Chapter 478 – Temple of the Way

Fortunately, Ekkiba backed up Sophia and told Kestiben that he should wait, even without Sophia bringing up the potential Asuryan issue. Sophia’s guess was confirmed by Ekkiba: you could only have one Blessing, and Blessings were difficult to replace. Ekkiba also recommended waiting until Kestiben was older, because an early Blessing often shaped all of an Archon’s Spheres, and he was too young to be making that kind of permanent decision.

Sophia carefully didn’t point out that the magical training she was going to give him was likely to shape his Sphere, just like the training Chief Proven wanted to give was likely to. There was no reason to get into that argument when she agreed with the end result that waiting was better.

In any case, Blessing each other was a “romantic” thing for a couple to do, which was a good enough reason for Ekkiba. Kestiben was less than impressed, but Sophia was pretty sure that was because he wasn’t old enough to be interested in anyone yet.

It did make it easy to steer the conversation to asking how Sophia could Bless Dav. The answer was surprisingly simple: the transfer of something from the Blesser to the Blessed accompanied by the clear intent of what the Blessing would cover. For couples, a kiss was traditional, but there were a number of other options if that wasn’t possible. 

Sophia didn’t ask for details. She could guess enough that she didn’t need to know. A kiss would work fine.

What she did ask was different: whether or not the pulled threads in her Sphere would interfere. Ekkiba had a clear answer to that as well: as long as what Sophia wanted to grant wasn’t listed in her Status, it would be fine. If it was listed in her Status, she needed to repair her Sphere first. 

Ekkiba added that a Blessing that went to a non-Archon would bring several other things with it. The normal Blessing was Wings, which meant more than it said; wings alone weren’t enough for the ground-bound to fly, and a Blessed-Archon could fly once they learned how. Many never did, but it was possible. They would also hear the Lifeweb, though usually more weakly than a born-Archon, and other physical changes were possible if the Blesser and Blessed were sufficiently different.

Sophia expected Dav to hesitate over that, but he didn’t. All he needed was a few questions to be certain that they wouldn’t affect anything he cared about (especially his gender) to decide he didn’t care. His only remaining concern was how it would affect his Sphere, and that was something Ekkiba couldn’t answer. A Blessing could affect Spheres, but Ekkiba didn’t know enough to say how.

The person they needed to ask was the Clan Chief, which was of course impossible. 

Leo woke up while they were talking about Blessings and stayed quiet, but when they reached the point where they didn’t know what to do next he spoke up. “Bunny says the World Tree doesn’t need him but that other Towers do. He wants to know how we can get to them.”

That was not what Sophia expected her brother to comment on when he woke up, so she gave him a long look. “He’s been talking to you while you waited, I take it?”

Leo shifted back into his human form and sat up. “Yeah. I thought he’d want to talk to the World Tree again but he says he doesn’t need to, he just needs a place to call home, a place like what Cliff has. So, a Tower.”

“Do you know how to install Bunny in a Tower? We can’t ask someone to do what you did at the World Tree,” Dav asked while Sophia was still gathering her thoughts.

Leo slumped. “I don’t. Bunny says we were in the right place, only the World Tree was there so there was no room for Bunny.”

“I think we know someone who might,” Sophia said thoughtfully. “Or at least someone who knows someone. Back in the Broken Tower, Ansuz told us that two Patrons installed him. They also went to the floor below, where Cliff found his place. I bet that’s where Bunny needs to go, and I’m sure Revanos knows them.”

“How do we contact him? He shows up when he wants to,” Dav objected.

Sophia shrugged. “It’s been a while, so he’ll probably pass by soon. If he’s not here by the time I get my Sphere fixed, we can try going back through the Gateway to the Broken Lands; he’ll probably talk to us then.”

Leo bounced back quickly and seemed cheerful and ready to move on before Sophia was. She tried to accept that he knew his body better than she did, but she still went through Ekkiba to find someone who could check him to see if he was hurt in any way they couldn’t see before she was willing to concede that he came out of the experience without any damage.

The rest of the evening was quiet. Sophia took a better look at her damaged Sphere, but that was all she did; her time was better spent making certain that Leo was as fine as he seemed.

She was pretty sure that the only thing she accomplished was annoying Leo.

The next morning, Sophia decided that she needed more information on Blessings. There was an obvious person to ask: the Prelate of the Way. They might not be followers of the Way, but she knew he was interested in them and that meant he was likely to be willing to help them if he knew the answers, and an old priest seemed like a good person to ask.

The Temple of the Way looked like an ancient cathedral built of wood rather than stone, with high arching supports that met in a point at the peak. Openings in the walls allowed daylight and wind into the building and probably also served as perches for Archons while the ground level was open for those who preferred to walk. At the front of the space, a series of wooden supports grew upwards in a shape that looked like either a pair of cupped hands or a pair of wings flung all the way up, bent so that they met at the wingtips. Inside the wooden cage and above it floated a pair of glowing spirals of light. Sophia could easily see that both were nothing more than illusions, but the amount of mana required to maintain them was not small.

