ToE CH 24: Getting Assistance
After showing Lina his method of cultivating, Ezekiel was questioned intensely for nearly an hour as he went over his process of accumulating Void Mana over and over again. Lina, in turn, also answered several questions regarding what the Church knew about Void Cultivation.
She explained how, in the past, it had long ago been discovered that two opposing types of Mana that clashed with one another would briefly form Void mana.
However, due to the fact that no method of Void visualization for and mana gathering meditation techniques had been discovered before meant that there was no way for a person to pull in the Void mana when it formed. Which wasn’t even the most difficult part, which was getting the mana before it changed to a different type at all.
Eventually someone had a similar idea to Ezekiel and had also tried to cultivate two mana types at once, but he suffered near fatal injuries to the spirit paths in his soul due to the fact that there was mana in his system that he didn’t have an affinity for.
This was why meditation techniques only ever took in one type of mana. Because of one’s affinity, a Mage could manipulate the mana within them that was of the appropriate type, but mana of a different type could only be attracted and gathered. It couldn’t be manipulated when it was absorbed, and if left to run rampant it would destroy the body’s naturally inclined balance of mana.
Effects ranged from being cooked from the inside out, one’s water thinning or freezing. Bones turning into powder, sudden depressurization as air bubbles formed in the body, and even straight up necrosis. Luckily, so long as it was treated quickly, the only lasting damage was usually to a Mage’s spirit paths. Most cities that had dedicated hospitals were willing to heal physical injuries brought about by conflicting mana absorption for free, so long as a person wasn’t Tier 2 or higher.
Healing the spiritual injuries was a different matter entirely, and the cost for such healing was usually well beyond the capabilities of the publicly accessible healers. Usually only the Church of Ten, Church of Life, or well-off Guilds had the capability to heal such injuries.
“Given this information,” Lina said during their conversation, “I’m sure you can understand why this was so hard for me to believe. The fact of the matter is that no other mana is capable of interacting with other types of mana in this way. Then there’s also the fact that spending one’s mana whilst meditating is also not common practice, as the whole point is to gather as much mana as possible.”
“Then there’s also the fact that you have, quite possibly, the strongest sense of mental imagery I’ve ever witnessed. I don’t think the records have ever had a person accumulate two elements simultaneously. It’s usually one element first, followed by the opposing one. Then, when both types of mana were within a person, it was up to a person’s willpower alone to force the two mana types to meet.”
Lina continued with her explanation. The fact that it was a child just over fifty years younger than herself that had discovered these things just made everything that was being discussed all the more unbelievable, but Ezekiel had used himself to prove that he was telling the truth, so Lina had no choice but to acknowledge it.
Part of her was embarrassed that no one in the Church of Ten had discovered this before, but she knew that it was mainly chance and the fact that the Church no longer wanted to have countless Void Mages throw their lives away for nothing of use.
She couldn’t help but wonder how Ezekiel had come up with the idea of imagining the two opposing elements at once. Especially given the difficulty and the form that the two elements took.
The image of two elements circling each other in varying “sizes” to control how quickly one element was gathered compared to the other at the same time was inspiring. Something that she didn’t think many other people she knew would think of, as she knew that most higher-level meditation techniques focused on a symbolic image tying to different spirits for the sake of more easily cultivating like the Spirits that naturally absorbed and channeled mana.
Of course, Ezekiel had a minor advantage against most of the others who had tried this in the past, as he knew that spirals like what he imagines were a result of the gathering of something towards a central point, of the expulsion of something as it spread outwards.
The idea of the Yin-Yang philosophy and symbol were also something that contributed to his thought process when creating this method. But he knew from his research over the years that it was unlikely that such a thing existed in this world due to the single-minded focus on single element accumulation.
Eventually, it was Wendy and Ellen who halted the continued talks and discussion regarding how Ezekiel and the Church of Ten would proceed. The twins had grown tired, even though it was still early in the day, the shock from earlier, as well as their playtime for the past hour had actually tired them out.
Which was not too surprising, as Reya and Theo were playing fairly rough, in order to keep their attention away from most of what was being discussed on the other side of the room. It wouldn’t do for them to overhear and get confused at what was going on after all.
