Professor Kal

"Don't look so surprised, honestly, what did you think we were doing?" The Professor asked rhetorically as he noticed the worried look on the boy's face.

"Won't that kill us? If we put our souls into… that?" Ryan couldn't help but express his hesitation over doing such a thing.

He was by far not an expert on the soul, but his common sense was screaming at him that this was a very bad idea. He was imagining himself stuck within the corpse of the paladin, watching his own body die before his very eyes. It was just too much for him to wrap his head around.

"What are they teaching kids these days, really?" Professor Kal mumbled to himself.

Ryan shot a glare at the man. "You're the one teaching us… Professor."

Clearing his throat, Professor Kal got the lesson back on track. "Moving on. To answer your very valid question, no, your body will not die. The brain, although fragile, and in your case smaller than normal, does serve a purpose. It will keep your heart pumping and your lungs taking in air."

Ryan didn't say anything to the slight, just narrowed his eyes as the pompous man continued.

"The downside is that your body will be without a driver so to speak, thus, will be completely defenseless while your soul is occupying the meat puppet. Before you ask, that is why I've summoned thing one and thing two over there. They will protect our bodies while we're gone."

Ryan nodded his head, closing his mouth. Professor Kal brought out the coal black book, skimming through the pages, finding the correct passage. "Now, the language used here is old Elven, the old geezers hiding up in their trees might still speak it, but that's as far as it goes, it's a dead language. This spell will not work after translating it into the common tongue, believe me, I've tried. So that means you have to pay close attention to me as I recite the spell."

Ryan indicated that he understood.

"Good, now the reason we drained the blood from our puppets is to keep the resistance within the body to a minimum. Each living being is unique, built around the soul in perfect harmony, allowing seamless integration between the physical and spiritual bodies. Blood not only transports nutrients throughout the body, but also connects the mana pathways to each other that ultimately leads to the soul. Removing it will allow your soul, once it inhabits the puppet, to make new connections within the body that will allow better control. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

"OK. So, until your soul creates the needed mana pathways, your control over the puppet will be severely limited. You'll be able to move, but it will be difficult, and your senses will be extremely dulled as well, so don't be too surprised."

"Professor." Ryan started, actually raising his hand. "What happens if… you know, we die?"

Professor Kal actually looked pleased. "Great question. Your soul will be sent back to your real body, although it won't be pleasant. It will be the worse pain imaginable and will last several days… if you're lucky. So, I would advise you to try your best not to do anything stupid."

"Why? How do we cancel the spell then? Wouldn't it hurt just as much?"

"No, it wouldn't." He answered. "The entire point of the spell, well, most of it; is to create a corridor that your soul travels through into the puppet. The same applies to the return trip as well. When you are ready to leave your borrowed meat suit, you recite a short chant and the corridor is created, providing safe passage for your soul. Without the corridor, your soul is exposed to all of the energies within the plane, and even some from outside, damaging it."

"You're full of great questions today, aren't you?" He said, humoring his student's curiosity. "How much do you know about ghosts and spirits trapped in the material plane?"

Ryan thought for a moment before answering honestly. "Nothing."

"Ghosts are souls that have not moved on. Their souls have been trapped long enough for a protective barrier to form, protecting them from further damage. Without a physical body, they do not feel the damage done to them, but they cannot repair that damage either. The damage also causes them to lose who they were, driving many of the spirits mad, preventing them from correcting whatever wrong prevented them from moving on in the first place."

Professor Kal redirected his attention back to the book held in his hands. "But that's a lecture for another time. All you need to know about souls for this is that you do not want to have it exposed to the outside world if you can help it. I will recite the spell first, to show you how it works. Once I've grown comfortable within the puppet, I will help you cross over to yours."

Ryan was suddenly inundated with hesitation. It was like he was about to be put under for the first time, he knew that it was probably safe, but the fear of the unknown caused his anxiety to rise. He worked through it the best he could, focusing on the Professor's words that he read from the black book. He couldn't understand any of it but could see the reaction as the magical array underneath the priest's corpse started to radiate a burgundy hue.

As the Professor continued to read from the book, the glow intensified. When it reached its brightest, he bit into his finger and drew a five-pointed star onto the center of his forehead. With a blinding flash, from both the magical array and the bloody star on his forehead, the spell was complete. Professor Kal's body went limp, but somehow remained seated. Ryan moved his focus onto the corpse that had started to spasm.

Priest Unilith, now Professor Kalcifer, shakily got to his feet. Moving his limbs slowly, he took a moment to grow accustomed to his temporary body. Turning around, he saw Ryan standing there with a look of wonder on his face; that is until he suddenly noticed something and quickly covered his eyes.

"Clothes! Please!" The boy shouted out.

"What? They've been nȧkėd the entire time. Why is it only bothering you now?" Professor Kal asked even as he moved over to where the priest's robe had been stored.

Once the Professor had adorned his priestly garb, he rejoined his student next to the paladin's corpse. "You just have no appreciation for the male form. I bet you would have a completely different reaction if it was a woman standing in front of you."

"Can we not talk about this right now." Ryan asked, already tired of the subject.

"Suit yourself." Professor Kal said, shrugging his shoulders. "Take a seat next to the circle. I'll recite the spell, and you just repeat after me. Do your best to match my annunciation, it relies heavily on it."

Ryan nodded his head in understanding. He let out a deep breath before indicating that he was ready to begin. Reading out of the book, Professor Kal slowed down his words so that the boy could follow along. Although he butchered several of the words, his magical array still took on the same burgundy glow as the Professor's did. At the moment that the circle shown the brightest, he bit hard into his finger. Ignoring the pain, he hurriedly completed the star on his forehead.

Ryan never saw the blinding flash as he did when the Professor completed the spell, his vision went completely blank as his soul was cut off from his body's senses. The next thing he remembered was being cold. So cold that for a moment he thought he was caught outside in the middle of winter, then he remembered what had happened. He opened his eyes to see the dirty ground and white chalk runes he had drawn earlier. He tried to move his body but found it to be extremely stiff, he started by slowly wiggling his fingers and toes, then working up from there.

Using the nearby table as support, Ryan pulled himself up and stood on wobbly legs. The perspective point of this body was surreal, he dwarfed Professor Kal by at least a foot. He looked down at his pale body, the chiseled muscles stood out in the white light given off by the magical flames lighting the room. Although dull, he could still feel the explosive power the paladin possessed in life. He flexed his muscles as a giddy smile spread across his face.

Inspecting his body closer, he finally noticed the large member dangling between his legs. Suddenly, the smile vanished from his face as a wave of inadequacy washed over him. During the operation, he had done his best not to look at the glands of either men, so he hadn't noticed the size of the paladin until now. Being a part of his own body, it was impossible to avoid noticing now, and it sent him into a depression.

"What's wrong?" Professor Kal asked as he brought over the Paladin's armor. "Is there something wrong with the body? Tell me now before we get going, I don't want to have issues later on."

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong with it." Ryan answered in a melancholic voice.

Ryan let out a dejected sigh. "Her name is Laura, Professor."

"Whatever." Professor Kal said as he plopped the armor on top of the table.. "Quit staring at it and get dressed, we have a few things to go over before we head off to the Church."