Chapter 161: Stranger danger is real. Unless they have gold. No, wait. Especially if they have gold.

Hi guys!

I wasn't too impressed with the first three chapters of my last book, so I wanted to improve by making the first three chapters of this book impactful.

I've loved what I've written! (sorry if that seems cocky haha, I just like improving)

Enjoy!

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A calm had fallen onto the room, blanketing any panic that had formed. I’d called the guards to take the rock, but they’d already been aware of it.

On it was the symbol of Artus, the divine.

Fue, Artus, Mehta, Vita, Ength, Inné, and Crijik.

Those were the names of the divines, and the days of the week.

This was done on purpose. Each divine’s position in the week was connected to their religious origins.

Fue was at the beginning of the week. This was because she was the representation of beginnings. The world, the universe and everything in between was created by her.

Back on earth I called it Sunday.

After her came Artus. Otherwise known as Monday. Just like back on earth, everybody hates Mondays.

Artus was what people would call the devil if the concept existed here. I used to believe that his position in the week was because society hated him.

Partially, that was true. But the religious context was different.

First there was the beginning, Fue, and it was followed by chaos. Artus represented this chaos. His day came after the beginning.

That was also why Mehta and Vita followed the two.

Mehta represented nature, and the natural world. All things that had been in the universe far before life.

Vita was the representation of life, coming only after Mehta. Life could only form in nature, not chaos. The two divines often came hand-in-hand, because followers of Mehta believe that life is an inseparable part of nature.

Well, that was what the churches said.

Truthfully, there was a lot more I had to explore about each individual religion and their divines. If I was going to be the head of one of them, I would need intricate knowledge of how they worked and what they believed in.

For now, all that was left was to deal with Roxxy, and wait for news on Gerial.

I was staring at the ceiling, half my back pushing against the left side of the bed as I reclined into the mattress.

I'd shifted to the floor to meditate, and I took deep breaths as I relaxed.

The sound of rain entered my ears as Gold paced on the floor of the room. I'd explained the situation to him, and he’d become stressed. Gerial was his friend too.

There was a shuffling of movement beside me.

Blonde strands of hair fell across the sheets and a pair of bright blue eyes looked at the ceiling. Roxxy was lying on the mattress, her legs hanging off the side. She swung them back and forth lazily to the rhythm of Gold’s footsteps.

“Gerial looked different.” Her voice broke through the silence. “He was shorter. And he had purple eyes. Also, he looked different in general.”

Roxxy paused. Both of us knew what she knew. What I didn't know was how she would process it.

"Now we’re in a church. The church of the Crijik.” She voiced all of her thoughts. “And you have golden mana.”

Her words reached my ears, and I closed my eyes.

"I do have golden mana.” I confirmed.

There was no going back now.

"You do.” Roxxy lifted her head and looked at me.

She scanned me from head to toe. Then she lay back down, turning her eyes to the ceiling.

She raised her palm and there was a shift in the mana around me.

Drops of water gathered from within her robe and from the surroundings. They came together and a ball of crystal-clear water danced in her palm. It shimmered through the air and separated into a cloud that embraced her.

I could feel her communicating with the mana, taking comfort in its embrace. I did the same when I was stressed.

"Who died?” She asked.

Died?

"Nobody died." I frowned. "I mean, I hope not. Gerial’s got the best healers in the world at his disposal.”

Physically, I had confidence that Gerial would get through this. I had to. The alternative wasn't something I wanted to consider.

Mental trauma was another thing completely. Trauma didn't go away easily, and never completely. I knew that personally.

"That's not what I meant.” A small quiver entered Roxxy’s voice. “Which Marked one died? It's not Crijik’s. Or Fue’s. Mehta’s or Ength’s seem the most likely because I haven't heard anything about them lately.”

Oh.

I knew what she was talking about.

She thought I was one of the original seven Marked ones.

