I watched Rethi prepare for the passing on of Hindle over the next few days.

It was mostly a meditation type exercise, consisting of Rethi and Mayer sitting down cross legged silently for hours on end. I’m sure that Rethi would find it boring beyond boring if a divine sword wasn’t the end goal, but I wonder what the use of the meditation was for.

Rethi had been taught very limited shifting, so it wasn’t as if meditating would significant boost his capabilities, and even then, what would he use it for?

Master and student were inseparable for a few days, and I kept to myself during. This was Rethi’s moment to shine. I’ve had my moment for months now, and the boy’s emotional state was wired with anticipation and jubilation. If I butted into that with any reason less than absolutely necessity, I’d just be an asshole.

So, instead I put myself to other uses. Number one on the list was swinging by and having a conversation with Alena who, as far as I can tell, has been out of the loop since she got back.

I made my way easily towards the Apothecary, not much in the way of traffic, everyone busy at work. Gram’s Apothecary was open, as usual, the scent of dried herbs and a mixture of what must’ve been thousands of potent smells leaking out of the door and into the unruly streets of the unnamed town.

Now that I think of it, it’s pretty impressive that Gram managed to put together a collection that big, maybe he managed to get word out that he wanted medicinal herbs through the travelling merchants that swing by on occasion, something that should become more common now that Rethi and I dealt with the main reason people didn’t dare make the trip.

I took a step into the store and saw Michael Gram rifling through the numerous bottles and drawers, obviously searching for something.

“Good afternoon, Michael.” I said happily. The man in question froze, jumping slightly at my voice. He turned towards me without even a smile.

Since the time I caught Michael Gram taking a peek at an exhumed corpse that was not given to him, the man has been nothing but cordial and exceptionally frightened of me. I got the distinct impression that whenever he looked at me, he saw a snake, eyeing a chirping chick in a nest. This time, however, the man was clearly angry with me, only supported by a hint of fear.

I didn’t try and reinforce the man’s perception of me, but it seemed to only grow over time, which meant that every time I dealt with him, I came out feeling more and more like a villain, not something I really liked about myself.

“Avenforth.” He began, his jaw clenched, and body tensed, which was almost comical on his scholarly frame. I quirked an eyebrow, sensing the ensuing argument. I turned back to the door and pulled it closed, and closing the blinders on the windows as well, leaving the room far darker than before, the light forced into golden bands, bleeding through the gaps.

“What is this about, Gram.” I said quietly, and the man practically exploded.

“What do you mean! You convinced my daughter that her… abilities are perfectly safe! Are you insane?” Gram yelled, incensed. I crossed my arms over myself and looked at the man sternly.

“Perfectly safe?” I chuckled, “Hardly. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could be a legendary killer with her exact skillset.” The man gaped at me, anger rushing forwards to overtake the shock of my words.

“But,” I continued, “the same could be said for your own abilities. Many of your own kind have committed horrors, you even contributed your own to that pile, did you not?” My accusing tone dissuaded the man for a moment before he pushed forward.

“You have no idea the kind of horrors that her abilities can breed. You had no right to tell her to use them!” I took a few steps closer to the irate man and stared deep into his eyes, purposely turning off my safety aura which I typically kept on.

“Gram. Who, exactly, do you think she has been experimenting on to learn to use her abilities?” I asked darkly. I wasn’t angry, and neither did that show in my voice, but the man wasn’t going to listen to me if he was running high on all the anger that he had. I needed to assert myself.

And it worked. Confusion filled the man as his anger drained.

“Who?” He asked dubiously. I shook my head ruefully.

“Me, Gram. She has been experimenting on my body since we learned of her powers.” His eyes widened as he frantically looked me up and down, searching for something.

“H-how? You couldn’t possibly survive a failed shift!” I thought for a moment on how to answer the man.

Fact is, not many people actually know about me being a Champion, or anything of the sort. I spend most of my time with others that know my status that I’ve almost forgotten the fact that I need to hide that from the outside world. But, even if I cannot tell just anyone about being a Champion, or a Demigod for that matter, I can keep things vague and let them fill in the blanks themselves.

“I am Mayer Renue’s nephew. My origin past that is none of your business. What I can do is none of your business. But I can assure you that there is almost nothing your daughter could possibly do to me that would permanently harm or kill me.” I said, my voice like iron. Gram nodded his head shakily, not wanting to dig deeper into that conversation more than he needed to, probably fearing that he’d displease me.

“Why, though? My daughter, she is young and… if anything happened to her…” He trailed off, worry clouding his mind.

“The why is simple, Gram.” I lectured, as if speaking to a child, “You should know just as well as I that life shifting has astounding potential. Where I come from, such an ability could only be dreamed about, the endless possibilities.” My wistful tone seemed to sway him ever so slightly. He was a doctor. Exceptionally advanced for, frankly, a backwater like this. It was impossible that he hadn’t gone to sleep and dreamt of what could be done with that power.

“However, the other point is muddy. But I think something is clear. You cannot protect her from herself.” Gram’s body tensed and anger rose to fight me, but I waved it away with a hand, reasserting my safety aura, “You couldn’t stop her from following us on a trip she knew to be dangerous, to follow a boy she loves. She would hardly be content to watch Rethi drift away into her memories, forever gone on an adventure away from here. She is young, yes. But, how long can you keep her bottled up in this little nowhere-town?” I asked genuinely and found the answer on Grams face. I didn’t even need to look into the man’s emotions to know that he felt defeated.

