Book 3 Chapter 47

Tirr felt his vision spinning as he poured the rest of his faith into Maria’s shuddering body. “Please…” He whispered again as he noticed the blood seeping from her body seemed to continue unabated.

He grit his teeth in frustration, if he could use the Life Blessing wounds of this sort would be no problem. But the branch of life built upon Maria now hung from only a thread, ready to break off at even the slightest touch. All Tirr could do was pour what faith he had left into her, and hope she was able to do something with it herself…

Torvus, Garm, and Jena stood to the side, watching the young god as he held the dying girl. Only Garm was brave enough to utter a worried whine as he looked down at Maria’s body. Torvus watched Tirr’s with a sympathetic eye. To the young former assassin, it was a reminder once again of how young Tirr could look. The small boy huddled over the older girl’s body, tears spilling down his face… Torvus looked away, not knowing what he should… Or even could… Say at a time like this.

For Tirr, the edges of his vision continued to grow darker, creeping further in even as he felt his body grow heavy. He wasn’t sure if he could even get up anymore more, but he still wrung what little faith he had left, passing it to Maria until he felt his consciousness fade.

As darkness swallowed him, he heard a voice calling from the dim. “Rest… Everything will be alright…” The voice was familiar, yet he found he couldn’t place its source in his memories… Its tone was soothing, carrying a calm strength that backed up its promise. Tirr felt himself relax, no longer struggling as he let his head sink against Maria. In his last seconds of awareness, he saw a bright golden light start shining gently…

Tirr woke with a start, finding himself in a simple yet elegantly made bed, back in his quarters within Raife’s underground estate. He tried to sit up, swaying and falling back down as his arms collapsed under him. Pain shot through his body, a deep soreness from exhaustion and overwork

He clicked his tongue at his own weakness. Trying to force himself up again as he tried to shake away the fog that clouded his brain. This time as his hand reached to steady himself, it pressed against something soft.

He looked over in confusion and found a young woman with dark auburn hair lying next to him. Drool slowly threatening to drip from her lips as she hugged the pillow next to him.

The sight burned away the cobwebs covering his mind and memories of looking down at Maria’s mutilated body returned. He looked at her in shock for a moment, making sure that she was in fact okay… And found he could see no sign of the life-threatening injuries he had been so worried about.

Having made sure she was really alright, He felt his relief and worry turn into anger… He pinched her harshly, drawing a moan of displeasure from the young woman. She turned away grumbling in her sleep. Her indifference only infuriated him further… He pinched her again, “Hey! “

Maria grumbled, this time turning back to him. As she faced him, her arms reached out. Tirr, an angry tirade ready on his lips, was quickly trapped. He struggled to break free, but his weakened body failed to resist as she pulled him into a tight hug, burrowing them both deeper into the covers.

“Just go back to sleep….” Maria mumbled as she drifted off. Tirr tried to fight but soon felt exhaustion take over once more, drifting off to sleep himself as Maria held him. I’ll yell at her later… He thought to himself as he surrendered to his drowsiness…

It was more than a few hours later when they finally did wake up. As the servants entered to deliver the night’s dinner, they found Maria, kneeling on the floor with an ashamed expression while Tirr stood over her. His eyes were full of anger as he scolded her relentlessly for her carelessness.

Maria took it obediently, listening to Tirr’s lecture for more than an hour before the rumbling of his stomach forced him to stop. It was only then that, as they grabbed food and stopped one of Raife’s servants, they found out they had already slept for days. It wouldn’t be long until the combined forces of Rasor and Lutel arrived…

As they ate, Maria went over the strange vision she had had, detailing her meeting with Henna and the conversation she had been pressed into…

“Henna…” Tirr muttered as she finished. The name was familiar, yet the memories snuck away from him like always… he grunted in frustration…

“Yeah, she cared about you a lot… and it seems like she was the main reason I’m still here” Maria continued.

Tirr gave her a dirty look and she held up a hand placatingly. The young god sighed, taking another bite of a sweet roll left by Raife’s servants as he looked his Apostle over again.

“So, what’s your new Aspect going to be? Coming up with your own is indeed better than copying mine…”

“I don’t know yet… Maria admitted, leaning back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling, “I still don’t know exactly what shape a part of me should take…. But I think I’m no longer scared to start thinking about it…. Which is more than I would have done before…”

“Well, whatever it is, just make sure it's cool. An aspect needs to have impact! It has to be impressive! You’d lose all motivation if you summoned it and people laughed at you…”

Maria giggled, “Sure, I’ll try to make it cool…” She reached a hand her fingers twisting as if manipulating some unseen force. In her mind golden light twisted and formed as she shaped it. “I wonder,” she whispered mostly to herself as a vague shape formed…