Crijik, Fue, Artus, Mehta, Vita, Ength, Inné.

Each of the divines had a single Marked one. Their duties were subject to debate. Some believe the Marked ones to be living gods. Others believed them to be vessels.

“None of those.” I shook my head.

The movement was awkward as my hair brushed against the sheet behind my head.

I pushed my hands against the floor and lifted myself up onto the edge of the bed. Roxxy followed my movements and frowned.

"You're not a Marked one?” Roxxy raised an eyebrow at me. “Did you get divine powers by eating one of their kidneys?”

I stared at her.

People really did need warnings about not eating or cooking Marked ones.

"That's not it at all." I cut down her superstitions. “I’m a Marked one of the Crijik.”

The ball of water splashed against the side of my head. I stared at Roxxy, streams of water trickling down my forehead harmlessly.

She giggled.

“The surprise on your face makes this all a lot easier to take in.” She waved her hand and the water retreated off my head and back into the ball. “Sorry about that. It was instinct.”

"Don't worry, at least you didn't hit me with a book." I smiled.

"What?" She shot me a confused look.

Roxxy pushed her hands against the bed and sat herself up beside me. Her face had regained the colour it lost during the chaos, and I could see a familiar playful smile on her lips.

"I still have a lot of questions." She poked my shoulder gently. "You're not just a bunch of tentacles underneath your clothes, are you?”

Why does everyone always think that?

I shook my head, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fine, just one more question for now. Or else I won't be able to stop.” Roxxy’s smile disappeared. “When can you see Gerial?”

Her teasing expression was replaced with consolation. She was genuinely worried about Gerial, and she knew I was too.

Gold squawked at her words, drawing our attention.

He wanted to know as well.

“Hopefully soon.” I knew as much as she did. "And you're free to ask more questions, I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't willing to share."

Roxxy drew her legs onto the bed, pressing her knees up to her chest and perching her chin on them.

"Okay." She pursed her lips. “Let me think of some stuff first. Something fun. And distracting.”

I could see her mind racing.

"If I rub your head, do I get a wish?" Her eyes sparkled. “Or do you have to be bald?”

“You've got to be kidding me.” I shook my head.

It didn't stop her trying to get her wish.

“Then, can you summon—”

All of her questions followed the same kind of logic. Unlike Amanda, all of Roxxy’s knowledge came from rumours and superstitions that her friends and family had told her over the years.

Most of it brought a smile to my face.

A lot of it involved the things that Gerial was always joking about. Bone magic. Marked one soup. And other unspeakable recipes. I hadn't realised how prevalent these rumours were.

Roxxy tried to keep things lighthearted, her mood quickly brightening up the room. Soon, I could hear the sounds of people moving outside.

Something was happening.

“Who else knows?” Roxxy’s attention was only half on me. "I mean, in our group.”

Most of her attention was on the door.

"Well, Gerial knows. And Gold.” Gold chirped in response. “William found out next. Then Amanda and Agni.”

Actually, I wasn't sure if Agni already knew before Amanda. The phoenix hadn't been too surprised when I’d confirmed it to Amanda in her study.

Roxxy stared at me.

"That's everybody!” She raised her hands in exasperation. “I kind of get Amanda, she's your best friend, but William too? No, wait. That makes sense.”

She pinched her cheeks as she took in the news.

"Dang it. Please tell me they found out yesterday?" She was only half joking.

"Only if by yesterday you mean well over two years ago.” I chuckled. “But Amanda only found out a bit over two months ago.”

Roxxy groaned.

“I hate being the last to find something out.” She kicked her legs out and leaned back onto the bed.

She reached out to the headboard, stealing a pillow and looking at it.

Then she hit me with it.

I blinked in surprise as it bounced off my shoulder harmlessly.

“Why are you learning how to attune to water with me? It's not some kind of joke, is it?” Roxxy pulled the pillow back.

"No, it wasn’t a joke. You're a genuinely good teacher.” I spoke.

