Chapter 4: Sorin's Ascension Part 2

“My clothes were ruined,” Sorin responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and explained everything. Sorin heard an exasperated sigh from the darkness.

“This is unprecedented. In all my time as a god, no one has dared to ascend to meet me while completely nude. To think, my only son in millenia would be so crass,” Vesperos sighed.

“It can’t be that bad? I bet there are plenty of followers who have had to ascend while naked,” Sorin replied sheepishly.

“No Son, no there is not. Oh dear, the both of us would become a laughing stock if the other gods hear about this. Never speak of this to anyone. To think the son of Vesperos ascended in the buff to meet his father for the first time. Oh, the humanity,” Vesperos bemoaned. Then Vesperos changed his tone to be serious again. “Let's pretend this never happened and start over.”

Sorin shrugged to show his agreement to start the interaction anew. It wasn’t what he was picturing his first encounter with Vesperos, the Darkness of the World, to go either. He didn’t see why ascended nude was a problem, but if his father thought it was then he would be fine with starting over.

“Sorin, my Son. You have fought hard and have ascended against all odds,” Vesperos boomed.

“I do it in honor of you, Father,” Sorin replied into the darkness. There was silence, but Sorin thought he could see the white flash of teeth in the shape of a smile in the darkness. However, it was gone before he could confirm. Several moments of silence passed and the mood turned somber.

“I sent him because he was one of my best,” Vesperos said softly. His voice contained sadness. “He was not the most powerful, but he was one of the most honorable.”

Sorin’s heart clenched and he immediately knew Vesperos spoke of Magnus. He tried to reply, but he choked on his words. He was feeling better about Magnus, but with the reminder of his passing, Sorin felt the guilt and sadness crushing him once again.

“Do not blame yourself for his death, my Son. He was acting in my and his own wishes when he set off to battle and died honorably. Very few of my followers die honorably because of my nature. They grow jealous and protective of themselves due to my preaching of finding and keeping secrets.”

“Many misinterpret the meaning behind secrets. Secrets are a source of power that is meant to be shared with those you trust. Magnus recognized this teaching of mine where many of his colleagues failed. That is why he taught and departed his secrets to you,” Vesperos spoke slowly, seeming to drag the confession out of himself. Sorin did not know if gods usually criticized themselves and their followers, but he respected his father for admitting the flaws in those following him.

“What do I do without him, Father? I am lost. I know where to go, but not what to do,” Sorin voiced his doubts.

“Are you lost? Has he not laid a path out for you? Has he not taught you how to follow it? Has he not told you that your next mentor awaits you in the city of Cestead?” Vesperos questioned in an angry tone. It was the drastic flip in the tone of voice that caused Sorin to snap out of his sorrow. The tone of voice was that of a father disciplining his son for not properly thinking things through. Sorin realized that it actually was his father lecturing him.

“You do not know what to do? You follow your destiny, that is what. You grow in power and strength. You learn the secrets of the world. You go forth and do battle with all those who oppose you and your goals. That is what you do Son,” Vesperos' anger escalated as he spoke.

“I understand Father, thank you for correcting me. However, I feel I do not have the power to make this journey,” Sorin voiced his next concern with trepidation in his voice.

“Of course you do not have the power! Power is gained through secrets and tribulations. You have only fought a single battle! This journey will hone you and cause you to grow in strength. How could you give up a task set to you by your master and not fulfill it? Would you dishonor your master because you believed you could not grow to fulfill his wishes?” Vesperos lectured. Sorin hung his head in shame. His father was right. There was no backing down from the last thing his master had left him; a task.

“You will follow the route he provided, you will grow in strength, and then you will avenge your master. Seek out power before vengeance, that is a secret I will leave with you. Use your drive for revenge to grow in power,” Vesperos calmed himself and began to speak calmly.

“I hear and obey,” Sorin replied demurely.

“Good,” Vesperos said. There was then a long pause before he continued.

“I am proud of you and what you have accomplished so far. Knowing this, you must realize that I am going to hide you from my followers as long as I can. As I mentioned before, most are not as honorable as Magnus Warbringer was. Usually, when a demigod ascends to the rank of Acolyte, followers of that god at a sufficient strength will sense the presence of their god in the world. No doubt this will be the case when your brother Quin ascends.”

“However, due to my domain being capable of controlling secrets, I am able to mask your ascension till you are strong enough to defend yourself. My followers, if they knew of your presence, may not seek you out with positive intentions. That is why I do this. Trust only those you have vetted and formed close bonds with as comrades.”

