Oracle of Tao

CHAPTER 10: In which Ambrosia meets Azrael, and together they disrupt local tourism.

AMBROSIAAs Victoria held Nevras transfixed for a fair amount of time, I broke the silence. I explained that our quest involved visiting out of the way shrines. She rolled her eyes at Nevras, “You needn't be so afraid of me, my child.” I suspected that much of his fear was remembered far worse than it actually was, yet I said nothing. Somehow or other, Nevras finally had the nerve to speak, “It is as she says, Your Majesty. For long I have traveled this one, although six months were lost to amnesia due to the workings of her power. She... she is dear to me, and I would see that her mission is completed.” Vicky smiled, setting everyone at ease. Although from his reaction to her, I was sure she certainly could be intimidating, I imagine she also had the skill of charm and kindness, and probably organized trips where she did nothing but that odd style of waving common for those of nobility. “I know of one,” she said, “but you will need to head south of the palace through dangerous territory for that shrine.”

She wasn't kidding. Although we stopped for a brief period to have a look at Nevras's room (huge bed, loads of princess books, and a closet filled with men's clothes poorly shoved in front of gowns in a vain attempt to hide them were the highlights), the trip to the temple managed to be annoyingly difficult. There were the lesser ghouls, who Rejuvenated again and again and again, finally forcing us to flee, since we had no way of putting them down for good. To say nothing of the high fail chance for spells with the rain stopping and starting. After this, we had a group of mutant alligators, flying jack o'lanterns, and a carbuncle challenged us. Carbuncles are not to be confused with the horrific welt on the human body, these were cute furry critters that only had a red sore in common, and had an ability to redirect runes back at their source. The alligators had sharp teeth and tough skin, making them difficult to cut with most weapons. The jack o'lanterns were pumpkins surrounding a spirit of fire within, making them impossible to attack physically, and they could use nature magic of flame and wood. They were an annoyingly synchronized team, since they covered each other's weaknesses. We basically had to pick apart their defenses on by one: Nevras and Aqorm slashed at the carbuncle until it was gone, Zoe used Ice on the jack o'lanterns and Lightning on the alligators. We couldn't exactly train against them thanks to this weather though. We had some nice pumpkin and some alligator skin and meat. I didn't get much of a chance to use my cool powers, but it didn't matter. We had a good team. While crows ripped the flesh from the cute little carbuncle, we continued on until finally reaching the temple.

The temple cut into the nearby forest of what looked to be mostly evergreens, even though this was probably too warm an area for them to do well. They must have been planted by the temple's owner. The temple was... stupid-looking. I mean, really stupid-looking. It roughly resembled a step-pyramid on the outside, but only extended about three levels. It also was made not of limestone, as was typically ideal for that sort of thing, but the sort of rough ugly granite that was favored in functional architecture of the modern and postmodern eras of Earth. It had an opening in the bottom floor, but it seemed clear that this building was designed to keep people out.

Inside the “temple” was a small room with a man standing in front of a large mirror. There was a bookcase off to the side, and the typical statues that one might expect for a temple, but aside from an excess of candelabras resting on the stone floor, it was slightly underwhelming. I was looking at the man in the mirror and asking him to change his ways. He asked us to immediately stop singing.

“I am the Oracle of Apollo. You are those who seek to understand the power of the Oracle,” he said. I was struck at how imposing this mirror was in regards to the rest of the room, as I almost paid more attention to it than him. “You should know that the power of the Oracle is not for dealing death, but to preserve life. As it is said,

I have heard that those who are expert in handling life,

Can travel the land without meeting tigers and rhinos,

Can enter battle without being wounded.

The rhino has no place to plant its horn,

The tiger has no place to place its claws,

Weapons find no place to rest their edges.

Why? Because he has no death ground.

He continued, “I will summon my nothingness to do battle with you. If you are really for nonviolence, you must fight it and prove it to me!” Anyone else see a contradiction here?

