BANG BANG BANG!!

Thio was in the middle of making dinner (with Metts helping).

“Who on earth…?” Thio asked, his hands covered in onion juice from cutting onions. It was a little late in the day for someone to come calling.

Metts took off his apron, saying, “I’ll get the door!” and then sprinted to the front of the house. Once he was at the door, he straightened his uniform and schooled his face into a pleasant expression.

Opening it, he said with the most polite professionalism: “May I inquire the reason for your visit, sir?”

A Mage with a gray uniform and yellow stripes was standing on the other side. He was a fashionable looking fellow with droopy blue eyes and long, tightly braided brown hair and loose bangs to frame his face.

“I thought this was Acanthio’s house?” The Mage asked, surprised.

“It is, sir.” Metts replied evenly.

“Then who are you?”

Standing up a little straighter, Metts cleared his throat. “I’m the Head Butler Metts, under Master Thio’s employ. May I ask your name, sir?”

The Mage was stupefied for a moment.

“Evans, my name is Evans.”

“Then, Mr. Evans, may I inquire to the nature of your visit?”

“I’m… uh… here to see Thio.”

“Master Thio is currently busy and can not entertain guests. If you would like, you can leave a message and come back late—”

Before he could finish, Evans had forcibly opened the door and pushed Metts backward.

“H-hey!” Metts objected, trying to push Evans back out.

Evans was a tall man and simple grabbed Metts by the head and forced the younger man out of the way.

“Kid, I’ve never asked for permission to enter Thio’s house and I’m not starting now.”

——

Metts charged into the kitchen, breathing heavily.

“Master, I tried to stop him but he wouldn’t—”

Evans pushed Metts aside.

“Thio, you b******d! You haven’t contacted me once in over two months and then I found out you got married!”

“That—”

“And you got a new house with a Butler now too?!”

“It’s—”

“What am I, chop liver?!” Evans grabbed Thio by the shoulder and started shaking him.

Thio sighed and set down his knife.

“I thought we were friends! I thought we were on good terms!” Evans whined and complained childishly. “You didn’t even invite me to the wedding!!”

Thio lifted his hands and suddenly smooshed Evans face. The hands were still covered in raw onion juice.

“AGH, MY EYES MY EYES!” Finally letting go, Evans stumbled backward.

After a few minutes of panic and scrambling, Evans sat at the table, recovering.

“Are you calm now?” Asked Thio, an eyebrow slightly raised.

“…yes.” Pouted the other man, eyes and nose red from onion induced crying.

“I could not have invited you to a wedding, since I never had one.”

“So you aren’t—”

“No, I’m married. I just never had a wedding.”

“Why’d you even bother then?”

Thio stared at Evans for a long moment.

“You are a very strange man.”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone like you.”

——

Evans grumbled and whined, but stayed seated at the kitchen table. Despite having been on his own for quite some time, he was still a poor cook. Most of the men in the LDF were like that. They were often too busy to learn. Thio was an anomaly, so it became a tradition for Evans to randomly invite himself over to Thio’s place for a meal. (Often unannounced.)

The only reason Evans hadn’t noticed Thio had moved sooner was because he’d been busy, which he mentioned. There was an uptick in strong monster and demon sightings around the Empire recently. So he hadn’t found himself in the Capital often, much less long enough to bug Thio for a free meal.

“I’m going to get my wife.” Thio announced when the food was done.

“Finally, I get to meet the mystery woman!” Evans thought, both annoyed and eager. Thio had been tight lipped, though his eyes gleamed in such a way to make Evans extremely suspicious.

A few minutes later, voices could be heard:

“Well, at least me walk up the stairs after dinner.”

Eh? Evans recognized that voice from somewhere.

“I’m not sure it’s wise…”

“I’ve got to start pushing myself or—” A very familiar woman walked into the kitchen. “Oh, hello there. I didn’t know we had a guest.”

