"You should think of your ego right now as a seed." Morah continued to throw him fruit, which continued to disintegrate in his hands. "Depending on what is locked inside, it will need a certain amount of nutrients before it shows its any true form."
Dorin felt a drop of saliva drip on his naked upper body as his ego was eating more than he could in a whole day. 'Just one. Please.'
"I recommend that you keep your ego out for as long as possible, or you might not be able to bring it out in time when we need it."
As they decimated the forest of all of it's visible bounty, Dorin imagined his life back home. They had a lake close by to the slum, and despite the bad smell there was more than enough fish and crustaceans for their small community to survive off of.
"Can you feel any changes?" Morah hesitated as she was about to throw the last fruit in sight. "It should have jumped a stage by now."
Dorin tossed the die in the air, fiddling with it in his hands. "Nothing. Can I eat now?"
"That's the whole point of this, as of now your ego can only become what it consumes." Morah frowned before standing up. "It's almost dusk, we need to try something different or we won't stand a chance."
Dorin watched as she tore branches off a dead tree beside them. Morah banged them against the stump she had been sitting on until one broke apart in a way that left a sharpened point. She wandered into the brush with the last fruit on the tip of her spear, leaving him alone.
'Maybe she won't come back.' Dorin didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing.
After a few minutes, Dorin heard a quiet whistle followed by a thud. He was curious, but the thought of moving right now would be fighting against his body's need to rest. At least that's what he told himself.
After another thud, Morah came back with two small birds in her hand. "We need to get a fire going before night overtakes us. Collect as many small pieces of dry wood as you can."
"Can't you-" Morah looked at Dorin as though she would end his suffering for good. "Never mind."
Dorin's body creaked as the cold seeped into his bones. He thought that manual labor would warm him up, but it would only go so far with his drenched pants. It seemed as though there was no end to their wetness, as no matter how many times he wringed them out there was always more liquid.
"Put the wood on the pile, and take my spear." Morah gestured to a nest of leaves and small sticks. In front of her were thin carvings she had made from dead branches, which were curling into each other.
Dorin took her makeshift spear and noticed the blood on its tip. He had killed animals before, but compared to fishing, this felt much different.
"I didn't want to do this, but you need to absorb your ego if this is going to work."
"What will that do?"
"It'll give you the strength to do what I can't." Morah curled her lip in disgust, "It is what we must do to survive, even if you will use up most of what it was fed. If you want to eat, this is the only way."
'That's all you had to say.' Dorin grinned, it felt good knowing that he could do something she couldn't for once.
As he willed his ego to return to his body, he felt a revulsion from deep inside. Despite the worrying feeling, it was much easier absorbing it than it was to summon it.
Dorin immediately felt a surge of energy, much more so than after the trial. It felt as though his body was changing with each beat of his heart.
"Quickly, before it fades." Morah pointed to the nest of kindling. "Put the spear tip on a solid piece in the center of the nest and rub your hands together until you feel them burning. It'll hurt like nothing you've ever felt but I've done it before. Keep going until I tell you to stop."
Stabbing the spear into a branch, Dorin started to spin it back and forwards with his hands. He felt the burning she talked about. It took a few seconds before the branch began to smoke, and Morah blew it gently as he continued. He felt his skin tear but his hunger kept him going.
"Stop. That's enough." Morah pressed the timber and kindling together gently, blowing on it with progressively more air. Eventually a flame could be seen, and Dorin sat down wheezing. His hands were pulsing and the pain lasted for a while before dissipating. He looked down and besides the all the dirt from the wood, they were fully healed.
"Look at that." Morah stood up as the fire roared in front of them.