Adora sat at one end of a long table, surrounded by her family members. She gazed out at them as she recounted her every thought and opinion about Marcos, the builder she had been sent to attempt to seduce.
The other Trujillos present in the room all had the same odd coloration to their hair that she did. They also had similar eyes and radiated strange, arcane power. Even her younger siblings and cousins all possessed potent arcane know-how and the physical signifiers which marked them as Trujillos.
Adora had been methodically making her way through her observations one by one, in chronological order so that her family could go through the same set of emotional reactions she had gone through. This was fortunate for the solar entity who had made the choice to act upon the knowledge that he had only just learned.
Adora had only just gotten to the part where Marcos had brought her and the other nobles to the top floor of his home when she heard him whisper directly into her mind. His mental voice was gentle, but it was impossible to not hear when it resounded from within her mind.
"Adora... I need your assistance." He remarked, whispering directly into her mind. He himself was interacting with Miguel and Juniper and so was not able to appear as freely as he would have liked before the family. But he was creative, he knew that he didn't need to be there directly to make an impression.
"Marcos! Yes, of course. How can I help?" She asked, in her mind, continuing to describe the scene of the lunch with her audible words and smiling as she spoke.
"I just need you to stop thinking in words and start thinking in images. To... show me, in your mind, what you see in front of you." Marcos replied, which caused Adora to pause for a second. A split second after she paused, mid-sentence, her mind changed.
During the split second that Adora paused her mind was blank. She was trying to adjust her mind to fit the request from Marcos. She wasn't sure why he was asking, but she knew that if she was helpful here it might give her an early advantage compared to her competition for his heart, and was eager to be helpful.
An instant after she attempted to adjust her mind's eye, Marcos was able to see what she could. And that was what he needed so that he could act.
Marcos was many things. First and foremost he was ambitious and he was impatient. Which was why he began to act the second that he could visualize the area around Adora clearly. And when he had the mental picture clear in his mind he began to create a truly impressive display.
"And that was when Marcos revealed that he could-" Adora was saying, right up until the instant that a miniature, illusionary sun began to appear in the air above the table in front of everyone in the room. Its appearance shocked everyone, including Adora, into silence.
The sun was an illusion created by Marcos carefully and skillfully manipulating light. Adora stared at it, in awe of this truly startling display of power. And as Adora gazed at the unreal sun that had appeared in her family's main dining room, Marcos, distantly, hissed in annoyance as he tied his mind to the minds of everyone that Adora could see out of the corner of her vision.
Marcos was determined to master his powers. He was using them in increasingly creative and ambitious ways and his choice to use his powerful ability to link his mind to others in this particular way, one where he could create links without even meeting people himself, was a choice that he already felt granting him greater experience with and control over his mental powers. When he was done, he began to speak into all of their minds at once.
"Good afternoon Trujillo family. It is very pleasant to meet you." He began, causing Adora's family to almost jump in sheer shock at the sudden and strange intrusion it took for Marcos to speak directly into their minds. None of them heard the noise, but their reaction made Marcos laugh, internally. Once they had recovered from the shock Marcos had inflicted on them, they stiffened and began to react to him.
"Extraordinary..." Remarked Adora's father, a small man seated on the opposite end of the table. He was named Francisco and he looked a bit like Adora.
"Is this some manner of sorcery?" Asked one of Adora's cousins, a girl a bit older than her with hair that was fiery red in some places and white-blonde in others.
"How incredible!" Exclaimed Maria, Adora's mother. Her hair was also a mixture between red and blonde. She gazed at the miniature sun in the center of the room and had a smile on her face as she waited to hear more from Marcos. He didn't keep her waiting for very long.
"I have been listening to Adora recount the tale of our meeting and thought it prudent to meet you all myself. In my own way of course. I wish for you to know that I am a powerful, nascent divinity of the sun." Marcos explained, softly.
"I possess a number of truly extraordinary abilities and I am devoted to using them to protect Sol and to ensure that we have a long, prosperous future." The builder declared, speaking powerfully into the minds of the family. As he spoke, telepathically, to the family they reacted to his revelation with stunned silence.