Besides that, Lina was able to give Warren and Evelyn a brief breakdown of what classes were available for Wendy and Ellen. The only real requirements they had was that the teacher not have disparaging views on Void Mages, and that the Scholar in charge of their lessons be vetted for any possible connections to the Church of Light.
Lina agreed but was confused as to why they thought the Church of Light would be a concern. At which point Evelyn and Warren quickly explained what had happened five years ago with Aldor Alkena. Lina gave them another look of frustration and called them out for not calling her about these things.
Warren and Evelyn just nervously apologized and gathered up the twins to leave. Ezekiel was a little less worried as he left, but no less apologetic and embarrassed for his parents. He promised to have the rest of his notes and research ready for the next day so he could hand it over to the Church. Lina smiled at his diligence as the family left the Cathedral.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful as the twins took a nap, and Ezekiel decided to get some more reading in as he gathered up his notes and got things put together for the Church. He then decided to sit down and do some more meditating, but unfortunately, as he knew he couldn’t risk the likelihood of injuries like he did earlier, he wasn’t able to gather mana as quickly, since he had to pay much closer attention to the ratios of mana he was absorbing.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he wouldn’t have much luck this time around, as he ended up losing several motes of mana in order to purge the excess mana he had absorbed this time. It was only three motes, but he was frustrated all the same, as he knew that this just confirmed what he already knew.
Even with the assistance of the Church of Ten, it would still likely be at least a few months before he finally made a breakthrough and accumulated enough mana to attempt to find and open his first Chakra. But at least he was going to make faster progress than before. Now, it was possible that he’d be able to train in a safe environment every day, unlike before when he’d sometimes go for several weeks without even making an attempt.
“Ezekiel! Dinner’s ready!” Evelyn called out as she knocked on his door.
He sighed in frustration as he exited, figuring that there was little point worrying about things he couldn’t control. Besides, so long as he got to a higher Tier, he’d have more time and opportunities to figure out a better visualization technique. If the Church had made attempts to help Void Mages in the past, then it made sense that they would have records of their experimental visualization techniques.
It wasn’t until Ezekiel and Warren, with Theo on his shoulder like usual, headed back to the Church the next day that Ezekiel realized how right he was. Although, there were some additional problems that were discovered beforehand.
“Ah! You two are here right on time.” Lina said as she welcomed Ezekiel and Warren to the cathedral. She was dressed much more formally than she was the previous day, and she looked much more like a Scholar of the Church of Ten than she did the previous day. Dressed in formal robes of the Church, Lina somehow gave off a much more welcoming feeling in her robe than she did in the business clothing she was dressed in previously.
However, what surprised Ezekiel wasn’t the clothing. It was the fact that she was there waiting for them. He knew there was no way that she could’ve gotten to them as quickly as she had if she hadn’t already been staying in one of the rooms that wasn’t too far from this entrance.
The cathedral was enormous after all, what with the cathedral itself consisting of several blocks’ worth of an area, and the actual grounds extending even further than that.
“If you’ll come with me, I’ll bring you to the people who will be studying your technique, as well as assisting you when you are practicing.” Lina explained as she turned to head into the cathedral.
“Wait, are you not included in that?” Warren asked as he and Ezekiel moved to follow Lina into the cathedral. “We had thought that, with your experience and position, that you’d be involved.”
Lina just glanced over her shoulder at the two as they continued moving.
“Unfortunately, I will not be involved. Not directly, at least. As it is, whilst several scholars were surprised and overjoyed at the discoveries that young Ezekiel has brought to our attention, it has been decided by the majority of the Scholars here that Ezekiel is too young to be the subject of study. They have no desire to see a childlike Ezekiel risking his life in such a manner.” Lina explained as she turned away from them.
“As it is, I happen to agree with them, as I do not believe that a child should be forced to shoulder such responsibilities, let alone take such an enormous risk. But I know you, and if he’s anything like you, then I know Ezekiel as well.” She further stated, not once looking back at the father and son following her.