Nevras and the others pulled out their weapons ready to fight whatever came. The man, meanwhile summoned something I guess as he made a whole fuss about “Nothing, I summon thee!” then did some sort of creepy trick, and stepped inside the surface of the mirror causing it to steadily glow a golden hue. Granted they couldn't see the nothing that was summoned, but they were all ready to blast whatever it wasn't to nothing with their magic. In one of my prouder moments, I realized that maybe it was better not to rush into battle. “Hold on! Hold on!!! There's something not right here,” I interrupted.

“Look guys, I think he summoned nothing,” I explained. Aqorm shrugged, “Well, yeah, he told us that he'd summoned Nothing to attack.” I explained with difficulty, “No, I mean, I think he summoned nothing. If we attack now, it won't hit. That glowing mirror has some sort of power, and we don't want to find out what happens if you hit it with your attacks.” Aqorm nodded. “So we should just sit here and not attack,” I said.

He reappeared after awhile of this, and awarded me his Crest. My hand again began to tingle and another trigram started to glow. He explained, “The power I give you is not an offensive one, but for protection against harm. Your adversaries will destroy themselves if they should try to attack someone who does not fight back.” I tried it out. It was the Cross Hands position, making an X near my chest area. I couldn't figure out the whole stepping inside of mirrors thing, but as long as I held my hands in a guarded position, a golden aura maintained itself around me. It blocked physical attacks, and turned techniques and magic back at their source. I could move freely, but if I tried to fight back or tried to use my other trigram abilities, this aura would go away. I could still dodge though. Among my trigram abilities, it was much faster to activate than the others.

After healing their wounds (from testing it out on me), we continued back to the nearest port. It was a very hard journey between mudslides, attacking creatures, and endless obstruction from rain and old vegetation. Thanks to my new powers, I wound up relatively unmolested walking about with a golden glow all around me, and the others figured out that they could reap the benefits of my defensive barrier simply by touching me. We were a team now, so those things that presented such a challenge before didn't seem so harsh. Except for ghouls. Even when I used Alexander's trigram, the ghouls kept coming back. “At some point, we need a decent exorcist,” I said. We made it to the port. Although I would love to have this 50 million right now to spend, it was tied up in an account that we couldn't easily access. Anyway, this money was for big expenses only, as a sort of insurance. The port had two destinations, the town of Goji or Gruumi (it rhymed with “crummy”). Zoe offered, “If you're looking for an exorcist, I know there's one in Goji.” I didn't ask how she knew this, though looking back, maybe I should have.

During the boat trip, more memories gradually came. I had a firmer grasp now of generally what happened during the six months I had lost, roughly enough that I felt now like I had actually lived it. I remembered the conversations we had. I remembered the day he had given me the sweater, and I remembered the almost-kiss we had shared before getting interrupted. I remembered something else too. I saw myself as a young child with my mother. I remember the temple, and the road leading up to it. But first and foremost, I remember Mama. I used to love it spending time in the temple with my mother. I liked my adopted parents too, but now that I remember my mother, all the experiences there

were so much better. But one day, without explanation, we left. It was a cold winter

day when I arrived at their doorstep in Galaxia... I remember being handed off to my new

parents. But I don't know why it was that I was adopted in the first place... Did my mom not want me? I remember my words back then, as she told me, “Ambrosia, this will be

your new mom and dad.” I begged, “But I wanna stay with you, Mommy!” Tears streamed down her face as she said, “I can't be your mother anymore, Ambrosia!” I saw her running away as the door was answered.

The boat rocked. I said nothing to the others about what I had remembered. Instead, I

Someone tapped my shoulder. “So are you ready to talk to people yet or are you gonna keep casting magic until you pass out?” Zoe asked me. I sulked, “I don't want to talk to anyone...” She closed her eyes as she smiled, “Suck it up!” I started mumbling and grumbling, until she gave me a light hug. “Relax,” she said, “I'll be there with you. If anyone seems creepy, I'll do my best to help out.” The others spoke up, led by Ambrosia, “Don't forget about us. We're there for ya.” I suppose...

