I mentally wince as I watch Mr. Crow and the chief laugh at Bryn. Poor girl. She's a lil bit awkward. Adorable when she's bright red like that, though. She spilled allll my secrets. At least it was to the Sahii who are, provisionally, my allies. Whatever.

Still, might not be wise to use literally the first human I spoke to as my representative. And why is she using my full name?

I didn't even tell her my name… Wait. Hmm. Soulspeech conveys meaning. Maybe Zeke was 'Zeke, short for Ezekial, which means God will strengthen'.

This may be awkward.

Whatever.

I made a blimp.

Just an airtight plastic bag holding me in a cradle below it but I'm quite pleased with it. So is Borb. I reconnected his flute but switched the output to a nitrogen and oxygen mix which functions as a thruster. It's not that flammable, I checked.

Makes getting around quite easy but I should think of a way to turn it off. Keep bumping into walls. Getting pressed against the wall is kinda comfy though. Also, rather loud. Like playing the flute using a leaf blower. Needs work. Pipe organs maybe? Hmm...

-----------------

"And then he told me to bring the message to Kaz Itzal." Bryn finished. Chief Zetli gave a nod and leaned back, beginning to stroke his chin.

"So this Ezekial- you said it means strengthed by god? Not gods? Which god?" Elder Torka leaned forward. He had a bizarre beard made of scales. Freaked Bryn out a bit honestly, but she had her hair so she couldn’t talk.

“Yes- one god. And I don’t know. When he speaks to you it’s like… You hear the words, but they’re just sounds in a language you don’t know, but you also just… Know what he means. Like it’s calling the idea up inside you? Though earlier he showed me entire memories, but it was too much…” Bryn shrugged helplessly. She hoped she could leave soon.

“How odd… Why would a god intervene on our behalf but not take credit for it?..” He mused.

“A hidden gambit, perhaps? They mean to act against the imperial gods but not show their hand?” Elder Mika, this time. She was maybe sixty disfigured by lumps. It was odd that she'd survived that long- from what Bryn knew most with the affliction died quickly.

"More importantly this opens a great many options for us, if we can trust him… Itzal, is it truly too late to work with the Empire? If only we had known a little earlier.." Zetli sighed.

Itzal considered this. "Yes and no. The legion can't be dealt with, they're insular and incredibly stubborn, but the governor… Corruption can be useful sometimes." He spat to the side only to receive a disapproving swat from his wife.

"Ahm…" Bryn gathered her courage and spoke up. "I also have a request. Akasha sometimes grants miracles of categorization and organization, yes?"

"Not so much miracles as resolving academic disputes most of the time, but yes. Why?" The magister cocked his head at her.

"The ghast- my friends- can you… Separate them?" She asked, holding out the bag. Itzal's eyes seemed to gleam in interest.

"Now that…" He immediately made a gesture as if he was opening a tome and Bryn felt the presence of divinity descend upon the tent. She sneezed. Divinity smelled like thick smoke and incense to her. "Akasha is intrigued and Vijnana is also interested. A unique opportunity! No one has ever captured a ghast in a bag before." He snorted. "Come- all of you. It's a miracle after all." Itzal gestured for them to rise and follow him.

Itzal grew in presence as he strode through the village and soon Bryn could almost see his robes and pen. It was a curious thing, like… “Ah, it’s like that. Talking to Ezekial, I mean. You can’t see his, uh, priestly bits, but you can FEEL them. You get the meaning without the thing.” Bryn thought out loud.

“I see.” Zetli replied. Bryn jumped- oh gods he was right next to her. She sped up a little- he kept pace easily. Fucker was a foot taller than her. Damn Sahii.

By the time they reached the makeshift temple the entire village had gathered, alerted by the presence of divinity. Itzal stood in the middle and posed as if entreating the heavens. He reached out with his aura and gathered the essence in the area to form an altar. It bulged out of the stone, seeming to grow like an organic thing, till it was four feet tall. It was inscribed with the book of Akasha and the eye of Vijnana and it had a hollow in it. She’d be more impressed if she hadn’t seen Ezekial make stuff out of thin air.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Come, place the vessel in the hollow.” Bryn followed his instructions. As she stepped back the two divine symbols seemed to expand, becoming MORE in some indefinable manner. Not larger but more important, more meaningful. The gods themselves were here.

Itzal began to chant in the language of the divine- Bryn noticed it sounded nothing like Ezekial's soft sibilant language. What language did he speak? She focused back on the ritual.

