“A second ritual...” Oryn marveled. “That is... fantastic! You can truly change the scripture sigils on the ritual platform!?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“Marvelous! But... What if the candidate gets the same Calling again? How will you confirm whether it worked?”
“Right, you probably wouldn’t have heard about it in here. We can also control which Callings people will get. We announced it to the citizens a few days ago.”
“...”
Oryn’s eyes had been wide already, but after I mentioned controlling the Callings, they grew wider yet and he became quiet all of a sudden, as he stared at me slack-jawed, until he said something I couldn’t quite make out.
“G—s...” he whispered.
“What?” I asked.
“You... you are gods...”
“Eh...”
‘Moron!’
“Only the gods are able to control the Callings! If you can do that...! Then...!”
“Are you stupid?” I asked in exasperation. “You’re essentially a researcher, aren’t you? A scientist. Why would you believe someone to be a god just because they understand something you don’t?”
“You mean it’s all in the sigils...!?”
“Basically, yes.”
“I will do it! I need to do it! Please!”
If a grown adult literally begs you to allow them to risk their life, and there’s no danger for anyone else, only potential benefits, is there actually a reason to refuse?
“Alright, let’s go,” I said.
“Thank you!” Oryn said, while I was shaking my head, having trouble wrapping my head around his behavior. Granted, I would get excited about new scripts as well, but this was kind of ridiculous. I expected at least a little bit of hesitation.
After I unlocked his chains, he stood up again, his hands still in cuffs. I left the cell first, followed by Oryn, and Tomar came last.
“We’re taking him with us to the ritual chamber,” I said to Bren.
“Understood,” he said, and started leading the way.
It took us only a couple of minutes to get out of the building, across the main square, and back to the temple. Isn’t this nice? Imagine you had to walk all across town to get the guinea pigs for your experiments.
I thought Oryn would at least enjoy the sun for a second, or be happy to see the temple again, or something, but he seemed laser focused on getting to the ritual chamber as quickly as possible. Leaving our guards behind in the waiting area, the three of us entered the room. Naturally, nothing had changed since we had last been here, and the blanket I had put over the platform before we left, to protect the script a little, was still there as well.
“A blanket...?” Oryn asked.
“You’ll understand that we won’t show you the modified script yet.”
“Oh... That is unfortunate, but I understand.”
“Before we begin with the actual experiment, I’d like to check which Callings you were most suited for. Whether you were guaranteed to become a Worshipper or if there were other possibilities.”
“Of course you can do that as well!” Oryn said, laughing. “What can’t you do!?”
Hm... We can’t control fire. Now that would be neat, I thought, always having been a fan of fire magic.
“Just put your hand right here,” I said, as I pointed to where the activation area for our custom script was. After getting a white stone and placing it on the platform as well, the script activated and the first sign appeared.
“Huh. Researcher,” I said. “Well, that makes some sense I guess.”
“Ohhh, I might’ve become a Researcher? Amazing!”
“We’ll do nine more, to get a somewhat clear result.”
“Alright!”
When the second attempt resulted in the Researcher Calling as well, I still believed in a coincidence. After the fourth, I started having doubts, but after the eighth, I knew something was wrong.
“Eighty percent chance for Researcher...? And you still became... Oryn, you are a Worshipper, right?”
“Yes, that’s what the priest told me back then.”
“Right, so— Wait... what do you mean, he ‘told’ you? What about your sign?”
“Haha, Lilana, you know we don’t get to see our signs.”
‘Huh...?’
“... What are you talking about?” I said. “You usually get to see your Calling sign during your ritual.”
“What? No, no, only the normal citizens get to see theirs, to strengthen their belief in the gods. Those who grow up as potentiel priests don’t need that. That’s why we stand on the platform with our backs turned towards the altar!”
This was the first time I heard anything like this, and I gave a signal to Lilana to tell me more about it, but she seemed as confused as I was.
‘I have no idea what he’s talking about.’
Could it be...?
“Let’s finish the test...” I said, and we repeated the process two more times, both showing the Researcher Calling sign.
“All ten turned out to be Researcher...?” Oryn asked.
Technically it was possible that the chance for him to become a Worshipper was just very low, but I had another suspicion.
“Those fuckers...” I said. “I think the temple has been poaching people.”
“Hm? What do you mean?” Tomar asked.
“He’s a Researcher through and through! If that wasn’t obvious enough before, it certainly is now. What exactly makes him a Worshipper? He believes in the gods, sure, but so do other people who aren’t priests. And these guys are indoctrinated their entire lives!”
