Caleb was amused by the Head Healer’s abrupt change in demeanor. He returned the bundle to his robe as Joe apologized profusely. Cutting him off, Caleb asked if the female acolyte’s procedure could be performed that evening. Caleb didn’t want to stay in Lith any longer than necessary, and since the boy seemed to be worth heightening, he would be stuck for a few more days at minimum.

Joe agreed immediately and offered to go arrange things with the acolyte and her husband. Another acolyte was called in to take Caleb to the guest quarters. As they walked, Caleb chose to ignore the man’s leading questions about Sin essence. After reaching the guest room and an explanation of the temple’s meager hospitality, he dismissed the acolyte and reclined on the uncomfortable bed to think.

As annoying as all these Virtue people were, the Head Healer’s report didn’t seem to be embellished. The boy, Seth, was probably hiding something, but his ideas were decent. Caleb would have to stay for a full ecumenical heightening ritual, unfortunately. Out of irritation, and to make the room more comfortable, he started pushing Sin essence into the room. He couldn’t compete with the thick Virtue layered over the rest of the temple grounds, but it was satisfying to know that it would likely take the Healers a few months to completely eliminate the Sin.

Finally, someone knocked on Caleb’s door, waking him from a light doze. Scowling, he glanced out the window and saw that the sun was going down. He stiffly climbed out of bed, straightened his robes, and reluctantly answered the door.

“Thank you so much for coming, your judgeship!” The middle-aged Healer on the other side said eagerly. “I’m Healer Levi, Priest of the Temple of Virtue in Lith.”

The man seemed completely unperturbed by Caleb's scowl, and kept thanking him as they walked to a healing chamber. Even before they entered, Caleb could feel the person inside. She was weak enough that just a push of Sin in the right place could kill her. He was surprised how healthy she appeared when they walked in, but brave face or not, this was going to be…difficult.

Levi started to explain the procedure, but Caleb talked over him. “Your son already explained what we’re doing, in considerable detail. I get the idea of taking turns destroying and repairing every part of her body containing this ‘cancer,’ but there is one problem.”

“What’s the issue?” Levi asked, concerned.

“I usually do this to kill people, slowly or otherwise.” Caleb said bluntly. “If you want her to live through this, you’re going to need to be healing her constantly. You can’t wait for an area to be completely destroyed like the kid suggested.”

Levi’s face drooped, and his posture sagged. “But then the cancer will be healed as well.”

“I will try to focus my Sin essence on it, but that’s all I can do.” Caleb replied. “I’d say Seth’s idea would work for less advanced cases. Are you sure you want to move forward even with these changes?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” Lola spoke up finally. “Even if I can’t be cured completely, if we can prove that Seth’s idea works, it will help him become a Priest. I want to see that before I die.”

“Don’t say that!” Levi whispered to her, distraught.

Caleb didn’t bother trying to parse the feverish whispered argument that followed. When the two didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, he finally sighed and interjected.

“I’m authorized to make him a Priest.” Caleb said. “I even have the ritual materials…for an ecumenical heightening ritual.”

Levi stopped dead, slowly turning to look at him. Lola was smiling, but slightly confused.

“That’s wonderful!” She said, “Lee, you’ve talked about heightening rituals before, but what does an ecumenical one do?”

“It makes you a Priest.” Levi said. Seeing her look, he clarified. “Of more than one Church.”

Lola wasn’t completely sure what that would entail, but chose not to press further.

“I’m grateful, really.” Levi said, looking conflicted. “But I still want to try. If we don’t do something…well, her condition is already poor.”

“Whatever she wants.” Caleb said, affecting disinterest. “I was just telling you what I observed.”

In the end, Lola agreed to the procedure. Even if they couldn’t remove the disease completely, her condition would hopefully improve for now. What followed was the worst night of Caleb’s life, as hardened as he had thought himself. Numb though he was to the pain of criminals, using his abilities on someone he was trying to help was something he never wanted to do again.

The following morning, he lay on the bed, red robes thrown onto a chair in the corner. None of the blood had gotten on them, but Caleb didn’t want to wear red right now. His shoes were being burned. Though he did eventually fall asleep, it was far from restful.

____________________________________________

The day after his unexpected conversation with the Judge in the jungle, Seth finally got more information about what his deal was. Priest Joe told him that his dad and Caleb had treated his mom the night before, and that all three were resting. When Levi woke up, Joe would let Seth know. After hearing this, time seemed to pass at a crawl for Seth as he took care of the gardens and helped around the temple. For some reason, Amber barred him from the main building. He tried to ignore her, but she said something about deep cleaning and got Priest Joe to back her up.

