"So, Lord Michael, would you like some milk and cookies, while we talk?" All smiles and laughter, the little girl who was left in the room with us didn't show any signs of being a cold-hearted murderhobo, like she was emitting earlier when she was talking about sending people to her various 'Bothers'.
"Umm… No thanks." Shivering slightly, I had no idea how to take these little healers. All my reading into fantasy novels and playing of various games seemed to indicate that those who followed the path of healing should be pacifists by nature – easy to dominate, bully, and control – but these women of the white robe gave a completely different impression! Dissect people. Bury them and grow flowers in their asses! Send them off to become fertilizer.
Peaceful little innocent healers my ass! These girls scared the shit out of me! They only only appeared innocent on the outside, but I've already seen a few instances where that gentle, bubbling façade has slipped. I'm going to be on guard with this "Big Momma" just as much – hell, probably even moreso – than I'd be on guard with a full fledged rapist-murder-fiend before me! At least I'd know what to expect from a murderhobo! I had no clue what this woman… girl… child… holy horror… wanted!
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you." Sitting down in the floor in front of me cross-legged, the little girl completely ignored all the chairs and tables, instead choosing to sit where she could directly stare into my eyes. "Now, Lord Michael," she asked, smiling innocently. "Can I ask what brings one as esteemed as yourself into our quiet little home today?"
"Umm… Am I not allowed here?" I asked, nervously, pulling the now sleeping Snow tightly into my embrace for my own sake of comfort.
"Oh! You're more than welcome here!" Laughing gaily, Big Momma's face lit up like I'd just said the funniest thing in the world. "If anyone were to ever try to tell an Aes'lyr that they weren't welcome in the home of the Gods, Mother would cry and her brothers and sisters would have to sternly talk to that person's soul about *who* exactly gets to decide who's welcome in the God's Homes."
"Aes'lyr? And Aes'nyr? I'm afraid I don't know either of these terms," I told her, honestly. "They aren't ones which we hear very often in my homeland." Often hell. We never hear them, and apparently they don't have any direct translation either! Not even my all-powerful unspoken wish to be able to understand these people can translate it to a simple term which my brain can understand.
"Of course they're not in your land." Once again, Big Momma laughed lightly, making my heart clench up in worry about exactly how much she might truly know about our origins. "Mother says she doesn't recognize any of you three," she pointed over at Vicky, Maria, and me, "so you must be from one of the Lost Lands. Which makes you being a true Aes'lyr and her a true Aes'nyr even more amazing!" Big Momma pointed at me when she mentioned the Aes'lyr and then over at Vicky when she mentioned Aes'nyr. I guess I'm one and she's the other. Is it a male-female type thing?
"So what exactly are these Aes-titles," I asked, politely? This young child, her authority, and the unknown knowledge and power that her 'Mother' was giving her from behind the scenes had me completely on edge.
"Aes'lyr are, literally translated from the language of the Gods," Big Momma told us with a bright smile, "Divine Lords, while Aes'nyr are Divine Servants."
Waiting a moment for her words to sink in, she was all cheerful bubbles explaining. "For someone who has never heard the terms before," Big Momma explained patiently, "the concept might be a little difficul to understand, but allow me to emphasize that it's a title that explains to those with a distinct set of characteristics upon their soul, and not limited by any sort of physical boundary. It's not a title of wealth, bloodline, or nobility," Big Momma stressed. "It's much simpler, and much more than that!"
"A King is only a king within his own land," Big Momma snorted. "Much like the jack ass who rules over this land, his authority only carries within the borders of this land. He's not worthy to truly be called a Lord –especially since this one doesn't carry the Royal Gift – and as such he truly has little dealings with those of us from the temple. We are children of the Gods and his authority doesn't touch us, nor them," Big Momma explained, dismissing the king as if he was some sort of lowly bug beneath her toes.
"I may call him The Royal Bastard," she snorted, "but I'll never refer to him as being a Lord. You, however," Big Momma pointed directly at me, "are indeed a True Lord, for better or worse, and as such you shall always be entitled to the title of Lord, and welcome within the God's Home."
"So… I outrank the King, in your eyes?" I could barely believe what I was hearing. First the guards were calling me some sort of High Lord by mistake, and now the head healer of the temple was telling me I was a True Lord? What the hell gives?!!
"Of course you do," Big Mamma snorted, as if it was the silliest question she'd heard in her life. "No matter where you go, will you not always have authority over your Aes'nyr? Do they not follow and truly obey you, for better or worse, regardless of which land you step your foot within?"
"I'll follow and obey my Master anywhere," Vicky stated proudly, sitting down and snuggling up tight by my side.
