THE VOICE OF THE GODDESS

  Eunice begins the conversation once they are all seated in a private study. “We have several objectives to cover. Let’s look over your status sheets again. I would like to confirm your statuses before reviewing the findings of the church archivist. I need to be aware of all your concerns. In addition, I want to answer any question you may have about anything. We need open and honest communication between us. Please approach me anytime, day or night, for help. You can contact me anytime in the future.”

  “Okay, I have a question. Why are none of you acting like the people in high powerful positions should? You are all informal and don’t seem to take much very serious.” Tanner asks.

  Eunice gives him a small smile. “It’s understandable if this is confusing to you. You’re kind of observing from the outside. You have stepped into our bubble, but are not yet of it. Let me explain.” Eunice thinks for a moment. “Has anyone ever given you the responsibility of being in charge?”

  “Yes, as a Big, I had to care for the Littles sometimes.”

  “Bigs and Littles?”

  “There was a line on the wall at the orphanage when we could look at it, at eye level. We became Bigs, the Bigs help take care of the Littles and help the Matron.”

  “Well, that is interesting. You had duties and responsibilities as a Big?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” he replies. “First, I am not Ma’am. You will call me Eunice, okay?”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Tanner replies with an impish grin.

  Smiling at Tanner’s antics, she continues. “How did you feel when you were in charge of the Littles? Did it bother you? Were you resentful? Did you resent them? Let’s examine what you felt at those times.”

  “I didn’t resent them, or even having to watch over them. They frustrated me sometimes. I worried about them a lot. Sometimes even when I didn’t have to watch them.” He replies.

  “Did you feel tired in your mind and body on some days?” She asks him.

  Tanner, having paused in thought, nods his head. “I think I understand now. Instead of a few Littles, you have the entire empire to watch over. Laughter and quality time with family and friends helps eases the burden of responsibility?” He nods in understanding.

  “Correct. Penny said you were a smart one.” She smiles. “You may even have noticed how most of us have a formal way of talking? We talk this way because of frequent government meetings and formality is expected so it has become habit. It is hard to be taken serious when you talk like a commoner from way out in the woods.” She laughs.

  “Hey, my mind attribute went up.” Tanner exclaims.

  “Are you kidding me.” Claire says. “Again? Tanner, you are cheating somehow.”

  “No, Tanner is adapting to a new social and political environment from what he is used to. He is learning and figuring out new things. I would bet if you were to immerse yourself in his old lifestyle, you would increase your attributes like he is.” Eunice explains.

  Claire smiles, “Oh, my mind attribute just went up. How many points did yours go up Tanner?”

  “Three points why?”

  “ugh such a cheat. Two.”

  “Attempting to understand others’ motivations and thought processes is a great way to train some attributes. It may even lead to some ‘Hidden’ revelations.” She winks at them. “Let me look over your Status Sheets.” She asks them. Tanner and Claire share them with Eunice. Eunice frowns in consideration as she reads them.

  “Tanner, your starting attributes are what I remember. You have above average attributes. Your Talent is very synergistic with your Affinity, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, we have little understanding of Arcane. The information the Church has uncovered raises almost as many questions as it answers, I am afraid. First off, Arcane is one of the Origin Essences.” Looking at Claire, Eunice tells her. “Primal is also one of the Origin Essences. This information will mean little to the two of you. So let me put this into perspective. Let us use Rhys as an example. His Gate is Mind, his Affinity is Healing. This is a basic affinity. Rhys has worked harder than anyone I know and has become one of the best healers in the empire. Now his Healing Affinity is part of a greater aspect, or what we call a Sub-prime. A Sub-Prime comprises at least two Basic units. Multiple Sub-Primes comprise a Prime Aspect. This is not a hard fast law, some Affinities are very different. There are a few aspects that possess healing properties, such as the Prime Affinities Nature and Divine. Without a doubt, there are additional ones. Are you both still following me? Both of her new students nod their heads in agreement. The Voice smiles at them. “Good. Ask questions if you have any. We have discovered evidence of an Essence that surpasses Prime, called Origin Essences. We found the two of you have Origin Essences. Unfortunately, we do not know what either of your affinities will cover.” Sitting back on her couch, Eunice waits for the duo to process what she has told them.

  Claire, looking thoughtful, asks, “What will our skills look like? What will we be able to do?”

  “Right now we do not know enough about your Affinities to give solid answers. We can give some educated guesses. Primal may involve the harsher aspects of nature. It may have Nature as one of its components.”

