The following days had the same routine, in the morning Lucas had to carry Elam up the mountain. When his teacher revealed the cabin Lucas could enter and start on his task. Now Elam had to make the tea himself, so he needed to stand up for some time, making him grumble every now and then.
When his mana deposits were empty he started to research the runes received from Gilbert. The runes were placed on top of each other, making it very difficult to tell which ones were in front. Asking Elam for guidance also didn't get him very far, as "Figuring it out yourself is better." was the only answer he received every time.
He only had a week's time before he needed to complete Gilbert's task, the one Elam gave didn't have a deadline. So most of his time was focused on studying the runes. He could make out a few runes, but he couldn't at all discern if they were correct or not. Speaking them out loud didn't do anything. Even his magic didn't react to it, making him believe that the runes he found turned out to be wrong. But all other signs pointed out that the runes were actual runes and should do something. He needed to constantly question himself to make sure he didn't make any mistakes.
Headaches were but the norm for Lucas. He needed to figure out two things at the same time while not having any clue how to. In two days he would need to hand in his assignment and he wanted to keep up a good impression. If he could become a good student, Gilbert would like him. And with a good relationship comes benefits.
At a certain point, he needed a break, there was barely any progress with Elam's task and his headaches got a lot worse to the point he couldn't even look at the runes anymore. Going down the mountain Lucas decided to try out his floating spell on himself. Now that he knew the effects after some tests on Freya, he knew what it could do. Jumping as high as he can using muscle strengthening and then using the floating spell made him gently float to the bottom of the mountain. At first, the snowstorm was in the way and hurt him, but when he breached the storm all he saw was the land in its full glory. A panoramic view of the school and city of Avesta made a relaxing scene.
Once he landed at the bottom, he made his way to the town, perusing the shops he deemed worthy.
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A rowdy classroom filled to the brim with students. Some were studious and were rehearsing certain runes they were taught, others socialized with their friends and even some were looking for someone to spend forever with.
"Sir Vires, I don't understand the pronunciation of these runes, is it an 'o' or an 'ò'?"
"Ah, that's a good question, Lyrrel, it's actually more like an 'ö', try it out."
Vires was a good teacher, proclaimed by some as the best ever. He taught the students well and made sure that they understood what was being taught. He was caring, social and calm, but assertive enough to deal with any problems.
"Now students, if I may have your attention. We've received info that the Order of Light has found someone that followed the Demonic Cult. They believe that they have someone in our school who also supports them. Have any of you seen something strange lately?"
The students looked at each other, some never even heard of this cult while others who were in the know were surprised to know that they infiltrated the school. "I haven't seen anything, but does it matter? Isn't it obviously Gilbert and his students? I mean, they practice some strange kinda voodoo, right?"
"Now, now, Sir Gilbert is a teacher of the school, we can't simply...", Vires held a strange silence, but that was quickly filled in by another student.
"Sir Vires, you don't have to address that monster of a man so politely, he's clearly a detriment to the school. Have you seen him? He looks like a ghoul, I've never even seen him outside!"
"Calm down students, let's make a vote shall we? If two-thirds agree with the notion that sir Gilbert should be investigated by the Order of Light, put your hand up."
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Micheal woke up this morning in a fascinatingly good mood. Everything has been going as he had wished. He spread the gospel of truth to the city's inhabitants and saved so many on the brink of destruction. People in the slums started to find jobs and work, slowly turning the slums into a more habitable place.
His place among them was set in stone, he was a messenger of faith. His brothers and sisters who had the same tasks as he did, went about it in another way. They believed that all evil came from the Demonic Cult and if that religion was destroyed, all evil would disperse and be removed. They left teaching the populace to Micheal, which worked wonders since he never wanted to fight.
Healing the sick, helping the wounded get back up, teaching people about simple mathematics or other jobs, he did it all. He had an insurmountable amount of energy as if the Goddess was always supporting him in any way She could.
