《Help! I've been reincarnated as a rock!》 After Life Chapter One: After Life Congratulations, Earthbeing! Eh? What? The transfer and transfiguration process has been successful! What process? Welcome to Athilia! Where? Activation should occur in the next few moments. You may experience mild disorientation to begin with. This is normal and will soon pass. I''m disoriented right now! What is going on? Light. Blue light, just strong enough to cast the shadows into total darkness. A sensation of space. Cold. Damp. Air, trailing past like chilly fingers. Water drops splattering. The distant sounds of... wolves? And another sound, closer and annoyingly insistent. "Maaaa." I have no idea what is happening. Where am I? Why can''t I move? And how can I see when I''m pretty sure I haven''t opened my eyes? "Maaaa." You are in the world of Athilia, specifically on the continent of Bathotis, within the Aostea Kingdom, on the Eborth Plateau. You cannot move because you have not sufficiently advanced your level to gain that Power. You can see because your Core is equipped with basic senses. "Maaaa!" That''s not the same Mysterious Voice as before. Who are you? What are you? What am I? What''s that noise? "Maaaa!" This entity does not have a name. This entity is your Induction Guidance System. You are a first-level numen. That noise is being made by a young konboh. "MAAAA!" I''m a what now? I''m... "MAAAA!" I shift my senses, the effort leaving me dizzy. "MAAAA!" I''m... a rock? I''m a rock. I''m looking at a rock, and I know that it''s me, and I have no idea what''s doing the looking because I can''t see or feel my proper body. I''m not even a particularly large rock, although I''m big enough that you''d need mechanical help to lift me. I''ve got three sides and a flat top, like a giant wedge of cheese. Well, a giant wedge of cheese, if cheese were a sort of pinkish-orange colour with faint veins of blue-grey and a texture like fine sandpaper. "MAAAA!" Why am I a rock? "MAAAA!" Oh, shut up! I look around myself. Maybe I¡¯m getting the hang of moving my senses, because it doesn''t make me quite as dizzy as the previous time. Next to me is a sheep. A very small sheep. A lamb? That''s what baby sheep are called, right? It looks wet and kind of hunched up. Behind it is open space, a field, all grass and... more grass. And a total lack of other sheep. It¡¯s night. It¡¯s cold. It¡¯s raining. I can see not one but three moons hanging in a sky of stars I don''t recognise. Not that the last part means much. I can recognise the constellation that looked like a saucepan and that¡¯s it. "MAAAA!" Such a loud sound from such a small creature. It sounds lost. You and me both, baby sheep. I''m a rock, in the middle of a field so large that I can barely make out any edges. Not a field at all, really. An open plain of long grass and stemmy plants bearing tiny, straggly flowers. There are trees of some sort, away in the distance to one side, the dark green pointy sort. In the direction I¡¯m choosing to call "behind me," in the opposite direction to my pointy cheese nose, are the lumpy smudges of what might be mountains, too far away to tell if they have snow on. "Maaa." The baby sheep sounds weaker. It¡¯s shaking a bit and sort of sagging. I''m a rock. What am I supposed to do now? Get stronger. What? How? What can a rock do? [MINOR ROCK NUMEN POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) WORSHIPPERS: 0 WORSHIP POINTS: 1 Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. INFLUENCES None DOMAINS None] That''s it? A floating box with a depressingly empty list? This is the... suckiest dream I''ve ever had, and I really hope it IS a dream. I''m a rock that can see and hear and... do inconsequential miracles. Perform miracles? I think that''s the right word. "Maaa." The baby sheep was looking kind of droopy. Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Weird voice, Induction... thingy? How do I perform an Inconsequential Miracle? Merely concentrate on your desired outcome. If that is within the Power level of the Miracle and you have sufficient Worship Points, the effect will be applied automatically. Convenient. Pity I have no idea what "inconsequential" would allow me to do. I focus on the wet, cold lamb, and think warm thoughts. Warm and safe. Safe, and home, a place where I really wished that I was, too. "Maaa?" And quiet. Nice and quiet. Please! The lamb lifted its head, then hopped up on top of rock-me, curled itself into a sheep loaf, and went to sleep. Steam curled faintly upwards from its wooly coat. I felt... weak. Really, really weak, and dizzy. Like I was about to faint. Worship Points have been reduced to zero. Existence will be terminated