The Grand Weave

Thankfully nobody asked me anything about how I was doing or my talk with a god. The bath was a divine way to spend time, and I would have stayed in here all day if I didn't think Bera would get worried and check up on me. Zharia and Áine had decided to return to my soulspace for the night, so I was left alone for the moment. I wanted to process everything I learned and deal with it, but at the same time, I locked it inside a box in the furthest corner of my mind. I had no doubt that Brelten was ready to dissect my brain and ask me a few dozen questions, but I also doubted anyone would begrudge me if I stayed in my room all day.

Before I got out of the bath, I had a random desire lodge in my mind, and I summoned the enchanted candy pouch into my hand. It was such a silly little item that amounted to nothing extraordinary in terms of this world's wonders, but it made me happy to have it. I reached in and pulled out a box of gum, a large candy bar, and what looked like a candy ring. I unwrapped a stick of gum and popped it into my mouth. It tasted like spearmint with cooling crystals. It helped soothe the minor headache I was feeling, and I slipped lower into the bathwater. Surely, Bera wouldn't begrudge another thirty minutes.

Freshly cleaned and newly clothed, I made my way up the stairs. Several patrons sat at the bar and tables, but a muted silence was in the air. The people spoke in hushed whispers, and most seemed to keep their heads down as they ate. There was no way any of the villagers knew what happened, but the dour faces of all the adventurers in the room might have something to do with the sour mood.

Dyllan and Edithe were gone, but Matias was still nursing a drink in the corner. His eyes were distant, and his face remained apathetic. I felt bad for the elf, but I wasn't a psychiatrist. I was barely dealing with my own mental issues.

Bera gave me a worried look, and I returned it with a shrug. She pointedly looked at the stairwell where Brelten was leaning against the wall, his eyes staring a hole into my head. With a sigh, I walked over to the stairs and tried to head up, but as I stepped on the first wooden step, Brelten stood up.

"Cyrus. Do you have a minute?" Brelten asked hesitantly.

I reluctantly turned around and regarded the man. His presence was still being restrained somehow, making him look smaller than he really was.

"Let's talk in my room. I suppose it would be unfair of me to avoid you," I replied.

We made our way up the stairs, his footsteps strangely silent as he followed me up. Bera had kept my room reserved while I was in the rift. It wasn't much, but it did bring a sense of familiarity that I desperately needed. With the room not being all that large to begin with, I took the bed and waited for Brelten to find a comfortable place to sit on the floor.

"So, what do you need, Brelten? I already gave you my recollection of what happened. I apologize for torching Retas. My emotions are a little chaotic currently. I won't lie and say it didn't feel good, but I know it was a bit of an extreme overreaction on my part," I said.

He stared at me for a long moment before tapping the floor with his finger. A small blip of mana entered the wood, and the floor sucked it up. Within a dozen seconds, a chair had grown out from underneath the man, perfectly shaped to fit his body.

"Much better. No offense to you, but it felt weird having a conversation as heavy as this while looking up at you like a kid to his school teacher," he admitted. I snorted but remained silent. "I'll cut to the heart of it and ask you who that was. I know as a Reborn, you are forced to interact with the gods at least once. And the god responsible for your death is forced to give a gift of retribution. However, that does not mean a god descends with an avatar to speak with said Reborn."

"What do you mean descends with an avatar? Why do you think that?" I asked in confusion.

"I'd rather not stray off-topic, but I'll answer your question. As you should know, a god is an ascended immortal. This means their very presence could damage reality itself if they were to actually appear in a lower realm such as ours. Maybe a freshly made ascended god, one that is tier five, could potentially stay in this realm for a temporary amount of time. There is a reason why this world does not have anyone above tier four. The world rejects you if you try to damage it. The Grand Weave makes sure you are forced to ascend when you reach the lower realm's limits."

His words made sense. I kept reading about how Inoria was a lower realm, and Cal mentioned higher realms himself, but it never stuck with me as something so serious. Of course, it made sense that the Weave would make sure mortals were afforded at least some measure of safety from the higher tiers.

For some reason, though, I suspected Cal did not use an avatar. I don't know why, and I couldn't confirm with one hundred percent certainty, but for some reason, I doubted that Cal was not actually there. This, of course, leads to the fact that Cal would have to be a tier-five god. But the way he spoke and the general sense of authority I felt from the god made me think that was incorrect. Either way, I brushed that info aside and examined the guildmaster.

"You look much more stressed than last I saw you." The man had visible stress lines around his eyes, and he kept looking at me with a stoic face marred by brief flashes of worry.

"It's been a stressful few days. The others came out of the rift about four days ago. The portal exploded, and Dyllan appeared nearby. Torn up, with his intestines hanging out, bleeding with a massive hole in the middle of his chest, only with the help of Theodore and the others we managed to stabilize him enough that he didn't die on the spot. When you, Sam, and the rest of Talon didn't show up, I was worried you got sent far away. I had everyone do a far-ranging sweep through the Yidelwoods, but we couldn't find any trace of you guys. At that point, I was led to believe Arz'odral killed you and escaped the rift."

"I'm pretty sure I arrived at the dungeon about a day ago. Definitely wasn't three days ago. I'm going to assume I spent a longer amount of time in the void. That or time is just weird when you are outside of reality."

He looked at me with worry and a touch of guilt. "You shouldn't be alive, not really. Not at your tier. I'm glad that you are. Did the god I saw tell you anything about Sam?"

