Heritage and Realisation

Gradually, as Ka-cketika continued their story, Wanderer found themself more and more enraptured, the history of their people managing to draw them in even with the erratic emotions they had just experienced.

Now that they thought about it, that was likely always the intention.

“There were some Spirits apart from the many who opted for violence and repression, who decided that instead of trying to force their Vessels they would instead show kindness and teach them, accomplishing their goals through the bonds of friendship rather than force.”

“At the God’s decree, those who had grown close with their Golems cried in outrage, some caved, some ran away, many protested and were destroyed by force.”

“But there was one, a Spirit who had been one of the core creators of the Golems, that above all else didn't want to see their creations fade away, nor the beauty of the life they had created be snuffed out.”

“In secret, with the help of many others who rebelled against the word of their God, the Spirit formed one final Golem, identical to all the others but for one key detail.”

“Inside the soul of this Golem was placed vital information, the method for which, with the proper ingredients, another Golem could be created.”

“In less than 20 years, the race of Golems went from a dying experiment to a nomadic nation. With their strength and supernatural intelligence, Rarkeh-shh became worried, scared that they would grow vengeful at their extermination and bring death to their realm of life.”

“For this reason, the God secretly contacted the Earliag, a neighbouring empire of mountains and valleys, and through negotiation and bribery, convinced them to wage war on the Golems.”

“What started as a side job for mercenaries quickly grew roots of bitterness as the death toll grew higher and higher, developing into a war which has lived longer than the God that started it.”

A long moment of silence broke out once Ka-cketika finished their story, Wanderer processing all they had heard, the origins of their people.

Eventually, they managed to come up with a question for the librarian, based upon what little they knew of their people and their traditions from Spirit.

“Spirit said most Golem possessed by Spirits of revenge and anger, why?

Ka-cketika shifted a little bit as they prepared their answer, their body language displaying nothing but the wish to share their vast knowledge.

“When Rarkeh-shh created the race of Golems, it became a fight between every Spirit to claim the far smaller number of Vessels.”

“Naturally, the most powerful Spirits claimed the most Golems, Spirits of Love, Life and Knowledge. But when Rarkeh-shh rejected their creation and banned their use, these Spirits who were loyal to them were forced to reject the Golems, a doctrine which has stuck around even past the God’s destruction.”

“Without the top contenders, other Spirits claimed the Vessels, powerful Spirits which were opposed to the domain of Rarkeh-Shh, Spirits of Anger, Revenge and Power.”

“Now, almost every Golem is possessed by one of those three or those that are similarly violent, Golems like us who take the weaker, more uncommon Spirits are a true rarity even when the population of the Golems was vast.”

Another question arrived at the door of Wanderer’s mind and they saw little reason to not let it be answered, voicing it in their crude fashion as best they could.

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“What is your Spirit?”

Unexpectedly, as soon as Wanderer voiced the question Ka-cketika broke out laughing, a broad, rich laugh that reverberated directly in the smaller Golem’s soul.

It took a decent while for the Librarian to grab a hold of themself, whatever it was that cracked them up taking an iron hold on the usually proper Golem.

“I have to apologise to you, Wanderer, I am not laughing at your question nor mocking you, you are simply so far from what I expected.” they said with an air of informality that contrasted all the teacherly wisdom that had come before.

“I have been down here, with very little company for a long, long time, and all that time I was fantasising about the next creature to enter the library, how I would address them, how they would address me.”

“As I have said, a great many Golems are possessed by Spirits of Violence and Anger, this means that almost any interaction between two Golems is strict and transactional.”

“All this time, I was sitting, waiting for some Golem or human to come down here and want for nothing more than a transaction, a cold hard deal, knowledge of value to them and nothing more.”

“Instead I find you, who knows nothing of the world they have been placed in, a kind, wondrous little thing who wants nothing more than to learn, uncorrupted by the cruelties of their kin.”

“I laughed because you are everything I did not expect, one who knew and wanted so little that they did not even ask for the identity of my Spirit before they wished to know about the world around them.”

Another bellowing laugh echoed throughout the Spirit realm into the soul of Wanderer, who took a step back, unsure what to make of the whole circumstance.

“To answer your question, not every Spirit under the domain of Rarkeh-Shh obeyed their demand, and as such, with the bribe of the largest library in the world, the humans who remained after the God’s downfall managed to side a Spirit of Knowledge who was to act as the Spirit to their librarian.”

“That librarian is me, and my Spirit is a Spirit of Knowledge, though I have not seen them for a great many years, they went silent after the library was abandoned.”

The last sentence hit Wanderer like a falling tree, they had always known that sometimes their Spirit would go silent for long periods of time, particularly when tired or stressed, but they had been unaware that it was something that could stick, that they could leave at any moment, forever.

And if there was ever a time for their Spirit to leave, then now, when tensions were high and relationships bitter, was the time to do it.

The Golem realised very suddenly that they weren't ready for their Spirit to leave.

They still loved them, despite everything.

In a fit of panic, Wanderer went against everything they had spent the last few hours building and called out to their Spirit, begging them to return and work things out.

But the Spirit was gone, only a silent shell of their figure remained next to their soul, staring at them yet doing little more.

Meanwhile, Ka-cketika’s joviality gradually faded as they realised what exactly was happening, calling out to the Golem and questioning if they were OK.

“They're not gone, are they?” Wanderer begged, desperate to hear consolation over their mistake.

The librarian stayed silent a moment, figuring how to address the situation, before finally replying in the softest voice they could muster.

“I would like to say that they will come back, but I do not know what you did.”

The simple question took the Vessel back, what had they done, it was all their Spirit’s fault, wasn't it.

It was at this moment that the little part of Wanderer’s soul, the part that insisted that they were jumping to conclusions and were mistaken about the Spirit’s intentions, decided to finally push back against the waves of righteous rage.

“What if I misunderstood, what if they had truly grown to love me, what if they never used me like I thought they did.” they considered.

Wanderer remembered a few moments prior when the librarian had stated that there were two ways Spirits interacted with their Golems, either forcing them to follow their commands or approaching them as friends, so that they could pursue a common goal together.

When had their Spirit ever forced them to do anything, tried to subject them to their will.

Never, Wanderer realised.

Indeed, as they had confessed, the Spirit had actively held themself back from the ultimate goal of exploration in protection of Wanderer.

“But they control my mind, placed the wish for exploration in my very soul, how could I ever hope to resist them.”

“Is that not manipulation, is that not evil?”

The Vessel didn't know, so they turned to someone who might, agonising their concern to Ka-cketika.