Ezekiel and Warren were both surprised at what they were being told. This is not what they had been led to believe the previous day. They knew for a fact that Lina said she would do whatever she could to help them, as this could very well be the missing piece to creating a stable meditation technique for Void mages. So long as there were no further issues that were made apparent moving forward.
Unfortunately, both Ezekiel and his father could understand the worries that were being voiced by Lina. Ezekiel could sort of accept that Lina didn’t want to have him be put directly into danger, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the fact that he was once again stymied from getting the help he needed. He didn’t feel like he had any right to decry this change of plans, however, as he knew that the Church could always tell him no.
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Warren, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel a little bit betrayed, as he knew that Ezekiel needed as much help as he could get if he wanted to progress as quickly as Warren and Evelyn knew their son would be able to.
He also knew that there was no way the Church would be willing to just move a kid as smart and as studious as Ezekiel away without a reason that went beyond just the confines of the Church and its members.
Theo, sharing thoughts with his partner, also knew that something fishy was happening, and prepared himself to back up his partner with everything he had.
“Why else, Scholar Ashe?” Warren said as he came to halt in the middle of the corridor, placing his hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder to bring him to a stop as well. Theo had jumped from Warren’s shoulders at this point. He now stood on the ground next to Ezekiel on the opposite side from Warren. The two were now standing in a protective formation, ready in the event that whatever answers they got ended up getting out of hand.
“I know for a fact that there are, perhaps, three other Tier three Life mages currently residing in the cathedral at this moment. Most others in the city either being part of the guilds or the two that currently head the Harkem Hospital. So, if it won’t be you helping my son, I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me who will be. As well as telling me where we are headed, as you have yet to really explain what kind of assistance Ezekiel will be receiving, other than the fact that it’s not as great as you implied yesterday.” Warren spoke with a tight voice as he glared at Lina’s back.
He wanted to trust her, but he and his family didn’t have the best of ties to the Church of Ten, even though they knew Lina, it wasn’t like she was ultimately in charge, and even if she was, the various cathedrals under Church of Ten were led by councilors chosen from Tier three Mages of each of the elements, except the Void. A status quo he now realized would soon be in jeopardy of changing.
Warren’s tone of voice and accusations brought Lina to a pause. Turning around, she gave Warren an annoyed, but somewhat amused, stare as she looked at Warren and Theo standing in defense of Ezekiel.
“Are you trying to be threatening right now? You realize you’re in the heart of a Church of Ten cathedral, don’t you? If you try to start a fight here, you’ll have dozens of Tier three Mages coming after you in an instant.” Lina said as she raised her eyebrow in baffled amusement.
“Indeed. Tier three Mages.” Warren said as Theo let out a growl. “Now, before we go any further, please, tell me what, exactly, has changed since yesterday?”
Lina didn’t answer for a moment. The Hunter of Light and the Mage of Life continued to stare at each other. One in frustration and concern, the other in a deadpan annoyance.
Ezekiel could only stare on as the two adults stared each other down.
Finally, Lina broke eye contact first, clicking her tongue in frustration as she turned away.
“Tsk. When did the reckless man who charged headfirst into battle become so mature, I wonder. I can still remember when you deferred to me for almost everything, and when I stared you down for your mistakes, you’d always break first.” Lina said with a rueful smile as she took a moment to reminisce.
Warren wouldn’t let her have the moment, however, as he had far more pressing concerns.
“I grew up, and in this situation, I’m not making a mistake. Defending my son for potential harm will never be a mistake.” Warren said as she continued to stare Lina down.
“... Well, in this case it is, because our decision is meant to prevent your son from coming to harm.” Lina explained as carefully as she could. “There are forced throwing stones in this city, and the ripples may very well turn into waves that will wipe us out if we’re not careful. A great many people have started to show how... blinded... they are to the Church's teachings.”
Warren flinched for a second, doing his best to hide it from Ezekiel, but his son knew what to look for, and caught it anyway. Clearly something was going on, and the only thing that he could think of was that the Church was feeling pressure from outside forces. Potentially from internal ones as well.”
“However, I will answer your questions as best I can. As we go to meet the ones that will be working with Ezekiel.” Lina stated as she turned once again in the direction of wherever it was, they were being led to.