He walked around the counted and reached underneath, finding two cups and a bottle of some alcohol. He placed the two cups down and poured a small amount into the bottom of each, pushing one across the counter towards me.

I took the glass and smelled it. It smelt strong enough to sterilize a wound. He might even have it for that reason. I downed the drink in one blow, my unnatural constitution the only thing stopping me from coughing my lungs up afterwards. The other man didn’t seem to notice the slight strain on my face as he downed the glass soullessly.

“I know.” He said mournfully, “I always did. At the start—when her mother was still alive—it was a secret even from me. I never knew that life shifting was passed down through bloodline, and her mother was an exceptionally powerful one and a brilliant doctor, in her own right.” I smiled at the reminiscing man, softly urging him to continue with my aura of Safety.

“After years of learning, studying and practicing medicine I heard rumours. A tribe in the far reaches of Orisis that collected those with the ability to life shift, teaching them to become the greatest life shifters on the planet—a far cry from the horrors we learned about in bedtime stories.. I wanted to know about them terribly, to learn what they knew and bring that back with me, to advance understanding of medicine for the benefit of everyone, rich and poor of every race. I went there and found her mother, the youngest daughter of the tribe’s priestess, and then we eloped against the wishes of our families. I was, from then on, the dark horse of my family to all except my father.” That was odd, atypical even. Usually the fathers were the ultimate adversarial force in families like these.

“It wasn’t until my father died years later that I learnt that he had left me everything medical he owned. Suddenly I owned one half of the greatest repository of medical knowledge on Virsdis, the other was in the hands of my wife’s sisters.” The man poured another glass, offering to refill mine, but I declined.

“My wife was a paragon of kindness. Truly something rare, and when I learned she was with child, I knew she would be a great mother.” A silly grin tinged with old pain grew on the doctor’s face, a remembrance of a happier time.

“After Alena was born, things became odd. Indescribable things started happening that I couldn’t help but clue into. I would find small rodents covered in tumours around out house, our pet dog at the time miraculously healed from an injury that I had determined was fatal. I confronted my wife and was told the truth, that my daughter had inherited life shifting. Young children with life shifting aren’t capable of controlling it, which is why my wife’s tribe would take them from their families, with life shifters capable of counteracting a small child’s missteps. We began to run from place to place, seeking refuge from those that began to question things to closely.” The middle-aged man sighed deeply, downing more alcohol, and rubbing his hand against his lightly haired head.

“When my wife died something was lost, a link between Alena and I.” The man didn’t need to talk about the circumstances of his wife’s death for me to feel the emotions triggered by remembering it. First was the fear, overwhelming and all encompassing, like watching the world shatter beneath your feet. Then came the hopelessness, and the tough decision. The decision that brought finality and an intense sadness that never truly left.

I closed my eyes to the emotions, finding myself slightly overwhelmed. It was something that was both bane and boon. I was able to empathise with someone’s very emotions, say that I could truly understand, but the cost was clear and all the more heart wrenching when you could do nothing.

“You’re right.” He said after a long moment of silence between us, staring down into his empty glass. “I can no longer protect her from the outside world, from the persecution she would face if someone was to find out that she was a life shifter. I know that she will leave, as I once did with her mother, but knowing that she will be actively trying to learn to actually life shift?” The man shivered like a cold breeze had hit him suddenly.

“Michael, I cannot guarantee that your daughter will face no persecution, nor will I be capable of protecting her from all the world’s dangers.” The man slumped slightly, “But, I can say that I will do everything within my power to keep her safe.” Then the room was flooded with light.

I was overwhelmed with a sensation of something tying itself to me, to my soul, in a powerful way. It was an inherently anxiety inducing feeling, much like when someone was manhandling my hammer, but with no pain whatsoever.

The man before me looked at me with wide eyes, radiance beaming from me like a warm fire. He swallowed dramatically, speaking with a shaky voice.

“Well, that was a touch overboard, don’t you think?” I just smiled, not knowing what happened at all, but assuming that the other man did.

“Either way,” I said as the warm light beaming off of me died down, “I will protect your daughter the best I can, especially in learning her own abilities. I hope that one day she will be the reason why the world accepts life shifters and wishes to train them rather than shun them.” The sighs heavily.

“Alright, alright. You’ve made your point. Why don’t you leave me alone with my thoughts for a bit. I’ll…” The man paused, searching the bottom of his glass, “I’ll talk to Alena about this. I need to tell her many things.”

I found it odd the man was so easy to convince after the light but I nod at the man and, with a silent farewell, leave him to his drink.

Now that I was outside of the man’s storefront…

What the fuck was that?

“You made a Divine Pact.” A cold, hard voice replied to my inner thoughts. I snapped around to look at the cloaked Keeper.

“Armament.” I greeted quickly, “A Divine Pact?” The hood nodded.

“Those in connection to the Gods,” he said while walking in the direction of Mayer’s home, “find themselves capable of creating Divine Pacts, which holds their soul ransom for that which they promise. It seems, Demigod, that you have accidentally made a promise you must keep.” I swear that I could hear amusement in the man’s stone voice.

“I– well… I guess it doesn’t change much.” I said hesitantly, “I was going to do it anyways, ransoming my soul or not, but the pressure is on now, hey?” I asked rhetorically, and the hood just bobbed in agreement.

We walked in silence after that, the path quickly losing out to the beaten road that finally made its way to Mayer’s home.

“Come, little God. Today we see the birth of a great warrior.”