Theo didn’t register anything on his way to the offer audit class. The streets melted past him, and frankly there could have been a circus dancing around him and he still wouldn’t have noticed.

The only thing on his mind was whether or not he should accept Libera’s request. Sparrow’s words and Eva’s advice floated through his head, as what Sparrow had read out looped on repeat.

Theo weaved through pedestrians as he made his way to the College District, almost entirely on muscle memory. He walked past the guards of the inner ring, and they waved at him as he inadvertently ignored them.

The guard on the right rolled his eyes, gesturing to the guard on the left while shaking his head.

Theo made it to the College District in time…and then realised that he’d walked in front of the College of Song. He quickly made his way to the courtyard of the College of Prayers.

When he got there, he was slightly surprised to see Kevin there. It took a moment to recall that Chrys had mentioned he was taking an audited class, but it must have slipped his mind.

Kevin looked different this morning. He looked a little tired (which Theo could hardly blame him for), but otherwise he wasn’t looking as bad as Theo felt. Beyond that, however, there was something palpably different.

His back was completely straight, shoulders set. He felt solid, like he wouldn’t be the one to move if the world shifted underneath his feet. There was an understanding smile on his face, the one he had when he was giving out food in Theo’s neighbourhoods (which was missing last night partially due to the nature of what they had been doing, partially because of the stressful way they had done it).

All in all, Kevin looked the picture of the holy priest Theo imagined him to be.

Theo put thoughts of responsibility aside, and tried to focus on the classes he would soon be taking.

Kevin spotted Theo, raising his head slightly in acknowledgement as Theo came closer.

“Good morning, child. I am Mercy of Death, and I will be taking your introduction to offer magic this morning.” Theo resisted the urge to correct him on being called a child.

“Good morning, Mercy of Death.” Theo had to fight the urge to call him Kevin in public.

Kevin winked in response, and Theo was struck by the urge to look around and see if anyone else saw that.

In the periphery of his vision, he noticed that there weren’t that many others attending (or at least, who arrived at the class before him).

It was mostly people he didn’t know, including a number of people who (from their armour and visible weaponry) he presumed were warriors. They stuck together.

It was then that Theo realised some people were waving at him. In another clump, close but respectfully distanced from the group of warriors, were some bards from his class. They were the performers he remembered from the Arts Exchange – Ellis, Astor, Olivia-Marie, and Ingrid.

He headed on over, and exchanged some polite greetings, trying not to wince from the volume of their conversation. It was getting better, but he just wished it would get better even faster.

There was also an individual sticking by Kevin that Theo presumed to be someone else from the College of Prayer. He looked much younger than Kevin (which wasn’t a difficult feat, admittedly), but equally as wise. He had a serene, yet easy-going smile, as if they were naturally happy.

If Kevin radiated kindness, this man radiated peace and happiness. All in all, it was easy for Theo to guess that he was also from the College of Prayer.

“Let us begin the class.” Kevin clapped his hands, as people stopped talking and turned their attention to him. It was in this moment that Theo also realised that there was another group of people that were here for the class; they were just so far away from everyone else that he wasn’t sure if they were here for something else.

It was a group of people wearing baggy robes, some clean and radiating wealth, others practical and stained. It wasn’t hard to figure out these were people from the College of Spells by simple elimination (besides the fact that the people with expensive clothes was a higher ratio than all of the other colleges).

“Welcome to offer magic. I am Mercy of Death, a teacher here at the College of Prayers. Beside me is my assistant, Francis.” The person that Theo had (correctly presumed) to be a priest waved at everyone gathered. “Today we will discuss the most fundamental element of offer magic – the offering.”

“The offering is-“

“Sorry I’m late!” Everyone turned their heads, and Finn ran over, out of breath and sweating (which wasn’t the usual extreme-casual look Theo was used to). There were some frowns and pressed lips in the crowd, and Theo tried to avoid sheepishly smiling as Finn waved at them and walked right next to him.

Kevin didn’t react (and neither did Francis), merely acknowledging Finn with a slight nod of the head and resuming his lecture.

“The offering is that which we give to the gods in exchange for their blessings and powers. This is affected not only by the mana we give, but the amount of faith and belief we have in whichever deity we call upon, and our history with the deity. For example, as a priest of Fet, offering to any other god would result in almost no effect even if overnight I suddenly grew to believe more in the power of, say, nature. Likewise, offering to Fet would be vastly more effective for me than if any of the other staff were to offer to her.”

