38: Body, Essence and an offer
In the morning everyone wanted to know what happened with Gallen, but not much was known. Claire was still in shock and mentally out of it. Faryat answered simply with few words. Mostly “It was not as we expected. Just don’t ask.”
Drenak just wanted to rest.
In the morning he was willing to speak, and told those who asked “Gallen showed us the current plan, and tested our ability to do the job without bias. Sadly that meant helping out those who would make Demons puke in disgust. Gallen really believes in not taking half measures when it comes to testing!
“Claire and Faryat are too kind for dealing with these kinds of people. Gallen is willing to adjust his plans and may be able to find ways for people refused before to be able to help now.”
That was enough before class started.
Felinia took the stage and smiled.
“I know most of you are expecting me to teach you about Essence now, or even Spirit. No. I will teach you about something you need to learn before you get distracted by that! Body alternating. I know this is a tease. And yes, I do enjoy teasing you like this, but it is actually not the only reason I am doing this. Essence is the most complex part, and you really need to look into things deeply.”
When there was silence she continued.
“Feel the power flowing through your body, and will your body to change. That is the basics. You can absorb other bodies; however, if they contain Essence, doing so is a risk.
“You will need to know how to do this for applying to people to change them, and for appearing in different Aspects. We will cover them latter.”
She smiled “Any questions?”
There was stunned silence for a second, and someone yelled out “Is that all?”
Felinia nodded. “Yes. It is simple. And with that covered I can now start on Essence if there are no other questions.”
There were not any.
Felinia got serious. “Essence is a combination of spirit and Power. It is more powerful then both put together. To feel it in you, relax and feel your power flow through you, and let your awareness go along with it.”
When they did that she carried on “Now feel part of the power and awareness for a ball of light in a hand or appendage, if you have one.”
They did, and it shocked them enough to break their concentration and the glowing ball merged back with them.
“That was Essence. Protect it above all else if you have any brains. Essence may be physically separated from the main body, but they are always connected unless the main mind decides to sever the connection, or is destroyed.
“If an enemy gets some of your Essence, they can try to drain it. This means draining you unto death if you do not realize. Or it is possible to spread your essence into someone and corrupt them into being your puppet and eventually just part of you.
“I will describe the dangers of Essence and being gaining it before I tell you how it can be used.
“Firstly, Essence contains part of a person’s mind or spirit. This means if you absorb part of their Essence, it means there is a chance that their mind will affect yours. For example, if a Deity of Joy was to absorb some Essence of a Deity of Fertility or Love, they would become more focused of sexual joy. If you add a Deity of Passion, like Artists or other people who let their emotions guide them, you may end up with a very sexualized Deity.
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“There is also the risk of the person absorbing the Essence not only being twisted by the Essence, but by being drained by them, expressly if the absorbed Deity still has followers.
“If they absorb part of the beings Essence, the main personality can actually mess with the person’s mind, drain their power, and know what they know. They are almost a host.
“However, there is a flipside. The person with the Essence may be able to reach back through the connection and draw power from the main being.
“Also, Essence contains Divine power, and if the person being infused with it manages to mentally and spiritually crush the other mind/spirit, they get the power themselves and may ascend into Godhood, provided conditions are met.
“Are there ever loose bits of Essence floating around? Sometimes. When a Power is destroyed, expressly Deities, sometimes fragments of their Essence break loose and become Vestiges. In theory each Vestige could become a new Deity. Also, any other Essences out there may break free, including Hosts, Incarnations, and rarely Avatars. An Aspect may survive as well.
“Wait, what are those? Well, here is some fun stuff!
If you infuse a mortal with your Essence and control them, you are actually possessing them and they are your Host while this is happening. Being infused with your power normally changes them, and often turns them into quasi-deities, at the least. If someone else had infused a bit of their essence into the Host, they can use the connection to drain you a bit.
“Due to this, Hosts are often absorbed by the one possessing them latter. If the Host is unwilling, they may fight you and take the power you used on them, and even drain you a little bit.
“A Deity can infuse their Essence into a female, well most often a female, to be born into the world. This results in an Incarnation. The Incarnation works like an extension of you, but limited, and without some annoying rules. Great for getting your message spread to those often ignored.
“The most famous Incarnation I know of from my world is called Jesus Christ. The main Deity was considered unforgiving and harsh. Jesus went among the sinners and poor, and spread a message of hope, and redemption to them. This got a lot of people returning to the main God.
“Incarnations can also do things you can’t as Deities. They are in effect Mortals with their Free Will, yet boosted by your power. This means they can act in areas outside of your Domains and worshipper base.
“Imagine a human Deity of Healing. They have to focus on humans. However, they make an Incarnation of a half Orc Healer and send them among the slums where half orcs dwell. Maybe other beings who are full blood of their kind dwell there. They turn to the Healer, and the Healer spreads their message. Maybe they start a small order of Healers, who honor the incarnation as a saint. More belief for the Healer Deity, and their Domains are expanded. They are also working in areas they could not before, like with fully non-human beings.”
There was some nodding at that.
“Of course, it is always a good idea to secure their bodies when they die, or maybe absorb them while they live. After all, imagine if a Vampire for to work on a Host or Incarnation.
“In theory it is possible for an Incarnation to be a Host as well for another Deity. If the Host’s or Incarnation’s main identity is destroyed, they may start to fill the role and become that Deity. If a Deity is resurrected, not all Hosts or Incarnation return to serving them.”
“Any questions?”
Someone called out “So, when it comes to Essence, willpower is freaking important. How can Deities not realize that another one is building up inside of them?”
Felinia smiled. “Simple. Do people sense all the parasites in their bodies, to they feel all the bacteria and viruses? No. These ones draining power do it slowly and carefully. They also use the mental influence to convince the one being drained that nothing was wrong. This may even result in the Deity being drained to declare it a heresy punishable by death to suggest that the parasitical one will return. However, more often the parasite wants people to think they will return. This gets them belief, and the hosts often accept it as the parasite’s followers pray to the parasite, that will give him a little bit of power, and they seek to protect his following.”
She looked around “Anything else?”
Someone called out “We are too stunned to think of anything!” Most people laughed.
Felinia told them “We will cover more things related to Essence latter.”
Then she grew serious.
“We have a job offer for any of you suitable. We have realized out plan for collecting souls as it was actually wasn’t that good. We will look at people willing to help get of different groups to ease the pressure on the general psychopomps when they do large collections. However, we are still sorting things out. After all, it means sending the psycho pomp out into a world without any followers, so they can’t act as a Deity there and having them collect Unclaimed souls there. What is more, we have to consider if having followers here would cause an issue. I doubt it, but we are looking into things.
“Another position available is therapists for the dead. Trust me, some really need help! We will look at what is needed for that. Those who wish to ask more about them are to join me here after the rest leave.
“If you are hesitant and change your mind latter, wanting to join, come see me or Gallen then.”
That really got conversation going.