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As Gage walked towards the back room that had been Hye-jun’s, his mind turned to her. He was going to have to mediate to speak with her in Haven. Her hand grabbed hold of the flap and pulled it aside. He froze. On the other side of the flap was not his personal rooms, but instead he looked out into… Haven? She glanced over her shoulder towards Elfric and Rajan’kin. Both of them were still talking, neither of them seeming to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Looking forward, Gage stepped through and let the flap close behind him.
He could not only see it was Haven through the flap, but the moment he stepped through he could feel it as well. His own presence was everywhere, and his power hummed inside him, resonating with it. Feeling relaxed and secure, Gage closed his eyes and let his body revert to his original form. He paused after a few steps and looked down. “Uh, Ma’tuk?”
“Yes, my Lord?” The necklace that was his archon hummed, Ma’tuk’s voice playing in his mind.
“When I took Hye-jun’s form and, you know, grew her clothes to match… What happened to my original clothes?” Gage’s body was fairly lean with some decent muscle. He wasn’t toting a six pack, but his stomach had tightened over the last few months. His body was mostly smooth, with the typical hair in his pits and around his groin. “Also… why is all of my hair pink?”
“Ah, well… your cloths kind of… disintegrated? Fell apart? Ceased to exist.” Gage reached down and lifted the medallion off his chest and held it up before him. “I think your body broke them down to learn about clothes before you shifted to match Hye-jun’s clothes. As for your hair… I do not know.”
Gage looked down at himself once more before setting Ma’tuk back into place. “Well… okay then.” He closed his eyes and let his Nimbus flow, using his Breath to guide it. It only took moments and when Gage looked down at himself, he smiled. He had taken inspiration from Hye-jun and went with a Chinese design.
Gage now wore a modern changpao, a long robe of muted green, that ended just above the ankle and sleeves that ended just past the wrist. There was a slit on either side that went up each side to end roughly about the hip. The left panel was wrapped over the right and secured with Chinese frog buttons, the little knot and loop system. He kept the high, mandarin collar in place, though he softened the fabric instead of the traditional stiff material. His pants were a loose-fitting, black fabric that was secured at the waist under the robe and brought in at the ankle. On his feet he wore white socks, tucked under the pants, and black cloth shoes.
“Very wuxia, my Lord.”
“Thanks, Ma’tuk. I’ve always liked the design. Since I can apparently make my own clothes, may as well try out some new styles, right?” Feeling much more relaxed, Gage took a breath and started walking down the paths of his valley. He kept Hye-jun in mind as he did so and knew just where she was.
He found her at the far end of the valley, near the waterfall. She was seated on a decent sized boulder, legs crossed under her. Her back was straight, and eyes closed as she breathed evenly. “Very ‘old man on the mountain’ there, Daja.”
Hye-jun pursed her lips and cocked a brow, keeping her eyes closed. “I know I didn’t hear some insolent welp calling his teacher an ‘old man’.”
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“Of course not, Daja Hye-jun. This poor, insignificant student was commenting on how nothing could compare to his teacher’s ageless grace and serenity.” Gage dropped down to his knees and held his arms out wide as he gazed up at his teacher.
“Flirt.” Hye-jun opened her eyes and grinned down at him. “How was it, spending some time as me?”
Gage dropped his arms and slumped. “You should be the god. How you could do all that day after day, I guess I’ll have to get used to it, eh?”
She jumped off the rock to land before him and helped Gage to his feet. “Yes, yes you will. Though you may end up running yourself ragged trying to live your mortal and divine lives. Even if your body is resting, your mind is here, and that type of drain can be just as significant.”
“Aaaactually… my body is here, physically this time.” Gage smiled a little tentatively.
Hye-jun just shook her head. “Alright, we need to get you some divine children.”
“Say what now?” Gage looked sidelong at his teacher.
She slapped his arm, “No. Bad.”
Gage let out a laugh as Ma’tuk spoke up. “I believe she means minions, my Lord. Such as angels or demons, asura or spirits. That sort of thing.”
“Ah, I see. So, I need little divine people to help do things for me.” Gage said as the two of them began to amble down the path towards the small lake at the base of the waterfall. “The mythologies from where I came from had many ways these types of things came into existence. Some were made by the god they served, others already existed and came into their service by various means, and even more still were actually the offspring of the gods themselves.”
“Great spirits were often the servitors of the gods where I am from.” Hye-jun looked to Gage as they walked, “I do have a few suggestions you may like, Kin.”
“Please, Daja, Gage is just fine.” Gage protested, face falling a little.
“No, no it is not, Kin.” She emphasized his name. “I may be your Daja and your friend, but this is the afterlife. Soon I will not be the only one here. You are Kin and you will need to present yourself as such or you will lose those who believe in you. How can they believe in a god who does not believe in themself? You need to start setting some rituals and rules for those who follow you. Not only will it secure your power and will actually attract followers to you, but the act of them also following your tenents and performing your rituals will empower you more than their belief alone.”
Gage let out a sigh, “Oh, alright. I will speak with Rajan’kin, they can help me for sure. They have a very good insight to the people and a keen intuition.”
“Rajan…kin?” Hye-jun raised a brow.
“Oh, yes. Um, so you remember Faelenor? It seems that in alajin culture, one is considered an adult when they have finalized a path or course of action for life, and they receive a new name. Faelenor became Rajan, and then Rajan officially became a devoted of Kin. So, Rajan’kin.”
“Ah, I see. Congratulations to you both then.” Hye-jun seemed to be thinking a moment and Gage enjoyed the scenery. “Does Rajan’kin know you are the god they worship?”
He couldn’t help but bite his lip. “No, not at the moment. I don’t know if I will ever tell Rajan’kin. It would drastically change the dynamic, and I like it how it is.”
“Very well. Rajan’kin does sound like a good choice to discuss the groundwork for your faith. I wish you both luck in that endeavor.” Hye-jun said as they reached the water’s edge. “I will admit, there is a particular reason I had brought up the divine children.”
“Oh, so you were interested.” Gage grinned over at Hye-jun, who only rolled her eyes.
She pulled them to a stop and pointed up towards the sky. Gage followed where she was pointing and frowned. “I don’t see anything.”
“Don’t just look, listen as well.”
Gage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out as he calmed himself. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up again, listening as well. It was very faint, but he had heard it once before. “The voices on the wind? I thought that… was… What is that?” Among the winds and eddies above them, very faint whisps of light were swirling and getting pushed about.
“Those,” Gage caught the stern undertone to Hye-jun’s voice, “Are wandering spirits, if I ever saw one.”
“Wandering spirits?”
She nodded, “The dead who have not been collected. I’m not certain because I have only heard of wandering spirits haunting in the realm of the living. No reason to wander in the afterlife, after all. I believe that they did not die in such a way that would have bound them to the mortal realm. So, they have approached the afterlife they should be in, or perhaps the one that was closest, but they can’t find it.”
Gage nodded. “Alright, you said you have an idea of what I can do for my ‘divine children’, right?” He turned to look at his teacher. “What do I need to do, Daja?”