“What about Zane Warbringer?” Sorin asked.

“You can trust him. He resembles his brother in his principles, however do not be surprised or disappointed when you meet him. He may resemble Magnus, but his brother’s disappearance took a toll on him. I hope your presence will bring him back to his rightful path. There is much he and his academy will teach you,” Vesperos answered. The comment about Sorin’s presence bringing Zane back onto his right path had Sorin puzzled, but he did not question it as he had a far more pressing question.

“Father… about Magnus… Can you bring him back to life? Surely with your mighty power you could,” Sorin asked with a hopeful tone.

“I am sorry Son. I cannot bring back the dead as it is not my domain. Necromancy and the dead is the domain of Necros. To bring Magnus back from the dead, you would need his soul and a powerful necromancer to craft a body for him.” Vesperos stated.

“Do you have Magnus’s soul? Don’t those who follow you come to you after death?” Sorin was quite desperate for the hope of reviving Magnus.

“Yes, the souls who follow my teachings go to my divine realm as repayment for their service in life. However, I do not have Magnus’s soul.” Vesperos replied.

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“But… But… how did Magnus’s soul not make it to your divine realm if he was such a devoted follower?” Sorin stuttered while feeling a bit of hopelessness.

“That's because it takes time for a soul to come to my divine realm. The souls of the dead remain in the world and cling to those they were close to in life. This is due to the soul’s unwillingness to pass on without seeing the fulfillment of any of their lingering desires. I do not have Magnus’s soul because it is currently clinging to you and will continue to do so until Magnus’s unfulfilled desires are met.” Vesperos explained.

Sorin felt immense relief at his Father’s explanation. Magnus was not gone. His soul was even tied to Sorin. If Sorin remembered Magnus’s teachings correctly, necromancers could use souls to give life to a body with that soul in control of the body. If Sorin had Magnus’s soul then he could enlist a necromancer to perhaps bring Magnus back.

“So there is a chance a necromancer could bring Magnus back to live?” Sorin cried at the realization.

“Yes… there is a chance, but enlisting a necromancer of sufficient power to bring a soul that had ascended to the Rank of Exarch would be incredibly difficult for someone of your power,” Vesperos sighed.

“Father, I will grow in strength as much as I can,” Sorin promised, his hopes for the future reignited.

“Good! Grow in strength! Utilize my divine blood to unlock your potential. You will be able to unlock powers from all of my domains as long as you are strong enough to contain that power. This will make you far stronger and versatile than all others so learn quickly. Other powers that I cannot say will emerge in time as well. You will discover them given time.” Vesperos spoke with enthusiasm.

“Now, go forth my Son and forge a path to Cestead. It will be a difficult journey, but if you grow as you travel, you will make it.” Vesperos said. With those parting words and without a chance to say goodbye, Sorin found himself in his own body once again as if the whole interaction had never happened. However, Sorin could feel a deep power within himself. A power he could not wait to use. Sorin had ascended into the rank of Acolyte.

Far away in the city of Cestead, the City of Academies, a secretary was rushing through the halls of an academy. She was not an alumni of the academy, but she was married to one of the teachers. Her husband and her had met on a patrol many years ago. When they retired from the Dark Patheon military, he wished to come back to his birthplace and teach the next generation. So it was only right that he returned to the place where he obtained his education.

This place had given her husband everything. He had been an orphan in the city of Cestead and applied to this academy when he turned sixteen. They found he had potential and had gladly accepted him into the academy despite having no background. They raised him and sent him out into the world to become a successful soldier and even more wonderful man. That kind of debt could not be paid off with gold alone so it was only natural that such an honorable man would return to give back to the community that raised him.

The secretary had no inclination to become a teacher despite being as competent as her husband. She was happy with a small office position with helping run the academy. The pay was reasonable and allowed her to live comfortably with her husband and their children who had recently joined the academy. Everything in her life was perfect and peaceful except for the stresses of being involved with running the academy. Those stresses had been exponentially increasing over the past few years. The primary problem that had arisen since joining the academy was the reason for the secretary rushing to the Academy Master’s office.

The secretary reached her destination and pushed open the heavy wooden door to allow her into the office. Inside the office it was dark despite it being in the early afternoon and the sun high in the sky. The curtains to the office had been almost indefinitely closed during the secretary’s time at the academy.

