CHAPTER 6
“Have you ever wondered where we come from? Divines I mean, not elves, that’s not nearly as interesting.”
“Of course I have," Birdie shrugged, eyeing the divine and trying to guess what he was thinking. But try as she might Birdie was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight. She still felt raw from the deep dive onto her mind, and thoughts of Gabriel kept intruding as she fought to get back on track.
"Gabriel and I used to talk about it all the time," she said, vying for time.
“Good! I am not going to tell you but I would be upset if you didn’t care.”
“I’m sorry," she shot back in annoyance, kneading her eyes with her palms.
"But you said you had a different assignment for me. What does this have to do with my championship? And what is going on with Cedar and Gabriel?”
The divine paced lazily in front of her, holding a flower in his hand and inspecting it with his heavy lidded eyes. Birdie was trying to have an open mind, trying to be patient, but she found as she sat before this conflicting being, that more questions sprung from him than answers. This wasnt what she signed up for- what she planned for ten years for. She was tempted to just leave if he was going to be cagey and unhelpful.
“Birdie, Birdie, Birdie.” he shook his head.
“You won't leave! You're impatient, but stronger than that is your inquisitive soul. You question everything! Except the right things.”
Birdie felt her cheeks burn and she clenched her fists. Drawing confidence from the actions of Ammi, she folded her arms and sat up straight, determined not to be bullied.
"Shields is in trouble and Gabriel is lost. If you are not going to accept me as a Champion, then you will forgive me if I am a bit anxious to get through this and get back to the others."
“I didn’t go rifling through your mind just to enjoy the show you know. I was looking for something- something that will help both you and your angry little friend.”
Birdie scowled, remembering the conversation she overheard back at Champion Hall.
“Were you looking for whatever that darkness was that you found inside of Gabriel?”
“Yes! And no. I was looking for more than that.”
“And?” she asked impatiently, “Did you find it?”
“Nope! And yes. You see, our prodigy Ammi is not the only one who has encountered multiple divines and lived to tell the tale. It seems Gabriel was also familiar with the divine in Coastlund. And when he came to speak to me, the evil within couldn’t hide any longer. “
Birdie shook her head, convinced now that this man was full of it.
“That makes no sense, our divine was on an island. You saw what happened when we tried to swim passed the sandbar, he couldn't have met him.”
“Oh yes he could! And he did! See?"
He pointed down at the hillock below her,
“My hillock agrees. He saw it! So did the other champions in the shrine when Gabriel began his ritual and we experienced his memories.”
Birdie stood in exasperation, refusing to play along with the delusions anymore. She turned and began walking to the stairs when she felt a tug and realized that a dainty vine had crept up from a flower and wrapped around her shoe. She tugged at the plant and it broke.
“Oh don’t be like that!" the divine whined, "Ammi thinks I am chaotic because she doesn’t see what I see, or know what I know. And Gabriel, well, he doesn’t like me because the thing in his head is poisoning him. Filing him with its own evil motives.”
Birdie’s stomach lurched. The recently disturbed dust of Levi’s memory swam before her eyes, crossrefrencing themselves with Gabriel's eyes flashing with hatred as he stood in the clearing the day before.
“Poison?” she asked, turning back.
“Oh, no not like that sorry! Poor choice of words on my part- I meant that as a metaphore."
“If something is wrong with Gabriel then tell me! And heal him!” Birdie yelled, balling her fists in anger.
“I’ve waited ten years for this! And now you’re just going to turn me away and let Gabriel get caught up in some divinity nonsense? Tell me what is going on!”
“You're not listening. I already told you,” he said cooly, conjuring from a shimmer of light a small pendant that he began swirling between his fingers abscently.
“The evil influence of Coastlund’s divine has been lying dormant in Gabriel for ten years, waiting- I assume- for the opportune chance to come out. That power is now awake, seeking to wreak havoc upon our peaceful little domain in an attempt to steal away my power, and ultimately-”
he flipped the flat round pendant with his thumb and it flashed as it spun end over end before he snatched it from the air.
“-Destroy the world as we know it.”
Birdie felt her knees grow a bit wobbly as she listened to his words.
“What? You didn’t say that at all!”
“Oh that’s right, I said that to my hillock earlier. Apologies, it has been a long day for everyone and I am doing my best to keep up.”