‘He’s not a Worshipper??’ Lilana said in surprise.
“I’m... not a Worshipper...?”
I should be careful not to say too much I guess...
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I don’t think you are, no. I believe the temple called people Worshippers to get them into their fold, to increase their numbers and the available talent. That’s why you weren’t allowed to see your sign, you would’ve known what was up.”
Ugh, how I hate to work with unreliable data! It’s no wonder the Calling makes no sense when other Callings are sprinkled in as well!
“Is this testing method reliable?” Oryn asked.
“So far, it has been, yes. It is possible that you’re a Worshipper after all, but the chance would have to be very low... We don’t have infinite white stones, but... let’s do another set. Just to be sure.”
Ten more stones and Researcher signs later, I was convinced that my theory was right. Worshippers were guaranteed to get work at the temple, no questions asked, while all others went to the job agency to find work. Usually elsewhere in town. By telling people they were Worshippers, even if that wasn’t actually the case, the temple would be guaranteed to get them. And Researchers in particular would most likely not work at the temple, because there were more interesting jobs for them out there. Makes you wonder what Calling the High Priest has...
“Hm... I don’t mind it. I like my job!” Oryn proclaimed.
“Of course you do... Well, let’s continue.”
I made the final adjustments to the script, including removing the limiter, and then put the blanket over the platform again, which I also drew a few markings on. Thanks to Tomar coming, and Oryn at least not having the Handiworker Calling, we would be able to directly test giving him this one. I thought I would’ve needed to find another Calling giver if Tomar had decided not to come, though it would’ve also been an option to actually give him Lilana’s Worshipper Calling now, which would also be very interesting.
“You’re okay with doing the experiment, right?” I asked Tomar.
“Yeah.”
Oryn looked curiously between us as we moved into place.
“Alright. Oryn, you’re going to stand on this square, Tomar will stand on the other one. You’ll then see the Handiworker sign, and ten seconds later you should get the Calling. In the unlikely case that we get another sign, you’re both going to step off the platform. Got it?”
“I see... You’re redirecting the Callings! This is brilliant!” he exclaimed and walked onto the marked area. Tomar stepped onto the platform as well, and I finally put down a white stone, to start the process. After a moment, Tomar’s Handiworker sign appeared.
“So far, so good,” I said.
One second passed, then two, everything was going according to plan, until Tomar and Oryn were suddenly pushed off the platform into opposite directions by some force, and a blinding light filled the room.
Oh no! Fuck! I thought, and immediately dropped control over Lilana’s body.
“Whoa! What are you doing, Mil—” Lilana started, but then she noticed that someone had appeared on the platform, right in front of her. “... Gallas...?” she said under her breath and dropped to her knees.
Out of the corner of her eyes, I could see that Oryn was getting onto his knees as well, after he had recovered from the push off the platform. I couldn’t see Tomar though.
Not good... not good... not good...
“Another awakened human...?” he said, appraising Lilana, before he looked around, towards Oryn. “And another one... And... You,” he said, finally looking in Tomar’s direction, and Lilana followed his gaze.
“Uhm... hello...” Tomar said hesitantly.
“What did you do this time?” Gallas asked, and looked to his feet. After stepping off the platform and removing the cover, he briefly examined the script, nodding knowingly. “You removed the calling limit... Why did you do that?”
“I... I wanted to see what would happen if you did the ritual again... Whether you could change Callings...”
“Didn’t I tell you not to meddle with scripts anymore last time?” Gallas asked, sounding a little annoyed.
“... Technically... you said we just couldn’t give people that specific Calling from last time... didn’t you?”
You can do it, Tomar!
“Is that so? Amusing...” Gallas said, and started writing a script in the air. After just a moment, he was done and snapped his fingers, which reverted the ritual platform to its original state.
Damn it... that was too fast to read it... We should have taken Ria...
“Now listen closely, little human,” he said as he approached Tomar. “That limit exists for a reason, and you’re not going to mess with my scripts again, understood?”
“I understand...”
“Now that I think about it... didn’t you say the other one was responsible for these changes? And that you didn’t understand them? He’s not back... is he?” Gallas said, and prodded Tomar’s head with his finger. “Hm... Seems like you’re alone in there.”
“No, he’s not back... I just learned a little bit about scripture sigils since then. They fascinate me...”
