Eldritch Exorcist

Ophelia was stunned. Was it wishing them death?

She looked around, uneasy and confused, especially with Sam, who, as far as she knew, would probably pick a fight.

But to her surprise, he just smiled broadly and answered, "I hope you rot and give life to the trees."

Ophelia then looked at Q'Shar, who looked unamused by the whole thing.

He just nodded and said, sighing, "I wish you to rot and nourish the forests."

The creature seemed to smile wider at those words as if someone had just paid it a compliment.

"Oh, and meet your new student," Sam said before Ophelia could gather herself, and he pointed at her.

The mushroom turned to her and tilted its head slightly.

"Yooour grave shall grow many trees," the thing said to her.

Ophelia stood there, stunned, not sure what to do. She looked to her teacher, but he just gazed at her with amusement in his eyes. She sometimes wished she could slap the idiot, especially in moments like those.

"I—I... Um... You will be a great fertilizer for the earth and forests? Erm, when you die," she finished awkwardly.

"Thaaank you for the kind words," it answered, widening its smile. "My name is Myhur'bar. You can call me Myhur as all friends do."

He then extended his hand, which Ophelia took in her own.

It was soft and springy, with the moss feeling slightly damp on her skin, but it was also surprisingly resilient.

Myhur wobbled his way to the sofa. They had to move the table slightly so he could fit in there. Ophelia took her seat next to Sam. As the massive mushroom man was getting seated, she leaned towards her teacher.

"Was that a greeting?"

"Yes. Mycanoids believe in a nature god of decay and new life, and that's the greeting in their culture. You want to point out how much the decay of their body will help the new growth."

"You could have told me," she hissed.

"Where's the fun in that?"

The sensation of wanting to slap him was back in full force, but after barely pushing it down, Ophelia just went back to her beer, looking at the strange creature.

Aside from the looks, even the way it spoke was unusual. It would take a large breath and stretch the first word until it got the tone it wanted, before speaking further. Its mouth seemed made for human speech as the pronunciation was correct, so maybe it was the diaphragm? Or was Myhur simply skilled at speaking English? She wondered, looking towards the new arrival.

"So this is your martial arts teacher," Sam announced after the new guest took a seat behind the table. "He is a monk, so while he knows the basics of most weapons, your fighting styles will not be that similar. But I can guarantee there is no one better when it comes to understanding and controlling qi, and he is second best when it comes to battle instincts, right after me, of course."

"Of course," spat Q'Shar, rolling his eyes.

"III almost had you the last time we fought."

"Almost being the word here, my friend," Sam answered with a smile.

"Myyy flesh changed greatly since then. It could now nurse a small forest on my grave. The fight would have gone differently now."

"If you fought me from two years ago, then maybe... But I didn't drag you all the way here for a rematch. I would like you to instruct Ophelia in battle and qi control techniques. She's a Sacred Warlock with a hybrid fighting style."

"Nooourishing young flesh so that it may nourish the circle is an honor." The creature turned to her. "I shall teach you all there is to know. Hopefully, one day you will grow past your teachers, as Samuel could use a good beating."

Ophelia chuckled.

"I'll drink to that!" Q'Shar piped up happily, while Sam just rolled his eyes.

"Sooo, is there anything you wish to know?" the mycanoid asked her.

"I didn't know your people existed a second ago, so I'm not sure where to start."

Myhur tilted his head in interest.

"Suuurprising. Your greeting was a very good one. I can tell you a bit about my people if you wish to listen."

"Sure," Ophelia said and leaned on the table.

"Weee are not outsiders as many think, but demihumans, tracing our image to our god's avatar, the blessed Sporemother Thalyssa."

Ophelia saw Sam lean toward her and whisper, "The only avatar of a god who is still alive and on Earth."

That shook her. There was an avatar of a god on Earth. How was that possible without mana?

"Our Sporemother gave our people the blessing of Ghyllothar, turning our bodies into walking temples of the blessed cycle." Myhur continued. "We are born out of decay and into decay we turn as our bodies join the Ghyllothar, through Thalyssa. And so we gather as much life and memories, to give back as much as we gained. Each of us is distinct. Each of us is all the same." The mycanoid finished the sentence with something akin to a contemplative look, as much as Ophelia could tell by the moss's movement.

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"Were you around all this time, like since before the war?" she asked.

"Yeees. We are old. Almost as old as humanity. There are those who say Thalyssa remembers the time of the gods, before the planes were separated."

"So how is it that we never heard of you? I mean, we have tales and folklore about vampires, elves, mermaids, and so on. But I don't think there are many cultural references to your people. Not any that I can think of, at least."

As she said that, she turned to Sam with a questioning look.

He shrugged. "The only case I can think of is Mushroom Stones from Guatemala."

"Thooose stones are simply statues of my people, not mushrooms," grumbled Myhur. "But yes. Your people don't know much about mine. Elves, vampires, dwarves, and mermaids. All they need is a bit of makeup or a change of clothes. But for us? There is no mask to change this." He continued, pointing at himself. "So we stay out of the way. Keep out of your people's way as you expand and take land, even as you break the cycle and keep alive those who should nourish the ground. We stay hidden."

"That's a bit unfair, isn't it?"

