[Mkguild] Life As We Know It XV A

[Jack Moore]

Life As We Know It - XV A

South of Metmor
Early 699
Paschalis never showed up.  Sotto would be testing me.  That meant the most
powerful Channeler I’d ever met would be testing me.  If that doesn’t drain
your confidence nothing will.
“You need to control your breathing Janelle.” Mr. Sotto said to me.  “If
you can’t control your breathe, you will not have balance.”  A lot easier
said than done.  Even trying to nod left me shaking.
“I’m just not ready.” Is what I did not say.  I’d come to far to stop.  So
I forced out the quickest nod I could.  Mirna whispered something to Umaro
who snickered.  I tried not to look at them.
I had shed my coat and gloves in favor of a sleeveless shirt and long
skirt.  I wore a scrap of cloth around my forehead to keep sweat out of my
eyes.  My skirt was long enough to hide my shaking legs.
Each one of my three testers held a soul gem.  Mirna and Umaro twirled
theirs between their fingers.  Sotto in contrast held one of his little
jars as steady as a rock.  His eyes locked onto mine.  “Janelle, this is
your final exam. Are you ready?”
“I am ready sir.” I said.  Sotto nodded.

“Janelle, you will be expected to pull this spirit far enough in so that
both you and the spirit have even control of your body.  Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.” I said.
“After that is done, you will be expected to return the spirit to its
vessel.  Each of the spirits we have selected knows this is your task.
These spirits will fight you for control.  Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”  Do you understand that some of them might not need
encouragement to try and possess me?  I swallowed.  “Is there anything I
need to know?”
“Just that if you succeed you will be the first to have succeeded in the
full training process Paschalis and I designed.” Mr. Sotto said with a
grin.  “You will be the first true Enlightened.  You should feel honored.”
“Of course I do sir.” I lied  “I’m ready to begin.” Sotto’s grin grew wider.
“That’s the spirit Janelle!  Ready for anything.”
“I’ll go first.” Mirna said.  “Sotto says you’re the strongest Channeler
he’s ever seen, did you know that?”  My stomach dropped.
“Heh, no I didn’t.  Really wishing he hadn’t said that…”
“Well he did.” Mirna said.  “That is very high praise you know.” Sometimes
you don’t need to tap in order to feel envy. “He never said that about me
you know.”  Of course he didn’t.  “It must be nice to be that strong.”
“That’s enough.” Sotto said.  “Start the test.”
“But of course sir.”  Mirna closed her eyes.
When a spirit tries to take you, what you feel depends on the spirit and
the force they use.  If you are not gifted, a spirit has to be reckless for
you to feel it from the get go.  But if you have my gifts, you can feel it
the moment it starts to burrow into you.
'I feel you.' I closed my eyes. 'I’m drawing you in.'
In my mind I see my abilities as a shield surrounding my body. It exists as
a haze, always there without overwhelming me.  When I draw a spirit in, I
see that shield drawing in like a funnel.  It appears around my chest and
goes down to my core.
To where my soul resides.
'Eli be with me please.' The thing is even in my fantasy the shield around
me never vanishes.  Instead it creates a sink hole to my center, with one
very small opening.  That means the spirit can’t overwhelm me, it has to go
into the small hole.  This gives me a degree of control.
I’m afraid though only a degree. The spirit can still fight against my
mental barrier and break it down. And no matter what I will feel something
from the spirit.
'You’re scared. And you’re angry. I understand.' I began to pull the spirit
in.  As I did my fingers and toes began to tingle.  It’s an unnatural
tingle, like someone is pinching your muscles.
The deeper the spirit enters into you, the more your body is no longer your
body.  It’s a shared vessel, your soul and the other spirit.  It manifests
as numbness, that’s your body struggling for control between you or the
invader.  The numbness will spread throughout your limbs until everything
tingles.
'Come deeper into me.  Don’t be afraid.  You can’t hurt anymore.' The
spirit was about half way to my core.  It’s sorrow now washed over me.  I
could begin to see images in my head, but they didn’t make sense.  Just
snatches of light, a face, a house, and many glasses of ale.
'You enjoyed a good drink.  Nothing wrong with that.  I don’t want to hurt
you.' The speech was less for the spirit’s benefit then for mine.  A strong
Channeler finds their balance, that point between keeping the spirit coming
in and keeping control of your body.  To keep balance, you must be as calm
as possible.
My arms didn’t shake, nor did my heart beat waver.  The spirit flowed into
me like water.  As the numbness seemed to consume me, the spirit entered my
core.
“Spirit, are you in Janelle’s body?” Mirna asked.
“Yes ma’am.” A voice, not my voice, spoke through my mouth.
“Janelle, are you still in your body, in control?”
“Yes ma’am.” I called out.  I wish I could have opened my eyes to see the
changes my body underwent.  With two spirits, your body changes to a vessel
that best fits both.  Not that you feel it, all you feel is numbness.
If I opened my eyes I could see the changes.  But then I’d lose my balance
and it would all be over.
“Good.  Janelle, begin to remove the spirit.  Spirit, resist everything she
does.”  Oh how I wish you hadn’t said that.
Pulling a spirit in is easy, removing one is hard.  It’s like trying to
remove an arrow shaft with your bare hands.  But your eyes are closed and
you’re not using your hands but your ellbows.  I began to close the hole I
had drawn the spirit into.  In doing so I would force the spirit back.
'Return to where you’re from. You are leaving now.' The emotions of the
spirit began to rage against me.  When getting rid of a spirit, the battle
is an emotional and spiritual one.  Emotions are your tools and thoughts
are your weapons.  If the spirit distracts you or breaks your
concentration, it’s all over.
Images from the spirit began to run even faster and more fractured.  My
mind was awash in new feelings, each one leaving me a bit more exhausted.
I began to feel like my body was aching from running a marathon.
'You’re almost gone.' Removing a spirit is much harder than channeling it
for another reason.  You have to direct where the spirit goes when it exits
your body.  Essentially you grab the spirit, reach for a suitable place and
force the spirit in.
If you don’t the spirit will return to where they last were.  Your body.
I closed the funnel completely and attempted to grab the spirit.  Mentally
this is trying to control a rush of emotions and non-sense, all designed to
break your thoughts.  The spirit tried by hitting me with a wall of anger
so intense my thoughts stopped for a moment.
But only a moment.  You have to focus.
I moved the arms of my spirit out, looking for the empty soul gem.  It
presented itself as a sucking void, something that wanted to pull my spirit
in. 'Got it.' Now I focused my control on the spirt and began to move it
into the gem.
The spirit began struggling even harder, forcing every emotion and memory
against me it could.  My will weakened slightly, not enough to give it a
chance.  In seconds the spirit’s force began to fade as it entered the
gem.  It grew weaker and weaker, until it was gone all together.  I opened
my eyes.
“Done.” I said, exhaling.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.integral.org/archives/mkguild/attachments/20170210/b36a3c62/attachment.html>