"As you take in this admittedly considerable news I wish for you to know that I have been told about the quiet significance of the fact that I am a sun-spirit. I know the historic significance behind that fact, and about the impersonal worship of the sun by many Verdadians." Marcos revealed, even as his telepathic voice lowered in tone due to the heavy and historic nature of what he was saying.
"Adora... If Marcos's words are true..." Her father began, even as he looked away from the sun that Marcos had created to get his family's attention. He gazed into his daughter's eyes, and a second after his voice trailed off she spoke.
"If Marcos's words are true he will need a tutor to teach him the ways of divinity. Someone who can teach him about the ins and out of managing a religion. And rest assured father, he already has worshippers." Adora said, speaking up to fill the silence left by her father.
Her heart was hammering in her chest. She felt her feelings towards the builder she had believed she might have been able to seduce, hours ago, changing very rapidly. She blushed as she became aware of the true depths of the power possessed by the builder.
"Marcos is from another world. He may not know how to tap into his innately divine power. He also doesn't know about the large group of followers every deity or major spirit needs to have in order to fully capitalize on their immense powers. A champion, an avatar, a high priest or priestess, saints, a race of spirit servants. The list goes on and on." Adora continued, her eyes blazing with fanaticism.
Her words filled were fascinating to the builder as they helped illustrate his ignorance of the world around him. They also helped reveal some of the powers that allegedly even major spirits had, not just deities. And he filled with excitement while he wondered about them. He mused about the nature of her cryptic revelations and her words enflamed his curiosity.
There was a silence that fell on the family for a few moments. It was shattered by Adora's mother, a tall, stately woman who was perhaps the most elegant woman Marcos had ever seen.
"Marcos... Do you have your sun spear? Sun spears are symbols that solar entities possess that allow them to use their powers in truly destructive and incredible ways. There are ancient myths that some solar entities when they are summoned and not naturally born, must find their spears but I've never met a summoned solar being so I don't know." She asked. Her voice was soft and careful, but Marcos could hear a touch of awe and hope in her voice.
Marcos's words filled the minds of the family a second later. His disappointment was audible even in his mental voice.
"Sadly, it appears that those myths were true. At least in my case. I do not possess 'my' sun spear. I must find it." Marcos revealed, softly. He was disappointed, but not undeterred. He knew that in time he would adjust. The man was attempting to be a realist while wrapping his mind around what he previously believed to have been impossible.
Gods, spirits, avatars, and that was just the stuff he didn't fully understand. He knew he had powers that he was exhibiting tremendous, precise control over. Powers beyond his imagining, such as the ability to control light and bend it in such ways that he could craft illusions, or telekinesis and telepathy. And that's not getting into the physical powers he possessed.
"That said, that is for the future. I am focused on the present. And in the present, I am indeed in need. Adora is correct. I need aid and tutoring in the ways of the divine. And I know that the local gods have thus far eluded the good people of Sol. I plan to change that." Marcos quietly revealed, causing the Trujillo family, a family of priests and priestesses, to gasp.
"Your knowledge is exceptional given how briefly you've been here, Marcos..." Whispered Adora's father. Marcos quietly chuckled in response to that. The truth was that he was having more than one conversation at the same time. Juniper and Miguel were filling him in on some of the truths he was revealing, such as how to form illusions and the elusiveness of the local gods.
"Francisco, I would like to form an alliance between my family, my... house, and yours. I believe Adora would be a good teacher for me, and in time a valuable member of my household. And she is far from the only member of your family I suspect can be of help to me. I know many things, and my knowledge of this world is expanding. I would like to invite you, and those you pick, to my home tonight. For a dinner where we can discuss this properly." Marcos revealed, whispering directly into the mind of Adora's father.
The man gave the floating sun-like orb a thoughtful look for a few moments. And then he nodded at it.
"For the sake of transparency, I shall speak so that my family can hear me. I look forward to our dinner tonight, Marcos. Meeting you in person shall give me a wonderful chance to get to know you better. Thank you for your invitation." Francisco uttered, to the delight of his family. Distantly, Marcos smiled as well.
Marcos once more reached into the minds of the family and bid them farewell. And then as abruptly as the illusion appeared, it disappeared. When it vanished the members of the Trujillo family stared at the empty space for a few moments, before turning and gazing at each other, awe-struck expressions on their faces as they took in the enormity of the moment.