in 24 hours. What did I do? Why didn''t the Voice warn me? Why... ...I think I passed out there. When I swim back towards awareness, my surroundings are brighter. There is a bright yellow sun in the sky. There''s also a man. He''s kneeling beside me, holding the baby sheep and... thanking me? Worship Points received: 1 Termination process aborted. Voice? Voice, what''s going on? Why didn''t you tell me what would happen if I spent all my Worship Points? Why am I still dreaming? Why is my subconscious coming up with such a useless tutorial system? A Mundane is giving you Worship. You did not ask. I do not understand your other requests. I should probably be asking all sorts of questions, but I''m struggling to know where to start. As the man with the baby sheep walks away, I try to get some answers out of Mystery Induction Voice, but the Voice doesn''t seem to know why I''m here, what brought me here, whether this really is a dream, and whether I will ever get back to my proper life. I don''t think it likes me much. I think this is probably not just a dream. It''s a nightmare. It gets dark again while I''m trying to think up questions the Voice does know the answer to. Time behaves strangely, or maybe it''s my perception of time that''s strange. The bright yellow sun (Voice calls it Taoth Life-Bringer) drops over the horizon beyond the trees that mark the western border of both the Eborth Plateau and the Aostea Kingdom. Three moons rise: Islift the Blue Shadow, Prince Zrestia, and Brian. A moon called Brian? That is what the numen called himself. Wait, what? Numen? Brian is a level one hundred and sixty-two numen, with Dominion over the Domains of Storytelling, Chance, Alcohol, Projectile Weapons and Informal Sharing of Food. I guess a Domain can be some sort of... concept, or skill? Or an activity that people do? It might be cool to have Dominion over something that way. Dominion over Money? Count me in! How many Domains can someone have, anyway, Voice? How do I get a Domain? Also... Brian is a gamer? Most numen have only one or two Domains, but some have many. You gain Domains by increasing in Power, acquiring Worshippers and exerting Influence. I do not know. Can you just¡­ upload the manual to my memory, or something? It¡¯s my dream, I should be able to make things happen the way I want to. Instead, this is becoming the most. Frustratingly fussy. Dream. Ever. The distant birdsong is changing. Gradually, something else overlays the sound, then takes over from it. Voices. One high and childlike, the other deep and somewhat familiar. The shepherd who had taken away the lamb. As they come closer I spot them, the man holding the hand of a little girl as they walk towards me through the grass. It only occurs to me now how strangely they¡¯re dressed. Layer on layer of brightly-patterened weaving, with warm hats fringed and tasselled with locks of wool, and embroidered boots with short pointed toes. "Is that the place, Papa?" I understand the words, just as I understood the man when he thanked me earlier. Now I¡¯m concentrating, however, I realise that I don¡¯t understand the words themselves, just their meaning. "That''s the place, Dee." The little girl pulls free of the shepherd and runs to me, placing her small and slightly sticky palms on my front face. "Hello rock! I''m Deedee! Papa said you found his lost lamb for him. I''ve lost Bobo. Can you find Bobo for me?" She pauses, her face scrunched up in thought, then continues. "Oh! I remembered. I brought you the best flower I could find, and my favourite stone. It''s got shiny bits in it!" Her sticky little hands peel away from me so she can rummage in her dress pocket. Onto the top of my rock she carefully places a rather wilted, pale blue, flower and a smoothly rounded pebble. You have been offered Tribute! Do you accept it? Y/N Uh...Voice? What''s Tribute? Mundanes who hope to gain the attention or assistance of a numen may offer them a gift of some kind. That may be a physical object, the sacrifice of a living creature- What?! -or the swearing of an oath. What happens if I don''t accept? Nothing. And if I DO accept? Nothing. Uh... what? Then what''s the point? That is the way things are. That sounds... off. Poor dream design. If I take the Tribute, do I have to help them? No. So... I can take it and just do nothing? Yes. Or I can take it and help them? Yes. Or I can NOT take it, and help them? I... do not know. What do I get out of it if I help them? I cannot answer. There are too many variables. Is this how I can get Worshippers? There are too many variables. Is this how other... numens gain Worshippers? There are too many variables. Is this one way that other numens have sometimes