“Gabriel wouldn’t want that!" She protested, hoping to convince herself as much as the divine.
"However that divine in Coastlund got a hold of him must have been against his will. He isn’t evil! And if you sent Shields and them to kill him I’ll-”
she opened her mouth to speak further, but she found her voice came out in complete silence. She grabbed her throat in alarm, the divine wagging his finger and talking through her silent panic.
“Listen for a moment Birdie. As I strolled through the halls of your mind, I saw the same scenario transpire over and over again. Throughout your entire life, our cherished little Gabriel has caused offense- dumb choices, public outbursts, hurting others, meaningless cruelty- and every time you run to his rescue with a bucket and a sword, ready to bail him out of his sinking ship, and cut anyone who won’t let you aboard theirs. WHY?”
Birdie felt her voice return to her, but before she could speak, the divine turned. One moment he stood in idle contemplation, and the next he was an inch from her face, his eyes wide and staring blankly into hers. They seemed to grow together, bigger and bigger before joining into one terrifying eye in the center of his face. The pupil elongated like a lookingglass until it was agape like a sick sea of darkness before her, blocking out all light and threatening to swallow her whole. She stood frozen, unable to act under the violently scrutinizing gaze.
“Could it be that you feel some responsibility for the death of Levi?” his voice shook her skull and made her teeth ache. She slapped her hands over her ears but it persisted on.
“Or maybe you are a genuinely good person but you choose to funnel all of your sympathy into this one boy and withhold it from the remainder of your fellow man… it’s strange… sure you have a touch of destiny about you, but overall you are just an elf. So WHY are you so interesting?”
The spanning blackness of the divine’s eye winked out as quickly as it began and she tripped backwards over the small hill, hitting the ground with a thump that rattled her jaw.
“What do you want from me!” she shouted, sweating under the mellow stare of the divine, who stood there as if the terrifying scene hadn't taken place.
“I want you to save him. And to do so, you must kill the divine who torments him.”
Birdie stared.
“K-kill…?”
“Kill the divine, yes.”
Slowly, without a word she shook her head, her fear turning to icy disbelief. She inspected the foliage around them wildly, almost believing that this was all just one big joke, and that the Hunters, or Cedar, or even Shields were about to spring out of the bushes and yell, ‘gotcha!’
“It’s not a joke. And seriously if it was, do you think I would recruit Shields to pull it off? The man has the sense of humor of a log-”
“I can’t kill a divine! I can barely even summon a flame to light a candle!” Birdie shouted, fighting back hysterics.
“For now! Don’t worry, I will help you! I'll make sure you have everything you need to get the job done.”
“If that’s the case then why don’t you go do it then?”
The divine sighed, looking for the first time genuinely sad, but only for a fleeting moment before he stuck out his bottom lip and plopped to the ground before her, looking at her with fake melancholy eyes, enhanced to be almost comically large.
“I can’t go Birdie. I told you I wasn’t going to explain where I come from, but one of the things that makes a divine powerful is that we cannot move."
"Like, at all?" Birdie shook her head in disbelief and confusion, quickly accessing every rumor and rule she'd ever heard about the divine.
"You can't move from the forest? Or the shrine? We were always told you wander the woods."
"My awareness fills every inch of the forest, but my body is tied here."
His eyes returned to normal, and with them a look of bored speculation.
"You think I would choose to stay in this cramped dark place when coastlines like the one you grew up on exist? Please.”
He rolled his eyes, looking to the hillock once more.
“I swear, she doesn't understand us at all.”
“What if I brought Gabriel here?” She asked desperately, her plans slowly crumbling through her fingers like sand in a current.
“Could you fix him then?”
“I already tried. The moment he set foot on my stairs I felt the evil within him. But I- like my hillock here- am morbidly curious, so I let him climb up. Once the evil inside took over I sent the two of them away- getting a good feel for the pact they made in the process."
"Pact?" Birdie asked.
"Interactions between divines and elves are heavily transactional. My bet is that the divine in Coastlund tricked a kid-Gabriel into giving it a strange level of influence over him in exchange for power or a favor of some sort."
"But why?"
The divine looked like he wanted to shrug, but thought for a moment before proceeding cautiously.
"I mentioned earlier that I've been doing this for hundreds of years… that is true. All of us divines have been working with elves for centuries. But before you lot wised up and decided to approach us, we were still here. We've been here for thousands of years Birdie."