We started with the creepiest person of all. This guy must be the mayor. He was dressed almost like one of those counts in an old black and white horror film, cape and all. His slicked-back hair moved not at all in the misty air as he welcomed us, “Welcome to Seikai! Take the opportunity to talk to everyone in town, to get to know them first, then I'll speak to you.” We took his advice. We talked to the little boy with brown hair first. He was scampering around trees and stuff saying, “Girls? Nah, I wanna climb trees first. Girls are really gross!” Apparently his name was Tommy and the girl with orange hair who had pigtails and a similar lack of interest in boys was named Rose. Next we talked to a man with disheveled black hair who appeared to be the town's shopkeeper. He greeted us, “We have the best prices around. Because you know, there isn't anything around.” Once we bought some gear, he whispered in confidence, “The Mayor is keeping us here. We neither age nor die, but we can never leave. Get out while you can!” Nah, it was easy to leave, I could do it any time I wanted. Lastly I talked to the 'innkeeper', this was a lady who guarded the one gazebo that contained a bed. “Yea, I know, we're out in the open,” she said, “but the bed is soft!” After sleeping, she also warned us, “You shouldn't be sleeping out here, it's not safe! You'll become part of this land!” These warnings would be more effective if they gave them beforehand.

We returned to the count/mayor to find him laughing hysterically. “So, you met everyone?” Ambrosia confronted him, “Yes, and we found out your little secret... you've been keeping the town trapped in here forever!” The man bellowed in laughter all the more, “Too bad, you might have done something before, but now you're a part of this town too! Enjoy your stay!” Nothing to do now but accept eternity within this town.

AMBROSIA

Oh, c'mon. We haven't given up that quickly. The mayor alternatively refused to respond to us and mocked us, from that point onward, so we devoted our efforts on talking to the rest of this small town. Wandering around, we noticed that after we slept apparently the little girl with pigtails was gone, and in her place was a grown woman whose orange hair had softened to a strawberry blond, and pigtails had given way to a long braid. This was strange enough that it was definitely a place to start. It seemed like Zoe and Azrael were having some kind of moment here, so I let them do most of the talking to these people.

“Over the years, I've grown to like Thomas, but he's still so childish,” Rose explained. As we looked at little Tommy, I could understand why. He was still in the body of a child. Azrael asked, “You want us to help tell him how you feel?” She nodded. Azrael carefully explained what Rose said. She had to do this several times because the child was not very attentive, but she was patient, and repeated until finally the child understood. “Really? But I'm just a kid. I can't accept those feelings,” he said. I reassured him, “C'mon, give it time. When you get older, you might change your mind.” It was like some freeze-frame trick in a film where they switched a character without even bothering with gradual transitions. Suddenly he stopped being a kid, and there was this guy in his place. He told us, “I guess you're right.”

The man named Thomas told us of his desire to get her a gift. After searching under the innkeeper's bed, we had noticed was a hidden cache of money, so we borrowed some for various gifts. Azrael glared at us, but I reasoned we were only borrowing, and these people might be ghosts anyway. Stealing from ghosts is totally ethical! I bought roses for Rose, as they were her namesake. “Ah, thank you,” she said as she held the gift like a treasured item, “I guess that means he does feel the same about me.” I watched these two thank us as they faded away into spirits. After talking more with the innkeeper and the shopkeep, we realized they too had some sort of past. They never had acted on it, seeing this as unprofessional. He decided to play matchmaker again, so we tried buying other things. Something about this woman seemed like she wasn't the type to really care about flowers, so we searched around for a novelty item. I saw something in the shop along with the common potions (like the Phoenix Meat rumored to be so good it could raise the dead). It was something called a Frog Tonic. Unlike other medicines that were designed to be drunk, this was splashed externally on wounded people. The foul-smelling mixture was well suited to dosing multiple targets and would begin to act against any cuts or bruises, closing them and mending breaks. It was extremely disgusting to watch as it made a sort of gel that caused blood to change from water, salt, and protein to a substance that closed wounds and immediately started rebuilding everything. I couldn't imagine anyone liking this, but as we bought about six bottles for ourselves, she noticed one and called out, “My favorite medicine! Did he get that for me? Hold on, I've got something for you!” Reaching her hands inside her dress (and embarrassing all of us while she pulled out random objects from her clothing) she finally managed to grab a hold of a small object, appearing substantially thinner afterward. Giving us a wedding ring, she said, “Hand this to him, will you? Tell him my answer.” Azrael said to him, “Here... this... ummmmmm, yea.” After that eloquent display, his face brightened, “Really? She asked you to give this to me? Tell her I accept.” Azrael spoke up, “He ummm, said yes.” Those two townspeople turned into spirits. There weren't many people in this town, but we continued helping until none were left but the mayor.

