Chapter 16: Borrowed Flames Ignite!
(Follow the spirit. It shall guide the way. The others await you.)
Agni followed the burning silver orb up a mountain path. The climb was smooth, as the path had been cleared beforehand, but it was still tiring.
The dirt path leading to the mountaintop was riddled with footprints.
Could the other villagers already be waiting at the top? Is that what the Goddess meant by ‘the others await you?’ What could this all mean? Agni’s head was a mess of questions.
Despite her mental fog and physical exhaustion, her legs did not stop moving. The Goddess had given her a task of great importance.
(There is a place I would like to make. A place where all souls may gather and rest after death, so that they may commune and be alleviated of the burdens they had in life. There, you may meet your beloved once more when your time comes. There, you may stay together for eternity.)
It was a curious promise—one that sounded too sweet. So, after receiving her task, she dared question the Goddess’s intentions.
(Can’t you just bring Fish back to life?... Why must I be given such a difficult task?)
(Is life so light a thing that it may be taken and returned at whim?)
(I… don’t understand.)
(It is simple, my dear child. Life cannot be returned once it is lost. Even if such a thing were possible, it should not be done—for it would break the balance of all things.)
Yvell once explained to Esphera the value of life and how treating it lightly would upset the balance of the world.
His theory (which he presented as fact for his constellation mentor act) was that if life were to be treated so lightly that the dead could be returned at a whim, then people would look to the Goddess with greed and would treat life cheaply. This would, in turn, lead to a cascading effect of events that would inevitably lead to the ruination of her divinity and the corruption and depravity of mankind.
There was more to this explanation; however, the rest would be better suited for another time. To Agni, who was unaware of all this, there was only frustration and… deep confusion.
“Unfair… It should be more annoying, but… why did she look so sad?”
Incompetence.
Agni had seen some of the younger hunters in the village who contributed little to hunts. They were arrogant and always full of excuses. Passing blame onto others with ease. Older hunters who were beginning to grow frail acted worse, like Weed, that pot-bellied old man.
Through them, she learned that people who couldn’t do what they were expected to do were liars. She thought Esphera, the village’s revered Goddess, would be the same. She expected a… ‘higher being’ to be haughty and to look down on her. Yet…
(However… Would it not be too sad to part so suddenly, with no assurance of reunion? I certainly think so. So, Agni, there is something I would like for you to do.)
Why did she look like that? Why did she look like she was in pain? Like… she was blaming herself for her own failure?...
It was a mistake on Esphera’s part—a small one, but a revealing one.
Esphera had been practicing theatrics under her mentor, whom she deeply respects, but she had always done so with holy fire that hid her face. She had never practiced her facial expressions, so when the time came to directly interact with a follower who suffered under what she considered her own failure, she… could barely hold back her feelings. The rookie constellation was a goddess who wore her emotions on her sleeve.
To Agni, who had never seen someone hold an expression of deep regret before, this was new. So, she didn’t quite know how to process all of this yet. However…
“Maybe once this is all over, I’ll understand just a little bit more.”
Agni felt it—that she would grow to understand the village’s revered Goddess just a little bit more once she completed this task. That is why she was in a hurry to rush up the mountain, stamina be damned. She thought that maybe, if she could understand what was going on in that Goddess’s head, she would feel a little less irritated.
“I’m halfway there… just a little more…”
The spirit guiding her urged her on, waving its body around energetically. Unbeknownst to her, this spirit was a little more spirited than the others that were already at the ritual site.
“The Evergreen plains… a place that has been unconquered since ancient times. I have always wondered how barbarians managed to protect this place for generations. Now that I have seen them up close, however…”
“Yes. They are… immensely powerful.”
A young woman with short pink hair and a bronze-skinned dwarf. This unusual duo made their way to the Evergreen plains with the help of a wealthy and powerful friend. Their friend had lent them money to take a carriage to the plains. However, shortly after they arrived, they were attacked by an unusual scaly winged beast with udders and short forearms with long claws. The two had thought they were done for—at least until a group of hunters belonging to a barbarian tribe arrived and quickly turned the ugly creature into cooked lizard meat.
“They are not going to hurt us, are they?”
“I do not think you should be concerned, Priestess Runoa. I have heard that the barbarian tribes are particularly friendly to their fellow humans from beyond the plains. Dwarves, however, I am not sure.”
“... Ruger, could you stand behind me? Maybe I could hide you. You seem small enough.”
“That is an insulting statement, Priestess, but I will take you up on your offer.”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
“...! Quick! They are coming!”
“Right!”