Warren looked down at Ezekiel in concern, but Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel like this was still what he needed to do. So, looking up at his father, he grabbed his hand and gave a couple of tugs. Warren just sighed in frustration before moving forwards with Ezekiel. Theo hopped up onto Ezekiel’s shoulder this time, just in case, as all three of them knew that it was Ezekiel that would need the most help if anything did happen.
“To answer your first question; it will not be one of the Church’s Tier three Life Mages that will be helping with this. I was barely able to get permission to have a Tier two Mage to help, but luckily the Life Mage in question was most interested in what you will be doing and showed an intense interest in being involved.” Lina said as she gave a brief introduction of the Life Mage that would be helping.
“Her name is Issa Wills, and before you ask if she can be trusted, know that she is my apprentice, and whilst she has had trouble breaking through to the third Tier, she is second to none when it comes to Tier two Life Mages within the Harkem’s Grand Cathedral.” There was a hint of pride in Lina’s voice as she said this.
It frustrated Warren to know end to know that it wasn’t going to be a Tier three Life Mage on standby for Ezekiel, but he recognized the fact that Lina had likely done her best in the situation. The fact that he knew Lina would never lie about her thoughts on other Life Mage’s abilities also helped.
“To answer your second question; we are headed towards the facilities that have been put aside for young Ezekiel’s use. It obviously can’t be in the more public areas of the cathedral, as that would draw attention, as well as suspicion, should any of the regular visitors and followers notice him and his team practicing as they will be. To that end, we have granted him a room in one of the private sections of the cathedral. One belonging to a Tier three Tempest Mage. So, congratulations, you’re receiving the personal aid of a Tier three Scholar of the Church.” Lina’s voice grew strained as she explained what resources Ezekiel would be getting. It seemed like she wasn’t too fond of the Scholar in question.
“Excuse me, but is there anything wrong with this that I need to know about? It doesn’t seem like you’re too happy about the room I’ll be getting.” Ezekiel asked before Warren could speak up or stop them again.
“It’s not that I think the room is a bad thing, so much as the owner of the room is... eccentric, when it comes to his fascination in the means and methods of manipulating mana for various purposes.” Lina said for clarification. “That’s not to say that he’s dangerous, or that he won’t help you. Scholar Rudy is one of the most knowledgeable scholars in Harkem, but he’s somewhat flighty, and has a hoarding habit that has resulted in more than a few messes when he tries to borrow things from the other scholars without asking, or without returning the things that he does ask to borrow.”
“He’s a thief?!” Warren says in shock. “And you want me to be trusting him with my son’s safety?”
Lina looked pained for a moment before answering. “He’s not a thief. He’ll give back anything you ask for, and he’ll happily lend you anything you need from him if you ask. The problem is that he often forgets what he has borrowed or taken from others, as well as what’s been borrowed or taken from him by others. It causes a lot of confusion for most of the Scholars due to lots of... item misplacements.”
Warren and Ezekiel took a moment to digest what Lina was telling them. This sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. How on earth could Lina think that this was an appropriate supervisor for Ezekiel’s training and meditation.
“Regardless, Scholar Rudy has an apprentice and an aide of his own, who will also be helping in Ezekiel’s studies. Trent Solts, a Tier two Tempest Mage who is a number of years older than you, and is training to eventually go on his pilgrimage to the Trillious Grand Cathedral in a couple of years, as well as Merlot Raker, a Tier two Glacial Mage who is quite a bit older, and has completed his pilgrimage and is currently completing his required Journeyman studies under Scholar Rudy so that he can complete his accreditations to become an official Scholar himself. Although he has yet to break through to Tier three, it is expected that he is likely to do so within the next couple of years. Both are well versed in records of the Ancients, and the various methods they passed down to humanity.”
Hearing the rundown Lina had given them regarding the other people who would be helping Ezekiel moving forward, he and his father couldn’t help but feel a little bit more relieved. It was good to know that they’d have so many professionals that had knowledge of the Ancients from the Church of Ten’s records and archives.
Regardless of these answers, however, none of them failed to notice how Lina did not see fit to finish answering Warren’s previous questions. Specifically, the question of what exactly the assistance would compose of, beyond the healing from her apprentice, and what exactly had changed since yesterday.