This made sense to Theo, and made him think of infusing magic in body strengthening and how more mana had to be poured in over time to strengthen the effect of the internal magic. He also had an inkling of what potential hypothetical scenario that may or may not involve The Woods that could create a strong belief in nature.

“So, before we cover the strengths of each god, the different kinds of prayers and ways to offer mana and everything else, we must first discuss who you believe in.” Kevin took a second to look them all carefully in the eye as he spoke.

Theo paused. Even though it was obvious that offer magic required a god to offer to, he hadn’t made the connection that he would need to believe in any gods to do so (belief in their power and putting faith in them as a follower, not believing in their existence, as to not believe in that is difficult to do in a world where their mere existence can grant power).

“Forgive me for indulging in my own fervour, but I like to start with Fet. As Fet is the God of death, the soul, and kindness, there are some clear ways to engage in worship and offering. For example, being merciful to an opponent.” His lips quirked at his own little joke.

“Taking care of the internal self helps nourish the soul, so that practice becomes a form of worship of its own. And the obvious offering is sacrifice and death. This is why Priests of Fet are often known both for their therapy, and their threat on the battlefield.”

“Tef, Fet’s twin, is the god of life, rebirth, growth, and survival. As such, would anyone hazard a guess to what would be considered proper worship and offering?” A hand shot up, from the Spells contingent. It was a face that Theo felt slightly familiar, and their worn clothing was even more so.

“To survive hardship, to have offspring, to change and grow, to take something old and find a new use.” He spoke with confidence, as if he had worshipped Tef every day of his life (which, Theo wouldn’t doubt).

“Thank you…”

“Lou, Mercy of Death.” And it clicked. This was Lou, from that large family of tailors two alleys over. They had good clothes, but it was repaired and worn badly, and if it wasn’t for their skill it wouldn’t be suitable as rags.

“Thank you Lou. Those are all indeed ways of properly worshipping Tef. Tef is also interesting, as by the simple act of being alive we all engage in some form of worship. So Tef is a god worshipped by many, and if you are uncertain who you wish to worship, they are often recommended.” Theo wondered to himself if Tef felt like a good fit, but it wasn’t quite right.

---

Kevin went through every god, and even the lesser worshipped ones like Jerrah, and had a discussion with Francis about worshipping nature. In the process, Theo thought he found the god he wanted to worship.

“Gilth is the god of thunder, art, and passion. So to worship them, you could stand in a storm, create art, or be passionate.” He said that last part with a straight face, while most of those attending the lecture (almost all of the wizard students, but almost none of the bard students) blushed.

Creating art was what interested Theo about Gilth. How fitting, that the god he sang ballads about fostered art.

He sent off a small prayer cradled in mana. He felt a jolt, and the faintest wisp of a presence watching over him.

---

“Any questions?” After Kevin finished his lecture about worship and offering, he gently waited for queries and thoughts to form.

A hand shot up. The wizard student body it was attached to wore fine, immaculate robes, and Theo immediately disliked him. Kevin nodded in acknowledgement, and he tentatively started speaking.

“It seems like there’s overlap between domains. Like, creating art could be both Gilth and Tef. Is it possible to possess blessings from all the gods?” Kevin seemed amused looking at his face, which had the arrogance of smug superiority, but none of the superiority.

“It is not about possessing blessings, but to devote oneself and receive in return. It is possible to believe in all the gods, yes, but as the amount you have already devoted to any one particular god is important, it is trading effectiveness for versatility. You cannot offer the same mana to more than one god.” Kevin patiently responded, treating the student’s ego gently.

The student started to scowl, but quickly schooled his features to ones more polite and appropriate to display at a teacher.

He expanded on the question. “However do not be fooled into thinking that the domain of gods is limited. They are nebulous and all-encompassing. There are myriad ways for every god to accomplish the same goal. For example,” Kevin paused to chant for a moment, and Theo finally felt the headache go away.

“Fet is the god of Death, so how would they go about curing illness? Instead of healing an injury and helping recovery, we ask for her guidance to eliminate and kill illness. While this makes Fet very effective with infection and illness, fixing a broken bone is much harder. The more familiar you are with each god and their domain, the more your ability to work around these limitations grows.”

Theo realised that it wasn’t just him, but everyone there for the audit visibly perked up. Kevin smiled, but Theo could see the strain and sweat on his face behind the façade.

“Just because it is less effective or efficient doesn’t mean it’s not worth using.”