Ruger quickly hid behind Runoa, who spread her arms and legs apart to widen her silhouette and obscure her friend behind her. A man wearing the scales and skins of various beasts, his body larger than the average man, approached the pair. The hulking figure stopped a foot away from the pair and bowed his head in greeting.
“Greetings, flame bringer. I am Bor’kaal, or Bone Eater, if you find my name too difficult to pronounce. Chief warrior of the Silver Back tribe. I am glad to see you safe.”
“Flame bringer…? But I belong to the Order of Fates and Twisted Futures…”
“It is what they call all humans from outside the plains, Priestess.”
“Really? I thought they might have mistaken me for a Priestess of the Silver Flames…”
Poke.
“... Priestess.”
“Ah! Right! Thank you for your help, brave warrior… Erm… Bone Eater, sir.”
“... Strange name.”
Bone Eater smiled and nodded.
“What business do you have in these lands?”
“We have come here in search of a shrine, however…”
Runoa tilted her head to the side, trying to see the bright burning silver figure floating behind Bone Eater. She had heard rumors that shamans of the Evergreen plains could summon spirits to help them in battle, but this man clearly introduced himself as a warrior.
“Ah… Are you curious about my friend over here?”
“Your… friend?”
“Yes. We have long shared a deep friendship, they and I. When I first summoned them through a ritual…”
“A ritual!?...”
“Summoning ritual!”
Runoa’s eyes widened as she gazed at the mysterious floating entity. Its roaring silver flames bore a vaguely human shape, and though no eyes were visible on its form, Runoa could feel its gaze on her. The flames enveloped an orb-like object, which seemed to be its core.
Despite bearing a human shape, it didn’t move like one. Aside from the flames themselves, the entity itself was eerily still.
“Curious about my friend, are you? This is a…”
[[Efreet. The Holy Spirit calls.]]
The Holy Spirit’s voice reverberated in the minds of everyone at the scene.
Then, a ‘spirit’ floated up to the center of the ritual circle, where Bear stood. Bear’s hunter instincts could tell it was the same ‘spirit’ that guided him up the mountain. Before Bear or the other villagers could understand what was going on, the silver flames encircling the ritual site began to gather around the silver orb.
[[This spirit shall be born anew as an Efreet.]]
As the flames gathered and grew, it soon took a new shape. A vague shape akin to that of a man from the torso up. It waved its burning arms as if honoring the Holy Spirit above. Bear, shaken by the sight, froze in place.
Due to his large frame, the sight of him being scared into stillness appeared almost comedic. But because of the otherworldly scene that had graced everyone’s eyes, nobody could see it as such. Nobody except a certain constellation pretender who was chuckling in the corner.
[[Strong hunter.]]
“Y-Yes, Holy Spirit.”
[[Humans are frail. Though the Apostle has passed on to you Esphera’s gift of brilliance, the future is uncertain still. For that reason, I have commanded my servant to serve as your guardian spirit and partner.]]
“...! Holy Spirit! I thank you for your grace!”
Uwaaah…
That old bear-like bastard’s face is totally melting in pleasure.
Gross, gross, gross, gross! I really didn’t want to see that.
Ugh. I must purify my mind with happy thoughts…
Mega Milkers.
Yes.
Mega Milkers.
Hm. Better. Much better. Alright.
Anyway, it seems that we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.
[Lord Yvell! It’s working! Efreet, it’s alive! It’s actually alive!]
[Well done, Esphera. You have made me proud today.]
[...! I am so happy to hear you say that, Lord Yvell!]
Just as intended, by pulling out all sorts of theatrics and special effects, we have successfully gaslighted the villagers into thinking Esphera could make them guardian spirits. In turn, as a byproduct of this newfound perception of their most revered Ringed Star Mother, she has actually manifested the ability to do exactly that. Create an Efreet. And on top of that…
[[Star mama, me tired.]]
[[Not now, child! Mother is basking in the moment, right now!]]
[[But, tired…]]
It seems that the ‘spirits’ proved convincing enough to them that they had become real, too. Was it because she introduced them as the Holy Spirit’s servants? Whatever the case, the religion surrounding the Ringed Star Mother is gradually building up its foundations. We’ve finally made some progress after spending weeks at the village.
At this realization, I puffed my chest out in pride.
[[Mama, why is, that, bald?]]
[[Mama, Apostle, slim, like, woman?]]
I will destroy yo—
[[Now, now, child. Do not be rude to Lord Yvell. He is my benefactor! And, in a way, your fa…]]
[[Fa…?]]
[[Fa… Nevermind!]]