gained Worshippers? Yes. My subconscious is being vindictively pedantic to give me a dream like this. It''s a very long dream. Maybe it''s a coma? I don''t remember going to bed. I remember... leaving to go to lectures. Maybe I was hit by a bus or something? And now I''m in a coma, lying in a hospital somewhere. Having a dream that''s turning into one of the psychology professors'' favourite thought-experiment style tutorials. I want to wake up. I want to go home. I don¡¯t want to be dreaming, I don¡¯t want to be stuck in a coma, I don¡¯t want to be¡­ a transferred Earthbeing. Stop the dream! Send me back! Unable to comply. Why not?! Your previous Vessel has ceased functioning. My¡­ Does that mean¡­ You are dead. Welcome to your new life. Lost and Found No. No, no, no, I can''t be dead. There''s no such thing as an afterlife. That''s just something they sell you to keep you in line. This is just a dream, and a stupid one at that. There''s got to be a way out, a way to wake up. A way to finish it. A way to win. The little girl is kneeling in front of me, sticky hands splayed against my rock face again. Her expression is wide-eyed and hopeful. Bobo, I remember. I have no idea who or what Bobo is or how to find... it? Him? Her? Worship Points received: 1 Wait, what? [MINOR ROCK POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) WORSHIPPERS: 0 WORSHIP POINTS: 2 INFLUENCES None DOMAINS None] I''ve known spaniels with eyes less pleading than those of little Dee. I guess I could try an Inconsequential Miracle. She did just give me the extra point, after all. What about her Tribute? Would it hurt her feelings if I didn''t accept? Would it make her a Worshipper? How many Worshippers to a level? How many levels until I can escape? One Worshipper is required in order to reach Level Two. Uh... "Y?" Stolen story; please report. Tribute accepted. Worship Points received: 1 Huh. No new Worshipper. The flower and the pebble are still sitting on top of the rock. This doesn''t make sense at all. If I was awake, I would have a headache. I still have no idea who or what Bobo is, even though it''s my dream so I ought to know. I focus on the girl instead, and imagine her finding what it is that she wants. Worship Points reduced to one. Nothing seems to happen. After a while, the man reaches down to take her hand, and leads her away. Wait, why did nothing happen? You took my point! "Never mind, Dee. The spirits can''t always help you." The shepherd holds out a hand. Dee catches it in both of hers, and leans into him as they walk away. Time blurs a bit again as I chew over the unfairness of losing an imaginary point. Voice is annoyingly sparing with information. My subconscious must be a real mess. I talk to the Voice just to have something to listen to, asking more about what a ¡°numen¡± is. A numen is a spirit of a place or object. Most are so minor that they never gain consciousness. They gain Power through the worship of mundanes. Those who gain enough Worshippers may become gods. The sun and the moons, are they gods? Yes There''s a god called Brian? Yes Is he a very naughty boy? I do not understand your enquiry. Never mind. Where is this place? Not its name. Where is it supposed to be? Is it... a different planet to Earth? Some sort of different dimension? I do not know. You''re just an AI with a limited data set, aren''t you? Don''t tell me. You do not understand my enquiry. Tell me about technology. What tech level is this place. Bronze age? Iron age? I... What do people make farming tools out of? Do they have ploughs? How do they pull their ploughs? Do they... have scientists? Engines, that can make vehicles move without an animal to pull them? Is there writing? Do most people know how to write? Do they know about boiling water to make it safe to drink? Do they have newspapers? What about television? Memory capacity exceeded. Oh, great. I broke the Voice. I broke what¡¯s in my own head! A therapist would have a field day. ¡°Just lie down on this couch, m¡­ M¡­¡± Mr? Miss? Mrs? Which is it? Why don''t I know? Why can''t I remember? Why have I forgotten my own name? Names are not available until the tenth level of Power. Oh, the Voice is back. All it took was a bit some bad news. How many Worshippers to reach Power Ten, Voice? To attain Level Ten, you require one Domain, ten Worshippers and the successful performance of a Miracle witnessed by at least three Mundanes. ¡°Rock¡­. rock¡­ rock! ROCK!¡± DeeDee is thundering towards me through the grass tussocks, her hat missing and her hair flying behind her. She''s clutching something to her chest, small and white and fluffy. As she stumbles to a halt in front of me, almost splatting herself against the rock, her fuzzy handful gives a single half-suffocated and half-terrified mew. ¡°Thank you Rock!