"I knew that," she said defensively, "it's recorded in our history books."
"Of course it's written in your books, I helped the ancient Champions write them. But what those books don't detail is why we are here."
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Birdie sat up at this, drawn in by the prospect of answers. She has always wondered as she poured through the pages of their history where the divines came from, but no matter the subject matter, the origins of their forest protector remained a mystery. Birdie used to think that their spotty information was a result of a tight lipped being, but that was obviously not the case.
"I cannot share everything. Suffice it to say, we are here due to forces outside of our control. We divines are anchored here by points of power- the same points from whence we draw our magic."
"Wait, so you're here against your will?" Birdie asked.
The divine wagged his finger.
"I am going to ignore that question Birdie, don't hold it against me."
"It doesnt matter why we are here. But the power keeping us here, that also preserves our youth and gives us access to power, are wearing thin. Haven't you wondered why I haven't been pressuring Shields to recruit more Champions?"
"But I thought your power was limitless," Birdie asked, not able to resist the flood of implied information she kept gathering from between the lines of conversation.
"It is, but the doorways to that power are shrinking- fast. I give us a decade before they disappear all together and leave us to face our undoing."
"Wait, you mean, you're going to lose your magic?"
The divine gave a high chuckle, shaking his head sadly. Birdie felt like for the first time, she was seeing a genuine and unmasked display.
"Don't pity me," he smiled at her in a sappy rueful sort of way.
"Our power is the least of our worries should the bands that bind us here break. It would spell trouble for us all- not just us divines. After we run dry on our personal stores of power, we will simply cease to exist in your world. The influence of divine magic will disappear with us, and I worry…"
Birdie thought of her journey to the City of Trees ten years ago. There was no way they could have survived out there in the wilds without Ammi's power. If the Champions no longer had magic to keep the beasts at bay, what would that mean for the elves of the world?
"Do you actually care?" The divine asked with a teasing grin, "the stone cold, 'I don't care about anyone but my friends,' Birdie actually cares about my people?"
Birdie scowled at him, "I'm not heartless. I don't want anyone to die."
"The world is tougher than you think. Once we are gone the elves will go on after some adapting. In fact, I think it might be good for the world's for us to step out."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," she meant it, but the divine just shrugged.
"After thousands of years- many of which I spent alone with nothing to do but think about existence- I have come to accept that following a cycle of life and death is a blessing which most beings take for granted. Acceptance is remarkably healing, you know."
Just as Birdie began to adjust to the divine's newfound serious tone, he jumped to his feeg and stretched, his carefree and mischievous smile returning.
"I know. I'm remarkably well adjusted and brave for facing my imminent destruction with such decorum. Unfortunately, our divine friend down in Coastlund seems bent on fighting the course of nature. I suspect that their driving force for manipulating Gabriel is to break free of their bonds and flip the script."
"So he's going to try to stay? Why is that a problem?"
"Because in order to stay, I fear he might try to feed off of living beings to keep his power."
Birdie's stomach jolted, "feed off of people?"
He stood and stretched, holding his hand out, he summoned a small silver flame.
"Even elves outside of Championship have enough power to do something as simple as summoning fire. You snare a million elves and leach their power, well, you might have enough to support the life of a divine for a time."
"And he needs Gabriel to do that? Can't you do anything to save him?"
"No, I’m afraid what I told Shields still stands. I cannot interfere with whatever bargain Gabriel forged with that divine unless the divine himself nullifies it. The only way to circumvent the power he holds over your friend is to end him.”
“Why does he want to kill you anyways?” She asked in frustration, "how will that help him stay?"
The divine looked at her, studying her face before offering an answer.
“Power, my dear Birdie, has a way of holding its bearer captive. And I don’t mean physically although in the divine's case that is also true. Once you taste it, unless you have a good measure of self control like myself, it will consume you. Imagine, touching the limitless edges of life power and freedom, and then being forced into a box. You would yearn for that feeling again would you not?"
He winked out of existence and then she felt him lean on her shoulder, his weight incredibly light for someone so tall and strong looking.
He once again held the pendant, swinging it about in circles around his finger as he spoke.
"You know a thing or two about hoping for the impossible, don't you? Miss ‘Freedom. Power. Justice for my People,' that same urge that drove you to the champions is the same type of obsession that excessive magic can plant into a person, but much more dangerous.”