“You—!” Evans stood up, an accusing finger pointing. “The FLAKE.”

“..I suppose I deserve that…” She muttered, knowing that she’d left Evans with a very bad first impression.

Thio cleared his throat. “Caroline, I believe you’ve met Evans. Evans, this is my wife, Caroline.”

“YOU MARRIED THE FLAKE?!”

“…she’s not a flake. She was just jealous because she loved me.”

“What?” Evans lowered his finger in confusion.

“Hey!” Caroline swatted at Thio. “Don’t tell him that!”

“Why? Are you embarrassed?”

“Of course I am!” And then seeing his innocent expression, she wrinkled her nose. “You… you’re enjoying this.”

Thio raised his eyebrows, a twinkle in his eyes.

“Hm… am I?”

Evans sat down heavily, baffled.

He’d known Thio for over three years, and he’d never seen the man act… affectionate. Calm, serious, meticulous, logical, yes. Even annoyed. All things he’d seen. But this? This was like seeing your 90 year old Grandma flirt. It was… weird.

Rallying, Evans asked. “H-how long have you guys been married?”

“Four years.”

“WHAT!”

“Let’s talk while eating.” Thio suggested. Metts had already plated up the food and was looking at his plate with intense longing. He always waited until Thio started eating as a way to show “proper respect” to his Master, even though it wasn’t required.

After everyone got situated, Evans started again, talking between mouthfuls.

“So what was all about that “distantly related” talk you’ve been saying all this time?”

“We are married, therefore related, but she lived in Hillsdale. Which is a fair distance. So we were distantly related.”

Caroline almost choked on her food from laughing.

Evans’ mouth hung open, shocked, “You lied.”

“Ahem. It wasn’t a lie. Technically.”

Closing his mouth, Evans narrowed his eyes. “Are there any other truths-based-on-technicalities I should know about?”

“No.”

“Tch. How am I suppose to believe you?”

“I am very sorry for not telling you sooner.” Thio knew Evans didn’t really care about the not-lying part. Evans was a gossip and a busy-body, what offended him was not being included in on the secret.

“Tch!”

“Aw,” Caroline cut in. “Don’t be mad at Thio. There were circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“Uh…” She tapped her chin, this was hard to explain. “Would you believe I just popped into his life one day and married him?”

“…that doesn’t even make any sense…”

“Well, it’s technically true though.”

“ANOTHER TECHNICALITY!”

Caroline couldn’t help being amused by his over-the-top reactions, causing a giggle to escape her lips before she could stop herself.

“Ugh, so you’re made for each other. Fantastic.” Evans grumbled, continuing to stuff his face with food. Pointing a fork at both of them, he said with annoyance, “I hope your marriage is FULL of technicalities!”

——

The next day, after lunch, Thio found Caroline sitting outside in the garden. She liked it there, and would jokingly say that people are like flowers and need sunlight and fresh air.

Seeing him come over, she waved by way of greeting.

“Caroline, how do you feel about leaving the house for a bit?”

“Do you even have to ask! I’m ready! Let’s go!” She responded eagerly. Being house bound for nearly two weeks was enough to make her stir crazy.

Helping her up, Thio cast Transportation (x2). They re-appeared near a huge, beautiful looking church.

“Aw… we could have taken a taxi at least…”

“You aren’t ready.”

She pouted but didn’t argue. It was hard to have her arguments taken seriously when she needed to hold his arm as a safety precaution when walking to the garden earlier that day.

“What are we doing here anywho?”

“Hm… As you know, I’ve been trying to figure out that sealing curse on your memories for years now and have had no success. When Sentra first came to see you, she suggested I was limiting my research and to try the Church.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow. “Really? But Father Richard didn’t know anything either…”

“Though I respect the Father a great deal, his focus has always been on practical outreach to Hillsdale. Curses aren’t his expertise.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I guess that’s true.”

