Chapter 36
I found Svedra waiting for me, outside his tent. As soon as I arrived, he informed me we had a ceremony to attend. We walked to a small wooded hill that was located about half a mile from camp.
As we got there, I could sense a difference in the very air around us. It was charged, somehow. I looked closely, and I could see solid greens and browns that were blended together to produce an aura. The feeling was of a soothing nature.
We went deeper into the wood, and I found myself looking at nine Drebasty. Five Adepts, and four sword masters. They were standing in almost closed circle, around the body of he who had been my guard. One of the Drebasty Adepts turned to me and asked if I honored the fallen.
"Yes," I replied clearly.
"Pao chose to train you, but he had only a short time. Do you honor his memory?" the Adept asked me.
"I do," I stated.
"Then assume your place in the circle," he said and turned to face the body of the fallen Drebasty Adept.
A little confused, I found a place between two of the Adepts. This was apparently a funeral rite of some sort. Well, the least I could do, was to honor this person. He had come to defend me, and teach me the way of the sword.
The Drebasty started chanting in a language I didn't understand. Finally as the sun set, a glow appeared above the body. The glow moved from over the body. It went first to the other swordsman. The glow then moved to the Adepts. It stopped briefly before each one, as it had done with the swordsman. It had skipped me as it stopped before the others. Finally, though, it settled before me. I couldn't take my eyes from it.
(Do you take unto yourself, this essence? Do you swear to house, keep, honor, and to to maintain this entity?) I heard Svedra ask me.
"I do so swear!" I replied out loud to the question.
The other Drebasty started to sing a song that was at once sad, but carried a hopeful element to it. One of the Drebasty Adepts turned to me and spoke.
"Our brother fell in your defense. He chose you as his pupil, and you accepted. You have sworn to house his essence, and to keep it pure, until such time as it is reborn into this world.
"It is a rare thing for one of us, the Drebasty, to pass our essence on to one of another race. Our race is old and tired. An honorable death, is a treasure in and of itself. By passing his essence to you, he is passing up the chance of a death honorably earned. He will live again.
"He will now have to pass through you, and into a child of yours, and will be reborn. While he will wear a body not of the Drebasty, his spirit will be Drebasty in all things. While he resides in you, you will gain the sum total of his knowledge. Do you still accept this gift, and this great burden?" I was asked again.
"I do so accept, and without reservations," I told him.
"So be it," he said, and gestured towards me.
The glowing thing that had been before me, rushed at me. I felt something like a static electric charge discharging through me. I shuddered, and FELT something settle into my mind. What the hell?
"What has happened?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Pao's essence has now accepted you as its host, in this place and time. You now contain all that was Pao, in his life. He has chosen to continue to teach you, but at a much deeper level than before.
"You are only the third non-Drebasty in all of our ancient history, to be so honored. Your name will now be added to the rolls, as a living Drebasty. As such, you may call upon us for help, if you are ever in need. This is a rare honor, indeed," the Adept said to me.
It was the longest speech I had ever heard one of them speak. I really had not understood what was going to happen. I had attended several different funeral rites in the past. This was the first time that I had ever took part in a rite, that took part inside of me!
If I understood this correctly, I now had Pao's spirit (or essence) inside of me. I was housing the spirit of a being who was vastly old, when Christopher Columbus was a young man!
(You should be proud. I am VERY proud that I was asked to be here, to witness this event. One of my ancestors visited these people in the distant past. I am a part of their pantheon, as a result, ) Svedra said to me.
The Debrasty asked me to ignite the fire to the pyre that Pao's body lay on. I concentrated, and touched the pile of logs with my hand. It caught fire, but I felt no heat. Part of the spell of 'the fire hand' protected the caster.
We stood and watched as his body was consumed. When the fire had burned down, everyone turned away, and I knew the ceremony was over. When I turned to go, the sword masters walked with me. This was unusual as they normally stayed to themselves unless they were guarding someone.
I 'FELT' the companionship and the support of these masters. While I felt close to all the Drebasty here, I felt closest to the sword masters. Names and nicknames came to mind, in the Drebasty language, as we walked back to camp.
After getting back to camp, Svedra asked me to come with him to his tent, so I bade my new brothers goodnight, and walked with Svedra back to his tent. After we arrived, Svedra gestured for me to sit in the only chair.
(You have just taken on a responsibility that I don't think you fully comprehend. I would just caution you to LISTEN to your inner feelings more. You have a being inside of you that is old and wise in many things, ) Svedra told me.
"Yes, I got that already. I'm not stupid you know," I snapped.
Svedra chuckled at me.
( I would think you would be more cautious in talking that way to a being such as myself, ) it told me with a mental chuckle.