“So you were once just normal people? And you got addicted to power?”
His eyes twinkled wildly and he grinned, sparks flying in whizzing spirals from his finger as he once again wagged it back and forth in good natured reprimand.
“Oooh! You are dancing on the edge of ancient history my dear! Careful not to fall off the edge."
He appeared in front of her, hands clasped scholarly behind his back.
"What we are and what we were does not matter. What matters is that the evil inside of Gabriel wishes to break free and claim the world and all its power as his own. And based upon his reputation, that would be very bad for everyone- your Gabriel included.”
“Why does killing you mean he gets free? Can't he just leave us out of it and break out on his own?”
“So many questions, I. LOVE. IT. Don’t you love it hillock?”
Birdie couldn't tell if he was being facetious, or if he was genuinely thrilled at her inquisition. Either way, she refused to back down. Ammi told her to be aware of manipulation, and to be as specific as possible when dealing with him. She already caught herself feeling sorry for the creature, and kicked herself for falling prey to its ganes. She had to stay focused, learn as much as she could.
“Well?” she pressed.
“Well, he is bound to his domain, and cannot leave without using someone else's power to do so."
"Why?"
"Because the magic that traps him knows his scent Birdie! It's specifically made to keep him in, but I believe it can be undone by a signature it doesn't recognize- and Gabriel’s actions last night confirm my theory. The divine in Coastlund is trying to siphon my power and use it to get out."
"So we have to kill him?”
“If you ever want to get back to your friend and your charming little beach home then yes. And to do that, you will need more than just my help.”
She closed her eyes in troubled thought; who could help her kill a divine? Ammi was powerful, she’d gotten them out of Coastlund when it fell, and fought through the wilds to get them to safety, but she’d never fought anything like this before. Shields was also strong, but his influence came mostly from the reputation he held over the people of the city- she couldn't see him charging into battle against what was essentially a god. And Brooke, well she was only twenty six. She'd been a champion for less than eight years, there was no way…
“Are you going to ask?” the divine interrupted, “You're running through a list in your brain right now of people who could help you and I will just go ahead and say that it’s none of them.”
“Stop doing that!”
“Doing what?” he asked in innocence.
“Reading my mind!”
“I’m not reading your mind, I am making really good guesses, and only occasionally reading your mind. There’s a difference."
She groaned.
An evil divine is trying to destroy the world, and this guy is the only thing standing in his way? We're going to die.
"I don't resent you for that sentiment Birdie. I was never appreciated in my time and after thousands of years I've learned to love myself."
He stood, offering his hand to help her up. She went to accept it but paused, remembering the words of Ammi, and the light that spread from the touch of the divine when he gave power to his champions.
She ignored the offer and stood on her own.
“Aaaah see! I knew you were the right one for the job. You’re socially odd, but you’ve got a good head on your shoulders- which is good. You won’t have to make friends with the divine to kill it, otherwise we would all be in trouble!”
She glowered at him.
“Woof! moving on!”
He spread his fingers in a sprawling sweep, casting dusty glowing light into the air in front of them. Birdie watched in begrudging interest as the fine mist of magic sifted and moved, forming a scene before them. Slowly, pieces grew brighter and shifted in opacity, until a familiar picture formed.
“It’s a map,” Birdie said in quiet awe.
“Indeed! Can you see by the way?” He stepped back, allowing the raised lump of grass behind him a clear view of the display. Birdie couldnt tell if he was trying to bait her into questioning him about the hill, but at this point she was resolutely determined not to ask.
“There. Now, this is us,” he pointed to a cluster of bright lights that formed the shape of the forest border.
“I see that. There’s the City of Trees, and the river,” she said, pointing to a line of light that flowed in three directions through the city and out to the north, west, and south.
“Precisely! Shields teach you about the area?”
“Yeah. He dug the old maps out of the attick for me when i asked for them.”
“Good man, always covering his bases! I am so proud. Anyways, you, Ammi and Gabriel came from Coastlund, which is to the south east.”
He pointed to the line that indicated her southern home. Birdie studied the coast line in interest. This visual representation was slightly more detailed than their paper maps, and she was hit with a renewed wave of nostalgia and sadness that lurked right below her surface.
“In order to destroy that divine, and live, you need to obtain a Blessing of Power from two divine beings. Beat him at his own game. But you will need power from two beings in order to surpass him. Power from me,” he indicated the forest on the map, “And one more. Probably this one up here.”
