Throne of Steam

Morning came, and with it, the cacophony of noises that livened up the city. The crowds of salarymen left their homes, starting the new day with less than ideal enthusiasm.

"I need to find a way to make money," Garett said while swallowing a piece of hard bread, the little money he had wasn't even enough to buy a decent breakfast.

As that old Lurmon said, the Lord's church would help the Marked in finding a job; I can only hope the Goddess Church does the same, I can also go to the College and take my time, searching for a job fit for a scholar... Garett reviewed his options, the hard bread awakening him to his financial reality.

"I've also reviewed the knowledge the book imprinted into my head, it's more accurate to call it new powers. I can only say it is not as useful as I hoped," His newfound knowledge wouldn't help him to make a lot of money, maybe if he joined the military he could try climbing the ranks.

Firstly, there's the ability of materialization; in short, I can materialize things that I have an extensive understanding of, and to do this, I only need to focus on the specifics... He experimented with the materialization of a kitchen knife, while the result was a bit crude, he was able to use it while preparing the breakfast.

It's not that mystical though, I can only keep it materialized as long as I focus, and I can only materialize a thing at a time, as it is a bit taxing on my mind as well. Maybe if I understand more about the forging process of the knife, it should be possible to create something of higher quality... Garett massaged his temples, uttering a deep sigh.

"If only the objects didn't vanish, I could become a one-person factory!" But his dreams were shattered even before they had a chance to come to fruition.

Then there's the second ability; Control, this one is closely related to the first one. While an object is materialized, it can be controlled even if I'm not touching it.

"The range is not that great though..." For now, his range of control didn't exceed a meter; if the object exited the area, it would dematerialize after a short while.

I don't know if it has other applications, I'd have to get creative. But it was fun to play with it... His smug smile spoke volumes of how fun it was playing around with the floating knife.

And the last one was called Perception, I don't understand how it works yet, I can only use it to detect even the tiniest of flies entering my house. It's more like a passive ability... While he found these abilities somewhat useful, they were only useful to him! He couldn't think of a way to make money with all that!

Am I supposed to become a magician, doing magic tricks in the city's square!? I don't want to be remembered as a cheap trickster... He complained inwardly about his unfair destiny, he originally thought that he could apply his abilities into becoming a successful businessman!

Swallowing the last piece of bread, he got up and started to dress up. He had planned on going to the Church of Mists to search for some form of guidance;

Executor Lurmon said he'd explain the situation to the church clergyman, so I should talk to them.

...

It took roughly twenty-five minutes for him to arrive in front of the church, as he didn't have the money to rent a coach, he could only walk all the way.

"This building is still as majestic as always." He sighed, even if he was a believer of the Mist Goddess; he couldn't be called a devout one.

The last time I came here, I came with my mother; she's always been a pious believer, even when things didn't go her way. I guess that's how a believer should be... While feeling downcast, he started to take in all the minute differences brought by the time.

Different from his memories, the main gates had a flowery hedge ornamenting its appearance, a few preachers with red robes were scattered in the main square; some asked for donations, while others talked about the grace of the goddess.

Most of the citizens of Lhûn believed in the goddess, that's why the difference between the churches of the Eternal Judge's and the Goddess's was so large.

It's not like the Goddess clergy doesn't have their own patrol, so we can depend on them most of the time... Garett thought while approaching the main gates.

The preachers all stared at him when he passed by them, some praised the goddess, others asked for donations. After arriving at the gates and entering the building, he was met with the majestic hall, at this time of the day it was mostly empty, with a faint haze covering the place.

I've always wanted to know if this haze is natural, maybe it's a result of some occult method related to the goddess? I wonder if I should ask about this... Garett walked in the direction of the pulpit, as he breathed, he slowly felt himself calming down as if he laid in the soft embrace of a mother.

"Excuse me, father. My name is Garett, I-I hope you were informed of me?" He said after arriving at the end of the hall if he remembered it right, the name of the man in front of him was Charles, Father Charles had a vibrant black hair, his features being those of a young man. Actually, Garett remembered that he had always looked like this, even in his infancy.

