Chapter XXXVI: The Triune And The Swords I

Demonic Wildlands Near the Great Plateau

Month of the Garuda 38, 172 ,328 DE

In the Swords Temple, the Scripture of Origins contains multiple sub-scriptures. The Core Scripture stands first among the sub-scriptures. It contains much information that I do not understand or only partially understand. Now that I control the flow of Trinity within my own Body, Mind, and Soul, I understand the meaning behind some of the passages that never made sense.

Core Scripture

For Amalgamate Realms, each Realm consists of three Realms as one Realm. Many Elemental Realms have similar structures, but the differentiation between the sub-Realms comprising a Realm show far more clearly in the Amalgamate than the Elemental. The Realm of Body, Soma, the Realm of Mind, Eidos, and the Realm of Soul, Pneuma, comprise the three sub-Realms of each Realm.

Every living being has three parts that make one whole: their Body, their Mind, and their Soul. With any one part missing, there can be no true life. In a Transcendent or Triune, there exists a fourth sub-Realm, the Core Realm. Existing at the confluence of the Body, Mind, and Soul, the Core Realm serves the foundation of a Transcendent or Triune's existence. Once a Triune forms a Core Realm, they have stepped beyond Mortality and become an existence that sits somewhere between Mortal and Transcendent. As long as their Core Realm is not destroyed, a Transcendent or Triune is not entirely dead.

With Trinity, seek the confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul. Consolidate Power. Shatter Realm boundaries. Open a fourth Realm, the Core Realm.

Staring at the preamble of the Core Scripture, I perceive deeper layers of meaning in each of the words. Whoever wrote the scripture, embedded ideas and concepts rivaling the Power of Names into the words themselves. Each word contains countless layers of meaning.

I continue reading the scripture from beginning to end. As I read the scripture, Trinity continues to flow within me. My Mind works faster and more efficiently. I dig deeper and deeper into the layer of meaning contained within the words. For a time, I lose myself in the flow of new ideas and new understandings about the nature of this Realm and the Second Metaverse as a whole. An ocean of information floods into my Mind. I understand some of it, but I cannot hold on to all of it.

Eventually, the flow of information ebbs, and I find myself staring at words etched into stone. I have absorbed as much of the knowledge contained within the Core Scripture as I can for the moment. But I still feel that I am missing something. I am just seeing the individual fragments, but there should be a whole hidden behind the fragments. Or, perhaps, the fragments need be drawn together into a cohesive form. No. A pattern. A plan. The Core Scripture should contain a blueprint for the creation of a Core Realm.

Even if I cannot yet comprehend the blueprint, I need to find the confluence of my Body, Mind, and Soul. I sink my awareness into my Soul, and something strange happens. My awareness expands and merges with Trinity. For the first time, it encompasses thought, emotion, and physical sense into a complete perception of the world around me. My clear perception only extends perhaps ten meters, but I have a hazy perception of the entire interior of the Swords Temple.

As much as my improved perception of the outside world will be useful, my inner world is more important. I turn my perception inward, once more, and follow the flow of Trinity through my Body, Mind, and Soul. As Trinity passes through the transitions between each part of me, it changes very slightly. Its form and nature remain, but it shows different faces of itself. If I were to compare it to the states of matter, it would be like changes from solid, to liquid, to gas. Trinity remains Trinity, but the characteristics it displays vary depending on where it is: Body, Mind, or Soul.

While the changes within Trinity may be interesting, they do little to help me find the confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul. I feel like I am trying to see the inside of my stomach, while using only my eyes and not cutting myself open. There has to be a way to perceive the confluence, but what is the trick?

I read the scripture again. After I finish, again, I try to find the confluence with no luck. I repeat the process over and over. Each time, I feel like I gain a bit more understanding, but it is never enough. Time passes, but I cannot say how much. I cannot find the confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul. I am not even certain how to recognize it. If the Core Scripture gives specifics on how to do so, I do not understand them.

