They entered the gate and Henry didn’t listen to a single other word this man antagonistic to him and his special treatment had to say. He didn’t ask for this, so why should he put up with derision for it? As the gate loomed ever-closer Henry’s pace accelerated. It was easy to walk faster than mortals ever could with just the slightest touch of flight, but as a result he was left alone and disoriented in the massive open courtyard whose occupants obscured every possible direction he tried to look. It would be easy to fly above them, and yet it would cause him yet more grief than he already had. For each person who saw him two stared at the open hole in his robes as if to question his place in this miniature society based solely on appearances of strength and status.

Henry was thrown about by the waves of people until eventually finding his way into the point this tide of humanity was swirling toward; a stone arch some fifty feet high and twenty-five feet wide at several hundreds of feet offset from the gate he had entered the academy from. The sky transitioned from blue to gray some hundreds of feet above him as the arch gave way to a dome with no seating beneath. He stood and waited, walked and waited as the tide continued to push him down and forward towards the semi-circular wooden stage until, at last, he was right upon and pulled onto it by none other than Master Chen, who whispered an apology after noticing the hole in Henry’s robes.

His face was iron-solid and betrayed no second-hand embarrassment, but with the wave of a hand Henry’s outfit was restored. Despite his now fitting in, Henry no longer had a crowd to blend into. His place had become the stage, and his introduction had become known to all,

“Please welcome the Heavenly Demonic Scourge, newest patron of our sect, Master Henry last-name-not-given! He’ll be joining us here to refine his skills and aid us in battles soon to come.”

There was no applause to the booming female voice of whichever staff member had announced his presence. There wasn’t even an acknowledgement, voices continued at fever-pitch amongst those now able to meet each other and those returning for another year of study with friends made in years past. The announcements continued and the only thing Henry had gained from his elevation to the stage was an even more special position.

“As you all know, we welcome mages and archons of all styles, major and minor. While our neighbors don’t take kindly to this, we believe it helps us develop more advanced techniques than they could ever hope to conjure. Henry isn’t only capable of using his own essence to cast magic, he also has a patron whose identity you’ll have to ask him for yourself! Not only is he capable of wielding advanced and devastating techniques against our enemies on the battlefield, he’s also directly faced Zorvilon, god of fire, and lived to see another day!”

Small ripples of murmuring began amongst the crowd as other parts fell silent.

Henry was dying inside and certain his face was beet-red.

“Not only that, but he can destroy techniques casted by archons who follow the school of Yaldabaoth!”

“I can?” Henry was confused, “and why are they talking about me so much? Isn’t this supposed to be an enrollment ceremony?”

“But enough about him, we also have legendary Master Chen-Thai joining us here today to ring in the new semester!”

Chen-Thai gave Henry a shit-eating grin, but the rest of the speech was meaningless.

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When it was finally over Henry didn’t leave the stage through the archway, instead following Chen-Thai towards a door that led deeper into the complex that would be his new temporary home. They paused by the huge circular stone wall as Henry spoke, exasperated.

“What was that for?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Chen-Thai began.

“You’ve signed a contract with the Grand Elder to help defend us at the highest level and I’m here to make sure that happens.”

“I hope you didn’t think you could just waltz onto a battlefield and expect to be treated like a full-fledged archon with command and responsibility for thousands of lives. You have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is your position and the expectations that come with it being announced to those you expect to lead.”

“But I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want to lead.”

“And yet you promised to defend us and I promised to make you ready for that. If your subordinates don’t trust you there’s no way for you to survive on a battlefield.”

“I can fight alone.”

“Can you now? That might fly in a war of aggression, but in defensive battles you have to be able to coordinate with your allies to defend key positions. If one part of the city starts to fall you have to be ready to command those you would protect.”

“And I can command them to leave.”

“There’s not always somewhere to go.”

“Well you didn’t have to make me into a special prodigy who can’t interact with anyone.”

“I don’t mean to offend you too much, but get over yourself. Nothing is stopping you. You came in here with perfect confidence and killed those who doubted you. Why are you doubting yourself now? I didn’t think you were like that.”

Henry stared at the ground for a few long seconds.

“Maybe I don’t want to be, but when I feel strong I hurt more people than I would like.”

“And you’re a weapon, Henry, a one-man army. You don’t have to hurt everyone, but there’s a reason we’ve decided to invest in you and announce your presence here. Word is going to travel and plans are already being made with you in them. Don’t fail us now.”

“I’ll try not to,” Henry looked off into the crowd and then continued, “but I don’t want to lose myself to David in the process.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

“David, the other me.”

“There is no other you, only different parts of you.”

“Whatever you think you’ve lost, you’ve gained in other places. It’s a common thing here, losing parts of yourself. It’s one reason why people choose to cultivate inner power rather than Yaldabaoth or a god, but loss really isn’t so bad. To lose is to be human, it’s what you protect in the process that counts. Even if I lost all the memories I’ve ever had, it would be worth it if I’m able to protect the other Left Hands of God.”

Chen-Thai, too, began to look somberly at the crowd.

“Do you know why we chose that name?”

“I don’t.”

“It’s been around for generations so there are many explanations, but my favorite has always been that we’re the mediocre, the second-string, the ones who are always there but never quite relied on in the same way as a right hand often is, but there are some tasks that can’t be accomplished without two hands. There are some tasks that require losing the right hand. There are some things you can’t understand without losing what you thought defined yourself. Yaldabaoth is gone and the Covenant of Ancients that were always his right hand have abandoned us since long ago. We’re all that remains of His humanity left without divinity, so we have to embrace the things that only we can do as a left hand without the right.”

He paused for a few long moments.

“Do what you feel is right, but if you should begin to lose yourself don’t forget that we’re here for you. I said I’d help you yesterday and I meant it. You can rely on me, but I’m going to need you to help me in return.”

“I’ll try to measure up.”

“Don’t try. Succeed.”