“The Priest here is apparently very well educated, being more interested in the history and theoretical aspects of religion rather than practical. Popular too. I had to make an appointment just to see him.”

“Oooh. A big shot!”

“Mm.” Thio agreed, guiding her into the church.

“Wow.” Caroline’s voice echoed in the building. The inside managed to surpass the outside in extravagance. There were detailed statues of saints and angels, elaborate stained glass windows, and even an arched ceiling that caused your neck to pinch trying to look at it. The alter had two marble carved angels, kneeling, holding a platform (which in turn held a copy of their Holy Scriptures). Even the pews had padded seating and delicately carved wood backs.

It was hard not to compare the Hillsdale church. Father Richard’s church was smaller, with a simple peeked roof, no stained glass, no statues and a plain rectangular alter (with a basic carving of the two angel motif on the front). Caroline had never gone to any church except the Hillsdale one, and only just now realized it might be on the shabby side.

Still, Caroline preferred the Hillsdale church. Father Richard was there, and many other people she cared about. This place, for as beautiful as it was, also felt a little cold in it’s lofty beauty.

A Deaconess dressed in a simple black dress saw them and walked over.

“Greetings and welcome. How may I be of service to you today?”

“We have an appointment to see Father Dillards.”

“Oh yes, he’s expecting you! Please follow me.” She gave a polite half-bow and motioned them forward. They followed her through a small side door, down a long hallway, and eventually to another door. She politely knocked and opened the door. “Father Dillards, your afternoon appointment has arrived.”

Father Dillards was a tall spindly man with short gray hair, a pointy goatee, and wearing small round glasses for reading. He wore a black cassock like Father Richards, but with a silver sash instead of green.

“Please come in,” He said while waving them to sit down. His office was shockingly ordinary compared to the rest of the church. He sat at a simple wood desk, with several chairs of a similar design to match. The walls had rough-hewn shelves, filled with old books.

“So I’m told you were referred to me by Holy Mage Sentra?” Father Dillards began.

“Yes, she said you were very well informed and might be able to help with our problem.”

“Hoho, did she? Then I suppose I must succeed to live up to her expectations.” He intertwined his fingers and set them on his desk. “So what IS the problem you’re having exactly?”

“Ah, my wife Caroline here, she seems to be under a very peculiar curse.”

Caroline waved “hello” at the Priest.

The Priest chuckled and nodded in return. “I will do my best, but I hope you understand that lifting curses are more a Healer’s job than a Priest’s.”

“I am aware, but this curse is very strange. I can cast Information on her for you, to show you….” Thio hesitated, unsure if this Priest could do magic.

“Ah, no need.” The Priest immediate cast a spell in the native tongue: [Spiritual Discernment]

A block of text, very like the Information spell Thio had cast all those years ago, appeared in front of Caroline. It was clear the information from this spell was of a different sort though, even without being able to read it.

“Hm..” The Priest’s eyebrows shot up as he read. “Very interesting. Very interesting indeed.”

He waved his hand, dismissing the spell and got a thoughtful look on his face.

“A moment please.” The Priest said, standing up and walking to the door.

To both Thio and Caroline’s surprise, he left for a few minutes and returned later with a very large cup of water.

“Drink this.” Father Dillards handed Caroline the cup of water.

“The.. Uh… whole thing?”

“Yes please.”

She glanced at the Priest, Thio, and then the water. She then shrugged and started drinking. At first it was just a sip, but then she chugged the whole thing down all at once.

“What kind of drink is that?!” She asked, smacking her lips in an unlady like manner and setting the cup down with a thunk.

The Priest, who been watching her carefully, now looked slightly confused.

“It’s water. Holy Water, specifically.”

“So that’s Holy Water, huh? It looks just like regular water but that taste—wow!”

“…exactly what did it taste like to you?” The Priest ask, confusion turning to curiosity.

“Hm… kind of sweet and fizzy? Ve—ery satisfying, refreshing even.”