"Ha! Not me," Maria snorted, finally moving to sit down in one of the nearby chairs. "This idiot is my Brother, not my Lord. He can kiss my ass, if he thinks I'm one of his little Aes'toys!"
"Such strength from both of you." Looking up at Maria, Big Momma laughed happily, seemingly not at all offended by her denial or attitude. "And yet completely different blood flows in you both. I definitely wish to hear the story of how you two became brother and sister, even if blood does draw to blood, as they say."
"I'll tell you later," Maria promised lightly, "as long as you explain exactly what it is that makes Dufus and Bimbo some sort of Divine existences in your eyes."
"Deal," Big Momma laughed happily.
"To understand," she explained lightly, "you have to remember that I was speaking of both being aspects of the souls. For most people, their soul is either light or dark, or some shade between, as it represents how *good* or *evil* they have been while alive upon this world. For these Aes'whatevers, as you two call them," she giggled softly, "their souls share the same black and white shading, but with one difference, which I'll get to in a moment."
"First though," Big Momma sighed sadly, "let me explain a term which Lilly used earlier – a broken soul. For most of the living, our souls and our flesh are two separate things," Big Momma told us. "As such, we learn how to endure injuries to our flesh and build up a resistance to the pain which it inflicts from an early age, but only a few odd individuals ever build up a tolerance to their soul being injured. Stabbing a sword into your arm hurts your arm, but it does nothing to damage your soul, now does it?"
"I guess not…" Frowning, Maria shrugged uncertainly. Souls are only vague concepts in our world, so how the heck could she be an expert on what hurts them and what doesn't. "I'll take your word for it," she finally agreed, not caring enough to try and argue the point.
"And yet," Big Momma explained, "there are wounds which a person can suffer which no bandage could ever fix. Let a woman miscarry a child a dozen times and then tell her she can never try again – see what type of injury that inflicts upon her heart. Upon her entire spirit…
"It *cracks* her," Big Momma sighed. "A wound so deep upon her existence that her very soul cracks and splits from it, leaving a gap in her life that's almost impossible to fill. A dull, lifeless void that drains her strength and will to continue. A crack within the soul weighs heavily upon one, causing unhealable pain, and a wound which the eyes alone can never see, nor any magic can fix."
"The only way to normally cure a wound to the soul is to either have one die, where they can be treated by the Gods and Angels in the afterlife, or for the wound to slowly close and heal on its own with the passage of time," Big Momma explained solemnly.
"A shattered soul, on the other hand," Big Momma growled warningly, "is one where the crack has spread to such an extend that the soul is completely divided into two or more separate pieces. Imagine one as being a sword with a crack which you can mend with a little time and effort at the forge, and image the other as that same sword completely broken into shards. You may melt it and reforge it, but it'll never be the same sword ever again."
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Big Momma growled angrily, "is a more unforgivable sin than shattering a soul. Rape. Kill. Murder. Steal. Cheat. Do whatever you want to one's flesh in this world, but never shatter a soul. A shattered soul is broken past the point of healing, and only death will be a relief for the unspeakable torment which the broken one faces. Even the horrors of the hells themselves are less torment than suffering from a broken soul!"
"Fascinating," Maria agreed, taking it all in. "But how's that apply to my idiot brother? Is he some sort of dastardly soul breaker, stealing the will of Vicky and Snow?"
"Not on your life!" Snorting, Big Momma actually wrinkled her nose up in irritation at Maria for the first time. "Divine Lords are those few distinct individuals who have the strength of soul to wrap their spirit around another's. Your brother's soul stretches from his body, out to both of his Aes'nyr, and gently wraps itself around their spirits.
"Neither of them are fighting for dominance, nor struggling to escape from his soul, which is what makes them Divine Servants," Big Mamma explained, slowly regaining her composure. "If a demon were to eat your soul," she asked Maria lightly, "what would you do?"
"I'd give him such a damn case of indigestion the bastard would spit me back out and then I'd kick his sorry demon ass," Maria snorted, not having to think about her answer at all.
"And thus, even if you were somehow consumed, you'd never be an Aes'nyr," Big Momma told her, laughing lightly. "Truly, it's almost impossible to find one who would willingly submit completely to another. Our souls are much more powerful than our flesh – after all, why do you think the soul endures even after the flesh is destroyed? When one's soul truly submits to another, the flesh quickly follows behind."
"Has she changed at all since she became your Aes'nyr?" Pointing to Vicky, Big Momma turned her attention back to me.