The secretary could see into the darkened office where she saw the Academy Master was asleep over the desk. He was hunched over the large oaken desk with his face pressed against the wood. A prolonged period of such horrendous posture would lead even the most hardy men to develop back pain. However, despite the numerous times that the secretary woke the Academy Master from such a slouch, he never seemed to show back pain.

The secretary wrinkled her nose. The office smelled strongly of liquor. The Academy Master had drunk himself to sleep again. This was incredibly undignified and made the secretary have a negative view of the Academy Master despite him being one of her husband’s role models, greatest heroes, and on more than one occasion, brother in arms. She personally never fought with the Academy Master or ever saw him fight. She trusted her husband’s judgment of the Academy Master’s vast strength, but when faced with the broken drunkard she could not fully bring herself to believe this man to be impressive at anything other than the consumption of booze.

When it came to alcohol for followers of gods, it was an expensive luxury. As a follower advanced in strength, the more difficult it would be for them to reach inebriation. Therefore followers wielding great strength would have to open their wallets for progressively stronger and more expensive liquor. For someone at the Academy Master’s strength, the cost of a single drink would be a day’s salary for the secretary. The fact that he drank himself into unconsciousness multiple times a month and sometimes even multiple times a week proved that he was incredibly wealthy. Although, the secretary had heard in passing from some of the academy treasurers that the expense of buying alcohol for the Academy Master was putting quite the strain on the academy budget.

“Academy Master, I have important news.” The secretary announced from the doorway.

The words roused the Academy Master. He raised his head from the desk slowly, exposing flushed cheeks from the liquor still in his system. The man was a mountain of muscle. He resembled an unkept bear. He had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. They were currently bloodshot from lack of sleep.

The man stood, using his large meaty hands to push himself up. While he stood, his chair caught on the floor. This caused the man to bump the desk with his incredibly rotund chest. This caused various bottles to clatter and fall off of the desk. A few broke upon hitting the ground. At the noise, the man raised a hand to cover his face and run it down his features. He sighed in annoyance.

The man ignored the shattered glass after acknowledging the mess with the sigh. The glass made a bit of a mess in the office. The office, besides the broken glass and the bottles on the desk, was pristine. It adopted a minimalist style. The only furniture in the room was the desk with chairs on either side and a bookshelf that contained various books on war tactics and fighting styles. The Academy Master cared little for anything besides battle before his more recent vice of the past several years, liquor. He was a good teacher when it came to war and fighting, but was clearly not cut out for administration of the academy.

He passed off many of his administrative duties to others in his family. His brother used to handle running the academy before his disappearance. Many thought he was dead, but the Academy Master insisted he was alive and well. None believed him. The secretary was positive that the Academy Master did not believe it either since he took up drinking. The secretary had never met the previous Academy Master as she arrived with her husband and children a few years ago and the previous Academy Master had disappeared without a trace far before that.

The Academy Master straightened his academy uniform that closely resembled a military one of the Dark Pantheon. He blinked a few times and took deep breaths. Then he faced the secretary.

“Report secretary Johanna,” The Academy Master said in a gruff tone.

“The other academies of the city, including Darkplight Institute, Silverblade Masters, Valoria, and Stormhold Academy are once again calling for the City Overlord to overturn our exclusive rights over a few sections of the Pahryst Forest for training, hunting, and resource gathering. Unlike the previous requests over the past few years, the City Overlord has finally agreed to hear out the other institutes. The first meeting will occur in a few months,.” Johanna reported.

The Academy Master was silent and unmoving throughout the report. By the time that Johanna had finished the report, the Academy Master’s demure had changed several times. It shifted between shock, rage, resignation before resting on a demure sadness.

“Call the Academy Heads to meet with me in two hours in the War Conference Hall,” The Academy Master commanded in a tired voice. Johanna bowed and left the room to follow the order.

The Academy Master was left alone in his office with his own thoughts. These dark thoughts were the ones that drove him to drink. He reached for a bottle and attempted to take a long drink, but found it empty. He sighed in resignation of not being able to take off the edge of the complications to come before setting the bottle back on the desk softly. He sat back down in his chair and leaned his head backwards to stare at the ceiling.

“What would you do Magnus? If you hadn’t disappeared then my poor leadership would have never allowed our academy to fall into such a state. Where are you brother?” Zane Warbringer vocalized in his empty office. The only response was empty silence.