The Priest nodded, grabbed a piece of paper, and started scribbling. He then looked at them both, a glint of excitement in his eye.

“Well, I can tell you she is not demon possession nor is there an evil spirit involved.”

“Demon? Evil spirit?” Thio asked, shocked.

“Excuse you,” Caroline flushed red. “I think I’d know if I was possessed!”

“Ah, I meant no insult. What you call a curse is a Seal. Historically, the most common mention of sealings is in association with demons and evil spirits. So naturally I thought to test that first. Holy Water is very affective against both. Weak demons can actually be killed with it.”

“He—hehehe.” Caroline giggled. “It’s so good it killed them!”

Thio frowned, noticing that Caroline’s face was still flushed red and she was grinning stupidly.

“Are you alright?” He asked, alarmed.

“I’m fine.” She waved her hand lazily and then picked up the empty class. “Can I get more of this stuff? It’s, like, the best… so good… hehehe…”

Both the Priest and Thio raised their eyebrows.

“I… I do believe she’s drunk.” The Priest finally said.

“On Holy Water?!” Thio grabbed Caroline as she started to tilt dangerously in her chair.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Father Dillards eyes shown with excitement at the unexplained response. He jotted down some more notes on his paper. “Where was I? Seals are divine in nature, curses are evil. SO this isn’t a curse. Usually, a Priest or a Prophet performs a seal in times of dire need. Now your wife here—”

“That’s me!” Said the wife in question, clapping excitedly.

“—yes, that’s you. Ahem. Has a seal. They’re used against pernicious evil as a stop gap measure. They aren’t permanent, though strong ones can last quite a long time. The evil it can restrain includes Demons, evil spirits, and corruption. The first two dislike Holy Water. If they were involved, there should be some kind of negative reaction. And corruption is for things like land, not people. So I can conclude she is interacting with neither demon or evil spirit and corruption is not even involved.”

“Hm.. Hmmmm…” He tapped the paper he’d been writing on. “And getting drunk on Holy Water…? Hm… there are stories of Saints turning water into wine. Very rare talent, but popular, as you can imagine. But Holy Water? And by drinking it? Astonishing, simply amazing.”

“You hear that Thio? I’m a-m-a-z-i-n-g!” She gave a thumbs up, to herself.

Thio could only look at her deeply worried.

“What are you saying then, Father? She’s some kind of Saint?”

“Maybe?” The Priest leaned back, rubbing his chin. “Is there anything else unusual about her? Besides the seal?”

“Well, her memory is all jumbled—”

“Big ol’ mess in my noggin’! Heh! Hehehehe!”

“—er, and I actually have no idea where she comes from, as she can’t remember the names of things and her map drawing skills are worse than a two year old—”

“Hey! Rude!”

Thio ignored her and continued, “Her mana affinity is abysmal but her raw physical abilities are borderline miraculous. Less than a month ago she was covered in over 30 curses. She should have died, obviously. But here she is, well on her way to a full recovery. ”

“Hm…” Father Dillards was scribbling away furiously as Thio talked and then asked Caroline, “When you say your mind is a mess, does that include your feelings too?”

“What?”

“When think of your past… what do you feel? Anything?”

Caroline scratched her side, face scrunched in an effort to concentrate. “I dunno… It’s just there isn’t it? You gotta think a thing to feel it, dontcha?”

“Hm.. And recent events, how about those? Do you feel anything?”

“Of coooourse! Why wouldn’t I feel stuff! I feel ALL the things.” She turned to Thio, poking his arm and almost falling over. “This guy, ‘specially. All the feelings!”

The man in question grabbed her by the shoulders and managed to get her upright again.