  “Using the words Arcane and Primal church archivists have discovered information on Origin Essences. Once they found that information, they further discovered more about Origin Essences. There are six. They surround the worlds and somehow all other Essences come from them. We believe you both will have the ability to remove or negate effects. We also think you both will have very damaging spell effects. I must emphasize our limited knowledge to provide further guidance. One thing we verified is that Roger the First, who was also known as ‘Roger the Terrible’ the man that became the first Emperor, was the last recorded Primal Mage, over two thousand years ago.”

  “Father mentioned that last night. Maybe the family accounts will give me a place to start.”

  “That was my first thought as well. I know your father had all the accounts of Roger pulled for when we get back to the Imperial Capital. He was having them placed in your library. I still have people looking into your affinities. We may find more information. One interesting thing we confirmed was that Mind, Body, and Soul Gates all use the same Essences. Just in differing ways, the two of you have filled a gap in our knowledge. Most of the present Essence theory has been speculation, with little evidence other than observation. Confirmation is wonderful. Some may not be happy, this does not align with their pet theories. Now, as the two of you level and tier up, things will progress on their own. While it is considered best to have as much knowledge as you can. Most find using their affinities pretty instinctive. Mage’s first combat spells are a bolt of some kind in Claire’s case, a Primal Bolt, maybe? I’m unsure of its appearance or function. For you, Tanner, an Arcane Bolt? Again, I’m unsure of its appearance or function. You may just develop a regular old Mana Bolt spell. Now most bolts at COMMON do around 1-4 damage and doubling for each rank up, UNCOMMON 2-8, since you are both EPIC Ranked, it will hit for 4-16 damage points. It’s all speculation until you get the spell. We have run across the mention of Arcane Mages, Arcane Knights, and even Arcane Archers. Arcane seems to be very versatile. With Arcane and Mana linked, it may lead to you becoming the king of the mages.” She laughs at Tanner. ?“Claire, Primal has many of the same classes listed. You may develop in any direction you would like to. We will figure out how to get there. How the classes will look?” Eunice shrugs. “Anybody’s guess. I wish I had more to tell you both,” Eunice finishes with a sigh.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Thank you. It’s much more than we had before we sat down.” Tanner says to her.

  “We will continue investigating this more. The discovery that there are Essences above Prime is exciting. Add that we now have two Origin Essence users. I worry about both of you. I have decreed a protective order on the two of you. Deacons, priests, clerics, and paladins will watch for you both. You can approach any of them if needed. Since I have an Arcane Essence user that is well on his way to becoming a friend, and a Primal Essence user, that is a friend, much more needs to be investigated. The Church has better historical records than the Academics Guild. It is just a matter of finding the information. It will still not be complete. Unfortunately, we are still attempting to regain knowledge lost during the Chaos Years. The Imperial research teams will also be involved, I’m certain. Hopefully, between all of us, we can have a starting path for you. You will be experimenting on your own, for the most part. You both will only experiment at the imperial family’s private training field in the palace or my private training grounds at the temple. Understood?” Eunice stops and looks them both in the eye. “I want you both to start a daily journal about your Affinities. Write everything you remember from the ceremonies and your daily training. Include everything that you discover, any theories, and even speculations. Categorize and distinguish between facts and unproven information. This could wind up becoming a guide for those that follow in your path. Approach any of us for advice or to discuss ideas. We all agreed to set aside time for you two, even just to talk. The only advice I have right now is to try to sense the surrounding Essences, since you both have manipulation talents. We will begin training now.”

  Eunice holds out her hands. “Here, take my hands. I am going to channel some Mana through us. You should be able to feel it move from my hands into your hands, up your arms and into your body. It will flow throughout your body and down your other arms and meet in your hands. You’ll feel it pass and mix, then it will pass back to me. This may show what you need to search for. Although raw Mana won’t match your Essences, it will lead you forward. This will be arduous work. Once you feel Mana, something around it will call you. You will learn meditation. We will work on all of your stats together for the next few weeks until school starts. Penny will work on your Body Stats, Rhys on your Mind Stats, I will work with you on Soul Stats. They are not showing yet, but getting in some basic training on them will only help you down your path. The three of us will train you. We will train attributes, and a few other things we wish we had back in the days we were starting out.”

  Tanner clears his throat. “I like you are taking time to help us, but aren’t you busy?”

  “That is true. I have numerous duties and responsibilities. My friend’s well-being is one of them. Since I am the Head of the Church, I guide its direction. I also oversee the people running the day-to-day operations. So yes, I am very busy. I am also still a member of the Clergy. Our primary responsibility is to teach, guide, and care for the wellbeing of all the Goddess’s children.”