"Yes, my child. The Executor of Holy Light already informed me of your coming, in fact, the young man they sent has just left after informing me. They said you were rescued during the yesterday patrol, thank the lady they were close by during your time of need, any help is important during these times, regardless of the source." The priest bowed in the direction of the altar, not forgetting to show his reverence to the goddess.

"Yes, father. The Goddess be praised." Even if he wasn't the most pious of believers, he wasn't ashamed of praising the Goddess, in fact, he felt he should come to this place more often.

That's dangerous, that's why I stopped coming here, this place makes me want to pray… Wait! Maybe this is an effect of this weird fog!? I've always wondered why this place is enshrouded by fog all the time, maybe it's purpose is to make people come here more often… He felt like he discovered a secret he shouldn't have pried into! He felt a sliver of cold sweat drifting down his back, he wanted to get out of there immediately!

"As they said, you arrived; If I remember right, they said you became Marked during yesterday's events, is that right?" Father Charles said, worry evident in his voice.

"Yes, and even after going home, I buried myself in all kinds of books concerning mysticism, I-I want to understand better the things that are happening around me!" Garett said, his voice rising as he put forth his conviction.

"Oh, young man, books of the subject; there are too few that aren't gibberish. We usually contain the information, as to not expose too many people to the occult." The priest patiently explained, not impatient at all.

That old Executor said something similar, the churches don't want a sudden influx of Marked people, that'd create chaos… He remembered what Lurmon said before about the subject, it seemed to be something all churches acted by.

"I've also heard the patrolmen talking about a ritual after I was… subjected to some kind of weird interrogation." Garett added under his breath, as Charles's eyes got increasingly more piercing.

"Oh, they interrogated you? And even revealed information about the rituals? My child, you should know that, as a believer of the goddess, they had no right to interrogate you, your case should have been forwarded to us." Father Charles shook his head, in an obvious attempt to hide his indignance. "But no matter, as for the information pertaining to rituals, the members of the clergy have a way to connect to the gods, as as such we receive some special… boons, as to protect the mortal land we live."

Then, that means I made a contract with some god? And as such was granted these 'boons' that come in the form of my newfound abilities? Garett pieced the information together with his previous knowledge and came to a conclusion.

"In that way, we can fight the creatures of darkness known as mutants, maintaining peace in the domain of the gods." As the priest finished his explanations, he walked to a cupboard on the corner, picking up an old chalice.

Oh lord, will I be subjected to another round of questioning? This thing looks as remarkable as that old scale! His smile twitched with indignance, he had already been interrogated once!

"Please, come closer, my child. The goddess will cleanse you of your worries." Having been urged by the priest, he couldn't possibly back off!

"Y-yes father, am I being investigated again?" He said, not bothering to hide the discomfort while looking at the chalice.

"Oh, yes, you were subjected to the brutish method of the Executors, right? You don't need to be afraid, I only need a drop of your blood." Not waiting for a reply, Father Charles suddenly approached and took his hands, forcefully prickling his thumb with a needle and drawing the blood to the chalice.

Woah! And you call them brutish!? At least they gave me some time to prepare… Garett noticed that he complained a lot in recent times, maybe he needed to reconsider his intent on mixing with this kind of people.

Father Charles kept quiet for a while, patiently watching the insides of the chalice as if there was a fascinating theatre play happening on its bottom.

"Hmmm… Interesting, let me explain to you. Your blood is directly connected with your spirit, and it records everything you've been through. Or at least, what your spirit went through." Charles said while stowing away the chalice.

My spirit!? He can see everything recorded by my spirit? That means even the things I can't remember from the week before!? Maybe even the book… Garett felt a chill and suddenly felt tense.

"Yes, your spirit, " Father Charles continued, as if aware of the thoughts running through his mind, "But there seems to be a lot of information missing, related to the things pertaining to the investigations. As if it wasn't your spirit that dwelt in your body, but another's."

As if another spirit inhabited my body? That means… Something like possession? That would explain why I can't remember anything… Garett felt enlightened but felt that it wasn't completely right, why did the possession suddenly end? And he couldn't remember anything that would let him be possessed.

"P-possession!?" He shrieked, trying to muster all the acting skills he had!

"It is possible, even if doubtful. In any case, we need to make arrangements for you, as we can't let you walk around without supervision."