“Hm…” The Priest watched the interaction thoughtfully. “Broken mind. Unknown Past. Mana and the mind… outrageous physical strength… hm…”

“I have thought,” Thio offered. “That perhaps the seal was interfering with her mind and thus affecting her ability to use magic. Or even the other way around or perhaps both…”

The Priest looked thoughtful and then replied, “I’m not sure you’re aware, many aren’t, but the Church has it’s own set of spells. We call it “Catalog Magic”. The spell I used earlier was one of those. It’s a variation of the Information spell mages use.”

“Is that so? Exactly what does your spell specialize in then?” There were many different kinds of Information Spells, Mages focusing on general attributes and abilities, whereas Healers like Sentra focused on physical and mana-base ailments.

“Hm… well, let me just start off by saying there is no exact methodology to Catalog Magic. It’s not like mage magic, which can be repeated down to the very last detail. Things shift and change, as it’s the by-product of using spirits instead of mana as the primary spell-source. I was just trying to see her general spiritual information though. Very basic. I’ve never had a problem with. But…” He scratched his chin. “It was all sealed.”

“..all of it?”

“Yes. I couldn’t even tell you what her moral affinity is, that was sealed too.”

“Moral affinity?”

“Ah, that is, the simplest versions are like a meter that show us whether a person gravitates towards good or evil. Most people are somewhere in the center. Demons are squarely on the evil side, of course.”

Thio’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Ah… is that how Priests identify whether a person is possessed or consumed by Demons?”

“It is.”

“I had wondered… all I’ve ever seen is Exorcisms and Last Rights. Those don’t involve magic at all. I’ve never heard a Priest mention the Church having magic and the Institute never mentioned it either,” He added by way of explanation: “I work at the Institute, that’s why I brought it up.”

“Ah, that’s no surprise. Catalog Magic is barely considered magic by most mages who know of it, much less the Institute. Our spell-source is spirits, with mana being a distant second. Spirits are conscious beings, uncontrollable, giving their own take on things rather than formulaic responses. Our spells end up quite… ambiguous… compared to standard spells used by mages because of that.”

Dillards then chuckled. “I say this kindly: Mages like everything nice and logical, and Catalog Magic simply doesn’t work that way. Mages who’ve tried to study it either end up in the Church or walk away frustrated.

That being said, people such as myself, who specialize in Spirit and Mana, are uncommon even within the Church. We end up doing all the Demon Identification, as you guessed. We are extremely busy, all the time, because of it.”

Thio nodded slowly. “I see… so that’s why I needed an appointment. I’ve learned something new today. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” And then waved his hand. “But we’ve gotten a bit off topic… The information is being blocked because her spirit is being blocked. This almost certainly affects her ability to use magic; as spirit, mind, and mana are all interconnected. Sealing the spirit wouldn’t kill a person, but the interference it causes to the mind and mana ought to at least put a person in a coma. Theoretically, at least. But in your wife’s case, it seems to have only addled her memories and reduced her Mana Affinity to almost nothing instead.”

“Only? You’re sure this ISN’T a curse? Because it sounds like a curse…”

“I mean, not in the traditional sense of the word.” The Father tapped the side of his face. “Hm… This is just a guess on my part, but the fact that she’s NOT in a coma is quite telling. That means this seal is doing something very unusual, almost like it was specifically designed to cut off certain parts of her. But the raw power to do that would be… and then the why…” The Priest suddenly closed his eyes, eyebrows knotted together, and started muttering unintelligibly.

“Father?”

“Ah, apologies! I have thought of something. It would explain this situation quite well. It’s just… even accounting for what I’m thinking of, the situation is strange. But there’s nothing else… I can’t think of any other reason for this.” He glanced at Caroline, whose head was dropping tiredly and had long since checked out of the conversation. “When you said she doesn’t remember names of things… does that mean she can’t remember her past clearly or…?”

“I would say she remembers most things fine and simply forgets the names of what she’s seeing in her mind’s eye. But then sometimes it’s like she’s trying to remember something and can’t, or that she did and then forgets it. And…” He hesitated, unsure about whether this next bit counted. “Sometimes she says things that don’t make any sense.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, she keeps insisting her home country has no magic for one.”