What was she about to say just now?
Anyway, the spirits appeared childlike, while the newly born (or is it reborn?) Efreet seems to act more maturely. Could it be because it adopted the shape of an adult man? Interesting.
It seems that there’s still a lot more to learn about the spirits and Efreets.
Efreets? Plural? Yes, plural. No shit.
We’re making more of these.
“Oh, Great Ringed Star Mother! You have blessed me with a powerful spirit! My Efreet and I shall serve you diligently!”
“Old man Weed’s is kind of tiny, isn’t it?”
“Rock has big Efreet!”
“Stone has bigger Efreet!”
Why do the bald brothers still sound stupid even after being blessed by Esphera? Is that just their default state?...
“... Why does my Efreet look different from the rest?”
Egg’s Efreet… came in the form of a woman… huh? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this in some open-world RPG before. I think that game had something to do with dragons and shouting.
Egg’s Efreet, though there weren’t any eyes to be seen on its form, I could somehow tell it was giving him a strangely affectionate gaze…
Hm…
“... Egg.”
“Yes, Apostle?”
“I’d advise you to stay away from fire resistance potions.”
“What? What are potions?”
“... Forget about it.”
In any case, we performed the ritual a couple more times. We decided ahead of time not to give everybody an Efreet. Why is that?
Because that’d be a bit too much.
The Efreets themselves aren’t exactly super powerful. They can’t cast incineration beams like Esphera can. At best, they can lob small fireballs, like a certain Italian plumber from a certain video game, which makes them about the same level as a wild boar in MMORPG terms.
However, having a small army of them commanded by enlightened cavemen would totally shake up the ecosystem around here. So, we only handed Efreets over to the village’s hunters.
One might think that because Efreets are fire spirits, they are essentially immortal, and thus could be used indefinitely, but we’ve prepared some caveats for them.
[[With your bond to the Efreets formed, you are granted one calling for each full moon that passes. When they come, they shall walk with you for a day.]]
In this way, the Efreets would not be easily abused. They would have to ration their use of Efreets among their hunters, like saving up energy for horse girl races. So far, so good.
With all this done, we’ve achieved objectives one and two.
#1. Enhance Esphera’s Followers and Beef Up Their Security (Check!)
#2. Secure New Divine Powers for Esphera (Check!)
As for objective number three…
[Lord Yvell! She is here! Agni has arrived!]
Just about time. Do protagonists always have to come late to the scene, or is that just a stereotype? Whatever the case, destiny calls, and Agni has answered.
“Ha… Ha… Ha…”
“Agni? You… a spirit? Did that spirit lead you here, too?”
Fwuoosh. Fwuoosh.
“That spirit looks pretty jumpy…”
“Father…”
“... Ah.”
“... Move aside.”
“Wa— Agni?!?”
Agni pushed Bear aside and approached the ritual circle. No, well, rather than ‘pushed’, it was more like Bear let her push him. I’m not sure what’s going on between them right now, but it’s probably not my problem.
Before she was about to pass me, I handed her the stone knife I used earlier.
“Has the Goddess already taught you the ritual?”
“... Yes.”
Without a word, she stepped onto the ritual circle and reached its center.
Swish.
Blood splurted out from a quick but shallow slash on her skin. Then, the Holy Spirit guided the blood with her silver flames, leading them to the ashes that made up the ritual circle. Once again, the ashes were lit silver, and the ritual circle was alive once more.
[[Efreet. The Holy Spirit calls.]]
The eager spirit that led Agni to the ritual site shot itself to the center of the circle. Then, just like the spirits before it, this spirit was swallowed up by silver flames before gaining its own form.
The spirit, now turned Efreet, took on the form of a muscular man wielding a harpoon made of silver fire. It was an Efreet unlike any of the hunters’.
“That… Agni… what is…”
“Agni. Daughter of Bear.”
“Yes, Apostle.”
“Though you have cursed the name of the creator, she has forgiven you. She understands the pain that you carry in your heart and knows those words come from a place of deep sadness.”
“...”
“... You are aware that the Goddess has chosen you for a great mission.”
“Agni? What is he—”
“Yes, Apostle.”
“Now, face your people. Tell them of their destiny. The destiny that you will lead them toward.”
“... Yes, Apostle.”
I pointed at the villagers with my staff, gesturing for them to gather around. Naturally, they obeyed. Bear was a step late, but he later followed suit after realizing that he’d get an answer soon.
Then, standing before them, Agni spread her arms wide and opened her lips to speak.
“We shall spread the light of Esphera across the world!”