The quartet continued on from that point in silence. Getting further and further away from the more public areas of the cathedral. There were very few guards nearby, but Ezekiel was able to see the odd enchantments here and there. He rightly assumed they were for security.
In addition, there were several oddly colored animals coming and going as they continued to go deeper and deeper into the area that Ezekiel could tell was likely the region of the cathedral that bordered the Spirit Lands of Harkem.
Finally, after what seemed like forever to Ezekiel, they arrived at a large empty hallway with a single door at the end of it.
“Ah! Here we are. Now, if you’ll just come this way, I’ll be able to introduce you to-”
Lina was cut off suddenly as the door at the end of the hallway burst open with an enormous gust of wind. A Veritable maelstrom of moving air forced its way into the hallway.
Acting quickly, and with reflexes honed from years of battle, Lina and Warren stepped forward, both placing their hands into different shapes in front of themselves as they channeled their Mana into forming shields.
Out from Lina’s large sleeves grew countless tree branches that broke up the wind as they grew larger and larger, the leaves of the quickly grown horizontal tree acting like a cushion for most of the wind.
Yet as the gale force winds blew through the hall, a large number of branches broke off from the tree, and were blown directly at Lina and Warren, who stood between Ezekiel and the winds.
Luckily, the semi-dome of light that Warren summoned blocked the incoming debris and kept them all safe from possible injuries as the broken pieces of wood shattered as it made impact on the shield. Lina and Warren let out stressed grunts as the wind forced them to do their best to hold on.
They both let out sighs of relief as the wind died down, before expressions of fury spread across their faces. Ezekiel and Theo just looked shocked and confused, Ezekiel more than Theo, whose face now sported a toothy grin, as the shrunken down lion thought about who it was about to fight.
Three people stumbled out of the now doorless doorway. A teenage girl with green eyes, crooked glasses, and red hair, an early twenties looking man with gray eyes and black hair, and a man who looked to be about Warren’s age with blue eyes and brown hair. All of them had ruffled clothing and hair as they tried to get away from the room that Ezekiel and his father were being led to.
Each of them looked weak in the knees, almost like they would keel over at any moment. As they noticed the now retracting tree and fading shield of light, three tried their best to stand up straight in order to look presentable in front of another Scholar.
“WELL!” a loud and excited sounding voice called out from the room. “That certainly didn’t work the way I thought it would. Issa! Do you know when your Master will be here? I want to get my hands on that boy who discovered the new aspect of Void mana! There’s work and research to be done!”
A man with entirely gray hair exited the room and looked out to see Lina and Warren glaring. Lina at him, and Warren at Lina.
The man wore a robe with the iconography of the ten Ancients, just like Lina, but was much more disheveled, and looked like a strong breeze could blow him over, yet the power of the wind that could be felt from those around him was very noticeable. He clearly wasn’t even trying to restrain himself.
“Ah! Lina! It’s about time you got here. Tell me, where’s the little genius I’ll be working with?” The man, now clearly Scholar Rudy, asked with total obliviousness towards the glares being directed towards him.
“QUENTIN RUDY, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!” Lina screamed at the top of her lungs as she marched forward, reaching up and grabbing Scholar Rudy by the ear and dragging him back into the room he just came from.
Warren and Ezekiel shared a look. Warren had one of exasperation on his face and was about to ask Ezekiel if he wouldn’t mind waiting until he could find some help somewhere else. Perhaps the Alkena’s knew someone that could help.
But the look on Ezekiel’s face stopped him. It was a look he recognized from his own face many years ago. It was a look of curiosity, with only a little bit of fear held back and very well disguised.
“Dad.” Ezekiel said quietly.
“... Yes son.” Warren replied.
“I think my life’s about to get complicated.” Ezekiel said. “I think we need to keep this from mom.”
Warren silently agreed and couldn’t help but thank the Ancients that his son was so smart. Regardless of how much trouble it seemed to be bringing him. He then cursed the Hunter from the Roaring Ruins Guild once again from the bottom of his heart for getting his son involved with that damned relic.