¡± The shepherd is in sight now, far behind his daughter. Poor guy must spend half his life running after her. The girl bounces exitedly, causing her pet to give another breathless protest. ¡°Bobo was right there waiting when we got home! You''re THE BEST!¡± I feel a little let down. It''s great that DeeDee has her lost¡­ kitten? back, but that could have turned back up all on its own, no Miracle needed. It seems like cheating. I hear a faint chime. Worshipper gained. Then again¡­ perhaps the Miracle DID work. New Life Power gained 2 Worship Points gained [MINOR ROCK NUMEN LEVEL 2 POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) Minor Miracle (WP 2) WORSHIPPERS: 1 WORSHIP POINTS: 3 INFLUENCES None DOMAINS None] That''s different. There''s a level included now. It''s no replacement for a life, though. If any of that garbage about being dead was real, I mean. I¡¯m putting my money on this being a dream. Second guess is I''m in a coma. My back-up plan? Voice, what¡¯s the highest level Miracle a¡­ numen can have? The Divine Miracle is the highest level Miracle I have in my records as accessible to numen. And what level numen can have it? The lowest level I have in my records, for a numen with access to Divine Miracles, is level one hundred and fifty, with Dominion over a Domain. So there''s my back-up plan. Get to level one hundred and fifty, get Dominion over a Domain, learn Divine Miracle then Miracle myself back home. Simple. Simple, not easy. Time has drifted on again. DeeDee and her father must have gone, because now the shepherd is walking back towards me with a woman beside him. Her clothes are in a similar style to his, brightly woven with embroidered boots, but with long skirts and a patterned head-scarf knotted over her hat and under her chin. She looks about the same age as him, I guess. Her face is so much an older version of DeeDee that she must me related. ¡°I don''t think it could be,¡± she''s saying. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°But the lamb was dry, my love. It was cold and raining, and yet the lamb was warm and dry. And Bobo did come back.¡± The woman tutted. ¡°She''s too rough with that poor urval. I wouldn''t be surprised if it had run away, and only came back because it was hungry. I keep telling her to be more gentle, but she never remembers.¡± She smiles teasingly up at the man. ¡°She may have my looks, but she has your memory.¡± ¡°I never forget a sheep!¡± he says, with a huff and a mock frown. ¡°Perhaps I should name a sheep after our daughter''s birthing-day, then!¡± The couple is right in front of me now. The man reaches into the cloth bag that is slung over his shoulder by a strap woven with a pattern of stylised sheep. He takes out what I guess is a coin, although it''s square with a hole at its centre. It''s too yellow to be copper and too brown to be gold. ¡°Ganzor, it''s too much!¡± the woman protests as the shepherd- Ganzor- places the coin on top of¡­ well, on top of me. ¡°I would give more if I could, my petal,¡± Ganzor says with soft assurance. ¡°How much is another child worth?¡± He kneels, facing me. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Worship Points received: 1 You have been offered Tribute! Do you accept it? Y/N ¡°You''ll get your good clothes all muddy,¡± scolds the woman- his wife, I''m guessing. She reaches into her voluminous skirt pocket with a put-upon sigh, bringing out a cloth-wrapped bundle. This cloth looks coarse and plain. She puts the bundle beside the coin, pulling apart the folds to show the contents. Two plump-looking, golden pastry cakes, elaborately shaped and glazed into glossy works of art. ¡°There. Happy?¡±l You have been offered Tribute! Do you accept it? Y/N Interesting. No Worship Point that time. I accept both Tributes, but only receive one additional Point. I''m starting to put together some ideas about Worship. I''m pretty sure the belief of the person doing the Worship makes a difference. Time to do something about that, if I''m going to work towards my back-up plan. All I need is to figure out what the shepherd and his wife want. Ganzor does not leave me waiting. ¡°Please, rock. I know it''s not something that is lost, but it is something that is missing. We have only one child. We have wished for another, for many years, but there is still an empty space in our family.