<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'>C<font size="2">ool. Some powerful stuff in there. Feeling how the one spirit was killed was a creepy scene.<br>
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A lot of groups do such an endurance test. Even the Rangers and Green Beret. They say you really can see what a person is like when they are so tired.<br>
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Chris<br>
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<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Jack Moore <jackthefrilledlizard@gmail.com><br>
To: mkguild <mkguild@lists.integral.org><br>
Sent: Mon, Aug 22, 2016 9:42 pm<br>
Subject: [Mkguild] Life As We Know It pt. III<br>
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<div>Life as We Know It pt. III</div>
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<div>Past – 698/9</div>
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<div>Somewhere South of Metamor</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>I mention my dream again because I want you to understand something. In my opinion there is literally nothing worse than sleep deprivation. It robs you of your will to keep going. It makes every sensation unpleasant.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Hot is too hot. Cold is unnatural. Every noise comes from just inside of your head and sounds like an explosion. And it never seems to end. When you do finally sleep, you sleep less than you collapse. You’ve reached that moment where your body finally says "Enough" and forces you down. The worst thing is when you do this to yourself, you know you are approaching that moment but you try to delay it a little more.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>I was rapidly approaching that moment. The moon was full above me and the sky cloudless. The air carried that chill of one last push by winter as it loses ground to spring. My body was for the most part bare. I was allowed thin clothing for modesty sake but I wasn’t allowed anything to strengthen me.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>I stood in a clearing on the stump of a tree. The tree had been dead for Eli knows how long. I felt I would soon be joining it. I’ve never liked the woods because they’re chaotic and filthy. In that moment I hated them. Oh if I could have asked Eli for anything in that moment, I’d have asked for a wild fire.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>All around me I could hear Mr. Sotto’s dull footsteps in the mud. The trees created bands of shadow in the pale light. I could see movement in the underbrush around me. Every few seconds an insect chirped or a branch snapped.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>I held myself in the same position I had for twenty-three hours now. When it had started to drizzle, I hadn’t moved. Mr. Sotto was kind enough to divert the rain from me. When the sun set, I hadn’t moved. Even when those wasps landed on my arm, I kept it stone still.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Because I couldn’t move. That was part of the test.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>The point of this test was for me to be at my weakest. As Mr. Sotto had made clear many times, our powers depend on our minds. That’s all well and good when we’re rested and ready to go. But we aren’t always going to have the luxury of rest.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span>"I’m so tired." I rasped out. My lungs had become two weights attempting to pull my head off. My legs wobbled on the stump and every splinted stabbed me like a knife. "Can’t I stop yet?"</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"Not yet Janelle." Sotto said. Even in the dim moon light I could see him puff out his chest. "I designed this test for our organization. When you succeed, you will be allowed to take the final test. Then you will be a full member. We are Avolbe."</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"We are the loonies." I mumbled. Avolbe was a word Mr. Sotto had found in a manuscript from a dead language. Supposedly it meant The Enlightened. In truth he didn’t know and neither did I. I just knew I was standing barefoot on a stump as the clock approached midnight.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Again I felt the unnatural chill that every Channeler does. That feeling when a spirit tries to force their was into your mind. It’s a kind of cold that comes from between your skin and your bones. It leaves a feeling of almost sparks inside of you.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>And it’s hard to get rid of it.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>When a Channeler channels a spirit, they pull the spirit into their body. Into the place where their own soul resides. The spirit alters the body in turn, altering it more the further in it goes. You can gain knowledge you never had, memory of events you’ve never done, and even access to magic.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>But you always must be careful. The further into your own core you pull a spirit, the harder it is to get rid of. If you’re not careful, you may find it doesn’t want to leave and can keep itself in. It may even take control of you.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>At that point you’ve passed the point of channeling. If a person is taken control of by a spirit they channeled, or a spirit forces itself in, it is a Possession. Just the thought of it made my blood turn to ice.