He pointed to a portion of the map to the north, an area Birdie wasn't familiar with as their maps only included the territories immediately surrounding their own. The divine tapped the glittering light and the particulates glowed to emphasize the location.
“Is that on the beach?" She asked.
"Yep! Thought you'd like that."
"But its so far. Isnt there anyone closer?” Birdie asked, tracing her finger along the map, “Why not one of our neighbors? If I went to a closer divine and asked to be champion there it wouldn’t take so long.”
“A Blessing of Power is not the same as Championship, and if you asked any of the other divines in the area to give one to you, they would definitely squash you."
"So I'm not going to be a Champion?" She asked in obvious dissappintment.
"I didn't spend the last ten years learning magic theory just to-"
"Now hold on, don't get nasty! Tell me Birdie, why do you want to be a champion so badly?"
"Seriously?" She retaliated, "You spent all of that time sifting through my head and you can't come to a conclusion on your own?"
"I already know why, I want you to know why! Because unless you understand yourself, you're not going to understand why I PICKED you. Understand?"
"Please stop saying 'understand.'"
"No. I won't. And that will be enough lip from you hillock. Wait your turn!"
Birdie wanted to hit him. To just wind up and punch him right between his dark and mysterious eyes. What did it matter? Of course she knew why she wanted to be a Champion! When she was a kid, Levi was her idol. Now he was her martyr, and she would do whatever it took to get his revenge and return home. She already knew!
"I just want to go home," she finally relented.
"You want to go home… you could go home without making the sacrifice- ask one of my champions to guide you back. Certainly that is easier. Once you make the sacrifice you will become mortal, and humans only live for eighty years- ninety if you're lucky. Sooner if you are taken by illness. So why is that risk worth it to you?"
She didn't need to look deep for an answer. She'd said it before, and heard it from the lips of Gabriel countless times.
"I would rather live a short life where I am happy, than spend a thousand years where I don't belong."
"I'm wounded!" He laughed, a hand over his heart in dramatic gesture.
"I'm serious!"
"I accept your answer- never said I didn't. Still, its an interesting point of view… I suppose that's the best I'm going to get out of you."
He maintained eye contact with Birdie and brushed his hand through the projected magical nap. The pinpoints of light collected upon his fingertips and pooled into a glowing sphere, which he tossed from side to side.
"As corny and admirable as your sentiment is, I am going to have to deny you of it, and instead offer you a cheat. A short cut to the type of strength you need. Tell me, where do champions get their power?"
"They get it when they make their sacrifice." She recited, feeling like she was answering one of Cedar's ruthless pop-quizzes.
"Wrong! Champions get their power from me! And I get my power from the source! Imagine that I have a well directly into the, er, well the 'earth' for this analogy. But really it's not the earth it's actually a different plane of existence. But that's a bit above your level."
He molded the ball of light to form a glowing bowl, which he held in one hand.
"I have access to the well of power and can pull out as much as I want. I give each champion an allowance of the power I pull, and they use it for whatever they need. Once they run out, they must return to me, or never access power again."
He put his fingers into the bowl, and pulled out a pebble sized lump of light. He held it out to Birdie, but she didn't take it. He shrugged.
"Fine. Not a visual learner. I get it."
He pressed the sphere between his hands and it went out, disappearing from reality.
"I can't send someone with limited magic to fight a divine. They will run out and die. I need to send someone with access to the well. A Divine Blessing is me giving you access to my well. Does that make sense?"
"So it's stronger?" Birdie asked, feeling her interest pique once more.
"Stronger than a champion yes, than a divine no. That's why you need two Blessings to stack up against your foe, ideally three but we are working on a time crunch."
"So you want me to ask other divine beings, who you said were addicted to power, to share?"
"You make it sound so reckless! Which it would be, had I not already pointed you in the direction of a divine who is almost as kind as I am."
He snapped, and the map appeared once again but without the show and fanfare. This time, the portion along the northern coast blased red, and slowly grew closer and closer to dominate the magical spectacle.
"The divine being up there is a unique one. How she end up bound to this world differs from the rest of us. She's nicer… sort of… in her own way. But we know of each other, and I believe that if we explain the situation she will understand and be willing to help our cause."