"Said she's alive. No clue where she is, no clue how well she is, but she's alive. And I'm most likely not going to see her for a long time. Not unless I somehow catapult my way up the tiers. I'm uh... I'm still making peace with that fact. For now, I'll have to hope and believe we'll both stay alive long enough to see each other again." My shoulders sagged, and I leaned back on the bed. A flare of anger and sadness wormed its way into my head, and I tamped it down. "I think it's best I don't think too hard on that. Not sure my emotions can handle it."

He hesitated, then sat up straight. "So who was that? I know most of the major pantheons in Inoria, but I don't recognize him. And if you're willing, what's their relation to you?"

I smirked at the idea of telling him I was a god's son, but I felt it was best to be precise rather than joke around. "When I was being reborn, Calstrax, the god you saw, proposed a deal. He took over paying the gift of retribution from a goddess named Zuldraea. And as a side bonus, he made me his scion. I took after his form and became a Felkin with the healing skill stone he gave me morphing into my first summon, Verdant Healer."

I flashed him my status sheet, making sure to include the new perk and skills I gained. His eyes widened, but he mastered himself and continued to regard me with a controlled face.

"I'm glad to see you gained some things from your time in the rift. Congratulations, even if they did come at a cost. I do have to ask, do you know how serious that perk is?"

"The Child of Mana perk? It's pretty impressive, I suppose. I'm not entirely sure since I had a large mana pool, to begin with," I said cheekily.

"Don't be a smartass. And yes, that perk is impressive. I only know of it from some records in the kingdom's library, but it's pretty powerful. A large increase to your mana pool, a higher efficiency in both mana usage and regeneration, along with a faster channeling speed. But ignoring that, I meant the Scion of Calstrax perk. Do you know how serious that perk is?" Something about his tone made me pay more attention to how serious he was.

"I don't think I do, not entirely. I don't think Cal wants me to think of it as something so serious. So far, he treats me more like an adoptive son than anything else."

Brelten's eyes twitched the shortening of Cal's name, and he whispered something under his breath about gods and curses. "I'll gloss over the whole calling a god by a nickname thing and move on. From what I understand from my lessons on divinity, gods have different boons or perks they can bestow. At the base level, a follower of a god might find a champion, or certain high-level priests help them or answer their prayers. An example being a farmer praying to Akemiss, a god of agriculture and fertility, for a good harvest. Said god might send someone to repair the soil or use their skill to grant rainfall for dry land. That's a common interaction one might find themselves having with a god."

"The concept of a god interacting with their followers feels strange to me. On Earth, there were plenty of religions with vastly varying beliefs, but from what I can tell, no actual god or goddess or divine being existed. "

"Not surprising since your world was outside of the Weave's influence. For me, it's common knowledge from the day you start learning lessons in the church. Respect the beings far above our existence, at least, until your strong enough to join their ranks. Your wishes may not always be granted, and your prayers may go unheard, but generally speaking, a god tends to their flock."

"So if a follower like a farmer is at the bottom, what are the other ranks?"

He paused then a decent-sized leather-bound book appeared in his hand. He tossed it onto the bed. "Read that when you have time. It gives some basic info, names, and descriptions of the major gods and pantheons."

"Thanks."

"No problem. And to answer your question. Next in the hierarchy would be anyone with a minor perk bestowed by the god. Usually, priests are granted one, which can be greater or lesser depending on their rank. Sometimes adventurers can earn a god's boon by blessing if they do certain helpful tasks or are devoted to a specific god. After that, there are champions. Champions are someone a god has invested heavily in of their power to uplift. It ranges from providing skill stones, granting them a special perk, and even having the rest of their followers help them. Most champions tend to be paladins, but that is not always true."

"And what about scions? Where do I fit in?"

"A scion is... hmmm. I would place them higher than a champion. In technical terms, it would be akin to a prince or princess. They are certain royalty of the divine that commands loyalty and respect from the god's followers. Many champions have found themselves the trusted bodyguard of a scion. In a way, the relationship Calstrax has with you so far is appropriate in terms of him being an adoptive parent. Though usually, it is more aligned with an honoured elder or patriarch. I hope that explains it properly to you. I highly recommend you read the book and visit a church when you have the time. A priest would be happy to answer any questions you have. They have a special interest in most Reborns."

Brelten stood up, and with a tap of his foot, the chair sank back into the ground in a weird display of wood shrinking inside itself. When whatever he did was done, the floor looked unblemished and as clean as it did before we entered the room. He walked to the door and pulled it open but stopped below the doorframe.

"I'll leave you be for now. I really should have waited to talk to you about all this tomorrow, but I had to find out if a god was starting to take special interest in the village. It seems we will need to build a church far sooner than we planned. For now, I'll leave you to rest. Please come to the guildhall and ask Talis to meet me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Brelten. I'll probably see you tomorrow then."

He paused again and seemed to hesitate before he shook his head and walked out the door. Before walking away, he glanced over and gave me a sympathetic smile. "I'm glad you’re safe, Cyrus. Take care of yourself. Don't do anything stupid."

And with those final words, he walked off and left me alone in a silent room. It was still daylight, as it was barely noon, but I decided the day had been tiring enough that I just wanted to take a long nap. With that, I closed the door and flopped myself onto the bed. The nightmares didn't take long to start terrorizing my mind.