A slight blush crossed her cheeks and she smiled, bringing the pillow over her head to hide it.

“Don't you have church people that can help you? Resources and stuff?” Her voice came out slightly muffled.

“That’s the fun part. I don't have access to them.” I shrugged. “They need to do a lot first before they can help me. It's a whole thing.”

I didn't want to get into too many details about the church and why they were doing this, or how the verification worked. Technically, they couldn't stop me from telling people.

My Mark gave me free reign to do anything, consequences be damned.

I didn't want to do that.

Going against the church would be a problem in itself. Everything was easier when I worked with them, even if it took a bit more time.

"Clearly I'm going to have to make your water attunement training even harsher—”

A knock at the door interrupted Roxxy, and we both shot up from the bed.

Gold hopped across the floor, and I scooped him up, placing him on my shoulder.

"Come in!” I shouted.

My heartbeat quickened as the door opened to reveal my head guard. He had a solemn expression on his face that birthed a ripple of worry inside me.

He brought out a piece of paper.

“Miss Swift’s estate has been cleared. No danger is present, nor did we find anything abnormal.” He flipped the page. “As a thank you for helping save the life of master Gerial, she has been given the gift of a fountain plant. The altered water in her cultivation room has also been replaced with water of comparable mana density.”

I nodded, but Roxxy went silent beside me. I wasn't sure what a fountain plant was, but she couldn't stop her lips from parting into a smile.

“What about Gerial?” I asked gently.

My guard turned to me, and I saw him glance at Roxxy warily. He didn't mind Gold being here, but she wasn’t part of the church.

"Master Gerial is currently available for visits. However, only permitted individuals are allowed through.” He cleared his throat. “This includes you, master Silver, but not miss Swift.”

That made sense to me.

If a Marked one had been hurt, then the last thing the church wanted was strangers getting near them. I knew Roxxy, but they didn't.

Any stranger was a potential enemy wanting to harm Gerial while he was weak.

"Tell him I wish him the best.” Roxxy gave me a pat on the shoulder. “I need to get home and process all of this. Maybe I'll make a list of things to ask, if that's okay with you.”

“Of course it is.” I nodded at her. "I'll let you know if anything important happens."

I turned towards my guard and noticed someone else coming into the room behind him.

It was bishop Kavenaugh.

I hadn't noticed it in the rush, but the man was younger than I'd expected for a bishop. Full auburn hair cascaded across his robes, and he had a kindly smile on his face.

"I have been given the honour of guiding you to master Gerial, if you will accept me.” He gave me a low bow.

"Of course." I accepted.

The area around my head guard rippled with purple mana, and he placed his hand on our shoulders.

One moment we were inside the room, and the next we were in a series of corridors, purple mana pooling over our shoes.

Roxxy was led back to her house by my guard, and bishop Kavenaugh led the way for me.

We weren't alone.

My six remaining guards had all returned to their usual positions. That bode well for Gerial, since I had sent two of them to get him to safety.

They wouldn't have returned to me if he was in danger.

This trip was longer. Purple and gold meshed together as we travelled across the corridors. Unlike the nexus, the world around me was stale and lifeless.

There was a light at the end of the corridor we were travelling through, and I saw several knights stationed in front of a door.

"He is through here.” The bishop stepped aside. “We cannot enter with you.”

I hesitated.

That meant I wouldn't have my guards around. I didn't know what was beyond this door, but it was unlikely that the bishop was leading me into a trap.

I reached out toward the door, and something tugged at my body.

The door was reacting to my divine mana.

The ornate edges glowed with brilliant gold light, and the passageway opened for me. Several of the knights made the symbol of prayer, holding their hands against their chests.

Bishop Kavenaugh had a look of shock.

"I see.” I kept a straight face.

This was a door that could only be opened by Marked ones. Even then, maybe it could only be opened by Marked ones of the Crijik.