I blushed as I thought of what I had said. Svedra was right. Being short with a person of its power was not a healthy thing to do, even in the best of times. I apologized to him.
(You are in a very unique position my young friend. Learn from the spirit that now resides within you. Also I want to do this for you. We have similar backgrounds in magic, so you will appreciate this I am sure, ) Svedra said.
I was about to ask what he meant, when his mind overlaid mine. I stiffened. I was stunned at what was happening. Information flowed into my mind. I could feel Svedra and Pao acknowledge each other, while they were in my mind.
I opened my eyes. I finally focused, and saw I was looking at the top of the tent. I had somehow fallen to the ground. Funny, I had been sitting just a moment ago. What had happened?
(Ah, you are awake. Good. I have a meal waiting for you, ) Svedra said, pointing at a meal on a table that had not been there before.
I got up my head was pounding. I remembered! Svedra had done something to me!
"What did you do to me!" I yelled at him. Shows you I wasn't thinking straight.
I found myself back on the ground with one of the spider's legs pinning me to the floor. I had just processed that it had moved when I found myself this way.
(That will be the last time you speak to me in such a manner! Do you understand me?) Svedra said with an angry overtone in its mental voice.
"I understand," I said tonelessly.
Svedra retreated and lowered itself to its bedding. I got back up.
(You should eat something, ) Svedra told me.
I nodded and made my way to the table and sat. I started to shovel food mechanically into my mouth. I didn't really taste it. I was shocked and angry at Svedra's treatment of me. True, I had been rude; but it had overreacted, in my opinion.
I was almost finished with the meal when I heard Sevdra say (Krkk' nevtok)
I whirled, crouched, and spread my arms wide. I let loose a blast of power in a shape I had never even seen before, let alone done. Yet I did it. It blasted harmlessly off the shield that Svedra had raised.
What had I done? I heard Svedra chuckle.
(That was well done, Paul. I told you to attack using a specific type spell, and you did, ) it said, obviously pleased.
When had it done that? I pondered. Perhaps it was that krek thing he had said to me. As I thought about it, it rose firmly and clearly into my mind. "Krkk' nevtok". It was a form of attack in Svedra's world.
Amazing! I had not realized I knew anything about its world, except it was strange.
( I have given you a good basic education in my form of magic, ) Svedra said, chuckling at my thoughts.
(I have imprinted this upon you. All you need do is think of me in the future in correlation with magic, and you will discover that you have a type of magic that is probably not known on this world, ) Svedra said kindly
"Do you mean that I think of you and magic separately? Or together? Do I have to be in a magical situation?" I asked, interestedly.
(Simply think magic/Svedra and you will get an impression of spells that you now know. I suggest you practice them so you will know what they do and how to cast them. A couple of them can be dangerous to you, if cast incorrectly. So explore with caution, ) Svedra said.
Great. Just what I needed, more dangers to face. No, war wasn't enough, now I had this to learn. I thought. So far this day I had received the spiritual essence of a Drebasty, and had been imprinted with a particular, and peculiar type of magic, from a spider demigod.
At about that time, I felt Vostich performing a summoning on me. I was in Svedra's tent one second, and in the healer's tent the next. Vostich and Fithian were standing by my sister as she lay on a cot.
She did not look good at all. She was breathing shallowly, and looked pale. Damn, but she looked worse than when I had teleported her in just a few hours ago.
"Paul. Your sister is very ill. Both Fithian and myself have done what we can, as has the healer. However, her blood is slowly poisoning her. Unless the Goddess intervenes directly, we don't think she will last the night" Vostich said to me.
"Wait. Whats this about her blood?" I asked.
"She was hit with an arrow that had a poison on it. The poison affects the blood. Her blood is now slowly killing her. I am sorry, but we can do nothing," Vostich emphasized.
I wracked my brain. Then I had it. Kidney machines!
"Send me back to my other world with her. That world has something called a dialysis machine! It takes blood from a person and cleans it! We might be able to save her!" I nearly shouted.
Vostich hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! Damn it! Send us back together! You say she is dying. At least give me a chance to save her!" I shouted at them.
"All right. There is nothing we can do, and if you can do something to affect her healing, then more power to you," Vostich told me.
"Pick up, and hold your sister. We will make a gate from here. Concentrate with your mind where you want to go in that world, and you will be there," Vostich told me.
I held my sister. I thought of the emergency room in that city in southern California that I had lived and worked in, for the last twenty years. I thought about coming through the gateway, just outside of the emergency room doors.
I nodded to them I was ready, and a gate formed before me.
I concentrated, and stepped through.
Edited By TeNderLoin