"Theeere are many unfair things, but that is just part of the cycle. Our ways have always been strange to you. We even faced persecution in the past and had to run from our home in Europe. We only returned after the "see no evil, hear no evil" act. If not for that law, much of our culture might have been completely forgotten even by us."

"Yeah, and the war might have ended before the whole shit show," Q'Shar commented.

"So your people took part in the whole war thing?" Ophelia asked, curious.

But to her surprise, the mycanoid froze at that question before looking at Sam with something similar to anger.

"Waaar thing? You did not teach her the sin of the past? Does she not know our history?"

Sam visibly winced, looking as if he had forgotten about something rather important.

"Yeah, sorry about–" Sam started, but got cut off.

"Yooou sat in the inner sanctum of Thalyssa. You were given the honor of speaking with the great library of dreams. Of all the people, Sam, I would think you would be the one to understand the meaning of history."

Sam actually seemed apologetic for once, as he bowed his head slightly.

"It was my mistake. I wanted to explain it to her before our meeting, but I've been having some trouble… speaking. She should know her heritage, I agree." He spoke in a serious voice. "You are much more a student of history than I am. Why not tell her at least part of it?"

The mycanoid took in a lot of air and sighed, which sounded slightly like a massive horn being blown. But after the proposition to teach her about the war, Myhur's mood seemed to improve immediately. She would even go so far as to say he was excited.

"Dooo you know at least how it all started, about the common sabbath where we uphold the ancient laws?"

Ophelia shook her head, to which Myhur once again shot Sam a glare.

"Iiit was over two thousand years ago when the war started. You need to understand, back in the day, the world was different. We built wizards' towers that scraped the sky and temples that defied the laws of physics. The population of mages was never large. Around one in a thousand had the talent for magic, but those present could perform true miracles."

Even though he spoke of things that were far, far in the past, the melancholy in Myhur's voice strengthened, as if he were reliving a memory dearly missed rather than distant history.

"Back then, everyone knew about the existence of the arcane. Mages and ordinary people coexisted. I'm not going to lie to you and say that it was some peaceful paradise. The world of magic was always one that respected power, and mortals lacked it, so the interactions weren't that… pleasant."

"You can still see it in our language," Sam interrupted. "'Mortals' and 'Mortal world' as if we were different, somehow beyond death. Not mortal ourselves."

"Yeees. The normal world was often viewed as inferior."

The mycanoid now tilted a bit forward and took a huge breath, to the point his chest moved the table.

"Nooow to understand the war, you need to understand the difference between ancient and modern religions. You know the difference between warlocks and clerics, right?" he asked, to which Ophelia nodded her head. "Good. There was a similar difference between religions. The way of looking at faith and its place in the world changed over time, distinguishing two main paths. The ancient and the modern."

Myhur shifted in place once his chest wasn't pressing onto the table, before continuing.

"Gods of old were much more human in both conduct and personality, as well as in how they interacted with their faithful. Those religions rarely codified concrete laws and rules. Instead, they represented the wants and needs of their gods or pantheons through myth and legend. Some more convoluted, like Odin's visit to the court of Geirroth and the importance of hospitality to the one-eyed god. Others, more obvious, like the confessions in The 42 Ideals of Ma'at of ancient Egypt. The gods of those faiths met their believers often and eagerly, granting their gifts in person. Well, as much in person as god can. That's how they would teach the rites and rituals of the divine."

Myhur looked towards the cat as he spoke of Egypt, as the feline nodded slightly.

"In turn, those religions stood strong with warlocks or sometimes even sorcerers and heroes tracing their lineage to an actual god. They were much less organized and smaller compared to modern ones. But they were closer to their faithful and much more… human in a way, whether it was for better or worse."

Myhur gave Ophelia some time to parse the information before continuing.

"Nooow, modern religion was more concerned with the rules and regulations. They built many churches, managed by numerous priests and paladins. Their gods were also different, distant, and mysterious. Prayers and Holy Mass replaced the offerings and rituals. What followed were massive organizations where power could be gained through not only faith but also climbing the ranks, with no need for direct contact with the god. Some praised their power, while others said their faith was buried under rules and bureaucracy."

"You see. Politics is the source of all evil," Sam commented, which earned him a claw to the thigh from Q'Shar.

Ophelia ignored their shenanigans and focused on Myhur.

The mycanoid tilted forward and locked his strange eyes with Ophelia's. "Aaat that time, among the ancient and modern faiths, two were the most prominent. Standing strong with warlocks and the old way of being was Satanism. Although technically monotheistic, the church was known for its many demons. Among the modern faiths, Christianity. With their organizational power and many missionaries, they spread far and wide, growing in strength."

Ophelia looked at Myhur with confusion. "Christianity before the birth of Jesus? Wait, was Jesus even real?"

"Yeees. I did not misspeak. It is a matter of nomenclature. As it is with massive organizations, there were many interpretations and views of the same god. The one with the most prominence in the arcane world at the time would later become the foundation of what the mortals know as Christianity, with its base in today's Vatican. Calling it that makes it easier."

"And Jesus?" Ophelia still looked on with disbelief.

"Muuuch later. Let me continue."

Ophelia sat back down after realizing she was partially standing over the table.

"Aaand, so they were two sides of the same religious coin. And Satanism and Christianity? They did not like one another. Not one bit."