Gold chirped on my shoulder.

He wanted to go inside the room as well.

"We’ll be going in there now.” I gave the bishop and my guards a smile. “Thank you for guiding me here.”

"It is my honour, master Silver.” The bishop didn't object to Gold’s presence.

I took a step through the door and the world turned dark around me. At first I thought it was a lack of light, but then with another step I could see clearly again.

It was some kind of security measure.

The darkness gave way to a bedroom. Or at least, I thought it was a bedroom.

There was a bed in the center of the room, but that wasn't its only feature. Across the walls and carved into the ceiling were symbol arrays that thrummed with power.

Each of them produced magic that clung onto the bed, forming a bubble that encased it.

Inside of the bubble was Gerial.

Gold let out a low squawk as we walked up to Gerial.

His eyes were closed, and his expression was peaceful as he lay on the bed. He bore none of the damage I had seen on it earlier today. But he wasn't unchanged by the encounter.

He was missing hair.

It wasn't a simple matter of going bald. There was a clear-cut line where a weapon had struck him in the head, the wound had healed but the hair remained broken.

The same pattern crossed his arms, patches of skin and hair mismatched in places where he had been hit. I was sure that it continued across his entire body. Each sign of a new wound sent a ripple of anger through my heart.

Each new one told me the tale of how injured he had been.

"Are you awake?" My whisper travelled through the bubble.

There was no response.

I gazed around the room for something to sit on. There was a single chair placed beside a desk. I walked over to it and paused as I saw the contents of the desk.

Some papers, a few etchings of symbols, and a single picture.

The picture was the one he had taken in Gesti Sky. All of our group was in it.

“Is this your room?” I turned toward Gerial.

I'd thought that this was a healing place of the church. Not Gerial's normal room.

Why had they brought him here?

I took the chair and dragged it over the carpet, placing it down next to the bubble. I didn't want to breach the healing perimeter just in case.

Gold investigated the edge of the bubble, examining every nook and cranny. Then he turned to me and shook his head.

It wasn't a shield.

"I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do here." I leaned back on the chair. "But I'm always glad to keep you company."

The puffer flapped his wings and looked at me. Then he let out a small chirp.

Clothes.

“Clothes?” I looked down at my garments. “Oh, the robes.”

Sometimes interpreting Gold’s words was confusing. Gold wanted me to tell Gerial about my day, and specifically about Roxxy.

His way of conveying that was reminding me that I was wearing the blue robes she’d lent me.

“Roxxy knows who I am now.” I started talking. “Geez, why does it feel like the only person that found out peacefully is you.”

I continued talking, laying out the conversation Roxxy and I had, and what I'd felt when he’d activated the convergence. I wasn't sure if he had the skill, or if it had activated automatically.

Gerial lay there, peaceful and silent.

I wasn't expecting an answer from him, but I did want to keep him company.

This felt like the best way.

Gold chimed in with his own sections of the story as we made our way through the day.

"I'm thinking I might get Amanda to help explain how she got used to it." I rubbed my neck. “But honestly, Roxxy seemed pretty cool with it. I don't think she's going to go tell the world. Speaking of Amanda, I’m hoping to do my next fire attunement practice soon. Hopefully—”

There was a cough from behind me.

"Nobody should be in here except for me.”

A feminine voice entered my ears.

"I’ve come to heal the Marked one of the Crijik.” The voice was soft and clear. “And I told them not to allow anyone else inside. So, who are you?”

My head shot up and I turned to where the voice was coming from. The door had opened while I was deep in thought, and I saw the darkness behind it shimmering with golden light.

A teenage girl in flowing white robes stood at the entrance.

The moment I saw her my concentration went into overdrive, a shiver running down my spine and a memory crossing my mind.

Falling, pain, dying.

There was a sharp pain in my ribs, my trauma re-opening because of the memory.

The trigger was obvious. It was her eyes.

Her beautiful golden eyes.