He began to scream in agony, “NO!!! You solved all of their problems? It cannot be! They're free! Don't you see? You've ruined me! Now who will come to this doomed little village? Tourism is ruined!” Unlike the others, he did not fade away into a simple spirit. Instead, his body began to horribly deform, folding into space, crunching and turning inside itself until nothing remained of him but a spirit of a skeletal head floating in midair. We did not want to touch this thing. All of us got behind Azrael.

AZRAEL

I carry a sword and a bell with me at all times. These are not fashion accessories. They are weapons that mean the difference between life and death against all manner of creatures of the night.

The Exorcist Bell is a culmination of my training. An exorcist learns many magical runes as a result of having to dispense with different types of creatures. They learn how to make unique symbols as well. There are exorcists from all walks of life, but their group came about as a result of relearning the art of casting out demons and evil spirits. I probably know more about runes than Elias over there, who tells me that he has been studying for years. When an exorcist learns to focus their power, they eventually complete a ritual known as the Forging of Heart. An Exorcist extracts a portion of their soul (oh, don't worry, the soul regrows itself), and molds it into an artifact. So long as the exorcist lives, the Bell remains. Each Bell has a unique power chosen by the exorcist, some stop time, others grow plants, or nullify magical items or enchantments. If they want to be outright generic, many exorcists just had their bell do Exorcism. The advantage of the bell was that it used its own mystic power, and with something like Exorcism, it would do it more than they might actually use in a day. Stopping time, on the other hand, was something that the Bell could probably ring only once a day, but that was still more mystic power than most exorcists could muster together. The Bells were not any more powerful than normal humans who made them, but they typically developed the ability to hold more mystic power than a human could in a single day. My Bell could never be used. It could destroy anything (living, undead, robots, Monsters, or even Elder Formless) that did not cover its ears. This included me, and no, earplugs would not work . If I used this Bell, I and everyone else would die. At least, within range, but having never used it, I had no idea what this range was, as it had never been allowed to ring.

My sword was a standard issue Exorcist Sword. There are many types. The most basic is what we call a blank sword. It is forged with the special metal that only our blacksmiths know about, which makes it not only strong and durable, but able to take thousands of runes without breaking. These were made from a variant of elven, so they were effective against certain creatures, but these couldn't touch incorporeal creatures like ghosts. Next was the bound sword. It had bandages around the sword with runes written in ink, meaning it was effectively a cushioned sword with no sharpness. Because the runes were not carved into the sword itself and instead written on the bandages, these swords lasted very long. Then there were seal swords which had some runes on the blade, followed by twice-blessed swords which destroyed both good and evil and slightly sturdier than seal swords, and finally the named swords. Named swords were extremely rare, they were sentient, they resisted decay with a high number of well-placed healing and protection runes, and they had unique abilities that varied from sword to sword. I had no real skill at inscribing runes on metal, so I wielded a bound sword. It was slow, it was blunt, but until I found a better sword, it would have to do.

The floating ghost head flew toward us, looking to possess someone. But the sword's written runes slammed against it, shattering the skull apart. The spirit was no more. As we watched, the houses turned to ruins, and the forest returned to nature. The town faded away, though contrary to our expectations, it did not become a desert. We were standing in a ruins where people used to live. It was morning, so we put up a tent to sleep.