Birdie studied the map, the ball of nervous writing in her chest returning as it finally hit her that this insane being expected her to do this all on her own.
"I don't know if I'm the one to do this," she admitted.
"You said it yourself! I don't like interacting with other people that I don't know. What if I can't convince her?"
"Aaaaah here comes my favorite part!" He trotted over to the small hill and threw his hands out in dramatic emphasis.
"Taa daaa! My hillock! He's finally relevant!"
"How!" She yelled in frustration.
"Hey, I've been building intrigue around this hillock all night and not one of you has asked about it! Forgive me for being a bit excited! But now that you're giving me attitude I will just wait to explain until you accept my offer."
Birdie folded her arms and scowled. He reminded her of their cadet Denny when he was in rare form. A child.
"Spell it our for me in crystal. Clear. Terms. Only then will I consider accepting your quest."
"Psssh! She called it a quest!" He nudged the hill with his foot as if sharing a joke. Birdie balled her fists, amd he wiped the smile off of his face.
"Alright then!" He stepped forward and narrowed his eyes as the lights around the clearing dimmed.
The divine held his hand out to shake, his palm, mouth, and eyes open as an intense magical glow grew from them. His voice filled the clearing, but his lips did not move, instead he stared in empty celestial light directly at her.
"Sulka Birdie, daughter of Vihn and Tide, I offer you the Blessing of Power in exchange for an act of service for my domain as well as the security of the world. You will receive shared access to my port of power, allowing you to use that power within to achieve our ends. Acting as an extension of myself, you will treat this power with care, and never do anything to risk losing it. In return, you will be required to fulfill the obligations set forth hence:
You will make a pilgrimage to the northern sea, and petition the divine over its shores for another blessing of power. Should you fail this task you will search for another until a second Blessing is obtained. During this pilgrimage you will prioritize your mission and your own safety- not engaging in unnecessary actions that could jeopardize your life. You will heed my council, and you will not divulge the nature of your relationship with me, or the purpose for your quest, to any, except for the divines you are seeking to petition. Should I choose to send forth another to make the trek with you, you will respect them and heed their authority- should I choose to give it to them. After you receive a second blessing, you will return to me, and the two of us will use the power you've collected to stop the rise of the divine evil that dwells in the islands off of Coastlund.
Failure to adhere to these terms or insubordination will result in the immediate termination of your access to my divine blessing, and a revocation of your title.
Do you accept these terms?"
Birdie poured over the words in her mind, meticulously picking over every single detail she could hold on to. She didn't want to disbelieve Ammi, but the divine's contract seemed well founded to her. He wasn't demanding eternal servitude or to have access to her soul. Everything seemed pretty reasonable.
And best of all, he didn't say her hold on the power would end once she completed her job…
The rush of power was rising, along with a swooping breeze that shook the leafy canopy above. She registered that the dark sky was slowly growing into a more royal blue, away from the deep black night.
"And Gabriel?" She asked, her voice rising above the wind and rush of power. The divine smiled, narrowing bis eyes.
"As a unit, the two of us shall do all we can to purge the influence of the evil divine from Gabriel," he added, his mouth still stationary and open as white light spilled forth from it.
"What's my title?" She shouted, cupping her hands over her brow to shield herself from the blinding glare, her short hair whipping about in the galeforce winds that set the foliage in a bounding dance.
The divine paused, breaking his ceremonial character as he asked in confusion,
"Your title?"
Birdie smiled, glad to finally have the upper hand over this obnoxious entity.
"You said my title can be revoked! What's my title then?"
"Oh you creatures and your obsession over official terms! Fine! I shall call you Harbinger! And your title will bring you power!"
"Harbinger?" The word sounded like something that would get thrown around in the Hunter’s chapel.
She shrugged.
"Fine! I accept!"
She clapped her hand into his, and felt as a bolt of lightning arched through her arm, up her chest and neck, finally exploding into her skull as the world around her began to flicker. The sound was of pure thunder, like tearing pages and falling trees, flooding her ears, mouth, and nose. Birdie remembered drowning with the same intensity with which power flooded her being.
Both she and the divine fell to their knees, temporarily blinded and deaf, only vaguely aware that the shrine still existed around them. A warbling voice entered her mind, sounding every bit as weak and winded as she felt.
"By the way, as my new partner in power you are entitled to know that my name is Epictus. If you tell anyone I will actually kill you."