"Why do people consider shapeshifting to be just a myth?" Faluel asked.
"Because shapeshifting is nothing but Body Sculpting applied to the whole body. The smallest mistake while altering someone's life force can have terrible consequences. Brain damage, organs failure, deformities, and that's just naming a few." Quylla said.
"Correct. Anything else?"
"Shapeshifting is as dangerous as it's pointless from a fighting standpoint." Lith said.
"No matter how big you make yourself, the mass doesn't change nor does your strength. On top of that, moving with a body that it's not yours messes up your muscles memory and you need to get used to it every single time."
"Correct again." Faluel nodded. "Aside from making someone taller, slenderer, or more beautiful, shapeshifting doesn't change the nature of things, only their appearance.
"It also has several more risks that normal people never consider. There is a reason why people like Raagu don't try to appear younger nor Awakened make themselves look like Tista all the time.
"There's also a reason why a Hydra like me doesn't just shapeshift into a seven-headed Dragon to not be pegged as "lesser" anymore.
"When you change your appearance, you're not only fooling others, but yourself as well. Those who keep a fake appearance for too long often forget about their real self, about how they really are and become unable to revert to their original state.
"No matter how good-looking or muscular you make yourself, that's a lie and as such, it limits your natural potential. In the long term, such deep changes in the life force end up affecting the development of the individual.
"Your body wasn't meant to be like that and the changes you applied might as well suppress rather than enhance your natural abilities. Among Awakened, shapeshifting your body into that of another member of your race is almost considered a taboo." Faluel said.
"Wait, what about you, then? What about Protector and his hybrid form?" Friya asked.
"Those are both excellent questions. Changing into another race is easier because it's too different from your original form to affect your mind. Usually, beasts only have one human appearance and they stick to it all their life.
"On top of that, since our mass is much greater than a human's, compressing our forms helps us to keep our life force stable and retain most of our skills. We lose our fangs and claws, but our life force remains almost the same.
"Feel free to use Scanner on me." Faluel reverted to his Hydra form, making it easier for everyone to put a hand on her at the same time.
To Scanner, Faluel's life force looked like a bright violet star that burned with power. Lith could even see what looked like solar flares and eruptions. The surface of the star was never still.
It was comprised of countless streams of energy that flowed into each other countering their respective effects and allowing the star to keep its form stable despite the apparent chaos.
"Oh gods, and here I thought humans' life force was complex." Quylla said.
"Keep looking, I'm about to shapeshift." Faluel's body shrunk and so did her life force.
The maelstrom that comprised the violet star became more violent as the currents above compressed those below. By the time Faluel was back in her human form, her life force was apparently stable again.
The star was still violet and its power unchanged. It had just gotten smaller and reshaped so to look like a human's life force, but instead of lego bricks and erector set, it was still made of energy streams.
All the excess mass was stored in a compressed star identical to the original that was located where the human heart was supposed to be.
(AN: If you're not reading this on WN, you're reading stolen content. Please, support the official release)