¡± Uh. Oh-kay. I hope they weren''t planning on the practical side of that right in front of me! They''ve both got all their clothes on still, thankfully. Maybe Miracles can be a bit flexible in when they work? This doesn''t sound Inconsequential. It doesn''t even sound Minor, but that''s all I''ve got. Hang on though. Making something like a tree grow a bit better and produce a bit more fruit, that doesn''t sound like a big Miracle. Maybe I can do something along those lines. I concentrate, first on Ganzor, then on his wife. Two Minor Miracles, to make them more, ahem, fruitful. The drain of four Worship Points leaves me feeling light-headed, despite not having a head. Just one Point remains, but if this works, well, I might even get one or two more Worshippers. Voice, what do I need to reach Level Three? Two Worshippers. Can you skip Levels? If I got enough to qualify for Level Four all in one go, would I still only get given Level Three? All levels include the requirement for the previous level. In the scenario you give, you would receive Level Three then immediately receive Level Four. Another thought strikes me, prompted by the phrasing ¡°requirement.¡± Voice, what would happen if I lost all my Worshippers? You would be reduced to Level One. All Powers requiring a higher level would be sealed. So I could build up a whole crowd of Worshippers, get to level one hundred, and a single plague or war could wipe out everything and bump me back to nothing? That''s total BS! That is why the Gods seek alliances among themselves. I pause to think. So¡­ alliances with, say, the God of Health? I agree to help his- Her -Worshippers find missing stuff if she agrees to cure mine of plague, that sort of thing? Or, we both agree that our Worshippers won''t beat each other up? Either is known. And what would a numen gain from not allying? From killing someone else''s Worshippers instead? Influence. And what can a numen do with Influence? Anything that can be done with any level of Miracle. So¡­ why bother with Influence, if you can use Miracles instead? Influence does not require Worship Points. If I could breathe, I would gasp at the implication of that. Killing people is basically a really cheap way to perform Miracles. Miracle-equivalent actions? An expensive way. It would require hundreds of deaths to attain a related level of Influence. I think of how a Miracle could turn a well into deadly poison. How easily humans can be manipulated into violence. Not expensive at all, when you think of it that way. Voice, are there any consequences to gaining Influence by killing people? Gaining Death as a Domain by taking sufficient lives would place you beneath the authority of the god with Dominion over Death. The current holder of this position is Winslow the Precise. Winslow is a Level one hundred and fifty-nine numen with Dominion over Death, Law and Taxes. Sounds delightful. I can see how that could be an unpleasant consequence. The shepherd couple have gone. Time has done its timeslip thing again. It''s dark, two of the three moons forming indistinct crescents behind a thin veil of mist. I couldn''t say if it was the night that followed the visit by Ganzor and his wife, or many days later. Hadn''t the moons been full the last time I looked? Voice? Is killing people the only way to gain Influence? There is a soft chime. Power gained 3 Worship Points gained [MINOR ROCK NUMEN LEVEL 3 POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) Minor Miracle (WP 2) Bless (Max WP L) WORSHIPPERS: 3 WORSHIP POINTS: 4 INFLUENCES Life DOMAINS None] No. Blood and Stone The whole family come to visit me, bearing Tribute of flowers and cakes and a cloak of woven wool. Ganzor, his wife Namuna, and DeeDee, whose name was actually Delbi but who is affectionately called by her nickname, and even Bobo. I accept their Tribute, and promptly blow most of the Worship Points from it on a Blessing for each of them. The weird cost listed next to Bless means I can spend any number of Worship Points up to a maximum of my level, so it will get more powerful as I do. I spend the days thinking of ways to wake myself up, unsuccessfully, and trying to get useful information out of the Voice. I have a little more success with the latter. If gods are numen that reach level fifty, then what''s a demigod? Do you have those? A Demigod is a numen that Manifests in a mortal body. Couldn''t it be an immortal body instead? That would make them Undead. Oooooh. That makes a sort of sense. Angels? Those would be a type of Avatar. Which is? A Manifestation formed from part of a numen''s Power and given independent consciousness and personality. So¡­ normally Manifesting is like putting on a suit, but creating an Avatar is more like cutting off a body part, giving it a brain and setting it free? Inaccurate, but not entirely so. A scream draws my attention from my studies. A child''s scream, cutting through the night. A storm has blown up, which I had barely noticed until now. The grass of the plain is whipped into a heaving sea, and driven before the wind''s uncaring lash is DeeDee. Her clothes are awry, half dull with fresh dirt, each toss of her tangled mane threatening to blind her as she runs. I can see red smears among the mud. Blood on her face and hands. In the far distance I spot more figures. Five, maybe six, in dark clothes, moving with grim purpose towards the sound of the scream. The girl flings herself at me, shrieking a plea. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Help me! Don''t let them find me! They''ll kill me!¡± She sucks in a tearful breath. ¡°They killed Bobo! Help me! Please, rock. Please!¡± 1 Worship Point gained. I double-check what I already kknow. With DeeDee''s desperate gift of a point, I now have a grand total of two Worship Points. The dark figures are quickly getting closer. I can see them more clearly despite the darkness. All men, all with weapons in hand. Not guns- blades, a slender club or bat, an axe. They wear what I know to be armour, even though I¡¯ve never seen a movie with armour like it. It looks as if they''ve jumped through a pile of leather bike tyres that are now stuck around their chests, then shoved stacks of smaller tyres onto their upper arms. A couple of them have still more around their thighs and have dropped a few over their heads with just a slit to see through. It sounds silly, saying it like that. They make it look like a threat, not a joke. DeeDee looks back over her shoulder in panic. I wonder what has happened to her parents. I wonder, fleetingly, who these men are that are chasing her and why, although I can guess at what violent and disreputable men might do to women and girls. To little DeeDee, with her trusting face and carefully-chosen, sadly wilting little flower gifts and small, sticky hands. I have two Worship Points left. My life is a world away, with cars, and movies, and hungover university lectures, and leftover pizza for breakfast. A fourth way back comes to me. If I''m Terminated here, maybe I''ll wake up back home. But maybe I won''t. Maybe I''ll just end. I don''t want to die. ¡°Please!¡± There are six armed men, one terrified girl, and a rock. This will take a Miracle, and it will not be Inconsequential. I concentrate. Some animal or other has burrowed out a home beneath the rocky wedge that is currently me. As DeeDee presses close, the ground beneath her gives way and she is swallowed into the hole. It''s barely big enough for her. Her legs are scrunched up and her arms squeezed in front of her chest. Her head is pressed against my underside, poorly masked by the tussocks of grass around my base. She squeaks once in protest and fear. The world greys and whirls around me. Worship Points have been reduced to zero. Existence will be terminated in twenty-four hours. The armed men stomp closer still, the storm at their backs. ¡°Where did the brat go?¡± ¡°I see something over here! No, wait. It''s just a rock.¡± Dimly through my swimming senses I feel something drum against my surface. A club of wood and metal, tapping impatiently. There¡¯s a booted foot beside DeeDee¡¯s head. I can sense her trembling, or perhaps that¡¯s me as dizziness takes over. ¡°She can¡¯t have gone far.¡± The boot pivots a little, its toe almost touching DeeDee''s forehead. ¡°We could tell Temur we hit her too hard and killed her, so we just left her?¡± Ah, I think as I slide away into nothingness. They don''t want to kill her. They want something worse¡­ Sacrifice Someone is crying. No. More than one someone. Someones. Hiccoughing sobs that shake the whole body. Voices. Mens voices. I don¡¯t recognise them. Worship Points received: 2 Termination process aborted. Hidden Power unlocked! Sacrifice There are those who willingly give their life to save the life of another. You understand what drives them to make that bargain, as you, too, were willing to trade your life to save that of someone else. You have the Power: Sacrifice. You may take life in order to give life. ¡°Papa, you''re hurt!