While his brothers and sisters were once again scouting out another place, Micheal was where he wanted to be. Surrounded by fellow believers who changed for the better. Obviously, everyone had to experience hardship, but the Goddess found a way to deal with stress and change that hardship into a challenge meant to be overcome. No matter how hard or complex an issue was, Micheal was there for the people to guide them in the right direction.
The church was packed with people, some came from the slum others came from the inner city ring. Nobles rarely visited him, and if they were to set foot in Her Holy place, they needed to be respectful. The nobles saw Micheal as a rising pillar in the city and knew it wouldn't take long before he became politically involved.
But they were misguided according to Micheal, he never wanted to force people to do something. Merely guiding them was all he could do, going into politics wasn't for him. He was looking over the people in the church who were all praying in silence before someone entered he had never seen before.
A young man with bright blond hair and yellow eyes. "Hello there young man. It's nice to see someone with a similar look. I've heard that people further north have similar hair as us, do you come from there?"
"No, I come from somewhere else. My hair color was simply luck."
"I see, still it is refreshing. How are you, my son? For what reason have you decided to visit our humble abode?"
"I was just walking around and found this church. Since I wanted to learn more about the different religions I thought that visiting the biggest one would help me."
"Hahaha, you're right in that aspect, my son. We are the Order of Light, we offer help in form of a guiding light. Any problems or sickness we can cure for free, is there anything specific you want to know?"
"Hmm, yes actually. You say that you want to help people, but what if someone is so evil that he only wants to kill others? What will you do then?"
"If we can't guide them with our faith and conversation isn't possible, we simply have no choice but to restrain the person in question. Though I do have to wonder who would be so cruel as to want to kill others for no reason."
"So you wouldn't hesitate to put down people if they don't follow your principles?"
"Hohoho, no no, I think you misunderstood. Only when someone hurts and brings pain can we rightfully step in to help out. Otherwise, it would be wrong to discipline everyone to follow our faith. If you, young man, don't want to believe, what right do I have to force you?"
"I see, well thank you for that.", Micheal simply shook his head. Never had he someone enter his church to ask such strange questions. 'He must be confused and troubled. He looks like he is still under twenty, yet he already has to ask such questions. Perhaps I could help with some simple healing.'
"Do you have other things you wish for? I can see that you're struggling with something, if you wish, we can talk about it. Perhaps I can shed some light on the way."
The man struggled for a while, 'He must not want to talk about it. Maybe it's personal, I shouldn't have asked so openly. I should apologize for suggesting it.'
"I-"
"I do have something that I want to ask. If you want to use magic in order to apprehend someone, do you fight like any mage?"
Micheal was cut off, but he was rather glad. 'So it wasn't a personal problem, thank the Goddess. I don't want to upset him after we've just met. I should try to be as clear as possible.'
"Not exactly like a normal mage. We priests borrow power from the Goddess, if we pray with intent the Goddess can feel what we ask for and grant us our wish."
"So if you wanted to create a rock of a certain weight, can you do that?"
"Huh?", Micheal was caught off guard for the first time in a while. The request was so out of the blue, that he couldn't help but chuckle for a bit.
"Of course, the Goddess can do anything as long as we ask. See here.", Micheal put his hands together and said a simple prayer before a rock appeared between his hands. He handed it to his visitor. "Here you go, a rock that weighs exactly one pound. If you're interested in learning this power, I would gladly teach you our ways."
But his words weren't received, the young man was focused on the stone in his hands. He quickly looked back at Micheal before leaving the church at a rapid pace.
"Thank you, sir, truly!"
"What a strangely troubled man.", Micheal looked at the closed doors of the church with a pondering look. One of the people sitting close by heard their entire conversation. "Haha, Micheal, he looks like he needs a lot of guidance if he was happy with a rock, hahaha."
All that was left was a gentle smile on Micheal's face. He had once again helped someone, no matter how small or great, it was another soul on the road to redemption.
"I'll gladly wait for your return, my strange son."