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>My test here was to keep myself from being possessed for twenty four hours, while in bad shape. Now as another spirit began to bore into my mind, I wondered how I would do it.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Concentrate. I breathed out. Find your balance Janelle. I spread out my feet and cleared my mind. The entire world vanished, all that was left was me and the spirit. Wild spirits do have a physical presence as well as a spiritual one. Because your body is a physical thing, they had to enter it from some place. They can’t just envelope you.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>This one was coming from behind. It was entering somewhere along my back. The where didn’t matter, all I needed to know was which side the spirit was on.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>'Got you.' Channelers like me have few weapons, but one we do have is a technique Mr. Sotto calls Snapping. When we channel, think of it as reaching out with spiritual arms. We can touch your minds and your souls, and pull spirits into our bodies. We can also focus though and hit a spirit with the force of our soul. Essentially, we spiritually punch them.<br>
</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>The spirit welled with anger as I Snapped at it. Instantly I felt it fly off from me, the sensation of cold wet air returning.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Snapping doesn’t kill spirits. While that no doubt is possible, it is not one of our few talents. But it will stun a spirit and leave it unable to possess for some time, depending on how weak it is. That one was a weak one, yet I could feel my legs beginning to droop.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"No fear Janelle." Mr. Sotto said.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"I’m not afraid." I whispered. "I’m exhausted." And afraid. Afraid of failing while this man I respected watched me. Afraid I wasn’t strong enough. I snapped my drooping head back up.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"Well we’re entering the final ten minutes." Mr. Sotto said. ">From midnight to midnight." Somehow he always knew the time. He could even fall asleep and wake within seconds of his desired time.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>I want that super power too.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Another spirit charged at me, trying to get through my front. Again I Snapped at them and left them reeling. Mr. Sotto stopped behind me. I forced my limbs to stop shaking. I wanted to turn and smile at him, but I doubt I had the energy.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"You-you know I’m not as tired as I thought." I stammered with a grin. </div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"You’re very strong Janelle." My heart skipped a beat. "You’re doing even better than I did."</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"Thank you sir." Now I was blushing so bright I probably glowed in the dark. The wind blew my red hair into my face, ruining the moment. Thank you for that Eli.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Back to silence. Spirits seemed to crowd me on every side and I was Snapping as fast as I can. Front-back-back-back-front-front, I wiped drool off of the corner of my mouth. Eli how much longer?</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Mr. Sotto was silent now. I couldn’t even hear him move. An owl screeched above me, followed by a shriek from something small. That distraction allowed a spirit to penetrate my body. Shit, not this now.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>This forest had been the scene of a bloody battle. Every spirit had been reduced to a pile of raw emotions. This one was rage, and it tried to overwhelm and break me. And the worst part is, I could feel it succeeding. My legs started to wobble.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Find your balance Janelle. Concentrate. With all the effort I was capable of, I stopped my legs from shaking. Images from the spirit began to overwhelm my mind, coming from the spirit. Oh God…</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Running, they died running through a rain storm. There was screaming and they were wielding a spear. An arrow struck them from behind and sent them face first into a puddle. This was followed by a spear into the back, through the spine.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Your last moments were spent drowning in a puddle. I swallowed. I am so sorry. But I can’t let you in. I closed my eyes. Forgive me. I reached out and Touched the spirit. I drew back, then thrust my spirit out with as much force as my mind could muster.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>Instantly the spirit was repealed from my body and sent flying. It’s last sensation was not rage but fear. I think that was the worst part of my test. Mr. Sotto cleared his throat.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"Good job Janelle." I could feel the warmth in his voice. "It is now midnight. You have succeeded." I somehow managed a grin. "I know you must feel exhausted. But you can rest now." My legs buckled.</div>
<div><span class="" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div>
<div>"Re-rest." I laughed softly. The last thing I remember was the world spinning around me and Mr. Sotto’s arms catching me as I collapsed.</div>
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