The space was empty, but within a few minutes of their arrival, an Archon that looked a lot like a younger (and actually solid) version of the Prelate flew over to them. “You seem to be looking for something. Is there somewhere I can guide you?”

“We’d like to talk to Prelate Varthas,” Dav answered quickly. “We talked to him a few days ago in the Gardens and he said we should come find him if we had any questions.”

Sophia wasn’t certain if the Prelate actually said that or not, but it certainly sounded like something he would say from the little interaction they’d had.

“Ah yes!” The young ibis nodded as he spoke, clearly excited. “He often welcomes guests to the World Tree. He’s in the back, behind the Sign of the Way. Please follow me!”

It was clear the young Archon had no idea who they were, but that was probably for the best as far as Sophia was concerned. 

He led them up the stairs and past the ring of bent wood that cupped the spiral portal illusion, then through a prosaic wooden door and down a hallway to another door, where he tapped with his beak.

“Come in!” Prelate Varthas called from beyond the door.

The door swung open with a wave from the younger Archon’s wing. 

“Ah, you two. Please, come in and find a seat. I fear I don’t have many but there should be enough for two.” Prelate Varthas nodded at them, then looked at the younger Archon and lifted his head up and to the side. 

The younger priest waited for them to enter, then closed the door and left.

“Now, what brings you two here? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you any time soon,” Varthas looked from Sophia to Dav and back again.

“Blessings,” Sophia answered. “Well, Blessings and how they interact with a damaged Sphere. Mine looks like it’s had some of the threads pulled…”

Sophia explained everything that had happened the previous day while the Prelate nodded along. There were several times when Sophia thought he was about to interrupt and ask a question, but each time he stopped himself. It wasn’t until Sophia got to the end and mentioned exactly what Blessing she wanted to give Dav that he was unable to stop himself from asking a question.

“You think you can give a Blessing that will protect someone from the danger of the Ways? That’s not-” Prelate Varthas stopped short. “I want to say that’s not possible, but I said that about you two resisting those dangers and the Goddess called me an old, stubborn fool. So tell me this: How?”

Sophia shrugged. “I’m a dragon. Well, half-dragon, more or less. Dragons are born of the Origin, what you call the Way, and many can tolerate it. We can, and … I’m Suras. The Guide even recognizes that. Suras and Archons are the two halves of the Asuryans, and I’m pretty sure they’re really similar; Archons are like Suras who can fly, I’m not sure what Suras have that Archons don’t but there has to be something because otherwise you wouldn’t have to blend them to make Asuryans. My Dad’s Asuryan but I didn’t inherit the wings.”

Despite her words, Sophia was beginning to catch the shape of what Suras might have that Archons didn’t. It wasn’t as obvious as wings, but it seemed equally useful: the ability to connect to things outside oneself. If anything, the Blessings and Lifeweb seemed more like Suras abilities by that definition, and Sophia’s guess was that they were integral to the original Asuryans, wherever the Suras and Archons once were together. It didn’t seem accidental that her own Abilities spilled across the Lifeweb easily any more than it seemed accidental that the Et’Unii were apparently trying to breed towards the Suras and were known for their Lifeweb-based specialists.

It probably wasn’t coincidence either that the Suras of Suratiz built cities more suited for avians than the ground-based creatures they were and flew on personal flyers from the time they were small, while the Archons of Arcatiz reached out to other species as well as their own. They both wanted what they didn’t have.

In fact, now that she thought about it, Sophia’s heritage pointed at more than one way the Suras reached out to others. Her father bonded with dungeons, while the World Shamans her lineage produced could talk to planets. They might have lost the Lifeweb when they stopped using Blessings to reinforce their heritage but they’d found other things to connect with. 

“If your Blessing truly can protect against the ravages of the Way … I do not know what that would change, but I know that it would change things,” Prelate Varthas admitted. “Once the Gateway is fully built, it is safe, but the process of building a Gateway is not. We know what to watch for and the downtime required between trips into the Way Between for centering and affirmation as the Goddess shelters our minds. It might mean that those who wish to dedicate themselves to building the Ways might not have to shed their flesh. That would be different; I cannot say it would be good.”

“I don’t want to give a Blessing to anyone other than Dav any time soon,” Sophia stated firmly. There was no reason to get into the issue about Asihanyans and what that might mean to the Archons. The Prelate’s concerns were enough of a reason to wait anyway. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to hand it out without thinking about the consequences, but I’m pretty sure it will be fine for Dav.”

“Pretty sure?” Dav asked with a grin. “Should I be worried?”