Eventually, his dad found him in one of the gardens growing a squash out of boredom and irritation. Despite having just woken up, Levi looked as tired as Seth, who had been overusing his Plant essence to make the small pile of squash next to him. Levi just shook his head in amusement and gestured for Seth to follow him. They entered the main temple building through a side door that led directly to the living quarters, and went up to Seth’s parents’ quarters. Passing through the front room, Levi stopped Seth at the door to the bedroom and turned to face him.

“Last night was hard on her.” His dad said quietly. “She’ll take time to recover.”

“And is it all…?” Seth asked, gesturing up and down himself.

“Some of the cancer is still there.” Levi replied. “We got most of it though, so it will be a few years before it gets as bad as it was before. Longer, now that we know what we’re dealing with.”

Seth’s face fell. “But it will come back.”

“There may be hope yet.” His dad said. “But before we talk about that, let's see how she’s doing.”

Opening the door, they stepped into the dim bedroom. The air was warm and had an unpleasant smell of age and sickness. Seth saw his mom lying in the bed asleep and was shocked by her appearance. She looked like a stick figure, her skin paper thin and hair more white than blonde. Levi left Seth with her and slowly closed the door. Seth quietly sat in the chair next to the bed, and took his mom’s hand gently.

After half an hour, Seth emerged from the bedroom to see his dad doing paperwork. He didn’t recognize the forms Levi was working on, but before he could get a better look, his dad had slid them into a folder and indicated for Seth to sit in the chair adjacent to him.

“Are you and Judge Caleb going to try again when she recovers?” Seth asked in a low voice.

“No.” Levi said bluntly. “He flatly refused to take part in a procedure like that again, and I’m not sure I blame him. He’ll leave Lith in a few days.”

“What?!” Seth exclaimed in a harsh whisper. “I thought you said you would keep trying?”

“I said there is still hope.” Levi corrected. “You will be taking over her care in the next few months.”

“I…huh?” Seth said, pulling at his earlobe.

“Judge Caleb brought the ritual materials for you to become a Priest.” Levi explained. “We will prepare a room in the temple for you tomorrow, and heighten you the next morning.”

Seth was experiencing emotional whiplash, contorting his ear in agitation. His dad told him to go spend some time by himself. He would still go to the jungle tomorrow, as the guard captain was concerned about leaving the Chaos plants any longer than necessary. Sheldon was apparently out scouting for them today, to make their route more efficient.

The rest of the evening passed quickly once Seth remembered the ghost’s request for a basic rundown of the Virtue economy. He found a couple books that talked about the subject, and wrote out a brief summary on a piece of parchment he could roll up and bring with him. He visited his mom one more time and, seeing there was no change, went to bed.

The next day, he presented his summary to Landon, who was unimpressed.

“You wrote it all in your language.” The ghost said dryly.

“Yes, but look, I used bulleted statements!” Seth said. “Like your flashcards! I thought since you were having trouble understanding, I would go down the list of basic statements about Value. That way, you can tell me what specific parts you’re confused by!”

“This feels like something I would use to teach a kindergartener.” Landon observed. “But I do appreciate the effort you put in. I’ll try to set aside my economic assumptions.”

“Great!” Seth said. “Let’s start from the top. One: All living and nonliving things have a Value according to Value essence.”

The ghost nodded.

“Two: Value essence can be stored in a living or nonliving thing.”

Nod.

“Three: A thing’s Value is equal to the maximum Value essence it can hold.”

Nod.

“Four: Living things always have an incredibly high Value.”

Slow nod.

“Five: Living things can transfer Value essence into or out of themselves, up to their own Value, with contact and intent.”

Pause. Nod.

“Six: Transferring Value essence into or out of a nonliving thing, up to its Value, requires living intent.”

Nod.

“Seven: People keep most of the Value essence they have in their bodies. Like the wallets you talked about the other day.”

Look of comprehension. Nod.

“Eight: If someone wants to store Value essence not in their body, they put it in a small, Valuable nonliving thing. Pieces of metal are common since they’re super Valuable.”

Nod.

“Nine: To buy something, a person touches what they want to buy and fills it with Value essence until it is full. The seller takes the Value essence out, and the item is sold.”

Slow nod.

“Ten: To buy in large amounts, or a living thing like livestock, an amount of Value essence is agreed upon and transferred using a standardized item of a certain Value. This is usually a special plaque of metal.” Seth finished. “And that’s everything I came up with! What do you think?”

“Pretty good.” Landon said, looking at Seth appraisingly.

“So do you understand now?” Seth pressed.

“Honestly?” Landon replied. “Not really. I understand it better, but how is the Value of everything decided? And where does Value essence come from?