¡± I know DeeDee''s voice, even thick with tears. The voice that answers her sounds different. Heavy, a little slurred. I fight through clammy grey mental fog and into darkness studded with lanternlight. The rain has eased into a steady grizzle, and the howling winds have blown themselves out into weary gusts chivvying the last of the storm clouds overhead. Ganzor the shepherd kneels in front of me, a mud-caked DeeDee enveloped in his arms. His face is so battered and his clothes so torn and stained that I know him only from his boots. Someone has bound cloth around him in places, rusty red leaking through the rough bandaging. The lantern is at his side, casting its yellow glow in a small pool about us. There are strangers with him, standing back a little. Beyond the lantern''s light, their faces are shadowed. Their clothing is a similar style to his, including the battered and stained appearance. One man is holding a¡­ giant fork? A wooden pole with great metal prongs at one end, shaped like the horns of a cartoon bull. The other has a long and heavy blade on a shorter stick. Both items look more agricultural than military. Did they just fight off the men in dark armour? With farming tools? If I had the Worship Points, I¡¯d give every one of them a Blessing. As it is, I spend one of my two in an attempt to split a single Bless between all four. I presume it works. My Points drop to one. [MINOR ROCK NUMEN LEVEL 3 POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) Minor Miracle (WP 2) Bless (Max WP L) Sacrifice (*) WORSHIPPERS: 3 WORSHIP POINTS: 1 INFLUENCES Life DOMAINS None] Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The farmers seem to stand a little straighter, their tools-turned-weapons no longer drooping so much in their hands. They glance at each other, one of them cautiously flexing his arm to test its range of movement. DeeDee is less tentative. She leans precariously over, out of the circle of her father''s arms, and presses a smacking kiss to my surface. You have been offered Tribute! Do you accept Y/N As I accept, the two armed farmers each rest a hand on me, and I end up three Worship Points richer. I wonder about Namuna, DeeDee''s mother. Is she okay? Maybe I can tell. I concentrate on her, and on Bless, and feel Points whisked away. Surely that means she''s alive? Voice, can I Bless someone who is dead? I do not know. Well, that was useless then. What good are you anyway? What good am I? What''s the point? How many Points did I just spend anyway? WORSHIP POINTS: 1 Fuck! All the Points I just gained, gone again. This sucks. This is¡­ Aagh! I hate this! I hate this to the bottom of the infinite fathoms of the fiery pits of hell! Memories rise, of amdram Shakespearian improv. Outrageous Seventeenth-century-esque insult rap battles. Life. Home. A desire to be back there so strong that it hurts. The pain shoots through me and emerges as it once did on that distant stage. I hate this gleeking, gob-slobbering, motley-minded, flap-dragonish System and its pedestrian trickle-brained whey-faced gudgeon of an Induction Guidance Foot-Licker! I hate this whole toad-spotted maggot-pie bollocks! A pox upon your fat-kidneyed floating beslubbering text boxes! Why in Beelzebub¡¯s beetle-buggered boil-brained baggage am I a ruddy ragwater rock? May the spirit of the Bard rise up and eloquently eviscerate you in verse until your unchin-snotted soul shrivels into¡­ into¡­ into rat pate! Power gained Hidden power unlocked Vituperation Anyone can be insulting. You take invective to an entirely new level. Your words are capable of causing quantifiable harm. *You do not currently have access to any means of verbal communication, and are therefore unable to use this Power in most situations.* You¡­ Domain granted. [MINOR ROCK NUMEN LEVEL 3 POWERS Inconsequential Miracle (WP 1) Minor Miracle (WP 2) Bless (Max WP L) Curse (Max WP L) 0x00A00005 ERROR: VERBAL COMMUNICATION REQUIRED Sacrifice (*) Vituperation (*) 0x00A00006 ERROR: VERBAL COMMUNICATION NORMALLY REQUIRED You little¡­ WORSHIPPERS: 3 WORSHIP POINTS: 1 INFLUENCES Life Invective DOMAINS Invective 0x00A00005 ERROR: VERBAL COMMUNICATION REQUIRED. DOMAIN SUSPENDED] Fuck. Anger releases me as quickly as it seized me, leaving me drained. Drained and alone, the shepherds and young Dee gone to wherever it is they live. To find Namuna alive and well, maybe. I''m finding it increasingly difficult to treat this as just a dream. My memories of who and what I was seem hard to access. Maybe that''s why the last recollection hit me so fiercely, because it had needed a hard tug to pull it out? More likely my brain is treating it as if I really am dead and my life gone. It''s the second stage of grief. Anger. Which means bargaining should be next to come chugging along on the emotional baggage-train. I''m pretty sure my professor spent half the lecture explaining that the stages don''t necessarily follow a specific order. I''m also pretty sure there were a series of lectures on the thirty mental defense mechanisms, and I wish I was still comfortably swimming in Denial. In the mean time, I have a bunch of stuff I can''t use. Voice, what are the available options to gain verbal communication? Voice? Wait. Vituperation. Capable of causing quantifiable harm. Verbal communication normally required. Normally. Did I¡­ Did I just kill the Voice? ¡­ Oops.