The Priest‘s eyes narrowed.

“No magic at all?”

“Correct. But she says carriages fly and they have strange boxes that transmit pictures and sound… how could that be done without magic?”

“How indeed…” However Father Dillards didn’t look skeptical, he looked contemplative. “I think… yes, I’ve got a very good theory about what’s going on. But there’s also a lot that is quite out of the ordinary. Honestly, with how things are, even if I’m right, who’s going to believe me?”

“What is your theory, Father? Perhaps I can help you research it.”

The older man suddenly hesitated, appearing conflicted about his own theory. “I think… yes, I think this seal is divine in nature. And I don’t mean by the Church… I mean, God, specifically and directly is the source of it.”

Thio’s eyebrows shot up. “Pardon, but GOD? Why God?”

“Because no one else could do a seal like this. No one. Not a mortal, not a spirit or demon. Certainly not a Priest. This is directly interfering with a person’s soul. Only God can do that. Which means this is some kind of Divine Intervention. In this I’m fairly certain but…”

“But?”

“There are very few instances of Divine Intervention. And when they happen… well, one must be very careful about interfering. I don’t dare try to undo a Seal set by God, and you shouldn’t either. I mean it. To try would put you at odds with God and that is extremely unwise.

And that’s assuming either of us had that capability. I doubt we do. No, rather, what we need to know is why. Why has she been sealed in such a fashion? With that, a proper course of action can be taken. But until then, I’m at an impasse.”

“Is there some way you can figure out the purpose of the seal then?”

“One way. The only thing that works for a Divine Intervention is a Divine Revelation. Not just for the Seal, but the other oddities about her you mentioned. But only Prophets can speak Revelations and I’m no Prophet.”

“…Prophets?” Thio had heard of Prophets, as the majority of the Church’s Holy Scriptures were penned by them. But he’d always thought of them as almost mythical people from ancient history, rather than anyone living.

Seeing Thio’s skeptical and puzzled expression, Dillards eyes twinkled with amusement. No matter how open minded, when it came to religion, Mages always had a strong bent towards doubt and skepticism.

“Yes, Prophets. If Saints are uncommon, Prophets are a rarity. But they do exist, it’s just hard to find them. The gift of Discernment and Future Clarity are no small things and come with a price. They travel where ever the Spirits guide, often to far flung places. They are quite difficult to get in contact with because of their nomadic nature.”

“Oh.” Thio’s eyes clouded with disappointment.

“Not to worry! Providence’s hand is clearly visible today: you happen to be in the presence of the brother of a Prophet. And it just so happens my Prophetess sister contacted me recently saying she was heading back to the Capital. After ten years of wandering heathen lands on the other side of the world, she’s coming home. The timing is remarkable, no?”

“I must admit that’s quite the coincidence. Do you know when she’ll arrive?”

“It’s hard to say. I got that letter last week. I don’t know when she sent it, how long it took to get here, or even how much of a hurry she is to arrive. Half the time I don’t even know where the country she’s in is located.” He looked somewhat exasperated. “She mentioned coming back rather off handedly too, so I almost missed it. But assuming she’s hot-footing it here, at least three months… and that’s being optimistic.”

“So a while yet then…” Thio nodded, feeling discouraged. He’d hoped for an immediate answer, not more waiting.

The Priest must have sensed it, for he said kindly, “I know waiting is frustrating, but take heart. The Seal is not a curse. It is holy in nature. God does not despise his children. Whatever is going on, God is has taken a personal interest in it, and that can only be a good thing. This is only a guess, but under that seal, there may be something quite extraordinary. I mean, it’s likely why she gets drunk on Holy Water…” He then gave a light chortle. “Speaking of which…”

Somewhere in their conversation, Caroline had passed out while sitting up. She was currently slumped forward, lightly snoring.

“You know, I feel a little guilty about giving her such a big glass.”