Asteria

The safe house that Magnus provided for our use was in a remote location that was only reachable by helicopter or seaplane. Half a dozen luxury cabins were clustered together above a lovely lake ringed by mountains. The entire place was free of aggressive monsters, courtesy of an ancient artifact that could be found on the shore of the lake.

Sariel spent a lot of time examining the artifact, an eight-foot-high crystal pillar, when we first arrived. He was in heaven.

Seraphiel, on the other hand, was in raptures over the massive organic orchard, gardens, and greenhouses that supplied the cabins with fresh food. In Kraej City, he’d been limited by the size of his apartment, but here there were acres of land he could use to nurture his favorite plants. They even had a few of those rare Eatuhean flowers that were impossible to get in our world.

As for Uriel, he kept himself busy by fishing or hunting small game every day. His efforts were very welcome since the ELs ate a lot of meat, and all our supplies had to be flown in, but I could tell that he was itching to hunt bigger monsters.

I would have liked to explore this strange world, but the three ELs were completely opposed to it. Sariel, in particular, was convinced that it was too dangerous. So I spent the time shoring up my automatic spell defenses and planning Elsa’s training syllabus.

Sariel and Uriel each had their own small cabins, but Seraphiel and I had bedrooms in the main cabin where the common rooms, including the dining room, gym, and bar, were located. The staff here were all professionals trained to take care of the Kraej family. We wouldn’t have to worry about anything, since they would take care of all the details of daily life, like cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the gardens. They even had people who could organize activities like fishing, boating, and hiking the many mountain trails around us.

To be honest, this type of place wasn’t my favorite. It reminded me too much of the loneliness and poverty I had endured during my childhood in this world. The town I grew up in, Lieceni, was a mountainous place that was extremely cold during the winter, just like this lakeside resort.

The only thing this place had going for it was a lovely little hot springs bathing facility. The cabins had been set up around it.

Also, I noticed that this location was especially rich in anima. I set up a very nice little meditation room for Elsa and me to use, and I set the chibis to flood the room with sunlight on command, turning it into a light therapy room when needed. That should help with the winter doldrums.

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We spent a lot of time enjoying ourselves before Elsa was due to arrive in twenty-one days.

“How bucolic!” said Elsa to me when she arrived. “I hope I can at least have my own cabin.”

Once I had gotten her settled in one of the farthest cabins, I showed her the meditation room where I was going to train her.

“Before we start, can you tell me why you couldn’t enter the spiritual plane?” I asked.

When we were in the city, Elsa looked like she was always trying hard to appear older and more mature, with her thick makeup and expensive clothes. Now, dressed in simple slacks and a T-shirt, she looked younger and more vulnerable as we sat cross-legged on the floor.

“I don’t know. When the goddess first appeared to me, I received detailed instructions about it. A few years later, I could enter the spiritual realm, but…” She sighed and her shoulders drooped. “I really don’t remember what happened. All I know is that every time I tried it, I was somehow pushed back out of the spiritual realm. I tried so many times!”

“That’s weird. If you were really able to enter the spiritual realm, then my task should be easy,” I said.

More likely, she simply thought she had succeeded when, in fact, she’d probably just touched the edges of the spiritual realm without actually entering it.

“I hope so,” she said. “I’ve given up on it. No matter what I did, I never succeeded.”

It must’ve been hard to fail so many times. No wonder she was a bit prickly.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to help! You’ll need to sleep early tonight. As you know, dawn is the best time to meditate. I’ve already told the staff to prepare bread and water for us before first light tomorrow.”

“All right.” Elsa didn’t look optimistic, but she was the goddess’ chosen, so I was sure that she could do it.

I also instructed her about the traditional prohibition on meat, alcohol, spices, drugs, and sex during a disciple’s initial period of study. Then I showed her around the compound while explaining that we would spend most of our time studying and meditating, with only a few breaks for rest during the week.

***

The weak light of dawn streamed through the windows of the meditation room. I had set it up like a Japanese dojo, with a padded floor and a minimalist aesthetic.

I directed Elsa to lie down on her back and close her eyes, then I said, in a soothing tone of voice, “Relax your body. Don’t think of anything. Focus on my voice. Nothing else exists except for my voice. Now… Imagine that you’re floating on a sea of anima. It’s warm and you are being gently rocked by the gentle waves of the anima sea.”

Chibis were monitoring her vital signs and brain waves. I kept up a soothing patter until her brain waves slowed down. When she had sufficiently relaxed and was more suggestible, I started on the real instructions.

“Now the anima is gently and slowly entering your body through your pores. Your body feels light,” I said. As I spoke, the chibis started flooding her body with just enough anima to induce a slight feeling of euphoria. “You’re floating up, up, up…”

With no help from me, Elsa’s body began levitating. This showed that she was in the proper state to begin meditation.

“Inside you, the anima has become one with your flesh and bones. Your brain is dissolving into light. You have become one with the sea of anima…”

I kept up the patter until, inevitably, she became a little too relaxed and drifted off into sleep.

The chibis gently lowered her to the floor, and I retreated to a corner of the room to eat my breakfast and rest until she woke up.