  “How did you know we might need help today? Did Aunt Penny message you?” Claire asks.

  “Now that’s an easy one. I hear voices. They told me to come here.” Eunice states with a small smile. Tanner and Claire give her blank looks. “Why does no one find that funny?” She asks the sky. She looks back at the two. “My title?” She pauses. “How can I know what the Goddess wants me to say, if I can’t hear Her?”

  Tanner and Claire look at her. Then at each other in stunned silence. Then giggle, Claire laughs. “Now I understand. That is kind of funny.”

  Tanner gets another stunned look on his face. “The Goddess told you to come and talk to us?”

  Claire stops laughing and looks at Eunice. “What?” She half shouts.

  “You are both slow on the uptake. Maybe those high starting mind attributes are errors. Eunice teases. Both of you have caught the pantheon’s interest. There is no sense worrying about it. They will inform us when it is convenient for them. Now take my hands, please.”

  Even with Eunice’s light-hearted tease, Tanner can not help but sense an underlying unease and an odd concern on her face.

  Claire and Tanner reach out and take Eunice’s hands. “I will cycle Mana around for a few minutes. Ready? I am starting now. I am going to channel some Mana through us. You should be able to feel it move from my hands into your hands, up your arms and into your body. It will flow throughout your body and back into me. This will give you an idea of what you need to look for.” After a slight pause, Eunice asks. “What do you feel?”

  “I feel a slight pressure flowing through me, almost like a water current, like I am sitting in a stream or a river. Only it is flowing inside of me,” Tanner tells her.

  “Good, water flow makes an excellent analogy. How about you Claire?”

  “That sounds right.”

  “Concentrate on that feeling. Now try to expand your senses out around you. I want you to take a deep breath and relax. It may take you several tries. Stay strong. Learning speed differs among individuals. Some grasp it quickly, while others require months. Just focus on the feeling. You both need to relax and keep trying.”

  Tanner says, “I’m feeling something else along with the current flow. Like a temperature change in the water while swimming.”

  “That temperature flux is likely Arcane energy. Now concentrate, think about it. What does it feel like warm or cool? You need to keep trying to reach out around you for that feeling,”

  Clair speaks up. “I feel a warm comfort, like walking from shade to bright sunlight or being chilled and walking into a warm room.”

  “That could very well be Primal Essence. You are both doing fantastic. With your Epic rankings, you both may find this more intuitive. Stay relaxed and just try to reach out for those sensations.”

  Eunice continues to encourage her students while cycling Mana through them.

  “Eunice, can you stop channeling Mana to me?” After Eunice stops, Tanner smiles, “can I let go of both your hands, please? I want to step back a little.” Tanner steps back, his smile gets wider. “I can just feel it on my skin. It is like being in a slight breeze that you can almost feel. The energy is brushing all over my skin. It is like cool spots moving all around. This is amazing.”

  "I can sort of sense what he is talking about. I can not tell whether it’s real or imagined.”

  Eunice takes her other hand. “Then let us try something else.” She tells her. “I am going to pass Mana into your left hand and direct it through your body. I need you to follow the flow and tell me where it is. Okay?”

  “Yes, I think I can do that,”

  An hour later, Eunice speaks up and ends the training session. “Okay, you two, I want you to practice this every day, an hour, minimum. The longer time spent trying, the sooner you will progress. Once you can consistently sense it. You may start trying to sense while doing sitting activities, like reading, or eating or other activities, then work your way to feeling it while doing physical activities. Once you get to where you can feel it every waking moment, you have learned the basics. Then the real training will begin. This path is difficult, nor is it quick. I lack talent in this, but learned the hard way. I worked for months to achieve what you both did in a few hours. I want you to continue trying to feel the Essence, feel for the other sensations you were feeling. At some point, it may be weeks or months. You will feel it all the time. I will see you both in the center courtyard before breakfast tomorrow morning at sunrise. We will begin with questions about everything, as we did today. Then, by practicing meditation, you will learn this skill. Then various exercises. It will be a tremendous help to you going forward. We will meet every day until you both start school. Questions?”

  “No Ma’am.” They chorus.

  “Good, see you both tomorrow, and you will not call me ma’am, got it? Penny is in the central courtyard. She will take over from here.”

  The two leave the room. Claire whispers to Tanner. “What is she going to take over?”

  “I think they are going to train us,” Tanner whispers back.