The bag- the VESSEL- rose above the altar and split down the middle. At first she couldn't see the souls but then Itzal swept an arm and a cloud of dust arose to outline the ghast.

It was both more and less terrible than what she had seen before- a mass of human faces and animal heads merged and overlapping in a constantly changing cloud. It was better defined with the dust than with the mist, but the faces lacked the confusion and anger she had seen before. These had a tranquil expression instead- not calm or tired but passive in a strange way.

Itzal made plucking motions and with each the soul of a bird or beast flew out of the orb, Each soul was large and each was different- maybe each species of animal merged into one soul? Soon the orb had been reduced to only human faces- more than just her comrades. The souls of the soldiers and tribesmen? Now Itzal seemed strained, sweat streaming from between his scales. After about a minute a human ghost emerged, seemingly a Sahii.

The crowd pushed forward and began to shout questions, a few wept. The ghost merely returned smiles and waves and a blown kiss as he began to float into the sky, losing visibility as he did so. “They have no will.” Bryn remarked.

“Ahh.” Zetli replied, making Bryn jump. Why was he still right next to her? Was he making sure she wouldn’t do anything? She stroked Ms. Kittysaur for comfort.

Next Itzal plucked four conjoined ghosts out. It took more effort to separate them- three were legionnaires, the fourth Yve. Yve was an ex-legionnaire. Had he categorized them based on that? Found them by the marks left by their training? Bryn made a note to ask later even as she waved to Yve. He gave her a wan smile as he floated away.

The rest separated one by one. Puarz, Woont, Neech, Hoff. They all gave Bryn those bland smiles before they left. Bryn was conflicted- it didn't seem like them, but on the other hand could she have handled it if they blamed her for their deaths? She could have… Well, she could have died with them. She wasn't sure what else.

Then she felt the divinity reach out for her as well. An odd feeling of being whisked away, a brief moment of disorientation that felt both instant and eternal, and suddenly she had a book in front of her. It couldn't be seen, couldn't be felt, but she KNEW it was there. She opened the front cover in reverence. The dedication was addressed to her.

"In return for the opportunity you have delivered to Akasha you have been given the chance to visit the Infinite Library and select a single tome. The tome you have selected is The Hidden Aura by Niko Greymist." Bryn read aloud. Near her the Sahii cupped their hands and bowed to her. Bryn felt a mixture of both elation and crushing disappointment- she'd visited the infinite library and didn't even remember it?

"Furthermore, for the opportunity you have delivered to Vijnana you have been offered a boon. The boon you selected is the purity of the soul. Focus inward and you may review and remember the foreign memories which have previously mingled with your soul." Bryn closed her eyes and focused inward as her father had taught. She could feel bubbles in her mind and when she touched them she relived the conversations and concepts they embodied. That Good morning and Ezekial's overwhelming I, and their latest conversation where he offered her servitude or imprisonment…

To keep his secrets. Bryn paled. Fuck.

-----------

Okay, so this whole ritual thing is cool as hell. I like the altar that popped up. Understated and classy. Looks a lot like the stone operating table I put in the murals cave. Oops. I don't remember a Sahii coming in my dungeon, nor the soldiers. Did they just get sucked in through proximity? Ahh, the adventurers. Oh hey, goblin girl. Sweet. Dead, though. Is it over? Ye, it's over. That was fun-

I get hit by a feeling of intense disorientation, then surprise and delight. Like I was invited to a combination buffet and orgy held in a really cool bookstore. Then greed, gluttony, anger, loss. My soul stings. Fuck, it looks like I've had a bit pinched off- what the hell? Still, my soul is bigger than before...

For the opportunity that you have delivered to Akasha you have been given a chance to visit the Akashic Wiki and download a single article. You attempted to download them all and have thus been banned until the appropriate countermeasures have been taken. This is not a punishment, merely the result of your inherent nature as a Pearl. Since you were unable to select your own article Akasha has selected Basic Runecrafting for you. Focus inward to read it.

If you remove all soul traps in the area and deliver the bagged and de-willed ghasts to Scholar Itzal you will qualify for a boon from Vijnana. The boon that has been chosen is the ability to trade human souls for ectoplasm at a 20% profit. The first transaction has automatically been completed.

Ooh, blue boxes! You're back! And friendly this time! Noice! I’ll make Bryn a cake to celebrate. Hmm, wonder if I have time to set up an actual oven...