"Sure," I shrugged lightly. "Vicky changes all the time." Chuckling lightly, I told Big Mamma, "Watch… Vicky," I ordered lightly, "lose the hair, grow it back ankle length, and I want it to be a nice bright cherry-red this time."
"Yes, Master!" Smiling happily, Vicky didn't move an inch as her body almost instantly changed to suit my command.
"Aes'Gran-Nyr!" Eyes widening, Big Momma's mouth dropped open as pure shock covered her whole body. "It's a Divine Great-Servant," she whispered reverently. "You're not a simple Aes'lyr, my Lord. You're a Aes'Gran-Lyr!"
"A Diving Great-Lord," I guessed, chuckling lightly.
"Aye," Big Momma verified. "The degree of control that you have over her spirit is truly astounding! Normally one's flesh will change slowly to match the desires of the spirit inside it, but this one's rate of accommodation is almost beyond the realm of belief. I don't know how she became yours so completely, my Lord, but this one is truly yours!"
"I know," I told her, proudly. "My Vicky is a good girl."
"That… That she is," Big Momma told me, looking a little awestruck herself. "But, you should be careful," she warned me solemnly. "No man, woman, God, or Existence can come between the two of you, with the bond you have. At the same time," she chuckled lightly, "because of that, the two of you would be judged as one should something ever happen. Should your Aes'Gran-Nyr ever end up in trouble and sent to the dungeons, enslaved, or slain, the same would happen to you as her Aes'Gran-Lyr."
"And what if she's a Shinta?" Maria asked, smirking at me slightly. "Will that make my idiot brother a Shinta as well, by default?"
"According to the laws of *this* land, it should," Big Momma confirmed lightly, while waving her hands dismissively at the same time. "Not that it's any concern of mine. I'm not an enforcer of this land's laws, and I'm certainly not going to tell The Royal Bastard anything about any Divine one. My personal suggestion would not to let the kingdom know she's a Shinta, or, at the least, not to let them know she's you Aes'Nyr."
"Too late," I sighed, swallowing down the lump in my throat. "I registered her at the Travel Zone, and her registration card shows her as being both already."
"Then in that case," Big Momma chuckled lightly, "I'd suggest a few options for the two of you. First, you and her both can learn to wear the shackles and not cause a scene while in this land, while listing yourselves as your sister's property."
"I like that idea," Maria chuckled lightly, smirking down at me. "We'll need to get you hairless, stiffened, horny and shackled," she teased mercilessly.
"I can help with much of that," Big Mamma offered lightly. "A simple blessing would allow you to control when you wished to be stiff, or not, and the removing and growth of hair is trivial with the most minor of magics."
"The blessing doesn't sound terrible, if I can control it," I choked dryly, "and I don't really care about being hairless from the neck down, except it'd make anyone who saw me like that assume I'd be a slave at the very least, and I'm not so certain I'm so keen on that either. What's my other options," I asked, praying for a miracle.
"Well, I suppose you can always avoid this land and simply stay in your own," Big Momma chuckled lightly. "Or else simply travel to another land which doesn't view those with magic quite the same. Most kingdoms look down upon those who work magic without the limits placed by the Gods, but not all are as restrictive as Ry'bar."
"That's not such an option," I sighed heavily. "At least, not yet," I admitted sadly. "So far, the means we use to travel only allows us to come to this land for now. At the moment, we can only visit here and then go back home.
"Then I guess you should get used to wearing shackles," Maria giggled, obviously enjoying my distress.
"Honestly," Big Momma chuckled lightly, "you probably should. Your only other choice would be to sneak her around," she pointed at Vicky, "while trying to conceal her magics. The problem with that is what would happen should you ever get caught. Truly, as long as you're going to abide by this kingdom's laws," Big Momma giggled, "you should probably learn to blend in as a rare male Shinta yourself, and let your sister be your keeper."
"Yeah, I should be *your* Master," Maria giggled softly, sticking her tongue out at me.
"Fine," I snorted up at her. "I guess I *could* be," I taunted her back disgustedly, "but then you'd have to give up *ever* learning any magic of your own. After all, you'd be a Shinta yourself once you started learning!"
"Fuck that!" Eyes opening wide, Maria instantly axed that idea.
"And so we're stuck," I sighed, completely at a loss as to what to do.
"Umm.. You could all be mine," Tabitha offered, raising her hand slightly from back in the corner where she'd been completely forgotten about this whole time.
"Then let's do that!" Giggling excitedly, Big Momma pointed a finger at me and exclaimed, "May Mother bless you!"
"Oh… shit…" Feeling a warm white glow settle all over my body, I was too shellshocked to even glance down and see what exactly might've just happened to me!