Suddenly, Gallas looked to the ceiling for some reason, as if he had noticed something. “Is that so? Well, my job here is done. The mods will do the rest. I suppose we won’t see each other again. Good bye, curious, little human.”
Just like that, Gallas was gone again, in another flash of light.
‘Fucking hell...’
“Are you okay!?” Tomar asked in a panic as he walked up and crouched down right in front of Lilana.
“Ah! Yes, I’m...” she started, and then continued in a whisper. “We’re okay. He switched with me.”
Visibly relieved, Tomar let out a sigh. “Berla would’ve killed me if we had lost you again.”
“That... that was Gallas!?” Oryn said as he came out of his daze. “The Gallas!? What just happened!?”
“He wasn’t happy with us trying to overwrite your Calling...” I said after Lilana had given control back to me.
“But he...! You...! He said it wasn't the first time!?”
“No, this kind of happened before. But with a different experiment. Tomar, are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, all good.”
Going over what just happened mentally, something was curious. We had repeatedly modified ritual platforms and used them, but Gallas had only appeared in two very specific cases, and both times he didn’t seem to know everything we had done. He had to examine the script, and he talked to us to learn more. He was most definitely not an all-seeing entity. It’s as if he gets a signal when something quite out of the ordinary happens...
“I-it happened b-before...” Oryn stammered. “And you still kept going...? I was right! You are true sigil researchers as well!”
“Please... don’t compare us to yourself...” Tomar said.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Bren and Brie came rushing in.
“What happened!?” Bren asked. “I felt like... there was a god close by!”
“Uh... Yea, that was a side effect of our experiment,” I said. “Don’t worry, it’s all good. Could one of you please get Oryn back to his cell? We’re done here for the moment.”
“Okay...” Bren said, unsure about the situation.
“Oryn,” I said. “You know the deal, right?”
“Of course, Lilana. I hope to see you again soon!”
“Yea, yea...”
After these three left the room, I could finally talk to the others in confidence.
“Quick question. Lilana, are you okay, or are you gonna scream my head off any moment?”
‘I’m... I don’t know what I am... That was a god! It was Gallas, right? I couldn’t see his eyes, but it must’ve been him, right!? But I didn’t feel his presence... And he talked to us! The gods don’t usually talk this much! It was amazing! And terrifying! And... And!’
“Okay, I’ll file that under amazement...”
‘But why did you give control over to me...?’
“I was hiding... They can somehow see me in people’s heads. They can also talk with the person on the backseat. I figured I should lay low...”
‘Ah... Okay.’
“So... I guess we found another thing we can’t do without them coming down and reprimanding us. We’ll have to stick to normal and special rituals.”
‘What!? Miles, he warned you not to mess around with his scripts anymore!’
“Well, yes. He did warn us,” I said, indicating to Tomar what Lilana had said, “but we now also know that he doesn’t see everything. He didn’t care about the special rituals, or at least he didn’t appear before us, and he didn’t notice the Calling sign ritual either. He’s limited in what he can see.”
‘But we can’t go against the gods’ wishes!!’
“Lilana... we just made a bunch of promises to the people... What do you think will happen if we go back on them?”
‘Oh... That’s... Isn’t there another way...?’
“Another way to uproot everything these people know about their destinies? No, not really. And this is a really big part of our campaign. Not to mention that it would be really good for both us and the town. I know Gallas might not be happy about it, but... if we stick to the things he doesn’t notice, we will surely be fine. Right?”
‘I don’t know...’
“Hey, Miles... What about that other thing he said? What was it... ‘mods?’”
“Right... I’m not sure yet. If I had to guess, he might have meant ‘moderators?’ But... that sounds weird.”
‘What is that?’ Lilana asked.
“In the context I’m thinking of, it’s basically someone who enforces rules.”
“I thought that’s what he’s doing,” Tomar said.
“Yea... Like I said, I’m not sure yet. Ugh, I could use some fresh air...” I said, and made my way to the door, with Tomar following me. As we passed Brie in the waiting room, heading in the direction of the front door, she hurried past us, to go first, for our safety.
We stepped out of the temple and I took a deep breath. I still can’t believe how much I like being outside nowadays. Would it be the same if I had a computer in our room...?
This peaceful moment was interrupted, when I heard a sob somewhere nearby though. After looking around for a moment, I noticed someone sitting behind a pillar, a few meters away, crying their eyes out. A woman, in a dress that was not so pretty anymore after spending several days in a dirty cell.
“Aelene?”