Having no other ideas, I shift into my true form. As my form changes, I get a momentary sense of nothingness. Once I am in my true form, I no longer feel it. I shift back to my human form, and just during the second or so of the actual shift, I sense it. There appears to be a void within me, tiny, but clearly there. I only sense it during the act of changing my forms, at that moment when the very structure of my Body changes.

The Core Scripture does not provide any description of the structure or nature of the confluence of the Body, Mind, and Soul. The flow of my Trinity always bypasses that point. As Trinity circulates through me, it path circles around that one point. Could that point of nothingness be the confluence?

Hurry fool! The thought enters my Mind, but it is not my thought. The words carry an aura of infinite sharpness. The thoughts give me the feeling that the mind behind them is not human, and it is certainly not a Great Wolf.

It is just an animal. This thought feels exactly the same, but it comes from a different Mind. Its sharpness holds an air of disdain.

You cannot expect much from an animal.

It has spent so much time here, and it has yet to understand.

So frustrating to watch. The thought comes from both Minds together. The two auras of sharpness blend together, giving the impression that both are part of a single whole.

Ge out of my Mind! Ferocity fills my thought, and irritation wells from the depths of my Soul.

Stupid animal!

Make us!

Contempt fills the thoughts of both Minds.

My perceptual image of the interior of the Swords Temple reveals no one else inside. Still, I take a deep breath, testing the air. Nothing. I am alone.

Stupid animal!

You have eyes but cannot see.

Mocking laughter fills the thoughts of both minds.

From your Core Realm.

We grow tired of watching you.

You are an eyesore.

Burning with irritation, I get a strange feeling, as though the sharp point of a sword pricks me between my shoulder blades. I look toward the center of the Swords Temple. With most of their blades buried in the block of black metal, the hilts of two crossed swords stick up. A faint shimmer of Trinity surrounds both hilts. The swords have weapon spirits?

The two swords sound exactly the same. They keep alternating. Each one projects a sentence or two, then the other completes the line of thought. I cannot tell which thoughts belong to which sword.

Oh. The mangy cur finally figured it out.

So quickly? I am amazed. It only has fleas for brains.

I do not hold back my snarl, and it echoes softly inside the temple. Fucking swords. I always hated fucking swords. Too long for infighting. Too short to dominate a battle. Shitty weapons..

The sword is the Queen of Weapons!

Swords are elegant and beautiful!

Swords rule the battlefield!

I snort. Don't you mean spears rule the battlefield? Or polearms in general. Swords are nothing but backup weapons for a serious warrior.

Ugly, mangy dog, you do not deserve to wield swords.

Short, fat knives, or better yet fangs and claws, suit lowly curs like you.

I laugh. You're right. Knives are the best for me. If I used too long and, at the same time, too short cat stickers like you, I would have to change my fighting style.

Show we educate the stupid cur?

If we do not, we will have to watch it fumble around for decades.

The confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul is everything. The confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul is nothing. The confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul is Life. The confluence of Body, Mind, and Soul is Death. Gather Trinity in the Body, Mind, and Soul. Compress Trinity to a point so small it is nothing. Pierce the boundaries of the Realms. Open the Core Realm.

Together, both swords project the same thoughts at me. I do not sense any mockery or disdain in the thoughts, but they do carry a depth of meaning and knowledge that rivals a spoken Name.

After contemplating the swords' message, I read through the Core Scripture one more time. New understanding seeps into my Mind. The knowledge contained in the words of the scripture takes form within awareness. It does not appear to be a blueprint, rather it looks like a pattern. The pattern defines dimensional boundaries, Realm boundaries, the structure of a Realm. As I read through the Core Scripture a few more times, I form a clearer understanding of the structure of the Realm defined within the pattern.

I understand what I need to do. I am ready to form a Core Realm. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Swords Temple, I consciously move the Trinity within me. Under my control, all the free Trinity within me pools at three points: one in my Body, one in my Mind, and one in my Soul. I collect it as near the point of nothingness between my Body, Mind, and Soul as I can.

But the Trinity within me is not enough. It is nowhere enough. I can feel that I need more, a lot more. I need so much Trinity that my ability to control it all will be strained.

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