“No idea.” Seth said with a shrug. “Everything just has a Value, and that’s what it’s worth! Except livestock and water, since living things are worth way more than anyone would ever pay for them! Apparently Value essence comes from banks or something, but I was confused by that section too.”

“Did something happen?” The ghost asked abruptly.

“What?” Seth said, surprised.

“You seem slightly manic, like you’re trying to avoid thinking about something.” Landon explained.

“Manic?” Seth asked, unfamiliar with the word. His general and biological vocab were pretty good by now, but he still had gaps.

“That’s not the point.” Landon admonished. “Answer the question.”

“Well, there is a lot going on.” Seth admitted. “Between my mom and the Judge…”

“That red guy did something to your mom?” Landon asked.

“What? No.” Seth replied. “Well, kind of. He helped with removing her cancer, but they didn’t get all of it, and he’s not staying to get the rest. He also brought the stuff for a heightening ritual for me. It's just a lot to think about.”

“I’m sorry.” Landon said. “I know how hard it is to see someone you care about sick.”

The ghost suppressed his curiosity about the ritual and went in for a hug, which Seth attempted to dodge.

____________________________________________

Once he and Caleb were back in somewhat better spirits, Levi showed the Judge a wooden room with a slanted ceiling high in the temple where they would perform the ritual the following day. They marked out the proper circles on the floor and began adjusting the alignment of essence in the room from Virtue to a balance of Virtue and Sin with Sin in a lesser role.

By the time the room was ready, Seth was already back from the jungle for the evening. They paused so that Levi and his son could visit Lola. When he returned, the pair went over the motions of the ritual. Caleb had placed a special opal called an aim in the center of the room that would change color to indicate whether the ritual had been performed correctly. When they were satisfied and wrapping up, Caleb abruptly spoke.

“Do you believe the boy’s story?” He asked.

“Excuse me?” Levi said, taken aback.

“About how he learned about this ‘cancer.’” Caleb clarified.

“Plant essence is more in tune with the life of the plant than Virtue is with us.” Levi replied. “I can see how he could learn more from it about bodily function than I could with Virtue alone.”

“Yes, yes.” Caleb said dismissively. “Overall it sounds fine, but what about the details? The depth in which he described the disease was unusual. It even seemed to me that he was leaving details out.”

“What are you implying?” Levi asked, eyes narrowing.

“I’m not sure.” Caleb said, spreading his arm wide. “But I wonder if it has something to do with the ability he apparently gained recently. He could have something that allows him to divine information about the body.”

“He developed that after we had already tested the theory about cancer.” Levi corrected.

“Maybe not, then.” Caleb said. “But you should at least consider looking into what the ability actually does.”

“How so?” Levi asked.

“There’s an Orb of Explication up in Estroma.” Caleb said. “It’s even affiliated directly with your Church. Once he’s used to his heightened abilities, you could take a trip there.”

Levi considered. “That’s not a bad idea. Thank you.”

Caleb nodded, and the two men left to get some sleep before the early ritual in the morning.

Levi woke up painfully early as Lola tried to get out of bed.

“What are you doing?!” He hissed.

“I want to help my son get ready for the biggest day of his life.” She whispered back, shoulders set. “I’m feeling better, it’ll be fine.”

“Absolutely not!” Levi whispered. “You shouldn’t be out of bed for another week at the earliest.”

“I won’t be alone.” Lola replied. “Joe agreed to help me when he visited yesterday afternoon.

This gave Levi pause. The Head Priest would make sure that she didn’t strain herself.

“Lee, I’ll be fine.” Lola said, patting him on the thigh. “Get a bit more sleep.”

He refused, helping her hobble to the sanctuary where Joe was waiting before returning to his room and lying back down. After seemingly no time at all, he was awoken by a sharp rap on the door as Caleb came to make sure he was up. Levi rolled out of bed and lied through the door about being almost ready. Fortunately, Seth’s morning routine had been hampered by his embarrassment about his mom and Priest Joe helping him, so Levi was ready and waiting in the room they had prepared well before his son arrived.

When Seth finally entered just before sunrise, he looked around the room in confusion. He hadn’t expected Judge Caleb’s presence nor the unsettling feeling of Sin essence in the area.

“The ritual has been adjusted to allow you to use the technique that you came up with.” Caleb explained simply.

This was close enough to the truth that Levi didn’t say anything. Seth looked even more excited, and quickly entered the room. Levi indicated for him to sit at the center of the circle they had drawn, and once Seth was as calm as they could expect, they began. As the two essences in the room began to converge on the center, Levi could see the awareness in Seth’s eyes unravel as he lost consciousness.